In an industry where a slew of star children are gearing up for their launch into Hindi filmdom, actress Yami Gautam says making it in Bollywood all by herself has been challenging.

Born in a Himachali family, Yami ventured into Bollywood in 2012 with VICKY DONOR and has since featured in hits like BADLAPUR and KAABIL. She also did movies like TOTAL SIYAPPA and SARKAR 3.

Talking about her career, Yami told IANS: "I am just working and looking ahead. I am a very focused person. Of course, I feel very happy. There was I time when I Youtubed myself and looked at my old ads when I was absolutely new."

"But having said that I am very happy and proud because making it on your own in this industry it is very challenging. It is not that easy. But I love that challenge."

The SANAM RE actress says the challenge gives her a high and she is happy to establish her presence slowly and steadily.

"I am a very ambitious girl. So I know where I have to reach… it's just about taking those steps and never stopping," she added.

Actors, after delivering a hit, go on a signing spree. But in her case, that did not happen. Is it because Yami is picky?

"I won't call it picky but it is just that I have never believed in work which I don't feel from my heart. My choices may have been wrong also, but that is okay. I must have had reasons of doing a certain film… it's not that I am selective or something," Yami said.

The actress, 29, also aspires to try her hand at all possible genres.

"I would like to explore as many genres as possible. Versatility is the key. I want to be a versatile actor and I want to work with directors who believe in me… I am really looking forward in doing such films and surprise myself and my audience every time I work," she added.

She will next be seen in the upcoming film BATTI GUL METER CHALU with actor Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor.

Ego wars are often heard of with two actresses in a film. What does she have to say?

"I think such notions are just absolutely blown out of proportion to another level… I think in today's time, it's all about work and focusing at your own self and being secure at what you are doing.

"There is competition obviously, but at the same time, there is room for everybody to express themselves and be themselves and exploit the potential to the maximum," Yami said.

On Shraddha, Yami said: "We have never worked before; we do met occasionally socially. She is a lovely girl and I am looking forward to working with her."

[By Durga Chakravarty]

Actress-activist Eva Longoria, a member of the Time's Up movement, says diversifying entertainment will be good for Hollywood.

Longoria, who is also a producer, has drawn attention to the need of diverse characters and stories in an article for Time.com.

"Audiences are sending Hollywood a clear message, turning out in record numbers to see films like COCO, BLACK PANTHER, GIRLS TRIP and WONDER WOMAN. Top television shows include 'Scandal', 'This is Us', 'Blackish', 'One Day At A Time', 'Jane the Virgin', 'Transparent', 'Fresh Off the Boat'… It turns out that viewers want shows that look like their lives — with diverse characters and stories.

"Even more importantly, the way we are represented in entertainment matters," she wrote.

She believes, "When a girl sees herself as a scientist, or a boy sees someone with his skin color as a law student, it plants a seed that this is possible".

To cite an example, Longoria said archery suddenly gained popularity with girls in 2012 coinciding with the releases of films including THE HUNGER GAMES and BRAVE, and after years of CSI breaking TV ratings records, there was an increase in forensics studies across the nation.

Of her own experience, she said: "As a little girl growing up in Corpus Christi, Texas, I was inspired by a young, Mexican American singer named Selena Quintanilla, whose skin looked like mine, whose hair texture resembled mine, who sounded like me.

"She wouldn't live long enough to see the impact her talent made in the world, but she is responsible for paving the way for a young girl like me to eventually portray Gabrielle Solis on 'Desperate Housewives'. It was during my time on 'Desperate Housewives' that I realised I wanted to create more opportunities for others in my community. And I couldn't do that without getting behind the camera as a producer and director."

Longoria stressed: "We should diversify entertainment and it will be good for Hollywood's bottom line. We need diverse decision-makers greenlighting and funding content; otherwise, similarity bias leads us to seek out people who share our backgrounds or experiences.

"And given that 95 per cent of Hollywood film executives are white, that bias doesn't seem likely to change.

"We must proactively diversify our ranks. We need diverse executives, casting directors, producers, and directors to look into the large untapped talent pool of women and minorities. This is why the Time's Up movement, of which I am a proud participant, is pushing our '50/50 by 2020' initiative.

"It will lead to a safer Hollywood and is proven to be produce profitable projects."

Actress-activist Eva Longoria, a member of the Time's Up movement, says diversifying entertainment will be good for Hollywood.

Longoria, who is also a producer, has drawn attention to the need of diverse characters and stories in an article for Time.com.

"Audiences are sending Hollywood a clear message, turning out in record numbers to see films like COCO, BLACK PANTHER, GIRLS TRIP and WONDER WOMAN. Top television shows include 'Scandal', 'This is Us', 'Blackish', 'One Day At A Time', 'Jane the Virgin', 'Transparent', 'Fresh Off the Boat'… It turns out that viewers want shows that look like their lives — with diverse characters and stories.

"Even more importantly, the way we are represented in entertainment matters," she wrote.

She believes, "When a girl sees herself as a scientist, or a boy sees someone with his skin color as a law student, it plants a seed that this is possible".

To cite an example, Longoria said archery suddenly gained popularity with girls in 2012 coinciding with the releases of films including THE HUNGER GAMES and BRAVE, and after years of CSI breaking TV ratings records, there was an increase in forensics studies across the nation.

Of her own experience, she said: "As a little girl growing up in Corpus Christi, Texas, I was inspired by a young, Mexican American singer named Selena Quintanilla, whose skin looked like mine, whose hair texture resembled mine, who sounded like me.

"She wouldn't live long enough to see the impact her talent made in the world, but she is responsible for paving the way for a young girl like me to eventually portray Gabrielle Solis on 'Desperate Housewives'. It was during my time on 'Desperate Housewives' that I realised I wanted to create more opportunities for others in my community. And I couldn't do that without getting behind the camera as a producer and director."

Longoria stressed: "We should diversify entertainment and it will be good for Hollywood's bottom line. We need diverse decision-makers greenlighting and funding content; otherwise, similarity bias leads us to seek out people who share our backgrounds or experiences.

"And given that 95 per cent of Hollywood film executives are white, that bias doesn't seem likely to change.

"We must proactively diversify our ranks. We need diverse executives, casting directors, producers, and directors to look into the large untapped talent pool of women and minorities. This is why the Time's Up movement, of which I am a proud participant, is pushing our '50/50 by 2020' initiative.

"It will lead to a safer Hollywood and is proven to be produce profitable projects."

Iconic American rapper Pharrell Williams celebrates his first ever Holi, along with Bollywood superstar Ranveer Singh on Friday in Mumbai.

The party was organised by the sportswear company Adidas, whereas Pharrell visited the city to unveil the Adidas Originals this Holi' collection special range of powder-dyed apparel and sneakers in pastel shades.

All the guests and host played with dry colours and flower petals on the open ground of Taj Land Ends, located in Bandra.

Many pretty faces like video jokey Anusha Dandekar, Celebrity chef Sarah Todd, Mini Mathur along with her two kids among others were present at the party.

Dressed in the white kurta and animal printed pants and white sports shoes, the 11 times Grammy Awards winner Pharrell seems to have a great time with the host Ranveer they danced on many Bollywood songs and Punjabi dance numbers including "Malharia, "Dil Dhadakne Do", "Subha Hone Na De", "Mundian To Bach Ke", "Khalibali", "Ainvayi Ainvayi" among many others.

Both the new releases of the week, Anushka Sharma’s horror flick PARI and Pulkit-Kirti’s comedy family drama VEEREY KI WEDDING, failed to appeal to the audience in a big way.

Given the genre PARI did open better at around 15 percent while VEEREY KI WEDDING was lower at below 10 percent. Having said that, the Holi festivities did keep away the audience during the morning shows, and both PARI and VEEREY KI WEDDING can still hope for a turnaround during the remaining two days of the weekend.

In fact both the new releases took a hit from the week old SONU KE TITU KI SWEETY.

Meanwhile, Luv Ranjan’s (PYAAR KA PUNCHNAMA fame) SONU KE TITU KI SWEETY turned out to be a big winner and in fact a hit, netting 44-45 crore during the opening week from India and still has a lot of fire power left.

Concluding with Akshay Kumar’s PAD MAN, the film is ending its successful run and added another 4 crore, thus netting 80 crore (to be validated) in three weeks from India and is an above average fare.

Rani Mukerji is all set to enthrall the audience with her upcoming film HICHKI. The actress will be seen on silver screen after a four year hiatus. In the film Rani plays the role of a teacher who is having Tourette Syndrome.

Talking about how playing role of a differently abled roles affects her as an actor Rani shared, “The life that god has given is so special like when I had researched for my character in BLACK or HICHKI I started thanking god every day because suddenly you feel so blessed that you can see, hear, talk move your limbs, and do everything without anyone’s aid! So when you go through moments like that in your life you only become more humbled as a human being and all the other things stop to matter. You suddenly gain lot of wisdom through these experiences and you start to live truly. So when people tell me that despite being in this industry how I can survive without being on social media? I find that really funny because it’s not important to me or for my life! If some people are giving it so much importance then it’s their problem. All these PRship is of what use because if you actually see then everything boils down to the fact whether I was good in my film or not?”

Rani is not at all interested in using social media and she explains why, “When I meet journalist I treat it as meet and greet because I get some pointers from them about what are people thinking because I consider them as a medium between me and my fans as I am not on social media. I don’t use social media as a platform to connect with my fans because I think people behind a computer are not really genuine but when I meet someone personally and talk to them eye- to-eye we connect on personal level. How would I know you if you are behind the computer? When someone comes to me and tells me that I am your fan I can see those emotions on their face but how do I trust someone who is behind a computer? Earlier we used to get fan mails so that again was a very personal connection because there was no anonymity in that. I am still living in that world I don’t give importance to things that come just as a fashion so I like to live my life the way I feel is right.”

Since she is playing a teacher in HICHKI, when asked about how important formal education is for actors, Rani with her tongue firmly in her cheeks said, “I don’t see how academics aid actors but I think the way time is going our actors definitely need acting classes.”

A bunch of losers, a car with luggage on a highway, a man standing on top of the car looking for a way beneath a sun which is about to set..

The first look of Cinecloud Films Pvt Ltd DELHI 47 KM is intriguing and probing.

Revolving around a bunch of losers in life who are driven into helplessness due to the various flaws of the system present in our Indian society, the hard hitting drama stars Rajneesh Dubey, Dolly Tomar and Mustakeem Khan.
Produced by Jigar Rawal, Sachin Saxena, Rajneesh Dubey & Shadab Khan, DELHI 47 KM is all set to hit the theaters in April 2018.
The movie is written and directed by Shadab Khan, who has previously directed the sequel of the acclaimed B.A. PASS – B.A. PASS 2.

The trailer is expected to be launched soon.