Nandita Das to be conferred with prestigious Prabasi Odia Samman!

Delhi-based think tank Odisha Forum will soon confer the prestigious Prabasi Odia Samman to 6 eminent persons on July 13.

Among the 6 honourees is actor, thinker, filmmaker and activist Nandita Das, who will be conferred the award at Odisha Forum’s annual function at the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi. Commenting her receipt of this award, “While I never lived in Odisha, my father has instilled in me his own passion for Odiya food, craft, arts and culture. In my childhood, I went to Odisha every single year. So while I feel like a global citizen, I still feel deeply connected to my roots in Odisha. Though I always say I’m half Odiya, half Gujarati and I’ve done films in 10 different language - it’s nice to be pan-Indian - it also does feel special to be selected for this honor by the Odisha Forum.”

Nandita Das will be joined by Dr Swarup Ranjan Mishra, a member of parliament from Kenya who is also a reputed doctor and social worker, Dr Susmita Mohanty, a space entrepreneur and designer, Dr Pinaki Panigrahi, a doctor-scientist and pioneer in Public Health, Ms. Sharon Lowen, a noted exponent of Odissi dance and Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, an agricultural scientist.

A known talent and voice in India, Nandita Das, apart from being one of the finest actresses of our time, is also a conscientious activist who speaks her mind.

Her second directorial venture, 'Manto', narrates a turbulent time of great change that greatly influenced author and playwright, Saadat Hasan Manto’s life. The film is a compelling portrait of a courageous writer and complex man, known for his fearless opinions. The film is deeply relevant to our times as Manto wrote about the unsavoury, difficult truths that no one dared to talk about, many of which remain part our society today.

With Sacred Games audiences hail Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the " God of Acting "

Netflix's highly anticipated show " Sacred Games" is already the talk of the town and audiences have been raving about Nawazuddin Siddiqui's nuanced portrayal of a gangster ,Ganesh Gaitonde,  in the show .

The Mumbai-set drama on India's dark underworld based on Vikram Chandra's 2006 novel , has taken the digital space by storm with it's gripping plot and rivetting performances.

And while Nawazuddin Siddiqui has never failed to deliver one fine performance after another and is also the recepient of a National award , the star has outdone himself with his performance in the highly acclaimed series.

Several have taken to social media avenues to voice their praise and the actor's digital platforms have been flooded with positive feedback ever since. Touting his portrayal as original and intriguing , some have even gone on to refer to him as the "god of acting" , while others like the Daily Express has singled out his performance referring to him as one of the best TV villians of all time and an anti-hero audiences will root for.

LIGHTING UP LIVES, ONE PLASTIC BOTTLE AT A TIME

Mi Wardrobe is Su Wardrobe and Standard Electricals help illuminate homes with solar lamps.

Earlier this year, Alia Bhatt launched a new philanthropic initiative 'Mi Wardrobe is Su Wardrobe’ at the Stylecracker Night Market, through which fans were able to buy handpicked favourites from her personal closet, for charity. On Sunday, proceeds from this first wardrobe, were used to light up homes of 40 families in,  Kikkeri in the Mandya district of Karnataka, through the Liter Of Light program which is run by Bengaluru based organization, AROHA. Through this program AROHA recycles plastic bottles to provide solar lamps to economically backward communities that have limited or no access to electricity.

Speaking about the project, Alia Bhatt said, “So many families in India continue to live in darkness and Liter of Light’s eco-friendly solar lamps are an innovative and sustainable way to light up homes. They work with local communities, using locally sourced materials to assemble and install the lamps, thus empowering the community and improving the quality of life. The project in Kikkeri will benefit 200 lives and through Mi Wardrobe is Su Wardrobe we plan to work with many such organisations, creating a brighter future for many more.”

The project was also supported by Standard Electricals, a brand of Havells India Ltd., one of the largest electrical equipment companies in the country. Mr. Abhra Banerjee, Vice President Standard Electricals at Havells India Ltd. said, “ We are extremely happy to support this initiative by Alia Bhatt which delights her fans on the one hand while also making a valuable social impact on the other.”

“The support from Standard Electricals helped change so many lives for the better and we hope this inspires other companies to reach out to deserving not-for-profits that need financial aid to continue making a sustainable impact.” said Alia.

With Mi Wardrobe is Su Wardrobe, Alia Bhatt continues to build on her work in the space of ecology and animal welfare.  She has created a platform, Coexist,  which works to create awareness around ecological issues.

HSK Entertainment & Namyoho Studios are coming together with new music official "Ve Sajna"

Get ready to feel the soul touching track, a new music official by HSK Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. & Namyoho Studios, all together to promote the new talent of Music Industry. As they launched their latest track "Ve Sajna" out here in Delhi, sung by new voice Chirag Dahiya. Entire launch took place at Bunta Bar, Janpat Road, CP. The event was graced by the presence of Bollywood singer Himani Kapoor, Music Director Manan Bhardwaj, Paramveer Kapoor, an artist manager and owner of HSK Entertainment. Along with Line producer Viraaj Rai Singh.

HSK Entertainment as a part of its philanthropist vision has started promoting and supporting fresh talents who are truly deserving by providing them platforms & producing their music videos in collaboration with White Coffee Records, Namyoho Studios. HSK is signing artists and Chirag Dahiya is one of them, whose song “Ve Sajna” is finally released. Himani Kapoor who earned her fame through India’s biggest reality show ‘SaReGaMaPa 2005’ & song ‘Dum dum mast hai’ of the movie Band Baja Baraat, Bachna hai haseeno and many others.

Well, while talking to media they revealed a lot about themselves as well their upcoming projects as well, where Himani added, “Announcing my new punjabi single that is being worked upon. The project is well being taken care of by HSK and white coffee records. HSk will be looking after the whole project while Mannan will be directing and composing this whole song. I congratulate HSK ent.’s new idea of promoting and supporting fresh talents. This is definitely a very good step for people who are deserving and looking for breakthroughs.”

The music director of the song and also a singer 'Manan Bhardwaj', has composed and directed songs in Bollywood movies too. On asking about his production house, Namyoho studios, he added, “Namyoho Studio comes under the banner of White Coffee Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. And it is the only production house, which have everything from start to end, from audio to video as well as promotions. Namyoho also holds the record of producing maximum numbers of audios and videos for year 2017 & 2018.” Talking about the upcoming projects he stated, “We have bigger plans, our audience will witness me in never seen before Avtaar. Very soon we will be launching our own musical band, which will definitely surprise our fans.”

Whereas, Paramveer stated, “Our Company HSK Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. Incorporated in 2008 is into Event Management, Artist Management and Music Video Productions. We have organised more than 500 shows globally working with artists like Arijit Singh, Neha Kakkar, Sunny Leone, Himani Kapoor , Meiyang Chang, Himesh Reshammiya, Gippy Grewal & many more.” Talking about Chirag he added, “Chirag is a resident of Faridabad and an engineer in computer science. With passion for music since childhood, therefore, HSK signed artists and Chirag Dahiya is one of them, whose song ‘Ve Sajna’ is finally out now.” Whereas, Chirag seemed highly excited about his new venture.

Well, featured under the banner of HSK Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, White Coffee Records & Namyoho Studios “Ve Sajna” is directed by Manan Bhardwaj, story writing by Dr. Bharti Sharma and sung by new talent Chirag Dahiya. Finally song is out now!

Indian Idol 10 to witness the famous 1970s singer Tilak Malik with his son

Indian Idol Season 10 has been pouring immense talent, giving a perfect platform to the singers showcasing their hidden voice. With the theme of #MausamMusicKa, this season is rocking with the awesome and encouraging judges like Anu Malik, Vishal Dadlani and Neha Kakkar. 

In the recent Delhi auditions, a contestant Deepak Malik made the judges groove to his powerful singing. The judges were totally impressed by him but were surprised when they found out that Deepak is the son of the famous sufi singer Tilak Malik, who is known for his rare singing style from the 1997 era.  The judges invited his father on the stage and to this, Neha Kakkar who was a fan of Tilakji insisted the father-son duo to sing together. The sufi personas presented an energetic jugalbandhi in front of the panel which got them grooving to their tunes. Vishal Dadlani and Anu Malik also left their seats joining the duo on the dias. Everyone on the set was enthralled with them performing together on the stage of Indian Idol 10. Anu Malik also shared that  he even selected Tilakji for an event once.

A source on the set revealed, “The entire set was buzzing with the beautiful performance of the duo. They got everyone grooving to their energetic performance so much so that the judges were also  thrilled with the Jugalbandi performance. Both Deepak and Tilakji were overwhelmed with the kind of love and attention they received from the judges and the audience.”