BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 14 (IANS) Actor Lakshya Kochhar, who is playing an important role in the upcoming short film "Second Hand", says that the story of the film quite realistically shows a modern-day relationship.## Sharing insight into his character, Lakshya said: "The film explores the dichotomy in modern-day relationships through its turbulent journey, dotted with ups and downs. Till what level can you push yourself to make a relationship work? What role does your past play in being the best self in your current relationship? And how do people react when they have no options left in the relationship. Either all in or out?"## The short film is directed by Navjot Gulati and releases on the OTT platform ZEE5 on Wednesday.## Lakshya, who earlier appeared in the Akshay Kumar-starrer "Gold" said that in the upcoming film his character looks very "non-glamourous", and he stopped working out for a while to put on a few kilos to look the part.## He added: "To reach the psyche of the character, it was very important to browse through my own experiences. Insecurities come with love and hence the balance between being possessive and insecure is the thin thread we walk on, to make any relationship work. We live in a very complex world and too many interlinked dynamics are at play. Manoeuvring your relationship through this chaos and surviving the ride can be very challenging. So in that sense, I feel most people will relate to the film and draw something from it."## The short also features Abhishek Banerjee and Parul Gulati.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 14 (IANS) Actress Tisca Chopra has dedicated her role of Dr. Mira Anand in the series "Hostages" to first responders and caregivers amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country.## Tisca took to Instagram, where she shared a photograph of herself dressed in a doctor's gear.## "#DrMiraAnand in #Hostages on @starplus... From tonight at 10:30 pm. I humbly dedicate this role to all our first responders - doctors, nurses, hospital staff, delivery and logistics workers.. doing our little bit to entertain you, with our dream team: @madhoknikhil @sameern #sudhirmishra @ronitboseroy @d_eepak_dhar @segaldeepak @castingchhabra @aashimgulati @disneyplushotstar @applausesocial @banijayasia @starplus @surya_sharma_09 @malhaar_rathod," she captioned the image.## "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 SACNILK

Mumbai, April 14 (IANS) The Chris Hemsworth-starrer digital film "Extraction" casts Priyanshu Painyuli as a drug lord. The actor feels nailing the look of the character is important, because the way you dress up for a particular role can make you behave in a certain way.## For "Extraction", Priyanshu has tried nailing the gangster look with chunky gold jewelry, gold neck-pieces, armlets, and bracelets. He wore a lot of local fabrics including kurtas and silk shirts, which are characteristic of Bangladeshi locals. His attire comes in deep-hued monotones.## "I have always felt the way you dress up as a character makes you behave in a certain way. For me, mainly my shoes matter a lot, what footwear I use to walk or sit changes my body language a bit," Priyanshu said.## "When Sam (Hargreave), my director, asked me how I felt with my costume and look, I smiled and said I was really enjoying the gold, but I especially loved my shoes -- shiny, pointed with hard heels. They made a presence when I walked, at least to me," he added.## Originally titled "Dhaka", the film also stars Indian actors Randeep Hooda, Pankaj Tripathi, and Rudraksh Jaiswal. It revolves around Tyler Rake (essayed by 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.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

New Delhi, April 11 (IANS) One of contemporary Bollywood's most talented actors, Pankaj Tripathi, has been outstanding in almost all his roles. With the ongoing lockdown restricting viewers to their homes, we trained to focus on Pankaj's OTT performances, since these can be enjoyed within the confines of the living room.## His two notable acts in the world of web series have been Kaleen bhaiya in "Mirzapur" and Guruji in "Sacred Games". Both performances gained a major fan base. Personally, the actor finds it difficult to choose which among the two is his favorite .## "It would be like choosing between two children. Both characters are close to me, both have required a lot of hard work," Pankaj told IANS while cooking a meal amid the 21-day lockdown.## "Both of them have been very challenging. However, for Guruji, I had to research more as I have seen something like Kaleen bhaiya's life in my Purvanchal days. But I would not differentiate as both roles required a lot of hard work," he said.## "Mirzapur" follows the life of Akhandanand Tripathi, or Kaleen bhaiya, a mafia boss played by Pankaj, while in "Sacred Games" he plays the power-hungry spiritual leader "Guruji".## Currently, Pankaj, who is also a professional chef, is getting ample time to spend with his family due to the 21-day lockdown.## He reveals he has been "spending time cooking, and also with wife and kids".## Lately, he has been helping his wife Mridula in making a homemade mask and has also turned into a writer, penning all his thoughts.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 9 (IANS) Daily wage earners have been badly hit due to the COVID-19 lockdown, and Arunabh Kumar, founder of The Viral Fever (TVF), along with YouTubers like Bhuvan Bam and Prajakta Koli, has started an initiative called #CreatorsforWorkers to pitch in with help.## New media entrepreneurs like Gurpreet Singh, Founder of One Digital, and other content creators will help the workers during this lockdown period and the fight after.## Talking about this initiative and why he felt it was necessary to be done for the daily wage earners, Arunabh said: "Everyone is doing their best to help those in need by providing monetary help or donating medical help and other necessities to the underprivileged. After working with local groups to help these workers, I realized that the workers, who are lifelines of India, need to be made aware of the pandemic in a more effective fashion.## "While all of us are sharing the message in English and Hindi, it's not reaching to these workers in their own local or regional language, and a lot is lost in translation. We saw it necessary that the information needs to reach them in their local language and dialect. That's the insight that I along with my Creator Friends believe in and want to reach out to them using WhatsApp so that they understand the problem as over 70 crore Indians connected to workers are critical in fighting this war against corona and for that they need to have the information they can appreciate, which we have tried to spread amongst all," he added.## Bhuvan shared that it's an idea that can actually help the people who have no presence on social media. "Explaining to them the seriousness of the situation in their own language will hopefully make things better for their family and friends."## Prajakta said that the thousands of housemaids in Mumbai can understand the habits to fight corona in their local lingo much better and she believes the change has to begin at grassroots.## The initiative will include content creators who will shoot a video in their native language explaining all the instructions that need to be followed by everyone in this time of need.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, April 8 (IANS) Actor Manish Anand, who has appeared in the web series "Pushpavalli", is awaiting the release of his movie called "The Tenant" alongside actress Shamita Shetty. He says he portrayed a complex character that he enjoyed playing.## The film has been directed by Sushrut Jain, who is based in Los Angeles.## Talking about his role, Manish shared: "The character that I play is called Ajay. He is a complex character that I really enjoyed playing on the screen. He has got multiple shades."## "The film should be ready for a theatrical release soon. I urge everyone to take all the precautions and commit to all the protocols given by the government. We would have some great entertainment once this disease is dealt with," he said referring to COVID-19 due to which theatres are shut and most people are working from home.## Manish has signed up another movie for which he is learning Arabic online.## "It's an ensemble project. I absolutely love the concept. Unfortunately, I can't divulge the details. The world is going through a difficult time. We are in our homes and I am just finding the best way to kill time and also preparing for my next," he said.## "Arabic has been going good and it will prove very important for the movie. Hope we get over this pandemic soon," he added.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) Actress Anya Singh, who has worked on the big screen as well as the digital space, says that there is a lot more liberty for actors in web series as there is no censorship.## "I think one of the biggest differences between a web-show and a movie is that the audience gets a lot more time with the characters. So, creatively you can also spend a lot more time carving their graph or creatively. Since it's not censored really there's a lot more you can do for anyone be it the writers, directors or actors. There's a lot more liberty that's given to you creatively," Anya told IANS.## Anya, 27, made her Bollywood debut in 2017 with "Qaidi Band", which revolves around seven innocent undertrials who give a band performance in the prison to get into the good books of the authorities and secure their acquittal.## She then featured in web-series titled "Never Kiss Your Best Friend" along with Nakuul Mehta. The show is based on a book of the same name by Sumrit Shahi.## Anya says that in films, the audience doesn't get much time to spend with the characters.## "In a film, that's only for two hours or tow hours fifteen minutes the audience spends a lot lesser time with your characters. They remember you but in a show, they spend a lot more time they really relate to it or they get attached to it. I think that's one of the biggest differences," she added.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, March 28 (IANS) Actress Lisa Ray says she thought Bani J was a shy person at the start of their shoot for a web series that casts them as a lesbian couple.## "I joined the show after some back and forth due to personal commitments. During our first reading together was when I met my co-star Bani," Lisa said.## "I went in and sat next to her, and she was like talking in this whisper and then looked at me and I was like, 'wow, this is a problem!' How are we going to do this? She was so shy," she added.## The two actresses appear in the series "Four More Shots Please!".## Bani, of course, has her line of defense. "I was just trying not to spook her so she wouldn't leave," she explains, on her guarded behavior with Lisa during that first reading session.## The second season of the series will launch on April 17 on Amazon Prime Video in India.## The story picks up from the previous season's cliffhanger ending, bringing back stories of four unapologetically flawed ladies who live, love, blunder and discover what it really takes to build everlasting friendships in Mumbai.## Produced by Pritish Nandy Communications Ltd, the show is created by Rangita Pritish Nandy.## For more and latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned with us.

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, March 24 (IANS) Actor Arshad Warsi is "extremely pleased" that audiences loved his digital debut show, "Asur", and says he is grateful to his "loyal fans" who have supported him throughout his career. ## "I'm extremely pleased to hear that my digital debut, ‘Asur' has been receiving such a great response from the audience, as well from my friends and family," Arshad said. ## "In a day and age when web series are so popular, it is a great feeling that ‘Asur' is one of the few shows that has been winning the hearts of millions and I was so kicked to see a review of 9.1 on IMDb. This wouldn't have been possible without my fantastic co-cast and crew. Playing the character of Dhananjay Rajpoot was a great experience and I would like to thank the streaming service for giving me this platform to prove my versatility as an actor. And of course, grateful to my loyal fans who have supported me throughout my career," he added. ## Arshad's digital debut series "Asur" is a psychological thriller that streams on Voot Select. The series showcases the conflict between good and bad. The show takes the audience on a journey of two opposing worlds -- forensic science on the one hand and the mysteries of Indian mythology on the other. ## For more and the latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned to us.

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, March 24 (IANS) "Bigg Boss 13" fame contestants Sidharth Shukla and Shehnaz Gill are back to woo their fans again. This time, they feature together in the music video of singer Darshan Rawal's new number, "Bhula dunga". ## The romantic song showcases sizzling chemistry between Sidharth and Shehnaz, who made a lot of headlines for their close bond in the "Bigg Boss 13" house. ## Seeing the song, fans, who fondly call Sidharth and Shehnaz as "Sidnaz", showered praises and compliments on them. ## A user commented: "Sidharth ShukIa and Shehnaz's scenes are so well made.Their chemistry looks so natural." ## Another one wrote: "Great song...great expressions ...great chemistry." ## Before launching the song on social media, Shehnaz and Sidharth even went live on Instagram to converse with their followers. ## Shehnaz even requested her fans to "make the song a hit". ## Apart from Shehnaz and Sidharth, "Bigg Boss 13" contestants Asim Riaz , Himanshi Khurana, Paras Chhabra and Mahira Sharma too featured in music videos recently. ## For more and the latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned to us.

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Mumbai, March 23 (IANS) Actress Richa Sinha will soon be seen in two web series. She shares screen space with Karan Singh Grover and Kunal Kemmu in "Boss 2" and "Abhay 2" respectively.## "I feel blessed and all excited to share the screen with Karan in 'Boss 2' and Kunal in 'Abhay'. I'm going to be part of the upcoming two web projects along with them. This will for sure help me grow and earn a fine place in showbiz.## " I look forward to doing more such projects and make myself a fine and loved actress to follow my dreams for working in television and Bollywood movies," Richa said.## She added: "I have come a long way in establishing myself in showbiz by winning big in beauty pageants like World supermodel South Asia in 2018 apart from being the third winner at the World Pageant held at Fiji where I represented India. This gave me a chance to work as a model with top brands in e-commerce.## "However, my career is not restricted to pageants and modeling as I wanted to expand my horizon trying my luck in the field of acting. Thus I joined theatres doing a number of plays to brush up my acting skills."## Richa recently featured in a Punjabi music video, titled "Gal Sunja".## For more and latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned with us.

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, March 22 (IANS) Playing the protagonist in the new web series "She" has been an exciting journey for Aaditi Pohankar. The "Lai Bhaari" fame actress plays the lead character on the show.## Aaditi's character in the Imtiaz Ali-scripted show is called Bhumika Pardesi. She is a lady constable who has to pose as a prostitute to help the police force nab a dreaded narcotics dealer.## "What I understood about Bhumika Pardesi is that she is a timid person going through the mundane rhythm of life, where she goes to work and comes back home. When she goes home, where she is with her family, she becomes her real life. She is melancholic, rather masochistic at times," the actress told IANS, describing her character.## The antagonist is a dreaded narcotics dealer named Sasya, played by Vijay Varma.## Talking about how the two characters are interrelated, the actress said: "Sasya is a catalyst in Bhumika's life in a strong way. As Bhumika goes ahead, she is just understanding herself. From being timid, she is realizing that it is okay to be what she is being now and it's okay sometimes to think about Sasya. Nobody is watching her."## In what way was becoming Bhumika a challenge for her? "Challenge is very subjective. It's so much fun! I don't like to go on those scary rides, I would rather go on that ride within my script. I would like to go and not look where I am going to reach but I still want to take that leap, and I want to keep falling down that valley till I feel free. And I feel free at times with that character. Like with Bhumika at times I was just sitting and it did work out very well," Aaditi replied.## "It was not very challenging but of course all the credit goes to Imtiaz sir (Ali) with the great rehearsals that we did, with the amount of talking that we did on it. And of course with Arif sir (Arif Ali, director) and Avinash sir (Avinash Das, director), it didn't feel like a challenge. It has been an exciting journey," she concluded.## Directed by Arif Ali and Avinash Das, the web series has premiered on Netflix on March 20.## For more and latest news about Digital Media, stay tuned with us.