Dangal sets Rs 20 crore record in China, earns rave reviews

May 6, 2017

Beijing, May 6: Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal has set a Rs 20 crore record in its opening day, the most for an Indian film in China, as it opened to rave reviews from Chinese audiences.

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The film, which opened on May 5, had crossed Rs 20.65 crore by early Saturday (22.16 million Yuan), around four times the earlier high for an Indian film of Rs 5.7 crore set by PK.

PK in China went on to cross Rs 100 crore, the first Indian film to do so, a landmark that Dangal seems on track to match.

The film has benefited from both Aamir Khan's popularity in China, as well as a wide promotion campaign and release. Aamir spent a week in China in April promoting the film, travelling to Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu.

Film opened to 7,000 screens

Distributors said the film opened to 7,000 screens, more than the 4,000 screens that PK opened to, even if the decision by China's top cinema operator, Wanda, to all but blank out the film may cost its earnings especially in second and third-tier towns, where Wanda has a monopoly.

Wanda as of last year had 1,657 screens in China - the number is set to cross 3,000 this year - with estimates that its decision to only arrange 37 screens for Dangal could reduce its earnings by one-third, especially in tier-two and tier-three towns.

On China's most popular cinema portals, the film has garnered rave reviews from fans. On social media app WeChat, it enjoys the highest rating among films currently being shown in China with a 9.8 score out of ten.

Full marks to Dangal?

"The best movie I have ever watched, worth to stay up all night for the evening show," said one fan on the website Douban. "I have never written a review for any movie before, it was so touching, I was laughing and crying at the same time. Hope you guys watch it, believe me, you will love it."

Despite Wanda's lack of interest in the film, a number of Chinese celebrities have also come out to promote the film. The actor Deng Chao posted a message on the Chinese Twitter equivalent Sina Weibo telling fans to watch it, while actress Liu Yifei promoted the film along with Aamir Khan during his visit.

"I give full marks to Dangal," wrote another fan on Douban. "I was touched that I cried so much and when I ran out of tissue, I borrowed two pieces of it from a stranger beside me, I am going to watch it again and again."

"First time that I clapped in a cinema," said one fan, "not only me but also everyone here clapped, the best and most touching movie ever."

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Agencies
January 11,2020

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.

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News Network
July 25,2020

Bhubaneswar, Jul 25: The COVID-19 pandemic has hit many people hard, and the latest victim of the pandemic is Bollywood actor Kartika Sahoo from Odisha. With the entertainment industry almost non-functional and most productions on hold, the actor is forced to sell vegetables for a living.

Sahoo, who hails from the from Garadpur block of the Kendrapada district in Odisha, said that he went to Mumbai to try his luck in Bollywood at the age of 17. For many years he worked as a bodyguard to film stars and cricketers such as Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar, among others.

Lady luck shone on him in 2018, and he landed noticeable roles in the action sequences of many movies, he said while speaking with news agency. He also has a fight sequence with Akshay Kumar in his upcoming film 'Sooryavanshi'.

Just before the nationwide lockdown which started on March 22, Sahoo had returned home to Odisha after shooting a fight sequence in Jaipur. Since then, with no work, the actor has been living off his savings to sustain his family. But, after four months of no work, and a medical emergency, a major part of his savings was drained.

To find work, he moved to state capital Bhubaneswar, but to no avail. In the end, Sahoo had to resort to selling vegetables in Rasulgad there.

Sahoo is still hopeful and said that he'll again try his luck in Bollywood once the situation is back to normal, till then he'll struggle, like others, for survival.

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News Network
April 4,2020

New Delhi, April 4: Extending a helping hand to curb the spread of coronavirus, superstar Shah Rukh Khan and wife Gauri Khan have offered their personal office space in Mumbai for quarantine purpose for children, elderly and women.

The information was tweeted by the official Twitter handle of BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) on Saturday that thanked the couple for the gesture.

"Stronger together. We thank Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan for offering their 4-storey personal office space to help expand our quarantine capacity equipped with essentials for quarantined children, women and elderly, Indeed a thoughtful and timely gesture!" the tweet read.

Earlier the 54-year-old superstar and his group companies had pledged to donate to a number of relief funds, including the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) fund and the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund to combat the coronavirus.

The 'Devdas' actor had taken to Twitter on Thursday and shared that his companies -- Kolkata Knight Riders, Red Chillies Entertainment, Meer Foundation, and Red Chillies VFX -- are taking several initiatives to support the relief efforts.

The Padma Shri awardee also announced that his initial efforts will be focused on three cities -- Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi, "with the realisation that this is a start and we stand ready to contribute in whichever way possible going forward".

Meanwhile, India's tally of coronavirus positive cases rose to 2,902, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday.

Out of 2,902 cases, 2,650 are active cases and 184 have been cured or discharged or have migrated. The total number of deaths reported due to the disease rose to 68 on Saturday.

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