The Bill's June Ackland actress Trudie Goodwin now – from travelling dreams to famous daughter

Naman Ramachandran Disney+ Hotstar India’s Syria-set thriller series “The Freelancer” is in the works. Based on the bestselling 2017 book “A Ticket to Syria” by Shirish Thorat, the series is from showrunner Neeraj Pandey (Disney+ Hotstar’s Special Ops franchise), produced by Friday Storytellers and directed by Bhav Dhulia (Netflix’s “Khakee: The Bihar Chapter”). Pandey said: “’The Freelancer’ is a high-scale thriller series that unfolds an extraordinary rescue operation of a young girl held against her will in a war-torn Syria.

Marta Balaga Producer Marianne Slot will continue her successful collaboration with Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson, following 2018 “Woman at War” with TV show “The Danish Woman” and upcoming feature film “Normal Men.” “It’s a comedy, as you can imagine. Benedikt Erlingsson and a feminist producer – that’s a good combination,” she laughs, recalling their previous film about an environmental activist going rogue. “’Woman at War’ was so joyful to make.

Naman Ramachandran Stewart Copeland, founder and drummer of The Police, is teaming with Indian musician Ricky Kej on “Police – Beyond Borders” where the legendary rock band’s classic songs are recreated in global languages. The songs include “Every Breath You Take,” “Roxanne” and “Message in a Bottle.” Reinterpretations are in the Kannada, Zulu, Mandarin, Armenian, Pashto, Urdu and Hindi languages, among others. The album follows Copeland’s “Police Deranged for Orchestra” BMG album, released in June, where the band’s hit tracks, arranged for full orchestra, are revisited.

Sophia Sun Intern Comedian Zarna Garg has launched a podcast on the heels of her Amazon Prime Video special “One in a Billion.” Garg was recently highlighted as one of Variety‘s 10 Comics to Watch for 2023. “The Zarna Garg Show,” which bowed Aug. 1 across major podcast platforms and YouTube, features conversations with her multi-generational Indian American family on what she describes as “bringing taboo topics out in the open.” The first installment features Garg, her husband, Shalabh, and their three children: Zoya, 20, Brij, 17, and Veer, 11.

Marta Balaga Raven Banner Entertainment continues to rack up sales for Richard V. Somes’ action spectacle “Topakk.” “Topakk”(“Trigger”) has been sold to Aud (South Korea), Superfine Films (India), Kinologistika (CIS and the Baltics) and Lighthouse (German-speaking Europe). It’s not the end of good news, as the film – debuting its trailer and produced by Fusee, with Strawdogs Studio Production and Nathan Studios co-producing – is also set to bow at Locarno next week.

The world’s most valuable tech company saw sales and profit for the three months ended in June beat on the top and bottom line although revenue was still sluggish, down 1% at $81.8 billion. Earnings of $1.26 per share beat the $1.19 anticipated.

A Scots adventurer is half-way through a rapid world tour, visiting four of the globe's seven continents in just 16 days. Alex Hempton, from Edinburgh, and four pals planned the trip of a lifetime for £1,150 each - just £71 per day.

Naman Ramachandran Season 2 of WWII drama “World on Fire” has proved to be another success for popular South Asian-Canadian actor Ahad Raza Mir. Created by Peter Bowker, Season 1 of the PBC Masterpiece production premiered on the BBC in 2019 and dealt with the war in Western Europe. In Season 2, the action shifts to the North African theater of war and one of the protagonists is Lieutenant Rajib Pal of the British Indian Army, played by Mir.

If there’s one item that everyone’s wardrobe should contain, it's the satin slip dress. It’s universally flattering, versatile, and can be worn through every season, making it one of the hardest working pieces you’ll ever buy, so it’s no wonder that searches for them have risen by 30% in the last year.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Starring “Bones and All’s” Taylor Russell, Ewan McGregor and Ellen Burstyn, “Mother, Couch!” the feature debut of Sweden’s Niclas Larsson, features in a currently 11-title lineup of San Sebastian’s 2023 New Directors section, the most important sidebar at the highest-profile movie event in the Spanish-speaking world. Of just announced titles, also in the mix is “The Other Son,” Juan Sebastian Quebrada’s anticipated coming-of-age drama picked up by Film Factory. “Carefree Days,” the second feature from Chinese actor-director-screenwriter Liang Ming (“Wisdom Tooth”), will open New Directors.

Since launching on Netflix on July 15, Indian crime drama Kohrra has shot to the top of the streamer’s Indian rankings and had critics, audiences and industry figures including Karan Johar raving about the show.

Residents can expect a jam-packed fun day of immersive activities across the city as Manchester Day on Holiday 2023 will be taking over all areas of the city centre.

Naman Ramachandran A sex scene in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” featuring a line from Hindu holy scripture “Bhagavad Gita” has led to protests even as the film rakes it in at the box office. The film was passed with a U/A certificate by India’s Central Board of Film Certification. SPOILER ALERT: The sex scene features Cillian Murphy as Robert Oppenheimer and Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock. Pugh stops during intercourse, gets up and goes over to the bookshelf, picks out a copy of the “Bhagavad Gita” and asks Murphy to read from it. Murphy reads the line “I am become Death, destroyer of worlds,” the quote from the “Bhagavad Gita” that Oppenheimer famously thought of when the first nuclear bomb was detonated.

As the home of the Curry Mile, Manchester has long been known for its wide choice of Indian and South Asian restaurants. While the not-quite-a-mile strip of restaurants on Rusholme’s Wilmslow Road now tends towards more Middle Eastern cuisine, there are still plenty of gems to be found there like Mughli and Sanam - the oldest on the whole stretch.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Amid deep concerns about the risks posed by artificial intelligence, the Biden administration has lined up commitments from seven tech companies — including OpenAI, Google and Meta — to abide by safety, security and trust principles in developing AI. Reps from seven “leading AI companies” — Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI — are scheduled to attend an event Friday at the White House to announce that the Biden-Harris administration has secured voluntary commitments from the companies to “help move toward safe, secure, and transparent development of AI technology,” according to the White House.

Chris Hemsworth is protective of his children.

Korean content accounted for 50% of SVOD viewership and 42% of freemium viewership across Asia in the first half of 2023, according to a report released by Media Partners Asia (MPA). 

Naman Ramachandran “The Lady of Heaven,” “The Batman,” and “The Kashmir Files” were the most complained about films in the U.K. in 2022, the British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) annual report reveals. “The Lady of Heaven,” which the BBFC describes as “a drama concerning the life of Fatima, a daughter of the prophet Muhammad,” topped the list with 1,573 complaints “from people who felt that the film was blasphemous and historically inaccurate.” The film was pulled from some U.K. cinemas upon release due to these concerns. “Sometimes, we also receive complaints which do not relate directly to BBFC classifications, but instead reflect people’s wider objections to a certain film,” the BBFC said in its annual report. “Filmmakers are free to explore historical or controversial themes and events within their films. Our role is to ensure that we classify the content appropriately based on our guidelines, in order to protect children and other vulnerable groups from potential harm and to empower consumers to make informed viewing decisions.”

Indian singer Harrdy Sandhu prophesizes that Punjabi music will take over the world (if it hasn’t already).

Elsa Pataky! The Spanish actress is celebrating her 47th birthday. Over the past few weeks, Pataky, her husband Chris Hemsworth, and their kids, India, Tristan, and Sasha, have been enjoying themselves in Spain, sharing pictures of themselves enjoying the beach and eachother’s company.