Actor Manmeet Grewal commits suicide due to financial crisis amid COVID-19 lockdown

New Delhi, Feb 24: Indian Idol 11 winner is Bhatinda's Sunny Hindustani. Sunny, who mostly sang Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's songs on the show, won the coveted trophy. The Bhatinda boy took home the Indian Idol 11 trophy along with the prize money of Rs 25 lakh, a car and a singing contract with T-Series.

Sunny's entry on the show was much-talked-about. His soul-soothing voice had mesmerised the judges on the audition day itself as he sang Afreen Afreen. He got a standing ovation and former Indian Idol 11 judge Anu Malik even said that he felt as if Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan himself was performing on the Indian Idol stage. His audition video had gone viral after Anand Mahindra shared it on social media.

On the finale night, Sunny sang a medley of songs, which included Mere Rashke Qamar and Halka Halka Suroor. Ayushmann got emotional seeing Sunny's journey on screen. He said, "Hum na actor bade self-obsessed hote hain. Humein lagta hai hamari struggle sabse achchi hai, sabse badi hai. Inke saamne toh kuch hai he nahi. Jahaan se aye hai, jitna hunar inke paas hai...mujhe lagta hai inki maa sabse ameer hain."

The first and second runner-up of the show Rohit Raut and Ankona Mukherjee got Rs 5 lakh each, while Ridham Kalyan and Adriz Ghosh who were fourth and fifth on the show, took Rs 3 lakh home. Every finalist also received Rs 1 lakh cheque from Lotus Herbals and gift hampers from the sponsors.

Jun 8: The Shiv Sena has sought to take a different stand on Bollywood actor Sonu Sood’s help in ferrying migrants back home in the midst of the nationwide lockdown induced by the coronavirus pandemic. On Sunday evening, the actor met Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at his residence ‘Matoshree’. The CM’s son and Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray and MLA Aslam Shaikh were also present during the meeting.

Sonu Sood’s visit to the Shiv Sena supremo’s residence came after Sanjay Raut, one of the most vocal leaders of the party, criticised the actor and sought to draw a BJP link to his help to migrants in order to show the ruling dispensation in poor light.

“Sood is an actor whose profession is to deliver dialogues scripted by someone else and make a living out of it. There are many people like Sood who would promote any political party if paid well,” Raut wrote in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna.

Referring to the actor’s help to migrants, Raut wondered if the sudden generosity of “Mahatma” Sood in Mumbai was at BJP’s behest and said that he would “soon meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and become the celebrity manager of Mumbai.”

As Raut’s remarks fuelled a controversy in political circles, Aaditya Thackeray tweeted in praise of Sood in an apparent attempt to distance the party and its leadership from the leader’s remarks.

“This evening Sonu Sood met up with Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray ji along with Minister Aslam Shaikh ji and me. Better Together, Stronger Together to assist as many people through as many people. Good to have met a good soul to work for the people together.”

“The CM was glad to meet Sonu Sood and discussed the work everyone is doing for the people during covid relief. Misunderstandings don’t exist but what does is a commitment to help people,” Aaditya tweeted.

Sonu Sood too sought to downplay Raut’s remarks and expressed gratitude to all political parties for having supported him. “They (Shiv Sena) are also supporting it and it’s not about any particular party. We have to support all the people who are suffering. Every party from Kashmir to Kanya Kumari has supported me,” the actor told reporters after his meeting with the Chief Minister.

Sonu Sood has earned immense praise for providing help to stranded migrant workers during the Covid-19 lockdown. He has launched a helpline for migrants and has helped hundreds of migrants return to their native places in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Karnataka.

Washington D.C, Jul 8: Adding another feather to her cap, actor Priyanka Chopra on Wednesday announced that she has been chosen as the ambassador of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2020.

Priyanka has joined the list of 50 celebrated filmmakers and actors who are invited as the ambassadors of the TIFF.

The 37-year-old star put out a post on Instagram and shared a montage featuring snippets of her empowering addresses at the TIFF. Along with the video, Priyanka noted that the TIFF has been a second home for her.

She wrote, "Throughout my career TIFF has been a second home for me, with many of my films, as both an actor and producer, making their world debut at the festival."

Talking about the film festival that focuses on special stories and storytellers, the 'Dostana' star added, "TIFF has always been at the forefront of supporting and championing global content that showcases diversity and inclusion, a charge led by my friend @cameronpbailey and his talented team, who work with passion to shine a spotlight on these special stories and storytellers."

"Even more than that, one of the most exceptional parts of the festival are the fans of cinema who congregate to celebrate the magic of the movies, and who have always embraced me with so much warmth and love," Priyanka added.

She shared that she feels proud to serve as the ambassador to the festival and noted," I am very proud to serve as an ambassador this year, and I look forward to continuing a relationship that I value tremendously."

The esteemed film festival will be opting for digital screenings and virtual red carpets in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The festival is scheduled to kick off from September 10 to September 19, 2020.