Pat Cummins diverts COVID donation to UNICEF Aus’ India COVID-19 appeal instead of PM Cares Fund
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It was only a few days back that Australian star Pat Cummins was amid all the praises for his noble deed. Cummins is currently in India while plying his trade for KKR in IPL 2021 and seeing India’s terrible state owing to the second wave of COVID-19, he donated $50,000 to the PM Cares Fund. He bagged much appreciation for his generous idea and lending a helping to India in the dire situation.
However, in the latest turn of events, there is a bit of change in his actions as he has allocated his funds to UNICEF Australia’s India COVID-19 Crisis Appeal. Seeing the poor state of India, various big names and organizations are coming to donate funds to India in providing essential medical facilities. In the same manner, Cricket Australia has also taken up an initiative to help the fellow nation.
CA announced that they will throw their support behind India in this need hour while being in association with the Australian Cricketer’s Association and UNICEF Australia. The generated funds will be provided to India for their medical equipment and generating oxygen for the critical patients.
While Pat Cummins was amid all the appreciation for donating the generous amount to India, he was criticized by many for donating to PM Cares Fund. Many believe that the funds in the PM Cares are not being channelized properly and not coming in use of the needy ones. This can be one of the reasons behind Cummins diverting his channel of donation.
Here is Pat Cummins’ latest announcement
Terrific work @CricketAus
— Pat Cummins (@patcummins30) May 3, 2021
FYI I ended up allocating my donation to UNICEF Australia's India COVID-19 Crisis Appeal.
If you're able to, please join many others in supporting this here https://t.co/SUvGjlGRm8 https://t.co/1c0NE9PFdO
In the most recent turn of events, KKR was all set to play against RCB in IPL 2021 before distress broke in Kolkata’s camp. Sandeep Warrier and Varun Chakravarthy have tested positive for COVID-19 while many other players have been isolated. Cummins is also one amongst them and in the same light, the match between the two teams got postponed.
Talking about KKR’s performance this season, they are yet to find form and are currently struggling at the 7th position in the points table with only 2 wins in their total seven games.
Courtesy: www.crictracker.com
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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.
