Page 536 - Entertainment Culture

Sonu Nigam clarifies his comment on wanting to be from Pakistan

Popular singer Sonu Nigam, who has sung in multiple Indian languages, has landed in a controversy after his "I feel like it would be better if I was from Pakistan" comment at a summit. The "Kal ho naa ho" hitmaker has slammed some journalists for missing "the real content".

I got my first negative review after 'Race 3': Saqib

Actor Saqib Saleem, geared up for web show "Rangbaaz" after the failure of multi-starrer film "Race 3", says though he received his first negative review for the film, it offered him wide exposure.

I could have even played Bumblebee's spare tyre: John Cena on starring in 'Transformers' spin-off

Bumblebee, a bright yellow petite Volkswagen Beetle would have been another sight to behold had John Cena been cast as the affable autobot's "spare tyre", a role the professional wrestler-actor says he would have accepted in a heartbeat. But director Travis Knight had something bigger planned for the actor. Cena plays Lieutenant Jack Burns, a hardened military officer who has a grudge against the Transformers. The film is fronted by Hailee Steinfeld, who plays Charlie Wilson, a headstrong vulnerable teenager who befriends Bumblebee. The actor said the script of the film, penned by Christina Hodson, was like an unputdownable book and he was eager to feature in the film. "I read it and immediately it was like the joke's on him and him (Knight and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura). I could have played Bumblebee's spare tyre. "I just wanted to be in the movie. And in the initial conversation with Travis we were able to converse about the passion we both had for the movies," Cena told PTI ..

Fatima Sana Shaikh heartbroken with 'Thugs...' failure

Actress Fatima Sana Shaikh's last release "Thugs of Hindostan" bombed at the box office, leaving her heartbroken and sad.

Need to make character your own, understand its thought process: Rajesh Tailang

Actor Rajesh Tailang, who plays the role of an overbearing, cricket obsessed father, Mohan, in Netflix's new orginal series "Selection Day, believes it is essential for an actor to fully own his character in order to present its appropriate and justifiable version on screen. The six-episode series is based on Aravind Adiga's novel of the same name and follows two teenagers -- Radha and Manju -- who are raised by their father, Mohan, to focus on only one thing: cricket. The actor who won critical-acclaim for his recent roles in "Omerta" and "Mukkabaaz", says the show is also a comment on the parenting process. Breaking down the process of how he approached the character as intense and as unbearable as Mohan, Tailang says one needs to understand his thoughts and desires. "As an actor it is our job to understand the character and its desires. We also need to find the reasons why the character has certain desires in order to explore its background as well as predict its future. You have ..

Sriram Raghavan on mad ideas, anonymity and working with Shah Rukh in future

"Andhadhun" has been declared as the best film from Bollywood to come out in 2018 by critics and fans but for director Sriram Raghavan it was just a "little mad idea" that he wanted to try out after "Badlapur". Raghavan said he did not want to waste time dwelling on the success of "Badlapur", which, in his own words, was his first box office success. The director said he thought "Andhadhun" would be his hassle free follow-up to "Badlapur", similar to what Ram Gopal Varma did after the mega success of "Satya". RGV went ahead and made "Kaun?", a small thriller set in a house and shot in just 20 days. "I wanted to do this one ('Andhadhun') almost like that. Take a little mad idea and make a movie," Raghavan told PTI in an interview. "When I was doing this, we were not like 'Let's do it for more money or popularity'. You can't plan all that. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. Now, I just feel 'so far, so good'. Next one is again a new mountain to climb," he added. Raghavan is a ..

Trailblazer director Penny Marshall dead at 75

Penny Marshall, star of US TV series "Laverne and Shirley" and director of hit films "Big" and "A League of Their Own", has died at the age of 75, her publicist has said. She was 75.

Saira Banu pins hope on Modi to save Dilip Saab's home

Veteran actress and wife of Dilip Kumar, Saira Banu, has expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet her here and help save her husband's bunglow from the land mafia.

Vikrant Massey bags Meghna Gulzar's film

Actor Vikrant Massey has bagged a pivotal role in Meghna Gulzar's upcoming film in which actress Deepika Padukone will play the role of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal.

Beckett is a character that I'm proud of: Katic

Actress Stana Katic, who played detective Kate Beckett for eight seasons in the comedy-crime series "Castle", says she is proud of that character.

Hudgens was nervous to meet JLo

Actress Vanessa Hudgens says she was extremely nervous to meet singer-actress Jennifer Lopez.

Korean Air to raise refund fees after K-pop fans get the picture, get off

SEOUL (Reuters) - Korean Air Lines Co Ltd <003490.KS> said on Tuesday it will raise refund penalties after K-pop fans got on a plane only to take pictures of a boy band on the flight, then demanded to get off before it departed and got refunds on their tickets.

Miley Cyrus boasts about Liam Hemsworth

Singer-actress Miley Cyrus has advised women not to give up looking for a man with a number of desirable qualities, including common sense, faithfulness and empathy.

Lin-Manuel loved bringing his son on 'Mary...' set

Composer-actor Lin-Manuel Miranda says his 4-year-old son Sebastian loved to accompany him on the sets of the film "Mary Poppins Returns".

Actress and director Penny Marshall dies at age 75

Penny Marshall, who starred in "Laverne & Shirley" before becoming one of the top-grossing female directors in Hollywood, has died. She was 75. Mashall's publicist, Michelle Bega, said Marshall passed away in her Hollywood Hills, California, home on Monday due to complications from diabetes. Marshall starred alongside Cindy Williams in the hit ABC comedy "Laverne & Shirley," which aired from 1976 to 1983. As a filmmaker, she became the first woman to direct a film that grossed more than USD 100 million with "Big," the 1988 comedy starring Tom Hanks. She also directed "A League of Their Own," ''Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Awakenings.

Par panel raps CBFC over certifying movies of big film makers ahead of others

A parliamentary panel has rapped the Central Board Of Film Certification over granting of certificates to movies of big film makers ahead of other applicants, urging it to carry out a yearly internal audit and consider shortening of the certification process. The Public Accounts Committee, in a report on 'Working of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and Academic Activities of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata', tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, came down hard on the CBFC over delay in granting of certification and reiterated that a detailed inquiry into the cases of "inordinate delay" may be conducted urgently. The panel's reiteration of its recommendations made earlier came after the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, under which the CBFC works, replied saying that online certification system provides a list of all applications for the certification chronologically with respect to the date of application and to the date of application approval by .

'Manikarnika' actor alleges payment due by production house

Actor Andy Von Eich, who features in "Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi", on Tuesday alleged that he is yet to be paid in full for his performance in the period drama by the production house. The film, fronted by Kangana Ranaut, has been produced by Zee Studios in association with Kamal Jain and Nishant Pitti. Von Eich, who plays one of the British officers in the film whose trailer was launched on Tuesday, took to Twitter to express his disappointment. "Today #Manikarnika trailer released. I still haven't received full payment for my acting in this movie by the production house. I can't imagine that this is in the sense of #KanganaRanaut if she would know about that. Please help. #ManikarnikaTrailerLaunch #zee #karios," the actor, who hails from Germany, tweeted. Last month, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) claimed that the makers of the film are yet to clear dues of approximately Rs 1.5 crore to workers and junior artists. The allegations were later refuted by Jain .

'Comedians Of the World' a chance to branch out from limited audience: Amit Tandon

Amit Tandon, one of the three Indians handpicked to showcase their comic talent in the upcoming global Netflix series "Comedians Of The World", sees it as an exciting platform to extend his reach from a limited audience to the whole world.

Aamir Khan denied permission by Chinese university to promote 'Thugs of Hindostan'

The venue of a fan meet of Bollywood actor Aamir Khan was shifted to a hotel after a Chinese university denied permission to use its campus to promote his latest movie "Thugs of Hindostan". Khan is currently in China to promote "Thugs of Hindostan", which failed to register a strong performance in Bollywood and was panned by the critics. The movie, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir and Katrina Kaif among others, was released on November 8 in India and is slated to release in the country next week. The fan meet, which was scheduled in Guangdong University of Finance and Economics (GUFE) in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, was cancelled by the university over the failure to seek prior permission to use the campus, the Global Times reported. Around 350 people were supposed to attend the event. According to the Chinese media, the school did not know about the promotional event until Monday. "The message was spread only among a small group of students through social ..

Bollywood delegation meets PM to discuss issues faced by film industry

A delegation of Bollywood producers and actors such as Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn and Karan Johar Tuesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a one-day visit to Maharashtra, at Raj Bhavan here to discuss the issues being faced by the Indian film industry. The delegation also included prominent film producers such as Ritesh Sidhwani, Siddharth Roy Kapur, the president of the Film Producers Guild, Rakesh Roshan, Ronnie Screwvala, Vijay Singh - CEO - Fox Star Studios and Prasoon Joshi, the chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The team from the film fraternity gave an overview of the vast growth potential of the media and entertainment industry. They also pitched for lower and uniform rates of GST for the entertainment industry in India, a statement issued by PIB said. The Prime Minister said that the Indian entertainment industry enjoys immense popularity across the world. It is one of the key elements of India's rising soft power status, globally, he .