Bollywood actor and filmmaker Rajiv Kapoor has breathed his last. He passed away after suffering a heart attack in Mumbai at the age of 58.
Rajiv was the youngest of late legend Raj Kapoor’s three sons, and the younger brother of Randhir Kapoor and late Rishi Kapoor.
Confirming the news of his death, sister-in-law Neetu Kapoor shared a photograph of Rajiv on Instagram on Tuesday afternoon and wrote “RIP”, along with a folded hands emoji.
Trade analyst Komal Nahta also confirmed the demise with a tweet posted on Tuesday afternoon where he wrote: “Very sad news. Rajiv (Chimpu) Kapoor passes away following heart attack.”
Known by his nickname Chimpu in Bollywood, Rajiv shot to fame with his starring role in Raj Kapoor’s 1985 blockbuster “Ram Teri Ganga Maili” co-starring Mandakini. His other notable works include “Lava”, “Zalzala” and “Zabardast”.
In 1997, he tried his hand at direction with the Rishi Kapoor-Madhuri Dixit starrer “Prem Granth”, produced under the RK Films banner. Dealing with the subject of rape and its social stigma, the film was a commercial flop.
Bollywood actress Vaani Kapoor, says she wants to do more films that celebrate women, their lives and decisions.
“As a woman, I want to do more films that celebrate women, their lives and decisions. I have been fortunate that in my short career span, I have got films like Shudh Desi Romance, Befikre and War that have highlighted some brilliant aspects of being a woman. They showed how women are free-spirited, ambitious, resilient and strong,” Vaani said.
The actress added that she always wanted to do films that celebrate women as a symbol of independence, and work in projects that bridge the gender perception about what a woman can or cannot do.
“Luckily, today, we are part of a generation that’s extremely forward-thinking and they want to see films where a woman is not treated as a flower vase. I’m thankful to be working in an era where people want to see more from a woman than just look stunningly gorgeous on screen,” she said.
In the coming months, Vaani will be seen in the Akshay Kumar-starrer Bell Bottom, Shamshera starring Ranbir Kapoor, and in Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui with Ayushmann Khurrana.
Stage set for another mega release. Pooja Bhatt is returning to the screen – but this time on small. Bombay Begums will release on March 8, on the occasion of International Women’s Day. That will be Netflix’s tribute to Indian women portraying five from Mumbai, the commercial capital of India. The show casts Pooja Bhatt, Shahana Goswami, Amruta Subhash and Rahul Bose in pivotal roles, and is created and directed by Alankrita Shrivastava of Lipstick Under My Burkha fame.
The series touches upon themes of ambition, desire, struggle for power and vulnerability through the stories of five modern Indian women in Mumbai.
Said Shrivastava: “‘Bombay Begums’ is a story about Indian women that I hope women in India and across the world will connect with.
“The series explores the complex journey of working Indian women who are ambitious for power and success, but have many other battles to fight too. It’s the story of their daily hustle, the story of their dreams – sometimes buried, sometimes fulfilled,” she added.
“It’s the story of glass ceilings shattered, and also of the hearts broken in the process. I have tried to create a world that reflects the realities of urban working women. I hope audiences relate to the characters and find pieces of their own journey reflected in the story,” Shrivastava continued.
“I am excited and proud that ‘Bombay Begums’ is coming on the occasion of International Women’s Day,” she added.
The series also features Plabita Borthakur and Aadhya Anand along with Vivek Gomber and Danish Husain in important roles. It is slated to release on Netflix.
Celebrity couple Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty Kundra are often seen posting funny videos on their social media handles, and they seem to quite enjoy it…writes Puja Gupta.
Raj said “social media is part of our lives” and admitted that it has become “a necessity of the 21st century”. Apart from using it as just a mode of entertainment, one should use social media as a tool to enhance our lives, business and talent, Raj told IANSlife.
The impact of social media on someone’s life is totally dependent on how you use it, said Raj. “Everyone is on their mobile phones today. It’s all about social media and being discovered. It’s important to not waste your time, social media should be used as a tool to enhance your life, business and talent,” he said.
Shilpa with her family
“Today all businesses prefer to market and promote their products on social media because that’s where today’s viewers are. Also, one can target and monitor the ROI far better,” he added.
Raj revealed that his son is not a part of any social media. He said: “My son enjoys watching videos on YouTube. However, I have put settings on his iPad that control the content delivered for his age group only. It’s important to keep monitoring and there are plenty of tools to do so as responsible parents. It’s important to make sure your child is not exposed to things they don’t need to see yet.”
For other parents, Raj adviced: “We are living in the digital age and it’s easy to give your child an iPad, mobile phone and access to the internet. It can be a great learning and entertainment tool. My son loves editing videos that he shoots on the iPad. So if used constructively, it’s great but one should control screen time.”
Raj Kundra
The couple recently launched their own live streaming app JL Stream which Raj said aims to “promote talent across the world helping new and known talent make money at the same time.”
The platform recently felicitated top two streamers of the month. With a whopping revenue of Rs 15 lakh, the top streamer of January 2021 is Prachi Bharti from Jharkhand. Anchal Singh from Chandigarh and a Ayesha Shah from Nagpur are the runners-up who made Rs 10 Lakh and Rs 7.5 lakh respectively in January.
Commenting on why he decided to felicitate top streamers, Raj told IANSlife: “It’s good to encourage influencers they work very hard to create content and who doesn’t like appreciation. It was amazing to see a young girl from Jharkhand win streamer of the month.”
Riteish Deshmukh , Genelia D Souza ,Sussane Khan ,Sonali Bendre ,Neil Nitin Mukesh with wife at Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla event ,in Mumbai., February 7,2021 (Photos: Pallav Paliwal)
Famous Bollywood actress Vidya Balan along with actor Arbaaz Khan and producer Siddharth Roy Kapur dancing and enjoying the beauty of snow covered Gulmarg during winter festival-2021, at Gulmarg 65 km’s from Srinagar on Sunday. (Photo:Pallav Paliwal)
Mumbai: Actors Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor arrive with their son Taimur Ali Khan for his birthday celebrations in Mumbai on Dec 19, 2019. (Photo: IANS)
Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan is looking forward to embracing fatherhood again, what with wife Kareena Kapoor Khan expected to deliver their second baby this month. Saif says fatherhood has made him stable, and that at the moment he is in a position to enjoy having children around…writes Sugandha Agarwal.
“It was great fun, the entire process, especially the making!” Saif joked when we congratulate him.
Asked how fatherhood has changed him, the 50-year-old actor told IANS: “I think there is a certain amount of more patience and stability in life. I was more impatient earlier, and little more concerned with what I’m doing and where I’m going, and (it was) unsettling generally. (I was) trying like most people to balance, trying to be stable for children at the same time, the instability of your own career,” he added.
The actor continued: “But now, I think I am more settled. I’m in a position to just enjoy having family around and having children around. It’s a good phase.”
Saif and Kareena, who are fondly called as Saifeena by their fans, got married in 2012. They also share a son, Taimur. Saif also has son Ibrahim and daughter Sara Ali Khan from his first marriage with actress Amrita Singh.
It is not just his personal life that seeing new beginnings. There has been redefinition on the professional front, too. His career found a new boost when he ventured into digital space, and wowed audiences with “Sacred Games”. He was also seen in the controversial web show, “Tandav”.
Opening up about the changing tone of entertainment space, he said: “Everything is in kind of flux (right now). The world is changing in many ways. We don’t even know how it’s going to change… But there is a lot of uncertainty.
“We do know one thing that people like consuming what we call ‘content’. I like consuming movies of various lengths and stories of various lengths. What I loved about the big web platforms, at least the ones that I worked with, was that they were challenging the status quo,” he added.
Explaining his thoughts, Saif shared: “Earlier, it was only (about) big films, big money, big actors, big ideas, and smaller the screen, smaller the idea, and smaller the money. That is changing. They wanted to challenge that and show that somebody on their phone can have a cinematic experience on par with a big screen movie and give you top class entertainment.”
“That was what was revolutionary about it. I know that the whole thing is open for change,” added the actor, who recently joined stars like Manoj Bajpayee, Samantha Akkineni, Tisca Chopra and Divya Dutta to discuss the future of the industry through Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films Evening discussions.
Saif will next be seen essaying a dark character in Om Raut’s ambitious “Adipurush”, which stars Prabhas. He has described the role as electrifying and demonic. He will also be seen in horror comedy “Bhoot Police”, which also stars Arjun Kapoor, Yami Gautam, and Jacqueline Fernandez.
Singer Shreya Ghoshal has released a single titled Angana morey, for which she has joined hands with her brother, musician Soumyadeep Ghoshal.
Talking about working with her brother, Shreya said: “Working on a song with Soumyadeep proved to be a lot of fun. We’ve experienced every single moment together in the process and the best part is the understanding that we have between us.”
“Amidst the work hassle, we made sure to have a hearty laugh and a chat to ease up. Needless to say, working in the pandemic proved to be a challenge initially, but we’ve all got used to it and are availing the benefits of the digital world,” she added.
” ‘Angana morey’ brought me closer to my roots and that was a riding factor for its creation,” shared the singer.
The song is a virtually created and classically rooted electro-pop ode to lost love, an energetic electro bandish track.
“The song creation process was a lot of fun because I had a fabulous team of musicians jamming and exploring new ideas constantly. And then the video creation was another awesome experience,” Shreya said.
She said she “wasn’t comfortable going to any studio” for a shoot “because of the Covid-19 scare”, so the shooting facility was brought home for her, and added that the post production touches by “added that surreal and magical factor to the video that just blew us all away”.
“The 3D rendering and graphics which were woven around me just elevated the entire visual experience to another level,” said the singer.
For Shreya, the pandemic experience was a blessing in disguise.
“The pandemic and the entire 2020 were obviously very depressing for all of us in many ways. But in a way, there were some blessings in disguise. Honestly, I had not had a break like this in years and I once again began to focus on my ‘riyaz’ routine,” she said, adding: “I became a more mindful listener and started learning with a more meditative and creative bent of mind,” she said.
“While finding small joys in the confines of my home, I started doing gardening, cooking, cleaning, and working on some pending film projects from my home studio. During this phase, my heart was craving to create a song which resonated with my semi-classical musical roots and that is how the idea of, ‘Angana morey’ was born,” she added.
The singer released the song on the channel MTV Beats. Shreya is MTV Beats Artist of the Month for February.
The cold war between Bollywood actresses Kangana Ranaut and Taapsee Pannu came to the forefront again on Thursday, with the two of them taking jibes at each other on social media.
It all began with Taapsee taking a jibe at Kangana without mentioning her name. Taapsee posted a tweet saying we should not become ‘propaganda teacher’ for others.
“If one tweet rattles your unity, one joke rattles your faith or one show rattles your religious belief then it’s you who has to work on strengthening your value system not become propaganda teacher’ for others,” Taapsee tweeted.
This comes a day after Kangana trolled international pop star Rihanna for commenting on the ongoing farmers’ protest in India.
Even though Taapsee did not take names, Kangana seems to have taken her tweet as a personal attack, which is evident from the comments she made on Taapsee’s tweet. Kangana commented on Taapsee’s tweet using adjectives like “B-grade person”, “dumbo” and “freeloader”.
Kangana commented in Hindi: “Teri maa ko main gali doon it will rattle your belief dumbo? National platforms pe uska apman karu… I know you will strengthen your love not do anything tabhi toh tere jaise dusaron ki rotiyon pe palne wale paltu hote hain…kabhi kuch aur nahin ban pate, chup kar aab. (Will it rattle your belief if I hurl abuses at your mother, dumbo? What if I insult her on national platforms? I know you will strengthen your love not do anything and that’s why people like you depend on others for their bread, just like pets. They cannot become anything else ever, so you better keep shut).”
Kangana Ranaut. (File photo: IANS)
In another comment, Kangana wrote: “B grade logon ki B grade thinking, one should stand up for one’s faith motherland and family, yehi Karm hai yehi Dharm bhi hai …. free fund ka sirf khane wale mat bano… iss desh ka bojh… that’s why I call them B grade … ignore them free loaders. (B-grade people have B-grade thinking. One should stand up for one’s faith, motherland and family, that is our biggest responsibility. Don’t become a burden on the country, that’s why I call them B grade… ignore these freeloaders).”
Actor Suniel Shetty was heavily trolled after his recent tweet on the ongoing farmer protests. Talking about the people who have assumed that he was against the farmers, he says such social media behaviour suffocates him...Yashika Mathur.
Suniel had tweeted after international public figures such as Rihanna and Greta Thunberg posted about the farmers’ protests, bringing international attention to the matter. His tweet said: “We must always take a comprehensive view of things, as there is nothing more dangerous than half truth. #IndiaTogether #IndiaAgainstPropaganda.”
Opening up on the adverse reaction the tweet drew, the 59-year-old actor tells IANS: “The narrative of me being against the farmers is b***sh*t. It hurt me when they said that ‘he is against farmers’. If I could, I would probably catch each and everyone of them. There are a lot of emotions. I want to tell them that we are talking about our country, home, our families.”
“My forefathers were farmers, I come from a small town called Mulki in Mangalore that I visit four times a year even today, and 70 per cent of it is farm. Secondly, I am an Indian. It has always been like that and my films say that. People say that you thrash other countries. It doesn’t matter to me as long as my India is fine. That’s who I am,” he adds.
As soon as Suniel and other public figures posted about the farmers’ protest, many theories started doing rounds. Social media followers tweeted at the behest of certain political outfits.
“I am not affiliated to any political party. I say what I believe in. I am a proud Mumbaikar and I am proud of the fact that my Chief Minister and others have handled the pandemic well. What matters to me is that people are doing good. I have campaigned for friends who are from various political parties but I have campaigned for people. I have not campaigned for a party. I never take party names. I campaigned for individuals. I believe, right now India is at the threshold of getting back to normalcy and I stick to that,” he says.
“I am an actor. If I say something I am hammered, if I don’t say something I am hammered. So, what do I do? I am a father. My children are threatened on Twitter. Why? What wrong have I done? I say, settle it amicably like the rest of the people who care about the farmers are saying,” he added.
“It suffocates me, why is it (the cyber world) so toxic? Why are people so unhappy? We have no agenda. If India is losing, it is my team. If it wins I will obviously praise it. What is your problem? How do I see my India? Yes, there are differences but the same farmer who was being stopped by the security is also feeding them. That is how I look at my India,” he says, while opening up at an event of Zeco’s O2Cure, where he announced his collaboration with the brand that provides air purification solutions.
