Desi Talk

www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know 22 ENTERTAINMENT October 10, 2025 T he upcoming short filmTwo Steps has of- ficially wrapped production, setting the stage for a highly anticipated release this Christmas. A collaboration between Seema Chaudhary Productions, Aashita Shekhar Productions, and Friday Films, the project marks the directorial debut of filmmaker Nita Pednekar and features a script by writer Hemant M. Pandya. Billed with the tagline *“Reunion ends in reckon- ing,”* the film explores the fragile terrain of friendship, memory, and forgiveness. Two Steps follows Jo Mehra and Seema Desai, childhood friends whose bond was fractured by bul- lying and silence. Years later, the pair meet again in Boston, where a seemingly tender reunion unearths old wounds and unresolved emotions. What begins as laughter and nostalgia transforms into a haunting confrontation with their past. The narrative draws inspiration fromMaya Angelou’s words: “People will never forget how you made them feel.” Director Nita Pednekar, stepping behind the cam- era for the first time, described the experience as both daunting and exhilarating: “Dreams have a way of testing us, but today one step becomes real. With gratitude, excitement, and a little nervousness, I step onto set for the very first time as a director. May this journey be full of learning, creativity, and magic. Here’s to beginnings!” Writer Hemant M. Pandya reflected on the project’s collaborative spirit: “This has been a journey filled with passion, creativ- ity, long nights, and teamwork. Together, we’ve created something meaningful, and I cannot wait to share it with the world.” Producers Seema Chaudhary and Aashita Shekhar also emphasized the film’s collective strength. Chaud- hary noted, “From concept to final shot, *Two Steps* has been a true team effort — driven by purpose, trust, and vision.” Shekhar added, “What we’ve built together is not just a film, but a story that will linger in hearts long after the screen fades.” The ensemble features performances by Seema Chaudhary, Aashita Shekhar, Vernika Singh, Aarna Shekhar, and Aleysha Sen, alongside a broad support- ing cast. Behind the camera, cinematographer Nicho- las Pietroniro, editor Karl Rayan Erikson, and sound recordist Colin Keyes shaped the film’s aesthetic and tone, while production received support from the City of Boston and the Boston Police Department. The emotional weight of *Two Steps* is brought to life by a talented ensemble: Seema Chaudhary, Aashita Shekhar, Vernika Singh, Aarna Shekhar, Aleysha Sen, Trisha Iyer, Rajeev Nohria, Abhishek Singh, Raj Gupta, Raju Singla, Lana Israel, Manish Dhall, Shilpi Alagh, Gopika Narula, Seema Arora, Lakshmi Puranik, Manisha Parwani, Abhishek Arora, Anirudh Doli, Cini, Eshani Shah, Kajal Kaushik, Priyanka Duggar, Sonali Khond, Arun Khond, and Ramya Kotagiri. With filming complete, *Two Steps* now heads into post-production ahead of its Christmas 2025 premiere. Positioned as a woman-centered narrative of strength and resilience, the film is expected to resonate deeply with audiences seeking intimate, character-driven storytelling. As the lights dim this holiday season, Two Steps invites viewers to step into a story of reunion, reckoning, and emotional truth — one that promises to linger long after the credits roll. Debut Director Nita Pednekar’s “Two Steps” Prepares For December 2025 Release PHOTOS: FridayFilms A scene from movie. By a StaffWriter Spooked By AI, Bollywood Stars Drag Google Into Fight For ‘Personality Rights’ Google and others, and a permanent injunction against such exploitation. The lawsuits contain hundreds of links and screen- shots of what they allege are YouTube videos showing “egregious”, “sexually explicit” or “fictitious” AI content. The judge in early September ordered 518 website links and posts specifically listed by the actors to be taken down, saying they caused financial harm to the couple and harmed their dignity and goodwill. Reuters, however, found videos similar to the examples of infringing videos cited in Abhishek’s papers on You- Tube. Among them: a clip showing Abhishek posing but then suddenly kissing a film actress using AI manipulation; an AI depiction of Aishwarya and her co-star Salman Khan enjoying a meal together while Abhishek fumes standing behind; and a crocodile chasing Abhishek as Khan tries to save him. Khan was in a relationship with Aishwarya long before her marriage. His spokesperson did not respond to Re- uters’ queries. AI CAN GENERATE BOLLYWOOD LOVE STORIES YouTube’s data-sharing policy states creators can opt in to share their videos for training models of other AI platforms, like OpenAI, Meta and xAI. YouTube adds: “We can’t control what a third-party company does” if users share videos for such training. The Bachchans argue in their filings that if AI plat- forms are trained on biased content that portrays them in a negative manner and infringes their intellectual prop- erty rights, then AI models “are likely to learn all such untrue” information, leading to its further spread. Eashan Ghosh, chair professor for intellectual property rights at the National Law University Delhi, said it would be difficult for actors to build a direct case against You- Tube since their grievances are mostly with creators and personality rights infringement. But “it wouldn’t be beyond the pale for the court to nudge YouTube to write something into their user poli- cies or set up a queue jump for celebrity claimants to get quicker responses to legal requests,” he said. YouTube in May disclosed that it had paid more than $2.4 billion to Indian creators in the last three years. The actors alleged that creators infringing their personality rights can make money when videos become popular. Reuters found a channel on YouTube titled “AI Bol- lywood Ishq” that shares “AI-generated Bollywood love stories”. Its 259 videos have garnered 16.5 million views. The most popular video with 4.1 million views shows an AI animation of Khan and Aishwarya in a pool, while another shows them on a swing. In a tutorial, the channel explains it used simple text prompts to create an image via X’s Grok AI and then turned it into a video using Chinese AI startup MiniMax’s Hailuo AI. A Reuters test generated an AI video showing lookalikes of Bollywood stars Khan and Abhishek in a fistfight within five minutes. Grok, MiniMax and the owner of YouTube channel @ AIbollywoodishq did not respond to Reuters’ queries. It was unclear whether the YouTube channel consented to sharing those videos for AI training. “Content is made only for entertainment and creative storytelling,” the channel’s page said. -Reuters - Continued From Page 20