Category: Entertainment

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan was honored at the 60th San Francisco Internationalo Film Festival on April 14 at the Castro Theater. “King” Khan as he is known to his millions of fans, was cheered lustily after the receiving the award. The Festival had a special onstage tribute – stepped out looking dapper in a black suit amidst the inevitable pop of flashbulbs, and cheering fans, a sight that was hard for onlookers to fathom. Later on, he participated in a conversation onstage with Brett Ratner following a screening of his 2010 hit “My Name Is Khan.”

“It is a great honor to welcome one of the world’s most recognized film personalities,” said SFFILM’s executive director Noah Cowan. “Above Shah Rukh Khan’s fame as an actor is a man known for his pervasive curiosity about the world around him, about technology, about our collective future. Khan is among the most engaging figures in any field and this night, in conversation with Hollywood wizard Brett Ratner, will be among the most memorable of this year’s festival events.”

The scale of Khan’s popularity was clearly reflected when braving a chilly evening, hundreds of young Indian American fans in party attire queued up outside the theater here, some for more than five hours, to be a part of an intimate conversation with the actor, producer, and humanitarian exploring his unique balance between commercially-minded cinema and artistic values, which was moderated by famed Hollywood director and producer Brett Ratner.

Khan said that he was “humbled” to be honored with the likes of John Ridley and Ethan Hawke, which somehow reminded him that what he was doing was not as simple as he would like to believe, and that it does touch people’s lives.

“I feel wonderful being here. I was just telling my team that it makes me feel at home because so many people from Southeast Asia and South Asia come down and make you feel as if you are home. So thank you everyone who is standing outside. I would like to come see everyone before I leave,” Khan told India-West. And he did, where once again the fans went into a frenzy trying to get close to their idol, take selfies, present bouquets as the actor made a round to shake his fans’ hands before leaving the venue.

“I long to not blush when you say such nice things about me but this makes me feel extremely special, and I thank the San Francisco Film Festival, Noah, Josh, and everyone who has got me here, all of you who are here and everyone who is standing outside,” Khan was quoted to have told the m3edia. “I have kept it very simple for 25 years. From the outside, it might seem complicated that I do special stuff but I do ordinary stuff. I tell my children this again and again that the only thing I do different from other fathers is that I wear makeup in the morning. I just get up and go do a job and I hope like everybody else I get right again this time. I have been fortunate that more often than not I have got it right. That’s the only strength. I hope I make a film, lots of people like it in whatever context, and smile a lot when they watch it.”

Accomplished actor and singer Priyanka Chopra has added another feather to her cap: she is now the second most beautiful person in the world, edging past Angelina Jolie, Emma Stone, Michelle Obama and Gigi Hadid among others, according to a poll run by website Buzznet. Beyonce was voted  the most beautiful women in the world.

The 34-year-old Quantico actress beat the likes of Angelina Jolie, Emma Watson, Michelle Obama and secured the second place. Topping the charts was the Queen Bee, Beyonce.

After receiving the ‘title’ of being the ‘2nd Most Beautiful Woman of 2017’, Priyanka Chopra took to Twitter to express her gratitude and also praised Beyonce for being the undisputed number one. The Indian American actress took to Twitter and expressed her gratitude, “Thank u @BUZZNET and all who voted. @Beyonce is my number 1 too!!”

Model and Victoria’s Secret angel Taylor Hill is at number three followed by Watson, Dakota Johnson and Hillary Clinton at fourth, fifth and sixth position respectively. Jolie is on eighth number, while this year’s Oscar winner Emma Stone is at number 12. Supermodel Gigi Hadid is on 13 position and the former first lady is on number 21.

From being called Hollywood’s most bankable badass by Marie Claire, to being among the top paid television actors, Chopra has made her mark in Hollywood. A regular guest on large night talk shows, and gaining recognition in the mainstream as Alex Parish in “Quantico,” Chopra is now gearing up for her film “Baywatch”, starring Seth Gordon, Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron, scheduled to release on May 26.

Recently, the actress took her fans by surprise by flaunting her new talent. She took to her Instagram and shared a picture, her painting. She captioned the snap, “Sunday shenanigans.. thank u @jazmasri @mdesante for the lesson!! #paintingisfun.” In the picture, Chopra is seen holding a palette and painting her imagination on a canvas.

Chopra ranks among the top paid television actors in the world by Forbes Magazine, and Priyanka Chopra has been making a global impact with her series Quantico which just got renewed for a third season.

Priyanka Chopra will also be making her much awaited Hollywood debut in Baywatch which has been directed by Seth Gordon, starring Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach and Jon Bass.

The unerring sense of calm is palpable when she slides her fingers on the strings of her sitar. Music composer and sitar player Anoushka Shankar serenaded music lovers with Indian classical compositions at The Town Hall in New Jersey on April 5.

This reverential love towards the process of music-making is visible as she performs to the track that is part of her recently-released album, ‘Home,’ a pure Indian classical album which showcases the meditative and virtuosic qualities of the Indian rang.

Dressed in a white lehenga, Shankar looked as pure and divine as the music she played for nearly two hours. Accompanied by classical Indian instruments like the tanpura, tabla, shehnaai and the mridagangam, the six-time Grammy nominated musician demonstrated her command over the sitar, an instrument she learned at a young age from her father.

The fact that the album had won the sitar virtuoso her fifth Grammy nomination not only goes to show her extraordinary prowess, but also makes it clear that the music Pandit Ravi Shankar exposed the world to, rests safely in the hands of his talented daughter Anoushka Shankar.

Shankar, the daughter of sitar master Pandit Ravi Shankar and one of his most dedicated students, performed music and started the evening with Raag Jogeshwari, a melodious and straightforward raag, created by Pandit Ravi Shankar, followed by Anoushka Shankar’s very own yet to release composition “Jannat” based on her father’s Raag Janasammohini.

Post break, the 35-year-old performed an extended “Pancham Se Gara,” the last track and one of the well known pieces from her first album “Anourag”, released in 2000. This piece draws its substance from the famous Gara raga that was widely used in many classical indian pieces.

Constantly interacting with her fellow musicians and flashing her signature smile, Shankar kept the tempo up, as each musician performed a solo piece in the last act, followed by a tabla and mridamgam jugalbandi which got many in the audience tapping their feet and clapping their hands to the beat of the music.

The context of home means a lot to people these days, especially in today’s political and social scenario, Shankar said, speaking about her album “Home” on which the show was based. You know you always have a home to go back to, and that’s what sometimes makes you go away from it, she said, referring to her musical experiments as well as her classical background which she keeps coming back to. “I tried to stay connected with my roots while trying to grow into new music,” she said. “I hadn’t made a classical record in a while, so I felt a deep desire to do that but I knew I’d continue to explore and experiment.”

Shankar was accompanied by Ojas Adhiya on tabla, Pirashanna Thevarajah on mridangam, Sanjeev Shankar on shehnaai, Ravichandra Kulur on the flute and Harsha Vishwanathan and Kenjo Ota on the tanpura.

At 35, Anoushka Shankar has become a successful musician in her own right. She has been playing the sitar from childhood and has her own style which has developed into a musical program encompassing the classical Indian traditions of the instrument but with clear and innovative adaptations creating a very distinctive offering.

Shankar has been recognized as the youngest and first female recipient of a British House of Commons Shield and named an “Asian Hero” by Time magazine. She resides in London with her husband playwright Joe Wright and their two sons Zubin Shankar Wright, 5, and Mohan Shankar Wright, 2.

“I have always tried to approach music from a personal level as much as possible. I don’t believe that you can make music from a form of pressure. From the spirit point of view, music has to come from the heart and only because you are passionate about it. If I stay connected to the fact that I play music because I love it… everything else falls in place,” the young prodigy says.

Indian-origin British director Gurinder Chadha has been honored with the 2017 Sikh Jewel Award for her immense contribution to British cinema. Chadha, whose films include “Bhaji on the Beach,” “Bend It Like Beckham” and “Bride and Prejudice,” received the award from Michael Fallon, U.K. Defense Secretary, at the Vaisakhi dinner organized by the British Sikh Association at the Lancaster Hotel here March 23.

The high commissioner of India to the U.K., Y. K. Sinha, who was the guest of honor, was also present on the dais. Chadha’s latest film, “Viceroy’s House” tells the true story of the final five months of British rule in India and coincides with the 70th anniversary of the Independence of India and the founding of Pakistan.

Upon receiving the award, Chadha said, “Some people use religion to divide – that is the theme of my film – and also the atrocities inflicted on us. It is a fair film.” Jasminder Singh, OBE, chairman and founder of Edwardian Hotels, writer, broadcaster and communications consultant Jagjeet Singh Sohal, and Khalsa Aid, founded in 1999, also received the Sikh Jewel Awards.

In his address, Sinha said, “We were really touched when we saw the films screened on the occasion depicting the sacrifices made by Indian soldiers, mostly Sikhs and Gurkhas in the two world wars, winning more laurels than others.”

“Sacrifices made by Sikhs are always remembered in India. The Government of India and the people of India gratefully acknowledge the contributions made by Sikhs,” added Sinha.

Fallon said he would be visiting India next month and will “utilize the opportunity to have greater defense cooperation between Britain and India.”

“Sadly, the contribution of over a million Indian soldiers in each great war is not taught in British schools and if it were, there would be a better understanding about our shared history,” said Dr. Rami Ranger, CBE, chairman of the British Sikh Association.

He urged the defense secretary to convey “our request to the education secretary that the contribution of Commonwealth countries in preserving our freedom is taught in schools, especially in the wake of Brexit when we will need to revisit and renew our tried and tested bond of friendship with these allies.”

Ranger also asked Member of Parliament Virendra Sharma and Councilor Julien Bell, leader of the Ealing Council to grant the association the opportunity to erect a “befitting memorial in Southall to pay tribute to a community for its supreme sacrifices for our freedom.”

The British Sikh Association also signed the Armed Forces Covenant alongside Fallon, to formally recognize the strong ties between the Sikh community and the armed forces.

There’s probably no one more excited for the 2017 film adaptation of “Baywatch” than Priyanka Chopra. “I loved ‘Baywatch’ so much growing up,” said the 34-year-old actress in Marie Claire’s April 2017 issue. “It was the quintessential American Dream. All those beautiful people in bathing suits, running slo-mo on the beach in Malibu — amazing!”

Global superstar Priyanka Chopra rocked Las Vegas at this year’s CinemaCon appearing with her co-stars at a special presentation for their upcoming summer comedy BAYWATCH. Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron and other stars from the Paramount Pictures film joined Chopra at Caesars Palace to promote the highly anticipated motion picture which hits theaters on May 26 over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Chopra will be appearing in the upcoming film adaptation opposite Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Zac Efron, Charlotte McKinney and Kelly Rohrbach. Former “Baywatch” stars David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson will also appear in the lifeguard-centric film.

“I’m not someone who looks for love,” she told the beauty magazine. “I don’t believe in making it happen. My life has been shaped by so many serendipitous moments so far, I feel like, ‘Why screw with a good thing?’”

And while Chopra has achieved her American Dream by appearing in “Baywatch,” she still hasn’t achieved her ultimate dream yet: having children and lots of them. “As many as I can,” confirmed Chopra. “I love kids. Love, love kids. I prefer their company to the company of adults, actually.”

Rolling Meadows, IL – iCAN finale night was a dazzling affair as the crème-de-la-crème of Chicagoland added to the glamour quotient and made it a memorable evening on March 18th 2017, The event started with red carpet welcome for all the iCAN nominees. The evening celebrated the achievements of real community heroes with much fanfare and spirit. The show saw some of the most prolific personalities from Chicago’s Indian American Political, Social, Business and Entertainment community walk in along with 200 Plus Award nominees. Amidst fabulous performances, entertainment and glamour, iCAN honored the contributions of these community heroes by giving away its 1st iCAN Trophies to the most deserving social workers, community leaders, and performers across various categories.

With about 700 nominations in various categories and over 100,000 votes, the event had all the trappings of the world famous Academy Awards. The electrifying performance of 150 artists was an icing on the cake.  The presence of the 40 generous sponsors was a great morale booster for all those who were associated with the conceptualization and execution of the whole event.

Neeta Bhushan, Hon’ble Consul General of India in Chicago, who was the Chief Guest at the event, had great appreciation for the high profile event which, she said, reminded her of the Oscars!!!!   “It’s a moment of great pride to bring the community leaders from different walks of life under one roof and to recognize their spectacular services to the community in a grand function”, she said.

The event, which was a star-studded affair, had all the looks of the world famous Academy Awards. The evening had it all from the Red carpet to the interviews of the top listed nominees, with a special social hour to interact with gorgeous people all around surrounded by yummy appetizers to start and then the show began! Many nominees were heard saying that they felt like a STAR! Jassi Parmar and Mohan Rawat, the very versatile and highly talented EMCEE’s, made the evening a memorable experience for the audience.

The awards ceremony started with presenting Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Bharat Barai-Panna, who is a very eminent Indian Community Leader and recipient of President award.  Dr. Deepak Kant Vyas, Chairman  & CEO of Redberri Corporation was awarded with Special Jury Award. Harold D’Souza was awarded with iCAN Humanitarian Services Award. Pride of Community Award was awarded to Sonal Rawal. The winner of the Best Community Promoter Award was presented to Dr. Uma Katiki. The awards night continued with Best Restaurant Award – and the winner for the award was Cuisine of India- Rahul Sehgal. Best Chef award was awarded to Chef Raghu Singh from India House.  Community Health and Fitness award was awarded to Vidya Nahar.  iCAN Friend of India was Mayor Bill McLeod from Hoffman Estates, He said he is very proud and humbled to receive this award on behalf of the people of Hoffman Estates.

Lifetime Achievement Award 2 for Outstanding Humanitarian Service was presented to Satnam Singh Aulakh.  iCAN Jury Award 2 was awarded to Ami Patel. Best Entrepreneur Female was awarded to Dr. Anuja Gupta, Fashion Icon Female was awarded to Aishwarya Sharma. iCAN Jury Award 2 for Outstanding Community Service was presented to Hemangini Shastri, iCAN Youth Achiever Award was awarded to Saloni and Savani Nagarkar sisters that teach kids about coding. Youth Icon Award was won by Suhanee Patel.  Student of the Year Award winner was Nipun Dubey iCAN Jury Award 3, Young Achiever award was presented to Roni Akurati.

Best Singer Male was Mandeep Singh Saini, Best Singer Female was Nipa Shah, Best Volunteer award winner was Rajeev Bharel, and Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Senior Service was Haribhai Patel. Best Dancer Female was Kajol Topiwala, Best Choreographer was Sweta Bhagwakar, Best Entrepreneur Male was Rahul Wahi, Best Innovator was Anil Oroskar. Lifetime Achievement Award 4 for Outstanding Community Service was Jayantilal Thakkar. Best Performing Artist was awarded to Ashley Singh, Most Emerging Personality winner was Natasha Trikha. Fashion Icon Male was Syed Hussaini. Most Humble Person was Swapna Pula. Social Media King winner was Noman Khan, Social Media Queen was Farah Khan, Best wife Biwi No 1 winner was Farhana Bukhari, Best Couple Jodi No 1 winner was Puneet and Sim Sabarwal. Best Show Promoter Group was SAHIL and LA TAN, Best Dance Group/ Academy was Kalashree Dance Academy. Best Community Leader was awarded to Moon Khan. Best Community Organization was  Blind Foundation for India. iCAN Jury Award for Best Community volunteer Organization was Sant Nirankari Mission, Chicago.

The iCAN Awards Night was launched in association with Star Plus & Life OK, 2 of the leading TV channels along with 40+ local sponsors. The event felicitated people from the Chicagoland’s Indian Community, who have done a remarkable job in their field and have served as an inspiration to others. A total of 38 awards were presented in the field of dance, music, community, health, performing arts et al. The event was lit with vibrant performers, a total of 108 to be exact. “I have been to a lot of community events, but have never witnessed an award show of this magnitude”, opined the audience unanimously.

Graphic India, Arka Mediaworks and acclaimed filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli, announced the release of, “Baahubali: Battle Of The Bold,” an exclusive new digital comic available for FREE this week, only on the Graphic Pop app available in Google Play for all Android devices.

The Graphic Pop app is currently being featured on Google Play and available at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.graphicpop.reader.asia&hl=en

“Graphic India has been the leading force in original comics and animation for India. I am thrilled to be working with them to finally bring our fans this untold story of Baahubali which will reveal new insights about the characters from the film in a story about an epic tournament that shaped Prince Baahubali’s life early on,” said acclaimed filmmaker and Baahubali creator, S.S. Rajamouli.

Baahubali : Battle Of The Bold, takes place years before the events of the film, this never before seen story showcases a younger Baahubali and Bhallaladeva taking part in an epic and deadly tournament of champions, competing against fearsome warriors from around the world. At stake is the honor of Sivagami and the kingdom of Mahishmati. The price for failure? Death! The comic book adventure is an essential new piece to the Baahubali story and a must read for all fans of the film.

“Baahubali has redefined Indian cinema and created a world that transcends the movie screen and can embrace its fans with experiences across comics, animation and games,” added Graphic India Co-Founder & CEO, Sharad Devarajan. “As a gift to all the fans of the film, this new Baahubali adventure is available for free to everyone this week through the Graphic POP app on Google Play.”

“We are excited to continue to expand our partnership with Graphic India to release this new Baahubali digital comic experience.” Commented Shobu Yarlagadda, CEO of Arka Mediaworks, “The quality of this first Baahubali graphic novel captures the high visual art and storytelling that we are sure will appeal to both the fans of the film as well as to comic book readers across the country.”

In addition to the new comics, Graphic and Arka are also working on a larger animated series event, entitled, “Baahubali: The Lost Legends,” which is in production and was recently announced in partnership with Amazon Prime Video.

As India’s leading comic creator, the Graphic POP! app also features numerous other Graphic India comics available for FREE including, CHAKRA THE INVINCIBLE; 18 DAYS; DEVI, SHADOW TIGER, MYTHS OF INDIA, THE MIGHTY YETI and many more, with new FREE comics added every week, available in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

“Baahubali”, India’s most expensive film, is Arka’s most ambitious project till date. A two-part film, Part I – “Baahubali: The Beginning” released in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam simultaneously in 5000 plus screens world-wide and collecting over Rs 600 crores at the Box Office.

Grammy Award winner and global pop sensation Justin Bieber will make his way to India with his Purpose World Tour in May this year, media reports here say. The 22-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter will perform hits like “Where Are Ace Now”, “Boyfriend”, “Love Yourself”, “Company”, “As Long As You Love Me”, “What Do You Mean?”, “Baby” and “Purpose”, at the DY Patil Stadium here on May 10.

“Justin Bieber is the biggest artiste of our time and attracts a universal fan base across all ages. This tour is one of the most successful in the world at the moment and will further enhance India’s current cultural repertoire,” Arjun Jain, Director, White Fox India, the sole promoters of the tour, said in a statement.

The organizers are working towards making it one of the biggest live music act witnessed in recent times in India. “Justin Bieber will be bringing an extraordinarily epic show propelled by state of the art production and of a magnitude that the country has not witnessed in recent times. There are few artistes who warrant such a dedicated fan base as Justin Bieber,” Jain said.

“He enjoys over 80 per cent dedicated fan following in India and we envisage one of the biggest live events of the year,” Jain added. The negotiations for bringing the Purpose Tour to India were on for six months.

“We are expecting a full house on May 10… This tour will place India on the global map and open up avenues for other artistes of the similar stature who may want to consider India as part of their touring roster,” Jain said. Bieber’s latest jaunt is in support of his fourth album “Purpose”, wherein he has experimented with more exploratory electronic sounds.

The Indian dance performance collective The Kathak Ensemble & Friends returns to New York this spring in an all new Indian-influenced contemporary dance work speaking to the universal repression of women. Based on the eight groundbreaking (Pakistani) Urdu poems first published in 1990, WE SINFUL WOMEN will premiere at Danspace Project, St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, 131 East 10th Street, Thursday, March 2 through Saturday March 4 at 8pm, with an artist Q/A following the performance on Friday, March 3.

Created by Kathak Ensemble & Friends Artistic Director Janaki Patrik, the work will feature six female dancers and original commissioned music by two-time Canadian Grammy winner and composer Kiran Ahluwalia.

In WE SINFUL WOMEN, Janaki Patrik seeks to give voice, through melody and movement, to the words of the female Urdu poets Ishrat Aafreen, Kishwar Naheed, Zehra Nigah and Fahmida Riaz. Protesting the suffocating repression in their physical and emotional lives, these poets courageously wrote with both confrontational anger and ecstatic lyricism.

Combining classical and modern genres from far and wide have become a norm among artists in the greater New York City area and beyond. Schooled in Indian music, these artists combine not just Eastern and Western music, but also the traditional and modern music from different countries including in Africa and Latin America.

According to Ms. Patrik, “I was first introduced to WE SINFUL WOMEN while at Columbia University studying Indic languages, and the poems resonated. I tried to create a work not about the polish and speed of classical Kathak, but about women’s fierce assertion of their selfhood. Each poem projects it’s own distinct mood – humorous, sad, ironic, romantic, tongue-in-cheek, triumphant. Musical accompaniment is similarly unique for each poem: COUNTERCLOCKWISE starts with the sound of a tape rewinding; JURAT is sung in the intimate style developed in a 19th Century mehfil (gathering); IMAGE/Reflection is structured like a question-answer straight out of North Indian classical music.

“This is not classical Indian dance. And the poets do not consider their texts “feminist” poetry either. Instead the dance, poetry and music join in expressing what it is to be a woman – her tender feelings, her pride, her resistance to efforts to destroy her selfhood, her sadness at consistent denigration by those in power – whether political or religious – who made it impossible for her to worship, love, create and even live with an open heart,” she said.

According to composer Kiran Ahluwalia, “for each poem I listened to Janaki’s ideas of the type of movement that it suggested to her, the images that she associated with it, and the mood that it elicited for her.  This is a daring project and it is challenging to put such politically charged text to dance and even to music – but Janaki has unique ideas for the poems and her vision inspired me in composing the melodies and rhythms.”

First published in 1990 in Lahore, Pakistan, and in 1991 in London, the poetry collection WE SINFUL WOMEN (edited by Rukhsana Ahmad) gave a glimpse of the situation in which women had few rights, and their dance and poetry were considered blasphemous. The production embodies the outrage and tenderness encapsulated in the concentrated language of poetry and dance.

KATHAK has its roots in North Indian village storytelling.  It’s vocabulary of gestures and facial expressions are perfectly suited to representing the emotions and situations in these poems. This March 2-4, her dance troupe, Kathak Ensemble & Friends, presents “We Sinful Women” at Danspace Project, St. Mark’s Church in Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

(Dallas, Texas – February 10, 2017) Now in its third year, the Dallas/Fort Worth South Asian Film Festival (DFW SAFF), taking place from March 3rd to 5th at the Perot Museum (downtown Dallas) and AMC Village on the Parkway 9 (Addison), will showcase 19 shorts, documentaries and feature films, over a three-day-period.

The closing night film will be the North American premiere of Ananth Mahadevan’s Marathi biopic “Doctor Rakhmabai,” starring Tannishtha Chatterjee, the queen of independent cinema, in the title role. It is the story of India’s first practicing lady doctor, social rebel and medical pioneer who paved the way for a fight against gender discrimination. “Not only will this be our closing night film, it will also nicely round out the women’s programming at our festival,” said founder and director, Jitin Hingorani.

The entire festival schedule is as follows: Friday, March 3rd – Opening Night Screening, Red Carpet & VIP Reception at Perot Museum (downtown Dallas) from 6 p.m. to midnight.

On Saturday, March 4th – Shorts, Documentaries, Centerpiece Programming at AMC Village on the Parkway 9 (Addison) from 11 a.m. to midnight: And, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Youth Programming; “India in a Day” (documentary) will be followed by winning videos of Parish School’s  “One Minute Smartphone Video” contest & scholarships.

“The highlights of our programming this year are a focus on Marathi regional cinema with one short and two feature films in that language,” said Ambica Dev, the festival’s artistic director. “You’ll also notice themes of Indo-Pak (Hindu/Muslim) programming sprinkled throughout, given that 2017 is the 70th anniversary of India and Pakistan’s independence. Finally, we are proud to say that almost one-third of our films have a child as the central or prominent character.”

Actors, Directors & Producers in attendance at the festival include Satish Kaushik – actor/producer/writer/director; Viveck Vaswani – actor/producer/writer; Tannishtha Chatterjee – actor; Sayani Gupta – actor; Rupak Ginn- actor; Mehreen Jabbar – director; Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy – director; Mian Adnan Ahmed – director; and Sami Khan – director.
JINGO Media, a Dallas and NYC-based, public relations and events management company, produces the annual festival of South Asian independent cinema in North Texas. The third iteration of the festival boasts 19 curated shorts, documentaries and feature films (over a three-day period), which will focus on issues affecting South Asians and explore the lives and stories of the Diaspora working and living in the United States.

“All-access” festival passes, which provide admission to all of the films, networking events and after parties, are currently available for the early-bird price of $150 before February 15th, after which the price increases to $175. Trailers, synopses and ticketing information are all available on the festival’s web site, www.dfwsaff.com. ;

The film earned nominations for Best Motion Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Cinematography

January 24, 2017 – New York, NY – The Weinstein Company’s (TWC) film LION was nominated for six Academy Awards^® this morning by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the following categories: Best Motion Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Dev Patel, Best Supporting Actress for Nicole Kidman, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Cinematography. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will hand out their awards at the 89^th Academy Awards on Sunday, February 26^th, 2017.

LION marks the 26^th Best Picture nomination for legendary film producer Harvey Weinstein, and has been hailed as this year’s crowd pleasing awards contender. The six nominations for the studio, across major categories, put them back in the awards race.

TWC plans to expand the film on February 3^rd in the hopes of benefiting from the historical boost in box office typically associated with an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

Dev Patel made history today with his Best Supporting Actor nomination, a first for the actor, and the third ever for any actor of Indian decent. Patel, who plays the adult Saroo, is currently back in India filming his next project, HOTEL MUMBAI, for TWC.

Patel commented: “Ok, so I just received a call to say that I’ve been nominated for an Academy Award…To be totally honest, the news hasn’t made its way into my brain yet, but I’m looking at these beautiful smiling faces around me… Faces of the ones I love. And I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. What makes this moment so much more poignant is that I’m in India right now. This enthralling country holds such a deep place in my heart, and it is where Saroo’s journey was born. This film would be nothing without Garth Davis. Without his love, commitment and vision this “Lion” wouldn’t have been able to roar. To that extent I want to share this incredible feeling with Luke, Grieg, Jenny Kent, Iain, Angie, Emile, Sunny, Nicole, David, Rooney, Divian, Priyanka, the Brierley family as well as the Weinstein Co. team. Lion reaffirms the message that love is not dictated by the color of your skin, not by race, gender, sexuality, social status, or origin. It is a message I am proud to be spreading during these uncertain times. This will forever be one of the most memorable experiences of my life.”

Nicole Kidman, who received her fourth Academy Award nomination this morning, commented: “I want to tha

…

As part of the Republic Day 2017 event, an intensely contested Antakshari event resulted in four teams consisting of Surili Iyers, Burmaniacs, Lets Nacho With Cheese and Atom Bomb competing in the finals. Congratulations to Namita Deshpande and Parag Singh of Atom Bomb, who won the competition.

This was the first time competitive Antakshari was conducted at this scale in the New England region. Kudos to the IAGB team lead by Aditi Taylor to create and execute a wonderful event. It was professionally done.

Grand Finale Teams are: Team Atom Bomb – Namita Deshpande and Parag Singh – Winner; Team Burmaniacs – Anish Desai and Krishna Desai – 1st Runner Up; Team Let’s Nacho With Cheese – Santosh Rao and Yogitha Parayil Team – 2nd Runner Up; and, Team Surile Iyers – Vidya Iyer and Prakash Iyer – 3rd Runner Up.

Indian actress Priyanka Chopra made India proud yet again when she was chosen as the Favourite Dramatic TV Actress over American actresses Ellen Pompeo, Kerry Washington, Taraji P. Henson and Viola Davis at the People’s Choice Awards 2017.

It is Priyanka’s second People’s Choice Award as she bagged her first one in the Favourite Actress in a New TV series category last year for “Quantico”, in which she plays Alex Parrish. The role has given her unprecedented popularity in the US as it even paved the way for her to become a star presenter at the Oscars and Golden Globes ceremonies.

Looking subtle and elegant in a peach tube dress with minimal make-up for the gala, Priyanka was overwhelmed when her name was announced as the winner in the Favourite Dramatic TV Actress category here on Wednesday night.

After winning, the 34-year-old former Miss World, who was recently injured on the set of “Quantico”, said: “Every single woman that was nominated with me today… All of these incredible actresses were the reason that I joined television.

“They were the reason that I wanted to be the actor that I am here today, receiving this award, and being in the same category as them is just so overwhelming.” The actress also thanked the entire cast and crew of “Quantico”, her first Hollywood project.

“I am really psyched. Can I do a little wiggle? I am sorry it’s the concussion talking… This (award) means the world to me,” added the actress, whose “Baywatch” co-star Dwayne Johnson cheered for her.

The People’s Choice Awards, held at the Microsoft Theater and hosted by actor-comedian Joel McHale, celebrated the best and the brightest in music, film, television and social media.

Singer Britney Spears and 2016 3D computer-animated film “Finding Dory” emerged as the big winners at the gala, where popular Indo-Canadian online personality Lilly Singh also won an honor.

The Los Angeles red carpet premiere for xXx: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE was held on January 19 with stars Deepika Padukone, Vin Diesel and other cast members and celebrity guests attending. The film is now playing in theaters across North America.

The New York Asian Women’s Center is a leader in providing innovative and award-winning multilingual and culturally responsive services to survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual violence and elder abuse. For 35 years, it has helped Asian women and their children rise above trauma and build a path to healing through counseling, safe and confidential emergency housing, immigration and legal services, economic empowerment programs and so much more.

NYAWC representatives will make major announcements about the organization’s remodeled brand, expanded advocacy efforts and a virtual reality short film, produced by Facebook and Oculus, which will have its public premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, this month. They will also announce the opening of a brand new community office in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where they will be providing their innovative services to more women, children and families in need.

One-on-one interviews, photo opportunities and video clips will be provided upon request at this invitation-only press conference. Media RSVP is mandatory. You must present valid photo ID to building security.

New York Asian Women’s Center (NYAWC) Media luncheon featuring Larry Lee (Executive Director), Karen Elizaga (Board Chair), Benjamin Ross (Film Director), Queen V (Indie Rock Artist) and Brittany (South Asian survivor of sexual violence and subject of short film) is planned for Tuesday, January 24, 2017, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Kirkland & Ellis Law Firm, 601 Lexington Avenue, 50th floor (between 53rd and 54th Streets in Manhattan).

The 3rd annual DFW South Asian Film Festival (SAFF) will have a new home in Addison, Texas, starting in 2017. The third installment of curated, award-winning shorts, documentaries and feature films from the South Asian region (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Maldives and Bhutan) will premiere in North Texas from March 3 to 5, 2017. The opening night feature film will be screened on Friday, March 3 at the Hoglund Foundation Theater of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, followed by a VIP cocktail reception at the Lyda Hill Gems and Minerals Hall (3rd floor of the Perot Museum) in downtown Dallas. The rest of the line-up will be showcased at the AMC Village on Parkway 9 in Addison on March 4 and 5, incorporating panel discussions with attending filmmakers, after-parties and networking events.

“The Town of Addison is honored to welcome the 3rd annual DFW South Asian Film Festival,” said Addison Mayor Todd Meier. “Addison has a vibrant arts community, and this event will help expand our profile to reach film enthusiasts from all over North Texas.”

JINGO Media, a Dallas and NYC-based, public relations and events management company, produces the annual festival of South Asian independent cinema in North Texas. The third iteration of the festival boasts 15 curated shorts, documentaries and feature films (over a three-day period), which will focus on issues affecting South Asians and explore the lives and stories of the Diaspora working and living in the United States.

“In our third year, we are establishing ourselves as a colorful thread in the fabric of North Texas,” said festival founder and director Jitin Hingorani. “Based on the trends of the past two years, we anticipate about a quarter of our festival audience will be non South-Asians, which means that the Texas mainstream population is slowly, but surely, embracing South Asian independent cinema.”

In addition to the opening night, centerpiece and closing night films, the festival will also showcase thought-provoking, edgy shorts and docs, along with women’s programming, men’s programming, LGBT programming and family programming. “All-access” festival passes, which provide admission to all of the films, networking events and after parties, are currently available on www.dfwsaff.comfor the early-bird price of $150 before February 1, after which the price increases to $175. Individual screenings are $15 per person, but due to sold-out shows, limited tickets will be available at the theater. The entire festival line-up will be unveiled on the festival’s web site in early February.

Aziz Ansari says he loves shooting in New York City. There’s the free food, there are the strange passersby who aren’t afraid of a little exposure, and there are the moments when revered indie directors might just happen to be in your neighborhood. The “Master of None” star was speaking at the Gotham

Awards on Nov. 28, where he received the “Made In New York” prize.
Ansari, who also won an Emmy alongside co-creator Alan Yang for their Netflix series, expressed his love for New York City-based production during his acceptance speech at the awards ceremony, CBS News reported.

“You guys know how boring it is to shoot somewhere and have zero chance of ruining a take because someone is urinating? Or someone is yelling, ‘Aziz!’ in the middle of a long one-ner?” he told the audience.

When Ansari and Yang first talked about creating “Master of None” years ago, Ansari recalled they were in Los Angeles shooting for “Parks and Recreation,” and were talking about the television show they both wanted to do together. “We only wanted to do 10 episodes – no more – and I wanted to shoot the show in New York,” the 33-year-old said.

“I really do feel like I was made in New York,” Ansari said. “If I did not move here, I would not have this career that I have, that I love and that excites me every day, and I really do feel like I owe it all to the city of New York. He moved to New York in 2000 to go to school at NYU. “Without New York, I would probably be living in South Carolina,” he said.

Ansari began his career performing stand-up comedy in New York City during mid-2000 while attending New York University. In 2007, he created and starred in the MTV sketch comedy show “Human Giant”, which ran for two seasons. He has also acted in feature films, including “Funny People”, “I Love You Man”, “Observe and Report” and “30 Minutes or Less”.

In addition to his acting work, Ansari has continued to work as a stand-up comedian. He released his debut CD/DVD, entitled “Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening” in January 2010 on Comedy Central Records. In 2010 and 2011, he performed his “Dangerously Delicious” tour. He completed his third major tour of new material, “Buried Alive” in the summer of 2013. His fourth major comedy special, “Live at Madison Garden” was released on Netflix in 2015. His first book, “Modern Romance: An Investigation, was released in June 2015.

A coming of age story of a shy student who uses a family trip to an old Anglo-Indian town as an escape from his failed semester will open the 13th annual edition of the South Asian International Film Festival, Nov. 30. The five-day festival, to be held at the East Village Cinemas in lower Manhattan will screen a select combination of full-length films, shorts, and documentaries in a variety of genres.

Set in 1979, Konkona Sen Sharma’s directorial feature “A Death in the Gunj”, starring an ensemble cast of Vikrant Massey, Tillotama Shome, Om Puri, Tanuja, Gulshan Devaiah, Kalki Koechlin, Jim Sarbh, and Ranvir Shorey, tells the story of Shyamal Chatterjee (Massey). At the outset, his family trip to McCluskiegunj has the makings of a perfect family holiday, but something is amiss. In the week that follows, Shyamal’s quiet unraveling is overlooked by the family revelers, until the holiday ends with an implosion.

Described as the largest film premiere destination for South Asian filmmakers in the United States, SAIFF was founded in New York City due to the lack of support for many emerging filmmakers and the overall underrepresentation of Indian cinema in a capital that is recognized by the world as the birthplace of independent filmmaking, according to the festival website. The festival is committed to exhibiting films from South Asia (i.e India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal) and within the Indian diaspora.

“Shor se Shuruaat”, an omnibus feature of mentored short films around the central theme of noise will close the festival, Dec. 4. It includes seven films from seven different directors, conveying seven different stories on the same theme. From freedom of speech getting stifled, to someone experiencing noise for the first time, to a dysfunctional world where one lives within the constraints of what is acceptable sound, to the cynical noise of this commercialized world, to the deafening silence of a death row inmate and his need for sound, to the unique relationship of people who see and hear too much, to finally the destructive noise of social media and the redemption it provides, all films tell the story of people who want to get out.

The short films have been mentored by stalwarts like Mira Nair, Shyam Benegal, Imtiaz Ali, Zoya Akhtar, Nagesh Kukunoor, Sriram Raghavan and Homi Adajania. Other films to be screened include “With You For You Always”, directed by Azad Alam (HBO Short Film Competition); “Maroon”, directed by Pulkit (Feature Competition); “Lens”, directed by Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan (Spectrum); “Riff Raff”, by Pakistani director Ahmed Arif (HBO Short Film Competition); “Mantra,” directed by Nocholas Kharkongor (Feature Competition); “Veham” by Hassan Amin of Pakistan (HBO Short Film Competition); “Autohead” by Rohit Mittal (Feature Competition); “Chidiya” by Mehran Amrohi (Specturm); “Sherry” by Altamash Jaleel ( HBO Short Film Competition); “The Tiger Hunter”, an American comedy film, written and directed by Lena Khan (Feature Competition); “Chutney” by Jyothi Kapur Das (HBO Short Film Competition); “Relevations” by Vijay Jayapal (Feature Competition); “The Last Music Store” by Megha Ramaswamy (Specturm); and “Dobaara” by Bejoy Nambiar (Spectrum).

Pakistani film “Gardaab” (Whirlpool) by Harune Massey is the festival’s centerpiece film. Set in Karachi, the film is an intimate portrait of a city torn by violence.
It’s a story of the city’s inhabitants as they navigate through this violence, fighting to preserve their humanity. A gritty fast paced thriller, the film is also a tale of an unlikely romance that blossoms amidst this chaos.

A most interesting pop-oriented album that transports the listener into the deepest and darkest regions of the time after sundown” is how music critic Dick Metcalf describes Ameet Kamath’s new Indie-Pop album “Into the Night.” Metcalf raves that Kamath’s vocals are “infused with the kind of energy that guides the listener into the spaces he sings about.”

This is India-born, New York City-raised and Minneapolis-based singer/songwriter Kamath’s second album. In it, he weaves stories of the night with his evocative interpretation of the pop genre. The sound is reflective of an artist born in one world and shaped by another.

All 13 songs invite the listener to the nocturnal world with themes of love, loneliness and heartbreak, before metamorphosing into an upbeat promise of dance and dreams. Kamath, an American citizen and native of India, embraced Western pop and jazz music long before he earned his U.S. passport. Many of his songs redefine the Indian Diaspora, with artistic expression straddling both cultures.

As a young boy growing up in Mumbai, Kamath sang church hymns and anthems at his Jesuit grade school. He was deeply influenced by The Beatles, Culture Club, ABBA and Queen, and treasured his music collection, which included bootleg recordings of American Top 40 and Britain’s Top of the Pops.

He came to New York City as a techie with a self-described “nice-Indian-boy haircut” in 1995. With the money from his first paycheck, he hired a voice coach and, subsequently, gained his performance moxie by busking in city parks and singing in nightclubs, most notably Marion’s Continental in the NoHo neighborhood. The rest is a modern American story.

“I am not your traditional Indian import. I sought out a life in America in order to express myself; that’s the promise America always had for me,” said Kamath, 42, whose debut album, “Greasy Rails,” was self-produced in 2010 after moving from New York City to San Francisco. His debut effort earned him laudable reviews, along with the critical acclaim of his peers and the musical maestros he had worked and sang with over the years.

“In my music, I’m telling stories so that the listeners can understand life as I do – constantly negotiating spaces, first as an American immigrant in the 21st century and now as an artist,” said Kamath. “I am not a starving artist, but I am starving to express myself,” he said, laughing.

Kamath will perform at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 23, at The Rockwood Music Hall (196 Allen Street) on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. CD release party to follow the performance.

New York’s Museum of the Moving Image and the India Center Foundation are starting a festival to show regional-language films from the Indian sub-continent.

Running Dec.8-11, India Kaleidoscope will show eight films, of which one is a classic and the rest are premieres at the Sumner Redstone Theater in Astoria, Queens. Kicking off with “India in a Day,” a doc initiated by Google and put together by Richie Mehta, the fest will show “Loktak Lairembee” (Lady of the Lake), directed by Haobam Paban Kumar in Manipuri language; Marathi-language “Lathe Joshe,” directed by Mangesh Joshi; “The Violin Player,” helmed in Hindi by Bauddhayan Mukherji; the Tamil “Sila Samayangalil” (Sometimes), helmed by Priyadarshan; Girish Kasaravalli’s classic “Ghatashraddha” (The Ritual) in Kannada; his daughter Ananya Kasaravalli’s “Harikatha Prasanga” (Chronicles of Hari), also in Kannada; and the Bengali “Tope” (The Bait, pictured) by Buddhadeb Dasgupta.

“Consistent with our mission to offer a platform for barrier-breaking and emerging work from the subcontinent, the films featured in India Kaleidoscope film festival are eye opening studies from all corners of India,” said Priya Giri Desai, a founding director of the India Center Foundation.

“The India Center Foundation is proud to present many of these new voices for the very first time in North America. The festival represents the kind of work we hope to continue: quality collaborations that result in exposure to new sights and sounds to inspire our audience.”

“India Kaleidoscope is an auspicious start to MoMI’s collaboration with the India Center Foundation,” said the museum’s chief curator, David Schwartz. “This dynamic partnership is proven by the quality of the Festival lineup and the participation of so many emerging and established film directors.”

“We are thrilled to turn the spotlight on Indian regional cinema, showcasing its diversity and richness,” added Christina Marouda, festival organizer and MoMI’s director of development.

The organizers said quoting producers that the footage came from all over India, from Rajasthan to Kerala, to the far reaching Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The resulting film offers a remarkable insight into the lives, loves, fears and hopes of people living in India today.

“Consistent with our mission to offer a platform for barrier-breaking and emerging work from the subcontinent, the films featured in India Kaleidoscope film festival are eye opening studies from all corners of India,” said Priya Giri Desai, a founding director of ICF.

Priyanka Chopra has added another feature to her cap, by joining media mogul Oprah Winfrey and pop star Jennifer Lopez in Variety magazine’s ‘Power of Women Impact’ List. According to the magazine, Priyanka describes the success of her Television show Qauntico to the “amalgamation of a very fast-moving plot and at the same time you have relationships, music, plot and everything you want.”

The magazine detailed Priyanka’s recent projects like The Jungle Book, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani and Quantico Season 2. Priyanka also told Variety that she is planning a hiatus from the TV show next year as she is still figuring out which project to pick next. “My schedule is so tight,” said Priyanka.

Hollywood stars on the list are Margot Robbie, Amy Poehler, Alicia Vikander, Brie Larson and Bad Moms Team which includes Suzanne Todd, Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Christina Applegate, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Annie Mumolo. .”

Priyanka Chopra is currently shooting for Quantico Season 2. She has also produced a Marathi film, Ventilator. The actress, who was last seen in Jai Gangajal this year is yet to announce her next Bollywood project.From being honored as one of Hollywood’s royalty, the 34-year-old actress, who is cementing her position in the West, one step at a time, is adding another honor to her growing list of achievements.

Variety released its ‘Power of Women L.A. Impact Report,’ and Chopra has made a spot for herself alongside Hollywood heavyweights such as media mogul Oprah Winfrey, Deborah Barak, president of business operations, CBS Entertainment, CBS Television Studios and CBS News; pop star Jennifer Lopez and Francie Calfo, president of Imagine Television.

Beyond her spy series, Variety describes that Chopra, in the past year, has voiced Kaa in Disney’s “Jungle Book” and also top lined the Bollywood hit, “Bajirao Mastani,” for director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and added that she also wrapped production on the upcoming “Baywatch” movie in April. Chopra expressed her desire to keep her career busy in both Hollywood and Bollywood. “I don’t know if I have enough time,” she said.

The list features some of America’s most powerful and reputed names and includes actors, businesswomen, directors and women from various other professional backgrounds. Biggies like Jennifer Lopez, Oprah Winfrey, Naketha Mattocks (Vice President, Original Movies, Disney Channel) and Deborah Barak (President, Business Operations, CBS Entertainment, CBS Television Studios and CBS News) also feature on this list.

From being honoured as one of Hollywood’s royalty, to being on the cover of Time Magazine, Priyanka has left no stone unturned in placing India firmly on the global front. And now, yet another feather has been added to the actress’ hat.

Texas rolled out the red carpet this week to welcome the Bollywood power couple, Ajay Devgn and Kajol who were on their tour in the United States to promote Devgn’s upcoming action thriller “Shivaay”. Produced by Ajay Devgn FFilms, Pen India Limited and NH Studioz, “Shivaay” will be distributed overseas by Reliance Entertainment. The press and public tours are presented by Reliance Entertainment and powered by Wells Fargo, Prria Haider Productions, Dembi Productions, Sahil, Desi Junction, Cine Grand and DFW South Asian Film Festival. The duo made a quick stop in Dallas on the way to Chicago and San Fransisco from New York with an intimate affair at the W Hotel & Residencies, Dallas, Texas on the 23rd September 2016 hosted by Dr. Bharat and Smita Sangani.

‘Shivaay’ is a family drama about a mountaineer who lives in his world but also turns into a destroyer, when it comes to his family. The trailer of the film is very intriguing and has already broken all records. It shows Ajay doing stunts on the snow-clad mountains with intense fight scenes. At the same time, highly romantic and emotional side can also be seen.

The conference unveiled the second song from the movie titled ‘Darkhast’ and everything about the icy song; from music to lyrics, from cinematography to Ajay and Erika’s chemistry completely melted our hearts. Erika Kaar, a Polish actress, who made her Bollywood debut with the action-thriller, is currently the talk of the town and we just couldn’t get our eyes off her during the entire song as she has done a marvelous job. Talking about the music, Kajol describes the title song, as “one of the best songs with outstandingly written lyrics that makes it easier for everyone to understand what it means to be Shivaay”.

During the conference, Ajay talks about the connection of his character whose name is Shivaay to Lord Shiva. He states, “As Lord Shiva is almost human and got all the imperfections, can be fooled, is detrimental, is a destroyer. Similarly, Shivaay also has all elements of the imperfections that is channelized in the right way and becomes a superhero in extraordinary situations”.

When asked about the cast of the film, Ajay responded, “Since the script demanded actors from all over the world and lots of characters are not supposed to be Indian, I took 6-8 months to cast characters from US, UK, Portland and Germany and it is a performance oriented film so I took time and got lucky to find actors who are amazing”. While, the entire team did an outstanding job getting the film together; the couple talks about the physical challenges that they had concerning the weather conditions, wherein they had to shoot in -25 degrees. Kajol supported Ajay throughout and appreciated the way he directed, produced and acted at the same time, which was the biggest challenge of all.

When asked if Kajol would ever direct a film, she responded, “I love being the captain of my family and wouldn’t want to be a director ever.” They have not left any stone unturned to promote the film and we are already excited to see the much-anticipated role of Ajay in this intense film.

Jitin Hingorani, JINGO Media, DFW South Asian Film Festival and O¹Harani Luxe Experiences made the entire press conference a bhuge success. The film is set to release this Diwali, and fans of the Indian Cinema all over the United States are looking forward to the perfect combo of drama, thriller and romance.

The classical, ever green Bollywood movie, ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ is planned to be made a Broadway-style musical. The show will not only be made on a grand scale like the film, but will also feature eight songs from the film to be performed as part of the narrative!

1.Asif’s 1960 extravaganza “Mughal-E-Azam,” starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Madhubala, which was the most expensive film made at the time, is still considered one of the greatest Indian motion pictures ever and remains one of the biggest hits of all time, and is now going to be a musical play.

Acclaimed director Feroz Abbas Khan, known for his award-winning film “Gandhi, My Father” and successful plays like “Tumhari Amrita,” “Salesman Ramlal” and “Mahatma Vs Gandhi,” will soon helm “Mughal-E-Azam,” a Broadway-style musical play, which will be a tribute to the original film and is being produced on a grand scale.

It will be performed at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai daily from Oct. 21 until Nov. 1, followed by a staging at the end of November for another two weeks into December at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi.

The musical play will not only be made on a grand scale, but will also feature eight songs from the film to be performed as part of the narrative. Naushad had scored music while the lyrics were by Shakeel Badayuni. Needless to say, this project will be a grand musical theatrical production witnessed in India and is expected to set a new benchmark for Indian theater.

“The title ‘Mughal-E-Azam’ is apt, because the film was inspired by a play named ‘Anarkali,’ which K. Asif saw and from which he borrowed passages. It’s a dramatic father-son story with the nation at stake. In its writing skills and mounting, it was close to perfection with great dialogues and emotional story-telling, complemented by eye-catching visuals and a terrific score,” said Feroz Khan:

The musical has another connection with the original cult classic — it will be co-produced by none other than Shapoorji Pallonji, the 150-year-old business conglomerate that had funded Asif’s “Mughal-E-Azam” with a budget of $3 million in 1960, making it the most expensive film made at the time.

Shah Rukh Khan’s “Fan” and Salman Khan’s “Sultan” will be screened at the Busan International Film Festival, which will also serve to kick start the campaign for the theatrical release of both these films, which are Yash Raj Films’ productions, in South Korea.

Director Maneesh Sharma’s “Fan” will be screened in the ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ section, while director Ali Abbas Zafar’s blockbuster “Sultan” will be screened in the ‘Open Cinema’ section at Busan, read a statement from the banner. The 21st edition of the prestigious festival will begin Oct. 6.

Priyanka Chopra, who is the highest paid actress in India, will be honored at the second annual InStyle Awards in October. Priyanka now joins InStyle’s other honorees including Hollywood star Nicole Kidman and designer Tom Ford.

The InStyle Awards honours actors, actresses and artistes whose style defines the red carpet, as well as the industry’s top image-makers. Hosted by the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Laura Brown, the intimate dinner will take place for the second year at the Getty Center in Los Angeles.

InStyle will profile the winners within its annual Hollywood’s 50 Best Dressed list (November issue), which spotlights the symbiotic relationship between the runway and the red carpet. Priyanka Chopra, who made heads turn on the red carpet at the 68th Emmy Awards with her scarlet ensemble, says she “felt princessy” at the event where she emerged as the “the twirling dancing emoji”.

The actress, who was a part of Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show, talked about her experience at the award ceremony. Priyanka came to the show to promote the upcoming second season of American drama series Quantico and impending Hollywood debut via Baywatch, reports hollywoodlife.com. The second season of Quantico will air in India on Star World and Star World HD from September 26.

By Jitin Jingorani

New York City, Dallas, Chicago and San Francisco residents will roll out the red carpet THIS WEEK to welcome Bollywood power couple, Ajay Devgn and Kajol, who will be in the U.S. to promote Devgn’s upcoming action thriller “Shivaay.” This is Devgn’s second directorial venture, and he has also produced and acted in the film, the trailer of which has already surpassed more than 25 million views on YouTube and social media, combined (click on the movie poster below to watch the trailer).

“I am thrilled by the overwhelming response to the trailer of my film by worldwide audiences,” said Devgn. “I have not been to the States in more than a decade, so I am really looking forward to reconnecting with our American fans and sharing a film that is near and dear to my heart. I could not be more pleased that my wife Kajol will be by my side throughout this journey.”

Produced by Ajay Devgn FFilms, Pen India Limited and NH Studioz, “Shivaay” will be distributed overseas by Reliance Entertainment. The press and public tours are presented by Reliance Entertainment and powered by Wells Fargo, Prria Haider Productions, Dembi Productions, Sahil, Desi Junction, Cine Grand and DFW South Asian Film Festival. The film will release worldwide on Friday, October 28, 2016 (Diwali Weekend).

President Obama Nominates Diane Gujarati to Serve on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York

WASHINGTON, DC – President Obama has nominated Diane Gujarati to serve on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. “I am pleased to nominate Diane Gujarati to serve on the United States District Court bench,” said President Obama. “I am confident she will serve the American people with distinction.”

Diane Gujarati, 47, of New York City, is among several Indian-Americans President Obama has nominated to judgeships during his administration. She will have to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate which has several past nominations of President Obama on hold.

Diane Gujarati has been Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York since 2012, and she has served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division since 1999.  Prior to her tenure as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, from 2008 to 2012, she served as Deputy Chief and then Chief of the White Plains Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.  From 2006 to 2008, she was Deputy Chief of the Appeals Unit in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.  Prior to joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Gujarati was an associate in the New York office of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP from 1996 to 1999. She began her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable John M. Walker, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1995 to 1996.

Gujarati received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1995 and her B.A. summa cum laude from Barnard College of Columbia University in 1990.  She is the daughter of Ruth Pincus Gujarati of Scarsdale, N.Y., and Damodar Gujarati of Tarrytown, N.Y. Her father serves as professor of economics at the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. and is best known for writing the textbook, Basic Econometrics, which has been published in 5 editions over 21 years and is translated into several languages. Her mother taught social studies at Theodore Roosevelt High School in the Bronx.  Gujarati married Charles Frederic Chesnut, an IT professional, in October 2000, and the couple was featured in the New York Times.

Fourteen-year-old Neel Sethi of Disney’s “The Jungle Book” fame will be one of the main draws at the 29th annual Deepavali Festival at the South Street Seaport in New York City on October 2. Sethi will meet and interact with audiences at the children’s area. Vidya Vox, an Indian-born American singer who has 53 million YouTube viewers, will perform live alongside Shankar Tucker and Jomy George at the event which will start from 12 noon and end at 7 P.M., culminating in a spectacular display of live fireworks.

Organized by the Association of Indians in America, N.Y. Chapter, the annual festival, is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of people from the region, while showcasing Indian culture in the heart of New York City.

The annual event will be a full day extravaganza celebrating tradition, culture and oneness, with numerous food and clothing vendors, corporate booths, children’s area, health kiosk, performances and activities for the whole family.

The highly sought after inter-collegiate dance competition, Naach Inferno enters its 3rd year this year as it showcases dances fusing both East and West cultures. Presented by Life OK and Star Plus, the competition will be telecasted globally. Arya International will make sure the audience learns some Bollywood dance moves and participates in open dance floor. Numerous local performing arts schools and academies will also showcase their talents on stages throughout the day.

This year, Deepavali also marks the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. To mark the occasion there will be a special tribute to Gandhi along with an essay and drawing competition for the youth to showcase the importance and meaning of peace.

The event culminates with a VIP Hour which has in the past been attended by the governor and mayor of New York among others. This year, support from sponsors such as CheapOAir.com, Qatar Airways, Toyota, New York Life, MoneyGram, Kotak Mahindra, New York Life, HAB Bank, Navika Capital, Star Plus, Sony Entertainment, Jus Punjabi, TV Asia, amongst many others have helped made this event possible. For more information, please find AIA-NY on Facebook or visit its website at www.theaiany.org

East West School of Dance and Ananda Ashram are presenting a special glamorous and unique variety of  Indian Dances on Friday, September 16th 2016 at  the Blue Sky Center, Ananda Ashram, 13 Sapphire Road, Monroe, NY.

Produced by, NADAM, which was founded in the year 1997 by Nandini K Mehta & K Murali Mohan – the well-known Kathak exponents of Bangalore. Since its inception, it has witnessed a rise in its popularity in leaps and bounds. The academy works to showcase India’s Classical Dance & Music Forms and helps preserve them as living traditions. Our annual music & dance showcase, “Kala-Nadam”, is one of the leading events on Bangalore’s Cultural Calendar, featuring amazing national & international talent since 16 years consecutively.

Nadam also holds a Classical Dance Festival for children below 13 called “Chinna Kala-Nadam”, since the year 2009.The academy imparts training in the fields of Kathak, Bharatanatyam, and Classical Music to aspiring students. The students are given intensive training to become professional dancers. Apart from training, the company has its own performing unit specializing in Classical and different Folk- forms of India. Nadam ensemble has performed extensively in many prestigious festivals in India, USA, Canada, France, Switzerland and the Middle-East.

Nadam ensemble toured the USA & Canada with a troupe of 10 dancers and gave successful performances in different cities in September- October, 2012 winning rave reviews from connoisseurs and the press.

Nandini Mehta an established danseuse proficient in the fields Kathak and Bharatanatyam, Nandini received her initial training in Bharatanatyam under renowned gurus Smt. Chandrabhaga Devi and Prof. US Krishna Rao, Guru Smt. Narmada, Guru Smt. Bhanumati. Her passion for dance attracted her to train in Kathak.

She had the good fortune to come under the tutelage of Guru Smt. Maya Rao and Smt. Chitra Venugopal of NATYA Institute of Kathak and Choreography (NIKC) Bangalore. She pursued her training in Kathak from Maulik Shah and Ishira Parikh, Ahmedabad. Nandini holds a degree in Choreography from NIKC, Bangalore.

Nandini has also received formal training in Karnatic music from her mother Smt. Manorama Mehta. She is well versed with the various folk forms of India. Dance has taken Nandini to perform extensively in India, US, France, Switzerland, Middle East etc.

She is the recipient of the central government fellowship in Kathak for the years 2000-2002. She is an A grade artist of Doordarshan and is a soft skill trainer and a French lecturer in various colleges in Bangalore. She is the founder director of NADAM an academy of dance and music based in Bangalore. She imparts training in Kathak to aspiring students from India and abroad.

Nandini was awarded the title-“KALA ARATHI RATNA”, by the Arathi School of India Dance-Phoenix, USA in September 2006. She recently received the title-“GUNA NIDHI”, in commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the magazine-“GunaGrahi” for her contribution to Kathak. She is also a recipient of the titles “Natyasri”, “Swar Kala-Gaurav”.

Murali an established Kathak exponent has created ripples in the art circles. Devotion, dedication and innovation being his first nature, winning encomiums and accolades from the audiences and the press have become a way of life. The dancer – an epitome of grace, creativity and authenticity, incessantly portray elegance and élan in every performance. He is a senior disciple of Guru Shri Dharmashi Shah, Padmashree Guru Kumudini Lakhia, and Pt. Arjun Mishra. Murali’s grace, vivacity and versatility in dance have beckoned him to perform at prestigious dance festivals globally. Being a natural dancer, it is a real treat to watch him perform be it pure nritta (pure Dance technique) or abhinaya (nritta). Fast and precise pirouettes and intricate footwork are the hallmark of his dance.

Murali has to his credit a Bachelor’s degree in music and Visharad in Kathak from the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Mumbai, and is also well-versed in the Folk-Forms of India. He is a recipient of the central government scholarship in Kathak awarded by department of culture New Delhi for the year 2000 – 2002. He is a graded artist of Doordarshan – the national network channel of India, and performed for the National Network. He has performed at most of the Major festivals in India viz, the Uday Shankar Festival, Nishagandhi Festival, Konark Festival, Vasantotsav, Kinkini Festival, to name a few. Murali has been awarded the title-“GUNA NIDHI”, “Nrutya Nipuna” and received the Uday Shankar award for his contribution to Dance. He has been touring the US since the year 1999 for conducting workshops and rendering performances.

Murali also has had the opportunity of working with big wigs like Shobhana, Anuradha Sriram, Vikram Ghosh, Selva Ganesh, Malathi Iyengar of Rangoli Foundation USA, Lata Pada- Sampradya Canada, Sujatha Venkatesh- Omkara.

Indian American television director-editor Kabir Kabir has won an Emmy Award, a prestigious honor in the category of Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. He was awarded at the 68th Creative Arts Emmys held Sept. 10-11 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The 41-year-old is an American television director and editor best known as the creator of The Tool Page, the oldest website dedicated to the band Tool.

Kabir is the son of Salman Akhtar, and nephew of Shabana Azmi’s husband, and lyricist Javed Akhtar. He is the first cousin of filmmakers Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar too. This was the third time Kabir got an Emmy nomination. The first one happened in 2012 for Outstanding Picture Editing For Short-Form Segments And Variety Specials. He had directed a segment of the 84th Academy Awards, starring host Billy Crystal and Melissa McCarthy which was well-received. The second nomination came the very next year for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series for an episode of the American sitcom Arrested Development. However, he finally managed to walk with the trophy this year. Kabir had also worked on British comedy series Mumbai Calling. He had edited the pilot episode of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend titled “Josh Just Happens to Live Here!” which aired in October 2015.

Kabir Akhtar has shown his editing-directing finesse working on episodic comedies, commercials, documentaries, short films, trailers, reality, and multi-camera shows, including “Arrested Development,” “Unsolved Mysteries,” “New Girl” and Comedy Central shows such as “The Daily Show.”

Based in Los Angeles, Akhtar is a Philadelphia native, holding an M.F.A. in Motion Picture Production from the University of Miami and a B.A. in Communications from the University of Pennsylvania.

By Rohi Pandya

Winner of over 30 awards from film festivals around the world, the critically acclaimed motion picture 1000 RUPEE NOTE opens theatrically on September 23 in New York. Directed by Shrihari Sathe, the Maharashtra-set film about a widow who comes across a small fortune won both the Special Jury Award (Silver Peacock) and Centenary Award for Best Film at the International Film Festival of India. It also swept the Maharashtra State Film Awards winning Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress (Special Mention), and Best Supporting Actor. International critics have raved about 1000 RUPEE NOTE with the Times of India remarking “the director has struck gold with his first film!”

Budhi, a widow, lives in a small village in Maharashtra, India. Her only son, a young farmer, has committed suicide. Though poor and left alone in the world, she leads a cheerful life. She is particularly fond of her neighbor, young Sudama with whom she shares the small pleasures of life. A local politician gives her a few 1000 rupee notes at an election rally. She and Sudama go shopping to the nearby market with her newfound wealth, but fate has other plans for them.

Shrihari Sathe is a New York and Mumbai-based independent filmmaker and producer.  Sathe produced Eliza Hittman’s It Felt Like Love which world premiered at 2013 Sundance Film Festival and 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam to great reviews. He is a 2015 Independent Spirit Award nominee and is a 2013 Sundance Institute Creative Producing Fellow.  Sathe’s latest production Elisabeth Subrin’s A Woman, A Part world premiered at 2016 IFF Rotterdam. He recently finished post-production on Ed Blythe’s Man With Van (2011 Film Independent Producers Lab). Sathe teaches at Columbia University’s School of the Arts. He is a member of the Producers Guild of America, Indian Motion Picture Producers Association and Film Writers Association – India. Directed by Shrihari Sathe, casts include: Usha Naik, Sandeep Pathak, Shrikant Yadav, Ganesh Yadav, and Pooja Najak. 1000 Rupee Note – Official Trailer is available at: https://youtu.be/3VBedDCBkC8

By Gitesh Pandya 

 The long awaited MIRZYA title track has made its world premiere. CINESTAAN Film Company and ROMP Pictures proudly present Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s – MIRZYA, a film inspired by the legendary ‘Mirza Sahiban’, a tragic tale of star-crossed lovers. Accompanied by heightened drama and action packed sequences, the film plays out in two parallel worlds – the legendry folklore and modern day in Rajasthan, India.

 As the lovers grapple with forces that seek to keep them apart in both avatars, they discover that a moment of true love together is worth sacrificing lifetimes apart. The film introduces Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher, along with Anuj Chaudhary, all of whom make a dramatic entry into the world of cinema in this untold love story of estranged soulmates. Along with them are the screen masters, Om Puri, Art Malik, K. K. Raina and supported by Anjali Patil.

The timeless epic is brought to life by the director of Rang De Basanti, Delhi-6 & Bhaag Milka Bhaag, in his inimitable vision, in the words of famed poet and lyricist Gulzar. The musical craft of Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Polish director of photography Pawel Dyllus, and National Award winning editor P.S Bharathi. All of whom come together to create a cinematic masterpiece that is unrivaled in Indian Cinema.

 Songs are credited to Daler Mehendi, Sain Zahoor, Akhtar Chinnal & Nooran Sisters, while Chorus was provided by, The Salvation Singers, Nikita Deshpande & Sapna Pathak. MIRZYA Releases Worldwide on October 7th 2016

Indo-Canadian director-scriptwriter Deepa Mehta will officially inaugurate the fifth annual Washington D.C. South Asian Film Festival 2016 here. The three-day annual film festival, which will kick off with a red carpet reception and gala Sept. 9, will screen movies and documentaries from South Asian countries.
Bengali filmmaker Suman Ghosh’s romantic movie “Mi Amor,” starring Parambrata Chatterjee and Raima Sen, is the opening feature film of the fest. “Mi Amor” is the story of two Indians, who are in their 30s and live in Miami. The staleness and loneliness of their diaspora life in the U.S. makes them embark on an unusual romantic journey in an effort to spice up their life together.

As a tribute to the late ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh, the festival will screen the documentary “Kaagaz ki Kashti,” which is also the closing film. The Kalki Koechlin- and Naseeruddin Shah-starrer “Waiting,” and Juhi Chawla’s “Chalk n Duster” are among the other films to be screened at the event.

Other eminent attendees of the film festival are director Jeffrey Brown, actress Seema Biswas, actor Rajit Kapur, Rati Agnihotri, Palomi Ghosh, Pakistani actress Amna Ilyas and Pakistani director Harune Massey.

Manoj Bajpai said, “My experience at DCSAFF was enriching. Meeting creative people in a different country and celebrating cinema is something that has always been my passion. DCSAFF is filled with many passionate and devoted volunteers, who are the key to success of any creative venture.”

Aparna Sen, another talented actor commented, “It was wonderful being at the 4th DCSAFF this year! There was an interesting collection of films that I enjoyed viewing. I felt honored and happy that my film SAARI RAAT was sold out for the first show and was grateful to the organizers for arranging a second screening. I was struck by the enthusiasm of the audiences who crowded into the theatres, took part actively in the Q&A sessions after the screenings and attended seminars and workshops with an enthusiasm that warmed my heart.”

Actress, writer, and director Mindy Kaling, made famous on the small screen by her series about a raunchy Indian-American physician in search of love, is now looking to enter the big screen.
Not satisfied to rest on her laurels with ‘The Mindy Project’ Kaling revealed at a press conference Aug. 5, at Hulu’s Television Critics Association meeting, that she had finished writing a feature length script for the big screen, etcanada.com reported. She will play a small part in the movie which will be set in New York City, and it may be related in some way or form indirectly to the news world, she hinted.

Kaling, 37, whose offbeat manner both on and off screen has endeared her to a loyal fan following, said she does not have a name for the movie. “I’m bad at naming things — that’s why my show is called ‘The Mindy Project,’” she quipped.

It is not a romantic comedy as most of those who follow her would assume, and that she said, surprised her as well.

Born Vera Chokalingam, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Kaling was a long-time script writer for the hit TV series ‘The Office’ where she was the only female writer on staff at the age of 24. She appeared as Kelly Kapoor in some of the episodes. Her first solo venture, The Mindy Project, ran on Fox for 3 seasons from 2012 to 2015. When Fox cancelled the contract, Kaling took the series to Hulu, where it has run since 2015.

Kaling has authored two books, ‘Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me? (And Other Concerns)’ which featured on the New York Times Best Sellers list, and ‘Why Not Me?’. She was the voice of Disgust in Pixar’s award-winning animated movie, Inside Out. She made her feature film debut in The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

“I always thought the first thing I’d do [for the big screen] was a romantic comedy and what I realized was we write that so much on [‘The Mindy Project’] that I kind of decided that, you know what, I’m going to save that stuff for the show and this is about something completely different,” she is quoted saying in the news report. “It’s inspired by movies I love, like ‘Broadcast News’,” she said, but added, “It’s not in the news world.”

Ajay Devgn’s second directorial venture, “Shivaay,” is the story of an ordinary man in an extraordinary circumstance. Young, cool, contemporary, dexterous, swift and foolish, Shivaay is a Himalayan mountaineer who is an innocent everyman and, yet, is capable of TRANSFORMING into a mean DESTROYER when he needs to PROTECT his family.

Shivaay sports a snake and Trishul tatoo, dresses in a cool grunge style and sports a “calm before the storm” demeanor. His abundant held energy can pre-empt nature, and his observation skills are as developed as his brawn. Thus, his anger can be channelized for a larger common good.

Shivaay lives by the leitmotif that destiny is pre-written. He is satisfied in his isolated world and is not very ambitious. He believes that: “Joh ek baar Shivaay ban jaaye use aur kuch banne ki kya zaroorat hai” (translation: once a man becomes a “Shivaay,” he does not need to become anything else).

An avid, risk-savvy mountaineer and hiking trainer, he is leading a simple peaceful life in the lap of the Himalayas, until one fine day he is pushed to leave his comfort zone to protect his family.
Challenged at every step, he must now use all his faculties to defeat evil. When faced with a large mass of faceless villains spread all over the world and pushed against nihilism, Shivaay eventually becomes a DESTROYER.

In pre-production for more than two years, the film “Shivaay” has employed an unprecedented and invincible team from five different countries to execute action sequences in extreme locations that have never been seen before in Bollywood.

What makes it even more special is that every action sequence in the film is led by emotion; the film is a large-scale adventure action caper with strong emotions. A German action team, a mix of Polish, British, Bulgarian and Indian specialists and actors creates the film’s international look.

The 400-strong crew had to go beyond their comfort zone to create something new and shoot in minus 19 degree Celsius conditions. The visuals of the film are on a grand Hollywood scale. The production house, ADFFilms, had the task of coordinating with a global crew that spoke several languages including Hindi, English, Polish, Bulgarian and German.

Mira Nair’s biographical drama film, “The Queen of Katwe,” the long-awaited biopic of Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi, is among the films chosen to be featured in this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Konkona Sen Sharma’s directorial debut “A Death in the Gunj,” is another film by an Indian-origin director at the premiere Film Fest to be held from September 8th to 18th.

The Festival also marks the world premiere of several films by and featuring Indians, preseting a diverse and exciting lineup of films that includes the Dev Patel starrer “Lion,” “The Headhunter’s Calling” featuring Anupam Kher, and “Barry” by New York-based Indian American filmmaker Vikram Gandhi.
Oscar-nominated Indo-Canadian screenwriter, director, and producer Deepa Mehta’s drama, “Anatomy of Violence,” based on the 2012 heinous gang rape of a young medical student in New Delhi, will also make its world debut at the prestigious festival in the “Masters” category. The film, part of the Canadian lineup, will mark Mehta’s return to the festival after her crime drama, “Beeba Boys,” saw its world premiere last year.

The Canadian contingent also includes Indo-Canadian photojournalist Dilip Mehta’s documentary “Mostly Sunny,” which tracks the life trajectory of adult actress-turned-Bollywood starlet Sunny Leone.

Prolific actor Anupam Kher, 61, will be seen playing an Indian American pediatric oncologist in “The Headhunter’s Calling,” which stars Gerard Butler, Alison Brie and William Dafoe. It is written by Bill Dubuque, who earlier penned the Oscar-nominated movie “The Judge” and “The Accountant.” In the film, a ruthless corporate headhunter (Gerard Butler) battles his rival for control of their job placement company, until a family tragedy brings his personal and professional lives into conflict.

The last time Kher, known for international films such as “Bend It Like Beckham” (2002), “Bride and Prejudice” (2004) and “Silver Linings Playbook” (2012), attended the TIFF was in 2012 for the premiere of “Silver Linings Playbook,” starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.

Dev Patel, Rooney Mara and Nicole Kidman star in Garth Davis’ “Lion,” a true story of Saroo Brierley, who was adopted by an Australian couple after being separated from his parents in India at the age of five, and who then located his family using Google Earth 25 years later. Also seen in the film will be actorsNawazuddin Siddiqui, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Deepti Naval.

With “A Death in the Gunj,” award-winning actor Konkona Sen Sharma makes her feature debut as a writer-director. This coming-of-age story about a shy young Indian student who quietly and fatefully unravels during a family road trip stars Vikrant Massey, Ranvir Shorey, Kalki Koechlin, Gulshan Devaiah, Tillotama Shome, Jim Sarbh, Tanuja Mukherjee, Om Puri and Arya Sharma.

In Mira Nair’s “The Queen of Katwe,” a young girl from rural Uganda discovers a passion for chess, and sets out to pursue her dream of becoming an international champion. This film based on the life of Uganda’s chess champion, Phiona Mutesi, stars Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave”) and David Oyelowo (“Selma”).

Set in 1981, Vikram Gandhi’s 104-minute-long film, “Barry,” follows a young Barack Obama during a “crucial year” in the life of the future American president. All the above films, which will be featured in TIFF’s “Special Presentations” category, will see their world premiere at the ten-day-long festival.

900 million Android smartphones affected by security flaw in Qualcomm processors: Report
Over 900 million Android devices are affected by ‘high-risk’Quadrooter flaw warns security company Check Point software technologies. Found in devices runningQualcomm processors, QuadRooter includes four vulnerabilities, any of which can be used by hackers to take control of any smartphone. “If exploited, QuadRooter vulnerabilities can give attackers complete control of devices and unrestricted access to sensitive personal and enterprise data on them. Access could also provide an attacker with capabilities such as keylogging, GPS tracking, and recording video and audio,” says Check Point in a blog post.

Hackers can trigger any of these four vulnerabilities using a malicious app. “Such an app would require no special permissions to take advantage of these vulnerabilities, alleviating any suspicion users may have when installing,” adds the post.

The blog notes that QuadRooter affects smartphone drivers which control communication between the various chipset components. Since the vulnerable drivers are pre-installed on devices at manufacturing level, it can only be fixed if the OEMs or carriers issue a software patch.

Check Point recommends users to download and install the latest Android updates as soon as they become available, avoid side-loading apk files, read app permission requests carefully while installing apps and more.

Some of the latest smartphones that are vulnerable to the QuadRooter are Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge , OnePlus 3, Google Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, LG G4, LG G5 , LG V10, OnePlus One, OnePlus 2, OnePlus 3 and more.

Earlier this year (in May), it was found that several million Android smartphonesrunning on Qualcomm processors are exposed to a glitch that can be exploited by hackers to gain access to the device. Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.

Known as Superwoman on her YouTube channel IISuperwomanII, which has earned over 9 million subscribers, Indo-Canadian YouTube sensation Lilly Singh, who, after making TIME’s list of the 30 Most Influential People on the Internet, has won two coveted prizes within the web/digital category: “Choice Web Star: Female” and “Choice Web Star: Comedy” during the Teen Choice Awards 2016 held July 31 in Inglewood, CA.

Singh, who performs stand-up comedy, raps, hosts events, acts, and has appeared as a motivational speaker, was in Italy and did not attend the awards ceremony, Instagrammed the speech she says she would have given. “I’ll start by saying that I’m so incredibly proud to be a part of this amazing moment in time when people are making real changes in the world by using the Internet,” she wrote. Singh added: “I’m beyond proud to be a part of #TeamInternet and if you still have doubts about our validity, please exit 2001. We are not just numbers and views, we are creators who own businesses and are here to stay.”

The confident vlogger is garnering so much love from fans, and acknowledging that TIME noted that she is rapidly becoming “one of the biggest stars on YouTube, both on and off-screen,” adding that as her “alter ego Superwoman, she is equal parts funny and motivational.”

Most people believe her sincerity and raw honesty shines through her videos and probably that’s what draws fans to her. She has amassed more than 8 million global subscribers and over 1.1 billion total views.

Earlier this year, Singh, who goes by the moniker “Superwoman,” made the Forbes’ Top-10 list of Top-Earning YouTube Stars. In September 2015, the digital creator also won “Best First-Person Series,” beating out four other video stars at VH1’s “5th Annual Streamy Awards” in Los Angeles.

“When I was younger, I always wanted to be someone in the entertainment industry. In my eighth grade slideshow, when everyone was like “show us what you want to be,” everyone [said] doctor, lawyer, [but] mine literally said rapper. I wanted to be a musician, I wanted to be a superstar, I wanted to be on stage, I wanted to perform, I wanted to be in movies. But as you grow up, those dreams kind of fade away and you’re hit with reality and you’re like, oh, not everyone can be Lil’ Bow Wow? Fine,” says Lilly Singh.

From creating a lipstick shade to headlining a world tour, which was subsequently made into a documentary, Singh is constantly venturing into different territories. And now she is adding book author to her glittering resume. The book, “How To Be a Bawse: A Guide To Conquering Life,” will hit stores in March 2017. “Bawse” means “someone who doesn’t just survive but conquers life, really exudes confidence, gets hurt efficiently, hustles hard and just makes stuff happen,” Singh told Jimmy Fallon, during her recent appearance on his show, “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

Singh wants her “creative process is a bit manic at times, to be honest. I wake up Monday and Thursday stressed because I don’t have a video. I usually — with the exception of maybe a handful of videos — wake up, write the video, shoot the video, edit the video, release the video all in the same day. I literally walk around my house thinking, “OK, what happened in my day?” Because the number one thing I want my videos to be is relatable. That is a priority above the coloring, production, angle and whatever. Half of my videos are out of focus! (laughs) I know this, but I want them to watch my video and think, “This happened to me and I can relate to this.” I’ll rack my brain thinking about what happened to me [and] can I make this into a story? If I really can’t think of something, honestly, I’ll ask my fans because they’re the ones who watch it and know best.

“I want my channel to be a place people go even if they don’t care about Lilly. I don’t want them to have to know about Lilly or care about me as a person to enjoy my content. After a long day at work, I want someone to come home, turn on my video and think, “Oh my god, how girls get ready? This is hilarious, I love this, I’m forgetting about all my problems.”

After winning millions of hearts in India, this dusky, leggy model-turned-actor, Deepika Padukone, made her way to Hollywood. Without much hullabaloo or over-hyped publicity, Padukone silently won a meaty action role in the upcoming film “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage.”

Padukone was in the news recently for becoming the most highly paid actress ever in Bollywood. On Aug. 3, the prestigious Vanity Fair magazine placed her among 11 top brass actors to look out for. Calling them the ‘Hollywood’s Next Gen,’ the article goes on to describe the chosen ones with the following blurb, “They may be fresh on the scene, but the latest batch of Hollywood up-and-comers has a retro edge clearly on display in this time-traveling style portfolio.”

Padukone is photographed wearing a red pantsuit with a fur jacket, stepping out of her car with a short interview description.  Followed by a vintage behind-the-scenes video featuring other young actors such as Elizabeth Debicki from “The Great Gatsby,” Lily Collins who played Snow White in “Mirror Mirror,” and Elvis Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keough, who was seen in “Mad Max: Fury Road.” The video titled, “Beyond the Red Carpet,” shows actors talking about their personal style.

Deepika Padukone apparently has become the first heroine whose paycheck will cross a billion (Rs. 10 crore) — the film being Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Padmavati.” Having given a tentative nod after a narration two months back, she got the final narration a few days ago — and the proposal of Rs. 11 crore plus taxes from Bhansali Jun. 13 works out to over Rs. 12 crore.

The nearest remuneration to this among heroines that we have heard of is Kareena Kapoor getting paid Rs. 7 crore for “Golmaal 3” in 2010. Heroes like Aamir Khan and Hrithik Roshan are reportedly getting Rs. 50 crore for their new films, which is the minimum packet Salman Khan will make from the 50 percent profits clause for “Sultan!”

Vanity Fair’s list includes young actors like Elizabeth Debicki from The Great Gatsby, Lily Collins who played Snow White In Mirror Mirror, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keogh, who was seen in films like Mad Max: Fury Road. Speaking about her personal style and fashion choices, Deepika Padukone was quoted by the NDTV as saying, “It’s always comfort over anything else. You need to feel complete, you need to feel like you are wearing the clothes and the clothes aren’t wearing you. If I had a choice between a gown and a sari, I’d wear a sari,” she adds.

BAZODEE – a new style Bollywood musical with a distinctly Caribbean island flavor – releases in theaters nationwide this Friday, August 5. Legendary actor Kabir Bedi stars in this hotly anticipated film delivering a very different kind of role.

Anita Ponchouri (Natalie Perera), the dutiful Indian daughter of a deep-in-debt businessman (Kabir Bedi) is about to marry a wealthy Londoner (Staz Nair) when a chance encounter with local Trinidadian singer, Lee de Leon (Soca music star Machel Montano) sets things askew. In search of a muse, de Leon agrees to perform at the engagement party. Unable to deny their mutual attraction, and with the excitement of Carnival approaching, Anita must now choose between the answer to her family’s financial prayers and the possibility of real love.

Set on the vivid, colorful islands of Trinidad & Tobago and pulsing with the sensuous dance rhythms of soca music, BAZODEE is a new style Bollywood musical with a distinctly Caribbean island flavor.

This description sounds straight from a Bollywood potboiler, right? Except that it’s not. This is the premise of “Bazodee,” a soca (a genre of Caribbean music)-infused Bollywood-style international film starring acclaimed Indian actor Kabir Bedi, British actress Natalie Perera, Indian-Russian actor Staz Nair, and Trinidadian soca singer-record producer-songwriter Machel Montano. This global star cast was directed by American filmmaker Todd Kessler (“Bloodline”).

“This is a story about people of the Indian diaspora,” Bedi, who plays businessman Ram Panchouri, told India-West. “It was also a coming together of the West Indian world and the Indian world.”

This grand visual narrative with a distinctly Caribbean island flavor, which unfolds on the vivid, colorful twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago, saw its international premiere in New York at the PlayStation Theatre, Times Square, July 27.

“Bazodee,” a Trinidadian slang, which translates to a state of dizziness or confusion – often used with regards to love or infatuation — will remind people of India and all things Indian, said the actor who starred in the 1983 James Bond film, “Octopussy.”

“There is so much Indianess in the film that people are really going to enjoy it because you can relate to these people, these families, the music, the crazy things that happen when people fall in love,” he told India-West.

This light-hearted take on love, Bedi said, will make an emotional connect and resonate with the Indian diaspora. “It’s a family entertainer and reflecting the experience of Indian families living abroad,” he explained. “That’s what attracted me to it, and also it gave me the opportunity to play a much lighter role than I normally play, a much more playful performance. I hope people are going to enjoy it.”

The film, which showcases the unique and distinct cultural identity of the island of Trinidad and Tobago, is also loaded with sequences reflecting the cultural similarities between the island nation and India. This intersection of music and culture, Bedi said, made the whole filming experience extra special.

“There is this thing that they serve which looks like ‘chhole bhature’ to us but it’s something called ‘doubles’ out there,” he said. “There is Bollywood music everywhere you go. You’ll get the sense of the Indians of the diaspora, which is what our viewers are.”

The prolific actor, who has worked in theater, movies and television spanning three continents and in several languages, is also awaiting the release of the Ashutosh Gowariker-directed epic adventure-romance film, “Mohenjo Daro.” The film, set in the ancient city of Mohenjo Daro, Sindh Pakistan, in the era of the Indus Valley civilization that dates back to 2600 BC, and which stars Hrithik Roshan in the lead role, casts him in a pivotal role. Bedi, who plays Maham, a despot who rules Mohenjo Daro using uninhibited force and violence, is making quite an impression on the audiences in the trailer of the film.

“I have a very powerful and strong role in the movie,” Bedi said. “It’s a great film. I want people to see ‘Bazodee’ and then see ‘Mohenjo Daro.’ I want two weekends from them. Each will be a very different experience and entertaining experience.”

Bedi, last seen in a cameo in the Shahrukh Khan starrer “Dilwale,” told India-West that theater in Canada and films in Italy have kept him busy all this while, adding that he will be seen in an Italian film, the details of which he could not reveal at the moment.

Talking about his role in “Mohenjo Daro,” Bedi said, “It’s the first big role that I am doing in a while. And I really saved myself for that. I got a lot of smaller offers that I wasn’t interested in. But this was a role I could really get my teeth into. I am very happy with the role and the film.”

Since 1982, Bedi has been a voting member of the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which decides each year’s Oscar nominees and winners. He is also the recipient of the highest ranking civilian honor by the Italian Republic and was bestowed the title of “Cavaliere” (Knight) of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.

“All these things give you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that you have achieved certain benchmarks, but the best is yet to come, I always say,” Bedi told India-West. “And hopefully you’ll see some of that in August.”

“Bazodee” hits theaters in the U.S. Aug. 5 and “Mohenjo Daro” releases Aug. 12.

Kabir Bedi sat down to discuss his latest movie role in BAZODEE in this exclusive new interview:

Tell us about your character Ram Panchouri in BAZODEE and his storyline.

Basically Ram is a guy who is an NRI like a lot of people, and he is living in the West Indies and his daughter is getting married to the son of an equally nice industrial family from England that is very well-to-do. But the truth is that I am deeply in debt so when my daughter decides to do things I wouldn’t want her to it really complicates life a lot. So it’s really the story of a man fighting for survival but yet dealing with his daughter’s heart going in a different way. It’s a film of fun, it’s Calypso, it’s Soca music, it’s the glory of the West Indies setting and of course Machel Montano’s incredible music that takes it to another level. It’s a fun film to see for the family.

How was this character different from many of the other characters you’ve played in your extensive career?

It’s a lot different! It’s a lighter side of me, it’s a far more playful side of me. I mean I’ve played an Asian pirate, and in the James Bond film Octopussy I fought Roger Moore throughout the film, I’ve played Shah Jahan on stage and on screen, so those are serious characters. This is a much more pop role. Interestingly different!

What was it like filming in Trinidad & Tobago? Any specific things you enjoyed there?

I just loved the feeling of Trinidad & Tobago and the warmth of the people. There’s also the spectacular Maracas Beach out there where you have big shark sandwiches which are just incredible! And there is such a great music tradition there too so it’s a lovely place to be and to film and to meet people and get to know another country. It’s a country worth knowing! And Tobago reminds me of Goa from 30 or 40 years ago, really peaceful and beautiful beaches. Pigeon Point Beach was extremely beautiful to see there too.

What are some of the themes in BAZODEE that those in the Indian diaspora would be able to relate to?

It’s our story! It’s a story of people like us. And therefore if you want your stories to be told you must see and support them and go out and see them. That’s part of the process. I think it’s a film people will enjoy in the diaspora because it’s about them.

What are some of your favorite places in the U.S to visit?

I stayed in Los Angeles for 15 years in the 1970s and 80s and I certainly have a deep and abiding love for L.A. It was a wonderful place for me because when I did the series The Bold and the Beautiful, I got to know the cast and got to know all the subcultures there and the fans that surround that. You have the sea, you have the mountains, wide roads for driving, smooth cars to drive, it’s a creative community, I had an enormously productive time in L.A. And of course San Francisco too. I adore San Francisco, so much beauty. Boston is where my sister is and I love going to the Northeast. New York I enjoy too. Houston, Orlando, Miami, a lot of special places for me there!

HOUSTON – On Thursday, 21st July, 2016 Houston saw some hard core fans of Thalaiva queued outside the theaters for the screening of Superstar Rajnikanth’s new release KABALI. It has been a while since the viewers have seen the Superstar appearing in a don avatar and the dazzling teaser had created an impression all across the globe. The first day first show in Houston began with a huge celebration organized by Houston Desi Friends & US Desi Gals – two major social media WhatsApp groups in Houston & Radio Hungama, first Telugu radio in Houston.

Houston Desi Friends group with 3000 members on WhatsApp and Facebook is a brain child of Kishore Ramaraju who brought all the Indians in Houston to a common platform. This non-profit group conducts seminars on immigration, finance, digital marketing, college education on a monthly basis. US Desi Gals is a WhatsApp based group founded by Kavitha Vijay with an intention of sharing info, deals, events in and around Houston amongst the Indian women community & help in empowering them.

The event witnessed hundreds of audiences who had come for watching the movie. The event was sponsored by Deep Foods, Cinegalaxy Inc & Fun Asia, Carmike Theatres, Radio Hungama, Hot Breads Houston, United Real Estates, Pepon Inc., TV9 & NTV. The program had fun filled games and contests wherein the Thalaiva fans created a buzz and won Kabali T-shirts and gift hampers from Deep Foods. The eye stealer of the show was the dance performance by US DESI GALS dance team to the tunes of famous Rajini songs. The dance was choreographed in a short notice of time & performed by a group of US DESI GALS members who are not professional dancers but had a passion for dancing. Thalaiva fans also tapped their feet to the tunes of “Neruppu da” along with the dance team. Sridhar Dadi, owner of Radio Hungama enthralled the whole crowd with his wit . The show ended with the cake cutting ceremony by the sponsors and an open flash mob.

Aziz Ansari made history last week as he became the first ever Indian-American actor to land a lead comedy-acting Emmy nomination for his series “Master of None”.  Ansari is also just the fifth person of South Asian descent to be nominated in an acting category.

“I am very happy but it is a very specific accomplishment,” Ansari told USA Today after the nominations were announced on Thursday, July 14.  Ansari, who is also nominated for writing and directing “Master of None”, co-created the Netflix comedy with Alan Yang.

The 33-year-old actor plays Dev, an actor trying to make it in New York. “Master of None”, which is up for best comedy, crystallized diversity challenges in Hollywood in the show’s fourth episode, titled “Indians” on TV.

“I think every minority actor runs into that. You hear people say things like, ‘Oh, they already got the black guy.’ Or, ‘Oh, they already got their Asian lady.’ It kind of feels like, to minority actors that I’ve spoken with, once they have one (minority actor cast) they’re like, OK, we’ve placated the ‘diversity issue.’ That was coming from a real place,” Ansari said.

Casual racism has also been also addressed in the show.  “If you’re a minority, you’re experiencing all sorts of casual racism all the time. And at a certain point, you just get numb to a lot of it, and you’re like, whatever.”  Ansari said he he and Yang are currently busy writing season 2 of “Master of None”, which will debut on Netflix next April.

After more than a decade on the standup comedy scene, and six years on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” the actor took a leap in 2015 by creating “Master of None,” a deeply personal and biting comedy in which Ansari plays a 30-ish actor much like Ansari, albeit with much less success.

On his role in the play and how he got to do the show, he said, “I think they just really believed in me and Alan and the ideas we had for the show. We had a certain, for a lack of a better word, vision for what we wanted to do. We were really specific, and they just really trusted us and believed in us, and let us do what we want. They let us play.”

“It was crazy because it had a reach far beyond what I expected,” he was reported to have told in a CNN interview. “So many people have come up to me, from so many different backgrounds. There’s never been a South Asian person nominated in a leading role? I didn’t know that. That’s crazy.”

New York, NY: The largest India Day Parade in the world, held in the city of New York will have Bollywood star, Abishek Bachchan as the chief guest/grand marshal.  The milestone event celebrated to mark the India Independence Day, organized by the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA), an umbrella organization of the NY, NJ, CT (Tri-State), will be on Sunday Augus 21st, starting at 12:00 pm.

It was announced here during a traditional Curtain Raiser event at the Indian Consulate in Manhattan on Friday July 8th. This officially jump starts the campaign for the 2016 India Day Parade that FIA has been organizing since past 35 years. “The honor will be  given to Abhishek Bachaan” announced President of FIA, Anand Patel. Patel. Abhishekh Bachhan has created a prestine place in Bollywood for himself with superhits such as Guru, Sarkaar and Dhoom. Patel said, HH Yog Rishi Ramdev Baba will be at the parade as well.

The parade will start from 39th street & Madison Ave intersection and the fun fair and cultural programs will be on 26th St. and Madison Ave from 12:00pm to 6:00pm.

Opening the curtain raiser, Anand Patel, a veteran businessman with holdings in franchise retail and real estate in the tristate area, expressed his gratitude to CGI-NY for being the co-host and for continuous support of over a decade long tradition of holding the curtain raiser the India Day Parade curtain raiser at the ‘New India House’.  He also paid tribute to men and women who gave all to see the motherland become a free nation on Aug. 15th 1947. Concluding he commended his team for jump starting the preparation for a unifying theme of ‘Bringing the World Together’ and working tirelessly for grand success of the parade.

The event was started by lighting the traditional lamp by Hon. Ambassador Riva Das CGI-NY, Grand sponsors as well as the FIA’s Board of Trustees & Past Presidents which included Chairman Ramesh Patel, Yash Paul Soi, H R Shah of TV Asia, Chandrakant Trivedi, Padma Shri Dr. Sudhir Parikh, Dipak Patel, Bipin Patel, Albert Jasani, Executive Vice President Andy Bhatia among other dignitaries.

Patel then invited the Chairman of FIA, Ramesh Patel, a well known community leader and activist since past 50 years.  Patel emphasized the fact that FIA along with the celebrations of Indian Independence & Republic day is also at the forefront in addressing and fighting for burning community issues like immigration, domestic injustice, discrimination, bias and hate crimes etc. Ambassador Das opened her statement by giving high marks to the FIA’s efforts for their social activities as well putting together remarkable events. Ambassador expressed her excitement to be part of the festivities she will experience for the first time. She commended the efforts put together by the FIA day in and day out to put together an event like such epic magnitude.

Pujya Ramdev baba has promoted healthy living and social reforms thru his yoga platform and with his healthy natural herbal supplements. AV presentations from the attending dignitaries and celeb was introduced for attendees to view which was followed by a dance presentation performed on a compilation of Rabindranath Tagore poems by Beena Menan’s group of Kalashri Dance Academy.

The curtain raiser also honored CKGS, Indian Govt. Visa OCI and Passport Processing company’s Vice President and Country Manager Mr. Kiran Nambiar with a memento Plaque for his sincere efforts and alignment with successfully implementing a host of visa camps primarily with FIA, Indian Embassy and other community organizations as well as respective CGIs across the USA that saw over 6000 of diaspora members assisted at their doorsteps with the visa camp program called ‘Consulate at your door steps’.  Kiran Nambiar is moving on July end and is going to be based in Canada concluding his CKGS US tenure. (Photo of Kiran Nambiar attached for use).

The ceremony was concluded with Immediate Past President Ankur Vaidya addressing a vote of thanks and providing a raffle giveaway of 4 gold coins which was done to raise funds for the Darjeeling Sanitation Project which FIA has been working for the past 2 years.

Veteran actress Sharmila Tagore, “Slumdog Millionaire” star Freida Pinto and director Deepa Mehta are among the Indian-origin film personalities invited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to be part of its new class of members. Apart from Tagore, Pinto and Mehta, British filmmaker of Indian origin Asif Kapadia — who bagged the Best Documentary Feature Oscar for “Amy”, based on the life of late singer Amy Winehouse — also features in this year’s class of new members.

In an effort to be more inclusive, diverse and stop the criticism that the Academy is largely white and male membership, The Academy, has for the first time history, invited a record 683 new members — 46 per cent female and 41 per cent persons of color. The list has celebrities aged as young as 24 and as old as 91.

The diversity push at the Academy comes in response to the #OscarsSoWhite uproar that took place earlier this year, when all-white acting nominees put a microscope on the Academy’s largely white and male membership.

A two-time National Award winner and a Padma Bhushan awardee, Tagore began her career as an actress in Satyajit Ray’s 1959 Bengali film “Apur Sansar” (“The World of Apu”) and acted in several films in Hindi cinema. She also served as the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) from 2004 to 2011. In 2005 Tagore was chosen as an UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She was also one of the International Competition’s Jury Members at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

Freida Pinto rose to prominence through the 2008 British drama film “Slumdog Millionaire”, which won eight Academy Awards in 2009. She has appeared in several American and British productions, often playing supporting roles. Pinto also appeared in the 2011 science fiction film “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”.

A noted Indo-Canadian director and screenwriter, Deepa Mehta began her career with the controversial film “Fire” in 1996, later working on her trilogy of the elements: “Fire”, “Earth”, and “Water”. Mehta was born in India and has a degree in philosophy from the University of Delhi. After immigrating to Canada in 1973, she embarked on her professional cinematic career as a scriptwriter for children’s films. She made her debut as a director and producer with “Sam & Me” in 1991.

“We are proud to welcome these new members to the Academy, and know they view this as an opportunity and not just an invitation, a mission and not just a membership,” Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in a statement.  Isaacs also encouraged Hollywood and the larger creative community to “open its doors wider, and create opportunities for anyone interested in working in this incredible and storied industry”.

Maura Moynihan, daughter of former New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, has been in love with India since 1973 when she first moved from New York to New Delhi with her father who served there as the United States Ambassador.

By her own admission, she fell “passionately in love with India” the very moment she landed in New Delhi in 1973, and studied Indian art, music, dance and philosophy during her stay in the country where she studied in high school in New Delhi.

Over the years she has maintained her enduring interest in India as also her love for the brush and easel with which she has created many paintings inspired by Indian mythology and gods and goddesses.

Last week, Moynihan opened some of that artistic treasure-trove before public eyes in Kapoor Galleries in Manhattan. “I’ve done shows in India, Nepal, Washington, and I wanted to exhibit in New York. This is my first New York show after many years, and I am thrilled to be represented by Kapoor Galleries. Feels like home!,” Moynihan said in response to a question.

On view at the galley are 30 paintings which include her current as well as earlier work from the 1970s. The exhibition that opened June 23 will run through July3 at the gallery.

At the opening reception for the exhibition she gave a brief talk where she spoke about how India influenced her art and life, with the Kapoor’s unique collection of classical statuary as the source of inspiration for her watercolors.

“I draw my inspiration from India. The themes, the mythology, Indian art imparts wonder – Adbhuta, ignites transmission, educates, dazzles, enchants. Thailand is a Vedic civilization where the seeds of India mingled with the fertile lands of Southeast Asia; everywhere I follow seeds of India that fertilized Buddhism and Hindu Mythology into Asia’s rich and varied soils,’ according to her.

She told this correspondent that one of the great gifts India has given to the world is Buddhism. The Bengali master Atisha, she noted, brought the worship of Tara to Tibet in the 10th century A.D. As Buddhism died in India, it flourished in Tibet and the Tibetan refugees brought Buddhism back to life in India. “I have made pilgrimages to Bodh Gaya and Sarnath with the Dalai Lama.

Today these sacred seats are filled with international pilgrims like myself,’ To a question she said that the theme of this show is Goddess Tara, the Protector with the 21 Taras she painted in 2016.
“It was the Kapoor’s idea to mix my contemporary work with their collection of classical Indian art pieces. There is also work from the early 1970’s I have never shown before, and I attach an oil painting of Lodi Gardens I did in 1997. I used to go there in high school to read Urdu poetry,” she said.

Moynihan, who speaks Hindi, Urdu, Tibetan and French, is a best-selling author of two works of fiction, “Yoga Hotel” and “Covergirl”. She was a consultant to the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City.

“In 2013 I made a vow to paint the 21 Taras. I studied the iconography and legends of the 21 Taras and painted each Tara according to the Indian texts from the Gupta period, then added my own style, as I use watercolors,” she said.

Moynihan’s paintings are displayed alongside the Kapoor’s unique collection of Indian and Tibetan statuary to show the continuation of tradition.
Among the guests present at the event included Gautam Patwa and Swati Patel-Joseph who bought a White Tara, Dicky Peltso, her Tibetan sister, and Japanese film director Masako Tsumura.

The Consulate of India, New York in association with “Salon De Virtuosi”, presented the annual ‘East Meets West’ concert at the Consulate’s Ballroom on the evening of June 17, 2016. Charlotte White, founder of “Salon de Virtuosi”, an organization aimed to support emerging artists by providing them performance opportunities, speaking on the annual presentation in the Consulate admired India’s culture and traditions and mentioned about her long standing relations with India extending to over seven decades.

Representing the West in the concert was the Aeolus String Quartet, the Graduate Resident String Quartet at the Julliard School. They have won numerous prizes and competitions and are known for their “smoothly meshed technique with a sense of spontaneity and discover”.

The East was represented by Pt. Barun Kumar Pal, recognized Hansaveena artist from India whose music incorporates the blend of Veena, Sitar and Sarod and the brilliant DibyarkaChatterjee, a young and promising Tablaplayer. Both Pt. Barun Kumar Pal and DibyarkaChatterjee mesmerized the audience with their Ragas. The musical evening concluded with aesthetically pleasing fusion of Eastern and Western music filling the atmosphere with unity of sound and it received standing ovation from the audience.

The official trailer of one of the most anticipated 2016 releases, “Mirzya,” has been unleashed on social media June 23. Adapted from the tragic mythical love story from Punjab “Mirza-Sahiban” and scripted by Gulzar, the film is close to director Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra’s heart. A definite visual delight, the move opens with a beautiful expanse of mountains and valleys of Ladakh, leading to glorious desserts of Rajasthan. The colors and cinematography are flawlessly done by Pawel Dyllus.

Starring fresh-faced newcomers Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher with a new villain in town — model-turned-actor Anuj Choudhary — in the main roles, the story is a clear case of reincarnation and lovers that transcend time and spaces.

The proud family of Kapoors posted on their social media pages the link to the trailer. Starting with papa Anil Kapoor to sister Sonam Kapoor, everyone seems extremely excited and pleased with the end result. Watch the NEW full theatrical trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo9HkpIPt2k

Priyanka Chopra has been nominated for a Teen Choice Award for her role in the show. The 33-year-old actress bagged the final nomination in the Choice TV Breakout Star category. Chopra has been garnering praise for her portrayal of FBI trainee Alex Parrish in “Quantico” ever since the American TV series came out in September last year.

An elated Chopra took to Twitter to express her delight. So fun!Thank you #TeenChoice for the#ChoiceTvBreakOutStar nomination for #Quantico Excited, grateful @TeenChoiceFOX http://twitter.com/TeamPriyanka/status/741651965537587202 …

Chopra, who came into the limelight in the West playing the lead role in the popular American TV series “Quantico,” has also graced one of the six cover pages of the magazine. On Chopra, who was awarded the Padma Shri this year, actor Dwayne Johnson said she is a “star rising higher” and lauded her “drive, ambition, self-respect, and she knows there s no substitute for hard work.” Priyanka Chopra has been featured in TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World list this year.

The Bajirao Mastani actress has made it to the final nomination in the category ‘Choice TV Breakout Star.’ Chopra recently won the Favourite Actress title in a New TV series award forQuantico at the People’s Choice Awards 2016.

The star-studded affair, which celebrates the year’s achievements in the field of music, film, television, sports, fashion, comedy and video games, will be held on July 31 in Los Angeles.

Chicago IL: Mujeeb Ahmed from Masti Entertainment, Babu Varma, Waseem Tahir, and Arya Sounds presented Comedy Show of the Year by the versatile comedian, internationally renowned award winner and actor Johnny Lever on June 4 at Copernicus Theater, Chicago, IL. The high profile event was attended by hundreds of fans from different walks of life.

Self-taught Johnny Lever began his career back in 1984. He developed a passion for mimicry and stand-up comedy, inspired by watching comedians like the unforgettable legendary icon Johnny Walker, the remarkable Kishore Kumar and the well-known Mehmood saab in films and through mimicry artists like, Dinesh Hingoo and Nerella Venumadhav on stage, it was from here he decided to become a Mimicry Artist.

His success and talent grew gradually Johnny was then offered films instantly. Starring in more than 400 Bollywood movies with let’s say, every star under the horizon ever since! His fans took to him instantly on screen which led him to achieve success upon success, resulting in many nominations for famed Filmfare Awards in The Best Comedian Category bringing it home the price twice.

His “Michael Jackson” act was the not-to-be-missed quotient of the show. His act was not limited to mere mimicry, but was a wholesome package” of entertainment. He sang and danced.. Enacted real-life situations. Mocked anything and everything under the sun. And most importantly, his wholesome presentation in the hall made fans laugh their hearts out.

The Johnny Lever’s mesmerizing performances and heart touching philosophy has always left his audience in a trance. His acumen has always excelled awarding him today’s numero uno hot spot. His talent and performance was duplicated in his daughter Jamie Lever who also performed on the stage with him, rewarding the audience with double dose of the entertainment and pleasure.

The entertainment was augmented by performer Gurav Sharma who helped transition between these two colossal father and daughter personality. Sharma is an Indian Television Actor, born in Chandigarh, India who has worked in many daily soaps. He has played some challenging roles in serials like Phulwa, Mahima Shanidev Ki, Naadaaniyaan – Teen Nadaanon Ki Kahaani and Sasural Simar Ka. He was last seen in Life OK’s popular series Dream Girl and Star Plus’ show Diya Aur Baati Hum.

The crowd enjoyed hearty laugh to the wittiest jokes to end the day. The evening performance by trio proved what Charles Dickens had said that “There is nothing in the world as irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”

Joy TV Network, the first Indian-owned broadcasting station in the Southeastern United States, announces its operation in Atlanta. This broadcast, anchored at Channel # 21, is a FREE TV network available to all residents in the coverage area. Apart from the HD television channels, Joy TV will also be airing a number of 24×7 radio channels in various Asian languages. There will be a free app available for download, which will enable live/recorded telecast of the programs.

Apart from English and Spanish channels, Joy TV will have multiple channels in various Asian languages, including Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese. Unlike other Asian Channels, which are available only by live-streaming through internet, these channels will be available free-on-air.

Joy Television Network has a state-of-the-art recording studio and equipment. The programs are slated to go live in March 2016. It will have facilities for recording local/national news, cultural events, health, sports, test kitchen, spotlight on young entrepreneurs, and educational/informational programs. Major local news and events will be broadcast live, while other events from around the US will also share prime airtime.

Initially the programs of Joy TV are scheduled to cover nearly 5 million viewers while efforts are on to broadcast through cable carriers to telecast these programs to a wider audience. Joy TV is open to partnering with producers to develop programs for open/targeted audiences. It is also possible for interested parties to lease air-time from Joy TV’s channels. Joy TV welcomes inquiries from media corporations and public relations organizations about leasing an entire TV channel to broadcast their own programs.

Mr. P. I. Joy, the Chairman of Joy TV Network, said “There is a huge market out there that is waiting to tap into the demand for Asian and Hispanic culture and programs. Also, we cannot express ourselves effectively as a community, unless we are represented by a strong media. I am certain our US Pan Asian American community’s voice will now be heard, even in the capital and overseas.”

For more information about leasing on the TV and Radio broadcasting on Joy TV Network, please contact

1. P I Joy at pi@joytvn.com(Chairman) / +1 (678) 283 3636
2. Johnson Punchakonam at fr@joytvn.com
3. Harish Iyer at harish@joytvn.com

(New York, NY – June 9, 2016) After numerous sold-out screenings at mainstream and South Asian film festivals around the world and multiple audience and jury awards under its belt, Parched, writer, director, producer Leena Yadav’s dramatic tale of four ordinary women courageously standing up to the repression and misogyny in their parched Gujarat village, will have its U.S. theatrical release, via Wolfe Releasing, in New York, Los Angeles, San Jose and Fremont on Friday, June 17, 2016, for a one-week run.

“This story is my reaction to a misogynistic society that treats women as objects of sex, where their greatest role is to serve men,” said Yadav about her impetus for making the film. “Giving my women characters a voice that observes, absorbs and reacts was what drove me to write this drama about ordinary women who are driven to extraordinary ends.”

Produced by renowned Indian actor, director and producer Ajay Devgn and shot by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Russell Carpenter (Titanic), the film had its world premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. TIFF’s Artistic Director Cameron Bailey raved: “With a bold visual confidence, Yadav combines the stark realism of hostile desert landscapes with a Bollywood palette, vibrant tones that celebrate the unleashing of the women’s repressed sensuality and dreams…transforming her characters’ struggles into a stirring portrayal of liberation.”

After TIFF, the film continued its global cinematic journey through the Stockholm Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival, Camerimage in Poland, Miami International Film Festival, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival, Beijing International Film Festival, Festival International de Films de Fribourg, Festival 2 Valenciennes, Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, New York Indian Film Festival and Festival Cinema 5 Continents. In the pipeline after its U.S. theatrical release, Parchedtravels to the Edinburgh International Film Festival, London Indian Film Festival, Indian Film Festival of Melbourne and Film Victoria Australia.

Starring Tannishtha Chatterjee, Radhika Apte, Surveen Chawla, Lehar Khan and Adil Hussain, Parched has received rave reviews by The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Variety, Indiewire and The Hollywood Reporter, just to name a few. The film’s top honors include the Stockholm Impact Award for “Headstrong Filmmakers,” Best of the Fest at Palm Springs International Film Festival, Best Feature Film (Audience Award) at Festival 2 Valenciennes and Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and Best Film (Young Jury) at the Festival Cinema 5 Continents.

Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, who is throwing surprises one after another in her international journey, has now featured in a video with the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Cristiano Ronaldo. What’s more, the song is by Enrique Iglesias.

The song, titled ‘Don’t you need somebody’, has been primarily sung by ‘Hero’ singer Iglesias, with bits of it crooned by R City, Serayah and Shaggy.

Priyanka, a former Miss World title holder, is pleasantly not in a a blink-and-you-miss appearance. Instead, she features in a number of frames as she is seen grooving to and lip-syncing to the number.

The video also features international celebrities like Akon, Mila Jovovich, Ryan Seacrest, Mesut Özil, Lopez and Ronaldo among others. Released on YouTube on Friday, last week, the video has Priyanka in a hair up-do and a beige-hued jumpsuit. Her wine-coloured lipstick stands out.

Priyanka’s journey on foreign shores first began when she released her English single ‘In my city’. She launched two more tracks before landing a lead role in American TV show Quantico, and now she has even shot for the Baywatch movie with Dwayne Johnson.

Now back in India to fulfill her professional commitments, the actress launched her maiden production, “Bam Bam Bol Raha Hai Kashi,” on June 10. This busy-bee actress summed up her life with the below photo, captioned: “Always in transit.. Lost in motion.. #nomadheart #noreasontostop #nobodyclock #keepexploring.”

Mallika Sherawat, the 39-year-old actress has been gaining plaudits for her fashion choices at the ongoing 69th Cannes Film Festival. On May 19, Mallika Sherawat once again shined in a gorgeous pink ombré gown with lace detailing by ace designer Alexis Mabille for her appearance at the UNICEF dinner.

The actress, whose film “Time Raiders” was screened at the film fest, shared a coy photo of herself on Twitter with details about her dress, hair and makeup.

Once she arrived at the dinner, Sherawat’s sweet tooth emerged. The svelte actress posted a photo of herself posing next to a tower of delectable desserts. his is not the first time that Sherawat has attended the Cannes Film Festival. The actress made headlines in 2014 for the pale, pleated Pucci dress that she wore to the amfAR Gala.

At this year’s amfAR Gala, Sherawat  managed to click a selfie with one her favorite actors, Mads Mikkelsen, known for his role as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the American TV series “Hannibal.”