Page 1329 - Entertainment Culture

Will be happy to see Sharad Pawar as PM: Nana Patekar

Veteran Bollywood actor Nana Patekar on Friday said he would "happy" if elder statesman Sharad Pawar became the Prime Minister.

Goutam Ghose to chair panel to commemorate Bengali cinema centenary

The West Bengal government on Friday set up a 18-member committee chaired by eminent film director Goutam Ghosh with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the patron to commemorate 100 years of Bengali cinema, state secretariat sources said.

Yesteryear Bollywood actor Raj Kishore passes away

Actor Raj Kishore, who played the role of one of the prisoners in Ramesh Sippy-directed "Sholay", passed away last night. He was 85. "He was keeping unwell, had some stomach issues. But he was not bedridden. He had suffered a heart attack few days back. He passed away late last night at his residence in Goregaon," said actor Nupur Alankar, a member of Cine and TV Artists' Association (CINTAA). The funeral took place at Aarey Crematorium today morning, he said. Some of Raj Kishore's notable performances were in the films "Padosan", "Deewar", "Ram Aur Shyam", "Hare Rama Hare Krishna", "Karishma Kudrat Kaa", "Aasmaan", "Bombay To Goa" and "Karan Arjun". He is survived by wife and a son.

Mozarts childhood violin heads to China

The violin that Mozart used as a child left today for a state visit by Austrian government members to China, where a seven-year-old girl will play it for President Xi Jinping. The girl, Anna Caecilia Pfoess, "will accompany us... as a musical ambassador and represent Austria as a land of culture," President Alexander Van der Bellen said. "She will do it quite brilliantly, I am sure," Van der Bellen told reporters before the 200-strong delegation of politicians, business people and others departed. "#Music is a common language understood and appreciated the world over," he added on Twitter alongside a photo of the grinning seven-year-old clutching the instrument and wearing traditional Austrian garb. The violin is believed to have been made in the 1740s and until 1820 belonged to Mozarts sister Maria Anna, nicknamed Nannerl, also a child prodigy. Since 1896 it has been in the collection of the Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg, and is normally on display at the museum in the house where

Rajkummar Rao dubs 'Omerta' experience as 'exhausting'

Bollywood's unconventional actor Rajkummar Rao, who stars as one of the most dreaded terrorists Omar Sheikh in his upcoming film 'Omerta,' said that playing an anti-hero was an exhausting experience.In an exclusive interview with ANI, the 33-year-old actor said, "A lot of preparation was needed to play the character of Omar Sheikh in 'Omerta.' I watched a lot of documentaries and hate speeches to cultivate anger in me."He added, "Apart from watching documentaries, I also was in London, to get used to the accent and learn about the culture there. I was simultaneously growing my beard to physically also resemble him (Omar Sheikh). I was also working out, trying to be strong physically."The film got rave reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Busan International Film Festival and MAMI, also garnering a positive response at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.'Omerta' is based on a true story of Omar Sheikh, exposing the real and present danger of Pakistan sponsored

'Lord of the Rings' poised to be most expensive TV series ever

Turns out, the small screen adaptation of 'Lord of the Rings' is all set to be the most expensive TV series ever, according to The Hollywood Reporter.The battle for rights of the popular series was going on for quite some time between Netflix and Amazon. The negotiations have resulted in Amazon acquiring the rights of the series, adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's books for USD 250 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.The five-season series deal ensures that the show must be in production within two years. The series is expected to cost upward of USD 1 million, with all castings, producers, and visual effects factored in.The fantasy-adventure genre films came out as a big hit and earned about USD 5.85 billion worldwide.

Of optimism, studying overseas, and Deendayal Upadhyaya (IANS Books This Weekend)

Go on an inspiring journey of one man's decision to dedicate his life to a higher purpose; walk through the American laws and get a glimpse of how life would be as a student in America; know of Deendayal Upadhyaya's journey as one of the primary leaders who instilled the sense of nationality in the country; and flick through an intriguing psychological thriller.

Panel for to commemorate 100 years of Bengali cinema

The West Bengal government has formed a 18-member committee to commemorate 100 years of Bengali cinema having, official sources said. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is the Patron and veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee is Chief Advisor of the committee. The mandate of the committee will be to plan a calendar of events and oversee the implementation of celebration of 100 years of Bengali cinema, the sources said. The committee has director Goutam Ghose as Chairman. The first Bengali film was Satyabadi Raja Harischandra which was released in 1917. Other members of the panel included Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Aroop Biswas, Minister of State for Information and Cultural Affairs Indranil Sen, veteran actress Madhabi Mukhopadhyay, actor Ranjit Mallick, Bengali superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee, actor turned MP Dipak Adhikari (Dev), director Kaushik Ganguly, producer Srikant Mohta, Principal Secretary Information and Cultural Affairs Vivek Kumar.

Ezra Miller asks fans to remain excited about 'Flash' movie

Actor Ezra Miller is excited about his solo yet untitled movie on his superhero avatar The Flash, but says he cant talk about the project as of now.

Deepika would love to venture into production

Actress Deepika Padukone says she would love to explore film production.

All quiet on Bollywood front as Salman spends another night in jail

Salman Khan today spent a second consecutive day at the Jodhpur Central Jail but few of his Twitter happy colleagues ventured online to voice their support for the 'Sultan' of Bollywood, arguably the industry's most saleable star. Yesterday, director Subhash Ghai, actor-politicians Jaya Bachchan and Raj Babbar and actor Varun Dhawan were among the few people backing Salman, who was convicted for killing two blackbucks in October 1998 and sentenced to five years in jail. Today, there was online silence from the biggies of the industry. However, some of his friends and colleagues did visit the actor's family at their home in Galaxy Apartments here. Saif Ali Khan, who was acquitted in the case and Shatrughan Sinha with wife Poonam and daughter Sonakshi called on the family. Ramesh Taurani, producer of "Race 3", which is still under production, and ex sister-in-law Malaika also visited the family. Filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala, a close friend of Salman, cancelled the success party of his ...

Memories created with Kapil bigger than anything else: Sunil Grover

They may be not on good terms today but actor-comedian Sunil Grover says the love that he and Kapil Sharma shared while working for almost five years will always remain special to him. Last year in March, the co-stars had a fallout on a flight from Melbourne to India. The fight led to many of the crew members, including Sunil, Ali Asgar and Chandan Prabhakar exiting "The Kapil Sharma Show". Prabhakar, however, returned later. Asked about his current equation with Kapil, Sunil, 40, said he holds no grudges against his former co-star. "We have done a great amount of good work in the past. We have been a great team. So, that memory and love that I had or I have is bigger than anything that has happened," Sunil told PTI in an interview. "It's a big blessing that God has given you that you can spread laughter and happiness. That's the biggest thing. After that whatever comes doesn't matter to me. I have that in my mind and I want it to remain there." The actor says he has no animosity ...

Aditi Rao Hydari feted by Ficci

Actress Aditi Rao Hydari was on Friday feted with the Young Ficci Ladies Organisation (YFLO) Young Women Achievers Award 2017-18.

Lorde apologises for 'poorly chosen' Whitney Houston quote

Lorde has been forced to apologise for sharing a photo of a bathtub with Whitney Houston lyrics, which many fans interpreted to be 'insensitive.'Taking to her Instagram page, the 'Royals' hit-maker wrote, 'Extremely poorly chosen quote. I'm so sorry for offending anyone - I hadn't even put this together, I was just excited to take a bath. I'm an idiot. Love Whitney forever and ever. Sorry again.'The 21-year-old New Zealand singer and songwriter drew flak after she shared the snap of a running tub with the caption: "And iii will always love you", according to The Hollywood Reporter.Netizens were quick to respond to Lorde's post, with many of them criticising her for being insensitive.A user wrote, "Whitney was a legend. She was amazing. She was a queen. She was a strong black woman.I like Lorde but this is truly disgusting".Another said: "Y'all. Lorde just made a Whitney Houston bathtub joke".Houston died at the age of 48 after drowning in a bathtub in February 2012. Her daughter, ...

Kriti was too good as a kid: Sister (TV Snippets)

"Heropanti" actress Kriti Sanon was "too good" during her school and college days, says her sister Nupur.

Done with "Blackmail"; Abhinay busy with half a dozen projects

Abhinay Deo's latest directorial venture "Blackmail" hit cinema houses today and he is already busy working on a slew of other projects, which he says will not be in the comedy genre. "There are five-six projects on which work is on, the scripts are being written. There is a romantic drama, a father -son story, a story around friendship and a crazy action film. "Also, there is a buddy film that I am desperately waiting to make, it is close to my heart...(then there is) a pure romantic-comedy, there is also completely a crazy film that is a period film," he told PTI. The "Force 2" director is not sure which story will first make it to the screen. "There are a lot of factors besides locking the story. It depends on the dates of actors. Unfortunately, actors drive us." Post the success of "Delhi Belly", audience loved the way Abhinay presented humour on-screen but the director says despite receiving accolades, the next four projects that he is working on are not comedies. "I can always

Blackmail: Irrfan Khan shares first teaser

Versatile actor Irrfan Khan has shared the first look of his quirky comedy 'Blackmail'.In the teaser, we can see the 'Hindi Medium' star, who is half-naked, wearing only boxers, being chased by a few men. His face is covered with a shopping bag.Irrfan took to social media to share the teaser as he wrote, "The teaser of my next film, a quirky comedy titled #Blackmail. Directed by #AbhinayDeo. Produced by @tseries & RDP Motion Pictures. Trailer on Feb 22"Directed by 'Delly Belly' director Abhinay Deo, the film also stars Divya Dutta, Arunoday Singh, Omi Vaidya, Anuja Sathe, Pradhuman Singh Mall and Gajraj Rao.'Blackmail' is slated to release on April 6.

'Badrinath Ki Dulhania' actor to star in short film

Actor Sahil Vaid, who has featured in Bollywood movies like "Badrinath Ki Dulhania" and "Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania", is set to star in a short film titled "Miyan Biwi Aur Banana".

Big B set to wrap up 'Thugs of Hindostan' (Movie Snippets)

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan is nearing the end of his shooting schedule for "Thugs of Hindostan", which has been a strenuous project for him.

Elton John's eagerly awaited album 'Revamp' out now

Elton Johns album "Revamp", which sees the legendary singer and co-writer Bernie Taupin's loved songs reinterpreted by artistes like Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Pink and Mary J. Blige, released on Friday.