Sonam, Nawazuddin win top awards at IFF Melbourne

August 13, 2016

Melbourne, Aug 13: Bollywood actors Sonam Kapoor and Nawazuddin Siddiqui bagged the best actress and best actor awards at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2016.

iffWhile Sonam, 31, was awarded for her performance in Neerja Bhanot's biopic, "Neerja," Nawazuddin won the award for his role of psycho serial killer in "Raman Raghav 2.0".

Expressing his delight over the award, Nawazuddin said "I am thankful for considering me for this award."

Other nominees in best male performance were Ranveer Singh for "Bajirao Mastaani," Shah Rukh Khan for "Fan" and Manoj Bajpai for "Aligargh."

Sonam dedicated her award to the Bhanot family.

"I am very lucky to be up here...This is a real story about a women who is only 23 years old. I want to thank Bhanot family specially the mother who passed away... Its a film about compassion more than anything else," she said.

Filmmaker Shakun Batra's "Kapoor and Sons" and Leena Yadav's "Parched" also scooped the top awards.

Batra's directorial venture won the best film award and Yadav's film lead the best indie film category. She also bagged the best director award.

Pakistani actor Fawad Khan was given a special diversity award by the state special minister Gavin Jennings.

Rishi Kapoor was honoured with the lifetime achievement award for excellence in cinema.

Expressing his happiness to receive the award, Rishi reminisced when his father Raj Kapoor thought of casting him as his younger version in "Mera Naam Joker".

"I remember when my father asked my mom...I went to my room and took out a paper and started practising my autographs," he recalled and added that he came from a family which gave 88 years to the Indian cinema out of 104 years.

"We are very grateful to people like you who have extended our legacy," he added.

The 63-year-old actor said though being a member of Kapoor family made it easy for him to get into film, it was his hardwork that made him sustain.

"It is very difficult.I was just not Raj Kapoor's son I have given lot of blood, sweat and tears to it," he said.

The star studded gala event that was held last night at the Melbourne Recital Centerer saw special performances by Pakistani singer-songwriter, Sara Haider, Shalmali Kholgade, Suzanne D'Mello, and other notable local performers.

Veteran actress Simi Grewal, Neetu Singh, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, Richa Chadha, Indian high commissioner Navdeep Suri, Consul General Manika Jain were also present at the occasion.

This year, the festival has screened a variety of films, features, shorts and documentaries in 17 languages. Around 50 films are shortlisted for the festival.

The theme for this edition is 'Women Empowerment'. "Angry India Goddesses," will bring the curtains down for the festival on August 21.

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News Network
March 28,2020

Mumbai, Mar 28: Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar has donated Rs 25 crore to Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s initiative PM CARES Fund to lend support to the ongoing battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

Akshay wrote on Twitter: "This is that time when all that matters is the lives of our people. And we need to do anything and everything it takes. I pledge to contribute Rs 25 crores from my savings to Narendra Modi ji''s PM-CARES Fund. Let''s save lives, Jaan hai toh jahaan hai."

Earlier, the government set up the Prime Minister''s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund, or the PM CARES Fund, with the objective of dealing with emergency situations such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Contributors to the fund will enjoy tax benefits, it has been announced.

"People from all walks of life expressed their desire to donate to India''s war against COVID-19. Respecting that spirit, the Prime Minister''s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund has been constituted. This will go a long way in creating a healthier India," PM Modi announced in a tweet on Saturday.

The Prime Minister is the chairman of the trust that includes the home minister, the finance minister the defence minister

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News Network
July 24,2020

New Delhi, Jul 24: With more than 50 movies under her credits and being one of the few actors from Bollywood to make a strong imprint in Hollywood, actor Priyanka Chopra started it all by winning Miss India 2000 pageant.

Chopra who is currently celebrating the completion of 20 years in the entertainment industry, on Friday looked back and reacted to the video where she was crowned as Miss India.
The' Fashion' actor shared a video on Instagram, where she is seen watching the throwback video. The 'Dostana' actor recalled winning the title and joked about her sense of style and poses back then.

Sharing the reaction video, she wrote: "Alright guys, we're doing this! I'm watching footage from my Miss India pageant in 2000! This is where it all began... If you've never seen these before, you are in for quite a treat. #20in2020 @feminamissindia."

Throughout the video, the 'Gunday' actor is seen casually commenting on her hairstyle, enacting her own movement on stage, and also recalled her luscious hair, which she now wonders where it all got lost.

However, she took a moment to appreciate the "clever and profound" answer she gave for the question that won her the crown.

While watching the winning moment, the 'Don' star noted how she never expected to win it. She explained that she had a train booked as she was to go back and take her board exams.

Going through the old photographs that run parallel to the video, she says: "These pictures are hard to look at." Pausing at a particular photograph, she laughs and says, "I don't even know how to do that pose."

"Well, this is where everything started. These are the pictures that sent me to Tinseltown," said the actor towards the end of the video.

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News Network
April 30,2020

Mumbai, Apr 30: Rishi Kapoor, the romantic star of many a Bollywood film who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2018, died in a Mumbai hospital on Thursday, his brother Randhir Kapoor said. He was 67.

Rishi, a third generation actor of the famous Kapoor dynasty, is survived by his wife Neetu Kapoor, actor son Ranbir and daughter Ridhima.

"He is no more. He has passed away," Randhir said.

Rishi was taken to the H N Reliance hospital by his family on Wednesday.

His death comes a day after after his "D-Day" co-star Irrfan Khan passed away, also of cancer. Three months ago, the disease claimed his sister Ritu Nanda.

"Our dear Rishi Kapoor passed away peacefully at 8:45am IST in hospital today after a two-year battle with leukemia. The doctors and medical staff at the hospital said he kept them entertained to the last.

He remained jovial and determined to live to the fullest right through two years of treatment across two continents. Family, friends, food and films remained his focus and everyone who met him during this time was amazed at how he did not let his illness get the better of him, the family said in a statement.

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

In February, he was hospitalised twice.

He was first admitted to a hospital in Delhi where he was attending a family function. At the time, he had said 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.

Rishi made his first screen appearance as a child artiste in his father Raj Kapoor's film Shri 420 , where he appeared in the song Pyaar hua ekraar hua . This was followed by "Mera Naam Joker". But it was in 1973, with the blockbuster Bobby , again directed by his father, that he made his debut as a romantic hero. He continued to be a favourite romantic hero for almost three decades.

His notable films as a romantic hero are "Laila Majnu", "Rafoo Chakkar", "Karz", "Chandni", "Heena" and "Saagar".

He was, however, more proud of his second innings as an actor, which he found more satisfying. His notable films as a character artiste are "Do Dooni Chaar" with wife Neetu, "Agnipath" and "Kapoor & Sons".

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