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Mumbai, April 16 (IANS) Bollywood filmmaker Shoojit Sircar predicts that the production of children will get postponed as marriages are getting shelved due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. His prediction comes at a time when the entire nation is experiencing a lockdown owing to the pandemic. However, netizens disagree with the filmmaker and have offered him reasons why his prediction won't come true.## The filmmaker tweeted on Thursday: "Between Feb/Mar/Apr 2020 approx. 2.5 million (25 lakhs) Marriages will get postponed... That means the production of children will also get shelved or postponed."## Netizens commented on his tweet explaining to him why his prediction will not come true.## A user wrote: "The ones forced to stay at home will fill that production gap."## Another user commented: "Are you sure about that? Last year's married couples will not waste time."## Another user predicted: "Wait for population rise in December and January."## Meanwhile, in a hilarious tweet yesterday, Shoojit Sircar suggested that since the world has been hit by an economic crisis, we should head back to the barter system as a means for exchanging goods and services. He suggested that people can give him their unused items, clothes, ration, vegetables and other things in exchange for watching his movies!## Stay tuned...

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Mumbai, April 16 (IANS) Actor Karan Wahi has decided to donate the money he receives through promotional activity and endorsement on his social media accounts to various NGOs, as his contribution in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.## "I am hopeful that my contribution in India's battle against the coronavirus will help save lives of many people out there. I'm happy to be there for those who are in need of our support in these difficult times. I will be sending all my money to these NGOs in different corners of the country which give out meals and health facilities to the locals," Karan said.## The donations coming in from Karan's social media will cover NGOs in cities like Delhi and Mumbai.## On the professional front, Karan recently hosted a chat show, featuring cricketers in a candid mood.## Stay tuned...

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Mumbai, April 16 (IANS) Actress Zareen Khan, who has a sizeable fan following on Instagram and Twitter, has now come up with her YouTube channel.## "I had been planning to start my own YouTube channel for sometime now. A lot of people have been messaging me asking me to get it done but call me technologically challenged, it took time. Now, I have finally launched it so that makes me happy," Zareen said.## With her channel, she wants to give her fans a sneak peek into her personal life, as well as work.## "My YouTube channel will be all me - it won't just showcase my life as an actress but also emphasise on other aspects of my life. This is who I'm in real. This is just a chance for me to connect with my fans and for my fans to know who Zareen really is, as a person," she added.## Zareen made her debut in Bollywood in the 2010 film "Veer" opposite Salman Khan. She has featured in films like "Housefull 2", "Hate Story 3", "Wajah Tum Ho" and "Aksar 2".## Stay tuned...

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Mumbai, April 16 (IANS) Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu has taken to social media to express his gratitude for sanitation workers, who are working relentlessly to keep our surroundings clean amid the COVID 19 pandemic. Being frontline workers, they have to be on the streets daily, risking their lives to keep the nation safe.## The actor shared pictures of sanitation workers on Instagram and wrote: "This one is for all the sanitation workers deployed on our streets to make sure the surroundings are kept clean and sanitized. While we are safe in our homes, they come out everyday leaving their own to ensure we remain out of harm's way... A constant battle with this menacing virus is a challenge beyond all in their frontline jobs and they do it for us... My heartfelt gratitude, immense respect and endless love and blessings to each and every one of you. #InItTogether #wearewithyou #OneWorld."## Recently, the superstar thanked Telangana police for their continuous service during the lockdown. He wrote: "I want to take this moment to wholeheartedly thank the Telangana police force for spearheading the battle against COVID-19. Their relentless hard work is absolutely outstanding. Immense gratitude for safeguarding our lives and the health of our families during these most challenging times!"## Earlier, Mahesh Babu suggested his fans to practice "fear distancing", which means they should maintain distance from all kinds of fake news being circulated about the COVID-19 pandemic.## Stay tuned...

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Mumbai, April 16 (IANS) Actor Priyanshu Painyuli plays a Bangladeshi character in the upcoming digital film "Extraction", and he says the film's director Sam Hargrave did not want to take chances with the way his character spoke on the screen. A diction coach was hired for Priyanshu so that he got his Bangladeshi dialect right.## "The director, Sam Hargrave, was very particular that I speak in the local Bangladeshi language and look like one. So, I was given a dialogue coach from Dhaka named Raffael Ahsan when the preparation was on," Priyanshu said.## "To nail the part, I used to sit with Raffael every day for a few hours over video chat and the process continued over a couple of months. Also, the practice of learning languages comes from a Bollywood musical show I had previously been a part of. It traveled around the world and was called Taj Express, where I had spoken in the native languages of different countries like China, France, Russia and so on," he added.## For "Extraction", Priyanshu watched a couple of documentaries to see "behavioral patterns and demeanor".## "The dialogue coach was with me throughout the shoot. The prep and comfort that Sam and the crew gave me the confidence to play a role like this. I don't remember much of the Bangladeshi language except the lines I am speaking in the film but every learning comes to good use," he added.## Originally titled "Dhaka", the film also stars Indian actors Randeep Hooda, Pankaj Tripathi, and Rudraksha Jaiswal. It revolves around Tyler Rake (essayed by Chris Hemsworth), a fearless, black market mercenary, who embarks on the most deadly extraction of his career when he is enlisted to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord. Hemsworth shot for the Netflix film in India in 2018. In India, he shot in Ahmedabad and Mumbai. The film will release on Netflix on April 24.## Stay tuned...

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Mumbai, April 16 (IANS) Actress Bhumi Pednekar will discuss the importance of staying positive amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.## The chat session will see Bhumi speak to the spiritual leader on the need to focus on mental health during the lockdown, and the social and economic fallout thereafter.## "At times like this, we need to be deeply connected with your inner self, our spiritual side to tide over the difficulties, the anxiousness that we all are facing at various levels. The thought of having a conversation with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, whose pioneering work with Art of Living is an inspiration to so many, stemmed from the feeling of discussing how we can look at this moment and steer ourselves towards positivity," Bhumi said.## Bhumi added that mental health is a "huge challenge" during the lockdown.## "I will be looking to ask Gurudev to impart his suggestions which I'm sure will be enriching and enlightening for us," she said.## Bhumi will request Shri Shri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation, to guide people on how to focus on climate justice post the coronavirus pandemic.## "I will also be discussing climate change with Gurudev and understand his point of view on this burning issue and how we will all need to refocus on this post coronavirus. Through our discussion, I'm sure I will learn how to be a much more conscious citizen of our nation and I'm hoping many like me will find this session extremely beneficial," she said.## Stay tuned...

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Mumbai, April 16 (IANS) India's first micro web series shot during the COVID-19 lockdown will be out soon. "Mardaani 2" actor Sunny Hinduja, who features in the series, says the project was challenging as well as fun to work on.## Titled "A Viral Wedding", the series had its pre-production, shooting and post-production work done entirely during the lockdown, with none of the individuals who are involved in the series stepping out of their homes.## The series is directed by Shreya Dhanwanthary, Sunny's co-star in the 2019 OTT show, "The Family Man". It tells the story of a social media influencer who refuses to cancel her wedding owing to the lockdown.## "We had our shares of fun on video and phone calls during the making where people were located in different states and cities. It also brought along shares of struggles with it. But I must admit it was harder than we anticipated, we had nobody to help us, no equipment, no setup, we had to become the lightmen, cinematographers, art directors, and everything," said Sunny, who is playing a primary part in the series," said Sunny.## "Taking care of the sound was another task, as people would be cooking so there were cooker whistles at random times, sometimes there were birds, crows making noise. But with all this, we still managed to complete the shoot in just a week. From start to finish everything was done during the lockdown period. It's a light-hearted attempt to make people smile during this time," he added.## On working with Shreya Dhanwanthary, he said: "When Shreya asked me, I said a yes without thinking. The idea in itself was so unique that it was difficult to say no. We even discussed various ideas about the character and worked together to come up with something real and very different from my own personality. But after reading the script which was penned in 24 hours, I was bewildered at how good it was."## "Even if it wasn't for the lockdown, I would have agreed to do it. The cast and crew are based in different cities and they are working at different timelines, knowing the kind of hard work put into it, feels like a humbling experience to be a part of a first-of-its-kind web series," added Sunny.## Besides Sunny and Shreya, the show also features Amol Parashar, Aishwarya Chaudhary, Aritro, Sharib Hashmi and Mohit Raina, among others.## The shoot is over and the team is giving final touches to a few episodes. The series is likely to come out later next week.## Stay tuned...

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Hyderabad, April 16 (IANS) Actress Shriya Saran is known for her amazing dance moves, stunning figure and glamorous screen presence. Time and again, fans have expressed their love and admiration for these qualities, although there are occasions when certain fans can go beyond the limits of decency.## In a recent 'Insta live' session on her page, a user, while describing the actress, wrote: "Nice b***s."## Shriya ignored the comment while her husband Andrei Koscheev, who was also part of her live question-answer session, seemed to take it sportingly. "I agree with you guys, more comments on her please," he wrote.## Shriya got married to Andrei Koscheev in a hush-hush ceremony in Rajasthan in 2018. She is currently in Spain and regularly takes to her social media accounts to post messages and pictures with her husband.## In an interview not long ago, Shriya said: "God has been kind and I'm blessed to have such a supportive partner like Andrei. I somehow like the word partner more than my husband. Because Andrei is like my partner-in-crime, partner-in-fun and everything else. He's really proud of me and my work. Whenever I'm stressed or worried about what I'm doing, he always tries to calm me down. He's the best thing that's happened to me and I'm loving every minute that I spend with him."## In a recent interview, she spoke about how her husband displayed symptoms of COVID-19 but wasn't admitted to the hospital. She said ''Andrei began to develop a dry cough and fever. We rushed to a hospital but the doctors were overwhelmed and urged us to leave. 'Chances are that even if he doesn't have Covid-19, he will get it if he stays here,' the doctors told us. So we decided to go home and self-isolate ourselves and get treatment at home. We slept in different rooms and maintained a safe distance from each other. Thankfully, he's feeling better now, so I hope the worst is behind us."## On the work front, Shriya is likely to star opposite Nandamuri Balakrishna in director Boyapati Srinu's next.## Stay tuned...

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Los Angeles, April 16 (IANS) Actor John Krasinski has reportedly met with Marvel Studios for an unspecified project.## Although details about the project are awaited, Geeks Worldwide claims that Marvel has been holding "virtual meetings" with actors, directors, and writers lately, and Krasinski was one of them, reports dailymail.co.uk.## The report also stated that they are not sure if Marvel was interested in Krasinski as an actor, writer, director, or all three. It also indicates that Krasinski might be in talks for a role as Young Avengers. Another possibility that the site mentioned is "Fantastic Four" reboot with Disney in control of the franchise due to the Fox merger.## Marvel has not confirmed any developments with Krasinski, and the actor hasn't responded to the report either.## Krasinski came into spotlight with his role as Jim Halpert in "The Office", aired in India on Star World. He has also directed five films, including his breakthrough hit "A Quiet Place", in which he starred alongside his wife Emily Blunt. He also plays the title character in the Amazon Studios series "Jack Ryan", which has been renewed for a third season.## Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Krasinski has launched a web series "Some Good News".## Stay tuned...

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Mumbai, April 16 (IANS) The funds raised by Actor Arjun Kapoor's virtual date will be used to help the families of 300 daily wage earners.## The actor's virtual date happened through his sister Anshula Kapoor's online fundraising platform, Fankind, and raised enough funds to feed the families in question for a month.## "Coronavirus has thrown us all into unchartered territory. I'm grateful to all my fans that my 30-minute virtual date with five lucky winners for Anshula's Fankind has raised enough funds to feed many families," Arjun said.## Earlier, the actor has pledged to the PM-CARES Fund, Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund, GiveIndia, The Wishing Factory and Bollywood's Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE).## He announced: "Along with the funds raised during the chat, I have also extended some additional support to GiveIndia and this collective fund will support the families of these daily wage earners for a month. I felt happy to raise their morals and connect with people outside my circle and instill hope and faith within them. We must do our best in whatever way we can to help everyone triumph over this."## On the acting front, Arjun will next be seen in Dibakar Banerjee's "Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar". The film also stars Arjun's "Ishaqzaade" co-star Parineeti Chopra.## Stay tuned...

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New Delhi, April 16 (IANS) Actress Rhea Chakraborty prefers no intrusion into her private life, and that is the reason she never reacts to the rumors of her relationship with actor Sushant Singh Rajput.## The actress says Sushant is a "dear friend", and refused to get into any more details.## Asked if all the recent headlines about their reported affair take away her focus from work, Rhea told IANS: "Sushant is a dear friend. I have known him for many years! No more comments on this."## Rhea is coping up with the lockdown by "reflecting inwards".## "Sweating it out, yoga, meditation, cooking… I also did an Ayurveda course … Learning a lot about new things and health," she added.## On the work front, she is seen in Sonam Nair's short film "Boom Noom". It premiered on Zee5 on April 15 as part of their online short film festival.## Talking about the film, she said: "I really enjoyed shooting this over one single entire night! The crew was fun. Sonam has the wackiest sense of humor. She kept us happy."## Stay tuned...

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Mumbai, April 16 (IANS) Actor-comedian Vir Das says preparing for his starring role in upcoming show "Hasmukh" was the best part of working in the project.## He "consciously watched" a lot of shows by local stand-up comics to get his character in the Netflix show right.## "A lot of my research had started when I was writing the show. But when I began my prep as an actor, I consciously watched a lot of shows by local stand-up comics," Vir said.## "I had finished 'Jestination Unknown' around the same time so by virtue of that I'd learned that humor is rooted in local styles and culture. There is more banter. The stories are intimate. I used all of that in Hasmukh's set. Watching more and more comics nudged me towards finding the right persona for 'Hasmukh'," he added.## Talking about his character, Vir explained: "He is essentially an introvert and his stage person is a lot more open. I chalked out everything that Hasmukh would want to include in his set, figured a delivery style for him and made it entirely different from what he is off stage. The prep was actually the best part of the show for me. I enjoyed it to bits."## "Hasmukh" is about an ambitious comic on a mission to prove to his mentor that he is a good comedian. It shows how every dream comes with a price and Hasmukh (Vir Das) realizes that the only way to "kill it on stage", is if he "kills off stage".## Also featuring Ranvir Shorey, Manoj Pahwa, Amrita Bagchi, Suhail Nayyar, Inaamulhaq and Raza Murad, "Hasmukh" is directed by Nikhil Gonsalves and will release on April 17. The Netflix show is produced for Applause Entertainment by Emmay Entertainment.## Stay tuned...