Page 1339 - Entertainment Culture
Tom Hardy goes bald for 'Fonzo'
Actor Tom Hardy has completely shaved his head to play Al Capone in upcoming biopic "Fonzo".
'Blackmail' is wickedly funny (Review: Rating ****)
'Blackmail'; Starring: Irrfan, Kirti Kulhari, Arunodoy Singh, Divya Dutta, Praduman Singh, Anuja Sathe, Omi Vaidya; Directed by Abhinay Deo; Rating: ****(4 Stars)
Karnataka polls: EC asks media to follow its guidelines
The Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday asked both print and electronics media to follow in "letter and spirit", particularly in the 48 hours before the polling, guidelines issued by it regarding the coverage of Karnataka assembly polls.
"I am no one to decide my son's career path," says Junior NTR
Popular Telugu film actor Junior NTR today said he would let his son Nandamuri Abhay Ram chose his own career path and not force his decisions on him. "I am no one to decide his future...I really don't want to decide my son's future.I would like (to see) Abhay taking his (own) decisions," Junior NTR told reporters here. The actor said his parents never decided on what he should become. "It is destiny which has brought me into films," said Junior NTR, the grandson of legendary Telugu film actor and former chief minister, the late N T Rama Rao, who founded the TDP. Star India today announced Junior NTR as the official Ambassador for broadcast of VIVO IPL 2018 in Telugu on Star MAA Movies. The Telugu commentary team will feature former Indian cricketers Venkatapathi Raju and Venugopal Rao, among others. The actor, affectionately called 'Young Tiger' by his fans, said when he was young he was a professional badminton player. His favourite sports include cricket, soccer and ..
Sequels not easy as shows have already set benchmark: JD Majethia on 'Khichdi 3'
Producer JD Majethia, who is coming back with his hit show "Khichdi", says it is difficult to make sequels but the team has worked hard to tickle the funny bone of the audience once again. One of the most popular shows of Indian television, "Khichdi" will go on air from April 14 on Star Plus. The news comes after Majethia brought back his another cult show "Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai", on streaming service Hotstar last year. "Sequels are not easy as they have already set the benchmark. Both Aatish Kapadia (director) and I took a call that if we are bringing "Sarabhai..." and "Khichdi" again, we will have to work hard a lot on the script. "Initially when the promo of "Khichdi" was out, there was nervousness. Once we got a positive response from the audience, the nervousness went away," Majethia told reporters here at the press conference. "Khichdi" follows the story of the Parekhs, a middle-class Gujarati family that lives in an old mansion. A bunch of cameo appearances by actors such as ...
RSF begins process to frame guidelines to fight fake news
As the government had to make a hasty retreat on a controversial diktat on fake news, global media rights group Reporters Without Borders today launched an 18-month long consultation process to frame guidelines to check spread of false news online. This follows Malaysia yesterday passing a bill prescribing six-year jail term for 'fake news', a term that is often used by US President Donald Trump to hit at his media critics and has gained currency in India as well in recent past especially on social media. Malaysia had earlier proposed a ten-year jail term, it has now been reduced following opposition. In India, the government had to withdraw a decision within a day following widespread criticism about the rule that threatened to cancel accreditation of journalists found to be creating or propagating fake news. The discarded rules did not talk anything about non-accredited journalists indulging in spread of fake news. "In the new public arena system, in which false information ...
My father's words have become my mantra in work I do: Shabana Azmi
Veteran actor Shabana Azmi today said she is following in the footsteps of legendary poet her father Kaifi Azmi by providing employment opportunities to people from small towns and villages. The 67-year-old actor said, who runs Mijwan Welfare Society (MWS), said through the NGO, which was founded by her father, they concentrate on rural areas to bring about holistic economic development in the country. "My father believed that India's remarkable economic progress can only be meaningful if it reaches rural India, where 80 per cent of the population lives, but is denied access to opportunity. "His prophetic words have become my mantra in the work that I do with the weak and the dispossessed. When Kaifi saheb embarked on the journey alone, Mijwan (a village in Uttar Pradesh) did not even figure on the map of India. Today, Mijwan is known all over the world," Azmi said in a statement here. PVR has joined hands with the NGO and would screen a 60-second-long video which narrates the ...
Jabbar Patel named for top Maharashtra varsity award
Renowned film-maker Jabbar Patel has been named for the prestigious 'Principal R.K. Kanbarkar Award' instituted by Shivaji University, Kolhapur, an official said here on Tuesday.
There is nothing that I can imagine without dance: Prabhudheva
Multi-talented Prabhudheva, who has made his mark as an actor, dancer, choreographer and filmmaker, turned 45 on Tuesday. He says dance is an extension of his personality and he cannot imagine life without it.
Pregnant woman not allowed to board Disney cruise ship
Disney Cruise Lines prevented a Missouri woman from boarding one of its ships because she is 25 weeks pregnant. Emily Jackson and her family arrived in Miami last week after her doctor had cleared her to vacation aboard Disney Magic. But the line does not allow women who are more than 24 weeks pregnant to sail out of safety concerns, and a doctor's note is not accepted. An armed police officer escorted the family from check-in. Jackson said: "We had a terrible Disney experience." Disney refunded the family for the cruise. In a statement to the Miami Herald, the line said its policy is on its website and in travel documents. The line said the Miami-Dade Police Department is responsible for security at the port and "handled the situation as they felt appropriate given the guest's actions.
META lifetime achievement award for veteran director Vijaya Mehta
Eminent veteran film and theatre director Vijaya Mehta will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the upcoming Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) Festival, for her contribution towards the current film and theatre scenario. Mehta, who founded the theatre group Rangayan with famous playwright Vijay Tendulkar and actors Arvind Deshpande and Shreeram Lagoo, is known for introducing Bertold Brecht and Eugene Ionesco into Marathi theatre. "Her decision to step out of the normal scope of theatre made her a leading figure in the experimental theatre of the 60s," Jay Shah, Cultural Outreach, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, said at the annual event announcing the 13th edition of the META awards. Mehta's style of creating something "out of the ordinary" contributed a lot to the current film and theatre scenario, he added. Previous recipients of the award include Zohra Sehgal, Badal Sarkar, Khaled Chowdhary, Ebrahim Alkazi, Girish Karnard, Heisnam Kanhailal, Ratan Thiyam and .
Rana, Soha's film to be screened at NYIFF 2018
Actress Soha Ali Khan-starrer "Sound Proof" and Telugu film "C/o Kancharapalem", presented by actor Rana Daggubati, will be screened at the forthcoming 18th edition of the New York Indian Film Festival 2018 (NYIFF).
It's India calling for Craig Conway in April
English actor and producer Craig Conway will be coming to India later this month to scout for Indian talent.
Vijaya Mehta to be conferred with lifetime achievement, 10 plays to compete for META
Veteran Indian film and theatre director Vijaya Mehta will be conferred with a lifetime achievement award by the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) Festival 2018. The announcement, along with the unveiling of the shortlisted plays, was made here at a press conference on Tuesday.
Hindi is flourishing in Mauritius, says litterateur
Hindi is flourishing in Mauritius and the island nation boasts of a number of publications, TV and radio programmes in the India-origin language, said a litterateur. Ramroop Rohini, a litterateur from Mauritius who is part of a 15-member delegation currently visiting India, said Hindi, brought to the tiny nation by indentured labourers from India, has not only survived there but also thrived. "As we know, our forefathers came to Mauritius as indentured labourers in 1834. Over a period of time, our ancestors not only survived there beating all odds, but also kept their culture and language alive," said Rohini, who works for propagating the language in Mauritius. Rohini is a member of the Hindi Pracharini Sabha of Mauritius, an educational, cultural and social organisation that promotes Hindi and its literature in the Indian Ocean country. The Sabha's motto is "Bhasha Gayi to Sanskriti Gayi" (If language is lost, culture too is lost). Rohini was speaking at a seminar on ...
Modi withdraws order threatening scribes over fake news
Under intense attack, the government made a hasty retreat as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday withdrew within hours his government's order that threatened to take away the accreditation of journalists involved in producing "fake news".
Dwayne Johnson urges men to speak up about depression
Hollywood action star Dwayne Johnson, who recently opened up about his secret battle with depression, has encouraged people, especially men, to share their experiences. The 45-year-old star said men have a predisposition to keep their feelings bottled up due to the fear of shame in the society, which is not healthy. "Got tons of responses to this. Thank you. We all go through the sludge/sh*t and depression never discriminates. Took me a long time to realize it but the key is to not be afraid to open up. "Especially us dudes have a tendency to keep it in. You're not alone," Johnson tweeted alongside the link to his interview in which he first talked about depression. "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" actor said he first went through a bout of depression at the age of 15, when he saw his mother trying to commit suicide, months after they were evicted from their apartment.
AIB Knockout: HC refuses interim relief to Ranveer, Arjun
The Bombay High Court today declined to grant any interim relief to Bollywood actors Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor over an FIR filed against them and other film personalities for using "obscene" and "abusive" language during a comedy event 'AIB Knockout' in 2015. A bench of Justices R M Savant and Sarang Kotwal directed the actors' lawyer to seek the assent of the Acting Chief Justice V K Tahilramani's court for the matter to be heard along with two other related pleas. One of these two pleas were filed by comedian Rohan Joshi of AIB, a comedy collective, seeking that a related FIR against him be quashed. The other plea is a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a law teacher from the city. The PIL seeksaction against the organisers and participants of the show, and also urges the HC to direct the state authorities to issue guidelines to monitor such programmes on YouTube and similar video networks. The actors, meanwhile, urged the court to direct, by way of an interim relief, ...
Irani urges journalists to fight menace of 'fake news'
Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday said she would be happy to engage in a debate with journalists to fight the menace of fake news.Irani took to Twitter and said, "PIB Accreditation Guidelines asking Press Council of India & News Broadcasters Association to define & act against 'fake news' have generated debate. Several journalists & organisations have reached out giving positive suggestions regarding the same.""@MIB_India is more than happy to engage with journalist body or organisation/s wanting to give suggestions so that together we can fight the menace of 'fake news' & uphold ethical journalism. Interested journalists and/or organisations may feel free to meet me at @MIB_India," she added.An I&B ministry statement, issued on Monday, stated that if a journalist is found to have created or propagated fake news then his/her accreditation will be suspended or cancelled permanently.However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today directed that
Actor Rituparna Sengupta appointed Shilpi Sansad chairperson
Actor Rituparna Sengupta has been appointed as the chairperson of Shilpi Sansad, an organization that provides financial security to retired and veteran artistes of the Bengali film industry. Sengupta was appointed the chairperson at a meeting of the Shilpi Sansad yesterday. She succeeded Supriya Devi, who died earlier this year. The organization, set up by matinee idol Uttam Kumar in 1968, extends monetary help to artistes in need of treatment or during emergencies. Sengupta, who had been a part of the Tollywood industry for about three decades, said she will initiate some "concrete steps" to enable the organisation regain the glory it enjoyed in the 1970s. Apart from extending honorarium to veteran actors of the industry every year, on the birth anniversary of Uttam Kumar, the organisation will help small-time artistes, she said. Veteran actor and executive committee member of Shilpi Sansad, Dulal Lahiri, said, "Just suggesting measures is not enough, we will have to .