Shweta Tripathi on reaping benefits of digital space

Shweta Tripathi says she has always been aware of the diverse characteristics of OTT platforms.

Shweta is known for her work in the web-space, in projects such as “Mirzapur”, “Made In Heaven” and “Lakhon Main Ek”. Her upcoming slate of work is also all set to release on the OTT space.

“I have always been aware of the vast and diverse characteristics of OTT platforms. As an actor, I do not believe in restricting myself due to the medium of the content I’ll be a part of,” Shweta said.

She added: “Without a doubt, the digital space is booming today and I’m sure will continue to do so in the future, and having embraced it early on makes me feel grateful to be a part of something so big and enriching.”

Shweta currently awaits the release of two projects — “Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein” and “Escaype Live”.

“Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein” also stars Tahir Raj Bhasin while “Escaype Live” features South star Siddharth.

Kirti Kulhari posts pic getting first jab of Covid vaccine

Kirti Kulhari on Monday posted a picture of getting vaccinated with the first jab for Covid-19. She urged everyone to get over myths and misconceptions about the vaccine.

“Took my first dose of vaccine …It’s the need of the hour in our fight against #corona… Let go of myths and fears surrounding the vaccine… and go and take one if you have yet…” Kirti captioned the image.

“P.S — I know a lot of people want to get vaccinated but the vaccines are not easily available and it’s a #mindf**** to actually book a slot.. but things are getting better.. be patient… it will all fall in place slowly and steadily,” she added.

Kirti was recently seen in the OTT-released film “Shaadisthan”.

Shilpa Shetty suggests the right yoga to but stress and anxiety

Actress and yoga enthusiast Shilpa Shetty Kundra on Monday shared an asana on Instagram that would help relieve pent-up stress and anxiety.

In her new video, Shilpa performs the Parsva Sukhasana.

“Sometimes, one needs to start their week on a calm and quiet note. Today is one such day for me when I just want to relax my mind and calm myself down. So today, I practiced the Parsva Sukhasana. It helps relieve the pent-up stress and anxiety that gradually affects the immune system and one’s overall health. Physically, it helps stretch the neck, shoulders, obliques, and back,” she writes with the clip.

“Take some time off whenever you can, choose to practice this asana, and let your mind and body just go with the flow. A calm and composed mind and body can deal with a lot more than we can think of. Tag a friend who should start this ritual right away!” the actress suggested.

The actress is all set to make a comeback in Bollywood with the upcoming films “Hungama 2” and “Nikamma”.

Kamal Haasan: Dasavatharam was declined by many directors who said they didn’t understand it

Kamal Haasan’s Tamil action thriller “Dasavatharam” completes 13 years of release on Monday.

The actor, who also was the writer of the film, has played 10 different characters in the film. He recalls how the script was rejected by many filmmakers before director K.S Ravikumar came on board.

“Dasavatharam was a script that was declined by many directors who said they didn’t understand it, and quite unexpectedly Mr. Ravikumar jumped at it. He immediately claimed it a winner on cards and was surprised that it was turned down and asked to make the film while on a telephonic conversation with me at Eldams road. That’s how the movie came into being,” shares Kamal.

The veteran actor also shares how well-known filmmaker Mukta Srinivasan advised him to give the film his undivided attention.

“Most of the time I work alone and like to take the opinion of seniors and well-wishers while on a project. For Dasavatharam it wasn’t any different and thus I wanted to take Mr. Mukta Srinivasan’s opinion as he has strong instincts and is a brilliant short story writer. He heard the ‘Dasavatharam’ script and he said ‘Kamal, you must watch over the film closely as it’s your idea and go further and say foster it like your child. They will kill the child otherwise if you only decide to walk in and out of shoot’. I took his advice and spent all my time on it,” Kamal shares.

The actor recalls how he shared the story with close friends and colleagues, which gave him the confidence to go ahead.

“Once I finished the logline with Mukta Srinivasan, the director was still skeptical about the way the script was written. We had Sujatha, Madhan, Ramesh Arvind, and Crazy Mohan sit with us for narration and I answered all the questions they kept asking. It was a very important exercise as they are all experts and have the expertise to analyze the script. My biggest support was from Sujatha who said ‘you got it to bang on man’. The rest were new to the ideation, scale, and budget,” he says.

Big B at first day of shoot after lockdown2.0

Amitabh Bachchan went to work at 7 am on Monday, after the second lockdown was lifted. The veteran actor posted a picture on Instagram, wearing a mask and seated in his car on way to work.

“7 am .. driving to work .. first day shooting after Lockdown 2.0 .. on with the PANGOLIN mask .. and the MANIFESTATION: “every day in every way things will get better and better and better,” Big B captioned the image.

The actor did not share what he was shooting for or the name of the project.

His upcoming slate of work includes a string of films. He has “Brahmastra”, “Chehre”, “Jhund”, “MayDay”, “Goodbye” and a remake of the Hollywood film “The Intern” coming up, besides an untitled film with Prabhas and Deepika Padukone.

Priyadarshi Pulikonda wants to get out of ‘so-called image’ as comedian

Actor Priyadarshi Pulikonda, who primarily works in Telugu films, says he wants to come out of his “so-called image” as a comedian and be known as an actor who can do whatever he is offered.

“As an actor, you want to come out of that comfort zone. I want to discover the endless possibilities through these characters, entering into worlds that are more challenging and scarier. The so-called image I have of a comedian, I also wanted to get out of that. The image is for the people to give me but I would rather not have an image associated with me and become an actor who can do whatever he is offered,” he tells an interview.

Priyadarshi is known for his roles in Telugu films such as “Pelli Choopulu”, “Arjun Reddy”, “Mallesham” and, more recently, “Jathi Ratnalu”. He will soon be seen in a crime thriller series titled “In The Name Of God”, where he portrays a complex and dark character.

“To discover these dark areas as a human being, my character Adi was the anchor that helped me to go into myself and discover those grey areas. That was a good exercise for me as an actor and something new to work for. I haven’t done anything of this sort so far. This has been the most excruciating and rewarding journey for me,” shares the actor.

“He has high aspiration and little of everything — of greed, love, lust — and puts himself in an inconvenient position. Somehow, he tries to seek redemption from all of this,” the actor adds about his character. The series is scheduled to drop on the Aha streaming platform from June 18.

Sunil Grover on how he makes comedy seem so easy

He doesn’t have to try too hard. His audience can’t hold back a chuckle when he doles out a mere oneliner or tiny twist of expression. Sunil Grover makes comedy seem like a cakewalk.

“I think I am lucky. I am lucky that people laugh at what I say. So, there is nothing else to it. We all have to do our work and create our jokes, and how to render it, and how to approach it. I love it. Maybe the love for it makes it work sometimes,” Sunil told in an interview.

The 43-year-old funnyman gained the spotlight for his portrayals of Gutthi, Dr. Mashoor Gulati, and Rinku Devi on television.

He has also featured in films such as “Bharata, “Gabbar Is Back”, “Patakha” and “Baaghi”, among many others.

“I love what I do and that is a tool. This is something that is not imposed. I can’t do anything else. Maybe when you know that this is the only survival thing you have you have to love it,” he said.

Currently, Sunil stars in a web series titled “Sunflower”, a comedy murder-mystery.

The show also features Ranvir Shorey, Ashish Vidyarthi, Girish Kulkarni, Mukul Chadda, Radha Bhatt, Dayana Erappa, Shonali Nagrani, and Saloni Khanna, among a huge ensemble cast.

The series tells the story of a middle-class housing society in Mumbai called Sunflower, which houses quirky characters and becomes the scene of a murder.

Produced by Reliance Entertainment and Good Co., the series is written by Vikas Bahl who co-directs with Rahul Sengupta.

It streams on Zee5.

Suneeta Rao: People always remember the first big hit

Singer Suneeta Rao does not mind being called the “Paree Hoon Main” maker, as she says people always remember the first big hit of any artiste.

“People always remember the first big hit of any artiste — no matter what they come up with later on, like ‘Careless whispers’ by George Michael. But the song itself has a very special quality because of the way I was feeling at the time and because it was what people needed to hear at the time,” Suneeta told an interview.

The singer feels the 1990’s hit number “Paree hoon main” has stood its test of time.

“I think it has stood the test of time because of the fact that I made sure the lyrics and melody were created for the sole purpose of making the listener feel good about herself/himself — and I think I succeeded,” she said.

“I asked the lyricist, the Late Rajesh Johri, to feel free to use soothing and sensual words like ‘guroor’ and ‘suroor’, and I said it didn’t matter whether the listeners understood the actual words. It was meant to just feel good,” added the singer, who came out with a track titled “Vaada Karo”, which is streaming on Hungama Artistloud.

Kanika Dhillon on ‘Haseen Dillruba’ trailer: Thrilled to receive great response

The upcoming thriller “Haseen Dillruba” is writer Kanika Dhillon’s second script for actress Taapsee Pannu after the 2018 release “Manmarziyaan”. Dhillon is happy that the trailer of the new film, launched on Friday, received over 18,36,383 views by the evening on YouTube.

The film is directed by Vinil Mathew and also stars Vikrant Massey and Harshvardhan Rane.

“I had a lot of fun writing Haseen Dillruba and working with an ace team — Vinil, Taapsee Pannu, Vikrant Massey,” said Dhillon.

The film is set to release on July 2 on an OTT platform.

Kajal Pisal keen on returning to set post Covid recovery

Actress Kajal Pisal, who was lately seen in the shows “Naagin 5” and “Durga: Mata Ki Chhaya”, is keen to return to the set. The actress was down with Covid in April, which impacted her work schedule and she could not take up new projects.

“I have recovered from Covid-19 completely and am keen to start shooting and take up an interesting new show. I have started giving auditions and hope to join a new show as soon as possible,” says Kajal.

The actress says she is open to working in digital platforms, too. “After being part of the TV screen for a decade now, I wish to make my debut on the digital platform. While recovering from Covid, I got addicted to some shows on OTT. They are practical and one can relate easily. As an artiste I got influenced to do such beautifully scripted real roles,” she points out.

She adds: “Most of the time, on TV we get to play roles that are similar. If you play a positive role, then you are always too ‘bichari’ (the victim) and if you play something grey then it is just too evil. In this regard, OTT as a platform gives you the opportunity to play normal characters. They are neither heavily evil nor too innocent. They look fun and challenge actors too.”

Kajal is known for her roles in television series such as “Bade Achhe Lagte Hain” and “Saath Nibhana Saathiya” among others.