MEGA EXCLUSIVE: Siddhant Chaturvedi to step into the shoes of iconic filmmaker V Shantaram

2025 年 11 月 11 日 general

Siddhant Chaturvedi has impressed audiences ever since he made his film debut with Gully Boy (2019). Recently, he proved his worth yet again with Dhadak 2 (2025). Bollywood Hungama has learned that he has now bagged a film based on the legendary director, actor, producer and writer V Shantaram. The talented performer will play the lead role in this film, which has been titled Chitrapati V Shantaram. A source told Bollywood Hungama, “This will be Siddhant’s biggest film to date and also his most ambitious one. With his past work, he has made it clear that he has oodles of talent. This motivated the makers of Chitrapati V Shantaram to sign him for the lead role. The film is in pre-production right now and Siddhant is working very hard to get into the character.”The source further said, “V Shantaram’s contribution to the Indian film industry is immense and with this film, the younger generation will learn about it. Chitrapati V Shantaram will throw light on how this man, born in abject poverty in Kolhapur, learned filmmaking under Baburao Painter in Pune, and then left an unforgettable mark in the Hindi film industry with movies like Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957), etc. This film will also educate viewers that he was a trendsetter he was the first one to cast women, the first one to sell film music rights and the first filmmaker to attempt a colour film. His films, made at Prabhat Studios, won praise at Cannes, Venice and Berlin Film Festivals and was also honoured with a Golden Globe in the year 1959. Not many are aware that Charlie Chaplin had praised V Shantaram’s work and also about his rivalry with Bombay’s (present-day Mumbai) elite filmmakers. Hence, the biopic will not just be enlightening but also entertaining and dramatic.”Also Read: Aamir Khan and Rajkumar Hirani’s Dadasaheb Phalke Biopic shelved due to script issues.

Invasive Rats May Have Contributed to Deforestation of Rapa Nui

2025 年 11 月 11 日 environment, science

Phys. org reports that Polynesian rats (Rattus exulans) may have played a larger role in the deforestation of Rapa Nui than previously thought. Some 15 million Rapa Nui palm trees (Paschalococos disperta) are estimated to have covered Easter Island before the arrival of Polynesians around A. D. 1200. When Europeans arrived in 1722, they observed just a few isolated trees, grasses, and shrubs. Terry Hunt of the University of Arizona and Carl Lipo of the University of Birmingham developed an ecological model of the island and found that a single pair of rats, feasting on nutritious palm nuts, could grow into a.