Bollywood star Deepika Padukone, who has openly spoken about her battle with depression at the peak of her career, says she would like to see a world where no life is lost due to mental illness.
Deepika posted a picture of her organisation, The Live Love Laugh Foundation, on Instagram on Monday.
Alongside the image, she wrote: “Mental health is a cause that is extremely personal and dear to me. Over the last 5 years, donors, partners, government authorities and our incredible team have all played a crucial role in LiveLoveLaugh’s journey, but the greatest impact has been from those who have had a lived experience with mental illness, and their caregivers.”
Deepika Padukone. (File Photo: IANS)
Deepika added: “I would like to see a world where no life is lost due to mental illness, and LiveLoveLaugh is committed to delivering on that aspiration.”
One of the highest paid actor in India, Deepika, who started her career with “Om Shanti Om” in 2007, has set up a foundation to create awareness on mental health named The Live Love Laugh Foundation in 2015, which creates awareness about stress, anxiety and depression.
Kriti Sanon was on Wednesday confirmed as the lead actress of the upcoming action film Ganapath, opposite Tiger Shroff. This is the first time the two stars will be seen together on screen after their 2014 debut film Heropanti.
Tiger announced on Instagram: “Khatam hua intezaar @kritisanon. Super excited to work with this bundle of talent again #Ganapath.”
A motion poster introduces Kriti in an electrifying avatar as Jassi. Sharing the poster, Kriti wrote on Instagram: “Meet JASSI !! Super Duper Excited for this one!! Teaming up once again with my very special @tigerjackieshroff! Can’t wait for the shoot to begin! Lets KILL it!”
Talking about the Vikas Bahl directorial, Kriti said: “I’m thrilled to reunite with Tiger after about seven years and also to be directed by Vikas in a space that is so new to me.”
She added: “I’ve been wanting to explore the genre of action since a while now and I’m super excited to do so on such a massive scale with Pooja Entertainment! Jackky is a very passionate producer and I’m glad to be starting my journey with them with such a cool character.”
kriti Sanon
Director Bahl said: “Kriti not only has a riveting screen presence but she also has the persona of a superstar. She is truly ‘The Right One’ to star opposite Tiger as I am confident she will make a perfect action heroine. I am extremely excited and looking forward to working with the two wonderful artistes.”
The film is being billed as a dystopian action thriller, and is slated to go on floors soon. Pre-production work has already begun. Ganapath is scheduled to release in 2022.
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.Â
Said Shrivastava: “‘Bombay Begums’ is a story about Indian women that I hope women in India and across the world will connect with.Â
“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.
