'Bajrangi Bhaijaan', 'Bajirao Mastani' bag top honours at IIFA

June 26, 2016

Madrid, Jun 26: The Bollywood titans of 2015-- "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" and "Bajirao Mastani"-- emerged victorious at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards 2016 with the Salman Khan-starrer winning best picture while Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus taking home best director gong.

pcDirector Kabir Khan heaped praise on his lead star as he accepted the best picture award at the 17th edition of the awards, held here.

"Thank you IIFA, thank you Salman for starring and also producing the movie. He let me do the film the way I wanted to."

Bhansali was honoured with the award by his lead actors-- Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra.

"No other film of mine has got so much love like 'Bajirao...'. I am surprised to see how it has done so well this awards season. It is a special moment for me to get this awards by my three favourite actors. I don't want to thank anyone for the film because a 'thank you' is not enough," the director said.

The historical romantic saga earned Ranveer the best actor trophy for his portrayal of the great Maratha warrior Peshwa Bajirao.

The actor began his acceptance speech by thanking his director but did not miss a chance to show his affection towards rumoured girlfriend Deepika.

"I am so glad I won. I left 'Befikre' shoot to come here. I have to thank Sanjay sir. I love you.

"There's another special person I must thank. I was moved by her performance on 'Bajirao' songs during the show. She is the Leeela to my Raam, Mastani to my Bajairao and I don't know what's next. Girl, you are so fine. Nothing makes me happier than you... I mean winning an award here with you," the actor said.

Deepika, who was nominated for two films in the best actress category, won the honour for Shoojit Sircar's "Piku" thanks to her sincere performance of a cranky yet responsible daughter.

The 30-year-old star dedicated the award to the film's writer Juhi Chaturvedi and all those, who work behind the scenes.

"I want to thank Juhi, who made my performance worth while. I thank all spot boys, light men who work so hard," she said.

Deepika also mentioned a "special someone" in her speech, though without naming the person. "I also thank my team and that special person. You know who you are."

The night belonged to "Bajirao Mastani" as Priyanka was honoured with the best supporting actress award.

The actress said she wanted to share the honour with her co-star and fellow nominee Tanvi Azmi, who is the National Award-winner this year for her work in the movie.

"I am overwhelmed. I thank Ranveer, Deepika and Sanjay sir," Priyanka said. "It is difficult to go to another country and do things. I want to thank all my fans for being so supportive," said the newly-turned global star.

Priyanka's "Dil Dhadakne Do" co-star Anil Kapoor won the best supoorting actor for his confident performance as the patriarch of a rich Delhi business family.

Deepak Dobriyal won the best performance in a comic role for "Tanu Weds Manu Returns" and the best performance in a negative honour was bagged by Darshan Kumar for his act in "NH 10".

"Raman Raghav 2.0" star Vicky Kaushal bagged the best debut actor (male) for his endearing act in "Masaan", while Bhumi Pednekar took home the best debut actor (female) for "Dum Laga Ke Haisha".

The YRF film also ruled the music categories with Papon winning best male playback singer for "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage" and National Award-winner Monali Thakur bagging best female playback singer for the same song.

The track's moving lyrics helped Varun Grover win his first IIF for best lyricist. "This proves that you don't have to be a Prime Minister to go abroad," Grover joked.

The best music composer honour went to Meet Bros, Amaal Malik and Ankit Tiwari for "Roy".

The "Jodi if the Year" honour went to "Hero" stars Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty, who thanked their mentor Salman for giving them a break in the Hindi film industry.

The evening was hosted by Farhan Akhtar and Shahid Kapoor who returned to take on the anchoring duties for the third time at IIFA.

The duo reprised their Pappu and Raju roles from the ealier editions and kept the audience entertained with their one-liners and digs at the controversy-ridden censor board and the last year's row over returning awards.

The high octane performances by Bollywood stars brought the house down during the ceremony at IFEMA here.

Hrithik Roshan was the first performer of the evening. His heart-pumping act on songs "Ek Pal Ka Jeena", "Bawre Bawre" and "Senorita" served as the perfect opener for the show.

Priyanka made the audience go wow with her seductive, jazzy rendition of her hit tracks "Ram Chahe Leela", "Aaj Ki Raat" and "Dil Dhadakne Do".

Besides, she also danced to "Gallan Goodiyaan" and "Pinga". Tiger Shroff paid tribute to his two idols- Michael Jackson and Hrithik through his performance.

Sonakshi Sinha paid homage to Sridevi as she danced to the tunes of the veteran actress' popular numbers "Taki Taki", "Hawa Hawai" and "Naino mein Sapna".

But, naturally the most anticipated performance was Salman's. The superstar, whose act closed the ceremony, went back in time and kickstarted his act with his old, slow hits like "Tadap Tadap Ke", "Humko Maloom Hain", "Sau Dard Hain", and gradually moved to more recent hits like "Prem Ratan Dhan Payo".

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News Network
January 27,2020

Los Angeles, Jan 27: Pop-rock innovator Billie Eilish on Sunday bested a packed field to win the Grammy for Song of the Year -- which honors songwriters -- for her hit "Bad Guy."

The 18-year-old beat veteran acts Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey along with newcomers Lewis Capaldi and Lizzo to take home the coveted honor.

She shares the prize with her older brother Finneas O'Connell, her primary creative collaborator.

The pair were gracious onstage, with Eilish telling her fellow nominees: "I grew up watching all of you."

"We just make music in a bedroom together," said O'Connell. "We still do that and they let us do that. (...) This is to all of the kids making music in your bedrooms today -- you're going to get one of these."

Eilish was among this year's most nominated artists with six nods, and is the youngest person ever nominated in all four of the top categories.

Best song was her second award of the night. She won earlier for best pop vocal album for "when we all fall asleep, where do we go?"

Before she released the album in March 2019, Eilish had already assembled a fervent online following for her bold, often haunting pop sound.

In August, Eilish became the first musician born in the 2000s to top the Billboard Hot 100, when she dethroned Lil Nas X, who spent a record-breaking 19 weeks at the top with viral hit "Old Town Road."

The artist named Billboard's 2019 Woman of the Year has also written and will perform the theme song for the upcoming James Bond film "No Time To Die."

"I feel like I'm not supposed to be here," she told E! television on the red carpet before the gala. "Life is weird."

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News Network
June 15,2020

Mumbai, Jun 15: Maharashtra police's cyber department has asked people to refrain from circulating online pictures of the body of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who was found hanging in his apartment in Mumbai's Bandra area.

Terming it as a "disturbing trend", it warned that circulation of such pictures could attract legal action.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging in his apartment on Sunday, sending shockwaves rippling through the Hindi film industry and elsewhere.

Later, some people circulated pictures of the actor's body on social media platforms, following which the state police's cyber department said it was in "bad taste".

A disturbing trend has been observed on Social Media platforms by Maharashtra Cyber that pictures of deceased actor Sushant Singh Rajput are being circulated, which are disturbing and in bad taste," it tweeted late Sunday night.

"It is emphasised that circulation of such pictures is against legal guidelines and court directions, and are liable to invite legal action," it added.

Urging netizens to refrain from posting such photos, the cyber department said the pictures already circulated should be deleted henceforth.

"In the digital age, every piece of information we read or watch needs to be cross-checked, verified and we all have to be careful before believing or forwarding them," it said.

After the actor's death, police said no note was found at the spot.

Police sources also said they did not find any foul play in their initial investigation.

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Agencies
February 10,2020

Hollywood star Joaquin Phoenix finally ended his dry run at the Oscars as he picked up the best actor trophy for his performance in and as "Joker" at the 92nd Academy Awards.

The 45-year-old actor had earlier bagged a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his turn as a failed, unhinged stand-up comedian who descends into chaos.

In a lengthy and rambling speech, Phoenix touched upon racism, climate change and gender inequality. He also remembered his brother River Phoenix, who died of a drug overdose at the age of 23 in 1993.

"When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric. He said, 'run to the rescue with love and peace will follow'," Phoenix said. At the Academy Awards and the entire Hollywood award season, Phoenix had emerged as an undisputed frontrunner even though he was up against the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio ("Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"), Adam Driver ("Marriage Story"), "Antonio Banderas ("Pain & Glory") and Jonathan Pryce ("The Two Popes").

An Oscar had eluded Phoenix for the most part of his career, despite his successful collaborations with Ridley Scott ("Gladiator"), James Mangold ("Walk The Line") and Paul Thomas Anderson ("The Master"), all of which had earned him nominations.

But as Arthur Fleck aka The Joker, Phoenix finally managed to break that jinx and became the second actor to win an Oscar for playing the DC comic book villain after the posthumous best supporting actor win to Heath Ledger in 2008.

As Joker, Phoenix took a deep dive into character, capturing its essence as well as maniacal spirit in both body and soul.

He lost 52 pounds to get into the physicality of Fleck and turned to a pathological disorder to get his distinct laughter right.

Phillips wrote the part keeping Phoenix in mind though the actor took some convincing to play the role.

Phoenix started the film's festival circuit tour on a positive note at Cannes last year that followed by stops at Venice and Toronto.

The film had also courted controversies, owing to its theme of gun violence in the movie as well as Phoenix's temperamental press tour that saw him walking out of an interview midway.

But critics and the fans loved the actor's riveting turn in the movie and his pointed speeches.

At the Golden Globes, he called out the industry for its insensitivity towards climate change and pulled up his peers for using private jets for travel, while at the SAGs, he joked how he would always lose a role to DiCaprio and asked Christian Bale to deliver a bad performance for once in his career.

In his acceptance speech at the BAFTAs, Phoenix acknowledged the lack of diversity in the nominations, calling himself a part of the problem. Phoenix's career most praised performances include "Signs ", "We Own the Night", "Two Lovers", "The Immigrant", "Her", "You Were Never Really Here" and "Inherent Vice".

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