Entertainment
Stars bond over Ram Kamal Mukherjee’s book Long Island Iced Tea
It was one of the most glamorous book launches that the City of Joy had seen in a long time. Veteran film journalist-turned producer, Ram Kamal Mukherjee’s collection of short stories – Long Island Iced Tea – was unveiled by a stellar gathering of Tollywood legends, stunning actors, industry veterans and a smattering of corporate bigwigs. The glittering launch event was held on Saturday, at Chapter 2, Mani Square, Kolkata.
The evening began on a musical note, with a soulful performance by upcoming singer and reality TV star Sayani Palit. Star guests Prosenjit, Paoli Dam, Rukmini Maitra and Dev, took to the stage along with author Ram Kamal, Swarup Nanda (MD, Leadstart Publishing), and journalist-author Chandrima Pal.
There was palpable bonhomie between the stars and the author, as they recalled the first time they met ‘their friend’ and how their bond with him has deepened over the years. Anecdotes were shared and so were laughs over censorship, secrets and a fair bit of good humoured leg pulling, courtesy Dev, who was evidently having a good time. Rukmini, read out a small excerpt from Broken Frame, and spoke of how it touched a chord with her, and left her deeply disturbed. Prosenjit spoke of what attracts him the most in a short story (the surprise ending) and Paoli preferred to tease the audiences with just a bit about the ‘poison’ Long Island Iced Tea that she had shared with Ram Kamal.
One a more sombre note, when Chandrima Pal asked Ram about why many of his female characters conveyed their emotions through handwritten letters, he said, “Women in our families never get a chance to speak. Even when they try to speak out they are cut short, dismissed. Letter writing is a dying art form that helps women express themselves and have the last word literally.” He also quoted his former employer, senior media person Pritish Nandy who cherishes his collection of handwritten letters, and a beautiful verse by Gulzar that mourns the lost art of meaningful, thoughtful conversations and letters in the age of smartphone technology.
Others guests at the launch included Bharat Vijan (Shree Narayan Studios), Sujoy Prasad Chatterjee, Aniruddha Chakladar, actors Ankita Chakrabarty and Moubani Sorcar, designer Swati Bajoria, Jyoti Chughani (Bharat Laxmi Studio and Navina Cinema), Tejas Doshi (Indrapuri Studio), Samrat Ghosh (Zee Business Head) , Rajesh Khanna (Head, IBD Kolkata), Nilanjan Bose, Rajat Chatterjee (Director, TechI33t Ltd), Manoj Bhattacharya (Anurag Variety Stores) and Pankaj (Colour Fusion Studio).
Bollywood
Ram Kamal Mukherjee named ‘Best Director’ for his short film ‘Ek Duaa’ at IWMBuzz Digital Awards
Ram Kamal Mukherjee (R) whikle receiving the ‘Best Director’ trophy at IWMBuzz Digital Awards ceremony in Mumbai
Filmmaker Ram Kamal Mukherjee won the ‘Best Director’ award for his short film ‘Ek Duaa’ at the recently held IWMBuzz Digital Awards ceremony at Taj Lands End in Mumbai. The film is produced by Esha Deol Takhtani and Assorted Motion Pictures. Apart from winning the award, it was a special occasion for Mukherjee as two other films he directed also got recognized.
Esha won the ‘Best Actress’ award in the popular categories for her critically acclaimed performance in ‘Ek Duaa.’ After accepting the award, Esha said: “This film is extremely special for me, because I turned producer with this film and I would like to give entire credit to captain of the ship Ram Kamal Mukherjee for bringing such a wonderful subject to me.”
Avinash Dwivedi won the ‘Most Promising Debut’ award for his acclaimed performance in ‘Rickshawala,’ a film directed by Mukherjee. Avinash, who was accompanied by his wife and actor Sambhavna Seth, said: “This is beyond my expectation that today I am getting this recognition as an actor amidst all Bollywood celebrities for my role in Ram Kamal sir’s film Rickshawala. To get honoured for a regional cinema amidst such Bollywood biggie reinforced my faith in good content.”
Gurmeet Choudhary won the ‘Most Popular Actor’ award for his performance in Mukherjee’s film ‘Shubho Bijoya.’ Choudhary said: “Ram Kamal is an amazing story teller. When he narrated this story to me and Debina, we knew that this film will click instantly. I am honoured to receive this award, though the competition was really tough. I thank my fans and jury members who voted for me.”
Other winners at the award ceremony included Kartik Aaryan, Kiara Advani, Rakul Preet, Raveena Tandon, Huma Qureshi, Dino Morea, Sikander Kher, Sonu Sood, Anurag Kashyap, Guneet Monga, Manish Paul and other popular names from the Hindi film industry.
The much awaited Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt wedding fans had been eagerly waiting for finally got solemnised today afternoon in the presence of close friends and family members at Ranbir’s residence ‘Vastu’ in Mumbai. Check out some pictures of the same…
Alia took to her social media to write, “Today, surrounded by our family and friends, at home … in our favourite spot – the balcony we’ve spent the last 5 years of our relationship – we got married.
Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt
Bollywood
The Kashmir Files should be declared tax-free in Maharashtra, says BJP spokesperson Rajeev Panday
BJP spokesperson for Maharashtra Rajeev Panday, while speaking to Nation Next, said the controversial movie ‘The Kashmir Files,’ which grossed over ₹240 crore in India, should be made tax-free in the state.
Panday told Nation Next, “The movie has managed to depict, if not all, the brutalities on Kashmiri Pandits. It is a bold representation of truth. Kashmiri Pandit community was forced to leave their own homes in the country. Imagine their plight! Maharashtra government should make it tax-free in their state like the BJP did.”
The movie, which is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in the 1990s, has been made tax-free in at least BJP-run eight states namely Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Goa, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had also received requests asking him to exempt the film from entertainment tax in the state.
Rajeev Panday
Shreyas Talpade inaugurates ‘Green Screen Chroma Studio’ at ZICA in Nagpur
Dr Vedprakash Mishra inaugurates ‘Hello Diabetes’ International Conclave in Nagpur
Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal issues disqualification notice to 16 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs
Nagpur District Yuva Sena workers rip banner put up in Eknath Shinde’s support
As Maharashtra political crisis intensifies, police impose section 144 in Mumbai
Politicians, businessmen shower blessings on Chandrashekhar Bawankule’s son Sanket at his wedding reception
Nagpur gets its first 7 am cafe ‘SEVEN O’ ELEVEN’ at Shraddhanand Peth
Couples have a blast, win awards at ‘Hollywood Oscar Night’ in Nagpur
Disgruntled Ashish Deshmukh resigns as Maharashtra Congress General Secretary
Shatrughan Sinha, Prithviraj Chavan grace Ranjeet Deshmukh’s 75th birthday celebrations in Nagpur
Sumeet Raghavan on comedy: One has to understand what’s vulgar, what’s sensual
Urmila Matondkar interview: Chidambaram’s arrest puts a question mark on India’s democracy
Ranveer Allahbadia interview: Meet the man behind popular YouTube channel BeerBiceps
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Meet Gurudas Raut: The physically disabled cricketer who took Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket
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