Bieber fever on a high in Mumbai

May 10, 2017

Mumbai, May 10: The excitement is at its peak, the stage is set. Indian 'Beliebers' -- fans of Justin Bieber -- are ready to match steps, lip sync and sway to his tunes at the Grammy Award winning Canadian singer's maiden concert in India here on Wednesday.

BieberPreparations at the DY Patil Stadium ground have been on in full swing. A high-tech stage has been set up for Bieber to regale about 45,000 admirers with a show that is a part of his Purpose World Tour.

Fanatical fans of the "Baby" hitmaker were seen holding up posters of the 23-year-old pop star at the airport while awaiting his arrival, details of which have been closely guarded.

"Dubai is incredible... India you are next. Amit Bhatia, you ready? Purpose Tour Stadiums," Bieber tweeted early on Tuesday.

His team is already soaking in the joys of being in India.

Nick Demoura, Creative Director of Bieber's tour, tweeted an image of himself posing against the iconic Gateway of India.

One of Bieber's backup dancers, Aubree Storm, has been enjoying her India trip since Monday.

"Today was amazing. India is everything I imagined and more. Namaste. Mumbai. Gate to India," she posted. She also shared an image of a stack of saris. She captioned it: "There is something about this photo that is just incredible satisfying. Beautiful Mumbai."

'Harry Potter' actress Elarica Johnson is here already to be a part of the show, organised by White Fox India and sponsored by Jio.

All strings are being pulled to ensure proper safety and security for the show, tickets for which have been priced upwards of Rs 5,000. Diamond, VVIP 1 and VVIP 2 tickets had sold out on online ticketing platform BookMyShow in a span of less than four hours.

Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale said around 500 police personnel and 25 officers would be deployed for security and emergency disaster management at the venue.

Bieber's own personal security will be with him, but Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's personal bodyguard Shera has been appointed to take care of the young and hugely successful global singing sensation.

Bieber came to the fore around 2008, promoted by Usher. "Baby" became his claim to fame in 2010 and he garnered a huge fan, which continued to grow with songs like "Where are u now", "Boyfriend", "Love yourself" and "As long as you love me".

These are also the songs Bieber is likely to perform here. The concert is being held to promote his new album "Purpose".

The performances will begin at 4 p.m. with Sarthak Sardana, better known by his stage name DJ Sartek, taking to the stage, followed by DJ Zaeden and then Norwegian DJ Alan Walker -- before Bieber's headlining act.

Expect a Bollywood touch at the concert -- actress Jacqueline Fernandez will be hosting the Ultra Lounge for her celebrity friends at the concert. Her guest list includes the likes of Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Karan Johar, Gauri Khan, Manish Malhotra and Kangana Ranaut.

There has been heightened interest in the preparations for Bieber's gig, especially with his list of demands and the hospitality planned for his visit.

He will be served rich authentic cuisine representing the 29 Indian states. A convoy of 10 luxury sedans and two Volvo buses will be at the disposal of the artiste and his entourage of 120 throughout their stay.

To top it, a Rolls Royce has been reserved for Bieber. Even the suite of the five-star hotel where Bieber will stay has been modified to include truly Indian elements.

A string of designers have created customised souveneirs for the star, who will be accompanied to India by his mother. Together, they will explore Delhi, Agra and Jaipur after the much-awaited gig.

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News Network
April 21,2020

Mumbai, Apr 21: While the whole country continues to struggle against the COVID-19 crisis, filmmaker Rohit Shetty's name has been added to the list of renowned personalities who have come forward to give the frontline workers a boost to help them in their battle against the deadly infection.

Rohit Shetty has facilitated eight hotels across the city for the on-duty corona warriors to rest, shower and change with arrangements for breakfast and dinner. The Mumbai Police thanked Shetty for this kind gesture in keeping Mumbai safe and tweeted," #RohitShetty has facilitated eight hotels across the city for our on-duty #CovidWarriors to rest, shower & change with arrangements for breakfast & dinner. We thank him for this kind gesture and for helping us in #TakingOnCorona and keeping Mumbai safe."

Meanwhile, scores of celebrities have stepped forward in the fight against coronavirus by supporting different initiatives to help the ones going through the difficult situation due to coronavirus outbreak.

India's count of positive coronavirus cases reached 18,985 after 1,329 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Tuesday.
Out of the total cases, 15,122 are active cases, 3,259 have been cured and discharged and one has migrated. With 44 new deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the toll stands at 603.

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Agencies
January 26,2020

Mumbai, Jan 26: Filmmakers Karan Johar, Ekta Kapoor and actor Kangana Ranaut are among the six cinema personalities to be awarded the Padma Shri, officials said on Saturday.

Singers Suresh Wadkar and Adnan Sami as well as veteran TV actor Sarita Joshi have also been conferred with the fourth highest civilian honour of the country.

Karan and Ekta said they were humbled to receive the honour.

"Overwhelmed by so many emotions right now. Humbled, elated and also thankful for the opportunity to live my dream everyday, to create and to entertain. I know my father would be proud and I wish he was here to share this moment with me," he said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Son of veteran Bollywood producer late Yash Johar, Karan Johar started his career as a director in Hindi cinema with the 1998 hit Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

The 47-year-old, who runs Dharma Productions, went on to direct several commercial blockbusters in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), My Name Is Khan (2010), Student of the Year (2012) and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil among others.

Karan has also produced several critically-acclaimed films -- Wake Up Sid, Agneepath, Hasee Toh Phasee, Kapoors & Sons and Raazi.

Ekta, who started her showbiz journey with soap operas, most notably Kyunki Saas Bhi Bahu Thi, is the daughter of veteran actor Jeetendra.

She launched her banner Balaji Telefilms in 1994 and backed many popular TV shows, eventually branching out into movie production.

Ekta, 44, has produced films such as Love Sex Aur Dhoka, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, The Dirty Picture, Udta Punjab and Veere Di Wedding.

"My foray into the industry started when I was just 17. I constantly heard I was 'too young', 'too raw' and it was 'too soon' to make things happen. Through the years I've realised it's never 'too soon' to live out your dreams and being 'too young' is probably the best thing," she said.

"Today, as l'm conferred with the 4th highest civilian honour- Padma Shri', I'm humbled. I hope to continue breaking boundaries, to continue giving young talent a chance and to strive to give back to the country for all the love that's come my way.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect, as this news arrives 2 days before my son's first birthday. Grateful & Thankful!" she added.

Kangana, a three-time National Award Winner, is the only Bollywood actor to receive the Padma Shri this year.

The 32-year-old, who made her debut in movies in 2006 with Gangster, is regarded as one of the most successful female artistes of this generation.

After a series of films with Mahesh Bhatt's banner, she found success with Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion, for which she won her first National Film Award in 2009.

She went on to win two back-to-back National Film Awards for her performances in Queen (2014) and Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015). Kangana's latest release is Panga.

Wadkar, 64, a veteran in the music industry, started his career as a playback singer in 1978 with song Seene mein jalan for Gaman. He has lent his voice to memorable tracks like Aye zindagi gale lagaa le, Aur is dil mein, Pardesi pardesi, Sapne mein, Raat ke dhai baje and Jag Ja.

In his over four-decade-long career, Wadkar has collaborated with celebrated composers RD Burman, Shiv-Hari, Ilayaraja, Khayyam, AR Rahman, Bappi Lahiri, Vishal Bhardwaj and Hridayanath Mangeshkar.

Sami, 48, now an Indian-citizen, made a mark for himself in country's indie-pop scene with single Kabhi toh nazar milao, for which he collaborated with veteran playback singer Asha Bhosle.

"The greatest moment for any Artiste is to be appreciated & recognised by his/her government. I am overwhelmed with infinite gratitude for being honoured with the 'Padma Shri' by the Government of India. It has been a 34 years musical journey.. 'Bohot Shukriya'!!" Sami tweeted.

He released various albums in the early 2000s and also served as music composer for films Lucky: No Time for Love (2005), Dhamaal (2007) and Shaurya (2008).

Sami, born in London to a Pakistani Air force veteran, applied for Indian citizenship in 2015 and became a citizen of the country in January 2016.

Joshi, a household name and a popular theatre personality, started her acting career as a child artiste and made her TV debut in 1980s with Titliyan.

Some of her most iconic shows are Hasratein , Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka , Baa Bahoo Aur Baby and Bh Se Bhade.

Joshi, 78, has also featured in movies such as Nazar , Darna Zaroori Hai , Dasvidaniya , Singham Returns and Simmba.

She was bestowed with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award for acting in Gujarati in 1988.

"I am very happy and humbled with this honour. I am working from an early age, I have never worked for awards, for me work is worship. I have always worked from heart and given my best in whatever I have done. I will be known as Padma Shri Sarita Joshi, this is such a big honour. I am happy as my children are happy," Joshi told PTI.

The Padma Shri for this year has been awarded to a total of 118 eminent personalities across fields of art, literature and education, medicine, trade and industry, sports, public affairs, social work and science and engineering.

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Agencies
August 9,2020

Mumbai, Aug 9:The questioning of Rhea Chakraborty's brother Showik by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), in connection with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, continued till around 6:30 am on Sunday, according to sources in the ED.

It is noteworthy that Showik Chakraborty had reached the ED office at around 12 pm on Saturday afternoon, following which the questioning by the investigative agency's officials went on for about 18 hours.

Tomorrow on August 10, Rhea, alongwith her father, Indrajit Chakraborty, are to be questioned by the ED officials.

Showik is named in the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Rhea was earlier questioned by the ED at its office in Mumbai in connection with the case. The agency also questioned Showik and Shruti Modi, former business manager of Rajput.

According to sources in the investigation agency, the officials have got hold of electronic evidence in connection with the case and they are also searching for phone records of conversations between Rhea and her father and brother.

The ED had already questioned Rhea once on Saturday, following which she was called back on Monday.

Meanwhile, CBI has collected documents related to the actor's death from Bihar Police. The ED has also asked the late actor's friend, Siddharth Pithani, to appear before the agency on August 8.

The agency had on July 31 registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in the case after FIR was filed by KK Singh, the late actor's father, against Rhea in Bihar on July 28.
The ED earlier interrogated Samuel Miranda, an associate of Rhea over the latter's properties, sources said.

The investigating agency has registered a case against six accused including Rhea in connection with Rajput's death.

Rajput was found dead at his Mumbai residence on June 14.

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