Oti Mabuse replaces Rita Ora on ‘The Masked Singer’

Dancer Oti Mabuse replaces singer Rita Ora as a panelist on the American reality show “The Masked Singer”.

Rita is busy shooting in Australia as a judge on the singing show “The Voice” and is hence unable to find dates to shoot for “The Masked Singer”, according to thesun.co.uk. Producers were also thought to be keen to get a dance expert in the same way Rita was brought in as a singing specialist on the original show.

Rita said in a statement, “The Masked Dancer is going to be so much fun I can’t wait to watch you all. Sending so much love all the way from Australia.”

Oti said: “I’m so thrilled and honored to be joining the panel on The Masked Dancer. I’m a huge fan of The Masked Singer and I loved the US Masked Dancer so I just can’t wait to start on this show. As a dancer I will be watching the dancers intently looking for clues — it’s going to be so much fun!!!”

The show’s host Joel Dommett will be returning in the upcoming episodes.

Shefali Shah: Ready to play alien, Juliet, or sofa as long as it challenges me

Actress Shefali Shah will soon share screen space with Alia Bhatt in the mother-daughter relationship film, “Darlings”. She says she is up for any role that “surprises” the audience and helps her explore her acting abilities.

“I don’t want to limit myself by asking or wishing for certain kinds of roles. I’m greedy as an actor. And any role that excites me, hits me hard in my gut, surprises, and challenges me. Whether it’s an alien, Juliet or sofa,” she said.

Shefali courted international spotlight starring in the International Emmy-winner show “Delhi Crime”, and has also been seen in Bollywood films such as “Dil Dhadakne Do”, “Brothers”, “15 Park Avenue” and “Waqt: The Race Against Time”.

Besides “Darlings”, Shefali also has the web series “Humans” and “Delhi Crime 2” coming up.

“I am super excited and thrilled for all the work I’m doing this year. It’s the kind of work I’ve waited for for so long. ‘Humans’, ‘Darlings’, ‘Delhi Crime 2’ — and some more — all being fantastic scripts and roles and incredible makers and talent to work with. It’s a feast!” she says.

“Darlings” is produced by Alia Bhatt’s brand new banner Eternal Sunshine Productions along with Shah Rukh Khans Red Chillies Entertainment.

Tara Sutaria creates monochrome magic in new photo-op

Actress Tara Sutaria looks stunning in a new black and white picture she has shared on social media.

Tara posted the picture on Instagram. In the image, she is seen posing in front of a mirror.

“Back to the 90’s Back to black and white for our routine #PostPackUpShot,” she wrote as the caption.

Tara will soon be seen in the Bollywood remake of the Telugu hit “Rx100”, which is also going to mark the debut of Suniel Shetty’s son Ahaan Shetty. Besides this, she has been roped in for “Ek Villain” and “Heropanti 2”.

Ravi Kishan: Drugs and sexual abuse are interconnected

Mumbai, March 4 (IANS) Actor-politician Ravi Kishan will soon anchor the crime-based non-fiction show Mauka-E-Vardaat, and he says the issues of drug abuse and crime against women are somewhere interconnected, and the youth of the nation suffers the most owing to these transgressions.

“I am anchoring the show and it is a non-fiction show,” he told about Mauka-E-Vardaat, adding: “After joining politics while I am taking it as an opportunity to reach out to people, I know how TV has given me a chance to re-establish my career with ‘Bigg Boss 1’, ‘Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka’ and ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5’. But I have a greater purpose to come on board for Mauka-E-Vardaat.”

“I found this idea unique, in which this show travels across every state in India. They are going to remote villages where crimes happen and remain unnoticed. The idea is to create awareness about things happening around at a local level,” he added.

“Also, since the production team is camping in those towns and villages, locals are getting work and getting exposure to the whole system of film and TV production. It is in sync with the idea of our film city in UP. Me, being the face from the North part of our country — and I am also the MP of Gorakhpur — I know that people take my words seriously. I can manage to influence people positively. So, I decided to do the show. We shot episodes in Gorakhpur, too,” he said.

Each episode of the show will address a real-life story and unveil the truth behind the crime shown. The show also features popular Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari and performer Sapna Choudhary.

“I strongly believe that these two things are interconnected — drugs and sexual abuse. We have to fight against drug consumption that leads youngsters towards sexual crime against women. We have to understand that we do not have that many policemen as compared to the population we have. So, at times we normalize a lot of crime and do not report them. We intend to create awareness on that through the show,” he said.

“If you see crime on women happening on the road, or people doing drugs, report to the police. Drugs and crime against women are surely two very important issues society is facing, which is ruining the youth,” he added. Mauka-E-Vardaat starts from March 9 on &TV.

Britney Spears dad says his decisions are in her best interest

Los Angeles, March 4: Britney Spears’ dad Jamie insists every decision he makes is in the singer’s best interest.

Britney has been under a conservatorship imposed by her father since her breakdown 12 years ago after which she was hospitalised and admitted to rehab. In an interview with CNN, Spears senior said he hoped his daughter ends her conservatorship, a situation where a legal guardian is appointed by a judge to manage someone’s financial affairs.

Jamie Spears’ contention has also been corroborated by his lawyer. “(Jamie) would love nothing more than to see Britney not need a conservatorship. Whether or not there is an end to the conservatorship really depends on Britney. If she wants to end her conservatorship, she can file a petition to end it,” said the lawyer Vivian Lee Thoreen, as reported by people.com.

Thoreen added: “Jamie is not suggesting that he is the perfect dad or that he would receive any ‘Father of the Year’ award. Like any parent, he doesn’t always see eye-to-eye on what Britney may want. But Jamie believes every single decision he has made has been in her best interest.”

Amit Mishra: Bollywood success opens doors for indie collaborations

Mumbai, March 4: Singer Amit Mishra is on a roll in the indie scene. He has had three independent songs released. The Bulleya-famed singer says his Bollywood success has helped him grow as an independent artiste. His new song Ashiq tera releases on Thursday.

“There is no doubt that whenever a song releases through a Bollywood film, it gets a wider reach. But the life of that song comes to an end once film promotion is over. In my journey, Bulleya (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil), Manma emotion jaage (Dilwale) or Galti se mistake (Jagga Jasoos) stayed in the minds of the listeners. People always request me to perform these at live gigs. Bollywood therefore surely gives an artiste popularity that we do not get from other platforms. Eventually, when I work on my non-film independent songs, my popularity as a Bollywood playback singer opens doors for collaborations easily,” Amit said.

“As an artist, finding space in Bollywood music and utilising the fame to create independent and artistic work is the best way to strategise our career,” he added.

In the recent past, Amit came up with three singles — Fakira, Bechainiya, and Dastaan. While Bulleya has emerged as his signature song, he said matching up a milestone at times looks tough.

“Every time a new song release, some people ask will it be the next ‘Bulleya’? I think every song has its own destiny and they is also a collective effort of the composer, lyricist, musicians and the whole team. Comparing the success of one song to another is unfair but that is also the result of the love of the audience. It is like my songs are fighting with each others to achieve the ‘best’ place from the audience and I am watching the fun from a distance,” he laughed.

Vaani Kapoor: Want to build something in health and nutrition space

Mumbai, March 4: Actress Vaani Kapoor said that she wants to build something of her own in the health and nutrition space in the future.

“Holistic lifestyle has been a part and parcel of my life even before I made my debut in Bollywood. I have always wanted to lead a healthy lifestyle and working out and eating right was always a top priority for me. I want to build something of my own in the health and nutrition space in the coming years and I have been researching the same for years now,” Vaani said.

“I want to actively promote and raise awareness about how important health is among the citizens of my country. Being healthy should be a top priority for us all, at all times. It really doesn’t take much to ensure that we are eating right and living right and I want to engage with people on the same,” she said.

Vaani said she has many great ideas and will be working round the clock to envision the feasibility of these ideas.

“I have many exciting ideas on this but it’s too premature for me to speak openly about it. As of now, I’m concentrating on being the best version of myself every single day and to showcase that to the people so that when I decide to start on my health journey, they will be convinced about it,” she said.

“I have to walk the talk and set examples for people to believe in my vision and I want to do just that for now,” said the actress, who has three back-to-back releases lined up over the next few months — Bellbottom, Shamshera, and Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui.

Shreya Ghoshal announces pregnancy

Mumbai, March 4: Singer Shreya Ghoshal took to Instagram on Thursday to share the news of her pregnancy with fans. The singer posted a picture of herself flaunting a baby bump.

Dressed in a blue and green ensemble, the mom-to-be poses with her bump in the picture and is visibly glowing. “Baby #Shreyaditya is on its way! @shiladitya and me are thrilled to share this news with you all. Need all your love and blessings as we prepare ourselves for this new chapter in our lives,” she posted.

Congratulatory messages poured from all sections of the film fraternity.

Dancer Shakti Mohan posted: “Congratulations,” while actress Sophie Choudhry wrote: “This is so so so amazing!!! Huge love and congrats to you my darling .”

Singer-composer Vishal Dadlani wrote, “Oyyyy!!! Guplu!!! @shreyaghoshal @shiladitya I’m so happy for you guys!!! Congratulations!!”

The singer tied the knot with Shiladitya Mukhopadhyaya in a low-key affair in 2015.

‘Bhuj’ debutante Pranitha Subhash: Bollywood has space for everyone

Southern actress Pranitha Subhash will soon make her Bollywood debut in “Bhuj: The Pride of India”, and will also be seenin “Hungama 2”. She says the film industry is full of diverse content, adding that she will continue looking for stories that offer variety.

“I think today Bollywood has space for everyone, with different genres and stories — either on OTT or theatres. Apart from that, it’s not space where you get stereotyped anymore. You can choose what you want, there are multiple types of movies. Things have diversified so much, so I am just looking for diversity and variety in my work,” Pranitha told IANS.

The actress has worked in Kannada, Telugu, and Tamil films, and she also runs an NGO in Bangalore, was recently awarded under Times 40 Under 40 list for her contribution as a social entrepreneur. The actress served 75,000 meals in 21 days during the lockdown.

What inspires her social work? “My parents are doctors and they have been doing a lot of work for the society — be it blood donation camps, which we conduct annually in our hospital in Bangalore or it could be organ donation, eye donation campaigns. So I look at it as my duty. We did Covid relief, work relief. Mostly I have been inspired by many people in the society besides my parents,” she said.

Sonakshi Sinha announces next film ‘Bulbul Tarang’

Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha took to Instagram on Wednesday to announce her next project. The actress will be seen in Bulbul Tarang, which will have an OTT release.

The actress posted a picture of herself where she is dressed in a blue salwaar kameez. She captioned the picture saying: “Meet Bulbul… A girl out to make her dream come true.? thrilled to announce my next film #BulbulTarang streaming soon on @netflix_in. #AbMenuMeinSabNew @tahirrajbhasin @reliance.entertainment #ShreeNarayanSingh #ArshadSayeed @sarkarshibasish.”

The film has been directed by Shree Narayan Singh and is said to be inspired by a true story. The film also features Raj Babbar and Tahir Raj Bhasin.

Meanwhile, Sonakshi, who is known for her role in the Dabangg series, Lootera, Akira, and Mission Mangal, is gearing up her next release Bhuj: The Pride Of India. Besides Sonakshi, the film will also feature Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Sharad Kelkar, Ammy Virk, Pranitha Subhash and Nora Fatehi. The story is set against the backdrop of the Indo-Pak war of 1971.