Parineeti ‘truly grateful’ to play Saina Nehwal
Mumbai– Actress Parineeti Chopra, who has replaced Shraddha Kapoor in the Saina Nehwal biopic, is grateful about taking on the role.
“Truly, truly grateful,” Parineeti tweeted to T-Series head honcho Bhushan Kumar who welcomed her on board for the film about the badminton ace.
Parineeti, who is busy promoting her forthcoming film “Kesari” these days, will start training in badminton for the role soon.
Shraddha had been preparing hard for the movie, and she even spent time with Saina to ace the role. But according to reports, she opted out of the project over scheduling conflicts.
Amole Gupte is directing the project.
Sonam Kapoor partners with LA tourism for campaign
New Delhi– Actress Sonam A. Kapoor and her husband, businessman Anand Ahuja have partnered with Los Angeles Tourism for a new campaign.
The digital initiative highlights the city’s vibrant arts, culture, culinary and hotel scenes, read a statement.
Tapping into Sonam and Anand’s passion for reading, vegan cuisine, the film industry, basketball and art, the four-episode campaign shows them visiting the legendary Los Angeles County Museum of Art, experiencing the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood, tasting chef Esdras Ochoa’s famous vegan tacos at Salazar and vibing at the hot Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
Los Angeles Tourism began investing in travel trade efforts in India back in 2016 and consumer marketing efforts began in 2017. In 2018, the city welcomed more than 130,000 visitors from India, a 5.1 percent year-over-year increase.
The destination aims to grow its share of visitors from India and will undertake continued trade and consumer marketing initiatives throughout 2019 to include thematic familiarization tours, and trainings.
Indians don’t know much on Saragarhi battle: Akshay
Mumbai– Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, who features as Havildar Ishar Singh in “Kesari” — a film on the historical Battle of Saragarhi — has urged the youth to watch the film as he feels the heroic tale has got lost in the pages of history books.
At an event here on Friday, Akshay said: “It is sad that though the British celebrate Saragarhi Day, remembering the martyrs of the war, but we Indians do not know much about it. It is sad how an incident like this has got lost in the pages of history.
“It is hard to imagine how 21 Sikh soldiers stood strong inside a fort, knowing that 10,000 Afghan soldiers were waiting outside to kill them. Knowing that death is inevitable and continuing the fight requires a lot of bravery. That war was a pure example of that. They fought for our country, for our honour.
“So, I would like to urge all the parents to show the film to their children. Our youngsters should know about our war heroes. This is also an educational film. It is a true incident and based on real characters.”
Actress Parineeti Chopra and “Kesari” director Anurag Singh, apart from producer Karan Johar were a part of it. The film is releasing on April 21.
Deepika’s wax statue ‘double trouble’ for sister
London– As actress Deepika Padukone unveiled her Statue of Purpose at Madame Tussauds here, her sister Anisha Padukone called it “double trouble”.
The actress, who has been an active voice in creating awareness about mental health has dedicated the Statue to her initiative, and hence it is named as Statue of Purpose.
“As if one of her was not enough. Double trouble, Madame Tussauds, wax statue, London,” Anisha captioned a photograph that features Deepika and her wax statue.
Apart from giving blockbusters, the actress has created awareness about the significance of mental health and has been striving to get rid of the stigma revolving around various mental diseases. She also runs a foundation Live Laugh Love to signify mental health at every step.
“As a little girl, I was a very curious kid, for me, purpose is something that is very important. However, big or small, whatever I am doing in my life, purpose and why we do what we do is very important to me,” Deepika said in a statement.
“After I got a call from Madame Tussauds, I thought ‘What is the purpose of this, why are we doing this, or what is it that my fans will remember me for, remember my figure for, what is it that I would like to leave behind’, and the cause of mental health is very close to my heart, it is something that I am extremely passionate about.
Alia gets ‘great’ birthday gift from her mother
Mumbai– Actress Alia Bhatt, who brought in her 26th birthday on Friday with her close friends and actor Ranbir Kapoor, was ecstatic about launching the teaser of her mother Soni Razdan’s “No Fathers In Kashmir”.
“What a great birthday gift mum Soni Razdan gave me! The teaser of ‘No Fathers In Kashmir’ by India’s youngest Oscar nominated director Ashvin Kumar. Girl from London meets boy from Kashmir. What a stunning pair these teens make – just can’t wait to see it,” Alia tweeted along with the film’s teaser.
The film is finally due to release on April 5, following a months-long wait for a green signal from the censor board.
Alia has been supportive of the film, and had even earlier tweeted in support of the film requesting the authorities to issue the deserving certificate to the film.
Dia opens up about Bollywood’s ageism game
Mumbai– Actress-producer Dia Mirza, 36, says she is perceived to be at an awkward age in the entertainment business.
“In the entertainment business, I find myself to battle the age perception. Two aspects to it – one since I started young, people think I am older simply because I have been around for a while,” Dia said in a statement.
“The second one is that I am seen to be at an age where I am not young to be cast alongside male actors who happen to be my age. At the same time I am not mature enough to play older female characters. It’s an age conundrum,” she added.
Dia was last seen on the big screen in “Sanju” as Manyata Dutt. She will be seen in two shows. One is Nikkhil Advani’s historical show and the second one is a drama and is based on a true story. As a producer, she has another web series titled “Mind The Malhotras” in her kitty.
Akshay Kumar’s ‘Kesari’ made Mohit Raina nostalgic
New Delhi– As Akshay Kumar’s “Kesari” nears its release, actor Mohit Raina says he feels nostalgic as he was the first actor to be a part of a project based on the battle of Saragarhi.
Known to television audiences as Mahadev of “Devon Ke Dev… Mahadev” and Ashoka of “Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat”, Mohit left an indelible mark with his powerful portrayal as Havildar Ishar Singh, the man who along with 21 Sikh soldiers defeated an Afghan battalion of 10,000 soldiers, in “21 Sarfarosh: Saragarhi 1897”.
Now, of course, audiences relate to Mohit for his role as Captain Karan Kashyap in “Uri: The Surgical Strike”.
Looking forward to Akshay’s “Kesari”, Mohit told IANS here: “It’s great that now filmmakers are making projects on the Saragarhi battle. Many people do not even know about the sacrifice of those brave Sikh soldiers. It’s the power of cinema through which the battle has been brought alive among people.”
On Akshay’s stint as Ishar Singh, Mohit said he got “nostalgic” when he saw the promotional material of “Kesari” for the first time.
Varun Sharma, Manjot collaborate with Harrdy Sandhu
Mumbai– Singer Harrdy Sandhu has joined forces with actors Varun Sharma and Manjot Singh for the single “Yaarr superstaar”.
The song charts the journey of three friends through their college years to their work life.
“Varun and I go back a long way and have gone through a similar journey of ups and downs. And this video would not have been complete without Manjot,” Harrdy said in a statement.
The video is dedicated to all his friends who “I have had the best of times with. I will do anything to get those days back. They are all my ‘Yaar Superstars'”.
“I also want my listeners to think of their friends during college and share this song with them,” added Harrdy.
Varun said when a ‘yaar’ (friend) asked him to be a part of the music video, “toh karna hai (so I have to do it), especially if the ‘yaar’ is my talented buddy Harrdy”.
“Yaarr superstaar” took Manjot down memory lane when he heard it for the first time. “Shooting with all my ‘yaars’ was the best thing”.
Pawanesh Pajnu, Head-North, Sony Music India, added: “‘Yaarr superstaar’ has an instant likeability to it and will relate to people across age groups. We are very excited to have partnered with talented artistes like Varun and Manjot and without them, this would have not been such a massive product.” (IANS)
