Hollywood

Poster of the film, “Sri Jagannatha Daasaru.” The Kannada film will be shown in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Indian Americans and other viewers will be able to watch the premiere. (photo provided) India-West Staff Reporter After nearly 50 years, a

Comedian Vir Das said his “I Come from Two Indias” act was not intended to insult the country. Indian Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Kapil Sibal have come to the comedian’s defense after his video came under attack. (IANS photo) NEW

Filmmaker Saurav Vishnu has paired up with “Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon for “Tailing Pond.” (photo via IANS) NEW YORK — New York City-based telecommunications executive-turned-filmmaker Saurav Vishnu’s award-winning short, “Tailing Pond,” which exposes the horrific effects of uranium

In a scene from Indian American director/writer Geeta Malik’s film, “India Sweets and Spices,” Sophia Ali (c), who stars as Alia, has the attention of both Rish Shah, who plays Varun (l), and Ved Sapru, who portrays the role of

The legendary Sean Connery. (photo via IANS) CHENNAI — The 52nd International Film Festival of India will pay special tribute to Hollywood legend Sean Connery, the first actor to portray iconic British spy James Bond, by screening five of his most

Kashmiri singer and musician Qaisar Nizami. (photo via IANS/Facebook) By SHEIKH QAYOOM SRINAGAR (IANS) – Noted Kashmiri singer and musician Qaisar Nizami has been nominated for a prestigious Grammy award for his collaborative song “Nazninay” (‘O Beauty’), which forms a part of

Kriti Sanon in Ganapath. (Universal Communications photo) By R.M. VIJAYAKAR/Special to India-West MUMBAI — Pooja Entertainment and Kriti Sanon took to Instagram to share a sneak peak of Kriti’s intriguing character ‘Jassi’ in the dystopian thriller “Ganapath.” The actor is set to channel

Indian American filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan attends the “Old” New York premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center July 19, 2021 in New York City. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images) India-West Staff Reporter Warning! More spooky stuff ahead! Apple TV+ has unveiled a teaser trailer

File photo of Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen who stars in “Aarya.” (Sunil Saxena/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) By VINEETA DEEPAK/Associated Press NEW DELHI — Bollywood director and ad maker Ram Madhvani’s internet series “Aarya” has already received plenty of love from viewers,

Indian American musician Sapra’s new music video is titled, “She is the Best.” (photo provided) India-West Staff Reporter Words matter and a simple greeting to Indian American music artist Sapra was the inspiration for his newest music video, “She is the Best,”

Freida Pinto attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Indian American editor Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 9, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California. (John Shearer/Getty Images) India-West Staff Reporter Netflix has acquired the

(L-R) Aijaz Nanjiani, Pakistani American actor Kumail Nanjiani and Shabana Nanjiani attend Marvel Studios “Eternals” One Open special screening at the AMC Empire 25 Theater in New York, New York, on Nov. 1, 2021. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Disney) By MARK

File photo of Deepa Mehta posing at the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards Broadcast Gala held at Sony Center for the Performing Arts on March 31, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Isaiah Trickey/FilmMagic via Getty Images) LOS ANGELES – Noted Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa

Wonder Woman and Superman are seen in a still from DC Comics’ new film, “Injustice.” (YouTube screenshot) India-West Staff Reporter DC Comics fans in India are upset with the comic book publisher for portraying Kashmir as a “disputed territory” in its new

Kumail Nanjiani stars in Marvel comics’ “Eternals.” (photo via IANS) LOS ANGELES — Pakistan-origin actor-comedian Kumail Nanjiani, who plays a Hindi film star and a superhero named Kingo in Marvel's upcoming movie 'Eternals,’ says the hardest part in the movie for

Indian American actors Kal Penn, Melanie Chandra (c) and Surina Jindal star in “Hot Mess Holiday,” which will premiere on Comedy Central Dec. 11. (Maarten de Boer photo; photos provided) India-West Staff Reporter On Dec. 11, “Hot Mess Holiday,” an irresistibly fresh

Young Indian American entrepreneurs Shubham Issar and Amanat Anand are the inventors of SoaPen, which makes hand washing for kids fun. (YouTube screenshot) By REENA RATHORE/India-West Staff Reporter Deal or no deal? Indian American entrepreneur Nirav Tolia, who guest stars on Season

Actress Divya Datta and director Faraz Arif Ansari accept the awards for ‘Best of Fest’ actress and director at the seventh annual DFW South Asian Film Festival, presented by Indian American-founded JINGO Ventures. (Priya Flashbrush Productions photo) India-West Staff Reporter The seventh

Freida Pinto secretly eloped with her fiance Cory Tran on an undisclosed date at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The actress is seen here attending the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at the Wallis Annenberg

File photo of Bela Bajaria. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for March of Dimes) India-West Staff Reporter Indian American media executive (and Miss India Worldwide 1991) Bela Bajaria, who oversees Netflix's global portfolio of original and vernacular content, joins South Korean actor Lee

File photo of actor Kal Penn attending the Build Series to discuss "Mira, Royal Detective" at Build Studio on March 11, 2020 in New York City. (Jim Spellman/Getty Images) India-West Staff Reporter “I discovered my own sexuality relatively late in life compared

Sree Ranga Aravapalli. (LinkedIn photo via IANS) NEW YORK – The Indian American CEO of a pharmaceutical company has been killed in a robbery attempt allegedly by a man who followed him home from a casino after seeing him win nearly

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, at Piazza Gandhi in Rome on Oct. 29. (ANI photo) NEW DELHI/ROME – On the first day of his visit to Rome ahead of the G20 Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met

People visiting the Umang and Paragi Patel Center in Lombard, Illinois, Oct. 15, where the National Indo-American Museum was inaugurated. (photo provided) India-West Staff Reporter The National Indo-American Museum, which builds bridges across generations and connects cultures through the diverse colorful stories

Ravi K. Amaravadi, Indian American associate professor of hematology-oncology in the Perelman School of Medicine, is co-leader of the Cancer Therapeutics Program. (pennmedicine.org photo) India-West Staff Reporter Indian American-led research from Penn Medicine and The Wistar Institute has been awarded a prestigious

Newly sworn in Minister of National Defense Anita Anand speaks during a press conference in Ottawa, Canada on Oct. 26, 2021. (Lars Hagberg/AFP via Getty Images) TORONTO — Canada's first Hindu Cabinet minister Anita Anand made history Oct. 26 by becoming

File photo of Dr. Rahul Gupta (right) with Brittany Combs, director of Public Health Nursing in Scott County, Indiana, participating in a panel discussion at the Hart Senate Building on June 14, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images) From News

File photo of an eleventh century statue of Shiva as Nataraja is pictured at the Royal Academy of Arts in central London, Nov. 7, 2006. U.S. authorities returned about 250 antiquities to India Oct. 28 in a long-running investigation of

The Bombay High Court granted bail to Aryan Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case, in Mumbai on Oct. 28, 2021. (ANI file photo) Associated Press NEW DELHI — An Indian court on Oct. 28 granted bail to Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan’s son

Aditya Singh, who came to the U.S. from India nearly six years ago to get a master’s degree, was living in Orange, California. (Chicago Police Department photo) Associated Press CHICAGO — An Indian man who spent three months living in a secured

“There is no better symbol of the triumph of resiliency than the World Trade Center,” said Rahul Walia, Indian American founding trustee of the South Asian Engagement Foundation, organizers of the upcoming event. (image provided/allamericandiwali.org) India-West Staff Reporter The South Asian Engagement

Indian American filmmaker Ajay Sahgal. (Ajay Sahgal/Twitter photo) India-West Staff Reporter Indian American writer-director Ajay Sahgal will be exploring some complicated relationships in his new TV show. ABC, Deadline reported, has given a pilot order to “The Son In Law,” a single-camera comedy

File photo of former Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal at his residence, on Oct. 7, 2021 in Bathinda, India. (Sanjeev Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) CHANDIGARH, Punjab – Former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Oct. 26 asked Prime Minister

The Hindu Women’s Network Oct. 23 announced the launching of a new chapter in Chicago, Illinois, which featured a panel of three successful Indian American women. (photo provided) India-West Staff Reporter The Hindu Women’s Network Oct. 23 announced the launching of a

Rhiju Das, an Indian American researcher at Stanford, was named among the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. (hhmi.org photo) India-West Staff Reporter The Howard Hughes Medical Institute recently announced its 2021 cohort of HHMI Investigators, with Rhiju Das of Stanford University making

Dr. Nimisha Barton, a visiting scholar at UC Irvine. (drnimishabarton.com photo) India-West Staff Reporter The American Historical Association Oct. 18 announced its prize winners with one Indian American and one person of Indian origin named among the honorees: Nimisha Barton and Mahesh

Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma will perform at several US venues next year. (photo via IANS) MUMBAI — Iconic music director duo of Laxmikant-Pyarelal has enthralled music lovers for decades, be it films or their live performances. While Laxmikant passed away way back

Judge Sarala Nagala. (LinkedIn photo via shethepeople.tv) India-West Staff Reporter The U.S. Senate was set to confirm Indian American Judge Sarala Vidya Nagala to the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut with a vote Oct. 27. "NAPABA congratulates Sarala Nagala on

File photo of the India Palace restaurant in Santa Fe, New Mexico, when vandals broke in, destroyed, and spewed racist and political remarks all over the popular restaurant last year. (photo courtesy of Cole Rehbein/Santa Fe Reporter) India-West Staff Reporter The Albuquerque,

Anjali Riyot, a travel blogger from San Jose, California, was vacationing in Mexico. (Twitter photo/@thestylelagoon) Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — An Indian American woman from San Jose, California, was one of two foreign tourists killed in the apparent crossfire of a

Indian American Sewa International volunteer Madan Luthra was recently honored with the 2021 Volunteer of the Year award by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. (photo provided) India-West Staff Reporter Sewa International Oct. 16 announced that Sewa Indian American volunteer Dr. Madan Luthra, from

Indo Australian actress Geraldine Viswanathan and Indian American actor Karan Soni star in “7 Days,” a film by Roshan Sethi that will open the 19th annual San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival: Bollywood and Beyond. (festival.thirdi.org photo) REENA RATHORE/India-West Staff

Still from “Koozhangal.” (Twitter photo/Rowdy Pictures) NEW DELHI – Actor Vicky Kaushal congratulated producers of the Tamil film “Koozhangal,” Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan, as their movie became India's official entry to the Oscars 2022. Taking to his Instagram handle, Kaushal wrote, "Congratulations

The Ramesh and Kalpana Bhatia Family Foundation, founded in 2006, is a private family foundation established by Indian Americans Ramesh and Kalpana Bhatia. (rkbhatiafoundation.org photo) India-West Staff Reporter REDONDO BEACH, Calif. – The Ramesh and Kalpana Bhatia Family Foundation Oct. 13 announced

File photo of former United States Ambassador to India Richard Verma during a media briefing hosted at the U.S. Embassy, on Nov. 9, 2016 in New Delhi, India. The Indian American former envoy currently serves as general counsel and head

L-r: Dr. Divyendu Singh, Dr. Kusum Vyas, Mayor Cecil Willis, Councilman Ken Mathew, Nicola Browe, Acting City Secretary; and youth representative Anjali Agrawal, receiving the proclamation by the city of Stafford, Texas. (Bijay Dixit photo provided) India-West Staff Reporter Several states and

The poster for the controversial “Juda Huay Kuch is Tarah.” (Publicity photo) NEW DELHI — The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority has directed Pakistani TV channels to stop airing what it calls indecency and intimacy in dramas, Samaa TV reported. A notification

“Sherni” is in the running for India’s entry to the Oscars. (photo via IANS) MUMBAI — The process of selecting India's official entry for the Academy Awards is in full swing at the Bijoli cinema in Kolkata. Leading the shortlist are

Sri Lankan American astronomer Ray Jayawardhana is the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of astronomy at Cornell University. (news.cornell.edu photo) India-West Staff Reporter Sri Lankan American astronomer Ray Jayawardhana shared his insights in the

Indian American Nikil Viswanathan is co-founder and CEO of Alchemy, which helps companies successfully use blockchain technology. Alchemy was selected by Forbes as one of 25 venture-backed companies which will likely become a unicorn. (Alchemy.com photo) India-West Staff Reporter Two Indian American-led