BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 14 (IANS) Amid the coronavirus crisis, actor Amitabh Bachchan has penned his feelings on humans and humanity.## Big B shared a throwback image from his young days in which he was seen talking to somebody over the phone. In another image he posted alongside the old black-and-white picture, the thespian is seen signaling a phone with his hands.## "Of this, there is no doubt at all, that during this pandemic.. irrespective of caste color creed or belief.. friend, acquaintance or unknown... never before and perhaps never after has one human shown so much concern and sympathy for another... there is but one common refrain on every lip.. be safe, be protected," he captioned the image.## The image currently has 450K likes on Instagram.## On the work front, Amitabh will next be seen in films like "Chehre", Gulabo Sitabo", Brahmastra" and "Jhund".## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 14 (IANS) Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana is deeply disturbed after reading about the growing violence against police personnel in various cities across India amid coronavirus crisis.## Ayushmann took to social media to condemn such violent acts.## "I feel terrible reading about the heinous attacks on cops and security personnel that is happening across the country. The police force is risking their lives every single day to keep us, our families and our friends safe and I condemn such attacks on them," he wrote.## Lately, several incidents of violence against cops have occurred in many parts of India -- notably, a cop's hand being chopped off in Patiala while on duty to prevent people from stepping out of their homes. Mob attacks on policemen in Bhopal and Cuttack, Ahmedabad have surfaced in the last couple of days.## Ayushmann urged all Indians to appreciate the hard work that our police force is putting in.## "They are putting us and our lives before theirs and we should respect how they are fighting for us to keep us all protected. All Indians should celebrate the police force and salute them! Jai Hind!" he concluded.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 14 (IANS) The Chris Hemsworth-starrer digital film "Extraction" casts Priyanshu Painyuli as a drug lord. The actor feels nailing the look of the character is important, because the way you dress up for a particular role can make you behave in a certain way.## For "Extraction", Priyanshu has tried nailing the gangster look with chunky gold jewelry, gold neck-pieces, armlets, and bracelets. He wore a lot of local fabrics including kurtas and silk shirts, which are characteristic of Bangladeshi locals. His attire comes in deep-hued monotones.## "I have always felt the way you dress up as a character makes you behave in a certain way. For me, mainly my shoes matter a lot, what footwear I use to walk or sit changes my body language a bit," Priyanshu said.## "When Sam (Hargreave), my director, asked me how I felt with my costume and look, I smiled and said I was really enjoying the gold, but I especially loved my shoes -- shiny, pointed with hard heels. They made a presence when I walked, at least to me," he added.## Originally titled "Dhaka", the film also stars Indian actors Randeep Hooda, Pankaj Tripathi, and Rudraksh Jaiswal. It revolves around Tyler Rake (essayed by Hemsworth), a fearless, black market mercenary, who embarks on the most deadly extraction of his career when he is enlisted to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord. Hemsworth shot for the Netflix film in India in 2018. In India, he shot in Ahmedabad and Mumbai.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 14 (IANS) On Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation and informed citizens that the nationwide lockdown is being extended till May 3 in an attempt to battle the deadly COVID 19 pandemic. Bollywood celebs welcomed this decision and took to social media to urge people to cooperate with the government's decision.## Veteran actress-politician Hema Malini wrote: "We have completed 3 weeks of nationwide lockdown successfully &controlled the spread of the virus to a large extent. Let us follow our PM @narendramodi Ji's behest to the nation to observe the next 3 weeks also in strict lockdown. For our own welfare & benefit, we shouldn't break rules."## In a separate tweet, she also suggested people utilize their time finding out their hidden talents rather than getting bored at home.## "Find ur hidden talents! U might have an artist within u waiting to be encouraged. A dancer who has always loved to dance but too busy to take it up. A nature lover who didn't have time to even look at our own garden. A storyteller, a writer-the list is endless. Time to discover urself!"## Actress Nimrat Kaur also shared on Twitter: "These last 21 days stay valid and effective only with patience and discipline every single day of the next 19 coming up. Each decision at every individual level matters like never before. #TogetherAtHome #StaySafeStayHome #Lockdown2 #IndiaFightsCarona."## Urging citizens to cooperate in the extended lockdown period, Rajeev Khandelwal tweeted: "Let's respect what our Prime Minister just said. It is in the interest of the entire country. Stay indoors, stay safe. #CoronaUpdatesIndia"## Lyricist and censor board chief Prasoon Joshi tweeted: "#ModiMangalMessage Time to Stay firm&united. India under the leadership of PM @narendramodi has set an example of decisiveness, self-belief, and welfare in the face of the Coronavirus crisis. Let's keep staying responsible for the sake of all and not get distracted by any negativity."## Actress-politician Kirron Kher tweeted: "In order to ensure that India's fight against #COVID19 continues and we will be victorious, Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi has decided to extend the lockdown by 3 May. Stay where you are, be safe."## Filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri expressed: "Friends, You can achieve all this before 3rd May:## - lose weight/ be fitter## - learn about food## - learn a new skill## - throw away what you don't need/live light## - discover new ideas and be ready for #NewWorld## - discover your #CreativeConsciousness## - be successful## #Lockdown2"## Singer Adnan Sami, who became an Indian citizen a while back, tweeted: "#Lockdown2 #NoProblem #IndiaFightsCorona #IndiaFightsCoronavirus."## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 14 (IANS) Iconic actor Naseeruddin Shah recalls an incident from his early days in the city when he was a struggler, and how a moment of realization back then changed his attitude towards prayer forever.## "I can recall that day even now. I was very vulnerable back then. I had no work, no friends in the city, no money to buy my bread and it felt like all the doors were closed. I thought I would pray. While performing Wudu I began to think, what is prayer about? Is it �saudebaazi' (bargaining), where I say, �God please give me this and I will become that and I will offer you that'? No! That should not be the reason why we pray! That day and ever since, I never prayed to ask anything from the Almighty. My attitude towards prayer changed forever," the veteran actor told IANS.## "I only pray to express gratitude. When I was broken, I realized that the only solution is to get work and whoever offers me would appear to me as �God-like'. I have to hold myself strong until then. I think begging to God for things while praying is despicable," he added.## Shahj has recent;y appeared in the short film "Half-Full". Directed by debutant Karan Rawal, the film also features Vikrant Massey, and will premiere on the OTT platform ZEE5.## What made him sign up a short film directed by a greenhorn filmmaker? "I am very supportive of these short films that are made by young filmmakers. They have a voice that they express through storytelling and I think if the idea is good, it deserves support. I receive several scripts but I do not agree to work with all of them. You see, the idea, the story matters to me. I did not know this young man Karan before reading the script. That way, I did not know Shekhar Kapur before doing �Masoom', I did not know Neeraj (Pandey) before doing �A Wednesday'. For me, the story matters. When I came on board for this film, I found the script interesting," he explained.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 14 (IANS) "Bigg Boss 13" contestant Arti Singh urges people to practice yoga during these times of COVID-19 stress.## The quarantine has given a chance to people to do the things that they didn't otherwise get time for, owing to their busy work schedules.## Apart from doing daily household chores, cooking and catching up on films and web-series, Arti has also been practicing yoga.## "I used to practice yoga daily when I was in Lucknow but I lost touch in between. Now that we are all home and have time in our hands, I have got back to doing it daily. Usually, I try to do it as soon as I wake up or in the evenings, depending upon how I am feeling that day," she said.## "Yoga has positively affected me as it helps calm down my mind. I encourage everyone to do a short session of yoga every day, as these are testing times we are all facing. Yoga will essentially keep you calm and patient," she added.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 14 (IANS) Actress Akansha Ranjan Kapoor says she is utilising her lockdown days to catch up on some great movies. Akansha, who garnered acclaim for her debut role in the recent digital film "Guilty", wishes to be part of a film like "Thappad".## "I am utilizing this time that I am sitting home productively. I am one of those people who used to watch a lot of TV series rather than film, but now I have made a list of important films that I am watching to understand performance better. It is useful for me as an actor. I have watched 'The Platform', 'The Report' and 'Lady Bird'. I am watching more films -- for my acting purpose, these are important," Akansha told IANS.## Asked about if there is any Bollywood film she has watched that made her feel like she would want to be a part of it, and Akansha replied: "Every time I watch a film, I feel like I want to do this one! I wish I could get a chance to play a character like this! Recently when I watched 'Thappad', I was like 'I so want to play the part at Taapsee did'. I wish to be a part of that kind of film."## "There are films that I watch as an actress. When I watched 'Section 375' I was moved. I so wish to be part of a story like 'Udta Punjab'. I want to work with Anubhav Sinha, Shakun Batra, and Luv Ranjan. All of them are so distinct in their style of storytelling and I think working with them would help me to grow as an actor," Akansha signed off.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 14 (IANS) Remember December 2017, when Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma tied the knot in an exclusive ceremony at Italy's breathtaking Borgo Finocchieto? Far away from paparazzi, the two exchanged garlands in a private affair and then had revealed the news on social media with a picture of the ceremony. Till date, their wedding videos make the fans ask for more.## The fairytale touch to Virushka's wedding nuptials was given by Vishal Punjabi, filmmaker and founder of the production company, The Wedding Filmer. He's the one who shot Virat and Anushka's destination wedding along with his team. It's been almost three years since he filmed the festivities, and he naturally considers it a career milestone.## "I didn't know it was their wedding until I got there!" Vishal told IANS, adding: "I was proud of the fact that they picked me for their wedding. It was a private affair and we respected their privacy as we wanted them to freely live their special moment. It was not that difficult to shoot their wedding. In fact, they made us so feel comfortable that I felt I was a part of their celebrations. Once the wedding was done, I realized that I had finally accomplished something big. I had covered one of the biggest and beautiful weddings in the world. Virat and Anushka taught me the difference between hope and expectation."## To make their marriage video special, Vishal decided to give it a musical effect. Instead of depending on Bollywood Shaadi songs, Vishal tried something original.## The Sufi song "Peer vi tu" was created for Virushka's wedding video. It was sung by Harshadeep Kaur and Mohan Kannan.## "Why go for Bollywood when one can create something original? It's so boring to use the same songs at almost every wedding. Every bride should feel special on her special day. So, I thought it was important to come up with original tracks," Vishal emphasized.## Apart from Virat-Anushka, Vishal has also captured the moments of Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh and Bipasha Basu-Karan Singh Grover's weddings.## Vishal also spoke about how the wedding industry has faced the brunt due to the COVID-19 pandemic.## "The wedding industry has taken a huge hit. Many wedding assignments that I was really excited about and worked really hard on have been pushed and there is nothing that can be done about it. At this time, the best you can do is help those around you, accept what is happening and stay positive by turning this around to improve your life and the lives of those you love. I am worried what if people start marrying online," he quipped.## Vishal is all set to come up with the streaming service Wedflix for people to watch wedding content directly at their homes.## "We coined the term Wedflix to encourage people to stay at home and watch their wedding films. A lot of couples we've filmed for -- who have children now or who are stuck at home with their families -- end up watching their wedding videos and relive their memories again.## "Your lehenga ain't gonna comfort you in times of distress. Your wedding film has the potential to remind you of why you got married in the first place. So, when life is going uphill, Wedflix and Chill," Vishal ends with a smart hard sell punchline for his trade.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

New Delhi, April 14 (IANS) Actor Sharad Kelkar has an interesting slate of Bollywood work lined up including "Laxmmi Bomb" and "Bhuj: The Pride Of India". He has opened up working with the cast of these films and the equation he shares with actors like Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Dutt, with whom he shares screen space.## The Akshay-starrer "Laxmmi Bomb" is a remake of the superhit Tamil horror-comedy "Muni 2: Kanchana". It revolves around Raghava, a cowardly man who gets possessed by the ghost of a transgender woman, who takes revenge on the ones who destroyed her life. The Tamil film featured R. Sarathkumar, Raghava Lawrence, Lakshmi Rai, Kovai Sarala, Devadarshini and Sriman in pivotal roles.## "Bhuj: The Pride of India", stars Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha, Ammy Virk, and Pranitha Subhash. The film tells the tale of Indian Air Force pilot Vijay Karnik. The period drama looks back into the journey of 300 women of Madhapar village in Gujarat's Kutch district, who played a pivotal role in helping India win the 1971 Indo-Pak war. The women came together to rebuild and repair the only runway in Bhuj, which was crucial for the war. Sharad recently worked with Ajay in "Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior". He played the role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the film.## "Working with all the actors in both the films it feels nice because I worked with them earlier also. Mr. Dutt and I have major sequences in 'Bhuj: The Pride Of India'. I worked with him in 'Bhoomi', there is great chemistry between us... He treats as his younger brother...," Sharad told IANS.## "With Ajay sir, it feels like family and the Akshay sir I worked with him in 'Housefull 4'. If you work with people whom you know or worked with before then you are more comfortable with them and because I am much younger than them they treat me very nicely. They have been very kind to me," he added.## Currently, Sharad is at home due to the nationwide lockdown.## Does he see a silver line as he is getting to spend time at home with his family?## "In TV days obviously I used work every day. But films or web-series we don't work non-stop. I used to go every day for meetings, narrations, and other things. But the break is needed but not for such a long time... I'm a workaholic its very troublesome for me," he added.## But Sharad says he has now gotten used to staying at home.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

BY SACNILK

Beijing, April 14 (IANS) The novel coronavirus that has infected more than 1.9 million people globally is not just a physical health threat as researchers have found that more than a third of medical staff responding to the outbreak during its peak in China suffered from insomnia.## According to the study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry, the healthcare workers who experienced sleeplessness were also more likely to feel depressed, anxious and have stress-based trauma.## "Typically, stress-related insomnia is transient and persists for only a few days. But if the COVID-19 outbreak continues, insomnia may gradually become chronic insomnia in the clinical setting," said study co-author Bin Zhang, Professor at Southern Medical University in China.## The results are based on a series of self-administered questionnaires conducted online between January 29 and February 3 at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in China.## Researchers used the WeChat social media platform to gather answers from 1,563 participants in the medical field. Of that number, 564 people, or 36.1 percent, had insomnia symptoms.## The authors of the current study note that the statistic is consistent with previous research conducted on the psychological effects of the 2002 outbreak of SARS, a related coronavirus that also causes severe respiratory distress.## For example, 37 percent of nurses who worked with SARS patients experienced insomnia.## The insomnia group in the current paper experienced significantly higher levels of depression than the non-insomnia group, 87.1 percent versus 31 percent, especially in moderate (22.9 percent versus 2.8 percent) and severe (16.7 percent versus 1.8 percent) cases.## The percentages and differences between the groups were similar for anxiety and trauma as well. The team also identified certain factors that were correlated with insomnia.## "The most important factor was having very strong uncertainty regarding effective disease control among medical staff," Zhang noted.## Strong uncertainty was 3.3 times higher for those exhibiting insomnia than not, the study said.## Staff with less education were also prone to sleep disorders.## Specifically, researchers found the risk of insomnia among medical staff with a high school education or below was 2.69 times higher than those with a doctoral degree.## They speculated that less education led to more outcome-based fear.## The authors noted that healthcare workers were also under incredible stress in general.## They were in close contact with infected patients who could pass on the disease to them. They were worried about infecting their own family and friends.## "Under these dangerous conditions, medical staff become mentally and physically exhausted, and therefore experience an increased risk of insomnia due to high stress," they wrote.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 13 (IANS) Anchor-actress Mini Mathur is a great cook too! Two years ago, she came up with a show titled "The Mini Truck", which saw her cooking and chatting up along with Bollywood celebrities in a food truck. And now, she has taken to reminiscing about the show's journey by re-posting its episodes on Instagram, aiming to lighten up the mood of people amid the COVID-19 pandemic.## "Some shows are special. Because they are conceived with love and passion. Where every little detail is put out there from a piece of someone's heart. And yet there is organic, free-flowing magic to its birth. The Mini Truck is THAT show," she wrote on Instagram.## For Mini, "more than cooking itself, it's the memories and stories behind it that taste better".## She also shared how the show came into existence.## "My friend @nikkhiladvani decided I should cook my recipes with my stories on camera. @onlyemmay & @gauravvkchawla decided we should have celebrity friends come in. @anaghar who has always believed in me & Rajeshree from @indiafoodnetwork gave us the most amazing platform and fantastic sponsors.## "Nikhil bought us a bus, we stripped it down and then @karishmakohli came and poured in her soul into mine and we created the look, color, feel of the showdown to every cup, saucer, spatula & tea towel. The way the food would look. And she directed it like a dream along with our producer @kaachua! Then I met the most amazing food team @thefoodkonnect & @anushakay curated the recipes and we were set," Mini added.## The first person to visit her show was filmmaker Farah Khan. The two had made Mathur Alan ka saag and chicken together in the first episode.## Stay tuned...

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Mumbai, April 13 (IANS) In keeping with the trend of re-telecasting hit old TV shows during the COVID-19 lockdown, the popular "Balika Vadhu" is in for a re-run, and actress Avika Gor, who played the central role of Anandi in the serial, is clearly on cloud nine.## Taking to Instagram Story, Avika posted a video that shows her singing the show's title track, "Choti Si Umar Mein", a Rajasthani folk.## "Balika Vadhu re-telecast... I am so overwhelmed," she captioned the video, thanking her other former co-stars.## "Balika Vadhu" was aired from 2008 to 2016. The show deals with the issue of child marriage. The cast included Surekha Sikri, Vikrant Massey, and Sidharth Shukla.## Colors channel decided to re-telecast the show in the wake of several Doordarshan repeats including "Ramayan", "Mahabharat", "Byomkesh Bakshi", "Circus", and "Shrimaan Shrimaati". Several other private channels have also already brought back many popular old shows.## For more and latest news about TV, stay tuned with us.