Shah Rukh to host TV show 'TED Talks India: Nayi Soch'

Los Angeles, Apr 8: American folk legend John Prine has passed away due to the coronavirus complications. He was 73.

Prine, whose coronavirus diagnosis was revealed on March 17, died on Tuesday, his publicist told Variety.

His wife and manager, Fiona, had on April 3 posted on Twitter that Prine was severely ill after being admitted into intensive care unit of a hospital.

In a career spanning over half a century, Prine churned out heartfelt and unforgettable songs like Angel From Montgomery, Sweet Revenge and In Spite of Ourselves .

He was regarded as one of the greatest by many of his peers including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Bette Midler and many other music legends.

Born on October 10, 1946 in Maywood, Illinois, the singer-songwritter emerged on the Chicago folk scene in the late 1960s, when he was discovered by country star Kris Kristofferson.

He is still remembered for his 1971 anti-war track Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore , which came at the height of the Vietnam War and is still relevant to many till date.

In recent years, he had taken a step back from music but came back in 2018 with the album The Tree of Forgiveness . It was his first LP in 13 years.

Prine was a winner of two Grammy award for best contemporary folk albums -- The Missing Years (1991) and Fair & Square (2005). He was an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and also bestowed with Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

The news of his demise sent shockwaves across the music industry, with stars like Bruce Springsteen, Kacey Musgraves, Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler and others paying their tributes to the legend.

Over here on E Street, we are crushed by the loss of John Prine. John and I were "New Dylans" together in the early 70s and he was never anything but the lovliest guy in the world. A true national treasure and a songwriter for the ages. We send our love and prayers to his family, Springsteen wrote in a post on Twitter.

While Musgraves posted, Heartbroken.

Raitt, who recorded Angel from Montgomery in the 1970s, said he is feeling crushed after learning about Prine's demise.

Words can't even come close. I'm crushed by the loss of my dear friend, John. My heart and love go out to Fiona and all the family. For all of us whose hearts are breaking, we will keep singing his songs and holding him near, he wrote.

Midler shared a news link about Prine, saying, He's gone.

Mumbai, Jul 25: Movie theatres have been shuttered for months due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country, but the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has now recommended that the Union Home Ministry allow cinema halls to reopen in August. 

I&B Secretary Amit Khare indicated this at a close-door industry interaction with the CII Media Committee on Friday. He said Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla at the Home Ministry would take the final call.

Khare said that he has recommended that cinema halls may be allowed to reopen all over India as early as August 1, or at the latest, around August 31.

The formula suggested is that alternate seats in the first row and then the next row be kept vacant, and proceeding in this fashion throughout.

Khare said that his ministry's recommendation takes into consideration the two metre social distancing norm, but tweaks it gently to two yards instead. The Home Ministry, however, still has to revert on the recommendation.

Cinema owners, present in the interaction, however, pushed back and said this formula is unwise and merely running films at 25% auditorium capacity is worse than keeping the cinemas shut.

The attendees at the meet included media CEOs like N.P. Singh of Sony, Sam Balsara (Madison), Megha Tata, (Discovery), Gaurav Gandhi (Amazon Prime), Manish Maheshwari (Twitter), S. Sivakumar (Bennett Coleman and Co Ltd), and K Madhavan, Star & Disney, and also Chairman, CII Media Committee.

The OTT platforms present, including Gandhi of Amazon Prime, did not push back. Some Bollywood producers, notably those of Amitabh Bachchan's Gulabo Sitabo, have posted their movies on OTT, rather than live out the lockdown uncertainty.

New Delhi, Mar 4: Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar, who is all set to make her acting debut opposite Akshay Kumar in Prithviraj, says she's has always been interested in history.

"While growing up, I was really interested in history, the tales of grand kingdoms and larger than life historical heroes. I had always been fascinated with the story of Prithviraj and Sanyogita and life came to a full circle for me when I was offered this film," Manushi said.

Directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, Prithviraj is based on the life and heroism of the king Prithviraj Chauhan. It stars Akshay in the title role while Manushi plays Sanyogita, the love of his life.

For Manushi, being offered Prithviraj by Aditya Chopra was a sweet coincidence. She reveals, 'While growing up, I was really interested in history, the tales of grand kingdoms and larger than life historical heroes.'

The glamourous girl, who has been voted the most desirable woman in the recent past, reveals that she is 'blessed' to be playing the role of the gorgeous Rajput princess.

'When I was given the narration of the film, I had a smile on my face thinking that I’m listening to a story that I had been most interested about reading in school. Prithviraj and Sanyogita is a fascinating story and a beautiful chapter in the history of India and I’m blessed and fortunate to have got the opportunity to bring Princess Sanyogita’s story to life,' she says.

Manushi’s Bollywood debut is being directed by Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi who directed the biggest television epic 'Chanakya', based on the life and times of the most influential political strategist of India, and the multiple award-winning Pinjar.

'Prithviraj' will release worldwide in Diwali 2020.