Entertainment

Washington [US], January 16 (ANI): Ralph Emery, who became known as the dean of country music broadcasters over more than a half-century in both radio and TV, died on Saturday at the age of 88, his family said. According to Variety, Emery died at the Tristar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville. He had been hospitalized for a week. Beginning his career at small radio stations and then moving into television as well, Emery was probably best known for his work on the Nashville Network cable channel. From 1983 to 1993, he was the host of the channel’s live talk-variety show ‘Nashville Now’, earning the title ‘the Johnny Carson of cable television’ for his interviewing style. From 2007 to 2015, Emery hosted a weekly program on RFD-TV, a satellite and cable TV channel. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007. “Ralph Emery’s impact in expanding country music’s audience is incalculable,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, in a statement Saturday. He continued, “On radio and on television, he allowed fans to get to know the people behind the songs. Ralph was more a grand conversationalist than a calculated interviewer, and it was his conversations that revealed the humour and humanity of Tom T. Hall, Barbara Mandrell, Tex Ritter, Marty Robbins and many more. Above all, he believed in music and in the people […]

Washington [US], January 16 (ANI): Miami rapper Wavy Navy Pooh was killed in an ambush shooting as he drove with two young children, local media reported. According to Fox News, the 28-year-old rapper, whose real name was Shandler Beaubien, was stopped at a light on Friday evening when a car pulled alongside and someone inside opened fire, killing him, reported a news outlet. Two children, ages 5 and 1, and a woman were also in his car but they were not hurt. Police have not released the victim’s name, but Quality Control, the rapper’s record label, confirmed it was him. No arrests have been made. Beaubien is best known for his song ‘M.I.A.M.I. (Murder is a Major Issue)’. Its video shows him waving a handgun, a staged murder scene and footage of police officers at actual shooting scenes. As per Fox News, reports suggest that Beaubien was wounded in the leg during a drive-by shooting while driving two years ago.

Only hours ago, the team of ‘Aba Jaba Daba’ made the all-important announcement concerning the film’s male lead. With the ‘Dia’ actor Pruthvi Ambaar playing the part, the team has released yet another exciting update via social media to reveal that popular TV actress Ankita Amar has been roped in as the film’s leading lady. A special poster, just as with the previous announcement, was released earlier today to mark the auspicious occasion of Sankranthi. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ankita Amar (@ankita.amar) By virtue of this role, Ankita Amar makes her official debut in films. Having reportedly been offered roles in multiple projects before, Ankita sought the right one to make the switch and RJ Mayuraa’s fantasy rom-com seems to have had the right charm. Ankita is currently playing the role of Meera in the hit TV serial ‘Nammane Yuvarani’ and has risen in popularity over the years, thanks to her on-screen pairing with actor Deepak Gowda who plays Aniketh on the show. Many may not be aware of the fact that Ankita began her career as a child actor in the ‘Putta Gowri Maduve’ show. And ‘Aba Jaba Daba’ would be RJ-turned-director Mayuraa Raghavendra’s second outing after making his debut with ‘Kannad Gothilla’. ‘Aba Jaba Daba’, a promising venture, also feature popular Malayalam and Tamil actress Urvashi while the late Karate King Shankar Nag too makes the credits. Giridhar Divan handles the cinematography while Anantha […]

Megastar Mammootty has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19. According to the reports, the superstar experienced a few symptoms, including a mild cold and sore throat on Saturday (Jan 15) evening and took a Covid test and the results came back positive. The 70-year-old actor is reportedly in good health, and is in home isolation, since he has no other complications. More details regarding the same are awaited. Mammootty was filming for his ambitious upcoming project tentatively titled ‘CBI 5’ in Kochi. The shoot of the film has been temporarily suspended for two weeks, owing to the current scenario of Mammootty testing positive for COVID-19. ‘CBI5’ is one of the most awaited upcoming films of Mammootty. The upcoming movie marks the fifth installment of the popular investigative series. Director K Madhu and writer SN Swamy, who had worked for the previous installments of the franchise – ‘Oru CBI Diary Kurippu’, ‘Jagratha’, ‘Sethurama Iyer CBI’, and, ‘Nerariyan CBI’ are reuniting for the forthcoming film. Mammootty will be reprising the role of Sethurama Iyer, a CBI officer. Mukesh and Jagathy Sreekumar, who were part of all the past four installments will be reprising their respective roles in the upcoming film. Meanwhile, makers of ‘CBI 5’ had kickstarted the shoot on November 29 and have been continuously filming ever since then. Mammootty joined the sets on December 11, and a few pictures from the sets were doing rounds on social […]

Washington [US], January 16 (ANI): Rapper Kanye West took a dig at his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and slammed her for raising their brood in limelight and with the help of nannies. Aiming at the Kardashians and his ex-wife Kim’s new beau-comedian Pete Davidson, West dropped a new track ‘Eazy’, on Saturday. From expressing his eagerness to beat Davidson, West also took a dig at Kim for how he thinks she is raising their brood. Right off the bat, Kanye says “How I ain’t bring nothing to the table when I’m the table?” going on to rap that he is going to “turn up the music, wake up the neighbours,” among other incendiary lyrics. He hits the point home even more so later when he raps “N****, we havin’ the best divorce ever // If we go to court, we’ll go to court together // Matter of fact, pick up your sis, we’ll go to Kourt’s together.” He adds, “watched four kids for like five hours today,” echoing what he claimed about allegedly being restricted from time with his children. But then, he raps, “I got love for the nannies, but real family is better // The cameras watch the kids, y’all stop takin’ the credit.” Speaking of his kids, Kanye raps, “When you give ’em everything, they only want more // Boujee and unruly, y’all need to do some chores // Rich-a** kids, this […]

Washington [US], January 16 (ANI): Primetime Emmy award-winning actor Brian Cox called out several celebrities who have rubbed him the wrong way, including ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star Johnny Depp. As per Page Six, in his new memoir ‘Putting the Rabbit in the Hat’- Scottish actor Brian Cox had called out many actors from the Hollywood film fraternity and specifically actor Johnny Depp for rubbing him the wrong way. “It would have been a money-spinner, but of all the parts in that film, it was the most thankless,” Cox, wrote of turning down the part of the Governor in the ‘Pirates’ franchise, which eventually went to Jonathan Pryce. “Plus, I would have ended up doing it for film after film and missed out on all the other nice things I’ve done,” he added. He continued in excerpts obtained by Page Six from GQ, “Another thing with ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ is that it’s very much the ‘Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow’ show, and Depp, personable though I’m sure he is, is so overblown, so overrated.” The ‘Succession’ actor continued, “I mean, ‘Edward Scissorhands.’ Let’s face it, if you come on with hands like that and pale, scarred-face make-up, you don’t have to do anything. And he didn’t. And subsequently, he’s done even less.” The Golden Globe-winner went on to suggest that Depp’s star-power is slowly dimming, adding, “But people love him. Or they did […]

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 16 (ANI): After working in films like ‘Gold’, ‘Made in China’, and the yet-to-be-released ‘Brahmastra’, actor Mouni Roy is back to the small screen — the place where she first made her acting debut. Mouni is all set to appear as a judge on ‘Dance India Dance Li’l Masters Season 5‘. Talking about the same, she said, “For me, dance is an expression. It is an amalgamation of various art forms. I am incredibly excited to be a part of Dance India Dance Little Masters as a judge. I can’t wait to watch the young kids showcasing their talent on such a huge platform.” For the unversed, Mouni started her acting journey with TV shows ‘Kyunki… Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ and ‘Devon Ke Dev… Mahadev’, and rose to fame with the supernatural ‘Naagin’.

Washington [US], January 16 (ANI): American reality TV star Kim Kardashian marked her daughter Chicago West’s fourth birthday with a series of adorable throwback pictures and videos. Kim Kardashian’s youngest daughter, Chicago West, whom she shares with her ex-husband turned four on January 15 and to celebrate the special day, the beauty mogul posted a heart-warming message on Instagram. The 41-year-old shared a slew of adorable photos and videos of her “baby girl Chi Chi” throughout the years. In one sweet snap, the two could be seen cuddling up for a kiss selfie. In another, Kim and her “mini-me” are wearing matching silver one-piece swimsuits as they enjoy a sunny day on the beach. “My independent baby girl twin. You are the most lovable huggable snuggable baby girl on the planet. The ultimate princess!” Kim captioned the carousel of images. The former ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ star also added she couldn’t wait to celebrate with “all of the Barbies and LOL Dolls a girl could dream of.” “You really have brought so much joy into our family and I love you so so soooo much!!!!,” she concluded. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) Kim welcomed Chicago back in January 2018, by way of a surrogate. Kim and West are also parents of daughter North West, 8, and sons Saint West, 6, and Psalm West, 2.

Washington [US], January 16 (ANI): On Sunday, singer Britney Spears issued a lengthy statement on Twitter, addressing her family’s public feud. In the statement, Britney also tried to explain her sister Jamie Lynn Spears that she still loves her despite their arguments. “Jamie Lynn… I don’t think your book is about me at all… I said some harsh things because you obviously hurt me by the things you are making up about me! But it doesn’t make sense at all to me what you are saying!!! I know you worked hard for the life you have and you have done amazing,” she wrote. Britney added. “But I think we would both have to agree to the fact that the family has never been remotely as hard on you as they have been on me!!! What Dad did to me, they don’t even do that to criminals… so for you to sit back and act completely aloof to what has happened to me is honestly insane to me.” Britney even argued that her family “treated me like nothing” and said that she’s “honestly shocked” that her father, Jamie Spears, isn’t in jail. “All I know is I love you unconditionally!! So go ahead and say whatever you want… it’s so tacky for a family to fight publicly like this!!! You say you love me… yet your loyalty is still with the people that hurt me […]

Since the pandemic, you have worked in Punjabi music videos. Was that how you landed up with a Punjabi film offer? Are you comfortable with the language?  This happened a couple of months earlier but because of COVID there was a lot of backlog of film releases for production houses. The character is someone like me. I am also a very homely person at heart, and believe in giving, so it suits my personality. I have grown up hearing Punjabi and have a connection with the language though I will have to work hard on its fluency. And of course, Gippy Grewal is a great actor to work with. You made your film debut with a regional industry. Why? Regional cinema is witnessing a boom. See how the south and Punjabi cinema are on a roll. These industries are providing a great platform to so many artists. In fact, several TV actors have forayed into regional films. Irrespective of medium, an actor is always keen on exploring new options, like I did TV and even reality shows. I already have a movie lined up in Hindi and we are in talks. With the third wave and Omicron disrupting life once again, are you little apprehensive of shooting? Third wave really bothers me because after a very long time things were getting normal. But, the show must go on. Until I am able to give my best performance, I will go on and […]

Dhanush’s upcoming film, ‘Maaran’, directed by Karthick Naren is in the post-production phase. The film was scheduled to release in theatres. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the makers decided to take the OTT route. On January 14, the Maaran team released a motion poster and announced that film will premiere on Disney+Hotstar. An announcement regarding the film’s release date will be out soon. Dhanush was last seen in director Aanand L Rai’s Atrangi Re, which released on Disney+Hotstar in December 2021. When his film, Jagame Thandhiram, released on Netflix in 2020, Dhanush expressed his disappointment with makers deciding to release on an OTT platform. Director Karthick Naren took to Twitter to share the motion poster and wrote, ““The pen is mightier than the sword” Presenting #MaaranMotionPoster. #Maaran coming soon on @DisneyPlusHS (sic).” Maaran marks the first collaboration of director Karthick Naren and actor Dhanush. Produced by Sathya Jyothi Films, the film’s shooting took place in Chennai and Hyderabad. Maaran seems to be an investigative thriller with the right doses of action and emotion. Apart from Dhanush and Malavika Mohanan, Maaran will also feature Master Mahendran, Samuthirakani, Smruthi Venkat and Krishnakumar in important roles. While GV Prakash is the music director, lyricists Vivek and Karthick Naren are part of the technical crew.

Kamal Haasan recently watched Allu Arjun’s Pushpa: The Rise along with the film’s composer, Devi Sri Prasad. Ulaganayagan appreciated the cast and crew of Pushpa. Allu Arjun, who played the titular role, was overwhelmed to know that a legend had watched their film. He took to Devi Sri Prasad’s comments section to thank Kamal Haasan for watching the film. In 2021, Allu Arjun’s Pushpa: The Rise took the box office by storm and grossed over Rs 300 crore in four weeks. The film received an overwhelming response from the critics and audience alike. Pushpa: The Rise was released in theatres across the globe in five languages. On January 16, music director Devi Sri Prasad met Kamal Haasan and suggested he watch Pushpa: The Rise. The duo watched the film and showered praise on the cast and crew. The composer shared photos from their meeting and wrote, “Dearest ULAGANAYAGAN @ikamalhaasan sir. Thanku so much 4 taking out time & watching our #PushpaTheRiseOnPrime. U r d sweetest Sir. ThankU 4 all d lovely words about d work of all of Us (sic).” Replying to Devi Sri Prasad’s post, Allu Arjun wrote, “Thank you for watching #Pushpa @ikamalhaasan garu. Humbled (sic).” Directed by Sukumar, Pushpa: The Rise follows the story of Pushpa Raj, a red sandalwood smuggler. From being a coolie to becoming the head of the syndicate, his rise saw many ups and downs. The second part will see […]