Latest news with #Ramayan


News18
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Not Saif Ali Khan Or Shah Rukh Khan, This Actor Is Ibrahim Ali Khan's Pick For Best Dressed
Last Updated: Ibrahim Ali Khan mentioned that Ranbir Kapoor dresses 'very classy', adding that his looks are cool and nice. Ibrahim Ali Khan has finally revealed who, according to him, has the best fashion sense in Bollywood. In a recent interview, the actor was asked to name the 'best dressed" actor in the industry and he had his response ready. Ibrahim mentioned that Ranbir Kapoor dresses 'very classy", adding that his looks are cool and nice. During the same chat, he opened up on Ranbir's 'top three fashion looks," and you may not want to miss them. Ibrahim Ali Khan was speaking with Filmfare for a fashion tête-à-tête when he opened up on his admiration for Ranbir Kapoor's style. The actor said, 'He dresses very classy." Further, he elaborated on the Ramayan actor's sartorial choices, saying, 'I think his top three fashion looks are those basic ones that make the man look cool." That's not all. Ibrahim also shared his top three looks of Ranbir throughout the years. The star kid added, 'He wears jeans with Chelsea boots. He pairs it with a t-shirt that is not too slim and not too tight. And then adds a nice, blanket-ish kind of a jacket or like a coat. It's a classic look that Ranbir Kapoor smashes. He smashes that look. Looks cool and nice." This is not the first time that Ibrahim Ali Khan has openly praised Ranbir Kapoor. A true admirer of the star, Ibrahim, earlier confessed that he wants to be like him. Talking to Filmfare, he said. 'I want to be like Ranbir Kapoor. He's not on social media. He's kind of low-key. Saif Ali Khan, my beloved father… he's also like that. He's by himself at home. He's a super cool guy doing his work, not on social media." 'These guys aren't out there, no one can get to them. And that's what makes them so desirable. We want to reach them, but we can't," added Ibrahim. Elsewhere in the interview, the young star also called Ranbir Kapoor his 'favourite actor." On the work front, Ibrahim Ali Khan made his Bollywood debut with Nadaaniyan. Released on Netflix earlier this year, the film starred him alongside Khushi Kapoor, Dia Mirza and Suniel Shetty among others. It is directed by Shauna Gautam. First Published:


Pink Villa
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
5 Celebrity Spottings of the Day: Rashmika Mandanna-Vijay Deverakonda together in car to Samantha and Alia Bhatt clicked in Mumbai
Today (June 18), many Bollywood and South Indian celebrities were spotted on the move, marking yet another crucial and hectic day for the paparazzi. John Abraham was snapped at the airport, and his warm gesture won hearts. Meanwhile, Samantha Ruth Prabhu redefined airport fashion by sporting basic ensembles. Further, rumored lovebirds Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda were spotted leaving the airport together, fueling dating speculation. So, let us take a look at some of the biggest celebrity sightings of the day. 1. Alia Bhatt's gym look is all about comfort and cool vibes Amidst heavy rain, Alia Bhatt was clicked coming out of her car in gym wear. The sipper in her hands proved that she never forgets to keep herself hydrated. The Love and War actress served as a major inspiration for those planning to hit the gym. 2. Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda snapped together in car The rumored couple once again stoked dating rumours after they were spotted together at the Mumbai airport. Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda left the airport in silence, and the shutterbugs clicked them sitting together in the backseat of the car. 3. John Abraham gives flowers to lady staff member In a rare sighting, John Abraham was clicked coming out of the airport, and that's when a fan gifted him a flower bouquet. He asked the fan if he could gift the same bouquet to a female airport staff member. After the latter nodded, the actor handed her the flowers, and she thanked him. 4. Ranbir Kapoor snapped coming out of a sports complex The paparazzi spotted Ranbir Kapoor in a white hoodie and sports shorts. The Ramayan actor appeared energetic as he spent some time with his pals. It seemed like he took some time off from his busy schedule to indulge in sports activities. 5. Samantha Ruth Prabhu keeps it cool and stylish at the airport The Eega actor was clicked at the airport in a casual yet chic look. She wore a light blue denim shirt with full sleeves, casually rolled up to the elbows. The high-waisted denim fit perfectly with the shirt, creating a denim-on-denim look. However, what elevated her style was oversized sunglasses and a large black shoulder bag.


India.com
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- India.com
Remember Ramanand Sagar Ramayan's 'Surpanakha'? The actress was paid Rs 30000 to cut off her nose, quit acting to work as..., her name is...
Remember Ramanand Sagar Ramayan's 'Surpanakha'? The actress was paid Rs 30000 to cut off her nose, quit acting to work as..., her name is... Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan, originally telecasted from January 1987 to July 1988, is considered the most-watched Indian television show even three decades after it ended. The show featured largely new or unknown characters in the lead roles such as Dipika Chikhlia, Sunil Lahri, and Arvind Trivedi, that later became household names following the show's success. Renu Dhariwal, who portrayed Ravana's sister Surpanakha, one of the most popular characters in Ramayana, also rose to fame. Even though, she starred in just four out of 78 episodes, she still captivated audiences with her performance in the mythological serial. The actress once shared the back story regarding how she got the role of Shurpanakha in Ramayan. In an earlier interaction with Indian Express, Renu recalled, 'I come from a conservative Punjabi family, the kind that would never allow their daughters to enter showbiz. But I wanted to be an actor, a decision my Bengali mother supported. Without telling my father the real reason for moving to Bombay, I came here and joined Roshan Taneja's acting classes, where Govinda was my classmate. After that, I started to work in theatre. That's where Papaji (Ramanand Sagar) saw me.' She further added, 'He saw me play a mother in a play called Purush. When he realised I was a young girl, he was impressed and asked me to audition for Surpanakha's role. Surpanakha is the sister of a powerful warrior and scholar, Raavan. She is a princess and a shapeshifter, and the one who becomes the trigger for the most famous battle in Hindu mythology. I didn't see any reason to let go of the opportunity.' Renu was paid Rs 30000 for her portrayal of Surpanakha in Ramayan. Morever, she also received several work opportunities following the show's success. During the same interaction, she recalled, 'It got me roles in BR Chopra's teleseries Chunni, Surinder Singh's National Award-winning Punjabi film Marhi da Deewa and also Hema Malini's directorial debut Dil Aashna Hai, before I gave it all up for a career in politics.' Renu Dhariwal gave up her acting career after marriage, and now currently lives in Mumbai with her husband and a son. After taking a step back from films, she ventured into politics, and now works actively for Congress Party. Moreover, she also helps her husband in his real estate business. Besides this, she also operates two NGOs for women and child care.


Spectator
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
How do you exhibit living deities?
The most-watched TV programme in human history isn't the Moon landings, and it isn't M*A*S*H; chances are it's Ramayan, a magnificently cheesy 1980s adaptation of India's national epic. The show has a status in India that's hard to overstate. Something like 80 per cent of the entire population watched its original run; in rural areas entire villages would crowd around a single television hooked up to a car battery. When the show ended, omitting the 'Uttara Kanda', the fairly controversial last book of the original poem, street sweepers across the country went on strike, demanding the government fund more episodes. The government caved. But while every country has its pieces of cult media, in India the cult is literal. Some viewers would take a ritual bath before tuning in. Others would decorate their TV sets with garlands of flowers, or light oil lamps in front of the screen and perform aarti, a devotional rite in which a flame is waved in circles in front of an image of a god. And why not? There was an image of a god on the screen. He might have been played by an actor in a plastic crown, but Ramayan was a representation of Lord Ram. Abrahamic faiths can be quite iffy about this kind of thing. At my maniacally Orthodox Jewish primary school, I was told in no uncertain terms about all the terrible punishments God periodically imposed on those of his followers who tried to make images of Him. At one point, in an art lesson, we were told to draw a picture of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments; one boy who made the mistake of depicting Yahweh as an enormous stick figure had to watch his effort being ripped up in front of the entire class. Christianity has traditionally been more relaxed, but it has its own long history of recurring iconoclasms: Byzantine monks burning images of Christ; black-clad Puritans bursting into English churches to smash all the stained glass. In America, Catholic churches might have deposited heaving busloads of their parishioners outside suburban cineplexes to see The Passion of the Christ, but nobody got on their knees and started worshipping the screen. You could venerate an image of the crucifixion in a church, but Raphael's version in the National Gallery is only a work of art. As it happens, Indian religions used to be fairly similar. The earliest form of Hinduism was the Vedic religion that existed from around 1500 to 300 BC, and which was, as far as we know, firmly aniconic. If they did make any images of their gods, we haven't found them. What we do know, from the writings they left behind, is that their worship was focused around a sacrificial fire. The oldest collection of Hindu texts, the Rig Veda (c.1500-1000 BC), consist of hymns to be sung in front of these fires and extremely detailed descriptions of the sacrifices to be thrown into the flames. From there, the fire-god Agni would share out the sacrifice with the rest of the pantheon. Mostly, Agni was given gifts of ghee, grains and soma. Sometimes there were animal sacrifices. It might have never been actually carried out, but there's one more, the Purushamedha sacrifice, in which you offer the gods human flesh. It's likely that the Hindu tradition of devotional images came about in response to Buddhism, but Buddhism was also, originally, very strict about images. This makes sense, given early Buddhism's focus on nothingness and impermanence. During his life, the Buddha didn't call himself 'me' or 'I', since the self doesn't exist, but Tathagata, which means something like 'the one who has thus gone'. For the first few centuries of the religion, there was a strong taboo on any direct representation of the Buddha as a man. The preferred way to show him in stone carvings was as an absence. You could symbolise the Buddha with the image of an empty crown, or a riderless horse. The most popular image was the Buddhapada, a pair of footprints: the hollow left by something that no longer exists. The familiar smiling, seated figure didn't emerge until more than 500 years after Siddhartha Gautama achieved enlightenment. It's as if we had started depicting Henry VIII in 2025. The preferred way to show the Buddha in stone carvings was as an absence The situation is very different today. Hinduism still has room for interesting abstract forms, like the phallic lingam that represents the god Shiva, but most Indian religions are intensely visual religions. When Hindus visit a temple, they won't usually say they're going for puja (prayer), but for darshan, which means 'vision'. The most important element in worship is to look at the image of the god. But it goes both ways: there's darshan dena and darshan lena, giving and receiving sight. You look at the god, the god looks at you. The murti or idols in Hindu temples often have large, brightly painted eyes. The representation does not have to be exact, but the idea is that any image of a deity will be inhabited by that deity. Sometimes small street-corner shrines in India will consist of a small, roughly carved disc, or even just a corn husk, watching you with painted eyes as you pass. This makes exhibiting some of these objects difficult: how are you supposed to display a historical artefact that is also a living deity? At the British Museum, Ancient India: living traditions tries hard to accommodate their dual status. There's a room dedicated to each of three major Indian religions, Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, and along with some of the treasures of the British Museum's archives there's also a short video in which a modern-day British practitioner explains their worship. Some of these treasures really are extraordinary. A tiny gold reliquary that contains the first-ever figurative representation of the Buddha ( 1st century). There's a magnificently fluid Ganesh, carved out of volcanic stone a thousand years ago (see below). Stranger are the fierce, grimacing yakshas, teeming nature-spirits that might have evolved into the more stately Hindu gods. But there's also a plasticky Ganesh statue from 2007 owned by an events company called Om Creatives Ltd, and a photo of the god being paraded on the banks of the Mersey in 2014. Many of the figures of gods and sages are displayed on wide plinths, giving visitors space to leave an offering in front of the murti if they want. When I went, none of the visitors had done so. The museum is its own kind of religion, with its own rituals. Statue of Ganesh, made in Java from volcanic stone, 1000–1200. © THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM But if we're considering these works as part of a living religion, and not just objects from the past, it's striking that India's second-largest religion doesn't appear anywhere in the exhibition. Islam has been an Indian faith for more than a thousand years, and in that time plenty of uniquely Indian traditions have emerged. There are Sufi shrines, dargahs, that are also sacred to Hindu deities, where strange new forms of syncretic worship have taken shape over the centuries. Islam tends to be strongly aniconic, but then so does Sikhism, another autochthonous Indian faith that doesn't get a look-in here. Part of the problem is that the curators are a little too eager to make a clear identification between the religions of two millennia ago and their practitioners today. There is no straight line between them; religions, like everything else in the world, constantly change. These objects might have meaning for modern-day Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains, but the people who actually made them are gone. Maybe my favourite object in the exhibit was a tiny first-century copper statuette of a four-armed goddess found in the Deccan, central India. She has flowers in her hair and a girdle around her hips, but we no longer know her name. Whatever cult worshipped her is now extinct. But maybe her presence is still in there, looking out at the new kind of devotee that shuffles around the museum, seeing and being seen.


Time of India
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Sheeba Chaddha to present a never-seen-before side of infamous Manthara in Ranbir Kapoor's 'Ramayan'
Veteran actress Sheeba Chaddha is all set to step into the role of the infamous Manthara in Ranbir Kapoor 's much-anticipated 'Ramayan'. Known for her powerful screen presence, Chaddha is keen to delve deep into the emotional layers of the character, aiming to portray shades of Manthara that audiences have never seen before. Speaking about the role, the actress shared, "Manthara has always been seen as a catalyst for conflict, but I believe there's a human story behind every action. I'm excited to explore her emotional landscape and bring out shades that haven't been seen before." Sheeba Chaddha has been roped in to play Manthara in Nitesh Tiwari 's ambitious film adaptation of 'Ramayan'. She joins a stellar cast that includes Ranbir Kapoor as Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita, and Yash as Ravana. Ranbir Kapoor's first look from 'Shamshera' unveiled on his 39 birthday 'Ramayan' is said to be one of the year's most eagerly awaited films. As per reports, Sunny Deol has been cast as Hanuman, while popular television actor Ravi Dubey will take on the role of Lakshman. Lara Dutta has been roped in to play Kaikeyi, a pivotal figure in the epic tale. Rakul Preet Singh will portray the fiery and complex Shurpanakha. Kajal Aggarwal is set to essay the role of Mandodari, the dignified queen of Lanka, and in a powerful casting choice, megastar Amitabh Bachchan will appear as Jatayu, the noble vulture who sacrifices everything in Sita's defence. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo The film is set to release in two installments-part 1 arriving on Diwali 2026, followed by part 2 on Diwali 2027. Speaking of Sheeba Chaddha, she has left a mark in both television and films, earning acclaim for her powerful performances. She is widely known for her roles in movies such as, 'Badhaai Do', 'Pagglait', 'Taj Mahal 1989', 'Bandish Bandits', and more recently 'Kaushaljis vs Kaushal and Zara Si Dhoop'.