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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

'Homecoming' Season 2 teases new mystery starring Janelle Monae
2254 days ago
Hollywood

'Homecoming' Season 2 teases new mystery starring Janelle Monae

Los Angeles, April 9 (IANS) After its 2018 debut season starring Julia Roberts, the web series "Homecoming" returns with actress Janelle Monae taking the second season of the show forward, as a new character telling a new mysterious story.## The first official teaser of season two, released by Amazon Prime Video, shows Monae's character waking up in a rowboat in the middle of a lake, calling for help. She has no memory of how she got there or who she is.## The character's "search for identity will lead her into the heart of the Geist Group, the unconventional wellness company behind the Homecoming Initiative," according to the OTT platform.## The second season finds Stephan James reprising his role as Walter Cruz, who is trying to build a new life following the traumas of war and the Homecoming Initiative, when he begins to realise that there's an even more insidious version of the program underway. Hong Chau will also return as Audrey Temple.## Joining the cast for season two are Oscar-winner Chris Cooper as Leonard Geist, the company's eccentric founder; and Emmy-winner Joan Cusack as Francine Bunda, an equally eccentric military woman.## The co-showrunners and executive producers are Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg, who are also the creators of the Gimlet Media podcast upon which the show is based.## All episodes of the second season are directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez, who also serves as executive producer. "Homecoming" is co-produced by Amazon Studios and UCP and executive produced by Julia Roberts through her production company Red Om Films, Sam Esmail through his production company Esmail Corp, Chad Hamilton of Anonymous Content, and Chris Giliberti, Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber of Gimlet Media.## The second season of "Homecoming" will be out on Amazon Prime Video on May 22.## For more and latest news about Hollywood, stay tuned with us.

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Alaya F: Nepotism is a reality
2254 days ago
Bollywood

Alaya F: Nepotism is a reality

Mumbai, April 9 (IANS) Actress Alaya F, daughter of Pooja Bedi, says nepotism is a reality in Bollywood but insists she did not take her mother's help to secure her debut movie.## Alaya impressed all with her brilliant debut act in the recent "Jawaani Jaaneman". The film also starred Saif Ali Khan and Tabu.## "Nepotism is a reality and I am really glad to be spoken about. I think most people understand the idea of what nepotism is and sometimes it doesn't come out in the right way. If you are aware, you acknowledge it and work hard on it, everything is going to be okay," Alaya said.## "For instance, I did not take my mother's help while working or winning this opportunity. It was always me and my agency. I still do acknowledge and understand the fact that a name attached to you even when you choose to use it or not will give you an advantage," she added## Looking back at her decision to act, she said: "I trained myself for four years to be sure of what I was good at. Everything has been so new and exciting for me and I have met wonderful people along the way. My teachers have contributed hours to train me and made me worthy of being a part of this movie. Honestly, my journey has been very kind to me because of the people I have met along the way. As far as my aspirations go, I want to do a lot of different work. I want to do conventional and unconventional roles which will bring diversity in what I do."## The actress opened up about her journey in an episode of "Starry Nights GEN Y", which is aired in India on Zee Cafe.## On her future in acting, Alaya shared: "I put a lot of pressure on myself, more than anyone else. The main thing is, I love the pressure it doesn't bother me at all, because I have a high expectation from myself and for myself. I just really want to do good work and I would want to grow with every film I do. I want to do different things which again gets tricky. My main fears are letting myself down more than anything."## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

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Yami Gautam reveals qualities she wants in her partner
2254 days ago
Bollywood

Yami Gautam reveals qualities she wants in her partner

Mumbai, April 9 (IANS) "Good cook" and "good humour" are the two essential qualities that actress Yami Gautam wants in her life partner.## On Wednesday, Yami conducted an interactive session with fans on Instagram.## When one of her fans asked her about the qualities she wants in her partner, Yami said: "Great cook, super funny with a beautiful heart."## Yami also shared how she is spending time at home amid the COVID-19 lockdown.## "Yoga, cooking, reading, watching films/shows and missing my family in Chandigarh," she said.## On the film front, Yami will be next seen in "Ginny Weds Sunny", which also features Vikrant Massey.## Stay tuned...

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Tanuj Virwani directs short film amid COVID-19 pandemic
2254 days ago
Bollywood

Tanuj Virwani directs short film amid COVID-19 pandemic

Mumbai, April 9 (IANS) Amid the coronavirus lockdown, actor Tanuj Virwani, who was last seen in "Inside Edge" and "Code M", has come up with a short film, titled "Urban Incarceration".## The film directed by Tanuj has been shot on his mobile.## "The goal of the short film is to let everyone know that be it a celebrity or a normal everyday office going person, we are all in this together and that is what makes our humanity's sad that it has taken such an extreme situation for us to realize that no one is impenetrable. Hopefully, if I can enlighten my fans along with entertaining them this would all be totally worth it. The message is simple . Don't let your paranoia get the better of you. Retain your sanity. This too shall pass," Tanuj said.## He also shared what went behind the making of the movie.## "I shot this on an iPhone 10. I used one of my helpers at home as a stand-in I would frame the shot, then make him rehearse and replicate it and eventually shoot it. I didn't write a script per se I just storyboarded the entire film and since it has no dialogue it was a matter of piecing it all together," Tanuj added.## Stay tuned...

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Ali Fazal, Surbhi Jyoti star in Vishal Mishra's new song on past love
2254 days ago
Bollywood

Ali Fazal, Surbhi Jyoti star in Vishal Mishra's new song on past love

Mumbai, April 9 (IANS) Singer-composer Vishal Mishra has come up with a song that talks about his past love experience. Its music video sees Ali Fazal pairing up with Surbhi Jyoti.## Talking about the song titled "Aaj Bhi", Vishal told IANS: "It is a very personal experience for me. Also, it's the most universal thing that we are talking about. There are songs about break-up and love, but nobody talks about the time when you have a break-up and you move on in life. You reach somewhere else but you still miss that person, that memory or that moment."## "We might be married, successful, happy or with somebody or even single, but we still miss that little moment of understanding. I feel everybody has gone through love and lost love. This song will surely remind them of their beautiful moments. This is for that part of your heart which is not understood by anybody... This song will become a companion then," he added.## "Aaj Bhi" has been put together by Vishal, who has sung, composed and written it. Its music video stars Ali and Surbhi and is directed by Gurmmeet Singh of "Mirzapur" fame.## Ali shared: "Honestly, it's weird as I have never been this excited for a music video and I think this is because there is something very genuine about 'Aaj Bhi'. And Vishal with his soulful and power-packed voice has already taken it to a level where I thought I couldn't do anything, but I think somewhere it comes together beautifully with Gurmmeet's direction. We had to show two different lives, I think that was the biggest challenge for us as we had to bring out these small nuances that I was trying to focus on as it's difficult, to sum up, the entire life in a few minutes in a song."## "'Aaj Bhi' will remind us about that one ex who has meant a lot to us, and been there in our lives and made big differences. There is a huge part of us made up of these little fragments as we move along in life and I hope that people can have this conversation now that the song is finally out!" he added.## Commenting on the track, Surbhi said: "This is my first project with Ali and VYRL Originals and I was super excited and then I heard this song I was like ‘oh my God!', Vishal has sung it so beautifully and the composition of the song is so smooth and touching."## "I am grateful that I got to feature in 'Aaj Bhi' because when I heard it for the first time, I was in love with it. I really enjoyed working thoroughly with the team be it production, direction or be it, Ali. I got very lucky with this project because I really enjoyed it. I am looking forward to the response which I am pretty sure it will be positive, and people will love it!"## VYRL Originals is Universal Music India's platform dedicated to promoting and building the category and culture of non-film music in India.## Stay tuned...

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'Hum Paanch' returns on TV, Rakhi Vijan is excited
2254 days ago
TV

'Hum Paanch' returns on TV, Rakhi Vijan is excited

Mumbai, April 9 (IANS) Actress Rakhi Vijan is thrilled about her iconic series "Hum Paanch" coming back on the small screen after more than 15 years.## "Hum Paanch" will be back on April 13.## A story of an ordinary yet amusing middle-class family, "Hum Paanch" revolved around Anand Mathur, his second wife - Bina Mathur and his five daughters, who are constantly plotting plans to turn his world upside down. Adding more chaos and confusion to his life is the photo frame of his late wife, who occasionally talks to him and nags him on certain decisions.## "I am very excited about the return of 'Hum Paanch' on Zee TV, not just because the show is finally coming back, but also because it's coming back at a time when everyone is locked down at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, it is also coming back due to public demand, which is like a cherry on the cake. I remember very clearly, we entertained the audience for nine long years and with every episode, the TRP's went higher. We used to make people laugh and enjoy, so I feel this is an apt time to come back and entertain everyone. For the amount of time, they will watch the show, people will surely forget their miseries," said Rakhi.## She has many memories associated with the show in which she had played Sweety Mathur.## "I would like to take this opportunity and give a tribute to (producer) Ekta Kapoor. I don't think many people know, but she started her career when she was just 16 years old and she created history by sitting on the boss' chair at such a young age. The best part was that even though she was the boss, she used to come and give us the character brief and script brief personally. In fact, at times, she would even act it out for us, which was really fantastic," said Rakhi.## "To be honest, 'Hum Paanch' was her concept, she did the casting and every episode was also approved by her. Her passion really inspired us. I'd also like to add that the show holds a very special place in my heart because we all (the cast) started off with this show together at a really young age and none of the girls had any traits of competitiveness or jealousy. In fact, we were just like a family. There was always positive energy on the set that actually made 9 years fly by easily," she added.## The decade-long show, which had concluded in 2006, also starred Ashok Saraf, Shoma Anand, Vandana Pathak, Vidya Balan, Bhairavi Raichura and Priyanka Mehra.## For more and latest news about TV, stay tuned with us.

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COVID-19: Bhuvan Bam, Arunabh Kumar start initiative for daily wage earners
2254 days ago
Digital Media

COVID-19: Bhuvan Bam, Arunabh Kumar start initiative for daily wage earners

Mumbai, April 9 (IANS) Daily wage earners have been badly hit due to the COVID-19 lockdown, and Arunabh Kumar, founder of The Viral Fever (TVF), along with YouTubers like Bhuvan Bam and Prajakta Koli, has started an initiative called #CreatorsforWorkers to pitch in with help.## New media entrepreneurs like Gurpreet Singh, Founder of One Digital, and other content creators will help the workers during this lockdown period and the fight after.## Talking about this initiative and why he felt it was necessary to be done for the daily wage earners, Arunabh said: "Everyone is doing their best to help those in need by providing monetary help or donating medical help and other necessities to the underprivileged. After working with local groups to help these workers, I realized that the workers, who are lifelines of India, need to be made aware of the pandemic in a more effective fashion.## "While all of us are sharing the message in English and Hindi, it's not reaching to these workers in their own local or regional language, and a lot is lost in translation. We saw it necessary that the information needs to reach them in their local language and dialect. That's the insight that I along with my Creator Friends believe in and want to reach out to them using WhatsApp so that they understand the problem as over 70 crore Indians connected to workers are critical in fighting this war against corona and for that they need to have the information they can appreciate, which we have tried to spread amongst all," he added.## Bhuvan shared that it's an idea that can actually help the people who have no presence on social media. "Explaining to them the seriousness of the situation in their own language will hopefully make things better for their family and friends."## Prajakta said that the thousands of housemaids in Mumbai can understand the habits to fight corona in their local lingo much better and she believes the change has to begin at grassroots.## The initiative will include content creators who will shoot a video in their native language explaining all the instructions that need to be followed by everyone in this time of need.## Stay tuned...

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Adam Sandler, Jimmy Fallon root for social distancing with 'Don't touch grandma' song
2254 days ago
Hollywood

Adam Sandler, Jimmy Fallon root for social distancing with 'Don't touch grandma' song

Los Angeles, April 9 (IANS) Hollywood actor Adam Sandler, and comedian Jimmy Fallon have helped raise awareness of safety regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic with a new song titled "Don't touch grandma".## Sandler virtually appeared on the US late-night talk show host's program, amid the Covid-19 lockdown, to help remind viewers to keep their distance from the elderly during the health disaster, reports aceshowbiz.com.## Fallon and Sandler both strummed along to guitars and sang the number.## Sandler then urged listeners to tell their "grandma": "no touchy, just looky. Don't touch grandma / give her some space / even if your grandma wants to go to second base."## The two then concluded by saying: "you still can smell her grandma smell from six feet away."## The new song comes after Sandler recently performed a number dubbed "The Quarantine Song" on Fallon's online version of "The Tonight Show".## For more and latest news about Hollywood, stay tuned with us.

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Katy Perry to name daughter after late grandmother
2254 days ago
Hollywood

Katy Perry to name daughter after late grandmother

Los Angeles, April 9 (IANS) Singer Katy Perry is reportedly planning to name her daughter after her late grandmother Ann Pearl Hudson.## Perry announced last week that she and actor-fiance Orlando Bloom are expecting a little girl together, reports aceshowbiz.com.## Following the death of her grandmother in March, a source has told "The Naughty but Nice Podcast with Rob Shuter" that Perry is planning to honor her late relative with her daughter's moniker -- naming her "Pearl or Hudson or Ann."## "It was Katy's grandmother that made Katy the woman and fighter that she is today. Katy believes that it is no coincidence that as her granny's soul leaves the earth, another soul arrives," the insider explained.## Bloom is already a father to 9-year-old son Flynn, whom he shares with former wife Miranda Kerr.## For more and latest news about Hollywood, stay tuned with us.

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Big B shares video expressing gratitude to supply warriors amid lockdown
2254 days ago
Bollywood

Big B shares video expressing gratitude to supply warriors amid lockdown

Mumbai, April 9 (IANS) Bollywood veteran Amitabh Bachchan has taken to social media to express gratitude to the people associated with supplying and delivering necessary items, at a time when the entire nation is witnessing a lockdown owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.## The veteran actor shared a video on Twitter and wrote: "I express my sincere gratitude to all #SupplyWarriors who are risking their lives every day to serve the nation. We salute your determination towards keeping #India connected amidst lockdown. #IndiaFightsCorona".## In the video, Bachchan says in Hindi: "At a time when the entire nation is observing the lockdown in response to the Prime Minister's appeal and battling the war against coronavirus, there are among us a set of selfless supply warriors who are playing a crucial role in this battle. A major reason for the success of this lockdown is the selfless dedication of these supply warriors. I express my gratitude to them. These include truck drivers, our brothers and sisters associated with loading and unloading of goods, workers associated with railway racks, air-cargo and ports, Indian Air Force, pilots and crew members of Air India and all those people associated with supplying food items and medicines at this hour."## He also mentioned local shopkeepers, and delivery boys and girls. "I would also like to thank the local shopkeepers and our brothers and sisters who are delivering necessities like milk, fruits, vegetables, and other food items to our homes or helping us at the shops," he said.## The actor concluded with a message for citizens urging them to cooperate and stay at home. "It is because of these supply warriors that you all are getting necessary items during this time. I'd like to convey to the citizens that please rest assured because as long as these supply warriors are active, you will not face any problem in getting the necessities. Therefore, please don't hoard unnecessary items. Stay at home. Stay safe," he said.## Stay tuned...

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Late John Prine's wife: Take this virus seriously
2254 days ago
Hollywood

Late John Prine's wife: Take this virus seriously

Los Angeles, April 9 (IANS) Singer-songwriter John Prine's wife has shared an emotional note after his death, urging people to "take this virus seriously".## Prine, who received a Grammy lifetime achievement award this year, passed away on Tuesday due to complications owing to coronavirus. He was 73.## Prine's wife Fiona Whelan issued a statement on Wednesday following the death of her husband. While both he and his wife were afflicted with the illness, she has recovered from it, reports variety.com.## "Our beloved John died yesterday evening Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee," she wrote on her social media accounts, adding: "We have no words to describe the grief our family is experiencing at this time. John contracted COVID-19 and in spite of the incredible skill and care of his medical team at Vanderbilt he could not overcome the damage this virus inflicted on his body."## "I sat with John -- who was deeply sedated -- in the hours before he passed," she continued, "and will be forever grateful for that opportunity".## "My dearest wish is that people of all ages take this virus seriously and follow guidelines set by the CDC. We send our condolences and love to the thousands of other American families who are grieving the loss of loved ones at this time -- and to so many other families across the world. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the outpouring of love we have received from family, friends, and fans all over the world. John will be so missed but he will continue to comfort us with his words and music and the gifts of kindness, humor, and love he left for all of us to share," she concluded.## Prine was one of the most celebrated songwriters of the past 50 years and continued to tour and record recently. He fought off cancer in the late 1990s and again in the early 2010s.## For more and latest news about Hollywood, stay tuned with us.

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COVID-19: Sonu Sood offers his Juhu hotel for healthcare workers
2254 days ago
Bollywood

COVID-19: Sonu Sood offers his Juhu hotel for healthcare workers

Mumbai, April 9 (IANS) Actor Sonu Sood has offered his Juhu hotel for healthcare workers including doctors, nurses and the paramedical staff during the coronavirus pandemic.## "It's my honor to be able to do my bit for the doctors, nurses and paramedical staff of our country who have been working day and night to save the lives of millions in the country. I'm really happy to open the doors of my hotel for these real-time heroes," Sonu said.## The actor is also making the best use of social media platforms, spreading awareness about the novel coronavirus among people. He has also been telling people how to workout at home and maintain fitness. In a recent Instagram post, Sonu I seen using home furniture as gymming equipment.## Stay tuned...

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