BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 29 (IANS) Several mythological shows, including "Mahabharata" and "Ramayan", have been re-running on TV amid the lockdown, and actor Vinit Kakar is catching up with all of them to better his performance as Ashwatthama in the ongoing television show "Radha Krishn".## "I'm enjoying watching all the mythological shows.. as these old series turn out to be very epic and audience favorite. I'm watching them and learning about how actors used to convey their dialogues and how they used to carry those heavy outfits while acting. These things are going to help me to groom my acting skills. Once the lockdown gets over I'm going to shoot for the Mahabharata character Ashwatthama, which is an important character in the story...So, I'm not missing any episodes of Mahabharata," he said.## Apart from binge-watching mythological shows, Vinit is also taking proper care of his health amid lockdown.## "In my free time, I take proper care of my health and body. I enjoy being in shape. I'm eating more of raw veggies and I'm exercising six hours a day," Vinit added.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 29 (IANS) Soon after reports of Irrfan Khan's hospitalization became public on Tuesday, rumors started doing the rounds in a section of the media claiming that the actor had passed away. An official statement had to be issued on behalf of the actor at around 1 am on Wednesday to quash all such extreme rumors .## "It's really disappointing to know that there are extreme assumptions being made about Irrfan's health. While we are truly appreciative that people are concerned, it's disheartening to see some sources spread extreme rumors and creating panic. Irrfan is a strong person and is still fighting the battle. We really request you to not fall for rumors and not partake in these conversations which are fictional. We have always actively clarified and shared updates on his health and we will continue doing so," said the statement, issued on behalf of Irrfan by his spokesperson.## The 53-year-old actor had been admitted to Mumbai's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital with a colon infection and was in the intensive care unit (ICU), as reported by IANS in an earlier report on Tuesday.## "Yes, it is true that Irrfan khan is admitted to ICU at Kokilaben in Mumbai because of a colon infection. We would keep everyone updated. He is under doctor's observation. His strength and courage have helped him battle and fight so far and we are sure with his tremendous willpower and prayers of all his well-wishers, he will recover soon," said the earlier report issued on behalf of Irrfan by his spokesperson.## The actor has been ailing ever since he was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor a while back and has been under medical attention for the same.## Irrfan is currently mourning the loss of his mother. The actor's mother Saeeda Begum breathed her last on Saturday in Jaipur where she used to stay. However, owing to the ongoing lockdown, the actor could not physically attend his mother's last rites and reportedly paid his last respect through video conferencing.## On the work front, Irrfan Khan was last seen in "Angrezi Medium", last-released Bollywood film before COVID-19 forced the complete shutdown of cinema halls. "Angrezi Medium" ran in theatres for just a day before halls all over India were shut down.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 29 (IANS) National Award-winning south Indian actress Priyamani, who appeared in the new digital film "Ateet", says working with actors like Manoj Bajpayee, Rajeev Khandelwal, Sanjay Suri to Rana Dagubaatti in the recent time has surely helped her grow as an actress.## While she made her digital debut with the web series "The Family Man" last year, the film "Ateet" is her second outing in the OTT space.## "I shot 'Ateet' a little before the shooting of 'The Family Man' started. So, technically this was my first film in the Hindi language, and, being an actress in the South, it was quite obvious for me to have the support of co-actors to perform well. It is interesting that both Rajeev and Sanjay are very different in their style of acting. So it is interesting for me to work with them," Priyamani told IANS.## "Manoj sir, on the other hand, improvises a lot and comes up with something that creates magic. So as a co-actor if I am not alert, I might just miss out on the moment! So yes, when you work with Manoj sir, you are a student. I am lucky to have worked with these actors who are very sensible and skilled," she added.## Directed by Tanuj Bharma, "Ateet" is streaming on ZEE5. Priyamani plays a mother in the film, which revolves around the mysterious death of a soldier.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 29 (IANS) Bollywood actor and social activist Rahul Bose, who lent his voice for a digital campaign against domestic violence, says that the major responsibility of any individual, including celebrities, is to be a good human being with a set of high values.## Reports have stated that cases of domestic violence have increased during the ongoing lockdown. "Articles and anecdotal data published across the world say how domestic violence has increased in European countries, in North America and other parts of the world including India. During the lockdown when the male members of the family are staying at the house, they get frustrated. Females, who had a little freedom in the absence of the males, are also not getting it. So, the frustration is building up for both. Naturally, there is more domestic violence under these situations," Rahul told IANS.## The campaign #LockdownOnDomesticViolence is initiated by Akshara Centre and promoted by several celebrities like Karan Johar, Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit, Anushka Sharma, Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Dia Mirza, Farhan Akhtar along with Rahul among many others.## "It is great that along with prominent Bollywood faces, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra also supported the campaign," he added.## This is not the first time when the actor has come forward to address social issues. He has been constantly working on social initiatives like education for underprivileged children, climate change, and gender equality among other issues.## On the social responsibility of a celebrity, Rahul said: "Whether you are a celebrity or not, the only responsibility you have is to be a good human being with the value of tolerance, non-discrimination, compassion, non-violence, etc. I think that is the responsibility that we all have. When a popular personality lends voice to a cause, he or she believes in that. The onus that we put on celebrity, that 'if you are influential, you should talk about social issue' is something I disagree with. It is enough to deliver your best in your respective field and just be a good human being with a lot of compassion.## "If you do anything extra, then that is great. But it is not incumbent of contingent on you. It does not make you less of a human being if you do not do it. I think that way, there are a lot of unfair responsibly placed on the shoulder of a celebrity. Having said that, our 'Lockdown On Domestic Violence' campaign has crossed five million views in just two days, and it is growing. That would have not to happen without the involvement of celebrity. Yes, we have the power and if that is used in an effective manner, society is benefitted," he explained.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 28 (IANS) Madhuri Dixit has revealed how she is spending her days during the ongoing COVID 19 lockdown. The actress is making the most of her quarantine time with her family and pet dog Carmelo, cooking, reading books and practicing Kathak dance.## On Tuesday afternoon, Madhuri Dixit did an #AskMD session on Twitter where she responded to curious questions thrown at her by fans regarding her life, her perception, and opinion about several things including the ongoing lockdown. The actress patiently handled all the questions and responded to them.## Responding to a fan's question about how she is spending her lockdown days, the actress tweeted: "Mostly spending time with my family, playing with Carmelo, reading books, some cooking and doing kathak riyaz!"## Another fan asked for a suggestion regarding "how to control anger when dealing with negativity". Madhuri replied: "Anger never helps you. Try to think with an open mind and always look on the bright side while dealing with negativity."## Responding to another fan who was curious to learn the "secret" behind her "positive" mindset, the "Kalank" actress shared: "There's no secret. You just need to find the silver lining in everything."## Another fan was eager to know how many times did the actress watch her 1994 blockbuster "Hum Aapke Hain Koun", to which she replied: "Honestly, I have lost the count."## While she was responding to fans' questions in a light-hearted manner and even gave them "virtual hugs", Madhuri gave a stern response to a fan asking whether she feels the ongoing lockdown should be extended.## The actress replied: "It's not about what we all think. It's about our safety. So any which ways, we all should practice social distancing until it becomes safe out there."## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 28 (IANS) TV personality and actress Bani J added a dash of mermaid vibes to her persona, colouring her hair ocean blue with a streak of sea green and lavender. She said she couldn't just post a plain photograph as it doesn't feel creatively satisfying.## The actress, who plays Umang in the web-series "Four More Shots Please!", flaunted her new look in an Instagram selfie.## Alongside the picture, she wrote: "Day 37: Took some pictures to document the hair. Every time I color it, it's my favorite color. Every time I think it's the best, it gets better. Couldn't just post a picture plain, it never feels creatively satisfying - enough, I guess that's a good thing. Always wanting to do more. Always doing more. I'll know when to stop. Internal guidance."## "May we all learn to channelize it. And listen to it. Did you know they actually do tattoos like this? Not just in white ink, it's called Bloodlines or blood lining (you can ask Google about it) Making art in your skin minus the ink. Tres cool. Just as painful as a regular tattoo though. Lol."## Bani had recently shared that she was "dangerously dehydrated" while shooting for the second season of "Four More Shots Please!" in Udaipur.## Produced by Pritish Nandy Communications Ltd and created by Rangita Pritish Nandy, the second season of "Four More Shots Please!" sees four women making radical choices in love, career, and friendship. The web-series airs on Amazon Prime Video.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 28 (IANS) Filmmaker Goldie Behl says creating the second season of "REJCTX" turned out to be challenging as well as exciting.## "It was certainly a challenge as it was exciting to cast all new faces, but the kids performed extremely well in the first season and then they have outdone themselves in the second season of the show as well," Behl said.## "Everyone has built a great bond while working on the sets and it almost feels like family to be working with them. The second season of ‘REJCTX' is really good and we are hoping everyone loves it as much and more than the first season," said Behl, who serves as a producer and director for the first and second season of the web series.## Actress Esha Gupta makes her digital debut with "REJCTX 2", as a Singaporean police officer. The second season of the series promises to be high on action and drama. The ZEE5 show will also feature Masi Wali, Anisha Victor, Saadhika Syal, Ayush Khurana, Ridhi Khakhar, Prabhneet Singh, Pooja Shetty and Tanvi Shinde besides Esha and Sumeet Vyas.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 28 (IANS) Actor Bijay Anand, who is best known for playing the role of Kajol's beau in "Pyaar Toh Hona Hi Tha", has opened up on how yoga became an important aspect of his life.## "At the age of 33, I had severely high cholesterol and at 36 I had arthritis. I was also suffering from psychological problems like anger and depression. The first time I practiced Kundalini Yoga, my whole life changed. It saved my life and my soul. I now teach Kundalini Yoga to spread the joy that this ancient science brought into my life," Bijay said.## For the uninitiated, Bijay is a certified yoga teacher from the Kundalini Research Institute, Los Angeles.## As world is going through major health crisis due to the novel coronavirus, Bijay has shared some benefits of Kundalini yoga amid the pandemic.## "The best thing we can do to protect ourselves is to develop a strong immune system. There are many great Kundalini yoga kriyas for the immune system, which can help keep one strong both physically and mentally.## "This is one of the toughest times in the history of humanity. There are environmental disasters, earthquakes, pandemics, tsunamis and other ecological disasters apart from wars, genocide and civil unrest are a regular feature of daily newspapers. Almost every major global economy is on the verge of collapse. While this may sound depressing or apocalyptical, it is in fact a deep and profound spiritual shift that is taking place on our planet," he said.## According to Bijay, people will get to see a lot of changes in their life once they start practicing Kundalini yoga.## Bijay added: "This is really then, a time to introspect, go within, and to prepare oneself for the ‘New world order' ingrained in spirituality and bliss which is due to arrive soon."## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 28 (IANS) Actor-host Maniesh Paul is making sure that his fitness is not affected during the ongoing coronavirus lockdown.## In this difficult phase, his family is staying indoors, and Maniesh has found a new way to burn some calories.## "While I am missing the shoot of 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs' as well as the young contestants, I understand the need to stay indoors. I knew I'll not be able to go to the gym when the lockdown was eminent, but I wanted to work out every day and so, I bought some gym equipment," said the host of "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs".## "Come what may, me and my wife wanted to stay fit during this quarantine phase. I brought dumbbells, benches and rods -- everything home," he added.## He also shared that his wife is into functional training.## "We are doing lot of planks, push-ups, ab crunches and so on as well. In fact, every day for cardio, we are walking down 10 floors and then we climb up again. We repeat this for 20 minutes in a day and make sure that we cover everything," he said.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Hyderabad, April 28 (IANS) Southern superstar Mahesh Babu's film "Pokiri" has completed 14 years since its release, and his loyal fans are trending #14YearsForSouthIndiaIHPokiri on Twitter.## "Pokiri", which had released on April 28, 2006, is said to be the first film that crossed Rs 40 crore share in the south film industry.## In the Puri Jagannadh directorial, Mahesh played Krishna, a police officer who disguises himself as a thug and joins the mafia to wipe out the underworld. The film also starred actress Ileana D'Cruz.## The Telugu film was such a big hit that it was remade in Tamil as "Pokkiri" (2007), in Kannada as "Porki" (2010) and in Hindi as "Wanted" that brought Salman Khan back to the hit machine category.## Here's how Mahesh Babu's friends celebrated the original film's anniversary on Twitter:## "7.1M Tweets #14YearsForSouthIndiaIHPokiri @urstrulyMahesh #Pokiri" wrote one Twitter user on Tuesday.## "7.1 Million Tweets Fire Done and Dusted FireOk hand #14YearsForSouthIndiaIHPokiri @urstrulyMahesh #Pokiri" wrote another.## "Superstar industry hit movie all areas ALL-TIME RECORD #14YearsForSouthIndiaIHPokiri," another tweeted.## On their respective social media accounts, Mahesh Babu's ardent fans even set their display picture as a poster which honored and saluted the completion of 14 years of his film.## Looking forward, Mahesh will be teaming up with filmmaker SS Rajamouli for his recently announced upcoming untitled film.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 28 (IANS) Singer Sona Mohapatra has come out with a cheeky version of singer Arijit Singh's number "Zaalima" and said the quirky do-it-yourself (DIY) music video was created as an artistic response to the lack of songs featuring female voices in mainstream music.## "I think the lockdown has reset our response to music, art, and life in general. It's brought us back to basics & it's reflected in the music heard around the world. People now enjoy music that's more minimal & stripped down because it feels more handmade, personal, and authentic. This is why I decided to release this reprise version of a song for music lovers that was supposed to be part of the original soundtrack," she said.## The lyrics of the reprised version of the song, which was originally pictured on Shah Rukh Khan and Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, were written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.## "He is the biggest hitmaker lyricist of his generation and a dear friend of Ram and mine," Sona added.## She said she feels proud of being an artiste who might have alienated herself in Bollywood.## "The cheeky DIY music video was created as an artistic response to the lack of women songs in mainstream music and I feel proud of being that artist who might have alienated herself in Bollywood for calling out such sexist biases but will surely make things better for the coming generation of female artists for speaking up the truth," she said.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 28 (IANS) Actor Priyanshu Painyuli made his international debut with the Chris Hemsworth-starrer digital film "Extraction", and he says he got a special memento from the set.## He got a customized jacket that was made for his character Amir Asif, as a gift from the team. "The memories made in the film, the things I learned will all last a lifetime. But this is the best gift they could have given me. The jacket is gorgeous. It was customized by Indian craftsmen and has detailed work on it," Priyanshu said.## "It celebrates our rich culture of craftsmanship and it's the most beautiful gift I could have received. ‘Extraction' has been such a special experience and with the role of 'Amir Asif,' I have been able to show my range as an actor. This jacket will be a reminder of all the good praises coming my way. Post this film, I feel enthused and motivated to do even better. Being a part of an international film is such great exposure for any young actor and this character has made people see me in an entirely different light," he added.## In "Extraction", Priyanshu is seen as a powerful drug lord of Bangladesh. Originally titled "Dhaka", the film also stars Indian actors Randeep Hooda, Pankaj Tripathi, and Rudraksha Jaiswal.## It revolves around Tyler Rake (essayed by Chris 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. The film released on Netflix on April 24.## Stay tuned...