Amitabh Bachchan sends handwritten note to Ranveer Singh

Mumbai, Jul 25: Movie theatres have been shuttered for months due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country, but the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has now recommended that the Union Home Ministry allow cinema halls to reopen in August. 

I&B Secretary Amit Khare indicated this at a close-door industry interaction with the CII Media Committee on Friday. He said Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla at the Home Ministry would take the final call.

Khare said that he has recommended that cinema halls may be allowed to reopen all over India as early as August 1, or at the latest, around August 31.

The formula suggested is that alternate seats in the first row and then the next row be kept vacant, and proceeding in this fashion throughout.

Khare said that his ministry's recommendation takes into consideration the two metre social distancing norm, but tweaks it gently to two yards instead. The Home Ministry, however, still has to revert on the recommendation.

Cinema owners, present in the interaction, however, pushed back and said this formula is unwise and merely running films at 25% auditorium capacity is worse than keeping the cinemas shut.

The attendees at the meet included media CEOs like N.P. Singh of Sony, Sam Balsara (Madison), Megha Tata, (Discovery), Gaurav Gandhi (Amazon Prime), Manish Maheshwari (Twitter), S. Sivakumar (Bennett Coleman and Co Ltd), and K Madhavan, Star & Disney, and also Chairman, CII Media Committee.

The OTT platforms present, including Gandhi of Amazon Prime, did not push back. Some Bollywood producers, notably those of Amitabh Bachchan's Gulabo Sitabo, have posted their movies on OTT, rather than live out the lockdown uncertainty.

New Delhi, Apr 7: Actor Disha Patani on Tuesday extended her warm wishes to legendary martial artist and actor Jackie Chan on his birthday.

The 'Baaghi 2' took to Instagram to share a throwback picture of herself with the Hong Kong-based actor and reminisced the times when she got the opportunity to work with him.

"Happiest b'day taguuu this was the first time I met you, I remember being so nervous but It turned out to be the best day of my life, getting an opportunity to work with my "superhero" is the best thing that has ever happened to me," she wrote in the caption.

"You teach people to be giving, loving and hardworking, thank you for blessing the world with your unreal performances and the most unforgettable life risking action sequences. Nobody can ever be "jackie chan" love you the most @jackiechan," she added.

Disha Patani and Jackie Chan worked together in a Chinese adventure comic film 'Kung Fu Yoga'.

The film was released worldwide in 2017 and it later became the highest-grossing film of Jackie Chan in China.

Besides Disha, the film also had two other Bollywood actors - Sonu Sood and Amyra Dastur.

Jackie Chan turned 66 today. He was many laurels to his name including the prestigious Oscar Award which was handed over to him in 2016 for his extraordinary achievements in the cinema industry.

New Delhi, Jun 6: Actor Ayushmann Khurrana took the internet by storm as he posted a picture of himself in the dark 'Joker' avatar on Saturday.

Artist Swapnil Pawar transformed Khurrana into the 'Joker' through his artwork which the actor posted on his Instagram.

"Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it ... I'm an Agent of Chaos!" Khurrana quoted a famous dialogue from the film 'Joker' in the caption.

The 35-year-old actor, who hasn't played an outright negative role in his career further revealed his fascination for negative characters in the caption.

"Sinister, menacing, evil, cold, conniving yet brilliant, genius - have always thought of playing a negative character like Joker. Thank you @swapnilmpawar for reading my mind and this incredible artwork!" he wrote.

Khurrana believes that though it is good to portray different roles and he would love to play a negative character but the message at the end should be positive.

"I will be happy to play a negative character. I would love to play a morally corrupt person. That will be out of my realm. But the message, at the end of the day, should be positive. I don't want to endorse wrongdoings on screen," he said.

The new look of the 'Article 15' actor won hearts as the post was flooded with scores of comments from his fans.