News

Brighton Festival, which takes place from 3-26 May, is the largest and most established annual curated multi-arts festival in England. Taking place over three weeks in May, the Festival is a celebration of music, theatre, dance, art, film, literature, debate, outdoor and community events in venues and locations across Brighton, Hove and Sussex.

Brighton Festival 2025 Guest Director Anoushka Shankar has worked with the Festival to shape a programme that imagines a hopeful future after a difficult time, celebrating our collective ability to recover, take action and come together to change the world for the better, inspired by the idea of a ‘New Dawn’.

This year’s classical programme at the Brighton Festival, is going to be incredible, and will showcase some outstanding music featuring collaborative classical performances that span eras, genres and generations.

Anoushka Shankar said: “I’m thrilled to be welcoming an incredible range of performers from across the...

This year’s Guest Director, the Grammy-nominated and genre-defying musician, composer and activist Anoushka Shankar, has worked with Brighton Festival to shape an inspiring, culture-crossing contemporary music programme which centres collaboration and celebrates boldness, diversity and connection. The programme offers opportunities for people to come together and imagine new possibilities, in line with the Brighton Festival 2025 theme New Dawn.

Anoushka Shankar says: “By bringing together artists and modalities from all over the world, with their rich and varied heritages, we can reimagine what’s possible, through music. There are so many artists that I’m excited about, who will bring their unique perspectives, creativity and passion to the Festival. It’s a music programme we want everyone to connect with and feel part of and feel inspired by.”

Anoushka Shankar will perform her brand-new album Chapter III: We Return to Light for the first time in the UK in Brighton Dome Concert Hall.

Brighton Festival, the largest annual curated multi-arts festival in England, has revealed its programme for 2025. This year’s Guest Director, the Grammy-nominated and genre-defying musician, composer and activist Anoushka Shankar was inspired by the theme of ‘New Dawn’, working with Brighton Festival to shape a programme that imagines a hopeful future after a difficult time, celebrating our collective ability to recover, take action and come together to change the world for the better.

Established in 1967, Brighton Festival is the largest and most established annual curated multi-arts festival in England. Taking place over three weeks in May, the Festival is a celebration of music, theatre, dance, art, film, literature, debate, outdoor and community events in venues and locations across Brighton, Hove and Sussex. Brighton Festival, a major event in the international arts calendar, has a long tradition of attracting some of the most exciting performers from across the globe, this year as far afield as India,...

Original story published Feb. 2 at 1:56 p.m. Pt; updated Feb. 2 at 4:54 p.m. Pt

Of the 94 Grammy categories, the vast majority were handed out Sunday afternoon at the pre-telecast event hosted by songwriter Justin Tranter. See that Premiere category rundown below.

The remaining envelopes will be opened during CBS’ live primetime broadcast beginning at 8 p.m. Et/5 p.m. Pt, with Trevor Noah returning as host for the fifth consecutive time — see his monologue. The nine Grammy categories still to come, in the confirmed order of the ceremony’s rundown, are:

Best Rap Album Best Pop Vocal Album Best Country Album Best New Artist Best Latin Pop Album Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Record of the Year Song of the Year Album of the Year

And here are the remaining Grammy performers, in order of the ceremony’s rundown:

I Love LA Tribute: Dawes w/ All Star Band,...

The 67th Annual Grammy Awards are coming up, so here’s everything you need to know about the event.

SEEBreaking down 2025 Grammys Album of the Year race: The case for and against Beyoncé, Sabrina, Charli, and the rest

Who is hosting the awards?

Trevor Noah is back to preside over the awards for the fifth year in a row. The former Daily Show star has hosted the show since 2021. He’s also a current Grammy nominee for Best Comedy Album.

Who is performing at the awards?

Multiple contenders will take the stage during the prime time telecast including nine-time Grammy winner and current seven-time nominee Billie Eilish, eight-time nominee Charli Xcx, and six-time nominees Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter. Among the performances during the telecast will be a special tribute to the late Quincy Jones, the 28-time Grammy winner who died last Nov. 3 at age 91. There will also be a...

Given everything happening in the world, the Grammy Awards have signaled that the 2025 ceremony will be different, and a series of special performances featuring a dozen newly announced performers will highlight the show, the Recording Academy revealed Wednesday. These will include the annual In Memoriam segment, a star-studded salute to the life and legacy of Quincy Jones, and tributes celebrating the spirit of the city of Los Angeles.

Stevie Wonder, Cynthia Erivo, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Lainey Wilson, Herbie Hancock, Brittany Howard, Brad Paisley, Janelle Monáe, John Legend, Sheryl Crow, St. Vincent and Jacob Collier are set to appear. Previously announced performers include Benson Boone, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Charli xcx, Doechii, Raye, Sabrina Carpenter, Shakira, and Teddy Swims.

The show will be broadcast live on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. Et/ 5 p.m. Pt on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+. Prior to the Telecast, the always-excellent...

The Recording Academy announced a slew of performers and presenters for its Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony Wednesday morning.

Songwriter and producer Justin Tranter – nominated this year for his work on Chappelle Roan’s chart-topping single “Good Luck, Babe!” – is returning as host. The ceremony, a special pre-telecast presentation in which a bulk of the evening’s Grammys will be handed out, is slated to take place live at the Peacock Theater. The Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony is just steps away from the broadcast ceremony that will follow at the Crypto.com Arena.

A performance from nominees Yolanda Adams, Wayne Brady, Deborah Cox, Scott Hoying, Angelique Kidjo and Taj Mahal will kick off the night. Other performers include Joe Bonamassa, Joyce Didonato, Béla Fleck, Renée Fleming, Muni Long and Kelli O’Hara, along with composer Kevin Puts. Brady and Hoying, Bob Clearmountain, Rhiannon Giddens, Queen Sheba, Anoushka Shankar and former Record Academy...

Rumoured Bollywood couple Ananya Panday and Aditya Roy Kapur were seen enjoying the performance of the legendary English musician Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, known by his stage name Sting in Mumbai.

Sting took to the stage as the closing act for the second edition of the multi-genre music festival Lollapalooza India in Mumbai at the Mahalakshmi Race Course.

He performed about 16 songs in his one-and-half-hour-long performance. The musician strummed his guitar throughout the show to the tunes of his old classics, including ‘Every Breath You Take’, ‘Desert Rose’, ‘So Lonely’, ‘Shape of My Heart’, and ‘A Thousand Years’.

Other celebrities like Kunal Kapur and Malaika Arora were also spotted at the venue grooving to the tracks.

This wasn’t Sting’s first visit to India. He first visited the country in the 1980s for a performance in Mumbai as the lead singer of the band The Police. It marked the...

The fourth volume of Jacob Collier’s Djesse is on the way!

On Friday, the musician released the sweet single “Mi Corazón” with Colombian pop star Camilo, days after revealing the star-studded track list for his upcoming album, out Feb. 29.

“Camilo is without doubt one of my favorite humans and musical forces on the planet,” Collier said in a press statement about the song. “Despite us only having met three times, we genuinely feel like brothers.”

The video follows the two in a colorful, half-animated town as the two stars...

Lollapalooza India Headliners

Sting, Jonas Brothers, Halsey and OneRepublic are among the headline acts set to perform at Lollapalooza India. The music festival is set for a second edition Jan. 27-28, 2024, at the Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai and will comprise four stages with over 20 hours of live music.

Other confirmed acts include: “piano rockers of alternative rock Keane; bold and fearless pop phenomenon and singer-songwriter Lauv; modern dance music duo Jungle; inimitable sound rockers Royal Blood; radical and unorthodox hip-hop rapper Jpegmafia; Italian electronic dance music artist Meduza; French house DJ Malaa; eclectic, psychedelic and pop music blending Caribou; K-pop and rock music fusion powerhouse The Rose; bilingual K-pop American blend of pop, R&b and soulful vocals of Eric Nam; pioneering world music sounds blended with Indian folk and classical melodies by Anoushka Shankar; one of the most vital standard-bearers of modern African music Fatoumata Diawara; global festival...

Mumbai, Nov 17 (Ians) Jonas Brothers, Sting, Halsey and OneRepublic and Anoushka Shankar are all set to perform in Mumbai at the multi-genre music festival Lollapalooza India in January.

After the successful first Indian edition, the music festival is returning to the country with a blend of diverse and exciting flavours from the world of music and culture. The music festival will be held on January 27 and 28 at Mahalaxmi Race Course. The festival will feature four stages and over 20 hours of live music.

Other performers at the festival include Lauv, Jungle, Royal Blood, rapper Jpegmafia, Meduza, DJ Malaa, Caribou, The Rose, Eric Nam, Fatoumata Diawara, DJ Kenny Beats,The Raghu Dixit Project, When Chai Met Toast and Garden City Movement.

Indian artistes at the festival are The Karan Kanchan Experience, Parvaaz, Prabh Deep, Dualist Inquiry, Komorebi, Parekh & Singh, Skrat, Kamakshi Khanna, Jbabe, Chrms, Dewdrops, Shashwat Bulusu, Jatayu, Monophonik, Sublime Sound, Stalvart John,...

Mumbai, Nov 17 (Ians) Jonas Brothers, Sting, Halsey and OneRepublic and Anoushka Shankar are all set to perform in Mumbai at the multi-genre music festival Lollapalooza India in January.

After the successful first Indian edition, the music festival is returning to the country with a blend of diverse and exciting flavours from the world of music and culture. The music festival will be held on January 27 and 28 at Mahalaxmi Race Course. The festival will feature four stages and over 20 hours of live music.

Other performers at the festival include Lauv, Jungle, Royal Blood, rapper Jpegmafia, Meduza, DJ Malaa, Caribou, The Rose, Eric Nam, Fatoumata Diawara, DJ Kenny Beats,The Raghu Dixit Project, When Chai Met Toast and Garden City Movement.

Indian artistes at the festival are The Karan Kanchan Experience, Parvaaz, Prabh Deep, Dualist Inquiry, Komorebi, Parekh & Singh, Skrat, Kamakshi Khanna, Jbabe, Chrms, Dewdrops, Shashwat Bulusu, Jatayu, Monophonik, Sublime Sound, Stalvart John,...

‘We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity’

Riz Ahmed, Cate Blanchett, Kristen Stewart, Cherien Dabis and Rooney Mara are among Hollywood and entertainment celebrities urging US president Joe Biden to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel.

Andrew Garfield, Jessica Chastain, James Schamus, Joaquin Phoenix, Mahershala Ali, Jon Stewart, and Dua Lipa have also added their names to an open letter on Friday urging Biden and all world leaders to call for “an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost”.

It is estimated that more than 5,000 Palestinians and Israelis...

A long list of big-name actors released a letter today directed to President Biden asking him to call for a cease fire in Gaza and Israel.

Among the signatories are Mark Ruffalo, Jessica Chastian, Cate Blanchett, Quinta Brunson, Rosario Dawson, Oscar Isaac, Joaquin Phoenix, Alyssa Milano, Jon Stewart and many more. The list includes prominent Jewish, Muslim and Christian actors

The full text of the letter is below.

Dear President Biden,

We come together as artists and advocates, but most importantly as human beings witnessing the devastating loss of lives and unfolding horrors in Israel and Palestine.

We ask that, as President of the United States, you call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost. More than 5,000 people have been killed in the last week and a half – a number any person of conscience knows is catastrophic. We believe all life is sacred,...

When the nominees for last year’s Latin Grammy Awards were announced, no one was surprised that Bad Bunny led with a whopping 10 nominations.

He not only was the year’s most successful Latin artist — he was the pop star of the year. On Billboard’s year-end chart for 2022, he was named top artist, while his fresh, multihit project Un Verano Sin Ti was crowned the No. 1 album of the year, beating out Harry Styles’ Harry’s House and Adele’s 30.

So when it came time to announce the 2023 Grammy nominations, it seemed inevitable that Bad Bunny would be recognized with several nominations, especially since his album launched four top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

But that didn’t happen.

Instead, Bad Bunny garnered a measly three nominations. Yes, he made history by having the first-ever Latin album compete for the show’s top prize — album of the year...

"In order to practice love, you always need a practice of tolerance." Compassionate Films has revealed the UK trailer for a documentary film titled Never Forget Tibet - The Dalai Lama's Untold Story. This actually opened in the US a year ago (March 2022), but somehow we missed it entirely. Still worth a look. Inspired by the book "An Officer and His Holiness," it's narrated by British legend Hugh Bonneville and features music from Grammy-nominated artist Anoushka Shankar. Never Forget Tibet explores, with His Holiness 14th Dalai Lama, the details of his incredible escape into exile for the first time on film in his own words with the Indian political officer who led him to safety. The officially-sanctioned film will also feature an incredible 10-minute guided meditation with His Holiness' close friend and meditation legend Dr Deepak Chopra. The doc also explores the Dalai Lama’s compassion for a world seemingly...

Sunday, February 5, is Grammys day! But while most of the eyeballs will be on the prime time telecast live tonight on CBS and Paramount+, most of the actual awards are presented in the afternoon during the Premiere Ceremony, which streams live on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on live.Grammy.com. Check out the complete list of Grammy winners here.

SEE2023 Grammy Awards: Full list of winners in all categories

Randy Rainbow, a current Grammy nominee for Best Comedy Album, co-hosts the event, which will feature performances from multiple awards contenders representing multiple genres. Blind Boys of Alabama and La Marisoul will perform during the opening number. Also taking the stage will be world music artists Anoushka Shankar and Arooj Aftab, folk singer Madison Cunningham, jazz singer and Best New Artist nominee Samara Joy, and Latin music veteran Carlos Vives. Handing out trophies as presenters will be Babyface,...

With a total of 91 awards to hand out on Sunday, the Grammys can’t afford to limit itself to a single televised event. Enter the Premiere Ceremony.

Streaming live at 3:30/2:30c, the Randy Rainbow-hosted event will give out the first awards of the year. In fact, more Grammy winners will be announced during the Premiere Ceremony than during the main event, which will air live at 8 pm on CBS.

More from TVLineGrammys Honor 50 Years of Hip-Hop With All-Star Medley: Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott, Nelly and 30+ OthersBeyoncé Breaks Record for Most Grammy Wins Ever -- Watch Her History-Making...

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, The Hollywood Reporter may receive an affiliate commission.

After relocating to Las Vegas in 2022, music’s biggest night is returning to Los Angeles. Trevor Noah for the third consecutive year will host the 65th Grammy Awards, which will be broadcast live today on CBS from the Crypto.com Arena.

The former Daily Show host and Grammy-nominated comedian told The Hollywood Reporter that this year’s show is “going to be the most star-studded room the Grammys has been for many, many years.”

The best new artist nominees are Anitta, Omar Apollo, DOMi & Jd Beck, Muni Long, Samar Joy, Latto, Måneskin, Tobe Nwigwe, Molly Tuttle and Wet Leg. Beyoncé is nominated for nine golden gramophones, and she’s expected to become the artist with the most Grammys at today’s show. (The pop superstar currently has...

The Grammys will pay homage to lives of Loretta Lynn, Migos rapper Takeoff and Christine McVie with star-studded performances during Sunday’s ceremony.

The Recording Academy announced Wednesday that the ceremony will honor the three musicians who died last year with special performances during its in memoriam segment.

Read More: 2023 Grammys: Performers And Presenters Announced For Premiere Ceremony

Kacey Musgraves will perform “Coal Miner’s Daughter” in tribute to Lynn. Quavo and the Maverick City Music will hit the stage to honor his nephew Takeoff with the song “Without You.” Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood and Bonnie Raitt will collaborate to perform “Songbird” to remember McVie.

The academy also announced Wednesday that presenters will include first lady Jill Biden, Viola Davis, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Billy Crystal, James Corden, Olivia Rodrigo and Cardi B.

Read More: Grammys Nominee Anoushka Shankar To Perform At Premiere Ceremony: ‘I’m Thrilled’

Trevor Noah will return...

Kicking off the proceedings for the 65th annual Grammy Awards, Awards Premiere Ceremony, Anoushka Shankar will be seen making her third performance at the event. The ceremony will return to the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on 5 February.

The masterful sitar player, producer, film composer, activist and nine-time Grammy Award nominee will perform alongside vocalist Arooj Aftab on their nominated track ‘Udhero Na’ from Arooj’s new album, ‘Vulture Prince’.

Anoushka shared: “I’m genuinely over the moon to be performing at the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony for the third time. This time I’m excited to share the stage with the wonderful Arooj Aftab, playing her beautiful song Udhero Na.”

“I’m grateful my music on this song and on my album Between Usa has been recognised with a nomination again and am proud to represent India and my instrument, the sitar, on this world stage.”

Anoushka enjoys an...

Before music’s biggest night, the leading lights of music world will be handing out awards.

Just hours before the 2023 Grammys go on the air, the Recording Academy will be hosting the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony, where the majority of the year’s awards are handed out.

Read More: Trevor Noah Is Returning To Host The 2023 Grammy Awards

The event, which will be available to stream live on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel on Feb. 5 at 3:30 p.m. Et, is being co-hosted by Grammy-nominated comedian and singer Randy Rainbow.

Opening the show, Blind Boys of Alabama, La Marisoul and more surprise performers will take the stage for a performance.

Also performing during the show will be current nominees Arooj Aftab, Madison Cunningham, Samara Joy, Anoushka Shankar and Carlos Vives.

Read More: Grammys Nominee Anoushka Shankar To Perform At Premiere Ceremony: ‘I’m Thrilled’

Presenters will include current nominees Babyface,...

Anoushka Shankar will be performing at the Grammys Premiere Ceremony on Sunday.

Shankar is nominated for a Grammy for Best Global Music Performance, for “Udhero Na.”

Read More: 2023 Grammy Nominations Announcement: Watch Now

Taking to her social media account, Shankar posted a poster in which she disclosed that she is “thrilled” to be playing with the amazing Arooj Aftab on their nominated song.

Shankar also revealed that this is her third time performing for the Grammys.

“This, crazily, will be my third time performing for the Grammys whilst I wait to hear the results of my 8th and 9th Grammy nominations! ,” she wrote.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Anoushka Shankar (@anoushkashankarofficial)

Shankar posted a video talking about the news and said, “I just got two Grammy nominations! For Between Us, my album and my dear friend Arooj Aftab’s song ‘Udhero Na’. These are my eighth and ninth nominations.

The Grammy Awards take place on Sunday night, February 5, but savvy awards watchers should also pay attention to the afternoon Premiere Ceremony, which will take place at the Microsoft Theater at 12:30pm Pacific/3:30pm Eastern. The event will stream live on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on live.Grammy.com.

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement, “We are so excited to kick off Grammy Sunday with the Premiere Ceremony ahead of Music’s Biggest Night. Not only do we have an incredible lineup of presenters and performers, but this ceremony will also reveal the winners in the vast majority of our categories, celebrating this amazing year in music across many of our genre communities.”

SEEGrammys Record of the Year predictions: Adele could tie Bruno Mars and Paul Simon’s record

Randy Rainbow will serve as co-host for the Premiere Ceremony. He’s...

Renowned Sitar player Anoushka Shankar, who has earned two nominations for the 65th edition of the Grammy Awards, is not just “thrilled” with her nominations but also overjoyed to share the nominations with her collaborators.

Shankar has been nominated in the Best Global Music Performance category for ‘Udhero Na’, her collaboration with multi-instrumentalist and singer Arooj Aftab, as well as in the Best Global Music Album category for ‘Between Us’, which is her first live album since ‘Live At Carnegie Hall’ in 2001.

An elated Shankar said: “It was truly a stunning moment to realise I had been nominated twice for this year’s Grammy Awards. I’m thrilled to have my album ‘Between Us’ recognised as I am very proud of the music I composed on that record and I’m overjoyed to share the nomination with my collaborators too.”

She further mentioned: “It’s also wonderful to be nominated...

Acclaimed sitar player, composer and Grammy-nominee Anoushka Shankar, who is the daughter of sitar legend Pandit Ravi Shankar, is returning to India after 2 years for a three-city tour in support of her new music releases in December.

The tour will start on December 11 at Good Shepherd Auditorium in Bengaluru, followed by Shanmukhananda Auditorium in Mumbai on December 16 and culminating at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi on December 18. It will see the 7-time Grammy-nominated artiste presenting ‘The Anoushka Shankar Project’ which she has been performing live since 2007.

Anoushka will be seen navigating through experimental and exciting new sonic vistas throughout her performance and presenting an invigorating perspective on Indian classical music.

Elaborating on the India tour and her new music releases, Anoushka Shankar shared, “I’m beyond excited to finally return to India to perform after such a long gap. I feel I’m in a different place musically and creatively now,...

Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab released a cover of Rosalía’s 2018 single “Di Mi Nombre,” alongside a re-recording of her own “Baghon Main,” as a part of Spotify Singles’ ongoing effort to highlight the nominees for Best New Artist at this year’s Grammy Awards. The release marks the Brooklyn-based artist’s second collaboration with the streaming platform after she was selected as Spotify’s Equal Ambassador for Pakistan in March.

“I’ve always felt a very strong kinship to flamenco music, and recently having visited the south of Spain, even more undeniably so,...

Grammy-nominated artist Arooj Aftab has shared her new song “Udhero Na,” a track off the Pakistani singer’s upcoming deluxe version of her 2021 LP Vulture Prince.

“Udhero Na,” which translates to “Please Undo,” features Anoushka Shankar — daughter of Ravi Shankar and Norah Jones’ half-sister — on sitar.

Aftab said of the track in a statement, “‘Udhero Na’ has been one of my dearest songs, written in 2005 and never released, played live on and off over the years. I’ve always held it close to my heart and am so happy to release it finally!

In 1968, The Beatles, the biggest band in the material world, went searching for lesser-known alternatives in the spiritual one. Directed by Ajoy Bose and co-directed by Pete Compton, The Beatles and India is more than just a travelog of the band’s famous trip to Rishikesh, India to study transcendental meditation under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The documentary shows how Indian music helped refine the group’s sound and how the country embraced the band as cultural ambassadors with deep roots which continue to this day.

The Beatles impacted India almost as much as the country influenced them. The group was first introduced to Indian music while filming Help!, a comedy which spoofed a Kali cult as a comic book villain. The 1965 film featured Indian musicians in a restaurant scene, and the band noticed the instruments. George Harrison first used sitar on John Lennon’s “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” from the Rubber Soul album.

With today’s release of Ludovico Einaudi’s “Cinema,” Universal Music Group confirms its status as one of the world’s most soundtrack-friendly music companies.

Music by Einaudi, the Italian composer and pianist, was featured in recent Oscar winners “Nomadland” and”The Father.” “Cinema” collects 28 pieces featured in those films and such earlier projects as “The Water Diviner,” “The Intouchables” and the miniseries “Doctor Zhivago.”

Each of the last seven Academy Award winners for original score was released or distributed by a Umg label or composed by a Umg artist, according to a spokesperson. Umg artists Jon Batiste and Hildur Guðnadóttir were the composers of “Soul” and “Joker,” respectively. “Grand Budapest Hotel” was on Abkco, “The Hateful Eight” and “The Shape of Water” on Decca, and “La La Land” and the “Black Panther” song album on Interscope.

Similarly, the last seven Grammy-winning scores, and the last seven BAFTA winners, were also Umg-affiliated.

Grammys Live Stream: How to Watch the 2021 Grammy Awards Online Free

Jhené Aiko will host the official Grammys pre-show, which will take place March 14th at 3 p.m. Et/12 p.m. Pt and be streamed live on the Grammys’ website. Aiko is nominated for three Grammys this year, including Album of the Year and Best Progressive R&b album for Chilombo, as well as Best R&b Performance for “Lightning and Thunder,” a duet with John Legend.

The 63rd Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony will feature performances from Grammy nominees across various genres.

Mumbai, Dec 9 (Ians) Bollywood actor Sonu Sood has been named the number one Asian celebrity on the planet for 2020. Sonu topped the 50 Asian Celebrities In The World list, published by the UK-based Eastern Eye newspaper.

The actor has been honoured for his philanthropic activities during the Covid-induced lockdown, especially helping migrant workers reach their hometowns.

Talking about the same, Sonu Sood shared: "Thank you, Eastern Eye, for recognising my efforts. As the pandemic broke, I realised it was my duty to help my countrymen, it was an instinct that came from within. Eventually, this was something I came to Mumbai for, it was my responsibility as an Indian which I did and I won't stop till my last breath."

Other Indian personalities from the world of cinema, music and fashion who feature in the list this year include Armaan Malik at fifth position, Priyanka Chopra at sixth, Telugu superstar Prabhas at seventh,...

New Delhi, Dec 1 (Ians) Amid all the noise about snubs and transparency, there are a few Indian tunes that have struck the right note at the Grammy Award nominations this year.

This is not the first time that Indian classical music has got recognition by the Recording Academy. A peek into the past would highlight that music rooted deep in Indian culture and ethos did win accolades in the oast -- Zakir Hussain, Ricky Kej and Ravi Shankar being shining examples.

This year, sitar player Anoushka Shankar's album "Love Letters" has been nominated in the Best Global Music Album category. Singer Shilpa Rao has collaborated with Anoushka for the musical chapter.

"Anoushka Shankar, what should I say, thank you for all the love and hard work you have put into this album and thank you so much for this beautiful collaboration. Big love to everyone who is part of this album.

One of the BBC’s most ambitious and cinematic TV series ever makes its highly-anticipated Stateside debut on Acorn TV this December: A Suitable Boy, an epic tale of life and love set in vibrant 1950s India in the first screen adaptation of the classic, bestselling, 1,349-page novel of the same name by Vikram Seth. A Suitable Boy will premiere exclusively on Acorn TV in the U.S. and Canada with two episodes on Monday, December 7, 2020, and weekly episodes every Monday through January 4, 2021.

With a dynamic cast of India’s most well-known actors alongside rising stars, this six-part, six-hour drama tells the story of spirited university student Lata Mehra as she comes of age in North India at the same time as the country is carving out its own identity as an independent nation and is about to go to the polls for its first democratic general election.

A Suitable Boy is a vast,...

Singer Shilpa Rao collaborates with composer-singer Amit Trivedi for a new track titled Raavan.

The song is sung by Shilpa and Trivedi, who has also composed and written the number.

"I was in a studio recording for 'Shaabaashiyaan' from 'Mission Mangal'. There was this track and Amit asked me, 'Can you just put down some idea whatever comes to you?' In one take, I just sang that part for the song 'Raavan'. It wasn't something that took a lot of time, it was a very spontaneous reaction of mine to the song and I think that's what worked," Shilpa said.

"Also, it is great to see such big artiste putting out music more in audio formats, precisely how music showed be consumed. No matter what happens and what the situation is, art always comes to the rescue and artistes are making most of the situation...

Grammy-nominated sitarist, composer and producer Anoushka Shankar feels it is important to call out inappropriate behaviour, and says there is a need to amplify the voices of women at all levels of the music industry.

Recently, Anoushka used social media to call out abusive and sexually inappropriate comments that she received during a live session.

"In this instance I suppose I dealt with it by calling it out and refusing to accept it. I think it's important for us to consistently call out inappropriate behaviour, especially when that behaviour has been normalized, as it takes so much active work to change the status quo," Anoushka told Ians, recalling the incident.

Anoushka feels there are a lot of things that fuel hatred that women, and not just female artistes, receive in the virtual world.

"Sexism? Inequality? Misogyny? The question is not about female artistes but about women and inequality overall," she...

Singer Shilpa Rao misses performing regularly on stage in the time of Covid. However, she is in no rush, amid the ongoing pandemic.

"Of course, I miss my shows but we can't be selfish right now. We all should understand the situation and follow protocol. We can't put our and someone else's health at risk. We should step out only if necessary. I know having limitations is not a great way to live, but when it comes to making safe atmosphere for ourselves, we can surely make such sacrifices, Shilpa told Ians.

Shilpa is currently focused on recording music at home.

"I have been recording songs at home and then sending my drafts over internet. It is the new normal. However, it is not easy to work like this. It is obviously challenging. (It is) Not easy to coordinate while working from home, so all this made me learn some new skills,...

The Dalai Lama will mark his 85th birthday Monday, July 6th, with not only the release of his debut album, Inner World, but a special livestream event starting at 1 p.m. Et.

Per a press release, the livestream program will feature an appearance from Richard Gere, a long-time student and friend of the Dalai Lama’s, as well as “other special guests, birthday messages and musical performances.” Acclaimed sitar player Anoushka Shankar (daughter of Ravi Shankar) will deliver the live debut of the Inner World track on which she appears,...

His Holiness the Dalai Lama will release a new album that mixes mantras and chants with newly composed music, Inner World, out July 6th to coincide with the Tibetan spiritual leader’s 85th birthday.

The Dalai Lama previewed the 11-track album with “Compassion,” which is based on one of the most famous Buddhist prayers. The songs boasts a decidedly New Age flow with plenty of ethereal instrumentals, but it’s anchored by a steady bass and drum groove that the Dalai Lama rides deftly as he chants the Sanskrit mantra,...

Tribeca and Youtube have announced their full roster of titles for their unprecedented festival for these unprecedented times — We Are One: A Global Film Festival. In a unifying spirit reminiscent of Tribeca’s own post-9/11 beginnings, the festival flexes some curatorial practice by the biggest muscles on the market — including Cannes, Venice, Berlinale, and Annecy. We’ve taken the liberty to parse out their Asian titles for your viewing pleasure below. With a slate of festival features and star-studded panels, the festival will stream some of the best of what the circuit has to offer.

We Are One can be found (for free!) on youtube.com/weareone. The festival will run from May 29 to June 7.

Feature Films

“Amreeka”

Amreeka

When a Palestinian single mom and her teenage son immigrate to small-town Illinois, their dreams of an exciting future clash with the racism they encounter there in this dramedic Fipresci prizewinner.

Tribeca Enterprises and YouTube announced today the programming slate for We Are One: A Global Film Festival, which will feature over 100 films co-curated by 21 prolific festivals, hailing from 35 countries.

The 10-day digital event will give audiences an opportunity to experience different cultures

through an artistic lens – each official selection was handpicked for inclusion to highlight the singularities of each participating festival, while also providing a voice to filmmakers on a global stage. Many of these titles will have significant debuts at the festival, with programming consisting of over 100 films, including 13 world premieres, 31 online premieres, and five international online premieres.

Highlights from the festival include the world premiere of ‘Iron Hammer’, Joan Chen’s documentary about legendary Chinese Olympic volleyball star Jenny Lang Ping, and ‘Eeb Allay Ooo!’, a satire from director Prateek Vats about the professional “monkey repellers” in New Delhi, which won the Golden Gateway honour at last year’s Mumbai Film Festival,...

Even though “Shiraz” was directed by Bavarian director Franz Osten, an equally important man behind the making of this film has to be actor and producer Himansu Rai. Apart from making successful movies in India he was also searching for a way to make them appeal to both Western and Eastern audiences. When he met German director Franz Osten in 1924, this started a rather fruitful collaboration between the two men, resulting in such features as “Light of Asia”, “Shiraz” and “A Throw of Dice”. Using stories, such as the story of the Taj Mahal, as a foundation, the success of these films, according to writers like Gautam Chintamani, made many Indians look at their world “as something more than one merely belonging to an indigenous minority within a British context” (from “Franz Osten and the ‘Invention’ of Hindi Film”).

For many years Selima (Enakshi Rama Rau) has...

Some of the biggest names in Indian entertainment Have come together with Facebook to put on a home-to-home fundraiser concert, I For India. 100% proceeds from the fundraiser concert will go to the India Covid Response Fund managed by GiveIndia, to support on-ground relief efforts.

The vision for the concert is to entertain those locked down in their homes. To pay tribute to those who are working on the frontlines. And to raise funds for those who have no work and no home and do not know where their next meal is coming from.

The four-hour long concert will be live globally on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Facebookindiapp) on Sunday, 3rd May 2020 at 7:30pm Ist and will feature performances and personal messages from 85+ Indian and global stars including:

A R Rahman • Aamir Khan • Abhishek Bachchan • Aditya Roy Kapur • Aishwarya Rai Bachchan • Ajay – Atul • Akshay Kumar • Alia Bhatt • Amaan Ali Bangash...

Norah Jones, Philip Glass and Dhani Harrison are among the artists that will celebrate Ravi Shankar’s legacy with a series of worldwide centennial concerts.

Jones — the daughter of the legendary sitarist — and her half-sister and sitar player Anoushka Shankar will both perform May 19th at Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall along with Dhani Harrison, son of Beatles legend and Ravi Shankar disciple George Harrison. Dhani and Anoushka will also perform May 16th at San Diego’s Civic Theatre, a gig that doubles as a fundraiser for the Ravi Shankar Foundation.

The New York Indian Film Festival (Nyiff) announced the full lineup at the Launch event for their 19th year of celebrating Independent, art house, alternate, and diaspora films from the Indian subcontinent (May 7– May 12) at the Village East Cinemas in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Dedicated to bringing these films to a New York audience, the festival will feature 32 screenings. Nyiff will be featuring 7 World Premieres along with an International Premiere and 5 Us premieres and the rest of the films being NY premieres. Nyiff has been the go-to festival to see South Asian diaspora films that have not been seen in New York City and is continuing with this mission for the nineteenth year.

This year Nyiff has the largest number of regional (non-Hindi) language films – 20 in total. The languages focused on are Assamese, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Kannada, Ladakhi, Punjabi, and Harayanavi and all the films will have English subtitles.

Baby on board!

Congratulations are in order for The Girl on the Train’s Haley Bennett and Darkest Hour director Joe Wright as they are expecting their first child together, a source confirms to People.

Wright, 46, is already father to sons Mohan, 3, and Zubin, 7, with ex-wife Anoushka Shankar. It will be Bennett’s first child.

According to Page Six, the baby is due this winter. “They are very happy,” a source told the outlet after saying Bennett, 30, is about six months along.

Bennett and Wright first sparked romance rumors just days after news of his split with Shankar was reported in January.

Unhcr, the Un Refugee Agency, has honoured Dr. Evan Atar Adaha (Dr. Atar), a surgeon from South Sudan, with the 2018 Nansen Refugee Award at a ceremony in Geneva.

Dr. Atar received the award for his outstanding 20-year commitment in providing medical services to people forced to flee conflict and persecution in Sudan and South Sudan, as well as to the communities that welcome them.

Presenting the award in Geneva’s Bâtiment des Forces Motrices, Filippo Grandi, Un High Commissioner for Refugees, said he could think of “three or four reasons” why Dr. Atar was chosen to receive the award.

He said most of his patients were refugees and he had lived through displacement himself, after fighting forced him to close his first hospital in Kurmuk, Sudan. In addition, he embodied “not only solidarity, but courageous solidarity” with his refugee patients, “two commodities that are very scarce in today’s world...

The British Council and the British Film Institute (BFI) have announced that, following the 61st BFI London Film Festival world premiere of the restored Shiraz: A Romance of India, screening at the Barbican on 14 October the film will tour four Indian cities as part of the UK/India 2017 Year of Culture. Shiraz: A Romance of India will tour to four Indian cities, following the restoration world premiere as the BFI London Film Festival Archive Gala with specially-commissioned live film score performed by multi Grammy® -nominated composer & musician Anoushka Shankar.

A world leader in film restoration, the BFI holds the original negative material of Shiraz in the Archive. Franz Osten’s sumptuous Indian silent classic has been meticulously remastered by the conservation team at the BFI National Archive. Screening at the BFI Lff as the Archive Gala, the film will then visit Hyderabad, Kolkata, New Delhi and Mumbai in India from 1 November to 5 November,...

Restoration set for London Film Festival; Baahubali: The Conclusion to play in BFI’s upcoming Indian film programme.

A BFI National Archive restoration of a 1929 Indian-British-German co-production will play as the Archive Gala at this year’s BFI London Film Festival in October.

Shiraz, a historical romance set in the historical Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, tells the story of a princess who inspired the contruction of the Taj Mahal.

As well as the London screening, which will take place at the Barbican, planning is also underway for the film to be shown in India. Both screenings will be accompanied by a live performance of a specially commissioned score by the Indian composer and sitar player Anoushka Shankar.

The film forms part of the BFI’s Indian film programme which runs April-December this year and will include the UK premiere of the follow-up to Indian box office sensation Baahubali, Baahubali: The Conclusion...

Restoration set for London Film Festival; Baahubali: The Conclusion to play in BFI’s upcoming Indian film programme.

A BFI National Archive restoration of a 1929 Indian-British-German co-production will play as the Archive Gala at this year’s BFI London Film Festival in October.

Shiraz, a historical romance set in the historical Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, tells the story of a princess who inspired the contruction of the Taj Mahal.

As well as the London screening, which will take place at the Barbican, planning is also underway for the film to be shown in India. Both screenings will be accompanied by a live performance of a specially commissioned score by the Indian composer and sitar player Anoushka Shankar.

The film forms part of the BFI’s Indian film programme which runs April-December this year and will include the UK premiere of the sequel to Indian box office sensation Baahubali - Baahubali: The Conclusion.

The programme...