Vidya Balan wished to write to Satyajit Ray, work with him

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Vidya Balan wished to write to Satyajit Ray, work with him

She was just a teenager when she secretly wrote a letter to her favorite filmmaker Satyajit Ray but didn’t post it. Naturally, when he passed away suddenly, she felt heartbroken for many reasons.

Many moons later, that teenager, who is now one of the successful stars of Bollywood, Vidya Balan, talking in an interview, opened her heart and shared her wish to work with her favorite filmmaker and how Bengali cinema influenced her.

Vidya told IANS: “If I write a letter to Mr. Ray today, it would read ‘I wish you had lived longer.’ You know even today, I would have loved to work with him. I know everyone talks about Ray’s ‘Pather Panchali’ and ‘Charulata’ but ‘Mahanagar’ is one of my favorite films. The film impacted me so deeply. I wish he lived longer and I could have worked with him repeatedly in multiple films.”

Vidya also mentioned that more than often people told her that her side profile looks like young Madhavi Chatterjee, the legendary actress who played the protagonist in “Charulata” and that is “flattering” for her.

The fangirl in her does not stop there as she shared: “I have a poster collection of Ray’s films like ‘Mahanagar’ and also a painting that filled with a canvas full of characters from his films! I have many decorative pieces in my home, inspired by Ray’s work. My home is full of Ray. I have huge love and respect for Bengali cinema and culture.”

No wonder her film debut happened in 2003 with “Bhalo Theko” before Bollywood.

Interestingly, her Bollywood debut also happened in 2005 with “Parineeta”, based on a Bengali novel of the same name.

Currently, the actress is celebrating the success of her recently-released “Jalsa”. Talking about how she started enjoying playing characters that are the exact opposite of who she is in reality, Vidya said: “The fact that in both the recent release of mine, ‘Sherni’ and ‘Jalsa’, my characters are so different from who I am in real life has a role to play, in terms of choosing those scripts.

“I was playing the opposite of who I am in reality. But I also believe that there is a Maya Menon and Vidya inside me that I got a chance to tap into while performing them on-screen. I believe there are many people living inside us, the more you connect yourself and search within, you realize that.”

While it is quite interesting how her character ‘Maya’ in “Jalsa” is morally complex, Vidya explains how the name of the character justifies its action.

“Initially when I read the script, I was judging her. But thankfully better sense prevailed and I realized that I am no one to judge what and why someone does, under a certain situation. So when I was playing Maya Menon, I wasn’t judging her.

“What was interesting for me about her was, that Maya is inscrutable. What you see is not what she is…you see, the meaning of the word ‘Maya’ is an illusion. So, that way, she is an illusion. I think that is why Suresh (Triveni, the director of the film) named her Maya.”

Directed by Suresh Triveni and produced by Abundantia Entertainment, “Jalsa” is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Google Fi drastically cuts prices of unlimited phone plans

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Google Fi drastically cuts prices of unlimited phone plans

Google has dropped prices of its Fi unlimited phone plans and rates now start at $20 per month per line for four or more lines, compared to the previous starting price of $30 per month.

At this new lower price, Simply Unlimited will continue to be Google’s most affordable unlimited plan, especially for families and groups.

“We’re also adding more high-speed data — an increase from 22GB to 35GB,” said Dhwani Shah, Product Manager, Google Fi.

Google Fi service provides telephone calls, SMS, and mobile broadband using cellular networks.

The company is also including 5GB of hotspot tethering and adding unlimited calling within Canada and Mexico.

The Unlimited Plus plan now starts at $40 per month per line for four or more lines, compared to the previous price of $45 per month.

Under this plan, the company will provide 50GB of data from the earlier 22GB per month, along with unlimited calling within Canada and Mexico at no extra cost.

With Unlimited Plus, you’ll use your data on up to four additional devices with data-only SIMs at no extra cost and 100GB of cloud storage with Google One, said Shah.

You also get international calls to more than 50 destinations and international data abroad in over 200 destinations.

The Flexible plan will be $17 per month per line for four lines for unlimited calls and text, plus $10 per GB for data at home and abroad, said the company.

L1 bidder HAL-L&T combine to deliver PSLV rocket in 2024

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L1 bidder HAL-L&T combine to deliver PSLV rocket in 2024

The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) consortium have turned out to be the lowest-priced bidder for making five Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) XL variant rockets out of the three who had bid, said a space sector official.

With this, the transfer of PSLV-XL production outside of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) moves a step forward.

“The Hindustan Aeronautics and L&T consortium has turned out to be the lowest bidder to make five PSLV-XL rockets. Now other agreements have to be signed between NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) and the winning consortium before awarding the contract,” an official, preferring anonymity, told in an interview.

According to the official, the remaining activities are expected to be completed in a couple of months’ time, if everything goes smoothly.

“The first PSLV-XL rocket is expected to be realized in 24 months from the date of award of the contract. Subsequently, one rocket every six months has to be delivered to NSIL,” the official added.

The first rocket is expected to be realized sometime during the second half of 2024 and the balance of four rockets will be delivered during 2025 and 2026 at two rockets per year.

This is the first time in the ISRO’s history that an entire rocket, including the heatshield, is to be made outside of the space agency.

However, the official declined to comment whether the successful bid amount was around Rs 825 crore (about Rs 165 crore per rocket) excluding taxes.

According to an NSIL official, the selected industry player can use ISRO facilities for a fee, and it is the industry’s responsibility to deliver the rocket.

It will be interesting to see the net cost of the rocket for NSIL.

ISRO officials used to say the PSLV-XL version would cost about Rs 190 crore and for five, it will be about Rs 950 crore.

The other two bids for the project were made by Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd (BHEL) and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL)-Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) and Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) consortium.

The PSLV-XL rocket, weighing about 320 tons, is a four-stage rocket with each stage powered by solid and liquid fuel, alternatively.

According to the space sector official, the Hindustan Aeronautics-L&T combine will deliver all the stages, including the heat shield, at ISRO’s rocket port in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

The rocket’s first stage will be assembled at the launch pad in Sriharikota.

The stacking of the rocket stages and the satellite will be done by ISRO.

The NSIL will market the rockets for commercial flights. The rockets will also be used for national space missions.

According to an NSIL official, the company will deal with Hindustan Aeronautics, the leader of the consortium, and it is not known how the two companies are structuring their setup for the project.

Though the two companies are supplying components for ISRO, it is not known as to the quantum of their supplies to make a PSLV-XL rocket.

The official also said after seeing the working of the model, the company may decide on transferring the entire PSLV production to industry players.

Then there will be another tender for the same as the dynamics would differ, NSIL official said.

The NSIL will also issue an Expression of Interest (EOI) for making the ISRO’s small rocket – Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)– which is under development.

The selection process for SSLV will be simpler as NSIL has the experience in choosing the industry partner for making the PSLV rocket.

Further the SSLV is of simpler technology – it is powered by solid fuel motors.

Following that will be the EOI for making ISRO’s heavier rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III (GSLV-MkIII), the official added.

Meanwhile, NSIL has issued an ‘Interest Explanatory Note’ to transfer ISRO’s technology for making the small satellite – India Mini Satellite-1 (IMS-1) Bus.

It is learned the company has received about 10-15 responses for the same.

ISRO’s UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) has developed a small satellite platform which would enable low-cost access to space by providing a dedicated platform for payloads for earth imaging, ocean, and atmospheric studies, and microwave remote sensing, and space science missions with a quick turnaround time.

The satellite will have a payload mass of 30kg and a living space of two years.

The NSIL has the mandate of building, and launching rockets and satellites through industry partners and also providing space-based services through remote sensing and communication satellites.

Last year, the company issued the Request for Proposal (RFP) from industries for making five PSLV rockets.

Pawan’s ex-wife Renu Desai rubbishes rumours about their son Akira

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Pawan’s ex-wife Renu Desai rubbishes rumours about their son Akira

Pawan Kalyan and his ex-wife Renu Desai’s son Akira Nandan turned 18 recently, as he celebrated his birthday on April 8. Renu Desai, who had written a heartfelt note on Akira’s birthday, also clarified rumors related to Akira’s movie debut.

Renu Desai, who first had written a sweet note wishing her beloved son Akira, called him ‘honest’ & ‘gentleman’. She had posted a video of Akira, practicing his boxing. The video had become viral in no time, as many of Pawan’s fans started wondering if the boy was ready for his movie debut.

The gossip soon spread like a wildfire, and social media comments were filled with wishing Akira good luck for his movie debut.

Rubbishing the rumors, Renu then wrote, “And, he doesn’t want to be an actor and isn’t signing any films. So, please don’t believe in any rumors regarding his debut”.

All are equal in Karnataka government’s view, says CM Bommai

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All are equal in Karnataka government’s view, says CM Bommai

Making an oblique referrence to the social unrest situation prevailing in Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said that “all are equal in the government’s view and maintaining law and order in the state is our objective.”

The government has nothing to do with the campaign to ban the Wakf Board, he told media persons before heading to participate in a program in Basavakalyan.

Replying to a question on Sri Ram Sena founder Pramod Mutalik’s call for a campaign to ban the Wakf Board, Bommai said: “People do practice their respective traditions. The government is being run in accordance with the laws. The government has nothing to do with these campaigns.”

“I am very happy to be in the land of Basavanna. I have come with hopes of comprehensive development of the region,” he added.

Earlier, CM Bommai announced that an anchor bank would be established within a month to meet the financial needs of the members of women’s self-help groups in the state. It would herald a revolution in employment in the state, he said.

Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro likely to feature huge battery

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Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro likely to feature huge battery

South Korean tech giant Samsung is reportedly working on its upcoming smartwatch — Galaxy Watch5 Pro — and it is likely to come with a huge 572 mAh battery.

To put that into context, the biggest Galaxy Watch4 and Classic models have a 361 mAh cell. So this would be an almost 60 percent bigger capacity on the upcoming watch, which would probably still give under two-day battery life for the most intensive users, reports GSMArena.

That said, those who do not turn on all the features might make it past 48 hours of use with such a setup.

The report also mentioned that this watch is likely to launch at an even higher price than its predecessor.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Watch4 Classic started at $349.99 for Bluetooth versions and $399.99 for LTE models in India.

Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch4 Classic are the first smartwatches to feature the new Wear OS which is built jointly with Google. The USP of the device is that it allows users to monitor their blood pressure on the go, at work, or at home.

Galaxy Watch4 is equipped with Samsung’s ground-breaking bio-active sensor. This new 3-in-1 sensor uses a single chip to precisely run three powerful health sensors — Optical Heart Rate, Electrical Heart, and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis — so users can monitor their blood pressure, detect a Fib irregular heartbeat, measure their blood oxygen level, and for the first time, calculate their body composition.

IPL 2022: Not doing well in season can really spur Mumbai Indians up, believes WV Raman

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IPL 2022: Not doing well in season can really spur Mumbai Indians up, believes WV Raman

Former India cricketer W.V Raman believes five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians can fire themselves up to do well against Royal Challengers Bangalore after a slow start to their IPL 2022 season. The Rohit Sharma-led side has lost its first three matches of the current season and now seeks to bring the campaign on track when it faces Bangalore at MCA Stadium later on Saturday.

“They have as many times for the simple reason that they know how to manage a season. They are aware of the fact that in an IPL season there are a lot of highs and lows so you got to try and keep at it. That’s where MI have an edge over others because they have managed everything in all these years and been successful too. So, this is how they are going to keep themselves motivated. The fact that they’ve not done as well as they can really spur them up and kindle the fire in their bellies,” Raman was quoted as saying by cricket.com

In all three matches, Mumbai’s bowling attack hasn’t clicked in unison, going for plenty of runs at various junctures. Raman has suggested Mumbai can look at bringing left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat and leg-spinner Mayank Markande into the playing eleven for the crucial match against Bangalore.

“They will probably bring in (Jaydev) Unadkat for (Tymal) Mills. Unadkat can bring in a lot of variations, which is very important when you are up against any good side, especially a side that boasts of big hitters like Dinesh Karthik, Maxwell, Virat Kohli. The RCB batting line-up is really formidable.”

“So, you need somebody who can really mix it up a lot. They have favored having a left-arm seamer which is an apple for apple change. Unadkat is also one who is good when it comes to putting the skates on the batters. He has developed over a period of time.”

Talking about Markande, who made his IPL debut with the franchise in 2018, Raman remarked, “I would also see if I can bring in another leg-spinner — (Mayank) Markande — he is been good too. We have seen the impact leg-spinners have had in the T20 format and also in the other white-ball format. That’s another tempting thing for me for the game against RCB. We saw how (Wanindu) Hasaranga performed against KKR. So, leg-spinners definitely have the ability to make an impact.”

Raman signed off by saying that he is interested in seeing how Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma fares against Bangalore pacer Mohammed Siraj.

“I will be very keen to watch Siraj vs Rohit. These guys know each other very well but in a match scenario, it’s very different. Siraj is playing for a side that has good momentum. Rohit has got a little bit of pressure to handle because his side is not doing as well as it can.”

“Also the fact that he has got to be the star performer for them means the added pressure can bring out the best in him. Siraj has this habit of giving the lip at times. If he does that it can make things interesting.”

Researchers help develop highly accurate, 30-second Covid test

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Researchers help develop highly accurate, 30-second Covid test

A team of researchers has helped develop a Covid-19 testing device that can detect coronavirus infection in as little as 30 seconds as sensitively and accurately as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, the gold standard of testing.

According to a recent peer-reviewed study published by the University of Florida group, like PCR tests, the device is 90 percent accurate, with the same sensitivity.

It could transform public health officials’ ability to quickly detect and respond to the coronavirus, or the next pandemic.

“There is nothing available like it,” said researcher Josephine Esquivel-Upshaw from the University of Florida.

However, it is not yet approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

First, researchers said, they have to ensure that test results are not thrown off by cross-contamination with other pathogens that might be found in the mouth and saliva. These include other coronaviruses, staph infections, the flu, pneumonia, and 20 others. That work is ongoing.

The hand-held apparatus is powered by a 9-volt battery and uses an inexpensive test strip, similar to those used in blood glucose meters, with coronavirus antibodies attached to a gold-plated film at its tip. The strip is placed on the tongue to collect a tiny saliva sample. The strip is then inserted into a reader connected to a circuit board with the brains of the device.

If someone is infected, the coronavirus in the saliva binds with the antibodies and begins a dance of sorts as they are prodded by two electrical pulses processed by a special transistor. A higher concentration of coronavirus changes the electrical conductance of the sample. That, in turn, alters the voltage of the electrical pulses.

The voltage signal is amplified a million times and converted to a numerical value – in a sense, the sample’s electrochemical fingerprint. That value will indicate a positive or negative result, and the lower the value, the higher the viral load.

The device’s ability to quantify viral and antibody load makes it especially useful for clinical purposes, researchers said.

Artificial Intelligence spending in Asia-Pacific to reach $32 bn in 2025

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Artificial Intelligence spending in Asia-Pacific to reach $32 bn in 2025

Countries in the Asia-Pacific region are set to spend $17.6 billion on artificial intelligence (AI) systems in 2022 and this is expected to reach $32 billion in 2025, a new IDC report has shown.

Over the next five years, the banking industry will continue to invest the most in AI solutions.

State/local government is the second-highest spender on AI solutions, focusing on public safety and emergency response, augmented threat intelligence, and prevention systems.

“Many of the changes caused by the pandemic will stay and we expect the adoption momentum of practical AI use cases such as remote or contactless engagement to continue,” said Jessie Danqing Cai, Associate Research Director, Cognitive Computing/Artificial Intelligence for IDC Asia/Pacific.

In the long term, clear guidance on the management of the associated risk factors of AI solutions will further boost the confidence level of buying organizations,” Cai added.

Businesses invest in AI to gain a competitive advantage through improved customer insight, increased employee efficiency, and accelerated decision making.

IDC forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.2 percent for the period 2020-2025.

For the next five years, the next top spending industry is professional services, growing fast with a 26.6 percent CAGR.

Smart business innovation and automation will optimize and streamline complex and repetitive business tasks to support organizational decision-making.

“Increasing government regulations and mandates of AI’s trust, robustness, and its ethical use will need to be addressed by organizations,” said Vinayaka Venkatesh, Senior Market Analyst at IDC IT Spending Guides, Customer Insights & Analysis.

Hardware will be the leading technology, accounting for more than 49.8 percent of AI spending.

Software is the second leading technology with 31 percent of AI spending.

Nearly 71 percent of total AI spending in software goes towards AI applications and artificial intelligence platforms, the report noted.

World No. 1 Djokovic gets tricky draw as he aims for third Monte Carlo title

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World No. 1 Djokovic gets tricky draw as he aims for third Monte Carlo title

World No. 1 tennis player, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, faces a tricky path as he aims to add a third Monte Carlo trophy to his collection. The 34-year-old, winner of 20 Grand Slams could face Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz in a blockbuster quarterfinal at the ATP Masters 1000 event, with Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz (US) too in the Serbian’s quarter.

The draw for the prestigious event, which was released on Saturday, has the Serb in a potential rematch with Daniel Evans of the UK in the third round. The Briton had upset Djokovic in the fourth round at Monaco in the previous edition.

Djokovic, who will open against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or American Marcos Giron, has never played Alcaraz, who arrives in Monte Carlo riding on the high of winning the Miami Open.

Eighth seed Alcaraz is making his debut at the clay-court event and will begin against Sebastian Korda (US) or Botic van de Zandschulp (Netherlands).

Alcaraz is 18-2 this season, having also triumphed on clay in Rio de Janeiro.

American Fritz earned the biggest title of his career when he ended Spanish stalwart Rafa Nadal’s unbeaten start to the season to win the trophy in California last month. The 10th seed will play a wild card, Lucas Catarina of Monaco, in the first round, with French wild card Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Croatian Marin Cilic awaiting next.

In the bottom half of the draw, reigning champion, Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, will start his title defense against Italian former champion Fabio Fognini or Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, with Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime seeded to meet the Greek in the quarterfinals.

Third seed Tsitsipas downed Russian Andrey Rublev to clinch his maiden Masters 1000 crown last year and will be aiming to regain top form this week after losing to Alcaraz in the fourth round in Miami at the end of March.

Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime has won just one match since he clinched the title in Rotterdam and reached the final in Marseille at the end of February. The sixth seed, who is making his fourth appearance in Monte Carlo, will play Italian Lorenzo Musetti or Frenchman Benoit Paire in his opening match. Musetti flourished on clay last season, advancing to the semifinals in Lyon, before he advanced to the fourth round at Roland Garros.

Second seed Alexander Zverev of Germany is in the same half of the draw as Tsitsipas and the same quarter as Rublev. The German could face the returning Swiss Stan Wawrinka in the third round if Zverev can overcome Federico Delbonis of Argentina or a qualifier and Wawrinka can pass tests against Alexander Bublik (Kazakhstan) and then Pablo Carreno Busta (Spain) or a qualifier in the second round.

Former world No. 3 Wawrinka lifted the trophy in Monte Carlo in 2014 but has not competed at a tour-level event since Doha last March. Italian Jannik Sinner will also pose a danger, with the ninth seed opening against Croatian Borna Coric. The 20-year-old, who has reached three tour-level quarter-finals in 2022, is seeded to meet Rublev in the last eight, with the 24-year-old opening against Australian Alex de Minaur or a qualifier.

Fourth seed Casper Ruud of Norway is in the top half of the draw and is a potential semifinalist opponent for Djokovic. The Norwegian has captured six ATP 250 titles on clay and reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final last week in Miami. Ruud, who reached the Monte Carlo and Madrid semifinals last season, will begin his campaign against Aslan Karatsev of Russia or a qualifier and may play seventh seed Cameron Norrie (UK) or Pole Hubert Hurkacz in the last eight.

Korea Open: India’s campaign ends with Sindhu, Srikanth’s loss in semifinal

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Korea Open: India’s campaign ends with Sindhu, Srikanth’s loss in semifinal

India’s campaign at the Korea Open Badminton Championships 2022 came to an end on Saturday after the country’s top shuttlers — PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth — lost their respective semifinal matches at the Palma Stadium, here.

Sindhu lost her women’s singles last four matches 14-21, 17-21 against the world No. 4 An Seyoung in 48 minutes.

Heading into the fixture, Sindhu, a former world champion had failed to beat the 20-year-old South Korean in any of their three previous meetings. The last time the two played each other, An Seyoung had denied the Indian ace the BWF World Tour Finals 2021 title.

Sindhu tried to start the match aggressively but some astonishing retrievals from An Seyoung frustrated her as the South Korean raced to a 7-1 lead.

The Indian shuttler managed to offset the early blows with a series of good points of her own but it was An Seyoung with an 11-6 lead heading into the first mid-game interval of the match.

Despite Sindhu’s best efforts, An Seyoung controlled the flow of the match and won the first game 21-14.

Looking for a sharp response, Sindhu took a 3-0 lead in the second game but it was not long before An Seyoung responded and it was South Korean again who led by two points at the break.

A Seyoung’s court coverage was exquisite and her range of shorts continued to baffle the Indian star as the match progressed.

Trailing 14-9, Sindhu upped the ante and managed to bring down the deficit to just a single point with the help of some brilliant cross-court winners.

However, it wasn’t quite enough to topple the in-form South Korean who wrapped up the match.

Meanwhile, Kidambi Srikanth also lost his men’s singles semis against Indonesian second-seed Jonatan Christie by a 19-21, 16-21 scoreline.

Srikanth, seeded fifth, started the match well and led for most of the first game but the world No. 8 Cristie flipped the script right at the end to take the lead.

The second game was a tight affair in the initial stages but from a 14-all scoreline, Christie stepped up to take control and ended the match in 49 minutes.

Srikanth’s loss brought India’s campaign at the Korea Open to an end.

Language chauvinism will boomerang: KTR

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Language chauvinism will boomerang: KTR

Reacting to Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement that Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English, and not local languages, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao on Saturday warned that language chauvinism and hegemony in the country will boomerang.

Highlighting unity in diversity as India’s strength, KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known, tweeted: “India is a union of states and a true ‘Vasudhaika Kutumbam’. Why don’t we let people of our great nation decide what to eat, what to wear, who to pray to, and what language to speak! Language chauvinism/hegemony will boomerang.

“I am an Indian first, a proud Telugu and Telanganaite next. Can speak in my mother tongue Telugu, English, Hindi and a little bit of Urdu too. To impose Hindi and diss English will be a great disservice to the youngsters of this nation who have global aspirations. #stopHindiImposition.”

This is the first reaction by a leader from the two Telugu states to Shah’s statement.

Leaders from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and other non-Hindi-speaking states have already reacted strongly to the Home Minister’s statement saying they will not accept Hindi imposition.

Burglary at Sonam Kapoor’s Delhi residence, valuables worth Rs 2.4 cr stolen

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Burglary at Sonam Kapoor’s Delhi residence, valuables worth Rs 2.4 cr stolen

Hindi cinema actor Sonam Kapoor and her husband Anand Ahuja’s residence in the national capital was burgled in February and cash, jewelry, and other valuable items worth Rs 2.4 crore were stolen, it was officially learned on Saturday.

Confirming the incident, Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi district) Amrutha Guguloth said a complaint was lodged two months back, on February 23, regarding a theft at the residence of Harish Ahuja, the father-in-law of Sonam Kapoor, at Amrita Shergil Marg in Delhi.

DCP Guguloth said the complainant had noticed the robbery on February 11, however, reported the incident 12 days later on February 23 after which Delhi Police registered an FIR under section 381 (Theft by clerk or servant of property in possession of master) of the Indian Penal Code at the Tughlak Road police station and initiated an investigation into the case.

The senior official informed that police teams have been formed to probe the incident and are currently examining the evidence. “The investigation is still underway,” Guguloth added.

Notably, the Bollywood diva Sonam and businessman Anand are expecting their first child and their baby will arrive in the fall. They tied the knot in 2018.

Three more ministers inducted in Pramod Sawant cabinet

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Three more ministers inducted in Pramod Sawant cabinet

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant expanded his cabinet on Saturday with the induction of three more ministers who were administered the oath of office by Governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai at the Raj Bhavan here.

The new ministers are Sudin Dhavalikar of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, Subhash Phaldesai, and Nilkanth Halarnkar both from the BJP.

The fresh induction on Saturday takes the number of ministers in Sawant’s cabinet to 12, including the Chief Minister.

Had a lovely time working with fellow composers: Simon King on scoring music for ‘Paper Rocket’

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Had a lovely time working with fellow composers: Simon King on scoring music for ‘Paper Rocket’

Music director Simon K King, who is one of the music directors of Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi Stalin’s upcoming webseries ‘Paper Rocket’, says he had a lovely time working with music directors Dharan Kumar and Ved Shankar on the project.

Taking to Twitter, Simon K King said, “Happy to be associated as the music director and background score composer for Kiruthiga akka’s ‘Paper Rocket’! Had a lovely time working on this one with my fellow composers Dharan Kumar and Ved Shanker.”

The web series, which is to be streamed on the OTT platform Zee5, was announced recently at an event called ‘Oru Awesome Thodakkam’.

‘Paper Rocket’ is produced by Sreenidhi Sagar of rising East Entertainment and has Kalidas Jayaram and Tanya Ravichandran playing the lead roles.

Apart from the lead actors, the series will also feature K Renuka, Karunakaran, Nirmal Palazzi, Gouri G. Kishan, Dheeraj, Nagineedu, V, Chinni Jayanth, Kaali Venkat, Poornima Bhagyaraj, G.M. Kumar, Abishek, Priyadarshini and many others.

At the ‘Oru Awesome Thodakkam’ event, the first single track from the series, ‘Kaalai Maalai’ was launched. The soul-stirring melody, composed by Dharan Kumar and written by Vivek, has been sung by Sid Sriram.

Ram Charan to play a dual role in Shankar’s movie

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Ram Charan to play a dual role in Shankar’s movie

‘RRR’ actor Ram Charan will next be seen in South India’s most popular director Shankar Shanmugham’s upcoming movie. It is reported that Ram Charan will appear in a dual role in the movie, which will portray the actor in two different roles.

Amidst all speculation and hype around Ram Charan’s next movie after ‘RRR’, he will soon join the sets with Shankar.

The producers have scheduled a timetable in Amritsar, that will have Ram Charan participate in the filming of an important sequence.

Ram Charan will play a dual role, one of which is an officer’s role, while his other role will depict him as a student.

‘RC15’ is the working title of this upcoming bilingual political drama. The story is written by ‘Petta’ fame Karthik Subbaraj, while it is produced by Dil Raju and Sirish under Sri Venkateswara Creations.

Kiara Advani will be seen opposite Ram Charan in the movie, while S Thaman will compose the music.

Director Puri Jagannadh to act in Chiranjeevi’s ‘Godfather’

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Director Puri Jagannadh to act in Chiranjeevi’s ‘Godfather’

‘Liger’ director Puri Jagannadh has been roped in for megastar Chiranjeevi’s much-hyped upcoming movie ‘Godfather’.

The ‘Indra’ actor took to Twitter to make an announcement regarding the same.

Chiranjeevi, who seems to be excited to bring Puri on the sets, wrote, “An aspiring actor from a place called Narsipatnam came to Hyderabad in search of his destiny in the movie industry. He didn’t shine as an actor, but his destiny made him a director.”

“I don’t like that he cannot fulfill his acting dream. I hereby, introduce Puri Jagannadh in a special role, from the sets of #Godfather,” Chiranjeevi’s tweet reads.

‘Godfather’ is an original remake of the Malayalam blockbuster film ‘Lucifer’ (2019), which starred Malayalam’s most happening hero Mohanlal.

Directed by Mohan Raja and produced by Konidela Production Company and Super Good Films, ‘Godfather’ also stars Bollywood macho Salman Khan in a special role.

Apart from Chiranjeevi and Salman Khan, the film will feature Nayanthara as the lady lead, while Satyadev Kancharana, Harish Uthaman, Jayaprakash, and Vamsi Krishna will be seen in pivotal roles.

IPL 2022: Jaffer ‘baffled’ not to see a single yorker from Odean Smith

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IPL 2022: Jaffer ‘baffled’ not to see a single yorker from Odean Smith

Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer was “baffled” to see Punjab Kings’ all-rounder Odean Smith not bowling a single yorker in the match against Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Friday.

Rahul Tewatia whacked two sixes in the last two balls to seal a stunning six-wicket win for Gujarat Titans against Punjab Kings.

Jaffer praised Tewatia but also lashed out at Smith for not bowling up to the mark in the final over against Gujarat Titans.

“Crucial overthrow from Odean on 4th ball gave extra run & brought Tewatia on strike. Baffled not to see a single Yorker in 20th over by Odean. Well done to @gujarat_titans, Super knock from@ShubmanGill and @rahultewatia02 just ice-cool under pressure #PBKSvGT #IPL2022,” Jaffer tweeted.

Meanwhile, former India spinner Pragyan Ojha said Punjab Kings will have a discussion over Smith’s final following a heartbreaking defeat.

“What a game! Brilliant composer showed by #RahulTewatia. But #PunjabKings will discuss the single given by #odeansmith in his over while running the batsman out. Had he not done that #rahultewatia would have remained on the nonstriker’s end,” Ojha said on the KOO app.

Coming to the match, a brilliant 96-run knock by Shubman Gill and quick-fire 13 from Tewatia, guided Gujarat Titans to a stunning win.

Gujarat Titans are now second on the points table while Punjab Kings are in the sixth position in the IPL tally.

CSK’s Hussey reveals why he switched from being a right-hander to a left-handed batter

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CSK’s Hussey reveals why he switched from being a right-hander to a left-handed batter

Former Australian cricketer and the current Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batting coach Michael Hussey has revealed that he was so impressed with the legendary Allan Border’s batting that he switched to becoming a left-hander from being a natural right-hander during his formative days.

Hussey, who played 79 Tests and scored more than 6,200 runs at a healthy average of 51.52, has had a long association with CSK, first as a player and then as a batting coach. He reversed the fortunes of the Chennai franchise in 2010, which eventually went on to win the title that year. In January 2018, he was appointed CSK’s batting coach.

Revealing an interesting story on how he switched from being a right-handed batter to becoming a left-hander, the 46-year-old Hussey said, “My cricketing hero was Allan Border, who is a left-handed batsman from Australia, and I can tell you a funny little story. When I was about eight or nine years of age until then I was a right-handed batsman. But, I loved Allan Border so much that I changed to be a left handed batsman like Allan Border.

“I loved the way he played his cricket, he was tough, he never gave his wicket away he worked very hard, played with a lot of passion, so he was certainly my hero growing up.”

Thanks to the switch, Hussey went on to eventually play 79 Tests, 185 ODIs, and 38 T20Is for Australia scoring over 12,000 runs in international cricket. He also played 64 T20s for Chennai Super Kings scoring 2,213 runs.

Hussey also gave an insight into the coaching philosophy of CSK.

“…we are all equal, and we try and treat everyone equally. Whether you are Jadeja, or MS Dhoni or Deepak, or you are the 25th player in the squad, you know we try and treat everyone the same, we try and treat everyone with respect, and the goal is to try and improve every player. Improve them as a cricketer, but also try and help them improve as people and as characters as well. And, I think if we can do that and everyone can try and help each other then we are doing a good job.”

Ukraine gets 5,000 Starlink internet terminals via SpaceX, USAID

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Ukraine gets 5,000 Starlink internet terminals via SpaceX, USAID

Elon Musk-led SpaceX, in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has delivered 5,000 Starlink terminals to war-torn Ukraine.

The satellite internet connectivity of Ukraine was taken offline permanently by a cyberattack on the day of the Russian invasion on February 24.

“The Starlink satellite terminals will enable unlimited, unthrottled data connectivity from anywhere in Ukraine,” the USAID said in a statement.

The terminals will also allow public officials and critical citizen service providers to continue to communicate within Ukraine and with the rest of the world.

It can withstand even Russia’s “brutal aggression” which severed Ukraine’s fibre optic or cellular communication infrastructure connections, the USAID said.

SpaceX has delivered 3,667 satellites at a cost of “roughly $10 million,” with USAID purchasing the remaining 1,333 terminals, according to an earlier USAID release.

On February 26, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister, also Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, called Musk for help as Ukraine fought off an invasion and sustained cyberattacks by Russian forces.

“While you try to colonize Mars — Russia tries to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand,” Fedorov had tweeted.

In response, Musk promised to send a truck full of Starlink user terminals to Ukraine.

“The cell towers are either being blown up or they are being jammed. There is a major fiber backbone that the Russians are aware of. It was quite likely that they will sever that fiber link. This would leave Ukraine with very few connections open. So Starlink might be, certainly in some parts of Ukraine, the only connection,” Musk said in an interview with German publishing company Axel Springer

“We did think that Starlink might be needed, and we took some preemptive actions to ensure that it could be provided quickly. When the request came, we acted very rapidly.

“We cannot let Putin take over Ukraine. This is crazy,” he added.

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