Page 751 - Entertainment Culture

In a rarity for Assamese film, 'Village Rockstars' to go into

'Village Rockstars', India's official entry to the Oscars, has had a "very successful run" since its release last Friday, and in a rare case for an Assamese film, would go into second week, the movie's distributor said on Thursday. The film is scheduled to be released tomorrow in five major cities across the country -- Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru, Pawan More of Kamakhya Films said. "It is having a very successful run. Till yesterday, 'Village Rockstars' had grossed an estimated Rs 40 lakh. After a long time, an Assamese film has been commercially so successful," More told PTI. 'Village Rockstars' will be screened for the second week in 35 theatres across the state and this is a rarity for an Assamese film, he said. The film's director-Producer Rima Das said she is overwhelmed by the people's response to the film and hoped that they would continue to watch it in theatres. "I am overwhelmed and speechless by the love Village Rockstars is receiving in ...

Comedy theatre festival to stage Premchand, Harishankar Parsai classics

Two short stories by iconic Hindi authors Premchand and Harishankar Parsai will be staged at a comedy theatre festival here on Saturday. Organised by Merry Go Round Entertainment, "Funnyvaar - a Comedy Theatre Festival" will witness adaptation of Premchand's "Do Behnein" and Harishankar Parsai's "Anshan" at LTG Auditorium. The theatre festival will also stage a Punjabi adaptation of Russian writer-playwright Anton Chekov's "A Marriage Proposal". Talking about the plays, the director, Saurav Padhi, told PTI that these stories needed to be retold because of their current day relevance. "When I read the short story "Do Behnien" by Munshi Premchand, I thought the human psyche and the societal truth that the writer has written holds true even today. "We have adapted it into a play with a twist by keeping an eternal question as the centre point "Sukh Khana Hai" (where is happiness)," Padhi said. "Do Behnein" is a story of two sisters pursuing their separate lives while continuously clashing

NCPA jazz music band to launch, perform in Mumbai

In a welcome announcement for music lovers, the National Centre of Performing Arts (NCPA) will launch its own jazz collective here on Friday to popularise the genre in India.

Saurav Ghosal rises to career-high 11th in world rankings

Indian squash player Saurav Ghosal has risen one rung to a career-high 11th in the latest world rankings. Also moving up was veteran Joshna Chinappa, who jumped two positions to be 14th in the rankings for women. She is now just four spots away from clinching her career-best 10th spot, achieved a little less than two years ago. However, Dipika Pallikal Karthik dropped four rungs to be on 23. Harinder Pal Sandhu improved to 57th from 60th, while Ramit Tandon took the 59th position, an improvement of five rungs. Mahesh Mangaonkar rose to 64th from 68th and Vikram Malhotra took the 72nd position, up from the previous month's 84th.

Twitter reactions to Shaw's debut century

Prominent reactions to Prithvi Shaw becoming the youngest Indian cricketer to score a Test century on debut, on twitter. Sachin Tendulkar @sachin_rt Lovely to see such an attacking knock in your first innings, @prithvishaw! Continue batting fearlessly. #INDvWI Rohit Sharma @ImRo45 Shaw what a show @PrithviShaw Michael Vaughan @MichaelVaughan Wow .. 18 yrs old @PrithviShaw .. Test on debut .. Looks like #India have another superstar that has arrived on the scene !!! #INDvWI Harbhajan Turbanator @harbhajan_singh What a moment! 18 years of age, debuting for India's test cricket squad and scores a century! Well done Prithvi Shaw! #INDvWI @PrithviShaw Sanjay Manjrekar @sanjaymanjrekar Congratulations to Prithvi Shaw for a hundred on debut. Love the fact that he can score at a strike rate of 100 just batting instinctively without looking to over attack or by taking risks. #PrithviShaw VVS Laxman @VVSLaxman281 Wonderful century on debut for Prithvi Shaw. Great to see a 18 year old go out and

Maha police files case against Tanushree for comments against MNS chief

A defamation case has been filed against Bollywood actor Tanushree Dutta for her comments about Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, police said on Thursday. The case was filed by the Kaij police in Maharashtra's Beed district on Wednesday evening after MNS district unit president Sumant Dhas lodged a complaint, alleging that Dutta had defamed his party chief, a police officer said. "We have registered a non-cognisable offence against Dutta under Section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code and are investigating the complaint. We have also asked the complainant to approach court," the officer said. Dutta, 34, who has accused actor Nana Patekar of harassing her on the sets of a film in 2008, recently said Raj Thackeray wanted to succeed late Bal Thackeray as the Shiv Sena chief, but could not do so. She had also alleged that the MNS was involved in vandalising her vehicle when she opted out of the 2008 film, 'Horn Ok Pleassss'. Dutta also alleged that she had been

Matt Bomer to star in 'Doom Patrol' series

"White Collar" star Matt Bomer has boarded the cast of "Doom Patrol", drama series from Warner Bros' DC Universe streaming service. The -year-old actor will lend his voice for Negative Man in the live-action series, Variety reported. Bomer will appear in flashback sequences as the character of Larry Trainor. Negative Man will be seen in a full-body costume portrayed by Matthew Zuk. "Doom Patrol" is touted as the assembly of DC's strangest group of outcasts: Robotman (Brendan Fraser), Elasti-Woman (April Bowlby), Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero) and Negative Man. Jeremy Carver penned the script. Carver is exec producing with former DC Entertainment president Geoff Johns, and Sarah Schechter of Berlanti Productions. Also featuring Timothy Dalton as Dr Niles The Chief Caulder, the series is targeting a 2019 premiere.

Father-guru Rajabhau Deo sculpted my musical upbringing: Alka Deo

Veteran Indian classical vocalist Rajabhau Deo is the sculptor of her musical upbringing, his daughter and disciple Alka Deo Marulkar said here ahead of her 'khayal vocal recital here on Thursday, adding that he was her first critic to teach her the aesthetic values of the Gwalior, Kirana and Jaipur Gharanas.

I don't use power of movies to thrust message on people: Balki

Filmmaker R Balki says it is wrong to approach movies with an intention to bring about a social change and one should rather slip in a message in films packaged with entertainment. "I firmly believe the moment you start treating movies (as a means) to create social messages, it's wrong. "Movies are first for entertainment. You should use the power of entertainment to communicate social messages," Balki said Thursday at United Nations World Food Programme event at Facebook headquarters, here, where the new cinema advertisement campaign "Feed our Future" was launched. The "Padman" director said if the audience gets a socially relevant take away while also being entertained, it's a job well done. "Sometimes the nobility of the cause overpowers the very reason people come to see movies- which is entertainment. In the process, if they (audience) are sensitised to something, then good. That's the way I use the power of movies and never to thrust a message upon people. Cinema's power is ...

If women don't speak now, they'll be suppressed forever: Parineeti on #MeToo

Actress Parineeti Chopra wants more women to speak out about their #MeToo experiences now that Tanushree Dutta has brought the cat out of the bag by naming veteran actor Nana Patekar for allegedly sexually harassing her a decade ago.

WB police threatened to cancel Shaan's concert if I went: Babul Supriyo

Union minister Babul Supriyo has alleged that the West Bengal police threatened Bollywood singer Shaan that they would cancel his concert in Asansol, the BJP MP's constituency, if the singer-turned-politician attended it. Supriyo made the allegations in a series of tweets on Wednesday night. He claimed that police officials of Asansol police commissionerate had called up Shaan. "Am in Kolkata today. Thought of going to Asansol to watch the concert of singer Shaan & KK together, now Shaan just called me to say that police officers woke him up from sleep, threatening to cancel the license to the show if I go to watch it! Infuriated," Supriyo said in a tweet. The concert was held on Wednesday, with Supriyo giving it a miss. "Several people from inside the venue are asking me to come to the show!...I could have surely gone but I stopped in Durgapur & going back. The best thing I can do is to save singer Shaan & his concert from being a victim of TMC's filthy gutter politics," .

Kate Hudson names her third child Rani

Actress Kate Hudson has welcomed her third child, a daughter whom she has named Rani Rose Hudson Fujikawa.

I don't want them to disappear: Sriram Raghavan on old film references in his work

He is a cinema aficionado at heart and often tips his hat to old masters in his films through sneaky references. It is Sriram Raghavan's way of keeping the classics alive. The director loves the fact that his followers look forward to these references in his films but says he has to be careful about not being indulgent. "Some of the films I grew up on, I feel most people these days don't know about them. They will just disappear and so I try my best sometimes to get something inside from those films. Of course, it has to be relevant to my story. I cannot do it as an indulgence," Raghavan told PTI in an interview. The director, known for thrillers such as Ek Haseena Thi, Johnny Gaddar and Badlapur, is back with another feature Andhadhun and as usual the cinema lovers can spot the past references. The older films, especially the classics, are in our subconscious. Today's audiences, unless they go and search for them, they won't find those films. These films were made 30-40 years ago and

Harvey Weinstein was scared of Brad Pitt: Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow has credited former boyfriend Brad Pitt for protecting her from Harvey Weinstein's predatory behaviour and said the disgraced producer backed off as the actor "scared" him away. In May, Paltrow had revealed that Pitt had threatened to kill Weinstein after she told him of the alleged sexual harassment she experienced at the hands of the disgraced producer. "I am so grateful to Brad. Because he leveraged his power and fame to protect me - when I was no one - and he scared Harvey. "And if it hadn't been for him, I don't know if I'd have gotten fired, or what. But instead, Harvey was like, 'OK, let's put it behind us'. I think he wanted to keep Brad on side," she told Marie Claire UK. Paltrow said Weinstein had made sexual advances towards her when she was first signed on to star in "Emma" and "Shakespeare in Love". The disgraced media mogul had asked the actor for a massage while the two were alone in a hotel room. Pitt confronted the producer when the three attended the .

Paltrow claims Weinstein was 'scared' of Pitt

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow claims Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was "scared" of actor Brad Pitt and wanted to "keep the actor on side" after making her feel uncomfortable.

Jon Favreau's 'Star Wars' TV series titled 'The Mandalorian'

Jon Favreau's original, live-action scripted "Star Wars" TV series for the forthcoming Disney streaming service will be called "The Mandalorian".

I have great synergy with Rochak Kohli: Ayushmann

Actor-singer Ayushmann Khurrana, who has collaborated with Rochak Kohli once again for a new song in "Badhaai Ho", says they are both very much in sync with each other.

The Vamps excited to return to India after 2 years

Britain-based boy band The Vamps is set to return to India after a gap of two years for a week-long stay. The four-member band is looking forward to showcase their new music during two shows.

Sophia Hutchins says bond with Caitlyn Jenner 'not romantic'

Transgender model Sophia Hutchins says she "wouldn't describe" her relationship with reality TV personality Caitlyn Jenner as "romantic".

Writing thriller is quite challenging: Sriram Raghavan

Film director Sriram Raghavan, whose new movie "Andhadhun" is being eagerly anticipated in the Hindi cinema circuit, says writing a thriller story is very challenging for a film which demands constant audience engagement.