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Mumbai, Sep 3 (IANS) Actor Rajveer Singh, who plays the male lead opposite 23-year-old Celesti Bairagey in 'Rajjo', says the actress needs to be kept like a child on the set of the television show.

Rajveer, who is playing the role of Arjun in the show, talked about the screen and off-screen chemistry saying: "As we start a new project, we meet new people, and new energy comes in, so Rajjo is a new fresh energy on the sets."

He said:" As actors, they keep on working and doing the same work for years so we get to know that this would be the limit, he will behave in this way, and his nuances are these."

"But that's not the same with Rajjo, she is fresh so we don't get an idea. Like personally, if I am doing a scene, she surprises me in every scene. I enjoy the surprise of what she is going to do next."

Talking about Celesti, he said: "Another thing which I like about her is that she never takes rehearsals for granted. We want to give the best in every shot, so we sit, we rehearse and we try to give the best shot possible for the audience."

"There are so many fun moments with Celesti. Like sometimes she is not that comfortable while doing stunts and every time she gets injured. I don't know where her mind goes or what she keeps on thinking. So we have to keep on distracting her saying that nothing happened."

He added: "So such kind of tiny memories we have with her that she needs to be kept like a child, saying 'nothing happened', 'it's okay', 'let's do it'."

'Rajjo' airs on Star Plus.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 3 (IANS) She made her acting debut as a child in 1980 with Marathi film 'Zaakol' and gained recognition with 'Masoom' in 1983. Actress Urmila Matondkar feels proud that she belongs to the Marathi theatre and even praised veteran actor Usha Nadkarni, a renowned name in the Marathi industry, on the sets of a dance based reality show.

Usha along with actress Ankita Lokhande will be seen attending 'DID Super Moms' during their 'Pavitra Rishta' special episode. Urmila, would be seen talking about her special bond with the veteran actress.

Urmila said: "From the time I have seen Usha Taai here on stage, I have been wanting to take blessings from her. When I was growing up, I watched her perform in theatres and have known her since then. It was the time way before 'Pavitra Rishta' show that we shared a special bond.

"No matter how big and famous we become, it is our upbringing to always take blessings from our elders with meekness. Today, I feel very proud that I belong to a Marathi theatre, because the best of the best, Usha Taai has been one of the most famous names in the industry."

She added that it would be very wrong to say that Usha can only play the character of a selfish and arrogant mother-in-law, which she essayed on 'Pavitra Rishta' starring late actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

"Because from the time I didn't know about acting, I have seen her wonderful performances. I have witnessed her giving some amazing performances, roles, and characters that will give you goosebumps."

She added: "And even today, as I am standing in front of her, my legs are shaking, this is the kind of personality and powerhouse of talent Usha Taai is. I am really grateful that I could greet her here in front of everyone on stage today like this."

'DID Super Moms' airs on Zee TV.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 3 (IANS) Ankita Lokhande calls herself a huge fan of Urmila Matondkar's song 'Rangeela Re' from the 1995 film 'Rangeela' and shared that it was this track which inspired her to become an actress.

She says: "I remember when I was in 3rd standard, I wrote in my diary that I want to become an actress and my mother read it. Since then, my mother has become a constant support system for me. In fact, I danced a lot to Urmila Ji's song 'Rangeela Re'."

During the dance reality show while referring to the Bollywood actress and judge Urmila, she shares that she is the inspiration behind her acting career.

"Just because of that particular song I dreamed of becoming an actress. I must say, it was her song that became a lucky charm for me because it helped me to win multiple dance competitions in my childhood. I would love to add that I have the best parents in my life as they are the biggest support for me," added Ankita.

'DID Super Moms'Aairs on Zee TV.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Sep 3 (IANS) Bollywood star Ranveer Singh has made his first startup investment in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand SUGAR Cosmetics, the company announced on Saturday. It, however, did not divulge the investment figure.

SUGAR Cosmetics started off as a D2C brand in 2015 and then ventured into offline trade in 2017.

Currently, it is clocking annual sales of more than Rs 550 crore with a physical presence with more than 45,000 retail touch points across the country.

"I have admired SUGAR's ability to build a tremendous fan-following over the years and I'm excited to be a part of this journey and help the brand achieve its mission of providing Indian women access to premium and quality makeup products specially formulated for them," said Singh.

In June, SUGAR Cosmetics raised $50 million in series D funding led by the Asia fund of L Catterton. The round also saw participation from existing investors: A91 Partners, Elevation Capital and India Quotient.

The new investment by Ranveer "is expected to further boost SUGAR's expansion in other potential markets," it said.

"SUGAR is the makeup of choice for bold, independent women who refuse to be stereotyped into roles and if someone shares the same DNA as ours, it is Ranveer," said Vineeta Singh, Cofounder and CEO, SUGAR Cosmetics.

"This will help supercharge our growth trajectory as we continue scaling SUGAR aggressively to build it into a large and much-loved makeup & beauty brand," added Kaushik Mukherjee, Cofounder and COO.

Ranveer's actor-wife Deepika Padukone has invested in several startups, via her investment arm KA Enterprises, like Epigamia, Nua, Blu Smart, Bellatrix Aerospace and Atomberg Technologies, etc.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 3 (IANS) Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan, who will be playing Vedha in the upcoming film 'Vikram Vedha', will be seen in three different looks in the movie.

A source said: "As an actor, Hrithik has always dared to adapt into his onscreen characters. From looking the part, to imbibing the mannerisms, right from his debut film 'Kaho Naa.. Pyar Hai' to his last releases 'Super 30' and 'War', whenever Hrithik does a film, he makes it a point to transform and surprise."

Further adding: "'Vikram Vedha' will showcase the journey and backstory of Vedha. For this, Hrithik will be seen sporting 3 different looks in the film. The trailer opens up the world of Vikram Vedha a lot more, where the audience can witness Vedha in his full glory."

'Vikram Vedha' also marks a career milestone for Hrithik as the film stands to be his 25th film.

'Vikram Vedha' is an action-thriller written & directed by Pushkar-Gayatri.

The story of 'Vikram Vedha' is full of twists and turns, as a tough cop Vikram (Saif Ali Khan) sets out to track and chase a dreaded gangster Vedha (Hrithik Roshan).

What unfolds is a cat-and-mouse chase, where Vedha - a master storyteller helps Vikram peel back layers through a series of stories leading to thought-provoking moral ambiguities.

'Vikram Vedha' is presented by Gulshan Kumar, T-Series and Reliance Entertainment in association with Friday Filmworks & Jio Studios and a YNOT Studios Production.

The film is directed by Pushkar & Gayatri and produced by Bhushan Kumar and S. Sashikanth and Reliance Entertainment. Vikram Vedha will hit the big screens globally on September 30.

--IANS
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Los Angeles, Sep 2 (IANS) Rapper Kanye West has admitted that he is addicted to porn and said that it "destroyed" his family.

"Don't let Kris make you do playboy like she made (Kylie) and Kim do," he began in an Instagram post on Thursday, addressing Victoria Villarroel, Kylie Jenner's former assistant, reports pagesix.com.

"Hollywood is a giant brothel Pornography destroyed my family I deal with the addiction instagram promotes it Not gonna let it happen to Northy and Chicago," he continued.

The 'Donda' rapper was talking about Kris Jenner, who manages Kylie and his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, supporting her daughters as they shot for Playboy magazine in September 2019 and 2007 respectively.

This was one of the many posts the rapper shared on Instagram, where he called out his former mother-in-law, as well as Hillary Clinton, Mark Zuckerberg and Charlamagne tha God, who he has feuded with in the past.

In his first post today, West greeted 'Hilary' and 'Mark' telling them that they were "gonna take me off Instagram."

He also declared, "My kids going to Donda / They not going to [their school] / Charlemagne the God [sic] and Kris / get your mother*-king popcorn."

West has previously disagreed with his four kids going to their school, which he also picked out.

In a second post, he shared a screenshot of his text messages where an unidentified person (presumably Kim) asked him "to stop".

"No, we need to talk in person, you don't have a say so of where the kids go to school. Why you get say say? Cause you half white?," he responded.

Amid their conversation, she told him that her mom was asking him to "please stop mentioning" her name. Since 2019, West has been publicly slamming Kris for allegedly trying to "lock him up".

"I'm almost 67 years old and I don't always feel great and this stresses me to no end," Kris seemingly begged him, according to Kim, to which he replied: "Y'all don't have so so over my black children and where they go to school."

He told Kim that "they will not do playboy and sex tapes" and to "tell your Clinton friends to come get" him.

"I'm here," he concluded his message.

But that wasn't the end as he proceeded to slam people who believed he was "spiraling" due to his tirade.

"Anybody that says I'm spiraling when I express the undeniable truths is a sheep," he wrote in yet another post, telling people to "shut the f-k up and worry about you're own kids."

"I obviously am dealing with wars at the highest levels of control and discrimination based on the level that I'm operating," he said as he compared himself to an orchestra conductor.

Kanye, who stated on social media that he was "the kids' father", said that he had been "driven crazy before", something he wasn't going to let happen again.

"It's not up to Calabasas or Hulu where my kids go to school. I'm not the crazy one," he said, adding, "I won't stop until I have a say so on my kids no matter what it legally takes."

Back in March, West claimed that his custody agreement with Kardashian was unfair after slamming her for letting their oldest daughter, North, have her own TikTok account.

"I just got off the phone with Kim," the Yeezy designer said in an Instagram video at the time. "I told her to stop antagonising me with this TikTok thing. I said, 'It's never again'. I am her father. I know y'all don't respect fathers and the idea of family and the media tries to promote something. I said, I am not allowing my daughter to be used by TikTok, by Disney. I have a say-so."

He continued: "And when people say, 'they're gonna use this (against) you in court', I didn't even have a say-so whether or not they went to (their school). Most men do not - there's no such thing has 50-50 custody in society today. It always leans toward the mom."

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 2 (IANS) The unit of director K. S. Ravindra's upcoming explosive action entertainer, featuring Telugu Megastar Chiranjeevi and Ravi Teja in the lead, began a new shooting schedule of the film in Hyderabad on Friday.

Tentatively referred to as 'Mega154', the film, which is being directed by K. S. Ravindra, who is fondly referred to as Bobby, has raised huge expectations.

The film features Ravi Teja, who joined the unit in the last schedule, in a powerful role. Shruti Haasan plays the female lead opposite Chiranjeevi in the film.

On Friday, the new schedule, which also saw Chiranjeevi take part, began. Sources say this schedule will be a lengthy one and that some of the film's most key sequences will be filmed during this period.

A die-hard fan of Megastar Chiranjeevi himself, director Bobby is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the film has elements that appeal to the masses from start to end.

Naveen Yerneni and Y. Ravi Shankar are producing the film, while G.K. Mohan is the co-producer.

'Mega154' has music by music director Devi Sri Prasad and cinematography by Arthur A. Wilson.

Niranjan Devaramane is editing the film and Sushmita Konidela is the costume designer.

While story and dialogues for the film have been written by Bobby himself, Kona Venkat and K. Chakravarthy Reddy have penned the film's screenplay. The writing department also include Hari Mohana Krishna and Vineeth Potluri.

'Mega154' is scheduled to hit screens for Sankranthi, 2023.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 2 (IANS) Ace director Shankar, who is now simultaneously directing Kamal Haasan-starrer 'Indian 2' and Telugu star Ram Charan's 'RC15', has showered praise on the recently released Dhanush-starrer 'Thiruchitrambalam', calling the film, 'a beautiful movie'.

Taking to Twitter, Shankar wrote: "'Thiruchitrambalam'. A beautiful movie. The beauty is in the lovely moments that follow the painful ones. Nithya Menon's character and superb performance seizes hearts, the writing by Mithran R Jawahar as well. #DNA at their best as usual. Love to Bharathiraja, Prakash Raaj and the whole team."

Dhanush was quick to respond to Shankar's praise.

The actor tweeted, "Thank you so much sir. This means a lot to me and my team."

The film has gone on to become an overwhelming success, making a good Rs 30 crores in the opening weekend itself. It has already crossed the Rs 60 crore mark in gross earnings worldwide.

'Thiruchitrambalam' has been doing brisk business not only in India but all over the world. In fact, the film's performance is one of the best overseas performances for a Dhanush film.

'Thiruchitrambalam' has already emerged as Dhanush's top grossing film in France with 10,000 entries. It is also the top grossing film of the actor in the UK, making 1,35,000 Euros so far.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 2 (IANS) Actress Ammu Abhirami, who impressed audiences with her brilliant performance in the Dhanush-starrer 'Asuran', will next be seen playing the lead along with seven others in the psychological, fantasy-thriller 'Pendulum', which went on the floors recently.

Directed by Sathish Kumaran, the new-fangled psychological fantasy thriller is being produced by Thiraviyam Bala of Surya Indrajit Films.

Over the years, Tamil cinema has witnessed psychological thrillers getting made. However, 'Pendulum' will be unique as it will feature eight people playing the lead.

'Asuran' fame Ammu Abhirami and Komal Sharma will be the prime lead characters. They will be seen alongside Sripathy, Sree Kumar, T.S.K., Vijith, Ram Jr. MGR and Prem Kumar.

Apart from these eight people who play the lead, actors Gajaraj and Chaams too will be seen playing important roles in the film.

This is the first-ever time, eight actors will be seen playing lead roles in a thriller movie.

B.Sathish Kumaran, who worked as a making cameraman in director Shankar's film 'I', is cranking the camera.

The team is planning to shoot the film in fresh locations in Chennai, Talakkonam, Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh, and Goa.

--IANS
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Chennai, Sep 2 (IANS) One of India's finest music directors, Isaignani Ilaiyaraaja, has got the background score of the musical film, 'Music School', orchestrated and recorded in Budapest, Hungary.

Sources say that the much-awaited musical with compositions by Ilaiyaraaja is getting its final touches in Budapest.

Featuring 11 songs, 'Music School' has been written and directed by Papa Rao Biyyala. The film includes three songs from the Oscar-winning and much-loved classic 'The Sound of Music'.

The film is produced by the Hyderabad-based company Yamini Films. The producers planned to record background music in Budapest to match the quality of the music from 'The Sound of Music'.

"Dr. Ilaiyaraaja has written many parts of the film's background music for a symphony orchestra," director Biyyala said. "Hence we approached the Budapest Symphony Orchestra - one of the leading orchestras in the world."

Earlier, three songs from 'The Sound of Music' were orchestrated by the London Philharmonic Orchestra before the shoot of the film.

So, the music composer and the director thought it would be wise to have an orchestra of equal stature like the Budapest Symphony score the rest of the music for the film.

The recording was done at the Tom-Tom Studio in Budapest and Laszlo Kovacs conducted the Budapest Symphony Orchestra.

"I am very happy that Raaja sir gave so much time and involvement to my film," director Biyyala said.

'Music School' is about how school systems and parents put pressure on children to continue with endless hours of studies, with the hope of producing doctors and engineers, thereby leaving no time for art and leisure activities.

The film's cast is led by Shriya Saran, Sharman Joshi, Shaan, Prakash Raj, Suhasini Mulay, Benjamin Gilani, Gracy Goswami and Ozu Barua. One of India's ace cinematographers Kiran Deohans has filmed 'Music School'.

'Music School' is to be screened on September 12 and 18 in the industry/market section of the Toronto International Film Festival.

--IANS
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