Richa Chadha joins board supporting women in films, TV
Mumbai– Actress Richa Chadha has been appointed as a member of the the Advisory Board of Women in Film and Television India (WIFT).
“I am someone who has come to this industry without a godfather and it hasn’t been easy. The industry at this point is a much more organised workspace and is much safer to work in than before, but there’s much more to be done. There’s this impression that show business is not a good place for women. Everyone in my extended family was apprehensive when I joined the film Industry.
“But 10 years on, I have worked on some path breaking projects, with talented artistes and am proud of my filmography and struggle. Now a movie sets are filled with women and it’s important to create this gender-neutral environment if we want to say balanced stories, and even progress as a society,” Richa said.
WIFT is a platform which supports women filmmakers and technicians through various programmes and mentorship schemes. The Indian chapter of WIFT is affiliated to the global WIFT organisation based in Washington DC.
When Malaika was gifted paithani sari by a dance contestant
Mumbai– Actress-model Malaika Arora has been gifted a paithani saree and a nathni by the dance contestant Rutuja on the ongoing reality TV show “Indias Best Dancer”.
Touched by the gesture, Malaika said: “I loved the pink colour of the Paithani sari, and also the nathni. I have never tried this typical traditional outfit before because I dont have any… but I would definitely love to. I really want to thank Rutuja and her parents for this lovely gift.”
“India’s Best Dancer” airs on Sony TV. It is being judged by Malaika, Terence Lewis and Geeta Kapoor.
Kajol posts gorgeous pics of her ‘happy pill’ Nysa
Mumbai– Actress Kajol took to Instagram to share pictures of her daughter Nysa, calling her a “happy pill”. The post left social media users gushing about Nysa’s resemblance to her mother.
Kajol has shared pictures, presumably from a candid photo-shoot. In the photographs, Nysa is seen dressed in a golden lehenga, paired with an embellished and sequined blouse and a golden ruffle dupatta. Keeping her hair open, she completed her look with traditional jewellery. She was seen posing happily for the camera, flashing her flawless smile.
“In the times of fear we are in right now we all need a happy pill. Thank you for being mine. #babygirl #allmine #smilemore,” Kajol wrote along with the pictures.
Kajol’s fans loved the pictures and showered the 16-year-old with love. Kajol’s sister Tanishaa Mukerji commented to the post, “My princess” along with several kiss-eye emojis.
A fan wrote, “absolutely gorgeous”, another posted: “So beautiful”. Many also dropped heart and fire emojis in their reaction to the post.
“I thought it was Kajol,” said one user, while another posted: “The Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!!! You look just like your mom.”
Meanwhile, in a previous interaction, Kajol talked about Nysa’s career plans, saying: “She (Nysa Devgn) is just 16 years old. I think you (media and people) can give her a break and some space. Recently, she has celebrated her 16th birthday. Right now, she is studying in 10th Standard and she is preparing for her board exams.”
Vicky Kaushal: Struggled to build my confidence
Mumbai– Actor Vicky Kaushal initially felt that “a lanky guy” like him would never be able to make it big in Bollywood, adding that he struggled hard to build his confidence.
“Life has been wonderful, I have learned so much over the period of time. My parents always made sure I am grounded and it’s their upbringing which has helped me reach here. While we were growing up, our parents were very clear between necessity and luxury. Luxury was something which Sunny (Kaushal) and I had to earn ourselves,” Vicky said, adding: “I struggled to build my confidence at first because choosing acting as a career, appearances needs to be on point. Always thought a lanky guy will never have a chance, but here we are.”
Talking about pursuing his passion for acting, Vicky said: “During my engineering tenure, I never thought of being an actor. Visiting an industrial place gave me clear goals and made me realise what I didn’t want to do in life. I channelled my thoughts and interest only to realise performing is what I love the most.”
“My father was quite astonished when I broke out the news of pursuing acting as a career. He was always of the opinion that one of the family members would have a sedentary life with a desk job paying fixed income on monthly basis and vacationing in Diwali with all the family members,” added the son of Sham Kaushal.
Vicky opened up about his life in an episode of “Starry Nights Gen Y”, which airs on Zee Cafe. On film front, the actor will soon be seen in “Udham Singh” and “Takht”.
Kriti Sanon: ‘Mimi’ was a journey of self discovery for me as an actor
Mumbai– Actress Kriti Sanon says playing a surrogate mother in the upcoming film “Mimi” was a journey of self discovery for her as an actor.
“I had a really nice experience shooting for the film. In fact, I feel this is one of the most beautiful scripts I have read. Sometimes, it happens that certain scenes of a film look really good on paper but you are not able to execute them when you are shooting, and vice versa. But in this film that wasn’t the case,” said Kriti, at a promotional event on Wednesday in Mumbai
The actress, who recently wrapped up shooting for the film, added: “If we shot this film as effectively as it looked on paper, credit goes to the whole team and especially (director) Laxman Utekar. This is my second film with him (after ‘Lukka Chuppi’). We haven’t explored the topic of surrogacy in our films. I like the fact that he (Utekar) has the ability to make an entertaining and humorous film out of a serious topic. I feel it is really important to do that because you are not making a documentary.”
The film made Kriti realise how she can function as an actor. “Last (shooting) schedule was satisfying for me as an actor almost like a self discovery. It made me realise how I can function as an actor. There were a lot of emotional scenes that are almost an experience when you are doing them. So, I can’t wait for the audience to actually see this film because it is very close to my heart, no matter what the result is,” she said.
“Mimi” is directed by Laxman Utekar and is a remake of the National Award-winning 2011 Marathi film “Mala Aai Vhhaychay!”. Kriti stars in the film in the lead role of a surrogate mother alongside Pankaj Tripathi, Manoj Pahwa, Supriya Pathak and Sai Tamhankar.
Armaan Malik set to launch first English single
New York– Singer-songwriter Armaan Malik will launch his first English-language single “Control” on March 20.
The singer has signed with Arista Records. Under the deal, Armaan will release his first English language single, “Control”.
“To write and release English music has been my dream for as long as I can remember and I couldn’t have found a better family than Arista Records to be starting this new journey with. There’s no better feeling than to know that I’m in such good hands with an executive like David Massey, who truly believes in me, this project and also shares the same vision as me about global music. We have been working on this for about a year now and I can’t control my excitement to share this new side of me with the world,” said Armaan.
To this, David Massey, president and CEO, Arista, added: “We are excited to have Armaan join the Arista family. He is an international superstar and we look forward to introducing him to the US and broadening his fan base here.”
The 23-year-old playback singer gained popularity with many super hit songs like “Tu Hawa”, “Naina”, “Main Hoon Hero Tera”, “Hua Hain Aaj Pehli Baar”, “Sau Aasmaan”, “Dil Mein Tum Ho” among many others.
Meera Chopra is finally at home in Mumbai!
Mumbai– After two years of house hunting, actress Meera Chopra has finally found a home in Mumbai. The “Section 375” actress has purchased a 3-BHK apartment in Lokhandwala.
“All that mattered to me while zeroing in on a home in Mumbai was a good locality, amazing building and good space. During the house hunting I realised that it’s so difficult to get all three together. Space is a big issue in the city, but I’m glad I managed to find the one,” said Meera.
She is planning to shift to her new home soon. She wants to have a big red bed in her bedroom and place a hammock in the balcony.
The actress has just purchased the property and will start work on the interiors soon. “I still have to hire somebody for the interiors. But I’m clear about the interiors in my head. I want to keep it to bare minimun and have a modern look. I love bright colours, so I am planning to use lot of colours. I will personally give a lot of creative inputs for the interiors,” she informed.
On the work front, Meera Chopra will next be seen in Amazon Prime’s upcoming web series “Kamathipura”.(IANS)
