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New Delhi, Feb 26 (IANS) After Joe Root’s dismissal on day three of the fourth Test of the five-match series, ex-England captain Michael Vaughan has opined that TV cameras should be placed on Decision Review System (DRS) operators to provide "transparency" as the technology has been a big talking point in the ongoing series against India.

Root seemed displeased when he was dismissed upon review to India's off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday. The batter got hit on the pad by Ashwin's delivery and the umpire was unconvinced with the appeal and gave not out.

But India decided to go upstairs. In the review, UltraEdge made it clear that Root didn't get his bat on it and Hawk Eye then stated that the ball was pitched inside the line of the stumps and would have hit the leg stump. And the on-field decision overturned and Root was dismissed for 11.

In that same Test, England profited from four 'umpire's call' lbw decisions during India's first innings.

"I'm not saying anyone is cheating. I'm trying to give an answer for when a decision is made and we all disagree with it. If the person on Hawk-Eye is filmed it puts the noise to bed," Vaughan said on BBC's Test match special.

Earlier in the series, skipper Ben Stokes found Zak Crawley’s dismissal in their 432-run defeat in the third Test against India in Rajkot perplexing as the technology suggested the ball was not hitting the stumps, yet the on-field decision stood and the DRS gave it as ‘umpire’s call'.

The English skipper then called for 'umpire's call' regulations within DRS to be scrapped.

"I can understand supporters on both sides being frustrated with the decisions that have been made. It doesn't look like Hawk-Eye is having a great series. The most important operators of decisions now are in the trucks. We need to have a camera in the truck to give an understanding of how it all comes to that decision.

"All I want is full transparency. If it takes the International Cricket Council employing someone to put in the trucks for integrity, they have to do that as well.

"For the game in general, for people watching, we need to see who is operating, because the person operating the technology is more important than the umpires," added Vaughan.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Feb 26 (IANSlife) As a part of the 71st Miss World Pageant, the sports challenge for the Miss World Sports/Miss World Sportswoman title was held at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium on 24th February. During this challenge, the delegates were tested on their fitness, good health, sports skills, and positive mindset.

The top 32 delegates were announced to compete in the sports finals and Luciaja Begic from Croatia claimed the first spot. The Sports Challenge involved competitions in cricket, football shootout, shuttle run, hockey shootout, and 400mtr race. Hockey India, India's national hockey federation, supported the event by providing local women players and coaches to showcase hockey skills and #indiakagame. The All India Football Federation, India's national football body, sent a selected team including coaches to engage with the delegates and represent Indian women in football. Delhi Capitals' academy coaches and women cricket players conducted a clinic and gave guidance on cricket.

As the winner of the Sports Challenge was announced, the Chairman and CEO of the Miss World Organization, Julia Morley CBE, shared, “We are thrilled to announce that Luciaja Begic from Croatia has won the coveted Miss World Sports Challenge this year. She embodies the spirit of fitness, health, and positivity that this competition seeks to highlight. Her dedication and excellence left no doubt that she deserves this honour. Winners like her exemplify why the Miss World Organization remains committed to testing delegates on more than just their outward beauty. We want to celebrate women who are actively bettering themselves in body, mind, and spirit. Congratulations again to our new Miss World Sports Challenge winner!”

The Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, named after India's legendary hockey player, provided the perfect setting for competitive sporting events. As the only international pageant with a dedicated sports challenge, Miss World continues to test delegates on more than just their outward beauty by celebrating fitness, health, and an active lifestyle.

IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in

--IANS

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Seoul, Feb 26 (IANS) South Korean girl group TRI.BE paid a tribute to late producer Shinsadong Tiger on live TV.

Wearing white ribbons, the group stood on a live TV stage, bidding farewell to Shinsadong Tiger.

Shinsadong Tiger, whose real name is Lee Ho-yang, was found dead on February 23.

TRI.BE, a sextet, which consists of Songsun, Kelly, Hyunbin, Jia, Soeun and Mire, had a comeback stage on the broadcast that announced the news of his death. A day after his death, they sang with 'white ribbons' pinned to their chests, reports allkpop.com.

The title of TRI.BE's new song, which became Shinsadong Tiger's posthumous work, is 'Diamond'. He had also launched the girl group

With the untimely demise of Shinsadong Tiger, attention also turned to the group, whom he had cherished as the overall producer during his lifetime.

According to one associate, since their debut in 2021, "the shock and sorrow are considerable, as they had been running together all this time."

Their scheduled activities are proceeding without delay. Despite the news of his death on February 23, they appeared live on a music programme 'Music Bank' that day and were also seen performing on February 24 and 25.

The members agreed that "keeping the stage under any circumstances" was the sincere way to send off Shinsadong Tiger.

Shinsadong Tiger had produced popular tracks such as T-ara's 'Roly Poly', Apink's 'No No No' and 'Remember', EXID's 'Up and Down' and 'DDD', and Momoland's 'Bboom Bboom'.

Talking about Tri.be, the name is an abbreviation of "Triangle", which symbolises perfection, and "Be", which means existence. Together it means "perfect existence" or "perfect being"

--IANS

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Mumbai, Feb 26 (IANS) Dharmendra may be counted among the 'veteran' Hindi cinema stars, but he has just shown that he's very much 'with-it'.

In a recent Instagram post, Dharmendra gave an AI spin to an image he shared with his fans and followers.

In the image, a younger version of Bollywood’s 'He-Man', reminiscent of the days when he was famous for his macho good looks, can be seen lounging in a convertible car dressed in denim pants and jacket paired with a crisp white shirt. He did not share any caption for the picture.

Dharmendra, who was most recently seen in Karan Johar's 'Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani', also shared a picture of his grandson Karan Deol, where he is smiling ear-to ear.

The 88-year-old star captioned it: "Love you Rock, for your new charisma looks. Jeete raho."

Karan is the elder son of actor Sunny Deol and his wife Pooja. He made his acting debut in 2019 with 'Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas'. Last year in June, Karan got married to his longtime lady love (and filmmaking legend Bimal Roy's granddaughter) Drisha Acharya.

The reception was attended by the who's who of Bollywood such as Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Ranveer Singh, among many others.

--IANS

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Mumbai, Feb 26 (IANS) Actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu has clocked 14 years in the world of showbiz and her good friend and colleague Nayanthara congratulated her milestone.

Samantha took to Instagram stories, where she shared a selfie video of herself sitting on an airplane and counting the years she has given to cinema.

She wrote: “14 years already… What!!!”, with AR Rahman’s track 'Ee Hridayam', which is picturised on the actress and her former husband Naga Chaitanya.

In 2010, Samantha stepped into the world of acting with a cameo role in Gautham Vasudev Menon's Tamil film 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa'. However, the same year she had her first lead role in with Telugu romance film ‘Ye Maaya Chesave’.

Samantha then shared a screen shot of X, where #14yearsofSamanthalegacy was seen trending.

The actress captioned it: “Could have been a little subtle but what the heck… I love you mostest.”

Actress Nayanthara, who is also a good friend of Samantha, took to her stories to congratulate the actress on her milestone.

She shared a picture of Samantha and wrote: “Congratualtions on 14 years of Sam… More power to you.”

To which, Samantha replied: “Thank you my beautiful Nayanthara.”

On the work front, Samantha, who made her Hindi series debut with ‘The Family Man 2’ in 2021, will next be seen in the Indian spin-off of the American TV series 'Citadel'. It also stars Varun Dhawan, Sikandar Kher, Kay Kay Menon and Saqib Saleem.

--IANS

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Mumbai, Feb 26 (IANS) Filmmaker Kiran Rao's movie 'Laapataa Ladies' has been selected to be the opening film of The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) Summer Festival.

Following the success of the first IFFM Summer Festival, IFFM announces the launch of the it’s second edition, which will take place from February 29 to March 2.

Kiran calls it “a great honour” for ‘Laapataa Ladies’ to be the opening film at IIFM.

She added: “I am absolutely delighted and would like to convey my heartfelt gratitude to the festival. I hope the Melbourne audience enjoys the film, and that I get to visit this great city in person soon!”

The three-day event takes the larger festival that happens annually in August, transforming it into a biannual celebration.

VicScreen CEO Caroline Pitcher said: “IFFM is the largest celebration of Indian cinema in the southern hemisphere, lighting up Melbourne every year with incredible films and unforgettable star power.”

“VicScreen is proud to support the expansion of the festival, with the return of a three-day summer programme, which includes the highly anticipated Australian premiere of 'Laapataa Ladies'.”

Festival Director Mitu Bhowmick said that she is thrilled to kickstart their “latest venture” with Kiran’s nuanced film of “layered human relationships, celebrates women and the unexpected complexities that life throws at us.”

‘Laapataa Ladies’, which is based in rural India, is about two young brides who get lost on a train and the pursuit of people who find themselves in a series of confusion on the go. It stars Ravi Kishan, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastav and Nitanshi Goel.

--IANS

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Mumbai, Feb 9 (IANS) Actors Ali Fazal and Richa Chadha, who received a lot of positive response to their production at the Sundance Film Festival recently, are expecting their first child together.

The couple took to their Instagram handles on Friday and shared two pictures as they confirmed the news.

They posted an image which read: "1 + 1 = 3," followed by an image of themselves looking at each other with love.

They wrote in the caption: "A tiny heartbeat is the loudest sound in our world.”

Richa and Ali celebrated their union in 2022 but they actually got married under the Special Marriage Act in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Richa and Ali first met on the sets of 'Fukrey' in 2012. After dating for seven years, Ali had proposed to Richa in 2019.

Meanwhile, the couple has been going strong on the professional front aa well as the film 'Girls will be Girls', which marks the debut of their home production, won big at Sundance Film Festival as it bagged two major awards: the Audience award in the World Dramatic Entry category, and the Special Jury Award for the Lead actress Preeti Panigrahi.

Written and directed by debutant Shuchi Talati, 'Girls will be Girls' is a coming-of-age film.

--IANS

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Mumbai, Feb 9 (IANS) Mira Rajput has reviewed her husband Shahid Kapoor’s latest release ‘Teri Baaton Main Aisa Uljha Jiya’ and called the actor the ‘OG loverboy’.

Mira took to her Instagram, where she shared a snap-shot from the film, which she called a complete “laugh riot.”

She wrote: “Complete laughter riot entertainment overload after ages. Love, laughter, masti, dancing and heart-touching message at the end. Kriti Sanon you were pitch perfect."

“Shahid Kapoor The OG loverboy there’s no one like you. You made my heart melt Dil se hasaaya stomach is hurting.”

The film is based on a love story between a human and a robot. It talks about the character Aryan, who is not able to find a perfect life partner. But he meets a perfect girl, Sifra, during an official assignment in the US and falls in love with her only to discover later that it's an impossible love story.

The film is directed by Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah. It also stars Kriti Sanon and Dharmendra.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Feb 9 (IANS) Bollywood star Akshay Kumar has heaped praise on 'Uri' helmer Aditya Dhar's upcoming film 'Article 370' starring Yami Gautam Dhar. After watching the film's trailer, he commented that it "looks full of passion."

Kumar, who played a patriot and hero in several films, including 'Holiday' and 'Baby', also reiterated that Kashmir is an integral part of the country.

"Kashmir was, is, and will always be a part of India #Article370Trailer looks full of passion!," the 'Special 26' star wrote in Hindi on X. The original in Hindi read: "Kashmir Bharat ka hissa tha, hai aur hamesha rahega."

The actor also extended his best wishes to Yami. "All the best, Jai Hind! @yamigautam @jiostudios," he wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Notably, in December last year, the Supreme Court had upheld the abrogation of Article 370 by Parliament on August 5, 2019. The film's trailer, which also has as Priyamani of 'Family Man 2' fame, offers glimpses of how Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated in response to the dire situation of Kashmir.

The trailer showcases Yami's character reflecting on the state of Kashmir, pained by the events in the region. The viewers are soon thrown into the action set-piece consisting of blasts and violence and separatists making inflammatory speeches.

Priyamani essays the role of an officer with the PMO; the trailer shows Yami's character being appointed by the NIA to round up potential threats in the Valley in order to ensure there's no trouble after the Act of Parliament.

Produced by Jyoti Deshpande, Aditya Dhar and Lokesh Dhar, the film is slated to release on February 23.

--IANS

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Mumbai, Feb 9 (IANS) Actress Preity Zinta recalled how filmmaker Mani Ratnam, on the first day on the sets of her 1998 film ‘Dil Se’, asked her to go make-up free.

Preity took to Instagram, where she shared a still from the film, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala.

She said: “This picture was taken on the first day on the set of Dil Se. I was so excited to be working with Mani Ratnam sir & Shah Rukh Khan. When Mani sir saw me he smiled and politely asked me to wash my face…. But sir… my make up will come off, I said smiling …. That’s exactly what I want… Pls wash your face…. He smiled back.”

Preity thought Mani Ratnam was joking.

“I thought he was joking …. Then I realised he was not !!! So thanks to the amazing Santosh Sivan ( our Director of Photography) I filmed with a freshly washed face and got away with it. I guess he shot me Dil Se.”

The romantic thriller was set against the backdrop of Insurgency in Assam, where Manisha played a terrorist and SRK’s character was a programme executive in a radio station.

An example of parallel cinema, ‘Dil Se’ is noted as the final installment in Ratnam's trilogy consisting of Roja (1992) and Bombay (1995).

Actress Dia Mirza took to the comment section and said that Preity did not need a spot of make-up.

“Best decision! You didn’t need a spot of make up I remember watching you and thinking she looks so natural, vibrant and fresh,” Dia wrote.

--IANS

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