Citadel Honey Bunny Trailer launch: Leaping into the past, via the present and the future
Wait and watch. November 7, 2024 is the date. The third? chapter in the series. With credentials that span India and the USA, and is set in Mumbai, shot in locales like Bhayandar. No set-pieces for Raj and D.K., who believe in the wild outdoors. It comes on the heels of the Italian edition, and covers the ‘generation gap’ in the Indian segment (read on). The heady mix of James Bond and Jane Bond, two heroes for the price of one. Bringing together the genius of the Russo Brothers (Whiz Kids from the citadel called USA) and Raj and DK (Indian Engineers duo, turned men with the magic touch, from the City Del-ight, called Mumbai). They love the curious contrast that a title like Honey Bunny evokes among the audience, being a spy action thriller in genre. And don’t worry, if H is for Honey, B for Bunny, there is also F for funny. But I guess that adding that to the title would be a bit much. So Honey Bunny it is.
A worldwide franchise, the series is not content with spanning the world. It also wants to bridge the generation gap. “Nobody knows who were the parents of James Bond. But we are telling you who the parents of Nadia Sinh were,” averred Raj and DK. The occasion was the launch of the trailer of Citadel Honey Bunny, at the J.W. Marriott, Juhu, Mumbai, on the 15th of October 2024. On stage were a panel that consisted of the above named duo, Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, some of the co-actors, co-writer Sita Menon and the high brass duo at Amazon Prime. Missing, of course, was Aparna Purohit, who has moved on, after a long stint at Amazon’s OTT platform.
In May this year, Prime Video announced that Aparna Purohit, Head of Originals for India and Southeast Asia, has left the Amazon streamer. Purohit had joined Amazon in January 2016, and served a substantial eight and a half years. A few weeks later, Nikhil Madhok, Head of Original Hindi Content, was promoted to replace her. Madhok is quite new to the company, having joined the streaming giant only in September 2022, as the Head of Hindi Originals for Prime Video and Amazon Studios. Before joining Amazon Prime Video, he played a pivotal role at Disney+ Hotstar, where he led the original content division. As the driving force behind Hotstar Specials, Madhok was instrumental in the conception and launch of the platform’s original programming. Under his leadership, Disney+ Hotstar produced a series of acclaimed shows, including Special Ops, Aarya, Criminal Justice, Human, Grahan, and Ghar Waapsi. Purohit, in the meanwhile Aparna has joined Aamir Khan Productions, as the CEO. Madhok was there, as was Gaurav Gandhi.
Gaurav Gandhi used to oversee Prime Video’s comprehensive business strategy in the region, as Vide-President, APAC, managing Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD), Transactional Video on Demand (TVOD) through the Prime Video Store and Prime Video channels. Gandhi handled key international markets for Prime Video, such as Japan and India, along with more recent expansions in Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. He has, since, also been saddled with the additional charge of Middle East-North Africa (MENA).
Now for some Citadel facts. In Season 1, Mason Kane (Richard Madden) is a top Citadel spy. As is Mason’s partner on some missions, Nadia Sinh (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), another top spy. After a fateful mission abroad, their memories are wiped, and years later, we discover Mason living a quiet life as Kyle Conroy. Thrust back into the world of spies. Kane and Nadia Sinh must untangle a web of dangerous secrets, threatening his family and the world.
Season 1 made its debut on April 28, 2023, with a reported $300 million budget, one of the highest budgets in TV history. There has been much confusion about the launch of Season 2. But after the event yesterday, it was clear that at least the Indian segment is not more than three weeks away. Compere Sachin Kumbhar went to the extent of saying that the Series was now in its 2 ½ segment, with Citadel Season 2 under shooting and Honey Bunny under a countdown. But let’s stick to Citadel Honey Bunny.
The Indian instalment features Varun Dhawan and Samantha in the lead, as the parents of Nadia Sinh (played as an adult by Priyanka Chopra Jonas and as a child by eight year-old wunderkind, Kashvi Majmundar; cannot confirm how her surname is spelt) and the versatile Kay Menon, along with an exciting ensemble cast that includes Simran, Saqib Saleem, Sikandar Kher, Soham Majumdar, Shivankit Parihar, and Kashvi Majmundar. Except for Saqib and Kay, they were all present. Kay Kay’s casting has been described as an example of his versatility. Playing Baba, a spy master who recruits Bunny, he could have sleep-walked into the role, having played similar characters in a dozen films.
In this segment, set in the 1990s, Bunny (Varun Dhawan) recruits struggling actress Honey (Samantha) for a side gig, but they are hurled into a high-stakes world of action, espionage, and betrayal. Years later, as their dangerous past catches up, the estranged Honey and Bunny must reunite, and fight to protect their young daughter, Nadia. To suggest a 90s ambience, one spotted a 2-in-1 Radio Cassette Recorder placed strategically on a table near the entrance to the venue.
At the much delayed event, everybody waxed eloquent. Encomiums were uttered by the dozen. Varun made an interesting revelation that he had asked his badminton partner Aditya Chopra to make a high-octane action film with him, but Chopra, who made the Tiger series starring Salman Khan, and Pathan, had replied that his company did not have the kind of funds required to make such a film. Apparently, Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK’s D2R Films, Amazon MGM Studios and the Russo brothers’ AGBO, the producers of Honey Bunny, have. Incidentally, the Russo Brothers connected with the audience via Video Conferencing, saying the predictable words. Varun also pointed out that, being engineers by qualification, Raj and D.K. could see mechanical irregularities in scenes like cars toppling over at the wrong angle. Kashvi came across as more than precocious child-star, rattling off gem after gem, each one belying her age. Whether she was helped by the tele-prompter that Kumbhar was using cannot be said for sure.
Citadel began in the present, showed us the future unravelling, and in the trailer of Citadel Honey Bunny, we see the past, a journey that means leaping into the past, via the present and the future. No wonder both Varun Dhawan and Paul Bazely play Rahi Gambhir (a name that translates as Serious/sombre/grim Traveller), aka Honey. What a sweet nickname! The trailer includes a face-off between Samantha and Varun, guns pointing at each other. Seriously, will somebody take this seriously?
Portland, OR, November 27, 2025 –(CarryOnHarry.com)– The FAN EXPO Portland celebrity guest list has always featured great variety, and five new additions to the 2026 lineup for the pop culture extravaganza are further proof of that. Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride, Saw), Gates McFadden (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Picard), Walter Koenig (Star Trek, Babylon 5), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place, Star Wars: The Acolyte) and “Peggy the Dog” (Deadpool & Wolverine) will now attend the event set for January 16-18 at the Oregon Convention Center.
Elwes gained wide acclaim for his portrayal of “Wesley” in the 1987 classic The Princess Bride and reached new audiences by headlining the Mel Brooks spoof Robin Hood: Men in Tights and later Saw. He also recently appeared in the Tom Cruise features Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One and Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning and portrays “Mayor Larry Kline” in Stranger Things 3.
McFadden had the key role of “Beverly Crusher” in TNG, reprising the role in Picard, Prodigy and other iterations of the franchise. She is also a stage actress, choreographer, director, teacher, and was the host of more than 300 episodes of the podcast “Gates McFadden InvestiGates: Who Do You Think You Are?”
Koenig is best known for his recurring television portrayals both of the hated, intensely driven “Alfred Bester” (Babylon 5) and the likable, perpetually cheerful “Pavel Chekov” (Star Trek). Koenig’s film work includes the first seven Star Trek feature films, for which he earned two Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor nominations. His many other films have been independent projects with challenging roles.
Jacinto played “Jason Mendoza” on the full four-season run of The Good Place (2016-20) and later appeared as “Lt. Fritz Avalone” in the blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick. Also among his more than 50 TV and film credits are runs on the Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers and the animated series Hailey’s on It!
Peggy, earning the title of “Britain’s Ugliest Dog” in a national competition there, has gone on to stardom as “Dogpool” in the Marvel Universe in Deadpool & Wolverine. A portion of proceeds from her appearance at FAN EXPO Portland will support a local charity in the Pacific Northwest.
The five bolster an already impressive FAN EXPO Portland celebrity roster that includes: • The Lord of the Rings headliners Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan • Mike Colter (Luke Cage, Men in Black³) • Josh Holloway (Lost, Yellowstone) • Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: The Next Generation) • Harry Potter duo of Matthew Lewis and Bonnie Wright • Judith Hoag (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Armageddon) • Robbie Rist (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Brady Bunch) • Ernie Reyes Jr. (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) • Brian Tochi (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Revenge of the Nerds) • Kenn Scott (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, director/Adventures of Johnny Tao) • François Chau (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Lost) • Thomas Lennon (Reno 911!, American Dad) • Cedric Yarbrough (Reno 911!, The Goldbergs) • My Hero Academia standouts Eric Vale, David Matranga, J. Michael Tatum, Brandon McInnis and Clifford Chapin • Hazbin Hotel regulars Christian Borle, Joel Perez and Krystina Alabado
More FAN EXPO Portland guest announcements will follow from the worlds of film, television, streaming, art, literature, gaming, cosplay, anime, animation and more in the coming weeks.
Adult, Youth and Child Single-Day Tickets, Three-Day Passes, Family passes, and Ultimate and VIP Packages for FAN EXPO Portland are available now at www.fanexpoportland.com. Advance pricing is available until January 1.
Portland is the second event on the 2026 FAN EXPO HQ calendar; the full schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events.
About FAN EXPO HQ FAN EXPO HQ is the largest comic con producer in the world. Collectively it hosts over one million fans annually at FAN EXPO New Orleans, FAN EXPO Portland, FAN EXPO Vancouver, FAN EXPO Cleveland, MEGACON Orlando, Toronto Comicon, CALGARY EXPO, FAN EXPO Denver, FAN EXPO Philadelphia, FAN EXPO Boston, FAN EXPO Chicago, FAN EXPO Canada, FAN EXPO Dallas, VIDCON Anaheim, EDMONTON EXPO, Dallas FAN FESTIVAL and FAN EXPO San Francisco. The latest schedule of events is available on the website, along with up-to-date ticket information. Discover. Celebrate. Belong.
Nashville, TN, November 20, 2025 –(CarryOnHarry.com)– A fourth-generation U.S. Virgin Islander who has called Nashville home since 1993, de Lugo transitioned from an award-winning career in music publishing and feature film producing, with Platinum and Gold Albums, Arista Records A-Team Award, BMI #1 and more, to lavender farming in 2018. Focusing exclusively on Peace Tree Farm’s trademarked, heat- and humidity-tolerant hybrids—Lavender Phenomenal®, Sensational!®, and Exceptional!®—she has proven these cultivars are the definitive choice for Southern growers.
Lloyd Traven, President of Peace Tree Farm, the original breeder of these global-standard varieties, praises de Lugo’s early foresight and influence:
“Over a period of the last decade, Gigi has been highlighting our introductions that have become the Gold Standard for lavender worldwide, and she was an early proponent because she saw the extra value of these introductions… Once she knew the plants were different and far superior, she committed to making the right choice for her customers. She can now proudly say that she has started over 30 new farms on their journey across an area ranging from Virginia through to Iowa!”
From its original rented fields in Whites Creek—Gigi’s Lavender, was celebrated by “Garden & Gun” magazine as one of the South’s top lavender destinations—the licensed nursery has supplied thousands of Peace Tree-bred plants throughout Tennessee and beyond. In 2019, de Lugo founded “The Lavender Exchange (TLx),” an exclusive membership alliance offering ongoing technical support, resource sharing, cooperative marketing, and agritourism promotion to farms that source their plants exclusively from Gigi’s Nursery.
Traven also highlights the impact of this network: “Gigi also knows the great importance and value of marketing with expression of clear benefits and a clear message. She created the Lavender Exchange with this in mind—to provide an outlet for cooperative marketing and sharing of equipment and machinery and product ideas.”
This strengthened ownership ensures continuity for de Lugo’s research, educational outreach, and product innovation at the Joelton location, including her newest Patent Pending offering, “ZWave Mg”—a topical magnesium spray infused with pure Phenomenal lavender hydrosol steam-distilled exclusively from flowers grown by TLx member farms. Designed for relaxation, muscle relief, and better sleep, ZWave Mg showcases the wellness potential of Southern-grown lavender.
“This milestone gives us the stability and security to continue investing in our Southern lavender research, development, product distribution, and growing community of the farms we support through The Lavender Exchange (TLx),” said Gigi de Lugo. “From the beginning I set out to prove lavender could become a viable cash crop for Tennessee and Southern farms—not only a pretty agritourism field, but a real harvestable commodity built on Phenomenal®. It took courageous pioneers willing to bet on the unproven and stay the course with me. These years, alongside the extraordinary farmers of our TLx family, have been one of the greatest adventures of my life.”
Experience the pure essence of Southern lavender: Gigi’s premium products, including the breakthrough ZWave Mg, are available exclusively through her website, and retail partners across Tennessee. Gigi is in discussion with a Nashville based manufacturer to expand her ZWave Mg production capacity for 2026.
About Gigi’s Lavender Nursery & Farm Gigi’s Lavender Nursery & Farm is a Tennessee-licensed grower and an exclusive Southeast source for Peace Tree Farm’s Phenomenal®, Sensational!®, Exceptional!®, Inspirational!® lavender cultivars. It serves as headquarters for The Lavender Exchange (TLx), a premier network advancing lavender agriculture and agritourism across the South and Midwest.
