Superstar <keyword id="2823" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Akshay-Kumar">Akshay Kumar</keyword> on Sunday said he has tested <keyword id="6439681" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="positive">positive</keyword> for the novel coronavirus and is under <keyword id="58995" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Home-quarantine">home quarantine</keyword>. The 53-year-old actor took to Twitter to share his diagnosis and said he is following all the necessary protocols. "I wish to inform everyone that, earlier this morning, I have tested positive for <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword>. Following all the protocols I have immediately isolated myself. I am under home quarantine and have sought necessary medical care," he wrote. The star, who was shooting for "Ram Setu" in the city, urged all those who came in contact with him to get themselves tested. "I would sincerely request all those that have come in contact with me get themselves tested and take care. Back in action soon!" he said. Kumar is the latest Bollywood celebrity to have tested positive for COVID-19 after Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Aditya Narayan, Rupali Ganguly, Kartik Aaryan and Aamir Khan among others. On Saturday, <keyword id="13126" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maharashtra">Maharashtra</keyword> reported 49,447 fresh COVID-19 cases, the highest rise in a day so far, taking the tally to 29,53,523. On the work front, Kumar is awaiting the release of Rohit Shetty's "Sooryavanshi". He also has Aanand L Rai's "Atrangi Re", Farhad Samji-directed "Bachchan Pandey", Ranjit Tiwari's "Bell Bottom" and Yash Raj Films project "Prithviraj" in the pipeline. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/nasa-estimates-pandemic-could-cost-it-around-3-billion-quick-look-at-projects-to-take-the-biggest-hit/slidelist/81869940.cms">NASA estimates the pandemic ballooned costs by $3 billion — here are the projects to take the biggest hit</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/a-5-5-billion-british-fintech-start-up-may-have-200-jobs-to-offer-in-india/articleshow/81867620.cms">A $5.5 billion British fintech start up may have 200 jobs to offer in India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/for-revolut-india-is-just-the-first-in-a-series-of-countries-it-plans-to-enter-in-the-next-18-months/articleshow/81883114.cms">For Revolut, India is just the first in a series of countries it plans to enter in the next 18 months</a>

Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar tests positive for COVID-19, under home quarantine

Film producer <keyword id="6356243" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ramesh-Taurani">Ramesh Taurani</keyword> has tested <keyword id="6439681" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="positive">positive</keyword> for Covid-19. The <keyword id="3635" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Filmmaker">filmmaker</keyword> shared the news on Instagram on Wednesday, informing that he has tested positive after taking the first dose of the vaccine. "I have tested positive for <keyword id="8764262" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid">COVID</keyword> and have informed BMC. I have been following all the precautions and taking medications to get better. If you have interacted with me in the past 2 weeks please do get tested. I have taken my 1st vaccine dose and hope to recover from this soon. Please wear a mask and stay safe!" Ramesh Taurani shared in an Instagram post. Several Bollywood celebrities have tested positive for the virus recently. On Wednesday, Bollywood superstar <keyword id="6355923" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Aamir-Khan">Aamir Khan</keyword>'s team announced that the actor has tested positive for Covid-19 and is living under home quarantine. On Monday, actor Kartik Aaryan had tweeted to inform that he has tested positive. Other Bollywood personalities who recently tested positive include actor Ranbir Kapoor, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, actors Manoj Bajpayee, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Tara Sutaria, and actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/peter-thiel-backed-vc-firm-valar-ventures-invests-in-indian-fintech-startup-velocity/articleshow/81663073.cms">Peter Thiel-backed VC firm Valar Ventures invests in Indian fintech startup Velocity</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/anupam-rasayan-ipo-lists-at-520-per-share-on-the-india-stock-exchange/articleshow/81663145.cms">Anupam Rasayan fails to dazzle on its stock market debut – shares down by nearly 8% below the issue price</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/inshorts-backed-social-networking-app-public-raises-300-crore-in-latest-funding/articleshow/81663873.cms">Inshorts-backed social networking app Public raises ₹300 crore in latest funding</a>

Film producer Ramesh Taurani tests COVID-19 positive after first dose of vaccine

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/48807180.cms" /> 
Back in 2011, when a film school graduate made a film highlighting the issues that men face in urban relationships, he was instantly termed as a misogynist. The movie went on to do well at the box office, and was later referred to as a cult classic. 
 
Looks like Luv Ranjan is in no mood to let these judgments effect his movie-making aspirations, because in the sequel of the 2011 romantic comedy, we see even more misogyny, though wrapped in slapstick comedy and constant abusive words. 
 
The official trailer of <keyword id="1355347" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Pyaar-Ka-Panchnama">Pyaar Ka Panchnama</keyword> 2 was released yesterday, and looking at the success of the original movie, we see the names of reputed production houses in the credits. Thanks to this, we get to see exotic foreign locations in the movie, as opposed to Delhi and Goa that we saw in the original. 
 <keyword id="2104801" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kartik-Aaryan">Kartik Aaryan</keyword> and <keyword id="647029" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="nushrat-bharucha">Nushrat Bharucha</keyword> return as one of the three couples shown in the movie, with the rest of the cast changed. So we won’t get to see Liquid and Chaudhary, which is a bummer. However, we have <keyword id="1450913" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Omkar-Kapoor">Omkar Kapoor</keyword> (the mischievous kid from the 1996 movie Masoom) and <keyword id="3037562" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sunny-nijjar">Sunny Nijjar</keyword> (last seen as the bad guy Ravi in Ranjan’s 2013 release Akaash Vani). Sharat Saxena would be seen as the father of one of the leading ladies. 
 
Here is the trailer for you to see and guess whether the movie would be as good as Pyaar Ka Panchnama or like every other sequel, would be regretted later on. 
 
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tC-HGUhxyyc" width="560"></iframe> 
The movie releases on 16th October.

Pyaar Ka Panchnama 2: Official trailer and release date

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/34381048.cms" /> Female protagonists are ruling <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> nowadays and we were definitely looking forward to some spectacular showing when Kangana Ranaut-Vir Das-starrer comedy-drama <keyword id="1132893" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Revolver-Rani">Revolver Rani</keyword> and Subhash Ghai-directed <keyword id="2214753" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kaanchi-The-Unbreakable">Kaanchi: The Unbreakable</keyword>, yet another <keyword id="2097207" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Woman-centric-movie">woman-centric movie</keyword>, were released on April 25. <keyword id="1718118" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Samrat-Co-">Samrat &amp; Co.</keyword>, a whodunit movie directed and co-written by <keyword id="1097593" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kaushik-Ghatak">Kaushik Ghatak</keyword>, was the third release of the week. 
 Going by the numbers, it was an extremely poor weekend at the <keyword id="827271" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Domestic-Box-Office">domestic box office</keyword> and the Monday business did not look up either, predicting more gloom and doom. After her stellar performance in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Box-Office-Queen-OutshinesGulaab-Gang-Total-Siyapaa-Tanks/articleshow/31848837.cms">Queen</a> (it has netted around Rs 60 crore at home and grossed nearly Rs 93 crore worldwide), Kangana-led Revolver Rani has turned out to be a surprise slow-starter at the <keyword id="25892" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="box-office">box office</keyword> in spite of an intriguing storyline. Sure, it had the best start among the three but netted around Rs 6 crore at home after the first three days in spite of hype and the positive word of mouth. Debut day occupancy was as low as 15% although the movie has hit around 1,500 screens, nearly double the number of <keyword id="6377522" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="queen">Queen</keyword>. 
 
Interestingly, Queen, too, picked up pace pretty late, but managed to nett around Rs 9 crore after the first three days. For Revolver Rani, the crucial Day 4 (Monday, April 28) business was equally dismal and the movie collected around Rs 1.4 crore at home. It has an estimated budget of Rs 24 crore. 
 
However, <keyword id="1417195" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kaanchi">Kaanchi</keyword>, directed by <keyword id="6354581" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Subhash-Ghai">Subhash Ghai</keyword>, suffered a worse fate. This one looks like a clear <keyword id="2076872" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Box-office-bomb">box office bomb</keyword> and collected a paltry Rs 75 lakh on the opening Friday. Weekend earnings remained extremely disappointing and the romance-cum-revenge drama could only manage Rs 3 crore in the first three days. Monday collections stood at an estimated Rs 1.1 crore. With the budget of the movie projected to be Rs 30 crore-plus, industry experts are already calling it another disastrous outing by Ghai. Kaanchi has opened in 1,150-1,200 theatres at home, but the occupancy was less than 15%, especially at single screens. In fact, Kaanchi is the lowest debut-day grosser among Ghai’s recent flops including Yaadein (Rs 1.6 crore on opening Friday), Kisna (Rs 1.5 crore) and Yuvraaj (Rs 2.9 crore). 
 <keyword id="2218677" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Samrat-and-Co-">Samrat and Co.</keyword>, a <keyword id="25276" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="detective">detective</keyword> thriller starring <keyword id="15130" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rajeev-Khandelwal">Rajeev Khandelwal</keyword>, <keyword id="110704" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Madalasa-Sharma">Madalasa Sharma</keyword> and <keyword id="1600791" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gopal-Datt">Gopal Datt</keyword>, hit around 500 screens at home and was immediately declared a flop. First day collections at the domestic box office were an appalling Rs 25 lakh and total earnings in the first three days stood at Rs 1.45 crore, as per trade figures. Interestingly, first Monday (Day 4) collections were better than the opening day, amounting to Rs 60 lakh. But keeping the film’s budget in mind – in the zone of Rs 18 crore or so – this rahasya (mystery) ride won’t be going anywhere in terms of <keyword id="1996031" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Box-office-performance">box office performance</keyword>. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/34381138.cms" /> 
 If you are still wondering what has led to the wholesale box office debacle, a close look at all the three flicks may help decode the failures. Directed by <keyword id="2218682" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sai-Kabir-Shrivastav">Sai Kabir Shrivastav</keyword> (he also did the story and the screenplay) Revolver Rani narrates the story of <keyword id="315181" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Alka-Singh">Alka Singh</keyword> (<keyword id="2201" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kangana-Ranaut">Kangana Ranaut</keyword>), a dacoit-turned-politician in the thick of power game and in love with Bollywood aspirant <keyword id="1555785" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rohan-Mehra">Rohan Mehra</keyword> (<keyword id="671" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vir-das">Vir Das</keyword>). Kangana plays the <keyword id="2218683" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Chambal-girl">Chambal girl</keyword> to perfection – raw, raunchy, power-loving and trigger-happy. But one must not write it off as another one of the Bandit Queen saga. The ground realities, the ingrained satire and the layers of turbulence unfold well in the movie, but the story fails at times – losing the smooth flow and meandering during the second half. Overall, it has loads of merit, but it’s hardly a feel-good movie and that could be one of the key reasons behind the slow business pick-up. As <keyword id="122490" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="film-critic">film critic</keyword> Anupama Chopra so rightly said, “If you can enjoy bad people doing bad things, then Revolver Rani will be fun.” 
 
Kaanchi, on the other hand, simply drags on and loses all the suspense of a revenge drama that it later turns out to be. The movie features two newcomers in lead roles, <keyword id="562167" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kartik-Tiwari">Kartik Tiwari</keyword> (aka <keyword id="2104801" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kartik-Aaryan">Kartik Aaryan</keyword>) and Hindi movie debutante Indrani Chakraborty (aka Mishti), while the ‘big baddies’ are played by <keyword id="6357910" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rishi-Kapoor">Rishi Kapoor</keyword> and <keyword id="14672" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mithun-Chakraborty">Mithun Chakraborty</keyword>. The naïve rural beauty Kaanchi fights against power and corruption as her love Binda, her land and her life are at stake. But as is the Bollywood norm, the twists and turns get too filmy to be convincing, the characters become stereotypes and the dialogues are mere lip service. At the end, we are looking at a mere shell instead of a strong script, powerful performances and the ‘gale’ of change. 
 Samrat and Co. does no better in terms of cinematic art. Rajeev Khandelwal (<keyword id="239627" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="private-investigator">private investigator</keyword> Samrat Tilakdhari) lacks the earlier sparkle of Table No. 21. And if you are expecting Rajeev and Gopal (Samrat’s <keyword id="6419345" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="assistant">assistant</keyword> and friend, <keyword id="2218675" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Chakradhar-Pandey">Chakradhar Pandey</keyword>) do a Holmes-Watson act, you could be mightily disappointed. But currently you have a mystery to solve. Try and predict if these three would do well at the domestic box office over the first week. Your guess is as good as ours. 
 
Images: Indiatimes

Box Office: Kangana Fails To Lift Revolver Rani; Kaanchi Lacks Ghai’s Golden Touch

<ul><li>Tanhaji:The Unsung Warrior witnessed its first massiv dip in the box office collections in the seventh week. </li><li>Box office India predicts that the film will earn a maximum of ₹1.50 crore net in the eighth week. </li><li>According to <keyword id="107593" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Taran-Adarsh">Taran Adarsh</keyword>, the total film collection on February 24 stood at ₹275 crore. </li></ul>Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior witnessed first massive dip in the box official collections in the seventh week of its release. The film which has been running in the theatres for 47 days now collected only ₹15 lakh on February 25. The film is likely to collect ₹2.5 crore on its seventh weekend. According to Taran Adarsh, the total film collection on February 24 stood at ₹275 crore. <div type="twitter" handle="taran_adarsh" handlename="taran adarsh" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1440352704/profile_pic_taran_normal.jpg" favoritecount="9706" retweetcount="805" status="#Tanhaji benchmarks... Crossed ₹ 50 cr: Day 3 ₹ 100 cr: Day 6 ₹ 125 cr: Day 8 ₹ 150 cr: Day 10 ₹ 175 cr: Day 11 ₹ 2… https://t.co/88Sykr8npF" createdat="1582537840000" id="1231879106284990464"></div>

 <div type="twitter" handle="taran_adarsh" handlename="taran adarsh" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1440352704/profile_pic_taran_normal.jpg" favoritecount="7546" retweetcount="718" status="#Tanhaji crosses ₹ 275 cr... Has ample stamina, despite new films invading the marketplace week after week + limite… https://t.co/KxNedFRMBV" createdat="1582537772000" id="1231878818526367744"></div>

 However, Tanhaji is one of the few movies that run in theaters for over four weeks. According to Box office India, the film will earn a maximum of ₹1.50 crore net in its eighth week in its eight week. “It is possible that around 75-80% of its collections in week eight will come from Maharashtra,” reported Boxoffice India. The movie which stars <keyword id="6354714" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ajay-devgn">Ajay Devgn</keyword>, Kajol and Saif Ali Khan is a period drama on Maratha warrior Tanhaji who worked for emperor Shivaji in the 17th century. Other Hindi films that ran for a longer period in recent times include Kabir Singh featuring Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani. The film ran for 102 days in theatres and earned a massive ₹379 crore. First film of 2020 to cross ₹200 crore club For weeks, Tanhaji had withstood competition from many film releases including <keyword id="598" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Deepika-Padukone">Deepika Padukone</keyword>’s Chhapaak, Street Dancer 3D featuring <keyword id="504603" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shradha-Kapoor">Shradha Kapoor</keyword> and Kartik Aaryan’s Love Aaj Kal. It crushed the box office records with a whopping ₹224 crore collections in three weeks. It is the first film of 2020 to cross the ₹200 crore club. The movie which is still running, earned ₹5.4 crore on January 24 and ₹9.5 crore on January 25. Kajol, who also features in the film, had then expressed her excitement on Instagram about Tanhaji’s success. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[
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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B7u7snQJJIe/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Thank you for 200 crores people .... waiting with my hands clasped for 250 now 😉 #gratitude #peoplelove #sogratefulforsomuch</a> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kajol/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Kajol Devgan</a> (@kajol) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-01-25T06:55:12+00:00">Jan 24, 2020 at 10:55pm PST</time></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
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 Tanhaji was made on a massive budget of ₹150 crore. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/tanhaji-wins-the-third-weekend-battle-too-as-street-dancer-3d-and-panga-fail-to-put-up-a-fight/articleshow/73658601.cms">Tanhaji wins the third weekend battle too — as Street Dancer 3D and Panga fail to put up a fight</a>

Ajay Devgn’s Tanhaji might complete 50 days but might not hit the ₹300 crore mark

<ul><li><keyword id="73803" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reckitt-Benckiser">Reckitt Benckiser</keyword> (RB), the British consumer goods giant, has invested ₹45 crore in <keyword id="3556497" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bombay-Shaving-Company">Bombay Shaving Company</keyword>’s parent firm Visage Lines Personal Care.</li><li>Earlier, the startup had raised funds from Colgate Palmolive among others. </li><li>Having started off as a men’s grooming company, the startup had last year also ventured into women’s grooming products.</li></ul>Reckitt Benckiser (RB), the British consumer goods giant, has invested ₹45 crore in Bombay Shaving Company’s parent firm Visage Lines Personal Care. Through the investment, RB’s Vice President Arjun Purkayastha, will now sit on the board of Visage Lines. Earlier, the startup had raised funds from Colgate Palmolive, Sixth Sense Ventures and others. The current investment round also saw participation from multiple High Net-worth individuals including Rajesh Sud from Bharti Enterprises, Anjali Bansal founder of Avaana Capital, and Kuldeep Jain, Managing Director of CleanMax Energy. Having started off as a men’s grooming company, the startup had last year also ventured into women’s grooming products. The five-year old startup is competing with the likes of Marico-acquired Beardo in the grooming industry. Bombay Shaving Company currently has over 2 million users, and with the fund infusion from RB hopes to achieve global scale. “RB is a diamond addition to our journey. They have an excellent record in building health and wellness brands over their 200-years heritage. Working in partnership, our young team is ambitious for what we can achieve together and scale our operations with an omnichannel presence.” said Shantanu Deshpande, founder CEO of Visage Lines. The startup had also appointed Bollywood star Kartik Aaryan as its brand ambassador in 2020. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/oneplus-co-founder-carl-pei-launches-a-new-consumer-tech-company-and-its-literally-called-nothing/articleshow/80481312.cms">OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei launches a new consumer tech company and it's literally called Nothing</a>

Indian grooming startup Bombay Shaving Company gets ₹45 crore investment from Dettol maker Reckitt Benckiser

A TikTok user named <keyword id="33952" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kalpana-Sharma">Kalpana Sharma</keyword> has been winning new fans on the social media app simply by cloning Bollywood actress <keyword id="1788525" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kiara-Advani">Kiara Advani</keyword>. Among Kalpana's 'talents' is recreating dialogues that Kiara's protagonist Preeti mouthed in the 2019 blockbuster "<keyword id="511715" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kabir-Singh">Kabir Singh</keyword>". While Kiara continues to go from strength to strength in Bollywood with her last year's consecutive hits "Kabir Singh" and "Good Newwz", Kalpana is winning new fans on social media by simply being a lookalike of the actress and copying her dialogues and mannerisms. Kalpana in fact is one of many social media sensations who have become a rage just by cloning big Bollywood stars. Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt, Tiger Shroff, Katrina Kaif, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, <keyword id="6354417" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="jacqueline-fernandez">Jacqueline Fernandez</keyword>, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and <keyword id="11193" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Karisma-Kapoor">Karisma Kapoor</keyword> are some stars who have lookalikes aping them on various social media outlets, particularly TikTok. In fact, Katrina Kaif's clone, Alina Rai, has become so popular that she has lately even got a break in showbiz. She recently featured in a Punjabi pop music video. Some stars like Aishwarya have multiple clones on TikTok. A few actresses who are no more -- like Sridevi and Madhubala -- have TikTok dopplegangers, too. While on Kiara, she will soon be seen in the Netflix film "Guilty". This year, she has an impressive line-up of feature films. She will be seen alongside Akshay Kumar in the horror comedy "Laxmmi Bomb", will star in the heroine-centric project "Indoo Ki Jawaani", and co-star with Sidharth Malhotra in the biopic "Shershaah", before teaming up with Kartik Aaryan in the horror comedy "Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2". Clearly, that should keep Kalpana busy with a whole lot of 'inspiration' in 2020!

Kiara Advani clone has taken over TikTok with Kabir Singh dialogues

<ul><li><keyword id="198636" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vijay-Shekhar-Sharma">Vijay Shekhar Sharma</keyword> announced that he will not be taking his salary for the next two months.</li><li>Instead, the money will be used to help <keyword id="6357120" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="paytm">Paytm</keyword>’s office staff in these testing times.</li><li>Sharma was moved to tears by the video of Marriott chief Arne M. Sorenson who spoke about how Covid-19 has impacted the business. </li></ul><keyword id="2228335" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Paytm-founder">Paytm founder</keyword> Vijay Shekhar Sharma announced that he will not be taking his salary for the next two months. Instead, the money will be used to help Paytm’s staff. 
	
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="vijayshekhar" handlename="Vijay Shekhar" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/813598012173754368/MnHjJnCv_normal.jpg" favoritecount="96" retweetcount="17" status="This message becomes totally somethings else after 4:30 mins. I just couldn’t hold tears in my eyes. Inspired by Ar… https://t.co/KU9QuQ7D3z" createdat="1584696043000" id="1240931264632221696"></div>







 Sharma made the decision after watching a video of Marriott chief Arne M. Sorenson who spoke about how Covid-19 has impacted the business. Sorenson said that as a CEO the most difficult step he has to take is seeing his colleagues were impacted. “As a leader I have experienced so many wonderful highs, and a good number of challenging lows. I can tell you I have never had a more difficult low than this one. There is absolutely nothing worse than telling highly valued associates, people who are the very heart of this company that their roles are being impacted because of events totally out of their control,” said Sorenson in the video. Sharma says that he was moved to tears after watching the video. One of Paytm’s employees in the Gurgaon office was tested positive for <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">Coronavirus</keyword> a few weeks back. Paytm also launched the ‘India Fights Corona’ campaign to help prevent and manage the spread of novel Coronavirus in communities with the greatest need. Contributions can be made on the Paytm app and website under the 'Donations' section. “The amount raised will be used to procure and distribute soaps and hand wash to people who need it the most - including people who are part of our everyday life, such as our house help, security guards, drivers and vegetable vendors among others. In the first phase, both the companies will distribute 10 lakh soaps and hand washes at no cost in the affected areas,” Paytm said. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/topic/coronavirus">coronavirus: Latest News, Articles on coronavirus | Business Insider India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/this-goan-beer-company-is-making-sanitizers-to-deal-with-the-rise-in-demand/articleshow/74724595.cms">This Goan beer company is making sanitizers to deal with the rise in demand</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/kartik-aaryan-recreated-his-famous-pyaar-ka-punchnama-monologue-to-educate-people-about-coronavirus/articleshow/74722949.cms">Kartik Aaryan recreated his famous Pyaar ka Punchnama monologue to educate people about Coronavirus</a>

Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma will not take salary for next two months to help his staff

<ul><li>The Challenge saw over 18 billion views in a week, breaking all records and becoming one of the most engaging challenges in India.</li><li>With this campaign Dettol aims to encourage people to build proper hand hygiene as part of their daily routine.</li></ul> Dettol, the leading germ protection brand in the country broke national records with the launch of its #HandWashChallenge on TikTok aiming to raise awareness on four simple steps of handwashing. Practicing hand washing for 20 seconds is one of the best preventive measures to avoid the spread of viruses as recommended by WHO. Interestingly, the challenge that kickstarted on March 14, 2020 witnessed over 18 Billion views and generated over 123K user participation videos in one week of starting the campaign. Strategically aimed at creating awareness among audience, a unique song has been created pairing it extremely well with the hashtag #HandWashChallenge. The hashtag filter has a branded Dettol strip across the top with the hashtag and names the steps involved in washing hands. The user can dance out the steps to the challenge and share it with their friends to further amplify the message on hygiene and safety. Commenting on the success, Pankaj Duhan, Chief Marketing Officer, RB Health South Asia said, “We are elated with the response to the #HandWashChallenge, it has definitely become one of the most successfully led initiatives by any of our brands at RB. Understanding the consumer’s mindset is of the utmost importance to us, therefore our campaign communication is built in a way that creates meaningful conversations to drive awareness amongst consumers. The participation by TikTok users across India has helped deliver the right message in a more engaging and interactive manner. I personally would like to encourage more and more people to join this global health &amp; hygiene educational exercise. Together, let us all build a healthier nation, four steps at a time.” He further added, “Over the past couple of weeks we have witnessed a lot of misinformation floating around hygiene practices, especially over the internet. Realizing the gravity of the issue and being the responsible brand, we felt it was our prerogative to initiate this awareness campaign.” The campaign witnessed several quirky activities on each day leading to increased consumer interest. Joining the force were some of Bollywood’s popular celebrities like Kartik Aaryan &amp; Urvashi Rautela among several other TikTok influencers who have millions of followers on the platform. As part of Phase II, Dettol plans to take the challenge global by encouraging more users to participate while the audience worldwide.

TikTok is giving Dettol's hand wash challenge the needed push as it records 18 billion views in a week

<ul><li>The Challenge saw over 18 billion views in a week, breaking all records and becoming one of the most engaging challenges in India. </li><li>With this campaign Dettol aims to encourage people to build proper hand hygiene as part of their daily routine. </li></ul>Dettol, the leading germ protection brand in the country broke national records with the launch of its #HandWashChallenge on TikTok aiming to raise awareness on four simple steps of handwashing. Practicing hand washing for 20 seconds is one of the best preventive measures to avoid the spread of viruses as recommended by WHO. Interestingly, the challenge that kickstarted on March 14, 2020 witnessed over 18 Billion views and generated over 123K user participation videos in one week of starting the campaign. Strategically aimed at creating awareness among audience, a unique song has been created pairing it extremely well with #HandWashChallenge. The hashtag filter has a branded Dettol strip across the top with the hashtag and names the steps involved in washing hands. The user can dance out the steps to the challenge and share it with their friends to further amplify the message on hygiene and safety. Commenting on the success, Pankaj Duhan, Chief Marketing Officer, RB Health South Asia, said, “We are elated with the response to the #HandWashChallenge, it has definitely become one of the most successfully led initiatives by any of our brands at RB. Understanding the consumer’s mindset is of the utmost importance to us, therefore our campaign communication is built in a way that creates meaningful conversations to drive awareness amongst consumers. The participation by TikTok users across India has helped deliver the right message in a more engaging and interactive manner. I personally would like to encourage more and more people to join this global health &amp; hygiene educational exercise. Together, let us all build a healthier nation, four steps at a time.” He further added, “Over the past couple of weeks we have witnessed a lot of misinformation floating around hygiene practices, especially over the internet. Realizing the gravity of the issue and being the responsible brand, we felt it was our prerogative to initiate this awareness campaign.” The campaign witnessed several quirky activities on each day leading to increased consumer interest. Joining the force were some of Bollywood’s popular celebrities like Kartik Aaryan &amp; Urvashi Rautela among several other TikTok influencers who have millions of followers on the platform. As part of Phase II, Dettol plans to take the challenge global by encouraging more users to participate while the audience worldwide.

<ul><li>Launched in partnership with United Nations Development Programme, the #GharBaithoIndia campaign invites users to share ideas on how to stay safe and beat the <keyword id="8979407" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="lockdown-blues">lockdown blues</keyword>.</li><li>To kick off the campaign, creators on TikTok are dishing out original music renditions about their experience on self-isolation.</li></ul> The year 2020 has brought upon us one of the most challenging situations of our time. At a time like this, social distancing has become the prudent thing to do to stop the spread of the deadly <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> virus. But it requires us to do something we aren’t accustomed to - avoiding physical contact with people outside our home. Pretty unnerving, right? – especially in the prevailing atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. Being confined to our homes for weeks, it’s natural to feel the occasional pang of desolation or boredom. However, there’s no denying that it’s also a wonderful opportunity for us to focus on activities we would not have given importance to otherwise such as spending time with family, exploring hobbies, interests, new means of recreation and entertainment and focussing on physical and mental health, as the pandemic unfolds, subsides, and dies out. But don’t let that get you down, says TikTok. The #GharBaithoIndia hashtag on TikTok is a good place to start looking for some ideas on the things you can do to make your time at home enjoyable and safe. There are a range of celebrities and creators who have come forward to share things we can do, while staying inside and stopping the spread. Here is what you can look out for: <ul><li>Original Soundtrack: To kick off the campaign, creators on TikTok are dishing out original music renditions about their experience on self isolation. TikTok users can use these track to make their own versions of videos on soundtracks created by <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/GHAR-BAITHO-INDIA-6808050055308642305?source=h5_t">Abby Viral</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/GHAR-BAITHO-INDIA-6808063727540111361">Tony Kakkar</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/Ghar-Baithe-Raho-6808010885584390146?source=h5_t">Aariz Saiyed</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-Kartik-Aaryan-6806964432426584834">Kartik Aaryan</a>, and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/Ghar-Baitho-India-6808360203902257921?">Viruss</a>.</li></ul><ul><li>Celebrity &amp; creators: Popular celebrities and TikTok creators such as <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@kunalkemmu/video/6808413948145110274">Kunal Khemu</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@riteishd/video/6807461870425885954">Riteish Deshmukh</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@rannvijaysingha/video/6807446082931395841">Rannvijay Singh</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thekaranvirbohra/video/6807087417728797954">Karanveer Bohra</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@yoyohoneysingh/video/6807452022967635202">Yo Yo Honey Singh</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@sejalkumar1195/video/6807709196578999554">Sejal Kumar</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@trulynomadly/video/6807716769004883201">Shayanya Iyer</a> are among the many enthusiastic TikTok users who are sharing their moments of fun, leisure and learning from their life at home.</li></ul><ul><li>Game On: Enjoy some fun virtual effect games to keep yourself entertained. Look for games called <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@theshilpashetty/video/6804313026078985477">Explore Under Water</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@kunalkemmu/video/6808389706334752002">Fight with Virus</a>, <a href="https://vm.tiktok.com/snkY4h/">Cricket Game</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@theshilpashetty/video/6808115947174513926">Cross The Wall</a>, on the TikTok app. These games are sure to get you into a virtual competition with your friends and family. </li></ul><ul><li>Live on #TikTok: We are teaming up with creators, celebrities, musicians, education institutes and other partners to bring LIVE content to you. So stay tuned!</li></ul>

How TikTok is helping its users beat the lockdown blues

<ul><li>As <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">Coronavirus</keyword> pandemic sweeps the world, <keyword id="419433" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="google-doodle">Google Doodle</keyword> honoured Hungarian physician <keyword id="8933375" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ignaz-semmelweis">Ignaz Semmelweis</keyword> — the man who first discovered the benefits of handwashing. </li><li>The doodle’s animated video showcases the right way to wash hands while Semmelweis ticks the timer. </li><li>Wash between attending the living and studying the dead, he had said.</li></ul>As Coronavirus pandemic sweeps the world, Google Doodle honoured Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis — the man who first discovered the benefits of handwashing. This time, the doodle’s animated video showcases the right way to wash hands while Semmelweis ticks the timer. "Today, Semmelweis is widely remembered as "the father of infection control," credited with revolutionizing not just obstetrics, but the medical field itself, informing generations beyond his own that handwashing is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of diseases," Google Doodle <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/trending-news/story/google-doodle-celebrates-ignaz-semmelweis-first-person-to-discover-benefits-of-handwashing-1657674-2020-03-20">website says</a>. 
 <div type="Youtube" id="h8OX0FNWANM" title="Recognizing Ignaz Semmelweis and Handwashing" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/h8OX0FNWANM/mqdefault.jpg"></div>



 ‘Wash between attending the living and studying the dead’ In 1847, Semmelweis was appointed as the Chief Resident in the maternity clinic of the Vienna General Hospital on this very date. At that time, Childbed fever was causing an array of maternal deaths in Europe. This dates back to the mid-nineteenth century, when child births took place at home, with high risk of infections. 
That is when Semmelweis said that the doctors need to wash their hands on a frequent basis to avoid transmission of diseases — precisely what the world is facing today because of the pandemic. As many as 197 infectious cases of Coronavirus have been reported in India — including four deaths. The <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/world/dr-ignaz-semmelweis-first-doctor-to-discover-handwashing-benefits-honoured-by-google-doodle-today-2543569.html">World Health Organisation (WHO)</a>, that declared coronavirus as a public health emergency, says that “most health care-associated infections are preventable through good hand hygiene – cleaning hands at the right times and in the right way”. Wash between attending the living and studying the dead, he had said. The infection was being transferred from doctors to patients via hands. After which, all the medical staff was asked to wash hands after treating a patient. Soon after the practice gained ground, deaths due to childbed fever reduced significantly. Years later, Semmelweis published his discovery “The Etiology, Concept, and Prophylaxis of Childbed Fever” in 1961. Born in 1818 in Budapest, Semmelweis got his doctorate degree from the University of Vienna. However, in the later years of his life, the physician <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/google-doodle-remembers-first-doctor-dr-ignaz-semmelweis-who-discovered-handwashing-benefits-2197691">suffered a breakdown and was taken to a mental hospital,</a> where he died in 1865. Reports suggest that he died of infection on his right hand. Today, the recommendations to wash hands frequently and other hygiene regimes are followed according to the "<keyword id="6684272" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Germ-theory-of-disease">germ theory of disease</keyword>". See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/data-of-coronavirus-patients-state-wise-in-india/articleshow/74669748.cms">Coronavirus cases in India state wise: 195 infected, 20 cured and 4 dead</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/kartik-aaryan-recreated-his-famous-pyaar-ka-punchnama-monologue-to-educate-people-about-coronavirus/articleshow/74722949.cms">Kartik Aaryan recreated his famous Pyaar ka Punchnama monologue to educate people about Coronavirus</a>

Google Doodle honours Dr Ignaz Semmelweis who controlled Childbed fever with his ‘correct’ handwashing practice

<ul><li><keyword id="2480506" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Eros-Now">Eros Now</keyword> last week announced its massive content slate for 2021 which includes 33 film premieres and 13 original series. It will offer a range of program formats in languages including Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, and Hindi amongst others. </li><li>We speak to <keyword id="281495" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ali-Hussein">Ali Hussein</keyword>, CEO, Eros Now who walks us through his roadmap for bringing 50 million paid subscribers onto the platform within the next 2 years and his key areas of focus for 2021.</li></ul>Roughly a month after announcing it had added roughly 6.9 million net new paid subscriber additions over the past six months (as of September 30, 2020), Ali Hussein, CEO, Eros Now said that the platform has set its sights on touching 50 million paid users from the current 36.2 million in the next 18-24 months. Last week, the platform also announced its content slate for 2021, with 46 new titles including 33 film premieres and 13 original series. It will offer a range of program formats in languages including Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, and Hindi amongst others. Additionally, Eros Now will debut 30 new Quickies and 10 new short films. To understand the platform’s growth strategy and its larger plans for the upcoming year, we caught up with Hussein who gave us a sneak peek into all the Eros Now is up to. Thought behind Eros Now’s 2021 content slate Eros Now which is the over-the-top platform of motion picture production and distribution company Eros International already has a rich repository of films under its banner thereby giving Eros Now a strong content library. With the lockdown, more and more people opened up to experimenting with different digital content platforms and Eros Now, which also on-boarded around 6.9 million paid subscribers during the lockdown months now want to ensure their users get something extra on their platform. “Our strategy is actually quite simple, we will roughly look at one movie premiere every week and we will also look at 1-2 big budget originals. India is a diverse country and its difficult to predict what people like to watch. Hence, we will offer a combination of content like originals that will drive the younger audiences who have the propensity to pay a subscription price, leading to more episodic behavior. We will also have movie premieres of theatrical scale that will create a deeper penetration both among regional and mass audiences.” The platform has also launched a campaign - #KahaaniHarRangKi, based on insights derived from Eros Now’s proprietary user data, and is customized to satisfy the demand of Eros Now’s target audience in the Indian and global diaspora. The promo features <keyword id="6354535" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ayushmann-khurrana">Ayushmann Khurrana</keyword> and Kartik Aaryan and has already created a buzz on social media. Factors that gave a boost to Eros Now The lockdown has led to a behavioural change where consumers no longer mind spending on content that they like. However, there is a lot of clutter in the OTT space with many global players spending big bucks on both content and promotions. So what are the factors that have helped Eros Now woo consumers and bring them to their platform? “When new content was not being launched on television, people started sampling content on different platforms. People realized that Eros Now had a rich collection of movies including Badlapur, Tanu Weds Manu, Bajirao Mastani etc and then suddenly people started watching movies sequentially. So films is one of the core areas where we differentiate ourselves because the rest of the ecosystem is a combination of maybe Hollywood and some Indian originals. But the largest slate of films is only available on Eros Now. So a lot of people broke the inertia and went through the learning curve of understanding how to use the platforms. Secondly, we kept launching a lot of packaging. We resurfaced some of the older catalog with interesting mash-ups. It was more about remarketing to our customers in terms of the depth of the catalog and that enabled discovery. We also did a few shows which were completely shot during the lockdown and those did well too,” explained Hussein. Eros Now had also removed the paywall in the initial days of the lockdown which also helped introduce a lot of new users to the platform, he added. Apart from providing varied content, Eros Now has also been strengthening its technology side to ensure that consumers get the best experience, which is also ensuring long-term stickiness. Eros Now’s expansion plans The platform has been steadily building its global presence and is already available in the US, UK and Canada through Apple TV Channels. It is also available in China and the Middle East and Southeast Asia. “We've been spending a lot of time and resource in aggregating international audiences and that will continue to be a significant trend for us as a brand,” he shared. He also added that owning to the popularity of Indian content in markets like the Middle East or Southeast Asia, the next step is looking at how we get more local. “Our aim would not be to take our learnings and data sciences to maybe develop more crossover or hybrid programming for these markets and become more local. That will be a big theme for us in 2021, getting into 2022,” he said. On what his overarching focus is going to be for the upcoming year, to take Eros Now to the next level, Hussein said, “One clear area of focus for us is going to be technology, because that's a clear differentiator of how we operate and distinguish ourselves in the ecosystem. Secondly, we will keep focusing on our content. Along with the announcement of our content slate for 2021, we will also have a few more announcements for the first half of 2021, when we will talk about our studio slate. Also, due to our merger with <keyword id="10417540" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="stx-filmworks">STX Filmworks</keyword>, we will be bringing a fairly interesting strategy on English programming on Eros Now, which is a first for us. So content and experiences for customers in India will be a big part of 2021. And our final focus area will be international expansion.” While not revealing the whole story, he also shared that the platform might soon expand to Africa.

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