Mumbai, July 11 (IANS) Actress Swati Sharma has opened up on her admiration for the rainy season, sharing that she loves going for long drives, eating popcorn, and spending time with family during monsoon.

Swati, who is known for her role as Aashi in the show ‘Chaahenge Tumhe Itnaa’ said: “For me, the best thing about the rainy season is that my birthday falls in July. Besides, I simply love the rainy season. Summers are too hot, and winters are too cold—both extremes are hard to bear. But rain is different. No matter my mood, it always cheers me up. Even if it rained all year long, I wouldn’t mind.”

Despite her busy schedule shooting for ‘Chaahenge Tumhe Itnaa’, Swati confessed: “I wish I could enjoy the rain more, but I don’t get much free time due to my shooting schedule for ‘Chaahenge Tumhe Itnaa.’ Whenever I do get a day off and it’s raining, I make sure to get out of the house. I love going for long drives, eating corn and popcorn, and spending time with my family. I just can’t stay indoors during the rainy season—if I do, I might feel down.”

Reflecting on what she learns from the beautiful season, Swati added: “The rainy season teaches us to wash away our worries, just as rain cleans everything around us. It reminds us to make our lives pleasant, just like the weather becomes pleasant. Keep positive vibes and eliminate negativity—that’s the message I take from the rain.”

‘Chaahenge Tumhe Itnaa’ recently witnessed major drama with the entry of Raghav, whose actions created a lot of turmoil in the lives of Aashi and Siddharth. It will be interesting to see how Raghav’s actions will affect Aashi and Siddharth.

The show also stars Bharat Ahlawat as Siddharth, Mayank Malik as Raghav, Arzoo Govitrikar as Neelima, and Khyati Keswani as Amrita.

‘Chaahenge Tumhe Itnaa’ airs on Shemaroo Umang.

–IANS

sp/kvd

Mumbai, July 11 (IANS) Playback singer Abhay Jodhpurkar, known for his song ‘Mere Naam Tu’ from the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer ‘Zero’, said that his recently released track ‘Cham Cham Karti Baarish’ transports the listeners to the nostalgia of the 1990s.

The track is titled ‘Rimjhim Rimjhim Brishtira’ in Bengali, and has been composed by Rangon.

Abhay also shared that the song blends traditional and contemporary elements. The song captures the essence of the monsoon with its lush instrumentation, featuring a delightful blend of guitars, mandolin, various strokes, drums, dholak, and flute.

Abhay told IANS: “‘Cham Cham Karti Baarish’ has a rich and evocative texture that beautifully captures the essence of the monsoon. The melody transports you to a world of nostalgia, reminiscent of the magical era of the 90s. It’s melodically satisfying and envelops you in a sense of warmth and longing. The song seamlessly blends traditional and contemporary elements, creating a soundscape that feels both timeless and fresh. The intricate arrangement and heartfelt lyrics add depth to the song, making it a perfect companion for rainy days.”

Talking about his collaboration with Rangon, the singer said: “Independent music offers a wonderful platform for artistic freedom and expression, which I realised in my collaboration with Rangon. The melody of ‘Cham Cham Karti Baarish’ transports you to the magical era of the 90s—it’s nostalgic, and executed brilliantly by Rangon. I had the pleasure of singing this song with Antara, whom I have admired since her Indian Idol days.”

For Abhay, recording the song with Antara in both Hindi and ‘Rimjhim Rimjhim Brishtira’ in Bangla was a delightful experience.

“Each version has its unique charm, and we had a fantastic time recording it. I hope listeners can feel the magic we aimed to create. This song perfectly sets the mood for the monsoon season, and I am thrilled to share it with everyone,” he added.

Talking about the elements used in the track, Rangon told IANS: “To capture a classic 90’s vibe, we incorporated instruments like the mandolin and ukulele for the intro and music parts. We used a lot of flute to enhance the romantic mood of the song, and of course, the signature dholak to evoke that quintessential 90s Indian feel. To blend modernity into the track, we included synth-based sounds, electric guitars, and some electronic beats.”

–IANS

aa/kvd

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) This week the OTT platforms are set to stream titles like a supernatural comedy ‘Kakuda’, to action thriller ‘Maharaja’ and others for you to binge watch.

Here is a list of five titles that have caught the attention of IANS this week:

‘Vanished into the Night’

Directed by Renato De Maria, it is written by Patxi Amezcua, Alejo Flah, and Luca Infascelli, the movie stars Annabelle Wallis, Riccardo Scamarcio, and Massimiliano Gallo.

Elena is an American psychiatrist who came to live in Italy, in Puglia, for the love of Pietro, a man with a stormy past. They got married, and had two children, with the dream of restoring a Masseria farmhouse and turning it into a hotel. But things didn’t work out, and soon Pietro and Elena broke up.

The film is releasing on July 11 on Netflix.

‘Kakuda’

The spooky comedy ‘Kakuda’ stars Riteish Deshmukh as Victor, Sonakshi Sinha as Indira, and Saqib Saleem as Sunny in the lead roles, while Aasif Khan is seen in the pivotal role of Kilvish.

The film is a rollercoaster ride of laughter and chills, revolving around the cursed village of Ratodi. It features spine-tingling moments intertwined with side-splitting humour.

Directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, and produced by Ronnie Screwvala, it will be released on July 12 on ZEE5.

‘Maharaja’

The Tamil-language action thriller film is directed by Nithilan Swaminathan. The film stars Vijay Sethupathi in the title role, alongside Anurag Kashyap, Sachana Namidass, Mamta Mohandas, Natarajan Subramaniam, Abhirami, Aruldoss, Munishkanth, Manikandan, Singampuli and Bharathiraja in pivotal roles.

The movie revolves around a barber who tells the police that his ‘Lakshmi’ is missing after a home robbery, but the police begin to suspect his true intentions.

Produced by Passion Studios, The Route and Think Studios, the film released theatrically on June 14, 2024. It will now stream on Netflix from July 12.

‘Exploding Kittens’

Based on the best-selling card game, it is an animated comedy series from showrunners Shane Kosakowski and Matthew Inman (co-creator of the card game). The series is also executive produced by Mike Judge, Greg Daniels and Dustin Davis of Bandera Entertainment; Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping for the Chernin Entertainment Group; and executive producers and creators of the Exploding Kittens franchise, Elan Lee and The Oatmeal’s Inman.

Earth sucks, so God (Tom Ellis) gets fired and sent to Earth to reconnect with humanity. The catch? He’s trapped in the body of a chubby house cat. As part of his rehabilitation, he moves in with a dysfunctional family and tries to solve their problems, but ends up spending a lot of time chasing laser pointers.

The key voice cast are Tom Ellis, Sasheer Zamata, Suzy Nakamura, Mark Proksch, Ally Maki, and Kenny Yates.

It will be streaming from July 12 on Netflix.

‘The Yara Gambirasio Case: Beyond Reasonable Doubt’

It retraces in five episodes the tragic story of Yara Gambirasio, who disappeared when she was just 13 years old one evening in November 2010, in Brembate di Sopra (BG) while walking the 700 metres that separate her home from the gym where she did rhythmic gymnastics.

The docuseries reconstructs the investigation into the girl’s disappearance, which culminates with the arrest of Massimo Bossetti. The lengthy investigative and judicial process reveals the truth about some of the family ties of the Bossetti family, while bringing to light intricate and often controversial details about the investigation.

It will be streaming from July 16 on Netflix.

–IANS

sp/kvd

Mumbai, July 11 (IANS) The lead actors of fantasy thriller drama ‘Shaitani Rasmein’, Naqiyah Haji and Vibhav Roy celebrated the milestone of 150 episodes of the show, calling it the result of collective hard work of the team.

To celebrate the milestone of 150 episodes, the entire cast and crew came together to cut the cake and shared their happiness.

Expressing her views on the occasion, Naqiyah said: “Completing 150 episodes of ‘Shaitani Rasmein’ is a big achievement for us. This show is very close to my heart and has taken my career to new heights. I got the opportunity to play many different characters in my first lead role itself.”

“During this time, my acting talent was greatly appreciated by the audience, and I will always be thankful to Star Bharat, the fans, and the audience for this opportunity. I would also like to congratulate our cast and crew for their dedication and hard work,” she added.

Vibhav commented: “Reaching this milestone is the result of collective effort and hard work of our team. This journey of 150 episodes has been very memorable, and I thank my viewers wholeheartedly. This show has been very important to my career, and I want to congratulate everyone who made it possible.”

He added: “This journey has been a wonderful experience for us. Every day we learned something new and felt connected with our characters. Also, the love and support of the audience inspired us to do better.”

The audience is witnessing many exciting twists in the current storyline of the show. The Gehlot family is now facing a new threat. Recently, the entry of Netra Dayan in the show has created a stir in the lives of Piyush and Nikki, which will be interesting for the audience to watch.

‘Shaitani Rasmein’ airs on Star Bharat.

–IANS

sp/kvd

Mumbai, July 11 (IANS) Rapper-producer Rich the Kid has said that Kanye West is retiring from music, though it’s unclear what exactly that entails or if the decision is final.

According to a since-deleted screenshot of a text exchange posted by Rich the Kid from West: “I am retiring from professional music.”

The reason behind the decision, the musician hinted, is that he’s “not sure what else to do” as far as music goes, reports people.com.

However, Rich the Kid replied: “Retire? Why? How? The ppl NEED you the music you & Ty & we have made was the BIGGEST STAMP in culture to this date in 2024. Drop Ye about mine & V@ and we do it all over again the kids need you big…. maybe some time to chill but retiring ain’t it.”

Shortly after he posted the screenshotted-texts, Rich the Kid announced on X that he’s dropping new music with West featured on his forthcoming album, Life’s a Gamble. “WE DROPPING FRIDAY 7/19,” he wrote, confirming the project’s release date.

According to the album’s tracklist, there’s an upcoming collaboration with West titled ‘Plain Jane’, also the already-released single ‘Gimme a Second 2’ featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Peso Pluma.

There’s also the track ‘Carnival’ with Playboi Carti and Ty Dolla $ign, 42, that was featured on the latter’s collaborative Vultures 1 album with West, which dropped in February. It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 the following month.

West’s retirement announcement comes weeks after he and Ty Dolla $ign were slated to release their sequel project, ‘Vultures 2’.

According to an Instagram post shared by Ty Dolla $ign, the duo are next set to bring their Vultures listening experience to Korea on Friday, August 23.

However, it’s unclear if they’ll perform their follow-up project, which still doesn’t have a confirmed release date.

–IANS

dc/kvd