Washington, Sep 6: Liz Hurley recently kissed a banker who paid 50,000pounds after winning the top prize at Sir Elton John's fundraising ball.
A smooch with the 49-year-old actress was "raffled' as the top prize at the charity, the Daily Star reported.
A partygoer said that the actress, who was earlier married to cricketer Shane Warne didn't hold back whilst kissing Indian origin Julian Bharti.
The observer said that Hurley pulled the man into a passionate embrace when the winner got on stage.
New Delhi, Jul 11: The COVID-19 triggered restrictions on cinema exhibition industry have not only disheartened movie goers, but axed several thousand jobs and costed the industry an estimated ₹ 5,000 crore in revenue.
The sector has been one of the hardest hit due to COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions implemented to curb its spread.
Presently, cinemas and multiplexes continue to remain in the list of prohibited activities under the Centre's Unlock 2.0 Guidelines.
In an interview to media persons, movie exhibition major Inox Leisure's Chief Executive Alok Tandon said, "The industry on an average collects about ₹ 1,000 crore a month of 'Box Office' and on an average generates about ₹ 500 crore a month of ancillary revenues."
"Keeping in mind that the lockdown has been effective for more than 100 days now, which is about 3.5 months, the cinema exhibition industry would have accumulated losses worth ₹ 5,000 crore so far."
According to Tandon, associated businesses such as pre and post-production, make-up artistes, graphics, film set fabrication, film crew, events, marketing, F&B services have all been impacted due to the restrictions.
"With the production and exhibition of movies coming to a halt, the industry was bound to witness some job losses," he said without divulging any estimates.
As per industry data, the multiplex industry in India employs more than 200,000 people directly and accounts for nearly 60 % of revenues of the film business.
On the way forward, Tandon elaborated that the industry expects to regain business momentum and sentiment post resumption of operations.
"We believe it will be a matter of a couple of blockbusters, and we will be back to our usual operational numbers," he said.
"We are rightfully relying on the unshakeable passion of the Indian movie lovers, who are yearning to step out and spend time enjoying the giant screen experience."
Furthermore, he cited that industry has sent representation to the Centre for immediate re-commencement of operations and a support package.
"We have requested for financial support in the form of salary subsidies during the lockdown period, interest-free loans for three years, exemptions from various taxes and duties, like 'GST, Show tax, LBETs and Property taxes' for a period of one year from the date of operations, waiver on electricity minimum demand charges for one year and auto renewal of licenses and permits for the next one year," he said.
"We have been talking to our mall developer partners and are working together with them to see through this phase."
However, even after re-commencement, the industry anticipates at least 3-6 months before things return anywhere close to normal.
"The cinema ecosystem is such that we will need all the aspects of the business to swing into action and fire together for us to see a resurgence, and we are highly optimistic about the same," he said.
In terms of global experience, Tandon pointed out that cinemas have started operating in more than 25 major countries, and some of those markets are witnessing a healthy response.
"India is a massive movie market and we are confident that the passionate and responsible movie lovers will turn up in huge numbers to enjoy their favourite form of entertainment and also follow the prevention guidelines at the same time, ensuring a safe and steady revival of the cinema exhibition sector," Tandon said.
The film exhibition industry in India is mainly comprised of single screen and multiplexes.
At present there are around 9,527 cinemas across the country, including 6,327 single and 3,200 multiplex screens.
Mumbai, Jun 19: Actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s memories will continue to be celebrated as Instagram has memorialised his account, adding “remembering” to his bio.
Rajput, 34, known for films like "Kai Po Che!", "MS Dhoni: The Untold Story", "Chhichhore", was found dead in his Bandra apartment on Sunday, sending shockwaves in the film industry and elsewhere.
Days after his untimely demise, Instagram added “remembering” to his account bio and memorialised it as a place to remember the actor’s life.
According to the photo-video sharing website, no one can log into a memorialised account. The posts the deceased person shared, including photos and videos, stay on their page and are visible to the users they were shared with.
Also, once the account is memorialised, no one will be able to make changes to any of the existing posts or information.
The actor’s last post on the social media platform was a tribute to his late mother on June 3.
Rajput’s death is being investigated by the Mumbai Police and so far statements of over 13 people, including actor’s family members and close friends, including actor Rhea Chakraborty and casting director Mukesh Chhabra, have been recorded.
The police have also sent a letter to Yash Raj Films seeking details of the contracts it had signed with him.
Mumbai, Apr 29: Irrfan Khan, one of India's finest and most versatile actors, lost his battle with a rare form of cancer and died in a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday, a statement from his family said. He was 54
Irrfan, who was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour in 2018, is survived by his wife Sutapa and his sons Babil and Ayaan.
It is the second tragedy for the family in less than a week. The ?Maqbool? actor lost his mother, 95-year-old Saeeda Begum, in Jaipur just four days ago and could not attend the funeral because of the nationwide lockdown.
Irrfan, that rare actor who straddled multiple worlds, making his mark in both international and Indian cinema in roles intense and light-hearted, was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital with a colon infection
?It's saddening that this day, we have to bring forward the news of him passing away. Irrfan was a strong soul, someone who fought till the very end and always inspired everyone who came close to him. After having been struck by lightning in 2018 with the news of a rare cancer, he took life soon after as it came and he fought the many battles that came with it,? the statement from his family said
?Surrounded by his love, his family for whom he most cared about, he left for heavenly abode, leaving behind truly a legacy of his own. We all pray and hope that he is at peace. And to resonate and part with his words he had said, 'As if I was tasting life for the first time, the magical side of it',? it added.
The news of his death was first confirmed by his "Piku" director Shoojit Sircar who sent his condolences to the family and doffed his hat to the actor's fighting spirit
"My dear friend Irfaan. You fought and fought and fought. I will always be proud of you.. we shall meet again.. condolences to Sutapa and Babil.. you too fought, Sutapa you gave everything possible in this fight. Peace and Om shanti. Irfaan Khan salute," the director said on Twitter.
Irrfan's death came the morning after news that he had been admitted to the ICU with a colon infection.
The self-effacing National Award winner, who acted in films as diverse as ?Life of Pi?, ?The Namesake? and ?Haasil?, had stayed away from the public eye after his diagnosis in 2018 when he went to the UK for treatment.
He returned home in 2019 and shot for "Angrezi Medium", the sequel to his 2017 hit "Hindi Medium". However, his health condition prevented him from promoting the movie, which hit the theatres in March just before the lockdown that began on March 25.
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