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Mumbai, May 16 (IANS) Actress Shruti Haasan will attend the prestigious Cannes Film Festival as the guest of honour for their round table conference on gender parity.

The conference, titled 'Activating Change', hosted by 'Breaking through the lens' aims to discuss the challenges and opportunities for women in the entertainment industry, and explore ways to create a more equitable and inclusive environment.

Their objective is to provide realistic solutions for underserved filmmakers with a multicultural, intersectional, and results-driven approach.

Shruti has been very vocal about her opinions on women's rights and gender equality. The actress has been a strong supporter of initiatives aimed at promoting gender parity.

On the work front, Shruti awaits the release of her international project 'The Eye', where she plays a widow visiting a greek island to spread her deceased husband's ashes.

She also has the action-packed film 'Salaar'. The actress stars opposite Prabhas and is directed by the blockbuster KGF filmmaker Prashanth Neel.

--IANS
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Ayodhya, Oct 23 (IANS) As more than 17 lakh earthen diyas lit up, presenting a mesmerising view on the banks of Saryu river at Ayodhya, it seemed like heaven on earth.

The reflection of the diyas in the Saryu river provided a breathtaking view while the laser show lit up the skies. Ayodhya rose in unison to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lit five 'diyas' of ghee at the Ram Janambhoomi temple where he offered prayers on his arrival.

The lighting of diyas was symbolic of 'Deepotsav'.

Soon after his arrival in Ayodhya on Sunday evening, Modi went to the Ram Janambhoomi temple where he offered prayers and then inspected the construction work at the temple site.

He was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

He also lit a 'diya' here and then interacted with the team involved in temple construction.

The Prime Minister then proceeded to the Ram Katha Park where he performed 'abhishek' of Lord Ram.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said that Lord Ram belonged to the entire country and it was the duty of every countryman to follow the path shown by Lord Ram.

He added that one should learn from Lord Ram on how to get and give dignity and take everyone together.

"Our constitution also talks about inclusiveness and of fundamental rights and duties. This Diwali is special for all of us because it comes in 'Amrit Kaal', which marks 75 years of independence," he said.

Modi added that Lord Ram, Ram Lila, Deepotsav and research on Lord Ram was spreading the message of Lord Ram worldwide.

He said that cultural development was leading to all-round development.

"The Nishad Raj Park and Queen Hoe Memorial are examples of this. This kind of development will not only strengthen ties between people but will also generate employment," he added.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that it was with the inspiration of the Prime Minister that he started the Deepotsav programme in 2017 and the event has become bigger with each passing year.

He added that the Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor and the upcoming Krishna corridor in Mathura were also projects that were being completed with the inspiration of the Prime Minister.

Modi then performed 'aarti' at the banks of Saryu river after which the people were treated to a scintillating display of green fireworks and laser show.

--IANS
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By Puja Gupta
New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANSlife) Bollywood actress Tara Sutaria feels the three most powerful women in her life are - her twin sister, her grandmother and mother - who make her feel empowered.



She follows the life mantra her mother taught her while she was young 'beauty is what beauty does'.

IANSlife spoke to the actress who turned showstopper at Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI for designer Aisha Rao. The actress sashayed the ramp wearing an embellished multi-coloured lehenga teamed with a matching, off-shoulder long-sleeved choli and a short, black, tulle, veil with floral embroidery. Read excerpts:

Do you like what you're wearing? How do you relate to the brand's ideology?

Tara: This wonderful lehenga is a marriage of the old and new, which I think Aisha does so beautifully. It has got wonderful colours and applique work on it. It speaks about art and architecture - two things that are very, very special to me in any case. So, it's a wonderful collaboration.

What is your style mantra?

Tara: Well, I think my life mantra would be a phrase my mom used to tell me when I was much younger. It's 'beauty is as beauty does'.

Who's your style icon?

Tara: Elizabeth Taylor.

What's your beauty secret?

Tara: I do have good genes, thanks to my parents. But I don't really think I have a beauty secret. I think just be yourself and don't be so scared.

What makes you feel empowered?

Tara: To be honest with you, it is the very powerful women in my life-- my twin sister, my grandmother and my mom.

What are your thoughts on sustainable fashion?

Tara: It is so important to have a great conversation especially on a platform like Lakme Fashion Week and it has created this beautiful outfit and so many other outfits in Aisha's collection. I'm sure in other designers feel its important to talk about it.

Tell us about your upcoming projects.

Tara: I am beginning to do my next project, which is my first solo lead film. It's called 'Apoorva', and I'm very, very excited. It's a story about survival and a woman's strength.

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)

--IANS
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By Puja Gupta
New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANSlife) Music sensation Kanika Kapoor turned showstopper for designer Swatti Kapoor on Day 2 of the Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI, being held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai.



The singer sashayed the runway wearing a maroon-coloured maxi skirt teamed with a matching cropped, and a drawstring blouse.

Kanika Kapoor wearing label Swati Kapoor

Speaking about Swatti's collection, Kanika said: "I absolutely love her approach towards her label. It is very understated, chic and well-constructed, very feminine and comfortable. She pays lots of attention to details."

Kanika says her style has evolved over the years and today it is about comfort and anything that makes her feel good about herself. "I have gone through logomania to very, very pretentious clothes to today wanting to be as simple as possible and I believe that less is more."

Swatti unveiled a line of fluid, flowing women's wear inspired by the colourful fruit pomegranate and and Greek Goddess of Love - Venus. Titled "Venus", the line was designed with recycled, upcycled material to minimise the carbon footprint

Upon a sustainable approach, Kanika believes: "Sustainability in fashion in important and I think it's very easy to talk about it but difficult to follow it. We are all living in a very commercial world but I'm glad that there is more talk about it. And someone like me is also changing and working towards it."

Swati Kapoor's collection

Swatti used chanderi, khadi, and mul in easy relaxed silhouettes. Pintucks and pleating were seen in garments with surface texturing, block prints, hand embroidery and bead work. There were kurtas, tunics, skirts, dupattas, pants, dresses, shirts and a variety of overlays and scarves in a wide selection of colours.

The opening day also saw the brand 'Studio Medium' by Riddhi Jain who experimented with Jamdani and Bandhani weaves to create the 'Jamban Journal 2.0' collection.

The designer took inspiration from the work of artists - Ichiko Kubota and Jeremy Gardiner to bring to life the traditional 6-yard drape, tunics, jackets, scarves and kurtas dappled with the Bandhani craft.

Label Swati Kapoor

Designer Diksha Khanna's 'Fluid 2023' zeroed in on natural dyed hand-woven denim and linen in shades of indigo, rubai orange and arabica brown, merged with ivory and beige. The intriguing 3D ladder hems on coat lapels were inspired by the concept of empty stairwells. She used hand woven Chanderis, rugged khadi denim for numerous mix and match options with waistcoats, robes, shorts, slim pencil skirts, comfy jackets and cropped blouses. The collection also included mini coin bags and denim backpacks, done by the designer for the first time.

(IANSlife can be contacted at IANSlife@ians.in)

--IANS
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Mysuru (Karnataka), Oct 5 (IANS) The Dasara festivities celebrated on a grand scale in Mysuru came to an end with the iconic 'Jamboo Savari' on the occasion of Vijayadashami on Wednesday.

The authorities claimed that about five lakh people witnessed the 'Jamboo Savari' (elephant procession) and other festivities. To mark the celebrations of the concluding day, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai performed Nandi Dhwaja Puja at the North Gate of the Mysuru Palace.

After two years' Covid hiatus, the ruling BJP had decided to celebrate the Dasara festivities on a grand scale this year.

The entire city was decked up with special lighting arrangements exhibiting the rich cultural heritage of the state. The Dasara festival was inaugurated on September 26 by President Droupadi Murmu, who offered floral tributes to goddess Chamundeshwari atop Chamundi hills in Mysuru.

The elephant procession was organised after two years of restricted celebrations. The grand procession was carried out from Mysuru's Amba Vilas Palace to Bannimantap Ground covering a distance of 5 km.

This year, 57-year-old elephant Abhimanyu carried the 750 kg golden idol of goddess Chamundeshwari. Along with the procession, a torchlight parade was held during which Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot was given guard of honor.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS) Saba Karim, the former India wicketkeeper-batter and ex-member of the senior men's selection committee, feels that time is ripe for Indian team think-tank to develop new and young finishers like Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan so that the side has more options in this department for the future.

Tewatia was a key player in Gujarat Titans' winning IPL 2022, amassing 217 runs in 16 matches at a high strike rate of 147.62 and forming a formidable finishing pair with South Africa's explosive left-handed batter David Miller.

Shahrukh, on the other hand, had a patchy time with Punjab Kings in the tournament, making only 117 runs in eight innings at an average of 16.71 and strike rate of 108.33. Moreover, with his form not up to the mark, he wasn't given consistent enough runs at Punjab to show more of his famed finishing skills.

"I think the time has come now to develop such young cricketers. Because you see, in the IPL most of the teams prefer to have an overseas batsman at that position. So, you can have David Miller you have Tim David you have Rovman Powell which means that still the young talent who are coming through from the Indian domestic circuit, they're still not equipped enough to handle the pressure and to deliver on a consistent basis," said Karim on 'Sports Over The Top' show on Sports18.

In the current India T20I set-up, Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik are the designated finishers. "Both the names that you've taken Shahrukh Khan and Rahul Tewatia, they're young. They do have the skill and they need to be far more consistent. But to do that, we need to put some more hours behind them so that they're able to come up to that level of international quality," added Karim.

Further talking about young prospects for the future, Karim said he would like to see leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi play in all three formats of the game for India. But at the same time, he said the Jodhpur-based youngster will have to play red-ball cricket, something which he is yet to do so. Bishnoi has picked 16 wickets in ten T20Is, averaging 17.12 and at an economy rate of 7.08.

"I would love to see him play in all three formats and somehow for some inexplicable reason, we don't see any leg spinner in the test match format these days. But I would like to see the change coming in here and Ravi Bishnoi is one such candidate who can play all three formats and do well for India."

"But before that, he needs to play red-ball cricket for his state's side and if he does well there it'll add to his confidence and then the Indian selectors can think of playing him in all three formats."

"The kind of eagerness and ability he has shown, and on top of that, the skill set which he has is really admirable. Young in age and all that experience really helps in to grow in confidence and he can continue to do that in international level also," signed off Karim.


--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 19 (IANS) Filmmaker R. Balki has talked about casting actress Shreya Dhanwanthary in his upcoming psychological thriller film 'Chup', starring Dulquer Salmaan.

Shreya is well-known for her Amazon Prime Video web series 'The Family Man' and 'Scam 1992'.

"Shreya is a volcanic talent. I had seen her perform in 'Scam 1992' and 'The Family Man' and was hugely impressed."

"When I met her for the first time, within five minutes of the conversation, I asked her whether she'd like to read a script and that's how I offered her 'Chup'. I saw Nila in her the moment I met her."

Others headlining the power-packed cast of the film are Sunny Deol and Pooja Bhatt.

The movie is directed by R Balki and produced by Hope Productions and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. The film is written by R Balki himself based on the story he started working on a few years ago.

The screenplay and dialogues have been co-written by R Balki, critic-turned-writer Raja Sen and Rishi Virmani.

Dr Jayantilal Gada (Pen Studios) presents the film and all India distribution is by Pen Marudhar. The Director of Photography is Vishal Sinha and Music Director is Amit Trivedi, Sneha Khanvilkar and Aman Pant. Pranab Kapadia and Anirudh Sharma are Co-Producers of the film.

The film is set to release on September 23.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 19 (IANS) Television actor Mohit Malik blacked out while performing a stunt involving a helicopter during the semi finale for the stunt-based reality show 'Khatron Ke Khiladi' (KKK).

In the weekend episode which was the semi finale saw Mohit perform a challenging but stunt which involved a lot of action. The actor was seen jumping from pillar to post to eventually win it.

Mohit said that it was one of the toughest stunts to perform on the show. It also led him to a total blackout post its completion.

"On the day of the stunt I was anyways a bit unwell and on tablets due to feeling feverish. But it was the semi finale stunt shoot day and I knew I had to give the stunt my 100 percent! The stunt as you'll see on television was a massive one."

He added: "Being thrown from a catapult into the water getting onto a jetski to get to another point where a helicopter took me to another point where I had to eventually jump into the water, was all a very elongated stunt."

"Though the minute I jumped into the water from the helicopter, my body somehow went into shock and I could not remember how I did the stunt! I won the stunt, but I had no memory of how I performed it I was taken to the hospital but everything was such a blur that I had no idea about what was happening around me."

Mohit's X-rays were taken along with that he was given drips and medication.

"I was made to rest there for a while. Something like this has happened with me for the first time in my life, so it was very shocking!"

He added: "I think that even in the history of Khatron Ke Khiladi something like this would have never happened with anybody where they were not able to remember the stunt. It was a very different experience and something my body had never been through."

--IANS
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Los Angeles, Sep 19 (IANS) After eight years away from Hollywood, actress Cameron Diaz opened up about her upcoming Netflix movie 'Back in Action', saying that she was "both" nervous and excited about getting back in front of the camera.

"It's a little bit of muscle memory, you know what I mean?" she explained during a September 16 appearance on 'The Tonight Show' starring Jimmy Fallon.

"I did that for so long, it's kind of like the process, I kind of just fell back into it. But it feels a little bit different."

She also gushed how it was "amazing" to return to acting alongside Jamie Foxx, with whom she previously appeared in the 1999 sports drama Any Given Sunday and the 2014 remake of the musical 'Annie'.

"The last movie I made was Annie with Jamie, and so the first movie back is this film with Jamie," she said. "He's so great, he's so easy, he's so professional, he's so talented, and just being able to work with him."

She added, "It will be so much fun."

Jamie, who Cameron describes "like a racehorse" -- serves as both her co-star and executive producer on Back in Action, which begins production later this year, reports eonline.com.

Last month, the Oscar winner revealed how he convinced the actress to come out of retirement for the film, saying it involved some good old-fashioned begging.

"We just begged and pleased on my knees, like, 'Just give the people one more again,'" Jamie exclusively told E! News' Daily Pop in August.

"We love her, we've been waiting on her and this is just gonna be fantastic."

During her break from acting, Cameron married Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden in 2015 and welcomed daughter Raddix in 2019.

In an episode of In Goop Health: The Sessions, the Charlie's Angels star opened up about her decision to retire at what was seemingly the height of her career, explaining to host Gwyneth Paltrow that she never made "any space for (her) personal life."

Moreover, Cameron said that her life in the spotlight was draining, something that Gwyneth said she could "understand."

"It's so intense to work at that level and be that public and put yourself out there," she continued. "There's a lot of energy coming at you at all times when you're really visible as an actor and doing press and putting yourself out there.

When Gwyneth asked what it felt like to leave that past behind, Cameron responded, "Like peace. A peace in my soul because I was finally taking care of myself."

--IANS
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Los Angeles, Sep 19 (IANS) Actress Kate Winslet is ready to get back to work after a hospital visit post she slipped while filming an upcoming project in Croatia.

The actress was shooting her role in the historical drama film 'Lee' when an on-set accident led to her being taken to a nearby hospital to ensure that she was OK, her representatives confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

Winslet will resume filming this week as scheduled.

"Kate slipped and was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure required by the production," her team said.

"She is fine and will be filming, as planned, this week."

The 46-year-old Oscar winner will portray photographer Lee Miller in the film that focuses on her life, including her work as a war correspondent for Vogueduring World War II.

The cast for director Ellen Kuras' movie includes Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Andrea Riseborough and Josh O'Connor.

Winslet, who has a role in the upcoming aAvatar: The Way of Water', was most recently seen on the small screen with aMare of Easttown', which earned her an Emmy Award last year.

Recent film credits include 'Ammonite', 'Blackbird' and 'The Mountain Between Us'.

--IANS
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