Marathi film producer Atul B Tapkir ends life, posts suicide note on Facebook

Bhubaneswar, Jul 25: The COVID-19 pandemic has hit many people hard, and the latest victim of the pandemic is Bollywood actor Kartika Sahoo from Odisha. With the entertainment industry almost non-functional and most productions on hold, the actor is forced to sell vegetables for a living.

Sahoo, who hails from the from Garadpur block of the Kendrapada district in Odisha, said that he went to Mumbai to try his luck in Bollywood at the age of 17. For many years he worked as a bodyguard to film stars and cricketers such as Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar, among others.

Lady luck shone on him in 2018, and he landed noticeable roles in the action sequences of many movies, he said while speaking with news agency. He also has a fight sequence with Akshay Kumar in his upcoming film 'Sooryavanshi'.

Just before the nationwide lockdown which started on March 22, Sahoo had returned home to Odisha after shooting a fight sequence in Jaipur. Since then, with no work, the actor has been living off his savings to sustain his family. But, after four months of no work, and a medical emergency, a major part of his savings was drained.

To find work, he moved to state capital Bhubaneswar, but to no avail. In the end, Sahoo had to resort to selling vegetables in Rasulgad there.

Sahoo is still hopeful and said that he'll again try his luck in Bollywood once the situation is back to normal, till then he'll struggle, like others, for survival.

New Delhi, Apr 10: Actor Akshay Kumar has pledged to contribute Rs 3 crore to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to assist the making of personal protection equipment, masks and rapid testing kits to help the battle against COVID-19.

Film critic and movie trade analyst Taran Adarsh announced on the same on Twitter on Friday and wrote, "After donating Rs25 crores to the PM CARES fund, Akshay Kumar contributes Rs3 crores to BMC to assist in the making of PPE, masks and rapid testing kits."

The 'Good Newwz' actor has been informing people about the necessary precautions to be taken to stay safe amid the coronavirus outbreak through his social media handles. On Thursday, Akshay acknowledged the contribution of all essential workers during the lockdown period, and encouraged people to use the hashtag 'Dil Se Thank You' to express their gratitude to the people "who work to ensure our safety."

Earlier, the 'Mission Mangal' actor joined hands with actors including, Kartik Aaryan, Tiger Shroff, Taapsee Pannu, Kiara Advani and launched a hope anthem - 'Muskurayega India,' and made an attempt to pump up Indians with positivity amid the testing times of coronavirus.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Friday informed that India's total number of COVID-19 positive cases now stands at 6,412.

Out of the total cases, 5,709 are active patients and 504 of them have been cured/discharged and migrated. With 30 new deaths reported in the last 12 hours, the death toll reached 199, according to the ministry.

New Delhi, Jun 2: 'Dabangg' actor Sonakshi Sinha was showered with greetings as she turned 33 on Tuesday.

Sonakshi's father and veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha took to social media to express gratitude that the family is spending time together during the lockdown period.

"This week is very special for my family, as we have a lot to thank for during this lockdown period. The family got to really spend some good quality time together," the veteran actor tweeted.

"Today we all celebrate our darling @sonakshisinha Sona's birthday. May she always be positive & abundantly blessed," his tweet further reads.

Actor Preity Zinta also made sure that she wishes the 'Kalank' actor as she posted a picture with her on Instagram.

"Happy Birthday my darling Sona. Wish you all the wonderful things, today and always. Keep Smiling and shining always. Love you loads @aslisona," the 'Kya Kehna' actor wrote in the caption.

Fashion designer Manish Malhotra also posted a picture of himself with Sonakshi on his Instagram stories and wrote, "@aslisona Happy Birthday Beautiful."

Actor Huma Qureshi too extended birthday greetings to Sonakshi by posting a picture with her on her Instagram stories.

Huma wished her friend in what seems like a code language as she wrote, "You are...this friendship..how to...Love...Dosti.." along with the picture.

"Don't want to use words, you know what I mean..right@aslisona," she further wrote.

Sonakshi was last seen in the third installment of her hit film series 'Dabangg' which was released last year in December.