Salman Khan's next 'Bharat' to release on Eid 2019

Jaipur, Jan 24: Actor Sonali Bendre has said that she came into the movies to make money but fell in love with the profession where she discovered herself and found her family and friends. The 45-year-old actor said she owed a lot to Bollywood which is the most wonderful place to be, both mentally as well as creatively.

"I came into movies to make money and I fell in love with the profession. It was the most wonderful place to be, mentally and creatively," she said.

"I found myself there, found my friends and family over there. I owe a lot to Bollywood. It was one of the most wonderful things that happened to me," Sonali said here on Thursday.

The actor said her entry into movies by purely because she happened to be at the right place and at the right time.

Sonali added when acting offers came her way she knew that in no other field could she have made as much money, and as quickly, as she did in movies.

"Basically, I got into this because it was great money," she said.

The actor was speaking at the Jaipur Literature Festival and also talked about books and how her book club named ‘Sonali's Book Club' came into being.

Sonali, who has been convalescing after undergoing treatment for cancer in the US, said that books gave her strength and kept her afloat while she was going through one of the toughest phases of her life.

The actor was diagnosed with high grade cancer in July 2018 and underwent treatment for it in New York.

"Books were my friends other than my sisters while I was growing up. I'm nowhere remotely connected to movies. I have a very middle class Maharashtrian upbringing. When I got into movies, it was like being on another planet. Again in this world where it was easy to feel the peer pressure and do certain things or not do certain things, or look a certain way, books kept me grounded," she said.

"'A Gentleman in Moscow' (a 2016 novel by Amor Towles) was uplifting and I got so much strength from that book during my treatment in New York," Sonali said.

The actor, who often shares posts about books and authors on social media, said one should stop feeling guilty about not completing a book.

"Sometimes you start judging yourself by not completing a book, but I have reached a stage where I understand that I'm a book-lover, but that doesn't mean I will like all the books. It's okay if you don't like a book," she said.

Sonali also said that nobody wanted to know about the intellectual capacity of Bollywood stars as it was not "entertainment enough or gossipy enough".

Earlier before her session, Sonali launched author Ashwin Sanghi's latest book ‘The Vault of Vishnu', the sixth book in the Bharat series, at the 13th edition of the festival.

Mumbai, Jan 26: Filmmakers Karan Johar, Ekta Kapoor and actor Kangana Ranaut are among the six cinema personalities to be awarded the Padma Shri, officials said on Saturday.

Singers Suresh Wadkar and Adnan Sami as well as veteran TV actor Sarita Joshi have also been conferred with the fourth highest civilian honour of the country.

Karan and Ekta said they were humbled to receive the honour.

"Overwhelmed by so many emotions right now. Humbled, elated and also thankful for the opportunity to live my dream everyday, to create and to entertain. I know my father would be proud and I wish he was here to share this moment with me," he said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Son of veteran Bollywood producer late Yash Johar, Karan Johar started his career as a director in Hindi cinema with the 1998 hit Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

The 47-year-old, who runs Dharma Productions, went on to direct several commercial blockbusters in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), My Name Is Khan (2010), Student of the Year (2012) and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil among others.

Karan has also produced several critically-acclaimed films -- Wake Up Sid, Agneepath, Hasee Toh Phasee, Kapoors & Sons and Raazi.

Ekta, who started her showbiz journey with soap operas, most notably Kyunki Saas Bhi Bahu Thi, is the daughter of veteran actor Jeetendra.

She launched her banner Balaji Telefilms in 1994 and backed many popular TV shows, eventually branching out into movie production.

Ekta, 44, has produced films such as Love Sex Aur Dhoka, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, The Dirty Picture, Udta Punjab and Veere Di Wedding.

"My foray into the industry started when I was just 17. I constantly heard I was 'too young', 'too raw' and it was 'too soon' to make things happen. Through the years I've realised it's never 'too soon' to live out your dreams and being 'too young' is probably the best thing," she said.

"Today, as l'm conferred with the 4th highest civilian honour- Padma Shri', I'm humbled. I hope to continue breaking boundaries, to continue giving young talent a chance and to strive to give back to the country for all the love that's come my way.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect, as this news arrives 2 days before my son's first birthday. Grateful & Thankful!" she added.

Kangana, a three-time National Award Winner, is the only Bollywood actor to receive the Padma Shri this year.

The 32-year-old, who made her debut in movies in 2006 with Gangster, is regarded as one of the most successful female artistes of this generation.

After a series of films with Mahesh Bhatt's banner, she found success with Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion, for which she won her first National Film Award in 2009.

She went on to win two back-to-back National Film Awards for her performances in Queen (2014) and Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015). Kangana's latest release is Panga.

Wadkar, 64, a veteran in the music industry, started his career as a playback singer in 1978 with song Seene mein jalan for Gaman. He has lent his voice to memorable tracks like Aye zindagi gale lagaa le, Aur is dil mein, Pardesi pardesi, Sapne mein, Raat ke dhai baje and Jag Ja.

In his over four-decade-long career, Wadkar has collaborated with celebrated composers RD Burman, Shiv-Hari, Ilayaraja, Khayyam, AR Rahman, Bappi Lahiri, Vishal Bhardwaj and Hridayanath Mangeshkar.

Sami, 48, now an Indian-citizen, made a mark for himself in country's indie-pop scene with single Kabhi toh nazar milao, for which he collaborated with veteran playback singer Asha Bhosle.

"The greatest moment for any Artiste is to be appreciated & recognised by his/her government. I am overwhelmed with infinite gratitude for being honoured with the 'Padma Shri' by the Government of India. It has been a 34 years musical journey.. 'Bohot Shukriya'!!" Sami tweeted.

He released various albums in the early 2000s and also served as music composer for films Lucky: No Time for Love (2005), Dhamaal (2007) and Shaurya (2008).

Sami, born in London to a Pakistani Air force veteran, applied for Indian citizenship in 2015 and became a citizen of the country in January 2016.

Joshi, a household name and a popular theatre personality, started her acting career as a child artiste and made her TV debut in 1980s with Titliyan.

Some of her most iconic shows are Hasratein , Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka , Baa Bahoo Aur Baby and Bh Se Bhade.

Joshi, 78, has also featured in movies such as Nazar , Darna Zaroori Hai , Dasvidaniya , Singham Returns and Simmba.

She was bestowed with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award for acting in Gujarati in 1988.

"I am very happy and humbled with this honour. I am working from an early age, I have never worked for awards, for me work is worship. I have always worked from heart and given my best in whatever I have done. I will be known as Padma Shri Sarita Joshi, this is such a big honour. I am happy as my children are happy," Joshi told PTI.

The Padma Shri for this year has been awarded to a total of 118 eminent personalities across fields of art, literature and education, medicine, trade and industry, sports, public affairs, social work and science and engineering.

Mar 21: The novel coronavirus outbreak in the country may have brought the ever-bustling film industry to a halt but it hasn't stopped Bollywood celebrities from utilising their massive online influence to entertain their followers as well as engage them in fitness, dance and yoga routines.

According to the Health Ministry, the coronavirus cases in India rose to 258 on Saturday after 35 fresh cases were reported in various parts of the country.

As the government encourages more social distancing, people from the film fraternity are finding ways to connect to people and ensure their self-isolation isn't wasted.

On Sunday, actor Shilpa Shetty will hold a special live fitness session across digital platforms for people to follow from home.

"In times like these, it's important to stay fit, active, and healthy. Join me on Sunday, 22nd March at 4:00 pm IST as I go LIVE on Instagram-Facebook-Helo (@theshilpashetty) and on the @ShilpaShettyApp to show you some beneficial and helpful yoga asanas.

"You can watch, learn, and practice it from the comfort of your homes. Remember, staying indoors shouldn't be an excuse for deviating from your fitness routine," the actor wrote in an Instagram post.

Online yoga and fitness programs are picking up steam, with many celebrities pitching in.

On Saturday, actor Tamannah Bhatia went live with Diva Yoga, a studio part of a larger yoga ecosystem called SARVA, where she participated in a one-hour virtual yoga class, to encourage people to pursue their fitness goals.

Malaika Arora, co-founder of the yoga studio, told news agency that as the world fights a public health crisis, "we must do our best to stay calm and safe."

"There is also a need to boost our immunity levels even if it means continuing our workout from home. The live sessions being conducted on the Diva Studios Instagram handle and immunity boosting modules being shared on the SARVA app and website are aimed at this.

"Our instructors will offer guided lessons every day... for everyone’s benefit. I encourage people to join in and be responsible for your own health. When you are fit and healthy, you can help others in a better manner. It is these small steps that will lead to a better outcome," she said.

With everything coming to a standstill, choreographer Terence Lewis has also figured out an alternate avenue to reach out to his students: through online classes.

As of now, those who are not his students do not have the access to it, but Lewis said that's going to change soon.

"In few days, we will be starting online dance tutorials for people who have no access and means to be a part of our institute directly. Since, we do not have any branches, neither do I believe in having one, we directly teach from our original space in Andheri.

"Here we have instructors who have learnt from me and is the only legit institute we have hence, we'll think of doing the online classes as way of engaging with people who are far away from us," Lewis told PTI.

As shootings of movies, TV shows and web series stand suspended till March 31, casting director and actor Abhishek Banerjee is encouraging artistes to send self tapes from their homes.

"We are encouraging that to minimise human to human contact and audition spaces. Some actors are known to us, some unknown. It's very difficult to track anybody's health of you don't know the person. So it's easier to see the self tapes and keep shortlisting them and maybe we will call them again for a proper audition when everything is alright," he said.

The process of recording a self audition, according to the "Stree" actor, isn't easy.

"Full marks and respect for actors who are sending the self tapes because audition process takes a lot of efforts and to do that alone, without any help in isolation, without cues, it's commendable."

Banerjee, who runs Casting Bay, a leading casting studios, along with his friend Anmol Ahuja, said on an average, any big casting office had around 100-150 footfalls everyday, which has now come to a griding halt.

"The minute the government decided, we stopped all auditions too. Everything is on a standstill now. The production houses have asked us to hold on the auditions and projects. The major worry is that many actors will have date issues now. Once everything opens in April, let's see how to tackle that. It'll be a very difficult situation," he added.