Amitabh Bachchan to front campaign againt child malnutrition
New Delhi– Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has come on board to front a campaign to address the issues of malnutrition, stunting and infant mortality.
GSK Consumer Healthcare has launched Horlicks Mission Poshan, which will focus on first thousand days of a child’s life which are critical for cognitive development, physical growth and immunity.
The campaign supports the government’s Rashtriya Poshan Abhiyaan. Big B will be a part of many activities planned all-round the year including a 12-hour live telethon and awareness camps across schools and villages.
Amitabh took to social media to announce his association.
“Did you know that 50 per cent of world’s undernourished children are in India, in our country. We need to start the fight against malnutrition now. I am taking the 1st step by joining the biggest movement to fight malnutrition,” Big tweeted. He tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi.
Navneet Saluja, Managing Director, GSK Consumer Healthcare, said in a statement: “Our initiative has a singular goal – to help promote the need for nutritional needs across rural and urban India. We are fortunate to have Amitabh Bachchan partner us in this significant journey towards addressing the issue of malnutrition in our country.”
Saluja said they are “committed to dialling up mass awareness around malnourishment and working with the civil society towards its eradication”.
Sanjay Dutt a great reason to be part of ‘Prasthaanam’ remake: Ali Fazal
Mumbai– Actor Ali Fazal, who will next be seen in the Hindi remake of the cult classic Telugu film “Prasthaanam”, says one of the reasons why he became a part of the project was having actor Sanjay Dutt as his co-star.
The film is being remade in Hindi by filmmaker Deva Katta, who also made the original. It will go on the floors on Friday, which is also Sanjay’s mother and late actress Nargis’ birth anniversary.
“It’s a remake of a cult classic. And Deva helming the film was a great reason to come on board. I met the team once I loved what I heard. As an actor sometimes, you go with your instinct of the film and the part you play,” Ali said in a statement.
“To top this, Sanjay Dutt who is an iconic name whom I have grown up watching and been a fan of, was a great reason to be on board without a second thought. And plus it’s a father-son duo that actors would love to dive into,” he added.
Indian small screen going through fantasy-oriented phase: Harshad Arora
New Delhi– From “Naagin” to “Maharakshak: Aryan” to “Mayavi Maling”, actor Harshad Arora says there is a fantasy wave on the Indian small screen currently.
“We are trying to get new shows apart from kitchen politics and saas bahu dramas. Especially the present phase is fantasy-oriented phase. There are lot of fantasy shows and historical dramas coming up. Audience like it and that is why they are making it,” Harshad told IANS.
“Mayavi Maling”, aired on Star Bharat, is about how three princesses — Pranali, Eshwarya and Garima — attempt to fight evil in order to save their kingdom from destruction. Harshad is seen as Prince Angad.
The “Beintehaa” star says women used to dominate the small screen, but that is changing now.
“There used to be women domination. There are still shows on TV which are very women-oriented. Women is still the core audiences for TV even now. But then again times are changing. There are lot of new concepts coming in. They might do well and might not do that well, at least makers are trying something new.”
Rakhi Sawant opens up about going under the knife
Mumbai– Actress Rakhi Sawant says she faced rejections and so, resorted to surgery to improve her physical appearance.
Rakhi, who was originally named Neeru Bheda, shot for an episode of the weekend chat show “JuzzBaatt… Sangeen Se Namkeen Tak”.
When the show’s host Rajeev Khandelwal addressed Rakhi as Neeru, she became extremely emotional and spoke about her transition, read a statement.
“My family never approved of me getting into the (entertainment) industry and would beat me up black and blue if they would ever find me dancing. When I finally reached Mumbai, I started dancing and showcasing my talent in front of many producers who would also see me in a bad light,” said Rakhi.
“I thought that I would rather dance at a dance bar than in front of such inconsiderate people. I faced innumerable rejections and resorted to surgery to improve my looks and appearance. I went into the surgery room as my former self Neeru Bheda but came out as a new and improved version of my own self – Rakhi Sawant.”
“JuzzBaatt…Sangeen Se Namkeen Tak” is aired on Zee TV.
Anushka’s character in ‘Sanju’ inspired by film’s writers
Mumbai– The mystery around actress Anushka Sharma’s role in “Sanju” was unravelled here as director Rajkumar Hirani revealed that her character as a biographer is modelled on himself and Abhijat Joshi, who have co-written the film.
At the film’s trailer launch here on Wednesday, Hirani told the media: “To showcase a biopic like this, you have to compress few parts into one. Similarly, Anushka Sharma’s character is derived from myself and Abhijat. She is playing a biographer from London, and she comes to India. Sanjay wants her to write a book on him whereas she doesn’t want to.
“We were also skeptical at first whether we should do this character or not. So basically she is us, but not as a filmmaker… (as) a biographer.”
The actress sports a messy, curly hair avatar in the movie, which talks about the ups and downs in the life of actor Sanjay Dutt. Ranbir Kapoor plays the central character in the film, which will release on June 29.
‘Angry Indian Goddesses’ wasn’t backed by big banners: Pavleen Gujral
New Delhi– Actress Pavleen Gujral, who played a key role in “Angry Indian Goddesses” — featuring an ensemble of women actors — says the film was not backed by big production houses unlike “Veere Di Wedding”.
“Veere Di Wedding” has garnered much publicity due to not just its star cast which comprises Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Swara Bhasker and Shikha Talsania, but also due to its backing by Rhea Kapoor, Nikhil Dwivedi, Ektha Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor and Anil Kapoor.
“Angry Indian Goddesses” was, on the other hand, backed by Pan Nalin and Gaurav Dhingra, and featured Sandhya Mridul, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Sarah-Jane Dias, Anushka Manchanda, Amrit Maghera, Rajshri Deshpande and Pavleen Gujral with Adil Hussain.
On a comparison being made between the two films, Pavleen said in a statement to IANS: “If you ask me, ‘Angry Indian Goddesses’ was a little ahead of time. Today, I see a lot many women-centric movies showing unexplored themes such as ‘women’s friendship’. But the scenarios were different back then and accepting an all women movie must have been a little difficult.
“Therefore, being the first one in the genre, ‘Angry Indian Goddesses’ couldn’t manage to create the desired impact. That’s what I believe. Also because we were not backed by big production houses and banners, we had to face the consequences.”
Irrfan’s ‘Karwaan’ to now release on Aug 3
Mumbai– Irrfan Khan-starrer “Karwaan” will now release on August 3, a week before its scheduled date.
The release date of the Ronnie Screwvala venture, which also marks the Bollywood debut of Dulquer Salmaan and Mithila Palkar, has been advanced “to enjoy a clear two-week solo run at the box office”, read a statement from the makers, who believe that as per distributor’s point of view, it is a lucrative release window.
“Karwaan” revolves around three oddballs from different walks of life who are thrown together on a somewhat bizarre journey which helps them find normalcy in their lives.
The film has been shot in the locales of Kerala.
Produced by Screwvala`s creative production house RSVP in association with Ishka films, “Karwaan” is directed by Akarsh Khurana.
Earlier, Yash Raj Films’ “Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar” was to release on August 3 too, but its makers shifted it to March 1, 2019.
Shruti Haasan gets back to work in Goa
New Delhi– Actress Shruti Haasan is back from London, and has started shooting for a sequence of her upcoming film, helmed by Mahesh Manjrekar, in Goa.
After shooting in Mumbai, Manjrekar moved his entire team to Goa to shoot a schedule of his gangster drama. The yet untitled film is a period drama and also stars Vidyut Jammwal, said a statement to IANS.
Shruti, after taking some time off to complete her international music based commitments in London, has joined the team in Goa to shoot her portions.
Her spokesperson confirmed the news of her joining the team in Goa for the film shoot, which is expected to go on for a few more weeks.
“Soon after completing the shoot for this film, Shruti is expected to resume shoot on her father Kamal Haasan’s bilingual project ‘Sabash Naidu’,” added the spokesperson.
According to a source, she plays a character who is a catalyst for many ups and downs in the lives of the others.
“It has been quite an exciting journey for Shruti as she is being guided by a master visionary like Mahesh Manjrekar on this film. He is someone who’s an expert with making people get completely under the skin of the characters and helps them breathe life into them in their own unique style.
“The film is in its second schedule and Shruti is really looking forward to seeing this shape up even better than what she read on paper,” added the source. (IANS)
