I want everything: Priyanka Chopra

Agencies
December 27, 2017

New Delhi, Dec 27: Priyanka Chopra may have had a dream run all the way from Bareilly to the American showbiz industry via Bollywood but says she is "greedy" and doesn't want anyone telling her she can't have it all.

The 35-year-old actor spoke on '12 rules of becoming the best version of yourself' while delivering the Penguin Annual Lecture at the packed Siri Fort auditorium last evening.

"I want everything. There's nothing wrong with it as long as you're not harming someone or doing something wrong. Don't be scared to want more for yourself... I don't want anyone to tell me I can't have everything," she said.

The former Miss World said she left Bollywood at the peak of her success to become a struggler again in Hollywood, where she has successfully established a parallel career.

"I want to dream of everything and I'll have everything.

Be greedy, be hungry for your ambitions. Don't live on someone else's benchmarks. Who can tell you who you should be? Don't let anyone or any situation dictate to you who you are and who you can be," said Priyanka, who got her big break in the West with the TV show "Quantico".

The actor was invited to deliver an address on the theme 'Breaking The Glass Ceiling: Chasing a Dream' in the 11th edition of the event by Penguin Random House.

Adding her own spin to the Cinderella story, Priyanka said, "Why do you want to fit into a glass slipper when you can shatter the glass ceiling?"

She said the term "breaking the glass ceiling" annoys her as it takes all her achievements and hard work and puts it "into a box", defined by a largely patriarchal society.

"To be honest, it was never my mission to break the glass ceiling. All I wanted to do was chase my dreams, my ambitions.

I wanted to become the best version of me."

The actor said one had to fight for one's dreams as no one else would do so.

"Today I know my path is mine, the failures, successes mine. Don't settle on your dreams."

The National Award-winning actor said she hates failures but it is what one does afterwards that counts.

"When I fail in something that I do with all of my heart and mind, I don't wallow in self-pity, I roll myself in it.

It's not a pretty sight. But then I cry a little, I get up and dust myself off and dive straight back again as the only way to push failure aside is to move ahead. Not ignore it, analyse it."

For those who don't allow themselves to dream beyond their imagination, her advice is to "loosen up, let your dreams fly".

The actor said one has to recognise opportunities and then give one's best shot.

"There was never a plan. The universe was guiding me through it, all I had to do was make sure that I worked so hard that I squeezed every drop out of these opportunities.

"No matter where you are, you have never arrived enough to explore opportunities. There's nothing wrong with being ambitious, ladies listen to me."

She said people in the Hindi film industry had raised eyebrows when she played an antagonist in "Aitraaz" and when she chose to do a women-centric film like "Fashion" early in her career.

Priyanka said she knew her move to Hollywood would be "career suicide" if it did not work but that did not stop her.

"People have written me off several times in my career...

I went to do 'Quantico', when I was at the peak in my career here. The risks were huge, the stakes were high and the repercussions could have been, to say the least, career ending.

"But it was all worth it as I backed those risks with my 100 per cent.

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Agencies
March 14,2020

Los Angeles, Mar 14: Hollywood superstar Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson on Friday gave a health update from coronavirus quarantine, saying they are taking it "one day at a time".

The couple, who is in isolation at a hospital in the state of Queensland in Australia, said they are being well cared for.

"Hello folks. @ritawilson and I want to thank everyone here Down Under who are taking such good care of us. We have COVID-19 and are in isolation so we do not spread it to anyone else.

"There are those for whom it could lead to a very serious illness. We are taking it one-day-at-a-time.There are things we can all do to get through this by following the advice of experts and taking care of ourselves and each other, no?" Hanks posted on Instagram.

The post was accompanied by a photograph that showed the couple smiling.

Hanks announced on Thursday that he and his wife have been tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The actor couple, who is currently in Australia to shoot for the pre-production of Baz Luhrmann's untitled Elvis Presley film, decided to get tested after they felt "a bit tired".

The deadly virus that first originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year has claimed over 4,200 lives and infected more than 117,330 people across 107 countries and territories, with the World Health Organisation on Wednesday describing the outbreak a pandemic.

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Agencies
July 19,2020

Mumbai, Jul 19: Mumbai Police have registered an FIR against two Instagram account holders for allegedly threatening actor Rhea Chakraborty, an official said on Sunday.

The location of the two accused is yet to be traced, the official said, adding that the investigation in the case is at primary stage.

Chakraborty on Thursday requested the cyber crime cell to look into the rape and murder threats she has been receiving ever since the death of close friend, actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Rajput, 34, was found dead in his apartment in suburban Bandra here on June 14, leaving people in the film industry and audiences shocked.

Chakraborty, in particular, was subjected to online hate with users blaming her for Rajput's suicide.

"We registered the First Information Report (FIR) on Saturday under Indian Penal Code Sections 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication), 509 (intending to insult modesty of any woman) and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act," Santacruz police station's senior inspector Shriram Koregaonkar said.

"No arrest has been made so far. We are conducting an investigation in the case," he added.

On Thursday, sharing a screenshot of a hate message she received on Instagram, Chakraborty said while she had ignored many abusive texts sent to her in the past month, the harassment was now unbearable.

The 28-year-old actor eventually disabled the comments section of her Instagram page.

Chakraborty, known for films such as "Mere Dad Ki Maruti" and "Jalebi", had tagged the cyber cell and requested the authorities to look into the threats.

On June 18, she was called to the Bandra police station to record her statement in connection with Rajput's death.

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News Network
February 26,2020

New York, Feb 26: Disney CEO Bob Iger, who steered the company’s absorption of Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel and Fox’s entertainment businesses and the launch of a Netflix challenger, is stepping down immediately, the company said in a surprise announcement Tuesday.

The Walt Disney Co. named as his replacement Bob Chapek, most recently chairman of Disney’s parks, experiences and products business.

“Did not see this coming -- Wowza,” tweeted LightShed media analyst Rich Greenfield.

Iger will remain executive chairman through the end of his contract on Dec. 31, 2021. Besides leading the board, Iger said he will spend more time on Disney’s creative endeavors, including the ESPN sports network, the newly acquired Fox studios and the Hulu and Disney Plus streaming services. He said he could not do that while running Disney on a day-to-day basis.

“It was not accelerated for any particular reason other than I felt the need was now to make this change,” Iger said on a conference call with reporters and analysts.

Iger steered Disney through the successful purchases of Lucasfilms, Marvel, Pixar and other brands that became big moneymakers for Disney. Last year, the top five movies in U.S. and Canada theaters were all Disney movies, including two from Marvel and one from Pixar. With the Dec. 20 release of the latest “Star Wars” movie, Disney had seven movies that each sold at least $1 billion in tickets worldwide last year.

Iger’s most recent coup was orchestrating a $71 billion purchase of Fox’s entertainment business in March and launching the Disney Plus streaming service in November. That service got nearly 29 million paid subscribers in less than three months. In a statement, Iger said it was the “optimal time” for a transition.

Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak said Iger had implied he would stay until his contract ended in 2021.

“On the other hand, they just successfully closed the Fox deal and had an unquestionably successful launch of Disney Plus so maybe he felt earlier was better to hand off the reins,” he said.

Colin Gillis, director of research at Chatham Road Partners, said the choice of Chapek seems solid because his parks division has had success.

Chapek said that while he has not led television networks or streaming services, his background in consumer-oriented businesses should help. Chapek and Iger both stressed that Disney would continue on the direction it had already been taking.

Disney is facing challenges to its traditional media business as cord-cutting picks up, meaning less fees from cable and satellite companies to carry Disney networks such as ABC, ESPN and Freeform. Disney’s own streaming services require the company to forgo money in licensing revenue, although the company is betting that money from subscriptions will eventually make up for that.

In the short term, Disney parks in Hong Kong and Shanghai, China, remain closed because of the coronavirus outbreak. In a CNBC interview, Chapek said the outbreak may be a “bump in the road,” but he said the company could weather it given “affinity for the brand.”

Iger told CNBC he had no plans to stay with Disney beyond next year.

Iger’s appointment as CEO in 2005 had been accompanied by controversy and protest from dissident shareholders Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold. But he has come to be seen as a golden-boy top executive, and even someone who could run for president.

Iger told Vogue in 2018 that he had started seriously exploring a run for president because he is “horrified at the state of politics in America today,” but the Fox deal stopped his plans. Oprah Winfrey told Vogue that she “really, really pushed him to run.”

Iger, a former weatherman, joined ABC in 1974, 22 years before Disney bought the network.

At ABC, Iger developed such successful programs as “Home Improvement,” “The Drew Carey Show,” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and was instrumental in launching the quiz show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” He was also criticized for cancelling well-regarded but expensive shows such as “Twin Peaks” and “thirtysomething.”

Since Iger became CEO, Disney’s stock price has risen fivefold. Its stock fell more than 2% in extended trading following the announcement, on top of a broader market selloff on virus fears during regular trading.

Iger, 69, was the second-highest paid CEO in 2018, as calculated by The Associated Press and Equilar, an executive data firm. He earned $65.6 million. The top earner was Discovery’s David Zaslav who earned $129.5 million.

Susan Arnold, the independent lead director of the Disney board, said succession planning had been ongoing for several years.

Chapek, 60, is only the seventh CEO in Disney history. Chapek was head of the parks, experiences and products division since it was created in 2018. He was previously head of parks and resorts and before that president of consumer products.

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