BY IANS NEWS

Mumbai, April 27 (IANS) "Pyar Ki Luka Chuppi" actress Aparna Dixit says that the web has provided a lot of opportunities to actors, so no one should be insecure of the medium.## "I am not at all insecure because I am very sure of the loyalty of the TV audience. I feel that the TV audience is still a huge number and both the platforms are very different. It's like how people used to compare TV and films and now one more thing has been added," she said.## "Actors who used to sit at home, with no work, have got more opportunities. Also, it provides every one of a new way to display their talent. I think it's a great thing. There is some content which we can't show on TV, so now that can be shown on the web. If your story is good, you get the audience, irrespective of the platform," she added.## Aparna said there must be different content on TV as well, to keep the viewers engaged.## "I feel that content is supposed to be very different from each other as the audience loves watching different genres. We have to give them different kinds of stories. Also because actors also like to explore different genres," she said.## Meanwhile, during the period of lockdown, Arpana is missing shooting for her show "Pyar Ki Luka Chuppi".## "I miss shooting so much and I miss Rahul and Sheetal so much they are such amazing co-actors and I used to have blast on the set. I am missing making Instagram stories on the set. I am the one who makes many Instagram stories on the set, so I think my audience is also missing that," she said.## "In the evening, I used to have fruit sessions with Rahul and we would make fruit platters. I am also missing all the gossip sessions. Most importantly, I am missing delivering new episodes to the audience. I am getting so many messages from our fans asking when the next episode would come," she added.## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

New Delhi, April 27 (IANS) Fun chat shows to informative sessions, actors like Kartik Aaryan, Sunny Leone, Shruti Haasan, and Rashami Desai are flaunting their hosting skills in the digital space to while away their lockdown hours and fans are loving it.## Kartik's talk show on YouTube, "Koki Poochega", is surely among the most popular efforts. On the show, he interacts with frontline warriors in the COVID-19 battle, including doctors and health workers, and also with survivors of the novel coronavirus pandemic.## Kartik's trademark humorous style, at the same time engaging and informative, has already won the show a huge fan base, including Bollywood stars such as Alia Bhatt and Janhvi Kapoor, who have heaped praises on Kartik's effort on social media.## In his first episode of "Koki Poochega", Kartik interviewed India's first COVID-19 survivor Sumit Singh. The interaction gave an insight into what a person with symptoms of the virus should do and not do.## Shruti, who has been sharing recipes along with hair and skincare tips on social media, also goes live on Instagram for interactions with select guests.## Ways to stay strong, maintain mental balance, and keeping patience have been some of the topics of discussion.## "I have a close group of women who are my friends, but I also have a larger circle of women whom I have been interacting with that have been inspiring me. They are from different walks of life," said Shruti.## "I thought it would be lovely to interact with them on various topics and I like that they are from different places, different topics, and different professions," she added.## Sunny Leone has also started her chat show on Instagram.## Titled "Lockdown with Sunny", it sees Sunny in conversation with several celebrities, including Daboo Ratnani and Mandana Karimi.## "It was my idea to just have fun with our fans and people on Insta. It is all about light-hearted conversations with funny things and details about the guest," Sunny said.## "Bigg Boss 13" contestant Rashami Desai has also started her own digital show titled "The RDShhow".## "It's not your regular chat show. It's being made with an intent to educate people on different fields of career. I'll be inviting eminent personalities from various fields as guests on my show. We'll be discussing each field, with its possible career opportunities and the skills required to be successful in those particular fields," said Rashami.## Also making good use of the digital platform, actor Karanvir Bohra has started a fun-filled and informative live series titled "Lockdown with KV".## "The idea right now is to keep people engaged, talking, and importantly listening and watching good content to keep their minds diverted from the ongoing stressful situation," he said.## "So that's what my second live series 'Lockdown with KV' is aiming at. The first main idea which is to just talk to people from different walks of life and understand their lives and routines and importantly coping skills during these trying and testing times" added the actor, who had earlier brought in his celebrity friends for a 21-question series on Instagram.## Actress-producer Dia Mirza's digital session, "#DownToEarthWithDee", features celebrity guests who share a common love for nature. The session is held every Wednesday.## Dia's first conversation with filmmaker Zoya Akhtar dwelt on a number of things, from their shared love for nature to how they are both dealing with the lockdown.## "I hope these conversations on '#DownToEarthWithDee' every Wednesday will help all those seeking ways to live in better harmony with nature despite living in cities. I hope they find some magic, inspiration, and solutions in our conversations,'' Dia said.## Joining the list is actress Urvashi Dholakia, who has a digital chat show called "Trending Now".## Through the course of the show, Urvashi will be seen chatting up with personalities from diverse fields.## She has interviewed celebrities like Tony Kakkar, Sriti Jha, and Sumona Chakravarti.## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

Mumbai, April 27 (IANS) Actor Pankaj Tripathi, who has tasted success on the big screen as well as the digital space, says that when it comes to the debate on web censorship, a dialogue is very important.## "Everything should have a debate because the dialogue is important. The storytellers get to tell their stories the way they want to, without the censors on the platform. They have freedom," opined Tripathi, who gained a major fan base as Guruji in "Sacred Games" and Kaleen bhaiya in "Mirzapur".## However, not everything can be defended in the name of creative freedom, he feels.## "There are some people who just want to spread 'sansani' (sensationalism). They too have some freedom because there are no censors. So, there are pros and cons of having censorship, and if there is a debate only then will people arrive at some conclusion," the actor pointed out.## On the acting front, he will next be seen in Kabir Khan's "83".## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

Mumbai, April 26 (IANS) After wooing her fans and followers with her sizzling bikini pictures from her vacations, actress and former beauty queen Urvashi Rautela treated them with a new sizzling video of her dancing effortlessly.## Urvashi took to Instagram, where she uploaded to dance videos of herself. In the clip, the actress is she is seen performing "heel choreography".## In one video, Urvashi is seen performing on the Bollywood number "Aashiq banana aapne" by Himesh Reshammiya.## ""So honoured, blessed & grateful to be the "First Indian Artist to perform #HeelsChoreography Aon screen ALove u Tushk," she captioned the videos.## In other news, Urvashi's Facebook account was hacked. She warned fans not to respond to posts originating from her Facebook account.## Urvashi realised that her Facebook has been hacked when a few posts, comprising pornographic content, started originating from the account.## Mumbai Police have informed Urvashi that they have acted on the issue, and a complaint has been registered with the cyber police cell.## On the work front, "Beat pe thumka", a peppy wedding number featuring Urvashi has just been released. The song is from her upcoming comedy flick "Virgin Bhanupriya".## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

Mumbai, April 26 (IANS) Actress Tisca Chopra is missing going outdoors but she says she is making the most of staying indoors.## Tisca shared a stunning photograph on Instagram of herself in a monochrome monokini. In the image, the "Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji" actress can be seen laying on sand.## "Lockdown diaries Day 29: 'Missing the outdoors but making the most of the indoors .. Made some #dimsums last evening and judging by the reaction they were good. Tara loves whatever little I cook and that is encouraging me be more adventurous (head to stories)," she wrote alongside the image.## She also mentioned she would be chatting with a psychiatrist on the photo-sharing website.## Tisca then took to her Instagram Stories, the actress is seen looking into her iPad and she captioned it: "#Backtoschool".## Recently, the actress dedicated her role of Dr. Mira Anand in the series "Hostages" to first responders and caregivers amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country.## "Hostages", a crime thriller, is directed by Sudhir Mishra. It is an official adaptation of an Israeli series of the same name. It also stars Ronit Roy, Parvin Dabas, Aashim Gulati, and Mohan Kapoor.## Amid lockdown, Tisca is using her time to hone her filmmaking skills. She has been taking online classes on how to direct feature films.## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

Mumbai, April 26 (IANS) Bollywood actress Taapsee Pannu shared an anecdote about shifting to her new home. She said that to keep the ambition flying high, she always wanted a logo instead of a nameplate outside her house.## Taapsee took to Instagram, where she shared a photograph of herself posing in front of her "blue door".## "This is the day I had my apartment in Mumbai ready, with all interior work done. It was strange that when I left for the shoot of 'Manmarziyaan' I left from the old apartment I had taken on rent when I first moved to Mumbai and by the time I finished shooting the film n came back I entered the new apartment."## She shared that it was a very seamless transition for her.## "Like a new chapter began just like that. It was a very seamless transition for me but it went through its share of teething issues which were all sorted by my sister n mom before I entered home.## "It made me realize no matter how much effort you put in, the house stays a house until it's lived in with your family who then makes it ‘Home'. That's the blue door that I wanted for my home and to keep the ambition flying high I always wanted a logo instead of a nameplate outside my house."## Taapsee said it was a defining moment for her to see everything coming together.## "Seeing it all come together for the first time was definitely a defining moment in a girl's life who wanted to create her own space which she can look at every time she sets an ambitious goal and feel it's possible," she said.## On the film front, after giving a stellar performance in "Thappad", Taapsee will next be seen in "Haseen Dillruba", "Rashmi Rocket" and "Shabaash Mithu".## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

Los Angeles, April 26 (IANS) Covid-19 survivors Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have offered their blood to help develop a vaccine for coronavirus.## In early March, the couple had tested positive for Covid-19 while in Australia.## They returned home to Los Angeles at the end of March after recovering.## Hanks said on a podcast last week that he and Wilson volunteered to donate their blood and plasma for coronavirus research, reports variety.com.## "A lot of the questions (are) what do we do now? Is there something we can do? And, in fact, we just found out that we do carry the antibodies," he said. "We have not only been approached, but we have also said, aDo you want our blood? Can we give plasma?'"## The actor also said that he had a name ready if a coronavirus vaccine is made from his blood donation.## "In fact, we will be giving it now to the places that hope to work on what I would like to call the 'Hank-ccine'," he said.## Hanks also said that he and Wilson are feeling "just fine" and "dandy" after their bout with the virus.## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

Mumbai, April 26 (IANS) Singer Kanika Kapoor, who was the first Bollywood celebrity to have tested positive for COVID-19 in India, has broken silence on her travel history, diagnosis and treatment.## Kanika was admitted on March 20 when her tests revealed that she was Coronavirus positive.## She was discharged from the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) in Lucknow earlier this month.## She has now issued a statement on Twitter in which she has revealed why she chose to be silent all this while.## "Every person that I have come in contact with, be it in UK, Mumbai or Lucknow, has shown no symptoms of Covid-19. In fact all those tested have been negative," she said in her statement.## "I travelled from UK to Mumbai on March 10 and was duly screened at the international airport. I travelled to Lucknow the following day on March 11 to see my family. There was no screening set up for domestic flights. On March 14 and 15, I attended a friend's lunch and dinner. There was no party hosted by me and I was in absolute normal health. I had symptoms on March 17 and 18, so I requested to be tested."## The singer also mentioned that she has been at home for 21 days now and also thanked doctors and medical staff for "taking care of her during a very emotionally testing time".## She concluded the statement by saying: "Negativity thrown at a person does not change the reality."## A case had been registered against the singer, last month, for hiding her travel history and attending parties after returning from London.## She was charged under IPC Section 269 (a negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and Section 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life).## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

Hyderabad, April 26 (IANS) South superstar Vijay Deverakonda took to the social media to make two important announcements.## He wrote: "None of us were prepared for this. But we are fighters. We shall survive this and come out of it strong. This thing hit me hard as well, but I am here now. I am here with my incredible team that never says no to a fight and we are happy to announce a Rs 1.30 cr fund to help as many as we can. All we need is some love, kindness, and support and I am sending you all, my love and strength."## He even posted an 11-minute video clip in which the actor assured that he will provide employment opportunities and take care of the immediate requirements such as groceries and medicine through his foundation.## He also revealed that he had started a project in April 2019 and wanted to help 50 boys and girls with employment opportunities.## They were given coaching by his team as well.## Vijay happily shared that two of the students have since received offer letters from a company and he is confident that the remaining 48 people will get their offers after the COVID-19 lockdown ends.## He also added that he will take care of the immediate needs of more than 2,000 families.## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

Mumbai, April 26 (IANS) Filmmaker Karan Johar has "apologized profusely" after he was hit hard by a post showing a "privilege celebrities" have.## Karan took to Twitter, where he shared a video titled "Thank You Celebrities", which shows celebrities including A popular names like Ellen DeGeneres, Sam Arnitage and Amanda Keller among many others, who have been treating quarantine like a vacation from in their sprawling mansions by "common" people who are struggling during the pandemic.## "This hit me hard and I have realized many of my posts may have been insensitive to many...I apologize profusely and wish to add none of it was intentional and came from a place of sharing but clearly may have lacked emotional foresight ... am sorry!" Karan wrote alongside the video.## The Bollywood director has constantly been entertaining his fans and followers amid lockdown. The videos feature his twins -- Roohi and Yash poking fun at him.## However, social media users came in support of Karan's videos.## One wrote: "Ur kids are Angels in this hard time ..me and my daughter s are waiting for Yash Roohi videos.."## Another questioned as to why the filmmaker is apologizing.## "Why are you apologizing. Your videos are harmless to your kids. You are bringing joy to people like us and I am a healthcare worker in Chicago saying that. You aren't one of the celebrities showing off, so please don't apologize and keep posting and sharing joy," the user wrote.## A third user said: "Wish to thank your kids for bringing smiles to me as well as my family. Please don't apologize. And don't stop posting, we look forward to them."## A social media user lauded Karan's "sensitive side."## "Sorry bolne ke liye bohoth himmat chaheye (It takes a lot of strength to apologize. I have no idea what you apologizing for, lekin it feels good to know your sensitive side (It feels good to know your sensitive side)," the user said.## Stay tuned...

BY IANS NEWS

Mumbai, April 26 (IANS) Bollywood actress Vidya Balan is elated as she's raised over 2,500 PPE kits for doctors and Rs 16 lakhs for those who are battling at the frontline to keep everyone safe from COVID-19 pandemic.## Vidya had also collaborated with celebrity shout-out platform Tring, along with Manish Mundra of Drishyam Films and photographer cum film producer Atul Kasbekar.## She took to Instagram on Sunday afternoon where she shared the good news.## "I've woken up to good news this morning. We've reached 2500+ PPE kits and raised over 16 lakh in just a few hours. A big thank you to each of you who has donated and made this possible. A load of gratitude and bless you. This is truly the unity and spirit of India..." she said in the video.## Alongside the video, Vidya wrote: "Thank you very much for your generous donations from all over the world. I'm elated to share that we have raised 2500+ kits accounting over Rs 16 lakh within a few hours. A load of gratitude for helping in donating over double our initial target.## "The campaign will run for some more time, so if you haven't been able to donate yet but want to help out, go to www.tring.co.in and donate whatever you can. Every single kit is helping protect a life. The #WarAgainstCovid19 continues, let's #UniteForHumanity #StayHome#StaySafe".## In an earlier post, the "Mission Mangal" star had informed that each PPE kit worth Rs 650 consists of one coverall laminated and waterproof nitrile gloves, goggles, face shields, 3-ply surgical mask, and shoe covers.## Stay tuned...

BY SUNIT JANGIR

Akshay Kumar and Kiara Advani starrer Laxmmi Bomb might not release in theaters now as some reports suggest that the movie can directly go to digital platforms due to coronavirus pandemic and extended lockdown in India. However, the official announcement yet to happen but it is highly to release on OTT platform.## Movie critic and trade analyst Joginder Tuteja also gives a hint that one of the most awaited movies of the year may not release in theaters. ## Yes, it is highly probable now that @akshaykumar and @advani_kiara starrer #LaxmmiBomb will release straight on OTT.Sad (for people like me who love to watch the smallest of films on the big screen) but true! pic.twitter.com/AbMAyhZpXN— Joginder Tuteja (@Tutejajoginder) April 26, 2020 ## Laxmmi Bomb was originally slated to release on Eid (22 May) along with Salman Khan's Radhe - Your Most Wanted Bhai but the coronavirus pandemic and the extended lockdown till May 3 in India has ruined all the plans of the makers to get an original release date.## Laxmmi Bomb is a Hindi remake of 2011 Tamil horror comedy Muni 2: Kanchana. Akshay Kumar plays the role of timid-natured Raghav, who suffers from a fear of ghosts and undergoes a personality transformation after being possessed by the spirit of a transgender named Laxmmi in the film. Laxmmi Bomb is directed by Raghava Lawrence who also directed and played a lead role in Tamil film Muni 2: Kanchana. ## Due to the pandemic, many film projects have been postponed indefinitely including Salman Khan's Radhe - Your Most Wanted Bhai which was slated to release along with Akshay's Laxmmi Bomb on Eid (22 May), 2020.## For more and latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned with us.