Like Minneapolis, the city of Mississauga is allowing mosques to broadcast the call to prayer during Ramadan, which seems reasonable, since 12% of the population is Muslim. The only problem is that some people are objecting, for bogus reasons. An open letter attached to three petitions, two of them hosted on Change.org, calls on Mississauga […]

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, Bollywood celebrities have taken up the responsibility to appeal to everyone to stay safe, take precautions, stop panicking and refrain from spreading rumours. Ajay Devgn too joined the bandwagon and made an emotional appeal to his fans to stay at home by launching a special song titled Thahar Ja.

Watch the song here:

The video has been sung and composed by Mehul Vyas and penned by Anil Verma. In the video, an emotional Devgn appeals to people to stay inside their homes and take a break from their regular activities for the sake of their families. His son Yug also makes an appearance at the end of the music video.

Sharing the video on his Instagram handle, the Singham actor wrote, "Pause. Reflect. Pray. We will weather this storm together. Stay safe, Stay Happy. Apno ke liye #ThaharJa #IndiaFightsCorona (sic)."

 

 

 

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A post shared by Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) onApr 25, 2020 at 12:31am PDT

Before this, Akshay Kumar came up with a special version of the song Teri Mitti, from his film Kesari, to show his gratitude to the doctors and policemen working selflessly during these testing times.

 

 

 

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A post shared by Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) onApr 24, 2020 at 12:04am PDT

Salman Khan too gave us a spirited 'Pyar Karona' song that encourages us to fight the Coronavirus pandemic together. This was the superstar's first solo music album.

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The pandemic has truly bought the world to a standstill and staying at home is the need of the hour. However, some people are still working outside the comfort of their homes in order to fight against Covid-19. Sanya Malhotra expresses her gratitude towards them.

Sanya shares, "All those frontline workers, doctors, nurses and essential service professionals who are putting their lives at stake for us, I salute your efforts and determination towards the citizen and the nation."

Adding a social message for one and all Sanya further adds, "This only goes on to bring us a message that we must cooperate with all these workers and stay at home, until this pandemic is eradicated".

During these tough times, we need to work as one and fight together to eradicate the problem from its roots. This is the time where the the quote "United we stand, divided we fall" fits the situation and we must be one. Sanya Malhotra is putting out a strong message and using her influence in a positive manner.

On the work front, Sanya has a stellar line ups of projects being 'Shakuntala Devi' where the actress will be playing Anupama Banerjee while sharing the screen with Vidya Balan, Guneet Monga's Pagglait and Anurag Basu's Ludo.

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All celebrity deaths aren't the same. Some are more equal than others. A chosen few are fine career moves; many more, simply indelible stamps to seal fading public memories. Even while so much of journalism involves telling readers that dear Ramesh is dead, when nobody knew dear Ramesh was alive.

Who's a celebrity, anyway? A neighbour we never had, in the form of an acquaintance we all do. We know them through their work (in varied fields), and therefore their passing on offers us a moment to collectively acknowledge/grieve the idea of death itself: "Oho he died is it? Sad." In the same way that we casually respond to vague, distant relatives passing away.

Ideally, I'd continue to believe the person is alive. It's not like I would've met them often, if at all, in any case. And they live on through our knowledge of their contributions. But that's an entry-level celebrity.

The expert level consists of what's called stardom, that mainly emanates from popular culture, involving entertainers and artistes, whose works and general personae draw us closer and closer, almost akin to owning them in a way that we do immediate family. Or more so school/college friends, since stars that appear closest are ones saved as childhood memories first.

There's also that sexual rite of passage that we attribute, in particular, to hot movie/rock-stars of our teens — a phenomenon that acceptably continues well into old age. No wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend ever felt jealous about their significant other, openly, obsessively lusting/thirsting for a famous actor/musician in general chit-chat. It's passed off as 'celebrity pass' (try going like that about your neighbour!). Maybe it's a necessary valve for sexual expression in a society that can be deeply prudish on such matters otherwise.

Where do these stars come to us from? Mainly, the screen. The fame which has been the monopoly of films and television (including live sports) — at least since the '70s and '80s, and up until user-generated social-media, spawning self-styled and home-made influencers.

Can't speak for the latter, but a deeply-felt obituary, more so mass-hysteria surrounding deaths of these stars from another sky, would please the recipients no end. It's the ultimate validation that artistes seek from the same humans who, through their art, they often pretend to hate!

And it is this final prize that masses feel naturally compelled to collectively award to an individual they feel deserves it, after all — not for something they did yesterday, day-before or even recently. They could be 'has-beens'. Which is, equally, to suggest that they 'have been'. The community outpouring is to acknowledge just that, for others to aspire for it as well.

The tragedy with such warm tributes is that they are delivered posthumously, having altogether lost value for the actual/ideal addressee. Sportspeople probably get the worst end of this stick. They peak before most careers formally begin. And from that point onwards, it's professional-fame only going downhill towards complete ignominy, until their death resurrects them into public imagination, while they aren't around to experience any of this lovely, concluding chapter of their own life!

This mass appreciation, of course, takes on a whole new meaning in the context of mainstream stars of Indian cinema. They're not just actors, who by my definition are professionals paid to exhibit temporary conditions of 'controlled insanity' — behaving like strange people, in stranger circumstances — and repeatedly returning to who they are.

But in doing so as lead actors, they become the all-purpose face of everything that we have loved about a film — its script/story and songs, choreography and musical compositions, genre and direction, cinematography, production design and editing… Not just the whole point, but the entire space a picture occupies in our collective nostalgia.

Every other artiste — musician, writer, painter — pretty much gains credit only for their own work. That's not true for a desi mainstream actor, on whose rockstar face has traditionally rested the full weight of India's popular culture. It's a huge burden to carry. Which explains the release that follows.

The image sometimes even dictates their whole life, while some spend a fair portion protecting it. No wonder, say a Suchitra Sen never stepped out of home at old age. Raj Kapoor, having learnt of his massive appeal in China only much later, chose never to visit, assuming he might disappoint fans who remembered him as the young man from Awaara or Shri 420.

Likewise, actor Amrish Puri, 72, told no one (in the public domain) that he was suffering from a rare form of blood cancer. I know this because he told me he was fine, killing off rumours to the contrary. His sudden death messed with nobody's memory of Mogambo.

The unparalleled public grief surrounding deaths of the new-age Irrfan, 53, and the old-world Rishi Kapoor, 67, in quick succession, while they had been ailing for a couple of years, has little do with any of what I've mentioned above.

It's do with a kite cut off, mid-flight — a great film stopped short of its crucial climax. Rishi Kapoor 2.0, as both actor and media presence, seemed dramatically more relevant than Rishi Kapoor 1.0. Irrfan was at the cusp of Hollywood royalty! Hurts more — especially once you imagine either as virtual family.

Mayank Shekhar attempts to make sense of mass culture. He tweets @mayankw14 Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com

The views expressed in this column are the individual's and don't represent those of the paper

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For most of us, movies are one of the best ways to unwind ourselves from all the stress that we deal with on a daily basis. The emergence of OTT content has made it even easier for moviegoers to watch their favourite content at the click of their fingers.

It is a welcome change to see the short film titled Mishti Doi, a touching family drama that leaves you with a warm feeling in your heart and a new lesson, every time you watch it!

Produced by the dynamic production house KBJ Entertainment, the movie was distributed by Pocket Films, the largest channel for short films in India and was also released on Disney + Hotstar on 16 April this year.

Mishti Doi is the story of Chandrakant, a widower, who is eagerly waiting for his son Rohan and daughter-in-law Kavita to visit him on his late wife's birth anniversary. However, the visit will test the strength of their relationship in ways they had never imagined...

The short film takes us on an emotional ride leaving behind an everlasting impact with its touching and relatable storyline. A perfect film to watch during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Directed by Shibu Sable and produced by Harshada Patankar and Swar Patankar, the short film has been written by Jaidev Hemmady & Shibu Sable, shot by DOP Bhavesh Rawal and edited by Kedar Gogate, while the music has been given by Anurag Godbole & the sound design is by Abhijit Shreeram Deo.

Starring Milind Uke, Deepal Doshi and Bhawna Munjal, the short film ‘Mishit Doi’, just like the famous Bengali delicacy mishti doi, leaves behind a sweet after-taste.

Excited with the response that the short film has been getting, Producer Harshada Patankar said, “I had tears in my eyes the first time I read the script and I decided then and there to produce this short film, which had such an emotional core. I am happy to know that Mishti Doi has been praised by everyone who has seen it and the positive comments from viewers have really been a source of encouragement and motivation to us. At KBJ Entertainment, we believe in making meaningful and yet entertaining content and we shall be coming up with more such content in the near future.”

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Indian cricketers Ravichandran Ashwin and Umesh Yadav on Thursday expressed condolences to the families affected in the Vizag gas leakage mishap. Yadav took to Twitter and wrote: "Praying for everyone affected in Vizag. Condolences to the bereaved families #VizagGasLeak.

Praying for everyone affected in Vizag. Condolences to the bereaved families 🙏🏻 #VizagGasLeak

— Umesh Yaadav (@y_umesh) May 7, 2020

"A gas tragedy now??? Omg.. The visuals are so disturbing. God !!! Please have mercy," Ashwin tweeted. Badminton player Kidambi Srikanth also tweeted about the incident which has left eight people dead, saying it is disturbing to hear about the mishap.

A gas tragedy now??? Omg.. The visuals are so disturbing. God !!! Please have mercy🙏

— lets stay indoors India 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) May 7, 2020

"Disturbing to hear about the #VizagGasLeak. Hope affected people recover soon and my condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. Stay safe Vizag!" Kidambi Srikanth tweeted.

Around 120 people have been admitted to the hospital after a styrene gas leak in RR Venkatapuram village. The mishap took place at the LG Polymers industry early on Thursday morning.

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New year 2020 is almost here to start with a bang. Picking out the right food, gadgets, exercises, and outdoor activities well in advance can help you

Company: The tour vacations
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Company: The tour vacations
Qualification: Aviation, Bachelor of Arts (B.A), Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch), Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A), Bachelor Of Computer Application (B.C.A), Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com), Bachelor Of Technology (B.Tech/B.E), Bachelor in Hotel Management (B.H.M), Bachelor Of....

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