Academy invites 928 new members, including Shah Rukh

Mumbai, Mar 21: Ever willing to rally behind Narendra Modi, Bollywood celebs pitched in to drum up support for the Prime Minister's idea of a 'Janata curfew' on Sunday to minimise social interaction and slow down the spread of the coronavirus in India.

Narendra Modi floated the idea yesterday of people staying indoor from from 7 am to 9 pm on Sunday to break the chain of the virus transmission.

Shah Rukh Khan tweeted, "It's imp 2 reduce social interaction 2 minimum. Self Quarantine. The idea of #JanataCurfew on Sunday is a means to this end & we should continue this concept at a personal level as much as we can & more. We need to ‘slow down time' to arrest the virus spread. Be safe & healthy all."

He added a video message later, asking his fans to not panic. "I appeal to all people to avoid public places and to avoid commuting by trains and buses if not absolutely necessary. The next 10 to 15 days are extremely crucial. To fight this crisis the government and the citizens have to put up a strong joint front.

"So I appeal again please do not panic and please be careful about misinformation. And please follow the instructions and guidelines issued by the state government," Shah Rukh said in his video message.

Tamil actor-politician Kamal Haasan it was time to take extraordinary measures to fight the virus.

"I stand in full solidarity with our Prime Minister's call for #JanataCurfew. In this extraordinary situation, we have to take extraordinary measures. It's a disaster that has befallen on us and by staying united and indoors, we can Stay Safe," he said.

Yesteryears actress Madhuri Dixit Nene added her bit.

"It's time to understand our social responsibility & follow the guidelines. Let's show gratitude to all the people who have been working round the clock for us by observing the #JantaCurfew on 22nd March. Do your part. Stay safe to keep others safe," she posted on Twitter.

Actor Shahid Kapoor said more or less the same thing.

Legendary Lata Mangeshkar extended her support to the 'Janta Curfew' called by Modi and also hailed the decision of Maharashtra chief Uddhav Thackeray to shut down workplaces from Friday midnight till March 31.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for Janata Curfew and I support this. Also I laud the decisions taken by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. I urge everyone to support this and overcome this crisis," Mangeshkar tweeted.

"Request everyone to stay home and adhere to the #JanataCurfew on the 22nd of March from 7am to 9pm. Let's all fight this together! @narendramodi #IndiaFightsCorona," Ayushmann Khurrana tweeted.

"Request everyone to stay home and adhere to the #JanataCurfew on the 22nd of March from 7am to 9pm. Let's all fight this together!," he said, tagging PM in his tweet.

Last night, actor Kartik Aaryan took to social media to deliver a ''Pyaar Ka Punchnaama'' style monologue about the importance of social distancing in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan, Karan Johar, Akshay Kumar and Hrithik Roshan also took to social media to applaud Prime Minister''s statement on Janata curfew.

Meanwhile, several top stars of the industry, including Bachchan, Akshay, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Madhuri, Ranveer Singh recorded a special video to spread awareness about the novel coronavirus.

The one minute fifty second long video, an initiative by Rohit Shetty Picturez in collaboration with Maharashtra government, features actors appealing to citizens to tread with caution and safety amid the pandemic.

Mar 21: Singer Sonu Nigam has decided to extend his stay in Dubai as he believes travelling amid the coronavirus outbreak can put people around him at risk.

The singer was in the Himalayas earlier and wanted to come to Mumbai for a concert scheduled for March 6 but it got postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic.

He then decided to head to Dubai to be with his wife and son and has been there since a few weeks.

"I am fortunate that my wife and my son are in Dubai. My son studies here and I keep travelling here a lot, Dubai is like my second base. But my father, sister are alone in India. I wanted to come back to India and be at my father's side but I realised that if I do that, I'll be exposing him to the risk of me carrying this virus, who knows the extent of the danger," Sonu told

The 46-year-old singer said everybody is taking precautions and he wants to ensure that the health of those around him isn't at risk.

"I thought let's not outsmart the virus. I thought it's better for me to stay for a bit (till things go normal). Coming back to India, and then going in quarantine will still be a risk.

"I came to Dubai and I thought I'll be able to go back to India but I didn't know it's going to be such an issue eventually. But we are fine here."

On Friday, singer Kanika Kapoor become the first Bollywood celebrity to test positive for the deadly virus in the country and has said she is under complete quarantine and medical care.

The UP police later booked the singer for negligence and committing acts that are likely to spread disease dangerous to life after she attended at least three gatherings in Lucknow, including a party where political leaders were present.

When asked if his decision of staying back was in anyway related to what happened to Kanika, Sonu said that wasn't the case.

"The last time I was contemplating coming to India was on March 16 night, but thankfully my flight got cancelled. Then from March 17, there was this regulation from the government of India that you have to go on a self quarantine for 14 days, compulsorily. I decided I shouldn't take a chance. Being a potential carrier is the worst thing," he said

In Dubai, the singer said the family is taking extreme precautions.

"We all are being safe, staying indoors, not gathering with many people. Careless people shouldn't be around you at this point, people who are too brash, that 'oh nothing will happen.' I don't allow such people in my vicinity. I'm.very hygiene conscious anyway." said the singer.

Sonu said he will be conducting a live music concert on his social media on Sunday.

Washington, Jan 11: Fresh off his win at the Golden Globes, actor Joaquin Phoenix participated in a climate change protest and was arrested by the police.

The "Joker" star took part in the weekly protests against climate change, started by Hollywood veteran Jane Fonda.

According to Variety, the 45-year-old actor also addressed the crowd of close to 300 people.

In his short speech, he took aim at the meat and dairy industry for being the third leading cause of the climate crisis.

"Sometimes we wonder what can we do in this fight against climate change, and there is something that you can do today and tomorrow, by making a choice about what you consume," Phoenix said.

"There are things I can't avoid. I flew a plane here today, or last night rather, but one thing I can do is change my eating habits," he added.

Besides Phoenix, veteran Hollywood star Martin Sheen also turned up for the protest and got arrested by the police. Actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Susan Sarandon were also present.

Capitol Police said it arrested 147 people who were charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding. All the protestors were later released.

Fonda, who was on stage with Phoenix, called him "one of the greatest living actors today".

She has been protesting weekly as part of her "Fire Drill Fridays" initiative since announcing she was moving to Washington "to be closer to the epicenter of the fight for our climate." Her participation has ended in multiple arrests.

Earlier this month, Phoenix had talked about climate change at the Golden Globes ceremony, asking Hollywood to walk the talk on the issue.