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!
Thiruvanathapuram (Kerala) [India], December 15 (ANI): The 12th edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) has run into a crisis following the failure to obtain censor exemption certificates, leading to the cancellation of multiple film screenings in Thiruvananthapuram. According to organisers, screenings of seven films scheduled over the last two days were stalled due to the absence of the mandatory exemption certificate. At present, 19 films have not received permission for screening. In film festivals, movies without a Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certificate are usually screened after obtaining a special 'exemption certificate' from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. However, the non-availability of this certificate has triggered the current disruption at IFFK. The director Adoor Gopalakrishnan expressed his displeasure over the banning of classic films like 'The Hour of the Furnaces' and 'Battleship Potemkin' in IFFK 2025. While talking to ANI, Gopalakrishnan said, "Films like 'Battleship Potemkin', 'The Hour of the Furnaces' are the classics of cinema. I studied those films in my school days, in my film institute days. So, it's like a joke to ban it because almost all of us have these films at home. We keep it as a textbook. So, you cannot stop." The director described the decision as the "sheer lack of understanding" of the cinema by the organisers. He continued, "To advertise one's ignorance like this is very bad for the government, very bad for the people. They should reconsider the ban on these films, and their decisions should not be based solely on the titles. So, the whole thing is based on a sheer lack of understanding of the medium of cinema. So, they should have some humility to learn. It looks like it is sheer ignorance, nothing else." The film director Kamal also expressed his disappointment and anger with the ban of films like 'Battleship Potemkin.' "Very disappointing and very much angry with this ban. They have banned the movie Badger Chip Potamkin. Why? Classic. The history of the cinema starts from Badger Chip Potamkin. So, that film they are banning. Why?" said Kamal while talking to ANI. Screenings of several films, including the internationally acclaimed classic 'Battleship Potemkin', have been affected, causing inconvenience to delegates and audiences attending the festival. Organisers are reportedly in talks with the authorities to resolve the issue at the earliest. (ANI)
New Delhi, Jul 3 (PTI) State-owned NBCC Ltd has signed an initial pact with National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) to renovate and redevelop the iconic 5.5-acre Siri Fort Auditorium complex in the national capital into a world-class cultural destination. Siri Fort Auditorium, located in South Delhi, was constructed in 1982 during the Asian Games. It currently has four auditoriums with a combined seating of over 2,600. In the past four decades, the auditorium complex has hosted global film festivals, musical events and public events. Also Read | India Weather Forecast: Monsoon in Active ...Read More >
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 9 (ANI): Marking centenary celebrations of legendary filmmaker Guru Dutt, a special retrospective of his iconic films will be held across India in August. On Wednesday, Ultra Media and Entertainment announced that Guru Dutt's classics, including 'Pyaasa', 'Chaudhvin Ka Chand', 'Mr. & Mrs. 55', and 'Baaz', which have been restored in 4K, will be re-run in theatres from August 8 to August 10. The restoration of Pyaasa and his other films has been undertaken by NFDC-NFAI. Sushilkumar Agrawal, MD & CEO, Ultra Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, who holds the righ ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 16 (ANI): The Indian government expressed regret on Tuesday over the reported demolition of the ancestral property of celebrated filmmaker and writer Satyajit Ray in Mymensingh, Bangladesh and expressed its willingness to extend cooperation in its restoration. "We note with profound regret that the ancestral property of noted filmmaker and litterateur Satyajit Ray in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, belonging to his grandfather and eminent litterateur, Upendra Kishor Ray Chowdhury, is being demolished," the Ministry of External Affairs said. Also Read | India Urges Bangladesh ...Read More >
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 17 (ANI): Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, a proud son of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, has made India and his family proud by returning safely to Earth after an 18-day stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). As part of the Axiom-4 mission, Shubhanshu Shukla journey has been a remarkable achievement for India space ambitions. Shubhanshu mother, Asha Shukla, couldnt hold back her emotions as she spoke about her son incredible feat. Shukla mother, Asha Shukla, shared with ANI, It was a very happy experience; he shared it with us. He is feeling very ha ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], January 13 (ANI): Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw criticised Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and called him "factually incorrect" over his remark that most incumbent governments, including India in 2024 elections, lost post-COVID. He added that the people of India have reaffirmed their trust in the NDA led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "As the world's largest democracy, India conducted the 2024 elections with over 640 million voters. People of India reaffirmed their trust in the ND led by PM @narendramodi Ji's leadership. Mr. Zuckerberg's claim that most incumbent governments, ...Read More >
A Delhi University panel's decision to drop proposed postgraduate Political Science papers on Islam, Pakistan, and China has failed to find consensus among the members. Photograph: Courtesy @UnivofDelhi/X While some called it ideological censorship, those who supported the decision termed it a step towards making the syllabus "India-centric" and free from bias. In its meeting on Wednesday, DU's Standing Committee for Academic Matters directed the removal of four elective papers -- Islam and In ...Read More >
VISAKHAPATNAM: Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar inaugurated Andhra Pradesh's first Super ECBC (Energy Conservation Building Code) compliant building at Sagar Nagar in Visakhapatnam on Friday. Terming it a landmark in sustainable infrastructure, he emphasised the government's commitment to energy efficiency and green design in public facilities. The facility will serve as a national-level training hub for power sector staff. He urged power utilities to expedite 20 lakh rooftop solar connections, targeting 10,000 in each Assembly segment. He reaffirmed nine-hour uninterrupted power for agri ...Read More >
Mohali (Punjab) [India], July 11 (ANI): 'Udaipur Files: Kanhaiya Lal Tailor Murder' producer Amit Jani expressed his disappointment over the verdict of the Delhi High Court and said that they have moved to the Supreme Court to challenge the verdict. In a conversation with ANI, he said, 'Humne High Court ke faisle ke khilaaf Supreme Court mein appeal ki hai uske revision ke liye kyunki hum usse santusht nahi hai (We have appealed against the High Court's decision in the Supreme Court for its review because we are not satisfied with it)' He added, 'We have appealed in the Supreme Court against ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 14 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday flagged the issue of people abusing their fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression on social media. A bench led by Justice B.V. Navarathna also stated that reasonable restrictions over the fundamental right of speech and expression are rightly imposed and need to be complied with by citizens. All reasonable restrictions is rightly put. Just because technology is there, doesnt mean youll abuse it, Justice Nagarathna stated. The Supreme Court judge also said that citizens must apply self-regulation and restraint when s ...Read More >
Viewers complain that board allows violence and misogyny in Indian films but not a smooch in a Hollywood release As Indian cinemagoers watched the latest Superman film, many noticed something was amiss. On two occasions as the superhero leaned in for a kiss with Lois Lane, the film suddenly jumped forward, cutting to the aftermath of an embrace. India's censor board had deemed the kissing scenes, including a 33-second smooch, to be "overly sensual" for Indian audiences and demanded they be cut ...Read More >
MUMBAI: The Indian equity indices opened lower on Friday as heavyweights like Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the top losers in the BSE benchmark. At 9.25 am, Sensex was down 171 points or 0.21 per cent at 82, 087 and Nifty was down 35 points or 0.14 per cent at 25, 075. In the Sensex pack, M&M, Tata Steel, Power Grid, L&T, UltraTech Cement, Infosys, Tata Motors, BEL, NTPC, TCS, Trent and Maruti Suzuki were top gainers. Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra , HDFC Bank, Eternal (Zomato), HUL, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Titan and Bajaj Finserv ...Read More >
Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], June 27 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in the 'Samman Program for Democracy Fighters on completion of 50 years of Emergency' organised at the Himalayan Cultural Centre, Dehradun. CM Dhami said that the period of Emergency will always be marked as a black chapter in Indian democratic history. Paying tribute to the democracy fighters, CM Dhami said, 'Today we are getting the privilege of honouring the great heroes who protected democracy. The period of Emergency will always be marked as a black chapter in Indian democratic his ...Read More >
KOCHI: The controversy over the use of the name Janaki in the film JSK - Janaki v/s State of Kerala, starring Union Minister Suresh Gopi, saw a new development on Wednesday with the film's producers informing the Kerala High Court that they are willing to incorporate the suggestions made by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Accordingly, changes will be made to the subtitle of the movie, modifying it from Janaki to Janaki V. With this change, the revised title of the film will be JSK - Janaki V v/s State of Kerala. When the petition filed by Cosmos Entertainments, Tamil Nadu the ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) The Indian economy is expected to grow at 6.5 per cent in the current financial year, despite geo-political tensions and trade policy uncertainties, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) Chairman S Mahendra Dev said on Tuesday. In an interview with PTI, Dev further said that domestic growth will be driven by low inflation, resulting from good monsoon and benign interest rate regime, triggered by three back-to-back rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India. "There are significant global headwinds like the twin shocks of geo-political tensions and trade ...Read More >
Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], July 16 (ANI): Following the tragic road accident in the Muwani area of Pithoragarh district on Tuesday that claimed eight lives, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced that the state government would provide Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured. This would be in addition to the ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF), announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which would be given to the next of kin of the deceased. Also Read | Weather Forecast Today, July 16: Check ...Read More >
Ahmedabad, June 27: Union Home Minister Amit Shah began his Gujarat visit on a spiritual note early Friday morning by participating in the Mangala Aarti at the historic Shri Jagannathji Temple in Jamalpur, Ahmedabad. The visit coincides with the auspicious occasion of the annual Shri Jagannath Rath Yatra, a major religious event that draws thousands of devotees every year. Arriving at the temple at 3:15 a.m., HM Shah joined in the sacred rituals and offered prayers to Mahaprabhu Jagannath. Sharing his experience on social media platform X, he posted, "On the sacred occasion of Rath Yatra, par ...Read More >
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 10 (ANI): As the 2015 blockbuster film, 'Baahubali' rings in a decade since its release. To make this occasion more special, director SS Rajamouli reunited with the cast and crew of his film. On Thursday, the official Instagram account of the film shared some pictures from the 'epic reunion', which was attended by Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, SS Rajamouli and MM Keeravani. Also Read | 'Superman' Censored in India: CBFC Trims Kissing Scenes Between David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan in James Gunn's DC Superhero Movie. They penned a long, heartwarming note tha ...Read More >
The Karnataka government has capped movie ticket prices at Rs 200 across the state, including multiplexes, to enhance cinema accessibility. This initiative, announced in the March budget, aims to support Kannada cinema. Additionally, the state plans to launch a dedicated OTT platform for Kannada films and allocate Rs 3 crore for archiving Kannada films to preserve cultural narratives. In a significant move aimed at making cinema more accessible, the Karnataka government has ordered a cap on movi ...Read More >
Janaki vs State of Kerala (JSK), starring Union Minister Suresh Gopi, informed the Kerala High Court on Wednesday that the film received the censor board approval on July 11, 2025, and will be released this week. In view of the submission, Justice N Nagaresh observed that the primary grievance of the petitioner -- the film's production company -- stands redressed and disposed of its plea. The court also declared that, given the peculiar circumstances in which a revised version of the movie was ...Read More >
Punjab '95 Controversy: Diljit Dosanjh has been awaiting the release of his highly controversial film for a couple of years now. The film has been completed and kept on hold for longer than expected due to several reasons. It was recently announced that the biopic will skip India and will be released internationally without any cuts on February 7, 2025, but has been postponed yet again indefinitely. Dosanjh took to his Instagram stories on 20th January mid-night and wrote, "We are sorry and it pains us to inform you that Punjab '95 will not release on 7th Feb due to circumstances beyond our c ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: Education Minister V Sivankutty has once again reacted to the Central Board of Film Certification's objection to the name of the lead character in the upcoming Malayalam film Janaki vs State of Kerala, which stars Union Minister Suresh Gopi. "My name is Sivankutty... Will the censor board be coming this way?!" Sivankutty wrote on social media. Earlier, the minister had also quipped whether it is a "censor board or senseless board." CBFC had informally objected to the title and character name 'Janaki' for a rape victim, citing religious sensitivities. The Kerala High Court ...Read More >
Noida (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 11 (ANI): Yash Sahu, the son of Kanhaiya Lal, the tailor who was murdered in Rajasthan's Udaipur, said that despite having video evidence, the criminals have not been punished for the last three years. His statement comes after the Delhi High Court on Thursday ordered a stay on the release of the film 'Udaipur Files: Kanhaiya Lal Tailor Murder', which was set to hit theatres on July 11. 'Despite having video evidence and everything else, the criminals have not been punished for the last three years. And when someone wants to show the truth to the country t ...Read More >
Mumbai: Bombay High Court has now got its fifth bench, located in Kolhapur. The HC bench at Kolhapur will start functioning from Aug 18, as stated in a notification issued on Friday."I, Alok Aradhe, Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, with the approval of the Governor of Maharashtra, appoint Kolhapur as a place at which Judges and Division Courts of the High Court may also sit, with effect from August 18, 2025," the notification dated Aug 1 said. The other benches of the HC are at Nagpur, Aurangabad, and Goa, apart from the principal bench in Mumbai.Lawyers and bar associa ...Read More >
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], May 29 (ANI): Tamil veteran actor Rajesh passed away at the age of 75 years on Thursday morning. As per his relatives, the actor passed away on the way to Madras Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (MIOT) hospital after he suddenly experienced difficulty in breathing. Also Read | 'Sister Midnight' Censored in India: CBFC Blurs Nudity From Radhika Apte's Dark Comedy - View Full List of Cuts. Rajesh has worked in over 100 films in his entire acting career. He started his acting journey with a superhit film, 'Aval Oru Thodar Kathai', which also starred Kama ...Read More >
Mumbai, June 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) It was a belligerent, brilliant, and breathtaking performance from the Chennai Bulls, who were crowned the first ever champions of the Rugby Premier League, here in Mumbai, at the Shahaji Raje Bhosale Sports Complex. The Chennai Bulls thrashed the Delhi Redz by a scoreline of 41-0 in the final, to clinch the title. In fact, the margin of victory is the biggest across Season 1 of the GMR RPL. Meanwhile, the Hyderabad Heroes, who had finished top of the table in the league stage, came away with a third-place finish, after they won 17-12 against the Bengaluru Bra ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 10 (ANI): Maulana Arshad Madani, President of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, on Thursday, welcomed the Delhi High Court decision to stay the screening of a Udaipur Files movie, expressing satisfaction with the outcome. According to an official release, Madani said, We were awaiting a final verdict, but the outcome after the day-long hearing clearly indicates that, even after the removal of objectionable scenes, the film still contains content that can spread the poison of hatred in our society. The stay on the screening of the film and other related court orders have undoubtedl ...Read More >
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 14 (ANI): Farhan Akhtar's hit film 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' is all set to be re-released in theatres. The film, which was directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, will be out in cinema halls once again on July 18. Milkha Singh was one of India's most renowned athletes and a former national champion in the 400 meters race. The film depicts his inspiring journey, starting from his traumatic childhood during the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, where he lost most of his family members, to becoming a successful athlete and a national hero. The film received cr ...Read More >
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 15 (ANI): Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) will open admissions for its first batch of students starting this August, giving a major boost to India digital and creative economy sector. The institute will offer a robust portfolio of industry-driven courses in the AVGC-XR (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality) sector. The institute, which was announced by Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw, at World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in May 2025, is backed by prestigious global par ...Read More >
The Supreme Court will hear a plea against the Delhi High Court's stay on the film 'Udaipur Files: Kanhaiya Lal tailor murder'. The film's release was halted despite censor board approval. Producers argue the stay violates their rights after investing in the movie. The Delhi High Court wants the Centre to decide on banning the film due to potential disharmony. The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a plea challenging the Delhi High Court's decision to stay the release of the film 'Udaipur Fi ...Read More >
New Delhi: Popular stand-up comedian Samay Raina, while appearing before the Supreme Court in a case related to allegedly mocking persons with disabilities, made a brief yet pointed remark that has drawn wide attention: "I support Mohak Mangal." The comment came in response to a reporter from ANI who asked Raina if he wished to say anything about the case. Avoiding direct remarks about the allegations, Raina instead chose to express solidarity with YouTuber and policy educator Mohak Mangal, who recently accused ANI of extortion disguised as copyright enforcement. Raina's appearance at Courtr ...Read More >