&w=3840&q=100)
Firstpost at WAVES: Deepika Padukone to attend first ever summit, touted to be one of the biggest events
WAVES 2025 brings a bold new phase of soft power diplomacy, focusing on transformative and technology-driven partnerships read more
The first-ever WAVES Summit 2025 is being held in Mumbai at the Jio World Convention Centre in Bandra Kurla Complex from May 1 to May 4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is one of the dignitaries that will grace the event.
From Bollywood, Deepika Padukone will be making an appearance too along with names like Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Karan Johar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ekta Kapoor, Bhushan Kumar, Namit Malhotra, SS Rajamouli, AR Rahman, Anil Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal, Allu Arjun.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Chaitanya Prasad Former Civil Servant and the man who lead IFFI as a festival director in 2019-2020, highlights what WAVES Summit can do for the indian entertainment industry.
At the Rising Bharat Summit, PM Modi was quoted saying, 'We have a vibrant film, podcast, and gaming industry. We have decided to take it to the next level by the mantra of Create in India through the WAVES platform," he said. 'Films, podcasts, AR, and VR are a critical industry, and Create in India will invite artists from around the world."
WAVES 2025 brings a bold new phase of soft power diplomacy, focusing on transformative and technology-driven partnerships. Innovation in this segment is bound to create a new buzz for foreign policy tie-ups, carried forward on the wings of emerging tools such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), and immersive content ecosystems.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)

First Post
15 hours ago
- First Post
Vijay Mallya talks about choosing Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone as Kingfisher models, tells Raj Shamani: 'We chose the right girls, had all the heroines & stars and...'
The business tycoon said, 'We chose the right girls, whether it was Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif. We had all the heroines and the stars on the calendar at a younger age. We picked the right talent.' read more On his latest podcast with Raj Shamani, Vijay Mallya talked about choosing Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone as Kingfisher models. The business tycoon said, 'We chose the right girls, whether it was Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif. We had all the heroines and the stars on the calendar at a younger age. We picked the right talent.' Mallya added, 'I did it because it was a fantastic marketing tool. Did not bring anything to me personally. But it did wonders to the brand,' he said. Addressing speculation about his personal ties to the actresses, Mallya clarified, 'It was strictly to the calendar.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Mallya, who is accused of defaulting loans worth over Rs 9,000 crore and is currently fighting New Delhi's request for extradition in the United Kingdom, issued a rare apology for the failure of Kingfisher Airlines, denied accusations of theft and offered his take on why he left India nearly a decade back and has been on the run ever since during a four-hour conversation with popular YouTuber Raj Shamani. 'I was very impressed with the pitch that Lalit Modi made to the BCCI committee about this league. He called me one day and said ok, teams are going to be auctioned. Are you going to buy it? So, I bid from three franchises, and I lost Mumbai by a very small amount of money,' Mallya said on the latest episode of Figuring Out With Raj Shamani that was posted to the Google-owned video-sharing platform on Thursday. Mallya, who was a regular at RCB's matches along with his son Siddharth before leaving India, added that he wanted the franchise – which enjoys a huge fan following and a brand value that rivals that of five-time champions Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians –to be 'more than a cricket team'.


India Gazette
16 hours ago
- India Gazette
"Excellent initiative": Actor Madhurima Tuli after participating in 'Fit India Sundays on Cycle'
New Delhi [India], June 8 (ANI): Actor Madhurima Tuli on Sunday called the 'Fit India Sundays on Cycle' an excellent initiative and said that there can be no better option than cycling as it is affordable. Participating in 'Fit India Sundays on Cycle' with Indian Railways flagged off from Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, actor Madhurima Tuli said, 'I just participated in today's 'Fit India Sundays on Cycle', which is an excellent initiative... It is essential to spread awareness across the world of how important it is for us to stay fit. There can be no better option than cycling because it is also affordable...' 'I am proud that I have been a part of this movement. 'Fit India Sundays on Cycle' is very important because sports are essential for our mental and physical fitness. This is a very good initiative by our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. The Fit India initiative needs to be spread across the world,' she added. 'Fit India Sundays on Cycle' with Indian Railways flagged off from Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Since its inception in December 2024, the Sundays on Cycle initiative has witnessed phenomenal reach--having touched over 5,500 locations and seeing participation from more than 3 lakh citizens. The movement has also garnered over 3.44 billion digital impressions, with support pouring in from icons like Sania Mirza, Milind Soman, Emraan Hashmi, John Abraham, Imtiaz Ali, Shankar Mahadevan, and the legendary Dara Singh, among others. Several Sports Authority of India (SAI) centres as well as Khelo India Centres (KICs) feature community-focused fitness activities such as Zumba, rope-skipping, guided yoga sessions, and free health check-ups by experts from the National Centre of Sports Sciences and Research (NCSSR) during the Sundays on Cycle events. As per an official statement from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, with World Bicycle Day scheduled for June 3, today's event will not only reinforce the message of cycling's big role in fitness but also serve as a collective tribute to India's armed forces. (ANI)


Hindustan Times
20 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Deepika Padukone and the debate about work culture in Bollywood
Deepika Padukone has initiated an interesting debate in our film industry. Allegedly, in the forthcoming Telugu magnum opus, Spirit, directed by Sandeep Vanga Reddy, where she was to play the lead role with Prabhas of Bahubali fame, she asked for an eight-hour shift, profit sharing, pre-decided days of shooting, and inability to speak Telugu. Vanga rejected her demands, and replaced her with Tripti Dimri. Essentially, what has created controversy is her demand for an eight-hour shift for actors. This has become a wider issue since some film personalities, like Mani Ratnam, Saif Ali Khan, Ajay Devgn, Radhika Apte and Pankaj Tripathi, have supported her stand. Others believe it is unworkable and unjustified. At one level, Deepika is making the request for a more regulated film industry, in which actors have the option of creating the right balance between work and leisure, career and personal life. But in any creative industry, are such strict rules feasible? Especially, in the film industry, there are so many unpredictable coordinates, that the demand—however well-intentioned—could be quite impractical. For instance, where outdoor shooting is involved, weather could play a spoilsport, inevitably delaying the number of hours actors have to shoot. These days, big films have huge budgets riding on them. A significant proportion of such budgets goes in paying the gargantuan amounts that leading actors demand, and get. For big budget films, completing the shooting schedule in time becomes a matter of commercial priority. When a shooting takes place, the number of people involved are so large, that delays in schedule are par for the course. If a film has to be completed in time, inflexible working hours may just not be sustainable. The more important question, however, is whether in any creative industry, work hours can be rigidly defined? Let us suppose a group of youngsters are working on an innovative start-up. Each of them is driven by passion, and the promise of money and success if the venture succeeds. Can any of them insist that to make it succeed he/she will put in only a fixed number of hours of work? In that case a more predictable 9 am to 5 pm job is the better option to opt for. Also Read: Just Like That | From witty one-liners to humorous viral memes: Why humour is the safety valve of a vibrant democracy Deepika has reached the position when she can dictate her demands. She has been working in films for the last twenty years, has an endless list of box-office hits under her belt, and is today Bollywood's highest paid female actor, getting—as per reports—as much as ₹20 to 30 crores per film, plus a share in profits. In addition, she is the highly paid brand ambassador of an entire range of top corporate houses, including Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Adidas and Levi's. She has also invested in a start-up and a self-care brand. Her husband, Ranveer Singh, is a top actor too. But what about those who are aspirants to this same success, but still somewhere near the bottom of the ladder? Most of them would be willing to put in as many hours as are necessary in order to prove their worth and achieve stardom. I would imagine that Deepika herself, when she began her film career with the film 'Aishwarya' in Kannada (2006), would not have made the eight-hour shift her demand. She can do so now, having slogged endless hours to reach where she has. Besides, as the mother of a young daughter, Dua, she has a legitimate reason for more time available for her child and family. The bottom line is that the chaotic rules of the film industry do need reform: better remuneration, working conditions, health and pension benefits for the army of support staff, greater gender parity, and far more financial transparency. If Deepika's demand ignites a larger debate on these questions, it would be a good thing. Also Read: Just like that: Exploring the artistic world of Jatin Das and his legacy Unfortunately, in life, one cannot always have one's cake and eat it too. Are any of our top film stars, who now want more time for their family, willing to reduce their fee so that films cost less and working hours to complete it can be regulated in conformity with commercial viability? How many of those who are now pontificating on greater work-life balance, would have made this a priority when they were still struggling and far from the success they now enjoy? It is said that S.D. Burman, the acclaimed music composer, used to wake up in the middle of the night driven by the inspiration of a new composition, and would immediately call up the lyricist and musicians to try it out. What if these colleagues had turned round and told him that they work eight hours and no more? Deepika ji, it is understandable that you have allegedly made this demand. But I think in any creative industry outside the 9am to 5pm job format, what you can afford to ask for now may not be backed by those who want to reach where you have, or by those directors, producers and their associates, who have helped you reach there. Pavan K Varma is author, diplomat, and former Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha). Just Like That is a weekly column where Varma shares nuggets from the world of history, culture, literature, and personal reminiscences. The views expressed are personal.