MUMBAI: Vikas Kalantri is an actor, producer, director has done films such as Dil Bechara Pyaar Ka Mara, where he appeared alongside actor Mallika Kapoor. Vikas has made a short film on lockdown and how the entertainment industry has been hit.

Vikas spoke to The Daily Guardian about his short film. How did the idea came to you about short film ‘Work From Home’? Well I am not such a fan of work from home, but the situation is such that we have to abide by this. Hence I thought of putting my frustration and of a lot of people I spoke to out there for all to see and relate. Any specific challenge that you faced while shooting the film? Not actually as we had the equipments and everyone was shooting from their homes so no such challenge. Everyone has been dealing with the pandemic, how is it treating you? Well it’s a bit mentally exhausting, I believe in normal life, and seeing people go through what they are going through is not a good thing. Its getting exhausting & to be honest a bit tiring fatigue is setting in.

MUMBAI: Sending out a social message to spread awareness with a hint of humour, Kartik Aaryan, who frequently treats his fans with amusing social media posts, on Monday gave another reason to stay at home: Cyclone Tauktae. The star took to Instagram and posted an intriguing throwback picture from his teenage days. The picture sees a younger Aaryan dressed in a black T-shirt and matching wayfarers. The actor shared the picture and connected it with Cyclone Tauktae that has claimed the lives of many.

The actor wrote in the caption that the cyclone has given us one more reason to stay indoors amid the coronavirus pandemic. With cyclone Tauktae advancing over Mumbai, the ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’ star captioned the post, “#Tauktae One more reason to stay inside.” Celebrity followers including Kiara Advani and more than 3.1 lakh followers liked the post within 53 minutes of it being posted.

Scores of fans chimed into the comments section as they left red heart and laughing with teary eyes emoticons in appreciation of the post. The cyclone storm that originated over the east-central Arabian Sea has turned into an extremely severe cyclonic storm, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) stated. Time and again, Kartik has used his social media platforms to create awareness about public service announcements.

Over the last couple of years, a significant shift has been witnessed in the Indian cinema. While once it was believed that only a male star can turn a movie into a blockbuster, today this formula doesn’t exist anymore. Being at the forefront now, Bollywood actresses are taking up strong and meaty roles in order to be ultimate voice of change. Celebrating these powerful women, we list down 5 top actresses who stole the show with their knockout performances over the years.

1. YAMI GAUTAM

Ever since her dreamy Bollywood debut with ‘Vicky Donor’ in 2012, Yami Gautam has managed to strike the right chord with the audiences. In her career spanning over eight years, Yami has successfully established herself as one of the most versatile and talented actors in the industry today. The diva is being credited for various potent performances including ‘Kaabil (2017)’, ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019)’, ‘Bala (2019)’ and her recent release ‘Ginny Weds Sunny (2020)’. Meanwhile, ready to take box-office by storm, Yami Gautam has 8 releases lined up this year. Taking a note of her recent performances, the diva seems to be in no mood to stop and continue surprising cinelovers with her breakthrough performances. Yami’s upcoming projects include spooky adventure comedy ‘Bhoot Police’, ‘Lapata’, ‘A Thursday’ and ‘Dasvi’.

2. PRIYANKA CHOPRA JONAS

Destiny’s favourite child and a celebrated name globally, Priyanka Chopra Jonas has been breaking glass ceilings for the longest of time. Her global superstardom is proof that she’s unstoppable and why she enjoys a massive fanbase. In her two-decade long Bollywood career, Chopra has delivered several pathbreaking performances including ‘Aitraaz (2004)’, ‘Fashion (2008)’, ‘Kaminey (2009)’, ‘7 Khoon Maaf (2011)’, ‘Agneepath (2012)’, ‘Barfi! (2012)’, ‘Mary Kom (2014)’, ‘Dil Dhadakne Do (2015)’, ‘Bajirao Mastani (2015)’, ‘The Sky Is Pink (2019)’ and latest global release ‘The White Tiger (2021). The National and Filmfare Award winning actress will be next seen in ‘Matrix 4’, ‘Text For You’ and ‘Citadel’.

3. ALIA BHATT

Hailed as one of the most bankable new age actors in the industry today, Alia Bhatt is known to be a directors favourite. Over the years, Alia has delivered some extraordinary performances in her career. Right from Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Highway (2014), ‘Udta Punjab (2016)’ to Gauri Shinde’s ‘Dear Zindagi (2016), Meghna Gulzar’s ‘Raazi (2018) and Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Gully Boy (2019)’ – Bhatt has surprised both, the critics and the audiences with her every performance. After making her debut with ‘Student of the Year’ in 2012, the multi-talented actress has grown to become a household name in a span of just eight years. Her upcoming releases include Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’, ‘Brahmastra’, S. S. Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’ and Karan Johar’s ambitious project ‘Takht’.

4. ANUSHKA SHARMA

Known for always giving something new to the audiences, Anushka Sharma has time and again won hearts with author-backed roles. The actress who turned producer with ‘NH 10 (2015)’, one of her most impactful on-screen characters, has delivered various powerful performances including ‘Sultan (2016)’, ‘Sui Dhaaga (2018)’ and ‘Zero (2018)’.  Anushka  will be next seen in the biopic of the former captain of the Indian women’s cricket team, Jhulam Goswami.

5. TAAPSEE PANNU

Think Taapsee Pannu and you know we are talking about a stellar performer. The Filmfare Award winning actress made a lot of noise with her 2020 release ‘Thappad’  which undoubtedly is her most potent performance. She is also known for her performance in films like ‘Saand Ki Aankh (2019)’, ‘Manmarziyaan (2018)’, ‘Mulk (2018)’ and ‘Pink (2016)’.

WASHINGTON: American actor Scarlett Johansson’s husband Colin Jost interrupted the actor’s acceptance speech by dumping green slime on her head. The actor received ‘Generation Award’ honour’ at the ‘MTV Movie & TV Awards’ on Sunday as she commemorated her almost three-decade-long career in the film industry.

According to People magazine, midway through the ‘Black Widow’ star’s acceptance speech, husband Jost dumped green slime on her head — a prank that happened to be inspired by the wrong award show. She tells her fans while appearing virtually from home, “This award is made possible by all of you, in fact. And it’s because of that that it’s so meaningful to me.”

Johansson goes on to introduce a clip from ‘Black Widow’ when the goo falls on her head. “What the f***!” she shouts, as Jost says with a smile, “MTV! ‘You got slimed!’

WASHINGTON: Huma Qureshi on Monday treated fans to a BTS throwback picture from the sets of her Hollywood debut in zombie heist film from Zack Snyder titled ‘Army of The Dead’. The star hopped on to Instagram and posted a picture as she posed in a haphazard and distorted hotel room. In the picture, Qureshi is seen seated cross-legged as she observed the hugely destroyed room. The star is seen donning an all-black ensemble – a black shirt and black denim, and a pair of brown shoes. By having a look at the room one can reckon that a couple of zombies wreaked havoc at the place. Showcasing what she terms the ‘Hollywood Glamour,’ Qureshi captioned the post as, “Me just hanging out on the set of #ArmyOfTheDead waiting to check-in at the Zombie Hotel surrounded by zombie entrails.. You know just regular on set Hollywood Glamour.” She added, “#glam #hollywood #hollywoodglamour#bts #throwback .. And that is @ella_purnell aka Kate hidden behind my giant shoe..This spectacular film is playing on the BIG Screen (select theatres) in the US right NOW!! So everyone in the US watch it now ..and rest of us get to see it on @netflix @netflix_in on the 21st of May #netflix #zombie #zombies.”

There are characters that come to you once in a lifetime, and Girgit from Radhe is just that for actor Gautam Gulati. Ever since the movie released, his phone has been ringing off the hook on what a good job he has done when it comes to playing the villain. Incidentally, all of Gautam’s favorite characters till date have been the ones that are either all out negative or have negative shades. So, when the dream role of Girgit came his way, he knew exactly what nuances to add in order to enhance the character further such as the smile, something that can be so genuine but in the case of a negative role, it must give you chills down your spine and that is exactly what Girgit succeeds in doing.

Gautam affirms, “I watched several shows on OTT platforms to just gauge and see how to nail the negative character shades right from the look to the expressions and more. And then I added my own shades to Girgit along with Salman sir’s conviction and that is how the character was brought to life. The tattoo and haircut was also conceptualised and decided by Salman sir. The action scenes did require a lot of training, and it has surely paid off.” the transformation was tough, time consuming and mentally draining, but when you see the results that are now visible, we know it was totally worth it!