Category: News

Houston: For the first time in Houston’s history, Pakistanis and Indians celebrated their independence days together in a joint event. Rehan Siddiqui of Radio Hum Tum added a new chapter in the life of South Asian community of Houston. A joint independsence day event where thousands of people from two countries stood in respect for each other’s national anthems. Rehan Siddiqui thanked the audience for the brotherly gestures for each other.
According to details, Rehan Siddiqui hosted the musical evening in local arena where thousands of Houston residents of Pakistani and Indian dissent gathered to celebrate their independence days. The event hall which started getting filled by droves of Pakistani and Indian enthusiasts was full even before the start of the event. Rehan Ahmad was Master of ceremony while Pakistani visiting artists Wahid Bukhsh Allan Faqeer, Mai Namani, Sajid Allan Faqeer, Akhtar Mahrvi and Pakistani popular singer Jawwad Ahmad entertained the audience with their popular songs, as well as the famous Indian singer Kelash Kher also mesmerized people in attendance with his captivating performance.
Performances of popular singers Jawwad Ahmad and Kelash Kher went well with audience but a brief performance of Allan Faqeer and Mai Namani was the highlight of the event where they only presented three of their songs but were the best received by audience. Allan Faqeer folk dance and his performance was not only mesmerizing but also left people dancing in tunes of the popular folk numbers. Pakistani folk singers were not given enough time for performances due to paucity of time. People in attendance wanted to see more of them
Program host Rehan Siddiqui thanked all in attendance and said that this independence day celebration is void of any politics and is an expression of solidarity from people of both countries. He said that he has not invited any Consulate General or officers of any other Association as the event is aimed to be people’s celebration of their country’s independence. He said that our artists are true ambassadors of our nations and today they have proved that music has no border. He said that people of two countries stood in respect for each other’s national anthems is a testimony of maturing of our people.
Speaking to audience Kelash Kher said that today’s event shows that we all are knitted with the wires of humanity and whenever we see challenges and calamities we jump to help each other regardless of if the victim is a Pakistani or an Indian or Afghan. Pakistani popular singer Jawwad Ahmad said that it was for the first time he saw people stood in respect for both Pakistani and Indian anthems. He said that his message is of socialism which does not divide people in race religion, gender or sex. He said that world peace will be attained when all will be equal, and will take care of each other’s. Rehan Siddiqui thanked the program sponsors. The program ran till late at night, where among other things several booths were also presented with commercial products. Kids entertainment was also provided with games, rides and other booths for their entertainment. People in attendance liked the arrangements and thanked organizers for the event of unique nature

MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor is witnessing mount in his problems – and for professional reasons.

If latest reports are to be believed, Kapoor’s ex-flame Sonakshi Sinha and his debut co-star Parineeti Chopra have refused to star opposite him in Anees Bazmee’s next multi-starrer, ‘Mubaraka’ that has Arjun playing twin role in it.

Reports added that the reasons for refusal are totally professional and not the personal.

Arjun will be seen playing a double role in the movie and secondly and more importantly, director Anees Bazmee has already cast three heroines in the film – Athiya Shetty, Ileana D’Cruz and Amy Jackson.

Almost all of Shah Rukh Khan fans remember his romantic roles in flicks and understandably other rising stars are eclipsed with presence of King Khan. Well, we have an interesting facet from SRK’s hit ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’.

Do you remember the child actor who played Shah Rukh’s in ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’. Named Ahsaas Channa, the actress has now grown up to be one beauty lady.

She played the role of Shah Rukh Khan‘s sweet ‘violin-loving’ son Arjun Saran and then went on to become a possessed soul in Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Phoonk 2’. Later, she featured in a few television serials like ‘Devon Ke Dev….Mahadev’, ‘Gumraah’ to name a few.

One website reported that Channa was a girl since birth, but his parents had hidden his gender so that the kid could land roles as a boy in films.

Her Instagram page gives you more insight about the gorgeous lady who has grown up to be a stunner.

MUMBAI: Priyanka Chopra is currently busy shooting her ABC TV show Quantico at present and. Her film Baywatch, starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron, is up for release soon as well. But some reports are coming in regarding the actress’s exit from B-Town.

You may treat it as rumours but they are gaining momentum that the actress is shifting to the US. What added fuel to the fire was the fact that Priyanka has not signed any Bollywood films despite spending almost a month in India recently, reported the Indian Express.

A tabloid reported that Priyanka was indeed shifting to Los Angeles for the next five years to cement her Hollywood career.

The report quoted sources saying if all goes well for Priyanka, she will be staying back in LA for the next five years, but it all depends on Quantico 2 and how well it’s received.

“She has also been getting offers for Bollywood movies, but none have been exciting enough for her to take up. She’s bought an apartment in LA, so she doesn’t have any staying problems too.”

Without wasting moments to let rumblings grow louder, Priyanka has revealed that we don’t have to worry about it either. Taking to Twitter, the actress wrote, “I really wake up to such amusing news sometimes.i am filming Quantico in nyc my home is mumbai. No LA in the pic!”

MUMBAI (Web Desk) – Famous Bollywood star Salman Khan has announced to present a cheque to every single Indian Athletes participating in Rio Olympics to appreciate their performances, reported on Thursday.

Salman, who is India s goodwill ambassador for Rio Olympics, took to the micro-blogging website Twitter and said that as a gesture of appreciation for Indian Olympic athletes, he will present each one with a cheque of Rs1,01,000.

He also applauded Indian government and Rio administration for supporting sports in the nation and urged the citizens to come forward for the promotion of games in the country.

Dabung Khan also mentioned the names of some companies thanking them for encouraging the people towards Olympics and sponsoring the event.

LONDON: Not many Bollywood film stars go from the big screen to television, but the Indian actor and producer Anil Kapoor has not had a traditional career.

Kapoor acted in the Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionaire”, and now he’s back with a second season of “24”, the Indian remake of the U.S. television series about a counter-terrorism agent. He stars as Jai Singh Rathod, the Indian equivalent of Jack Bauer.

“People say that movie stars and big movie stars don’t do television because from the big screen you’re in everybody’s bedroom, it’s small screen. So that risk was there,” Kapoor told Reuters in an interview in London. “But I’ve always taken risks in my career, and I love playing with fire.”

The 59-year-old actor first came to London in 1979 as a backup dancer in a show at the Royal Albert Hall. Since then, he has acted in more than 100 films, including “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” with Tom Cruise and numerous Bollywood hits like “Mr India” and “Taal”. He also acted in the American “24”.

The second season of India’s “24”, which will also air in London on Colors TV, is a 24-episode series representing 24 hours in Rathod’s life as he races to save civilians from becoming collateral damage in a medical terrorism plot. Kapoor said the story is relevant in today’s world, where terrorism is the biggest threat.

“The content has to be great and I felt that ’24’ has that potential. It’s a great story, it’s great content … Initially, yes, when I was doing it, there was a risk, but in my mind I was very confident that people are going to like it,” he said.

The show aims to break up viewing habits in India, which are dominated by women and tend towards programmes centred on love and the complex relationships within an extended Indian family. It will take time to change that mindset, Kapoor said, but India’s middle class and youth want more realistic fare.

“It has to be as real as possible. If there was a film which is slightly the way it was made earlier, which is melodramatic or doesn’t look believable, starts looking fake, those films are rejected,” he said.

The actor, whose three children have also followed in his footsteps into the Indian film industry, said shooting for television was more intense than doing a film because it required longer working hours for a longer period of time.

After wrapping up the second season of “24”, Kapoor plans to start work on the upcoming Bollywood family drama “Mubaraka”. He has also secured the rights to make Indian versions of the shows “Modern Family” and “Prison Break”.

MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor recently disclosed his bad experience while interacting with Hollywood star Natalie Portman and being ignored by Quentin Tarantino.

Kapoor, in an interview, narrated his experience of being ignored and scolded by the two Hollywood stars.

“You know this happens to me a lot. It’s not just Quentin Tarantino. I am star struck. I’ve run behind Natalie Portman at Tribeca.

She was on the phone and she was crying. I went quickly behind her and said, ‘I love your…’ Before I could say ‘work’, she turned and said, ‘Get lost!’ So I’ve had my heart broken but I would still chase them,” he said.

Rock Star actor stated that he was ignored by famed Hollywood director Tarantino during his shoot with Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

Kapoor said, “So with Quentin Tarantino recently, he was promoting The Hateful Eight and we were shooting Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in London. I was shooting in a basement and he was in the building. I heard that he was doing an interview so I went up running. I told Karan, ‘Listen, I have to meet him.’ Not that I’m going to say that I’m an actor from India. I just wanted to meet him, take a picture, an autograph.”

“So I was waiting at the car for like half an hour. I saw him coming and from far I’m saying, ‘Quentin, Quentin.’ He walks, looks at me, goes and sits in his car. When the door opens, I’m like, ‘Sir, picture picture? ‘and they have it on video. It was really funny and I got teased by the entire crew of ADHM, but just to see Quentin Tarantino,” the Bollywood star said.

He said that Tarantino’s flicks have affected him and didn’t feel bad after being ignored by the director. He said that artists are supposed to be weird.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on Sunday was forced to apologise from Preity Zinta for a real reason that was he did not mention her name in his tribute to his film Dil Se on its 18th birthday of release.

SRK has called this movie his most favorite, “The one you love the most is sometimes not loved by most…but the love doesn’t change. My favourite.”

The Indian romantic thriller film, Dil Se was released in 1998. It was co-written and directed by Mani Ratnam, and produced by Mani Ratnam, Ram Gopal Varma, and Shekhar Kapur. Shahrukh Khan and Manisha Koirala played lead roles in the flick while Preity Zinta appeared in a supporting role. This should also be noted that the romantic movie has been underrated and commercial failure in cinemas. Shah Rukh had to correct his post with sorry to Preity Zinta. “Sorry Preity Zinta. With corrected credits. Thanks.”

Pakistani heartthrob Fawad Khan and Bollywood diva Katrina Kaif are all set to pair up for Karan Johar and Fox Star Studio s next production, reported Mumbai Mirror.

It marks the directorial debut of writer-lyricist Aditya Dhar.

A source close to the development has revealed that it s a love story set in North India revolving around Fawad and Katrina s onscreen Punjabi families.

The story-line features a big fat Punjabi wedding and will be a celebration of North Indian culture and revelry.

The source says, “The shoot is expected to kick off in Delhi sometime in November. Fawad is set to welcome his second child in October in Pakistan and will be by wife Sadaf s side till the baby is born. The film will roll once he s back in India and ready to resume shoot.”

The source adds, “Once done with the Delhi schedule, the team will move abroad. The locations are yet to be finalised and will be decided once Karan Johar returns from the US where he is currently on a concert tour.”

The film is expected to wrap up by January and the team is looking at a 2017 release.

Fawad will next be seen in Johar s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

Bollywood star Deepika Padukone will make her first appearance in the Hollywood film “XXX: The return of Xanders cage” which is set to release in January 2017, where she will be cast alongside Hollywood sensation Vin Diesel.

In recent reviews, the movie has received a warm response and the Bollywood actress seems to be looking forward to her Hollywood acting debut.

The actress recently commented on her upcoming debut film, “The world is waking up to new talent. Having said that, it is all about whether an actor suits a role or not. An actor should be cast in a movie only if his or her talent brings something unique to the table. I don’t think an actor’s religion, gender, or the region he or she belongs to, should be the reason to sign him or her for a film,” she said.

The movie revolves around the character Xander Cage (Vin Diesel), a government operative, who will race against time itself in order to recover a weapon of destruction known as “Pandoras Box”.

At the initial release of the first installment of the series, Vin Diesel had made his debut but he failed to be part of the second installment. However, he has agreed to participate in the third part of the franchise, starring alongside Deepika who will play the role of “Serena Unger”.

Regarding her role, Deepika had to comment that working in Hollywood “hasn’t been easy” when she said, “Initially, I didn’t feel like I was ready to take up an international project. I was offered films in the past too, but they just didn’t feel right. I have always followed my heart and my instinct,” she stated.

Deepika also revealed that initially, she feared whether or not she would be able to do justice to the character of Serena Unger.