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.

Sonu Sood to launch blood bank app

Actor Sonu Sood is going to launch what is expected to be India’s biggest blood bank, through an app named Sonu For You. The app aims at connecting donors to those in urgent need of blood.

As per the app, a donee can reach out to donors, and on receiving a request a donor can immediately reach the hospital and donate blood. Already being hailed as the country’s biggest blood bank, Sonu For You promises to help patients with rare blood groups.

Sonu tells IANS: “Sonu For You was conceived by me and my friend, Johnson. Every time someone needs blood on an urgent basis and we share the same on social media, we receive responses from many. So we thought, why not come with an app that serves the same purpose?”

He adds: “Going to a blood bank to search for a certain blood group can take a long time especially in cases of rare blood groups. Every year, 12000 patients in India die due to a lack of donated blood. With this app, we want to convey the message that our 20 minutes can save someone’s life.”

The actor has been expanding relief work in different sectors of society. It started with his work for migrants during the lockdown. He also started the distribution of e-rickshaws among the underprivileged. Sonu has started online classes, too, for children who cannot afford the technology.

I-T raids on B Town’s Anurag Kashyap, Tapsee, Vikas Bahl

Mumbai, March 3: In a massive action against the big Bollywood personalities, the Income Tax department on Wednesday carried out searches at the premises of noted film Director Anurag Kashyap, actor Taapsee Pannu, and filmmaker Vikas Bahl.

An I-T department source related to the probe said, “Searches are on at the premises of Pannu, Kashyap, and Bahl in Mumbai and other locations.”

The source, however, refused to share further details of the case.

The source further said that multiple teams of the agency sleuths were carrying out searches at over 22 locations in Mumbai and several other places, including the premises of the Phantom Films.

However, officials of the I-T department remained tightlipped on the searches at the premises of Phantom Films.

According to another I-T department official, the searches are going on at the premises of these Bollywood personalities in connection with some “tax evasion” matter.

Kashyap, Bahl, and Pannu have been vocal on the social media platforms and have also raised their concern over the farmers’ protest, which has been going at the borders of the national capital since November 26 last year against the three farm laws.

Kerry Katona credits curvy figure for pop career

Los Angeles, March 3:  Singer Kerry Katona, who joined the girl band Atomic Kitten in 1998, feels that it was her curvaceous figure that helped her make a mark.

“I started my career as a topless model — that’s how I got in Atomic Kitten,” Katona said according to a report in femalefirst.co.uk.

“I was a size six waist, with 34DD chest, at age 16 — that’s when I started topless modelling. I wasn’t going to be a rocket scientist, but I had great t**s,” Katona told Daily Star Online.

The singer also shared that her mother was proud of her modelling past.

“My mum used to have one of my Page 3 photographs up on her living room wall,” she recalled.

Jessica Alexander in live action remake of ‘The Little Mermaid’

Los Angeles, March 3(Telugubullet) British actress Jessica Alexander has joined the cast of the live-action remake of the 1989 animated classic “The Little Mermaid”.

Alexander joins a stellar line that includes Melissa McCarthy as the evil sea witch Ursula, Javier Bardem as King Triton, and Halle Bailey as Ariel the mermaid, reports Deadline.

The upcoming film is directed by Rob Marshall and written by David Magee. It will feature songs from the original film version, as well as new music from composer Alan Menken and the lyrics provided by “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Miranda and Marshall are also producing the project.

Alexander is known for her role in the teen drama, “Get Even”. Apart from “The Little Mermaid”, Alexander will also be seen in the upcoming film “Glasshouse”.

PM Modi ruled Indian TV in 2020: BARC report

New Delhi, March 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the most-watched personality on television in India last year, according to the annual TV viewership report for 2019-2020 by Broadcast Audio Research Council (BARC). PM Modi’s public addresses regarding the ongoing Covid pandemic, and his also his speeches focussing on a range of issues — from India being at the forefront of exporting Covid-19 vaccines to the ongoing farmer protests.

Broadly, here are the top three trends that one can spot in the report: THE MODI WAVE

“Whether they are his interviews, speeches at global events, address to the nation or even a wildlife adventure show, channels that broadcast the content see their viewership leapfrog and set new levels,” the report stated, explaining the impact PM Modi had.

Notably, PM Modi’s speech at Red Fort, which was over two hours long, with 133 million viewers, saw a rise by 40 percent, compared to his Independence Day speech in 2019.

The Prime Minister’s speech on March 24, 2020, where he announced the first lockdown, saw more viewing minutes than any of his previous addresses.

His address to the nation in April 2020, where he announced a relief package of Rs 20 lakh crores, became the most-watched address with over 203 million viewers tuning in.

“Each time PM Modi’s coronavirus-related addresses were aired, there was a noticeable drop in the viewership of major genres like General Entertainment Channels (GEC), Movies and Kids,” the report said.

His call for solidarity by switching off lights for nine-long minutes reflected in a 60 per cent decline in TV viewership during those nine minutes.

The report also notes that due to the pandemic, and following an increasing curiosity about government measures and announcements, the share of news in total TV viewership tripled as compared to the yearly growth of seven percent previously.

MYTHOLOGY AND DOORDARSHAN REIGN

Last year, “the viewership contribution of mythological shows to Hindi GEC genre spiked from a mere 14 percent to 43 percent by week 15, 2020”. The fact that no new content was being created because of Covid guidelines, archived content made a huge comeback and Doordarshan (DD) was probably the biggest benefactor.

The channel’s decision to re-telecast “Ramayan” and “Mahabharat”, and other popular TV shows of the eighties and the nineties, saw the total viewership of the channel grow by 68 percent last year.

LOVE FOR FILMS STAYED INTACT

Unlike the GECs, which suffered an initial loss due to lack of original content, BARC notes that the Movies as a channel genre didn’t face any hiccups, and these saw growth by 10 percent over the viewership of 2019.

“Regional movies genre posted higher growth than their Hindi counterpart, although Hindi language genre accounted for close to 60 percent of total movie genres viewership. Apart from Hindi, the other major markets for the genre were Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada,” the report stated.

However, the report also suggests that lack of original content meant a reduced share for GEC content in the first half of the year. It became normal, post-July, once the lockdown restrictions were eased.