New Delhi Cinemas Shuttered Amid Covid Surge; India’s Multiplex Association Urges Rethink

NEW DELHI -- Birju Maharaj, a legend of classical Indian dance and among the country’s most well-known performing artists, died Monday. He was 83.Maharaj was suffering from a kidney ailment and was undergoing dialysis and likely died of a cardiac arrest, his granddaughter Ragini Maharaj told the Press Trust of India news agency.Known as Maharaj-ji by his many fans, he was considered an icon of the kathak form of Indian classical dance and was a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award.He was born into a family of renowned kathak dancers and trained under his uncles and father, Acchan Maharaj, before giving his first performance at the age of 7.Kathak uses dance and facial expressions to help tell a story, with many dance pieces inspired by ancient Indian epics.Maharaj was known for his animated facial expressions and light-footed movements, accompanied by the sound of bells he wore around his ankles.

UPDATED, 4:15 PM: The American Film Institute has set a date for its AFI Awards Luncheon, which had been postponed during Christmas Week as the Omicron variant began surging. The reception now is set for Friday, March 11, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. The event originally was set for January 7.

Not a replacement! While fans were disappointed to learn that Kim Cattrall would not reprise her role as Samantha Jones on HBO Max’s And Just Like That, the creative team brought in a new slate of characters to complete the Manhattan-based trio’s friendship circle. However, according to Nicole Ari Parker, they are not replacing Carrie Bradshaw’s former bestie.

EFP Shooting Stars Celebrates 25th Anniversary

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s nomination as U.S. Ambassador to India cleared the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.

A new mutation of Covid-19 is reported to have been discovered in Cyprus, and has been entitled the Deltacron variant.

This year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has unveiled the 14 films selected for its flagship Tiger Competition. Scroll down for the full list.

While the red carpet premiere for the fifth film in the Scream franchise was scheduled to take place next Tuesday, January 11, it has been canceled due to Covid safety concerns, Deadline has confirmed.

"Immediate action" from the Scottish Government is required to avoid "significant disruption" to schools amid the rapid rise in Covid-19 cases, teachers' leaders have warned.

health minister said Wednesday that music will be banned at all commercial venues for New Year’s celebrations as part of new restrictions announced in response to a surge in COVID-19 infections fueled by the omicron variant.The restrictions, originally planned to take effect on Jan.

There will be no browsing for now at Apple’s New York City stores amid a surge in Covid-19 cases. Some one dozen locations in the city, including Fifth Avenue, SoHo, Grand Central and World Trade Center, will be temporarily closed to shoppers amid the rise in cases.

Naman Ramachandran “Aranyak,” the Indian noir series that began streaming Dec. 10, has emerged as a global hit for Netflix.

Naman Ramachandran Akshay Kumar is India’s busiest actor, working through the pandemic and delivering hits across platforms. Over the years he has proved to be Bollywood’s banker with rarely a misstep at the box office.During the pandemic era, his horror-comedy “Laxmii” debuted directly on streamer Disney Plus Hotstar and racked up big numbers for the service.

Harry Styles’ Pre-Orange Bowl Concert has been cancelled due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.The Capital One Beach Bash was set to take place at Lummus Park in South Beach, Florida on December 30 and serve as the pre-show entertainment for the College Football Playoff Semifinal Game between the Georgia Bulldogs and Michigan Wolverines. Khalid was also due to play.Tickets would have been free, but punters were required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test to gain entry.

The producers of Broadway’s “Jagged Little Pill” said Monday that they decided to shut down the musical amid the latest COVID-19 surge.

Andy Cohen has tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorBAFTA Los Angeles’ annual awards season tea party, set for Jan. 8, has been canceled.In a letter to studio executives, BAFTA wrote, “In an abundance of caution, we have taken the difficult decision to halt our plans to host the BAFTA Tea Party on January 8 in Los Angeles.

Naman Ramachandran Amazon Prime Video India has signed a multi-year deal with New Zealand Cricket to exclusively stream in India all men’s and women’s cricket matches played in New Zealand across the one day international, twenty-20 and test formats. First up will be a test series between New Zealand and Bangladesh, beginning Jan.