LOS ANGELES: Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt — two of Hollywood's biggest stars — are teaming up for Quentin Tarantino's next project, a movie set in the 1969 Hollywood hippy era around the Charles Manson murders.
Movie studio Sony Pictures said on Wednesday that the film was called "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" and will feature DiCaprio as the former star of a Western TV series, and Pitt as his longtime stunt double.
It's the first time the two actors have starred in a feature film together.
"Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don't recognise anymore. But Rick (DiCaprio) has a very famous next-door neighbour... Sharon Tate," Sony Pictures said in a statement.
Tate, the pregnant actress wife of director Roman Polanski, was murdered in 1969 by followers of Manson, one of America's most notorious criminals. Manson died in November 2017 at the age of 83 while serving a life sentence.
The movie is to be released on August 9, 2019, exactly 50 years after Tate and four friends were stabbed or shot dead.
Tarantino said he had been working on the script for five years and had lived in the Los Angeles area for most of his life, "including in 1969, when I was seven years old."
"I'm very excited to tell this story of an LA and a Hollywood that don't exist anymore. And I couldn't be happier about the dynamic teaming of DiCaprio and Pitt," he said in a statement.
DiCaprio won an Oscar in 2016 for his role in "The Revenant" while Pitt was Oscar-nominated for performances in "Moneyball" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."
Tarantino has two Oscars for the screenplays of "Django Unchained" and "Pulp Fiction," both of which he also directed.
The show traces the rising threat of Al-Qaeda and puts a rarified CIA pressing for pre-emptive military action on a collision course with the law enforcement muscle of the FBI
NEW YORK: Published 12 years ago, best-selling and Pulitzer-prize winning book "The Looming Tower" remains a definitive account of US intelligence failures that littered the path to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
On Wednesday it airs as a television mini-series, narrating the power struggle between the CIA and the FBI, whose refusal to cooperate may have prevented the world´s greatest superpower from failing to stop 19 Al-Qaeda hijackers training at US flight schools and smashing passenger jets into New York and Washington, killing nearly 3,000 people.
The 10 episodes of roughly 50 minutes each are being released in the United States on Hulu from Wednesday, and will be available on Amazon Prime from March 1 in other English-speaking countries and from March 9 for everyone else.
It traces the rising threat of Al-Qaeda and puts a rarified CIA pressing for pre-emptive military action on a collision course with the law enforcement muscle of the FBI, which together failed to avert the world´s deadliest terror attack, ushering in wars still being fought today.
"The Looming Tower" the mini-series begins in 1998, shortly before the Al-Qaeda bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killed 224 people, and closes on September 11, 2001, that date seared into global infamy.
The drama romps from Afghanistan to London, from Nairobi to Washington, spliced with archive footage of Osama bin Laden, the Saudi millionaire outcast who founded Al-Qaeda.
Shooting took place across three continents and six countries, with the bulk of filming in New York, Morocco and Johannesburg, in not altogether convincing efforts to portray the Hindu Kush or an Al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan.
Woven in are period features from the late 1990s. The Monica Lewinsky scandal engulfing a distracted Clinton presidency is a constant backdrop. Look out for chunky cell phones, green-screen computers and sexist dialogue in the workplace.
Lawrence Wright, the New Yorker journalist who wrote the book, shares an executive producing credit with Dan Futterman and Oscar-winning documentary maker Alex Gibney.
Early reviews are largely positive, predicting it will be Hulu´s second major success after "The Handmaid´s Tale" and tipped for future awards.
´Least of America´s problems´
Jeff Daniels, 63, plays the lead role of John O´Neill, the charismatic ladies man and bull-in-a-china-shop agent who heads up the FBI´s counter-terrorism unit in New York, with a side-line in mistresses, bunches of flowers and cheap one-liners.
Not to mention a wife and two daughters.
His foil is Martin Schmidt, the arrogant and aloof head of the CIA´s Al-Qaeda unit played by Peter Sarsgaard, who believes the agency alone has the smarts to halt Al-Qaeda and who defies presidential orders to withhold intelligence from the FBI.
The other starring role is real-life character Ali Soufan, a Lebanese-born Muslim and one of only eight Arabic speakers among more than 10,000 FBI agents, who goes undercover and is acted without a trace of French accent by Tahar Rahim.
"I thought I knew what happened, but you read Lawrence´s books... you realize you don´t," Daniels told a recent press event in Paris. "You don´t know the real story. That´s why I took the role," he explained.
The real O´Neill was killed on September 11 at the World Trade Center, where he became head of security after leaving the FBI.
To prep for his role, Daniels immersed himself in Soufan and his FBI partners. "They were very helpful so I had a pretty good painting of what he was," he explained.
Rahim, 36, said it was meeting the real Soufan that persuaded him to take on the role, initially thinking "it was going to be one of those terrorist roles that I get offered a lot."
For many viewers, those days might feel like yesterday. But for younger audiences and those weighed down by a very different America, wearied by wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and with Donald Trump as president, it feels like another world.
"This show is the least of America´s problems right now," Daniels said in Paris.
"I think 9/11 happened when we had a fully staffed government, with brilliant, knowledgeable, experienced competent people and 9/11 still happened. Now you can take out brilliant, knowledgeable, experienced, competent... I don´t like our chances."
Indian fans watch as the funeral cortege of the late Bollywood actress Sridevi Kapoor passes through Mumbai. -AFP
MUMBAI: Thousands of heartbroken fans and Bollywood actors paid their last respects to Indian superstar Sridevi Kapoor Wednesday following her shock death from accidental drowning in a Dubai hotel bathtub aged just 54.
Huge crowds of mourners - some carrying roses, others holding photos of the late actress - lined Mumbai's streets to see their beloved idol embark on her last journey.
At one point police had to use batons to force back those unable to get into the hall where her body was laid out, wrapped in the Indian flag.
"It's a shock to believe that she is no more. We want to pay her one last visit today and thank her for all her wonderful performances," 32-year-old teacher Nandini Rao told AFP as she queued at the condolence event.
After a public service, Sridevi's flower-bedecked funeral cortege made its way slowly to a crematorium where her family said their final goodbyes.
She was cremated with full state honours at a private Hindu ceremony late in the afternoon after her husband, film producer Boney Kapoor, performed the last rites.
Bollywood stars, including actresses Aishwarya Rai and Kajol, were among the mourners at the Celebration Sports Club in the Andheri West area of Mumbai - the home of the Hindi film industry.
Several tearful fans chanted prayers as Sridevi´s body was brought the short distance from her home to the club at 9:00 am (0330 GMT).
"I'm an avid Sridevi fan. I loved her smiling personality. She had such a commanding presence in the Indian film industry. Her death was so sudden and I feel terrible," 45-year-old Kuldeep Singh told AFP.
Indian Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor stands with the body of actress Sridevi Kapoor in the funeral cortege as they reach the crematorium for the final rites in Mumbai. -AFP
Heavy security was in force along the streets to control the crowds, which included people who had travelled hundreds of kilometres to be there.
Sridevi was considered one of the most influential Bollywood actresses of all time and her sudden death at the weekend sparked an outpouring of grief in India.
Tributes poured in from fans and fellow actors as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Life in the spotlight
The star of hit films such as "Chandni" and "Mr India" drowned in her bathtub after losing consciousness late Saturday in a hotel in Dubai, where she was attending a wedding.
Police in the emirate said a post-mortem examination found that she had drowned after losing consciousness. On Tuesday they ruled out any foul play and released the body to Sridevi's family.
It arrived in Mumbai on a private jet on Tuesday evening, accompanied by her husband and her stepson, actor Arjun Kapoor.
Sridevi, born Shree Amma Yanger Ayappan in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, appeared in around 300 films and was awarded the Padma Shri, India´s fourth highest civilian award, for services to the movie industry.
She made her acting debut at the age of four and her career spanned more than four decades.
Sridevi worked in India's regional Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam-language films before making her Bollywood debut in 1979.
She became a national sensation with a string of blockbuster films including "Mawali" and "Tohfa".
Sridevi took a 15-year break from the silver screen after marrying Kapoor but returned in the 2012 hit comedy-drama "English Vinglish". Her most recent film was last year´s "Mom".
Sridevi was set to see Jhanvi, the elder of her two daughters, make her Bollywood debut in a movie scheduled for release later this year.
British singer of Pakistani origin and former band member of 'One Direction' simply does not need any introduction, he can arguably be called a global music icon for youth.
Interestingly, Indian classical singer Kailash Kher would not agree with that, in fact, he DID NOT even know who Zayn is! (noexaggeration!)
So, the young musician had an idea to cover Kailash Kher's mega-hit song 'Teri Deewani' and shared it on social media.
The rendition was an instant hit, garnering more than 799k likes on Instagram and thousands of comments.
When Kailash was asked his opinion regarding Zayn Malik's cover, the classical singer said he had no idea who the young singer was until someone sent him the video saying: 'Look, who sang your song'.
"I was like, 'Kaun hai bhai? (who he is)' And then I went on to his Instagram and saw that he has covered the song and has over 27 million followers. That's when I learnt about him and came to know that he is a big pop star in the West, who is a huge icon," stated a Hindustan Times report, quoting Kher.
While Kher was still trying to acquaint himself with the young global star, who usually shares renditions of famous hits on his social media, Zayn posted another rendition of Kher's songs, Allah Ke Bande.
But this time, Kailash Kher was ready! The Bollywood singer gave his precious feedback on the star's attempt to dabble in sub-continental Sufi music.
"For Zayn Malik, I would suggest... we have our digital academy (Kailash Kher Academy of Learning Arts) coming up soon, where there will be a course dedicated to all our compositions, which include Teri Deewani and other superhits... [so] to know and learn the correct codes and nuances. It will help him improve his skills on such songs," opined Kailash, according to the publication.
"Ermm, maybe Zayn did not anticipate such a sass-laden response from the maestro himself!)
It wasn't only that, Kailash did appreciate British-Pakistani star's cover, saying that he was 'humbled and honoured' that his music has struck a chord globally too.
Indian media is being widely condemned for its 'gross' and 'reprehensible' coverage of Bollywood star Sridevi's death, which has sparked a backlash on social media.
Initial rumours suggested that Sridevi had suffered a cardiac arrest. A post-mortem report later said the superstar died of accidental drowning in a hotel bath in Dubai.
Following the news of the actor's death, TV channels in India began covering the tragedy relentlessly, with some news programmes stooping to new lows in their race for ratings.
Some ways Indian media made a mockery of Sridevi's death:
Repugnant simulations
Much of the criticism over Indian journalism has focused on their use of onscreen graphics and recreations to simulate the scene of Sridevi's death.
One channel decided to recreate the scene of her death, even placing their reporter beside the bathtub plastered with 'Maut Ka Bathtub':
Another channel had an anchor standing in front of a bathtub with a large glass of red wine on the side.
One TV channel recreated an image of her husband, Boney Kapoor, standing over the bathtub where Sridevi, dressed in all white, lay.
One news station decided to do things a little differently. Instead of using simulations, it placed a reporter inside a real bathtub to enact her death.
Angered Twitter users started a hashtag #LetHerRestinPeace in response to the local media's "ghoulish" coverage of her death.
Alternative conspiracy theories
Some channels didn't just stop at the simulations. They actively encouraged social media users to speculate on the cause of Sridevi's death using the hashtag #SredeviDeathMystery.
Instead of waiting for the official post-mortem report, 'analysts' hotly debated rumours of her consuming diet pills, having weight reduction surgery, adhering to a strict diet, and other possibilities on their prime-time shows.
When the forensic report revealed that there were "traces of alcohol" in Sridevi's blood, it was enough to feed the media frenzy. In one prime-time panel discussion, an editor of a top channel wondered whether she drank vodka, some cocktail or wine.
Social media users later started trending their own hashtag #NewsKiMaut (The Death of News) to vent their anger.
Unnecessary analysis
Sridevi's death also attracted a lot of unnecessary analysis which made no sense. In her article on Indian media coverage of the actor's death, Barkha Dutt notes that news anchors discussed "whether a trained dancer could lose her balance in the bathtub" and "whether Indians get any of this, because, you see, we mostly use the shower — or bathe from buckets and don't have a "bathtub culture."
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Born Shree Amma Yanger Ayappan in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Sridevi appeared in around 300 films and was awarded the Padma Shri — India's fourth highest civilian award — for her service to the film industry.
Sridevi made her acting debut at the age of four and her career spanned more than four decades.
She worked in India's regional Tamil-, Telugu-, and Malayalam-language films before making her Bollywood debut in 1979, becoming a national icon with a string of blockbuster films, including Chandni, Mr India, Mawali and Tohfa.
Sridevi famously took a 15-year-break from the silver screen after marrying film producer Boney Kapoor but returned in 2012's hit comedy-drama English Vinglish.
Kareena Kapoor (left) and Saif Ali Khan with son Taimur (right). Photo: Indian media file
A video of Saif Ali Khan playing cricket with some kids in a street in Udaipur has gone viral.
The moments captured in the video are even more memorable as Kareena, dressed casually in jeans and a top, and son Taimur can be seen looking on while Saif is swinging the bat to hit the ball thrown by a child.
According to a Times of India report, Saif has been shooting in a village called Desuri in Rajasthan (two hours away from Udaipur) for an untitled film. His first look from his upcoming Netflix show, Sacred Games, was released online last week.
Several photos and videos of the family arriving in Rajasthan are doing the rounds online.
Members of the Indian film fraternity said their final farewells to legendary actress Sridevi in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Sridevi's funeral will be held in the afternoon while a condolence meet was held in the morning which was attended by Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kajol, Rekha among others.
Jaya Bachchan with daughter Shweta Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
The Oscars will be held on March 4, 2018. Photo: Reuters
LOS ANGELES: Only one movie will take home the best-picture Oscar at Sunday's Academy Awards, but several contenders have capitalised on their nominations by banking tens of millions of dollars over the past month at worldwide box offices.
Steven Spielberg's "The Post," a 20th Century Fox drama about press freedom, has enjoyed the biggest boost, adding roughly $91 million, or 63 per cent of its total, since it was named one of nine best picture nominees on Jan 23.
Fantasy romance "The Shape of Water," from Fox arthouse division Fox Searchlight, follows with $72 million, or 65 per cent, according to data from Box Office Mojo.
The Oscar bounce is no accident. Movie studios execute carefully crafted release strategies and marketing campaigns touting the nominations, hoping to draw audiences to theaters at a time when they have plenty of choices to stream at home.
"The Shape of Water" debuted in a limited number of theaters in early December. The weekend after Oscar nominations were unveiled, Fox Searchlight more than doubled the locations showing the film, and the movie scored its highest three-day tally on its way to $111 million total.
The studio also spent $2.7 million to run TV ads on late-night talk shows and drama series such as NBC's "This Is Us," according to data from analytics firm iSpot.
With three best-picture nominees, Fox leads all studios in post-nomination grosses with nearly $231 million.
It is unclear how much the Oscar publicity drives ticket sales, but studio executives say it clearly helps, particularly for arthouse films that appeal to smaller audiences than blockbusters like "Jumanji" that were playing at the same time.
"Audiences can only go to see so many films," said Duncan Clark, president of distribution for Comcast Corp's Universal Pictures International. "They are going to be steered to the ones with the highest profile."
Universal planned months ahead to keep historical drama "Darkest Hour" in theaters during January and February, expecting it would be an Oscar contender, Clark said. Universal released the movie in international markets while its Focus Features division distributed the film domestically.
"Darkest Hour" has garnered about $58 million since the nominations, and the studio is aiming to add to that total in Japan, where it is timing the release to the elevated profile of the film's Japanese makeup artist. Kazuhiro Tsuji, who has been praised by star Gary Oldman for transforming him into British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, won a BAFTA for the work and is nominated for an Oscar.
"Darkest Hour" opens in Japan in March and has earned $136 million so far, just behind the nearly $146 million total for "The Post."
"They've done very well for low-budget films, helping projects that might often be limited to modest arthouse runs become successful in the mainstream," Shawn Robbins, chief analyst for BoxOffice.com, said of the movies still in theaters.
But none has come close to the two highest-grossing nominees. World War Two drama "Dunkirk" rang up $525 million while horror movie "Get Out" took in $255 million.
Those movies, however, were released early in 2017 and left theaters long before the Oscar nominations. They may still benefit from bigger sales on DVD and streaming video through outlets such as Amazon.com Inc, which is promoting nominated films to customers this week.
Streisand with Miss Scarlett, Miss Violet and Miss Fanny. Photo: Variety
LOS ANGELES: "If we had the chance to do it all again, tell me would we, could we?" Barbra Streisand had a hit singing this question in "The Way We Were," but when it comes to getting a new pet she does not have to wonder.
The "Funny Girl" singer and actress had her beloved 14- year-old Coton de Tulear dog Samantha cloned after her death in 2017, and now has two new pups.
Streisand told Hollywood trade publication Variety in an interview published on Tuesday that cells were taken from the mouth and stomach of Samantha.
"They have different personalities," Streisand said. "I'm waiting for them to get older so I can see if they have her brown eyes and her seriousness."
Streisand said that when the cloned dogs arrived, she dressed them in red and lavender to tell them apart, which is how they got their names — Miss Scarlett and Miss Violet.
The 75-year-old Oscar and Tony-winning actress said that while waiting for their arrival, she became smitten with another dog who was a distant relation of Samantha.
The Coton de Tulear dog was called Funny Girl, but Streisand adopted her and gave her the name Miss Fanny, which is how Fanny Brice's dresser refers to Streisand's character in the 1968 movie musical that launched her career.
Streisand followed up "Funny Girl," for which she won an Oscar, with "Hello Dolly!" but said she had never much liked the movie.
"I thought I was totally miscast. I tried to get out of it," she told Variety. "I think it's so silly. It's so old-time musical."
n a relationship since 2011 with FC Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique, with whom she has two sons, the 41-year-old transferred her official residency to the Catalan city in 2015
MADRID: Superstar Shakira has handed over more than 20 million euros ($24.6 million) to tax authorities in Spain, a report said Tuesday, accused of not paying taxes despite being a resident between 2011 and 2014.
Catalan daily El Periodico reported that the Colombian award-winning singer had paid the money "to settle part of the debt claimed by Spain´s tax authorities", corresponding to what she allegedly owes for 2011.
The fiscal authorities filed an official complaint to prosecutors in Barcelona accusing her of not paying taxes, sparking an investigation, Jose Miguel Company, spokesman for the prosecutors´ office, told AFP.
The official complaint only covers the period from 2012 to 2014, however, as the timeframe to prosecute alleged tax offences in 2011 has expired.
In a relationship since 2011 with FC Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique, with whom she has two sons, the 41-year-old transferred her official residency to the Catalan city in 2015.
Until then, it was in the Bahamas.
But "that doesn´t match reality, with the children in school in Barcelona and her partner here," Company said, adding that prosecutors will decide in June whether to pursue the case.
Shakira´s representatives, meanwhile, say that until 2014 she earned most of her money in international tours and didn´t live more than six months a year in Spain -- a prerequisite to be an official tax-paying resident in the country.
With her mix of Latin and Arabic rhythms and rock influences, Shakira is one of the biggest acts from Latin America, scoring major global hits with songs such as "Hips Don´t Lie" and "Whenever, Wherever."
The painting had belonged to Kojiro Matsukata, a businessperson who collected Western art.
TOKYO: A painting by French impressionist master Claude Monet that belonged to a Japanese collector but was lost for decades after WWII is now back in Tokyo, a museum official said Tuesday.
The oil painting, around two metres long and 4.2 metres wide, was unearthed in the Louvre Museum in Paris in 2016 but the discovery had not been made public until now.
"The painting was recently returned" to the National Museum of Western Art in the Japanese capital, a spokeswoman told AFP.
The painting — entitled "Water Lilies: Reflections of a Willow Tree" — is dated 1916 and depicts bright flowers floating on a lake.
The museum said it was a study painting for his famous series "Water Lilies" but the work is severely damaged with half of it destroyed.
It will be necessary to restore the canvas "with extreme care", the museum said in a statement.
"But the remaining painting is still very large. It has the potential to show Monet's wonderful work if handled with the proper care," it said.
The painting had belonged to Kojiro Matsukata, a businessperson who collected Western art between 1916 and 1927 with the proceeds amassed from a shipbuilding fortune.
It is said Matsukata directly purchased the piece from Monet at his atelier in 1921, according to the museum.
His art collections including the painting were moved to Paris for safekeeping during WWII and later requisitioned by the French government at the end of the war as enemy property.
In 1959, the French government returned to Japan the majority of 400 pieces in the Matsukata collection.
"The existence of the painting might have been forgotten given the tremendous damage caused by bad storage conditions during the war," the Tokyo museum said.
The museum plans to show the painting to the public in June 2019 following restoration work.
DUBAI: Dubai police gave the green signal to transport Sridevi's body to India, Geo News reported on Tuesday.
The body will be sent to Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport, after completion of the embalming process, from where it will be transported to India.
The actress' family had earlier received a clearance letter from authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Authorities probing the Bollywood megastar's death had confirmed that there were no marks on Bollywood actress Sridevi's body.
Members of the medical board probing the matter had said Tuesday morning that investigations so far had pointed out that the actress' death was caused by drowning.
An official report of her death after accidentally drowning had surfaced on Monday, although Indian media reports had earlier claimed her death was caused by a cardiac arrest.
The Dubai police, on Monday, had tweeted that Sridevi's death had occurred due to drowning in her hotel apartment's bathtub following loss of consciousness.
Executive Editor of UAE's Khaleej Times, Vicky Kapur, had told India's ABP News that Dubai Police will also record the statement of husband Boney Kapoor after her sudden demise.
The forensic report was sent to the public prosecutor's office, which will decide the merit of the case and then take further action if required.
Hundreds of heartbroken fans gathered outside her home Mumbai on Monday in hopes of catching a final glimpse of the star before her cremation.
geo_embedgallery
Gallery photos: Indian media
Born Shree Amma Yanger Ayappan in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Sridevi appeared in around 300 films and was awarded the Padma Shri — India's fourth highest civilian award — for her service to the film industry.
Sridevi made her acting debut at the age of four and her career spanned more than four decades.
She worked in India's regional Tamil-, Telugu-, and Malayalam-language films before making her Bollywood debut in 1979, becoming a national icon with a string of blockbuster films, including Chandni, Mr India, Mawali and Tohfa.
Sridevi famously took a 15-year-break from the silver screen after marrying film producer Boney Kapoor but returned in 2012's hit comedy-drama English Vinglish.
Her most recent film was last year's Mom.
She was set to see Jhanvi — the eldest of her two daughters — make her Bollywood debut.
DUBAI: Sridevi's body will be handed over to the family later today, sources confirmed to Geo News on Tuesday.
The embalming process will commence later, after which, the body will be sent to Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport, from where it will be transported to India.
The actress' family had received a clearance letter from authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Authorities, probing the Bollywood megastar's death had earlier confirmed that there were no marks on Bollywood actress Sridevi's body.
Members of the medical board probing the matter had said Tuesday morning that investigations so far had pointed out that the actress' death was caused by drowning.
An official report of her death after accidentally drowning had surfaced on Monday, although Indian media reports had earlier claimed her death was caused by a cardiac arrest.
The Dubai police, on Monday, had tweeted that Sridevi's death had occurred due to drowning in her hotel apartment's bathtub following loss of consciousness.
Executive Editor of UAE's Khaleej Times, Vicky Kapur, had told India's ABP News that Dubai Police will also record the statement of husband Boney Kapoor after her sudden demise.
The forensic report was sent to the public prosecutor's office, which will decide the merit of the case and then take further action if required.
Hundreds of heartbroken fans gathered outside her home Mumbai on Monday in hopes of catching a final glimpse of the star before her cremation.
geo_embedgallery
Gallery photos: Indian media
Born Shree Amma Yanger Ayappan in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Sridevi appeared in around 300 films and was awarded the Padma Shri — India's fourth highest civilian award — for her service to the film industry.
Sridevi made her acting debut at the age of four and her career spanned more than four decades.
She worked in India's regional Tamil-, Telugu-, and Malayalam-language films before making her Bollywood debut in 1979, becoming a national icon with a string of blockbuster films, including Chandni, Mr India, Mawali and Tohfa.
Sridevi famously took a 15-year-break from the silver screen after marrying film producer Boney Kapoor but returned in 2012's hit comedy-drama English Vinglish.
Her most recent film was last year's Mom.
She was set to see Jhanvi — the eldest of her two daughters — make her Bollywood debut.
Bollywood actress Sridevi passed away in Dubai on February 25, 2018. Photo: Indian media file
DUBAI: Authorities in the UAE confirmed on Tuesday that there were no marks on Bollywood actress Sridevi's body.
An official report of her death after accidentally drowning had surfaced on Monday, although Indian media reports had earlier claimed her death was caused by a cardiac arrest.
Members of the medical board probing the matter have said that investigations so far point out that the actress' death was caused by drowning, Geo News learned.
Sridevi's body will be handed over to authorities once the medical probe into the megastar's death is concluded.
"The death of Indian actress Sridevi occurred due to drowning in her hotel apartment's bathtub following loss of consciousness," the Dubai police had tweeted on Monday, citing a post-mortem.
Executive Editor of UAE's Khaleej Times, Vicky Kapur, had told India's ABP News that Dubai Police will also record the statement of husband Boney Kapoor after her sudden demise.
The forensic report was sent to the public prosecutor's office, which will decide the merit of the case and then take further action if required.
Hundreds of heartbroken fans gathered outside her home Mumbai on Monday in hopes of catching a final glimpse of the star before her cremation.
geo_embedgallery
Gallery photos: Indian media
Born Shree Amma Yanger Ayappan in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Sridevi appeared in around 300 films and was awarded the Padma Shri — India's fourth highest civilian award — for her service to the film industry.
Sridevi made her acting debut at the age of four and her career spanned more than four decades.
She worked in India's regional Tamil-, Telugu-, and Malayalam-language films before making her Bollywood debut in 1979, becoming a national icon with a string of blockbuster films, including Chandni, Mr India, Mawali and Tohfa.
Sridevi famously took a 15-year-break from the silver screen after marrying film producer Boney Kapoor but returned in 2012's hit comedy-drama English Vinglish.
Her most recent film was last year's Mom.
She was set to see Jhanvi — the eldest of her two daughters — make her Bollywood debut.
LONDON: British folk-pop phenomenon Ed Sheeran on Monday was named the best-selling artist in the world in 2017 by the global recorded music industry group IFPI.
Sheeran's "A Divide" was the best-selling album of last year and "Shape of You" was the best-selling single, London-based IFPI said in its announcement.
Sheeran is the fifth recipient of the Global Recording Artist of the Year Award after One Direction (2013), Taylor Swift (2014), Adele (2015) and Drake (2016).
"The success Ed has achieved is astonishing and a testament to his ability to write and perform songs that connect with a truly global fanbase," IFPI chief executive Frances Moore said in a statement.
Drake came second in the ranking, followed by Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, Imagine Dragons, Linkin Park and The Chainsmokers.
The ranking includes digital and physical album and single sales, as well as audio streaming.
Max Lousada, chief executive of Warner Music UK, said Sheeran´s "ability to tell stories and make people feel is what stands him out from the crowd".
Sheeran lost out to grime star Stormzy at the Brit Awards in London last week but earlier this month took Best Pop Solo performance at the Grammies in New York for "Shape of You".
NEW YORK: Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein's former company has announced it will file for bankruptcy, complaining that talks with frontrunner investors to buy the troubled studio had collapsed, leaving it with "no choice" but to go to the wall.
The Weinstein Company said that it had failed to reach a deal with an investor group led by Maria Contreras-Sweet, a former Obama administration official, for a reported $500 million despite a last-minute push to make the deal palatable to New York prosecutors.
State attorney general Eric Schneiderman in New York, where the studio is headquartered, filed a lawsuit against the firm on February 11, fearing that the imminent sale could leave Weinstein's victims without adequate redress.
Schneiderman said any deal should embody three principles: adequate compensation for victims, protection for employees and the removal of executives who had been complicit in Weinstein's misconduct for 12 years.
In a two-page letter to Contreras-Sweet dated Sunday, the company's representatives said they had worked "tirelessly" to accommodate Schneiderman's principles.
It revealed that they had sacked David Glasser, the former chief operating officer who had been earmarked to stay under the buyout, but whom Schneiderman said had covered up years of Weinstein's abuse.
"A deal that essentially removes the two Weinstein brothers but leaves the rest of management intact, we think, should be unacceptable," he had said.
But the company complained that the investor group had not kept its side of the bargain on Schneiderman's principles nor on stumping up interim funding required to run the business and maintain employees before the buyout was finalised.
"We must conclude that your plan to buy this company was illusory and would only leave this company hobbling toward its demise to the detriment of all constituents," read the letter, which was widely circulated by the US media.
"This board will not let that happen. Despite your previous statements, it is simply impossible to avoid the conclusion that you have no intention to sign an agreement -- much less to close one -- and no desire to save valuable assets and jobs," it said.
'Only viable option'
"While we deeply regret that your actions have led to this unfortunate outcome for our employees, our creditors and any victims, we will now pursue the board's only viable option to maximise the company´s remaining value: an orderly bankruptcy process."
There has been no immediate public comment from Contreras-Sweet.
While her investor group had come out on top, there were nearly a dozen other bids, including one from Qatari group beIN, Hollywood studio Lionsgate, and another female-led investor group lined up behind audiovisual production company Killer Content.
There has also been no public comment from Schneiderman.
Weinstein, whose films received more than 300 Oscar nominations and 81 statuettes, went into career meltdown last October with bombshell exposes in The New York Times and New Yorker alleging years of sexual misconduct.
More than 100 women have since accused him of sexual harassment, assault and rape going back 40 years, leading not only to his career annihilation but to a US reckoning about harassment and abuse that has toppled a litany of powerful men in various sectors.
He and younger brother Robert started their powerful Hollywood careers by founding Miramax, which was sold to Walt Disney in 1993.
In 2005, they founded The Weinstein Company, which went on to steer numerous films to box office magic and awards glory for movies such as "The Artist," "The King's Speech" and "The Iron Lady."
Weinstein resigned from the board of the company just days after the accusations began.
The twice-married father of five is being investigated by British and US police, but has not been charged with any crime. He denies having non-consensual sex and is reportedly in treatment for sex addiction.
Since the scandal flared, dozens of civil suits have been brought against Weinstein and the company, mostly by women who accuse him of sexual misconduct.
DUBAI: Forensic experts concluded that Indian actress Sridevi died of a heart attack in Dubai, Indian media reported on Monday.
The actress had left millions of fans shocked after she passed away on Sunday.
Her body is expected to be flown back to India later today after her family receives the laboratory reports conducted by Dubai's General Department of Forensic Evidence, reported the Khaleej Times.
The actress was in Dubai with her family, including husband Boney Kapoor and daughters Khushi and Jhanvi, to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah's wedding.
Sridevi's body could not be repatriated on Sunday as the final investigation reports from Dubai Police were not ready by late evening, Khaleej Times quoted officials dealing with the legal formalities.
The actress reportedly had a fainting spell in her bathroom and was immediately rushed to Rashid Hospital in Dubai.
According to the report, the hotel's management had refused to comment on the matter and an employee stated that the matter is under police investigation.
"Boney Kapoor, Jhanvi, Khushi and the entire Kapoor, Ayyappan and Marwah family is deeply bereaved and shocked with the untimely loss of Sridevi Kapoor," said the statement, issued by the Yash Raj Films (YRF) on behalf of the family.
"They thank the entire media for their prayers, support and sensitivity during their time of grief. Late Sridevi Kapoor's body will arrive in India tomorrow," it said.
Black Panther items are displayed for attendees at the Hasbro showroom during the annual New York Toy Fair, on February 20, 2018, in New York - AFP
LOS ANGELES: Disney's Black Panther sunk its claws into the top spot once again this weekend at the North American box office, taking an estimated $108 million, industry estimates showed Sunday.
Following a record-shattering opening weekend -- raking in $242.2 million -- the frenzy to see the 18th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe continued, bringing total earnings to an astronomical $400 million in just 10 days, according to tracker Exhibitor Relations.
Its global take is now more than $700 million. The film has yet to open in China or Japan.
It is only the fourth movie ever to make more than $100 million in its second weekend, joining Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World and Marvels The Avengers, according to Disney, which owns Marvel Studios.
Directed by Ryan Coogler, Black Panther features an almost entirely black cast led by Chadwick Boseman as the first non-white superhero to get his own standalone movie in the franchise.
Starring alongside the likes of Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o and Daniel Kaluuya, Boseman plays the titular superhero also known as T'Challa, king and protector of Wakanda, a technologically advanced, affluent, never-colonized utopia in Africa.
In at an anything-but-close second place was the newly-released dark comedy "Game Night," with $16.6 million.
Featuring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, the film follows a group of friends whose game night descends into a murder mystery.
Dropping one place into third was Peter Rabbit, based on Beatrix Potter's classic children's book. Sony´s family-friendly offering brought in $12.5 million in its third week in theatres.
Paramount's new science fantasy horror Annihilation was off to a weak start, debuting in fourth place at only $11 million.
Starring Natalie Portman, the film -- based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer -- tells the story of a team of military scientists who go into a quarantined zone known as "The Shimmer."
Finally, in at fifth was Fifty Shades Freed -- the last film in the trilogy based on the wildly successful novels by EL James -- with takings of $6.9 million.
Pakistani actress Sajal Ali who played the role of Sridevi's daughter in last year's Mom took to Instagram to share her thoughts on the passing of the Bollywood icon.
Sajal shared a picture with Sridevi with the caption 'Lost my mom again.'
Sridevi received critical acclaim for her portrayal of a mother who is dealing with the rap of her daughter is last Mom.
One of the most notable actresses of Bollywood, Sridevi passed away in the early hours of Sunday in Dubai. She was 55.
She was a known face in South Indian films before her entry into Bollywood. She made her debut as a child artist in in Tamil film Thunaivan in 1969. She also worked in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films.
Sridevi was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour in India, in 2013.
Her screen prowess coupled with her beautiful eyes and powerful screen presence soon made her one of the most sought-after actors in the Indian film industry.
The actress made her Bollywood debut in 1978 with film Solwan Sawan and shot to fame after appearing in Himmatwala.
She also starred in other major hits such as Kadam, Tohfa, Maqsad, Masterji, Nazrana, Mr. India, Waqt Ki Awaz, Chandni, Sadma, Nagina, Chaalbaaz, Lamhe, Khuda Gawah, Gumrah, Laadla, and Judaai.
