तापसी ने रद्द किया कार्यक्रम क्योंकि इसे एक फेयरनेस क्रीम ने आयोजित किया था

फिल्म अभिनेत्री तापसी पन्नू इन दिनों सातवें आसमान पर हैं। हालिया रिलीज फिल्म ‘पिंक’ के लिए उन्हें मिली भारी सफलता और सराहना के बाद अब सुनने में आ रहा है कि इस साल वह अपनी झोली में पड़ी 6 फिल्मों की रिलीज के साथ बड़ा धमाका करने जा रही हैं। यह अभिनेत्री न सिर्फ फिल्मों के सही चुनाव को लेकर बेहद सतर्क है बल्कि सही कार्यक्रमों का चुनाव करते वक्त भी वह कोई ढील नहीं बरतती। सूत्रों के मुताबिक तापसी ने जयपुर में मार्च, 2017 के दौरान होने जा रहे एक कार्यक्रम का हिस्सा बनने से इंकार कर दिया है। ख़बर है कि इस कार्यक्रम में शिरकत करना उन्होंने इसलिए गवारा नहीं किया क्यों कि इसे एक फेयरनेस क्रीम ने आयोजित किया था। इस बारे में ख़ुद तापसी का कहना है- “मानती हूं कि यह आख़िरी क्षण का निर्णय था लेकिन जब मुझे पता चला कि कार्यक्रम के दौरान मुझे एक फेयरनेस ब्रांड के साथ कुछ पोज देने हैं तो मैंने फैसला कर लिया कि मैं इसका हिस्सा नहीं बनूंगी। दरअसल अपने गोरेपन की वजह से मुझे कई फिल्मों से हाथ धोना पड़ा है इसलिए मैंने तय किया है कि मैं गोरेपन को किसी भी सूरत में  बढ़ावा नहीं दूंगी।” तापसी इन फेयरनेस ब्रांडों के प्रचार-प्रसार को बढ़ावा देने के हमेशा ख़िलाफ रही हैं। उन्हें लगता है कि इन प्रकल्पों का हिस्सा बनना नस्लवाद को बढ़ावा देने के समान है। वह सदा यह मानती आई हैं कि सांवले अथवा गहरे रंग के लोग ख़ूबसूरत होते हैं। दूसरे बॉलीवुड अभिनेताओं की तरह तापसी भी उस जमात में शामिल हो गई हैं, जो फेयरनेस उत्पादों से जुड़े कार्यक्रमों का हिस्सा बनने से साफ इंकार करते आए हैं।

Tabu joins the Golmaal family

Tabu, who is known for her remarkable performances in films like Maqbool, Chandni bar and Haider has played every character with the core essence of the character in mind. She is the newest addition to Rohit Shetty’s upcoming installment of his hit franchise- Golmaal and admits that comedy is one of her favourite genres. Well, we cannot wait to see her in Golmaal Again! Golmaal again is directed by Rohit Shetty and stars Ajay Devgn, Parineeti Chopra, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor, Kunal Khemu and Shreyas Talpade.

Film critic-author Bhawana Somaaya honoured with Padma Shri

Renowned film critic-author Bhawana Somaaya was recently conferred with the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award, for her contribution in the field of Literature and Education – Journalism.

For over three decades, Bhawana Somaaya has been a film critic and has contributed columns to various publications like the Pioneer, Sunday Observer, The Hindu and the Hindustan Times.

She is the former editor of Screen and has authored thirteen books, including the biographies of Hema Malini and Amitabh Bachchan. She served on the advisory panel of the Censor Board of Film Certificate for two terms between 1992 and 2012. Somaaya is currently the Entertainment Editor with radio channel 92.7 BIG FM and her show Once Upon a Time in Bollywood on Sunday morning is very popular. She was the anchor of the TV show Cinema Review on Zee Cinema and over the years has been on several national and international film juries.

Bhawana Somaaya says, “I feel privileged to be chosen for the honour and attribute it to the blessings of my parents. It has been a long journey from a reporter to an editor, columnist to critic and an author.”

“Over the three decades, I have seen cinema blossom, trends change, superstars rise and fall and journalism expand to TV radio and web. It was fascinating then. It is fascinating now,” she adds.

Her book – Once Upon A Time In India – A Century of Indian Cinema was recently launched by megastar Amitabh Bachchan.​​

Making off - A Jolly Good Cast

Anarkali of Arrah' to release on March 24, 2017

Promodome Motion Pictures' Anarkali of Arrah featuring Swara Bhaskar in a never-seen-before role is set to release on 24th March, 2017. 

Produced by Priya and Sandiip Kapur, written and directed by Avinash Das, Anarkali of Arrah revolves around an erotic singer (played by Swara Bhaskar) from Arrah in Bihar, who sings double meaning songs. She is the star performer of her troupe and is ambitious and confident of her success. Until a fateful day when Anaarkali has a confrontation with a very powerful man of the region. What follows is a series of events that escalates the conflict between the two and the world around her turns increasingly vicious and misogynist. And then, she fights back. 

Swara Bhaskar says,"Anaarkali of Aarah is a very special film for me. Not just because its a relevant and topical film on an important issue but because i have never been as closely associated with the pre production and making of any film as i have been with Anaarkali. Even when Avinash ji had simply narrated the idea to me i was sold. I have read every single draft he has written and i feel like i grew into the script with the script. Ive never worked so hard on any film as i have on Anaarkali, i injured myself, fell sick, had a breakdown everything while filming and yet strangely i never lost faith in this project . I think we have made a very courageous film that deserves to be widely seen."

Producer Sandiip Kapur says, "I have always been a firm believer in the power of the story because content is paramount and it sells. Thus, when this

story came to me I was excited and I also realized that this will require extensive ground work and research. Swara traveled to UP, Bihar, Himachal and we did workshops with the entire team starting from Avinash Das to Sanjay Mishra, Pankaj Tripathy and others. I am proud of my entire team for the final product that they have put out and we believe that we have created content that people should love."

Director Avinash Das says, "When YouTube was just launched, I heard one sensuous and erotic number sung by Tarabano Faizabadi. She had no expression on her face and that's how the idea of Anarkali of Arrah developed in my mind. We have witnessed several incidents related to street singers in India in the last six to seven years, which made me feel I was on the right track. Anarkali is a strong, independent woman who fights her own battle with grace. I'm thankful to producer Sandiip Kapur and Promodome Motion Pictures for their fifth and trust in me."

Produced by Priya and Sandiip Kapur and written and directed by Avinash Das under the banner Promodome Motion Pictures, Anarkali of Arrah featuring Swara Bhaskar, Sanjai Mishra, Pankaj Tripathy and Ishhtiaq Khan is scheduled to release on 24th March, 2017.