Free Online Concert to Support Cancer Patients Balling During the COVID-19

...”Yes To Life… No To Tobacco” Free Online Musical Concert to create awareness and support cancer patients battling in the wake of COVID-19 on the occasion of World No Tobacco Week organized by Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA) & World Health Organisation( WHO) to take place on June 7 at 8 pm onwards

Eminent singers: Salim-Sulaiman,Vishal Dadlani, Shaan, Kunal Ganjawala, Benny Dayal, Shadab Faridi, Neha Bhasin, Jonita Gandhi, Shilpa Rao, Aditi Singh, Bhoomi Trivedi, Akriti Kakkar, Anusha Mani, Mamta Sharma, Rasika Sekhar, Akriti Kakar and many more to join along with the well known celebrities

When the world is battling with the Covid-19 pandemic, Cancer Patietns Aid Association (CPAA), which is known for its works for the Cancer patients for last more than five decades along with World Health Organisation (WHO) have come up with a unique Online Musical Concert Yes To Life… No To Tobacco”on June 7, 2020 at 8pm onwards on the occasion of World No Tobacco Week. The concert, which is featuring leading singers such as Shaan, Kunal Ganjawala, Salim sulaiman, Neha Bhasin among others, has been organised to help cancer patients complete their treatment during the pandemic.



The proceedings received from the Concert will be used for underprivileged patients who travelled to Mumbai for their cancer treatment but got stranded due to the lockdown. CPAA has been providing them with Monthly ration supplies, guiding them with the shelter facilities along with hygiene kits consisting of masks, sanitizers among others.

Helping these patients further in awareness, management and treatment for cancer, the CPAA, in association with the World Health Organisation (WHO) has organised the musical concert. Eminent singers Shaan, Kunal Ganjawala, Salim Merchant, Benny Dayal, Shadab Faridi, Neha Bhasin, Dhvani Bhanushali, Jonita Gandhi, Shilpa Rao, Aditi Singh, Bhoomi Trivedi, Akriti Kakkar, Anusha Mani, Mamta Sharma and Rasika, and many more to join along with the well known celebrities are participating in the concert. The concert will be free for all to watch on TIKTOK India’s official handle.

The concert assumes significance as the 150-min of non-stop entertainment gala along with informative content comes from World Health Organization & Cancer Patients Aid Association.

In line with this year’s theme “Protecting youth from industry manipulation and preventing them from tobacco and nicotine use” for World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2020, CPAA has worked out ‘Differed – Live program” QUIT TOBACCO INDIA, an initiative. It will also focus on leveraging upon the impact, reach and progressive nature of social media.

Tobacco products kill more than 8 million people every year. Tobacco and related industries must continuously find new consumers to replace the ones that their products are killing to maintain revenue. In India tobacco use kills about 13.5 lakh people per year. Tobacco use is responsible for 25% of all cancer deaths globally. Use of nicotine and tobacco products increases the risk of cancer, cardiovascular and pulmonary disease. Over 1 million people die from second-hand smoke exposure every year. Tobacco companies spent over 8 billion in marketing and advertising and the world lost 8 million lives from causes related to tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke.

Anita Peter, Executive director of CPAA, said that “World No Tobacco Day 2020 will seek to educate policy-makers and the general public with regard to the tobacco industry’s harmful tactics and to alert smokers and potential smokers on the most important preventable cause of death and disease in youngsters. CPAA is proud to be working in the field of cancer for the last 50 years whereby we have helped more than 3000 oral & Lung cancer patients annually and yes during this pandemic Tobacco users have high risk of COVID 19 as smoking weaken their lungs.

Cancer Patients Aid Association is a registered, charitable organization working towards Total Management of Cancer Patients – Awareness to Rehabilitation, since the last 51 years. CPAA assists poor patients by giving them free medical aid, food supplements, prosthesis, transport services besides counseling the patients, offering rehabilitation facilities and Tobacco Control being one of the major activity of the organization. CPAA have been commemorating World No Tobacco initiative since 2003 with the support of WHO for better awareness on health impact of tobacco control and reinforcement of effective laws.

Elon Musk, Tom Cruise and NASA working Together for a Movie Scene in Outer Space

On Tuesday, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted that that american space agency is working with Hollywood actor Tom Cruise to create a movie shot aboard International Space Station (ISS).

In response to Bridenstine's tweet, Musk wrote that the initiative "should be a lot of fun!".

Should be a lot of fun!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 5, 2020

On Monday, Hollywood news website Deadline also reported that Tom Cruise and Elon Musk’s Space X are working on a project with NASA that would be the first narrative feature film – an action adventure – to be shot in outer space.

No studio was officially on board the project as of yet, and the project was still in the "early stages of liftoff", added the website, Deadline.

Interestingly, commercial use of NASA's facilities is allowed provided the resources used onto the space station need to be purchased as per NASA's price policy, and shall require a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement (RSAA) or another arrangement with NASA to recover costs to NASA. For example, use of life support equipment and the toilet were listed at USD 11,250 or ₹ 8.55 lakh per day approximately, while crew supplies were listed at USD 22,500 or ₹17.11 Lakh per day.

"I found it Ever So Medicinal" Emily Blunt on lending her Vocals for Mary Poppins Returns Soundtrack

The British actress showcases her vocal prowess with this Disney fantasy musical!

Mary Poppins is known for its songs, usually sung by the lead actress, formally immortalised by Julie Andrews. The latest rendition of the franchise, Mary Poppins Returns, continues this tradition, by having the lead actress Emily Blunt lend her vocals for not two or three, but for seven songs! Which includes the Academy award nominated- “The Place Where Lost Things Go”. 

The songs were written with the actress in mind and were composed accordingly to her vocal skills. The tracks - The Place Where Lost Things Go, Can You Imagine That?!, The Royal Doulton Music Hall, Introducing Mary Poppins, A Cover is Not the Book, Turning Turtle, Trip a Little Light Fantastic were all composed variedly giving the British actress an opportunity to try different musical styles . Blunt went on to great lengths to do justice to these songs and worked closely with the composers to perfect her performances. Cast members – Lin Manuel Miranda, Meryl Streep and Dick Van Dyke have also recorded alongside Emily Blunt for the exquisite songs. The album features an array for different songs from beautiful ballads to fun filled dance numbers, putting the actress in a challenging position.  Watch Mary Poppins Returns this 26th April at 1pm on Star Movies, your kid’s favourite time in the day.

Emily

Regarding the recording for the soundtrack, Blunt stated “I found it ever so medicinal. On my days off I would go to meet the songwriters and they'd be crafting these incredible songs. It was just like a lovely respite from boozing. Like I felt very comfortable with them by the time we did the recording. I mean we recorded these songs with 100-piece orchestra. It was truly a moving experience. You sing it with them so they can hear your tempo. It was wild.”

Blunt further added “To be able to lend my vocals to some of these songs has been such a huge honour. I think I felt less pressure approaching it in this way than I would doing an adaptation of something that's been done before, because it's not comparative. You've only got songs that have effectively been catered to me, and what my ability is. So in that way, it's an incredibly collaborative experience and one that I was invited into, but I think these songs, even though you have not heard them before, there's something about the music that feels familiar. I think that's always the sign of a great song.”

Mary Poppins is one of Walt Disney’s greatest Achievements

Walt Disney is one of the most influential film producers of all time. With characters like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, Minnie Mouse and many more being his creative achievements, Walt Disney’s legacy remains unsurpassed even today. Apart from these classic characters, Disney is also credited for producing a lot of iconic live-action films and characters, of which, one of the biggest of his career was none other than the prim and proper, umbrella-wielding British nanny Mary Poppins. 



In 1964, a live adaptation of Mary Poppins, from the popular book series was released as a fantasy musical comedy, starring acclaimed actress Julie Andrews donning the ‘practically perfect’ outfit of Mary Poppins. The film was critically acclaimed and was considered as Walt Disney's crowning live-action achievement, garnering the only Best Picture nomination, Disney witnessed during his lifetime. The film went on to win 5 Academy awards and was even selected by the United States National Film Registry to be “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Besides, simply producing the film, however, Disney was involved, personally and creatively, in the development of the character, costumes, music and animation of the film- his interactions with the Mary Poppins series writer Pamela Travers is documented in the film ‘Saving Mr. Banks’. The movie has a number of memorable songs like Chim chimmeny, which won an Academy Award for Best Song, and Feed the Birds, which was so close to Disney, it was played at his funeral. All of the above achievements has led Mary Poppins inducted into the ‘list of iconic characters’.

After a long gap, the sequel Mary Poppins Returns was finally released. Beloved actress Emily Blunt picked up the umbrella of the titular character for the sequel. 

When asked about what she loved about the character, Emily stated -

 “I do quite like the vanity. I mean the really self-indulgent vanity it just makes me laugh so much and I think she is terribly rude. I like that too, she just doesn’t care. My sister was saying to me last night at the premier she likes it when I am waiting at the bank and I want to see Michael Banks and this package guy rudely interrupts me. She said your face is like so funny. It’s all this stuff that I think that British people find really funny.”

The record breaking 54-year-old gap between the Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Returns is considered to be one of the longest gaps in cinema history. Upon release, the sequel was showered with praise and was dubbed as the reason to dismiss the belief that ‘sequels are never good as the original’.

Catch the flying nanny on Star Movies on April 26th 2020 at 1 pm

'Main Mulayam Singh Yadav' Movie Motion Poster Out Now

Makers of upcoming movie, 'Main Mulayam Singh Yadav' released its motion poster on Monday. The movie is said to be one of the best political biopic that Bollywood has ever seen. With a background of politics in Uttar Pradesh, the film showcase Mulayam Singh Yadav's inspirational story from being a farmer's son to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

This is an extraordinary story of how a farmers son, based out of a small village in Uttar Pradesh, becomes a supreme leader of his state. Director Suvendu Raj Ghosh and Producer Meena Sethi Mondal have come together to deliver this inspiring tale with Amyth Sethi in the lead of role as Mulayam Singh Yadav. Produced by MS Films and Productions, the film is slated to release on 14th August, 2020.



A farmers son in a small village called Safai in Etwas district of Uttar Pradesh fought in most adverse condition to become the supreme leader of his state. Coming from a very humble background his father wanted him to become a Wrestler, but he was destined to become something bigger. In one of the wrestling contest a local Political leader Nathuram saw this young boy when he slammed wrestlers who were double the size of him, Nathuram saw this strong willed boy and gave him his first opportunity to enter Politics.

It was his destiny that Nathuram also introduced him to one of the most influential leaders of the country of that era Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia. Nathuram also helped him with a job as a teacher in Karhal but his main focus remained Politics.
Lohias convictions towards the equality of people and other social justice issues strongly influenced Yadavs own ideas about standing up for the rights of minorities and his actions based on those principles marked his subsequent political career.
After Lohia came in his life Former Prime Minister of India Chaudhary Charan Singh, from whom he learned the nitty-gritty of politics and it was then Mulayam Singh Yadav became a big name in UP politics, he was also the political heir of Chaudhary Charan Singh. Nathuram, Ram Manohar Lohia and Chaudhary Charan Singh were the 3 pillars who groomed and shaped the political wisdom of Mulayam Singh Yadav.

From a teacher of an Inter-college to Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, this is the journey of a man who was in jail for 19 months at the time of Emergency. This is the story of a man who was shot on the day he won his very first election. This is the Story of a man who wrestled and found his way among the giants. When capitalism and bureaucracy were the main pillars of politics, he came and changed the scenario, he changed the game of bigger political parties and big names.

~ Newsvoir

JSW Paints Releases 'Planet Home' - A Digital Film, Reminding People that Acts of Thoughtfulness Make the World More Beautiful

JSW Paints, India’s leading eco-friendly paints company and part of US$ 14 billion JSW Group, has released a new digital film titled Planet Home. The film reflects on the thoughtful actions taken by people during the lockdown and the impact those actions have had both in their homes and beyond their walls.  

The film is based on JSW Paints’ philosophy of thinking beautiful by being thoughtful. In the aftermath of the national lockdown, JSW Paints’ focus on the humanity of people’s actions in their homes as well as around their communities, reminds viewers that thoughtful actions help make our world more beautiful. 



Mr. A. S Sundaresan, Joint MD & CEO of JSW Paints said, “We wanted our audience to witness the impact of their actions, whether it be at home or in their communities, and how these actions also bring out the beauty in the environment around them. Our film ‘Planet Home’ shines a light on how our thoughtful actions as a society has the ability to make our world better in the present as well as for the future.” 

The film captures a wide array situations ranging from touching moments experienced between family members at home, to actions taken by people to help out in their neighbourhoods, as well as how the environment around us is changing for the better with every act of thoughtfulness. Through this film, JSW Paints wishes to reiterate its position as a thoughtful paint company, always aiming to create beautiful experiences for its customers.

ABOUT JSW PAINTS:

JSW Paints is part of the US$ 14 billion JSW Group. It complements JSW offerings in Steel & Cement in home building and care. JSW Paints aims to be a thoughtful paint company as it builds its Industrial Coatings & Decorative Paints business. JSW Paints Innovative & thoughtful disruptions aim to redefine and discover new ways in paints & painting. The company plans to achieve this with prime focus on emerging consumer needs, state-of-the-art-technology, execution excellence and focus on sustainability. JSW Paints as a brand aims to inspire consumers to Think Beautiful as Beautiful Thoughts make the World Beautiful.

Need of the Hour Docu-film 'Coronavirus: How to Isolate Yourself' Premieres on Sony BBC Earth

As the war against the novel coronavirus deepens with billions of people across the world facing a period of self-isolation to help contain the spread, Sony BBC Earth is bringing to India a critical docu-film 'Coronavirus: How to Isolate Yourself'. Presented by Dr. Xand Van Tulleken and Psychologist Kimberley Wilson, the 1-hour feature is a one-step guide to everything one needs to know about this pandemic and is full of useful and credible tips and advice.

Dr. Xand Van Tulleken and Psychologist Kimberley Wilson

Xand Van Tulleken is a registered doctor with the General Medical Council of the UK and a renowned presenter. To comprehend the situation, he visits leading experts who explain why self-isolation is most important in this fight against coronavirus, as well as finds out about people's real-world challenges of self-isolating. The docu-film also focusses on Kimberly who offers insights into the psychological challenges of self-isolating, talks about how to manage anxiety and provides key takeaways that everyone must adapt while self-isolating.

Coronavirus is a serious concern and while there is a long road to recovery, the crucial thing to understand is that every individual can play a part in slowing it down by self-isolating. Additionally, there is a plethora of information accessible to all which may lead to confusion and contradiction but, one must remember that just like the virus, wrong information too is contagious. Hence Sony BBC Earth is premiering the most important docu-film of the current times, 'Coronavirus: How to Isolate Yourself'.

Tune-in to 'Coronavirus: How to Isolate Yourself' every night, 13th April (today) onwards only on Sony BBC Earth.

UpGrad and Big Bang Music Come Together to Launch ‘#AageKiSoch’, an Anthem to Encourage Young India to be Productive in the Time of Lockdown

In the time of the panic, paranoia and uncertainty, where our lives are challenged, upGrad, India’s leading online higher education company and Big Bang Music, the new age pop culture label driven towards creating unique musical expressions and experiences have come together to create what can aptly be called the upskill anthem of the nation.

#AageKiSoch encourages the youth to spend this time at home productively and engage in activities that will upskill their existing knowledge base to prepare for the new world post the COVID-19.

Written by reality show ‘Dil Hai Hindustani 2’ winner Akshay Dhawan, and composed by Shashwat Singh, whose melodies will be featured in AR Rahman's next movie ‘99 Songs’, this never-seen-before collaboration also witnesses leading singing star Jonita Gandhi, rapping for the first time.

The music video consists of an ensemble star cast that includes Radhika Apte, Vikrant Massey, Naveen Polishetty, Anto Philip, Fatima Sana Sheikh, Shantanu Maheshwari, Rohit Raj, Aparshakti Khurana, Karan Tacker, Abish Mathew, Akansha Ranjan, Elnaaz Norouzi, and ‘Jordindian’ - Naser and Vineeth.

Link to the music videos:
Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-Um4rDO9vE
Video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1zo4UrrBvI
Video 3: https://youtu.be/1pd7l1IEiNQ

Conceptualized by the higher education company upGrad to drive the productive habit of learning from home during quarantine and produced by Big Bang Music & KWAN, the partners have joined forces to bring together this eclectic mix of pop culture icons across Film, Music, Corporate, TV & Comedy for the upskill anthem.

The 3 video renditions for the same song have been conceptualized, written, shot and edited in all of 72 hours, being directed remotely on video calls.

Talking about this exciting launch, Gaurav Wadhwa, CEO & Co-Founder, Big Bang Music said, “These are unprecedented times and while it’s important to keep the spirit alive, it’s more important to gear up for the world to come because we all know there is light at the end of this tunnel.

World over, life will now be viewed as before and after the virus - BC and AC will have a new meaning in ‘Before COVID’ and ‘After COVID’ and we need to prepare for that! At Big Bang, we truly believe that music unites like no other and no better time than now to encourage people to use this ‘forced’ time at hand meaningfully.”

“Influencers are an integral part of any campaign, and more so today as they become custodians for keeping the morale high and mindset positive during the pandemic. We have carefully put together renowned and diverse names to be able to reach out to a large cross-section of people and encourage them to be productive while locked down in their homes.

It’s been an amazing collaboration where an edtech major has chosen music as their preferred route of disruptive communication”, added Dhruv Chitgopekar, Founding Partner and COO, Kwan.

“While everyone is adapting to the new normal, it’s time, we to be cautiously optimistic and look at the silver lining of the pandemic. With this upskill anthem, we want to encourage people to stay home and use the time meaningfully to enhance their skill set which otherwise would have parked in their to-do list. Preparedness for the coming economical storm is essential so that the youth and the working professionals can smoothly bounce back to their careers or make a new transition once we resume to our regular lives,” concluded Mayank Kumar, Co-Founder and MD, upGrad.

As a part of the campaign #AageKiSoch, influencers in the music video will tag their friends and urge them to "Bahar Nahi, Ab Tu #AageKiSoch" epitomising the future-forward thinking that, we need to do during the lockdown.

The idea is to create a chain of audience propagating the message of strictly staying at home and using this time to upskill oneself with upGrad's educational programs in the areas of Data, Technology & Management.

About upGrad:

Founded in early 2015, upGrad offers online programs for working professionals. In a short span of around 5 years, upGrad on-boarded over 21.5K paid learners and impacted more than 370K individuals globally, making it India’s largest online higher-education company, basis gross revenue generated from the Indian market in FY18-19.

upGrad provides programs in the areas of Data Science, Technology, Management and MBA to college students, working-class and enterprises. These programs are designed and delivered in collaboration with top-notch universities like IIT Madras, IIIT-B, BITS Pilani, MICA, NMIMS Global Access, Duke CE, Deakin University, Liverpool John Moores University and others.

To further enhance the learning experience, a comprehensive ecosystem has been built which includes one-on-one mentoring, peer-to-peer learning, industry networking and most importantly expert career guidance providing learners holistic support to elevate their careers to the next level.

The company has been awarded the title of ‘Best Tech for Education’ by IAMAI in 2019. The company received the ‘Best Education Brands’ award by Economic Times and has made it to LinkedIn’s ‘Top 25 Startups’ two years in a row in 2018 and 2019.

Binge Watch the Entire John Wick Series Starring Keanu Reeves this Weekend

Set your reminders on for this weekend, as actor/director, Keanu Reeves, will deliver you a healthy dose of action - or as John Wick himself puts it , “Guns, lots of Guns!”. Follow along the silent assassin’s quest to avenge the death of his dog, with the third installment of the intense action-packed extravaganza, John Wick: Chapter 3 is set to debut for the First time on Television only on Star Movies.



Not enough John Wick for you? Star Movies has got you covered - catch up on the entire John Wick series, all through Sunday, with Chapter 1 airing at 5 pm and Chapter 2 at 7 pm.

The critically acclaimed John Wick franchise enjoys the status of being a well-crafted trilogy featuring - a layered story with complex plot points, intricate character developments and a whole lot of death-defying stunts and mayhem.

The franchise is celebrated as a genre-bending masterpiece and enjoys an iconic cult following – as both a thrilling entertainer and involving a unique depth of feeling.

In John Wick’s book revenge is a dish best served steaming hot and with a lot of pain and John Wick 3 promises the same franchise favorites- exquisitely choreographed action, masterfully designed and effortlessly executed fight scenes, a strong streak of humour and much more.

Catch John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum First Time on Television only on Star Movies, 12th April 2020 at 1 pm and 9 pm

John Wick at 5 pm and John Wick - Chapter 2 at 7 pm