BY SACNILK

Mumbai, March 24 (IANS) Actor Arshad Warsi is "extremely pleased" that audiences loved his digital debut show, "Asur", and says he is grateful to his "loyal fans" who have supported him throughout his career. ## "I'm extremely pleased to hear that my digital debut, ‘Asur' has been receiving such a great response from the audience, as well from my friends and family," Arshad said. ## "In a day and age when web series are so popular, it is a great feeling that ‘Asur' is one of the few shows that has been winning the hearts of millions and I was so kicked to see a review of 9.1 on IMDb. This wouldn't have been possible without my fantastic co-cast and crew. Playing the character of Dhananjay Rajpoot was a great experience and I would like to thank the streaming service for giving me this platform to prove my versatility as an actor. And of course, grateful to my loyal fans who have supported me throughout my career," he added. ## Arshad's digital debut series "Asur" is a psychological thriller that streams on Voot Select. The series showcases the conflict between good and bad. The show takes the audience on a journey of two opposing worlds -- forensic science on the one hand and the mysteries of Indian mythology on the other. ## For more and the latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned to us.

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, March 24 (IANS) "Bigg Boss 13" fame contestants Sidharth Shukla and Shehnaz Gill are back to woo their fans again. This time, they feature together in the music video of singer Darshan Rawal's new number, "Bhula dunga". ## The romantic song showcases sizzling chemistry between Sidharth and Shehnaz, who made a lot of headlines for their close bond in the "Bigg Boss 13" house. ## Seeing the song, fans, who fondly call Sidharth and Shehnaz as "Sidnaz", showered praises and compliments on them. ## A user commented: "Sidharth ShukIa and Shehnaz's scenes are so well made.Their chemistry looks so natural." ## Another one wrote: "Great song...great expressions ...great chemistry." ## Before launching the song on social media, Shehnaz and Sidharth even went live on Instagram to converse with their followers. ## Shehnaz even requested her fans to "make the song a hit". ## Apart from Shehnaz and Sidharth, "Bigg Boss 13" contestants Asim Riaz , Himanshi Khurana, Paras Chhabra and Mahira Sharma too featured in music videos recently. ## For more and the latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned to us.

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Mumbai, March 23 (IANS) Actress Richa Sinha will soon be seen in two web series. She shares screen space with Karan Singh Grover and Kunal Kemmu in "Boss 2" and "Abhay 2" respectively.## "I feel blessed and all excited to share the screen with Karan in 'Boss 2' and Kunal in 'Abhay'. I'm going to be part of the upcoming two web projects along with them. This will for sure help me grow and earn a fine place in showbiz.## " I look forward to doing more such projects and make myself a fine and loved actress to follow my dreams for working in television and Bollywood movies," Richa said.## She added: "I have come a long way in establishing myself in showbiz by winning big in beauty pageants like World supermodel South Asia in 2018 apart from being the third winner at the World Pageant held at Fiji where I represented India. This gave me a chance to work as a model with top brands in e-commerce.## "However, my career is not restricted to pageants and modeling as I wanted to expand my horizon trying my luck in the field of acting. Thus I joined theatres doing a number of plays to brush up my acting skills."## Richa recently featured in a Punjabi music video, titled "Gal Sunja".## For more and latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned with us.

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, March 22 (IANS) Playing the protagonist in the new web series "She" has been an exciting journey for Aaditi Pohankar. The "Lai Bhaari" fame actress plays the lead character on the show.## Aaditi's character in the Imtiaz Ali-scripted show is called Bhumika Pardesi. She is a lady constable who has to pose as a prostitute to help the police force nab a dreaded narcotics dealer.## "What I understood about Bhumika Pardesi is that she is a timid person going through the mundane rhythm of life, where she goes to work and comes back home. When she goes home, where she is with her family, she becomes her real life. She is melancholic, rather masochistic at times," the actress told IANS, describing her character.## The antagonist is a dreaded narcotics dealer named Sasya, played by Vijay Varma.## Talking about how the two characters are interrelated, the actress said: "Sasya is a catalyst in Bhumika's life in a strong way. As Bhumika goes ahead, she is just understanding herself. From being timid, she is realizing that it is okay to be what she is being now and it's okay sometimes to think about Sasya. Nobody is watching her."## In what way was becoming Bhumika a challenge for her? "Challenge is very subjective. It's so much fun! I don't like to go on those scary rides, I would rather go on that ride within my script. I would like to go and not look where I am going to reach but I still want to take that leap, and I want to keep falling down that valley till I feel free. And I feel free at times with that character. Like with Bhumika at times I was just sitting and it did work out very well," Aaditi replied.## "It was not very challenging but of course all the credit goes to Imtiaz sir (Ali) with the great rehearsals that we did, with the amount of talking that we did on it. And of course with Arif sir (Arif Ali, director) and Avinash sir (Avinash Das, director), it didn't feel like a challenge. It has been an exciting journey," she concluded.## Directed by Arif Ali and Avinash Das, the web series has premiered on Netflix on March 20.## For more and latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned with us.

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, March 21 (IANS) Actress Sayani Gupta is glad that her web series "Four More Shots Please!" surpassed all preconceived notions, especially that a show made by women on women would be about male-bashing. ## "The second season of Amazon Original's 'Four More Shots Please!' feels nothing less than coming back in a familiar environment and striving to do something even bigger, better, deeper than the first season. There is a special charm in reuniting and collaborating with the same gang of co-actors, makers, creators," Sayani said. ## "The first season was infinitely successful and received an unprecedented love from the fans. It truly is beyond dreams that a forward, rule-bending show like 'Four More Shots Please!' would receive so much love and craze from fans from all across the board, from all parts of the country and different parts of the world and from all age groups and gender. It also surpassed all preconceived notions that a show made by women on women, would be about male-bashing," she added. ## After the success of the first season of the Amazon Original series, the second season of "Four More Shots Please!" will release on April 17. The second part will pick-up from the previous season's cliffhanger ending, bringing back stories of four unapologetically flawed ladies who live, love, blunder and discover what it really takes to build everlasting friendships in Mumbai. Produced by Pritish Nandy Communications Ltd, the show is created by Rangita Pritish Nandy. ## Talking about the characters, the actress said: "Each character had something people could relate to and connect with. The beauty of the 'Four More Shots Please!' is that it celebrates four women who are so different, not only in the way they look but also their personalities. The women in the show are flawed but they completely own it. The show also celebrates women with agency, which is the need of the hour. That every girl out there should have the right to choose her life's course, backed my education and strive for financial independence. The second season will be twice as special. You will see the girls having more fun, the friendship growing deeper and fierceness growing stronger but also them accepting their vulnerabilities. I can't wait for the fans who have been writing in everyday for the second season, to watch the show. ## The series stars Kirti Kulhari, Bani J. and Maanvi Gagroo, with Prateik Babbar, Lisa Ray, Milind Soman, Neil Bhooplalam, Simone Singh and Amrita Puri. The series is directed by Nupur Asthana and written by Devika Bhagat, with dialogues by Ishita Moitra. ## Talking about working with Milind, she said: "We are a generation that have grown up loving Milind Soman, since 'Made in India' days! When I came on board to play Damini, I was told that Milind Soman was going to play Dr. Warsi. ## "I was obviously quite excited to meet him and eventually work with him.. cause he was after all, the most gorgeous man in the country we grew up admiring. I had met him briefly at the reading. But I properly met him on shoot, while we were filming at Indigo in town. We were shooting in location since early morning and had to vacate the restaurant by 11am. So naturally there was a lot of rush and nail biting time crunch in order to finish three scenes in that location. I was ready with my lines and had rehearsed alone and waiting for the take to happen. But here was Mr. Soman surrounded by the bunch of women who were actually running the set.. the HODs, who at this point... were giggling like little 16 year olds. It was already past 10am. You had to see the set that day. Everybody was in their best mood. It was super funny to see how these exceptionally talented strong boss-ladies had become giggly teenage girls in just his presence. It was really cute." ## For more and the latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned to us.

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Mumbai, March 20 (IANS) After wooing the audience with his performance in "Gully Boy" and "Baaghi 3", actor Vijay Varma is all set to showcase his skills in Netflix's upcoming project "She", which is created by Imtiaz Ali. ## On the show, Vijay will be seen playing the role of Sasya, a narcotic dealer who embarks on a complex relationship with Aaditi Pohankar's character, a timid female police constable. ## Vijay's acting skills has left Imtiaz impressed. The filmmaker is now full of praise for the actor. ## "Vijay approaches acting from a pure intention. It's very easy to collaborate with him. He has contributed a lot to the scenes. He is technically not Sasya in real life but he has worked really well and that is why it looks so real," said Imtiaz. ## "What Vijay has done is that he has contributed to the character since he had the advantage from being from those regions. He is a pure actor and has pushed himself to be closer to the character of Sasya. Regardless of gender, when you do that in terms of your physicality, sexuality -- you need to take that journey, and that was a very interesting journey for all of us, to go at that point, say it purely, without being ashamed of it," the filmmaker said. ## For more and the latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned to us.

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, March 19 (IANS) Internet sensation Dhinchak Pooja is the latest celebrity to come up with a song about coronavirus. ## On Thursday, Pooja released her latest number titled "Hoga na corona". The song starts off with the disclaimer that it is only meant to raise awareness about the diesases and does not in any way try to work as medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. ## The disclaimer also adds that anyone displaying COVID-19 symptoms should immediately consult a doctor. It even adds that no animals were harmed while shooting the video. ## The song goes: ## Corona corona kaam yeh karo na ## Dua yeh karo na ## Kisi ko yeh ho na ## Hoga na corona ## Haath tu dhona ## Jaldi se sona ## Time na khona ## Tension tum lo na ## Babu ho ya sona ## Baad mein na rona ## Mazaak mein na lo na ## The song is avaialable on YouTube, the platform that made Dhinchak Pooja a star thanks to her hits such as "Selfie maine le li aaj", "Swag wali topi" and "Dilon ka shooter". ## For more and the latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned to us.

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, March 19 (IANS) "Mirzapur" fame actress Anangsha Biswas, who recently featured in the short film "Pratibimb: A Reflection", says it is not easy for her to shoot for the film, given the fact that it deals with the grim subject of child abuse. ## Anangsha revealed that she would cry for hours after shooting for the film. ## "It was a challenging role for me. There are no dialogues in the film hence it's all emotion-based. This film tries to put light over Child abuse and how that child and her choices in life are thereafter impacted. I would cry for hours sitting in my vanity after a sequence was shot," Anangsha said. ## Anangsha has featured in shows such as "Hostages" and "Maaya 2" in the past. She is now gearing up for the second season of "Mirzapur". She has also worked in the Bollywood films "Luv Shuv tey Chicken Khurana" and "Benny Baboo". ## For more and the latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned to us.

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, March 19 (IANS) A lady constable poses as a prostitute to help the police nab a dreaded narcotics dealer. Will she succeed? Is she smart enough for the job? Her journey comprises Imtiaz Ali's latest creation, a web series titled "She". ## "'She' is about a female cop who becomes an undercover agent. She poses as a prostitute to aid the police investigate a certain criminal nexus. It is the journey of this woman as she goes through the experience of pretending to be a prostitute, how she deals with it and what happens to her and her sexuality. Through the series, we see many interesting and hidden aspects of society, of this city and of our own personalities," Imtiaz told IANS. ## The filmmaker, who has written the story, revealed his inspiration, saying: "I have met many lady constables. I met many prostitutes as well. I have also met women that are on different levels of this exploration. I have met a lot of women that have tried or are trying to get rid of the baggage of shame that they are suppressed by. 'She' is such a journey." ## We have always seen strong female protagonists in Imtiaz Ali's directorials like "Jab We Met" and "Highway". "She", too, boasts of a strong female protagonist, Bhumika Pardesi (played by Aaditi Pohankar). "The greatest happiness I have is that the series is called 'She'. Because it is all about the she of 'She', the femininity of a girl," he said. ## Describing the character, he added: "She is strong in many ways. One of them is the fact that she is a very 'pushable' character. She is not only gullible but you can sidetrack her. She is timid and quite okay to be ignored. That is where her strength lies. She starts from there and then she discovers what it is to actually impose and be powerful and feel the energy of a woman in her body." ## The filmmaker revealed he had written this story a while back but was unable to fit it into a movie format. With the OTT wave setting in, a web series was the obvious choice. ## "It is a much longer story. I've had this story for a long time but I could never really compromise and fit it to the duration and format of a film. Luckily, the digital revolution happened and we could make a digital series out of it. Because it takes duration to say this story," Imtiaz said. ## Vijay Varma plays the dreaded narcotics dealer Sasya, and Imtiaz is happy with the actor's performance. ## "We were very lucky to get him actually. He also spoke Hyderabadi (which the character speaks in the series) because he is from that region. That really helped. As an actor, he has really contributed to build what it (the show) has become. He has worked so well to build the character that it looks tailor-made for him," said Imtiaz. ## "She" is directed by Arif Ali and Avinash Das. The web series premieres on Netflix on March 20. ## For more and the latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned to us.

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Mumbai, March 18 (IANS) The Instagram-based web series "Firsts" has created a record by garnering 26 million views including YouTube and Facebook till date. On Instagram alone, the show has 16 million views. "Firsts", a show dealing with innocent school romance, stars Rohan Shah and Apoorva Arora.## Talking about the series, director Nayana Shyam shared: "Seeing the show perform so well, just makes me feel proud of all the efforts the team has put in. I'm truly humbled that the audience loved Rohan and Apoorva's Firsts as much as we did while making it."## Sharing the experience of shooting, the director added: "Directing ‘Firsts' was honestly a nostalgic experience for me. It transported us back to the time when we were teenagers. Nothing was too childish, even romance was enjoyed in the most innocent way and moments were created naturally. The videos are just one minute each but Pranav (writer) and I along with our actors Rohan and Apoorva really challenged ourselves to bring the best out."## The makers of "Firsts" target teenagers with its story of high school romance, and also hope grown-ups will accept the show with a tinge of nostalgia about their school days and first crush!## That the web series is currently enjoying immense popularity is evident from a quick scan of the comments section of each episode. The series has garnered over 8,000 comments, of which most are fan requests demanding a second season soon.## For more and latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned with us.

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Mumbai, March 18 (IANS) Actor Kay Kay Menon says his web series "Special Ops" offers a very unique perspective to the role of Indian intelligence.## Neeraj Pandey has directed the series along with Shivam Nair. The eight-episode Hotstar Specials spy action-thriller series is based on the role of Indian intelligence in a series of real terror attacks that India has faced over the last 19 years, including the 26/11 attacks. In a fictional take from the show, Himmat Singh (essayed by Kay Kay) is seen interrogating terrorist Ajmal Kasab.## "26/11 was a day when the entire country was awake. 'Special Ops' offers a very unique perspective to the role of Indian intelligence," Kay Kay said.## "Undercover agents are the true unsung heroes of our time. 'Special Ops' tries to bring forth the lives of these agents that try to capture the mastermind behind several unfortunate attacks. Indian intelligence is doing a lot for our country and we need to be indebted to them," he added.## The show also features Saiyami Kher, Karan Tacker, Divya Dutta, Vinay Pathak, Muzammil Ibrahim, Vipul Gupta, Sajjad Delafrooz, Parmeet Sethi, Gautami Kapoor, Sana Khan, Sharad Kelkar, KP Mukherjee, and many others. The show went live on March 17 in seven languages on Hotstar VIP.## For more and latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned with us.

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Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh), March 18 (IANS) Streaming platform Hotstar has unveiled a unique out-of-home initiative through a massive billboard spanning 10,000 sq. ft in Mirzapur district. ## The billboard on the arterial road joining Shastri Bridge to Jaunpur trisection in Mirzapur, was completed within one week and measures 1,000 feet in length and 10 feet in height. It has an additional two feet tall cut-outs and stands on a solid framework of bamboos and iron frames to sustain extreme weather. ## Touted as the longest ever in India, the billboard is part of Hotstar's new 360-degree marketing campaign that says, "Hotstar ka vaada, free entertainment sabse zyada", and aims at reaching out to millions of viewers in Hindi-speaking markets in tier II and tier III cities. ## With cinema halls and multiplexes closing their doors due to the Corona scare, entertainment options have moved indoors and the brand provides viewers the convenience of sitting back and exploring its extensive range of high-quality free content through these uncertain times. ## The billboard showcases Hotstar's vast library of high-quality free content, including movies. ## Mandeep Malhotra, founding Partner and CEO, The Social Street, said in a statement, "Working with Hotstar is always brilliant and fun. The brand inspires us to unlock new ideas and create campaigns that push boundaries. With the longest billboard campaign, we wanted to create something that would send out the brand's message in a way that wows people." ## The new campaign by Hotstar aims at bridging this accessibility gap for its viewers, through fresh and innovative ways to spread the word about its vast library of high-quality free content. ## For more and the latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned to us.