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Bilkis Dadi, the octogenarian who was the face of the months-long anti-citizenship law protest in the Delhi's Shaheen Bagh neighbourhood, has now found herself on Hollywood star Gal Gadot's list of "My Personal Wonder Women". The actor, who was recently seen reprising the titular role in Wonder Woman 1984 , shared a series of pictures on her Instagram page, acknowledging young girls and women from all walks of life across the globe. "Saying farewell to 2020, with all my love to #MyPersonalWonderWomen Some are those closest to me - my family, my friends - some are inspiring women I’ve loved discovering, and some are exceptional women I hope to meet in the future," Gadot wrote in the caption of the post. The 35-year-old actor also shared the same image of Bilkis on her Instagram Story and wrongly captioned it as, "The 82-year-old activist fighting for women's equality in India showed me it's never too late to fight for what you believe in."

Director Steven Soderbergh has revealed that he is working on a "philosophical" sequel to his pandemic thriller, Contagion . The 2011 movie, which depicts the outbreak of a deadly and fast-spreading viral disease, received renewed popularity this year amid the coronavirus pandemic. Soderbergh said screenwriter Scott Z Burns, who wrote the original, will return for the follow-up. "I've got a project in development that Scott Burns is working with me on, that's a kind of philosophical sequel to Contagion , but in a different context "You'll kind of look at the two of them as kind of paired, but very different hair colours. So, Scott and I had been talking about, 'So, what's the next iteration of a Contagion -type story?'' We have been working on that; we should probably hot-foot it a little bit," Soderbergh said during Happy Sad Confused podcast. In March, the film's stars -- Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet and J

Read more from our '2020, the year of...' series. That life came to a standstill after the nationwide lockdown was imposed in the last week of March, was reflected on India’s music charts during 2020. The country’s independent acts released more  singles, EPs and albums  than ever before but as far as mainstream music was concerned, there were few monster hits from April onwards. None of the songs on Apple Music India and Spotify India’s year-end top tens came out after January, and while there are a few more recent releases on JioSaavn’s list, their survey only includes singles and tracks from albums put out in 2020. Here’s how different categories of music fared in this most unusual year. Bollywood soundtracks Despite the fact that hardly any major Hindi films were released between April and December, like in every year, songs from Bollywood OSTs were the most streamed tracks of 2020. And this, even though only  one movie  — according to Indian box-office monitoring websit

Filmmaker Aanand L Rai has tested positive for coronavirus. The director took to social media to update fans about his health condition. "I have tested covid positive today. Just wanted to inform everyone that I don’t feel any symptoms and I feel fine. I’m quarantining as instructed by authorities. Anyone who has come in contact with me recently is advised to quarantine and follow d govt protocols. Thank you for support(sic)," Rai wrote on Twitter. Read Rai's post here I have tested covid positive today.Just wanted to inform everyone that I don’t feel any symptoms & I feel fine. I’m quarantining as instructed by authorities.Anyone wh has come in contact with me recently is advised to quarantine & follow d govt protocols.Thank you for support🙏 — Aanand L Rai (@aanandlrai) December 31, 2020 According to a report by Hindustan Times, Rai was shooting for his next directorial, Atrangi Re , starring Akshay Kumar, Sara Ali Khan and Dhanush. The shooting for t

It's safe to say that Achint Thakkar was still a relatively unknown name till about three months ago. A week later, Hansal Mehta's Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story changed everything. Thakkar's opening theme for the show has over 12 million views on his YouTube channel, and has been the subject of several memes related to the wildly successful show. About three weeks later, while the phenomenon of Scam 1992 seemed to be still going strong, Thakkar's magic made another appearance in Bejoy Nambiar's Taish , where the song ' Saawan Mod Muhara' (a song from Thakkar's 2018 album ft The Khan Brothers) is used in a jailbreak sequence. "It's really bizarre, and it's been overwhelming. I remember how I'd had like 4k-5k followers, and I was really happy with that. So now whatever is happening is a bonus for me," Thakkar told Firstpost over the phone. Thakkar's YouTube channel currently has around 55000 subscribers, and the views fo

Actor Gautam Gulati has fallen prey to the coronavirus as per media reports. The former Bigg Boss winner is reported to be in London currently, which may be concerning especially because of the new strain of coronavirus that has originated in the UK. Entertainment portal Pinkvilla reported that Gulati is quarantining in London at present. Earlier, the Diya Aur Baati Hum actor had updated his Instagram account with a cryptic picture. The photo features him lying down with only one hand visible, resting on top of sheets as a city can be seen outside the window. In the caption, the actor wrote: “COVID-19 Sucks”. The location of the update also said that he was in London at the moment. Check out the post here View this post on Instagram A post shared by (@welcometogauthamcity) Taking to his Instagram story, Gulati had uploaded a Boomerang video with the words: ‘Stay Safe Stay Home’ displayed on the screen. The Kasamh Se star had recently enjoyed the limelight due to

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has recorded a song with his granddaughter Aaradhya Bachchan. The 78-year-old actor took to Twitter on Wednesday night to share a picture from a recording session at a studio. T 3768 - ... tomorrow dawns .. and the celebrations begin .. but for what .. its just another day another year .. big deal ! Better off making music with the family .. pic.twitter.com/6Tt9uVufbp — Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) December 30, 2020 Nine-year-old Aaradhya's parents -- actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan were also present at the studio. Amitabh also shared a photo with his granddaughter on Instagram. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Amitabh Bachchan (@amitabhbachchan) It is not known whether the song is part of a film or special collaboration. Amitabh, who made his debut in playback singing with the song 'Mere Paas Aao' in the 1979 film Mr Natwarlal , has lent his voice to so

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), an American labour union, has made an announcement regarding production work amid rising cases of COVID-19. According to The Hollywood Reporter , the labour union has decided to put most of the production work on hold until mid-January. The decision has been taken in view of the recent surge in COVID-19 infections and lack of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in California and particularly in Los Angeles County. "Most entertainment productions will remain on hiatus until the second or third week of January if not later," the magazine reported citing a statement by SAG-AFTRA’s president Gabrielle Carteris and national executive director David White. In line with its plan, the SAG-AFTRA has reduced the number of performers working on sets. It has called on all its members to wash hands and maintain social distancing, besides adhering to other safety principles to protect themselves. Deadli

Late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's friend Ganesh Hiwarkar recently tweeted a video and urged people to gather in large numbers in front of the CBI office in Delhi. He urged people to question the CBI on delay in the investigation report as he launched the HallaBol4SSR campaign. Taking to Twitter, he had earlier posted, "#HallaBol4SSR come in large number of people Many culprits r active now it’s time to show our unity wid HallaBol. Bahut ho Gaya Ab HallaBol." See the post #HallaBol4SSR come in large number of people Many culprits r active now it’s time to show our unity wid HallaBol. Bahul ho Gaya ABN HallaBol Thanks @nilotpalm3 hi for supporting ground protest warriors https://t.co/Ky8FWIopgL — Ganesh Hiwarkar (@GHiwarkar) December 29, 2020 Subsequently, he shared a Live video from the CBI office in Delhi. #HallaBol4SSr Live from CBI office Delhi https://t.co/T3ixWKBOtP — Ganesh Hiwarkar (@GHiwarkar) December 29, 2020 According to a report in The Tim

If not for the virus that shan't be named and if the year had gone according to plan, we would probably be talking about Dune right now. The movie may even have featured in this year-end list, alongside the likes of Bergman Island , Memoria , The Green Knight , and The French Dispatch . Of course, this is not a list of what could have been. Despite these notable absences, 2020 was still a pretty great year for cinema. Indeed, the absence of high-profile films and blockbusters shook up the economy for exhibitors. Theatres were shut down for a large part of the year. On reopening, most moviegoers were (and are) still hesitant to risk their lives, and understandably so. Thereupon, Hollywood scrambled to save all their best superheroes and nostalgia-bait for 2021. The only studio which dared to release a film amid a pandemic was Warner Bros, and Tenet 's box-office failure meant they had to explore alternative revenue-generating possibilities. Boy, did they come up with a disrupt

Even without COVID, 2020 was a rough year, a cosmic disaster. We braved Biblical locust plagues, cyclones, and wildfires. Let’s not forget celebs singing “ Imagine ”, and “X Æ A-12” — the Grimes baby formerly known as “X Æ A-Xii”. The music industry had a rough year too. With concerts and festivals cancelled, it faces a projected $30 billion loss . It’s a miracle the music hasn’t stopped. Thankfully, the artists adapted as well as they could. Charli XCX and Taylor Swift, for instance, made a virtue of necessity, recording whole albums while stuck in lockdown. But they were in no way helped by penny-pinching streaming services. Despite Spotify and Co. accounting for a majority of all music revenue, they refused to provide artists a greater cut of royalties. ( Read what Nadine Shah had to say about the matter .) Music remains the ultimate salve for all the wounds left by 2020. The most trying crisis of our time has obviously coloured our listening habits and preferences. More than usual

Telugu star Ram Charan's wife Upasana Kamineni shared a picture of herself along with the actor on her Instagram profile. She captioned the image, "Quarantine with Mr C." Upasana revealed that she is COVID-negative for now but there still is a 'huge chance' of her contracting the virus. "This too shall pass. Hopeful for a better 2021. No symptoms and he's holding strong. I tested negative but there's a huge chance of me becoming COVID positive. For now its home quarantine with Mr C. Loads of warm liquids, steam inhalation and rest," she wrote. See the post View this post on Instagram A post shared by Upasana Kamineni Konidela (@upasanakaminenikonidela) Ram Charan on 29 December tweeted that he had tested positive for COVID-19 . He tweeted, "Request all that have been around me in the past couple of days to get tested. More updates on my recovery soon." Request all that have been around me in the past couple of days to g

Prominent music director from Odisha, Shantanu Mohapatra passed away at a hospital in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. The 84-year-old maestro was suffering from pneumonia and other age-related ailments. Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik tweeted the news of his demise, writing that he is saddened to learn of the death of the eminent music director and that the impact he left on films through his unique musical composition and style will always be remembered. The CM also expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and wished them well. Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal too tweeted about the legend's demise writing that the people of the state will forever remember him as the man who bound Odia cinema world with his music for forty years. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressed his sorrow at the death of the prominent music director as well. Check out the tweets here ବିଶିଷ୍ଟ ସଙ୍ଗୀତ ନିର୍ଦ୍ଦେଶକ ଶାନ୍ତନୁ ମହାପାତ୍ରଙ୍କ ଦେହାନ୍ତ ବିଷୟରେ ଜାଣି ଦୁଃଖିତ। ସ୍ୱତନ୍ତ୍ର ସଙ୍ଗୀତ ସଂଯୋଜନା ଶୈଳୀ ମାଧ