THIS DECEMBER EMBARK ON THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED MUMBAI-MALDIVES CRUISE WITH COSTA NEOCLASSICA

Starting this December, travellers will for the first time ever, be able to embark on a cruise from right here in India. Europe’s number 1 cruising company, Costa Cruises, is launching the Costa neoClassica in India, which will be homeporting in Mumbai from December 2016. Costa neoClassica will perform a series of weekly sailings from 16th Dec 2016 - 18th March 2017. On this brand new, 7-night itinerary, you can cruise from Mumbai to Maldives over 7 nights, or begin the cruise in Maldives and cruise from Male to Mumbai, also 7 nights. The ship will sail along India’s South-Western coast, with stops at Cochin and Mangalore on the way to Maldives, and will sail via Colombo and Goa on the way to Mumbai. Since Costa announced the launch of the Mumbai-Maldives, they have seen a surge of bookings for December, especially for the Christmas and New Years Eve sailings. There has also been a lot of interest from corporates who are looking to book large groups in the first quarter of 2017. Theme-based bookings seem to be a trend, with large groups who are keen to experience a special kind of holiday. For example, there is a health-themed/yoga sailing on this route which is gaining a lot of interest. There have also been large group bookings from senior citizens. Costa has also seen early interest from companies with themes or wedding parties who are looking to charter the entire ship for this itinerary. However, due to lack of availability, this is likely to be a possibility only during the next season or for Costa’s other destinations.  And finally, there is also a lot of interest in this sailing from Costa’s European clientele who see the Mumbai-Maldives sailing as a nice gateway into or out of India. Ms. Nalini Gupta, Managing Director, Lotus Destinations (GSA of Costa Cruises India) says that “The cruises will have an international flavour in terms of the mix of people on the ship, which will be a nice way for travellers to experience the world”. 

Costa neoClassica will be the very first large cruise ship that cruises between Mumbai and the Maldives. This classic cruise ship has a total of 654 cabins (with a capacity for 1700 passengers), including ocean view cabins and suites with private balconies. Fully-equipped with a Casino, Theatre, Disco, Ballroom, Grand Bar, it aims to provide plenty in entertainment. The wellness centre is spread across 1,300 sq. m with a gym, treatment rooms, sauna and steam room. It also has an outdoor jogging track, 4 Jacuzzis and 2 swimming pools. For those who would like to go shopping, the cruise ship has a huge duty free shopping centre, and also offers a wide selection of books in the library for those who love to unwind with a book. Enhancing the cruising experience further is the gastronomy: the food & wine on offer is based on Italian regional menus with a choice of dishes representing different regions of Italy and proudly reflecting the country’s rich and unrivalled culinary heritage. In addition to this vast range, guests can also take advantage of tasty vegetarian and vegan dishes. On board Costa neoClassica, guests will also have the chance to taste the real original Neapolitan pizza at Pizzeria "Pummid'oro": thanks to an agreement with the Università delle Scienze Gastronomiche di Pollenzo, Costa Cruises offers pizza prepared using only sourdough and selected ingredients such as San Marzano DOP tomato. In addition, cruisers will be able to enjoy a variety of Indian cuisine and the restaurants on board are fully equipped to cater to special diet requirements of Indians, which includes Jain food.

Hindi film RedruM gets caught in a controversy

Producer Durgesh Paul can heave a sigh of relief as Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil sees the light of day. Durgesh Paul has been travelling in the same boat as KJO since his forthcoming Hindi film RedruM features Pakistani actress Saeeda Imtiaz. After the tensions between India & Pakistan, Durgesh Paul has been facing a tough time for the release of the film. However, he is still hopeful and has plans to donate 70% of film’s profits to Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. Producer Durgesh Paul says, “I haven’t announced the release date yet as the movie is still getting filmed. However I am positive to get a release just like Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.” 

"We still hope that the content of the film wins and the audience enjoy this psychological thriller." says writer-director Dhruv Sachdev. Paul’s decision to introduce a fresh face from across the border has hit the film hard due to the current political situations.

RedruM is a tale of murder based on Edgar Allan Poe’s classic short story The Tell Tale Heart. The film also stars Vibhav Roy and veteran actor Tom Alter in pivotal roles and is directed by the duo Dhruv-Sourabh.

Priyanka Chopra records an emotional number 'Baba' for Ventilator

Priyanka Chopra’s fans have a reason to rejoice! India's first truly global superstar has recorded a promotional track in Marathi for her debut Marathi venture ‘Ventilator’ produced by her production house, Purple Pebble Pictures, written and directed by Rajesh Mapuskar and presented by Zee Studios.

Besides singing the soul-stirring number Baba, dedicated to her late father Dr Ashok Chopra, the international icon will also feature in the promotional track which was shot in New York recently where she's currently shooting Quantico 2. Director Rajesh Mapuskar, along with the team of the family entertainer, flew to New York to shoot the video, conceptualized and directed by Ms Maheep Dhillon with an American crew.

Priyanka says, “From the minute, I heard the song ‘Baba’, I loved it. It’s so powerful and moving...capturing the relationship between a father and his son. When the music directors Rohan and Rohan suggested that I sing a female version of this, I was apprehensive and torn between my love for the song and nervousness of singing it in Marathi. But I’m so glad I did finally sing it because it was a fun, enriching, terrifying, and amazing experience for me and I can’t wait to do it all over again! I hope I’ve been able to do justice to this beautiful song… forgive me if there are any mistakes… I sang it with all my heart."

Ventilator is a fun family fiesta featuring a sterling ensemble cast including veteran Marathi film and theatre actors, and the promotional track will stay true to its theme. Rajesh strongly believes that Priyanka’s debut Marathi song, Baba will be one of the major highlights of Ventilator.

"When music composers Rohan Rohan came to me with a very simple, warm composition - Baba - I never thought it would travel across continents to get completed. It's recorded in the ultimate city of the US, New York. Thank you Priyanka for your initiative to make the Baba song sound so wonderful,” adds Rajesh Mapuskar.

Produced by Purple Pebble Pictures and presented by Zee Studios and directed by Rajesh Mapuskar, Ventilator is scheduled to release on November 4, 2016.

Indian Kabbadi Team on the sets of The Kapil Sharma Show (in pics)

First Ever Online Singing Competition In History Of India

Sakha Cultural Society, in association with Rachnashala,  has organized the first ever Online Singing Competition in the history of India from Nov 2 to Nov 18, 2016. The competition is being organized in three 3 age Categories, Cat 1 upto 14 years, Cat 2 above 14 to 60 years & Cat 3 above 60 years. The competition is in two phases & only for non-professionals.                          Speaking on the occasion Mr Amarjit Singh Kohli, Chairman of Sakha Cultural Society who is also the executive producer of forthcoming feature film “30 Minutes”said all details, rules etc about Competition are available on its website www.sakhaculturalsociety.org . He said, in the normal TV singing competitions a singer has to personally appear for preliminary competitions which are held only in big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow etc & singers from smaller cities have to come to big cities for participation. Villagers can hardly participate in it. Mr Amarjit Singh Kohli said thanks to the Govt of India’s initiative of Digital India vide which high speed internet is being provided in villages, now even persons in rural areas can also participate in Online Singing Competition.  He explained that in Phase 1 singers cannot use any instrument. This makes village-singers at par with big-city singers as many villagers do not have the facility of instruments. Secondly, in TV Competitions, singers have to manage voting from audience to qualify for higher grades. But in this Online Competition a singer’s voice is evaluated on the basis of its quality and merit alone. The system itself is fool-proof and it is neither possible for singers to use pressure or influence the judges, nor it is possible for judges to give favours to singers, because the singer will never know who the judge is, and the judge will not know who the singer was.

Mr Narinder Singh, President Rachnashala said that in phase 1, singers have to sing only one song of the forthcoming Hindi feature film “30 Minutes” which is being released all over India on Friday, the 11^th Nov, 2016. The actual songs and their lyrics are available on website www.sakhaculturalsociety.org . A singer has to first simply listen to original songs & then practise it and then upload it. We will then send the song to various judges who will be eminent persons from the field of music. The judges will select only 100 singers who will qualify for phase 2. In phase 2, singers can select any song, film or non-film, folk etc in any language and also use any instrument. These will be again sent to judges & finally only 30 singers will be selected. They will be invited to sing, one by one, in our show on a TV Channel called “Live Studio” which is beginning in January, 2017. Singer’s recordings and names will be forwarded to various TV Channels, Audio Music Companies, Internet Channels and top Event Management Companies & they may get chance as playback singers if their song catches the imagination of any producer or music director.

Padmabhushan classical singer Dr Shanno Khurana felt that the concept of the Online Music Competition is so simple, fair and fool-proof that it is bound to meet unprecedented success. Ms Shikha Vohra Biswas, daughter of well-known music director Anil Biswas who is founder of cultural organisation Sangeet Smriti, wondered why this concept did not strike the minds of established film producers. Anuja Sinha, who has got a break as playback singer in this film, said that she struggled for 28 years before she got a chance in playback singing. She said Online Music Competition removes many layers between aspiring singers and music directors & it will be easier for singers to get chance in playback singing.