Amitabh Bachchan has quietly paid off debts of 114 farmers from the Vidarbha region that amounted to Rs3 million (Dh203,000). The Rotary Club of Wardha, one of the six districts of Vidarbha affected by the suicides of debt-ridden cotton farmers, distributed cheques from Bachchan last week. "A good deed for the day can be the most satisfying experience ever … I got satisfaction today … not saying why and how!" Bachchan posted on Twitter last week, adding: "Charity needs to be done, not talked about!" - Anjali A
Egyptian folklore goes reggae
Last night's episode of Coke Studio featured a collaboration between The Wailers, the band that began the reggae revolution in the US over four decades ago, and Mohamed Mounir, the renowned Egyptian folk artist. The result? A fusion of traditional Nubian tunes with a reggae rhythmic twist, as the musicians recreated the Arabic song El Laila Ya Samra, assisted by the music producer Michel Elefteriades. Coke Studio is shown on Wednesdays at 10.30pm on MBC1.
Bollywood to paint the town, literally
In celebration of the centenary of Indian cinema, the Bollywood Art Project (BAP), possibly Mumbai's largest public art initiative, will be painting film posters on walls across the city. The first of the series is a massive hand-painted mural of the 1953 film Anarkali, in Mumbai's Bandra district. BAP plans to create 150 murals by the end of the year. - Meera Gopal
Bollywood trio launch crime novel
John Abraham, Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Gupta launched the author Hussain Zaidi's book Dongri to Dubai at a Mumbai hotel early this week, saying their forthcoming film, Shootout at Wadala, wouldn't have been possible had it not been for the book. "We have been waiting for a long time for the book to be released. People will read the book, and hopefully they will be even more inclined to watch the film," said Gupta. Shootout at Wadala is a gangster film set in 1990s Mumbai. - Anjali A
Amala Shankar to walk the red carpet at Cannes
Amala Shankar, the 93-year-old widow of Uday Shankar and the pioneer of modern dance in India, will walk the red carpet today at the Cannes film festival. Shankar will attend a special screening of Kalpana, her husband's 1948 directorial debut. It was the first Indian film to have a dancer as the protagonist. No less a cineaste than Martin Scorsese took it upon himself to restore the film digitally. A possible re-release in India is also reported to be planned. - Meera Gopal
Catch hot desi gossip, movies and music on Radio Mirchi, broadcast on three frequencies: 97.3 Abu Dhabi, 88.8 Dubai and 95.6 Al Ain
Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
AIDA%20RETURNS
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Alan%20Wake%20Remastered%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERemedy%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Microsoft%20Game%20Studios%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsoles%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%204%20%26amp%3B%205%2C%20Xbox%3A%20360%20%26amp%3B%20One%20%26amp%3B%20Series%20X%2FS%20and%20Nintendo%20Switch%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Islamic%20Architecture%3A%20A%20World%20History
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
How they line up for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix
1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2 Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
3 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
4 Max Verstappen, Red Bull
5 Kevin Magnussen, Haas
6 Romain Grosjean, Haas
7 Nico Hulkenberg, Renault
*8 Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
9 Carlos Sainz, Renault
10 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
11 Fernando Alonso, McLaren
12 Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren
13 Sergio Perez, Force India
14 Lance Stroll, Williams
15 Esteban Ocon, Force India
16 Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso
17 Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
18 Charles Leclerc, Sauber
19 Sergey Sirotkin, Williams
20 Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso
* Daniel Ricciardo qualified fifth but had a three-place grid penalty for speeding in red flag conditions during practice
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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The%20Killer
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Company%20Profile
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Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
The Lowdown
Us
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseqph, Evan Alex and Elisabeth Moss
Rating: 4/5
You might also like to read
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
