Vijayakanth back to home from hospital

Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam president Vijayakanth on Sunday returned home from a private hospital in the city, where he was admitted to 10 days ago.

He admitted to the private hospital in Chennai during the last week of March.

A statement released by party stated that he has been admitted to undertake a general medical check-up and it is Vijayakanth's routine to go for one every year.

The DMDK had requested party cadre and functionaries to not visit the hospital. It advised supporters and party members to not be afraid and clarified that there is no reason for concern.

The DMDK chief has not been too visible in the current political turmoil that Tamil Nadu is witnessing. The party itself faced a huge electoral defeat in 2016. The party had contested in 104 seats in the 15th Assembly election but failed to win even one.

As the RK nagar by election is round the corner, the sudden hospitalisation of Vijayakanth sent shock waves across Tamil Nadu.

Vishal wins TFPC polls, vows to eliminate piracy

Vishal penned history once again by emerging victorious as the new President of the Tamil Film Producers Council in the elections conducted on Sunday.

Already the general secretary of Nadigar Sangam, he has won the election for the top post of the TFPC President by polling more votes than the other contestants Keyaar and Radhakrishnan.

Vishal, who produces films under his banner Vishal Film Factory, won by a margin of 154 votes in the elections contesting against producers S. Radhakrishnan, who runs Maruthi Films, and Kothanda Ramaiah, who heads K.R. Infotainment.

From Vishal’s faction, Prakashraaj and Gautham Vasudev Menon were elected vice-presidents of the council and S.R. Prabhu, who heads Dream Warrior Pictures, was elected treasurer.

Speaking to reporters after his victory, Vishal said, "The faith that you have reposed will not go in vain... Historic things will happen... No one can stop the change and our work will be a golden era for the Producers' council."

"First, we will try to do something for farmers and then move on to fulfill the representations of producers," he said, and added to put an end to piracy menace.

G V Prakash is Kuppathu Raja

Music director turned actor GV Prakash has signed a new film titled Kuppathu Raja. The film will be directed by choreographer Baba Bhaskar.

The pooja of the film happened recently in Chennai. Touted to be a romantic entertainer, Kuppathu Raja has two heroines—Palak Lalwani and Poonam Bajwa.

GV Prakash himself will be composing the music for the film and soon, the team will be confirming the rest of the cast and crew.

In the meantime, the composer also has in his kitty Ayngaran, Naachiar, Adangathey and Sarvam Thaala Mayam.

It is also said that Prakash is also in talks with director Vetri Maaran for a yet-untitled realistic thriller.

While Naachiar is directed by Bala, Sarvam Thaala Mayam is helmed by Rajiv Menon and it has musical score by A R Rahman.

IndiGo takes its FitToFly programme to Chennai; Inaugurates gym for police personnel

IndiGo- India’s largest and fastest growing carrier has launched a fully equipped gym for the Police officials in Chennai today. With an endeavour to infuse IndiGo fitness belief and inspire the police personnel to adopt a more physically active lifestyle, this gym has been set up within the office premise of the local police station in Chennai.

Expressing their excitement, Shri PSC Kalyan, IPS, Deputy Commissioner of Police said, “Fitness is indeed crucial for the police force. On behalf of Chennai police, I would like to thank IndiGo leadership for bringing this idea into reality. I am confident that this facility will help our force pursue their fitness goals and adopt a more physically active lifestyle.”

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Aditya Ghosh, President and Whole-time Director, IndiGo said, “We are absolutely delighted to see our FitToFly programme being extended through a collaborative effort. We recently have inaugurated gyms for Jaipur, Dimapur and Gurugram police personnel, and it was encouraging to see the support we received from the commissioner of police from all markets, respectively. At IndiGo, we feel for our police force who work day and night to provide us the security we need. Setting up gyms for them is an important move to encourage them to start making choices to live a healthier life by choosing to be holistically fit.”

Mr. Ghosh further added, “For us at IndiGo, being healthy is not just about physical fitness, but it’s also about creating fitness into everything we do – be it our operations, customer relations or financial stability of the firm. We believe it starts with being fit as individuals. With the launch of this gym in Chennai, we hope to stimulate a healthy lifestyle amongst our police personnel and take this FitToFly initiative to a newer level.”

The FitToFly gyms will be fully equipped with multi-purpose machines, cross trainer, treadmill, bench press and other facilities. As part of this multi-city campaign to promote fitness and healthy lifestyle - IndiGo launched its first gym at Jaipur international airport, in February this year.

India’s embassy launching yoga courses in egypt

Embassy of India is launching eight-week long yoga courses for beginners and intermediate learners in Cairo from April two.

To be conducted at Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC) of the Cultural Wing of the Embassy of India-Cairo in Zamalek area of Cairo, these classes will not convene on Indian holidays. Opened in 1992, MACIC popularizes Indian culture. Its past events included Kathakali dances in last August.

Yoga is reportedly becoming popular in Egypt and reports suggest that there are about 40 yoga studios/schools/facilities in Cairo area; with names like Shanti Yoga, Mudra Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, YogaKhana, etc.; and Yoga Vidya in Giza area.

Welcoming the reported interest in yoga in Egypt, distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, urged other neighboring countries also to explore the multi-beneficial yoga.

Yoga, referred as “a living fossil”, was a mental and physical discipline, for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization, Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, noted.

Rajan Zed further said that yoga, although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all. According to Patanjali who codified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.

According to US National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. According to “2016 Yoga in America Study”, about 37 million Americans (which included many celebrities) now practice yoga; and yoga is strongly correlated with having a positive self image. Yoga was the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche, Zed added.

Currently Embassy of India is presenting till April 27 a “Festival of India in Egypt” with the title “India by the Nile 2017” in Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Port Said and Ismailia; which includes tales of Hindu gods-goddesses-demons through dance, a session including “spiritual discipline of Yoga”, Sufi music, Bollywood Dance Workshop, Kuchipudi and Kathak dances, etc. “The programme is rich and eclectic with a wide canvas spanning…empowerment of women…”, an announcement says. Sanjay Bhattacharyya is Ambassador of India to Egypt.

Jio extends timeline upto 15th april for 1st recharge

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. (“Jio”) announced today that in just one month, over 72 million (and still counting!) Jio customers have signed up for JIO PRIME, making it one of the most successful customer privilege programmes anywhere in the world.

This is the largest migration from free to paid services in history in such a short period of time. Considering the unprecedented demand for enrolling to JIO PRIME and doing the first recharge, Jio has extended the deadline for purchasing Jio’s Rs 303 (and other) plans till 15th April. This extension will provide the necessary breathing room for users to avoid service disruption during the transition from free to paid services.

Customers who could not enrol for JIO PRIME by 31st March for whatever reason can still do so by paying Rs 99 along with their first purchase of Jio’s Rs 303 and other plans till 15th April.

Jio also announced the Jio Summer Surprise for its JIO PRIME members. Every JIO PRIME member, when they make their first paid recharge prior to 15th April using Jio’s Rs 303 plan (or any higher value plan), will get services for the initial 3 months on a complimentary basis. The paid tariff plan will be applied only in July, after the expiry of the complimentary service. The Jio Summer Surprise is the first of many surprises for JIO PRIME members.

Mobile Number Portability (MNP), which allows customers to retain their existing mobile number when they switch to Jio, is available across the country for all customers. Lakhs of customers have already used this facility. For International travellers, Jio’s International roaming service is available across the world, with the best voice and data rates in the industry.

Enclosed is a letter that the Chairman, Shri Mukesh D. Ambani, has written to welcome and thank the Jio customers.

'Pooja Entertainment and Films Ltd' marks his proud entry into South Indian Film Industry

One of the pioneer production houses in India is 'Pooja Entertainment and Films Ltd.', founded by Vashu Bhagnani. The renowned production house is now stepping into Tamil film industry through the Nayanthara starrer - Kolaiyudhir Kaalam which is directed by 'Unnai Pol Oruvan' and 'Billa 2' fame Chakri Toleti.

'Pooja Entertainment and Films Ltd.' entered into Production industry in the year 1995 through 'Coolie No 1' and Kolaiyudhir Kaalam is the 31st film for them.

"My love on cinema began only through the Tamil film 'Chinna Mapillai' and it made me to remake that movie in Hindi. Then I gone for a remake of Sadhi Leelavathi. KOLAIYUDHIR KAALAM is my first production in Tamil and we are very happy and proud to join hands with Nayanthara in our first Tamil production venture itself.

She is such a beautiful and wonderful actress and introducing her to Hindi Film Industry is my biggest dream. Kolaiyudhir Kaalam is getting ready in Hindi too in which Tamannah and Prabhudeva plays the lead.

We are happy to join hands with 'Abishek Films' for doing Production and Distribution in South Indian Film Industry" says Vashu Bhagnani of 'Pooja Entertainment and Films Ltd. in an enthusiastic tone.