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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

Writing is 'a little box of interest' for actor Mukul Dev
2260 days ago
Bollywood

Writing is 'a little box of interest' for actor Mukul Dev

Mumbai, April 2 (IANS) Actor Mukul Dev is receiving a lot of praise for his performance as a terrorist mastermind in the web series "State Of Siege: 26/11". He is also the man who penned the story of the Rajkummar Rao-starrer "Omerta" that released in 2018. Mukul says he does not feel the pressure of finding a balance between the two callings, as writing is just a "passion".## "I am an actor who also writes. I love reading so I read a lot of books. The interest in writing has developed recently. When I was writing the story of 'Omerta' I was not writing it to make a film or something. But when a filmmaker like Hansal Mehta picked up my story and turned it into a film, I thought that now I can consider myself as a legitimate writer. Having said that I am an actor and I will remain that. Writing is a little box of interest that I take out once in a while," Mukul Dev told IANS.## "State Of Siege: 26/11", directed by Matthew Leutwyler, has Mukul playing Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi. The show also features Arjan Bajwa, Arjun Bijlani, Vivek Dahiya, Sid Makkar, Tara Alisha Berry, Khalida Jaan, Jyoti Gauba, Roshni Sahota, Suzanne Bernert, Naren Kumar and Jason Shah.## "Since I am an actor and am shooting most of the time, I have time in between shots and I keep writing then. I am surrounded by people who are filmmakers, producers, and actors. So once in a while, they also inquire if I have a story or something. If they like it, they eventually make something out of it. But that is a time-consuming process and I see no reason to stop acting for my writing. Writing is a passion," he shared.## So, what is his favorite topic to write about? "I like to write on anything that is intriguing, unheard of -- something that is offbeat. I used to love reading Richard Bach. So yeah, writing will happen side by side," he replied.## "State Of Siege: 26/11" is streaming on ZEE5.## Stay tuned...

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Sandeepa Dhar revisits the '60s in black-and-white video
2260 days ago
TV

Sandeepa Dhar revisits the '60s in black-and-white video

Mumbai, April 2 (IANS) Actress Sandeepa Dhar went down the memory lane and revisited the 1960s era on social media.## Sandeepa on Wednesday took to Instagram, where she shared a black-and-white video clip of herself with the song "Abhi na jao chhod kar" playing in the background.## "Music is the closest means we have to time travel... one piece of melody can get you reminiscing your past or dreaming up your future. Revisiting the 60's with #mohdrafisahab & #ashabhosleji#melodiesfromheaven #stayhome#staysafe," she captioned the video.## Her video currently has 22.3K likes on the website.## Stay tuned...

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Chetan Hansraj: I love playing negative characters
2260 days ago
TV

Chetan Hansraj: I love playing negative characters

New Delhi, April 2 (IANS) On screens big and small, actor Chetan Hansraj has often essayed dark roles and he loves it.## "I love playing negative characters. According to me, negative characters are interesting and are not bound to any restrictions. It helps an actor to go all out in his performance," Chetan told IANS.## In fact, if given a chance he would love to play superhero Batman's most famous nemesis, Joker.## That's one role he craves for. But he had a good time acting in a show that's based on "Arabian Nights", which is a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian folk tales.## "I was honored to be part of Dangal TV's, 'Alif Laila' since the stories being narrated through the serial are fabulous. 'Alif Laila' is a show based on the folk tales of 'Arabian Nights', which makes one feel nostalgic and is liked by people of all age groups," said the "Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii" actor.## "I believe in exploring different characters. Playing the role of a magician helped me explore the world of magic. To play this role, I improvised on my imagination skill as it is the most important requirement," he added about his role in the show.## Meanwhile, he is using the quarantine time to learn new things.## "I am a tech-savvy person. Therefore, I am utilizing my time by learning a new computer programming language called 'python'. I hope to learn and develop programs and applications for myself by the end of this lockdown," he said.## For more and latest news about TV, stay tuned with us.

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Pankaj Tripathi turns writer
2260 days ago
Bollywood

Pankaj Tripathi turns writer

Mumbai, April 2 (IANS) Actor Pankaj Tripathi has experimented with acting on different platforms. Now the quarantine time has brought out the writer in him.## Due to the unexpected break from work owing to the coronavirus outbreak, the actor has now been at his home over the past week.## "Actors are often closely associated with writing, even in the projects that they are just acting in. As artistes, we communicate to the audience what the writer is trying to tell through his body language, his ability to emote on screen," said Pankaj.## "Writing is a creative extension of me and I am not doing it with the motive of writing a screenplay really. I started with penning down my thoughts for the sake of keeping my skills sharpened. Writing and acting are interconnected for me. I am writing to fulfill my own creative quest. Let me see how the finished product turns out and if it is my satisfaction, I will figure out what I want to do with it," he added.## On the acting front, he has films like "Ludo" and "Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl" in his kitty.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

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Sophie Turner: COVID-19 lockdown is like a prison for Joe Jonas
2261 days ago
Hollywood

Sophie Turner: COVID-19 lockdown is like a prison for Joe Jonas

os Angeles, April 1 (IANS) "Game Of Thrones" star Sophie Turner is "kind of loving" being in quarantine with pop star husband Joe Jonas.## Turner, who is reportedly pregnant with her first child, opened up about how she's coping during the crisis in an interview with Conan O'Brien on "CONAN At Home", reports aceshowbiz.com.## "I'm kind of loving it. I'm an introvert, I'm a homebody, if I could stay at home all day I would, so this is great for me," Turner said when asked how she's managing with social distancing.## She added that the only time she leaves the house is when she has to goes walk their dog.## Turner says currently everything is working in her favor.## "Joe and I... everything seems to be working out in my favor here because Joe is a real social butterfly and I struggle to lock him down and just spend time with me. It's like a prison for him, but it's great for me," she added.## For more and latest news about Hollywood, stay tuned with us.

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Armaan Malik: Whoever I am today is because of Bollywood music
2261 days ago
Bollywood

Armaan Malik: Whoever I am today is because of Bollywood music

Mumbai, April 1 (IANS) Singer Armaan Malik, who launched an English song titled "Control" last month, says he hasn't forgotten his Bollywood roots.## "I've always wanted to sing in English, but Bollywood music made me Armaan Malik. Whoever I am today is because of Bollywood music. I've sung more than 300 songs - across languages!" said Armaan.## The "Bol do na zara" hitmaker calls himself "a bit of a perfectionist".## "I feel every piece of work that I have to do needs to be a masterpiece. But sometimes, when I'm very convinced with a song, it's never worked. We have to bridge what we think is right and what the market thinks is right," he said.## He also shared that there was a time in his life when he had to experience "one dark patch".## "There came this one dark patch in the last two years, I broke down and told my dad, 'listen, I hate the songs I've sung'" said the young singer, who is the son of composer Daboo Malik.## Armaan comes from a family of musicians, but he drew inspiration from outside as well.## "The person who really inspired me was Sonu Nigam when I was growing up. Arijit Singh has inspired me with the versatility that he has," he said.## He opened up about music and more on "Off Script with Salil", a Spotify Original Podcast, which has Salil Acharya chatting up with celebrities about life and more.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

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Ajay Devgn gives Rs 51 lakh for industry workers amid COVID-19 crisis
2261 days ago
Bollywood

Ajay Devgn gives Rs 51 lakh for industry workers amid COVID-19 crisis

Mumbai, April 1 (IANS) Actor Ajay Devgn will be donating Rs 51 lakh to Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) to aid daily wage film workers, who have been left without jobs due to the lockdown amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.## Confirming the news, Ashok Dubey, general secretary of FWICE, said: "Ajay Devgn has pledged to donate Rs 51 lakh to FWICE."## "I'm glad that people like Ajay and Rohit (Shetty) are helping the daily wage workers who need it the most during the downtime. We have received more enquiries from others wanting to provide monetary help. We are providing them the account details. I hope more and more people come forward to help daily wage workers," Dubey added.## FWICE is leaving no stone unturned to help its more than five lakh worker-members.## Bollywood superstar Salman Khan was the first industry bigwig who took the initiative to help the 25,000-odd daily wage workers of the film industry whose lives have been affected owing to the lockdown.## Filmmaker Rohit Shetty subsequently donated Rs 51 lakh to FWICE. Frames Production Company and Shashi Sumit Productions have also provided ration and money for the cause. FWICE will utilize all the donated money to help its daily wage workers like junior artists, stunt artists, light men, and spot boys amongst others.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

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Lockdown diaries: Elli AvrRam cheers up spirits with cool dance video
2261 days ago
Bollywood

Lockdown diaries: Elli AvrRam cheers up spirits with cool dance video

Mumbai, April 1 (IANS) To lighten up the mood of people amid the coronavirus pandemic, actress Elli AvrRam took to social media to share a throwback video flaunting her dancing skills.## In the minute-long video, Elli is seen grooving to JP Saxe's song "If the world was ending".## "If... cause the time is right... I wasn't going to upload it because I wanted to clean it up more, but hey! Why wait for tomorrow when all we have at this particular time is," she captioned the video.## Elli also shared that she got a lot of bruises while performing on the track.## "PS... the number of bruises/cuts I got as we shot this lol... when the floor ain't polished it's not a pleasant feeling folk," she added.## Elli was seen earlier this year in Mohit Suri's film "Malang".## Stay tuned...

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3 things Karan Tacker learnt from Neeraj Pandey
2261 days ago
TV

3 things Karan Tacker learnt from Neeraj Pandey

Mumbai, April 1 (IANS) Celebrated television actor Karan Tacker, who made his digital debut with the web series "Special OPs", says he learned three very important lessons from the director of the show, Neeraj Pandey.## "I would say dedication, discipline and clarity are the three things I have learned from Neeraj sir. He really knows what he wants as a storyteller, what he wants from his actors, and how he will use it in post-production. The clarity he has in his mind is really worth learning from! After the shoot, when we would rest, he would sit with the production guys to discuss the next days' shoot. I think during production, he slept for about four to five hours because he was working constantly," Karan told IANS.## "Also, he is an emotionally sensitive person with a sense of humor. One should really work closely to understand him! It's fun!" added the actor.## "Special OPs" is spy-thriller streaming on Hotstar, and the show also features Kay Kay Menon, Meher Vij, Sana Khan, Saiyami Kher, Vinay Pathak, and Vipul Gupta. The story of the show is set against the backdrop of Parliament attack in Delhi that took place in 2001.## Giving an insight into his role, Karan said: "My character Farooq Ali is a RAW agent recruited by Himmat Singh (played by Kay Kay Menon). He is always on the field with clarity on what he wants and has his strategy. The character is very well written -- in fact, not just mine but of all of us. Neeraj sir is such a great scriptwriter. We all see the kind of vision he has, in all his films. But as an actor, it is great how one can deliver so much just by following the script when it is well written."## The show has been shot across various locations including Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Jordan.## Asked about the difficult part of shooting such an action-packed show, the actor replied: "I have to mention one of the outdoors we were shooting in Jordan. In the show, it shows summer but we actually shot in the winter. The temperature was around minus two and I was just wearing a shirt and pants and no winter gear, as we were showing summer. In the extreme cold, it was tough to mouth dialogues because I was shivering!"## He added: "I have a fear of height, and there is this scene where my character Farooq attempts suicide. I did that stunt by myself! It was a 25-story building and I did the scene. Although there was a team of people along with the stuntmen, I thought if I do it myself it would look real. But when I stood there -- Oh God! Overcoming the fear of height was a thing for me."## Stay tuned...

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'Tera ban jaunga' fame singer Akhil Sachdeva fulfills ailing fan's wish
2261 days ago
Bollywood

'Tera ban jaunga' fame singer Akhil Sachdeva fulfills ailing fan's wish

Mumbai, April 1 (IANS) Despite the coronavirus lockdown, singer Akhil Sachdeva, who is best known for his songs "Sun mere Humsafar" ("Badrinath Ki Dulhania") and "Tera ban jaunga" ("Kabir Singh"), has managed to spread a smile on an ailing fan's face.## Akhil on Wednesday took to Instagram and posted a video that shows him singing "Tera ban jaunga" and playing the guitar, sharing that the fan had requested him to sing for him and that too with a smiling face.## "One of my fans since the last 10 years is now going through a major Illness from last year and sent me a message that he wanted me to sing this one with a smile on my face. So here I am smiling throughout and singing this and I hope I make you feel better in your toughest of times. God bless you always and may you get out of this phase sooner and stay healthy forever," Akhil wrote.## Apart from singing in films, Akhil has recorded for OTT shows such as "Dil Hi Toh Hai 3" and "Broken But Beautiful 2".## Stay tuned...

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'F.A.L.T.U' team celebrates nine years with fun virtual reunion
2261 days ago
Bollywood

'F.A.L.T.U' team celebrates nine years with fun virtual reunion

Mumbai, April 1 (IANS) Actors Jackky Bhagnani, Riteish Deshmukh and Puja Gupta along with director Remo D'Souza celebrated nine years of their film "F.A.L.T.U" by having a virtual reunion.## The comedy film, which had hit songs like "Chaar baj gaye" and "Le jaa tu mujhe", had released on April 1, 2011.## The Pooja Entertainment's film followed four friends who almost fail their examinations and take to desperate measures to save their dismal futures.## Jackky, Riteish, Remo, and Puja got together on a social media live, reminiscing about the film and its success.## "It was wonderful to connect with everyone, especially in the current lockdown situation. It brought back a lot of fond memories. I think 'F.A.L.T.U' is a film that is relevant even today and connects with a large number of youngsters," Jackky said after the online session on Wednesday.## Remo, who had helmed the movie, recalled: "Back in 2011, we were able to create magic with a film like 'F.A.L.T.U'. I think the very fact that it can connect with youth today as well as testimony to its storytelling and its relevance as a concept."## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.

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George Ezra offers free music for kids' online workouts amid lockdown
2261 days ago
Hollywood

George Ezra offers free music for kids' online workouts amid lockdown

Los Angeles, April 1 (IANS) Popularly known for his songs like "Shotgun", "Blame it on me" and "Paradise", singer George Ezra and his mother have offered British fitness instructor Joe Wicks free use of his tracks for his online workouts for children, who are missing school due to the COVID-19 pandemic.## Wicks' daily YouTube workouts have taken over social media as he keeps children active while they are forced to stay at home due to lockdown, reports aceshowbiz.com.## The fitness instructor, who is also known as The Body Coach, said that he had to conduct his makeshift sessions in silence, as he couldn't pay to license music due to his YouTube royalties from the show going to Britain's National Health Service.## On March 31, Ezra shared with his mother, a teacher, had heard of Wicks' problem, prompting her son to call up record company chiefs to waive his own royalties.## He wrote on Instagram: "My mum suggested I offer Joe and the kids my songs to use. I got in touch with Joe and we made it happen. The coolest thing is that all royalties made from the songs being used are going directly to the NHS!".## "I'd like to say a huge thank you to Joe for being the world's fitness coach throughout all of this and an even bigger thank you to my amazing mum and all the other incredible teachers up and down the country for everything they're doing."## Wicks thanked the singer, saying: "Now listen, I've got some great news. I've got to say a massive thank you to George Ezra's mum, who is a teacher at school and George Ezra found out that I had no music, so he's given me his permission to use his music on the workout today."## For more and latest news about Hollywood, stay tuned with us.

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