B-Town celebs wish Happy Friendship Day

New Delhi, May 15: In an attempt to constructively use leisure time during the lockdown, actor Bhumi Pednekar has started learning Kathak from her mother, Sumitra Pednekar, who is a trained dancer of this discipline.

Elaborating on her keenness to enhance her knowledge on the dance form, the actor explained about her routine followed for the dance practice and how much she is enjoying it.

"I wanted to learn kathak for a long time as my mother is a trained Kathak dancer! So, for about an hour in the evening this what I and my mom do. She is quite enjoying it and I'm loving learning it from her!" the 30-year-old actor said.

The growing fear of coronavirus has halted many entertainment shootings and productions. The 'Pati Patni Aur Who' actor referring to the current situation opened about the uncertainties of going back to shootings.

"It has put a big question mark on when will we get back to work and how things are going to be. There's a lot of uncertainty. Of course, our dates and schedules have gone haywire and we can't plan anything," she added.

However, the 'Bala' actor is finding a silver lining among the gloom as she says that the time has given her an opportunity to get back to what she used to love as a child - the habit of reading.

"I was a voracious reader but since entering Bollywood I haven't got a chance to read something at a stretch," she said.

"But now, I have got all the time and I'm making full use of the time at hand. I have been watching TED talks and have been reading a lot about climate change because that is something, I am severely passionate about. This time has been very educational for me," she added.

On the professional front, Pednekar will be soon seen as a leading lady in the Akshay Kumar's 'Durgavati' and award-winning director Alankrita Srivastava's 'Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitaare'.

New Delhi, Jul 10: Actor Bhumi Pednekar, who is staying indoors like many other Bollywood celebrities, on Friday said that she has learned to prioritise what is important to her amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown.

"One thing that I have learnt about myself is that I love isolation. I love being by myself. I saw a lot of people complaining that they are bored at home or that they cannot go out. I am an extrovert, I am a very social person but this quarantine has led me to realise that I do prefer my isolation over meeting people because I haven't really been in touch with people," she said.

"I have kind of been catching over my reading, not seen much television but started watching shows. I have spent a lot of time with my mom and honesty there were days when I did nothing," she added.

The 'Pati Patni Aur Woh' actor further said that it was important loving oneself and enjoying one's own company.

"I have kind of prioritised what I feel is important in life. I have re-educated myself. But the biggest learning has been that I love being alone. And maybe I have kind of enjoyed this state because as actors you are constantly surrounded by people whether you are promoting or shooting a film," she said.

"Your immediate entourage is also like a team of quite a few people. You are constantly over the phone, you are constantly over social media," she added.

Pednekar was last seen in Karan Johar's horror film 'Bhoot Part One: The Haunted Ship,'.

She will next be seen in another horror thriller, 'Durgavati.'

Mumbai, Jul 22: Actor Sonu Sood on Wednesday launched an app to offer support to workers in finding right job opportunities in various sectors across the country.

Sood, who catapulted to the national spotlight for his work in helping migrants reach their homes amid the Covid-19 pandemic, has come out with a free of cost online platform called 'Pravasi Rojgar', which will provide all the necessary information and right linkages to find jobs.

The 47-year-old actor said while arranging travel for the migrants, their conversations would often revolve around how they were looking for the right work opportunity amid the pandemic.

"Lot of thinking, planning and preparation have gone into designing this initiative over the last few months, in order to ensure that it is holistic and builds on the work already being done in the country.

"Extensive consultations have been held with top organisations that're involved at the grassroots level in skilling and placing the youth below the poverty line, NGOs, philanthropic organisations, government functionaries, strategy consultants, technology start ups and above all the returned migrants whom I have helped," Sood said in a statement.

The initiative will be supported by community outreach in the villages to find the right employment opportunities for migrant workers in different parts of the country.

According to the release, the online platform has over 500 reputed companies related to construction, apparel, healthcare, engineering, BPOs, security, automobile, e-commerce and logistics sectors, offering job opportunities.

'Pravasi Rojgar' will also be offering specific job training programmes like spoken English.

A 24x7 helpline have been set up in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad and Thiruvananthapuram.