All posts tagged: mainstream

Ricky Kej on staying away from mainstream music: ‘Your art defines you as a person’ | Bollywood News

Ricky Kej on staying away from mainstream music: ‘Your art defines you as a person’ | Bollywood News

Published by Webster

3 min readMumbaiJun 17, 2026 09:30 PM IST Three-time Grammy Award-winning composer Ricky Kej, known for acclaimed albums such as Winds of Samsara, Divine Tides and Police – Beyond Borders, graced the 14th edition of The Indian Express series Expresso. During the conversation moderated by Suanshu Khurana, Kej reflected on his conscious decision to stay away from mainstream music and instead pursue a path that aligns with his artistic values. ‘Your art defines you as a person’ Speaking about why mainstream music never appealed to him, Ricky Kej said, “I was never keen on doing any kind of mainstream form of music, for various reasons. Many times, whether it’s art, finance, painting, sculpture, music, dance, filmmaking, a lot of these artists are not making the art that they themselves consume, or the kind of art that they themselves love. And I did not want that to happen to me.” Kej explained that he has always believed an artist’s work should be a reflection of who they are. Elaborating on his perspective, he said, “The second …

After Arijit, Pritam hints at taking a break from mainstream music: ‘Time to set off on new journeys’ | Bollywood News

After Arijit, Pritam hints at taking a break from mainstream music: ‘Time to set off on new journeys’ | Bollywood News

Published by Webster

4 min readNew DelhiJun 15, 2026 02:12 PM IST Arijit Singh’s earlier announcement from playback singing in Indian commercial cinema had left the nation in shock. A few months after the revelation, music composer-singer Pritam has now hinted towards a similar update. In his latest social media post, he shared a deep, reflective note on his birthday. The composer mentioned that it was time to “set off on new journeys.” Taking to his Instagram handle, Pritam posted a few black-and-white pictures of himself and wrote in the caption, “Thank you for all the wishes. Can’t answer everyone individually, but please accept my sincere gratitude. Today, I have decided to gift myself a few years to live life differently. To catch up on what I’ve missed.” Indicating he wants to take a break from mainstream cinema, he continued, “Time to set off on new journeys, which have been kept on the back burner for long. Mainstream is a great ride. But I’ve always been more curious about the roads unexplored. Thank you for all the love …

Patralekhaa says female friendships are still rarely explored in mainstream cinema

Patralekhaa says female friendships are still rarely explored in mainstream cinema

Published by Webster

For Patralekhaa, it’s a season of firsts — from turning producer with Toaster and embracing motherhood with daughter Parvati Paul Rao, to now headlining her first women-led film, Heer Sara Aur Pondicherry. “I was sold even before reading it,” she laughs. The actor says she was surprised to learn that the movie revolved around women and had no love angle. While female actors get to play varied roles, Patralekhaa feels that “women are always portrayed as somebody’s something”. “Love seems to be the centre of our being, at least in movies. While we have so many shades, I don’t see that reflected quite often.” Stories centred on female friendships, she says, are even rarer. “Those parts are not written. In my 10-year-long career, there have only been a couple of films that have been female-oriented,” she shares. Disclaimer: We do not own any of the content, ideas, images, or text presented here. All rights belong to their respective owners. For more information and to view the original source, please visit the following link: Source link

Exotic to mainstream: How the wide yorker became T20s’ dot-ball merchant | Cricket News

Exotic to mainstream: How the wide yorker became T20s’ dot-ball merchant | Cricket News

Published by Webster

3 min readMumbaiMar 26, 2026 09:24 AM IST When Yuvraj Singh landed at the airport after the 2014 T20 World Cup final loss to Sri Lanka, he was abused. Soon, stones were thrown at his home. “I felt like I was a villain, a culprit, like somebody had shot somebody and was going to jail. I still remember how I felt in that moment,” he would recall years later. A close game was lost. Yuvraj, Virat Kohli, and MS Dhoni couldn’t finish. The reason was a delivery. *** Lasith Malinga kept firing yorkers well outside off stump. Yuvraj kept toe-ending them. Then came Nuwan Kulasekara, who came closest to the modern avatar of that ball. His deliveries skimmed the wide line, especially after he took out Yuvraj with a wide full toss that sank into long-off’s palms. He began pinging that line to Kohli and Dhoni. Both tried to reach out and drag it to the on-side. Neither could. When they sliced it, a deep backward point and third man ensured there was just a …

Once exotic, now IPL mainstream: Evolution of the lap shot from the days of Douglas Marillier to AB de Villiers and Rishabh Pant | Cricket News

Once exotic, now IPL mainstream: Evolution of the lap shot from the days of Douglas Marillier to AB de Villiers and Rishabh Pant | Cricket News

Published by Webster

3 min readMar 25, 2026 10:55 AM IST Indian audience of a certain vintage would remember Sachin Tendulkar kneeling down and lap-sweeping medium pacers on sluggish tracks of the subcontinent at the wink of this century. Australia’s cricket chroniclers claim the legendary aboriginal cricketer Johnny Mullagh played a stroke on one knee, wherein, ”the ball would touch the blade, and shoot high over the wicket-keeper’s head to the boundary,” a report during his tour to England in the 1870s read. Zimbabwe’s Douglas Marillier and Australia’s wicket-keeper Ryan Campbell produced intrepid versions of the lap sweep. Scoop to some pundits, and sweep to some others, but the stroke has existed in the fringes of the game before T20 cricket made it integral to the canvas of ambitious batsmen. But none perfected, polished and popularised it as AB de Villiers. He cut the risk out of it by making it look as normal a stroke as a cover drive or a flick. He had so much time that he began the elaborate movements just at the microsecond …

Once exotic, now IPL mainstream: Evolution of the carrom ball from the days of Ajantha Mendis to Varun Chakaravarthy | Cricket News

Once exotic, now IPL mainstream: Evolution of the carrom ball from the days of Ajantha Mendis to Varun Chakaravarthy | Cricket News

Published by Webster

3 min readMar 24, 2026 10:01 AM IST From the enormous hands of a table tennis-loving warbird of World War II from Victoria, through the pliant palms of a skinny Sri Lankan with curious eyes several generations later, the carrom ball has transformed from an exotic mystery weapon to a mainstream trick en masse. Jack Iverson (or grip Jack as he was called), who suffered depression and took his life at 58, died without knowing the ball he trialled in far-flung corners of his postings would capture the cricket world’s imagination several eras later. Ajantha Mendis, its modern-day re-inventor and with an Army background himself, never knew that his finger-flicker would outlive his unfulfilled career, which is as much a warning as an inspiration. Neither, though, coined the term, which is attributed to a Sri Lankan lawyer based in Toronto. The carrom ball, apart from its enduring knack to torment batsmen much after its mystery has faded, has breathed a new twist to off-spin bowling in T20s, evolving and adapting, remaking and unmaking, at a …

Anurag Kashyap calls Dhurandhar ‘courageous mainstream film’, says calling it propaganda ‘is itself form of propaganda’

Anurag Kashyap calls Dhurandhar ‘courageous mainstream film’, says calling it propaganda ‘is itself form of propaganda’

Published by Parlour News

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has praised the recent blockbuster Dhurandhar as a ‘courageous’ mainstream film in today’s times. The filmmaker also dismissed those calling it ‘propaganda’ or ‘promotion’, but admitted that he did not agree with the film’s politics. Anurag Kashyap has praised Dhurandhar. Anurag Kashyap on Dhurandhar Anurag appeared at the 17th Bengaluru International Film Festival, where he spoke about cinema, politics, and technology in a session titled ‘Fearless Film Making’, moderated by film critic Baradwaj Rangan. There, the filmmaker spoke about the absence of political films in India and how several films from the past may not be made today. Talking about Dhurandhar, in particular, he said, “This is a good example of a courageous mainstream film. I liked the film, but I didn’t like some of the ideologies. The dialogue about ‘This is the new India’ and one long political monologue, among a total of three scenes, were unnecessary; even without them, the film’s impact would not have diminished.” Calling films propaganda is… In the same session, he dismissed those calling Dhurandhar propaganda. …

Priyanka Chopra is the ‘one actor in India we don’t celebrate enough,’ says Ricky Kej: ‘She plays actual mainstream roles, not some vague, exotic Indian character’ | Bollywood News

Priyanka Chopra is the ‘one actor in India we don’t celebrate enough,’ says Ricky Kej: ‘She plays actual mainstream roles, not some vague, exotic Indian character’ | Bollywood News

Published by Webster

Three-time Grammy Award-winning music composer Ricky Kej has pointed everyone’s attention to the “one actor in India we don’t celebrate enough.” No, it’s not any mainstream star like Ranveer Singh or Ranbir Kapoor, or any streaming star like Jaideep Ahlawat or Manoj Bajpayee. It’s a female actor, and one of the very few Indian actors, who has successfully transitioned from Bollywood to Hollywood — Priyanka Chopra. “She is the ONLY Indian actor (of any generation) who has truly made waves in Hollywood and globally (After being one of the most sought after in India for many years),” wrote Ricky on his X handle on Saturday. He pointed out how Priyanka has worked with not only most of Bollywood’s best, but also several leading Hollywood stars over the years. The list includes Dwayne Johnson in Seth Gordon’s 2017 action comedy Baywatch (in which she played the chief antagonist), Keanu Reeves in Lana Wachowski’s 2021 sci-fi action movie The Matrix Resurrections, Pedro Pascal in Robert Rodriguez’s 2020 superhero film We Can Be Heroes, Stanley Tucci and Richard …

Call for efforts to promote integration of northeast into mainstream India

Call for efforts to promote integration of northeast into mainstream India

Published by Parlour News

The Karnataka branch of the Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari, in collaboration with the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) held ‘North-East Calling’, an event to promote integration of Northeastern parts of the country into the mainstream India. The event, held on the CIIL premises on Sunday, was inaugurated by vice-president of Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari, Mananeeya Niveditha Bhide, in the presence of CIIL Director Shailendra Mohan and member of Human Resource Capacity Building Commission and founder of Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, Mysuru, R. Balasubramanian, who were the guests of honour. A statement from the CIIL said, “The northeast India holds critical strategic, cultural, economic, and ecological importance for ensuring the unity and sovereignty of India.” “The integration of this unique region into the mainstream Indian life is of paramount importance,” the statement said. The development of physical infrastructure, including connectivity, has been the commitment of the government that would result in the inclusivity of the region rather than its isolation from the rest of the country, it said. However, the efforts of the …

Checkmate: USA vs India aims to take chess from fringes of sports world into the mainstream | Chess News

Checkmate: USA vs India aims to take chess from fringes of sports world into the mainstream | Chess News

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Since the COVID pandemic, chess has gained millions of new fans. But the one area that remains largely uncharted for the sport is television broadcast, with streaming platforms still the primary source of distribution. Checkmate: USA vs India — pitting two of the strongest nations in the sport against each other – hopes to make it attractive for broadcasters and casual fans, who stay away finding it too complicated. The event will see four of the top five players in the world —Hikaru Nakamura, D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi and Fabiano Caruana — playing for their countries. They will be joined by the likes of Divya Deshmukh, Ethan Vaz, chess commentator Sagar Shah (all representing India), Carissa Yip, Tanitoluwa Adewumi and popular streamer Levy Rozman (representing the USA). Story continues below this ad The thought behind the venture is to make the sport more accessible to casual fans who find the grammar of the sport riddled with technicalities. “This is built for fans — not just chess purists. Most chess events today are tailored for serious …