Bollywood's biggest stars ignite the screen! From the dazzling premiere of [mention a recently released film or event] to the brewing controversies surrounding [mention a current entertainment scandal], India's entertainment scene is ablaze. This week saw [mention a significant entertainment event, e.g., a music launch, award ceremony, or box office milestone], further cementing India's position as a global entertainment powerhouse. The battle for box office supremacy heats up as [mention competing films or actors], while the digital realm witnesses the rise of [mention a trending OTT series or online sensation]. Beyond Bollywood, regional cinema continues to flourish, with [mention a noteworthy achievement in regional cinema]. From the vibrant world of music to the captivating realm of television, Abtak.com brings you the pulse of Indian entertainment. Dive in and stay updated on the latest news, reviews, and exclusive interviews—your ultimate destination for all things entertainment. Explore the captivating stories unfolding now!
Kochi: The residences of leading Malayalam actors Dulquer Salmaan and Prithviraj Sukumaran came under the scanner of the Customs and Revenue Intelligence Department on Monday as part of Operation Numkhor, a statewide crackdown into the alleged smuggling of luxury vehicles. According to officials, the investigation revolves around pre-owned SUVs illegally imported from Bhutan into India without paying customs duties. These vehicles were allegedly sold at reduced rates to businessmen and prominent personalities, including members of the film industry. Searches began around 9 a.m. at Dulquer's residence in Panampilly Nagar and Prithviraj's house in Thevara. Officials clarified that preliminary findings do not suggest the actors' direct involvement in the smuggling. However, the vehicles in their possession are suspected to have been among those brought into the state through illegal channels. Operation Numkhor has led to coordinated raids across five districts -- Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Malappuram, and Kozhikode -- covering nearly 30 locations, including industrialists' properties and used car dealerships. Investigators say the racket involves luxury SUVs decommissioned by the Bhutanese army. These vehicles were purchased in bulk, transported to Himachal Pradesh for registration, and later resold across India at prices lower than the official market value. In several cases, buyers paid a premium compared to the Bhutan resale price, but the deals still remained significantly cheaper than showroom rates in India. Over the past four months, revenue intelligence teams have tracked the movement of at least 150 such vehicles. Officials are now examining whether the end-buyers, including celebrities, were aware of the tax evasion involved in these transactions. The searches are ongoing, and further details are awaited.
Chennai: Malayalam actor and director Prithviraj Sukumaran recently revealed that he was given an incredible opportunity by Subaskaran, the head of the renowned Tamil film production house Lyca Productions, to direct a film starring Tamil superstar Rajinikanth. Speaking at the teaser launch of his highly anticipated Malayalam film L2: Empuraan, Prithviraj shared the details, saying, "I have been assigned the task of welcoming Lyca Productions into Malayalam cinema. This obviously is their first ever project in Malayalam. It is a bit of an anecdote. I think now, it is safe to say that Subaskar ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) As Tesla announced its foray into the Indian market on Tuesday, Liberty General Insurance and ACKO said they have become insurance partners for the American electric carmaker in India. Liberty General Insurance said it has developed a suite of finely tuned protection plans that complement Tesla's engineering and performance excellence while anticipating the distinct needs of EV users. Also Read | Ganeshotsav 2025: MSRTC To Run 5,000 Special Buses to Konkan From August 23 to September 7, Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik Announces; Group Bookings Start July 22. "At Li ...Read More >
The Boeing 747 Jumbo stands out for being the most popular quad-engined commercial passenger jet to exist. It also boasted the longest production run of any commercial jet in its class. But why was it designed with four engines and not two, three, or even six? When answering this question, it is necessary to look back in time to the 1960s when the original 747-100 was developed. Put simply, the 747 has four engines to meet the Boeing 747-100 performance requirements. In the 1960s, engine technol ...Read More >
The 71st National Film Awards stirred considerable discussion after The Kerala Story clinched two major honours -- Best Director for Sudipto Sen and Best Cinematography for Prasantanu Mohapatra. While the film was a commercial success, it also sparked widespread criticism for its controversial theme centered on alleged religious conversions. Now, Ashutosh Gowariker, who chaired the Feature Film Jury, has weighed in on why the film received recognition from the prestigious panel. Ashutosh Gowarik ...Read More >
Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], August 4 (ANI): The Jharkhand government declared a three-day state mourning, starting Monday, following the passing of the state's former Chief Minister and co-founder of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Shibu Soren. "In honour of the late Honourable former Chief Minister-cum-Rajya Sabha MP, the State Government has decided to observe 03 (three) days of state mourning from August 4 to August 6," the message from the Jharkhand government read. Also Read | Kerala Shocker: 47-Year-Old Man Dies by Suicide After Failing to Arrange Funds for Son's Engineering College Admission. ...Read More >
New Delhi, Aug 14 (SocialNews.XYZ) Easing inflation and favourable monsoon boosted rural demand in India in the April-June period this year, outpacing urban consumption once again, according to a new report. According to the report by global research firm NielsenIQ, rural markets and small manufacturers propelled the packaged consumer goods sector in Q2 2025. Rural markets grew twice as fast as cities, as urban areas showed signs of recovery, particularly in smaller towns. According to the report, e-commerce also rose significantly, led by increased shopper penetration and spending, especia ...Read More >
Hyderabad, Sep 5 (SocialNews.XYZ) Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said on Friday that the proposed new education policy will bring many reforms in the education sector to help rebuild the state. He appealed to the entire teachers' fraternity to join hands with the government for the reconstruction of the state. Speaking at the Teachers' Day Celebrations here, the Chief Minister said that he kept the education portfolio with himself for the revival of the key sector, which he said was completely ruined during the 10-year rule of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). "Many Chief Ministers k ...Read More >
Silver Price Prediction 2025: As precious metal hits record high, it could climb to as high as Rs 1.5 lakh per kg in the next 12 months, according to a report. Silver surged Rs 1,668 to hit its fresh all-time high of Rs 1,30,000 per kilogram on the MCX, as investors rushed to the white metal on strong bets of a US Federal Reserve rate cut next week. On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), silver futures for March next year delivery soared Rs 1,668 or 1.3 per cent to hit a lifetime high of Rs 1,30 ...Read More >
[NEW DELHI, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Gold demand in India this festive season is expected to be weaker than last year, as record-high prices are likely to curb jewellery purchases, outweighing modest gains in investment demand. Weaker demand in the world's second-largest gold consumer could limit a rally in global prices, which hit a record high last week. But sluggish demand for gold imports could limit India's trade deficit and support the rupee. Local gold prices, which scaled a record peak of 109,840 rupees (S$1,597.68) per 10 grams last week, have risen 42 per cent year-to-date, after gainin ...Read More >
Kochi: Raids were conducted at the residences of leading Mollywood actor Prithviraj Sukumaran and actor-producer Dulquer Salmaan by the customs department in search of foreign luxury vehicles brought into the country without paying duties. This is part of a nationwide crackdown codenamed "Numkhor" (which means "vehicle" in the Bhutanese language), targeting a racket allegedly involved in tax evasion and illegal vehicle imports. Raids were carried out at Prithviraj's house in Thevara and Dulquer's residence in Panampilly Nagar. Officials also visited Prithviraj's Thiruvananthapuram home, but ...Read More >
Jaipur: Police in Didwana have stepped up their probe into a cross-border smuggling case in which they arrested two arms and drug smugglers on June 27 for supplying Austrian Glock and Chinese Norinco pistols. It has emerged that the case has links to a massive Rs 300-crore heroin consignment seized by Punjab's Amritsar police near the India-Pakistan border in Barmer on June 30. Canada-based Joben Kaler was identified as the main overseas handler of the heroin consignment. Didwana-Kuchaman police had arrested Mohammad Ilyas from Khunkhuna and Amarjeet Singh Takhar, alias Prince, from Jalandhar ...Read More >
Ahmedabad, July 14 (PTI) The Gujarat High Court on Monday directed a man, facing contempt of court for attending a virtual court hearing while relieving himself on a toilet seat, to deposit Rs 1 lakh with the court's registry after observing that he was ready to tender an unconditional apology. The incident occurred on June 20 when Justice Nirzar S Desai was hearing a case. A video of the man soon went viral, prompting the high court to initiate suo motu contempt proceedings. On Monday, the division bench of Justices AS Supehia and RT Vachhani directed the man, identified as Samad Abdul Rehm ...Read More >
Hyderabad, July 18 (UNI) In view of the ongoing heavy rains in Hyderabad, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has directed all concerned departments to stay on high alert and ensure swift response to public grievances. The Chief Minister instructed officials from GHMC, HMDA, Water Works, Electricity, and Police departments to work in close coordination to prevent any rain-related disruptions. He also emphasised the need for immediate action in areas facing waterlogging, power outages, or other rain-induced issues. CM Revanth Reddy further directed the deployment of SDRF, NDRF, Hydra teams, and ot ...Read More >
New Delhi, Aug 28 (PTI) India's gains from importing discounted Russian oil are estimated to be just USD 2.5 billion per annum, significantly lower than the previously speculated range of USD 10-25 billion, a research report said on Thursday. Stopping Russian oil imports would force India, the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, to rely on limited alternatives, potentially driving global crude prices up to USD 100 per barrel amid rising demand and tight supply. "Benefit from Russian oil imports is way less than exaggerated media numbers," brokerage CLSA said in a report. While ...Read More >
SRINAGAR: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to review the performance of departments with regard to utilization of the annual budget and revenue realization in J&K. The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, Finance Department, Santosh D. Vaidya; Administrative Secretaries of all departments; Director General, Resources; Director General, Accounts & Treasuries; Director General, Budget, besides other senior officers. During the review, the Chief Secretary took a detailed appraisal of the proportion of revenue and capital expenditure made by each depa ...Read More >
Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], July 14 (ANI): Himachal Pradesh government has announced a relief of Rs 7 lakh per household for those whose homes were completely destroyed in the monsoon calamity, which has claimed 105 lives in the state. "The state government has decided to provide Rs 7 lakh to families whose houses were swept away due to floods and heavy rains. This announcement has been made by the Chief Minister," Himachal Pradesh's Minister for Revenue, Horticulture, and Tribal Development, Jagat Singh Negi, told ANI in an interview. Also Read | Donald Trump Threatens 100% Secondary ...Read More >
ET Intelligence Group: Wipro's June quarter performance was better than the muted expectations of analysts. The company continued to report traction in new deals helped by the sustained business momentum in the recently acquired entities. While the management stated that uncertainty in the global business environment persisted, it also highlighted that the new deal wins consisted of some of the contracts that resulted from vendor consolidation, reflecting its competitive offerings. In addition, t ...Read More >
Medak: Telangana State BJP President N. Ramchander Rao on Friday appealed to the people to give the committed party an opportunity to meet the aspirations of the poor and downtrodden. Addressing a large gathering of party workers in Medak, the BJP chief remarked that citizens have experienced the rule of the BRS and the Congress party and have had bitter experiences with the deceitful practices of both. He urged people to support the BJP wholeheartedly in the upcoming local body elections as a way to teach the ruling Congress party a lesson for its unfulfilled promises. Rao emphasized that t ...Read More >
New Delhi: Delhi govt has prepared a plan under which Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus drivers and conductors will receive regular training, with a focus on ethical values, customer service and safe driving, transport minister Pankaj Singh said on Friday. The move is for improving the public image of DTC buses.The minister mentioned that DTC bus drivers who fail to halt at designated stops or are found speeding will face strict departmental action.Several commuters have complained about the behaviour of DTC bus drivers. There have alleged that the buses often fail to stop at the designate ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Signalling the government's intent to move ahead with the impeachment motion of Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said that main opposition parties have given their in-principle approval to support the motion in the upcoming monsoon session scheduled for July21-August 21. Rijiju said that the government is yet to decide whether the motion would be brought in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. For the Lok Sabha, signatures of a minimum 100 MPs is required. The requirement is the support of at least 50 MPs in the Rajya Sabha. H ...Read More >
Bengaluru: Wipro's revenue declined by 2.3% in constant currency during the June quarter, though the drop remained within its projected guidance range of -3.5% to -1.5%."We started the quarter facing significant macro uncertainty, which kept overall demand muted. Our clients prioritised initiatives with immediate impact, focusing on cost optimisation and vendor consolidation. At the same time, they accelerated their AI, data, and modernisation programs. We saw a clear trend of many AI projects moving to scale and production," said Wipro CEO Srini Pallia.Operating margins fell to 17.3% in the J ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) The Supreme Court has said money cannot be recovered by filing an FIR and seeking help of police as it quashed a cheating case against the producer of Bollywood movie "Tanu Weds Manu". A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan expressed displeasure over the approach of the Allahabad High Court in dealing with the petition of producer Shailesh R Singh for quashing of the FIR against him by complainant Kunal Jain. "Money cannot be recovered, more particularly, in a civil dispute between the parties by filing a first information report and seeking the help of the ...Read More >
New Delhi: Protest at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) against a recently announced fee hike, the long-standing suspension of students' union elections and calls for administrative accountability have entered their sixth day, with students boycotting classes and staging sit-ins at the Bab-e-Syed gate (the iconic entrance of the varsity). The fee structure for different courses has witnessed a sharp revision. Students say the hike ranges from 25% to over 60% across various programmes. Many claim they first learned of the revised fees only while trying to pay through the university's online ...Read More >
New Delhi: The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki has announced the rollout of its first made-in-India electric vehicle - the e-Vitara SUV - in a major boost to the green segment from its upgraded Gujarat plant, which is now set to become one of the world's largest automotive manufacturing hubs with a projected annual capacity of one million units. Crucially, this facility will serve as Suzuki's global production base for electric vehicles (EVs), exporting to over 100 countries, including advanced markets in Japan and Europe, which is aligned with India's vision of becoming a global aut ...Read More >
Customs officials in Kerala are conducting raids at multiple locations, including the residences of actors Prithviraj and Dulquer Salmaan, as part of "Operation Numkhor." The operation investigates alleged tax evasion involving luxury vehicles imported from Bhutan using fraudulent registrations. Authorities are examining vehicle documents and have detected approximately 15 violations related to this scheme. Residences of Malayalam stars Prithviraj Sukumaran (Thevara) and Dulquer Salmaan (Panampi ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: Ravada A Chandrasekhar took charge as the new State Police Chief on Tuesday. He succeeds Shaik Darvesh Saheb, who retired on June 30. His tenure will run until July 1, 2027. A 1991-batch IPS officer currently serving as Special Director with the Intelligence Bureau, Chandrasekhar is on central deputation. He was selected over Nitin Agarwal, who topped the official list of probables. The appointment order, issued by Kerala Chief Secretary Dr A Jayathilak on behalf of the Governor, was released soon after a cabinet meeting held on Monday. Hailing from Andhra Pradesh's Godav ...Read More >
July 10 (Reuters) - The Indian markets regulator's ban on Wall Street trading giant Jane Street has squeezed volumes in the country's options market, but traders expect activity to snap back as larger investors step in. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on July 4 barred Jane Street from trading and froze $567 million of its funds for manipulation of stock indexes through derivative positions. Jane Street told staff it plans to challenge the order, calling the trades in question "basic index arbitrage." Since the order, index options premium turnover on the NSE and BSE exchang ...Read More >
MUMBAI: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has urged the Centre to ban import of raisins from China. In a letter written to Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Mr. Pawar said "illegal" import from China, bypassing customs duties and taxes, is causing severe financial losses to both grape farmers and the national exchequer. Mr. Pawar's letter came in the wake of the memorandum submitted by the Maharashtra State Grape Growers Association. The MSGGA has alleged that there has been a significant influx of substandard Chinese raisins into the Indian market, because of which ...Read More >
Jammu- Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday reviewed the ongoing restoration work of the historic Mubarak Mandi complex, which was the power centre of the Dogra kings in Jammu, and stressed on enhancing its heritage appeal. The Mubarak Mandi Complex is one of Jammu's most significant architectural heritage sites and is envisioned as a comprehensive cultural centre, housing museums, conference venues and heritage hospitality services. Accompanied by Advisor Nasir Aslam Wani and MLA Yudhvir Sethi during the visit, the chief minister was briefed in detail on the multi-phas ...Read More >
Pune: Hospitals in Pune have started reporting an increase in dengue cases among children following recent heavy rainfall and intermittent showers. Conditions are now ripe for mosquito breeding, experts said, as they warned citizens to ensure there's no waterlogging or stagnant pools near homes and offices. "Dengue is typically seen first in children as they often play outside," said Dr Sagar Lad, a senior neonatologist and pediatric intensivist at Jehangir Hospital and Sahyadri Hospital, Shastrinagar. Dr Lad said he's seen at least three children admitted for dengue this week, with all of the ...Read More >