Actor Sharib Hashmi recently opened up about missing out on key roles in two major Bollywood films. He added that the rejections and disappointments continue to remain as lingering regrets in his career. Sharib is best known for the role of JK Talpade in the highly acclaimed web series The Family Man, headlined by Manoj Bajpayee.
Sharib Hashmi recalls being rejected for Sanju, Bajrangi Bhaijaan
During a recent interview, Sharib revealed that he had auditioned multiple times for the role of Kamli in Sanju, a biopic on Sanjay Dutt helmed by Rajkumar Hirani. However, the part eventually went to Vicky Kaushal and went on to become one of the film’s most loved performances.
Opening up about the opportunities, Sharib told Filmigyan, “Mujhe Sanju ka ek bada afsos hai, jo role kiya tha Kamli ka, uske liye mein kaafi shortlist hua tha, kaafi time tak chal raha tha. To vo ek afsos hai. Fir Bajrangi Bhaijaan me jo Nawazuddin Siddiqui ne kiya tha, uske liye bhi mene audition diya tha aur shortlist hua tha, kuch rounds of audition hue the mere, but vo naseeb ki baat hai. (One big regret I have is Sanju. For the role of Kamli, I was shortlisted, and the process lasted quite some time. So that remains a regret. Then, for Bajrangi Bhaijaan, the role that Nawazuddin Siddiqui played, I had auditioned for that as well and was shortlisted. I went through a few rounds of auditions, but that’s a matter of destiny).”
Sanju, which was released in 2018, starred Ranbir Kapoor in the lead role as Sanjay Dutt. Vicky Kaushal’s portrayal of Kamli, a fictionalised version of Sanjay’s close friend Paresh Ghelani, was highly appreciated for its emotional depth and loyal arc.
On the other hand, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, directed by Kabir Khan, was headlined by Salman Khan. Nawazuddin Siddiqui played Chand Nawab in the film, a quirky Pakistani TV journalist who helps Bajrangi in reuniting a mute Indian girl with her family across the border.
About Sharib Hashmi
Sharib Hashmi shot to fame for his portrayal of JK, a close friend to Manoj Bajpayee`s Srikant Tiwari in The Family Man series. Most recently, he was seen in Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos, a spy comedy film backed by Aamir Khan and directed by Vir Das. He was also seen in Gustaakh Ishq, a romantic drama produced by Manish Malhotra, alongside Vijay Varma and Fatima Sana Shaikh.
Beyond films, Sharib has also returned to writing with a recent stage play in collaboration with Tannishtha Chatterjee, marking a significant creative milestone in his theatre journey. Next, he will also be seen in Welcome To Jungle, which stars an ensemble cast including Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Raveena Tandon, among others.
Mohammad Hafeez and Saqlain Mushtaq (Agency Image)
Tempers flared on live television after Pakistan’s damaging Super 8 defeat to England national cricket team, as former stars Saqlain Mushtaq and Mohammad Hafeez locked horns over Mohammad Nawaz’s role in the side.The loss has left Pakistan national cricket team on the brink of elimination. To keep their semi-final hopes alive, they must defeat Sri Lanka national cricket team in their final match and hope other results go their way.During a fiery debate on the television programme Game on Hai, the discussion centred on whether Nawaz should be viewed as a genuine all-rounder or primarily a bowler. Saqlain defended the left-hander’s dual abilities, while Hafeez insisted that his main responsibility is with the ball.The exchange quickly grew intense.Saqlain: “He’s a bit of both. You cannot talk about him in that manner.”Hafeez: “What’s his first preference-is he a batter or a bowler?”Saqlain: “I feel he is equally good at batting and bowling.”Hafeez: “Then why not use him at No. 5?”Saqlain: “He has been. In fact, when I was with the Pakistan team, I had him bat at No. 5. He has the potential.”Hafeez: “So, is he a batsman who can bowl? What is his priority? I played for Pakistan as an all-rounder, but my primary job was batting. For Nawaz, it is bowling. If he cannot do that, he doesn’t belong in the side.”The on-air clash came at the end of a disappointing stretch for Pakistan. Their earlier fixture against New Zealand national cricket team was washed out, making the England encounter a must-win contest.Instead, England skipper Harry Brook produced a stunning counterattack. Walking in with his side struggling at 58 for 4, Brook hammered a breathtaking 51-ball century to guide England past the 165-run target and seal a dramatic two-wicket win.That result confirmed England’s passage to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. They have now won all five matches played in Pallekele over the past three and a half weeks and will conclude their Super 8 campaign in Colombo against New Zealand on Friday.
India are likely to make key changes to their line-up in the do-or-die clash against Zimbabwe. The co-hosts have their backs to the wall after losing their previous match to South Africa by a big margin of 76 runs, which means they are likely to shake things up in their playing XI.
The most anticipated change of all could be Sanju Samson making his return to the playing XI. Sanju has played only one game in the T20 World Cup — against Namibia, where he scored 22 off 8 balls. He might be brought in to counter India’s main issue — their frailties against off-spin.
Samson is expected to slot into the opener’s position, displacing Ishan Kishan to No. 3 in the line-up. He would replace Rinku Singh in the XI, who was forced to fly out of Chennai to attend to his father, who is currently hospitalised in Greater Noida.
While Rinku returned to Chennai on the evening of February 25, India are unlikely to play the batter, who might be in a poor mental state. This means that Tilak Varma, who has been in a horrible patch of form, might retain his place in the line-up.
Axar looked in exceptional touch with the bat in both the Ahmedabad and Chennai nets, and his inclusion will help India add a floater to their batting line-up.
IND vs ZIM: Do-or-Die
This is a must-win game for India, who have suffered a massive blow to their Net Run Rate after their loss against South Africa. India will not only have to win the match, they will have to win it by a big margin to stay in the hunt for the semi-finals.
India will also keep a close eye on West Indies vs South Africa, which is set to be played in Ahmedabad. If West Indies win this match, things will get really difficult for India.
Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Ryan Burl, Sikandar Raza (c), Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Graeme Cremer, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava.
Lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar has praised actor Taapsee Pannu‘s latest film, Assi, directed by Anubhav Sinha. As reported by India Today, Javed reviewed the film, calling it “very graceful.” He said that the film is “deeply emotional” and that it will “resonate with ordinary people.”
Javed Akhtar has only good things to say about Taapsee Pannu’s Assi.
Javed Akhtar praises Taapsee Pannu’s Assi
Javed said that the film touched his heart and mind as well. He said, “Some pictures touch your heart. And some films operate on an intellectual level; they engage your mind. But very few films manage to touch both your heart and your mind at the same time. I believe Assi is one such film. On one level, it is a deeply emotional story that will resonate with ordinary people. But on another level, it leaves behind some very serious questions. It does not hand out easy answers. Instead, it places those questions before society.”
Javed said Assi leaves the audience with both questions and answers
“Anyone who thinks deeply, who pays attention to what is happening around us, will walk away from this film reflecting on it. It has been narrated in a very graceful and compelling manner. And ultimately, the film leaves you with both answers and questions,” he added.
About Assi
The film has so far earned nearly ₹7 crore nett in India as per Sacnilk.com. Taapsee plays her lawyer in the film, which also stars Kani Kusruti. Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub, Manoj Pahwa, Seema Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, and Revathy round out the cast of Assi. Naseeruddin Shah, Supriya Pathak, and Seema Pahwa have special appearances.
The film is produced by T-Series and Sinha’s own Benaras Mediaworks. The movie follows Parima (Kani), a married woman living in Delhi, who is abducted and sexually assaulted by a group of men.
The film tracks the traumatic aftermath, focusing on the police investigation and the subsequent legal battle. The film also marks the third collaboration for Taapsee and Anubhav after their work in 2018’s Mulk and Thappad, which released in 2020.
In February 2026, the company secured $30 billion in its latest funding round, pushing the valuation of the Claude chatbot developer to $380 billion. (AI image)
Anthropic – it’s a name that has taken the technology world by storm globally – and its impact on Indian IT stocks has been significant. Anthropic – now valued at around $380 billion – has quickly emerged as a dominant force in the global technology landscape.What stands out even more is the pace at which the company has grown. Founded in 2021, Anthropic is only about five years old but has already established itself as one of the most highly valued players in the artificial intelligence sector. This comes at a time of artificial intelligence’s dramatic growth and its increasing capacity to automate substantial portions of the IT services industry. Anthropic’s valuation now exceeds the combined market capitalization of India’s publicly listed IT firms. By comparison, major companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra together are worth roughly $240 billion, according to an ET report.In February 2026, the company secured $30 billion in its latest funding round, pushing the valuation of the Claude chatbot developer to $380 billion – more than double its previous level – and highlighting strong investor enthusiasm for both the firm and the broader AI space.Anthropic describes itself as an artificial intelligence research and safety-focused organisation dedicated to developing AI systems that are dependable, transparent and controllable. One of its distinguishing strengths has been its focus on coding-oriented models. Its Claude Code tools have attracted significant interest from software developers, helping the company gain momentum in the rapidly expanding enterprise AI segment.The swift advancement of artificial intelligence – particularly Anthropic’s recent innovations – has unsettled Indian technology stocks. The impact has been sharp, with the Nifty IT index dropping about 21% in February, marking its steepest monthly fall since the global financial crisis of 2008.Selling pressure on IT stocks had begun mounting earlier in the month after Anthropic introduced a new artificial intelligence tool aimed at automating a broad range of professional activities. The launch revived worries that advances in AI could gradually erode the profit margins and long-established advantages enjoyed by traditional IT services firms.The company behind the Claude chatbot said the new system is capable of handling multiple legal-related tasks, including reviewing contracts, sorting non-disclosure agreements, managing compliance processes, preparing legal briefs and generating standardised replies. Investors have become increasingly concerned that artificial intelligence could significantly alter the competitive dynamics of the software and IT services sector, potentially undermining both profitability and market standing.Sectors that were previously viewed as relatively protected from AI disruption – such as legal work, data analysis and customer support — are now drawing closer scrutiny. If automation spreads across these areas, the extensive IT services ecosystem built around delivering such functions could come under pressure. Backed by Google and Amazon, Anthropic has rapidly expanded its business, stating that its annualised revenue run rate has reached $14 billion.Revenue on a run-rate basis from Claude Code alone has risen to more than $2.5 billion, more than doubling since the start of 2026. The company said business subscriptions for Claude Code have increased fourfold since the beginning of the year, with enterprise customers now contributing more than half of the product’s total revenue.Anthropic has also intensified its focus on corporate clients with products such as the Claude Cowork AI agent, which is designed to perform computer-based tasks typically handled by white-collar employees.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)
‘Dhurandhar’ has been one of the most talked about movies of last year and fans are now waiting for the second part of the movie. ‘Dhurandhar 2 appears to need little in the way of aggressive marketing; viewers are more than ready to return to theatres. R Madhavan recently shared similar thoughts during a recent interview. The actor spoke about the hype around the film and its ban in UAE. He said in an interview with Sonia Shenoy on her YouTube channel, “Traditionally, we’ve been making movies around the India–Pakistan war or our freedom struggle. That has been our action space and our core go-to in terms of storytelling. But the younger generation doesn’t even want that anymore. They’re like samajh gaya main, kitni baar bologe? (I’ve understood it, how many times will you say it?) And I think after Dhurandhar, that whole India–Pakistan thing is going to go. That’s the full stop now.”
R Madhavan Reacts To Padma Shri Win, Says The Honour Will Shape His Choices Going Forward
Madhavan also highlighted the remarkable enthusiasm the film generated in the UAE, where it faced a ban. He revealed that some fans went to extraordinary lengths to catch it on the big screen. “If you look at Dhurandhar, people from Dubai actually flew down, for one day, to watch the film and then flew back. That is the power of good content.”According to him, a similar wave of travel is expected around March 19, when the sequel hits theatres. “Now they’re planning their business meetings around March 19 when Dhurandhar 2 is releasing, they’ll go there for meetings, watch the film, and then return, as it’s banned in the UAE. For them, it would be so easy to just watch it on IPTV, okay? And I’m sure they could. But they want to experience watching a film like Dhurandhar in a theatre full of people. That gives you a community experience. Cinema allows that. Watching the same film alone at home feels completely different. It’s like performing dandiya in front of the TV. Dandiya is something you go out and play on the ground, with people around you.”Earlier, speaking to CNN-News18, the film’s overseas distributor Pranab Kapadia acknowledged the financial setback caused by the Gulf ban. “I think this is at least a ten million dollar box office that we have lost, because traditionally action films have always performed very well in the Middle East. And therefore we feel that it should have gotten a a release. We are not the first film where they have not given a release. Fighter also was not released before this, and several others. So we of course made a full attempt at ensuring that we put our best foot forward for the release. But I think ultimately, the film has found its audience, if not in the Gulf, then elsewhere.”Despite being barred in parts of the Gulf and Pakistan, Dhurandhar still emerged as a juggernaut, collecting over Rs 1300 crore globally, including approximately Rs 890 crore net in India alone. The sequel is now gearing up for a major box office face-off with Toxic, headlined by Yash, during the Eid weekend — promising one of the year’s most anticipated cinematic clashes.
Mumbai: The battle cries Indian cricket broadcasters use to market team contests have a recurring theme of revenge, pride and anger. But when these promos fall flat, the resulting roasting is just as brutal. Star, in its various avatars across mergers and rebrands, has consistently beamed live cricket to Indian homes. They have also consistently taken the flak.
Images of Steve Smith and Dave Warner in tears were replayed to promote Australia’s first return Test to Cape Town after the infamous 2018 match. (Getty Images)
Take the Cupcake promo ahead of the India-South Africa Super 8 tie in the ongoing T20 World Cup. This time, it wasn’t even about ‘revenge’. An Indian fan reminds a Proteas fan about their 2024 T20 World Cup final heartbreak, the cupcake the Proteas fan was munching chokes in his throat – a reference to the South African team’s old failing. To make it worse, cupcake is a nickname of the President of South Africa.
The haughty undertone of the advert was ridiculed by most cricket fans. The cupcakes made it to the pre-match South African media talk too. Once India lost badly, the broadcasters quietly took the advert offline, to avoid being trolled further.
“I think it was plain stupid,” said veteran adman Sandeep Goyal. “I know it’s a fun business and someone tried to be irreverent. But in this case, they crossed the line.”
Some felt this sneering-the-opponent theme was just a lazy pick from the old playbook and creatively poor. Others felt the backlash wouldn’t have been so bad, had the result gone in India’s favour.
“The promo is only as good or bad as the chemistry it creates with the viewers,” said Harish Bijoor, brand strategist. “I believe the cupcake promo got trolled because of the result. There is nothing good, nothing bad, nothing black, nothing white when it comes to promotions.”
Chasing eyeballs
Sports broadcast promos are often a chest-thumping exercise. The stakeholders are targeting greater eyeballs to cover costs.
Directed towards the casual fan, the promo is a tool to whip up interest. The devoted fan is going to tune in anyway and would approve of a promo with deeper meaning. When the stakes are so high, broadcasters are chasing mass appeal.
With the cupcake ad, though, the makers may have gotten the basic premise wrong. They may have overlooked that there is little animosity towards a South African team in India compared to an Australian team for their rough edges or Pakistan for obvious reasons. With South Africa, most cricket fans have endured their collective pain, and cheered them to win close matches when not facing their own team.
A similar promo, in anticipation of Australia’s qualification for the Super 8s was in waiting but got junked. The same broadcasters had delivered the popular ‘Mauka, mauka’ campaign ahead of the 2015 ODI World Cup. The advert perfectly summed up the pain of a Pakistan cricket fan, unable to burst his saved-up firecrackers over his adulthood, following his team’s repeated losses to India in World Cups.
On similar lines, a recent commercial in Pakistan tried to cash in on the handshake gate controversy by integrating a dig at the Indian cricket team while promoting a Pakistan-Australia bilateral series just before the World Cup. There have been better ads made, but few more perfectly timed to cater to the sentiment of its audience.
This week after Australia’s tour to South Africa was announced, Amazon Prime, the Australian broadcasters swiftly reopened old wounds from the Sandpaper Gate scandal. Unapologetically, images of Steve Smith and Dave Warner in tears were replayed to promote Australia’s first return Test to Cape Town after the infamous 2018 match.
It’s the promos that make prophecies before a ball is bowled that are vulnerable to falling flat. Take the 300 runs predictor used during the league phase of the T20 World Cup. In an attempt to play up the aggressive streak of the home side, pre-match programming centered around discussions on whether the Indian team would be able to touch Mt 300 in a T20I. Ultimately, they didn’t even come close in what was an underwhelming batting performance from the hosts in the early rounds.
The same script has played out before. Pepsi’s ‘Blue Billion’ campaign launched ahead of the 2007 ODI World Cup saw Sachin Tendulkar and his teammates transformed into on-field tigers while attempting to snatch a stolen cola bottle back. The much-promoted campaign was pulled down after India’s early exit from the tournament.
There have been craftier adverts made too which delivered top of the mind recall. In the 2000s, a Neo Sports advert depicted events in a chaotic household that left a chance of a gas leak and equated it to India-Pakistan match pressure. The tagline said “Get used to tension.”
Star themselves promoted the women’s ODI World Cup with a smart advert pitching for gender neutrality, where a lady demands a Deepti Sharma jersey over a Rohit Sharma jersey, opening the eyes of the shopkeeper.
One of the promos of the ongoing World Cup had Shafali Verma backing the men in blue saying “Mhare chore ka choriye se kam hai ke,” normalising a successful women cricketer backing the men’s team.
Us vs Them
“What happens is someone in the planning room will pitch for a share of heart over share of mind (consumer behaviour). That’s when you add a dash of patriotism,” said Goyal.
“Theoretically, the official broadcaster shouldn’t be taking sides. You should try to maintain neutrality,” the adman added. “Selling an India match is anyway not a problem. Selling the non-India matches smartly should be their objective.”
Ultimately, when it comes to promoting faceoffs, unapologetic banter and negative marketing prevails. The ‘us vs them’ script is perceived to be more bankable.
“Anything negative is that much more watchable, noticeable, and to that extent in sport, it is all about putting down the opponent,” said Bijoor. “It doesn’t work all the time as was seen in the current case. Eat pie or humble pie.”
India’s coach Gautam Gambhir, left, Jasprit Bumrah during a practice session ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 cricket match between India and Zimbabwe, at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Zimbabwe all-rounder Ryan Burl said his team is aware of the task ahead against India but believes the pressure of a must-win T20 World Cup match could affect the hosts when the two sides meet on Thursday.The Group 1 Super Eights clash at the MA Chidambaram Stadium is crucial for both teams after India lost to South Africa and Zimbabwe went down to the West Indies.“Yeah, it is a must-win match for us, but it’s also a must-win game for India. There’s obviously a lot at stake here, being a World Cup game and if we are to progress to the semifinals, we both want to look at winning tomorrow’s game,” Burl said at the pre-match press conference.“Obviously, we don’t get to play India a lot, so it’s something that we really have been looking forward to. Playing India in India is a challenge in itself. They obviously got a home ground advantage, but the added pressure of both teams needing to win tomorrow’s game.“Pressure does funny things to teams. And obviously it being a World Cup, there’s that added pressure as well. We hope to execute our process tomorrow,” he added.Burl said Zimbabwe’s bowling options could help them counter India’s batting.“We’re doing a lot of our homework. Obviously, India’s got that firepower where they obviously go really hard in the power play and if they don’t lose wickets, they’ve got guys that can go hard throughout. We’ve obviously got a lot of options (in bowling) and that’s probably one of the advantages of the Zimbabwe lineup.”“We’ve got left-arm seamer, right-arm seamer, we’ve got a couple of leg-spinners, we’ve got an off spinner, we’ve got a left arm offie. So, we do have quite a lot of depth and I think it will probably just come down to what are the match-ups depending on the batters that are out there and, obviously, the combinations that we do look to go for,” he added.The all-rounder said the team has moved on from the loss to the West Indies.“To be honest, I think we can only take positives from that defeat. It sounds weird, but we hadn’t really had a bad game until then. So there is massive learning in that.“And in saying that, India obviously also had their bad game against South Africa. So we’re both looking to bounce back, and no better place than to do that tomorrow,” he said.Burl also confirmed that captain Sikandar Raza is fit despite taking a blow in the previous match against West Indies.“Sikandar Raza is 100% playing. Good luck telling him that he’s not going to play against India. Yeah, he’s going to be playing,” he added.
Television actress Dipika Kakar is steadily recovering after undergoing a procedure to remove a small cyst, and her husband Shoaib Ibrahim has shared a reassuring update with fans. The actor informed well wishers that the surgery went smoothly and that Dipika is doing fine.
Shoaib Ibrahim updates fans
Taking to Instagram Stories, Shoaib thanked everyone for their constant prayers and support. He wrote, “Allah ke karam se aur aap sabki duaaon se Dippi’s procedure is done. All went well. She is also doing fine, bass thode pain me hai, but nothing to worry about. Thank you all once again for all your prayers.” His message immediately brought relief to fans who had been concerned about Dipika’s health.
All about the surgery
According to Shoaib, Dipika had been experiencing mild stomach pain for a couple of days, which became more intense one night. Concerned, the couple decided to consult a doctor. After medical tests and a CT scan, they discovered a 1.3 cm cyst that needed to be removed. In a recent vlog, Shoaib explained, “Dipika had mild pain in her stomach for two days, which aggravated more on Friday night. So we visited the doctor and did a CT scan. That’s when we learned about this cyst.”
Doctors advised a minor procedure to remove the cyst, and Dipika was admitted to the hospital for the treatment. Shoaib assured everyone that the procedure was successful and that apart from some post surgery discomfort, there is nothing serious to worry about. He reiterated that she is under observation and recovering well.
This health update comes after Dipika’s difficult battle with stage 2 liver cancer last year. She had undergone a long surgery to remove a malignant tumour and had been bravely sharing her recovery journey with her followers. The recent cyst scare naturally caused anxiety, but the positive outcome of the procedure has brought much needed relief.
Fans continue to flood social media with prayers and warm wishes for her speedy recovery. For now, Shoaib’s update makes it clear that Dipika is stable, healing, and surrounded by love and support as she regains her strength.
