Claire Foy says she does not feel that she is defined by the role of Queen Elizabeth II in “The Crown”.
The 34-year-old actor shot to global fame after playing the monarch in the Netflix royal drama for two seasons.
She says though the role was an “honour” for her, she was not trying to actively break the mould.
“I don’t feel like I’m defined by playing Queen Elizabeth. It’s a huge honour that people liked that character and therefore see me as that character. So, I’m not trying to actively go against that,” Foy, who will be replaced by Olivia Colman as the Queen in the next two seasons, told a leading magazine.
The actor, whose latest release was “The Girl in the Spider’s Web”, says she is selfish in her career choices.
“My career is only for me, really. I can’t do it for anybody else and so the choices and decisions I make are purely based on what I want to do. That’s it really. It’s a really selfish thing,” she says.
American singer Demi Lovato’s mother, Dianna De La Garza has recently spoken up about her daughter’s health, giving an update, three months after her overdose.
The singer’s mother was a guest on the latest episode of the ‘Conversations with Maria Menounos’ podcast, during which she talked about her daughter’s health saying that she has been 90 days sober now, reported a online portal.
“She has 90 days and I couldn’t be more thankful or more proud of her, because addiction, being a disease, it is work. It’s very hard, it’s not easy, and there are no shortcuts,” said Dianna to the host Maria Menounos.
When quizzed about Demi’s relapse in July, which led to her hospitalization, Dianna said, “Can’t really say for sure. I really don’t know.”
“It can be any number of reasons. We lost five close members of our family in one year while I was writing the book, my grandfather, my grandmother, two uncles. We lost five people just in a span of a few months. My grandmother and my grandfather were older and they were in a nursing home, but my uncles, that was kind of a shock. And then I lost a grandmother on my father’s side and so even through all of that, losing all of those people, she didn’t relapse. So, it’s hard to say. You couldn’t say because we lost five people in our family that caused a relapse,” she further said.
On being asked about what triggered the relapse, she added, “I don’t think it was a particular incident. I also think that when you’re young and sometimes you think, maybe I can go do this and it won’t affect me, but with an addiction, you just can’t do that. It’s a slippery slope.”
Dianna also expressed how she went in a shock after learning about Demi’s almost-fatal overdose on July 24 and how did she feel while walking into her hospital room for the first time.
The ‘Tell Me You Love Me’ has always been vocal about her struggles with drug addiction. She gave her fans a sneak peek of her life in her documentary- ‘Simply Complicated’. She also revealed about her addiction to drugs in her single ‘Sober’, which was released in June.
Kaley Cuoco gave it back to social media trolls for body shaming her.
“The Big Bang Theory” star shared a video on her Instagram story slamming abusers after some of the users asked her if she was pregnant.
“So, because I’m in traffic I thought I’d take this time to comment on some Instagram trolls. I posted a picture this morning of my sister and I from an event last night and people said I looked pregnant.
“Now, would you ever walk up to someone on the street or at an event where they’re obviously dressed up and say, ‘Are you pregnant?’ It’s just so comedic and shocking that people would ask that. I’m not pregnant. I guess it was a pregnant angle. Seriously, shut up,” Cuoco said in the video.
The Supreme Court is likely to hear Monday a batch of pleas challenging the Allahabad High Court’s 2010 verdict by which the disputed land on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid area in Ayodhya was divided into three parts.
A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Joseph would hear the appeals filed in the matter.
On September 27, the apex court had declined to refer to a five-judge constitution bench the issue of reconsideration of the observations in its 1994 judgment that a mosque was not integral to Islam which had arisen during the hearing of the Ayodhya land dispute.
In a majority verdict of 2:1, a three-judge bench headed by then chief justice Dipak Misra had said the civil suit has to be decided on the basis of evidence and the previous verdict has no relevance to this issue.
Justice Ashok Bhushan, who had penned the judgment for himself and the Chief Justice of India, had said it has to find out the context in which the five-judge bench had delivered the 1994 verdict.
However, Justice S Abdul Nazeer had disagreed with the two judges and had said whether a mosque is integral to Islam has to be decided considering religious belief which requires detailed consideration.
The court had on September 27 said the civil suit on land dispute would be heard by a three-judge bench on October 29.
The issue whether a mosque is integral to Islam had cropped up when the three-judge bench was hearing the appeals filed against the Allahabad High Court’s verdict.
The three-judge high court bench, in a 2:1 majority ruling, had ordered that the 2.77 acres of land be partitioned equally among three parties — the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.
Police Sunday took into custody Rahul Easwar, president of the ‘Ayyappa Dharma Sena’, for his alleged provocative statement related to the entry of women into the Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala.
A team of police personnel from Kochi took Easwar into custody from his flat here in connection with a case registered under IPC Sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 117 (abetting commission of offence by the public or by more than 10 persons), police said.
The arrest will be recorded in the evening after they reach Kochi, police sources said.
A member of the Thazhamon family of Sabarimala tantris (head priests), Easwar had said during a press meet in Kochi last week that they had a contingency plan to force the closure of the temple by spilling blood on its premises by some devotees in case any woman in the ‘barred’ age group managed to reach it.
He had also claimed that 20 Lord Ayyappa devotees opposing the entry of women in the age group of 10 and 50 were ready to inflict knife injuries on themselves on the temple premises, which would have forced the priests to close the gates on account of impurity.
“Had their blood fallen on the floor of the temple, that would have forced the priests to shut the shrine for three days for purification rituals,” Easwar had said.
A case was registered against him later on the basis of a complaint filed by a Thiruvananthapuram native.
Kerala Devaswom Minister Kadakkampally Surendran had claimed that effective police intervention had foiled the protesters’ bid to “desecrate” the Ayyappa Temple by spilling blood in the premises if women devotees in the 10-50 age group offered prayers.
He had said the “conspiracy” of the devotees was made clear by the statement of Rahul Easwar.
The Minister had also said the disclosure showed that there was a well-conceived plan, similar to that followed by nations to attack their enemies and added that this attempt was not only ‘seditious,’ but also against the interests of devotees.
Easwar was earlier arrested from Sabarimala Sannidhanam (temple complex) on October 17 over the ‘save Sabarimala campaign, and later released on bail.
The temple had witnessed high drama with around a dozen women in 10-50 age group being prevented from entering the temple by protesting devotees after the doors were opened for all women, following the Supreme Court verdict.
On September 28, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Apex Court, headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, had lifted the centuries-old ban on the entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine.
BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai Sunday lashed out at the police action against Easwar.
“BJP condemns the police action on Rahul Easwar and also those associated wit the protests over the Sabarimala issue,” he told reporters.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday asserted that India would continue to extend development assistance to the people of Sri Lanka amid an unprecedented constitutional crisis in the island nation.
While responding to the queries regarding recent developments in Sri Lanka in a statement, MEA official spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “As a democracy and a close friendly neighbour, we hope that democratic values and the constitutional process will be respected. We will continue to extend our developmental assistance to the friendly people of Sri Lanka.”
The statement comes after Sri Lanka found itself in a political turmoil after its President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday night replacing him with his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa following the collapse of the governing coalition between Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and United National Party (UNP).
Terming his ouster “unconstitutional”, Wickremesinghe had asserted that he still holds the Prime Minister’s office and is ready to prove that he retains the majority.
The now-ousted Prime Minister had requested the Speaker to call an emergency Parliament session on Monday so that he could prove his majority in the house, following which Sirisena also suspended Parliament till November 16 amid the constitutional crisis in the nation.
In April, the ousted Prime Minister, Wickremesinghe also survived a no-confidence motion in the country’s Parliament that was brought by the supporters of Rajapaksa.
Rajapaksha, who served as Lanka’s President for a period of 10 years, from 2005 to 2015, is a fierce political opponent of the current President Sirisena.
Sirisena had defeated Rajapaksha in the Presidential election of 2015.
The who’s who of Bollywood descended on the red carpet looking their stylish best for the Vogue Women Of The Year Awards 2018.
Among B-Town A-listers to dazzle on the red carpet was Kareena Kapoor-Khan, who turned heads in a shimmering Naeem Khan gown.
Alia Bhatt of ‘Student of the Year’ fame looked stunning as she wore a semi-sheer Roberto Cavalli dress.
Radhika Apte looked equally gorgeous in a red Johanna Ortiz off-shoulder gown and adorned it with Gemfields jewellery.
Newbie Janhvi Kapoor of ‘Dhadak’ fame looked stunning in a heavily embellished Falguni & Shane Peacock gown.
Amongst the men, Ayushmann Khurrana of ‘Andhadhun’ fame kept it classic in a classic suit by Gaurav Gupta.
Ace Bollywood director Karan Johar kept it suave in a Dolce and Gabbana floral suit and pants, and a fancy pair of Gucci shoes.
Fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, whose lehengas are a favourite amongst women, kept it simple as he wore a floral kurta along with a black bundee and white churidar.
Apart from the aforementioned celebrities; Karisma Kapoor, Kunal Kapoor, Kartik Aryan, Preity Zinta, Nushrat Bharucha, and Vicky Kaushal were also part of the attendees.
Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj says though superstars are taking risks by doing out-of-the-box films today, for him, Aamir Khan is the only daring actor.
Bhardwaj, who has worked with Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor in the past, says he needs an apt story to collaborate with top actors.
“I want to work with superstars. I approach them. If there would have been some response, they would have been in some film of mine. But they aren’t there. There has to be a right subject.
“They are taking risk today and it is good sign for our cinema. Aamir Khan is the only daring actor. He transformed amazingly for ‘Dangal’. He admits and acknowledges his age and works accordingly,” Bhardwaj told a agency.
He is happy with the rave reviews his latest directorial venture “Pataaka” featuring relatively new faces like Sanya Malhotra and Radhika Madan, received.
The director acknowledges he has his own set of audience which enjoys watching his kind of cinema.
“I have a small or limited audience but I make films to cater to everyone. I would want everybody to watch my films but that doesn’t happen. So you don’t know your audience.
“And the day you come to know about this, you are finished. For me, it is always about the story I want to convey to people.”
There has been speculation that Bhardwaj, 53, is set to adapt a book for Netflix.
The director does not comment on it but adds that the digital platform is the future.
“Big filmmakers will be coming there. Things are shifting. If you want to watch a spectacle then watch on the big screen. If you want to watch content then digital is the best medium,” he says.
His next film was set to bring together “Piku” actors – Irrfan Khan and Deepika Padukone on screen in a gritty drama reportedly titled “Sapna Didi”.
Due to Irrfan’s health the film was put on hold.
The actor is likely to return to India after Diwali, but Bhardwaj believes the “Hindi Medium” star might not begin work immediately.
“We will start work on our film next year maybe,” he says.
The critically-acclaimed filmmaker is part of the international jury of the 20th edition of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.
Concerned over the “disappearance” of many intangible legacy of India over time, the UN will soon launch a project on creating an “inventory” of art forms, craftsmanship and other intangible cultural heritage of the country.
UN Resident Coordinator in India Yuri Afanasiev said the “wiki-styled project” involving multiple stakeholders is planned to be executed, among other means, through “crowd-sourcing”.
“India is endowed with not just with wealth of iconic monuments and landmarks and built heritage, but also home to countless intangible cultural heritage, like folk music, art forms, textile design, craftsmanship,” he said.
But, a number of these intangible cultural heritage are “disappearing” on a daily basis and it “pains me”, the UN official said.
“We at UN India, are working on a project that will seek to create an inventory of intangible cultural heritage. We will take help of crowd-sourcing as well,” Afanasiev told agencies.
On October 24, the United Nations had dedicated its iconic campus here to India’s cultural heritage as its office in New Delhi marked the UN Day with a dazzling display of the country’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
A total of 13 intangible cultural heritage elements from India have been inscribed till date on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
These include the Kumbh Mela, Novruz, Tradition of Vedic chanting, Ramlila, Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre; Ramman, religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal Himalayas; Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan; and Chhau dance.
“A simple tradition of producing handcrafted sarees in a small town, a folk song in a village in a corner of the country, a recipe crafted by someone’s mother or grandmother, which may be disappearing because the next generation has migrated to other, big cities,” he said.
“And, this project, tentatively dubbed — A snapshot inventory of intangible cultural heritage — seeks to capture them in a capsule of sorts, for the posterity. So, it could be documenting the sounds, sights, techniques, styles, though photographs or other audio-visual medium,” Afanasiev said.
He said the project duration will span about a year.
He also said UN, besides engaging with its own agencies like UNESCO and UNDP, will also collaborate with several ministries, such as the ministry of culture and ministry of textiles.
On UN Day, Afanasiev had hailed India’s cultural diversity, saying, “I personally have a love affair with India, its rich taste, colours, sounds, smells and food.”
The UN House has been revived as the site for the safeguarding of the history of the seven-decade-long India-UN partnership and of India’s great contributions to the UN, he said.
“We are equally proud to dedicate this compound to India’s cultural heritage, and the vibrant plural developmental traditions of the country that will provide the right environment for thinking about the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals),” Afanasiev said.
UN House is an iconic landmark, one of the buildings designed by noted American architect Joseph Allen Stein in Lodhi Estate area, the others being India International Centre and India Habitat Centre.
Srishti Kaur, 20, a winner of a national beauty pageant in teen category in 2017, was among the invitees at the UN Day.
She said she runs a clothing line in Noida that promotes khadi and cotton. “We as youth must take pride in our cultural heritage and promote it,” Kaur said.
