Netflix is disrupting the system in India, says Madhuri Dixit

Agencies
November 10, 2018

Singapore, Nov 10: Netflix's Indian content has often been characterised as niche by the critics due to lack of mainstream features as compared to its rivals but actor Madhuri Dixit believes the streaming giant has disrupted the Indian film industry.

"I think stars will always be the stars but this is like a ground breaking thing where you disrupt the system and Netflix is doing that," Dixit said at a panel discussion during the See What's Next: Asia event here.

The 51-year-old actor said Netflix provided the options to its users and to drive her point home, she cited the example of her Marathi feature "Bucket List" and its Hollywood namesake starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.

"The thing is that people choose whatever they want whenever they want. I did 'Bucket List' recently and when I type it in, it offered me Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman's 'Bucket List'. So you have choices, genres and all that you like, even suggestions. It's a disruptor. I think it has a long way to go. Cinema will always be there but Netflix gives you freedom to make whatever you want to make."

Filmmaker Leena Yadav, whose latest directorial "Rajma Chawal" will soon make its debut on the platform, said the big stars of Bollywood would eventually be "seduced" to work with Netflix.

"I don't think we are far from that because you have to get seduced by this platform. Today, even the films having big stars don't have the reach that Netflix has. You have a theatre in every room and house. Whenever you watch, it is the first day first show. I think it will seduce the bigger stars,"

Madhuri added that her 1994 blockbuster "Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!" would have been a bigger hit if audiences had Netflix two decades ago.

"There are two magical things in the world. One is theatre or cinema and the other is internet. Netflix is a great marriage between these two. If we had the infrastructure that we do today, 20 years ago then it would have been great because even though 'Hum Aapke Hai Koun...! 'was very well received despite not having Netflix and everything it would have magnified," Madhuri said.

The actor will soon make her debut on Netflix with her Marathi production titled "15th August". The satirical film, set in a chawl in Mumbai, is about the struggles of middle class India.

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News Network
February 27,2020

Mumbai, Feb 27: Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on Wednesday said it's with constant education that a country, a family can move forward as there is never an end to learning.

In December last year, when the actor visited the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, the La Trobe University announced the 'Shah Rukh Khan La Trobe University PhD Scholarship'. At the event to announce therecipient of the scholarship here on Wednesday, Shah Rukh said it was his honour to lend his name or be attached to the scholarship.

"I am a big believer in education. I truly believe that the way forward for any country, any family, city, state is by educating itself more and more.

"There is never an end to education. I've come to realise the more I know, I figure out, the less I understand. It's very important to keep educating ourselves for the rest of our lives.

"I've always believed education in India and elsewhere in the world, is the most important step forward for any nation," he said.

The scholarship aims to provides an opportunity for an aspiring female researcher from India to undertake research.

The 54-year-old superstar said what also will help taking the world move ahead is educating women.

"Related to the fact, is of course, education of women, empowering women, to look after themselves to look after their families...

"If you are able to empower them with education, the world goes even further forward," the actor added.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 10: Eminent Carnatic vocalist and playback singer K J Yesudas, who has enthralled music aficionados across the world with his profound and mellifluous voice for the last six decades, turned 80 on Friday.

People from various walks of life, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and luminaries of music and film world besides socio-cultural personalities, wished the legendary singer, popularly called as 'gana gandharvan' (the celestial singer) by his fans, on his birthday.

Regional newspapers came out with special pages and television channels with exclusive programmes as a tribute to the singer, who has recorded over 80,000 songs in various genres in almost all languages of India including about 25,000 film songs, Carnatic bhajans and devotional songs.

Besides Indian languages like Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, Bengali, Odia, his voice gave life to songs in Arabic, English, Latin, and Russian during a career spanning over six decades.

Yesudas, whom the country had honoured with Padma Vibhushan in 2017, is the recipient of eight national awards, 25 Kerala state awards, five state awards of Tamil Nadu and four of Andhra Pradesh.

"On the special occasion of his 80th birthday, greetings to the versatile K J Yesudas Ji. His melodious music and soulful renditions have made him popular across all age groups. He has made valuable contributions to Indian culture. Wishing him a long and healthy life," Modi tweeted.

The Left veteran also shared a photo of the veteran singer along with the tweet.

Meanwhile, Yesudas this morning visited the Mookambika Temple at Kollur in Udupi district of Karnataka along with his family, a practice he has been following for the last four decades.

Draped in the traditional Kerala style kasavu mundu and shawl, 'dasettan', as he is known among his hardcore fans cutting across ages, Yesudas offered prayers along with his wife Prabha and sons and performed special poojas at the Goddess Saraswathi temple.

Hundreds of music buffs gathered at the shrine to wish the octogenarian singer.

Considered as one of the best playback singers in the country, Yesudas had begun his music career in the tinsel town with the Malayalam song "Jathi bhedam matha dwesham" in the year 1961 and sang in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films among other languages.

Yesudas's foray into Bollywood saw him recording various memorable hits, including "Jab Deep Jale Aana" and "Gori Tera Gaon Bada Pyara".

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News Network
April 4,2020

New Delhi, April 4: Extending a helping hand to curb the spread of coronavirus, superstar Shah Rukh Khan and wife Gauri Khan have offered their personal office space in Mumbai for quarantine purpose for children, elderly and women.

The information was tweeted by the official Twitter handle of BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) on Saturday that thanked the couple for the gesture.

"Stronger together. We thank Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan for offering their 4-storey personal office space to help expand our quarantine capacity equipped with essentials for quarantined children, women and elderly, Indeed a thoughtful and timely gesture!" the tweet read.

Earlier the 54-year-old superstar and his group companies had pledged to donate to a number of relief funds, including the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) fund and the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund to combat the coronavirus.

The 'Devdas' actor had taken to Twitter on Thursday and shared that his companies -- Kolkata Knight Riders, Red Chillies Entertainment, Meer Foundation, and Red Chillies VFX -- are taking several initiatives to support the relief efforts.

The Padma Shri awardee also announced that his initial efforts will be focused on three cities -- Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi, "with the realisation that this is a start and we stand ready to contribute in whichever way possible going forward".

Meanwhile, India's tally of coronavirus positive cases rose to 2,902, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday.

Out of 2,902 cases, 2,650 are active cases and 184 have been cured or discharged or have migrated. The total number of deaths reported due to the disease rose to 68 on Saturday.

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