Film on Hindu-Muslim unity wins top award at UK festival

Agencies
June 30, 2017

London, Jun 30: A new film about Hindu-Muslim unity bagged the top prize at the annual London Indian Film Festival (LIFF).hindumuslim

"A Billion Colour Story", produced by Bollywood filmmaker Satish Kaushik and directed by Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy, won the Audience Award at the festival last evening for what was described as a heart-warming tale.

"It's incredibly special for us that 'A Billion Colour Story' resonates with audiences across countries and continents. It continues to vindicate our faith that people and their hearts are the same across cultures and horizons," the filmmakers said in a statement.

Other special awards presented by the festival, now in its eighth year and backed by the Bagri Foundation, included three Sunmark ICON Awards for South Asian directors who have made a global contribution to cinema – Adoor Gopalakrishnan from Kerala, Ashutosh Gowariker from Mumbai and documentary filmmaker Pratibha Parmar from London.

"It is wonderful that the festival continues to lead the debate and not simply reflect the changing shape of Indian cinema; from this year's Indian virtual reality showcases to bringing carefully curated important new talent to the world stage like actress Anjali Patil to showcasing emerging young directors like Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, director of closing night film 'Sexy Durga'," said festival executive and programming director Cary Rajinder Sawhney.

LIFF's annual Satyajit Ray Short Film Award went to the film "Papa", directed by Siddharth Chauhan. "I was fighting depression and trying to win over myself in many ways, when I decided to take the challenge of making this film.

"I didn't have a single penny and no professional assistance, but with a deep prayer in my heart and with the support of my friends in Shimla, we begged, borrowed and did everything we could, to make this film in the best possible way. It wasn't easy for us, but I guess all the effort was worth it," Chauhan said.

The festival this year coincides with the UK India Year of Culture celebrations in London and plugs into the British Film Institute's (BFI) ongoing "India on Film" series.

"India has one of the world's richest and most prolific film industries. Throughout 2017, we celebrate the diversity of Indian filmmaking and films about India, from Bollywood to Tollywood (home of Telugu and Bengali cinema) – in cinemas and online," said Robin Baker, BFI Head Curator.

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saleem
 - 
Wednesday, 5 Jul 2017

Muttu,

Spill blood of whom ur swamiji?

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News Network
March 5,2020

New Delhi, Mar 5: Urging netizens to adopt traditional salutation styles like 'namaste' and 'salaam' to greet everyone in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, megastar Salman Khan on Thursday shared a picture from his workout session.

Flaunting his perfectly chiselled body, the 'Sultan' actor shared a picture of himself sitting on a pull-down machine with folded hands as a mark of Indian tradition 'namaste'.

"Namashkaar ... hamari sabhyata mein namaste aur salaam hai! Jab #coronavirus Khatam ho jaye tab Haath milao aur gale lago...." he captioned the picture.

Khan recently touched the mark of 30 million followers on Instagram on Saturday and shared a short video on the platform thanking his fans for it.

In the video, he first thanked fans with folded hands and then a salute.

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News Network
April 12,2020

Los Angeles, Apr 12: Pop star Rihanna has asked her fans, who are demanding her to release her new album soon, to back off as her prime focus right now is doing her bit in saving the world from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Grammy winner was one of the first Hollywood personalities who pledged support towards the relief efforts in fighting the COVID-19 outbreak.

Rihanna has been teasing new for quite some time now and eager admirers got an earful from her during an Instagram Live. Her last studio album was 'Anti' which was released in 2016.

Taking a swipe at US President Donald Trump, the Barbadian singer said, "If one of y'all ask me about the album one more time when I'm tryna save the world, unlike y'all president....on sight."

Rihanna's non-profit organisation Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently donated USD 2.1 million each to help victims of domestic violence in Los Angeles during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order.

Also CLF and and rapper Jay-Z's Shawn Carter Foundation donated USD 2 million to support undocumented workers, the incarcerated, homeless and elderly populations, and children of frontline healthcare workers in Los Angeles and New York City amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier, Rihanna, through CLF, also donated USD 5 million to support Direct Relief, Partners In Health, Feeding America, the International Rescue Committee and World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund as they continue to fight the pandemic in the US, the Caribbean and Africa.

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News Network
April 6,2020

New Delhi, Apr 6:  In an attempt to pump up Indians with positivity amid the testing times of coronavirus, Bollywood's most prominent actors like Akshay Kumar, Kartik Aaryan, Tiger Shroff, Taapsee Pannu, Kiara Advani, joined hands and launched a hope anthem - 'Muskurayega India.'

The song is set on the optimistic theme that sends out the message that the country will smile again if the country supports each other in the current crisis situation.

An initiative of Akshay Kumar's Cape of Good Films, the video of the song features all the lead actors of the industry including Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar, Sidharth Malhotra, Vicky Kaushal, Raj Kumar Rao, Ananya Panday, Kriti Sanon, Jacky Bhagnani, and Rakul Preet.
Curated by Jackky Bhagnani's music label JJust Music and composed and sung by the talented Vishal Mishra, 'Muskurayega India' is a symbol of India's spirit of solidarity, battling against the coronavirus pandemic.

The soulful song penned by Kaushal Kishore also features cricketer Shikhar Dhawan and famous Mumbai based Radio Jockey Malishka.
The video of the song starts with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's televised address in which he is seen assuring the country that every Indian will come out victorious from the coronavirus crisis.

The video then features all the prominent faces of the cinema industry giving out the message of hope from their balconies, terrace and other spots of their houses.

The song urges people to stay home and support the people who are working to combat the virus, like police officials, and medical practitioners on duty amid the lockdown.

A locked-down view of some of the most prominent spots in the country like the India Gate, Hawa Mahal, and Mumbai's beaches are also featured in the video.

The song also spreads the message of social distancing and washing of hands to keep the infection away.

The video ends with a rhythm of the national anthem with the celebrities standing still to honour it and finally fades away with the Indian national flag.

As the country battles the novel coronavirus, the song is an attempt to uplift the spirit of togetherness of every Indian during the unprecedented crisis.

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