Indian actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter Aaradhya have been taken to hospital after testing positive for Covid-19 earlier this week.
Aishwarya Rai, a former Miss World and one of Bollywood’s most famous faces, is being treated at Mumbai’s Nanavati Hospital, ANI agency reports.
Aishwarya’s husband Abhishek and father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan, both also famous actors, have been in hospital since July 18 with the virus.
On July 12, 77-year-old Amitabh Bachchan – a Bollywood superstar who has achieved global fame during his long and illustrious career so far – tweeted that he had tested positive for the virus.
Another series of tweets from Abhishek Bachchan, also a famous actor, confirmed that he, his 46-year-old wife Aishwarya and 8-year-old daughter Aaradhya had also tested positive.
Jaya Bachchan, also a famous actress and Amitabh Bachchan’s wife, tested negative.
Until now Aishwarya Rai and Aaradhya have been isolating at home.
News that the family, often described as Bollywood royalty, had been affected by the coronavirus sent shockwaves across India. This week, thousands of fans have held prayers for the family’s recovery.
On July 17, India recorded a record 35,000 new cases of coronavirus cases in 24 hours, surpassing the one million mark.
India now has the third-highest number of cases in the world, after the US and Brazil. The current death toll is 25,602.
The western state of Maharashtra, where Mumbai is located, is still the biggest hotspot with the highest case count – more than 280,000 – of all the states.
Indian filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh has died from a heart attack at the age of 49 in the city of Calcutta.
Award-winning director Rituparno Ghosh was suffering from pancreatitis for the last couple of weeks and died on Thursday morning.
Debuting with his 1994 film Heerer Angti (The diamond ring), Rituparno Ghosh made many critically acclaimed films like Unishe April (19 April), Chokher Bali (Sand in the eye) and Abohoman (The eternal).
He won several national and international awards for his work.
Rituparno Ghosh was well known for his realistic depictions of interpersonal relationships and urban-educated middle class angst.
The filmmaker worked with several big stars of Bengali cinema and Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai.
Indian filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh has died from a heart attack at the age of 49 in the city of Calcutta
Rituparno Ghosh also acted in some of his films, including in Aar Ekti Premer Golpo (Just another love story) and Chitrangada.
His 2003 film Chokher Bali was awarded the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival and his last film, Chitrangada, won a special jury award in the 2012 national film awards.
Two days ago, Rituparno Ghosh wrote on Twitter that he had finished shooting his latest film Satyaneshi – based on the legendary Bengali detective fictional character, Byomkesh Bakshi.
As news of his death spread, several actors and actresses arrived at his home to pay their respects.
“I cannot believe that Rituparno is no more. It is very difficult to accept this news. We lost a very promising film director at a very early age,” the Press Trust of India quoted veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee as saying.
Many Indian film personalities and fans took to Twitter to express their grief.
“Shocked by passing of Rituparno Ghosh. He was dreaming of getting into what he called his <<next phase>>. Hugely creative explorer on film,” tweeted director Shekhar Kapur.
“Rituparno Ghosh had great sense of humor. He had a brilliant understanding of human behavior. Will miss him and his cinema. RIP my Friend,” wrote Bollywood actor Anupam Kher.
Noted film critic Rajeev Masand tweeted: “Deeply saddened by passing of Rituparno Ghosh. He understood the human condition with all its complexities and conveyed them with such sensitivity.”
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan proves why she was once called “the most beautiful woman in the world” in new images for a jewellery advertising campaign.
The Bollywood star looks radiant and slim with glowing skin as she poses in traditional Indian wedding dress in one picture and wrapped in gold fabric in another for the pictures for Kalyan jewellers.
The former Miss World, who is married to Abhishek Bachchan, the son of one of India’s best-loved stars, gave birth to her daughter, Aaradhya, in November last year. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was then lambasted for not snapping immediately back into shape.
And now Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has appeared in these pictures looking slim, critics have suggested she only looks so good because she has been photoshopped.
Bollywoodlife.com said: “We can’t figure out if she’s really lost weight or if the pictures are heavily photoshopped. The ad has been shot aesthetically, which gives an impression that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is floating in golden-hued water.”
They added: “The actress was last spotted with baby Aaradhya in June this year, and it’s quite surprising that she has got back to her lean self within a matter of two months, or as we said before – the images might be a result of heavy editing.”
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan looks radiant and slim with glowing skin as she poses in traditional Indian wedding dress for Kalyan jewellers
But cameraman Kiran Deohans who shot the latest advertising campaign posters defended the star and praised her work ethic and beauty.
Kiran Deohans said: “Coming back post-delivery after months and shooting for this commercial, Aishwarya is still the same. She is a true professional and has the same passion for work.
“As the director of photography, I felt she is the most beautiful woman I ever worked with. She always had that sparkling glow on her face earlier and even after pregnancy.”
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who found international fame in the Hollywood film Bride and Prejudice has always remained cool-headed about the criticism of her weight and made no secret of the fact she was in no hurry to lose the few extra pounds she gained during her pregnancy.
She has said that she simply wants to “enjoy motherhood”.
The criticism started after a photograph in May captured her with a double chin, prompting cruel comments from those who suggested it was her “duty” to her fans to regain her pre-pregnancy figure.
“She is a Bollywood actress and it is her duty to look good and fit,” one said.
Another added: “She needs to learn from people like Victoria Beckham who are back to size zero weeks after their delivery.”
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan may have been criticized in her native India for not losing her baby weight fast enough, but she looked nothing short of dazzling at the AmfAR Cinema Against AIDS gala in Cannes last night.
The Bollywood actress, 38, lived up to her title of “the world’s most beautiful woman” in a gold embroidered sari and coordinating tailored jacket with Mandarin collar.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s hair was piled high on her head and adorned with a slender gold band, while her make-up was understated save the dark eyeliner around her eyes.
The former Miss World, who is married to Abhishek Bachchan, the son of one of India’s best-loved stars, gave birth to her first child, a daughter, in November last year.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan found international fame in the Hollywood film Bride and Prejudice, and Julia Roberts billed her as the world’s most beautiful woman.
An unfortunate recent photograph that captured Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with a double chin, sparked a flurry of cruel criticism, with some suggesting that she has a “duty” to her fans to regain her pre-pregnancy figure.
One website posted a video of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan looking less than her usual svelte self, flicking between photographs of her pre-birth, and photos now.
Called “Aishwarya Rai’s shocking weight gain”, the clip, which came accompanied by elephant sound effects, has been seen more than 500,000 times.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan lived up to her title of “the world’s most beautiful woman” at the AmfAR Cinema Against AIDS gala in Cannes last night
Dozens more videos in a similar vein have been posted, each with viewing figures in the tens or hundreds of thousands.
Comments left after the video prove that many of those watching have little sympathy for the star.
“She is a Bollywood actress and it is her duty to look good and fit,” one said.
Another added: “She needs to learn from people like Victoria Beckham who are back to size zero weeks after their delivery.”
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has commendably remained cool-headed about the criticism, and has been open about the fact that she is in no hurry to lose the few extra pounds she gained during her pregnancy.
She has said that she simply wants to “enjoy motherhood”.
Indeed, if last night’s appearance at Cannes is anything to go by, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has little to worry about.
Nor is she short of support in her goal to prioritize her new daughter.
Though there is certainly more critique than praise, many have come out in defense of the star, saying that she, like any new mother, should be focusing on her infant, not her diet.
One wrote: “She is a real women looking after a baby. We should be concern [sic] for her health and happiness especially if she is nursing the baby.”
Another said. “Kudos to you Aish for keeping it real and letting your baby have all the bonding and attention she needs with you. Enjoy your life.”
Media commentators in India have said that expectations placed on the country’s most famous stars are impossibly high.
Cinema professor Shohini Ghosh told the New York Daily News: “There is a glorification of motherhood in India and Indian cinema.
“But people are confused because they don’t know whether to glorify Aishwarya in her new motherhood or lament that she is not looking like a runway model.”
Showbusiness columnist Shobhaa Dé added: “She is held up as the ideal of beauty and so there is an expectation on her to look perfect at all times.”
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