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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

Shankar Mahadevan: Music can bring a sense of comfort
2244 days ago
Bollywood

Shankar Mahadevan: Music can bring a sense of comfort

Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) Singer Shankar Mahadevan feels there is too much noise amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and feels music can bring a sense of positivity and comfort.## "These are tough times for everyone, there is so much noise around the pandemic which instills a sense of worry and chaos," Mahadevan said.## "But, Music is one such source which has the power to make everyone see a silver lining in the dark clouds that have engulfed the nation. It brings a sense of positivity, a sense of comfort and maybe a song dedication could brighten up someone's bad day and some level of assurance that we will get through this together," he added.## Mahadevan will be performing live on April 19 through Asian Paints' #LiveFromHome initiative.## He said:" Me and my sons -- Shivam and Siddharth -- are glad to be a part of the #LiveFromHome initiative by Asian Paints where we can all come together, have a good time and truly connect even in this phase of social distancing."## On the initiative, Amit Syngle, MD and CEO, Asian Paints Limited said: "We believe music has a way of erasing distance, especially when our lives seem disorderly at the moment with the lockdown and social distancing. #LiveFromHome initiative will find a way to bridge the gap and spread positivity amidst the lockdown."## Stay tuned...

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Am a blessed student of Neeraj Pandey: budding actor Abhilash Chaudhary
2244 days ago
Bollywood

Am a blessed student of Neeraj Pandey: budding actor Abhilash Chaudhary

Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) Actor Abhilash Chaudhary feels blessed to have worked with ace director Neeraj Pandey in the thriller web show "Special Ops".## "Working with Neeraj sir gave me a wonderful experience and I seriously look forward for a chance to work with him again. It was completely schooling for me and I'm a blessed student of him now.## "As an actor I got to learn many things from him. As of now I'm just writing all the pointers I got to learn from him and Salman khan sir in past. I'm using my free time to make me more fine actor. I'm blessed to have work in all the three mediums Bollywood, television and web respectively," he said.## "Special Ops" has Kay Kay Menon leading the cast as special agent Himmat Singh, who traces a pattern in terror strikes over the years, and draws the conclusion that one person is behind all the attacks. The story is inspired by several real-life espionage missions over the last two decades.## Abhilash has earlier featured in films like "The Zoya Factor" and "Dabangg 3".## Stay tuned...

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Producers Guild provides filmstar vanity vans, tents for COVID-19 duty female cops
2244 days ago
Bollywood

Producers Guild provides filmstar vanity vans, tents for COVID-19 duty female cops

Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) The Producers Guild of India has decided to donate fully-equipped tents and vanity vans of Bollywood stars to the police force, particularly female cops, across 22 key locations in the city, as the uniformed personnel battle it out to protect Mumbai from the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative is called Mission Suraksha.## "We are delighted to launch 'Mission Suraksha' to protect our caretakers, especially women cops on bandobast duty. Fully equipped tents and vanity vans used by cine stars have been provided across 22 key locations as restrooms for breaktime," a statement issued by the guild reads.## The gesture comes just a few days after Bollywood stars took to social media to express their gratitude to Mumbai Police for their tireless efforts during the ongoing lockdown.## Even before the nationwide lockdown was announced, the Producers Guild of India had set up a relief fund for daily wage earners associated with the film industry, to ensure these workers and their families get sustenance during the novel coronavirus pandemic.## The Producers Guild of India, along with Indian Film and Television Producers Council and Federation of Western India Cine Employees, recently came together to support the most impacted daily wage workers through direct bank transfers.## Stay tuned...

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Priyanka Chopra Jonas: Hang in there world
2244 days ago
Bollywood

Priyanka Chopra Jonas: Hang in there world

Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas has shared some words of wisdom along with a gorgeous picture of herself on social media.## Priyanka took to Instagram where she shared a selfie, where the sunray hits her face and adds glow to her skin.## "There is always a light at the end of the tunnel... Hang in there world," she captioned the image, which has received 1.1 million likes on the photo-sharing website.## Last month, Priyanka and her American pop singer husband Nick Jonas contributed to several charities to lend support to the ongoing battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.## Priyanka took to Twitter to announce that the couple has donated to organizations like the PM-CARES Fund, Unicef, Feeding America and Goonj among many others.## She also pledged to donate $100,000 to women doing their bit in health crisis.## Stay tuned...

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Shoojit Sircar feels tourism in India will boom post COVID-19 pandemic
2244 days ago
Bollywood

Shoojit Sircar feels tourism in India will boom post COVID-19 pandemic

Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) Once the COVID-19 pandemic is over, tourism within India will boom "like never before", feels Shoojit Sircar. The filmmaker took to Twitter to express the idea and also explain his prediction.## "After all this is over, possibly this year-end I have a feeling our own internal tourism will boom like never before... no one travels out of country and desi travel will skyrocket," he tweeted.## The filmmaker feels this way because people will refrain from traveling to other countries due to fear of contracting the virus, and they will opt to spend vacations in different tourist spots across the country, which will lead to a tourism boom in India.## Netizens agreed with the filmmaker and predicted that along with the tourism industry, the aviation industry, which is also experiencing a huge loss with fleets grounded, will bounce back.## Earlier in the day, Shoojit Sircar asked netizens if there is any country which has "escaped the virus" till now. While most users came up with names of several such nations, one user offered a witty reply.## The user replied: "North Korea. Everyone reporting a cough is executed."## Stay tuned...

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Deepika Padukone shares hand-written letters by fans
2245 days ago
Bollywood

Deepika Padukone shares hand-written letters by fans

Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone has shared pictures of hand-written letters sent to her by her followers, which reveal the bond she shares with her fans.## One such letter mentions it was Deepika who made the particular fan "fall in love for Bollywood". The letter also mentioned that it was because of the actress that the fan opened up on depression to her mother.## Deepika took to Instagram and shared pictures of these handwritten letters.## In the second letter, a fan praised Deepika for her efforts to de-stigmatize mental illness in the country.## The actress captioned the images: "#fan #love"## The photograph currently has won over 677K hearts on the photo-sharing website.## Recently, Deepika posted a childhood image to prove that her career "started young", leaving her fans amused.## In the image, Deepika as a little girl looks cute in a glamorous black dress with matching shoes and a hat and poses like a pro with a big smile.## "Started young…," she wrote as a caption for the picture.## Amid the lockdown, the actress has turned into a "Masterchef" too and is treating her husband, actor Ranveer Singh, to scrumptious meals. They keep posting a glimpse of life amid lockdown on social media.## Stay tuned...

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Lockdown diaries: Nora Fatehi's latest dance video goes viral
2245 days ago
Bollywood

Lockdown diaries: Nora Fatehi's latest dance video goes viral

Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) Dancer-actress Nora Fatehi is utilizing her lockdown days to hone her enviable moves. In her latest video, she pulls off a fusion of Afro, Urban and Dancehall styles of dancing, and the video has gone viral with almost 23 lakh views on Instagram till the point of publishing.## Sharing the video late on Thursday, Nora captioned: "Finally learned @parrisgoebel live Dance class routine to the song Corny! I love her work .. so here it goes #quarantinelearning #Afro #urban #dancehall."## While Nora claims she has just learned this, fans feel the "Street Dancer 3D" actress has nailed it.## Comments like "Dancehall queen", "fantastic", "amazing" and "superb" are flooding the post. While Nora aces every move with perfection, she is also giving us goals on how to make the best use of time during this lockdown!## Moroccan-Canadian dancer-actress Nora Fatehi's most popular on-screen performances include "Manohari" ("Baahubali: The Beginning"), "Dilbar" ("Satyamev Jayate"), "O saki saki" ("Batla House") and "Ek toh kam zindagani" ("Marjaavaan"), besides her recent hit "Garmi" in "Street Dancer 3D".## On the acting front, Nora will next be seen in the Ajay Devgn-starrer "Bhuj: The Pride Of India."## Stay tuned...

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Sara Ali Khan a rebel child, agree mom Amrita and brother Ibrahim
2245 days ago
Bollywood

Sara Ali Khan a rebel child, agree mom Amrita and brother Ibrahim

Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) Bollywood actress Sara Ali Khan is a "rebel" child who got "good grades in school", according to her mother Amrita Singh and brother Ibrahim.## Sara took to Instagram and shared a fun video with mom Amrita and brother Ibrahim as they sit together to take up the TikTok challenge, "Who's most likely?".## In the clip, answering to the question who is the most courageous, Ibrahim and mother Amrita point at Sara, who accepts she is she is the most courageous in the group.## The next question is who is most likely to get arrested. While Ibrahim points at himself, Sara believes it's her mother, and so does Amrita!## The three also agreed Amrita is the most popular person among them.## Asked about the rebel child and who got better grades at school, they all agreed on Sara.## "The only thing that we can always agree on is Singh is King," The star captioned the clip, which currently has over 3.5 million views.## On the work front, Sara was last seen in Imtiaz Ali's "Love Aaj Kal", which also starred Kartik Aaryan.## Sara will be next seen opposite Varun Dhawan in the remake of "Coolie No.1". She will also be seen sharing screen space with Akshay Kumar and Dhanush in "Atrangi Re".## Stay tuned...

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Farah Khan Ali tests COVID-19 negative
2245 days ago
Bollywood

Farah Khan Ali tests COVID-19 negative

Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan's former sister-in-law and Sussanne Khan's sister, Farah Khan Ali, has tested negative for COVID-19 but says she has been quarantined until April 29.## Earlier this week, Farah had tweeted that an in-house member had tested positive for coronavirus and that all her family members had to undergo tests and will be staying in isolation as a precaution.## She tweeted: "ALL NEGATIVE. Yay yay yay. #covidtesting"## "God is great. May the ones who have this virus heal soon and recover. May the ones who go to work every day trying to save the ones who have the virus be protected. May GOD HEAL OUR PLANET."## Farah, a celebrity jewelry designer, added that said that the best feeling about testing negative was to see the "relieved" faces of her children and househelp.## "You know what was the best feeling more than testing negative for Covid? It was the relieved faces of my children and in-house staff who live with me for more than 10 years. That was priceless. Happiness is contagious," she added.## Even though she has tested negative, Farah has been advised to be in quarantine.## "Will be quarantined until 29th April 2020 even though I tested negative. Be safe. Be home, This too shall pass," she said.## Earlier, Farah had tweeted that she had reported Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut's Rangoli Chandel's account for targeting a specific community.## She wrote: "Thank you @Twitter @TwitterIndia @jack for suspending this account. I reported this because she targeted a specific community and called for them to be shot along with liberal media and compared herself to the Nazis."## Rangoli reportedly posted what is being considered as hate tweets aimed at a community from her blue tick handle, @Rangoli_, which prompted the suspension of the account.## Stay tuned...

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Kunal Karan Kapoor's emotional bond with Ashvini Bhave
2245 days ago
Bollywood

Kunal Karan Kapoor's emotional bond with Ashvini Bhave

Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) Actor Kunal Karan Kapoor says working with actress Ashvini Bhave is an emotional experience as the last movie he watched with his late mother was "Henna", which featured Ashvini.## Kunal is working with Ashvini in the digital show, "The Raikar Case".## "Very few people get a chance to make their digital debut with such a celebrated team and I am one of those lucky few. Working with Atul Kulkarni and (director) Aditya Sarpotdar has not only been an honor for me but also an amazing learning experience," Kunal said.## "My experience working with Ashvini Bhave is a very emotional one. It is a very beautiful coincidence that the last movie I could watch with my mother together was, ‘Heena' which featured Ashvini Bhave. Hence, working with and playing the role of her son in ‘The Raikar Case' is and will forever remain extremely special to me," he added.## Kunal continued: "The bond I share with her is just too pure. I will always be thankful to Voot Select for giving me this opportunity. Mohit Naik Raikar will forever be close to my heart."## "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, Parul Gulati, Reena Wadhwa, and Lalit Prabhakar.## Stay tuned...

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Make a one-minute film and beat lockdown blues
2245 days ago
Bollywood

Make a one-minute film and beat lockdown blues

Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) Renowned directors and producers, including Ekta Kapoor, Nitesh Tiwari, Aanand L Rai, Sajid Nadiadwala, Dinesh Vijan and Mahaveer Jain, have come together for #IndiaLetsMakeAFilm initiative, to inspire people to make inspiring one-minute films on mobile phones amid the COVID-19 lockdown.## The initiative is calling out for one-minute mobile video entries from people across the country. The ones participating have to make a film on the topics: 'The good side of quarantine', 'hum honge kamyaab', 'innovative lockdown tales', 'let's follow the safety norms', 'help, care and concern in lockdown' and 'thank you our frontline heroes'.## Sharing news of the initiative, filmmaker Karan Johar lauded the industry members.## He tweeted: "Glad to present this amazing initiative by my friends #IndiaLetsMakeAFilm Make a 1-minute inspiring film on ur mobile while staying home #ChangeWithin. What's amazing is that these films made at home will encourage the spirit of India."## The entries have to be in before April 21 and the winning films will be released on social media platforms.## The initiative is promoted by Change within the initiative, along with Mukesh Chhabra, Montoo Bassi and Maulik Bhagat.## Stay tuned...

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Paresh Rawal on roles that challenged him as an actor
2245 days ago
Bollywood

Paresh Rawal on roles that challenged him as an actor

Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) National award-winning actor Paresh Rawal shares an insight into what challenges him as an actor, and how a performing artist grows.## "I have been working for so long and after a point, the audience knows the kind of actor you are. Then, the drive changes for an actor. Now, I want to look for a script and play a character that challenges me. I want to push my limit and I want to ask myself, ‘yeh mujhse hoga kya'? If it challenges me then that excites me as well!" Paresh told IANS.## The veteran actor added: "I look for an opportunity where I am scared and challenged, and a character that puts me out of my comfort zone. It is the challenge that drives me to get up and go. As a professional actor, I do accept projects that are easy to do. An artiste grows when he is challenged. There are various shades of emotion within emotions. Bringing that nuance is the task, is the art and an artiste looks for that."## Rawal's notable films include "Woh Chhokri", "Sir", "Mohra", "Raja", "Chachi 420", "Hera Pheri" to, in the recent time, "Tiger Zinda Hai", and "Sanju".## So what was that one character that challenged the actor? " I will take more than one name. To start with, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in the film ‘Sardar'. It was an iconic character and we all read about him. So I had to do it right. I also think characters like Tikku (a transgender character) from ‘Tamanna', the characters I played in ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan', ‘Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!', in which I played double roles -- those are well-written characters but challenging. You can say those are quite against my grain. I had to work hard to get there to portray the character."## His son Aditya Rawal recently made his acting debut with the ZEE5 original film "Bamfaad" and according to Rawal senior initial films are the only opportunities to prove the potential of an actor.## "When new talent comes, initially, everyone is graceful -- as in, he or she is good as a ‘new actor'. But within two to three films, if the youngster cannot improve his skill, he or she will not be able to sustain their career. That is why talent matters. The ‘hit', ‘flop' and box office numbers are not in the hands of an actor but delivering performance is. I hope Aditya manages to do that," Paresh signed off.## Stay tuned...

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