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There has been years of speculation in the social media whether Karan Johar is related to I S Johar whose birth anniversary falls on February 16.

Now it can be told: yes, Indra Sen Johar was Karan Johar’s uncle.

When I narrate a quote that the iconoclastic, irreverent tongue-in-shriek, rabble-rouser of the 1960s, gave to The Sunday magazine to Karan Johar, he laughs, “Yes, that was I S Johar, shockingly irreverent and ahead of his times. He wasn’t afraid of speaking his mind. He did some really cool stuff in his time. And yes, we are related. He is my father’s second cousin. I never got to meet him in person. He passed away when I was just a child. But as I grew older I heard stories about him. He was quite an enfant terrible.”

The most notorious story about I.S Johar is the one about an...

Chahat Fateh Ali Khan’s Bado Badi Has Been Removed From YouTube ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

The internet got two shocks in the last three months. One when a song called Bado Badi released on YouTube and two when it was removed from YouTube today. The said song was the king in the world of cringe content and was sung by a singer called Chahat Fateh Ali Khan.

What Is Bado Badi?

For those who have come late, Bado Badi was a viral cringe song that was released by Chahat Fateh Ali Khan, a British Pakistani singer who released the song on his Youtube Channel on April 9.

In just two months, the viral cringe song got over 28 million views. However, the song was removed from YouTube on June 6, after Pakistani Singer Noor Jehan’s team objected to it.

Trending Kartik Aaryan Is Meeting His Fans If You Pay Rs 82 Lakh? All...

New Delhi, April 14 (Ians) Her influence persists in Bollywood even after her name has faded from public memory, althrough remixes of her rollicking hits from the 1950s continue to be in circulation. Another, and not that well-known, legacy of Shamshad Begum, though, was initiating what later became “item numbers”, though her contributions were more perky than provocative, saucy than raunchy, and racy without being ribald.

And then, they were delivered in a robust voice, whose clarity was compared to a temple bell by composer O.P. Nayyar, with a full-blown gusto and sense of abandon.

“Udan khatole pe udh jaaun”, “Mere piya gaye Rangoon”, “Kabhi aar kabhi paar”, “Bisvi sadi hai ye bisvii sadi”, “Leke pehla pehla pyar”, “Kahin pe nigahen kahin pe nishana”, and “Boojh mera kya naam re” are prime examples.

And then, nearly forty years before Madhuri Dixit in “Tezaab” (1988), Shamshad Begum, who was born on this day...

Classical singer Kaushiki Chakraborty, who is known for her prowess in Khayaal singing, is set to pay homage to Thumri vocalists at a concert in Mumbai this month. The singer, who has also lent her voice to the track ‘Kaaga’ from ‘Mirzya’, will pay an ode to her Gurus: Gauhar Jaan, Begum Akhtar, M S Subbulakshmi, Shobha Gurtu, Noor Jehan, and Kishori Amonkar.

Each segment will open with a specially designed audio-visual presentation that chronicles the life and journey of each of them. This will be followed by Kaushiki’s rendition of a traditional composition performed originally by the Thumri vocalist.

The performances will be followed by a new composition created and performed as a tribute to the Thumri vocalist, imagining how they would have performed.

The renowned vocalist has performed two concerts of the same theme in Germany and Mumbai last year. She is now bringing it to the...

Notorious for terrorising at least two generations of top heroes – in reel life – with just his trademark glare, steely voice, and facial expressions ranging from ferocious to sneering, he especially stood out for his film relations with Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, whom he once bested onscreen with two words.

In one standard of the lost-and-found potboiler genre, Amitabh, with his role’s habitual insouciance, asks a stern-looking, impeccably-dressed character: “Aap kaun hai mai-baap?”. Pat came the terse reply: “Tumhara baap”.

This was “Amar Akbar Anthony” (1977) – one of the 11 that Pran, born on this day (February 12) in 1920 – did with the Big B, playing with his father two times more or a reluctant ally. Of these, at least 9 are intrinsic to the Bachchan legend, including “Zanjeer” (1973), “Don” (1978), “Naseeb” (1981), “Kaalia” (1981), “Sharaabi” (1984), and “Shahenshah” (1988)

Pran also had a major part in launching the Big B’s path to stardom as it was he – and...

After the recently-concluded ‘Bachchanalia’ where Amitabh Bachchan memorabilia went under the hammer, the auction house DeRivaz & Ives has announced a similar tribute to ‘feminine icons’ of Indian cinema.

Vintage souvenirs of Bollywood actresses that will also celebrate a saga of beauty and their acting prowess will be auctioned in Mumbai.

The auction will celebrate actresses like Nadia, Jayashree, Devika Rani, Noor Jahan, Suraiya, Nargis, Geeta Bali, Bina Rai, Madhubala, Madhabi Mukherjee, Mala Sinha, Suchitra Sen, Shashikala, Sharmila Tagore, Meena Kumari, Jaya Bhaduri, Hema Malini, Zeenat Aman, Rekha, Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit and many more.

Titled ‘Feminine Icons of Indian Cinema’, the auction will be held on November 23-25, and a variety of iconic photographs, film posters, lobby cards and other original artworks will be on offer for film buffs.

Among them will be a rare ‘The Light of Asia’ original publicity still in silver gelatin, of the classic 1925 Indian silent film...

After the recently-concluded ‘Bachchanalia’ where Amitabh Bachchan memorabilia went under the hammer, the auction house DeRivaz & Ives has announced a similar tribute to ‘feminine icons’ of Indian cinema.

Vintage souvenirs of Bollywood actresses that will also celebrate a saga of beauty and their acting prowess will be auctioned in Mumbai.

The auction will celebrate actresses like Nadia, Jayashree, Devika Rani, Noor Jahan, Suraiya, Nargis, Geeta Bali, Bina Rai, Madhubala, Madhabi Mukherjee, Mala Sinha, Suchitra Sen, Shashikala, Sharmila Tagore, Meena Kumari, Jaya Bhaduri, Hema Malini, Zeenat Aman, Rekha, Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit and many more.

Titled ‘Feminine Icons of Indian Cinema’, the auction will be held on November 23-25, and a variety of iconic photographs, film posters, lobby cards and other original artworks will be on offer for film buffs.

Among them will be a rare ‘The Light of Asia’ original publicity still in silver gelatin, of the classic 1925 Indian silent film...

Three-fourth of his 88-year-long life was spent in acting and of these, six and a half decades, over half, had Dev Anand playing the lead (romantic) role, even as his peers and even several of his leading ladies had moved on or out. In the process, Dev Anand ended up being paired against at least three generations of heroines, if not four, as he transitioned from his early days where his female co-lead was the bigger star to a time when most actresses were keen on working with him as he sauntered from success to success with that charming demeanour and the winning smile.

While most of his early heroines, say, Kamla Kotnis, who was cast against him in his debut “Hum Ek Hai” (1946), Kamini Kaushal, the heroine of his first hit “Ziddi” (1948), Khursheed Bano or Nimmi or Shakila will only be familiar to hardcore film buffs or movie historians,...

Three-fourth of his 88-year-long life was spent in acting and of these, six and a half decades, over half, had Dev Anand playing the lead (romantic) role, even as his peers and even several of his leading ladies had moved on or out. In the process, Dev Anand ended up being paired against at least three generations of heroines, if not four, as he transitioned from his early days where his female co-lead was the bigger star to a time when most actresses were keen on working with him as he sauntered from success to success with that charming demeanour and the winning smile.

While most of his early heroines, say, Kamla Kotnis, who was cast against him in his debut “Hum Ek Hai” (1946), Kamini Kaushal, the heroine of his first hit “Ziddi” (1948), Khursheed Bano or Nimmi or Shakila will only be familiar to hardcore film buffs or movie historians,...

New Delhi, April 11 (Ians) The Indian women’s team will participate in the 2023 Iihf Ice Hockey Women’s Asia and Oceania Championship in Thailand from April 30 to May 7.

Tsewang Chuskit will captain the India squad with Dr Noor Jahan, a conservationist by training, in charge of the goal. The team is scheduled to depart for Thailand on April 11 but before that players will have their training.

The training of the 20-member Indian Ice Hockey squad, including five debutants, which will be coached by Canadian Darrin Harrold with Tsewang Gyaltson and Amit Belwal assisting him, is being supported by Royal Enfield.

The support from the world’s oldest motorcycle company comes after it has announced a partnership with the Indian women’s Ice Hockey team in order to strengthen their Olympic ambitions. It is an extension of the relationship of Royal Enfield with Ut Ladakh in order to develop winter sports in the region.

The reason is not difficult to ascertain. Ghazals, in the days before mass media and mass dissemination of knowledge, were only known and spread by recitation in public events like ‘mushairas’ where prevailing social norms did not allow the attendance of women, leave alone their participation. There were women who wrote — but this was a most private endeavour and they usually remain obscure.

And there was "rekhti". Said to originate in early 18th century Lucknow with then Urdu poetry’s "enfant terrible" Insha Allah Khan ‘Insha’, and his cronies like Saadat Yaar Khan ‘Rangeen’, Meer Yaar Ali ‘Jaan Sahib’, it was an earlier form of "feminist" poetry, where male poets made use of women’s voices, idioms, mannerisms, and, even accents, to talk about issues from the female viewpoint — or what they imagined it to be

While ‘rekhti’ was an affectation that generally fizzled out as decadent living declined, the...

Romantic and revolutionary fervour may seem polar opposites but this Urdu poet achieved a unique balance between them, describing his own course on: “Maqaam ‘Faiz’ raah mein koi jacha hi nahi/Jo kuu-e-yaar se nikle, to suu-e-daar (scaffold) chale” .

And while, he could say “Bhoole se muskura to diye the woh aaj ‘Faiz’/Mat puch walwale dil-e-naa-kardakaar ke” or “Bazm-e-khayaal mein tere husn ki shamaa jal gayi/Dard ka chaand bujh gaya, hijr ki raat dhal gayi”, he could address his paramour as: “Mujh se pahli si mohabbat mere mehboob na maang” and cite some gory and unsettling images of suffering to maintain “Aur bhi dukh hai zamaane mein mohabbat ke siva…”

Faiz Ahmed ‘Faiz’, who was born on this day (February 11) in 1911, was not the first revolutionary-romantic poet but the latest in an illustrious line that included the likes of Allama Iqbal, Shabbir Hasan Khan ‘Josh Malihabadi’, Maulana Syed...

He did not need any appurtenances to portray his evil nature onscreen – just a glare from his remarkable eyes, along with his steely voice, and a sneer – where enough.

Pran, however, sought to imbue each performance – whether as villain or supporting actor – with something different, be it mannerisms, make-up, and proper accents. Remember his outings as a Pathan, a Nepali, a Bhopali, and a Goan, or the ones in which he modelled his appearance on Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, Abraham Lincoln, or Sam Pitroda?

Born on this day (February 12) in Delhi in 1920, Pran may not have been a "method actor" but he had natural talent and acute powers of observation of different types of people that he artfully incorporated into his performances.

In the process, he transformed the Hindi film villain from a stereotype to a well-delineated character, who did not even require the willing suspension of disbelief needed for most cinematic performances.

ListicleOf the many interesting women characters of south Indian cinema who graced our screens this year, here are our favourites.Sowmya RajendranThe year 2022 was when cinema bounced back to some semblance of what it used to be before the pandemic struck the world. There were many blockbusters from the south Indian film industries, and quite a few of them had interesting women characters as well. This was a welcome change in a male-dominated field, where most films are hero-centric and mass entertainers have seldom had memorable women characters. Quite a few small budget films this year too had impressive women characters, who broke onscreen conventions and surprised us. Here are our favourite women characters from southern cinema this year: Gargi from Gargi (Tamil) Gautham Ramachandran’s hard-hitting courtroom drama is about a young woman whose father is accused of sexually assaulting a minor. Gargi (Sai Pallavi) is convinced of his...

Actress Mrunal Thakur made her Telugu debut with ‘Sita Ramam’ and received unanimous praise for her work in the film. But, not everything on the film set was a smooth sail for the actress.

She had to learn a new language and emote in a completely alien territory. But, what kept her going was the reward of playing a “beautifully written character” of Sita Mahalakshmi, who is revealed to be princess Noor Jahan in the movie.

Elaborating on the same, the actress said: “Being part of an enigmatic story was the biggest lucrative reason for me to be part of Sita Ramam. Despite whatever small hurdles that I had to adapt to and learn from, I was so elated to be part of this film. Learning a new language seemed like a small hike in exchange for this beautifully written character by Hanu sir.”

The other reward for her was...

Kalank has unfortunately turned into an ?epic? disappointment, the author feels that if the story of Kalank - the mega budget multi star period drama helmed by the 2 States fame Abhishek Varman that boasted names like Madhuri Dixit, Sonakshi Sinha, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sanjay Dutt and Kunal Kemmu would have been the way re imagined, retold over here by taking liberties after watching the original in theatres, things could have been different.

Here goes the re-imagined Kalank

Opening scene

A dying Satya (Sonakshi Sinha) makes her last wish and asks her younger sister Roop (Alia Bhatt) to marry her husband Dev (Aditya Roy Kapur), (keep reading for more) the period is the same 1945 and it?s Lahore in Pakistan.

(Read More:?Kalank: Major flaws that destroyed the movie)

Roop gets married to Dev

It?s a grand event in Lahore, The Chaudhry?s are a respected aristocratic family,...

Bombay in 1946 was an epicentre for the cry for freedom from the British Raj. Lots of now famous and some infamous things happened during this time. One of these is the story of the biopic of the Urdu Bollywood scriptwriter Saadat Hasan Manto, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Manto, written,directed and produced by Nandita Das, tells his story through the eyes of those around him. This film has already been acclaimed at Cannes and was recently released to Indian audiences on the 21st of September.

The music direction of the movie has been given to Sneha Khanwalkar. Already well known for the Gangs of Wasseypur franchise and Detective Bymokesh Bakshy! amongst others, her gritty and real-life music is often perfect for the period, without needing to take the audience back to it. In this film its important to realise that the music is pre-Lata Mangeshkar when the giants were Shamshad Begum and Noor Jehan,...

Mattel Inc. debuts today in the Nick Jr. preschool block on Nickelodeon, the brand-new season of Thomas & Friends, a game changing event in children’s television that is part of a strategic brand relaunch which includes a two-year alliance with the United Nations.

Olivia Wilde at the United Nations on September 7th to join a panel discussion supporting the Thomas & Friends Un collaboration to promote the SDGs

This is the first collaboration between a preschool brand and multiple Un entities to promote the SDGs via content to inspire the next generation of global citizens.

As part of the brand relaunch, the Thomas & Friends production team collaborated with the Un Department of Public Information’s Creative Community Outreach Initiative to develop content inspired by 6 of the 17 SDGs that were most appropriate for a preschool audience and fitting to the Thomas & Friends brand values. This included the Sdg’s #4 Quality...

Eminent poet and film lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri needs no introduction. He belonged to the legacy of learned lyricist like Sahir Ludhianvi, Kaifi Azmi, Shakeel Badayuni etc. who blossomed as literary poets but took to penning songs to make a decent earning.

List of songs penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri are long. They range from K. L. Saigal's Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya.. (Shahjahan) to Aamir Khan's Pehla Nasha.. (Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar). Other hits songs include Jaane Walo Zara Mudh Ke Dekho Mujhe... (Dosti), Jalte Hain Jiske Liye... (Sujata), Kya Hua Tera Vada... (Hum Kisise Kum Naheen), Ek Din Bik Jayega Maati Ke Mol... (Dharam Karam) etc.

Once for the movie Chirag (1969), staring Sunil Dutt and Asha Parekh, film director Raj Khosla asked Majrooh Sahab to pen a song which could emphasize the beauty of eye because the film's plot centered on the heroine's attractive eyes and how her world goes...

Sikander Rizvi, grandson of the legendary singing sensation Madam Noor Jehan and brother of actress Sonya Jehan (who debuted in Karan Johar’s ‘My Name Is Khan’) will make his big screen debut opposite screen sensation Humaima Malick.

The film titled ‘Dekh Magar Pyaar Say’ being directed by the noted Pakistani ad film-maker Asad-ul Haq is under production in Lahore and is expected to release later this year in India & Pakistan simultaneously, among other global markets.

A successful television actress, Humaima shot to larger fame with Shoaib Mansoor’s critically acclaimed ‘Bol’ in which she was paired opposite Atif Aslam. She made her Bollywood debut opposite Emraan Hashmi in Utv-Disney and Kunal Deshmukh’s caper, ‘Raja Natwarlal’.

Sikander Rizvi is being tipped as a Fawad Khan-in-the-making, for his drop-dead good looks, and has been voted by the Pakistani media as the country’s most eligible bachelor.

The main protagonists...

Sikander Rizvi, grandson of the legendary singing sensation Madam Noor Jehan and brother of actress Sonya Jehan (who debuted in Karan Johar's My Name Is Khan) will make his big screen debut opposite Humaima Malick. The film titled Dekh Magar Pyaar Say being directed by the noted Pakistani ad film-maker Asad-ul Haq is under production in Lahore and is expected to release later this year in India & Pakistan simultaneously, among other global markets. This romantic comedy revolves around the main protagonists' journey of love which is humorously chartered through the romantic city of Lahore. Talking about the film, director Asad-ul-Haq said, "Dekh Magar Pyaar Say is based in the cultural capital of Pakistan and will be featuring a brand new outlook on the traditional romantic movie, one that is filled with twists, turns, surprises and everything in between, all the while debunking established cliches associated with the romance genre.

The former Olympian Milkha Singh hasn't been to a theatre in the past 53 years. The last movie Milkha saw a black and white classic Anmol Ghadi (1946) starring Suraiya and Noor Jehan. Ever since he has stayed away from movies. After years he will be finally watch a movie that too based on his own life. It would be indeed a special experience for him to watch Bhaag Milkha Bhaag on 70 mm after so many years. "He (Singh) is very excited about watching the film when it releases this July. He wants to catch it with his family and close friends. Although his wife, son and daughter are movie buffs, Singh has been the complete opposite all his life. In over five decades, he hasn't watched a film even on television," says a source close to the former athlete. Ask Singh about it and he says, "I loved watching films from Raj Kapoor's days.

The former Olympian Milkha Singh hasn't been to a theatre in the past 53 years. The last movie Milkha saw was a black and white classic Anmol Ghadi (1946), starring Suraiya and Noor Jehan. Since then he has stayed away from movies. After years he will be finally watching a movie that too based on his own life. It would be indeed a special experience for him to watch Bhaag Milkha Bhaag on 70 mm after so many years."He (Singh) is very excited about watching the film...

In the first of two Yorkshire tributes to a century of Indian cinema, Irna Qureshi tells how a family secret became a matter of pride among friends

Indian cinema is celebrating its centenary this year. It was one hundred years ago that the country's first feature film, Raja Harishchandra was premiered in Mumbai. As Bollywood's global profile goes from strength to strength, I wager that 2013 will also be the year that many of my English friends will finally get around to watching their first Bollywood film.

My own relationship with Indian films goes back 30 years to the 1980s. Things were very different then. We watched Bollywood films at home, but we certainly didn't talk about them beyond our four walls. I think we knew deep down, that this was simply one more thing that set us apart from everyone else. And perhaps that's why I grew up with the perception...

On Monday 12 November 2012, the BBC Philharmonic and BBC Asian Network are set to collaborate for the first time ever in a celebration of the life and songs of fabled Pakistani singers Noor Jehan, Musarrat Nazir, Reshma and Nazia Hasan. Presented by Noreen Khan and Tommy Sandhu the concert will take place at the Alcc in the heart of Bradford and will also feature music from other renowned South Asian performers. This Queens of Melody concert is part of the 2012 BBC Philharmonic presents season.

International artists Shazia Manzoor and Qurat-ul-Ain Balouch (more commonly known as Qb) will take to the stage with the 80-piece orchestra to perform some legendary Pakistani classics. The orchestra will also be accompanied by traditional musicians performing punjabi folk songs, ghazals and film classics.

In the build-up to the event, Noreen Khan will host an “In Conversation” event with both Shazia and Qb on Friday 9th November.

We are back with a new video from our fabulous media partners Indybrown.TV, Omkari and the wonderful Ashanti Omkar. This week in the camera’s spotlight are singers Roop Kumar Rathod and Sunali Rathod, the husband and wife duo who are in the UK for their brand new concert series ‘Celebrating The Legends’. This special night of music, in celebration of 100 years of Bollywood and the greatest hits from this last century, pays tribute to some of the greatest singers from the Indian sub continent.

Modern yet classically trained singing sensations Roop Kumar Rathod and Sunali Rathod (the voices behind many contemporary hits from Bollywood blockbusters: ‘Teri Liye’ Veer Zaara and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi ‘Tujhmein Rab Dikhta Hai’ to name a couple, plus Ghazals and Sufi songs) will showcase the incredible vocal talents of legends Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Talat Mahmood and Noor Jehan in what promises...

To celebrate 100 years of Bollywood cinema, Saregama Events brings the first of a series of tribute shows of iconic Bollywood singers. Couple duo Roop Kumar Rathod and Sunali Rathod headline ‘Celebrating the Legends’ show, which salutes legends Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Talat Mahmood and Noor Jehan, in what promises to be a one off exclusive musical experience for UK audiences.

Saregama Events have become synonymous with quality music shows, which not only represent the sheer talent Indian singers possess, but also engineer their shows with a sophistication witnessed in the previous ‘Rafi Resurrected’ tour with Sonu Niigaam and ‘Simply Rahat’ with Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. ‘Celebrating the Legends’ promises to build on these shows and take musical lovers old and new on an amazing journey by showcasing the eternal talents of legendary Bollywood singers.

Bollyspice were at a special press conference with singers Roop Kumar Rathod and Sunali Rathod...

Saregama Plc, the European subsidiary of India’s largest and best-known music company, presents the inaugural celebration of 100 years of Bollywood by bringing to the to some of the greatest singers from the Indian sub continent. Bollywood has come a long way since its first ever film made in 1913. In recent years the international recognition received after Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay! as well as the award-winning Slumdog Millionaire brought popularity of Indian Cinema to the West. However it is the music of the films that is best remembered, and it was with Saregama that most Indian legends began their careers, lending their voices to the mega stars on screen.

To this end, modern yet classically trained singing sensations Roop Kumar Rathod and Sunali Rathod (the voices behind many contemporary hits from Bollywood blockbusters to Ghazals and Sufi songs) will showcase the incredible vocal talents of legends Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar,...

The great Ghazal singer, composer, music director and entrepreneur who can undoubtedly be called the Ghazal King, Jagjit Singh is hospitalised.

Jagjit Singh is the first Indian composer, and together with his wife Chitra Singh the first recording artist in the history of Indian music to use digital multi-track recording for their (India's first digitally recorded) album, Beyond Time (1987).

Jagjit Singh had made his entry by singing in Gujarati film "Dharati NaChhoru" produced by Mr. Suresh Amin.  Even with great sagas like Noor Jehan, Malika Pukhraj, Begum Akhtar, Talat Mahmood and Mehdi Hassan dominating the Ghazal ...

January 26, 2011: Shah Rukh Khan is quite an awesome host and it is a known fact that he throws good parties in Bollywood but this time around things are going to be a bit more special. As Srk’s guest this time is a Pakistani lady and the actor is quite fond of her.

The lady in question is Noor Jehan.

He broke all the rules of stardom and yet was a star, a romantic hero and an all-rounder par excellence. 47 was no age for one of Hindi cinema's brightest talents to go, but on November 6, 1985, Sanjeev Kumar passed away, leaving fans, friends and the Hindi film shell-shocked. Gulzar remembers Sanjeev Kumar "For me, he was the complete actor. I have always said that I had two anchors - one was Sanjeev Kumar, and the other was R.D.Burman. What most people do not know is that I knew Haribhai (as I called him) from the late 1950s. We were both with the Indian National Theatre where I would write for the plays and he was a stage actor. Sanjeev was a student of P.D.Shenoy, who was also teaching at the Filmalaya School of Acting and later turned film director. Sanjeev was just over 20 years old, and he was playing a father!