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IANS News

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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

Himesh Reshammiya focusses on new songs, scripts during lockdown
2240 days ago
Bollywood

Himesh Reshammiya focusses on new songs, scripts during lockdown

New Delhi, April 22 (IANS) Singer-composer-actor Himesh Reshammiya is a busy bee even during the COVID-19 lockdown.## A lot of things have come to a standstill as people have been told to stay indoors for safety. Work might have slowed down for many, but Himesh is as busy as ever.## "I am keeping myself busy with a lot of things during this quarantine period. I spend my days working out, composing new songs and reading new scripts. I am also planning a lot of things in film music and everything in the world of entertainment that is there for me. Like I always say, for me, the journey has just begun," Himesh told IANS.## What about working on a song on quarantine?## "No, I haven't made any song on quarantine yet but I have composed some great romantic and dance numbers, which I am sure my fans will enjoy immensely," said the "Aashiq banaya aapne" hitmaker, who has requested his fans to practice social distancing by staying at home.## "It is important for all of us to stay safe right now. As they say, this too shall pass," he said on a positive note.## Prior to the lockdown, he was busy judging new talent.## "I have judged many shows on television, but this ('BIG Golden Voice') was the first time that I judged on the radio. I don't think there is much of a difference between the two, except the fact that on radio, the quality of one's voice alone plays a crucial role. When you are judging on radio, especially during the first phase, voice is the only priority whereas on television, the attitude and personality of the singer also unknowingly become aspects on which the singer is selected," he said.## Talking about the radio show, he shared: "My favorite moment during judging 'BIG Golden Voice Season 7' was when we announced not one, but two winners. Shalini and Ankit both gave us performances to remember throughout their journey."## The former judge of "Indian Idol" often picks budding singers from reality shows for his film projects.## "All the singing shows are projecting great talent but some voices are so good that they inspire you. I truly believe that our country has some really amazing singing talent and their voices need to be heard by the entire nation. When I hear a great voice, I feel like launching it as soon as possible. This is something I have been doing time and again and will continue to do so in the future," said the composer, who had given a platform to many new singers like Darshan Raval and Mohammed Irfan.## Himesh has been in the industry for long, but he hasn't stopped learning even from the newcomers.## "Each and every one has taught me something valuable, but the most important thing I have learned is how to be the best student and keep learning at every stage of my life. Never stop learning and get inspired -- these are the biggest learnings from them (budding artistes)," said Himesh.## Stay tuned...

Tuhin Mehta: Music has power to heal the soul
2240 days ago
Bollywood

Tuhin Mehta: Music has power to heal the soul

Mumbai, April 22 (IANS) Electronic music artiste Tuhin Mehta says music has the power to heal the soul and feels it can help people get through the coronavirus pandemic.## Asked how can your music help people relax amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Tuhin said: "I think music is the one thing that stands besides when everything else has failed. It has the power to heal the soul and give you energy even when you are down and out!"## To cheer up people, he performed live for ‘Vh1 Quarantunes' on the Instagram page of Vh1 India on April 16.## "I'm always happy and excited to share my music with the world," he said about performing live.## Live performances come with a certain amount of limitations. Asked how he overcomes it, he said: "I have the camera set up to give the audience a birds-eye view of what's going on on the console. I also check the comments real-time which sort of gives me the energy I need to keep pushing forward musically."## Stay tuned...

Action star Vidyut Jammwal's next a 'hardcore romantic film'
2240 days ago
Bollywood

Action star Vidyut Jammwal's next a 'hardcore romantic film'

Mumbai, April 22 (IANS) Having done actioners like "Force", the "Commando" franchise and "Junglee", actor Vidyut Jammwal, who is known for his high-octane stunts on screen, says his next "Khuda Hafiz" is a hardcore romantic film.## "'Khuda Hafiz' is a romantic movie. It's a true story of a man who is madly in love with his wife and gets married in 2009 during the recession. They go abroad and get a job. (The story is about) how this girl gets picked up and how the guy gets her back. It's a hardcore, true romantic movie with a little action," Vidyut told IANS.## The shooting of the film has taken place in Uzbekistan, Mumbai, and Lucknow.## Directed by Faruk Kabir, the romantic-action-thriller co-stars Shivaleeka Oberoi, who recently made her debut in "Yeh Saali Aashiqui", opposite late Amrish Puri's grandson Vardhan Puri.## The film is produced by Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek Pathak and co-produced by Sanjeev Joshi, Aditya Chowksey and Murlidhar Chhatwani. It will be distributed pan-India by Anand Pandit Motion Pictures and Panorama Films.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

Lara Dutta excited about playing a cop
2240 days ago
Digital Media

Lara Dutta excited about playing a cop

Mumbai, April 22 (IANS) Actress Lara Dutta is excited to play a police officer for the first time in the comedy-action web series "Hundred", and says her character is trying hard to survive in a man's world.## In the series, Lara will be seen as ACP Saumya Shukla.## "The show is a fun and entertaining story of a dysfunctional Jodi and the chaos that ensues in their lives. The makers have carefully scripted the show to bring alive action and humor in a very entertaining way," Lara said.## "One of the many reasons I chose to do the show is because I have never played a cop on screen and my character is trying hard to survive in a man's world. She has very interesting dynamics with the people in her life and the more complex a situation, the more she thrives. She is nothing like me in real life," she added.## The Hotstar Specials show chronicles the misadventures of two contrasting women, set in the backdrop of Mumbai, its chawls and crime gangs. Being described as a masala entertainer, the show also stars Rinku Rajguru.## It is co-directed by Ruchi Narain, Ashutosh Shah, and Taher Shabbir. The cast includes names like Karan Wahi, Sudhanshu Pandey, Parmeet Sethi, Rohini Hattangidi, Arun Nalawde, and Makarand Deshpande. The eight-episode series will launch on April 25 on Disney+ Hotstar VIP.## Talking about making digital as well Hindi debut, "Sairat" star Rinku said: "It's been a roller-coaster ride making my digital debut with ‘Hundred' -- a show that has equal measures of comedy and crime. I portray the character of Netra Patil - a bindaas Marathi mulgi who is trying to live her life to the fullest. What drew me towards the show is the way this character has been molded - people will see a different side of her in each episode."## To this, Karan added: "The show will hopefully give people a hundred reasons to smile and uplift their mood in these unprecedented times - it's just what the doctor ordered!"## Narain feels the show "has all the elements of a family entertainer - action, drama, comedy, thrill and more!"## "It's a story where desperation leads two unlikely women - one bindass and the other badass - to team up as they chase their own personal goals," she said.## The show is about a terminally ill girl looking for thrills, who is hired to be an undercover agent by an ambitious female cop looking for a promotion. It will tell their story as they get together to accomplish their own goal in 100 days.## Stay tuned...

Karanvir Bohra launches 'Lockdown with KV'
2241 days ago
TV

Karanvir Bohra launches 'Lockdown with KV'

Mumbai, April 21 (IANS) Actor Karanvir Bohra has come up with a fun-filled and informative live series titled "Lockdown with KV".## "The idea right now is to keep people engaged, talking and importantly listening and watching good content to keep their minds diverted from the ongoing stressful situation," he said.## "So that's what my second live series 'Lockdown with KV' is aiming at. The first main idea which is to just talk to people from different walks of life and understand their lives and routines and importantly coping skills during these trying and testing times" added the actor, who had earlier brought in his celebrity friends for a 21-question series on Instagram.## With a dash of fun and candid conversation, the series will try to keep the atmosphere light and stress-free.## Meanwhile, Karanvir has cooked halwa for his wife Teejay Sidhu to celebrate 13 years of togetherness.## The couple, who are parents to two daughters, have stepped into their 13th year of marriage. Owing to the current lockdown though, they are celebrating it in a simple way at home.## Karanvir stepped into the kitchen to make some halwa for Teejay.## Speaking about spending quality time at home for their anniversary this year, Karanvir shared: "I have made something special for Teejay and that is the legendary halwa! It is something healthy and a dish that can be made quickly too. The kids love eating it as well. So due to the lockdown, that's how we brought in our 13th year anniversary at home this time, with lots of quality time together."## Stay tuned...

Mumbai Police thanks Rohit Shetty for helping on-duty corona warriors
2241 days ago
Bollywood

Mumbai Police thanks Rohit Shetty for helping on-duty corona warriors

Mumbai, April 21 (IANS) Mumbai Police have taken to Twitter to express gratitude to filmmaker Rohit Shetty for helping out on-duty police officials who are working relentlessly to ensure a smooth lockdown as the nation battles the deadly COVID 19 pandemic.## The filmmaker has arranged for rest, shower and clothes changing facility along with breakfast and dinner in eight hotels across the city for on-duty police officials.## Informing about the same and expressing gratitude, Mumbai Police tweeted on Tuesday: "#RohitShetty has facilitated eight hotels across the city for our on-duty #CovidWarriors to rest, shower & change with arrangements for breakfast & dinner.## We thank him for this kind gesture and for helping us in #TakingOnCorona and keeping Mumbai safe."## This initiative by the filmmaker comes after he recently donated Rs 51 lakh to the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) to aid daily wage film workers, who have been left jobless due to the lockdown amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.## On the film front, Rohit Shetty is all set with the next film in his cop drama universe, titled "Sooryavanshi". The forthcoming movie features Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif in the lead.## Stay tuned...

Lockdown solution: Chris Evans suggests adopting a dog
2241 days ago
Hollywood

Lockdown solution: Chris Evans suggests adopting a dog

Los Angeles, April 21 (IANS) "Captain America" star Chris Evans has advice to everyone during the COVID-19 pandemic -- adopt a dog.## Evans adopted his canine companion Dodger in 2015.## Asked about the best ways to cope during self-isolation, he said everyone needs to get a rescue puppy because they are "missing out", reports femalefirst.co.uk.## "I would never subject anyone to advise that would come from me. There's nothing I can give you that ... Do you know what my advice would be? Adopt a dog! Everyone should go out and get a dog. If you don't have a dog in your life, especially during this time, you're missing out," He told USA Today.## Is Dodger proving to him with comfort during these unsettling times?## He said: "Oh, yeah, absolutely. He doesn't leave my side."## Evans has been working on his scripts and promoting his latest series "Defending Jacob".## He said: "A lot of that's put on hold right now. There's always a stack of scripts you can check out, but ... everything is kind of being punted months and months and I think a lot of people have other priorities."## Evans, 38, says he feels "lucky and blessed" to be with his family at this difficult time, but admitted everyone feels like they are "stuck" in a "disturbing wait-and-see pattern" to see how the pandemic will impact their lives going forward.## Stay tuned...

Joe Russo: India rarely seen in international action films
2241 days ago
Hollywood

Joe Russo: India rarely seen in international action films

New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) "Avengers: Endgame" co-director Joe Russo says India is a beautiful country but its locales are rarely been tapped in modern international action films.## Russo is glad that he got a chance to capture the beauty of the country in Netflix's upcoming action film "Extraction".## "India is a beautiful country. It is also rarely seen in a modern international action film. Some beautiful cultural aspects of the story (in ‘Extraction') would be enriched by setting in India and it does really pay off beautifully in the film," Joe said in a video, released by Netflix before the release of the film.## Originally titled "Dhaka", the film 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. It has been shot extensively in India, along with other places around the world. It is directed by Sam Hargrave.## It also stars Indian actors Randeep Hooda, Pankaj Tripathi, Priyanshu Painyulli, and Rudraksh Jaiswal. The screenplay of the film is done by Joe Russo. The film is produced by Russo Brothers (Joe and Anthony Russo), Mike Larocca, Chris Hemsworth, Eric Gitter, and Peter Schwerin.## In the clip, Hargrave is seen embracing Indian traditions and praying before starting the film.## "We started the day with a traditional Indian blessing. They infused the production with a lot of Indian traditions," Hargrave said in the clip.## Looking back at his time in India, Hemsworth said: "Here we are in India. We are on the set of our movie for Netflix. Aesthetically, I think this film is beyond unique. So vibrant and full of movement. I don't think anyone shot a film like this here before. The public would turn up in thousands to watch us shoot. Every time they would call cut, they would cheer and clap. It was like being in a coliseum or something."## "Extraction" will release on April 24.## Stay tuned...

COVID-19: 21 Marathi celebs come together to raise awareness
2241 days ago
Marathi

COVID-19: 21 Marathi celebs come together to raise awareness

Mumbai, April 21 (IANS) Marathi celebrities like Sachin Pilgaonkar, Supriya Pilgaonkar and Sachin Khedekar have come together to raise awareness about COVID-19, with a track titled "Ladhvayya Mi Maharashtracha".## Written by Valley Mulgund and sung by Chinmay Hulyalkar and Sayee Gangan, "Ladhvayya Mi Maharashtracha" is a gesture of solidarity and a way of thanking the government machinery, doctors, nurses, policeman and all those people who are working to keep others safe and healthy.## "Bring out the fighter spirit in you. Respect the orders from the government, respect the heroes on the front-line, doctors, nurses, policemen and everyone who is going out so we can be safe," said Sachin.## Supriya added: "Stay home, keep washing your hands. Sanitize your surroundings, keep them clean. Clean and sanitize all your groceries before you use them. Care for people less fortunate than you. That's the only way we can defeat this pandemic."## The video also features Prajakta Koli, Dr. Amol Kolhe, Jaywant Wadkar, Vijay Patkar, Ashok Samarth, Sushant Shelar, Aniket Vishwasrao, Mrinal Kulkarni, Mrunal Thakur, Tejashree Pradhan, Prarthana Behere, Prajakta Male, Bhau Kadam, Anjali Bhagwat, Vitthal Kamat, Kaushik Marathe, Ramdas Karwande and Indraneel Chitale.## Stay tuned...

Taapsee Pannu: Need to get back to the chaos soon
2241 days ago
Bollywood

Taapsee Pannu: Need to get back to the chaos soon

Mumbai, April 21 (IANS) Amid lockdown due to COVID-19, actress Taapsee Pannu is missing out on the madness that actors thrive on, and says she needs to get back to madness.## Taapsee took to Instagram, where she shared a still from the film "Manmarziyaan". In the picture, she is seen sitting on a scooty in salwar kameez.## "This throwback is clearly out of missing the madness we thrive on as actors. The calm we find in the most crazy situations. Need to get back to the chaos soon... Btw that's a rig being attached to my scooter to test my balancing skills. Both with the weight n emotions in the take. #Throwback #Archive #QuarantinePost," she said.## Earlier, she posted another still from the same film where she can be seen dressed as a Sikh bride in a blush pink salwar kameez. She also shared that this is one of her most favourite moments in the film.## The actress essayed the free-spirited Rumi in the film, which also featured Vicky Kaushal and Abhishek Bachchan.## Taapsee's latest role in Anubhav Sinha's "Thappad" has been widely acclaimed. The actress will be seen in "Haseen Dillruba", "Rashmi Rocket" and "Shabaash Mithu" in the coming months.## Stay tuned...

'Tom And Jerry' helmer Gene Deitch made childhood amazing, awesome: Bollywood
2241 days ago
Bollywood

'Tom And Jerry' helmer Gene Deitch made childhood amazing, awesome: Bollywood

Mumbai, April 21 (IANS) Bollywood celebrities have taken to social media to mourn the demise of Oscar-winning American illustrator Gene Deitch, also a renowned animator, director and producer, who will always be remembered for the cartoon shows "Tom And Jerry" and "Popeye The Sailor".## The 95-year-old Deitch breathed his last in his Prague apartment between Thursday and Friday last week, according to reports, although Bollywood celebrities have taken to paying tributes recently.## Vicky Kaushal has shared an adorable picture where Deitch can be seen being hugged by his characters Tom and Jerry on his Instagram story. The actor wrote: "Thank you for making our childhood so amazing!"## The same animated picture was shared by actresses Bidita Bag, Zareen Khan and Daisy Shah.## Zareen wrote: "Thank you Gene for making my childhood awesome."## Daisy Shah in her Instagram story mentioned: "Our childhood was incomplete without Tom and Jerry."## Bidita Bag shared: "Man who made our childhood awesome the creator of Tom and Jerry Gene Deitch left the world today at the age of 95 (RIP)."## Stay tuned...

Vijay Verma on the stars who inspired him to be an actor
2241 days ago
Bollywood

Vijay Verma on the stars who inspired him to be an actor

Mumbai, April 21 (IANS) "Gully Boy"-fame Vijay Verma says there are two Indian actors -- Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff -- influenced him to become the actor that he is today.## Asked to recall a profound moment that made him think of taking acting seriously, Vijay told IANS: "For me, it was Sanjay Dutt in 'Vaastav'. That was one of those films, and his character was one of such that made me say, 'actor banna hai'. That performance impacted me so much! His character Raghu in the film was a man with a story of zero-to-hero. A man who became a gangster who roams around with pachaas-tola around his neck! Oh man! That was a performance! I think 'Vastaav' was the 'Agneepath' of my growing-up days!"## Did he share the story with Dutt when they met? "No, I haven't because I met him socially, a couple of times. I met him at Mr Bachchan's place but at those moments I was comfortable just being around him and getting a big hug! For sharing my story, we need to sit down and chat. That is yet to happen," replied the actor, who recently appeared in the ZEE5 original film "Bamfaad".## This year, Vijay has had three more releases -- "Ghost Stories", "She" along with "Baaghi 3".## Vijay said that he is also a huge fan of "Baaghi 3" star Tiger Shroff's father, veteran actor Jackie Shroff.## "I am a fanboy of Jaggu dada. He epitomised that galli culture of Mumbai. In my growing days I admired him so much that when 'Gully Boy' was offered to me, I felt like Moeen (his character in the film) is a tribute to Jaggu dada! I love him," Vijay smiled.## Stay tuned...