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Much like the children of other Bollywood celebrities, actor Ajay Devgn and Kajol’s 15-year-old daughter Nysa and 8-year-old son Yug, get a lot of media attention and are often targeted by social media trolls. In an interview to IANS, Devgn, a protective father, said social media users should not judge his children. He said: “Judge me, but don’t judge my kids. Kajol and I are the actors, judge us...it’s because of us, our children are under the spotlight everytime.” “Being judgmental about someone is not a good thing. If I start passing a judgement on someone, that person would obviously feel bad...so do my children,” he added. The Singham star, who was in Delhi to promote his forthcoming film Total Dhamaal, said, “Honestly speaking, those people don’t really matter. But I feel bad sometimes when my kids go through such harsh trolling.” The star couple’s first child Nysa recently got trolled and body-shamed for her airport look – and this was not the first time she was being targeted. Asked about how Nysa deals with “such harsh comments”, Devgn said: “She used to get upset over trolling earlier, but now she doesn’t care about it anymore. She knows how to deal with it. She has accepted that there will be some people who will keep judging no matter what.” On how to tackle trolls, he said, “Avoid it... If you will react, they will react more and this will continue. So better to stop fighting against trollers.” Commenting on how people have reacted angrily to remarks by some actors on the Pulwama terror attack, Devgn said: “In such a crucial situation, it is better if we become conscious while choosing our words because people are angry and you never know how someone at the opposite end interprets your message or post. “One can be misinterpreted anytime and then you can’t sit down and explain to people that what were your real intentions. It’s better if we all become little conscious and don’t react to things immediately. Think twice before writing anything on social media to avoid hurting someone’s sentiments.” – IANS

A renowned stand-up Indian comedian known for clean humour that can be enjoyed with family is all set to bring laughter to Doha today. The event titled ‘Indian Comedy DJ Night’ will see two performers namely; Raju Srivastav, star comedian, and Akbar Sami, a DJ and musician. Wirohub Events is presenting the comedy show that is powered by 360 Realtors. Raju was born on 25 December 1963, in Kanpur in a middle class Kayastha family. His father was a poet – Ramesh Chandra Srivastava known as Balai Kaka. Being a good mimic, Raju wanted to become a comedian since his early childhood. Raju has performed in stage shows in India and abroad. He also launched a series of his audio cassettes and video CDs. He gained attention initially as an Amitabh Bachchan look-alike. He started his career by doing small roles in Bollywood films. He had a part in Maine Pyar Kiya and other small roles in various movies such as Baazigar and Bombay to Goa. He worked as an actor cum comedian in Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiyaa. He entered comedy in the talent show The Great Indian Laughter Challenge and finished as second runner-up, subsequently taking part in the spin-off, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge - Champions, in which he won the title of ‘The King of Comedy.’ Further, he participated in the comedy show Comedy Ka Maha Muqabla. In 2013, Raju along with his wife participated in Nach Baliye 6 which was a dance couple show on Star Plus. He also appeared on Comedy Nights with Kapil. As for Akbar Sami, he is a dance choreographer turned DJ and musician. He is known as one of the pioneers of DJ music in India. He became famous with his remix albums such as Jalwa, Jalwa 2 and Jadoo. Akbar started his career as a team dancer with Bollywood celebrities such as Arshad Warsi, Sajid Khan and Longinus Fernandes at the age of 13. He also used to cut tapes for his dance shows. Later, he turned into a choreographer. He forayed into deejaying. After gaining some experience, he did a crash course in deejaying from London. He is one of the few DJ’s who started their journey in the 1980s. He made his acting debut as a negative character called Ghoda Bhai in the film called Fattu Sala in 2015. In 2018, he debuted as a singer in the remake of classic Bollywood song Kabhi Kabhi. Talking to Community, Nidhi Sharma, one of the organisers, said: “The great Indian Comedy DJ Night is a new concept in Doha which combines music with comedy. Raju is known for his neat and clean family comedy/ He is popular face in India is performing live at Al Masa Ballroom in Holiday Inn from 8pm till late in night. The DJ has also been a known name in Indian music circles.” She added: “The tickets are available in three categories; general, gold and platinum. The show is going to be completely family show. We are bringing Raju in Qatar because we want the expatriate families to savour live comedy and music together. The comedian is best known for sobre jokes. The show will also present a bit of old comedy for the Doha audience. I believe we are going to have an outstanding response to our show.” Nagesh Rao, an active member of the Indian community, said: “I am very excited to attend the comedy show. I will go with my wife. I have seen his shows in India. It is a very good opportunity for the expatriate community to enjoy the comedy of Raju. “I have been living in Qatar for 28 years. My children have grown up here. It is always good to have some cultural and entertainment performances from your native country. Since, 2019 is being celebrated as India-Qatar Culture Year, we are going to have more and more such kind of activities in coming months.”

Nepal Magar Association Qatar (NMAQ) organises an event to 142nd Memorial Day of Lakhan Thapa, a Nepali revolutionary whom Nepal government has declared as the first martyr of Nepal. Mahendra Thapa Maga, Adviser to NMAQ, was the chief guest at the event.  The event kicked off with the national anthem of Nepal, which was followed by Magar anthem and one-minute silence in the honour of the martyr. The attendees put garlands on the photograph of the martyr. Speaking on the occasion, Mahendra Thapa highlighted about the life of Lakhan. He said that the textbooks should include about Thapa and his life.

In Pakistan, Lahore is traditionally known for its young designers and one can accredit that to the relentless endeavour of Sehyr Saigol who has very cleverly created a bridge between the Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design (PIFD) and Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC), especially when you take into account that PIFD is the biggest fashion school in the country. However, fashion industry in Pakistan is not contained to a particular city. In recent years, the success of the Fashion Pakistan Week (FPW) and Fashion Pakistan Council (Karachi) has turned fashion industry of Pakistan into a much more dynamic affair. The electric tension between huge power houses and emerging designers makes for an unpredictable week, especially when in recapitulation it has turned out to be a tale of two cities.  The way Lahore functions and their week is structured, each designer knows what the other is up to and how they operate. They are very well knit together and presents the perfect face of one big happy PIFD/PFDC family. From Selina, PR for PFDC, to Saad Ali, CEO of PFDC, everyone is well synced with each decision. Atleast that’s what we feel.  However, Karachi is not out of place itself either. It’s a totally different beast altogether where everyone is too busy doing their own thing to know what the other is up to. Everyone’s a big player up to their own big game.  For what one has noticed PFDC only nurtures PIFD graduates, well mostly, so if you’re unfortunately not a PIFD graduate, you’ll have to pull a lot strings together to make it to the ramp of Sunsilk Fashion Week as a designer. The senior designers of PFDC, including HSY, Maheen Kadar, Kamiar Rokni, Maria B, Ali Xeeshan, Mohsin Ali are all PIFD graduates and new young designers from fashion school like Husain Rehar are being fostered to be a part of the game. Well FPW also nurtures young designers, like an incubation centre, but what’s best about them is that the council does not restrict itself to only entertaining graduates of a particular design school. They keep their purview open. Which is a good thing. It gives an opportunity to all those young bloomers that PFDC doesn’t probably pay attention to.  Well PFDC and Fashion Pakistan Council has recently announced the dates for upcoming spring/summer fashion weeks 2019. PFDC is set to host an extravagant four-day PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week (PSFW19) scheduled to take place from 11th to 14th April in Lahore and Fashion Pakistan Council to host FPW from 12th to 14th March in Karachi. Both the fashion weeks are just a month apart from each other. Since the schedule is still not out, what concerns me is that which fashion week will feature bigger designers of acclaim. Also if there’s an overlap of designers showcasing on both the fashion shows, will we get to see the same collection again or they’ll design something new? Looking forward to how the designers play along.  Where it’s the 18th edition of FPW, PFDC is celebrating is 20th consecutive fashion week divided into three categories, including Luxury Prêt, High-Street prêt-a-porter shows and Lawn.  Keeping up with its tradition of scouting and nurturing young designers, this year the ‘Rising Talent’ platform will yet again open doors to promising talent at PFDC.  If you follow fashion circuit of Pakistan, then you probably know that Trade Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) regularly partners with FPW for foreign buyers, but this time round TDAP has partnered with PFDC for a rather new concept, TEXPO 2019. The exhibit will be happening simultaneously alongside the fashion week at the Expo Centre, Lahore. The aim of the expo is to attract approximately 400 professional – local and international – buyers this season to Lahore. With TEXPO, PFDC is now aiming to draw more buyers for the local fashion industry along with fostering creation and style. It is one step ahead to reposition Pakistan’s fashion culture in the global fashion economy. Let’s see what the two councils present. Well, as London Fashion Week is just underway, which will be followed up by New York, Paris and Milan, just remember we’ll be keeping our tabs for what’s the ‘it’ trend for spring/summer 2019. And we’ll definitely draw a parallel for if designers this season brought international fashion inspiration to Pakistan or not. Bisou Bisou!

Serena Williams, who has as much impact off the tennis court as on it these days, is headed to Hollywood next. Or, at least, to a celebration of Hollywood. The world-renowned athlete, who recently appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for Bumble and made a surprise cameo on Lip Sync Battle last month to reprise her role from the 2016 music video for Beyonce’s Sorry, will be one of the eight non-actors to present at the Oscars on Sunday, the New York Times reported. Williams, 37, will introduce A Star is Born, while seven other celebrities will each take on one of Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Favourite, Green Book, Roma and Vice. “Along with inclusion, which we definitely want to embrace, the big theme of the show is about movies connecting us – not in this theatre but in a big, sweeping, cultural way,” Donna Gigliotti, the lead producer of the Academy Awards, told the New York Times. “There are so many things to balance. Some viewers want to see glamour. You have to pay attention to where there is humour and where there is music. When do we guess that people at home might get up to make popcorn in the kitchen, and what can we have on right after that to bring them back?” The other seven presenters have not been announced and a spokesperson for the Academy did not return a request for comment. The 2019 Oscars have already seen a laundry list of changes – but few that have stuck – as the annual awards show aims for a return to legitimacy. Serena Williams fights for female empowerment in Super Bowl ad from Bumble. The ceremony will go without a host for the first time in 30 years after Kevin Hart stepped down following backlash for homophobic tweets that resurfaced online. Plans for a “popular film” category were also quickly scrapped after criticism that the award was announced so Black Panther could be recognised without the Academy having to give its top trophy to a superhero movie. The most recent controversy, however, came when the Academy announced intentions to eliminate four categories – cinematography, film editing, live action short and makeup and hairstyling – from the live telecast in order to cut time from the three-plus-hour broadcast. But stars, including Brad Pitt, Kerry Washington, Emma Stone,Spike Lee, George Clooney, Alfonso Cuaron and dozens more protested, signing an open letter that blasted the decision. “Since its inception, the Academy Awards telecast has been altered over time to keep the format fresh, but never by sacrificing the integrity of the Academy’s original mission,” they wrote. “When the recognition of those responsible for the creation of outstanding cinema is being diminished by the very institution whose purpose it is to protect it, then we are no longer upholding the spirit of the Academy’s promise to celebrate film as a collaborative art form.” The Academy relented and reversed its decision. — New York Daily News/ TNS

The Steps comeback went pretty well. Dubious marketing didn’t help their singles. Only one of the tracks released from their album, Tears On The Dancefloor, made any impression on the charts. This was lead single, Scared of the Dark, which peaked at number 37. But the album reached number two on the UK chart and the Steps comeback concert tour proved enormously successful. It is two months short of two years since Steps released Tears On The Dancefloor. The five-piece vocal group might have been expected to build on their comeback with a new album by now. Instead, it is Claire Richards, certainly the strongest singer in Steps, who is enjoying a UK top ten hit with her debut solo album, My Wildest Dreams. “I’ve been working on this album for the past three years,” Claire remarked. “The others knew all about it and that I would be releasing my solo album during the break between Steps albums and tours.” It is actually more than 10 years since Claire initially intended to create a solo album. After she and Ian ‘H’ Watkins left Steps in December, 2001, they performed together as H and Claire. All three of their singles made the UK top ten but their album, Another You Another Me, only reached number 58. They were dropped by their record label and split up in 2003. At this time, Claire was busy with the preparations for her marriage to Steps backing dancer Mark Webb. She had taken up with Mark after ending an affair with former Steps publicity manager Reece Hill. The marriage was doomed to failure. Claire and Mark were divorced in 2005. She had rekindled her romance with Reece before her first marriage had been dissolved. However, their relationship proved to be a genuine love match. They married and are the proud parents of two children. “I was thinking about doing a solo album when I became pregnant. I didn’t want to do all the work required to promote a record at a time when my baby had to be the top priority so everything was put on hold. Things happened during the course of my career and private life which meant I didn’t seriously return to the prospect of making a solo album until about three years ago.” Claire was uncertain about the style of songs she wanted to record for her album. “Steps make a specific type of pop music so I felt it would be expected that I would do something very similar or completely different. I found it difficult to know what to do. I eventually decided that I didn’t need to stray too far away from the basic Steps sound but record songs which might be considered as a little more sophisticated. “I wanted the songs to reflect myself as an individual rather than a member of the group. I’m 41 now, married and the mother of two kids. The songs had to make sense for a woman who has my circumstances. The lyrics really had to mean something.” A wide variety of songwriters have contributed the 12 tracks on the standard edition of My Wildest Dreams, 15 on the deluxe version. One unexpected name amongst the credits is Claire herself. “I listened to literally hundreds of song demos before choosing those I wanted to record. Most are about love and heartbreak, pretty universal themes. The song I co-wrote is about my children. I know there will be many women who relate to this track.” Claire looks to further promote her album with a concert tour in the summer. “I did some shows before Christmas to give people a taste of my album. They went really well so I’d like to do a tour later this year. Nothing has been set as yet apart from supporting Celine Dion at her London concert in Hyde Park on July 5. I’m unbelievably excited about that.” When does Claire anticipate reuniting with her Steps band mates? “The plan is to start working on our next album sometime in the summer. The others are really busy at the moment. None of them are doing anything in music. It’s all family or business. “Of course, Faye (Tozer) was in the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in the last part of 2018 and she’s just finished the live tour. I know how much she enjoyed doing all the shows but she might want to put her feet up for a while before we get back together to do the next Steps album. “I’m not sure how much work I’ll have done before we join forces again. But I love performing so I’ll be ready and waiting. For now though, everything is about my solo work. All my attention is focused on promoting My Wildest Dreams.” Marina Marina Diamandis was formerly billed as Marina and The Diamonds. But the Welsh singer and songwriter has now decided to abbreviate her stage name to Marina. “There isn’t any particular big reason behind the name change,” said 33-year-old Marina. “It was just something that felt natural and the right thing for me to do.” It is four years since the release of her last album, Froot. Although it peaked at number 10 in Britain, the album did not match the UK chart-topping success of 2012’s Electra Heart or her 2010 debut, The Family Jewels, which hit number five. Yet Froot gave Marina her highest placing on the Billboard 200. The number eight position far surpassed the number 31 spot achieved by Electra Heart and the number 138 reached by her debut album. An as-yet-untitled new album should soon be released but the lead single, Handmade Heaven, is available now. Despite her successful albums, Marina has enjoyed few hit singles. Just four of her own songs have found a place in the UK top 40. The most successful of these was Primadonna, a track from Electra Heart, which reached number 11 in Britain and did well in other parts of the world. She returned to the charts late last year joining Luis Fonsi as the featured vocalists on Clean Bandit’s single, Baby. This effectively became the prelude to Handmade Heaven. Filmed in a snow-covered Estonian forest, the video for her new single can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiOGlYjKgX8 “I wrote Handmade Heaven at a time when I felt very out of sync and lost in the world,” Marina remarked. “Something that helped me was taking the time to look closely at nature every day. “In some ways, we live in a very unnatural world. Our brains are constantly trying to adjust and adapt to a lot of social and technological change. I think this can cause a lot of suffering. So many people have anxiety whilst the natural world has less of a role in our lives. “That’s why the song is important to me. It’s about the sadness of feeling separate from nature. Handmade Heaven is an imagined paradise where we connect with people who are on the same wavelength and how special it feels when that happens.” Avril Lavigne / Nicki Minaj Many critics have expressed surprise that rapper Nicki Minaj is the featured performer on Canadian singer / songwriter Avril Lavigne’s latest single, Dumb Blonde. In fact, the two artistes were massive fans of each other’s work long before they ever met. “I used to drive to my waitressing job at Red Lobster playing Avril’s debut album every day for months,” Nicki stated. “I’d cry to I’m With You, and blast out Complicated, Things I’ll Never Say, Nobody’s Fool and Sk8ter Boi. Avril is just so unbelievably talented.” Avril is equally effusive in her praise of Nicki. “She is my favourite. I’ve been listening to Nicki for so long. I listen to Fly, Starships and Bed all the time. As soon as I recorded Dumb Blonde, I knew she’d be the perfect artiste to collaborate with on the track. It was like a dream come true when she said yes. “Nicki is such a talented, strong woman and driving force. Having her on Dumb Blonde is so special for me. We wrote the song as an anthem for anyone who has been stereotyped or talked down to. Keep your confidence up and don’t let anyone tell you how to be.” There is no official music video as yet but an official lyric video is the latest posting at www.youtube.com/user/AvrilLavigne Also available to view here are the videos for the two singles previously issued from Avril’s newly released sixth studio album. The title-track, Head Above Water, was released last September while Tell Me It’s Over was issued this past December. SOAK Irish indie-folk singer / songwriter Bridie Monds-Watson, better known by her stage name SOAK, has just released her latest single. With Valentine’s Day just having passed, Valentine Schmalentine could be regarded as a kind of antidote to the day for those in love. The track is taken from SOAK’s sophomore album, Grim Town, which is set for release on April 26. Valentine Schmalentine follows Everybody Loves You and Knock Me Off My Feet as the third single from Grim Town. Videos for all three songs can be found at www.youtube.com/user/officialSOAK

SpongeBob sang it best: “It’s going to be a good one, just wait and see.” Nickelodeon announced that it will celebrate the 20th anniversary of SpongeBob SquarePants with the “Best Year Ever”: a tribute that will launch this July with a one-hour special on TV, leading up to a new movie scheduled to hit theatres in summer 2020. “The tiny residents of Bikini Bottom have held the world’s attention for a remarkable 20 years and we owe it all to the monumental creator Stephen Hillenburg,” Nickelodeon’s executive vice president of animation production and development, Ramsey Naito, said in a statement. “This anniversary special is a love letter to everyone in the universe of SpongeBob, from the fans across the globe to the incredible creative team, crew and talent who continue to bring these great characters to life.” Kicking off the Best Year Ever is the mixed live-action and animated special, SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout, which will premiere July 12. This anniversary special will see SpongeBob and Patrick venture to the surface world and stumble upon some familiar characters while visiting a restaurant called the Trusty Slab. While the best friends are away, the residents of Bikini Bottom set up a surprise party for the birthday sponge. SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout will feature the actors that voice SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Sandy, Squidward and Plankton playing live-action doppelgangers of their characters. New episodes slated to premiere in summer include one in which SpongeBob’s personality changes after closing the signature gap between his front teeth, as well as one in which he becomes the boss for the day at the Krusty Krab. Another new episode will see the tiny, diabolical Plankton and his computer wife Karen somehow have a baby. SpongeBob SquarePants officially premiered on July 17, 1999, and in the years since, the beloved characters have been on the big screen, on the Broadway stage, in holiday parades and even in some of the Internet’s favourite memes. Hillenburg died last year. The new film set for next year is titled The SpongeBob Movie: It’s a Wonderful Sponge. – Los Angeles Times/ TNS

Jana Sawal National Daily (JSND) and Himalayan Events Pvt Ltd recently organised Himalayan International Music Awards - 2019 at Best Western Plus Hotel.  Some 37 categories, including best national song, best modern song, best music video, best composer and best musician among others were presented at the ceremony. The event was attended by notable personalities, including Ramesh Prasad Koirala, Ambassador of Nepal.  The event kicked off with the national anthem of Nepal and Qatar, which was followed by a welcome song performed by Nabin Poudel. The event featured various musical and dance performances by local and Nepali artistes, including Bhumika Rai, Susmita Giri, Ashma Gautam, Amrit Khatri, Radha Tiwari, Shova Tirpat, Chija Lekhali Tamang and Sarswoti. The organisers also presented mementos to notable personalities attending the event, including Ramesh Prasad Koirala, Dev Kaji Dangol, Nepali community leader; Mahindra Chamlagai, President of Nepali Business Association Qatar (NBAQ); RK Sharma, Gulf Co-ordinator of Non Resident Nepali Association; Raj Regmi, Vice President of NBAQ; Sagar Nepal, Nepali community leader; Ramesh Bhatta, Secretary at NBAQ , Muktaza Musalman, President of International Nepali Muslim Society; Sarita Gurung, Female Co-ordinator at Non Resident Nepali Association National Co-ordination Council Qatar; Yaseem Mama, Chanak Pokheral, President of Nepali Overseas Forum Qatar; Kareem Box Miya, President of Federation Nepali Journalists Qatar; and Narayan Bhandari, Youth Co-ordinator at Non Resident Nepali Association National Coordination Council Qatar; along with Abdul Basid, Shree Krishna Bhatterai, Arjun Khannel and Deepak Lamichane. The musical awards bagged by Nepali artistes, included Saraswoti, Best Nepali Pop Singer Award; Dipu Tamang, Best Solo Song Singer; Sharad Tamang, Most Popular Song; Dinesh Tamang, Best Male Newcomer Model in Music Video; Alina Rayamajhi, Best Movie Actress; Shobha Tripathi, Best Tij Folk Song; Uttam Bhandari, Best Lyrics; Ashma Gautam, Best Female Newcomer Model in Music Video; Amrit Khati, Most Popular Folk Song; Rajesh Timilsina, Best Folk Music Video Director; Prakas Tamang, Best Pop/Modern Music Video Director; Sagar Ghising, Best Tamang Folk Music Video; Milan Lama, Best Movie Artist Male; CR Yakkha Rai, Best Modern Song; Bhanumati Tiwari, Best Folk Duet Singer Female; and Gopal Prasad Tiwari, Best Folk Duet Singer Male. Other winners, included Ranjeet Pariyar, Amrita Sripal, Manju Lama, Dawa Tamang, Dharma Raj Pokhrel, Karna Raj Giri, Ghija Tamang, Sushmita Giri and Smiriti Gautam.  

Celebrities Kapil Sharma, Diljit Dosanjh and Ravi Kishan have praised the team of Total Dhamaal for adding a regional touch to the marketing of the project. The makers launched four version of the movie trailer – in Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi and Bhojpuri. They have been created and dubbed by well-known regional creators, and were launched by a celebrity in each region, read a statement. For instance, the Punjabi version was pushed out by Kapil and Diljit, Ravi launched the Bhojpuri one and the Marathi and Gujarati version was launched by Riteish Deshmukh and Dilip Joshi respectively. “Ajay Devgn have you seen this Punjabi version of Total Dhamaal trailer... It’s very funny,” Kapil tweeted. Diljit also said that the trailer is well-made. And Ravi posted: “Bhojpuri power sure shot blockbuster.” “While we want to connect with audiences outside Hindi-speaking regions, we want them to have as much fun as we’ve had in creating these spoofs,” Shikha Kapur, Chief Marketing Officer, Fox Star Studios, said. “We’ve taken a lot of creative liberty to ensure that the spoofs aren’t direct translations of the original trailer, but creative units with their own jokes and local flavour,” she said. Total Dhamaal is the third instalment of the successful franchise Dhamaal, which originally starred Arshad Warsi, Javed Jaffrey and Riteish Deshmukh alongside Sanjay Dutt. It also stars Madhuri Dixit Nene, Anil Kapoor and Boman Irani. Co-produced by Fox Star Studios, Ajay Devgn Films, Ashok Thakeria, Kumar, Sri Adhikari Brothers, Anand Pandit, Sangeeta Ahir and Kumar Mangat Pathak, the film is slated to release on February 22. – IANS

Cultural Diversity Festival continues to entertain Doha audience with a variety of folk and traditional dances from different countries.  The most recent entertaining act during the Cultural Diversity Festival was the performance of a Serbian folk dance ensemble at Katara Amphitheatre. The harmonious music, well-choreographed folk dances, and traditional clothes with vivid colours from Serbia made the pleasant Saturday evening enchanting for the audience, who were present in the open air theatre in large numbers. The ensemble called Dukat exhibited the diverse dances from different regions of Serbia for two days in Katara. The 22 dancers, young boys and girls, danced in rhythm to melodious tunes tirelessly in groups. Clad in colourful traditional clothes, the performers danced in tandem often holding each other’s hands. The performances portrayed traditional gypsy dances and dances from Hungarian, Slovakian, Belgrade and Kosovo regions of the country. The extent to which the audience loved the performances was visible when they clapped and applauded the dancers after every dance. The cultural festival started on October 18 last year and will continue to till March 19. In total, folk music performers from 17 different countries are taking part in the festival. So far, the artistes from Qatar, India, Oman, China, Macedonia, Turkey, Spain, Czech Republic, Iran, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Bulgaria, Morocco and Serbia have performed. Further, the folk dance groups from Sri Lanka, Bosnia, and Russia will also perform in Katara. Talking to Community, Dunja Miltic, spokesperson for the ensemble, said: “We have been performing different traditional dances from Serbia. We also presented dances from different minorities in Serbia. We like to show the diversity of our country. Ever part of Serbia has its own costumes and dances. We had 18 differently choreographed folk dances. However, there used to be much more folk dances in Serbia. “In old times, every village used to have different dresses and traditions. The people used to gather in the centre of their village and dance to celebrate different occasions. Such parties were also a way for the young boys and girls to choose their futures spouses. We presented these old dances. In Serbia, we speak same language with different accents and have distinct cultures.” Speaking about her ensemble, she said: “Dukat is a kind of gold necklace that the boys used to gift their would-be brides. I think similar kinds of traditions do exist in Arab world also. The ensemble is a group of 40 dancers and 22 of them have come to Qatar. Most of the dancers grew up together and formed the ensemble. I started dancing when I was seven-year-old. We have been performing in different countries across the world. We travel every year at least one time. This is our second time in Qatar. I was not a part of the ensemble when it first came to Qatar in 2002. We have performed in Algeria, France, Belgium, Hungary, and China. I am very happy to be in Qatar. I like the architecture and old side of the country. We are familiar with the Islamic way of life as we have Muslim population in our country.” When asked how the cultural exchanges help the two countries understand each other better, the dancer said: “No matter where we are travelling, I think we can just exchange of cultures and can learn more about each other. In this way, we can remove whatever barriers we have in different cultures. We should have more and more people to people contact events.” Jovana Bozic, who was the part of the ensemble during its 2002 visit to Qatar, said: “We as an ensemble like to perform in other countries. In 2002, we were the first ever group from Serbia to come to Qatar. A lot of dancers could not make to come here again. At that time we used to perform every night at the Corniche during an international festival. I still remember that the families used to have a walk in the area and would enjoy the dances at the same time. “I must say Qatar has grown a lot. The development seems to be a fairy tale to me. Everything has changed. We had a lot of fun last time. Now, also we are having a great time here.”

Oscar voting is underway, and academy members are busy balloting, replaying movies to freshen their memories and considering whether a vote for Roma in the foreign-language film category is enough or to go all in and mark it for best picture as well. We asked academy members from four different branches — writer, actor, director, producer — to anonymously share their choices in the top eight categories. In some cases, they were still debating. But here’s a snapshot of where they’re currently landing. WRITER, woman in her 30s Picture: I debated between Black Panther and The Favourite, deciding on Black Panther. My best picture picks have always been based on movies that fill me up and stay with me on top of being technically well-made. I want a best picture winner to be a movie that took the most risks and that people enjoyed (aka went to see). I loved The Favourite but ultimately decided on Black Panther because it ticked every box for me and yet didn’t feel like a movie designed for winning Oscars. Director: This was a tough one. I think that Alfonso Cuarón absolutely deserves the Oscar for Roma — it was so gorgeously shot, and as a writer I have so much respect for how he can tell a story with images. However, Spike Lee is Spike Lee. I try to base my opinions on the filmmakers’ current films, and I don’t know if BlacKkKlansman is a better-directed movie than Roma, but I do know that Spike Lee has somehow never been nominated for director, and I want him to win for his consistent ability to move my world sideways with his storytelling. Original Screenplay: The Favourite! What a terribly fun, inventive and gorgeous tale, efficiently told. And it’s a story that would normally involve two men and the queen — how refreshing that this movie went a different route. Adapted Screenplay: I love the Coen brothers eternally, but something about Buster Scruggs being an anthology film kept me from voting for it. That might be ridiculous, but it’s true. Instead, I’m going with If Beale Street Could Talk. Having read the source material recently, I was struck by how Barry Jenkins was able to convey the warmth, tone and detail of Baldwin’s words into his script. Actress: I would be happy with any of these women winning, but my favourite performance was Olivia Colman’s. Her ability to emote the endless pit of sorrow just underneath her frazzled demeanour broke my heart. Plus, I feel like best actress nominees never get to be funny, and, my God, was she funny. Actor: Rami Malek. I was not a fan of Bohemian Rhapsody, but I was impressed with Malek’s performance. If Christian Bale takes this, that’s fine. Both men took on very physically altering roles, and both men did a good job with those roles. But one played a ferocious rock star with gusto and complexity that transcended the movie itself, so I’m going to go with that one. Supporting actress: Regina King. No question. Again, I loved all the performances in this category, but the scenes in Puerto Rico alone earned her this Oscar for me. Supporting actor: Richard E. Grant is my choice in this very stacked category. I’d be pleased with any of these actors winning, but Grant’s performance was moving and caustic and perfectly pitched, and I want him to be in every movie. ACTOR, man in his 50s Picture: I’m going with Black Panther. It sounds bananas. I thought the popular film Oscar idea was absurd, and I’m glad they got rid of that quickly. Ryan Coogler … to go from Fruitvale Station to this in five years is incredible. That whole production should be honoured. I think it would be good for the industry, and I think it would be good for the academy. And if Bohemian Rhapsody wins, I’ll quit the academy. Director: If I could vote for Bradley Cooper, I would. I thought he got ripped off. So Pawel Pawlikowski [Cold War] is my choice. Original screenplay: I voted for Ethan Hawke for actor. He should have slipped in. I loved him; I loved the movie. It’s crazy that [First Reformed] is Paul Schrader’s first nomination. I hope he gets his due. Adapted screenplay: I lived in New York when that whole thing happened with Lee Israel, and Can You Ever Forgive Me? captures that great tale. I’m also a big Nicole Holofcener fan. She just keeps turning out really great, interesting stuff. I think this is her best ever. Actress: Olivia Colman, I think. I’m partial to Glenn Close finally getting an award. But I’m not a fan of the movie. I’m a fan of her amazing performance. But the range Colman shows in The Favourite just covers all the bases. She gets to do everything in the emotional spectrum in that film. Actor: I’ve been going back and forth between Rami Malek and Christian Bale. I’ve watched both films two or three times. It’s so silly and arbitrary to say that Rami Malek’s performance is better than, say, Bradley Cooper. They’re all so individually fantastic. But I loved what Rami Malek did, and the work ethic he brought to it was extraordinary. Supporting actress: I love Regina King. She’s always just been an underrated actor for me. She brings such strength to everything she does. Plus, I love If Beale Street Could Talk. I think it’s an underrated movie, and I’d like to see it win something. Supporting actor: Richard Grant is fabulous in Can You Ever Forgive Me? And there’s no bigger Withnail and I fan than I am. I just love seeing a comeback story. DIRECTOR, woman in her 40s Picture: Alfonso Cuarón has made so many amazing movies, but I think Roma is his best. It’s personal, it’s political and it’s a world you can lose yourself in repeatedly. I’m glad it’s on Netflix. I know so many people who’ve seen it who otherwise would never have taken the plunge. Director: Again, Cuarón for all the same reasons. Original screenplay: The Favourite. It’s nasty. It’s funny. It has a duck race. And it leaves you devastated. Adapted screenplay: I could have easily voted for Spike Lee for director. That category is ridiculous. I feel good voting for him here too, because BlacKkKlansman has everything you’d want from a Spike Lee movie — it’s provocative and thrilling and offers a window into the American experience, past and present. Actress: Olivia Colman. All those things I said about The Favourite are there in Colman’s acting. It’s wonderful to see so many people discovering her with this movie. Actor: I think Willem Dafoe in At Eternity’s Gate does something extraordinary. He makes you see how consumed van Gogh was by his passion, by his art. It’s the first van Gogh movie I think that’s truly made a case for the necessity of art. Supporting actress: I came close to voting for the screenplay of If Beale Street Could Talk, so I feel moved to support Regina King here for her wonderful work in that movie. Supporting actor: Richard E. Grant made me laugh, and he made me cry. That counts for a lot. PRODUCER, man in his 50s Picture: Roma, for its delicacy and expertise in craft. [Forget] the Netflix theatrical argument. I’m so sick of that discussion. It’s just a super-well-crafted movie that deserves all the accolades. That’s a clear choice to me. Director: Hands down, Cuarón has to win. It’s a singular vision. I know he’s been lauded already, but I don’t care. He deserves this. Original screenplay: I probably have to go with Roma, again, for that same kind of transformative emotion that I felt. I’m a little bit of a purist. You can’t get picture and best director without getting best words. Adapted screenplay: Hearing people speak on the original material and hearing Barry Jenkins speak about adapting it, I’m leaning toward If Beale Street Could Talk for its specific transmutation. Actress: I’m probably spitting in the wind here, but Melissa McCarthy. I’m a New Yorker, and I know that lonely person. And she just blew me away. Actor: I’m really fighting through two choices. I didn’t like Vice. I’m a big fan of Adam McKay, but I didn’t think this was a well-built narrative. However, Christian Bale is transformative, and if you could separate a performance from a movie, it’s here. But Rami Malek … like Christian Bale, he personified this real person but also made it his own. I’m leaning toward Rami because I appreciated the movie more. Supporting actress: I’m so confused. I almost don’t have a choice … but Regina King will probably be it. The Favourite was fun, but Emma and Rachel — and I felt the same way about Amy — great scenes, for sure, but those performances came up short. Supporting actor: This is really hard. Again, because I love the movie, I was thinking of Richard E. Grant. But I think I’m going with Adam Driver, who I think stole the movie as a supporting actor. —Los Angeles Times/TNS

Veteran actress Zarina Wahab will be seen playing the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother Heeraben Modi in the upcoming biopic PM Narendra Modi. She says it’s special. “It’s an honour to play the role of the mother of Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is going to be one of the most special roles I have ever played. I hope the audience like it,” Zarina said in a statement. Television actress Barkha Bisht Sengupta will be playing Modi’s wife Jashodaben in the film. She had a great experience shooting for the film, Bisht said. “I am grateful to Sandip Ssingh (producer) for giving me an opportunity to be a part of such an amazing film. I had a great experience working with him earlier in Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela and I know playing Jashodaben is going to be interesting too,” Barkha said. The film also stars Manoj Joshi (as BJP chief Amit Shah), Prashant Narayanan, Boman Irani, Darshan Kumar, Akshat R. Saluja, Anjan Shrivastav, Rajendra Gupta and Yatin Karyekar. Actor Vivek Anand Oberoi will be playing the title role of Modi. “These two characters were one of the most crucial ones in the film. I am glad that Zarinaji agreed on doing it as no one other than her could have done a better job. Barkha is playing his wife and she is doing a great job,” Producer Sandip Ssingh said. PM Narendra Modi, the biopic will discover the journey of Narendra Damodardas Modi from his humble beginning to his years as Gujarat Chief Minister onto his landmark win at the 2014 general election, finally becoming the 14th Prime Minister of India. It is being directed by National Award-winner Omung Kumar. The biopic will be shot extensively in Gujarat and across locations within the country. – IANS

With no box office pressure and the lines between web series and feature films blurring, Bollywood actors like Abhishek Bachchan, Arjun Rampal and Kunal Kemmu are more than thrilled to get a taste of the “interesting space” – the digital world – that is “breaking different geographical and time barriers”. After lending his voice to the Hindi dubbed version of Netflix’s Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle last year, Bachchan will be making his digital on-screen debut with the second season of Amazon Prime Original series Breathe. Actor Emraan Hashmi’s first web series The Bard Of Blood will also premiere on Netflix soon. Actor Kunal Kemmu is already keeping the audience on the edge of their seats with his maiden web series “Abhay”, an eight-episode crime thriller that premiered earlier this month on ZEE5. “It’s a new platform for me and new experience. It’s a longer commitment. By the time I will be done with eight episodes, there will be about seven hours of footage. So playing a character for seven hours and playing a character for two hours on screen... There’s a difference. It’s a process that I am enjoying,” Kemmu told IANS. “The OTT platform is not dependent on a Friday. So, makers are not like ‘Oh! if I have to put in money, I need a star who will get a good opening on Friday’. This is subscribers-based platform,” he added. For the Golmaal Again actor, it was an “instinctive call”. “It was a break away from the kind of roles that I was doing. In the past few years, I have been doing a lot of comedy. Then suddenly, there was a comeback to intense and drama parts. Most importantly, when you are on set working, it is no different from a film’s set,” he added. Senior actor Sanjay Mishra, who has joined the cast of ALTBalaji’s upcoming web series “Booo.. Sabki Phategi”, said: “Web series are now no less than a movie in terms of production quality, writing and other aspects.” “I think web is a new space and the next big thing, the audience can watch content anytime and anywhere so why not provide them with content.” Along with him, actor Tusshar Kapoor will make his digital debut with “Booo.. Sabki Phategi”. He said: “Comedy is something that comes naturally to me. I love the genre – horror-comedy and it gave me immense joy to hear that I would be working with (director) Farhad Samji and (producer) Paritosh Painter. “As soon as I heard the narration from them, it was an instant reaction for me to be a part of this. There was no strategy involved behind a horror-comedy being my debut web series. Also, Farhad being like my family is an addition. We have been together because of Golmaal for many years now.” Tusshar Kapoor said the digital space was extremely “huge right now, breaking different geographical and time barriers”. Among other actors, Arjun Rampal will make his digital debut with The Final Call later this month, Huma Qureshi will be seen in upcoming Netflix series Leila and Arshad Warsi will star in VOOT’s Asura. – IANS

Alita: Battle Angel will never stand upon a massive pile of honours, nor will it be tossed into the garbage bin of failed movies. Any effort that has Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi) as director and a screenplay from James Cameron (Avatar) and Laeta Kalogridis (Altered Carbon) automatically has some shine. But, that is not enough. The massive feature film based on the 1990 manga series created by Yukito Kishiro is simply the most underwhelming production to be released in years. Efforts to bring the manga character to life look like bits and pieces from past TV and film projects including Rollerball, Ready Player One, Dark Angel, Avatar and Star Trek: First Contact with a little bit of Pinocchio tossed in. The biggest flaw is it all is jumbled together to tell a story that never reaches a finale just to ensure a sequel. It all starts in the 26th century, 300 years after a great war has left the majority of the planet uninhabitable. The story starts rolling when Dr Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz) finds the head and spinal column of a young girl among the trash being discarded by the city up above. He just happens to be the local cyborg doctor and has been waiting for years to find a use for the body he built for his wheelchair-bound daughter who was murdered. From the moment Alita (Rosa Salazar) opens her massive eyes, it’s impossible not to think of the big-eyed children painted by Margaret Keane. No matter the setting, it’s the eyes that dominate every moment. Making Alita look like she popped out of the pages of a manga never plays out smoothly enough to make her appear humanoid enough. Alita comes across clunky and more marionette than cyborg. It’s odd that her look is so weak, as the supporting cyborgs and robots have been beautifully designed. Ed Skrein’s hunter/warrior character is far more mechanical than Alita and yet comes across as being full of life. The supporting cast is generally more interesting than the Battle Angel. This all could have been forgiven if the writing wasn’t so clunky and full of material that was dated when it was being used in 50s’ horror flicks. It’s also annoying the way Alita is presented like a giggling teenager. The only payoff seems to be a forced romantic relationship with Hugo (Keann Johnson). The boy-meets-sorta girl story moves at such a quick pace it’s funny Alita’s head doesn’t come unscrewed. As with all these life-after-disaster movies, an evil force gets rich and keeps secrets. Mahershala Ali is wasted as Vector, the boss of the Motorball league and puppet for an even more evil person calling the shots from the world in the sky. This baddy’s main role is to be the bridge to the next movie. Alita’s big moment to shine – and destroy other cyborgs – comes when she gets a tryout for the Motorball league. All the carnage provides some entertaining moments, but there’s nothing new in presentation or style. There’s the problem with Alita: Battle Angel in a metal nutshell. There’s no core of originality. It’s all just a collection of familiar sequences tied at the hip to the unemotional love story and presented in a so-so 3D version. Cameron’s connection to the project suggested the 3D would be remarkable after the stunning camera form for Avatar. There’s no such quality here, and that makes one more thing that causes Alita: Battle Angel to look like so many other films that have come and gone. – TNS

From a relatively moderate television host profile to making it big on television dramas, Anam Tanveer has traversed some distance. When something or someone is coined iconic, it’s a big deal. Which is why you need to pay attention to the game-changers. Meet Anam Tanveer, a trailblazer who is leaving her mark on the world, for good. She is a young woman dominating our television screens these days – ready and waiting to seize the next-big-thing crown. I wanted to know what this young woman is all about. What I discovered was humility, love for her craft and aspirations to create change with her acting prowess. Anam Tanveer is only in her mid-twenties and yet her attitude towards life and her approach to her work makes her seem as wise as a 100-year-old Buddha.  Since making her first screen appearance as a television co-host on Dum Dum Dee Dee, kids show on Pakistan Television (PTV), Pakistani television network owned by Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, Anam has gone and done a lot in the Pakistan entertainment industry. Over to her… “I always wanted to be a model, but my mother didn’t approve of it. However, being a host on a political channel was still acceptable. So I hosted one of the political shows and that’s where I met Khaled Anum, veteran actor. He offered me to co-host Dum Dum Dee Dee and after that, offers for drama serials started pouring in,” recalls Anam. “I signed a drama serial without even telling my family. I told my mother that I’m shooting a play when I had completed the first spell of shoot. She was against it initially, but when my family saw my performance on television, they just realised my talent and hard work and went on to support me. They trust me.” Anam started off her acting career with cameo in Mere Dard Ko Zubaan Milay (2012) on premier entertainment channel HUM TV and then paved her way to the lead roles where entire drama serial and script seems to revolve around this young gal. How has the journey been? She says, “Everyone in their mind wants to be the lead actor. But, during my entire time in Pakistan entertainment industry – I’ve only realised one thing, lead is there but if you’re a good actor, no matter what your role be, you’re going to create a mark. It’s the character and the role that matters. No matter how big or small your role is, if it’s substantial enough to bring the right flavour to the script then that’s all that matters. I realised it a little too late but now I just enjoy being an actor rather then just looking out if it’s a lead or not.” Although Anam was never a slimmed-down figure, but over the period of half a decade, we’ve seen her working out for her slender new frame. Talking about the body-size standards set in Pakistan media industry, she comments, “Unfortunately there’s a standard set that you need to be skinny to do well on-screen. I don’t agree with it. One should only be skinny enough that suits him/her, maintaining a healthy lifestyle at the same time. I think you should have a curvy body because nothing’s more attractive than that but at the same I do not mean chubby,” she adds, “Healthy curvy! When producers and directors can’t say no to you directly they just make excuses and asks you to reduce weight. Looking back at our very own industry veterans like Sana Fakhar and Reema Khan, they were never skinny. They’ve always been curvy and they were huge stars in their times. So body size doesn’t matter. It’s your work and art that’s important.” Pakistani drama audience goers are used to watching glamorous and often scantily clad women on screen, almost always playing damsels in distress or love interests torn between family duty and following their heart. Anam talks about the dire need of changing this trend and presenting more substantial roles for the audiences. She says, “Unfortunately in our industry only damsel in distress kind of roles are preferred by the audience. I think this trend should be changed. We just pick one topic and start creating content around it unless there’s a saturation point. We should address real problems of society in our dramas and try to create an awareness.” Talking about her forthcoming projects, Anam reveals, “I’ve recently signed a film of horror genre and I’m the lead. I’m playing a bold reporter who’s a very tom boy sort of girl and that’s pretty much I can reveal as of now. Till it goes on-floor. I’m super excited. The script is amazing. I’ve been getting offers for films before but I always wanted something to be substantial.”

Cody Johnson has always been regarded as the underdog. Despite a string of contract offers from major labels, the 31-year-old country music singer, songwriter and musician always insisted on remaining an unsigned independent artiste who took on the big boys at their own game and came out a winner. So, what changed? What made him decide to ink his deal with Warner Music Nashville? “I had nothing against the major labels,” Cody smiled. “I didn’t see them as part of an evil empire or anything like that. I had several friends who loved being with major labels. They were happy, had great lives and were treated very well. “I received a number of very good offers which I politely declined. I just felt like I’d spent all those years building my career from nothing. I’d got my fan following from putting my songs online and performing so many shows. I just felt like if I worked a little harder, I could promote my albums myself and also hire the right people to do the same kind of things as a record label. “I finally decided to sign with a label because I thought I might have taken things as far as I could as an independent artiste. I felt like I needed the expertise and power of a major label if I was going to progress to the next level. Offers came in from numerous labels. I chose Warner Music Nashville because of my relationship with president and CEO John Esposito. He had tried to sign me on two previous occasions and made very good offers. But the new offer was much more generous than in the past. This, along with everything John promised the label could do for me, was why I signed with WMN.” Cody’s own life story could easily form the basis of a country song. Indeed, his final independent album, 2016’s Gotta Be Me, contained tracks which were clearly autobiographical. He was born and raised in the east Texas town of Sebastopol. He began singing and playing guitar at the age of 12. His first band was formed in 2006. Cody was on guitar, his dad Carl on bass and his friend Nathan Reedy on drums. “We went to a local radio station to do an in-studio performance and they asked us our name. We hadn’t settled on a name but virtually everyone on the young Texas music scene is in a something band so we just said we were The Cody Johnson Band.” More musicians were added to the line-up with the passing years seeing several personnel changes. Cody and his backing musicians released four independent albums between 2006 and 2011. But music was initially just a part-time activity. Cody was a professional rodeo rider. “I guess I had twin dreams of becoming a country music star and the bull riding world champion. I used to do both things on the rodeo circuit. I played my music on the days when I wasn’t competing.” Too many injuries caused Cody to give up on his bull riding dream. But he still didn’t opt for a full-time music career. He became a prison supervisor with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Huntsville. “I didn’t think I had enough of a fan following to give up the financial security of a regular job. That didn’t happen until after the release of my fourth independent album, A Different Day, in 2011. “The album did well in the Texas charts and I won the Texas Regional Music Award for New Male Vocalist of the Year. It was this, along with getting the go-ahead from my wife, which made me decide to quit my job and go with my music full-time.” Touring took up much of the following two years. I became friends with Kyle Park. We teamed up for what was for me a very important tour. Kyle was also an independent artiste but he was much more established than me. His fans got to hear me and I’d like to think a fair number of them also became my fans.” Cody quickly found he was able to sell out larger venues for his solo concerts. The demand to see him grew to such a degree that the national chart success of his fifth album, Cowboy Like Me, came as no surprise. Released on January 14, 2014, it peaked at number seven on the Top Country Albums chart and number 33 on the Billboard 200. More solid rounds of touring saw a continued increase in Cody’s fan following. His sixth independent LP, Gotta Be Me, hit number two on the Top Country Albums chart and number 11 on the Billboard 200. He also became the only independent artiste to play a sold out concert at Houston’s massive NRG Stadium. “That was pretty amazing. More people came to see me than big name artistes such as Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean and Chris Stapleton. Looking out at all those people and remembering the kind of audiences I played to when I first started made me feel very grateful and very humble.” As Cody had hoped, the backing of Warner Music Nashville has taken him to the next level. Ain’t Nothin’ To It, his newly released major label debut album, has given Cody his first number one on the Top Country Albums chart and a number nine spot on the Billboard 200. He is also enjoying singles success. On My Way To You has become both his first top 20 hit on the Hot Country Songs chart and his debut entry on Billboard’s Hot 100. “I couldn’t be happier about how things have worked out. The label didn’t want me to change anything. They just wanted to help me in the areas where I needed help. Things like getting my music on to major market radio stations outside of the Texas Regional Radio Report. They’ve done everything they said they would do, and even more. It’s been great.” 21 Savage Numerous hip hop stars have leapt to the defence of rapper 21 Savage. Real name Sheyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, he claimed to have been born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. But it transpires that 21 Savage is actually British. Now 26, he entered America legally in 2005 but failed to leave when his visa expired 12 months later. Despite going through the Atlanta school system and being convicted of drugs offences in 2014, 21’s illegal immigrant status has apparently only just been brought to light. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency now insist he should be deported to Britain. He hardly represents a drain on the US economy. 21’s last album, I Am > I Was, topped the Billboard 200 in the first two weeks of this year. Cardi B, Meek Mill and Rich The Kid are just a few of the artistes who are protesting the deportation order. 21 was obviously aware of his situation and attempted to become legal by applying for a U-Visa. This is a means by which those in America illegally can become legal citizens if they have a qualifying US relative. 21 has three children which, at least in theory, would make him eligible. It appears this U-Visa application is what set the Immigration and Customs people on to him. Ironically, 21 has become a positive role model within the Atlanta hip hop community. His days of legal troubles seemed to be behind him. He has engaged in several acts of philanthropy to help young people in Atlanta and part-funded an anti-bullying campaign. His legal team is working to ensure 21 remains in America. The outcome will be determined by a federal immigration judge. Kimbra Kimbra Johnson has made little impression on the international music market since the New Zealand-born singer / songwriter featured on Somebody That I Used To Know, Gotye’s massive 2011 world-wide hit single. Her 2011 debut studio album, Vows, fared well on the back of Kimbra’s success with Gotye. It reached number 14 on the Billboard 200 and was a top five hit in both New Zealand and Australia. Her second album, 2014’s The Golden Echo, achieved similar success ‘down under’ but peaked at number 43 in America. Kimbra’s latest album, last year’s Primal Heart, proved nothing like so successful. It scraped into the Billboard 200 at number 179, reached number 12 in New Zealand and number 31 in Australia. As with The Golden Echo, world-wide sales were insignificant. Even at the height of her popularity, Kimbra’s singles sales did not amount to much. She has had one top 40 hit in Japan, one top 100 single in Australia and a pair of top 40 hits in her homeland. Apart from being part of a charity single, her biggest New Zealand hit was 2012’s Warrior. But this was a collaboration rather than solo effort. The song also features Canadian electronic dance music star A-Trak and Foster The People lead singer Mark Foster. It was part of the Three Artists, One Song series sponsored by the Converse shoe company. Perhaps Kimbra will have better luck with her new single, Lightyears. Originally a track on Primal Heart, the single has been remixed by New York-based producer / engineer Chris Tabron. The accompanying video is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXmoxei8TXY

A year after the Grammy Awards were criticised for its track record in gender representation, women took centre stage at the 61st edition of the annual gala. There were bold performances and wins in many top categories, including the album of the year that was given to Kacey Musgraves for Golden Hour. The controversies of last year, when just one woman won a solo award during the telecast – and the outgoing head of the Recording Academy, the organisation behind the awards, remarked that women in music should “step up” to advance their careers – were never far from the surface of the show. Dua Lipa, a 23-year-old British singer, alluded to that when accepting the award for best new artist, saying she was honoured to be recognised among so many other female artists, reports nytimes.com. “I guess this year we really stepped up,” Lipa said. Backstage, she said the message of greater gender equity was immediately clear to her when the nominations were announced last December. Musgraves took home three other prizes, apart from album of the year, in the country field. The ceremony saw Falguni Shah and Prashant Mistry of Indian origin losing in two separate categories, while Grammy and Oscar-winning Indian musician AR Rahman enjoyed the show as an audience member. It was also the night of hip-hop artists. Both the record and song of the year prizes – the latter awarded for song writing – were won by Childish Gambino’s This Is America, a song about racial injustice. It was the first hip-hop song to win either award. But Donald Glover, the actor and musician who performs as Childish Gambino, was absent. He, along with Kendrick Lamar and Drake, the two influential young rappers in music, were offered performance spots on the show but they turned them down, reflecting the alienation from the Grammys that has taken hold among much of the upper ranks of hip-hop. Drake was there to accept the award for best rap song, for God’s plan from his blockbuster album Scorpion. Before his speech was cut off, he alluded to the gulf between the Grammy establishment and hip-hop culture. Brandi Carlile, an earnest female singer-songwriter in an Americana style, was the dark horse of the show, getting six nominations – more than any other woman – including in the top categories of album, record and song of the year. She ended up winning three awards, though none in the top categories. She took best American roots performance for The Joke, and Americana album for By the Way, I Forgive You. They were the first Grammys of her career. Lamar and Drake, the two most-nominated artists – with eight and seven nods respectively – each won only one. Lamar’s King’s Dead from the Black Panther soundtrack, tied for best rap performance with Anderson Paak’s Bubblin. Childish Gambino’s This Is America won a total of four awards, including rap/sung performance and best music video. The ceremony here began with Camila Cabello performing her song Havana joined by Ricky Martin, J Balvin and Young Thug. Then singer Alicia Keys, the host, introduced “my sisters” Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Michelle Obama and Jennifer Lopez. Each spoke about the inspiring power of music throughout their lives. Among various performers, Janelle Monae performed Make me feel with bits of inspiration from Prince and Michael Jackson. With Bradley Cooper absent, A Star Is Born star Lady Gaga took both parts of Shallow herself. She won best pop duo/group performance for Shallow. Lopez led a Motown tribute performed as a Vegas-style revue. She was joined by Smokey Robinson and Ne-Yo, with a medley of about 10 songs jammed into six minutes and featuring gymnastic, bottom-shaking, somersaulting dancing. Cardi B won the first Grammy of her career, best rap album for Invasion of Privacy. H.E.R., the stage name for Gabriella Wilson, led a slow-build version of her ballad Hard place. She won two awards, for R&B performance (in the song Best part) and best R&B album for her self-titled release H.E.R. Among the veterans, Diana Ross celebrated her 75th birthday with two hits from her solo career, The Best Years of My Life and Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand), while Dolly Parton had the most cross-generational appeal, singing a five-song medley with Katy Perry, Kacey Musgraves, Miley Cyrus and Maren Morris that had Smokey Robinson and the K-pop group BTS all dancing and singing along in the crowd, reports nytimes.com. – IANS

Actress Lisa Ray likes to take risks and says she enjoys playing unusual characters. “Anyone who has looked at my acting choices over the years, not only in India but abroad, would recognise that I’m a risk taker and I enjoy unusual characters,” Lisa said in a statement. “It’s in my blood – I don’t have the capacity to just play safe. I had to leave India in the early 2000s to find interesting content in independent films. Now the content I enjoy watching has been planted and is beginning to take root in India,” she added. The actress said there are “stories and characterisations I wish were there 15 years ago”. “So when I was approached to be part of Four More Shots Please!, even though I went back and forth with production, I was proud to be part of an entertaining and honest depiction of a lot of urban Indian women.” At this stage of her work life, she doesn’t take on work out of need. “I want to be a part of something that stands for something: for change, for authentic characters and story telling. And for fun! I’ve been fortunate over my career to work with strong female directors like Deepa Mehta, Shamim Sarif and now Anu Menon.” She is proud to be a part of Amazon Prime Video’s Prime Original series Four More Shots Please!, which revolves around the lives of four young, urban Indian women. It stars Sayani Gupta, Kirti Kulhari, Bani J and Maanvi Gagroo as these four women along with an ensemble cast comprising Lisa, Prateik Babbar, Neil Bhoopalam, Milind Soman, Amrita Puri and Sapna Pabbi. In its first season, the 10-part comedy, drama and romance series is anchored in the unceasing friendship between four women. It revolves around their relationships, work-life conflicts, ambitions and anxieties as they live, love and deal with being women in the India of 2018. “I’ve been waiting for 15 years for a story like this to happen in India – for stories like these to be planted and blossom in India,” said Lisa, who has featured in films like Ishq Forever, Veerappan and Dobaraa. “I feel like it’s a wonderful combination, again women taking hold of the narrative, women with real appetites, flaws and gifts, being able to present themselves as we see ourselves, while at the same time being wildly entertaining. “This is us; even though I am in my 40s, a mom and a cancer survivor, a part of me is still like this,” she added. – IANS

With scheduled performances by Lady Gaga, Cardi B, Camila Cabello, Kacey Musgraves, Janelle Monae and – hey, why not? – the always-welcome Diana Ross, today’s Grammy Awards ceremony promises to reflect with some accuracy a record business that for years has been fronted by female artists. Behind the scenes, though, the show will mirror a different situation: pop music’s shortage of women in offstage positions of power. Like much of the entertainment industry, the Grammys are controlled by men – in this case, the duo of Recording Academy chief Neil Portnow and executive producer Ken Ehrlich, who’s overseen the CBS telecast since 1980. And the world they’re feting is no less male-dominated. According to a study published last week by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, women are systematically “pushed aside” in the recording studio, where male producers outnumber female by a ratio of 47 to 1. Analysing the 700 most popular songs since 2012 (as ranked on Billboard’s Hot 100), the study found that women made up a mere 12 percent of the songwriters responsible for those tunes – and that just 10 guys wrote nearly a quarter of them. Yet this year’s Grammy nominations show signs of improvement. Beyond the high number of nods for female performers – itself a gain from 2018, when not a single one was up for record of the year – the crop includes many women who write or produce for themselves or others. Monae, Musgraves and H.E.R. are nominated as both artists and producers in the album of the year category, while song of the year recognises seven female songwriters, including 24-year-old Sarah Aarons, who co-wrote The Middle, performed by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey. Lady Gaga is up for the latter prize as well as record of the year with her smash Shallow, from A Star Is Born, which she co-wrote and co-produced. And among Brandi Carlile’s six nods are three tied to her song writing. Then there’s Linda Perry, the first woman to be nominated since 2004 for producer of the year – a Grammy no woman has ever won. Why is this important? Because awards shows, to the extent that they’re important at all, establish value systems that determine how creative industries operate.  They influence judgments about who gets opportunities; they make visible to young people the kinds of jobs available to them. And as this year’s nominees demonstrate, we’re far better off as listeners when women pursue production and songwriting in addition to singing and rapping. I’ll acknowledge here that Perry’s nomination is something of a lifetime-achievement honour; her recent work cited by the Recording Academy – on records by Willa Amai and Dorothy, among other obscure names – hardly moved the needle in 2018 as stuff by her competitors, including Kanye West and Pharrell Williams, did. Of course, male producers have been enjoying symbolic nods for ages, so it’s only fair that a woman finally should too. (Sorry, Larry Klein.) More to the point, though, it’s the trail Perry helped blaze in her heyday, back when she was writing and producing hits for Pink and Christina Aguilera, that some of her fellow nominees are now following – and which they in turn will widen for their successors. Representation clearly matters. For Monae and Musgraves, the result of each woman’s taking charge in the studio was an artistic breakthrough – Dirty Computer and Golden Hour, respectively – hard to imagine happening under somebody else’s watch. Both albums draw deeply on the talents of other players and producers, but each does so in service of a personal vision that was probably easier to execute than to explain. H.E.R.’s self-titled album is self-consciously rooted in the R&B auterism of mid-’70s Stevie Wonder, which is likely why it connected with so many Grammy voters. (Ditto Carlile’s willful throwback to the days of confessional singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Carole King.) And though Shallow was shaped by pros from both the record business and Hollywood, who would dispute that Lady Gaga’s experience with her own voice is what led to everyone’s favourite part of the song? “A prayer for freedom,” the singer recently called that famous whoa-oh-oh bit, and thank goodness she was empowered as a producer to showcase it. This month, shortly before the USC study was released, the Recording Academy detailed a new programme intended to bring more women into that kind of decision-making role. Describing “a status quo that has existed for centuries,” Tina Tchen of the academy’s diversity task force said in a statement that “the music industry is at a crossroads.” Here’s hoping the Grammy nominations are an indication that it knows which way to go. — Los Angeles Times/ TNS

To reach a global audience, Brazilian YouTuber Joe Penna had to harness the power of visual storytelling, making his videos accessible to anyone around the world. Communicating through images and across language barriers is a practice he honed online. For his debut feature film, he’s put those skills to use, with the nearly-silent survival tale Arctic. This gripping, taciturn and wintry film set on a nameless frozen landscape isn’t necessarily what you would expect from the former YouTube sensation ‘MysteryGuitarMan,’ but the film is a fine reminder of how cinematic language can and should transcend the spoken word. Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen is the perfect performer to star as Overgård, a man who has survived a plane crash in a punishing polar landscape. His Scandinavian flintiness brings an authenticity to Overgård’s knowingness and ability to survive in the harsh environment. He’s an actor who seems timeless, indestructible and determined. There is no doubt this man knows how to ice-fish. Penna, who co-wrote the script with collaborator Ryan Morrison, doesn’t bother with backstory for his lead character, or even with an explanation for his plight. There is no fiery crash, and the film is all the better for this careful restraint. All we know is Overgård is digging SOS messages into the snow, bunking in the downed aircraft, dutifully winding up his distress signal and carefully packing his fish in an ice chest, caught with an elaborate rigging system. Help arrives sooner than expected, but the rescue helicopter is caught in a vicious winter storm and goes down. Overgård can only rescue the badly injured female co-pilot (Maria Thelma Smáradóttir). With a map and a sled scavenged from the helicopter, Overgård decides the best course of action is to hike to a seasonal way-station, in the hopes of saving himself and the incapacitated woman. All he knows about her comes from snapshot of herself with her partner and baby. That’s enough motivation for him. Arctic is made up of Overgård’s patterns and wordless rituals. His watch beeps, telling him when to stop and when to go. He carefully charts his progress with a marker on the map. He feeds and cares for his charge, digs ice caves for shelter. But Mikkelsen’s performance is the most compelling in the moments in between, when he stops to pause, think and feel. Transporting her, he leans into her weight for a second, feeling the closeness of another human body in this barren, lonely landscape. Every now and then he looks up to the sky, taking in the weight of the situation. Mikkelsen is truly captivating in these moments – this is when the real acting happens, emotions barely but tangibly crossing across his face. As good as he is, and as compelling as the film is, it is frustrating that the female character is nothing more than dead weight the male hero drags across the tundra. Smáradóttir’s performance had to have been difficult, portraying a barely conscious body lashed to a sled. For a film that feels both classic and innovative, it’s a shame that in their script, Penna and Morrison rely on the tired trope of the vulnerable, wordless female character as merely motivation for male action. It’s the one flaw of this otherwise meticulous portrait of survival and human determination. – TNS