With 'Hera Pheri 3' Post, Suniel Shetty Explains Bollywood Film Business

Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty on Monday confirmed that the much-awaited 'Hera Pheri 3' is "finally happening". Taking to LinkedIn, Mr Shetty, who played the role of Shaam in the movie, announced that the film's shooting has started. 

"So Hera Pheri 3 is finally happening! Look forward to being back on set with Pareshji & Akki. Like all good things, this one took some time, but it's a relief to finally have an answer to this question!" the actor wrote in his post. 

Mr Shetty also spoke about how movies are financed, produced and released, as well as how they make money. "The movie business isn't very different. To explain the entirety of the movie business here would be oversimplifying it. But let's just say having a good script, a set of actors & a director is literally just the starting point," he wrote. 

Further, while explaining the several revenue outlets for a film, ranging from box office receipts to digital and satellite rights and music, Mr Shetty said that there are several factors for any business to succeed - a good idea, thorough market research, a solid business plan, a skilled team, funding at the right time and a strong distribution network. 

"The movie business isn't very different. To explain the entirety of the movie business here would be oversimplifying it. But let's just say having a good script, a set of actors & a director is literally just the starting point," the actor explained. 

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The 'Refugee' actor termed the distribution of films as a complex process that involves several layers like producers, distributors and exhibitors. "Once a film's made, a studio typically either sells the distribution rights to a distributor or appoints one on a commission basis, who is then responsible for securing screens from theatre owners, negotiating terms & releasing the film in theatres. Sometimes distributors negotiate a % of the box office collections," he wrote on LinkedIn.

Mr Shetty also mentioned various ways to monetise films. "#BoxOffice collections, domestic & international, are the primary ones," he said. Further, pointing out that music rights are another key source of revenue, he stated, "#MusicRights are another important source of revenue. Usually sold to a #musiclabel who in turn monetise it through channels like streaming, licensing, digital ad revenues, etc..." 

"33 years & 125 films later I don't have it all figured out, but I will keep getting better at it," the actor concluded. 

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''Skipped A Heartbeat'': Employee Laid Off By Google India Shares Ordeal

The past few months have been gloomy for the technology sector as several big tech firms have carried out massive layoffs. Tech giant Google is also learnt to have sacked around 450 employees across various departments in India. The sudden layoffs have prompted several employees to express their grief and share their stories about their time at the tech giant.

Impacted by the job cut, a Google India employee, hailing from Hyderabad, who worked as Digital media senior associate at the company, shared his ordeal on LinkedIn. 

In a lengthy post, the employee said how he ''skipped a heartbeat'', on Saturday when he received the mail informing him that he had been laid off. He further wrote that Google fired him even after rewarding him with a ''star'' performer of the month badge. 

His post reads, ''Saturday Morning I skipped a heartbeat when I got a pop-up email notification on my phone stating email was from Google Operations Center. I have been affected by a layoff - workforce reduction at Google Operations Center. One of the most valuable esteemed companies. I was a proud #Googler and will always be... I had a very first question why me though I was star performer for month still why me? And I see there was no answer at all!''

Sharing how the layoff has affected him, he wrote, "My salary is half for 2 months! My financial plans are completely ruined! This took place on Saturday and it took me two days to get the strength to jot this down and now I have to fight back for survival."

The former Google employee also urged people on LinkedIn to suggest a better opportunity available for him. He said, ''If my connections could react to this it would help me reach out any better opportunity. May all the people fighting the battle of layoff find a way to fight the inner battle and also survival battle.''

Aakriti Walia, a Google Cloud program manager based in Gurugram, who recently celebrated her 5-year-Googleversary at the firm was also laid off. She expressed how the "access denied" message on her computer left her numb. 

In January, Alphabet Inc announced that it was eliminating about 12,000 jobs or six per cent of its workforce. Some of the staff realised they lost their jobs when they were unable to access the systems. CEO Sundar Pichai told staff in a memo that the firm had reviewed its products, people and priorities, leading to job cuts across geographies and tech.

Earlier in January, Microsoft announced 10,000 job cuts or nearly 5 per cent of its workforce. Amazon also is cutting 18,000 jobs. Meta let go over 11,000 workers last year, 13% of its workforce, in its first major layoff.

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"Event Management Can't Save AAP From Law": BJP On Manish Sisodia Arrest

The BJP has hit out at the Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party over its claims that the Central Bureau of Investigation is being misused by the Centre, following the arrest of Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. "Event management can't save AAP from the law," said the BJP's Sambit Patra, questioning why AAP chose to withdraw the controversial liquor policy when his party questioned it.

AAP has claimed that the arrest of Mr Sisodia this evening in connection with the now-withdrawn liquor policy, is the BJP's political retaliation over its failure to get Delhi's mandate.

"Manish Sisodia, other AAP leaders never explained why they withdrew the excise policy after corruption was flagged... Delhi excise policy was leaked to liquor-contractor 'friends' by AAP before it was sent to the Group of Ministers," Mr Patra told reporters at a press conference this evening. "AAP spread liquor culture in Delhi and lost liquor money in election campaign," he added.

In an exclusive interview with NDTV, the BJP's Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, "He may have done work on education. But that doesn't mean he should indulge in corruption in liquor policy".

The reference was to Mr Sisodia's education and finance portfolios, two areas that AAP cites as reason for its huge popularity. AAP has won two sweeping victories in Delhi in face of BJP challenge and had a landslide victory in neighbouring Punjab last year.  

"Black day for democracy! BJP's CBI arrested the world's best education minister Manish Sisodia in a fake case, who is shaping the future of lakhs of children. The BJP has made this arrest due to political rivalry," read a rough translation of AAP's Hindi tweet after the arrest. The party has dubbed it an attack on governance in Delhi and Arvind Kejriwal.

Mr Patra alleged that Mr Sisodia must be the only education minister in the world who is involved in a liquor scam. "Manish Sisodia, you played with the future of children," he added.

Mr Sisodia and others face corruption allegations in connection with a new liquor sale policy in 2021. The CBI contends that liquor companies were involved in framing of the policy, for which kickbacks to the tune of Rs 100 crore were paid by a liquor lobby it dubbed the "South Group".

The policy would have led to a 12 per cent profit for them, of which 6 per cent was routed to public servants through middlemen, the agency claimed.

The Enforcement Directorate has also launched an investigation, alleging laundering of the kickbacks.

After the policy was scrapped, the BJP said the Delhi government went back to the old liquor sale policy to cover up the corruption.

Mr Sisodia was asked to appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation last Sunday for questioning, but he sought more time, citing the pending Delhi budget. Earlier, he had faced a nine-hour questioning session by the Enforcement Directorate officials, after which he claimed the officials had asked him to quit AAP.

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Olaf Scholz Asks More Indian Techies To Consider Working In Germany

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, wrapping up a two-day visit to India, urged the country's IT specialists and other skilled workers to consider working in Germany.

Looking for ways to tackle labor shortages in Europe's largest economy, Scholz said his coalition government was planning to reduce immigration hurdles and introduce a point-based system that would grant visas even to specialists who don't yet have a firm job offer in hand.

He offered no specifics on how many workers Germany hopes to attract from India.

"I am quite sure that many will want to take advantage of the opportunities to work as skilled workers in Germany," Scholz told reporters during a visit at software company SAP Labs India in Bangalore, where he held a roundtable discussion with workers.

"We need this in all areas of employment, but of course especially when it comes to skills such as those we have seen today in the area of software and IT development," Scholz said.

The German leader's trip to India was aimed at deepening economic ties as well as discussing Russia's war in Ukraine with PM Modi, who'll host the next leaders summit of the Group of 20 nations in September.

Scholz, who traveled with a large business delegation, said Saturday he would personally make an effort to advance talks between the EU and India for a trade and investment agreement.

PM Modi and the German chancellor also discussed closer defense cooperation, including a possible joint venture to build six submarines in India to help the Asian nation modernize its maritime forces.

#Indien ist eine Hightech-Nation, mit enormer Kompetenz in der Digitalisierung. Das hat mich beeindruckt, etwa bei SAP in Bengaluru, der zweiten Station meiner Indien-Reise. Als starkes und offenes Land kann DEU vom Austausch - insbesondere auch von Fachkraften - sehr profitieren pic.twitter.com/BRlhu58OxF

-- Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) February 26, 2023

During his meeting with workers at the SAP Labs, Scholz said he was "determined" to reduce bureaucratic hurdles to immigration for skilled workers, and "make it easier to come to Germany as a specialist, including with your own family."

Scholz said he wants to "establish a new system that allows people to apply for a visa to Germany who still have not signed a specific job contract, but who come with a lot of talent and skills, and then find a job in Germany."

The coalition government is putting the finishing touches on a draft law to ease immigration barriers, Scholz said. The new system is planned to work on a points basis, comparable to those in countries such as Canada.

A command of the German language would be an advantage, he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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"Sensitive Info Leaked": Phogat On #MeToo Investigation Of Wrestling Body

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) vs Wrestlers saga is showing no signs of an end. Despite a probe committee being formed to investigate the accusations of 'sexual harassment' against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, there hasn't been any development on the matter. In fact, now Vinesh Phogat, one of the wrestlers demanding the removal of Brij Bhushan from the wrestling body, has claimed that a member of the probe committee is leaking 'sensitive information' to the press. Phogat has demanded strict action be taken against the person.

In a post on Twitter, Phogat said that a certain member of the oversight committee has allegedly leaked the contents of the complaint to the media. Phogat also questioned the 'attitude of the person against women'.

"It has come to my recent awareness that a sportsperson member of the Oversight Committee has been allegedly leaking contents of the complaint of sexual harassment while reading certain media reports since yesterday. Being a sports person it is extremely disheartening to see a fellow sports-person member of the Oversight Committee has behaved so recklessly. Their attitude towards women is evident from such behaviour," she wrote.

Requirement of action against a member of oversight committee for leaking sensitive information to the press. @ianuragthakur pic.twitter.com/cUPDDUXhaf

— Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) February 26, 2023

"It is even more appalling that this sportsperson is a member of both the committees enquiring upon the sexual harassment allegations against high-ranking office bearers of the WFI. All this has placed great mistrust towards the committee proceedings. | am feeling let down at the not just weak but also strategic attempts of this committee member towards what should have been a fair and just investigation. I request that strict action be taken against the member for using his position in such a manner and that they should be immediately removed from the committee.

"The concern is not limited to the proceedings of this investigation itself as I'm sure that the former President is finding support from this member. This member has been acting against the interest of women from day one. The lack of empathy and insensitivity displayed by this sportsperson was shocking during the proceedings of the committee. I request this matter to be investigated and all necessary actions to be taken immediately," the post added.

It was also recently reported that the Sports Ministry is annoyed with the country's top wrestlers for opting out of multiple international events amid the ongoing stand-off with the Wrestling Federation of India.

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Arvind Kejriwal's First Big Challenge After Manish Sisodia's Arrest

The Arvind Kejriwal government is staring at a possible crisis with the CBI arresting Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia who holds as many as 18 of the total 33 departments, including education, finance and home.

The arrest of Mr Sisodia comes after that of Satyendar Jain, Delhi's then health minister, in June last year. Both have led what the Aam Aadmi Party describes as the successful transformation of Delhi's education and health services, contributing to the party's popularity and continued electoral success.

Their absence leaves Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with no heavyweight lieutenant to implement his governance agenda in Delhi.

The immediate challenge for Mr Kejriwal is to present the Delhi government budget as scheduled and find Mr Sisodia's replacement.

Sources in the Aam Aadmi Party said Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot may present the Delhi government budget for the next financial year.

"As there was a possibility that the deputy chief minister may be arrested by the CBI, Mr Gahlot was attending budget-related meetings for the last few days.

"Gahlot is likely to present the 2023-24 budget. It is scheduled to be presented next month," an AAP functionary told PTI.

According to the Delhi government's websites, there are a total of 33 departments.

Of these, Mr Sisodia looks after 18, including health, education, public works department (PWD), services, finance, power, home and urban development. He is also in charge of all other departments not specifically allotted to any minister.

Apart from Mr Kejriwal, the Delhi government has six cabinet ministers, including jailed Satyendar Jain who is still a minister without a portfolio. Mr Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last year in connection with a money laundering case.

Environment Minister Gopal Rai has only three departments while Imran Hussain is in charge of only two departments -- food and civil supplies, and election.

Kailash Gahlot is in charge of six departments, including revenue, and transport while Raj Kumar Anand has four portfolios.

The CBI on Sunday evening arrested Mr Sisodia, who is close to Mr Kejriwal, in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22 after nearly eight hours of questioning.

This was the second round of questioning of Mr Sisodia after the agency registered a case on August 17 last year. He was quizzed on October 17 last year.

Mr Kejriwal termed the arrest "dirty politics" and asserted that his deputy was innocent.

"Manish is innocent. His arrest is dirty politics. It has angered people quite a lot. People are watching everything. People now understand everything and will give a reply to this. It will boost our spirit and our struggle will only get stronger," Mr Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Old Video: CEO Takes Shots From AK-47 To Prove Bulletproof Cars' Security

An old video showing what it's like to be shot at with an AK-47 in a bulletproof Mercedes Benz has resurfaced on social media and left users stunned. The clip was posted on Twitter on Saturday by an account called Interesting Engineering. It showed Texas Armoring Corporation's (TAC) CEO sitting inside a bulletproof Mercedes Benz SUV while it was being shot at by an AK-47. 

"Texan armored vehicle company markets its product in the most Texas way possible," the caption of the post read. The short video showed TAC CEO Trent Kimball sitting alone inside the Mercedes-Benz as 8-10 rounds from an AK-47 rained down upon the SUV.

Watch the video below: 

Texan armored vehicle company markets its product in the most Texas way possible.#engineering pic.twitter.com/M0bqZlcgXE

— Interesting Engineering (@IntEngineering) February 25, 2023

The clip was first released by the company back in 2014. According to New York Post, the shots were fired by the firm's sales and export compliance manager, Lawrence Kosub, who seemed very familiar with an assault rifle. In the video, all of Mr Kosub's shots hit the windscreen but none of them breached it. 

Coming back to the video, since being shared it has accumulated more than 4.8 million views and hundreds of likes and comments. Internet users were shocked to see how the company's CEO didn't even flinch once during the whole scene. 

"Confidence in one's product," wrote one user. "A lot of confidence must have gone in there...whew," said another. 

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A third user commented, "Gotta admire a man who stands behind his products 100%". A fourth added, "Now this is a CEO who truly stands behind his product.  Give that man a raise". One user even expressed, "This is both terrifying and very serious. You guys are bosses." 

Meanwhile, according to Fox News, Texas Armoring Corporation is a supplier of bulletproof vehicles based out of San Antonio, US. the company produces a range of armoured passenger vehicles and they can even upgrade a person's current car.

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