Indian-American singer’s video song on dream wedding in Kerala turns a viral hit

Indian-American singer’s video song on dream wedding in Kerala turns a viral hit

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A three-language romantic video song by renowned Indian-American singer Vidya Vox on weddings in Kerala has garnered over a million views on YouTube, highlighting the State’s appeal as an ideal destination for weddings and honeymooners. The three-and-a-half-minute Shubha Mangalyam… video songs, featuring lyrics in English, Hindi and Malayalam, portrays a non-Malayali couple celebrating their wedding in Kerala and enjoying the picturesque charm of the State.

Vidya completed this lilting music track — a unique mash-up of Western pop with Indian classical — in collaboration with Kerala Tourism this mid-summer. The song has garnered positive responses from viewers, effectively earning a global appeal about ‘God’s Own Country’ as a desirable wedding destination.

Shot across south-central Kerala’s scenic landscapes of Alappuzha backwaters, Wagamon hills and Marari beach, Shubha Mangalyam… has achieved over 10 lakh views on YouTube in just two months, thanks also to its catchy melody and spectacular visuals. Comments show the viewers’ admiration for Kerala’s natural beauty as well as its suitability as a wedding destination.

Shubha Mangalyam…, which has garnered popularity across other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, continues to trend. It also serves as a tool that promotes the charm of Kerala across the globe.

The video comes just eight months after Travel + Leisure India & South Asia magazine declared Kerala as the best wedding destination. The choice was on the basis of a poll by the magazine’s readers from various tourist destinations of India. Last year, Kerala Tourism organised a publicity campaign at airports and on social media platforms to promote the State as an ideal tourism destination. The campaigns have buttressed the trend of choosing the State as a preferred wedding destination.

Top 10 Hollywood movies inspired by Bollywood & other Indian flicks; check the list

Top 10 Hollywood movies inspired by Bollywood & other Indian flicks; check the list

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Bollywood refers to the Hindi Cinema and is a part of larger Indian cinema. Though it has been the largest contributor of films, the Hindi cine industry has landed in multiple controversies for various reasons. Even movie lovers have multiple times started an online campaign to boycott Bollywood. One of the crucial reasons is the trend of remaking South movies or any other language movies.

Be it Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar or Ajay Devgn, all these A-listed actors have made either Hindi remakes of South movies or any other language movies. Whatever the outcomes may be, the craze for Bollywood movies and its songs has sprawled across nations and overseas movie lovers ever remain excited for new movies of big stars.

However, did you know certain Hollywood movies are inspired by Bollywood flicks?

Yes, here we bring the list of Hollywood movies that were inspired by Bollywood flicks.

Leap Year
2010’s romantic comedy flick, Leap Year, directed by Anand Tucker and written by Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan is inspired by Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor-starrer Jab We Met. Leap Year stars Amy Adams and Matthew Goode in the lead.

A Common Man
2013’s A Common Man is a Sri Lankan thriller film directed by Sri Lankan filmmaker Chandran Rutnam. The movie stars Ben Kingsley and Ben Cross. The movie’s plot is based on the Hindi thriller movie ‘A Wednesday’ written and directed by Neeraj Pandey starring Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher in the lead.

Delivery Man
2013’s Delivery Man is an American comedy-drama film written and directed by Ken Scott. The movie produced by DreamWorks Pictures and Reliance Entertainment is inspired by Ayushmann Khurrana’s Vicky Donor. Delivery Man starred Vince Vaughn, Chris Pratt and Cobie Smulders in the lead.

Just Go With it
2011’s American romantic comedy film ‘Just Go with It’, directed by Dennis Dugan and written by Allan Loeb and Timothy Dowling has similarities with Salman Khan, Sushmita Sen, Katrina Kaif and Sohail Khan-starrer Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya.

Fear
Shah Rukh Khan, Sunny Deol and Juhi Chawla-starrer Darr is a Bollywood classic that still remains fresh in the minds of Hindi movie lovers. Darr gave recognition to newcomer SRK. His captivating performance in the movie as an anti-hero made his way to achieve stardom. Well, this movie also inspired Hollywood filmmakers. 1996’s American psychological thriller film Fear, directed by James Foley and written by Christopher Crowe is inspired by Darr. The American movie starred Mark Wahlberg, Reese Witherspoon, William Petersen, Alyssa Milano and Amy Brenneman in pivotal roles.

Pearl Harbor
American romantic war drama film Pearl Harbor is a remake of the 1964’s Hindi movie Sangam, starring Bollywood Showman Raj Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar and Vyjayanthimala in the lead. The American movie was directed by Michael Bay and written by Randall Wallace. The English movie starred Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett, Cuba Gooding Jr., Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight, Colm Feore, and Alec Baldwin in pivotal roles.

Forty Shades of Blue
2005’s Forty Shades of Blue directed by Ira Sachs is an official remake of 1964’s Charulata, directed by Satyajit Ray. The Indian movie starred Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee and Sailen Mukherjee. Charulata is based on Rabindranath Tagore’s novel Nastanirh. Forty Shades of Blue starred Rip Torn, Dina Korzun, Darren E. Burrows and Jerry Chipman.

Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!
2004’s American romantic comedy movie ‘Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!’ directed by Robert Luketic and written by Victor Levin shares a similar story plot to 1995’s Hindi movie Rangeela starring Urmila Matondkar, Aamir Khan and Jackie Shroff. The Hindi movie was directed and produced by Ram Gopal Varma. Meanwhile, the American movie starred Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace, Josh Duhamel, Gary Cole, Ginnifer Goodwin, Sean Hayes and Nathan Lane.

Hitch
Will Smith’s Hitch, an American romantic comedy film directed by Andy Tennnant, has similarities to the 1976’s Hindi movie Chhoti Si Baat, directed by Basu Chatterjee. The American movie was released in 2005 and along with Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James, and Amber Valletta were seen in pivotal roles. Meanwhile, the classic Indian movie starred Amol Palekar, Vidya Sinha, Ashok Kumar and Asrani in the lead.

Divorce Invitation
Divorce Invitation is a 2012 American romantic comedy film directed by S. V. Krishna Reddy and co-written by Robert Naturman and Bala Rajasekharuni. The movie is based on the director’s own 1997 Telugu movie Aahvaanam. While Jonathan Bennett, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Nadia Bjorlin, and Maeve Quinlan were seen in pivotal roles in Divorce Invitation, Srikanth, Ramya Krishna, and Heera Rajgopal were in the star cast in the Telugu movie.

Taylor Swift’s Eras tour earns ₹100 crore a night, likely to deliver highest-grossing tour in music history

Taylor Swift’s Eras tour earns ₹100 crore a night, likely to deliver highest-grossing tour in music history

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American music artist Taylor Swift is touching milestones, even during a year marked by concert inflation. Reports have stated that Swift who is currently on her ‘The Eras Tour’, is earning more than $13 million (over ₹100 crore) a night. This puts Taylor Swift on the trajectory to deliver the highest-grossing tour in music history.

Taylor Swift, who enjoys a huge loyal fan following, also known as the Swifties, is on pace to gross more than $1 billion, a threshold no artist has ever hit. Through 22 dates, the tour has grossed $300 million, according to Pollstar, an industry publication. She was scheduled to perform more than 50 dates in the US in all and then go abroad. Pollstar estimates Eras could top $1.3 billion, reports Bloomberg.

This comes days after Beyoncé’s Stockholm concert was held responsible for dip in inflation in Sweden. It was reported that a number of fans had travelled from overseas to see the shows, taking advantage of the weak Swedish currency and lower ticket prices.

Taylor Swift concert: Ticket prices
According to Bloomberg, the average ticket to a Swift show costs $254. Seven of the 25 best-selling acts of the first half of the year are also charging more than $200 a night. The list includes Bruce Springsteen, at $224, Phish at $206, and George Strait at $282.

Notably, five years ago, the only two acts that topped $200 were Britney Spears and Celine Dion. That year’s biggest performer, Ed Sheeran, could be seen for an average of $89 a night.

Since then, the average price of the 25 best-selling tours has jumped by $37. Adjusted for inflation, the jump is about $13.60, demonstrating that ticket prices are rising faster than consumer prices generally.

Before 2018, almost every ticket cost between $75 and $130, though a couple of acts charged at the higher end. Now, there are more top acts charging upward of $200 than there are top performers charging less than $100.

Coincidentally, 2018 happens to be the last time Swift was on tour. This is what’s happened to her pricing since the Reputation tour in 2018 and even further back to Speak Now in 2011:

The cost of seeing Taylor Swift has increased by $134. That hasn’t stopped more than 1.1 million people from buying tickets.

Taylor Swift Flaunts Rs 8k Bangles From An Indian Brand In Her Music Video ‘Karma’

Taylor Swift Flaunts Rs 8k Bangles From An Indian Brand In Her Music Video ‘Karma’

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Taylor Swift’s latest music video ‘Karma’ featuring Ice Spice from her album ‘Midnight’ is the latest obsession of the internet. While some people love the visuals of the song, others find the lyrics extremely relatable. However, there is one thing that everyone agrees on and that is, Taylor looks phenomenal throughout the video and one can hardly take their eyes off of her.

The singer is seen sporting some fantastic outfits throughout the video but what caught the attention of her Indian fans is a simple pair of gold-plated bangles. Yes, you heard that right, Taylor was indeed wearing a pair of sleek bangles from an Indian brand called, ‘Misho Designs’ by Suhani Parekh.

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The International sensation paired this 22k gold-plated bangles with a shimmery metallic golden outfit that allowed her to flaunt her toned mid-riff. From the hair to the makeup, absolutely everything was perfect to the core.

Coming back to the bangles, they come in a set of 3 and are priced at Rs. 8,755 which if converted in dollars is $105.95 which as fans commented is quite a reasonable price.

Swifties (for those in the unknown, Taylor Swift fans are called as Swifties) in India were overjoyed to see her opt for bangles from this much beloved brand in India. While one fan commented on the post saying, “I’m living for the hope of it all that taylor comes India for The Eras Tour,” there was another sweet commented that said, “Is this an easter egg for The Era’s Tour in India?”

Not just Taylor Swift but other international names like Kendall Jenner, Zendaya, Beyonce and Kim Kardashian too have sported stunning pieces of jewellery from this brand and seem to literally swear by them.

Oscar winner Ke Huay Quan’s selfie with President Joe Biden goes VIRAL!

Oscar winner Ke Huay Quan’s selfie with President Joe Biden goes VIRAL!

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Everything, Everywhere All At Once actor Ke Huay Quan’s recent selfie with The President of the United States, Joe Biden, is going viral! The actor was invited to the White House recently.

Oscar-winning actor Ke Huay Quan and American President Joe Biden met on May 8, 2023, for the celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. President Biden welcomed over 200 guests to the White House to celebrate the day and one of these guests was the Everything, Everything All At Once actor.

The event included a special screening of the upcoming television series American Born Chinese, which stars Quan as Freddy Wong.

KE HUAY QUAN CLICKS ‘SELFIE OF THE SELFIES’ WITH PRESIDENT BIDEN
Ke Huay Quan and American President Joe Biden had a great encounter in the White House. President Biden posted a video with Quan where the latter can be seen introducing his wife, Echo, to Biden. Quan also shared his love for selfies and then proceeded to ask President Biden if he is ready for the ‘selfie of the selfies’. Little did he know that the Pesident of America is a fan of selfies himself!

Sharing the same, Quan wrote, “Guess who also loves a great selfie?!?! @Potus What an amazing trip this has been. We premiered #AmericanBornChinese at Radio City Music Hall and then took the show to D.C. for a White House screening. It was so special to premiere the show during Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. I can’t believe I got the opportunity to introduce the President. Thank you to President Biden and the White House for having us. American Born Chinese begins streaming on @DisneyPlus on May 24th (sic)”.

Another excerpt from their meeting was uploaded by President Biden himself. The video posted by the President of the United States was captioned, “Little did Ke know he was dealing with a selfie expert (sic)”.

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The video was recorded on Monday during the celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. They screened Ke Huay Quan’s upcoming project titled, American Born Chinese. This show is the story of an immigrant family with an American son that gets involved with Chinese Gods. It is based on the graphic novel series of the same name.

Ke Huay Quan is a Vietnam-born-American actor. He shot to fame playing Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Data in The Goonies. Following a few roles in the 1990s, he took an almost 20-year acting hiatus during which he worked as a stunt choreographer and assistant director.

Quan returned to acting as an adult with the science fiction film Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), a performance which won him various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Rajasthan: Indian-American Actress Mindy Kaling Explores ‘The Pink City’

Rajasthan: Indian-American Actress Mindy Kaling Explores ‘The Pink City’

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One of the most well-liked Indian-American actors in Hollywood is Mindy Kaling. Kaling has spent more than a decade advocating for the Indian community in the Hollywood industry, from developing the popular Netflix series “Never Have I Ever” to acting in the enduring American comedy series “The Office.”

It is believed that the actor-trip producer to Rajasthan may also be professional in nature as she may be scouting locations for her upcoming wedding film with Priyanka Chopra Jonas, which was announced in 2019.

The actor-producer is currently exploring the city of Jaipur, its culture, and its cuisine. Dan Goor, who wrote the unnamed rom-com movie, travelled with Kaling as well. Taking to Instagram on Sunday, Kaling shared a series of images of herself in Jaipur. “The Pink City,” she wrote in the caption of her post. The actor-producer sported a red and white sundress and seemed gleeful in all her pictures. One of the snaps even showed Goor sitting right next to her.

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Many online users responded quickly to Kaling’s stay in Jaipur. Others inquired as to if she was in the city looking for sites for the rom-com with Chopra, while others simply dropped heart emojis.

Actor Poorna Jagannathan wrote, “Pretty in Pink”. Director Nisha Ganatra commented, “I love that fort so much! It’s beautiful!”

Notably, it was disclosed last year that Kaling and Chopra will reportedly portray relatives in the much-awaited movie. Chopra described the movie as a “buddy comedy” about two pals in an interview from last year. She mentioned that a lavish Indian wedding occurs at the film’s conclusion.