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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

'Sairat' star Rinku Rajguru's Hindi debut in web series 'Hundred'
2242 days ago
Digital Media

'Sairat' star Rinku Rajguru's Hindi debut in web series 'Hundred'

Mumbai, April 20 (IANS) "Sairat" actress Rinku Rajguru is set to enter the Hindi film industry with the digital web series "Hundred".## In the show, she will play a character named Netra Patil, and her role is said to have action as well as the comic strains.## " 'Hundred' is my first ever digital show and it's been a great experience working. This medium is on boom right now and is one of the major sources of entertainment for most of us in these trying times," Rinku said.## The Hotstar Specials show also stars Lara Dutta and Karan Wahi.## Talking about the show, Rinku said: "It is a pleasure to be a part of this digital world, especially a platform like Hotstar that has such wide reach. What drew me towards the character of Netra is that people will see a new side in each episode."## Stay tuned...

Vicky Kaushal: I was never a 'horror-film friendly' actor
2243 days ago
Bollywood

Vicky Kaushal: I was never a 'horror-film friendly' actor

Mumbai, April 20 (IANS) Actor Vicky Kaushal tried out the horror genre with "Bhoot – Part One: The Haunted Ship" earlier this year. He says there was a time when he was not a "horror-film friendly" actor.## The film tells the story of a young shipping officer, Prithvi, grappling with a personal loss. He takes it upon himself to unravel the mystery of a haunted ship.## "I was never a ‘horror-film friendly' actor before doing 'Bhoot – Part One: The Haunted Ship'. I was someone who would step out of the room if a horror movie was on. However, with this film, I was able to overcome my fear," said Vicky.## "With this movie, the endeavor has been to bring to the fans, a true experience of the genre through a genuine horror film which is not just filled with thrills, but which is honestly scary," he added.## It will now have its digital premiere on Amazon Prime Video on April 22.## "I am happy that many more viewers across the globe can now stream the film and enjoy some edge-of-the-seat thrill, from the comfort of their personal devices on Amazon Prime Video," said the actor.## The Bhanu Pratap Singh directorial also features Bhumi Pednekar and Ashutosh Rana.## Stay tuned...

When Big B and Muhammad Ali almost co-starred in a Prakash Mehra film
2243 days ago
Hollywood

When Big B and Muhammad Ali almost co-starred in a Prakash Mehra film

Mumbai, April 20 (IANS) Bollywood veteran Amitabh Bachchan has blogged about meeting boxing legend Muhammad Ali, recalling how bigwig filmmaker Prakash Mehra almost cast the two icons in a film.## Big B went down memory lane and expressed in his blog post: "Its been a groggy night .. had been watching the Greatest Mohammad Ali in his numerous victories .. and Tyson .. and it just would not leave the attention .. became past 4 am .. and then suddenly thought of the meeting itself with the MAN."## The veteran actor also revealed in the blog post how one of the "Golden directors" of Bollywood, Prakash Mehra had wanted to make a film featuring the late American boxer and Amitabh Bachchan. However, the film never happened.## "Beverly Hills at his residence, LA, USA .. Prakash Mehra had wanted to make a film with him and moi ..never went beyond that meeting and the pictures .." he shared.## Revealing more about the meeting, Big B wrote: ".. funny, but a most humble man who did live in Beverly Hills the elite locality, but was so filled with humility and grace .. he threw a couple of punches at me, as he is wont, with all that he met .. argued waved about and needed a Lawyer to fight the case .. nothing became of it .."## Late filmmaker Prakash Mehra and Amitabh Bachchan have collaborated to craft some of the biggest hits of Bachchan's career, including "Zanjeer", "Muqaddar Ka Sikandar", "Namak Halaal", "Laawaris" and "Sharaabi". A film featuring superstar Bachchan alongside the legendary boxer, and helmed by one of Bollywood's most successful directors of his time, would surely have been a feast for the fans.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

Lady GaGa concert raises $128mn for COVID-19 relief
2243 days ago
Hollywood

Lady GaGa concert raises $128mn for COVID-19 relief

Los Angeles, April 20 (IANS) Pop star Lady GaGa's COVID-19 relief concert "One World: Together at Home" has raised almost $128 million in the US.## The two-hour event, which also saw the participation of Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra, featured performances by Gaga, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Lizzo, and Taylor Swift among others, was not planned as a fundraiser but the April 18 show inspired people across America to donate, reports aceshowbiz.com.## The "Poker face" hitmaker kicked off the special with a performance of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" and closed the show with an all-star rendition of "The Prayer" featuring singers Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli.## The Global Citizen officials, who helped put the show together, confirmed the event raised $127.9 million for COVID-19 aid.## "Thank you @ladygaga for helping @GlblCtzn create this historic global broadcasting event. To everyone around the world: Stay strong, stay safe, we will be together in person soon," the message read.## Stay tuned...

Ayushmann: Grateful to industry for welcoming an outsider like me
2243 days ago
Bollywood

Ayushmann: Grateful to industry for welcoming an outsider like me

Mumbai, April 20 (IANS) Ayushmann Khurrana's debut film "Vicky Donor" released eight years ago on this day. Looking back at eight eventful years, the actor says he is grateful to Bollywood for welcoming an outsider like him with open arms.## "It has been a gratifying, humbling and thrilling eight years and I would not want to change anything about it. I only have gratitude to the universe for enabling me to chase my dreams. It wasn't easy, it had its share of tears and lack of self-confidence but it sure has been super exciting," Ayushmann said.## Ever since his debut, Ayushmann has always picked unconventional themes that often bank on taboo topics, like the sperm donor in "Vicky Donor", or the man with erectile dysfunction in "Shubh Mangal Saavdhaan", the prematurely balding youth of "Bala" or and the gay man in "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhaan".## He has even had his share of misses, of course, by way of "Nautanki Saala!", "Bewakoofiyaan" and "Hawaizaada".## The National Award-winning actor says he has several things to be grateful for in his journey to stardom.## "I'm grateful to the industry for welcoming an outsider like me with open arms, I'm thankful to all the visionary film-makers who made me a part of their stories because whatever I'm today is because of them. I'm also supremely thankful to the audiences for loving my work and constantly validating my film choices with so much affection."## "They have told me when I have been correct in choosing the best content films and I have learned from them when I have faltered," he says.## Ayushmann is clear that he wants to back the best cinema that is being made by the industry.## "For me, the past eight years have only been about growth and my journey in cinema has just started. I wish to back the best films that will be made in the Hindi film industry and be a part of the phenomenal visions of the leading storytellers of my generation. I can't wait to know what my future holds for me," he said.## For Ayushmann, the responsibility to deliver great cinema to audiences drives him tremendously.## The actor said: "I realize the responsibility I have today to deliver good cinema because audiences expect my films to be differential and clutter-breaking but I'm relishing this expectation. This only shows that people want to see my films in theatres and in today's day and age that's the best compliment for any actor to get."## Stay tuned...

Alia Bhatt slays lockdown blues with no make-up glow
2243 days ago
Bollywood

Alia Bhatt slays lockdown blues with no make-up glow

Mumbai, April 20 (IANS) A new picture of Alia Bhatt has the actress in a no-makeup look, and fans cannot help gushing. The photograph was uploaded by her sister Shaheen Bhatt.## After recently sharing a photograph of Alia catching up on sleep with her cat, Shaheen has now shared a cute picture of the actress where the two sisters strike a casual pose.## In the picture, Alia looks stunning in a white top with colorful print. What grabs the eyeballs, besides her trademark sweet smile, is Alia's glowing skin without any make-up.## Shaheen used a gif stating "pudding vibes" to describe the picture.## Meanwhile, during the lockdown period, the sisters have been experimenting in the kitchen. Recently, Alia's sister Shaheen took to her Instagram to share a photograph of the actress in her pajamas.## In the monochrome image, the actress, who looked pretty in a casual t-shirt and pajamas, is flashing a big smile for the camera as she is standing in her kitchen. In the caption, Shaheen said that Alia was making a pudding.## In another post sometime back, Alia shared a set of drool-worthy images of the chocolate cake and banana bread on her Instagram, writing: "Stayed home and .. baked a little with the sister. Shaheen Bhatt made the real chocolate cake and I made the grain-free paleo banana bread."## Meanwhile, on the film front, Alia will be seen in Ayan Mukerji's "Brahmastra", which also stars Amitabh Bachchan and Ranbir Kapoor, and "Sadak 2".## Stay tuned...

Sara Ali Khan shares then-and-now pics with mom Amrita, brother Ibrahim
2243 days ago
Bollywood

Sara Ali Khan shares then-and-now pics with mom Amrita, brother Ibrahim

Mumbai, April 20 (IANS) Budding star Sara Ali Khan loves sharing throwback pictures -- especially the ones that show fans how she has transformed over the years. In her latest post, the actress has shared a collage of then and now pictures of herself along with her mother Amrita Singh and brother Ibrahim Ali Khan.## On Instagram, the first picture shows Sara from her pre-transformation days, posing with Amrita and Ibrahim. In the second picture, which seems to be a recent one, the trio can be seen posing for the camera with a night sky in the backdrop.## "The evolution of the meaning of #sundayfunday And now #mondaymotivation#throwbackthursday #flashbackfriday #sundayfunday Sab ek hai isilie... Just Happy New Day #stayhome #stayhome #staystrong," she captioned the image.## Recently, Sara shared a fun video with mom Amrita and brother Ibrahim as they sit together to take up the TikTok challenge, "Who's most likely?".## On the work front, Sara was last seen in Imtiaz Ali's "Love Aaj Kal", which also starred Kartik Aaryan.## Sara will be next seen opposite Varun Dhawan in the remake of "Coolie No.1". She will also be seen sharing screen space with Akshay Kumar and Dhanush in "Atrangi Re".## Stay tuned...

Tom Hanks on his battle with coronavirus
2243 days ago
Hollywood

Tom Hanks on his battle with coronavirus

Los Angeles, April 20 (IANS) Oscar-winning star Tom Hanks has opened up on his battle with the deadly coronavirus and on living in isolation, saying he had "bad body aches and was very fatigued", while his wife and actress Rita Wilson went through a tougher time.## Wilson and Hanks were among the first celebrities to reveal they're positive diagnosis last month, while they were in Australia. Hanks was filming an untitled Elvis Presley film in the country. The couple are now back in Los Angeles and on the way to recovery.## In an interview on The National Defense Radio Show, the 63-year-old actor detailed his and wife's struggle with respiratory illness, reports people.com.## "Rita went through a tougher time than I did," he said of their recovery in Australia, adding: "She had a much-higher fever and she had some other symptoms. She lost her sense of taste and smell. She got absolutely no joy from food for a better part of three weeks."## He continued: "She was so nauseous, she had to crawl on the floor from the bed to the facilities. It lasted a while."## Hanks "had some body aches and was very fatigued", and shared how he struggled to find the energy to do simple exercises. He and Wilson were placed in "lockdown for three days" in a local hospital.## "Whoever it was, doctor, nurse, would come into our air pressurized room, our isolation rooms. She said, ‘How are you feeling?' and I said, ‘I just had the weirdest thing. I just tried to do basic stretches and exercises on the floor and I couldn't even get halfway through', " he recalled, adding that he was "wiped" after 12 minutes into a 30-minute exercise routine.## "And she looked at me through her glasses like she was talking to the dumbest human being," he joked, adding: "And she said, ‘You have COVID-19'."## They still do not know when or how they got infected with the virus in Australia.## Wilson also opened up about her COVID-19 experience during her appearance on "This Morning". The actress said that among her initial symptoms were "chills as I've never had before."## "Looking back, I also realized that I was losing my sense of taste and smell, which I didn't realize at the time," Wilson recalled, adding that her fever "got close to about 102 by day nine".## She said that doctors gave her chloroquine which had "extreme side effects" on her.## "I was completely nauseous and I had vertigo. I could not walk and my muscles felt very weak. I think people have to be very considerate about that drug. We don't know if it's helpful in this case," she added.## Stay tuned...

Big B misses the crowds outside his bungalow on Sundays
2243 days ago
Bollywood

Big B misses the crowds outside his bungalow on Sundays

Mumbai, April 20 (IANS) Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan is missing the ritualistic thronging of fans every Sunday in front of his bungalow, Jalsa. Over the past 38-odd years, starry-eyed fans have crowded in front of his bungalow to catch a glimpse of the actor, who would emerge for a few moments to wave his hand at them.## The total lockdown owing to the COVID-19 pandemic has put an end to the frenzied ritual for now, and Big B seems to be missing it all.## "The Sunday does not mean the same as before .. waiting for the time to arrive .. the security in place .. that familiar sound of the step board being dragged into position .. that familiar scream of the well-wishers at the gate as each domestic entrant enters and leaves premises .. of the knowing that �he' comes," blogged the actor.## "Ecstatic wild faces and mobiles recording the moment .. those smiling hands and the designated positioning of the ef that shall eventually find space inside the home .. moments of connecting with the familiar and the informed Ef .. the ones on the buildings ahead .. precariously positioned at vantage points .. the cheer and laments, the letters of recommendations, the out of the country guests .. numerous gift s and handicrafts from the near that have come within .. photographs .. return wave at the opposite balcony as you walk in the front door .. and it's done," he added.## Big B also misses giving autographs to fans and the gifts that some of them brought for him.## "A while more and the pages for the autograph, pictures writings, etc., all done with the care with which they have remained so sincere and long, arrives.. their personal equation with the maestro intact they leave after this minuscule formality .. the heart of the Ef be of subtle grace .. and that done they leave as do I inside the secure home .. and the gifts that arrive kept away to be stored and valued," he wrote.## "But none of that for the day today... just the thoughts and the reminders by the Ef on other platforms," concluded the actor.## The ritual of fans gathering outside his bungalow every Sunday started sometime in the early eighties, at the peak of Big B's superstardom as Bollywood's Angry Young Man.## The veteran actor reminisced about the same in a tweet posted in January this year. "And the Sunday well-wishers at Jalsa gates .. my gratitude ever .. Every Sunday from the year 1982 .. almost 38 years non stop... no words to describe my affection," he wrote.## Stay tuned...

Reese Witerspoon doesn't find celebrities 'special'
2243 days ago
Hollywood

Reese Witerspoon doesn't find celebrities 'special'

Los Angeles, April 20 (IANS) Actress Reese Witerspoon feels celebrities are not special people.## On Jameela Jamil's podcast "I Weigh", the actress spoke about her past mistakes and why she feels talent doesn't make anyone a good person, reports femalefirst.co.uk.## According to the publication, Reese and her husband Jim Toth got arrested in 2013 over suspicion of driving while intoxicated.## She said: "I did something really stupid. It was so embarrassing and dumb ... But, you know what -(it) turns out I breathe air. I bleed the same way. I make dumb decisions. I make great decisions. I'm just a human being.## "We're all just the same as each other and we're all trying to find what our special skills are. My special skill is storytelling but that doesn't mean I'm a special person. Talent doesn't make you a good person," she added.## Stay tuned...

Mandira Bedi won't stop till she perfects the handstand
2243 days ago
Bollywood

Mandira Bedi won't stop till she perfects the handstand

Mumbai, April 20 (IANS) When it comes to fitness, few actresses in Bollywood go about it with as much diligence as Mandira Bedi does.## The actress, who loves posting videos and snapshots of her workout sessions, gave a sneak peek of how she single-mindedly sets about doing her exercises till she masters them. In her new video, she is seen working at pulling off the perfect handstand.## "Attempt number 12, today" she announces before getting on with the handstand regime.## In the particular attempt that she has filmed and posted on social media, Mandira does an impressive enough job with the handstand, balanced against the wall. In the 22-second video, she is seen accomplishing the exercise with some effort. Impressively, she barely touches the wall as she sets out to hit a flawless inverted vertical pose.## Well, there still are the rough edges and Mandira, describing the experience says she is still a "work in progress".## "Against the wall: Has happened again and again. But off the wall, never. I Will get there, I know. I'm a work in progress," wrote @mandybedi as caption of the video.## With the COVID-19 lockdown on, we are sure she will get a lot of time to perfect the handstand workout regime up to her satisfaction.## The video had garnered around 4k views around the time of publishing.## Stay tuned...

When Shraddha Kapoor got too comfortable with a gun!
2243 days ago
Bollywood

When Shraddha Kapoor got too comfortable with a gun!

Mumbai, April 20 (IANS) Actress Shraddha Kapoor says she got very comfortable holding a gun while shooting for "Saaho", so much so that it started feeling like the gun was an extension of her body!## "Throughout the shoot, I got so comfortable holding the gun that it almost started feeling like it was an extension of my body. When not shooting or during breaks I got so attached that if I didn't have my weapon with me, I would always enquire about it," Shraddha said.## "The fact that you have to use it responsibly was another important aspect which I had to be extremely careful about. To date I am in awe of a police officer's mind, it is so sharp in terms of how they react to situations and even use the gun," she added.## Directed by Sujeeth, the film stars Prabhas and also features Neil Nitin Mukesh and Jackie Shroff. The action drama "Saaho" was shot simultaneously in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil languages.## Shraddha essayed the role of a police officer in the movie.## Recalling her experience, she said: "Playing the role of a cop is not an easy task, there are a lot of different personality traits associated with it. Therefore, to make my character Amritha look convincing, I went through a little bit of training on how to use a gun along with some action training. While training I did get a few injuries, but since it was the first time, I was playing a character like this I didn't give up and gave in my best. I thoroughly enjoyed playing this role, it's surely going to be a memorable part of my life."## The 2019 release will air on April 25.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.