Gauhar Khan wins 'Bigg Boss 7', aims for superstardom

Mumbai, Mar 21: Ever willing to rally behind Narendra Modi, Bollywood celebs pitched in to drum up support for the Prime Minister's idea of a 'Janata curfew' on Sunday to minimise social interaction and slow down the spread of the coronavirus in India.

Narendra Modi floated the idea yesterday of people staying indoor from from 7 am to 9 pm on Sunday to break the chain of the virus transmission.

Shah Rukh Khan tweeted, "It's imp 2 reduce social interaction 2 minimum. Self Quarantine. The idea of #JanataCurfew on Sunday is a means to this end & we should continue this concept at a personal level as much as we can & more. We need to ‘slow down time' to arrest the virus spread. Be safe & healthy all."

He added a video message later, asking his fans to not panic. "I appeal to all people to avoid public places and to avoid commuting by trains and buses if not absolutely necessary. The next 10 to 15 days are extremely crucial. To fight this crisis the government and the citizens have to put up a strong joint front.

"So I appeal again please do not panic and please be careful about misinformation. And please follow the instructions and guidelines issued by the state government," Shah Rukh said in his video message.

Tamil actor-politician Kamal Haasan it was time to take extraordinary measures to fight the virus.

"I stand in full solidarity with our Prime Minister's call for #JanataCurfew. In this extraordinary situation, we have to take extraordinary measures. It's a disaster that has befallen on us and by staying united and indoors, we can Stay Safe," he said.

Yesteryears actress Madhuri Dixit Nene added her bit.

"It's time to understand our social responsibility & follow the guidelines. Let's show gratitude to all the people who have been working round the clock for us by observing the #JantaCurfew on 22nd March. Do your part. Stay safe to keep others safe," she posted on Twitter.

Actor Shahid Kapoor said more or less the same thing.

Legendary Lata Mangeshkar extended her support to the 'Janta Curfew' called by Modi and also hailed the decision of Maharashtra chief Uddhav Thackeray to shut down workplaces from Friday midnight till March 31.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for Janata Curfew and I support this. Also I laud the decisions taken by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. I urge everyone to support this and overcome this crisis," Mangeshkar tweeted.

"Request everyone to stay home and adhere to the #JanataCurfew on the 22nd of March from 7am to 9pm. Let's all fight this together! @narendramodi #IndiaFightsCorona," Ayushmann Khurrana tweeted.

"Request everyone to stay home and adhere to the #JanataCurfew on the 22nd of March from 7am to 9pm. Let's all fight this together!," he said, tagging PM in his tweet.

Last night, actor Kartik Aaryan took to social media to deliver a ''Pyaar Ka Punchnaama'' style monologue about the importance of social distancing in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan, Karan Johar, Akshay Kumar and Hrithik Roshan also took to social media to applaud Prime Minister''s statement on Janata curfew.

Meanwhile, several top stars of the industry, including Bachchan, Akshay, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Madhuri, Ranveer Singh recorded a special video to spread awareness about the novel coronavirus.

The one minute fifty second long video, an initiative by Rohit Shetty Picturez in collaboration with Maharashtra government, features actors appealing to citizens to tread with caution and safety amid the pandemic.

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.'

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.