Page 322 - Entertainment Culture

Ravichandran Ashwin open to making 'Koffee With Karan' debut

After the controversial episode of "Koffee With Karan" featuring cricketers Hardik Pandya and K.L. Rahul, their colleague Ravichandran Ashwin has now shown interest in being a guest on the popular celebrity chat show hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar.

Madhuri pens emotional note on younger son's birthday

Actress Madhuri Dixit Nene took to Instagram to share an emotional note for her younger son Ryan on his birthday.

Success is having ability to keep moving forward: Charlie Hunnam

Hollywood actor Charlie Hunnam believes that the defining characteristic that determines success in showbiz is the desire to be a storyteller with purity and authenticity. He says success is having the ability to keep moving forward and going to work.

Manish Goplani excited to play 'pure negative character'

Actor Manish Goplani, who had earlier played the protagonist in TV shows such as "Thapki Pyar Ki" and "Detective Didi", is excited to show his negative avatar on the small screen.

There's less bifurcation between studio, indie films: Ben Affleck

With a career spanning over two decades, Hollywood star Ben Affleck, whose filmography boasts of movies such as "Mallrats", "Dazed and Confused" and "Armageddon", says the bifurcation between independent films and studio releases is less now.

Andrea Riseborough vows to work with female directors

Andrea Riseborough has announced her commitment to work with a female director in the next 18 months and the actor urged her British counterparts to also take up a similar pledge. The 37-year-old actor made the pledge as part of the Time's up movement's "4PercentChallenge". The Time's Up movement, launched in the wake of Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal in 2017, and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative have come up with the initiative of "4PercentChallenge" which aims to increase the number of women directing major studio films. Riseborough, who last featured in Nicolas Cage-starrer "Mandy", has teamed with Time's Up UK chair Heather Rabbatts to call on the British film industry to follow suit. "We are urging the film industry here in the UK to be purposeful in how inclusion is advocated for. That's why Time's Up and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative initiated the #4PercentChallenge, and we are delighted to announce Andrea Riseborough's commitment to the challenge, the ...

Warner Bros. CEO apologises amidst sexual misconduct allegation

Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara has apologised to his company's employees following the allegation of an affair with an actress and that he subsequently tried to help her land roles in Warner Bros.' productions.

Julie Andrews to be presented with Lifetime Achievement Award at Venice Film Festival

Veteran actor Julie Andrews, the star of classic movies such as "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music", will be honoured with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 76th edition of Venice Film Festival. The award will be presented to the 83-year-old actor during the festival, which will run from August 28 to September 7 this year. "I'm so honoured to have been selected as this year's recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. The Venice Film Festival has long been recognised as one of the world's most esteemed international film festivals. "I thank the Biennale for this acknowledgement of my work and I look forward to being in that beautiful city in September for this very special occasion," Andrews said in a statement. Recalling Andrews' work on 1960's films "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music", festival director Alberto Barbera said the actor always took on the roles "that were diverse, dramatic, provocative and imbued with scathing irony". "This Golden Lion

Difficult to get films made in current studio theatrical system: Charlie Hunnam

Actor Charlie Hunnam says it is difficult and costly for original films to see the light of day under the traditional studio-dominated system of cinema. The actor, whose upcoming film "Triple Frontier" is being released by Netflix, says though the movie went through almost a decade-long gestation process, that never dampened his spirits. "The period of time, sort of evolving incarnations of this film, didn't diminish its attractiveness for me. It's just an inherent part of filmmaking. It's difficult to get films made in the current studio theatrical system. Getting original films like this made is very expensive. "We were all very excited when this landed at Netflix. So when it came to our desks, (it was) a film where we could chase the calibre and story. It was original, exciting and had some action-oriented stuff. It was substantial in terms of themes it was dealing with," Hunnam told PTI in a group interview here. "Triple Frontier" went through development hell as the film was in ..

Andy Serkis, Thomas Brodie-Sangster to star in 'Mouse Guard'

Actors Andy Serkis and Thomas Brodie-Sangster will be headlining the Fox Studios' fantasy action film "Mouse Guard". Based on David Petersen's comics and graphic novel of the same name, the film will be directed by "Maze Runner" helmer Wes Ball, reported Variety. The story, set in a medieval world, is about an order of mice who are the sworn protectors of their realm. Their enemies range from predators such as foxes and eagles to other rodents. Serkis, who recently directed and starred in "Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle", will essay villainous blacksmith Midnight. Brodie-Sangster, best known for playing Jojen Reed on "Game of Thrones", will portray Lieam, one of the Mouse Guard's youngest members. The film will be shot using motion capture technology which Serkis has mastered while working on his "Lord of the Rings" and "Planet of the Apes" series. Director Matt Reeves, who worked with Serkis on "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" (2014) and "War for the Planet of the Apes" (2017), is ...

Irrfan Khan makes rare appearance amidst tumour treatment

Actor Irrfan Khan, who returned to India last month after receiving neuroendocrine tumour treatment in London, was spotted at Mumbai airport on Saturday.

Came close to leaving the earth: Whoopi Goldberg on battling pneumonia

Actor Whoopi Goldberg has revealed that she almost died during her battle with pneumonia but she is fine now. The 63-year-old Oscar winner prerecorded a message that was played during the recent episode of "The View", a show where Goldberg serves as a co-host. "Hey, yes, it's me. I am here. I am up and moving around. Not as fast as I'd like to be, but I am okay. I'm not dead. So here's what happened: I had pneumonia and I was septic. Pneumonia in both lungs, which mean there was fluid, there was all kinds of stuff going on," Goldberg said. "And yes, I came very, very close to leaving the Earth. Good news, I didn't. Thank you for all of your good wishes. And all of the wonderful things that you have been saying," she added. The actor said she is also grateful to those who do not like her but still sent their get well messages, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "Even people who are not huge fans of mine have actually said nice things about me. We all know that's gonna change when I ..

Solving problems through violence endemic to men: Ben Affleck

Actor Ben Affleck believes finding solutions to problems using violence is endemic to men but he agrees that the idea of masculinity needs to be redefined in the post #MeToo era. The actor says that majority of the people pointing guns at each other and killing one another are men is a hard truth. "I'm sure upwards of 95 per cent of the people pointing guns at each other and killing one another are men. That is simply true. "This kind of violence is perpetrated almost exclusively by men, not that obviously women aren't victims of violence as well but that this certain kind of problem solving through violence is endemic to men," Affleck told PTI in a group interview while promoting the Netflix film "Triple Frontier" here. The actor stars as one of the five former Special Forces operatives in JC Chandor-directed action thriller. Set in South America, the film sees war veterans pull off a seemingly successful heist at an infamous drug lord's house, at the end of which they ironically end

Posters claiming Michael Jackson's innocence on London buses

Posters claiming that late pop legend Michael Jackson was innocent of sexual abuse allegations have gone on display on London buses, after the documentary "Leaving Neverland" aired in Britain this week, the media reported on Saturday.

Akriti Kakar's 'jobless' experience

Singer Akriti Kakar says she composed "Jobless" from her personal experience, and was pleasantly surprised when director Tigmanshu Dhulia decided to include the song in "Milan Talkies".

Jan-Michael Vincent dead at 73

Veteran actor Jan-Michael Vincent, popularly known for his role in "Airwolf", is no more. He was 73.

YouTube to add fact checks to controversial search topics

With the rise in YouTube consumption, there's also a significant rise in the spread of misinformation through fake videos carrying unverified content. In a bid to curb the menace, YouTube is reportedly adding a new feature that will help users sift out fake misinformation from authentic content.YouTube will now start showing information panel containing factual information when people search for topics that are prone to misinformation. As Buzzfeed reports, the feature is currently being rolled out to limited number of users in India for search queries in English and Hindi.The factual information, provided by YouTube's verified fact-checking partners, will show right in the search results instead on individual videos for faster identification of wrongful content.In the US, YouTube fights misinformation by including links to Wikipedia excerpts on conspiracy theory videos. In India, the challenge is different as millions of users are consuming information through YouTube videos instead ..

Instagram tests 'watch with friends' video feature

In its latest move aimed at appealing teens some more, Instagram is reportedly getting a new feature that allows for co-watching of videos.The feature, spotted by serial tipster Jane Manchun Wong, is similar to Facebook's experimental Watch Party, and allows users to watch together videos that are shared on the platform.However, the feature will be accessible during a video chat on Instagram Direct, Mashable reported.It is unclear as to which all kind of videos will be supported, but the screenshots shared by Wong indicate that there would be a tab that would pull in related videos. One can also view a playlist of the videos you have selected.It is likely that the feature will be used to further push IGTV and make the videos on the YouTube competitor co-watchable.

Kathmandu: Musicians, artists grace Women's Day concert

On the occasion of International Women's Day, Indian Women's Association here on Friday organised a charity music concert featuring renowned violin maestro L. Subramaniam and Bollywood singer Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam.The programme also witnessed the presence of Keyboard specialist Atul Raninga and Frijo Francis, Drums and Percussion maestro Vasant Kulkarni, Guitar specialists Alwyn Fernandes and Mr. Keith Peters, Tabla master Tanmoy Bose, Mridangist PNS Phalgun and sound engineer Vinay Vincent.The event was organised at the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.According to a statement released by the Indian Embassy, the programme was attended by over 1500 persons, including politicians, artists, musicians, literary persons, students, and members of the media. L. Subramaniam is an acclaimed violinist and is a world renowned personality in the field of instrumental music. Meanwhile, Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam is a famous Bollywood singer who has recorded more than 18,000 songs in ...

I wish as women we value ourselves each day, says Vidya Balan

Actress Vidya Balan feels that women should value themselves each day so that they do not need women's day to celebrate their achievements and strengths.