Priyanka dreams to see Hindi cinema appeal to global audience

Mumbai, Apr 8: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has started the process of transferring funds into the accounts of daily wage workers of the film industry, the Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees (FWICE) said on Wednesday.

The actor had recently pledged to financially support 25,000 daily wage workers who have been badly hit by the 21-day lockdown to contain the coronavirus spread in the country.

According to B N Tiwari, FWICE, President, Salman has made an initial payment of Rs 3,000 each to the daily wage workers of the film industry, starting Tuesday.

"We had given him the final list of 23,000 workers so far, who were in dire need of financial help. He is going to transfer money in installments as he doesn't want people to misuse it. He has transferred about Rs 3,000 to every worker yesterday and he will transfer money again after some time. We are thankful to him for helping our workers," Tiwari told PTI.

A source close to Salman said the superstar will continue to support the workers until the situation improves in the country.

"We have started the process from Tuesday. We will be giving sufficient money to workers monthly, we will also give money next month and if the situation is still the same, we will continue to financially help the workers till it doesn't return to normalcy," the source said.

FWICE said Yash Raj Films have also provided a financial help of Rs 5,000 to around 3,000 workers.

"Besides Salman, a lot of people from Bollywood have come forward to help the workers, including Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty, who have given Rs 51 lakh each. Boney Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor too have given money and there are few more who have offered financial assistance to the federation. We also received Rs 1.5 crore from the Producers Guild of India on Tuesday.

"The federation has received a total amount of Rs 3 crore from film industry people. We are yet to receive money from Netflix, which they had announced for daily wage earners and also from Amitabh Bachchan, who is going to provide ration to one lakh workers. He is going to provide coupons which we should receive in a day or two," Tiwari said.

He further said Bachchan's ration coupon for workers will also be given to other associations across the country, such as in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Karnataka.

Tiwari said FWICE is in the process of making another list of needy workers and then they will begin the process of transferring money.

"The Rs 3 crore that the federation has received will be distributed among our five lakh workers in Maharashtra. We will start sending money from April 14 in phases. Those who haven't received any financial aid will be helped first. We are in the process of making a list of such workers for the same," Tiwari said.

"FWICE has also begun distributing ration to workers in suburban Andheri and Jogeshwari. So far we have distributed 5,000 packets of ration and we will give more, he added.

Washington, May 19: Actors Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox are going their separate ways after 10 years of marriage.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 46-year-old Green, on Monday announced the news during an episode of his podcast 'With Brian Austin Green' where he emotionally opened up about the breakup with Fox.

The 'Beverly Hills 90210' star revealed that they simply grew distant at the end of last year while Fox was away shooting a film.

Green recalled Fox saying during the conversation they had after she returned from filming, "She said, 'I realised when I was out of the country working alone that I feel more like myself, and I liked myself better during that experience and I think that might be something worth trying for me.'"

Though feeling "shocked" and "upset" at first, Green admitted that he couldn't be upset with her for being honest.

He said, "Neither one of us did anything to each other. She's always been honest with me. I've always been honest with her. We've had an amazing relationship. I will always love her. And I know she will always love me and I know as far as a family what we have built is really cool and really special."

The 'Impact Point' star shared that they intend to "still do family vacations and holidays as a family and really make that a focus for the kids."

Green went on to say that it's hard to adjust to the change and he doesn't want himself and Fox to "be at odds": "She's been my best friend for 15 years and I don't want to lose that."

He added: "There's this sense of loss of, 'How do I go on with this big part of my life that I've always known and loved and shared changing?' What does that landscape look like? What does that life look like?' ... Megan and I talked a lot about it, and it's a big concern for both of us." Aware of the scrutiny around their age difference, Green defended Fox, saying "she's really a responsible person. ... She really loves the kids and cares about what their life and their experience is."

The couple share three children together 7-year-old Noah, 6-year-old Bodhi, and 3-year-old Journey, and Green said that they are only concerned about controlling how the separation will truly affect their children.

After photos circulated online of Fox and Machine Gun Kelly, whose real name is Colson Baker, hanging out -- Fox and Baker are co-stars in the upcoming film, 'Midnight in the Switchgrass,' Green said Fox and Baker are "just friends at this point."

He said, "She met this guy, Colson, on set. I've never met him. Megan and I have talked about him. I trust her judgment; she's always had really good judgment."

Green emphasised that despite what tabloids can say, he didn't want the public to categorise Fox and Baker as "villains or that I was a victim in any way."

Fox and Green started dating in 2004 and married in 2010. Fox had filed for divorce from Green in 2015, but the couple later reconciled.

New Delhi, Jan 2: Hoping her cinematic voice can help bring about lasting change in how society perceives acid attack survivors, actor Deepika Padukone says her latest film Chhapaak should ideally be so impactful that there won't be need for another story on acid violence.

After all, cinema is in itself such a powerful medium, Deepika told news agency ahead of the release of the film, which is based on the life of acid attack survivor and activist Laxmi Agarwal.

The idea behind the social drama is to invoke empathy and understanding rather than paint women who have undergone the ordeal as victims, the actor, who has also produced the film, said in a telephonic interview from Mumbai.

"Beyond the gruesomeness, the violence and all of that, there is a story of the human spirit and hope. That's why we're telling the story," she said.

Deepika, 33, said it was a story that spoke to her and she felt pride in attaching herself to the project.

Chhapaak, directed by Meghna Gulzar and featuring Vikrant Massey, is the second mainstream film to focus on the subject after 2019 Malayalam movie Uyare starring Parvathy Thiruvothu.

"I hope we won't have to constantly tell stories on acid attack survivors for us to see change. I hope with our film we begin to see that change for ourselves as a society and for acid attack survivors.

"If we don't, then we've done something wrong as a society. Cinema in itself is such a powerful medium that hopefully just through this one film we will hopefully be able to see that kind of change and impact," Deepika said.

The actor said there was not much planning behind the decision to back the film financially.

"Sometimes certain films need a little more hand holding, a little more love and support. I felt like I would be adding a little more value as a producer.

"This is a film I'm very proud of, not just from the script point of view but even in terms of the story and its message," she said.

The film, which releases on January 10, will be Deepika's first release in two years and comes after her marriage to frequent co-star Ranveer Singh.

The actor said she used the time to creatively replenish herself.

"It was about finding a film worthy of putting out there. It's not that work at my end had stopped. I was constantly looking for scripts that challenged and excited me.

"I would look at it as time for creative fertility. It's important to nurture yourself. The work that goes on behind the scenes... most often we're constantly on a film set, but whether it's meeting with writers and directors, looking for scripts... That is also part of the creative process and that's what I've been doing."

The title Chhapaak instantly evokes the image of acid being splattered, and Deepika said the director wanted a word for the film's name that could also lend itself to a song.

"I think she said 'chhapaak', which is the sound of a splash, is something that could adapt or lend itself beautifully to a song. Perhaps, it also has to do with fluidity. So on one hand, liquid is known to take different forms, a liquid such as this (acid) can change someone's life forever," she said.