Divyaj Foundation announces the Winners of ‘Mitti Ke Sitare’ at the Grand Finale

‘Mitti Ke Sitare’, the celebration of Musical Talent dedicated to the indigent society of Mumbai, hosted the Grand Finale with glitz and glamour on Saturday, 22nd June 2019 at Dome, NSCI Worli. The Chief Guest for this magnificent event was Mr. Devendra Fadnavis, Honorable Chief Minister of Maharashtra.  Other renowned dignitaries included Shri. Raosaheb Danve Patil, Shri. Chandrakant Dada Patil, Shri Sudhir Mungantiwar, Shri Vinod Tawde, Smt. Pankaja Munde to name a few and famous personalities from the music and Bollywood fraternities including Grammy award winner Jerry Wonda as the Guest Of Honour, Padma Shri Shankar Mahadevan as the Special Guest, Shiamak Davar, Shriram Iyer, Kumar Bapi, Darshan Raval, Manisha Koirala, Mr. Khailash Kher, Mr. Anu Malik, Himesh Reshammiya, Mr. Jackey Shroff, Mr. Sailesh lodha among others.

Mrs. Amruta Fadnavis, Advisor to Divyaj Foundation and also an accomplished singer has ideated this musical talent hunt especially for the underprivileged students of slums and BMC schools. During the Finale she said “I was motivated by Hon. Prime Minister, Shri. Narendra Modiji to extend musical education to the talented children of the underprivileged section of the society. I am really delighted and overwhelmed by the talent available in our country, especially amongst the underprivileged and with the project Mitti Ke Sitare, these children have now begun their journey towards achievement and self-fulfilment.”

The exceptionally talented 18 contestants, aged between 7 and 15 years, were awarded Rs. 25000 each as cash prize along with Winning Trophies.

The memorable evening began with the lamp lighting and felicitation of the dignitaries present at the event by the Trustees of Divyaj Foundation’s Mr. Sampath Iyer, Mrs. Pallavi Shrivastava and Core Member Mr. Kavin Shah which was followed by the beautiful rendition by the percussionist maestro, Sivamani.

The highlight of the evening was the inspiring and splendid singing of the top semi-finalists who enthralled the audience with the performances.

Commenting on the occasion Mr. Shankar Mahadevan said, “When Shankar Mahadevan Academy was approached for conducting this massive talent hunt across all 1187 MCGM schools in Mumbai, I knew we were more than ready to take on the challenge. This is the first time that an organization has run a contest at such a large scale and our contest platform ensured that each contestant was evaluated fairly and transparently – and all this was done in a matter of 2-3 weeks! The shortlisted 18 finalists have been groomed and coached by our music instructors and I’m proud of the fantastic job they did today”

Mrs. Neerja Birla, Founder and Chairperson Mpower extended her best wishes to the contestants and maintained “Mitti ke sitare has been an amazing journey so far. Mpower has worked with the finalists to help them prepare for the finals by organizing various workshops. Having a good mental health is very important for children to live up to their potential. This ensures that the children live a life that is filled with positive experiences and the willingness to do what is best for themselves and the people around them. These workshops will help the children deal with the possible mental health concerns early on.”

The winning team mentioned “We are thankful to Amruta ji and Divyaj Foundation for this opportunity.  We love the care, discipline and efforts that the gurus have rendered to sharpen our singing skills. Apart from singing, we were also trained in other areas for overall development. We enjoyed every moment of our training

The evening also featured stunning live performances by Padma Shri Shankar Mahadevan and Mrs. Amruta Fadnavis along with the Contestants, Mr. Jerry Wonda, Shiamak Victory Arts Foundation children to name a few.

‘Mitti Ke Sitare’ is a social initiative by social activist and Vice President-Corporate Head with Axis Bank, Mrs. Amruta Fadnavis, in association with Mpower, to provide a platform for the hidden talents across indigent areas of the country. To conduct this social welfare project, Divyaj Foundation associated with 1187 MCGM schools to connect, identify and select children from the underprivileged sector - those who are blessed with talent but lack resources to improve themselves.

Harshvardhan Rane goes back to caveman diet for Bejoy Nambiar’s next

Having made his debut with Sanam Teri Kasam followed by the ambitious war drama, PALTAN, Harshvardhan Rane is set to spring a huge surprise on the audience and his fans with his next offering, Taish, a revenge-drama to be helmed by extremely talented filmmaker Bejoy Nambiar.

The dexterous actor will be sharing screen space for the first time with Amit Sadh and Jim Sarbh in the revenge drama that goes on floors in the United Kingdom in July this year.

Since Harshvardhan plays a raw character in the film, which is about rage and revenge, he has to opt for a physical transformation in terms of his look. Accordingly, the actor has once again resorted to his caveman diet that would help him to achieve his character look in Taish.

Without revealing much about the film or his character, Harshvardhan informs about the caveman diet, “I do believe in clean-eating. It’s a silly notion in my head. I always feel like you look what you eat. Whatever I eat, I imagine myself looking like it in the form of texture, in the form of feel may be so if I am eating some junk, I imagine myself looking like junk. And if I think am eating rice or bread I imagine myself becoming as soft and pulpy as rice or may be bread. I try to eat lean non-vegetarian food and fresh vegetables undercooked and I try to maintain my diet by mostly packing a meal while am travelling because I feel hungry after every 2 hours.”

“Sometimes, it’s not possible to get a meal delivered or buy a meal of your diet so I mostly end up packing a meal or two. Wherever I go for meeting  or if I will go for a narration  or if I am travelling for some work I end up packing some food for myself or I inform the people to just order a salad or egg or chicken or some fish. I also include some nuts in my diet which is very good source of omega 3 fatty acids and great fats and great amount of energy,” he adds.

Talking about filmmaker Bejoy, he says, “It’s a great opportunity to work with Bejoy sir, touted as one of the most talented directors. I have been waiting to work with him. Hoping he taps into my Shaitaan, one of my cult favorites!”

Harshvardhan has also been signed for ad filmmaker Llyod Baptista and Mini Films’ multi-series project, K7 – The Story of Seven Immortals, a modern day take on the Hindu Chiiranjeevis, who as per mythology used to live on earth from Satyug to the current Kalyug. The project will feature lot of VFX as compared to the standard of Hollywood superhero films.

Irrfan stays committed, doing everything to ensure timely wrap up of Angrezi Medium

The fact that Irrfan is a commuter actor is no new fact. He has given the world some of the most memorable films and characters, both in India and internationally. One of the most reliable actors, Irrfan in his career spanning almost three decades has been lauded for his impeccable screen presence and commitment to his work having delivered iconic roles. The actor is currently shooting for his next, the official sequel to the 2017 super success, Hindi Medium.

Being directed by Homi Adajania and produced by Dinesh Vijan, the film titled Angrezi Medium stars Irrfan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Radhika Madan in lead roles. 2019 started on a high and a positive note when it was reported that Irrfan was making a much anticipated return to the screen after a hiatus of a year where he spent time in London to recover and undergo treatment for his illness. Now back and still undergoing treatment, the actor is staying committed to his work schedules. 

While the actor is taking it easy and shooting the film with much caution, he’s ensuring his personal health isn’t deterring the crew of the film. He’s putting in his extra best effort to stay committed to the timeline to allow the makers to release the film in a timely manner. He’s ensuring his personal health routine is well balanced but at the same time the film’s shoot is going on smoothly to allow the team to be able to put together the film and stay committed to its intended release plan.

World Cup fever hits team Malaal

The World Cup fever is at its peak! Being no exception to this craze, Malaal actors, Meezaan and Sharmin Segal have been taken over by the cricket fever, especially the winning streak of India!

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is set to launch Meezaan and Sharmin Segal with Malaal under the Bhansali Productions banner that also marks its first collaboration with T-Series. 

The young promising stars have already caught everyone’s attention with the trailer of their highly-anticipated film.

Interestingly, the two actors invited paparazzi for a friendly cricket match in western suburbs. 

But unlike the silver screen, the promising stars were not on the same side. The cricket teams were divided into Team Meezaan and Team Sharmin with the photographers.

The interesting match won by Team Meezaan by 49 runs was fun and exciting where captains Meezaan and Sharmin *and their teams played with great enthusiasm*

The entire match ended up being a fun and exciting event, with Meezaan and Sharmin enjoying with the media. It had moments of thrill, excitement and above all a great camaraderie between the actors and the paparazzi. The rising stars ensured that this cricket match will go a long way down the memory lane for everyone.

Gulshan Kumar and Sanjay Leela Bhansali present Malaal. Directed by Mangesh Hadawle and introducing Sharmin Segal and Meezaan, the film is produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bhushan Kumar, Mahaveer Jain and Krishan Kumar. The film releases 5th July.

Sony Pictures International Ramps Up its 2020 film slate in India with High Talent Filmmakers

Sony Pictures International Productions in India has aggressively ramped up its ongoing local productions by collaborating with four leading filmmakers as it mounts its film slate for the year 2020.

From an action entertainer to a biopic thriller, the four projects toplined by filmmakers - Umesh Shukla, Sabbir Khan, Sajid Samji and Sashi Kiran Tikka (Goodachari, in Telugu) - are evidence of the Studio’s concentrated effort towards becoming a local production content power house.

 

Slated to begin production between now and end of this year, each of the four films promise to bring different types of exciting entertaining content to the audiences worldwide.

Vivek Krishnani, MD, SPE Films India Private Ltd says, “We are excited to work with such talented directors from our industry, who share a common vision like us at Sony Pictures as we seek to become a content led Studio.With Umesh, Sabbir, Sajid and Sashi working on four very different subjects we can’t wait to bring entertaining clutter breaking content to the audiences.”

“India continues to be a top priority for Sony International Productions,” said Laine Kline, head of Sony Pictures International Productions. “These filmmakers epitomize what makes Indian cinema special. Their distinctive creative visions will elevate each one of these projects on our upcoming slate.”

Sabbir Khan says, “I am really happy to partner with Sony Pictures as I am excited by their approach towards making films. Headed by Vivek Krishnani they have a team of like-minded people who are facilitating everything to make the right films”

Umesh Shukla, adds, “I want to offer content that’s relevant, entertaining, funny and which conveys a message. I'm glad to yet again collaborate with SONY after 102 Not Out."

Sajid Samji says, “I feel I am in safe hands as I know Sony will do fab job beyond just producing the film but take the marketing and promotions of the film to another level”

Shashi Kiran, “As film makers, we get an opportunity to tell stories, stories that inspire, that move us, and stories that leave an impression on us. I'm honored and grateful to Sony Pictures and G Mahesh Babu entertainment for giving me the opportunity to direct Major and tell this story to the entire country.”

As the Studio continues to expand its footprint in India, Sony Pictures is also gearing up for a huge Hollywood line-up this year with Spider-Man: Far From Home, Angry Birds 2, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, the Charlie’s Angels reboot and the sequel to 2017’s blockbuster hit Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.