Page 324 - Entertainment Culture
Hindi cinema only showed physical abuse, never consensual sex: Zoya Akhtar
Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar says portrayal of sex in Hindi cinema has been problematic with more focus on physical abuse, rape and molestation than consensual sex. Zoya said when people consume such content at a young age, the impact is visible later. "I realised this much later that while I was growing up, I have only seen physical abuse in Hindi films. It was crazy because we were allowed to watch rape scenes, molestation and assault but we weren't allowed to see consensual sex. "That has to impact the psyche because you do not watch people kissing, tenderness. You don't see people making love and how they want to be treated," she said during a session on 'Women Shaping the narrative in media and entertainment'. The event was organised by Amazon Prime Video and Screenwriters association. The director said this portrayal of sex can be problematic as it sends a wrong notion. "What you are putting out is that women will always say no and you will just jump on them. When you are a kid, you ...
HarperCollins to be sales, distribution partner of Juggernaut Books
All sales and distribution for Juggernaut Books' print list will be handled by HarperCollins India from now on, the two publishing houses have announced. This move is aimed at providing Juggernaut Books and their authors a much wider reach and visibility across the Indian subcontinent and beyond. Founder and Publisher of Juggernaut Books, Chiki Sarkar, said her team is "delighted to be working with HarperCollins and the dynamic Ananth Padmanabhan and his brilliant team". HarperCollins India CEO Ananth Padmanabhan said the publishing house has been focusing on quality and growth and "this collaboration is one more step". Focused on the growing smartphone usage in India, Juggernaut aims to give readers and authors a digital as well as a traditional publishing platform. In addition to this, its self-publishing arm, Juggernaut Selects, is a platform where aspiring writers can submit their work, find over readers and be discovered by its editors. According to Juggernaut Books CEO Simran ...
Adapting 'Midnight's Children' challenging project yet: Vishal Bhardwaj
He is a master when it comes to literary adaptations but director Vishal Bhardwaj says translating Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children" for Netflix is his most daunting project till now. The filmmaker, who gave an Indian flavour to Shakespearean tragedies -- "Macbeth" (Maqbool), "Othello" (Omkara) and "Hamlet" (Haider), is confident that "Midnight's Children", which has already been made into a film by Deepa Mehta, is best suited for the series format. "All the adaptation and work I have done before is nothing compared to this. It is a beautiful piece of work and one of the best books I have ever read. I feel very blessed that I am given this chance but at the same time I am very scared. I hope I will be able to do justice to it," Bhardwaj told PTI. The director said he met Rushdie after coming on board. "Yes, I met him. He wanted to know my take on the adaptation. When I told him about my vision for his material, he was very happy. He said, 'You are the right person because this ..
Private plane carrying Jason Momoa makes emergency landing after fire scare
A private plane carrying "Aquaman" star Jason Momoa had to make an emergency landing after a fire scare. The private jet which was on route to Phoenix, Arizona made the landing shortly after taking off from Palm Springs, California, according to Fox News. The 39-year-old actor also shared the news on his Instagram story. "We got ourselves a slight delay half an hour out in Palm Springs and the plane wanted to start a fire," the actor said in a video. "So yeah, good ole' fire department, gotta love 'em," he added as he showed fire trucks on the tarmac. He also posed for photographs with the firefighters. It was later discovered to be a case of a false alarm, but by that time another plane arrived to take Momoa to his destination.
'Kalank': Sonakshi Sinha's Satya 'pure and elegant' , says Karan Johar
Celebrating the spirit of Women, filmmaker Karan Johar is unveiling the look of female characters from his upcoming multi-starrer 'Kalank'. After sharing the look of Alia's charter early this morning, Karan has now unveiled that of Sonakshi Sinha from the film. With vermillion and a red bindi on her forehead and sporting an intense look, Sonakshi's character appears to be elegant and strongminded. She is, as Alia describes her, "The one who holds the family together."Taking to his Instagram account, Karan posted character posters of Sonakshi and wrote, "She is pure, elegant and filled with love. Here's Satya."Earlier today, Karan shared the first look of Alia's character and captioned it as "To love her is to love fire. Presenting Roop!" Donning traditional Indian attire with an elegant veil , Alia looks effortlessly regal as an Indian bride, and we can't take our eyes off her."To love her is to love fire. Presenting Roop," Johar wrote sharing Alia's look on his Instagram page.On .
Corey Feldman shocked after watching 'Leaving Neverland'
Actor Corey Feldman says he has watched "Leaving Neverland" and found the documentary about late Michael Jackson shocking and disturbing.
'The Simpsons' episode featuring Michael Jackson to be removed
The makers of "The Simpsons" will remove their popular episode featuring the voice of late Michael Jackson from their archives.
Taraji P. Henson, Ed Helms to star in 'Coffee & Kareem'
Actors Taraji P. Henson and Ed Helms have bagged roles in Netflix's upcoming drama "Coffee & Kareem".
Heritage library in Kerala launches women-only reading group
As the world celebrates International Women's Day, a 190-year old heritage library in Kerala Friday came out with a unique gift for women-an exclusive reading group for them. The State Central Library, located in the heart of the capital city, launched the all-women group to promote reading among women members, especially homemakers. Popularly known as the Trivandrum Public Library, the heritage structure, housing one of the finest collection of rare titles starting from the 16th century, was established in the year 1829. State librarian P K Sobhana said the book-house had launched several programmes in the past to promote reading among public, including children, and the latest initiative is to bring more women into the world of letters. "Our target group is homemakers. Generally they do not have much platforms to share and discuss their views about books or authors. That's why, we have thought about an exclusive space for women readers," she told PTI. Titled as ...
Ron Perlman, Famke Janssen and others join BBC One's 'The Capture'
Actors Ron Perlman, Famke Janssen and Laura Haddock have boarded the cast of BBC One's thriller series "The Capture". The six-episode series, written and directed by Ben Chanan, will feature Callum Turner and Holliday Grainger in the lead. They will also be joined by Ben Miles, Lia Williams, Sophia Brown, Paul Ritter, Adelayo Adedayo and Ralph Ineson in the cast, the British broadcaster said in a statement. The show, set in London, is an acutely timely surveillance thriller, which looks at a troubling world of misinformation, fake news, and the extraordinary technological capabilities of the intelligence services. "I am incredibly excited to see 'The Capture' brought to life by such a wonderful cast and crew. It's an honour to come to work every day with these hugely talented people," Chanan said. The series is produced by Heyday Television and NBCUniversal International Studios for BBC One. It is currently in production in London.
Huma's 'Leila' gets release date
Huma Qureshi-starrer "Leila" will release globally on June 14.
Knew it'd be treated with sensitivity: Arjun on homosexuality in 'Made in Heaven'
Actor Arjun Mathur says he was not afraid to play a gay character in "Made in Heaven" as he trusted creators Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti to treat the subject with a lot of sensitivity. The drama series reflects the lives of upscale modern India, narrated through the eyes of two wedding planners, set against the backdrop of quintessential Indian weddings. "Made in Heaven" is directed by Zoya, Nitya Mehra, Alankrita Shrivastava and Prashant Nair. Arjun is portraying one of the wedding planners. "When I read the episodes, homosexuality was so normalised. It's such a well-written show. I wanted to do this because it was normalising homosexuality and the voice it was taking up for the community was so loud and strong," Arjun told PTI. "I knew not only was it a well written character, but it'll be treated with a lot of sensitivity owing to the makers," he added. Arjun says when the makers approached him for the role, they did not tell him straight up that it is a gay character. "The first ..
Aamir Khan's thirst for knowledge has stayed with me: Ali
Ali Fazal began his career a decade ago with Aamir Khan-starrer "3 Idiots" and the actor says the superstar's hunger for knowledge has stayed with him throughout his journey. Ali, who had a cameo appearance in the Rajkumar Hirani-directed 2009 blockbuster, says film was a learning experience for him. "I used to always observe Aamir. Between takes, we would snap out and play chess and read books. That stuck with me for some reason. His thirst for knowledge, that even at that level the man was going nuts, trying to figure out and say 'I haven't learnt enough'," Ali told PTI. The actor says he is glad he realised so early in his career that a performer should never get complacent. "I realised it's never enough, especially for artistes. We are doomed if we are satisfied. We have got to keep going. If I'm completely satisfied with 'Mirzapur', that's the death of me," he added. Ali will be next seen in Tigmanshu Dhulia's "Milan Talkies". While the filmmaker has been wanting to make the film
Netflix's 'Leila' to start streaming from June 14
Huma Qureshi and Siddharth-starrer miniseries "Leila" will debut on Netflix on June 14, the streaming giant announced on Friday. The dystopian drama, co-directed by Deepa Mehta, Shanker Raman and Pawan Kumar, is based on Prayaag Akbar's book of the same name. The six-episode series follows Shalini (Huma), a mother in search of her daughter Leila whom she lost one tragic summer. Shalini deals with various hardships in the course of her search, in a story of longing, faith and loss. "'Leila' has been a fantastic Netflix project to work on. I'm thrilled to be essaying Shalini, whose unique mix of strength, grace and optimism is what gets her through all kinds of obstacles. So it really has been an honour to portray a character that has not only pushed me as an artist but I believe will resonate with a lot of young women. "It is unlike anything I have done before and I can't wait for Netflix to take this story to the world," Huma said in a statement. Deepa, who is also serving as the ...
Chris Pratt talks about playing villain in 'The Kid'
Actor Chris Pratt says he agreed to play the bad guy in upcoming western feature "The Kid" as it presented him the opportunity to do something different. Pratt, who has mostly played the protagonist or supporting character in films, such as "Jurassic World" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" series, is portraying the villain in the new film which has been directed by his "The Magnificent Seven" co-star Vincent D'Onofrio. The film also features Ethan Hawke, Dane DeHaan and Jake Schur, among others. Appearing on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", Pratt said he enjoyed playing the bad guy in the film. "It was really an opportunity to do something different. I liked it," he said. Pratt revealed that he had previously discussed with D'Onofrio his desire to play a negative character. "I had said to him that I don't think I would ever be able to play a bad guy. The characters I've played, they haven't really been bad... Early in my career if I had tried to be bad, people would be like, 'Oh, he's not that ...
Alia's 'free, bound by love' 'Kalank' look unveiled
On the occasion of International Women's Day on Friday, filmmaker Karan Johar unveiled the first look of actress Alia Bhatt from the upcoming period drama "Kalank".
Lalit Kala Akademi's annual exhibit to take place in Mumbai
The 60th National Exhibition of Art, an annual event by the Lalit Kala Akademi, is all set to host works by artists selected in Tier 1 of the 60th National Academy Awards, which are expected to be announced by March 13.
Demi Lovato sends herself flowers after split with Henry Levy
It seems American singer Demi Lovato is practicing some much needed self-love after her split with Henry Levy.Almost a day after news broke that the 'sorry not sorry' singer and her boyfriend, fashion designer Henry Levy, had decided to call it quits, Lovato decided deal with the heartbreak herself.The 26-year-old, in her Instagram story, shared a picture of pink and white roses, with a note that read, "You're beautiful, you're loved and you're worthy of a happy and healthy life." She captioned the story as "Because sometimes you have to send yourself flowers." "Demi and Henry decided to split because none of her family members approved of her getting into a relationship so quickly and wanted her to focus on herself and her health. Demi felt distracted and overwhelmed, and wanted to take a breather and truly get healthy," a source told E Online.The 'Confident' singer has been focusing on herself and her wellbeing ever since she suffered a drug overdose in July. She spent about three ..
Kalank: Meet Alia Bhatt's character 'Roop'
After sharing first look character posters of Varun Dhawan, Aditya Roy Kapur and Sanjay Dutt from his upcoming multi starrer film 'Kalank,' filmmaker Karan Johar shared Alia Bhatt's first look of her character Roop.Donning traditional Indian attire with a veil elegantly and beautifully covering her face, Alia looks effortlessly regal as an Indian bride, and we can't take our eyes off her."To love her is to love fire. Presenting Roop," Johar wrote while sharing Alia's look on his Instagram page.Makers of the film are successfully keeping the audience on their toes by unveiling the character posters one after another, leaving the fans asking for more.Kalank is one of Karan's most anticipated films of all times, considering it's star-studded cast, which includes Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Madhuri Dixit, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha and Aditya Roy Kapur.Karan on Wednesday shared an emotional note along with sharing the first look for his upcoming production 'Kalank' as well.He tweeted the ..
Don't stereotype us: Women sex workers urge Indian showbiz (International Women's Day)
"Main pehle ek mahila hu aur uske baad ek sex worker (I am a woman first and then a sex worker)." Kiran Ramchandra Deshmukh, 40, says with pride, in the hope that the world treats women like her with equality, dignity and respect.