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The Simpsons now longest-running scripted TV show in US history

Apr 302018

The Simpson focuses on a family of five – Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie – and their animated antics in the fictional town of Springfield

The Simpsons

The Simpsons has become the longest-running scripted show in primetime American television history after airing its record-breaking 636th episode. The episode was aired on Sunday, surpassing a record last set by Gunsmoke, reported Fox News.

Gunsmoke started on radio in 1952 and eventually became a TV series that ran for 635 episodes from 1955 to 1975. The Simpson focuses on a family of five – Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie – and their animated antics in the fictional town of Springfield. In true Simpsons fashion, the show took aim at Gunsmoke — literally — in a gunfight battle between baby Maggie and Dillon at the end of last week’s show. At the end of that episode, Homer told the children that their series was about to pass “Gunsmoke”.

The Simpsons has won 32 Emmy Awards, 34 Annie Awards and a 2016 People’s Choice Award, according to the show’s website. It was the first animated series to win a Peabody Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award in 2012 for the theatrical short The Longest Daycare. The show has been in news of late after it raked up a controvsery over stereotyping of Indians in America’s popular culture.

It featured a South Asian character called Apu, who has had to grapple with the troubling stereotype of a convenience store clerk with an exaggerated, fake Indian accent since the show’s existence. The documentary The Problem With Apu touched upon how The Simpsons damaged the South Asian caricature. The makers of the latter show have since addressed the controversy.

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Sean Paul: I can't wait to visit India again

Celebrities

Dec 252017

While this year was dotted with international artistes lining up for gigs in India, 2018 doesn’t seem too different. Jamaican rapper and dancehall legend Sean Paul, known for his club hits like Get Busy, will visit the country next year

Sean Paul

A source reveals, “He will be performing in Delhi and Mumbai. The shows will be held towards the end of 2018.” This will mark the Grammy Award winner’s second visit to India after his Delhi and Mumbai gigs in 2012.

December 26, 1968:Led Zeppelin's first US tour began in Denver, Colorado. They were the opening act for the American rock band, Vanilla Fudge. Pic/Facebook
December 26, 1968: Led Zeppelin’s first US tour began in Denver, Colorado. They were the opening act for the American rock band, Vanilla Fudge. Pic/Facebook

Excited about performing his hit song, Temperature, in India, Paul says, “The love and affection I received from India during my last trip was commendable. I can’t wait to visit again, because I love India’s culture. Indians make a great audience. I’m sure I’ll entertain them.”

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Amy Jackson to play Saturn Girl in American TV series

Celebrities

Sep 262017

Amy Jackson is set to make her acting debut in the US with the Supergirl series. The British-born actor will make her debut in season three as Imra Ardeen, aka Saturn Girl, a strong-willed hero who uses her telekinetic ability to help those in need.

Amy Jackson

The show airs from October 9 and is based on the DC characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. On the Bollywood front, Jackson will next be seen in the Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar-starrer 2.0.

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Stephen King's 'It' Becomes The Highest Grossing Horror Film, Breaks 44-Year-Old Record Of 'The Exorcist'

Celebrities

Sep 242017

Until last month, every time someone made plans for a horror movie, there were a handful of options to pick from like ‘The Exorcist’, ‘The Conjuring’, ‘The Ring’ or ‘The Sinister’. But after September 8, our choices changed and how. Now we just cannot look past the movie adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘It’ and it seems we are not the only ones affected by the movie’s charm. Within first few days of its release, this movie and its scariest yet beloved clown ‘Pennywise’ has stirred up quite a storm globally and majorly in their home country. People lost their sh*t over an evil clown who loves to feast on innocent children and there are obviously no points for guessing that this movie is hands down one of the biggest blockbusters of this year.

Stephen King's ‘It' Becomes The Highest Grossing Horror Movie Ever © New Line Cinema

Having said that, it seems this Pennywise’s terror or should we say charm isn’t going to die down anytime soon, as the movie has now become the highest grossing horror movie ever, exceeding ‘The Exorcist’, on the domestic level. It took one devilish clown and Stephen King’s mind-numbing imagination to break the latter’s 44-year-old record of being the highest grossing horror movie domestically. ‘It’ has reportedly minted $236.3 million as the US box-office within the first few days of release, easily beating ‘The Exorcist’ that garnered $232.9 million. However, this achievement is just a small step as the 1973 release ‘The Exorcist’ still rules at the top position of being the highest grosser globally at $441.3 million, while ‘It’ is at $404.3 million.

Stephen King's ‘It' Becomes The Highest Grossing Horror Movie Ever © New Line Cinema

Pick up any of Stephen King’s novels, and you know that you are in for some spine-chilling and gruesomely fascinating read. Well, their adaptations only get better and we are thankful to all the directors for keeping the mystery and charm intact. Talking about the movie and Pennywise in particular, we think there couldn’t have been a better choice than Bill Skarsgard, who did a fabulous job in reintroducing us to coulrophobia all over again. The movie is directed by Andrés Muschietti. Given the gigantic tremors of fear that people felt after watching the movie, the makers are now gearing up for a sequel, which will only get scarier from here on.

As for the smashing record-breaking performance, can you hear confetti being thrown and wine glasses clinked at Pennywise’s sewer? Well, we surely can hear the party beats and who knows this might be one of his sinister plans to pull us into his charm.

Source: Variety

Big B's 3 'treacherous' days in hotel room post9/11 attack

Celebrities

Sep 122017

Amitabh Bachchan

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has revealed that he was not allowed to board a flight to the US after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the country in 2001.

During that time, he stayed in a hotel room for three “treacherous” days.

“9/11 was most tragic and sad and frightening… I was shooting for ‘Kaante’ in Los Angeles and had taken a couple of days off to travel to Egypt for the International Film Festival in Alexandria, where they were honouring me with a special award,” Amitabh recalled on his blog on Monday on the 16th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

“Ceremony over, the next morning I took a flight out of Cairo, to Los Angeles via London… Arrived in London, Heathrow Airport, and after a short wait was announced to board my flight to Los Angeles via New York City,” he added.

The 74-year-old said when he was about to board the flight he got a call from “very frantic and screaming Shweta (Nanda) from Delhi” who asked him to see TV.

“I did not have time to ask why, and I think it was quite obvious that something important and serious was happening … also immediately there was a sudden commotion in the entire airport … people were moving about rather rapidly in all directions, some with muffled screams and a large portion of them running to the large TV screen at the terminal,” Amitabh said.

He said he saw one plane hitting the World Trade Center on TV.

He added: “Motionless and in shock and stunned silence, people watched the second one go in too and it was a most inexplainable situation .. some had anger written all over them, some were in tears, others were frantically making calls …

“I just stood there for a while stunned and then quietly walked across to my gate to board the flight … boarded, taxied off and then the plane turned back … announcement … all flights to and from US blocked and stopped.”

Amitabh said that he stayed in a hotel for next three days.

“Airline after much to and fro arranged for us to get to a hotel and there we stayed for the next three days until there was clearance to travel,” Amitabh said.

“Those three days at the hotel were treacherous … did not move from the room and only watched TV giving news of the incident and talks and debates and details of what and why and where and how. A sad moment.

“A few years later I on a visit to New York had driven past the site, where preparations were being done to rebuild the spot with a memorial,” he added.

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Priyanka Chopra To Make A TV Series Based On Madhuri Dixit's Life

Celebrities

Jul 292017

Desi girl Priyanka Chopra is taking Hollywood by storm. This girl has charmed everyone in the West with her persona and acting skills. PC already has two big Hollywood movies, ‘Isn't It Romantic' with Liam Hemsworth and ‘A Kid Like Jake' coming up next in line. And, there is also a buzz that she is all set to produce a show soon.

PeeCee has started her own production house in India and now even in the West, she is all set to don the hat of a producer. According to a report in Variety, she will be producing an American comedy series based on the life of dhak-dhak girl Madhuri Dixit for ABC Studios.

Priyanka Chopra and Madhuri Dixit (c) Twitter

The title of the series is yet to be decided, but the show will revolve around the real life of Madhuri in the US. The show will be scripted by Sri Rao who has also written for ‘General Hospital: Night Shift'.

Well, we are pretty sure most of you are already excited reading this piece. Also, the dancing diva will be an executive producer in this venture.

Priyanka is producing an @ABCnetwork show based on @madhuridixitnene's life.. about a former Bollywood actress living in America ðŸ™ŒðŸ?¼ðŸ’• yes GIRL! bringing more diversity to American television âœ¨ ~ #priyankachopra #madhuridixit

In reality, Madhuri moved to Denver, US after marriage, giving her career a backseat and starting a new life with her husband Sriram Nene. Her leaving India left millions of fans disappointed and heartbroken.

However, she returned back to Mumbai five years ago. Despite not being in India for a very long time, she is still one of the most admired and loved actresses of B-town.

There was a buzz that something big is coming up when Madhuri tweeted, “Loving downtime in the US. Back up soon with announcements. Til then enjoy.”

Loving downtime in the US. Back up soon with announcements. Til then enjoy! pic.twitter.com/MEyc9rNAF7

— Madhuri Dixit-Nene (@MadhuriDixit) June 23, 2017

Looks like this is exactly what she was talking about and we are already loving the idea of a show based on her life. The Mark Gordon Company (MGC) will also be part of the project and we can't wait for the official announcement to roll out.

'Naagin' actress Mouni Roy sets temperatures soaring in bikini snap

Celebrities

Jun 292017

Mouni Roy

Yesterday, Naagin actress Mouni Roy set temperatures soaring on Instagram with her swimwear snapshot. The telly actress, who is holidaying in the US, was snapped at Lake Michigan. She wrote, “Humming the heart jazz.” Mouni is soaking in the sun with her gang of besties. Word is on her return, she is set to sign a Bollywood flick with a leading star.

Mouni Roy is currently holidaying in Chicago, the actress shared a lot of pictures on her social media accounts. Take a look…

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Rajinikanth leaves for US for regular health checkup

Celebrities

Jun 292017

Chennai: Tamil superstar Rajinikanth, currently shooting for his upcoming movie “Kaala Karikalan”, today left for the US for “health checkup”, sources close to the actor said.

“He has gone (to the US from Mumbai) for regular health checkup,” the sources said.

Last week, the top star had left for Mumbai from here to take part in the shooting of “Kaala Karikalan”, directed by
Pa Ranjith.

The 66-year-old actor recently gave indications that he was holding discussions on entering politics.

“I have not denied it. We are discussing and yet to take a decison. Once I take a decision, I will inform you,” the
Kabali star had said.

The shooting for “Kaala Karikalan” was going on at a brisk pace in Mumbai over the last few days.

Rajinikanth, who had met his fans in May, had asked them to “prepare for war”, hinting that he might consider entering politics.

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Rajinikanth to undergo medical checkup in US

Celebrities

Jun 292017

Rajinikanth

Superstar Rajinikanth has left for the US for a medical checkup, a source said.

“Rajini sir left to the US with his daughter Aishwarya last night (Wednesday). He has gone for a regular medical checkup. They will be back in mid-July,” a source close to the actor told IANS.

The source clarified that Rajinikanth is “absolutely fine”.

He has completed the first schedule shooting of his upcoming Tamil film “Kaala”. The 67-year-old will return to the sets of “Kaala”, in which he plays a slum-lord-turned-gangster, in July.

“Kaala” reunites Rajinikanth and “Kabali” director Pa. Ranjith.

The film, which also stars Nana Patekar, Huma Qureshi, Anjali Patil, Pankaj Tripathi, Samuthirakani and Sakshi Aggarwal, is being bankrolled by actor-producer Dhanush.

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Democracy, migration, tech fuelling change in Indi

News

Dec 172012

New Delhi: Democracy, migration and technology are the three basic forces that drive change in India, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi said on Monday.

He made this remark while chairing a talk by eminent US-based Indian scientist Vijay Kumar on ‘Aerial Robot Swarms: Technology that will shape the future’ organised by Rajiv Gandhi Institute For Contemporary Studies (RGICS).

In his interventions during interaction, Rahul also emphasised the need for democratisation of technology and urged youngsters to explore the usage of technology for both humanitarian and nation building purposes.

“I don’t think, technology can enslave us. I think we enslave ourselves,” he said responding to a question and added that technology can be used for wrong purposes too.

Recalling the introduction of computer in the country when his late father Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister, Rahul said the RGICS chose robot as a topic to make people understand its technology and how it helps the people.

In his speech, Vijay Kumar, who is a science professor at University of Pennsylvania, narrated the functioning of autonomous micro aerial robots that can operate in three- dimensional environments, with or without GPS, and after many opportunities for environment monitoring, search and rescue and first response.

He described his recent work on small, agile aerial robots at the University of Pennsylvania and the challenges in deployment of large numbers of aerial robots, with applications to cooperative manipulation and transport, construction and exploration and mapping.

PTI

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First Published: Monday, December 17, 2012, 23:35

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