Hiru Golden Film Awards 2014

Hiru Golden Film Awards 2014

The Hiru Golden Film Awards was held on a grand scale at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium yesterday leaving a golden note in the history of Sri Lankan cinema as the largest local cinema awards ceremony held ever in Sri Lanka.

Hiru Golden Film Awards organized to international standards was held with the participation of a galaxy of Bollywood and local superstars.

Several Bollywood superstars including Bipasha Basu, Neha Dupia, Anil Kapoor, Sunil Shetti and Vivek Oberoi joined this historic cinematic experience.

In addition, super vocalist Alka Yagnik who thrilled the hearts of Bollywood fans also joined her fellow film stars.

State of the art technology and most modern lighting systems never used in a Sri Lankan awards ceremony were used to provide lighting for Hiru Golden Film Awards.

In addition, the most sophisticated sound control system and most advanced camera system in the country were used to cover this spectacular event leaving a lasting memory of the ceremony.

Sri Lankan film industry which began 67 years ago has passed its golden era where film personnel were appreciated.

But no quality productions were screened afterward thereby making it one of the causes to collapse the industry.

In order to fill the vacuum, Hiru Golden Film Awards, was organized according to a concept by Asia Broadcasting Corporation Chairman Rayynor Silva, taking a revolutionary profile in the local cinema industry.

16 years ago, the local radio industry was also given new perspective following a concept given by Asia Broadcasting Corporation Chairman Rayynor Silva.

As a result, a family of radio channels such as Hiru FM, Sha FM, Sun FM, Gold FM and Sooriyan FM were introduced.

Leading in the arena, Asia Broadcasting Corporation later introduced its first Television channel Hiru TV which has already left its musing in the hearts of its viewers.

Chairman Rayynor Silva championed both Radio and Television and the latest endeavour of Asia Broadcasting Corporation was Hiru Golden Film Awards.

Hiru Golden Film Awards, the first of its kind, awarded films that were screened in 2012 and 2013 and another 100 short films produced during the same period.

Hiru Golden Film Award was held at a time where there is a large vacuum in the local film industry.

Awards for Most popular Actor, actress and the most popular song were presented according to an opinion poll carried out through S M S’s and awards ceremony web site.

Accordingly the award for the best film direction was presented to Ashoka Handagama for “Iniyawan” while “Siri Parakum” received the award for the most popular film.

Akila Dhanuddara who featured in “Siri Parakum” was awarded most popular actor and Yashoda Wimaladharma was awarded most popular actress for her role in “Samala Sandwaniya”.

The Best Actor award went to Darshan Dharmaraj for “Iniyawan”.

Chandani Seneviratne who acted in “Nikini Wassa” was presented with the best actress award.

Veteran artists from Sri Lanka as well as Bollywood stars Bipasha Basu, Anil Kapoor, Sunil Shetti, Vivek Oberoi, Neha Dhupia and super vocalist Alka Yagnik who participated in the Hiru Golden Film Awards, presented the awards.

The Best Supporting actor award was presented to Ashan Dias for his role in “Siri Parakum” while Niranjani Shanmugaraja was awarded Best Supporting actress for her role in “Iniyawan”.

The best upcoming actor award went to “Jagath Manuwarna” for his roles in “Nikini Wassa” and “Karma”.

Sulochana Weerasinghe became the best upcoming actress for her role in Nikini Wessa.

Pramuditha Udaya Kumara was awarded “Best child actor” for his role in Siri Parakum.

Amila Thenuwara was awarded “best film songwriter” for the song “Ikigasa handana” from Samala Sandwaniya while Amarasiri Peiris was awarded best male background singer for the same song. The song Ikigasa handana was also selected as the most popular song.

Uresha Rawihari was awarded best female background singer for the “jala dhara” in Kusa Paba.

The best film editor award was presented to Ajith Ramanayake for Iniyawan while Palitha Perera received the award for best camera direction for the film “Karma”.

The award for the best Scriptwriter was won by Aruna Jayawardena for Nikini Wessa.

“Hiru Jeewana Pranama special award” at the Hiru Golden Film awards was presented to Swarna Mallawarachchi.

Hiru Uththamachaara award was won by late Andrew Jayamaanna who has provided a yeoman service to the tele and cinema industry as a director and a camera director.

Read more ...

Watch the Canadian Parliament Attack

Canadian police have released new videos showing the moments before the deadly attack on the country's parliament in Ottawa, saying that the slain suspect is likely to have acted alone. Authorities also said on Thursday that they believed 32-year old Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was planning to travel to Syria. The grainy surveillance camera video showed a man rushing out of a vehicle, brandishing a firearm, as several people in the nearby street scrambled for cover. Earlier on Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told parliament members that his government would speed up plans to bolster laws on "surveillance and arrest" following the attack. Zehaf-Bibeau was shot dead after storming into the main parliament building shortly after killing Nathan Cirillo, a soldier guarding the nearby national war memorial. Parliament opened with applause for the sergeant who shot Zehaf-Bibeau, and a moment's silence for the dead soldier. "The objective of these attacks was to instill fear and panic in our country," Harper said. "Canadians will not be intimidated. We will be vigilant, but we will not run scared. We will be prudent but we will not panic." Mother 'crying for victims' According to family members and friends, the suspect's past included robbery and drug offenses. The mother of the attacker said she was crying for the victims of the shooting, not her son.

"Can you ever explain something like this?'' Susan Bibeau said in an interview with the Associated Press. "We are sorry.''
"If I'm crying it's for the people. Not for my son."
"I am mad at my son," she said in a separate email to the agency. "I, his mother, spoke with him last week over lunch, I had not seen him for over five years before that,'' the email said. "So I have very little insight to offer."
She said that no words could express the sadness she and her husband were feeling over the death of the soldier
"We are so sad that a man lost his life. He ... leaves behind a family that must feel nothing but pain and sorrow. We send our deepest condolences to them although words seem pretty useless. We are both crying for them."
"We also wish to apologise for all the pain, fright and chaos he [Zehaf-Bibeau] created. We have no explanation to offer."
The Ottawa attack came two days after another man, whom Harper described as an "ISIL-inspired terrorist" ran over two soldiers in a car park in Quebec, killing one and injuring another before being shot and killed by police.

Read more ...

Watch Michelle Obama Dance With a Turnip

Michelle Obama Dance With a Turnip

 

The First Lady Michelle Obama posts a Vine showing her throwing some moves with a turnip to promote her healthy living campaign.

This could be the epitome of mum dancing.

During a Vine Q & A session to promote her healthy living Let's Move! campaign, Michelle Obama was asked how many calories she burned "when you turn up."

Cue the First Lady recording a clip of her dancing to Lil Jon's 'Turn Down for What?' and giving it a foody twist.

The cringe-worthy clip is irresistible and has gone viral since it was posted late on Tuesday.

Read more ...

Nobel Peace Prize 2014: Pakistani Malala Yousafzai, Indian Kailash Satyarthi Honored For Fighting For Children's Rights

The 2014 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on Friday to Pakistani Malala Yousafzai and Indian Kailash Satyarthi for "their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education."

"Children must go to school and not be financially exploited," The Norwegian Nobel Committee stated in a press release. "In the poor countries of the world, 60% of the present population is under 25 years of age. It is a prerequisite for peaceful global development that the rights of children and young people be respected."
Yousafzai, 17, was shot in the head by Taliban militants in 2012 for having the temerity to seek an education. The Islamist militant group also took issue with her for publishing a blog in 2009 that promoted the right to education.
"I think of it often and imagine the scene clearly. Even if they come to kill me, I will tell them what they are doing is wrong, that education is our basic right," Yousafzai said on her website.
After receiving treatment for her injuries in a British hospital, Yousafzai dedicated herself to the cause of education for all. She said being shot had only strengthened her resolve.
"They can only shoot a body, they cannot shoot my dreams," Yousafzai said. "They shot me because they wanted to tell me that, 'we want to kill you and to stop you campaigning', but they did the biggest mistake: they injured me, and they told me through that attack, that even death is supporting me, even death does not want to kill me."
Yousafzai penned the bestselling book, "I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education And Was Shot By The Taliban," and launched The Malala Fund, a nonprofit organization focused on helping girls go to school and promoting their right of education. For her efforts, she has received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the European Union's annual human rights award. Previous winners include Nobel Peace Prize laureates Aung San Suu Kyi and Nelson Mandela.
To date, only 15 women have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Yousafzai is the youngest Nobel laureate ever.



Satyarthi, 60, is a children's rights activist who has dedicated his life to helping the millions of youths in India and around the world that have been forced into slavery.
A former electrical engineer, Satyarthi has participated in countless peaceful demonstrations and protests against the exploitation of children. He has mounted raids on factories where children were forced to work, and helped free and rehabilitate thousands. Satyarthi also established Rugmark (now known as Goodweave), a group that aims to "stop child labor in the carpet industry and to replicate its market-based approach in other sectors," and currently heads the Global March Against Child Labor, a conglomeration of 2,000 social-minded organizations and trade unions in 140 countries.
Satyarthi's contributions have received many honors, including the Aachener International Peace Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, the Wallenberg Medal and the Defenders of Democracy Award.
"This is an honor for all my fellow Indians, as well as an honor for all those children in the world whose voices were never heard before properly," Satyarthi told India's NDTV network.



"The Nobel Committee regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism," the Committee stated in a press release. "Many other individuals and institutions in the international community have also contributed. It has been calculated that there are 168 million child laborers around the world today. In 2000, the figure was 78 million higher. The world has come closer to the goal of eliminating child labor."
The two will split the Nobel award of $1.1 million.
The committee awards the Nobel Peace Prize annually to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." It is one of five Nobel Prizes established by Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite, in his will in 1895.

Read more ...