Let love and affection unite world: President Ramanath Kovind
President visits Pejawara Mutt, Sri Krishna Mutt
Udupi, December 27: President Ramanath Kovind stressed the need to unite the people in the world through love and affection.
The President was speaking after visiting the Pejawara Mutt and Sri Krishna Mutt here on Thursday.
The God has created many beings in the world. Among them, man was the best creation. Nowadays, there should be love and affection among them. Though the God was called in different names and different shapes, the God was one, he said.
"I was planning to visit the Sri Krishna Mutt since many days. I am happy that I have visited today. Union Minister Uma Bharathi told me many things about Pejawara Swamiji. At the age of 89, the Swamiji is active and I am happy to see his activeness. Let him complete hundred years. Let him do more religious and social works", the President said.
Rama Rajya was a model state. It was a model on how to rule and treat the subjects. If the model was followed, the world would be happy, he said.
Vishveshwara Thirtha Swamiji of Pejawara Mutt said that he was happy that the President visited the Sri Krishna Mutt, established by Madhwacharya.
Vidyadeesha Thirtha Swamiji of Paryaya Palimaru Mutt felicitated the President with the idol of Lord Sri Krishna on the occasion.
Savitha Kovind, wife of President Ramanath Kovind, Governor Vajubhai Vala, Nagaland Governor Padmanabha Acharya, Udupi District Minister Dr Jayamala, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Kota Srinivas Poojary, MLA Raghupathi Bhat, ZP president Dinakar Babu, former minister Pramod Madhwaraj, Dakshina Kannada district Kannada Sahitya Parishat Pradeep Kalkura, Mysure Division Regional Commissioner Yashwanth, Deputy Commissioner Priyanka Mary Francis, ADGP Kamal Panth, IGP Arun Chakravarthy, SP Lakshman Nimbaragi and other senior officers were present.
Ramanath Kovind’s first visit to Udupi
For the first time, President Ramanath Kovind visited Udupi district on Thursday to pay his respect to Vishvesha Thirtha Swamiji of Pejawar Mutt who completed 80 years of his coronation.
President Ramanath Kovind, along with his wife Savitha Kovind, arrived at Adi Udupi helipad from Mangaluru airport at 11.20 am. Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala, Nagaland Governor Padmanabha Acharya, District Minister Dr Jayamala, ZP president Dinakar Babu and others welcomed the President at the helipad. Later, the President reached Pejawar Mutt at 11.40 am and Mutt Diwan Raghuram Acharya received the President and took him into the Pejawar Mutt, where Vishvesha Thirtha Swamiji, junior pontiff Vishwaprasanna Thirtha and Vidyadeesha Thirtha of Paryaya Palimaru Mutt who were waiting for the President inside the Mutt, received Kovind and explained the history of the Mutt.
Later, the Pejawar Swamiji offered special pooja to Rama Vittala, mooladevaru of the Mutt and the President also participated in the ritual. Swamiji honoured the President with the idol of Lord Sri Krishna and the President also felicitated the Pejawar swamiji on the occasion.
At 12.20 pm, the President left the Pejawar Mutt for Sri Krishna Mutt, where the first citizen of the country was received with the chanting of hymns and Mangala Vadya and took him into the Sri Krishna Mutt.
The President had the darshan of Lord Sri Krishna and sat at the Chandrashale along with other dignitaries. Along with Pejawar swamiji and Palimaru Swamiji, the swamijis of Sode, Kaniyur and Adamaru mutts were also present on the occasion. Paryaya Vidyadeesh Thirtha Swamiji welcomed the President and expressed his pleasure for the President’s visit to Sri Krishna Mutt.
Paryaya Swamiji also felicitated the President with shawl, the idol of Lord Sri Krishna.
Speaking on the occasion, President Ramanath Kovind said that he was happy that Pejawar Swamiji was travelling across the country at this age and invited him to the Rashtrapathi Bhavan once.
At 12.45 pm, the President left for helipad from Sri Krishna Mutt and from there, he reached Mangaluru airport.
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JioHotstar to invest Rs 4,000 crore for South Indian content push; unveils 25-title slate
Chennai (PTI): Streaming service JioHotstar on Tuesday announced that it will invest Rs 4,000 crore over the next five years to strengthen South India’s creative economy, unveiling a 25-title slate as part of a major push for regional content.
In one of the biggest announcements by an Indian streaming platform for the southern markets, the company showcased its “South Unbound” vision at a high-profile event here.
Sushant Sreeram, Head – SVOD Business & Chief Marketing Officer at JioStar, said the investment forms part of a broader collaboration with the Tamil Nadu government.
“Earlier today, JioHotstar formalised a Letter of Intent with the Government of Tamil Nadu in the presence of the Chief Minister M K Stalin. This outlines a shared commitment to invest in talent, expand infrastructure and build a future-ready creative economy from the South.
"As part of this vision, JioHotstar will invest Rs 4,000 crore to nurture creators, strengthen the production ecosystem and build a pipeline of stories that are ready for India and ready for the world,” he said.
Calling South India the “heartbeat of Indian storytelling”, Sreeram said the investment signalled the platform’s long-term commitment to local creators.
"JioHotstar started as a dream — to build entertainment rooted in India’s storytelling heritage and powered by cutting-edge technology. The resplendent storytelling traditions of the South motivate us to keep championing authentic, rooted narratives while offering greater accessibility and choices for every viewer," he said.
The event was attended by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, veteran actor and MP Kamal Haasan, senior state officials, and leading stars and filmmakers from across the southern industries.
Deputy CM Stalin said the partnership will generate “1,000 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs”.
“Cinema in Tamil Nadu has always been a force for social change. OTT is not replacing cinema; it is expanding it. Today, a filmmaker in Madurai or Salem can upload a story and reach audiences across the world. The cultural and economic impact of this partnership will be massive," he added.
aasan said Indian media and entertainment was undergoing a fundamental transformation driven not by technology alone, but by the audience itself.
“We gather at a moment when India’s media and entertainment is not merely growing, it is transforming. For the first time, this shift is not driven by device or format, but by the audience itself,” he said, adding that storytelling today is “screen agnostic”.
“Regional is becoming the new national, and ethnic the new international. Stories born in Madurai, Malappuram or Machilipatnam are no longer regional cinema; they are national cultural events,” Haasan said, giving the example of movies such as “Kantara”, “Drishyam”, “Baahubali”, “Pushpa” and Tamil hits like “Vikram”.
The event was also attended by Mohanlal, Nagarjuna, Vijay Sethupathi, Priyamani, Aishwarya Rajesh and others -- along with directors Jeethu Joseph and Ahammed Khabeer
The streamer's ambitious content slate, unveiled as part of its “South Unbound” initiative, includes sequels to blockbuster franchises, new long-format shows, films, adaptations, and high-engagement reality formats.
The Tamil slate features a mix of returning favourites and new originals, led by "Bigg Boss Tamil", now hosted by Vijay Sethupathi, and "Good Wife S2", the legal drama starring Priyamani.
The lineup also includes "LBW – Love Beyond Wicket", a relationship drama; the family comedy "Cousins and Kalyanams"; the psychological drama "Resort"; and "Heartbeat S3", which brings back Anumol, Karthik Kumar and Deepa Balu.
Other Tamil offerings include "Lingam", an action-drama; "Love Always", a multigenerational love story; the marquee title "Kaattaan" starring Vijay Sethupathi and Milind Soman; and "Second Love", a non-fiction relationship series.
In Telugu, the platform returns with "Bigg Boss Telugu" hosted by Nagarjuna, alongside new originals such as "Moodu Lantharlu" starring Aishwarya Rajesh; the police procedural "Vikram on Duty"; "Varam", a mystical relationship drama; and the hit comedy-drama "Save The Tigers S3" with Chaitanya Krishna.
The slate further includes "Vishakha", the Telugu adaptation of "Aarya" led by Kajal Aggarwal; the relationship-based non-fiction format "Mad for Each Other"; and the Telugu debut of the iconic adventure franchise "Roadies".
From Malayalam, the platform brings back "Bigg Boss Malayalam" hosted by Mohanlal; "Kerala Crime Files S3" featuring Aju Varghese; the mystery drama "Secret Stories: Roslin"; "Anali", "1000 Babies S2" with Neena Gupta and Rahman; and the hard-hitting drama "Pharma" starring Nivin Pauly.
The Kannada lineup includes "Bigg Boss Kannada" hosted by Kichcha Sudeepa; "Batchmates", a nostalgic friendship drama; and the food-and-humour-based non-fiction series "Comedy Cooks".
Across languages, the platform also announced new films such as "Lucky The Superstar", featuring GV Prakash, Anaswara Rajan and Meghna Sumesh, and "Kenatha Kaanom", positioned as broad-appeal mainstream entertainers.
