Actor-comedian Sunil Grover, gearing up for his streaming show ‘The Great Indian Kapil Show’ with fellow comic artiste Kapil Sharma, revealed that his public spat with Kapil was a publicity stunt. On Tuesday, Sunil addressed the media on the sets of his show and playfully joked about the infamous fight between him and Kapil, which caused a stir in the entertainment industry six years ago.
In jest, Sunil explained to the media that at that time, streaming platforms were gaining popularity in the country. So, he and Kapil brainstormed ideas to enhance television content and decided to capitalize on the OTT trend. He joked: “Uss time pe Netflix India mein naya naya aaya tha toh humko laga ki television ki audience ko baandh ke rakhne ke liye kuch karna padega (Netflix had just entered in India back then. So, me and Kapil thought that we have to do something to retain our television audience.”
“That’s how we came up with that idea of a fight as a publicity stunt,” Sunil said as he couldn’t hold his laughter at the cooked up story.
‘The Great Indian Kapil Show’ will be available on Netflix starting March 30.
Meghan Markle, the wife of Britain’s Prince Harry, is launching a new lifestyle brand seemingly named after the couple’s oceanside California home. An Instagram page and website for American Riviera Orchard went live without advance warning Thursday, both featuring a gold-colored crest for the new venture.
The logo featured the word Montecito, the celebrity enclave where the couple have lived since 2020, which is close to Santa Barbara — itself sometimes known as the American Riviera. The social media account’s biography simply reads: “by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex.”
A representative for the duchess confirmed her participation in the new venture to AFP, without providing further details. American Riviera Orchard appears to be a kitchen and lifestyle-themed brand.
Thursday’s launch was accompanied by a grainy, retro-style promotional video in which Meghan Markle is seen arranging flowers and baking in a kitchen. A mailing list offered users the chance to sign up to become “the first to know about products, availability, and updates from American Riviera Orchard.”
Harry and Meghan, who is American, quit royal duties in 2020 and relocated to California. Their official Instagram handle has not posted since then. Meghan’s personal social media accounts and former lifestyle blog were both closed before the couple married.
In recent years, the couple have pursued a variety of media ventures. They criticised Britain’s royal family in a string of high-profile outpourings including a Netflix documentary series and Harry’s blockbuster autobiography Spare.
The couple had a Spotify-exclusive podcast deal, which came to an end last year after just one show. Netflix also dropped an animated series created by Meghan but an executive for the streaming giant in January said multiple projects from the couple, including a movie, remained “in very early development.”
Netflix has announced that it will make a documentary on the cricket rivalry between Pakistan and India.
Netflix has announced a sports documentary dedicated to the rivalry between India and Pakistan. Titled ‘The Greatest Rivalry’, the project doesn’t have a release date yet but its first look has been released on YouTube.
The video starts with cricket legends Imran Khan and Kapil Dev holding World Cup trophies. The 1947 border is drawn in the video, indicating that the documentary will have a historical reference. The rivalry between Virender Sehwag and Shoaib Akhtar is also showcased.
Netflix on Tuesday sealed a long-term broadcast deal with the WWEprofessional wrestling juggernaut, as the streaming giant pushes further into sporting events.
Beginning in the United States in 2025, Netflix will become the exclusive new home of “Raw,” the WWE’s flagship program that has been broadcasting on television since 1993.
The agreement will also see WWE shows and live events streamed across the globe as their rights become available.
With an initial 10-year term for $5 billion, the deal has an option for Netflix to extend for an additional 10 years or opt-out after the initial five years.
“This deal is transformative,” said Mark Shapiro, president of TKO, the parent company of the WWE.
“It marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years,” he added.
The three-hour show has helped launch the careers of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and John Cena, among other stars.
It is currently the most-watched show on the NBCUniversal-owned USA network in the United States.
The WWE is a ratings blockbuster that owes much of its success to entrepreneur and promoter Vince McMahon.
The deal marks another move by streaming giants to build their portfolio of live sporting events.
Netflix won the rights last month to a tennis duel between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz and previously streamed a golf tournament featuring Formula One drivers and pros.
Amazon announced last week that it would invest $115 million in Diamond Sports Group, the leading network of local sports channels in the United States, gaining regional rights for sports ranging from hockey to basketball.
It had previously acquired certain rights to the English Premier League, the French Ligue 1, the French Open tennis tournament and the NFL American football league.
Apple TV, for its part, owns global rights for US Major League Soccer.
Pakistani fans of Ranbir Kapoor can rejoice as the Bollywood superstar’s latest movie, Animal, is coming soon to Netflix. According to Hindustan Times, the Sandeep Reddy Vanga directed venture will be available on the streaming service from January 26.
According to India Today, the longer version of the action-packed film is set to come out on the streaming platform in 2024. Notably, Netflix’s official Instagram page has posted pictures of the popular Bollywood actor from the film’s premiere.
Director Karan Johar has declared Animal as the best film of the year, stressing that despite his own 2023 romance Rocky Aur Rani, he strongly believes Animal is unparalleled. According to Hindustan Times, Karan stated, “I cannot disagree with you more because Animal is the best film of the year.” He compared it to the time when he praised Kabir Singh and faced judgment. Karan said, “I thought, ‘I’m going to say something and I’m going to get bad looks from certain people, but I don’t care anymore.” Karan Johar explained why he is so passionate about Animal, emphasizing its bold and conviction-driven storytelling that defies traditional norms in popular cinema. He praised a unique sequence in the film where a song is played while the hero is getting beaten up, highlighting the cleverness in the storytelling. Johar added, “Animal’s popularity and acceptance, in my opinion, are revolutionary. It is a conviction that I would like to possess.”
Pakistani model Hasnain Lehri made a stunning debut in the second season of the popular Netflix series ‘Dubai Bling’, when he stunned his paramour, Lebanese reality TV star Loujain ‘LJ’ Adada, with an elaborate proposal in front of friends during the season finale.
The Netflix reality TV series, which premiered in 2022, delves into the lives of affluent and glamorous Arab women in Dubai as they navigate the complexities of high society, fashion, and relationships. Each episode, lasting approximately 45 minutes, showcases extravagant parties, designer clothes and opulent lifestyles.
In episode seven of Dubai Bling season two, Lehri’s grand proposal to Adada marked the conclusion of the season. The gripping moment left the audience eagerly anticipating Adada’s response, as the episode concluded without revealing her answer.
Last year, Lehri acknowledged his real-life relationship with Adada, making their on-screen chemistry sweeter.
Taking to Instagram, he shared a stunning intimate photo of himself and Adada in each other’s embrace. He also captioned the photo with a heartfelt message for his lady love.
“I thought fairy tales would never come true until I met my princess,” the caption read, followed by their initials “H” and “L” written with an infinity symbol. Adada also replied to the Instagram post in the comments.
Reciprocating the sentiments, she said, “My heart, H! Fairytales do come true.”
In 2012, Adada tied the knot with Walid Juffali, a late Saudi Arabian business magnate and billionaire.
She was reportedly 25-years-old and he was 60 at the time. Juffali passed away in 2016 after a long battle with cancer. The supermodel currently has two daughters.
When she was just 14, Adada started her modelling career, immediately landing photoshoots and establishing an impressive portfolio in preparation for a career in the runway business.
At 21, she was given the opportunity to present the music program Energy Spin Magazine on MTV Lebanon. However, after her marriage, the star took a long hiatus from media until her big comeback with Netflix’s hit reality TV show, Dubai Bling.
Lehri, on the other hand, confirmed dating fellow model Sabeeka Imam in 2018. However, the duo parted ways after a year.
Imam shared the news of their breakup in a post, writing, “And so this journey officially comes to an end. It has been a long time since we both realised that our paths are destined to be separate. After multiple attempts and much consideration, we have called it quits.”
Lehri is the first supermodel in Pakistan to bag five Lux Style Awards including picking up the coveted trophy four years in a row. In 2017, Lehri was also mentioned in the Top 100 Sexiest Asian Men list by Eastern Eye.
The Cannes Film Festival announced Thursday that Greta Gerwig, director of summer blockbuster “Barbie”, will preside over the jury at its 77th edition in May.
The 40-year-old Gerwig, also an actor and screenwriter, takes the baton from Sweden’s Ruben Ostlund, whose jury awarded the 2023 Palme d’Or to courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall”.
She is the first American woman filmmaker to take on the role, the festival said in a statement.
Gerwig’s presence will provide a youthful flair to Cannes, which has not had such a young president since 1966, when it was led by then-31-year-old Sophia Loren.
She is also the first woman since actor Cate Blanchett in 2018 to assume the prestigious position, where men remain over-represented.
“I love films — I love making them, I love going to them, I love talking about them,” Gerwig said in a statement.
“As a cinephile, Cannes has always been the pinnacle of what the universal language of movies can be”.
Aside from “Barbie”, a vivid feminist satire about the all-conquering line of plastic dolls, Gerwig has also directed “Lady Bird” (2017) and “Dr March’s Daughters” (2020).
She is currently working on an adaptation of “The Chronicles of Narnia” for Netflix.
The festival described Gerwig, who has starred in more than two dozen films, as a heroine for modern times who has rattled the status quo.
“This is an obvious choice, since Greta Gerwig so audaciously embodies the renewal of world cinema,” said Cannes boss Iris Knobloch and festival delegate Thierry Fremaux
“Beyond the seventh art, she is also the representative of an era that is breaking down barriers and mixing genres, and thereby elevating the values of intelligence and humanism,” they added.
In announcing a high-profile woman director, the world’s largest film festival stole back the spotlight from its younger competitor, February’s Berlinale.
The festival in the German capital on Monday announced its own jury president, 40-year-old Mexican-Kenyan actor Lupita Nyong’o, the first black person named to the role.
In choosing Gerwig, Cannes is also highlighting its continued ties with the powerful American film industry.
The Cannes Film Festival has yet to unveil the rest of the jury or the films in the official selection.
British acting giant Olivia Colman and ‘Bridgerton’ and ‘Derry Girls’ star Nicola Coughlan are among the 1000 artists who have signed a petition slamming Western institutions for aiding and abetting the “repressing, silencing and stigmatising of Palestinian voices and perspectives.” The letter includes signatures from ‘Sex Education’ star Aimee Lou Wood and multiple Emmy-award winner Harriet Walter.
“This includes targeting and threatening the livelihoods of artists and arts workers who express solidarity with Palestinians, as well as cancelling performances, screenings, talks, exhibitions and book launches.”
The letter shed light on the ongoing genocide of Gaza, where the death toll has crossed 15,000 civilian lives, with members of the Israeli government now openly calling for ethnic cleansing, and using starvation as a war weapon.
“The wholesale destruction of civilian infrastructure, the bombing of hospitals, schools, churches and mosques, the killing of 14,500 people in a matter of weeks, amount to a policy of collective punishment against the Palestinian people. The United Nations and hundreds of legal scholars have called on the international community to prevent genocide.”
The letter then proceeded to criticise the ongoing censorship and repression of voices, including Susan Sarandon, who was dropped by her agency, and actor Melissa Barrera, who was fired from the ‘Scream’ series for her vocal pro-Palestine posts.
“As artists and cultural workers,” the petition points out, “we stand in solidarity with those facing threats and intimidation in the workplace. The arts sector must urgently align its actions with its stated values of justice and inclusivity, and to refuse the dehumanisation of Palestinian people.”
The petition states that for artists to stay silent in the face of mass injustice and humanitarian crisis “would be an abrogation of moral duty”. It also pointed out that more artists are refusing to work with those institutions that are complicit in this heinous act.
The petition also shared four demands from the signatories which were:
– Publicly demand a permanent ceasefire. – Promote and amplify the voices of Palestinian artists, writers, and thinkers. – Stand up for artists and workers who voice their support for Palestinian rights. – Refuse collaborations with institutions or bodies that are complicit in severe human rights violations.
Noah Schnapp was under fire after he promoted several racist messages undermining the genocide of Gaza and later a video went viral from his Instagram stories where he was distributing stickers labelled ‘Zionism is sexy’. Now news reports have revealed that Netflix is not considering the option of firing the actor from ‘Stranger Things’ season 5, and fans are rallying for the show to be boycotted.
BoycottStrangerThings is now going viral on X (formerly Twitter) as fans are outraged with the way Zionist actors like Noah who shared racist and inhumane messages applauding the genocide can keep their jobs, while actors like Susan Sarandon and Melissa Barrera are fired for calling for a ceasefire.
boycott stranger things. do not even pirate it. do not talk about it. do not give noah schnapp a single click. everytime you even think about watching it remind yourself he thinks “zionism is sexy” which is killing 5 year old palestinian children. BOYCOTT. https://t.co/ff713bf51v
“So spyglass fired an actress for being anti-genocide and a crew member from stranger things was fired for denouncing the violence committed by Israel but when Schnapp says that zionism is sexy (which is the new form of nazism) he gets nothing? Fuxk off,” a user wrote.
So spyglass fired an actress for being anti-genocide and a crew member from stranger things was fired for denouncing the violence committed by Israel but when Schnapp says that zionism is sexy (which is the new form of nazism) he gets nothing? Fuxk off. https://t.co/mCCQVYNENb
Many users are calling for a boycott on Netflix until Noah is fired from the series.
netflix is so spineless, but i’m not surprised. i need everyone to not watch but give the last season of st terrible reviews. two cast members and at least one writer are disgusting zionists who deserve to have a shitty show https://t.co/Y5s1GScwY6
