Mumbai, August 17 (IANS) In Bollywood, it is mostly the male superstar who is the crowd-puller of a film -- the primary draw whose name ensures blockbuster business. On the other hand, films with female actors in the lead, often witness poor box-office performance, or have to be produced in a medium-to-low budget set-up, so that they can make profits quickly and at least record a hit status. Vidya Balan hoped the situation would change, while speaking at a promotional event for

Bangkok, Aug 17 (IANS) An eight-month-old sick dugong named "Marium" whose fight for recovery won hearts in Thailand has died from an infection after pieces of plastic were found in her intestine. The baby dugong's death was announced on Saturday on the Facebook page of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources. It died from a blood infection after midnight after going into shock. An autopsy showed that pieces of plastic caused obstructions in baby dugong's intestine tract,

Mumbai, August 15 (IANS) Actress Kangana Ranaut wished fans on 73rd Independence Day on Thursday and urged them to be proud of our diverse nation, and not get entangled in personal identities like "I am a woman, he is a man or gay". The actress' manager and sister took to Twitter to share a video message from Kangana. Dressed in a sari, the "Judgementall Hai Kya" actress began by wishing everyone happy Independence Day and then moved on to urging fans to have self-respect.

Mumbai, August 13 (IANS) August 13 marks the 56th birth anniversary of the late superstar Sridevi, and her family members including daughter Janhvi Kapoor, and her former co-star and brother-in-law Anil Kapoor, took to social media to pen emotional, heartfelt notes in the memory of the veteran actress. "Happy birthday mumma, I love you," Janhvi wrote on Instagram along with a photograph of Sridevi from her film "English Vinglish". Remembering Sridevi, Anil said it's a "bitterswee

Mumbai, August 12 (IANS) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has thanked the actor couple of Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh for contributing Rs.25 lakh towards Chief Minister Relief Fund for Maharashtra floods. Fadnavis on Monday tweeted a photograph of the couple handing over the cheque to the minister. "Thank you Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh for the contribution of Rs 25,00,000/- (Rs 25 lakh) towards CM Relief Fund for Maharashtra floods," Fadnavis wrote. The gigantic Koyna Dam,

New Delhi, August 11 (IANS) Music is part of his very soul, and half-an-hour of playing the piano before breakfast every morning helps German Ambassador Walter J. Lindner get the perspective he needs in his hectic diplomatic life. Not just music, the German envoy to India also feels the need to meet and communicate with people in person. During his many sojourns across the country, even to the local fruit and flower mandi, Lindner makes it a point to converse with the locals, t

Mumbai, August 10 (IANS) Makers of "Hum Aapke Hai Koun..!" hosted a special screening of their film on the occasion of completing 25 years at the Liberty Cinema here on Friday. Released in 1994, "Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!", the multi-starrer family saga that saw Madhuri Dixit Nene and Salman Khan in lead roles, turned 25 on Monday. Since the movie first hit theatres on August 5, it has become one of Bollywood's most iconic projects. The special screening was graced by several ind

Mumbai, August 10 (IANS) John Abraham is of the opinion that the Hindi film industry is not a secular place. "Who told you that the industry is secular? The industry is not 100 per cent secular. It's polarized. This is a fact of life," John quipped, when asked if the industry was a fair playing ground, with rampant divisive mood brewing all around. John was at an event to promote his upcoming flick "Batla House" in Mumbai when he expressed the opinion. "The problem is that the

New York, August 10 (IANS) "The Maze Runner" star Kaya Scodelario feels every woman is powerful, damaged and a million other things, and that is what she wants to reflect in her work. The actress says she isn't interested in playing female characters that are just one thing, because they don't exist. "For me, it is important (to essay a strong character) because it is realistic. That is the world I know. Every woman I know is strong in her own way," Scodelario told IANS in an e

Mumbai, August 10 (IANS) Actress-producer Anushka Sharma has started a campaign demanding stricter laws against animal cruelty. The campaign has been named #JusticeForAnimals and Anushka, who has a huge social media following of about 60 million followers, has asked for stricter laws to punish the offenders. Anushka has been deeply moved with the incident involving Lucky - a dog who got badly beaten up in Mumbai and died subsequently. Highlighting several gruesome cases of ani

New Delhi, August 9 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon be seen expressing his views on conservation of nature, his time in the Himalayas, his encounters with wildlife in his youth and the cleanliness drive in India in an episode of "Man Vs Wild". A video, giving a sneak peek of the episode, was released on Friday. In the show, adventurer and television presenter Edward Michael Grylls, popularly known as Bear Grylls, gives Modi an improvised version of a spear as a saf

People cool off during a sunny day at a pond in front of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, July 25, 2019. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw   AMSTERDAM, August 9 (Reuters) - Almost 400 people more died in the Netherlands during Europe's recent record-breaking heatwave than in a regular summer week, Dutch national statistics agency CBS said on Friday.   In total, 2964 people died in the Netherlands during the week that started on July 22, the CBS said, whi

Japan's Empress Michiko waves to well-wishers from a vehicle at Kodomonokuni in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan, April 12, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato/Files   TOKYO, August 9 (Reuters) - Japan's Empress Emeritus Michiko is to have surgery, perhaps as soon as September, after being diagnosed with an early-stage breast cancer, the Imperial Household Agency said on Friday.   An ultrasound examination during a check-up last month revealed a mass in the royal's left

Mumbai, Aug 8 (IANS) While social media users are speculating about the situation in Kashmir after the abolition of Article 370 earlier this week, actress Huma Qureshi has requested all to be sensitive and refrain from making irresponsible comments at this hour. The "Jolly LLB 2" actress, who has her family residing in the valley, tweeted: "Everyone with opinions on Kashmir. I humbly say this -- you have no idea of the life, bloodshed and loss of Kashmiris (Pandits and Muslims). Ple

Mumbai, August 8 (IANS) Taapsee Pannu has said that she will not apologise for her "double filter" comment about Kangana Ranaut, for which she has faced flak from the latter's sister and spokesperson Rangoli Chandel. The whole argument started when Kangana's sister Rangoli Chandel attacked Taapsee on Twitter. "Kuch log Kangana ko copy kar ke he apni dukaan chalate hain, magar pls note, they never acknowledge her, not even a mention of her name in praising the trailer. Last I heard,

Los Angeles, Aug 6 (IANS) Hollywood star Angelina Jolie says wicked women are just women who are tired of injustice and abuse, and the world needs more of them. "What is it about the power of a woman free in mind and body that has been perceived as so dangerous throughout history?," the actress questioned as she started putting her thoughts down, in an essay she penned for "Elle" magazine's September issue. "Like the ultimate conspiracy theory, anything you couldn't explain -

Mumbai, August 6 (IANS) Shilpa Shetty's love for fitness is only too well known, and the actress never tires of encouraging fans to follow a regime to stay in shape. The 44-year-old actress has now shared a picture on Instagram, where she is seen working out. The accompanying text reads: "30 days to make a habit, 90 days to make it a lifestyle. #ShilpaKaMantra." "The start will always be the toughest hurdle to cross. But the day you begin, is also the day you've won half tha

New Delhi, Aug 4 (IANS) Even though dowry is illegal in India since 1961, it is still prevalent, and actress Parineeti Chopra is shocked at how Indian families consider it a "gift". "Everyone knows that dowry is illegal and immoral but they practice it. What makes me angry is that people have renamed it 'gift' so that it sounds good. Dowry simply means that you are putting a price on the girl and buying her. "We call ourselves modern but then what are we doing? To look superior,

New Delhi, Aug 4 (IANS) Actress Tabu says she has been struggling with herself for almost a decade now, trying to understand who she is, what she stands for, and how she wants to live. The critically-acclaimed actress says she has now realised that the answers lie in connecting with the world in a "much larger and deeper way". "When you are younger, you want different things in life. I was 16 when I started in the industry. At that time, you don't know anything. You are just go

New Delhi, August 3 (IANS) Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly was among many celebrities who tweeted praise for the upcoming film "Mission Mangal", for celebrating women who believe "the sky is not the limit", after the makers released its new promo across various regional languages. The new promo released in Sourav's mother tongue Bengali, besides in Marathi, Gujarati and Punjabi among other languages. In each of these promos, the film's hero Akshay Kumar is seen reciting