Mahima Chaudhary & Gracy Singh inaugurate artist Paramesh Paul's show, Glory of Varanasi

The magical mysticism, the riveting riverbanks, the vast sea of humanity, Paramesh Paul infuses his works with a volatile energy that sees the City of Light shining bright, both physically and metaphorically. Worshippers taking dip in the river, the multitudes of small temples, the steps, the sadhus, the kamadul, the chhatris, the vatvruksha, the Nandi and the narrow streets teeming with life, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Girija Devi, of Benaras Gharana who have become synonymous with the embodiment of the spirit of Varanasi come to life on his canvas.

Painting, for Paramesh Paul, is a spiritual practice, an act of conscious, creative alignment with the Supreme. As one delves deeper into the paintings, one experiences a harmonious rhythm of life imbued with the feeling of transcendence, balance, and oneness with the whole of creation.

And this feeling was echoed by celebrities Mahima Chaudhary and Gracy Singh when they visited his exhibition at Nehru Centre Art Gallery to inaugurate the same. “I am in Benaras,” said Mahima Chaudhary. “The paintings transport you to the land of the Ganges. Paramesh Paul’s works are simply amazing.”

Added Gracy Singh, “the positivity in Paramesh Paul’s paintings is amazing. I have never been to Benaras but I feel I am there. His works have such an aura.”

Besides Mahima Chaudahry and Gracy Singh, painters of the likes of Padmanabh Bendre, Gautam Patole, Vishwa Sahni, Gautam Mukherjee, Amisha Mehta, Varsha Vyas, Rakhi Baid, Ananya Banerji, Madhumita Bhattacharya, Daxa Khandwala, Raaamji Sharma, Sonu Gupta, and Sanjukta Barik, art connoisseur Ajoykant Ruia, social activist and philanthropist Aneel Murarka, filmmaker Anusha Srinivasan Iyer among others attended the exhibition.

Paramesh Paul’s Glory of will be on at the Nehru Centre AC Art Gallery from till15th January, 2018. Timing: 11am-7pm, all days.

Five Facts About Kaalakaandi

1.       Kaalakaandi marks Saif Ali Khan’s 60th Film 

The very versatile actor Saif Ali Khan has spent 25 years in Bollywood entertaining his audiences with some of his best films like Dil Chahta Hai, Salaam Namaste, Omkara, Being Cyrus, etc is set to mark his 60th film with Kaalakaandi. 

2.       Deepak Dobriyal Turned Hariyanvi tutor for his co-stars 

While shooting for the song “Swagpur ka Choudhary” a break beat meets funk rock track with Haryanvi lyrics, the actors found the song difficult to connect with and were not able to bring out the essence of it. That’s when Deepak Dobriyal, who plays a gangster in the film, came to their rescue and explained the meaning and the feel of the song post which the actors could easily slip into the mood. 

3.       Neil gets inspired by Amitabh Bachchan for his character in Kaalakaandi 

Neil Bhoopalam will be seen playing the role of an underworld don and a sharp shooter in Kaalakaandi. His look in the film resonates the 80’s sense of style with long side locks, bellbottoms and tight shirts. The actor took Amitabh Bachchan as his character reference. He watched a lot of Amitabh Bachchan movies and tried copying his stance. 

4.       Saif Ali Khan turns choreographer for Kaala Doriya

Saif Ali Khan is known for his versatility and portraying different characters and he is one actor who has never shied away from experimentation. The actor turned choreographed for the wedding song Kaala Doreya in the film. He has earlier choreographed a few songs which has become cool steps to follow like Dil Chahta Hai’s famous ‘Who Ladki Hai Kahan’. 

5.       Nary Singh’s Fan Girl moment! 

Nary Singh who is one of the most talked about characters in Kaalakaandi had her fan girl moment. Nari Singh shares screen space with Saif Ali Khan and plays a very pivotal role in his part of the story. Nary was absolutely awestruck and extremely nervous while enacting her scenes with him. When director Akshat Verma highlighted this to Saif, he took the time to help her ease out and make her comfortable.

It’s a proud moment: Shani cast on completing 300 episodes

It’s celebration time for the team of Siddharth Kumar Tewary’s Karamphaldata Shani, as the show completed 300 episodes on the 5th of January. The team tells us how they feel about this wonderful achievement.Kunal Bakshi - It's really an awesome feeling that we completed 300 episodes on 5th of January. Our show is really close to my heart because Shani started with me only. I was the first actor who shot for Shani and on very the first day. The best thing about Shani is that all age groups, be it, kids and elders, watch our show. Even youngsters are a regular watcher of our show. Big thanks to everyone for loving and watching our show.

Rohit Khurana - I am very excited. It is a matter of honour to be part of the Karamphaldata Shani team. Success only happens when a team works towards common objectives. It is a collective effort. The credit goes to each and everyone. TRPs judge a show’s success and we all know that we are scoring well. The best things about the show are its team and the love of the audience. I honestly feel honoured to be part of the team and humbled by the love of the audience.

Tarun Khanna - I thank god for blessing the whole team with this successful run. I am really happy but not satisfied as I feel we still have a lot to achieve. The camaraderie between all the actors and the rest of technicians and producers is the best thing about Shani.

Tinaa Dattaa - I am really very happy. The show is doing really well. I have been watching this show since day1 and I am honoured to be a part of Shani. The heartiest congratulations to the entire team of Shani for the completion of 300episodes.

Juhi Parmar - I am very happy to be part of this fabulous show. It's been a great run where I got to do a lot as an actor and got to make some lovely friends for life. I congratulate my entire team and I hope that we will touch many more milestones.

Aanand L Rai to present a range of exciting films in 2018

​With two huge successes including quirky comedy, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan and India's official entry to the Oscars, Newton, both in 2017, filmmaker Aanand L Rai has solidified his reputation for consolidating entertainment and content in his craft. After presenting small town tales of romances under his banner, Colour Yellow Productions, the cinephile is exploring an array of genres in 2018.

With a line-up of films that have made headlines before going on floors, this year looks exciting and action packed for his production house. The first movie of the year to hit the big screen on the 12th of January, under his home banner, Mukkabaaz, has been helmed by Anurag Kashyap and is a love story of a boxer in a small town in Uttar Pradesh.

Drawing a huge buzz, Rai has partnered with Shah Rukh Khan for one of the most highly anticipated films of the year, Zero, that broke the internet by releasing its teaser at the beginning of the year.  The filmmaker is all set to creatively partner with Kashyap again with a film titled Manmarziyan. Believer of stories that come from remote small towns, Rai will be releasing director, Rahul Shanklya’s, Nimmo, a small film with a big heart. Also in the pipeline is a sequel of hit 2016 film, titled, Happy Bhag Jayegi Returns, followed by a Sonakshi Sinha-starrer comedy helmed by Mudassar Aziz.

Rai will be joining hands with director Navdeep Singh for a thriller, with Saif Ali Khan essaying the role of a bounty hunter in the 18th century. The filmmaker will be pairing with Newton director, Amit Masurkar for the second time, for a film that’s touted to get on floors this year. An addition to this line up, is a story from Shubh Mangal Saavdhan’s writer Hitesh Kewalya and an interesting drama, Heer written by Manmarziyan’s writer, Kanika Dhillon.

Talking about his collaborations, Rai says, “2017 proved to be a successful year with entertaining and content driven films doing well at the box office and 2018 looks equally promising with new collaborations. While we have been associated with family entertainers, we also want to present a gamut of genres to the audience. The process of scripting, casting, scouting for locations and putting together the entire project is very exciting and the team is ready and excited to start working with these immensely talented filmmakers.”​

Shilpa Shetty Kundra reaches to the top

Farah Khan Kunder who is known for her choreography and direction graced the set of Super Dancer Chapter 2. It was a reunion for Geeta Ma and Farah Khan Kunder as they are friends since childhood. The contestants are raising the bar for themselves with back to back hit performances where Shilpa Shetty Kundra felt that the table was quite low according to the performances.

Last episode Shilpa Shetty Kundra climbed to the top in the audience but this time the bar was raised so high that she requested for the biggest ladder available on the set. After a stunning performance by Akash Thapa, she asked for the ladder and started climbing to the top which still felt a bit low with the level of performance presented in front of the super judges and the guest. Shilpa Shetty Kundra cannot expect more from the performances as it has gone too high for her. After all the performances it was a surprise celebration for Farah Khan Kunder to celebrate her birthday with the contestants and all the judges and hosts. She was surprised with the enthusiasm and excitement and wasn’t expecting it to happen.

Source from the set revealed,” An exciting day with unexpected moments. It was very surprising when Shilpa Shetty Kundra climbed such a huge ladder. A surprise which Farah mam loved was the cake and the excitement which all the contestants and the judges had which made it very memorable for her.”