लकडाऊनच्या निमित्ताने शुभा खोटे पुन्हा सुवर्ण पडद्यावर

 लकडाउनच्या सेटवर मेजवानी आणि बरच काही

 

भारतीय सिनेसृष्टीचा इतिहास हा एका शतकाहून मोठा आहे. १९१३ला पहिल्या चित्रपटानंतर भारतीय मनोरंजन सृष्टीचा सुवर्ण काळ सुरु झाला तो म्हणजे ५० ते ८० च्या दशकात, या दशकांत वावरणारे अनेक कलाकार आज 'लेजेंड' म्हणून सिनेसृष्टीत वावरतात आणि अशाच एक लेजेंड म्हणजे 'शुभा खोटे'. १९५३ पासून ते आता पर्यंत त्या मनोरंजन सृष्टीत कार्यरत आहेत.

               सीमा या पहिल्या चित्रपटापासून आपल्या कारकिर्दीला सुरुवात करत त्या सिनेसृष्टीत रुजू झाल्या, 'मेहमूद' या अष्टपैलू कलाकाराच्या यांच्या सोबत त्यांची जोडी चांगलीच जमली होती. आपल्या या ६९ वर्षाच्या कारकिर्दीत शुभा खोटे यांनी तब्बल ५६ सिनेमामध्ये काम केलं असून आता यात अजून एका चित्रपटाची भर पडली आहे ती म्हणजे 'लकडाऊन बी पॉझिटिव्ह' या चित्रपटाची, येत्या २५ फेब्रुवारीला हा चित्रपट प्रदर्शित होणार असून या चित्रपटात शुभा खोटे यांची महत्वाची भूमिका असून तब्बल ४ वर्षाच्या प्रदीर्घ काळानंतर त्या मोठ्या पडद्यावर दिसणार आहेत. लग्नाच्या निमित्ताने एकत्र आलेल्या आणि लॉकडाऊनमुले एकाच घरात अडकलेल्या कुटुंबाची आणि नवविवाहित जोडप्याची गोष्ट 'लकडाऊन बी पॉझिटिव्ह' हा चित्रपट सांगतो. सर्वांची लाडकी आजी म्हणून शुभा खोटे या चित्रपटात आपल्याला दिसणार असून, त्यांच्यासारखी आजी सर्वांना मिळो असं प्रेक्षक बोलतील अशी त्यांची भूमिका आहे. या कुटुंबाच्या प्रमुख म्हणून शुभा खोटे असून आपल्या नातवाच्या लग्नातली धांदल त्या अनुभवत आहेत. तब्बल ८४ वर्षाच्या शुभा खोटे या चित्रपटाच्या दरम्यान स्वतःहून आघाडी घेत सेट वर सगळ्यांच्या आधी हजर राहत तर सेटवर अनेकदा त्यांनी आपल्या हाताने सगळ्यांसाठी जेवण सुद्धा त्यांनी बनवलं होत. विनोदी आणि कौटुंबिक पार्श्वभूमी असणारा हा चित्रपट संतोष मांजरेकर यांनी दिग्दर्शित केला आहे. तर या चित्रपटाची निर्मिती इष्णव मीडियाची आहे. चित्रपटाच्या कार्यकारी निर्मिता स्मिता खरात असून चित्रपटातील नृत्य फुलवा खामकर यांनी दिग्दर्शित केली आहेत. चित्रपटाचं साउंड रेकॉर्डिग अभिजित देव यांनी केलं आहे. शरद सोनवणे, दर्शन फुलपगार,अजित सोनपाटकी आणि सागर फुलपगार हे या चित्रपटाचे निर्माते आहेत. चित्रपटाचे लेखक रविंद्र मठाधिकारी यांनी केलं आहे. या चित्रपटाला संगीत अविनाश - विश्वजितच आहे तर संकलन परेश मांजरेकर यांनी केले आहे.

SHIVAJYANTI NEWS ACTRESS URMILA JAGTAP (SOYRABAI)

 शिवकालीन मालिकेने माझ्या व्यक्तिमत्वात सकारात्मक बदल झाला - अभिनेत्री उर्मिला जगताप

छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराज यांची जयंती संपूर्ण जगात उत्साहाने साजरी होते आहे. प्रत्येक जण आपापल्या परीने हा दिवस साजरा करत असतो. तसेच कलाकरांसाठी हा दिवस लक्षणीय ठरतो, ते शिवकालीन भूमिकेत जगता आले तर. अभिनेत्री उर्मिला जगतापने नुकतेच जय भवानी जय शिवाजी या मालिकेत, महाराणी सोयराबाई यांची भूमिका साकारली होती. शिवजयंती निमित्ताने उर्मिलाने आपल्या आठवणी जाग्या केल्या. उर्मिला आपल्या भूमिकेबद्दल सांगते,
“संपूर्ण महाराष्ट्राचे आराध्य दैवत छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराज यांच्याबद्दल लहानपणापासून ऐकत असतो, वाचत असतो. त्यांच्या पुढे आपण नेहमीच नतमस्तक होतो.  पण शिवकालीन भूमिका मिळावी ही प्रत्येक मराठी कलाकाराची इच्छा असते आणि माझ्या वाट्याला करिअरच्या एवढ्या लवकर इतक्या मोठ्या भूमिकेची संधी चालून आली हे माझं भाग्य…
नुकत्याच संपलेल्या 'जय भवानी जय शिवाजी' या स्टार प्रवाहच्या मालिकेत सोयराबाईसाहेबांच्या भूमिकेसाठी जेव्हा निवड झाली तेव्हा मला खूपच आनंद झाला..
ही मालिका शिवाजी महाराजांच्या शिलेदारांवर होती, त्यामुळे माझ्या वाट्याला आलेली भूमिका ही छोटी होती.

भूमिकेची तयारी करताना आपण कसे दिसून, आपल्याला नीट संवाद म्हणता येतील ना याची भीती होती. त्यासाठी मी मेहनत घेतली. छोट्या भूमिकेतही आपण कसे उठून दिसू यासाठी मी प्रयत्न केला.
या मालिकेतून मला शिवाजी महाराजांबद्दल अधिक जवळून जाणता आलं. महाराणी सोयराबाई यांच्या भूमिकेच्याही विविध छटा आहेत, त्या दाखवण्याचं चॅलेंजही होते.
शिवाजी महाराजांच राजे म्हणून कसे होते, त्यांचे शिलेदारांवरचा विश्वास हे सर्व जाणून घेताना ऊर आणखीनच भरुन येत होता. पत्नीसोबतचे त्यांचे नाते, राजकारणावर होणारी चर्चा यामुळे इतिहास अनुभवता आला.  माझ्यासाठी ही मालिका खूप काही शिकवून देणारी ठरली. यानंतर शिवचरित्राबद्दल आणखीन जाणून घेण्याची इच्छा निर्माण झाली.  शिवचरित्र प्रत्येकाच्या आयुष्यात काहीतरी देऊन जाते. या मालिकेमुळे मात्र माझ्या व्यक्तिमत्वात सकारात्मक बदल धडून आला.”
जेजुरी जवळच्या खेड्यातून आलेली अभिनेत्री उर्मिला जगताप प्रायोगिक नाटक, मालिका, म्युझिक अल्बम असा प्रवास केला आहे. त्याचप्रमाणे तिचा ‘रौद्र’ नावाचा सिनेमाही लवकरच भेटीला येणार आहे.

 The Valentine Night hosted by Ballys Entertainment at Ballys Casino by Shaikh Fazil had top-notch Bollywood celebrity guests and it was a night to remember

Sri Lanka's largest and most luxurious casino, the Bally's Casino had quite a day this valentine. It is managed by the hugely popular Shaikh Fazil and he hosted a Valentine-themed event to entertain his guests. The guests included Arbaaz Khan, Giorgia Andriani, Malaika Arora, and Mrunal Thakur. It was possibly the first time when the ex-couple Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora were together with Giorgia Andriani who is Arbaaz Khan" partner now. 

The entire evening was quite the gala with couples stepping in from different parts of the country and abroad taking part in several casino games to try their luck. Shaikh Fazil went all out to ensure people get to spend an evening they keep talking about for years. He looked after his guests well and distributed promo codes that visitors can use later. Everyone had a ball and they were all in high spirits. 

Shaikh Fazil says, "It was a valentine's day and very true to the occasion. A huge thanks to all the special guests are Arbaaz Bhai, Malaika, Giorgia, and Mrunal. The people here in Sri Lanka love them and they really enjoy the hospitality here at Bally's casino and from the people there. We would have them back soon and I am glad they had a great time. A very happy Valentine's day to all and I hope you all celebrated with your loved ones."

Arbaaz was with his lady luck next to him  Giorgia Andriani and together with Malaika and Mrunal, it was one ball of a time at the Bally's Casino in Colombo.

 This Season of love …Betrayal  is an extension of Love "Bewafai" by Legendary DJ Sheizwood & Ashok Masti

A song for those who are nursing a broken heart

Singer- Ashok Masti; Rap & Music- DJ Sheizwood; Artist- Nikhil, Mandeep, Priya; Lyrics- Tajinder Chawla; Production Team- Future Bytes Entertainments; Creatives- Prachi Sarkar; Producer- Spectec In & Out; Screenplay & Directed by- Gaurav Aery, Design by- VS Digitals

Link - https://youtu.be/QwqYfbG1LhY

Anyone who has experienced a broken heart knows that sometimes the best medicine is the perfect playlist.  Spectec In & Out Media, DJ Sheizwood & Ashok Masti's new V- Day release is just that.

The song has all the hallmarks of a DJ Sheizwood's creation; it’s soulful, extremely touching and of course, dripping with melody. The piano, strings, and beats are very effective in creating an eerie romantic atmosphere for the singer to transform the song and Ashok Masti does that magnificently, his voice is soothing and emotional. Lyrics by Tajinder Chawla are so painful and touching you can almost feel them.

DJ Sheizwood says " I like to enjoy the freedom to decide what I want to do with my songs. I enjoyed complete freedom on this project too. I usually like to take a brief from the director and understand what he expects from me and that’s about it"

Ashok Masti says "Had a great time singing the song. All I can say is if you are nursing a broken heart, it is a perfect song for you" So grab some tissues and press play

LEAD announced an ESOP Liquidation Plan of USD 3 million

 Employees realize gains with LEAD's ESOP Liquidation Plan worth $3 million

 

Mumbai, 16 February 2022: India’s foremost School EdTech Unicorn, LEAD, announced an ESOP Liquidation Plan of close to USD 3 million for its employees. The announcement comes at a time when LEAD is aiming to move towards a high growth trajectory post the recent Series E Fundraise of $100 million led by WestBridge Capital with participation from GSV Ventures. The company attained Unicorn status with this funding at a valuation of $1.1 billion, making it India’s first Edtech Unicorn of 2022. 

 

LEAD is known to have a more broad-based ESOP approach with close to 20% of its employees owning ESOPs. It has in the past awarded generous performance ESOPs to reward employees for their results. The current ESOP liquidation plan is a significant opportunity given that LEAD's valuation has doubled in the last nine months on the back of solid growth in its operating and financial metrics. 

 

LEAD Cofounder & CEO, Sumeet Mehta said, “Our success would not have been possible without the relentless efforts of our teams. I'm delighted that we are in a position to offer significant wealth creation opportunities to those who have joined us on our mission to provide an excellent education to every child. We have also included our Alumni in the Liquidation Plan because they continue to remain ambassadors of LEAD.”

 

LEAD has created a niche for itself in the EdTech industry over the years by transforming core schooling in India with its innovative full-stack School EdTech solutions. Over the years, LEAD has been making international standard education accessible and affordable to students, especially in non-metro cities. The curriculum in a LEAD Powered School is at par with the best in the world, including schools in Singapore, Canada, and the USA.

 

The company envisions transforming the lives of 25 million students in 60,000 schools by 2026 through School EdTech.

 Actress Kenisha Awasthi is a musician at heart and she sees herself as a musician first and then an actor performer

Kenisha dons many hats. Be it an actor, anchor, musician, or entrepreneur. She does it all. But at heart, she is a musician and she is actually highly trained in western and Hindustani classical music. Music has always been her true calling. She started her vocal training in Western Classical under the very able tutelage of Jennifer D'souza- her first vocal coach. She trained with D'souza for over a year before enrolling herself in the very prestigious, state-of-the-art music academy- True School of Music. There she trained under an international music teacher, Miss. Andrea even performed live with her classmates. 

Post this she went on to train in Hindustani Classical music in Gyan Ashram under her Guru Shri Paresh Jana whom she resumed taking personal classes from to Fastrack her vocal growth and learn the nitty-gritty of Hindustani classical music in-depth.

She parallelly started her YouTube channel called Kenisha Awasthi Official  - where she covered many Hindi and English songs - some of which garnered millions of views. Her cover of the Late Shri Mukesh's classic Yeh Mera Deewanapan Hai- went viral and crossed 4 million views. Her haunting cover of Jaadu Teri Nazar got featured in many youth magazines and also got picked up by Radio City London where it played quite frequently and was loved by all the listeners. That truly was a path-breaking moment in her musical career and one she sees as something that gave her enormous confidence in her abilities.

As of 2022, Kenisha is all set to further her musical journey with her original singles. This year will see her release at least 5 originals that will have a unique sound and display a perfect fusion of western musical influences concerning the music production but purely Indian style of singing.

Kenisha's endeavor with her music is to carve a unique sound signature for her and show how Indian vocalists need not necessarily sing in English to display world-class standards of musical prowess. She believes great music is universal, one that cuts through barriers of borders regardless of the language it's sung in or the nationality of the musician. Melodies and souls are beyond the confines of caste, creed, and country.

With this resolve, she looks forward to experimenting with varied genres and collaborating with phenomenal musicians from India and across the world. 

She looks forward to furthering the musical legacy of her mother, celebrated playback singer Sapna Awasthi- the voice behind iconic hits like -Chaiyya Chaiyya, Pardesi Pardesi, Banno Teri Ankhiyaan, Katiyaan Karoon, etc to name a few.

Be Wild & Free! Yas Island highlights coolest activities to enjoy during the outdoor season

 Be Wild & Free! Yas Island highlights the coolest activities to enjoy during the outdoor season

Mumbai, 16 February 2022:

As the outdoor season in the UAE has now truly begun, it’s the perfect time to enjoy

some of the great outdoors available at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi’s premier leisure and entertainment hub.

With a myriad of activities to enjoy year-round, combined with the destination’s latest Stay and Play offer, here

are six immersive alfresco experiences to enjoy on Yas Island right now:

1. Explore Yas Bay Waterfront

Having recently opened its doors in spectacular fashion last December, Yas Bay Waterfront is the Island’s latest

attraction set to become Abu Dhabi’s favorite destination for vibrant day-to-night dining to buzzing nightlife

experiences. Overlooking the sparkling blue Arabian Gulf, Yas Bay Waterfront’s three-kilometer boardwalk is

home to a dynamic mix of licensed restaurants, lounges, and bars, as well as cafés including The Trilogy by

Buddha Bar, Asia Asia, Paradiso, La Carnita and Lock Stock & Barrel.. For a laid-back weekend, guests can

enjoy the distinctive ambiance, music, and Mediterranean cuisine of Ibiza-styled beach club, Café del Mar – first

in the region and featuring a picture-perfect infinity pool with a pool bar. Guests staying at the nearby Hilton Abu

Dhabi Yas Island will receive complimentary access while day passes are available for day guests.

2. Socialize at Yas Marina

During the cooler months, Yas Marina becomes the epicenter of Abu Dhabi’s social scene, offering an

unparalleled experience. The marina is home to nine licensed restaurants, including Cipriani, Iris, Casa De

Cuba, Mr. Miyagi’s, The Scene by Simon Rimmer, Stars n Bars, Aquarium, and Diablito’s together with Borough’s

café – all offering alfresco dining and most with spectacular marina views. Be sure to come and experience

all that Yas Marina has to offer.

3. Enjoy great dining opportunities at The Fountains

The Fountains features a collection of dining outlets serving cuisines from around the world overlooking dancing

fountain views with an alfresco terrace to be enjoyed by all this outdoor season. Grab a burger and shake from

Burgerfuel or enjoy a shisha at Dish Dash whilst soaking in the great Abu Dhabi weather – there’s certainly

something for all the family to enjoy at The Fountains!

4. Make a splash at Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi

Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi is the ultimate destination to enjoy the most exciting water adventures, a captivating

world of rides, slides, and attractions, in addition to a range of seasonal experiences. Fusing family-friendly

aqua-experiences with local personality, Yas Waterworld brings a wide array of fun-packed adventures and the

most engaging themed experiences that cater to all members of the family. Whether it’s an adrenaline high, a

relaxing flow by the wave pool, Yas Waterworld’s captivating world of rides, slides, and attractions is guaranteed

to give you the aqua-fix you’re seeking.

5. Tee off at Yas Links Abu Dhabi

Calling all golfers! Take advantage of the cool temperatures and practice putting at the first true Links Golf

Course in the region and new home of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, part of the prestigious European

Tour Rolex Series tournament. Designed by the leading golf course designer, Kyle Phillips, golf fans can enjoy a

round or two of golf, and take the opportunity to improve their strokes at the Yas Links Golf Academy. Afternoon refreshment is also available with outdoor dining at Hickory’s, ideal for watching the sunset over the green course.

6. Explore the hidden depths of the Mangroves

Now more than ever, it is important to switch off and reconnect with nature, and what better place than the

beautiful natural ecosystem that lies within the Mangroves? It features flora and fauna rarely found in the region.

To make the most of the cooler weather, holidaymakers can hire a kayak from Yas Beach to explore the area or

even a paddleboard for a more challenging experience!

To learn more about Yas Island’s attractions and packages, guests can visit  www.yasisland.com