Samantar 2 receives overwhelming response with 56 million plus views on MX Player
8:24 PM
Repeating the response it received for its first season, the second season of Samantar has received more than 56 million views since its launch on MX Player. Post the success of Samantar season 1, the season 2 was released on MX Player on the July 1, 2021. Produced by leading content producing studio GSEAMS (Global Sports Entertainment And Media Solutions Private Limited) headed by Arjun Singgh Baran and Kartk D Nishandar, the web series has become talk of the town. Apart from talented actors like Nitish Bhardwaj, Swwapnil Joshi and Tejaswini Pandit who added quality to the series, the second season also features the talented silver screen sensation Sai Tamhankar.
“We were sure about the success of Samantar 2 as it is a perfect combination of everything. I am overwhelmed with the response the series has received in its second season as well. I am happy that the new experiments I have been doing in my career are working and people are giving it thumbs up. The credit of this success must go to producers Arjun and Kartk along with the director Sameer Vidwans for the efforts they have put in both creatively as well as ensuring the quality of the shoot,” said Swwapnil Joshi who plays the lead character of Kumar Mahajan.
Swwapnil also narrated how the entire team of actors and crew members were stuck in a hotel during the shooting of Samantar 1 due to the flooding. “Kolhapur and Sangli had witnessed downpour and flooding in August 2019 when we were shooting for Samantar 1. The downpour was so massive that the entire team was stuck for 13 days in a row in a hotel in Kolhapur. However, Arjun, Kartik and the team ensured that we were all taken care of very well. Those were some of the most unforgettable days and it still gives us goosebumps whenever the team members remember it during our shooting,” he said.
Speaking to us on Samatar 2, Arjun and Kartk said “Samantar is a fabulous story which we knew would appeal to a very large audience. We are extremely happy with the response that Samantar 2 has got and we intend to produce many more such series based on a variety of subjects and genres”.
The producers further elaborated on their decision over casting Swwapnil Joshi and Nitish Bhardwaj against each other. “Both of them are widely recognised as Krishna across the world for their memorable roles in two different serials. Samantar gives an opportunity to the audience to see both the stalwarts face to face. Similarly, when we chose Sai Tamhankar for the role of Sundara and Meera, we were suggested many names for this character. But we were determined to have her for the role as we firmly believed that only she could justify the character of Sundara,” Arjun and Kartik said.
GSEAMS has given us many memorable Marathi films like Mogara Phulaalaa, Bonus, Fugay, Tula Kalnaar Nahi, Ranangan and Vicky Velingkar. With the release of web series like Naxalbari on Zee5 and Samantar season 1 and 2 on MX player, GSEAMS has once again proved itself as a leading production studio which creates quality content.
I’ve always put my foot down when it comes to the remuneration I deserve-Sai Tamhankar
7:47 AM
Travelling cinema chain organises simultaneous release of Dabangg 3 in remote villages of Maharashtra
7:07 AM
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; December 20, 2019)
As Dabangg 3 opens across cinemas today, Salman Khan’s fans in the villages of Vaduth and Tasgaon in Maharashtra have a reason to cheer. Picture Time, the digital mobile theatre, in collaboration with Cinemawale, has arranged the simultaneous release of the cop caper in the two villages. The two-year-old digiplex is a travelling cinema chain that screens films in tents in remote parts of the country and offers the benefits of a multiplex — read air conditioning and digital projection.
While Sushil Chaudhary, CEO, Picture Time, has earlier taken movies to different pockets that do not boast of cinema halls, Dabangg 3 marks the company’s first simultaneous release. He informs that the team has scheduled four shows in a day, with the price of tickets ranging from Rs 25 to Rs 80. “Our aim is to take newly released films to the interiors of India, where cinema isn’t accessible. With Dabangg 3 being screened in districts like Sangli and Satara, it is a matter of pride for us that the endeavour is living up to its purpose.”
Sonam Kapoor, Athiya Shetty, Shilpa Shetty support animal activist's effort in helping ailing cows, bulls
8:01 AM
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; August 6, 2018)
Having repeatedly spoken up on issues pertaining to animal welfare, Bollywood’s brightest didn’t disappoint when an activist took to social media to reveal that he was accepting donations for an animal welfare NGO. A PETA India associate director, Sachin Bangera, had stated that he was accepting food and medication for bullocks, Gunya and Hanmanth, and a cow, Meena, for the organisation, Animal Rahat, as part of his birthday festivities. Animal admirers Sonam K Ahuja, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Aathiya Shetty and Pooja Bhatt, along with boxing champion Vijender Singh, were among the first to lend their support.
Shilpa tells mid-day of her friend, Bangera, “He was trying to raise funds to sponsor the food and medicines of two bullocks and a cow at a sanctuary. I appreciated that, hence, I posted a tweet [about his effort] so that it could reach more people.”
Athiya speaks fondly of the organisation Bangera helms before adding, “I love animals, and believe that, since they don’t have a voice, we should support them. We should fight the battles that they can’t.”
Talking about the initiative, Bangera says that the team will aim to raise funds for a month, post which they will decide if further action must be taken. “The bullocks and cow are housed at the NGO in Sangli, along with the other animals that have been rescued from slavery or abandonment. The more the donation we receive, the better the care the animals will receive. The goal is to raise at least Rs 20,000, which will be sufficient to take care of these three animals for a month. I’d love to sponsor more animals if they’ve been abused or tortured.”
Bangera says that he had to do little to get help from Bollywood, given that most of them are associated with his organisation. Bhatt, he says, is deeply involved in rescue work. “She rescues animals in distress, sterilizes community cats and feeds them. She inspires me to do more.”
Saroj Khan draws flak for casting couch remark; apologizes
8:13 AM
MUMBAI MIRROR (April 25, 2018)
On Tuesday, Saroj Khan caused widespread uproar with her comments defending the casting couch culture, saying that the Indian film industry “at least” provided jobs and did not abandon women after raping them.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event in Sangli, Khan was quoted as saying that casting couch was not a new phenomenon when asked about #MeToo campaigner and Telugu actor Sri Reddy stripping in protest against the culture in the Telugu film industry.
“This has been happening since time immemorial. Somebody or the other tries to cosy up to every girl. Even people in the government do it. Why are you after the film industry? At least the industry provides employment. After all, it isn’t as if you are raped and abandoned,” Khan is heard saying in a video from the event, adding that the onus of staying safe and avoiding such situations was on women. “It’s up to the girl. If you don’t want to be caught, you won’t. When you are an artiste, why will you sell yourself? Don’t say anything about the film industry. It’s like our mother-father,” she added.
After the video went viral, the 69-year-old veteran choreographer apologised for the statement, saying, “I have already said I am sorry. But you don’t know the question that was asked... And now there’s so much ruckus.”
While Bollywood was slow to react to her comments, Sri Reddy said, “Saroj Khan madam, you are an elder, so I should respect you. But I have lost respect for you because what kind of a tradition are you encouraging? Also, being an elder, you have to show the (right) path to actresses. How can you say that we have to be like that? It is giving wrong indication that you have to be a slave to heroes, producers…”
Meanwhile, Ranbir Kapoor drew flak in the wake of Khan’s statement — when asked for his take on the matter, the actor laughed and said, “I have never faced it (casting couch). If it’s there, it is the worst thing.” Later in the day, Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury jumped into the debate, saying that casting couch was the “bitter truth” of not just the film industry but all work spaces and even Parliament was not immune to it. “It’s time for India to stand up and say 'me too'… Don’t imagine that Parliament is immune or some other work space is immune,” the former Rajya Sabha member was quoted as saying.
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MID-DAY (April 25, 2018)
Saroj Khan’s brazen comment that the casting couch “provides livelihood at least” in showbiz received a divided response. While some referred to her comment as “the bitter truth”, others found it derogatory. She later retracted her statement and apologised.
At an event in Sangli, Khan said, “This [casting couch] has been happening since the beginning of time. It hasn’t started now. Someone or the other tries to take advantage of every other girl. Then why are you after the film industry? It [film industry] provides livelihood at least. [It] does not rape [a girl] and leave her. It depends on the girl, what she wants to do. If you don’t want to fall in the wrong hands, you won’t. If you have art [here, skill], why would you sell yourself? Don’t take the film industry’s name.”
Twitterati treated her comment as a clear sign that the casting couch exists in the Indian film industry, which has largely remained mum in naming and shaming offenders despite speaking up in favour of the global #MeToo movement. Khan, however, apologised for making the remark. “You don’t know what the question is, you only know my answer. So it is sounding wrong. But anyhow, I am sorry. I apologise,” she told IANS.
Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury supported Khan’s view and said that the Parliament too is not immune to the casting couch.