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Tag: Priyanka Chopra

  • Upen Patel refuses to endorse fairness products

    Upen Patel refuses to endorse fairness products

    NEW DELHI: Even as Bollywood’s Greek God Hrithik Roshan signed on the dotted line to endorse Emami’s Fair and Handsome face wash brand, actor Upen Patel has joined the list of actors who have refused to endorse fairness products as it encourages racist stereotypes.

     

    Bollywood actors like Akshay Kumar, Ranbir Kapoor, Randeep Hooda, Nandita Das, Bipasha Basu and Kangana Ranaut have previously refused to endorse fairness products. 

     

    On the other hand, actors like Shah Rukh Khan, John Abraham, Arjun Rampal, Shahid Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Sonakshi Sinha, Priyanka Chopra and Yami Gautam amongst a host of other actors have no qualms endorsing these products.  

     

    A source from the film industry said, “Upen was recently approached by a skin care brand asking him to endorse a skin-lightening product. But apparently, he turned down the brand. He refuses to endorse anything that puts a value or discriminates a person based on his skin colour, taking a stand similar to what Nandita Das had done a few years earlier.”

     

    Confirming the news, Patel said, “This fair skin obsession has to be discouraged. It is so regressive and problematic to put a value, negative or positive to skin colour. It is actually the seeds of racism and only promotes low self-esteem. For me, I believe in loving yourself just the way you are. Dusky, dark or wheatish, you are perfect.”

  • Priyanka Chopra beats Deepika Padukone as 2015’s Hottest Woman

    Priyanka Chopra beats Deepika Padukone as 2015’s Hottest Woman

    NEW DELHI: Actor Priyanka Chopra, who surprised audiences with her performance in Mary Kom, has won two interesting accolades: ‘World’s Sexiest Asian Woman’, and ‘Hottest Woman of 2015’.

     

    Over 10 million people from across the world voted for her as the Sexiest Asian Woman also edged out Deepika Padukone as the ‘Hottest Women of 2015’, getting a whopping 53 per cent votes with Padukone receiving 35 per cent of the votes.

     

    This is not the first time that Chopra has beaten Padukone at a poll. She topped the Sexiest Woman in a Bikini poll, bagging 22,552 votes out of the 23,775 votes that came in, winning by a huge margin.

     

    Chopra also made it to the numero uno spot on the Ultimate Guys Guide – Maxim India’s Hottest List for 2013.

     

    This was the second consecutive year that Chopra made it to the top rankings on the magazine’s Hottest List, an annual poll with some of the most gorgeous women competing for the crown.

     

    The ‘Exotic’ singer and power player beat the likes of Grammy award winner Beyonce and Victoria’s Secret model Adriana Lima to the number 1 spot.

  • ‘PK’ wins big at the Renault Star Guild Awards 2015

    ‘PK’ wins big at the Renault Star Guild Awards 2015

    MUMBAI: Held at Reliance MediaWorks, the Renault Star Guild Awards 2015 announced the winners in film and television for the year 2014. The night was hosted by Kapil Sharma, who entertained the audience with his quick wit and rib-tickling humor.

     

    ‘PK’ won best film along with best director, best dialogue, best sound mixing and a special award for the more than 100 crore film. Shahid Kapoor won for best actor for his performance in ‘Haider’ while Priyanka Chopra walked away with the award for best actress in ‘Mary Kom’.

     

    Superstars like Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt, Jacqueline Fernandes and Shahid Kapoor set the stage on fire with their magical performances.

     

    Rakesh Roshan received the lifetime achievement award that was presented to him by Jeetendra and Hrithik Roshan. Deepika Padukone walked away with the entertainer of the year award and Alia Bhatt won the Gionee most stylish youth icon award. The Star Plus shining superstar award went to Shraddha Kapoor.

     

    Renault India country CEO and managing director Sumit Sawhney said, “Renault India is happy to work together with the Guild and we are elated to celebrate the accomplishments of the Indian Cinema & Television industry. At Renault, we understand what it takes to think ahead, to win hearts of the audience and also win accolades from a proficient jury. We have always believed, both the Guild and Renault lay special emphasis on Driving the Change and are therefore a perfect fit with each other.”

    Talking about the awards, Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said, “Television and cinema are the two cornerstones of our entertainment ecosystem. Star Guild Awards are extremely prestigious as they are based on peer recognition by members of the Guild. We are delighted to host them once again and our viewers can look forward to an entertaining night on TV.”

     

    Gionee Smartphones India head Arvind Vohra said, “Cinema is one of the most important parts of our culture. It is one of the Passion Points which we as a brand want to get associated with because our consumers connect with it. SGA is one of the platforms which is created by the Film industry and recognizes the efforts of the industry across categories and functions. We at Gionee are honored to be a part of SGA in recognizing and appreciating the efforts of the film industry for adding entertainment, style and glamour to the consumer’s life.”

     

    Wizcraft International Entertainment director Sabbas Joseph said, “It gives us immense pride to partner with the Guild and celebrate the success of the best contributions to Indian Cinema & television.”

     

    The Renault Star Guild Awards 2015 co- powered by Gionee Smartphones and Ola Cabs will telecast on 18th January on Star Plus at 8pm.

     

    List of Awards & Winners

     

    Special Awards
     

    Lifetimes Achievement Award- Rakesh Roshan

    Films who made more than 100 Crore- Bang Bang, Ek Villian, Happy New Year, Holiday, Jai Ho, Kick, PK, Singham Returns & 2 states

    The Guild Presidents Awards- Highway , Mary Kom

    Gionee Most Stylish Youth Icon- Alia Bhatt

    Bajate Raho Dialogue of the Year by RED FM- Mary Kom

    AK ABAAS award for social consciousness in Cinema- Citylights

    Star Plus Shining Superstar Award- Shraddha Kapoor

    Hindustan Times Celebrity for a cause- Priyanka Chopra

     

    Click here for winners list

  • Hungama.com releases ‘Digital Music Trends 2014’ report

    Hungama.com releases ‘Digital Music Trends 2014’ report

    MUMBAI: The year gone by had much to take note of. Hungama.com, an on-demand digital entertainment store-front, too has released a report on the music trends of 2014.

    The report, ‘Hungama.com Digital Music Trends 2014’, analyses music trends as per usage, both downloading and streaming, pan-India; with information on the most popular music streaming platforms as well as popular devices and music choices of Indian consumers.

    Music streaming across Hungama.com’s digital properties saw over a 100 per cent increase between 2013 and 2014, as per the report, which includes statistics based on web, WAP and mobile apps consumption. In comparison, between 2013 and 2014, the Android platform witnessed an increase of close to 100 per cent with regards to access of service over Android devices alone.  In fact, during 2014, 90 per cent of the music streaming access was accounted for by mobile devices driven by the growth in mobile internet usage.

    Bollywood based music, accounting for 81 per cent, was the preferred genre of music consumed across Hungama.com’s digital platforms, followed by international music at 10 per cent. Hungama.com, which introduced a multi-lingual transliterated version of its Android app in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Punjabi in 2014, saw streams for south Indian music and Punjabi music accounting for 4 per cent and 2.2 per cent of the total streams for the year. In terms of regions, Maharashtra accounted for the largest share of streams and downloads in 2014.

    The report also gives insight into the most popular handset manufacturers and devices of 2014. While Samsung continues to be the most popular mobile brand, the second spot was taken by Sony, followed by Micromax, Motorola and HTC in the top 5 most popular device manufacturers of 2014. Among the most popular handsets used, Samsung Galaxy dominated with nine devices leaving one spot for the Motorola MOTO G (8th position) in the list of top 10 most popular devices of 2014.

    2014 was also the year that brands increased their presence and reach on digital platforms. The leading advertisers on Hungama.com’s music platforms for 2014 include leading brands Airtel, Snapdeal, Vodafone, Ford, ITC, IPhone, HP, Unilever, Bacardi, Ask Me, We Chat, OLX, Canon, Quikr, Zee, Max Life, Maruti, Mcdowells and Cadbury.

    The report also includes ‘Hungama.com Chart-toppers 2014’, which delves into the most popular music among Indian consumers during the year. Hungama.com Chart-toppers 2014 is based on trends, both streaming and downloads, along with songs’ popularity and number of likes for music released in 2014; with a vision to promote the talents behind the music. The list includes a broad mix of genres, artists, languages and composers whose music released in 2014.

    As per the report, Arijit Singh is the most popular male singer of 2014 while Priyanka Chopra is among the top 10 most popular international artists for her hit title ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’. Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Happy New Year’ and Yo Yo Honey Singh’s ‘Desi Kalakaar’ with multiple entries to their credit are the two most popular albums of 2014.

     

  • Priyanka Chopra is the new face of Pakistani mobile

    Priyanka Chopra is the new face of Pakistani mobile

    New Delhi: Even though there are tensions on other fronts, cultural and commercial links continue to thrive between India and Pakistan.

     

    Pakistan’s QMobile has now selected Priyanka Chopra who will be marketing a newer brand for LINQ Smartphones.

     

    QMobile already has a 50% market share in the local market that makes it the number one mobile phone seller in Pakistan. Out of this entire share, a big chunk belongs to lower end mobile phones. With growing competition in the smartphone domain, QMobile is continuing its journey by influencing the minds of its fans through top notch celebrities.

     

    With Priyanka Chopra on board, QMobile is confident about generating a positive impact in the market.

     

    Before this, the company has brought three top notch Bollywood Kapoors – Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor – and Pakistani singing and acting fascinations Atif Aslam, Ali Zafar and Shan in their television commercials. They have also presented Shahid Khan Afridi in their ads.

     

    An official statement from the company says, “The genius behind QMobile, CEO Zeeshan Akhtar, is venturing out to embark upon new journey with premier Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra on board”.

     

    The mastermind’s keen marketing sense has allowed him to sign a beauty truly representative of this new range.

  • Twitter reveals the most influential tweets for #YearOnTwitter 2014

    Twitter reveals the most influential tweets for #YearOnTwitter 2014

    MUMBAI: The year 2014 has undoubtedly belonged to social media and the digital platform. Right from the Pope to Presidents and celebrities, everyone has made a substantial impact through social media. The digital medium products such as selfies, retweets, posts on the most influential books thread, video bytes, challenges like the Ice Bucket and several other me too challenges, announcing breakups and marriages, open letters, celebrity fall outs and unisons with publications etc.; have ensured that the narrative is always chronicled on social media.

     

    As the social soundtrack to life in India, Twitter has revealed the four most influential Tweeple in India for its #YearOnTwitter 2014 campaign, namely Amitabh Bachchan (12M), Shah Rukh Khan (10.4M), Priyanka Chopra (8.05M) and Sachin Tendulkar (4.85M). The portfolios of two of these biggies – Amitabh Bachchan (@srbachchan) and Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) are handled by Fluence, a celebrity digital network that has made news throughout the year with its disruptive activities and signings.

     

    Starting 16 December 2014 till 31 December, the top five tweets that created maximum impact from this set of Indian Tweeples will be showcased under the Perspectives section on 2014.twitter.com, along with other global movers and shakers such as Lady Gaga, Robert Downey Jr. and Neymar Jr. These influencers were chosen for their reach in the country and the news they made during the year on Twitter. Sachin’s picture of him posing with his mother holding his autobiography for the first time, him receiving the Bharat Ratna, Amitabh Bachchan’s thank you message for fans wishing him on his birthday and him sweeping the streets for Swach Bharat Abhiyaan were amongst the most talked about Tweets in the year.

     

    Speaking about their influential clients, Ashish Joshi, VP Digital & Business Head Fluence says, “I would like to congratulate Mr Bachchan and Sachin, two prolific personalities who the people love and who have the power to influence the country with their statements. While it is an honour for Fluence to be associated with personalities of this calibre this association comes with the responsibility of constantly innovating and coming up with ideas that are true to their personalities and are also loved by their fans.  We hope continue to succeed in our efforts while handling these incredibly charismatic and influential people and set new benchmarks for ourselves in the years to come.”

     

    Rishi Jaitly, Market Director for Twitter India and South East Asia added, “No doubt that 2014 was a breakthrough year for Indians using Twitter to connect to their world and heroes such as Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar with 12 million and nearly 5 million followers, respectively. We’re honored to feature them on our global #YearOnTwitter site which showcases the best of the world’s Twitter celebrities and how they connect with their followers in a more personal, authentic way. We look forward to enabling many more millions of Indians to stay engaged with their favourite idols through our platform for live, public conversations on their mobile devices.”

     

    Established in 2013 by CA Media, Fluence has created waves in the nascent sector by signing on some of the biggest names in the industry such as Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh, Sonu Nigam, Lata Mangeskhar, etc.

     

  • Hero ISL opening promises to be a spectacular visual extravaganza

    Hero ISL opening promises to be a spectacular visual extravaganza

     MUMBAI:The Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata will be the epicenter of Indian and global football fans alike as the inaugural season of the Hero Indian Super League kicks off there on 12 October 2014.

    The entertainment packed proceedings will be telecast starting 6 pm on eight channels of the Star network and also be aired on www.starsports.com, whereas the on-ground entertainment will start 5:20 pm onwards.

    The sheer footballing quotient aside, Kolkata citizens and Indian football fans alike will be treated to an eye catching visual extravaganza at the grand opening ceremony.
     
    Kicking off the grand opening ceremony will be a performance by 200 children (100 boys and 100 girls) between the age group of 12 – 14 years and 100 dance performers, wherein over 600 illuminated footballs will be used as props. The performance by the children will culminate in a dramatic formation of the ISL logo. Around 160 Indian musicians with eight musical maestros will also set the stage alight at the Salt Lake Stadium to some melodious Indian music.
     
    Next up will be a quick video montage highlighting the International and Indian footballing talent on display over the duration of the inaugural season of the Hero ISL. Post which taking center stage would be West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who will declare the inaugural opening ceremony open.
     
    Immediately post which the Hero ISL will pay a brief tribute to the “Blazing Feet Of Indian Footballing Legends”, the Golden Era of football in India 1951-1962 with shots from the Asian Games of 1962. Then taking center stage at the Salt Lake Stadium will be a tribute by eight musical maestros representing each of the eight participating teams and regions, who will be accompanied nearly a 160 musicians. Representing Kolkata at their home venue will be Bickram Gosh, while percussionist extraordinaire Sivamani will play for Chennai. Similarly, Aslam Dafrani will represent Delhi, while  Bondo and Taufiq Qureshi will represent Goa and Mumbai respectively. Adding to the atmosphere will the Chenda players representing Kerala, the Manipuri dhol players from the North East and Puneri dhol players representing Pune. All of whom will be accompanied by 160 lezim players.
     
    The highlight of the grand opening ceremony will be a special performance by Bollywood Diva and international pop icon Priyanka Chopra, accompanied by Salim Merchant of the Salim and Suleiman famed duo. Chopra will then set the stage alight performing with all the eight musical maestros and dance performers, who will also sing an original compilation later.
     
    The ceremony will then come to a close amidst fantastic fireworks, with a special rendition of the League anthem being performed by Salim Merchant.
     
    The minister of youth affairs and sports, Sarbananda Sonowal would also be present at the event along with other dignitaries including AIFF president Praful Patel, Star India CEO Uday Shankar. Celebrity owners of the participating teams present at the event will include Abhishek Bachchan (Chennaiyin FC), Varun Dhawan (FC Goa), Salman Khan (FC Pune City) and John Abraham (NorthEast United FC) along with Saurav Ganguly (Atletico De Kolkata), Sachin Tendulkar (Kerala Blasters FC) and Ranbir Kapoor (Mumbai City FC).
     
    Following the inauguration ceremony, the first match of the Hero ISL will be played between Atletico de Kolkata and Mumbai City FC, locking horns against each other on the field.
     
     
    The ceremony and the inaugural match of the Hero Indian Super League Season 2014 will be telecast on Star Sports 2 (English), Star Sports 3 (Hindi), Star Sports HD 2 (English), Star Gold (Hindi), Star Utsav (Hindi), Asianet Movies (Malayalam), Jalsha Movies (Bengali) and Suvarna Plus (Kannada). Furthermore, it would also be aired on www.starsports.com.
     
    Tickets to the opening ceremony and first match of Hero ISL are priced between Rs 200 to Rs 2500. Tickets can be booked online at www.indiansuperleague.com. Tickets are also available at Salt Lake Stadium box office.

  • ‘Liar’s Dice’ chosen as India’s entry for Oscars

    ‘Liar’s Dice’ chosen as India’s entry for Oscars

    MUMBAI: National Award winning Hindi film Liar’s Dice, starring Geetanjali Thapa and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, has been chosen as India’s entry for the ‘Best foreign film’ category at the 87th Academy Awards.

     

    Directed by the film debutant Geetu Mohandas the film has been chosen by a 12-member jury appointed by the Film Federation of India (FFI). The film has been shortlisted out of 30 contenders, the largest number FFI has ever considered including Priyanka Chopra’s Mary Kom,  Kangna Ranaut starrer Queen, Hansal Mehta’s acclaimed Shahid and Riteish Deshmukh-produced Marathi film Yellow, Rani Mukherji’s comeback Mardaani  among others.

     

    The movie tells the story of a young tribal mother who, along with her three-year-old daughter, embarks on a journey in search of her missing husband. On the way, she meets an army deserter, who decides to accompany them to their destination.

     

    Early this year, Liar’s Dice won the special jury award at the Sofia International Film Festival in Bulgaria. In addition to traveling at various festivals, it went on to win the National Awards honor for best actress (Geetanjali Thapa) and cinematography (Rajeev Ravi).

     

    The last Indian film that made it to the final five nominees at the Oscars was Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan. Mother India and Salaam Bombay are the only other two Indian films to have made it to the top five.

     

    The 87th Academy awards will take place on 22 February.

  • ‘Finding Fanny’ wins at the BO

    ‘Finding Fanny’ wins at the BO

    MUMBAI: Creature 3-D has not been appreciated. At 135 minutes, the film is found to be rather too long and taxing for a horror film with repetitive sequences. The makers have got carried away with their newfound creature.

     

    The film opened to poor response and failed to improve on Saturday and Sunday. While its main face, Bipasha Basu, is out of favour with the audience, the Pakistani actor, Imran Abbas Naqvi, failed to make an impression. Also, 3-D is no more a novelty. It ended its opening weekend with Rs 10.7 crore. Not very encouraging.

     

    Finding Fanny (English with dubbed Hindi version) did well at select multiplexes at major metros. In fact, it has done better than the other releases of the week, Creature 3-D. Deepika Padukone has proved to be the main attraction as well as the sustaining star in this film. The film has collected Rs 16.8 crore for its first weekend.

     

    Mary Kom has remained below par despite much hype and gone the way most sports biopics do: mostly ignored. The film managed to collect Rs 42.2 crore in its first week, the drop having started after the opening weekend.

     

    Raja Natwarlal proves to be a nonperformer at the box office with the audience rejecting the routine, run of the mill Emraan Hashmi fare dished out on regular basis. The film, which opened to poor response continued to be so through first week and, then, adding a mere Rs 2.75 crore in its second week to take its two week total to Rs 23.75 crore.

  • After Priyanka, Sonam roped in for a biopic

    After Priyanka, Sonam roped in for a biopic

    MUMBAI: After the success of Farhan Akhtar’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Priyanka Chopra’s Mary Kom, and Irrfan Khan’s Paan Singh Tomar, Sonam Kapoor seems to be the next in line.

     

    As biopics seem to be trending in bollywood, buzz is that the fiery actress is going to play the legendry Indian painter Amrita Sher-Gil on big screen. The film would revolve around Amrita’s life, love, friends and mentors.

     

    Born in 1913 to a Punjabi-Sikh father and a Hungarian-Jewish mother, Amrita Sher-Gil was a pre-independence painter and one of the most prolific female painters of the pre-Independence era. Referred to as the ‘Frida Kahlo of India’, the legendary painter lived in France and India and died in 1941. The actress is in talk with the painter’s family for the same.

     

    Sonam Kapoor is currently busy promoting her latest project Khoobsurat with co-star Fawad Khan. The movie also stars veteran actresses Ratna Pathak Shah and Kirron Kher in lead.

     

    Set in Rajasthan, Khoobsurat is the story of Dr. Mili Chakravarty (Sonam Kapoor)- a middle class physiotherapist from Delhi. Mili is sent to Rajasthan to treat the paraplegic Shekhar Rathore, Raja of Sambalgarh. Over the course of her stay in the mahal, Mili charms the Rathore family, especially young Vikram Singh Rathore- with her free spirit and funny antics.

     

    The film, which is a remake of Hrishikesh Mukerjee’s 1980 hit film of similar name starring Rekha is directed by Shashanka Ghosh and is slated to hit the silver screens on 19 September.