Chitrangada wants to see politicians in jeans and tees

Mumbai, Apr 2: Ramayan, the over three-decade-old TV series based on Hindu mythology, garnered 170 million viewers in four shows over the last weekend in its new avatar, the BARC said on Thursday.

This catapulted the Ramanand Sagar production as the highest watched serial in the Hindi general entertainment space ever, the Broadcast Audience Research Council said.

The show was relaunched last Saturday amid the gloomy times of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a lot of thrust laid by the government machinery to popularise the series.

BARC's chief executive Sunil Lulla said the numbers notched up by the series was a bit surprising and called the move as a brilliant one by the Prasar Bharti.

He said eventually, we will also see advertisers flock the series which will be running for a few more days.

The inaugural show of the series on Saturday morning had 34 million viewers glued to their TV sets watching and enjoyed a rating of 3.4 per cent, while a telecast the same evening had 45 million viewers and a rating of 5.2 per cent.

The show bettered its performance on Sunday, with 40 million and 51 million people watching it in the morning and evening telecasts, respectively.

New Delhi, Apr 2: Singer-songwriter Justin Bieber on Thursday announced that he is postponing all of his scheduled 2020 concerts for his 'Changes Tour' due to the global outbreak of coronavirus.

The singer took to Instagram and posted a statement on the platform to make an announcement in the regard.

"In light of the current public health crisis. And with the deepest concern for all those being affected. Justin Bieber will be postponing all currently scheduled 2020 dates for the changes tour," read a statement.

"While Justin -along with his band. Dancers and crew - has been hard at work preparing an amazing show. He has always put the health and well-being of his fans first and foremost," the statement further read.

The statement also said that the 'Cold Water' singer, "is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to get back out on the road and perform in a space that is safe for everyone."
Bieber asked all his fans to hold on to their tickets as the dates of the tour will soon be rescheduled.

According to the World Health Organisation, COVID-19 has affected over 8,27,419 people globally and has spread to almost 206 countries.

Los Angeles, Mar 6: Filmmaker-writer Taika Waititi is set to direct two animated series based on Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" for Netflix.

Waititi, who won an Academy Award in February for his adapted screenplay, "Jojo Rabbit", will also serve as the writer and producer on the animated series.

According to Deadline, the first series will be based on the world of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", while the second will be an original take on the Oompa-Loompa characters from the book.

The Oompa-Loompas are little humans who were preyed upon in Loompaland before Wonka invited them to work at his chocolate factory. They are paid in cocoa beans and love practical jokes and singing songs.

Netflix said the animation series would "retain the quintessential spirit and tone of the original story while building out the world and characters far beyond the pages of the Dahl book for the very first time."

The series will follow in the footsteps of Gene Wilder's 1971 portrayal of Willy Wonka and Johnny Depp's 2005 interpretation.