Rajkummar Rao has thanked Zara Noor Abbas for appreciating his latest release The White Tiger.
In an Instagram story, Zara had called the film a “masterpiece” and had urged her followers to “Watch this Now.” Responding to Zara’s story, Rao expressed his gratitude, writing: “Thank you so much.”
Based on Aravind Adiga’s book of the same name, The White Tiger explores poverty and class struggles in modern-day India. The book was published in 2008 and won the 40th Man Booker Prize in the same year. Meanwhile, the cast of the movie includes Priyanka Chopra-Jonas and Adarsh Gourav besides Rao. It has been directed by Ramin Bahrani.
Varun Dhawan and Natasha Dalal have made it official after years of being in a relationship. The couple tied the knot in a low-key ceremony (by Bollywood standards) in Alibaug on January 24.
Announcing the news on social media and sharing pictures from the wedding rituals, Varun wrote: “Life long just become official.”
Despite the media frenzy and excitement surrounding the nuptials, the traditional Hindu wedding was a very private affair with only close friends and family present. There was a strict no-phone policy at the wedding and security was tightened to ensure that there are no leaks.
From the film industry, only Manish Malhotra, Karan Johar, and Kunal Kohli were spotted at the festivities.
After the nuptials, Varun and Natasha made an appearance in front of the media and posed for pictures. The couple looked resplendent in matching ivory outfits. While Manish designed Varun’s sherwani, it is being reported that Natasha, who is also a fashion designer, designed her own outfit.
Varun and Natasha met while they were in school but started dating much later. The couple initially kept their relationship very private and strictly away from media attention. Varun, only recently opened up about his relationship on Kareena Kapoor Khan’s show What Women Want, saying: “I actually met Natasha in the 6th standard. We were friends till 11-12th. We were very close friends. I remember seeing her for the first time. We went to Maneckji Cooper [Education Trust School in Mumbai together]. It was on the basketball court that I saw her and I fell in love with her that day. That was it! She rejected me three to four times, but I didn’t give up hope.”
Earlier, Natasha while talking about the relationship had said: “Varun and I were in school together. We stayed friends until we were in our mid-20s and then, I remember, we started dating just before I moved away. It was around then that, I think, we realised we were more than just good friends.”
Meanwhile, Karan also penned an emotional note for Varun as he congratulated him on his wedding.
Considering the wedding was limited to approximately 40-50 guests only in view of COVID-19 protocols, it is being reported the couple will host a lavish reception in Mumbai for their friends and members of the film fraternity on February 2.
On Sushant Singh Rajput’s 35th birth anniversary i.e. January 21, his sister Shweta Singh Kirti has announced that a scholarship programme has been set up for students aspiring to study astrophysics at the Department of Physics at the University of California in the United States.
“I am happy to announce that on the 35th birthday of bhai, a step has been taken towards fulfilling one of his dreams,” wrote Shweta on social media.
“The Sushant Singh Rajput Memorial Fund of $35,000 has been set up in UC Berkeley. Anyone who is interested in pursuing Astrophysics at UC Berkeley can apply for this fund.”
“Grateful to the Angels who made it possible,” she added.
Sushant fascination and interest in science and space is no secret. The actor, who was the owner of the highly advanced Meade 14’’ LX-600 telescope, had even bought a piece of land on the moon in the region called the ‘Mare Moscoviense’ or the ‘Sea of Moscovy’. In an interview, his co-star Bhumi Pednekar revealed that Sushant would carry his telescope to his outdoor shoots so he could see the stars everywhere.
Earlier, Sushant’s family had announced that they would set up a foundation in his name – the Sushant Singh Rajput Foundation. It would honour his memory and legacy by providing support to young talents in cinema, science and sports – three fields that were close to Sushant’s heart.
Shweta also wished her late brother by sharing baby pictures of him and their mother.
“This smile can melt every heart. Happy Sushant Day,” said Shweta. “Happy Birthday my little brother. I hope you always stay happy wherever you are! Love you.”
Besides the fund, it has also been reported that a road in south Delhi will soon be named after Rajput as the area’s civic body has cleared a proposal for it.
Meanwhile, Sushant’s friends, colleagues and other members of the entertainment industry including Kriti Sanon, Preity Zinta, Rajkummar Rao, Kiara Ali Advani, Parineeti Chopra and Shraddha Kapoor celebrated the late actor’s life by sharing photographs, memories and moments from his life.
More than two years after Sajid Khan was first accused of sexual harassment and misconduct, Sherlyn Chopra has leveled fresh accusations against the Bollywood filmmaker, alleging he had flashed his genitals in front of her and asked her to feel his penis.
Recounting an incident that took place back in 2005, the Indian actress wrote, “When I had met him in April 2005, a few days after my father’s demise, he had taken his penis out of his pants and had asked me to feel it. I remember having told him that I know how a penis feels like and that the purpose of my meeting with him was not to feel or rate his penis.”
Sherlyn went on to say that she is not accusing him but disclosing facts, adding that their phone record is proof of the incident.
“It’s not an accusation but the disclosure of a fact. Our phone records of the past may be checked regarding the same. After flashing his penis, he had not only asked me to touch it and feel it but also asked me if I had ever seen a penis as well endowed as his.”
She further said: “I was emotionally broken at the time as in early April 2005, I had lost my father, late Dr Prem Sagar Chopra. A few days after my father’s demise, I was called for a meeting by the filmmaker. Little did I know that the meeting would be centred around his penis!”
Later, when a Twitter user asked why she did not file a complaint about her own experience, Sherlyn replied: “He has the ‘superstars’ of Bollywood to vouch for his ‘character’. It’s my word against theirs.”
He has the ‘superstars’ of Bollywood to vouch for his ‘character’. It’s my word against theirs. The Bollywood mafia is a strong syndicate. https://t.co/x5hUm1tzVm
— Sherlyn Chopra (शर्लिन चोपड़ा) (@SherlynChopra) January 18, 2021
Chopra’s “disclosure of facts” come days after BBC released Death in Bollywood. The three-episode documentary series traces the mysterious death of late actress Jiah Khan who allegedly died allegedly by suicide in 2013. It has only been released in the United Kingdom for now.
In the second episode of the series, Khan’s sister Karishma made explosive revelations, saying that Khan subjected her sister to sexual abuse. She alleged that the filmmaker had asked Jiah to remove her top and bra while shooting for Housefull movie. The film also featured prominent actors such as Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Riteish Deshmukh, Arjun Rampal, Lara Dutta, Boman Irani, Randhir Kapoor, Chunky Pandey, and Malaika Arora.
Meanwhile, Akshay Kumar, in 2019 had said that he would work with Sajid if he is acquitted.
“I don’t know exactly what has happened in his case but if everything goes well and if he is acquitted, I will surely work with him in the future,” Kumar had said.
The cast and crew of Amazon Prime show Tandav have offered an “unconditional apology” after the political drama was accused of hurting Hindu sentiments. The official apology was tweeted by the creator of the show Ali Abbas Zafar.
“Our sincere apologies,” read the statement. “We have been closely monitoring viewer reactions to the web series Tandav and today during a discussion, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has informed us regarding a large number of grievances and petitions received on various facets of the web series with serious concerns and apprehensions regarding its content hurting the sentiments of the people.”
“Tandav is a work of fiction and any resemblance to acts and persons and events is purely coincidental. The cast and crew did not have any intention to offend the sentiments of any individual, caste, community, race, religion, or religious beliefs or insult or outrage any institution, political party, or person, living or dead.”
“The cast and crew of Tandav take cognizance of the concerns expressed by the people and unconditionally apologise if it has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments,” it added.
In a follow-up tweet, Zafar said: “We just want to share a quick update with everybody. We are in further engagement with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to resolve concerns that have been raised.”
He added that they “should have a solution shortly”.
We just want to share a quick update with everybody. We are in further engagement with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to resolve the concerns that have been raised. We value your continued patience and support, and should have a solution shortly. https://t.co/Yp8kogTlvs
Directed by Zafar, the political drama stars Saif Ali Khan, Sunil Grover, Dimple Kapadia, Sarah-Jane Dias, Gauahar Khan, Kritika Kamra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, and Dino Morea in lead roles.
Khan and the makers of Tandav have been at the receiving end of backlash and outrage after a local official from India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party registered a police complaint against Amazon Prime’s latest web series alleging it insults Hindu gods and goddesses.
Following the outrage and backlash, Saif was given police security. A set of policemen were seen guarding his building to ensure all the safety required to the star and his family.
Meanwhile, Kangana Ranaut has been having a field day on Twitter, lashing out at the actors and web series and demanding strict action against them.
In a now-deleted tweet, Ranaut even said: “Because even Lord Krishna forgave 99 mistakes of Sheshupala…. pehle Shanti phir Kranti (First calm, then revolution)…. time to take their heads off.”
The problem isn’t just the Hindu phobic content, it’s also creatively poor and deprived,atrocious and objectionable on every level hence deliberately placed controversial scenes. Put them in jail not just for criminal intentions but also for torturing the viewer #tandavwebserieshttps://t.co/bmeaPzgkA5
— Kangana Ranaut (Modi Ka Parivar) (@KanganaTeam) January 18, 2021
Saif Ali Khan and the makers of Tandav are at the receiving end of backlash and outrage after a local official from India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party registered a police complaint against Amazon Prime’s latest web series alleging it insults Hindu gods and goddesses.
Protests against Amazon were also organised and party supporters marched to Amazon’s office in Mumbai on Monday, but the police only allowed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ram Kadam and few other supporters to enter the office. After the BJP leader met the officials of Amazon Prime Video, he tweeted that the company’s officials were adamant about their views and urged people to boycott Amazon altogether.
“We went to Amazon’s office in BKC to ask them to stop Tandav’s streaming and apologise for the same. But they still aren’t letting go of their pride. I ask the whole nation to boycott Amazon’s products and show the power of this nation,” said Kadam in a tweet.
According to details, the political drama drew the ire of lawmakers from the BJP causing fresh controversy for the e-commerce giant which last year had to withdraw dozens of rugs and doormats depicting Hindu gods from its international Amazon.com platform after a backlash in India.
BJP Member of Parliament Manoj Kotak, in a letter to India’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar dated Saturday, said that the makers of Tandav “have deliberately mocked Hindu gods and disrespected Hindu religious sentiments”.
He called on the ministry to immediately form an authority to regulate streaming platforms, and in the meantime called for a ban on the series till the required scenes are not removed.
— Manoj Kotak ( Modi Ka Parivar ) (@manoj_kotak) January 17, 2021
Amazon did not respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, Saif Ali Khan, who plays the ruthless Samar Pratap in the show, has been given police security. A set of policemen were seen guarding his building to ensure all the safety required to the star and his family.
BJP leaders have also demanded Saif to clarify his position related to the controversy.
“Whenever an actor signs a film or a web series, he’s narrated the script,” said MLA Ram Kadam. “A seasoned actor like Saif would have clearly known what was the content of the series and yet he agreed to do it.”
“We have a question for Saif. Why didn’t he say no to such a project where the religious sentiments of Hindus are being hurt? Why didn’t he say such content is inappropriate? We want to know what is the position of the talented actor in this regard,” he continued.
“The whole country and supporters of Hindu Gods and Goddesses will delete the app and boycott all Amazon products from here on. This has been going on for far too long. The Bollywood industry, web series makers, and actors like Saif need to understand that Hindus will not tolerate this anymore,” he added.
Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, the political drama also stars Sunil Grover, Dimple Kapadia, Sarah-Jane Dias, Gauahar Khan, Kritika Kamra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, and Dino Morea in lead roles.
India late last year brought streaming platforms under the oversight of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and said it plans to regulate their content.
Streaming services have gained traction in India because of the availability of affordable smartphones and cheap mobile data, making the South Asian nation a battleground for Amazon, Netflix, and Disney as they seek to expand outside their home markets.
Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma, who welcomed their baby girl on Monday, have sent gifts to photographers along with a personalised note in which they requested them not to take pictures of their little one.
According to photographer Viral Bhayani, Anushka and Virat sent a box of goodies which includes sweets, dry fruits and chocolates to him and his team. The gift box also included a message for the photographers, written in Hindi and English which read: “We want to protect the privacy of our child and we need your help and support.”
“While we will always ensure that you get all the content you need us featuring us, we would request you to kindly not take or carry any content that has our child,” it added.
Earlier, Anushka had slammed a photographer and publication for capturing and posting her Virat’s private moment.
Taking to Instagram, Sharma had posted the picture taken by the photographer and wrote, “Despite requesting the said photographer and publication, they still continue to invade our privacy.”
“Guys! Stop this right now,” she had added.
Speaking to Vogue Magazine, Anushka had said that she wants to raise her child away from media attention as she does not want to “raise brats”.
“We’ve thought about it a lot. We definitely do not want to raise a child in the public eye—we don’t plan on engaging our child in social media,” the actor had said. “I think it’s a decision your child should be able to take. No kid should be made to be more special than the other. It’s hard enough for adults to deal with it. It’s going to be difficult, but we intend to follow through.”
Meanwhile, veteran Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon has praised the photographers for accepting and respecting the couple’s request, adding that the photographers had been very kind to her also when her children were younger.
Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma and Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli have been blessed with a baby girl.
Announcing the news on social media, Virat said: “We are thrilled to share with you that we have been blessed with a baby girl this afternoon.”
“Anushka and the baby are both healthy and we are feeling beyond blessed to start this new chapter of our lives. We hope that you can respect our privacy at this time,” he added.
Virat and Anushka announced their pregnancy in August, with their announcement tweet becoming the most-liked tweet of 2020.
In an interview with a fashion magazine, Anushka had said that she wants to raise her child away from media attention, which means that we might have to wait a while till the parents release their child’s first picture.
“We’ve thought about it a lot. We definitely do not want to raise a child in the public eye — we don’t plan on engaging our child in social media,” Anushka had said. “I think it’s a decision your child should be able to take. No kid should be made to be more special than the other. It’s hard enough for adults to deal with it. It’s going to be difficult, but we intend to follow through.”
Anushka, while talking about her pregnancy journey had also said that the pandemic turned out to be a “weird blessing” for the couple, who fiercely guard their privacy.
“The pandemic has been a weird blessing in a way. Virat was around and I could keep it a secret. We only left to go to the doctor’s clinic. No one was on the streets so we couldn’t be spotted,” shared the actor.
Wishing the power couple all the best for the new chapter in their lives!
Priyanka Chopra Jonas has come under fire for defying lockdown and COVID-19 rules in London and visiting a salon. The United Kingdom has been put under total lockdown once again after a new strain of the coronavirus, more lethal than the first, was detected.
PC, who was shooting for Text For You in London was stranded there due to the lockdown rules. According to reports, she visited a salon in Notting Hill with her mother Madhu Chopra. Spas and salons do not come under basic necessities and after pictures of her visit were widely circulated on social media, they caught the attention of the cops and authorities.
As per details, the cops reached the salon and confronted the owner. Giving a verbal warning to the owner, they urged them to follow SOPs.
When then Quantico star was confronted, Priyanka said that she had a valid reason to visit the salon. She had to colour her hair for her upcoming film and the salon was opened only for some private appointments. She was not fined because she was out for work purposes.
Later, in an official statement, the actor’s spokesperson said Priyanka visited the salon for the purpose of the film and the exemption paperwork allowing her to be at the facility was provided to the police.
“Following government guidance, Priyanka’s hair was coloured for the purpose of the film she is currently shooting in London. The salon was opened privately for the production and everyone involved had been tested and followed both the DCMS working guidelines and the film production regulations.
“Film and TV production is permitted to continue in the UK, and locations can continue to accommodate shoots and recces that are carried out in line with government guidelines. The exemption paperwork legally permitting her to be there was provided to the police, and they left satisfied,” the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, the police, in a statement issued said: “Police were alerted at around 17:40hrs on Wednesday, 6 January to reports of a COVID breach taking place within a hairdressers on Lansdowne Mews, Notting Hill.”
“Officers attended and the owner of the salon was given a verbal reminder of the important need to comply with all regulations regarding Covid-19 and signposted to other sources of advice. No fixed penalty notices were issued.”
Priyanka has some major Hollywood projects lined up back-to-back. She has The White Tiger up for release on Netflix this month and is currently shooting for a romcom Text For You. She is reportedly also part of Matrix 4 and has officially announced the sequel to We Can Be Heroes.
The Bollywood actor recently slammed a photographer and publication for capturing and posting her and husband Virat Kohli’s private moment.
Taking to Instagram, the mom-to-be posted the picture taken by the photographer and wrote, “Despite requesting the said photographer and publication, they still continue to invade our privacy.”
“Guys! Stop this right now,” added a furious Anushka.
Ever since Virat and Anushka announced their pregnancy in August, pictures of the couple and their baby bump have gone viral on social media. However, this time the actor decided to take a stand.
Earlier, in an interview to a fashion magazine, Anushka had said that she wants to raise her child away from media attention as she does not want to “raise brats”.
Anushka and Virat are expecting their first child this month. Their announcement tweet was the most-liked tweet of 2020.
Meanwhile, later when a fan lashed out at celebrity photographer Viral Bhayani for sharing pictures of the couple on a lunch date, Bhayani said Anushka “was concerned that her private home pictures were leaked and that is what irked her”.
He added that he is constantly in touch with her management to “check if there is any concern as distress is caused to them”.
