Go trekking is the new credo for Uttarakhand Tourism, as it aims to garner more footfalls to the hill state.

Faced with falling numbers and shaken confidence of its annual Chaar Dhaam Yatra to Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath after the devastating floods three years ago, the tourism department here has fixed its eyes on vast trekking areas which are drawing foreigners and Indians alike.

Officials privately admit that despite much improvement in infrastructure following flash floods in 2013 and subsequent weather turbulence, people from outside the state were vary of the annual pilgrimage owing to fear, forcing the mandarins in the government to think of "alternate plans".

Actress Radhika Apte feels that the perception of the country’s mainstream cinema -- Bollywood, which was been often criticised for being a male-dominated industry, is changing over time.

“The perception is changing slowly and I wouldn’t say that Bollywood is still a completely male dominated field,” Radhika, best known for her roles in films like “Dhoni”, “Badlapur”, “Hunterrr” and “Manjhi - The Mountain Man.”

“There have been some well-made and successful women-centric films that have changed things for us to a certain extend. Change happens over time and art imitates life. Hence, the change needs to be in us and how we perceive gender as a society,” the 30-year-old said.

Radhika has perfectly managed her work between commercial and off-beat cinema. Though she feels both are same for her.

“I wish the line between these two compartments disappears for good. I don't think of films as off-beat or commercial. When you sell tickets, it's a commercial venture and if content is off-beat then there is something wrong in this way of thinking,” she said.

Asked whether women-centric films like “Queen”, “Mary Kom” and “Neerja” have really empowered women of today’s society, Radhika said: “There is definitely a change but it’s slower than it should be.

Designer Manish Bansal has launched his first summer resort unisex collection titled Friends And Fences.

The flagship store of the designer is at Shahpur Jat here.

The collection explores the beauty of a child’s innocence in a time of war as portrayed in “The Boy in Striped Pyjamas” by Irish novelist John Boyne. 

With summer resort 2016 collection, Bansal sets-forth a unisex range that embodies an exuberant youth like vibe, read a statement.

"The brains of babies born before their due dates usually are not fully developed," said senior investigator Cynthia Rogers from St. Louis Children's Hospital in the US. 

"But breast milk has been shown to be helpful in other areas of development, so we looked to see what effect it might have on the brain,” Rogers said.

"With MRI scans, we found that babies fed more breast milk had larger brain volumes. This is important because several other studies have shown a correlation between brain volume and cognitive development," Rogers explained.

The allure of old Delhi's scrumptious cuisines and "tehzeeb" (etiquette) were brought alive at a tasting event here which recreated an array of traditional Mughlai and Indian specialties and street snacks for the capital's food aficionados.

The event called The Grand Trunk Culinary Journey, which began from Amristar in Punjab, mesmerised foodies with a combination of old Delhi's delightful food along with an equally endearing historical lecture by historian and storyteller Asif Khan Dehlvi at Dilli 32, the Indian cuisine restaurant at The Leela Ambience Convention Hotel here.

The aim of the event, which opened for the capital's food lovers on Friday and will run till mid-May, is to take the best of everything that old Delhi has to offer for people who don't want to take the trouble to go there, chef Ashwini Kumar said.

The story of the founder of Diesel Renzo Rosso and how he shaped the international fashion brand will find its way on the Indian small screen via TV show "CNBC-TV18 Weekender".

The episode, which will beam on Friday, will talk about the life and works of Rosso, who stormed the blue jeans market with the launch of Diesel in India in 2010, read a statement. 

It will showcase the journey of Rosso, whose life took a 360 degree turn in 1978 when an opportunity to work as a production director at a small company manufacturing jeans led to the birth of an entrepreneur. 

Music label Saregama has launched 'Music Cards', which are portable and allow people to listen to music anytime, anywhere.

Saregama, an RP- Sanjiv Goenka Group owned music label, has come out with five music cards. They come with pre-loaded 150 songs per music card and the genres range from the best of evergreen Hindi film music to devotional songs, read a statement. 

The music cards available are: MSS (with M.S. Subbulakshmi, the legendary carnatic vocalist), Shakti (devotional songs), Romance (150 best romantic songs of Bollywood), Legends (songs of legends like late Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar) and Jagjit Singh (150 of the best songs of the late maestro). 

Rapper Badshah, who performed a medley of his popular songs at the Star Parivaar Awards 2016 here, said it's a "dream come true" moment for him to perform for TV celebrities as his mother is a

big follower of Indian television and watches a lot of shows. Badshah took centre-stage here on Wednesday night to perform alongside popular TV actors Hina Khan, Anita Hassanandani, Harshad Arora and Tridha Choudhury. In between his performance, he said: "It's a dream come true moment for me today. My mother would be proud that I'm performing for those whom she watches on TV daily". From "Abhi toh party shuru hui hai" to "Saturday Saturday" and "Kar gayi chull", Badshah sang most of his famous songs during his foot-tapping performance wherein Hina, Anita, Harsha and Tridha joined him on stage. Apart from him, the award show also witnessed some power-packed performances by actors Deepika Singh, Nakuul Mehta and Devoleena Bhattacharjee. A telecast date for Star Parivaar Awards 2016 is yet to be announced.

Pakistan cricket legend Wasim Akram showed a completely new romantic avatar on Indian small screen via “The Kapil Sharma Show!”.

The cricket legend made his first public appearance with his wife Shaniera on the Indian show, which is aired on Sony Entertainment Television. 

"When Kapil asked him about his love story, Akram confessed that it was love at first sight for him. He also admitted that he had never actually proposed to anyone in his life, but with Shaniera he knew he had to do it immediately," said a source. 

The source added: “Then Wasim went down on his knees with flowers and a ring. He was ecstatic when she accepted his proposal. Shaniera responded by saying she will accept his proposal no matter how many times he proposes." 

Waluscha De Sousa, who forayed into Bollywood opposite superstar Shah Rukh Khan through "Fan", is basking in all the appreciation coming her way post the movie's success. She says the positive feedback acts as a motivational boost for her.

After sashaying on the ramp as a model and then putting her professional life on the back burner for her family, Waluscha decided to take the leap into Hindi filmdom with “Fan”. 

Directed by Maneesh Sharma and produced by Yash Raj Films, the movie, which released on April 15, featured Shah Rukh in a double role -- one as a superstar and other his look-alike fan Gaurav. Waluscha plays SRK's real wife Gauri Khan on the silver screen. 

“I have been getting a lot of positive feedback ranging from 'You are looking really great onscreen' to 'You acted really well' to 'You held your own in front of Shah Rukh'. So a lot of great compliments coming in and it is very encouraging at this point,” Waluscha told IANS over phone from Mumbai. 

The debutante says compliments coming from the director means a lot to her. 

Actress Juhi Chawla, who was last seen on screen in the 2015 film "Chalk n Duster", says she enjoyed working with superstars Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan the most during her career.

Juhi had held a question and answer session for her fans and well-wishers on Twitter on Thursday.

A fan asked her whom she enjoyed working with the most in cinema, to which Juhi replied: "Sharukh and Aamir".

Juhi has been a part of Hindi cinema for three decades and has shared screen space with Shah Rukh in popular films like "Darr", "Duplicate", "Ram Jaane", "Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani" and "Yes Boss".

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan says that girls often fall for his eyes.

Speaking about his eyes, King Khan said: “My eyes are bedroom eyes, they are supposed to be sexy, they are not tired. Girls love these eyes.”

In a candid conversation on #fame - live video social platform; the King of romance takes a breather from a hectic schedule to chat with his fans from all over the world on the sets of his upcoming film “Raees".

Battling the inflow of questions from fans with much ease and offering insights on his life and work, Shah Rukh talks about his character in the Rahul Dholakia directorial.

Actor Manoj Bajpayee, who will be seen as a traffic constable in the upcoming thriller "Traffic", believes that he always brings honest characters in front of the audience through his films.

"I believe I do good movies and bring honest characters to the audience. I try to give a satisfying experience to moviegoers. Therefore, whatever is needed I would do that so that the film reaches to the maximum people," Manoj said. 

"I am always available for promotions. Whatever I am needed to do I will do that. Even if they ask me to stand on the road wearing a traffic constable costume, I can do that too," the 47-year-old actor added. 

The recent survey findings by foodpanda on the online sea food ordering trend by foodpanda threw some interesting facts forward and indicates that non-coastal areas order more sea food online. The average ordering value of sea food varied between INR 1500 to INR 2400, which is much higher than the average ordering value of other cuisines. Sea food is preferred during dinner time as most of the sea food orders were placed between 7 PM – 9 PM. Sea food ordered during winters is three folds than in summers.

Some of the key findings are:

Indians are not so experimentative with their choice and stick with the tried and tested options like Fish Tikkas, Curries, and Biryani

People like to order fish and prawns. Other sea food options like Squid, Crab, oysters does not find many takers.

Interestingly, coastal regions are not amongst the top five regions to order sea food online. Non-coastal regions like Bangalore and Hyderabad in South India leads.

Andhra and Goan sea food cuisines are relished by people. Apollo Fish, Fish Biryani, Prawns Biryani and Fish Fry are some of the most ordered options.

Born in New Delhi with no connection to glitz and glamour, "Raanjhanaa" fame actress Swara Bhaskar, who holds a masters degree in sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, says for outsiders, Bollywood is a big risk.

The 28-year-old made her debut in filmdom in 2010 with "Madholal Keep Walking". Known for playing supporting yet strong roles in films like "Tanu Weds Manu" and "Tanu Weds Manu Returns", she is currently being lauded for her role as Chanda in the film "Nil Battey Sannatta". She made many emotional with her act as a domestic help who works hard to ensure that her daughter receives good education.

Asked if it's difficult to enter Bollywood for people who aren't connected to the industry, Swara told in an interview: "I don't want to comment on how difficult it is in comparison to star children. I don't know that world...The thing with an outsider is when you come to Bollywood, it's a huge gamble."

Actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan will revive the popular character Balram Naidu, a RAW operative from 2008 Tamil action-comedy "Dasavatharam", in his upcoming yet-untitled trilingual comedy. It is slated to go on the floors in May.

"Kamal will play Balram Naidu in his new film. Audiences will be introduced to his family for the first time. It's an out-and-out comedy flick interspersed with sporadic action sequences. The regular shooting will start from the second week of May."

Actress Ramya Krishnan will play Kamal's wife in the film, which will also star Shruti Haasan as their daughter.

This will be the first time Kamal and Shruti will be playing father-daughter on the screen.

Veteran Telugu comedian Brahmanandam will play the character Appa Rao, Kamal's sidekick, which was played by late choreographer Raghuram in "Dasavatharam". 

Actor Robert Downey Jr has shared how he manages to stay in shape.

The 51-year-old attended the European premiere of "Captain America: Civil War" on Tuesday here. Speaking to mirror.co.uk at the premiere at Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd's Bush, he said: "I manage to stay in shape some how.

Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan's estranged wife Sussanne Khan has come forward to support him, condemning the leak of his "intimate" photograph with actress Kangana Ranaut. She says the image is "photoshopped".

The legal battle between the two stars took another turn when an image showing Hrithik embracing Kangana surfaced online. Hrithik's legal team had also slammed the leak of his "intimate" photograph, saying it did not tell the full story.

Sussanne, who separated from Hrithik in 2013, also shared an image that seems from the same party. The photograph shows the then couple holding each other closely. 

She tweeted: "Pictures are photoshopped and untrue stories carry too much weight. Another picture for the record. I support Hrithik in this". 

Prime Minister #NarendraModi's #MakeInIndia campaign was perhaps the most important initiative, according to actor #ShahRukhKhan who is impressed with the introduction of technology with it.

"'Make In India' is perhaps the most important initiative by our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which propels companies in India and abroad to make things in our own country and our own land, thus creating job opportunities, skills enchantment," said Shah Rukh at the launch of a book "Movers & Makers".

"For me, the biggest turn on is the introduction of new technology, which I believe is going to create a new era for our generation and generations to come."

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and BJP member Shaina N.C. were also present.

Actor Channing Tatum received a horse from his wife and actress Jenna Dewan Tatum for his birthday.

The actor, who turned 36 on Tuesday, took to his Instagram account and shared a series of photographs of the new addition to their family, whom he has named Cajun, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Channing captioned an image of the horse saddled up and grazing beside their trailer. 

"Best birthday gift ever from my wifey," Channing wrote. 

Actress Isha Talwar fulfilled her long time desire to ride a bike in the forthcoming Telugu actioner "Raja Cheyyi Vesthe", starring Nara Rohit in the lead.

"It was a lot easier than I thought. Although I was really tense, it took me just 20 minutes to ride the bike on my own," Isha told.

Initially, the makers gave Isha a Ducati bike to ride.

"When I looked at the bike, I knew it'd be too heavy for me to ride. I requested the bike to be changed and that's when it was replaced by a Yamaha RX 100. I even have a scene where I have to ride with Rohit on the bike," she said.

In the film, which releases in cinemas on Friday, Isha plays a character with an agenda.

"I play a catholic called Chaitra. Unlike the regular heroines, she has a strong purpose. It's the kind of role that will leave audiences with something to debate about," she said, adding she also got to perform some action scenes.

Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra has confirmed that she will be dining with US President Barack Obama at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner this weekend.

She was invited to the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner with US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

Priyanka, who found global recognition with her character Alex Parrish in the American TV series "Quantico", was earlier "not sure" about attending the dinner due to her work commitments.

Bollywood's 'desi girl' took to Twitter to share the news. The dinner will take place on Saturday. 

When a social media asked her, "are you going to the White House on April 30?", she responded, "Yes, I will be attending".

Tiger Shroff took the virtual route to set the record straight over his allegedly "sexist" remarks. The actor says he is “totally for women empowerment and equality” and has utmost respect for the fair sex.

There were reports that Tiger had stated in an interview that he had settled down with a "housewife-type" of a girl. 

Tiger took to Twitter on Wednesday to clear the air about the reports. 

"I am totally for women empowerment and equality and always talk about how they are as strong or stronger than men. I respect my mother and sister too much to say something like that. I know I'm barely a year old in the industry but for those who know me and who have accepted me you would know. Anyway love always,” Tiger wrote. 

Megastar #AmitabhBachchan, who has been entertaining his fans with his films for over four decades now, is impressed with the talent of the youngsters in showbiz.

What comes to your mind when in Kolkata? Sweets and fish? Well, the City of Joy is also home to many dishes which have gained their own identity time - Kolkata biryani, for instance, has been ruling the hearts, minds and tummies of Bengalis for ages.

The hypnotising aroma, the finely flavoured rice - less of essence and colour - speaks of perfect combination of masalas that are required to enhance the taste, served pipping hot with sides like mutton korma or chicken changezi. And, not to forget, the quintessential aloo (potato), which now is a trademark in the biryani that brings in a major difference in taste.

The Kolkata biryani incorporated its art of cooking from the Awadhi (Lucknow) style. History has it that the aloo special biryani dates back to the reign of NawabWajid Ali Shah (1822-87). When he was dethroned and exiled by the British to what was then Calcutta in 1856, he took his bawarchis and khansamas along with him. Unable to find meat, the cooks started adding potatoes to the dish, which went on to become the speciality of the Kolkata biryani.

Tourist destinations in Himachal Pradesh could turn out to be hotter for international backpackers too if positioned properly. Members of the international hospitality industry say the authorities need to showcase the state's potential to the global travellers in their dialect, through micro-blogging and online videos.

"When a tourist is planning his foreign trip, he may not know exactly where to begin. But he's interested to know the visiting place's culture, history, nature, people and the local facilities," visiting Germany's travel guide Eu-AsienDe's managing director Mark Lich told.

He said a lot of German travellers say India is their dream destination.

"But the only hiccup with the German visitors, who prefer spending lavishly overseas, is that they expect that they should have all first-hand information before finalizing their itinerary," the 27-year-old online travel guide said.

From building rapport with each family member to finding a right balance in relationships, it is important for brides-to-be to do their homework well before to adjust in the new family like a pro, says an expert.

Actor Tiger Shroff, who is awaiting the release of his film "Baaghi", says he is keen to work in the remake of the 1989 film "Parinda" starring his father Jackie Shroff.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who is busy shooting for the last schedule of Shoojit Sircar's upcoming movie "Pink", got photobombed on the film's set.