BY IANS NEWS

Mumbai, April 11 (IANS) Actor Atul Kulkarni feels Indian original content dynamics are changing and says that the audiences are more interested in consuming true-to-life content right now.## "The Indian original content dynamics are changing, and we can clearly see that the audiences are more interested in consuming factual, real and true-to-life content," Atul said.## That's what his web show "The Raikar Case" will offer.## "' The Raikar Case' will offer the viewers with a kind of such a real experience as it truly delivers more than what meets the eye. I am really looking forward to seeing the first reactions," he added.## "The Raikar Case", which streams on Voot Select, is about family, love, deceit, and the secrets that can wrench them apart. The thriller grapples with the dilemma of 'Will you choose truth over family?', and if trust can ever really be absolute. Secret and lies are exposed when the youngest member of the family commits suicide -- leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions and suspects.## It also stars Neil Bhoopalam, Ashvini Bhave, Parul Gulati, Kunal Karan Kapoor, Reena Wadhwa, and Lalit Prabhakar.## Talking about the show, Ashvini said: "Being part of 'The Raikar Case' is special for me. I have come back to the mainstream entertainment space after a very long time and I couldn't be happier. My role is extremely challenging, but I have enjoyed myself thoroughly."## Neil, who is portraying the role of a police officer in the show, said: "The script of the show is unbelievable. It is challenging and fun at the same time. Working with an ensemble cast of this stature was a fantastic experience for me and just being able to share screen space with artists like Atul and Ashvini is an honor for me."## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

New Delhi, April 11 (IANS) Oscar-winning filmmaker Marshall Curry feels the world is going through a difficult time, saying people "have been whipped up by demagogues who want us to demonize each other and discriminate against strangers who might have different religions or skin color".## This year, Curry won an Oscar for "The Neighbors' Window", a short narrative film that he wrote and directed. He was previously nominated three times for Academy Awards for his documentary films -- "Street Fight", "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front" and "A Night at the Garden".## Asked if "The Neighbors' Window", which gives a message for having empathy towards neighbors, resonates with the political and social sentiments around the world, Curry told IANS: "It is a difficult time in America and in the world right now. People have been whipped up by demagogues who want us to demonize each other, to discriminate against strangers who might have different religions or skin color or lifestyles than we do."## "So I hoped that in a small way, the film would remind people to be gentle with each other and realize that everyone is struggling with something," he added.## "The Neighbors' Window", which is available to stream in India via ShortsTV, tells the story of a middle-aged woman with small children whose life is shaken up when two free-spirited twenty-something moves in across the street.## Talking about the movie, he said: "When I finished writing, I began to pull together a terrific team - cinematographer, producers, actors - and we shot the whole film in just four days in the apartment owned by very generous friends. I wanted to begin the film with a sense of light humor to draw the audience in, but over the course of the film, I tried to make the emotions deepen - and darken a bit - until the end. I think that life often has turns like this that happen suddenly, so we were all working together - the cinematographer, the actors, the musicians, etc. -- to try to trace those contours in a way that felt natural."## The short film runs high on voyeurism and nostalgia, and Curry says the themes were built into the very initial concept for the film.## "A few years ago I heard a story on a podcast called Love + Radio in which a middle-aged woman named Diane Weipert described seeing a young couple move in across the street. The story was beautifully told and really stayed with me, and a few years later it became the inspiration for my script," added Curry, who has also directed the award-winning documentaries "Racing Dreams" and "Point and Shoot".## Asked if the world is missing out on creative learning by not delving more into short film format, he said: "I love making short films, and I'm happy there are platforms such as ShortsTV and others that are sharing them!"## "The ability to stream short films on the Internet has made a big difference in the size of audiences. It's now possible to share short films with millions of people who would have had no way to see them just a few years ago. With platforms such as ShortsTV, our films can reach millions of households," he said.## He has been nominated for an Oscar several times and won an Oscar. But he doesn't let the award glory come in the middle of his creative thoughts while working on a project.## "I have been nominated three times before for documentaries, but winning was a new experience for me, and it was nice to be there with a fiction film. It was also a lot of fun to be able to celebrate with the team that made the film with me. I don't really think about the Oscars when I am making a film because I know that it is always a huge long-shot for any film to get recognized by the Academy, so I just try to make the best films I can," he said.## At the moment, he is working on "a few fiction projects and a few non-fiction projects that are in early stages. I really love to shoot and edit, so I'm looking forward to digging in again on a new film".## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

New Delhi, April 11 (IANS) It has been more than three months since Covid-19 pandemic broke out and the hunt for its medicine has been intensified across the globe.## While the world health community is leaving no stone unturned to find a solution for the highly contagious disease, the homeopathy practitioners say they should also be given a chance to attempt to find therapeutic treatment of novel Coronavirus and should be taken on the same page for finding its drug.## Homeopathy is the longest established complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).## One of the most striking features of this unorthodox medicine is its ability to survive for centuries.## Speaking to IANS, Dr. Kushal Banerjee, of Dr. Kalyan Banerjee's Clinic, one of the largest and oldest homeopathic practices in India and abroad, said, "Homeopathy has a good track record with epidemics and infectious diseases, therefore people should keep their biases aside and should try all treatments possible to save lives amid this pandemic.## "There are many examples where homeopathy did far better than allopathic. The biggest example is Spanish flu, going back to the time of the Scarlet fever epidemic, there were high survival rates in the treatment prescribed by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, father of homeopathy, when people were dying, by using conventional medicines. Most recently Dr. Marino published papers in 2008-09 on Dengue and Swine flu. In 2009, a research paper was published in India, based on analysis of swine flu which happened in 2003 in which it was written that Homeopathy showed favorable trends so research must continue."## When asked if Homeopathy has medicine for novel coronavirus, Dr. Banerjee said, "there is not much data available about COVID-19. Homeopathic medicine is also given even in ICU and in case of multiple organ failure, patients start recovering quickly. There are very effective medicines in homeopathy for respiratory diseases. Right now it is important to provide benefits to as many patients as possible. All philosophies and principles should be kept aside and saving lives should be the focus. If even five percent of patients who are on ventilators could be cured, that will be a great success," he said.## Talking about evidence that Homeopathy has while dealing with novel coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Banerjee said, "We have prescribed medicines looking at the symptoms of the disease and are collecting data. Almost 15000 prescriptions of preventions of COVID-19 have been issued from our clinic since mid-January. We have patients in China, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. We have been advising medicines, along with the public safety measures since December 31 when the first case was reported.## "We are in the process of analyzing data. We are also running an online survey to estimate the result of that prescription. The database of 15000 people is ready. It will be the second-largest study on COVID-19 anywhere in the world, the largest is of 20,000 patients. We have got responses from patients from 12 countries including the US, Italy, Norway, and Sweden. The data is looking very promising.## "There is a fundamental advantage of homeopathy that it can be given alongside allopathy, it will not have any side effects. Homeopathy is absolutely safe to give to any age group of patients, be it a newborn or an elderly person. In the case of COVID-19, there is no reason for not attempting homeopathy. Research in allopathy is going on across the world but there are still mortalities. Even allopathy is also doing the symptomatic treatment. We are not saying that we have treatment for COVID-19 but allopathy also does not have it.## "Dynamics of treatments are changing every day, therefore homeopathy should also get an attempt. However, people should follow public health measures, like hygiene and social distancing then there is no harm in taking medicine as a pre-emptive measure."## Demolishing the myth about homeopathy, Dr. Banerjee said, "There are lots of myths about homeopathy. One of them is that it takes very long to show the results. This is not true. It depends upon the disease for which the patient is taking treatment. In a pandemic where multiple organs are failing and ventilators are required, we also review patients in four to six hours, even every fifteen minutes. There are very effective medicines in homeopathy for respiratory diseases."## Another practitioner of homeopathy, Dr. Shalini Tomar of Swasthya Kalyan Homeopathic Medical College and Research Centre (SKHMC), Jodhpur, said, "It has been found in a research that besides Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and Influenza-like illness (ILI), the novel coronavirus causes red blood cells (RBC) breakdown too, that's why they use of anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been advocated recently as it is recommended in malaria. We have lots of medicines in Homeopathy which can help cure RBC."## Dr. Tomar also said that there is data of genus epidemicus which has confirmed that the homeopathy can help and when it was given in previous pandemics, the mortality rates were low.## "Our scientific advisory body Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) brought out data and recommended few medicines as prophylactic. Some medicines were distributed also in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. The research is on. There is no therapeutic medicine at present for COVID-19 neither in allopathy nor in Homeopathy, they are also doing the symptomatic treatment, we also can do so. In Maharashtra, treatment of homeopathy and allopathy is going on simultaneously for quick recovery. "Homeopathy is based on the principle of individuality. Two patients showing similar sets of symptoms may get different sets of prescriptions altogether. Therefore there is no particular medicine but sets of medicines, based on various parameters that can be recommended," said Dr. Tomar.## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

London, April 11 (IANS) In probably the first study to link smoking with severe COVID-19 risk, a team of researchers now claim that people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and people who currently smoke have a higher level of an enzyme that is the ‘entry point for new coronavirus in lungs.## Previous research shows that the molecule, called angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE-2) which sits on the surface of lung cells, is the 'entry point' that allows coronavirus to get into the cells of the lungs and cause an infection.## The new study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, showed that levels of ACE-2 in former smokers are lower than in current smokers.## "The data emerging from China suggested that patients with COPD were at higher risk of having worse outcomes from COVID-19. We hypothesized that this could be because the levels of ACE-2 in their airways might be increased compared to people without COPD, which could possibly make it easier for the virus to infect the airway," explained lead researcher Dr. Janice Leung from the University of British Columbia and St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.## The team studied samples taken from the lungs of 21 COPD patients and 21 people who did not have COPD.## They tested the samples to gauge the level of ACE-2 and compared this with other factors, such as whether they were from people who never smoked, were current smokers or former smokers. Not only did they find higher levels of ACE-2 in COPD patients, but they also found higher levels in people who were smokers.## The researchers then checked their new findings against two existing study groups, which together contain data on a further 249 people - some non-smokers, some current smokers, and some former smokers.## Again, they found levels of ACE-2 were higher in current smokers but lower in non-smokers and in those who were former smokers.## "We found that patients with COPD and people who are still smoking have higher levels of ACE-2 in their airways, which might put them at an increased risk of developing severe COVID-19 infections," said Dr. Leung.## Patients with COPD should be counseled to strictly abide by social distancing and proper hand hygiene to prevent infection.## "We also found that former smokers had similar levels of ACE-2 to people who had never smoked. This suggests that there has never been a better time to quit smoking to protect yourself from COVID-19," the authors wrote.## Professor Tobias Welte, an infection expert from the European Respiratory Society and is a coordinator for the national German COVID-19 task force, said that the study gives some interesting insight into why some people may be at risk of more severe COVID-19 symptoms than others.## "What it does not tell us is whether it's possible to manipulate ACE-2 levels to improve survival in patients infected with COVID-19 or whether this would make a difference in COPD patients who contract the infection," explained Welte.## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

New Delhi, April 11 (IANS) One of contemporary Bollywood's most talented actors, Pankaj Tripathi, has been outstanding in almost all his roles. With the ongoing lockdown restricting viewers to their homes, we trained to focus on Pankaj's OTT performances, since these can be enjoyed within the confines of the living room.## His two notable acts in the world of web series have been Kaleen bhaiya in "Mirzapur" and Guruji in "Sacred Games". Both performances gained a major fan base. Personally, the actor finds it difficult to choose which among the two is his favorite .## "It would be like choosing between two children. Both characters are close to me, both have required a lot of hard work," Pankaj told IANS while cooking a meal amid the 21-day lockdown.## "Both of them have been very challenging. However, for Guruji, I had to research more as I have seen something like Kaleen bhaiya's life in my Purvanchal days. But I would not differentiate as both roles required a lot of hard work," he said.## "Mirzapur" follows the life of Akhandanand Tripathi, or Kaleen bhaiya, a mafia boss played by Pankaj, while in "Sacred Games" he plays the power-hungry spiritual leader "Guruji".## Currently, Pankaj, who is also a professional chef, is getting ample time to spend with his family due to the 21-day lockdown.## He reveals he has been "spending time cooking, and also with wife and kids".## Lately, he has been helping his wife Mridula in making a homemade mask and has also turned into a writer, penning all his thoughts.## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

Mumbai, April 10 (IANS) Actress-producer Dia Mirza's digital session, "#DownToEarthWithDee", will feature celebrity guests who share a common love for nature. The session will be held every Wednesday.## Dia's first conversation with filmmaker Zoya Akhtar dwelt on a number of things, from their shared love for nature to how they are both dealing with the lockdown.## On choosing Zoya as her first guest on "#DownToEarthWithDee", Dia said: "Zoya and I have been talking wildlife, conservation, ecological balance, stories and more for years. She is one of the most well-informed, empathetic, passionate, fun, articulate and talented people I know."## During the chat on Wednesday, Zoya elaborated on how the artist's community is always deeply affected by circumstances and is responsible for sharing observations of life and feelings through all mediums of their expressions. "This lockdown is going to alter the world. We will witness these shared experiences permeate into our narratives," the filmmaker said.## Dia's second chat friend was Shreya. "Shreya is an incredible artist and human being who has brought so much joy to our lives with her amazing voice. She is also someone who has always made time for wildlife and nature," Dia said.## Shreya shared a few insights into her early days. "Owing to my childhood spent in a little township of Rajasthan, I am very grateful for the peace and minimalism I experienced which made my musical sense better. From the rustling of trees to the sound of the wind, the animals and birds, it is something I definitely miss now that I live in Mumbai."## Commenting on the current scenario, she added: "With the lockdown, people are realizing that nature has always been here and we have just stopped listening and looking."## Dia has lined up more guests for her Wednesday rendezvous.## She believes the discussions on "#DownToEarthWithDee" will inspire people as they foster a relationship with nature.## "I hope these conversations on '#DownToEarthWithDee' every Wednesday will help all those seeking ways to live in better harmony with nature despite living in cities. I hope they find some magic, inspiration, and solutions in our conversations,'' Dia said.## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

Mumbai, April 10 (IANS) Comedian Johnny Lever has been doing his best to lighten up the mood of people in the midst of coronavirus outbreak. On Friday, he uploaded a hilarious video on social media in which he is seen giving warning to the deadly virus.## "Corona...ab tera rona shuru hojaega .. aisa bhagega tu ...bhagega tu corona ..mangega na tu paani...India me ghusne ki kar baitha jo tu naadani. . Teri maregi nani...hum Hindustani" Johny said in the video.## Sharing the video on Twitter, Johny wrote: "Warning to #corona Warning ...#humhindustani #IndiaFightsCarona #GharBaithoIndia #covid19."## And it seems Johny's warning has left netizens in splits.## A user commented: "Hahaha. Super sir."## Another one wrote: "What an actor, it made me laugh a lot."## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

London, April 10 (IANS) Actor Purab Kohli on Friday took to social media and assured fans that he and his family have fully recovered from a bout of the novel coronavirus.## "Thank you all... you lovely people for your warms wishes... we really left a strong bolt of love come our way. Rest assured we are very well and fully recovered now," Purab wrote.## He also urged people to "stay indoors".## "Yes, it's hard! But first, we need to put the brakes on this pandemic, and then we have to conserve energy and rest our bodies and build strength. God forbid if you do catch the virus, your body which is the real weapon against this virus will need loads of energy to fight it."## Purab also thanked all those who are working day and night to protect the world from the deadly virus.## "A big shout out to all the frontline workers and health workers around the world who are risking their own health and the health of families to serve us all. Bless them.## "This is a photo of us in Coonoor last year while I was filming Out of love. Also, a reminder to me of the good times to come once we beat this problem as #OneWorld #FightAgainstCorona," Purab added, sharing a throwback picture that shows him sharing smiles with his wife Lucy, daughter Inaya and son Osian.## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

Mumbai, April 10 (IANS) The legendary Dilip Kumar took to Twitter to express gratitude to fans for their wishes and prayers on Shab-e-baraat.## Sharing a picture of himself, he wrote: "Thank you for all your prayers and duas on #Shab_e_baraat. My heartfelt prayers for all of you too."## Fans flooded the 97-year-old Bollywood icon's post wishing him well, and praying for him.## "Lots of prayer for you Allah khush Rakhe sir," a fan commented.## Another fan wrote: "Sir, wish you health and happiness always."## As the nation is experiencing a lockdown owing to the COVID 19 pandemic, the veteran actor recently took to Twitter to share a message urging citizens to stay at home.## He wrote: "I urge you to #StayHomeSaveLives during this #COVID19pandemic## Dawa bhi, dua bhi## Auron se faslaa bhi## Ghareeb ki khidmat## Kamzor ki seva bhi..."## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

Mumbai, April 10 (IANS) Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana has expressed his gratitude to the COVID frontline warriors reciting a poem he wrote for them.## "This is for all the Frontline Warriors -- fighting for us, saving us, risking their lives for us and our families against coronavirus," he tweeted along with the video.## "Have written these words to express my gratitude. I salute you. India salutes you. Jai Hind," he added.## He starts the poem by highlighting the plight of a shop owner, and people residing in the buildings which have been sealed amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.## Through the poem, he stressed that the situation is a "collective karma of humankind".## The actor saluted the spirit of people working hard to ensure essential services reach people, healthcare officials, police and people working hard towards making it a clean and sanitized environment.## He urged people to give respect to the frontline warriors, once this is over, saying "koi kaam chotha nahi hota yeh baat apne paale bandh lena".## Ayushmann also said that they are the true stars as he mentioned: "Mujh jaise Bollywood hero hain bas naam ke". The actor said that they can give money, and help them in the fight, but they are the true fighters.## He ended the video saying that while frontline warriors have to face and fight the battle against this deadly virus and all we have to do is stay at home.## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

Mumbai, April 10 (IANS) Actor Varun Dhawan has shared how he will celebrate once the COVID-19 pandemic ends.## The actor took to Instagram to post a video, in which a chubby kid is happily dancing away. Though one can't understand the lyrics, the video leaves behind a positive vibe.## "Once this ends I will celebrate like this," Varun wrote along with the video.## Varun's celebrity friends reacted to his post, asking him to count them in as well.## Actor Arjun Kapoor tried to decode the words and make it more 'desi', with his comment where he said: "Mann dola dola dola".## Lizelle Remo D'souza commented: "I will join you for sure @varundvn and you know who we can pull in for this dance hahahahahahhahahahahahah."## Rohit Shetty, Nora Fatehi, Aparshakti Khurana and Athiya Shetty found the video funny and commented with laughing emojis. Kiara Advani said: "Superbbb."## Meanwhile, Varun will be hunting for the best talent among youngsters across the nation through an online talent hunt show titled "Entertainer No 1".## Sharing the details of the concept, Varun said, " Through this new show, we are seeking to entertain millions of fellow Indians as we bring in some much-needed positivity. I'm looking forward to delivering the best entertainment in collaboration with people from across India. Our country is a treasure trove of talent and I truly believe that anyone should have the opportunity to showcase their entertainment skills."## The stay-home reality show is launching on Flipkart video in collaboration with Varun. The actor believes that such conceptual shows are important to stay positive as the world is going through a tough time due to the COVID19 pandemic.## Varun said: "Given the unique format of the show, I'm looking forward to some exciting entries from across India and can't wait to get on this entertaining rollercoaster ride that begins next week."## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

Los Angeles, April 10 (IANS) Singer Celine Dion revisited her iconic song "My heart will go on", and tweaked it to encourage people to practice social distancing amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.## Dion posted a re-do of the lyrics of her 1997 hit on her Instagram feed on Thursday, reports dailymail.co.uk.## The 52-year-old French Canadian diva posted a brief video snippet of her music video from the hit, which was the love theme for the Oscar-winning film "Titanic", next to which she wrote the altered lyrics in both English and French.## "Near, far wherever you are... make sure you're practicing social distancing," the singer wrote, before repeating the same sentiment in French.## She signed off in the caption with "Team Céline" and included the hashtags #ThursdayWisdom #restezchezvous #StayAtHome and #throwbackThursday.## Dion's post comes as many celebrities remind fans and followers via their social media channels about the importance of staying home during the spreading pandemic.## Earlier in an episode of "Watch What Happens Live", she revealed that initially, she didn't even want to do "My heart will go on".## "There was one song that I didn't want to record, and I'm glad they didn't listen to me," Dion said in response to a question from a fan on the show.## It was her late husband Rene Angelil, who was her manager at the time, who convinced her otherwise.## "It didn't appeal to me. I was probably very tired that day -- very tired," Dion confessed, adding: "My husband said, ‘Let's hold on'. He talked to the writer and he said, 'Let's try to make it, like, a little demo'."## The song went on to win the Oscar for Best Original Song, as well as two Grammys for the superstar.## For more and latest news about Hollywood, stay tuned with us.