Soha Ali Khan is a versatile actress who has played several impactful roles in films across genres and languages. She is well known for her role in Rang De Basanti that earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. We hosted Soha for an exclusive interview for our latest series, NewsX India A-List. Below are a few excerpts from the interview:

For our first question, we asked Soha about her wellness routine. To this, Soha said, “It is really something that I worry about a lot. Not so much for myself but my young daughter. And then I keep realizing that if something happens to me, then that will also not be a good thing for her, so I must also look after myself.” She continued, “What everyone is now embracing is the immune system, how you strengthen the immune system. The idea is, of course, to try and live a healthy lifestyle as much as possible, and that includes a good diet – try and get as much nutrition as you can from your foods – sleep well…as well as exercise.”

We were then curious to know if Soha thinks that the pandemic has brought a positive change in people’s attitude towards a healthy lifestyle. She replied, “It’s not a general answer or question because there are some people who look after themselves and some people will not, no matter what. And you can see that quite clearly now when you step outside – that some people will just not wear a mask, no matter how many times you tell them.” 

Further speaking about people’s attitudes, Soha stated, “A lot of people who are younger take themselves for granted. They feel things are not going to happen to them. Some people just have a better immune system and they don’t know why. Some people suffer from and catch diseases more often than others. You can do a lot of exercises and eat well but still get certain diseases. But I have always looked after myself, and I have always believed that it’s important to love yourself and give yourself that respect.” Moreover, she said jokingly, “If I was to fall sick, a lot of things would fall apart. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I don’t want to find out.”

Putting her thoughts forward about healthy eating, Soha told us, “I think for about 20 years now, I have been eating right, not as a diet, just as a lifestyle. I’m very, very disciplined when it comes to food.” Continuing the thought, the actress said, “Luckily I’m not a foodie, so it’s not like I’m tempted. I just genuinely enjoy healthy food.” Soha also shared advice on healthy eating, “You should try to get your nutrition from foods as opposed to medical supplements, wherever possible,” she said.

Expressing her opinion on the changes brought in by the pandemic, Soha said, “We are never going to go back to pre-Covid, I believe.” She added, “Just that kind of fundamental change terrifies me as a person who is so used to routine, and I dislike change immensely. It really unsettles me.”  

Telling us about her upcoming projects, Soha revealed, “I have done two shows. One is for Amazon and one is being produced by MA and it will be released soon on a platform to be disclosed.”

Watch the full interview on NewsX YouTube page:

Sudhavelayutham M, Founder & CEO , Alice Blue recently joined NewsX as part of its special series NewsX India A-List for an insightful and candid interview. In the exclusive interview, Sudhavelayutham M talks about trading, investments and much more.

Sharing his views about how popular discount brooking is in India, the CEO said, “Discount brooking is totally tech-oriented now which brings investments to the mobile. People can easily start investing through mobile itself. All the products like mutual funds, equity, etc can be invested through mobile itself. That’s the user friendliness which we get through discount brooking. We are able to reach more number of investors and we are charging very less. We charge only Rs. 15 per order. Because of its user friendliness it is getting more popular among the millennials as well as the common public. It’s good for everyone to invest and get benefitted. “

Talking about his company and the services offered by Alice Blue, Sudhavelayutham revealed, “ We are in the market from 2007 and we are member of Multi Commodity Exchange, Bombay Stock Exchange, etc. We provide for the clients to invest in equities, commodities trading and derivative trading as well as mutual funds at free of cost investment.

The Alice Blue founder went on to talk about the current market trends in India. He said “After the pandemic situation it has become more popular among the millennials as well as the common public as it came to the mobile. It is so user friendly that people are looking at more returns so, they are able to understand the difference between savings and investment. Now, savings is becoming less popular and investment is gaining popularity. In a long term purpose people are getting more rewards.

When asked how much growth can one witness from investing in commodity markets Sudhavelayutham exclaimed that, “ Investors can invest mainly in gold and silver. People who are interested in commodity trading can do well.” He further said, “We have to clearly analyze the balance sheet of the companies and see the future growth of the companies. People are using IPOs as a short term investment as well as long term.”

Speaking about how big the gold trade is in India, he revealed, “In India gold is mostly used as ornaments. So the trend with gold is that people can buy gold in a de-mat format and can also convert it to physical gold. People can also start systematic investment and invest in gold.”

On the auspicious occasion of Gita Jayanti, Cycle Pure Agarbathi, India’ largest selling prayer brand, has launched ‘The Bhagavad Gita in three minutes’ to make the timeless wisdom accessible to the young millennials and help them deal with everyday life issues.

The Bhagavad Gita’s timeless relevance is more relevant than ever to the millennials and Gen Z, who are growing up in an overstimulated digital age. The Gita’s profound yet practical teachings can assist them in dealing with their primary issues of stress, confusion, lack of attention, and motivation. However, the problem of short and dwindling attention spans persists. A millennial’s current attention span is between 8 and 12 seconds.

Speaking about the digital book, Arjun Ranga, Managing Director, Cycle Pure Agarbathi, says, “In keeping with our mission of preserving Indian heritage and culture, we wanted to introduce current and future generations to the timeless teachings of the Gita. The Gita Jayanti is the perfect occasion to introduce and gift a copy of this practical wisdom to our millennials. Every chapter of the Gita can be read in about eight to ten seconds. The key lessons from all of the 18 chapters can be learned in just three minutes. The summary of each chapter has been validated by scholars.”

“Staying true to our purpose. We want future generations to be proud of our timeless culture and heritage. We want them to be able to connect with our rich heritage and delve into the wisdom,” adds Ranga.

The book showcases used 10 different classical Indian art forms, such as Tanjore, Kalamkari, Pichwai, Kerala Mural, Madhubani, Mithila, Rajasthani Miniature, Kaighat, and Padh to illustrate the story. These art forms have traditionally been used to depict Lord Krishna in various renditions across regions. The book can be downloaded for free in eight Indian languages and six foreign languages from l.cycle.in/gita. This diverse rendition makes the Gita visually captivating and spiritually enriching.

Katha Pachisi is a communication platform that harnesses the power of storytelling to communicate effectively.

Located in Gurgaon, Katha Pachisi, the story bank, is a story consulting company that has helped several clients convey the right message and connect with the target audience.

With a vision to create powerful and magnificent speakers through training to unlock their potential, Katha Pachisi has trained more than 3000+ corporate professionals and educators with 100+ training sessions in various communication workshops.

In today’s attention-deficit world, it’s vital to use effective tools for better communication. And, what better than storytelling! Monika Tandon, Founder & CEO of Katha Pachisi is a passionate business storyteller who assists people in communicating their ideas better through stories.

She says, “Storytelling in business is always purpose-driven. Sharing stories at the workplace has emerged as a powerful business practice to communicate, inform and educate.”

She is a certified Japanese and Swedish language expert besides holding a PGDM (HR) degree. With over 15 years of working experience in the corporate sector and as a Business Storyteller, Monika Tandon incepted Katha Pachisi to support brands in telling their stories. Her book ‘Connect through Storytelling’ is a complete guide on how to leverage the tools of storytelling and incorporate stories at the workplace to communicate effectively.

Katha Pachisi takes pride to have organised storytelling workshops for government agencies, numerous educational institutions, corporates and NGOs. Empowered by professional storytellers and communication strategists, Katha Pachisi hosts multitudinous and multifarious storytelling sessions for Industry professionals & Educational Institutes.

Besides it also coaches educators and corporate professionals to make their narratives compelling and polish them as magnificent speakers at their workplace. Their programs include Lead with Storytelling— Art of storytelling for leaders, Life Skill Enhancement Programs, and Fit for The Future—On-Demand Tailored Life Skill Courses. The Lead with Storytellingprogramenables participants through storytelling skills which they can use to upskill in their day-to-day communication.

The Life Skill Enhancement Programs enable stakeholders to enhance their life skills by implanting a new set of thought processes.

The team also provides customised training programs based on the core methodology of the art of storytelling to meet the organisational requirements.

Katha Pachisi is planning to collaborate with highly skilled and certified professionals to drive organisation level transformations by combining functional and storytelling skills such as digital transformation, financial transformations, cultural transformations, and so on.

In an attempt to “revolutionise” the movie industry, NFT Community Arabian Camels and Swapp Protocol today launched the “Antara Movie NFT,” which allows buyers to hold up to 50% Intellectual Property rights to “Antara”, a $50 million feature film based on the life of Arabian knight Antarah Ibn Shaddad.

Arabian Camels will partner with Swapp Protocol to produce the world’s first decentralised feature film production NFTs with DeFi capabilities. The idea behind partnering with Swapp Protocol is to enable the use of their decentralised finance products to eliminate the monetary risk associated with movie funding.

“My vision was to create a system to produce films that normally cost more than US$50M, completely risk-free,’’ said Alexander Amaratei, the Producer of Antara. “In addition to eliminating funding risks, this system would allow films to be owned by the fans, the NFT owners. This feat would not have been possible without Swapp’s innovative NFT Farming capabilities and blockchain/cryptocurrency knowledge and platforms.”

Swapp’s NFT farming platform will allow Arabian Camel NFT owners to earn passive income on their NFTs. The Farming allows the films to be funded, while simultaneously providing a direct monetary benefit to those who support the project, before the theatrical release. This paradigm shift moves the control of the industry away from traditional lenders and production studios, and into the hands of individuals/fans who support the film, which Swapp coined.

“With the power of community, speed of the internet, and dexterity of DeFi, we are generating a tectonic shift that will create waves of opportunity in the film industry,” said Tural Bayev CEO of Swapp Protocol.

Members from the Arabian Camel NFT community will share in the ownership of the film, get roles in the movie, credit as producers, and join the production team for exclusive gatherings on the set in the Arabian Desert with the cast and crew.

Arabian Camels has also collaborated with Dominic Ryder, CEO of vEmpire, whose token has recently rocketed 1500% and reached a market cap of $100M. Dominic Ryder’s protocol is in the process of designing and creating the ANTARA Play-To-Earn game.

Antarah Ibn Shaddad was a black slave in ancient/pre-Islamic Arabia, who won his freedom and became a lofty knight. He rose to stardom in the 5th century, not only due to his character and prowess on the battlefield but also, his miraculous talent as a poet. His poetry was held in such high regard, that it was sewn in gold, and suspended on the Kaaba in Mecca before the days of Islam. To this day, if one studies Arabic Literature in Oxford or Cambridge, the poetry of Antara is still studied and revered.

A journey in abstracts, a freshly found passion, and there’s a new artist in town. Dr Shefali Bhujbal, a dilettante artist, has displayed her artworks in the Bombay Art Society, Bandra, until 19 December. This exhibition marks the beginning of her journey of exploration and admiration by announcing her first ever Art Exhibit— Anavarnam: Unveiling the Passion.

The exhibition is a variety of art forms cantered within non-conceptual concepts and colour-stained expressions. “Anavarnam unveils the passion that has been my odyssey with art over a span of 16 years. Art to me is an expression of my voice, the shadow to my soul and the calm in my storm. Art is everything and nothing, it’s everywhere and nowhere,” says Shefali Bhujbal as she refers to her love for painting and the value system behind her artwork. Her journey with art started with vivid splashes of colour, and in this exhibit, it varies from geometrical abstracts to insipid monochrome pieces in over 50 of her selected artworks.

Her painting style has been inspired by the greats like Vasudeo Gaitonde, S. H. Raza, Sujata Bajaj, Anil Naik, and Vijayraj Bodhankar who have greatly influenced and helped to shape her art form. She has always tried to convey her emotion through her artwork, her paintings have tried to mirror the world around making the observer emote and provoke deep thought and a sense of serialism.