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Mumbai, Jul 25: Movie theatres have been shuttered for months due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country, but the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has now recommended that the Union Home Ministry allow cinema halls to reopen in August. 

I&B Secretary Amit Khare indicated this at a close-door industry interaction with the CII Media Committee on Friday. He said Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla at the Home Ministry would take the final call.

Khare said that he has recommended that cinema halls may be allowed to reopen all over India as early as August 1, or at the latest, around August 31.

The formula suggested is that alternate seats in the first row and then the next row be kept vacant, and proceeding in this fashion throughout.

Khare said that his ministry's recommendation takes into consideration the two metre social distancing norm, but tweaks it gently to two yards instead. The Home Ministry, however, still has to revert on the recommendation.

Cinema owners, present in the interaction, however, pushed back and said this formula is unwise and merely running films at 25% auditorium capacity is worse than keeping the cinemas shut.

The attendees at the meet included media CEOs like N.P. Singh of Sony, Sam Balsara (Madison), Megha Tata, (Discovery), Gaurav Gandhi (Amazon Prime), Manish Maheshwari (Twitter), S. Sivakumar (Bennett Coleman and Co Ltd), and K Madhavan, Star & Disney, and also Chairman, CII Media Committee.

The OTT platforms present, including Gandhi of Amazon Prime, did not push back. Some Bollywood producers, notably those of Amitabh Bachchan's Gulabo Sitabo, have posted their movies on OTT, rather than live out the lockdown uncertainty.

New Delhi, Jun 6: Actor Ayushmann Khurrana took the internet by storm as he posted a picture of himself in the dark 'Joker' avatar on Saturday.

Artist Swapnil Pawar transformed Khurrana into the 'Joker' through his artwork which the actor posted on his Instagram.

"Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it ... I'm an Agent of Chaos!" Khurrana quoted a famous dialogue from the film 'Joker' in the caption.

The 35-year-old actor, who hasn't played an outright negative role in his career further revealed his fascination for negative characters in the caption.

"Sinister, menacing, evil, cold, conniving yet brilliant, genius - have always thought of playing a negative character like Joker. Thank you @swapnilmpawar for reading my mind and this incredible artwork!" he wrote.

Khurrana believes that though it is good to portray different roles and he would love to play a negative character but the message at the end should be positive.

"I will be happy to play a negative character. I would love to play a morally corrupt person. That will be out of my realm. But the message, at the end of the day, should be positive. I don't want to endorse wrongdoings on screen," he said.

The new look of the 'Article 15' actor won hearts as the post was flooded with scores of comments from his fans.

Mumbai, Jun 15: Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has paid a heartfelt tribute to actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who was found dead at his Bandra residence in Mumbai on Sunday.

Taking to Twitter, the superstar recalled the 'Kai Po Che' actor's "energy, enthusiasm, and his full happy smile."

Sushant, who was a big fan of Shah Rukh, was often compared to him as both the actors made a successful transition from the small screen to Bollywood without any Godfathers.

Sharing a throwback picture along with Sushant, Khan also noted how much the late actor loved him and asserted that he will surely miss him.

"He loved me so much...I will miss him so much. His energy, enthusiasm, and his full happy smile. May Allah bless his soul and my condolences to his near and dear ones. This is extremely sad....and so shocking!!," the tweet read.

Sushant, 34, committed suicide by hanging himself on Sunday, Additional Commissioner of Police Manoj Sharma confirmed. However, no suicide note has been recovered from Rajput's residence, as per the police and further investigation is underway.

As per the latest development, the body of the actor is brought to Dr RN Cooper Municipal General Hospital from his residence in Bandra.

The actor, who rose to fame with the 2008 television series 'Pavitra Rishta,' made his Bollywood debut with Abhishek Kapoor's 'Kai Po Che' in 2013.

One widely loved actor for his simplicity and humble nature, the actor gave hit movies to the entertainment industry, including MS Dhoni's biopic, where he played the cricketer on screen.

The star was last seen in Nitish Tiwari's 'Chhichhore,' alongside Shraddha Kapoor in 2019.

The news of the sudden demise of the actor left a bevy of his fans, and Bollywood celebrities in shock, triggering an outpouring of condolences.