Anil Kapoor and Lionsgate to Co-Produce the Blockbuster Action Comedy Movie “Red”

Lionsgate, a premier next generation global content leader, and Indian movie star Anil Kapoor, operating through his production vehicle AKFC Network, will remake the movie Red in Hindi for the Indian marketplace, the two companies announced today.

This partnership and deal was orchestrated and negotiated by Rohit Tiwari at Morris Street Advisors, Lionsgate's exclusive non-theatrical distribution agent in India and the region.

Udayan Bhat, COO of AKFC Network said, “The management team at Lionsgate and Rohit Tiwari have been wonderful in securing the rights and the deal for the partnership. We hope this is the beginning of a long term relationship with Lionsgate. Lots more to come.”

Red is inspired by the 2010 North American box office blockbuster of the same name, produced and released by Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment label, that boasted an ensemble cast including Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban and Mary-Louise Parker.  The film tells the story of a former black-ops agent Frank Moses who, when his peaceful life is threatened by a high-tech assassin, reassembles his old team in a last ditch effort to survive and uncover his assailants.

Speaking on the deal, Rohit Tiwari, CEO & Managing Director of Morris Street Advisors said, “This partnership between Lionsgate and AKFC Network is a great platform to bring the best of entertainment from the West to our Indian audience. We are glad that Morris Street Advisors could help getting the rights and the deal for this blockbuster movie with an icon like Anil Kapoor.”

This will be the first film jointly produced by the two companies and Lionsgate’s second film in India (following Brothers, Lionsgate’s successful remake of its film Warrior).  AKFC Network and Lionsgate are currently finalizing the cast for the film, which is scheduled to go into production in August 2016.

“We’re delighted to partner with our friend Anil Kapoor, a huge brand name with Indian audiences, in the remake of our box office blockbuster Red,” said Lionsgate Executive Vice President of International Sales Wendy Reeds.  “We’re proud to continue building our business in India, and we have the ideal partner and the perfect property to bring Indian audiences a film distinguished by its stellar talent, nonstop action and incredible excitement and suspense.”

"After successfully adapting 24: Season 1 and Season 2 we are looking forward to remaking Red for the Indian audience,” said Anil Kapoor. “This successful movie that boasts a huge multi-star cast is perfect for India as it has all the elements our audience loves - action, drama and comedy mounted on a huge canvas. Also, just as we set new benchmarks in television with 24, we intend to revive the multi-starrer action movie genre that was so popular up to the 90's. We are happy and excited to partner with Lionsgate in co-producing Red and are looking forward to delivering an exciting and high production movie."

​Akshay Oberoi showcases his painting skills in 'The Virgins' ​​

Talented actor Akshay Oberoi who has proved his mettle for acting in movies such as Lal Rang and Pizza, has now explored a different side of his personality in his next - the short film 'The Virgins'.

Taking a tongue-in-cheek view at the (non) issue of virginity, 'The Virgins' has Akshay playing the part of an obsessive lover.

Akshay, who likes to paint sometimes to de-stress from his roles, was more than happy when the obsessive character lent itself naturally to be someone who paints, and even writes poetry.

Akshay says: "When Sandeep and I were discussing the character, costumes, mannerisms, etc., it suddenly struck us that only someone with a strong creative pursuit would be so passionate and obsessive. And since I like to paint, we settled on that. I think the results on screen are fantastic."

In fact, the sequence between Akshay Oberoi and Pia Bajpai are shot at a painter's studio adding to the realistic feel.

Says director Sandeep A. Varma, "Akshay is a very intelligent actor, so I like to discuss and develop the character with him. Even for this short, he was all there. The thought of his being a painter was a brainwave that came suddenly. Even though the whole take of this film is humourous, we wanted a finish and detailing, that would give it long shelf life. After all, this is the first film in India to be made on virginity"

The Virgins is produced by Vinay Mishra and Preety Ali and is directed by Sandeep A. Varma who directed the critically acclaimed 'Manjunath. Cinematography is by Shanu Singh Rajput.

Catch a Daughter’s Strife in ‘Main Bushra’

It is often said that a woman shapes the destiny of civilization! Today women have taken great strides and can match a man step for step in any field and yet we still consider a girl child a responsibility and a burden. Changing these belied age old belief is Zindagi’s new show Main Bushra - the story of a young, educated and confident woman, Bushra Warsi, who wants to prove to her father that daughters are equally, if not more, capable than sons.  The show stars the talented Mawra Hocane in the title role of Bushra and has an ensemble cast that includes Affan Waheed, Saba Hameed and Faisal Qureshi. ‘Main Bushra’ premieres on Zindagi today on 29th June, 2016 at 8:00 PM and will air every Monday to Saturday.

Main Bushra showcases the struggle of a girl, who despite all odds, is determined to shatter age old beliefs and live with honour and dignity. The daughter of a middle-class father Nasir (Waseem Abbas) that only wants a son, Bushra comes from a home that believes in the supremacy of sons over daughters. Bushra and her sisters are the unwitting victims of this mindset. Bushra constantly strives to overcome this mindset and to prove her worth to her family. Bushra believes in setting high goals and not stopping till you get there but it is her family that becomes the roadblock to her success.  Despite the prejudices they have against her, Bushra goes out of the way to help the ones she loves, often sacrificing her own life and desires.

Will Bushra be appreciated for her efforts to support her family?  Will she be able to prove to her father and her family that she is no less than a son?

Watch Bushra’s struggle to achieve her dreams in the world full of stereotypes in ‘Main Bushra’ from Monday to Saturday at 8:00 PM, only on Zindagi!

Zindagi, the No 1 Premium Entertainment Channel  was launched with a promise of good storytelling from across the world to Indian television. Fulfilling its brand promise of Bemisaal Kahaniyaan, the channel presents stories that charm its viewers with their realistic appeal, superlative character portrayals, captivating performances and their ability to satiate the sensibilities of the modern viewer. Beginning with poignant and memorable stories from Pakistan, the channel also introduced Feriha, a show from Turkey and produced its first Indian original reality series, Shukriya. Reinforcing its commitment to its viewers in its second year of programming, Zindagi launched its original fiction programming line-up with two shows – Bhaage Re Mann and Aadhe Adhoore - that embodied the spirit of the modern Indian woman.

GroupDrop all set to enhance the experience of #DoingItTogether

Doing It Together has always been an entertaining affair. From picnics to assignments to sharing quality time with family, all of us have memories of doing unforgettable things together. These memories are hitched with us forever and are cherished for a lifetime. Inspired from this feeling of doing it together, GroupDrop Online has launched first of its kind social e-commerce portal in India with an aim to bring a change on how consumers perceive and buy products of their choice online. GroupDrop aims at leveraging the power of community purchase by bringing the like-minded consumers together and buy products at the best possible price.

The idea came to Gaurav Kapadia when he heard of a group of people in India who bought 150 high end luxury cars together at a discounted rate. This was such a big announcement that the CEO of the luxury car brand went down along with his senior management team to hand over the keys to the buyers. Gaurav soon roped in Shyam Gursahani and both of them then developed a business model to help like-minded people to meet with one another, on a common platform, share opinions and buy the products of their choice at an irresistible price. The portal will be dealing with wide range of products across automobile, audio, gaming and photography genres.

Speaking on the launch, Mr. Shyam Gursahani, Director, GroupDrop said, “This is a proud moment for both Gaurav and I. We aim to connect people with similar likes and provide them with a common platform, where they can discuss all the pros and cons before buying a product. We want to leverage the power of the people in community purchase. This will help us become the preferred space to help consumers buy what they need and not what is offered at the best price, and promote the experience of #DoingItTogether.”

GroupDrop aims to grow and offer more choices to the customers.  All products on GroupDrop are chosen, created, or inspired by people, which are called ‘drops’. Consumers can search for products they want, and discuss and vote for the products they would like to buy. Once the consumer decides what product they'd like to buy together, GroupDrop contacts the vendor directly on behalf of them to get a great group discount, and allows the consumer to buy the product by joining the drop.

GroupDrop is first of its kind social e-commerce portal launched in 2016, with an aim to change the future of how the customers buy products of their choice. GroupDrop is only place where consumers from all parts of the world can connect with like-minded people, ask for products that they want, have conversations, share their expertise or opinions and also be able to buy these products at discounted price in groups. The more people that join the drop, the lower the price gets. GroupDrop services are available through the web-portal, and the made-for-mobile web service. The GroupDrop app on the Android play store and iOS app store should be available soon. 

Divyeendu Sharma to play a Virgin in Virgins

Divyendu Sharma who is best known for his role as liquid in Pyaar Ka Punchnama is all set to make his short film debut with Virgins, where he will be seen playing the role of a Virgin boy who is about to get married.

"Frankly, there's a lot of unnecessary hype about virginity. There's so much of it that I found it funny - the way everyone seems to be interested in knowing others' virginity status. So I wanted actors with a light touch and capable to delivering poker faced humour. Divyendu, with his boyish charm and fantastic comic timing fit the bill perfectly. And once he read the script and met me, he hopped on board immediately," says Director Sandeep A Varma.

Virginity is one of the most common and a hot topic of discussion in today's youth. The film brings out a funny yet informational take on pre-marital sex in today’s youth. Director Sandeep A Varma after the much critically acclaimed Manjunath, was really keen to do something funny and this fit the bill. “Foremost reason to do this short was the kind of questions it was asking about our society, our conditioning and our understanding of sexuality. Its multilayered narrative is crisp and precise. And off course Hamara Movies has been doing some really interesting stuff so it made all d more sense to collaborate with them and with Sandeeps' vision everything seemed just right,"says Divyendu.

The film is directed by Sandeep A Varma and is produced by Vinay Mishra and Preety Ali.

Arbaaz and Sohail Khan at the trailer launch of FEVER

​Post the tremendous response to the cracker of a 20 second Teaser, Fever had a massive trailer launch,  with wishes and praises  not only pouring in from the industry but​​ ​​Caterina Mor​i​no and ​​Gemma ​Atkinson​ ​who play a pivotal role in the film wished the producers and the entire team of Fever from Switzerland.

The trailer launch of Fever which has been aptly christened as a thrillex saw Arbaaz Khan, Sohail Khan and Javed Jaffery extend their support to their close friend, Ajay Chabbria and the other producers Karan Devgan, Rajath Manjunath and Ravi Agarwal and the cast of the film. Not only that but Sohail went on to say that Rajeev is a talent house and a fantastic actor 'who deserves a lot more' to which Rajeev  reciprocated by stating that these are two large hearted people and this large heartedness runs in their family.

The film that's directed by Rajeev Jhaveri would see Rajeev Khandelwal play an assassin involved with 3 super hot ladies, Gauahar Khan plays the main lead along with the Hollywood hotties ​C​aterina and ​Gemma ​Atkinson.

The film trailer was trending throughout the day on social media websites and was talk of the town. Fever is presented by Karan Devgan of Niche Film Farm & Rajath Manjunath of Jaya Sapthagiris Productions in association with Ravi Agrawal of Plus Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. & Ajay Chabbria of ICM Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. Fever will be releasing worldwide 22nd July 2016.

Zindagi’s first original fiction show "Bhaage Re Mann" returns on 23rd June

After winning audiences over with their realistic portrayal in a contemporary Indian setting, the bubbly Padmini a.k.a. Karuna Pandey and the innocent Raghav a.k.a. Chandan Anand are all set to make a comeback. Zindagi’s first original fiction show, Bhaage Re Mann returns on 23rd June, 2016, every Monday to Saturday at 10:30 PM, with an all new season. The show that intrigued viewers with its exemplary slice-of-life narrative and made the main protagonist, Padmini aka ‘Mini B’ a household name will now captivate audiences with more twists and turns.

Bhaage Re Mann advocates a very simple yet important message of simply following your heart. The first season witnessed a roller coaster ride of emotions, humour, and romance; from the devastating loss of Anjali, to Jyothi deciding to leave her husband, to Maa trying to protect Raghav from Padmini. The show has shown various facets of Padmini and how she dealt with each situation in her unique and quirky way. She helped her loved ones to face life's challenges differently with her out of the box solutions.

The first season ended at a point when Raghav gathered enough courage to confess his feelings to a confused Padmini. The entry of Padmini’s old friend Rudra (Aamir Dalvi) further infuriated an insecure Raghav. We left the story in a nail bitting moment in the last episode when Raghav’s estranged wife Rhea (Manasi Salvi) makes a sudden entry just as the love story between Padmini and Raghav begins to heat up.

What will season 2 have in store for us? Will Mini B and Raghav finally get together? To find out catch the season 2 Premiere of Bhaage Re Mann on 23rd June every Monday to Saturday at 10:30 pm, only on Zindagi

Rupali Suri to flare up the red carpet at IIFA

Actress and fashionista Rupali Suri has been chosen to be the official anchor at the red carpet for the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) gala in Madrid, Spain this year. Rupali will cover a city tour for digital space content of the celebrations.

With close to 150 Bollywood celebrities attending, an expected audience of around 20,000, and a business forum to facilitate talks of trade and collaborations, besides attractions integrating talent from India and Spain – the 17th IIFA event is poised to be a celebration of 60 years of the countries’ diplomatic relations.

The Gladrags MegaModel winner will soon be making her big screen debut, playing a key role in director Arun Frank's first feature film Dad... Hold My Hand.

Rupali plays the lead's fiancé Ria in the film starring Denzil Smith, Ratna Pathak and Jayesh Kodwani. Produced by Wet Grass Films and presented in association with Bad Girl Films (UK), Dad... Hold My Hand is made entirely in English and shot in London and Mumbai. The film is expected to do more rounds of festival circuits, before releasing in India and the West.

HYPER TYGERS - India’s first environmental superhero and superhero cricket team by Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma in partnership with Graphic India, UK based ISM Komix and Cornerstone Sport took a stand for India and the environment today with the launch of the all new, unique HYPER TYGERS - the world's first superhero cricket team, who play futuristic Hyper Cricket to save the environment, their village, and the world.

Available on DailyHunt http://m.dailyhunt.in/Ebooks/english/hyper-tygers-chapter-1-book-200806, starting today, the Hyper Tygers E-books can be accessed free of charge for the first two weeks, after which each chapter will be priced at Rs. 10/-.  A new chapter of Hyper Tygers will be released every week. A special contest on DailyHunt will also give two lucky contestants, each week, a chance to win an autographed cricket bat or ball, from Rohit Sharma.

An exclusive partnership with Facebook and worldwide launch of the Hyper Tyger motion comic videos will be made available for free, through Rohit Sharma’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/RohitSharmaOfficialPage/?fref=ts , the Hyper Tygers Facebook page, the Facebook Graphic India app and the Graphic POP! Mobile app and www.hypertygers.in starting today.

The 8 minute pilot episode of the motion comic combines chapters 1 and 2 and takes place in India 2077 AD, when villagers band together to create a talented cricket team that will fight against Mr X and his Shadow Corporation to save their village, ‘Geomantra’, from destruction and a gravity train line. Geomantra is a metaphor for protecting India and the Earth’s environment.

“Green Tyger Challenge”, will be a regular weekly contest that will challenge readers of all ages to go out and support their local community by completing fun and social challenges, like planting a tree, collecting rubbish, helping members of their community and then posting/sharing their efforts on social media. Each week one lucky contestant will win exclusive prizes and everyone can become a Green Tyger on www.hypertygers.in.

"It is fantastic to be a part of the creation of this action-packed adventure around a futuristic game of cricket. On a larger level the comic series by Graphic India speaks to the protection of the planet and the need to bring about social change. "said Rohit Sharma. “Hyper Tygers is a timely, fun way to engage in a conversation that needs to be had. I hope it helps create awareness and is instrumental in the creation of dialogues that make a real difference in the world.”

“Cricket meets Superheroes! Two of the world's greatest passions unite in this epic adventure of a futuristic cricket team fighting for our planet," commented Sharad Devarajan, CEO of Graphic India. "What an honor it is to work with superstar Rohit Sharma to bring this story to his millions of fans and also bring awareness to the important issue of climate change.”

“It’s great to have cricket superstar Rohit Sharma as part of the team, opening up a great story for India and inspiring a generation of Green Tygers and eco warrior’s to go out and score a century of positive change”, added Xan Morgan, Co-Creator of Hyper Tygers, who was part of Prime Minister David Cameron’s 2012 trade delegation to India, representing Environment and Water from the United Kingdom.

“ISM Komix is thrilled to be partnering with such a great team at Graphics India and Cornerstone. Our passion is sports, especially cricket and there is nowhere better for cricket than India.  Our future is your future and the planets future and Hyper Tygers is our dream to make the future a better place and bring peace and harmony to the planet.” Steve Salem Creative Director ISM Komix.

“We are thrilled to have partnered in this initiative to spread a very important message. This is an attempt to literally save the world using the power of social media. Rohit’s concern for the environment and his millions of followers on Facebook made him the obvious choice for this. We are really glad he agreed and are sure that, he will encourage many individuals to support the cause. This being our first association with a digital comic series, is a significant step for Cornerstone Sport in increasing our footprint in the digital space." Says, Jogesh Lulla, COO, Cornerstone Sport.

Hyper Tygers is also developing original storylines with UK charity Elephant Family, founded by Mark Shand, brother of the Duchess of Cornwall who the Charity counts as it Royal President along with HRH The Prince of Wales.

ISM Komix and Graphic India will also be planning a worldwide animation, digital video and gaming strategy around Hyper Tygers to reach cricket audiences across numerous media platforms around the world.

Arjun Kapoor's HALF GIRLFRIEND turns him into a basketball player

Arjun Kapoor plays a national-level basketball player, Madhav Jha in Mohit Suri's Half Girlfriend. 

The film, which sees the actor romancing Shraddha Kapoor for the first time, goes on floors in the Capital today. Arjun has been training with an international basketball team to learn the moves of the game.

Talking about the film Arjun says, “There is pathos and drama in Half Girlfriend. It’s not just a frivolous rom-com, but it’s a drama. The film has a journey - a romantic journey and for me that is very exciting.”

Half Girlfriend is an Indian English coming of age, young adult romantic film based on a novel by Chetan Bhagat. Set in rural Bihar, New Delhi, Patna, and New York, this is the story of a Bihari boy in quest of winning over the girl he loves. The film divulges the sentiments and linguistic struggles of a backward rural Bhojpuri-laced Hindi speaking boy from Bihar as he enrolls himself at the prestigious English-medium St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi, and falls in love with a "high class English speaking rich Delhi girl". The girl does not admit the relationship but agrees to be his "Half Girlfriend".

Wondering what is the term Half-Girlfriend?? Well, it's a unique Indian phenomenon, where boys and girls are not clear about their relationship status with each other. A boy may think he is more than friends with the girl, but the girl is still not his girlfriend. Hence, the term 'Half girlfriend'. So stay tuned as we will be bringing you much more, including the Basketball Diaries by Arjun.

​​​Varun Sharma to help retired teachers ​

Varun Sharma is not ​only ​an brilliant actor but he is also an amazing human being in real life.

Not many know but Varun Sharma​'s mother Veena Gulshan was a Fine art teacher at a renowned college in Jalandhar and hence he is going all out to help retired teachers to live a life they deserve. Teachers who gave 20-30 years of their lives training and educating the next generation gets mere Rs.700/- to Rs.1000/- as pension from government. ​ 

"Being a teacher is not an easy job and it’s sad that they get such small pensions after working so hard. A few of my childhood friends and I have pledged to support two families of retired teachers in Punjab. We will sort out their monthly expenses," informs Varun who will be next seen in Dinesh Vijan’s Raabta.

​​Most of the teachers don​’t have kids to take care of them, and some teachers have their families settling abroad. Hence, with no one to support; ​Life gets very difficult for some teachers in old age.

"At an age when they should relax, they are forced to do odd jobs like baby-sitting. All I am trying to do is to help them and spread awareness about the problem," asserts the actor, adding that he visits Punjab once a few months to spend time with the teachers and their families. 

"I am what I am today just because of what I was taught in school. I would give credit to all my teachers to make me a respectable person of the society. I am too small a person to return their favor. All I am doing is trying to help them in some or the other way so that they can have a respectable life.​ Also,​I love spending time with elders. They talk about their life experiences and there is so much to learn from them,"" Says Varun.

Rajeev to romance Gauahar Khan in a thrillex called FEVER

Rajeev Khandelwal is synonymous with style, substance and elegance and that’s something he has portrayed in this is slick film Fever with great panache.  The actor who plays an assassin would be seen serenading Gauahar Khan in this upcomingthrillex directed by Rajeev Jhaveri. An assassin movie is incomplete without hot babes. Setting the screen on fire is ex-Bond girl, Caterina Murino and Hollywood bombshell Gemma Atkinson. 

Perhaps the first Bollywood film to be entirely shot in Switzerland, Fever is stunningly shot in more than 17 towns of the Alpine country. “Thrillex is a movie that has loads of thrill with exotic locations, exciting suspense and sex”, quips Rajeev Jhaveri, almost 'exing' a genre.  It will leave you shell-shocked with adrenaline pumping car chases, twist&turns with melodious songs. 

Presented by Niche Film Farm & Jaya Sapthagiri Production an ICM Entertainment production in association with Plus Entertainment Pvt Ltd. Releasing worldwide 22nd July 2016.

This monsoon Be ready to be Suspensed !! Catch the teaser online today.

Raghu Dixit to mesmerize with his unique amalgamation of Indian ethnic music

Get ready for an exciting weekend at Dublin Square at Phoenix Marketcity, Kurla as the talented artist, Raghu Dixit is all set to mesmerize the audience with his unique style of amalgamation of Indian ethnic music. Yes, it will be an amazing experience as the evening promises to be a fun-filled extravaganza with great music, food and drinks at the European themed, Dublin Square.

Raghu Dixit's music is an amalgamation of Indian ethnic music and styles from different parts of the world. His music is presented with a very contemporary, global sound, from playing to over 100,000 people in his home state to every big music festival in India, from Glastonbury, to the BBC to even playing for the Queen of England and the entire Royal Family. His songs include Mysore se aayi, Mumbai, Antaragni, Hey Bhagwan, Har Saans Mein, Gudugudiya, Khidki and many more.

So get ready for an astounding musical evening with the talented artist Raghu Dixit at Dublin Square, Phoenix Marketcity, Kurla!

Date: Saturday, 18th June 2016

Venue: Dublin Square, Level 1, Phoenix Marketcity, Kurla

Time: 7.00 p.m. Onwards

Entry: Tickets available on Book My Show

A New Mystery Awaits Birbal, Behind the Magical ‘Door of Age’ on BIG Magic’s Akbar Birbal

BIG Magic has recreated all possible dimensions of the historic Akbar Birbal relationship on its show ‘Har Mushkil Ka Hal Akbar Birbal’. Akbar, who always finds himself in the midst of an uncannily enigmatic situation, gets more excited when Birbal uses his whacky acumen to get his ‘Baadshah’ out of trouble. Birbal’s impeccable wisdom makes him Akbar’s most favorite Minister in his ‘Darbaar’. Proving it yet again, Birbal is back with his crazy mystery-solving tactics as a new mystery awaits him behind the ‘Door of Age’.  A magical door which throws everyone whoever passes through it, back into their childhood. Catch the adventurous ride back to Akbar and Birbal’s childhood in the Maha Episode this Saturday 7.30 pm on BIG Magic.

As the episode unfolds, Akbar finds a unique door during an excavation and decides to put it in his chamber. In a turn of events all the ‘Darbaris’ are transformed into children while passing through this magical door.  Leaving only Birbal in his original form, the episode further leads to more confusing and funny chain of events. All eyes are on Birbal as he sets out to solve the mystery.

Catch the Maha Episode this Saturday, 7.30 pm only on BIG Magic. Tune in to Har Mushkil ka Hal Akbar Birbal only on BIG Magic.

#BabyKoBassPasandHai the new party song of the season!

With a catchy tune, fun melody and visuals of dapper Salman Khan wooing the gorgeous Anushka Sharma has made #BabyKoBassPasandHai a favourite amongst all! Composed by Vishal-Shekhar, sung by Vishal Dadlani, Shalmali Kholgade, Isheeta with rap by the sensational Badshah, the song promises to get you on your feet.

Within 10 days of its release the song has already reached 7 Million views and counting. Badshah’s popular renditions have become chart busters recently and with Vishal Dadlani, Ishita and Shalmali Kholgade joining him in this high energy number, #Baby Ko Bass Pasand Hai is set to be the chartbuster of 2016.

This is the first time rapper, singer, producer Badshah has worked with the magical duo Vishal-Shekhar  and we hope to see more of their work together! If you haven't watched it yet, here we bring it for you..

Ranveer Singh is CNN-NEWS18’s "Indian of the Year 2016"

Ranveer Singh is on a roll, having had a gold run at the cinemas all through last year and this year, the accolades are still coming in for Bollywood’s very own Bajirao. The year saw Ranveer play vastly different characters with equal passion and ease. On one end, the star sunk his teeth into his well-etched role of the Maratha warrior, Peshwa Bajirao in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Magnum Opus Bajirao Mastani and on the other he was playing a natural, distinctly subdued and highly nuanced character like that of Kabir in Dil Dhadakne Do and it was a unanimously acclaimed, stand-out performance amongst heavy weight actors in the same ensemble cast While both the characters lay at different ends of the spectrum, Ranveer’s stupendous performances in both the films won hearts unanimously. After winning all prestigious film awards in 2015, he has now been conferred with the ‘Indian of The Year - Special Achievement Award’ by CNN-NEWS18.

Unfortunately, as Ranveer is shooting for his current film Befikre in Paris he was unable to collect the award himself and asked his father Jugjeet Singh Bhavnani to represent him at the event to collect the award on his behalf. Ranveer’s dad was very proud to receive this honour in his son’s stead and see his son included amongst the many other stalwarts who have been the previous winners of this prestigious award, including A R Rahman, Aamir Khan, Rajkumar Hirani, and Amitabh Bachchan.

One of the biggest awards in the domain of news television and an institution of impeccable credibility. CNN-NEWS18 Indian of the Year felicitates India’s greatest entertainers who have opened up doors to an exhilarating world, taking Indian audiences through alleys that lie on the other side of collective imagination. Their efforts have given viewers innumerable occasions to laugh, cry and have a wholesome moving audio visual experience. Ranveer Singh’s onscreen portrayals bear testament to this fact.

Talking about this new achievement, an elated Ranveer said, "I feel blessed, humbled and grateful to be honoured as CNN-NEWS18’s 'Indian of the year' for Special Achievement. I'm elated to have my name included in the list of stalwarts and legends of the Indian entertainment industry at this early stage in my career. I've been fortunate to have been given some wonderful opportunities to showcase my abilities as a performer this year, and I'm thankful to everyone who has contributed towards my work. Receiving this huge honour has only motivated me further to work harder to hone my craft going forward and be the most wholesome entertainer I can be!" 

This has indeed been a year of wonderful milestones for Ranveer Singh! Here’s hoping this winning streak continues for this dedicated artist.

Bridal Asia 2016 announces the dates for Mumbai & Delhi Editions

Asia’s biggest exposition for all that is premium in Bridal finery, apparel and products is back. Celebrating 18 years, Bridal Asia 2016 editions of Delhi & Mumbai will bring the finest and widest range of designers and brands under one roof.

Since its successful inception in 1999, Bridal Asia has been a path breaking concept on various levels under the pioneering leadership of its founder CEO , Divya Gurwara. From introducing premium and celebrated designers from across borders to the Indian audience to bringing various facets of trousseau shopping under one roof, Bridal Asia is proud to be the category innovator and undisputed leader in the area of wedding exhibitions.

Under the steer ship of  Dhruv Gurwara, COO , Bridal Asia 2016 will see Bridal Asia showcase the best of apparel, jewellery, sterling silver, lingerie, linen and accessories, all put together & painstakingly curated to provide the complete 360 degree experience by the best names in bridal finery from the subcontinent.

 Over the years, Bridal Asia has steadily nurtured and provided a successful platform to   newcomers and who have gone on to establish themselves as luxury prêt and fine couture designers and this edition is no different.

Bridal Asia , Mumbai is from 10th-12th August at The Dome, NSCI, Worli, Mumbai

Bridal Asia, Delhi is from 1st - 3rd October 2016 at The Ashoka, New Delhi

Prabhu Deva launches Season 5 of ‘Upload and Transform’

Godrej Interio, India’s largest furniture solutions brand, launched the fourth season of their largest ever consumer campaign 'Upload and Transform'. Touted as one of the biggest campaigns from the house of Godrej Interio, the campaign transforms our consumer’s lives by customizing and renovating their homes!

This season of U&T further strengthened their commitment as they transformed ace actor, director and choreographer Prabhu Deva's family home. Season 5 of Upload and Transform commenced with a complete makeover of Prabhu Deva’s family home at Mysore. The Superstar wanted to gift his parents a dream home that was friendly, warm, cozy yet luxurious. He wanted the house to have bright colours thus giving it a very positive feel.

Commenting on his transformed home, Mr. Prabhu Deva said, “My parents have been staying in our Mysore house for the longest time. They have always been selfless, kind-heart and giving. They have always prioritized my happiness above theirs. I wanted to do something special for my parents- something that is very comfortable, will transform their lives and add more colour and happiness. This is when I came across Godrej Interio’s Upload and Transform campaign. Godrej Interio is a very reliable and trustworthy brand. Their commitment towards transforming lives through inspiring spaces got me interested. The experience of co-curating a home for my parents with Interio’s panel of designers was excellent. The team turned my dream home into reality”.

On the launch of Upload and Transform Season 5, Bedraj Tripathy, AVP, Marketing and Communications, Godrej Interio, said, “Godrej Interio is a brand that is committed to transforming lives of our users. Upload and Transform is the largest engagement program in Asia that helps us stay connected with users. We are extremely delighted to have played a role in Prabhu Deva’s dream home for his parents”.

Godrej Interio, a leader and innovator in the furniture category is on with its fifth season of its largest ever consumer campaign “Upload & Transform” and with the fourth season it only gets larger. The campaign gives a way to the consumers to upload their living spaces, share their experiences, aspirations, concepts and some lucky consumers get the chance to actually see their homes transformed by Interio. By this campaign Interio is coming even closer to its consumers by being in a one large closely held community which is all about the home living experience. Not only this helps in sharing on a common platform but also helps Interio understand its consumers better at a very elaborate scale and develop products which are not just furniture but home creators. And amongst all this happening over the platform, some lucky consumers get their home transformed into their dream homes.

LIMCA Book of Records pronounces ‘TMKOC’ as the Longest Running Comedy Show

Taarak Mehta Ka Olltah Chashmah has done it once again. TMKOC has added another feather to its cap. LIMCA Book of Records has pronounced TMKOC as the “Longest Running Comedy Show”.

“We had started telecasting the show on 28 July 2008 inspite of adverse comments and advice from people on the very concept and story of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. However, I was confident and so was my entire team and actors. We knew that there was a gaping hole in the entertainment industry for a family entertainer. Today we stand vindicated. This acknowledgement from LIMCA Book of Records proves that show is well liked and has a constant as well as big fan following. Otherwise no show can sustain for so long on any channel. I thank my channel SAB TV for  trusting my instincts about the concept,” says Asit Kumarr Modi.   

Watch Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, produced by Neela Tele Films, conceived and designed by Asit Kumarr Modi, from Monday to Friday on SAB TV at 8.30 PM.

Incepted in 1998 by Asit Kumarr Modi, Neela Telefilms is committed to making entertaining and value inspiring shows for family audience, they have produced shows like Hum Sub Ek Hain,   Saarthi, Meri Biwi Wonderful, Yeh Duniya Hai Rangeen, Krishnaben Khakhrawala, Pyar me Twist, Hamari Saas Leela, Waah waah kyaa baat hai, Sab khelo Sab Jeeto etc for channels like Sony, Colors & Star Plus.

Ranveer does not fear being judged

Most of us know Ranveer Singh as a superstar who exudes confidence and charms on an all with his uncanny wit and sense of style. For us he is the effervescent, bold and crazy style guru who can transform into any onscreen character, captivate our minds and leave us asking for more. There’s not one, not two but a million shades of this young powerhouse that unfold an element of surprise each time he appears on screen. Known to tread unconventional paths, Ranveer has not only broken all Bollywood stereotypes but his progress also sends out an inspirational message to all us – the one of acceptance.

The young actor who won our hearts as the loveable Bittoo Sharma in Band Baaja Baaraat recently spoke about how he felt out of place during the initial years of his career and tried to conform to pre-existing norms. He revealed that the turning point of his life was the superhit ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela’ and it was then that he gained the confidence to accept himself for the way he is and stopped holding back. The actor said “I realised that I didn't have to be cagey with my humour or hold back my natural wit. Maybe, earlier I was just apprehensive about the way people would react to me. Slowly, I liberated myself from that fear of judgement so I could express myself freely. Now I do what I want, say what I want and wear what I want.”

While we’ve been thanking SLB for bringing forth Ranveer’s demigod avatar in Ram-Leela, looks like Ranveer too has a lot to thank him for.

Kay Kay Menon calls for Emergency with Bollywood's First Concept launch

Kay Kay has always been an actor who allowed his work to talk but this time around he seems to be going all out for his next Sann 75 which has Emergency as the backdrop. An insider reveals, everyone is aware about Kay Kay's acting skills and it's a no brainier when it comes to performance,  but the people who have seen the rushes are gushing about this being his best performance where he has surpassed his own expectations.

With the film being a political thriller, the makers have ensured that the same reached out to maximum people. Right from the set up to his look, all will take one back to the Era of 75. Kay Kay Menon is not one of those actors who goes out of his ways to promote his films. But when he does, he does it whole heartedly.

We all know that Indira Gandhi issued emergency in the year 1975 but how many of us know that the first ever mobile phone was bought in India in the same year? So when you have Kay Kay Menon and a film on Mobile phone why not club them together and use it to promote the film. Hence, now we will see Kay Kay Menon promoting his next film San 75 via mobile phones where the audience will be seen receiving a call from the actor himself post which they will get a link that opens up with a customized Kay Kay Menon video and message for his fans.

"This is a brilliant idea that our marketing team had thought off. We shot a video with Kay Kay Menon where he is not talking about his film but is asking people when was the first mobile phone introduced in India and to know the answer he shows the trailer of the film. It is an innovative concept which I don't think has been used in promoting Bollywood films and I am sure it will capture the attention of the viewers." Says the producer Kabir Lovee.

Varun  Gupta marketing and creative director trigger max stated "In this Day n Age of instant  information and attention seeking .. it’s important to come up with innovation in Film Marketing.. especially for films not having so called 'BIG ' stars All one needs to ensure is that it’s done true to the film cause the audiences have evolved and can’t be taken for Granted ...San' 75 thus have us the perfect fit for Bollywood's First Concept launch."

David Guetta’s Euro Anthem ‘This One’s For You’ catches India’s fancy

UEFA EURO 2016’s music ambassador and world’s biggest electronic music artist, David Guetta, proudly unveiled the tournament’s official song, ‘This One’s For You’. The track which features Swedish singer Zara Larsson, was recorded with the help of over one million fans from around the world via a special online app.

‘This One’s For You’ will be performed by David Guetta & Zara Larsson at the UEFA EURO 2016 opening on June 10th, 2016 and closing ceremony on July 10th, 2016. It will also be integrated throughout the tournament, including the opening and closing sequences for every TV match broadcast.

India loves David Guetta and with his fan base, the track is moving strong on the music charts, including Wync on #6 and Gaana on #2 positions. If you have not seen it yet, we have brought it exclusively for you to enjoy…

Whistling Woods International introduces LATA MANGESHKAR SCHOLARSHIP

With his Film & Media Arts institute Whistling Woods International (WWI) entering its 10th year, and having had the success of it being rated as one of the ten best film schools in the world, Founder & Chairman Subhash Ghai is delighted to announce a scholarship for meritorious yet indigent students in the name of Padmashri awardee Lata Mangeshkar ji.

The LATA MANGESHKAR SCHOLARSHIP will carry a 100% fee waiver for a 2-year / 3-year programme at Whistling Woods International.

Subhash Ghai and Meghna Ghai-Puri, President of Whistling Woods, accompanied by a few students, met Lata ji at her residence yesterday. The purpose was to invite her to receive the ‘2016 Whistling Woods Maestro Award’ for her legendary contribution to Indian Cinema, at its 9th Convocation on July 18, 2016. She gracefully accepted the invitation, and had all praise for the vision of Subhash Ghai & Mukta Arts in setting up of Whistling Woods International in 2001, as an institute of global standards in the education of the art, commerce and science of Cinema. As she said in her video message that she recorded for the institute, “I am honoured to receive such a prestigious award from a world-class institute like Whistling Woods International and I bless them for a great future.”

During this meeting, Lata ji also happily accepted a proposal from Meghna to institute an annual scholarship at WWI in her name. Lata ji said “I am deeply touched by this great gesture of Subhash ji, Meghna and their team. It’s an honour for me.”

Subhash Ghai added “It is our great honour to have Lata ji’s acceptance for our attempt to inspire the next generation of Indian filmmakers. This scholarship in the name of India’s pride and an institution for us all, Lata ji, will continue to benefit students for decades to come.”

Subhash Ghai also revealed that while WWI does provide scholarships to meritorious yet indigent students every year, this is the 2nd special 100% scholarship instituted in the name of a legend of Indian Cinema. Three years ago, Whistling Woods International had announced the DILIP KUMAR SCHOLARSHIP and over the past 3 years, three students have availed of this scholarship (2014 – Amit Hegde, 2015 – Rohit Valecha & 2016 – Amol Srivastava). 

Whistling Woods International, currently has over 700 students in several schools (Filmmaking, Acting, Animation, Music, Media & Communication and Fashion & Design) at its Filmcity campus. WWI has collaborated with TISS for its degree courses and is privileged to host a YouTube Space, a Sony Media Lab & RedEducation, within its campus. All details of Whistling Woods International are available on www.whisltingwoods.net.

Johny Baweja's movie poster released

After the scandalous news and video of Harman Baweja's cousin brother Johny Baweja made its rounds last week of him being caught in a sex scandal, here comes the poster of the movie A Scandall starring Johny Baweja which is directed by Ishan Trivedi.

Unlike other news scandals of actor / producers being caught in a compromising position, the video that made its round now seems that it must be a part of the movie and the unknown face with Johny Baweja in his bedroom was none other than Reeth Mazumder who is debuting as the female lead in the film. The film that also starres Manav kaul is being readied for a release on 24th June.  

Whether the scandalous video did get them the required publicity or not is not yet known. But seems it might as well help them in the promotion of the film.

Kalki​ ​​Koechlin​, Imran Khan and ​Sudhir​ Mishra attended the special screening of "The Virgins"

"You're not a virgin?"

"You mean, you're still a virgin?"

A young woman (or for that matter, a man) could be asked both these questions in the space of ten minutes, by different people.

Parents, of course, 'believe' that their kids have 'never done it' - as if its a sin. For friends and peers, having lost it is some kind of status issue.

Now comes an interesting film 'The Virgins' that tackles this in a tongue-in-cheek and funny way. Starring Divyendu Sharma (Pyar ka Panchnama), Pia Bajpai and Akshay Oberoi (Laal Rang), this film is written and directed by Sandeep A. Varma (who recently directed the much acclaimed biopic 'Manjunath'). For Sandeep, it was a complete departure from the serious tone of Manjunath, and he chose the short film format for this.

Says Sandeep : "In India, the short film format is considered a compromised version of a feature film but it is far from that. It's just a different format, and lends itself beautifully to certain stories. I've always found it ridiculous and very funny that a young person's virginity status seems to be everyone's business. So when the opportunity came to tell a story, I wrote this in two days. I feel it's turned out incredibly funny and yet with a point."

After creating the ​right kind of noise; the industry extends their support to "The Virgins" a film by Vinay Mishra and Priti Ali. ​The teaser of the film was released few days back and it is already creating a buzz amongst the target audience. Hence, the makers of the film hosted a special screening for the film. ​Kalki Koechlin, Imran Khan, Sudhir Mishra are few of the names who attended the special screening of "The Virgins"

Talking about it the Director says,​ "Kalki is someone whose work I have admired and Vinay (Humaramovie) knows her very well, he has done a web series with her. All of these people - Imran and Kalki were very excited about the concept of the film and were keen to support it, when we told them about it.​"​ 

A tongue-in-cheek view at the (non) issue of virginity, the film is of 17 minutes duration and even has a song in it, sung by Neha Basin and Swanand Kirkire. It has already been picked up by a top radio channel which has come in as a co presenter.

​With the teaser creating a buzz and bollywood supporting the film we are sure the film is gonna go places. The Virgins is produced by Preety Ali and Vinay Mishra and expected to release on 30th June. Catch it here...

Kalki​ ​​Koechlin​, Imran Khan and ​Sudhir​ Mishra attended the special screening of "The Virgins"

"You're not a virgin?"

"You mean, you're still a virgin?"

A young woman (or for that matter, a man) could be asked both these questions in the space of ten minutes, by different people.

Parents, of course, 'believe' that their kids have 'never done it' - as if its a sin. For friends and peers, having lost it is some kind of status issue.

Now comes an interesting film 'The Virgins' that tackles this in a tongue-in-cheek and funny way. Starring Divyendu Sharma (Pyar ka Panchnama), Pia Bajpai and Akshay Oberoi (Laal Rang), this film is written and directed by Sandeep A. Varma (who recently directed the much acclaimed biopic 'Manjunath'). For Sandeep, it was a complete departure from the serious tone of Manjunath, and he chose the short film format for this.

Says Sandeep : "In India, the short film format is considered a compromised version of a feature film but it is far from that. It's just a different format, and lends itself beautifully to certain stories. I've always found it ridiculous and very funny that a young person's virginity status seems to be everyone's business. So when the opportunity came to tell a story, I wrote this in two days. I feel it's turned out incredibly funny and yet with a point."

After creating the ​right kind of noise; the industry extends their support to "The Virgins" a film by Vinay Mishra and Priti Ali. ​The teaser of the film was released few days back and it is already creating a buzz amongst the target audience. Hence, the makers of the film hosted a special screening for the film. ​Kalki Koechlin, Imran Khan, Sudhir Mishra are few of the names who attended the special screening of "The Virgins"

Talking about it the Director says,​ "Kalki is someone whose work I have admired and Vinay (Humaramovie) knows her very well, he has done a web series with her. All of these people - Imran and Kalki were very excited about the concept of the film and were keen to support it, when we told them about it.​"​ 

A tongue-in-cheek view at the (non) issue of virginity, the film is of 17 minutes duration and even has a song in it, sung by Neha Basin and Swanand Kirkire. It has already been picked up by a top radio channel which has come in as a co presenter.

​With the teaser creating a buzz and bollywood supporting the film we are sure the film is gonna go places. The Virgins is produced by Preety Ali and Vinay Mishra and expected to release on 30th June. Catch it here...

Varun Sharma refuses a film offer for his pet

Varun Sharma who just came back from his first schedule of Rabtaa, took a break and visited his home town in Jalandhar. The actor was in for quite a surprise when he got a call from a production house that want his pet for a role in a Punjabi film. Varun has his reservations and thus he decided not to go ahead with it.  

On touching base with Varun he stated, “I got a call from one of the major production houses here in Punjab who told me that they have a very interesting role for my pet dog. I was taken aback. It was difficult for me to digest it and without giving it a thought I said no. Shooting for films is a hectic task and with lights and grilling schedules it takes a toll on our health. I am an animal lover and I got this pet so that I can spend some time with him and not coz I can make money out of him." said Varun Sharma.

Now that’s like a true pet lover.