Page 1583 - Entertainment Culture

'Darkest Hour': An Engaging back-room drama (IANS Review, Rating: ***1/2)

Film: "Darkest Hour"; Director: Joe Wright; Cast: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Mendelsohn, Lily James, Ronald Pickup, Stephen Dillane Jones, Samuel West, David Schofield, Richard Lumsden and Malcolm Storry; Rating: ***1/2

Aamir Khan's 'Secret Superstar' set to release in China

Aamir Khan's movie "Secret Superstar" will release in China on Friday and is expected to make waves in the country where his "Dangal" raked in $190 million, the highest earning by any Indian film abroad.

Never wanted to get married, says Jessica Chastain

Hollywood actress Jessica Chastain has revealed that she never wanted to get married until she met her husband Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo.According to Contactmusic.com, the 40-year-old actress admitted she was against getting the institution until her relationship with the fashion executive, who she met in 2012, progressed.While talking to a leading US publication, the 'Molly's Game' star said, "I never wanted to get married. When I first met my husband, he knew that marriage wasn't something I was interested in. And then as we got to know each other, the idea of marriage shifted for me. There are some things worth celebrating - and he's worth celebrating."She added, "I actually love being married. I never thought I would, but this is a spectacular human being, and I am celebrating that I get to share my life with him".The Oscar-nominated actress has been open about her decision to keep her dating life private.The actress also opened up about her unstable upbringing, admitting she ..

Brigitte Bardot slams #MeToo movement as 'ridiculous'

French veteran actress Brigitte Bardot believes the #MeToo movement is "hypocritical and ridiculous". She feels some women are making allegations to court publicity.

Asean India to collaborate on cinema and cultural shows

Artists, actors and film-makers from India and other ASEAN countries will collaborate on cinema projects by tapping on cross-border talent and expertise. Several initiatives across the spectrum of films and entertainments are in development after a wide range of interactive sessions were held at the ASEAN-India Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), hosted for India's Ministry of External Affairs in Singapore from January 6 and 7. "We are making progress on these initiatives with focus on working jointly on cinema and entertainment projects, involving mostly people of Indian origin from ASEAN," said Sreyashi Sen, founder and managing director of Darpan Singapore Pvt Ltd. "It will be one of the largest cinema, cultural and entertainment collaboration for joint projects following the ASEAN-India PBD," Sen told PTI. "We have built a big platform from the ASEAN-Indian PBD and we will work on building people-to-people contacts as well as Indian tradition and cultural ties further," .

Elan Group hosts an extravagant success party

Realty player, Elan Group hosted a lavish party to celebrate the success of its most prestigious project Elan Miracle and to accolade the performance of their Channel Partners.Bollywood actors Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan were the special guests and actress Sophie Chaudhary performed live at the event held at Dharam Raj Farms, Chattarpur, Delhi.The Event started with a welcome speech by Ravish Kapoor, Director Elan Group.Sohail Khan and Arbaaz Khan made a grand entry along with Ravish Kapoor and Akash Kapoor. Khan Brothers praised the overall sentiment of the real estate industry and growth of the company. Rakesh Kapoor, Chairman Elan Group thanked the special guests and everyone for being a part of the celebration.The evening was filled with entertainment and guests were pampered to the core. Each guest was welcomed with personalized care and attention. Various acts and elements at the party such as Fire Acts, Mirror Dancers, and Samba Dancers made sure the guests are enthralled and ..

Kannada actor Kashinath passes away

Noted Kannada film actor, director and producer Kashinath died today at a private hospital here. Kashinath (67) is survived by wife Chandraprabha and two children. He was suffering from Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a type of cancer, authorities at Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation, where he was undergoing treatment, said. "He was diagnosed with Hogan's Lymphoma about seven months back and was undergoing treatment in our hospital. Three days ago, he was admitted to our hospital with fever and breathing related complications. Today morning he passed away," Dr Ravi Thippeswamy of the hospital said. Born at Kundapura in Karnataka, the actor's journey to the tinsel town began as director of 'AparoopadaAthithigalu' (1976) starring Suresh Heblikar, Anand Darwar andMamatha. Two years later, he directed another movie'Aparichita', a suspense thriller. Inspired by its success, Kashinath remade the movie in Hindi with a title 'Be-Shaque'starring Mithun Chakraborty, Yogeeta Bali and Amrish ...

Kashmiri publishing house enters Limca Book of Records

Gulshan Books, a Kashmiri publishing house at Jammu and Kashmir's Nehru Park has found its way into the Limca Book of Records 2018 for its wide collection of 80,000 books.A division of Sheikh Muhammad Usman and Sons, Gulshan Books is the only bookshop-library on a lake.Gulshan books has a reading room and a cafe, where a reader can enjoy their favourite books over a cup of tea or coffee for as long as they want.The publishing house has displayed a wide variety of books and literature based on the valley."This is a moment of pride for all of us. The publishing house is focusing on the heritage of the valley. It is preserving the culture of the valley and giving a lot of encouragement and a platform to show their work to the budding authors," said Farman Ali, a local author.Sheikh Ajaz, the owner of the publishing house, said that they have been preserving the work of local authors and also book written on Kashmir for the past 80-90 years."My great-grandfather started this work. I am ...

Kamal says he shares vision of Abdul Kalam for a 'good TN'

Veteran star Kamal Haasan today said he intended to launch his political tour of Tamil Nadu on February 21 from the residence of late President APJ Abdul Kalam at Ramanathapuram, which is also the hometown of the actor. The top actor said he too shared the vision of Kalam who dreamt of a "good Tamil Nadu." By launching his political tour from the residence of the late leader, he would be moving forward towards that goal, the actor said, writing in his weekly column in Tamil weekly 'Ananda Vikatan.' Haasan, recalling his conversation with the former President while travelling in a flight years ago, hailed Kalam for his great qualities. Praising Kalam, the actor said he lost opportunities to visit the late leader's residence at Ramanathapuram. Recalling that for him too Ramanathapuram was the hometown where he was born, Kamal said he felt that he should visit Kalam's residence by creating an opportunity this time round. "I think that I should start my tour from his ...

There is something magical about films: Soha Ali Khan

Actor Soha Ali Khan says she has always found it absurd people think she should not have opted for higher studies if she wanted to end up doing films. The 39-year-old actor studied Modern History at Balliol College in Oxford and holds a Masters degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She ultimately decided to follow her mother, veteran actor Sharmila Tagore and brother Saif Ali Khan's footsteps by joining films and has no regrets about her decision. "I have always been asked that 'if you are going work in films, why did you study so much?' And I always thought that this does not make sense as a question. Education has nothing to do with what you do in life. "There is something magical about films and I did not do it for as long as I could," Soha said at the launch of her book "The Perils of Being Moderately Famous" here last night. The "Rang De Basanti" actor said she decided to pen a book as she thought she could share

Adil Hussain decodes what 'underrated' means in Bollywood

Critically acclaimed actor Adil Hussain says the word "underrated" in Bollywood translates to being less bankable.

Did not oppose playing of 'Ghoomar' song: MP home minister

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh said today that he did not oppose the playing of "Ghoomar" song from the controversial film "Padmaavat" and claimed his remarks on the issue were "misconstrued". Singh yesterday courted controversy for his reported remark that the popular song should not be played as the film's screening was not allowed in the state. He was replying to a question about a recent incident of a mob barging into the annual day function of a private school in Ratlam district and disrupting a student's dance performance on the "Ghoomar" song. "My statement was misconstrued by the media. I was saying that nobody should take law in their hands even if they have objections about any song. I never meant to say that as the state government has banned 'Padmaavat' the song should not be played," Singh said. The Supreme Court today cleared the decks for the all- India release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed 'Padmaavat' on January 25. Singh said that the ..

Will protest 'Padmaavat' peacefully: BJP leader

Rajput leader Suraj Pal Amu, who had reportedly offered a Rs 10-crore bounty for beheading "Padmavaat" actor Deepika Padukone and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, today said he will continue to protest the film in a peaceful manner. After the Supreme Court paved the way for an all-India release of the controversy-ridden film on January 25, Amu said, "I will continue to protest in a peaceful manner. I do not mind if I am hanged for it." "We respect the court order. We are educated people, we respect the law. But we have the right to peaceful protest, which we have been doing. We believe the film hurts the sentiments of the Rajput community," he told PTI on the phone. Amu had on November 29 last year resigned as chief media coordinator of the BJP's state unit, days after the party served a show cause notice to him for the bounty offer. At a function of the Rajput community in Delhi in November, Amu had said, "How can we allow somebody to distort history and mislead the ...

Relationship between two people not made in newspapers: Vantur

Her proximity to Salman Khan often creates headlines about their impending marriage plans but Iulia Vantur says the relationship between two people is not made in the newspapers. Khan and the Romanian beauty have long been speculated to be in a relationship but both have chosen to stay mum. To a question of whether marriage reports with Khan get annoying, she says "of course". "You have to focus on your real life and not what is written in the newspapers because you know very well most of them are rumours and not true. I want to make my life positive and not let the negativity seep in," Vantur says in an interview with PTI. The 37-year-old TV host-singer, however, says rumours don't affect her equation with Khan. "Why should a title in a newspaper change someone's equation? The relationship between two people is based on trust, love and understanding. I don't think some titles can affect any relationship. The relationship between two people is not made in a newspaper, ...

Ellen Pompeo opens up about Patrick Dempsey's exit from 'Grey'

Ellen Pompeo may be the highest paid female drama star on prime time but she says the change did not take place overnight as she once asked and failed to get USD 5,000 more than her former co-star Patrick Dempsey. Dempsey's exit from the show in the 11th season, however, turned out to be a turning point for Pompeo. "They could always use him as leverage against me 'We don't need you; we have Patrick'which they did for years. I don't know if they also did that to him, because he and I never discussed our deals. There were many times where I reached out about joining together to negotiate, but he was never interested in that. At one point, I asked for USD 5,000 more than him just on principle, because the show is Grey's Anatomy and I'm Meredith Grey. They wouldn't give it to me," Pompeo told The Hollywood Reporter. The actor said she thought about walking out but she did not as she thought it was her show and Meredith Grey a great part. Now Pompeo has a new deal, which ...

SC stays ban on 'Padmaavat' release, film industry euphoric

The Supreme Court on Thursday paved the way for an all-India release for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Padmaavat" on January 25 by staying the operation of orders banning the release of the film by the Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana governments. The film industry hailed the decision.

India starts probe on alleged dumping of dust control film

The government has initiated a probe into alleged dumping of dust control films imported from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea following complaints from the domestic industry. Garware Polyester Ltd has filed an application before the Directorate General of Antidumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) for initiation of anti-dumping investigation and imposition of the duty on imports of "sun and/or dust control film" from these countries. The commerce ministry's investigation arm - DGAD - has prima facie found "sufficient evidence" of dumping of the film which justify the initiation of the probe. "The authority hereby initiates an investigation into the alleged dumping, and consequent injury to the domestic industry," the DGAD has said in a notification. If established that dumping has caused material injury to domestic players, it would recommend imposition of anti- dumping duty on imports of the film from these nations. The product is a kind of specialty ...

Jessica Chastain, Octavia Spencer to reunite for Universal comedy

Hollywood actress Jessica Chastain is reuniting with 'The Help' co-star Octavia Spencer for a new comedy movie.According to the Hollywood Reporter, Chastain and Spencer are teaming up for an untitled holiday comedy set up at the Universal.Written by the 'Molly's Game' star and Kelly Carmichael, the film centres on two women who hope to make it home for Christmas.The project is described as being in the vein of 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles', the movie that saw John Candy and Steve Martin stuck with each other as they tried to make it to their respective homes for Christmas.Universal beat out both Fox and Paramount for the movie.Both stars have been standouts in the current awards season; Chastain and Spencer received Golden Globe nominations for 'Molly's Game' and 'The Shape of Water,' respectively.

James Franco to attend SAG Awards amid harassment claims

After side-stepping the Critics' Choice Awards in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations, James Franco is set to attend the Screen Actors Guild Awards this Sunday.According to Page Six, this will be the first time the 39-year-old actor will be seen at a public event, who has been accused by multiple women of sexual harassment, including former acting students he taught.A source said, "James will still attend the SAG Awards because there is no reason not to. He will carry on supporting the cause and moving forward".Franco was last seen during a pre-recorded appearance on Seth Meyers' late show which aired on January 10.The star is nominated in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor category for his new movie 'The Disaster Artist'.He won the Best Actor in a Comedy for the role at The Golden Globes as well as at Critics' Choice Awards.The 39-year-old actor is also reportedly reaching out to his exes and asking about his behaviour toward them.

Victory of freedom of expression: Shyam Benegal on 'Padmaavat'

Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal on Thursday hailed the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the ban against Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Padmaavat" in some states, saying it is clearly the victory of freedom of expression in the country.