'Dilwale' takes edge over 'Bajirao' with 'excellent' opening

Kolkata, Jun 2: Artistes of the Bengali film industry are trying to get the best out of their creative side amid the lockdown, with many of them giving shape to innovative concepts and ideas to hook the audience.

A short film 'Grub Ne Bana Di Jodi', with RJ-actor Mir Afsar Ali in the lead, transcends boundaries to bring couples from around the world together on one platform, as they engage in discussions on food and culture.

The shot-at-home film, directed by Satrajit Sen, has Ali giving couples tasks to test their culinary skills.

"This is the time to try new concepts and that, too, without the usual technical support. There is no box office pressure, and people can take their own sweet time to watch the film on YouTube," he said.

Actor Vikram Chatterjee, who recently completed the shoot of 'Pabitra Puppies', a web series about seven friends bonding over video games, said it was an "altogether different experience" with no crew to assist him at home.

"The shooting process was complicated but we had a lot of fun. I was in Mumbai when the lockdown was imposed.

Coordinating with the director and other cast members wasn't easy, but this phase has taught us how to overcome challenges," Chatterjee said.

The series, also starring Sohini Sarkar and Saayoni Ghosh, will be streaming on Hoichoi soon.

Director Shieladitya Moulik's third outing on YouTube, amid the lockdown, has garnered good reviews.

The short film 'Eye Candy' tells the story of a blind couple who had been finding ways to connect with each other.

"I wanted to talk about long-distance relationships, and the problems faced by couples in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, but not without a twist. I hope the viewers enjoy the short," Moulik said.

Los Angeles, May 11: Iconic soul and R&B singer Betty Wright has died after a battle with cancer. She was 66. According to Entertainment Weekly, the Grammy winner passed away on Sunday in her hometown Miami, Florida, Wright's niece confirmed.

The news comes a week after singer-songwriter Chaka Khan tweeted praying for her "beloved sister", without mentioning the cause of ailment.

"Calling all my #PrayWarriors | My beloved sister, Betty Wright, is now in need of all your prays. 'Que Sera, Sera | Whatever Will Be, Will Be' In Jesus Name We Pray for Sister Betty All My Love Chaka," she wrote.

Wright, whose real name was Bessie Regina Norris, was born in 1953.

She started singing as part of her siblings' musical group called the 'Echoes of Joy', but she rose to fame in the 1970s.

The singer was a member of the gospel ensemble until they parted ways when she was 11, leading her to embrace R&B music.

Wright signed with the label Deep City Records in 1966, a year later becoming a local hit with songs "Thank You Baby" and "Paralyzed".

Her first album My First Time Around wasn't released until two years later featuring the hit "Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do."

The biggest hit of her career Clean Up Woman came a year later, which was certified gold barely days after her 18th birthday.

At the age of 23, she went on to win her first Grammy Award for Best Song, Where is the Love?

Wright continued writing and producing music for two decades, her final hit  No Pain, (No Gain) was released in 1988.

Wright also collaborated with talent in the industry including fellow Miami superstar Gloria Estefan, for whom she arranged the harmonies on the 1991 track Coming Out of the Dark, as well as Jennifer Lopez, Kelly Clarkson, and Joss Stone.

She served as the vocal coach of the girl group Danity Kane on "Making of the Band" (2006).

With her collaboration with The Roots titled Betty Wright: The Movie, Wright again came under spotlight in 2011. This was her first album in a decade.

She scored a Grammy nod for the song Surrender from the album. Her work has been sampled throughout the years by Beyonce, Mary J Blige, Afrika Bambaataa, and Chance the Rapper. Several names from the music industry such as Snoop Dogg, John Legend, and DJ Khaled condoled Wright's demise on social media.

Snoop shared a video of Wright singing "Tonight is the Night" and thanked his mentor for inviting him to "thankful Thursday's" at her Florida house years ago.

"I know god is pleased with your work. Tonight is the night you get to heavens gates. Long live. Betty Wright," he wrote on Instagram.

Legend said Wright will be missed.

"She was always so loving and giving to younger artists. Always engaged, always relevant," he tweeted.

Khaled shared a clip of his performance with Wright on the song "Holy Key" at the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards.

"Betty Wright, you are an angel. You one of my realest friends I have! You are like a mom to me! You had my back from the very beginning! We made beautiful music together! Betty Wright is an icon! And the Mother of Miami," he wrote.

Wright was married three times - her final marriage was to reggae legend Noel 'King Sporty' Williams from 1985 until his death in 2015.

She had five children: Aisha McCray, Patrice Parker, Patrick Parker, Patrice Parker, and Chaka Azuri. Her son Patrick was shot to death on Christmas Day 2005 at the age of 21.

Mumbai, Jan 9: A day after Deepika Padukone visited the JNU campus to express solidarity with students who had been attacked, her film "Chhapaak" made another splash on Wednesday over the name of its antagonist.

While Deepika was the focus of many a discussion on social media and beyond for showing up at a public meeting in the university, the film, based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, was also making news for quite another reason.

In what could well be a storm in a 'Twitter cup', "Nadeem Khan" and "Rajesh" began trending on the microblogging site after a magazine article claimed the name of the antagonist had been changed. By 4 pm, 'Nadeem Khan' clocked close to 60,000 tweets and 'Rajesh' close behind with 50,000.

In 2005, Laxmi was disfigured for life when a man called Nadeem Khan and three others allegedly hurled acid at her in Delhi's upscale Khan Market.

In the film based on her life, the narrative remains the same but the names have been changed. So, Laxmi is 'Malti' Agarwal and Nadeem becomes 'Babboo' aka 'Bashir Khan'.

On Wednesday, Swarajya magazine wrote an article headlined, "The Ways Of Bollywood: In Deepika Padukone-Starer Chhapaak, Acid Attacker Naeem Khan Becomes ‘Rajesh'." "As part of a backlash against Padukone's JNU 'meet and greet', social media users researched the names of the characters involved in the movie Chhapaak and conspicuously found the name of main perpetrator Naeem Khan absent," the article alleged.

But in the Meghna Gulzar directed film, there is no mention of any Nadeem or Naeem Khan. Moreover, Rajesh is the name of Malti's boyfriend.

Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Babul Supriyo jumped into the controversy, saying it was another example of "absolute hypocrisy".

"...When you say all characters are fictitious and don't have any resemblance with living beings and all of that, this is absolute hypocrisy. When you change the name which also changes the religion, it has been done very deliberately," Supriyo told a TV channel when asked to comment on the controversy.

South Delhi BJP MP Ramesh Biduri also called for a boycott of the movie.

With Deepika grabbing attention by going to JNU, many appreciated her 'silent solidarity' but others criticised her for "supporting the Leftists" and said it was a promotional stunt ahead of the release.

"#BoycottChhapaak" was trending on Twitter as was "#ISupportDeepika".