IIFA 2015's top honours: Kangana and Shahid win best actress/actor awards

June 8, 2015

Kuala Lumpur, Jun 8: Vikas Bahl's coming-of-age drama Queen and Vishal Bhardwaj's insurgency movie Haider, an adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet, on Sunday scooped the major trophies at the 16th IIFA awards, including the best actress honour for Kangana Ranaut and the best actor gong for Shahid Kapoor.

Shahid KapoorQueen, a middle class girl's self-discovery journey after getting ditched by her fiance, and the Shahid-Shraddha Kapoor starrer Kashmir-set drama took home three honours each.

Shahid, 34, dedicated his award to Vishal for giving him the opportunity and called the film a "scary" one.

"I would like to thank Vishal Bhardwaj for this recognition. A very big thank you to him for believing in me.

"Today, I am standing here because of him. It was a scary film to do because we thought people will never love and understand this film," said the actor, who gave a power-packed performance on the songs of Haider, in his acceptance speech.

Tabu's powerful portrayal of Shahid's mother in the film won her the best supporting actress award while Kay Kay Menon's role of a shrewd politician in the same bagged him the trophy for the best actor in a negative role.

Queen, a Phantom films and Viacom pictures co-produced drama set in Amsterdam and Paris, won the award for best picture and story, (Bahl, Chaitally Parmar and Parvez Shaikh) apart from the best actress trophy.

Anurag Kashyap, one of the honchos of Phantom Films, in a surprising gesture, expressed his love for fellow director Rajkumar Hirani, while receiving the best movie trophy for Queen.

"I don't know what to say. I love you Raju sir (Rajkumar Hirani). I don't know how this film happened and it happened somehow. When we started the film we didn't have any money...," he said.

Hirani won the best director gong for Aamir Khan starrer highly acclaimed PK, a satire on godmen, after beating Bahl (Queen), Vishal (Haider), Abhishek Varman (2 States) and Imtiaz Ali (Highway).

"This film fearlessly talked about religion in the country and I want to thank my father and mother for it. Like Subhash Ghai, I also feel a film is incomplete without the help of technicians and actors," Hirani said.

Deepika Padukone, who was nominated in the best actress category for her stint as a dance teacher in multi-starrer film Happy New Year, took home the woman of the year award.

The 29-year-old actress dedicated the honour to all the women across the globe.

"This award is for millions of women," said the Finding Fanny star, who looked gorgeous in a black and maroon saree.

Bollywood's showman Subhash Ghai was honoured with the prestigious award 'Outstanding contribution to Indian cinema'. It was presented to him by his Ram Lakhan stars Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor.

"I am going through so many emotions right now. I have so many memories. Over the years one learns, rises and falls.

"This is one of the most wonderful evenings for someone like me, to receive so much love and adulation. I have so many stories to share. I think success and awards are a trap. You achieve these for your past work but then you are expected to keep up that work," he said in his acceptance speech.

Riteish Deshmukh-starrer Ek Villain too won three gongs.

The father of one took home the best supporting role for portraying a cold-blooded serial killer in the film and the Mohit Suri-directed thriller won the best playback singing (male) for Ankit Tiwari (Galliyan) and best lyrics.

It was a big night for Riteish, who was accompanied by wife Genelia, as he was also awarded in a new category introduced this time at IIFA, 'Outstanding contribution to a regional film'. The couple's home production, Marathi film Lai Bhaari, won the honour.

"I dedicate my wins to my newly born son. Last year has been an amazing year for me because I played a negative role for the first time. I am lucky that both my stints as hero and villain in Lai Bhaari and Ek Villain were appreciated," Riteish said.

Alia Bhatt-Arjun Kapoor starrer 2 States, which lead the nominations with nine nods, settled with only one award in the best music direction category. Alia's another film Highway and Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika starrer heist drama Happy New Year came out as the main snubs at the awards despite nominations in key categories.

Heropanti stars Tiger Shroff and Kirti Sanon took home the best debut male and female category respectively.

The best debut director gong was shared by Omung Kumar (Mary Kom) and Sajid Nadiadwala for Kick.

Omung thanked Olmypian boxer Mary Kom for her help in making her biopic, which starred actress Priyanka Chopra in the titular role.

"This is the last award of the season and I never expected that the set which I design will ever climb the stairs to receive an award. Thanks Mary Kom for letting us make a film on you," Omung said, who is also a set designer.

Varun Dhawan won the best actor in a comic role award for his stint as a casanova in his father David Dhawan directed Main Tera Hero. David received the trophy on Varun's behalf owing to the actor's absence from the ceremony.

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News Network
April 30,2020

Mumbai, Apr 29: Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor is not keeping well and has been admitted to a city hospital here, his elder brother Randhir Kapoor said.

The 67-year-old actor was taken to H N Reliance hospital by his family on Wednesday morning.

"He is in the hospital. He is suffering from cancer and he has some breathing problem, so he has been admitted to the hospital. He is stable now," Randhir told PTI.

The actor returned to India last September after undergoing treatment for cancer in the US for almost a year.

In February, Kapoor was hospitalised twice due to his health issues.

He was first admitted to a hospital in Delhi where he was attending a family function. At the time, Kapoor had said that he was suffering from an "infection".

After his return to Mumbai, he was again admitted to a hospital with viral fever. He was discharged soon after.

Kapoor, who has been quite active on social media, hasn't posted anything on his Twitter account since April 2.

The actor recently announced his next project, a remake of Hollywood film "The Intern", also featuring Deepika Padukone.

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News Network
May 11,2020

Los Angeles, May 11: Iconic soul and R&B singer Betty Wright has died after a battle with cancer. She was 66. According to Entertainment Weekly, the Grammy winner passed away on Sunday in her hometown Miami, Florida, Wright's niece confirmed.

The news comes a week after singer-songwriter Chaka Khan tweeted praying for her "beloved sister", without mentioning the cause of ailment.

"Calling all my #PrayWarriors | My beloved sister, Betty Wright, is now in need of all your prays. 'Que Sera, Sera | Whatever Will Be, Will Be' In Jesus Name We Pray for Sister Betty All My Love Chaka," she wrote.

Wright, whose real name was Bessie Regina Norris, was born in 1953.

She started singing as part of her siblings' musical group called the 'Echoes of Joy', but she rose to fame in the 1970s.

The singer was a member of the gospel ensemble until they parted ways when she was 11, leading her to embrace R&B music.

Wright signed with the label Deep City Records in 1966, a year later becoming a local hit with songs "Thank You Baby" and "Paralyzed".

Her first album My First Time Around wasn't released until two years later featuring the hit "Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do."

The biggest hit of her career Clean Up Woman came a year later, which was certified gold barely days after her 18th birthday.

At the age of 23, she went on to win her first Grammy Award for Best Song, Where is the Love?

Wright continued writing and producing music for two decades, her final hit  No Pain, (No Gain) was released in 1988.

Wright also collaborated with talent in the industry including fellow Miami superstar Gloria Estefan, for whom she arranged the harmonies on the 1991 track Coming Out of the Dark, as well as Jennifer Lopez, Kelly Clarkson, and Joss Stone.

She served as the vocal coach of the girl group Danity Kane on "Making of the Band" (2006).

With her collaboration with The Roots titled Betty Wright: The Movie, Wright again came under spotlight in 2011. This was her first album in a decade.

She scored a Grammy nod for the song Surrender from the album. Her work has been sampled throughout the years by Beyonce, Mary J Blige, Afrika Bambaataa, and Chance the Rapper. Several names from the music industry such as Snoop Dogg, John Legend, and DJ Khaled condoled Wright's demise on social media.

Snoop shared a video of Wright singing "Tonight is the Night" and thanked his mentor for inviting him to "thankful Thursday's" at her Florida house years ago.

"I know god is pleased with your work. Tonight is the night you get to heavens gates. Long live. Betty Wright," he wrote on Instagram.

Legend said Wright will be missed.

"She was always so loving and giving to younger artists. Always engaged, always relevant," he tweeted.

Khaled shared a clip of his performance with Wright on the song "Holy Key" at the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards.

"Betty Wright, you are an angel. You one of my realest friends I have! You are like a mom to me! You had my back from the very beginning! We made beautiful music together! Betty Wright is an icon! And the Mother of Miami," he wrote.

Wright was married three times - her final marriage was to reggae legend Noel 'King Sporty' Williams from 1985 until his death in 2015.

She had five children: Aisha McCray, Patrice Parker, Patrick Parker, Patrice Parker, and Chaka Azuri. Her son Patrick was shot to death on Christmas Day 2005 at the age of 21.

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News Network
June 24,2020

New Delhi, Jun 24: Actor Bhumi Pednekar supported migrant labourers traveling long distances amid the coronavirus pandemic, in a rather unique way- by donating footwear to them.

The gut-wrenching images of migrants walking barefoot on the roads made the 'Pati Patni Aur Woh' actor take the plunge to help them.

Pednekar joined hands with a footwear company and a volunteer-based non-government organisation - The Robin Hood Army - to help the underprivileged with footwear.

The actor helped over 1000 migrant labourers in and around Ghaziabad in Murad Nagar, Govindpuram, Vijay Nagar, and distributed footwear among men and women across age-groups.

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