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IANS News

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Indo-Asian News Service or IANS is a private Indian news agency. The IANS was founded by Indian American publisher Gopal Raju as the India Abroad News Service. It was later renamed the Indo-Asian News Service. The IANS has its main offices located in Noida.

Articles Written By IANS News

Vidyut Jammwal, Adah Sharma not 'just friends'
2239 days ago
Bollywood

Vidyut Jammwal, Adah Sharma not 'just friends'

Mumbai, April 23 (IANS) Actor Vidyut Jammwal says he and his "Commando 3" co-star Adah Sharma are "not at all" just friends.## A Twitter user asked Vidyut: "Are you and Adah are 'just friends'?"## Vidyut was quick to respond. He said: "'Just friends' not at all ..we are courageous, kind,intuitive, focused, greatful, open minded, unassuming, considerate, sharing, Educated, happy, calm, quite and BEST FRIENDS.. I wish upon you someone like u @adah_sharma."## This comes right after Adah posted: "My TED talk !! Tell me what u think ! I'm free now I will read all youtube comments loooollll"## A lot of her followers found the video "awesome".## Praising her, Vidyut recommended others to watch it too and he wrote: "My personal favourite..articulate and funny..A must watch."## On the work front, Vidyut will soon be seen in "Khuda Hafiz".## "'Khuda Hafiz' is a romantic movie. It a true story, about a man who is madly in love with his wife, and gets married in 2009 during the recession. They go abroad and get a job. (The story is about) how this girl gets picked up and how the guy gets her back. It's a hardcore, true romantic movie with a little action," Vidyut had told IANS earlier.## Stay tuned...

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Anita Raaj in trouble for allegedly hosting party amid COVID-19 lockdown
2239 days ago
Bollywood

Anita Raaj in trouble for allegedly hosting party amid COVID-19 lockdown

Mumbai, April 23 (IANS) A complaint has been registered against actress Anita Raaj for allegedly throwing a party amid the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown.## Anita and her husband Sunil Hingorani were reportedly accused by neighbours for hosting a party for their friends, reports timesofindia.com, flouting the nationwide lockdown imposed by the government in order to curb the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus.## According to the report, the neighbours said that the 57-year-old actress Anita and her filmmaker husband had invited guests at their Pali Hill residence.## The report quoted a source who revealed that the neighbours were concerned about the threat the party posed due to the visitors in the vicinity, following which the local police were informed.## However, Anita Raaj, in a statement, said that it was a medical emergency and police came on a false complaint.## Stay tuned...

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Chris Hemsworth opens up on 'Thor: Love And Thunder'
2239 days ago
Hollywood

Chris Hemsworth opens up on 'Thor: Love And Thunder'

Los Angeles, April 23 (IANS) Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth says "Thor: Love and Thunder" is "going to be pretty insane".## In an interview to Philadelphia Inquirer, the 36-year-old actor opened up about the upcoming instalment of "Thor" franchise, dailymail.co.uk.## "It's one of the best scripts I've read in years. It's Taika at his most extreme, and at his best. If the version I read is the one we get running with, it's going to be pretty insane," he said.## The movie, the fourth in the action franchise, reunites Hemsworth with Tessa Thompson and Natalie Portman. Actor Christian Bale will be joining the star-cast for this part.## Taika Waititi took the "Thor" franchise to new comedic heights as he introduced hard drinking Valkyrie (Thompson) and exiled Avenger Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) in "Thor: Ragnorak". The much anticipated "Love and Thunder" will catch up with Thor and Valkyrie after the events of "Avengers: Endgame".## Hemsworth also shared that he has had a rare chance for introspection amid the shutdown caused by the COVID-19 crisis.## "Not to diminish by any means the challenges that are occurring, the absolute uncertainty, the anxiety that is happening in the world, but me personally, and to that question, it's (created) a forced sort of meditation and forced sort of stillness that I haven't been able to dive into like I've wanted to for many years," he said.## The actor, who is father to India, and twins Tristan and Sasha, said that he was enjoying the extended time with his family.## He said: "For 10 years I've been part of the machine, and I've been thankful for it, and done so many wonderful things and traveled so much, but what it meant was, I was away from my family. A lot. I've wanted to just stop being controlled by a schedule."## For more and latest news about Hollywood, stay tuned with us.

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Sonu Sood to feed over 25,000 migrants during Ramzan
2239 days ago
Bollywood

Sonu Sood to feed over 25,000 migrants during Ramzan

Mumbai, April 23 (IANS) Actor Sonu Sood has decided to provide meal kits to over 25,000 migrants on a daily basis in Mumbai during the Muslim holy month of Ramzan, which begins from Thursday.## "Times are so difficult today that it's very important for each one of us to stand for each other. Through this initiative, I would be helping all those who would be fasting during this period and we would provide special meal kits so they don't stay hungry after fasting all day," Sonu said.## The initiative will help these migrants who have come from faraway places like Bengal, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.## Before this, Sonu started a ration drive to help the needy during the ongoing lockdown.## Under an initiative called Shakti, Annadanam launched in the name of his late father Shakti Sagar Sood, Sonu aims to feed more than 45,000 people on a daily basis in Mumbai.## He also offered his hotel in Juhu for healthcare workers including doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff.## Stay tuned...

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Akshay Kumar, B Praak's 'Teri mitti' tribute to doctors
2239 days ago
Bollywood

Akshay Kumar, B Praak's 'Teri mitti' tribute to doctors

Mumbai, April 23 (IANS) Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar and singer B Praak are coming up with a new song to pay tribute to doctors who are relentlessly working to save lives amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The song, announced by the actor on Thursday, is titled "Teri mitti", and is a inspired by B. Praak's "Teri mitti" number in last year's Akshay Kumar-starrer, "Kesari".## "Kisi ne sahi kaha hai, mushkil ke samay sirf apne sath dete hain aur hamare sath is mushkil mein sabse aage hain hamare doctors jo safed coat mein sainiko se kam nahin hain. Hamari taraf se khas unke liye #DirectDilSe (Someone has rightly said that in tough times, only your loved ones offer help; today, in these most difficult times, doctors in white coat are no less than soldiers," he wrote.## Said B Praak, who has also sung the new song: "It's a tribute to the doctors out there who are fighting for us and working day and night to save the world."## The tribute number will be out on Friday at 12:30 pm.## Stay tuned...

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From Joker to Voldemort, learn why people like fictional villains
2239 days ago
Hollywood

From Joker to Voldemort, learn why people like fictional villains

New York, April 23 (IANS) What makes evil characters like the Joker or Lord Voldemort more interesting and likable? Researchers have found that people may find fictional villains surprisingly likable when they share similarities with the viewer or reader.## The study, published in the journal Psychological Science, indicated one reason for this shift is that fiction acts as a cognitive safety net, allowing us to identify with villainous characters without tainting our self-image.## "Our research suggests that stories and fictional worlds can offer a 'safe haven' for comparison to our darker selves. When people feel safe, they are more interested in comparisons to negative characters that are similar to themselves in other respects," said study lead author Rebecca Krause from Northwestern University in the US.## "For example, people who see themselves as tricky and chaotic may feel especially drawn to the character of The Joker in the Batman movies, while a person who shares Lord Voldemort's intellect and ambition may feel more drawn to that character in the Harry Potter series," Krause added.## To test this idea, the researchers analyzed data from the website CharacTour, an online, character-focused entertainment platform that had approximately 232,500 registered users at the time of analysis.## One of the site's features allows users to take a personality quiz and see their similarity to different characters who had been coded as either villainous or not.## Villains included characters such as Maleficent, The Joker, and Darth Vader. Nonvillains included Sherlock Holmes, Joey Tribbiani, and Yoda.## The anonymous data from these quizzes allowed the researchers to test whether people were attracted to or repulsed by similar villains, using nonvillains as a baseline.## Not surprisingly, people were drawn to nonvillains as their similarity increased. However, the results further suggested that users were most drawn to villains who share similarities with them.## The researchers believe that similarities to story villains do not threaten the self in the way real-life villains would. "Given the common finding that people are uncomfortable with and tend to avoid people who are similar to them and bad in some way, the fact that people actually prefer similar villains over dissimilar villains was surprising to us," said study co-author Derek Rucker.## The current data do not identify which behaviors or characteristics the participants found attractive.## Further research is needed to explore the psychological pull of villains and whether people are drawn toward similar villains in fiction because people look for chances to explore their own personal dark side.## "Perhaps fiction provides a way to engage with the dark aspects of your personality without making you question whether you are a good person in general," concluded Krause.## For more and latest news about Hollywood, stay tuned with us.

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Taapsee Pannu recalls the day she accepted her flaws
2239 days ago
Bollywood

Taapsee Pannu recalls the day she accepted her flaws

Mumbai, April 23 (IANS) Taapsee Pannu has opened up about the incident the made her accept her flaws and helped her acquire an identity.## Though the ongoing lockdown, Taapsee has kept regaling fans with interesting anecdotes from her life. These include her growing-up years and film shoots. In her latest post, the actress talks about an incident that changed the way she perceives herself.## Taking to Instagram, the actress shared a picture that has her wearing a gorgeous blue saree.## "This is like a BTS from a shoot I did for Gaurang. I remember how I was concerned that my short hair won't suit the sarees he makes Coz they r so traditional but he was so nonchalant about it n said we will use your original hair length, color, texture, everything natural, everything YOU. That really made me think sometimes you just have to embrace how you look only then the world will embrace it. Shying away from how you look is never going to help you grow in life. The day I accepted my flaws was the day I came into my true self n my flaws helped me get a unique identity #Throwback #Archive #QuarantinePost," she wrote.## While Taapsee keeps fans entertained with her posts, she recently confessed she was missing returning to the film set. Sharing a photo from her 2018 film, "Manmarziyaan", she wrote: "This throwback is clearly out of missing the madness we thrive on as actors. The calm we find in the craziest situations. Need to get back to the chaos soon."## Stay tuned...

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Female-centric 'Star Wars' series in the works
2239 days ago
Hollywood

Female-centric 'Star Wars' series in the works

Los Angeles, April 23 (IANS) A female-focused live-action "Star Wars" series is in the works, with noted screenwriter-filmmaker Leslye Headland on board to create a new world in a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.## Headland, best known for creating the 2012 rom-com "Bachelorette" and co-creating the 2019 web series "Russian Doll", will reportedly write and act as showrunner on the new "Star Wars" spin-off that is being readied for the streaming platform Disney+, according to variety.com.## Details about cast and plot are under wraps, though sources said that the female-centric series will take place in a different part of the "Star Wars" timeline than other projects.## The report comes after news about the development of the third season of "The Mandalorian", much before the debut of the second season. The pre-production has already begun on a third installment of the wildly popular Disney+ series.## Sources close to the production have confirmed that creator Jon Favreau has been "writing season three for a while". The art department, led by Lucasfilm vice president and executive creative director Doug Chiang, has been creating concepts for the third party for the "past few weeks".## Last December, Favreau confirmed the renewal of the show through a Twitter post. "Season 2 of #TheMandalorian coming Fall 2020," he wrote.## "The Mandalorian" stars Pedro Pascal as the titular bounty hunter, Gina Carano as Cara Dune, and Carl Weathers as the shifty Greef Carga. However, Baby Yoda has got all the attention until now. The season 2 will release on Disney+ streaming service in October.## For more and latest news about Hollywood, stay tuned with us.

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Riteish Deshmukh imitates funny dialogue between Salman Khan and reality show singer
2240 days ago
Bollywood

Riteish Deshmukh imitates funny dialogue between Salman Khan and reality show singer

Mumbai, April 23 (IANS) Riteish Deshmukh has come up with a hilarious TikTok video, where he imitates a funny conversation between Salman Khan and Asma Rafi, a contestant of a singing reality show that happened a few years ago.## In the original episode of the singing reality show, Salman Khan had requested the contestant to sing his popular song "Chunari chunari" (from the 1999 superhit "Biwi No. 1") in Arabic. Asma, who hails from Oman, said she only knew the Hindi version -- that too, learned with great difficulty. When the superstar asked her to sing any other Arabic song, she replied with a smile: "Na kar Salman na Kar!"## In the hilarious TikTok video, Riteish Deshmukh imitates Asma while someone mouths Salman's lines from behind!## Riteish has been keeping fans entertained during the lockdown period by sharing many funny TikTok videos featuring himself.## In a recent video, the actor and his wife Genelia performed to the melodious number "Mera dil bhi kitna paagal hai" from the musical hit "Saajan". The song was originally filmed on Madhuri Dixit and Sanjay Dutt.## Stay tuned...

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Malayalam actors, film technicians urged to charge 50% less
2240 days ago
Kollywood

Malayalam actors, film technicians urged to charge 50% less

Thiruvananthapuram, April 23 (IANS) With the entire Malayalam film industry affected adversely by the Covid-19 lockdown, the producer's association has requested its actors and technicians to reduce their fees by 50 percent when the lockdown is lifted and the working in the industry gets back to normal.## Around seven Malayalam films which were all set to hit the screens, during Easter and the Ramzan period and about 26 films are stuck in various stages of production.## "We have no clue when this will get back to normal times. As and when the lockdown is lifted, if the industry has to go forward, the actors and technicians have to cut down their professional fees. A mere reduction of fees, won't be of any help, it should be reduced by 50 percent," said leading producer Sureshkumar.## The producer's association is soon expected to initiate discussions with the other segments of the industry, for this and to chalk out future plans, once the lockdown ends.## In the Kerala film industry, the leading superstars Mammootty and Mohanlal are the ones who charge the highest, followed by stars like Prithviraj, Dileep, and others.## Stay tuned...

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Sebastian Stan on his journey ahead in the Marvel universe
2240 days ago
Hollywood

Sebastian Stan on his journey ahead in the Marvel universe

Los Angeles, April 23 (IANS) Actor Sebastian Stan isn't clear about his future as Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).## "You know, I know nothing about that. I'm just a man. We got to figure out a couple of other missions first before we even get there," variety.com quoted Stan as saying when asked about his involvement in future "Avengers" movies.## For now, Stan teams up with Anthony Mackie, who plays Sam Wilson / Falcon in MCU, in the upcoming "Falcon And Winter Soldier" series, and says they just got to "figure out some adventures" on which they can work together. The shoot of the series is currently stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.## "I've got to deal with this other person. It's been nice to have a break from him, Anthony Mackie. It's nice to have a little quiet in this quarantine without him. But we got to figure out some adventures together first before we get there," he added.## Stan's career took off after he played Steve Rogers' best friend Barnes in "Captain America". There has been no looking back since then.## The actor says starring in "The Avengers" franchise changed your career and life.## "It was 10 years ago, in 2010, when I came in. Looking back, I feel like I had half the amount of experience and knowledge that I do now. In a way, I felt like I grew up with the franchise as a person myself and I feel like that character grew up with me as well. But I don't think any of these movies that you referenced would have been possible without it. I wouldn't be here without it," he said.## Talking about "Avengers: Endgame" becoming the most successful movie of all time, he said: "That's just wild. You don't even think about that."## "It's crazy to think it's bigger than ‘Titanic'. I went to see ‘Titanic' way too many times in the theater. It's exciting because 10 years' worth of filmmaking went into making (‘Avengers: Endgame'). The fact that people went out to see it and support it so much only shows how much they love the characters, how much they've invested in the past 10 years. And they feel like in a way they grew up with the movie," he added.## For more and latest news about Hollywood, stay tuned with us.

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Saif's son Ibrahim bonds with sister Sara, mother Amrita over chores
2240 days ago
Bollywood

Saif's son Ibrahim bonds with sister Sara, mother Amrita over chores

Mumbai, April 23 (IANS) Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan's son Ibrahim is using the COVID-19 lockdown period to strengthen his bond with mother Amrita Singh and sister Sara Ali Khan.## "I'm spending quarantine, strengthening my bond with my mother and sister as we take charge of the household chores," Ibrahim wrote on Instagram.## "I came across a video which is a simple reminder to support our extended families of our neighborhood, especially the elderly who are the most in need amid the COVID-19 crisis. It's time we strengthen bonds and #ShowWeCare by helping them with essentials and ensure their well-being," he added.## Recently, Ibrahim also joined celebrities including Virat Kolhi and Siddhant Chaturvedi to voice concern for senior citizens amid the ongoing health crisis.## Kolhi used social media to request his fans to step up during the difficult time and check if senior citizens living in their vicinity are in need of any essentials or any other support. Siddhant, famous for his role as 'MC Sher' in "Gully Boy", called senior citizens living in his building and checked on their well-being. He told his fans on social media how simple acts of care towards the most in need while practicing social distancing can go a long way in emerging out stronger as a nation.## Kohli, Siddhant and Ibrahim were urging people to extend care for the elderly in an initiative by P&G Vicks.## Stay tuned...

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