Page 1645 - Entertainment Culture

Shah Rukh Khan channels his dwarf avatar in 'Zero'

Holding fast to the promise of a new year, Shah Rukh Khan today unveiled the title of his next and one of the most anticipated films of 2018, "Zero". Shah Rukh, who plays a dwarf in the movie, took to Twitter where he also shared the link of the teaser of the film, directed by Aanand L Rai, a movie which has generated a lot of buzz. "Ticketen liye baithe hain log meri zindagi ki, tamasha bhi poora hona chahiye," tweeted the actor in Hindi. The teaser starts with adjectives such as 'paagal' (mad), 'aashiq' (lover), 'shaayar' (poet), 'makkar' (trickster), mental, among many others, giving an insight into the character Shah Rukh plays in the film. The 52-year-old actor, who has also produced the movie, can be seen dancing to the iconic Shashi Kapoor song "Humko tumpe pyaar aaya" from "Jab Jab Phool Khile" in his dwarf avatar. The tagline is "Hum jiske peeche lag jaate hain, life bana dete hain". The making of "Zero" is still midway but the director- producer decided to give

Vice President for discussion on type of publications

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today said there should be a discussion on the type of publications being brought out these days and if they were in any way contributing to social awakening. Naidu was addressing a gathering here this afternoon after inaugurating the 29th Vijayawada Book Festival. "Improved rate of literacy and income levels are expected to lead to an increase in publication (of books) in the country. But we should look into the qualitative and quantitative aspect....How many of these publications are imparting knowledge on our history, culture and traditions and how many are contributing to social awakening. "There should be a discussion on how many of these publications are misleading the society," the vice president said. At the same time, he said, cinema should also protect Indian culture and languages and promote social wellbeing. "Cinema has an enormous impact on our people. But dialogues and the language used in some of the films is not honourable.

Vishnu Manchu to flaunt romantic avatar in 'Gayatri'

Actor Vishnu Manchu, known for action and comedy roles, will play a romantic hero in his upcoming Telugu film "Gayatri".

Safdar remembered in art, photos, plays and songs

As a foggy Delhi moved with its own pace, hundreds of feet scurried towards the Constitution Club Annexe here today to take part in the 29th Safdar Hashmi Memorial. Organised by Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT), the day-long event commemorating playwright and actor-activist Safdar Hashmi witnessed cultural performances by the likes of T M Krishna and Madan Gopal Singh, as well as art exhibitions and documentary screenings. Marking the 25th anniversary of the Babri Masjid Demolition, was an exhibition titled "Beyond Disputes: Landscapes of Dissent". It featured works by over 40 artists. Sahmat also displayed its previously showcased exhibition "Hum Sab Ayodhya" by Ram Rahman, alongside fresh works by the photographer. "The Parched Earth", curated by Ram Rahman, showed portraits of peasants and farmers from across the country taken by college students. The annual event marks the dastardly attack on a group of street theatre activists in 1989, which eventually claimed .

I wanted to celebrate incompleteness with 'Zero': Aanand L Rai

Director Aanand L Rai, who unveiled the title of his Shah Rukh Khan starrer today, says their film "Zero" celebrates the incompleteness in people. SRK will be seen in an unusual avatar - that of a dwarf in the movie. "I wanted to celebrate 'Zero', I wanted to celebrate the incompleteness in people. There is nothing great in being a complete person. There is a beauty to incompleteness. We all are humans and 'Zero' comes from there," Rai says in an interview with PTI. The actor and the director today took to the social media to give a sneak peak into the movie. Rai says they are still in the middle of making the film but decided to unveil the title on popular demand as there was a lot of curiosity surrounding Shah Rukh's role. "Though we are one year away from the release, the film is already getting so much love. So Khan sahab and I decided to give something to fans. It is purely out of the love and affection that we are getting from the fans. "They (fans) are carrying an .

SRK unveils his dwarf avatar for 'Zero'

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on the first day of 2018 treated his fans with the title and teaser of his first creative collaboration with director Aanand L Rai. The film, "Zero", features the actor as a dwarf.

Ferrera, Williams expecting first child

Actress America Ferrera has announced that she is expecting her first child with husband and actor Ryan Piers Williams.

Will wishes his 'Queen' Jada on their 20th wedding anniversary

Will Smith has penned a heartwarming note for his wife Jada Pinkett Smith on their 20th wedding anniversary and made a promise to his "Queen" that he will forever be "devoted to nurturing your deepest truth". The 49-year-old actor took to Instagram where he shared a picture from their D-Day, in which the couple can be seen holding hands and walking down the aisle. In the post, Will said marrying Jada changed him a lot as a person. "Love is like gardening... I have learned to focus on helping you to blossom into what you want to be (into what you were born to be)... Rather than demanding that you become what my fragile ego needs you to be. "I've learned to take pleasure in nourishing your dreams... Rather than wrestling with you to fulfil my selfish needs and satiate my insecurities," he wrote. The "Bright" actor said he has learnt three lessons since the day they exchanged their vows: "Love is listening. Love is giving. Love is freedom." Considered to be one of the most .

We need to be a little more on guard: Jackman on harassment

The allegations of sexual harassment against some of the biggest names in Hollywood should make people more watchful about what is going on, believes Hugh Jackman. "It's shining a light in a really harsh and humiliating way that on some level everyone's involved. Everybody is involved ... I think now we all have to go, 'Hang on, I need to be more proactive ... "I think there's often been, in the kind of way where a friend of yours is cheating on their husband, and you're like, 'I'm not going to say anything about that. This is my friend,' and actually: no. I think we all need to be a little more on guard, watching what's going on, protecting, and coming up with real practical solutions," Jackman, 49, told The Times in an interview. Producer Harvey Weinstein became synonymous with sexual harassment after the New York Times exposed his history of predatory behaviour against women in October last year. The scandal had a domino effect in Hollywood with many powerful men ...

John Williams to compose main theme for Hans Solo film

Veteran music composer John Williams has been roped in to score the main theme for the forthcoming untitled Hans Solo film. The 85-year-old music maestro of the Star Wars franchise will return to compose the theme for the latest standalone film, the original score of which will be given by John Powell, Variety reported. Talking about what would be his ninth assignment in the popular sci-fi series, Williams said, "The present plan is that I'm writing a theme for Han Solo, and John Powell is going to write the score, which he'll do brilliantly." The multiple Academy Award winner has written the complete scores for all eight of the main "Star Wars" movies. He won an Oscar for the 1977 original film and was nominated for three of the other seven. Williams is also happy to have Powell on board the project. "His assignment is something I'm very happy about. What I will do is offer this to John, and to (director Ron Howard, and if all parties are happy with it, then I will be ..

'21 Months of Hell' documentary rejected sans CBFC suggesting modifications: Director

Film director, Yadu Vijayakrishnan on Monday said that his documentary '21 Months of Hell' was out rightly rejected by the regional Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) team without even suggesting any modifications, which could help get the film passed.Speaking to ANI, Yadu said the Kerala CBFC team of being populated by Leftists and Congress supporters, because of which his documentary is being unofficially banned."The Censor Board has rejected my film wholly. They did not even suggest any modification, just simply rejected it. They said they will forward the report to Mumbai headquarter for a revising committee. BJP is accused of interfering in our field but my film talks about RSS and Jansangh's work to restore democracy, following this logic we would have got certificate but most members of Censor Board are leftists and of Congress," he added.The regional office of the Central Board of Film Certification has rejected censor certificate to a documentary film which explores .

Never wanted to make a biopic: R Balki on 'Padman'

R Balki says he never wanted to make a biopic but he decided to go ahead with "Padman" as it gave him a chance to address an important issue like menstruation through the fascinating life story of Arunachalam Muruganantham. The director is best known for his films such as "Cheeni Kum", "Paa", "Shamitabh" and "Ki and Ka". "Padman", featuring Akshay Kumar in the lead, is a fictionalised account of Tamil Nadu-based Muruganantham, who created affordable sanitary napkins for the women of his village. "I never wanted to do a biopic. I wanted to do my own fictional stories but this subject was great. This guy's life is fascinating. Where will you get to do a mass mainstream film on a subject like sanitary pads? I felt it was a fantastic opportunity, that's why I took it up," Balki told PTI. "We wrote it for Akshay, he is a star but you have to write things keeping in mind the character as well. We had to make sure the sensitive issue should not be lost (in making it ...

Mariah Carey demands tea during live performance

Singer Mariah Carey stopped her New Year performance here halfway and demanded "hot tea".

Nagarjuna happy with response to son's 'Hello'

Telugu film star Nagarjuna has been super-busy in the closing months of 2017, but he is satisfied and happy about the response of the audience and critics to his son Akhil Akkineni's movie "Hello".

Zac Efron recalls crying along with Michael Jackson on phone

Zac Efron says he once shared an emotional phone call with one of his idols, Michael Jackson. The 30-year-old actor, who never met the King of Pop in person, unexpectedly ended up talking to him when he was promoting one of his "High School Musical" films around 10 years ago. Director of the film, Kenny Ortega, who worked with Jackson on his documentary and concert film 'This Is It', received a call from Jackson while he was dining out with Efron. In an appearance on "The Graham Norton Show", the actor recounted the incident, "His phone rang, and I remember I got this look, like... 'You want this phone call.' I was like, 'Okay,' so I came over and was like, 'What's going on?' He goes, 'It's Michael Jackson'." Efron answered the call and went on and on about how he looked up to the "Beat It" singer. "I was just at a loss for words. He (Jackson) said, 'That's really nice. Can you hand the phone back to Kenny?'" But when Jackson realised it had been Efron on the line, he ...

Love is like gardening: Will Smith

On his 20th wedding anniversary, actor Will Smith paid a tribute to wife Jada Pinkett Smith and compared love to gardening.

Barack Obama names his 2017 favourite books, songs

Continuing the tradition of sharing his reading and playlists, former US President Barack Obama has named the books and songs that "moved" and "inspired" him in 2017. The diverse list features ten books, including Pakistani writer Mohsin Hamid's "Exit West", and has songs by rappers Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z picked by the 56-year-old Obama among his favourites. "During my presidency, I started a tradition of sharing my reading lists and playlists. It was a nice way to reflect on the works that resonated with me and lift up authors and artists from around the world," Obama wrote on his Facebook page yesterday. "With some extra time on my hands this year to catch up, I wanted to share the books and music that I enjoyed most. From songs that got me moving to stories that inspired me," he said. According to the list, the "best books" that Obama read in 2017 include "The Power" by Naomi Alderman, "Grant" by Ron Chernow, "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City" by ..

Uruguayan anthem rated third best in world

The Uruguayan national anthem has been selected in a survey as third best in the world, surpassed -- according to a British magazine -- only by those of South Africa and Russia.

Malayalam actor Dileep to move court

With the Malayalam actress abduction case trial set to commence, one of the accused, actor Dileep, is set to move the court against the police for failing to provide crucial documents for his counsel's perusal.

'The Big Bang Theory' in trouble due to ego hassles

Massive egos, jealousy and falling ratings are the reasons why "The Big Bang Theory" will reportedly wrap up after season 12.