Salman is supportive of whatever I do: Maniesh Paul
New Delhi– Actor Maniesh Paul, who has made his singing debut with the song “Harjai” along with Romanian TV presenter Iulia Vantur, says superstar Salman Khan has been very supportive of whatever he does.
“Salman sir has been really supportive every time in whatever I have done. Yes, I had a song (in mind) and generally spoke to him and he said, ‘Yes, you should sing professionally. Why not’ … He’s bhaijaan and he is always there in whatever I do. He is very supportive.
“I do share a lot of things with him and he is always there for me,” Maniesh told IANS over phone from Mumbai.
“Harjai”, presented by T-Series, is composed and penned by Sachin Gupta.
Talking about his equation with Iulia, he said: “Singing with Iulia was amazing. I think Iulia is a great singer. The notes she can touch goes really high. It’s amazing.”
Maniesh says recording a song with Iulia, who is rumoured to be in a relationship with the “Dabangg” star, was a “lot of fun”.
How did he come up with an idea to come out with a single?
“I used to like singing. I used to sing for my school and college. I won a lot of competitions there… I never thought taking it up professionally, but yes, I thought why not give it a try. Everybody has been saying that I should sing. So I was like ‘Okay, here I am’. I am not a trained singer. I sing passionately,” he added.
I am not anti-Hindu, I am anti-Modi: Prakash Raj
Hyderabad– Actor Prakash Raj said on Thursday that he was not anti-Hindu as alleged by critics but only anti-Modi.
“They say I am anti-Hindu but I say I am anti-Modi, anti-Amit Shah and anti-Hegde,” the actor said at the India Today South conclave here.
He was referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah and BJP leader-cum-central minister Anant Kumar Hegde.
The actor went on to say that those who support “killers” cannot be called Hindus.
He said the Prime Minister remained silent when he appealed to him to speak out when some Modi supporters celebrated the killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh.
“A true Hindu cannot support such activity,” said Prakash Raj, a friend of the slain woman journalist.
The actor’s remarks evoked protest from the BJP spokesman in Telangana, Krishna Sagar Rao, who was in the audience.
The actor defended his stand. “When you can call me anti-Hindu, I have every right to say you are not Hindu,” he said.
‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ snubbed at Filmfare Awards 2018 nominations
Mumbai– Salman Khan’s “Tiger Zinda Hai” shook the Bollywood box office from slumber by registering record-breaking business last year, and “Newton” got global acclaim by becoming India’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars 2018. But the two films failed to earn a nomination in the main categories for the 63rd Jio Filmfare Awards 2018.
The nominations list was released on Thursday.
“Tiger Zinda Hai”, which released on December 22, minted Rs 206.04 crore in seven days. The film has been nominated in just one category — Best Action, leaving out Salman from the Best Actor in a Leading Role category.
As for “Newton”, starring Rajkummar Rao in a story set against the backdrop of elections in the world’s largest democracy, has nominations across six categories. But neither is Rajkummar’s widely lauded performance in the Best Actor category nor has the movie got a nod in the main categories.
Pankaj Tripathi has earned a nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male) for the Amit V. Masurkar-directed “Newton”, which also finds a mention in the Best Editing, Best Original Story, Best Dialogue, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography categories.
Varun Dhawan’s “Badrinath Ki Dulhania”, Rajkummar’s “Bareilly Ki Barfi”, Irrfan Khan’s “Hindi Medium”, Aamir Khan’s “Secret Superstar” and Akshay Kumar’s “Toilet: Ek Prem Katha” are in contention for the Best Film trophy.
When it comes to Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male), Akshay (“Toilet: Ek Prem Katha”), Ayushmann Khurrana (“Shubh Mangal Saavdhan”), Hrithik Roshan (“Kaabil”), Irrfan (“Hindi Medium”), Shah Rukh Khan (“Raees”) and Varun (“Badrinath Ki Dulhania”) are in the race.
As far as the female counterparts are concerned, Pakistani actress Saba Qamar has been nominted in the Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female) for her role in “Hindi Medium”. She will be fighting for the trophy with Alia Bhatt (“Badrinath Ki Dulhania”), Bhumi Pednekar (“Shubh Mangal Saavdhan”), Sridevi (“Mom”), Vidya Balan (“Tumhari Sulu”) and Zaira Wasim (“Secret Superstar”).
Advait Chandan, who made his directorial debut with Aamir’s home production “Secret Superstar”, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari for “Bareilly Ki Barfi”, Saket Chaudhary for “Hindi Medium”, Shashank Khaitan for “Badrinath Ki Dulhania” and Shree Narayan Singh for “Toilet: Ek Prem Katha” are fighting for Best Director trophy.
The award gala will be held on January 20 here.
Karan Johar denies rumours of roping Manushi Chillar for ‘SOTY 2’
Mumbai– Filmmaker Karan Johar on Thursday dismissed rumours that he had roped in Miss World Manushi Chillar as a second heroine for his film “Student Of The Year 2”.
“There is no truth to the news yet. We are very proud of Manushi’s achievements. I was hosting the show the year she won, so I have met her before and I did see potential in her. I look forward to meeting her… I haven’t met her yet after she won the crown for India. But there has been nothing discussed yet,” he told media at Raymond Crossword Book Awards in Partnership with Wizcraft.
The filmmaker was honored with the best author award in the category of Popular Choice award for biographies for his book “An Unsuitable Boy”, which reveals everything right from his movie-making voyage to emotional revelations about his fallout with close friends in the industry.A
After winning the award, Karan said: “I am quite excited about the fact that so many people were excited to know about my life, and I feel very honored to receive this award.”
On writing another book, he said: “I will write the part two after next 30 years. By then hopefully, I will have enough experience and material to write the next book.”
After receiving awards for best producer, director and now author, Karan, asked if his fans can expect the best actor award for ‘Welcome to New York’, said: “That is a comedy film, so maybe best actor in a comic role could be in the question. Anyways even if I get a nomination I’ll be happy with that. That is part of my extracurricular activities, so whatever I will get, I will be happy with that.”
With Ranveer Singh uniting with him and Rohit Shetty for a film titled “Simmba”, Karan, asked to comment on the release of Ranveer’s most awaited and talked about film “Padmaavat”, said that he just can’t wait for its release.
“I am very happy and excited to watch ‘Padmaavat’ and I can’t wait for 25th Jan when the film releases nationwide.”
Karan Johar’s upcoming productions include “Drive” and “Raazi” for 2018 release and “Kesari” and “Brahmastra” for 2019. (IANS)
