Hillary Clinton joins Bollywood stars as super-rich Indians wed

MUMBAI - The daughter of India's richest man got married on Wednesday in a traditional ceremony in Mumbai attended by Bollywood stars and former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The marriage brings together 2 of India's most influential families. The bride, Isha Ambani, 27, is the daughter of Mukesh Ambani, head of the vast Reliance conglomerate whose net worth Forbes put at $43 billion.

Her groom, Anand Piramal, 33, is heir to a real-estate and pharmaceutical business.

The wedding bash took place at Ambani's Mumbai residence, an extraordinary 27-storey structure known as one of the most expensive homes in the world. It was covered in red roses and decorated with lights and flowers for the occasion.

The groom and his family arrived in vintage cars as security guards onlookers and photographers from the narrow lane in south Mumbai that leads to the residence.

India's Filmfare magazine said 600 guests were expected at what media have dubbed the "the big, fat Indian wedding".

The festivities were a culmination of lavish pre-wedding celebrations in the desert city of Udaipur over the weekend, which featured a private concert by American singer Beyonce.

As well as Clinton, who according to Indian media reports has an association with the Ambanis that goes back more than 18 years, attendees included newly-weds actress Priyanka Chopra and singer Nick Jonas, former Indian finance minister P. Chidambaram, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, and Bollywood actor Aamir Khan.

Many in India, where millions of people live in dire poverty, have closely followed the wedding preparations, including the couple's engagement at a luxury hotel on Italy's Lake Como.

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Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas marry in Indian royal palace: magazine

MUMBAI - "Quantico" actor and Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra married U.S singer Nick Jonas on Saturday in a Christian ceremony attended by close family and friends at one of India's most opulent royal palaces, People magazine reported.

The couple are due to have a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on Sunday and host a reception in New Delhi next week.

The bride, groom and other members of the wedding party wore outfits designed by Ralph Lauren, the design house said on its Twitter account.

The wedding was officiated by the groom's father, Paul Kevin Jonas, People said.

Chopra, 36, who headlined three seasons of the ABC crime drama "Quantico", is one of Bollywood's biggest female leads with acting credits in several big-ticket films.

Nick Jonas, 26, and his brothers Kevin and Joe formed a band, The Jonas Brothers, in 2005 and soared to fame as members of Disney's stable of teenage stars. The band split up in 2013.

Representatives for the couple were not reachable for comment. The venue of the wedding, the Umaid Bhavan Palace in the Indian city of Jodhpur, has been cordoned off to outsiders and no media were allowed near.

Local police on Saturday had to intervene after the couple's security men had an altercation with photographers who were trying to take pictures of the venue, a Reuters witness said.

The palace is the home of the Jodhpur royal family, but part of it has been converted into a hotel with peacocks roaming 26 acres of landscaped gardens. 

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Netflix turns to Bollywood to script India growth story

Netflix Inc premiered its first original series in India in a sheen of Bollywood glitter on Wednesday, upping the stakes in its battle with streaming rival Amazon Prime for a chunk of the country's more than 1 billion potential viewers.

The success of original US shows like "House of Cards," "Orange is the New Black" and "Stranger Things" has been at the heart of Netflix’s seduction of 125 million subscribers globally.

But like other US entertainment firms, it has identified the need to create local content as important in winning viewers in some of the big emerging markets which are likely to dominate growth over the next decade.

A Hindi-language thriller set in Mumbai, "Sacred Games" launches less than a month after the success of its Indian film "Lust Stories" and comes at a time when fellow US heavyweights Comcast Corp and Walt Disney Co are vying for control of Indian pay TV network Tata Sky as part of their fight for Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.

Both "Lust Stories" and "Sacred Games" seek to marry the Western styles and values that exposure to Netflix and Amazon has brought to younger Indians with the rich and varied output of the country’s massive domestic film industry.

Netflix is spending $8 billion this year on original content and has said that figure will rise as it seeks to cement its position at the head of the streaming industry globally. The company’s international streaming revenue grew over 58 percent last year, according to latest filings.

With China’s heavily censored market proving a hard nut to crack, India is at the heart of that growth. Netflix plans to release another three original shows there this year compared to Amazon’s planned 10 while both have also been battling to sign some of the country’s leading stand-ups for specials.

An action-driven police procedural that will also be familiar to foreign viewers, "Sacred Games" is anchored by Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan as a policeman with 25 days to head off a terrorist threat to Mumbai. It is directed by Bollywood veteran Anurag Kashyap and also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte.

"Sacred Games" outlines the life of a police officer, Sartaj Singh, tipped by an anonymous call one morning promising him an opportunity to capture the powerful criminal Ganesh Gaitonde.

As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that there is a lot more at stake in the game than initially seemed.

The film's stars and directors, all well known veterans of India's huge Bollywood film system, greeted more than 250 specially invited Netflix fans and celebrities outside tech capital Bengaluru's Forum Mall for the premiere.

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Bollywood star Chopra apologises over 'Quantico' Hindu terror plot

NEW DELHI - Bollywood superstar Priyanka Chopra apologized Sunday after a furor over an a US TV series that showed her uncovering a terror plot hatched by Indian Hindu nationalists.

The episode of spy thriller "Quantico" showed Chopra's character, an FBI agent named Alex Parrish, thwarting the plan and noticing one of the terrorists wearing a Hindu rosary.

The terrorists had tried to frame Pakistanis for the attack planned ahead of a summit on Kashmir, a disputed Himalayan territory that arch-rivals India and Pakistan claim as their own.

Kashmir has been a source of historical tension between the nuclear-armed neighbors who have fought 2 wars over it.

The episode, aired on June 1, triggered outrage in India with many fans taking to social media to "shame" the Indian-born actress and calling her a "traitor".

Chopra, a former Miss World, said she was "a proud Indian and that will never change".

"I'm extremely saddened and sorry that some sentiments have been hurt by a recent episode of Quantico," Chopra, 35, wrote on Twitter.

"That was not and would never be my intention. I sincerely apologise."

ABC Studios, the producers of the crime drama, have also offered an apology while defending Chopra who is the lead actor of the show.

"The episode has stirred a lot of emotion, much of which is unfairly aimed at Priyanka Chopra, who didn't create the show, nor does she write or direct it," US media quoted the studio as saying in a statement.

"The show has featured antagonists of many different ethnicities and backgrounds, but in this case we inadvertently and regrettably stepped into a complex political issue. It was certainly not our intention to offend anyone."

Chopra has been trolled on Twitter since the telecast and a street protest was also held in New Delhi on Saturday by a fringe Hindu outfit that demanded she be sent to Pakistan as a punishment.

"Sell outs like her are an insult to India. She consciously consented for the act. Shame," tweeted Jagriti Shukla, a journalist.

The government "should cancel @priyankachopra passport & should not allow her to enter our nation... Let her stay in Hollywood & lick Pakistan boots. Traitor," Sumit Kadel, a film critic, said on the micro-blogging site.

Chopra, the first Indian to headline a US network series, is hugely popular among Indian fans and feted for having made it in the Western entertainment industry.

But recently she was criticized by Hindu hardliners for visiting Rohingya Muslims and ignoring persecuted Hindus during her visit to Bangladesh as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.

She was also accused of disrespecting Indian sensibilities by wearing a dress that exposed her legs during a meeting with Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Berlin last year.

Chopra, who is one of the highest-paid Indian actors, featured last year in "Baywatch", based on the television series of the same name.

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Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai turns heads in Michael Cinco gown

MANILA – Former beauty queen and Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan effortlessly turned heads when she walked the red carpet of this year’s Cannes Film Festival wearing a Michael Cinco creation.

In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, the Dubai-based Filipino designer said Rai Bachchan’s gown “was created to reflect the impalpable dream of a butterfly metamorphosis."

Fully covered with Swarovski crystals, the butterfly gown has a touch of blue and violet, accented by an exquisite three-meter train.

To complete her breathtaking look, the actress accessorized with a pair of beautiful earrings and a couple of rings.

This is not the first time Rai Bachchan wore a creation of Cinco to Cannes Film Festival. Last year, her Cinderella couture gown was likewise made by the Filipino designer.

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India's Bollywood legend Sridevi dies at 54 of cardiac arrest

NEW DELHI - Indian actress Sridevi, arguably Bollywood's first female superstar, died in Dubai after cardiac arrest, media reported on Sunday. She was 54.

Sridevi is survived by her husband - producer Boney Kapoor - and daughters Jhanvi and Khushi. She was in Dubai to attend a family wedding and died late on Saturday.

In a career spanning 5 decades, Sridevi acted in 300 films and was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honor in 2013.

Born Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, she started acting at the age of four, appearing in several Tamil-language films in the 1960s and 1970s, and eventually dropping out of school for a career in the movies.

She acted in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films, performing alongside leading men such as Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth.

Sridevi made her Bollywood debut in 1979 with "Solva Sawan" (16th spring), but it was in 1983, with Balu Mahendra's "Sadma" (Shock) that she made her mark in the Hindi film industry.

The year, she also acted with Jeetendra in K. Raghavendra Rao's blockbuster "Himmatwala" (The courageous one), cementing her place as one of Bollywood's top actresses.

Through the 1980s and 1990s she charmed audiences in female-centric films such as "Chandni" (Moonlight) and "Lamhe" (Moments), drawing praise for her comic timing in "Chaalbaaz" (Trickster) and Shekhar Kapur's "Mr India", playing feisty characters in contrast to the traditionally coy Bollywood heroine.

Sridevi took a break from films soon after she married producer Boney Kapoor in 1996.

A noticeably leaner Sridevi made a successful return to the big screen 15 years later in Gauri Shinde's "English Vinglish" (2012), playing a housewife taking English-language lessons. Her last screen appearance was in "Mom" (2017), as a mother avenging her daughter's rape.

Sridevi's death triggered an outpouring of tributes from Bollywood luminaries and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"I have no words. Condolences to everyone who loved Sridevi. A dark day. RIP," actress Priyanka Chopra said on Twitter.

"She was a veteran of the film industry, whose long career included diverse roles and memorable performances," Modi said in a tweet.

"We all grew up watching her and suddenly to hear that she is no longer with us is hard to digest," said cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. 

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When a selfie is not enough, take a 'velfie'

MUMBAI -- Move over selfie, India is embracing the "velfie" with Bollywood stars, sporting heroes and even politicians taking and posting videos of themselves online using a range of new mobile apps.

From lip-synching famous movie scenes and quizzing political leaders to interviewing job candidates, Indian tech firms are betting on the latest craze to grip social media -- the video selfie.

"2014 was about selfies... 2015 is for #velfies!" screams the blurb for Velfie, a smartphone app similar to Dubsmash where users mime songs or quotes to pre-recorded audio before posting the clips on social networks.

German-developed Dubsmash has rapidly become a global phenomenon since its launch in November and has been downloaded more than 50 million times across 192 countries, according to its website.

The global craze is sweeping the Indian film industry, with numerous stars entertaining legions of loyal fans with dubbed videos which are uploaded to popular sharing platforms Facebook and Instagram.

Actors Salman Khan and Ranveer Singh, and actresses Sonakshi Sinha and Richa Chadda are just some of the Bollywood stars to have embraced it, lip-synching everything from Hindi film dialogue to lyrics from Western songs.

A short clip of Khan and Sinha miming lines from a 1971 Indian movie has been liked more than 71,000 times on Instagram, while hundreds approved of Chadda's turn from controversial American hip-hop song "Baby Got Back."

Rammohan Sundaram, co-founder of India's Velfie, which was launched in April, said videos were a more entertaining way for Bollywood royalty and other celebrities to engage with their audiences.

A Twitter made of 'velfies'

"A selfie is only one picture but a 'velfie' can speak of emotions that you just can't render in a single photo," Sundaram told AFP.

"Selfies will remain because pictures will always be there but we're creating a whole new space that's more exciting, more engaging and more social in nature," he added.

Film star Akshay Kumar used Velfie recently to promote his film "Gabbar is Back" by asking fans to dub their favorite line from the movie to win a chance to meet him.

Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh is also a fan -- his lip-synching of one of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan's most well-known movie lines has been liked 12,000 times on Facebook.

The app -- which is free and limits videos to ten seconds in length -- has been downloaded 200,000 times and is already operating in around 140 countries, according to Sundaram.

He said its pause-and-play feature and the fact many of the videos are accompanied by subtitles differentiates it from Dubsmash.

"We've also made a lot of enhancement filters that make the videos look really good," the tech developer added.

Sundaram said Velfie plans to expand to become a "video social network" in the coming months, essentially a Twitter-like timeline consisting solely of video selfies.

Users will also be able to live-stream on the platform and Sundaram hopes brands will use it to advertise, generating revenue.

Quizzing politicians

Another new Indian-based app available on Android and iOS is Frankly.me, which allows netizens to pose questions to celebrities, sports stars and politicians who then answer with video selfies.

Users of the app, launched in January, are also able to vote for certain questions to be answered, increasing the likelihood of a response, according to co-founder Nikunj Jain who says Frankly.me is aiding democracy in India.

In Delhi elections earlier this year, Aam Aadmi Party candidates including leader Arvind Kejriwal fielded thousands of queries directly from voters and then posted videos of themselves replying.

"For the first time in the history of this country we had a state election where candidates were using this platform to talk directly to the electorate and people voted based on the responses," Jain told AFP.

He said more than 400,000 questions have been asked and around 30,000 have been answered so far on Frankly.me.

"Casting directors are also using it to do auditions and companies are using it for hiring," Jain added.

He said that while popular video app Vine was about "broadcasting" short videos, Frankly.me aimed to create "rich, two-way conversation" with people replying to each other when it was convenient for them.

"We believe that video selfies can be the primary mode of all non-urgent communication on the internet," Jain stated.

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