60th Filmfare Awards 2015 Winners

The wait is over, 60th Filmfare Awards 2015 held today in Mumbai (January 31st 2015) at Yash Raj Studios Mumbai. Filmfare saw some sparkling performances from Bollywood stars including Ranbir Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Arjun Kapoor and the lovely Shraddha Kapoor.

The show was hosted by TV comedian Kapil Sharma and the producer-director Karan Johar. A perfect comic duo, the pair entertained throughout the night with their hilarious gaffs and spoofs.
Karan even managed to get a few words out of Alia about her marriage prospects during backstage rehearsals.
The adorable actress admitted she wouldn’t mind going for Kapil, saying: “If I can adjust with Randeep Hooda, I can manage with Kapil Sharma too.”
Kapil was of course over the moon by her comment, and later arrived on the red carpet with a full baraat in tow celebrating with a ‘band baja’. Alia later won Best Actress (Critics) for Highway. She said:
“I don’t know what to say. Thank you Filmfare and Imtiaz for giving me ‘Highway’. Thank you for dealing with me and my tantrums.”
On the red carpet the stars sizzled in their finest designer wear. Sunny Leone looked stunning in a black floor length gown with her hair in a classic chignon.
The actress admitted that she was hoping Priyanka would take the ‘Best Actress’ award, saying: “I am rooting for Priyanka Chopra for Mary Kom.”
Kajol looked the perfect princess in a light pink gown. Sitting on the front row, Karan asked her for a few ‘romance’ tips, to which Kajol brilliantly responded: “SRK ko romance Yash Chopra ne sikhaya tha.”

Style diva Sonam Kapoor looked gorgeous in a traditional off-white piece: “I am happy to be nominated. This is my fourth nomination and I am happy that I am here.”
Co-star Fawad Khan, already lovingly dubbed Prince Charming, took the award for Best Debut (Male) for his role in Khoobsurat. Ecstatic at his win, he said:

“My message to fans would be, you guys are the instrument of my success. It is beautiful to get love from people in India and Pakistan.”

Tiger Shroff lost to the Pakistani actor, but his co-star Kriti Sanon from Heropanti took the award for Best Debut (Female).
Haider was a big winner on the night with both Tabu and Kay Kay Menon taking the awards for Best Supporting Actor.

Shahid arrived on the carpet looking as dapper as ever in a black tux. On the red carpet, when asked about his favourite Filmfare moment, Shahid said:
“It was for winning my first Filmfare for my debut film. You can never have enough of them (the black lady). Looking forward to the night.”
Shahid later won Best Actor (Male) for his brilliant portrayal. Another big winner in the Critics category was Ankhon Dekhi, which won Best Film (Critics) and Best Actor (Critics).
But it was Queen that was deemed the Best Film of 2014. The story of a young woman from Delhi on a journey to rediscover herself was applauded by audiences and critics alike. Vikas Bahl also took the award for Best Director. while Kangana Ranaut won Best Actor (Female).
Here is the full list of the 60th Britannia Filmfare Awards 2015:
BEST FILM
Queen
BEST DIRECTOR
Vikas Bahl – Queen
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE (MALE)
Shahid Kapoor – Haider
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE (FEMALE)
Kangana Ranaut – Queen
BEST FILM (CRITICS) 
Ankhon Dekhi
BEST ACTOR (CRITICS)
Sanjay Mishra – Ankhon Dekhi
BEST ACTRESS (CRITICS)
Alia Bhatt – Highway
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (MALE)
Kay Kay Menon – Haider
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (FEMALE)
Tabu – Haider
BEST STORY
Rajat Kapoor – Ankhon Dekhi
BEST DIALOGUE
Abhijat Joshi and Rajkumar Hirani – PK
BEST SCREENPLAY
Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi – PK
BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR
Abhishek Varman – 2 States
BEST DEBUT (MALE)
Fawad Khan – Khoobsurat
BEST DEBUT (FEMALE)
Kriti Sanon – Heropanti
BEST MUSIC DIRECTOR
Shankar-Eshaan-Loy – 2 States
BEST LYRICS (LYRICIST)
Rashmi Singh – Muskurane ki wajah (CityLights)
BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (MALE)
Ankit Tiwari – Galliyan (Ek Villain)
BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (FEMALE)
Kanika Kapoor – Baby Doll (Ragini MMS 2)
BEST COSTUME
Dolly Ahluwalia – Haider
BEST SOUND DESIGN
Anilkumar Konakandla and Prabal Pradhan – Mardaani
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Subrata Chakraborty and Amit Ray – Haider
BEST EDITING
Abhijit Kokate and Anurag Kashyap – Queen
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Bobby Singh and Siddharth Diwan – Queen
BEST ACTION
Sham Kaushal – Gunday
BEST BACKGROUND SCORE
Amit Trivedi – Queen
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Ahmed Khan for Jumme Ki Raat – Kick
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Kamini Kaushal
This year Bollywood celebrated some of the best films of 2014. This year Indian cinema continued to break boundaries. Surely 2014 was another exceptional year for bollywood, as we seen some great movies like Queen, Haider, Mardaani, PK and many more.
Congratulations to all of the winners!

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

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Tablet users to cross 1billion in 2015

Tablet users to cross 1billion in 2015, with nearly a third of them living in China, according to forecasts published by research firm eMarketer.

Copyright 2015 eMarketer Inc.

According to the company's forecast nearly 15% or one-seventh of the global population will use a tablet, but according to the forecasters the growth is expected to slow in the years ahead.
In fact, that slowdown is already underway: the number of tablet users grew by 54.1% in 2013 and 29.1% in 2014 according to eMarketer, which predicts that this will slow to 17.1% in 2015. While this figure is healthy, it pales in comparison with year-over-year gains of 54.1% in 2013 and 29.1% in 2014. By 2018, the growth rate for new tablet users worldwide will be just 7.9%.
Of the billion-plus tablet users in 2015, the company estimates that 328.3m will be in China, 156m in the US, 40.4m in India and 32.2m in the UK.
Here are four other key facts in each of the next four years in eMarketer’s forecast for tablet users worldwide:
    2015: Brazil will surpass the UK to become the fourth-largest market.
    2016: Indonesia will enter the top five, reaching nearly 38 million tablet users.
    2017: China will have more than 400 million tablet users.
    2018: Nearly 20% of the world population will use tablets regularly.

Copyright 2015 eMarketer Inc.

eMarketer also cites three trends for the slowdown in the growth of these numbers globally, including the fact that tablets are still seen as “luxury items” by many people.
“Tablets face increased competition from smartphones and a widening array of connected devices, including phablets, wearables, connected TVs and dedicated gaming devices, particularly in late-adopting countries like Japan and South Korea,” added the company in its analysis.
“The use case for tablets is not always clear, particularly in markets where smartphone and phablet usage is robust.”
Apple in particular has faced questions from analysts about sales of its iPad tablets, which declined year-on-year in its last two financial quarters, although its sales figures from the last quarter of 2014 have yet to be published.
Whereas, Research firm IDC has predicted a “massive deceleration” in tablet shipments for 2014, suggesting an additional reason: the fact that many tablet owners seem to be happy to wait three or four years before upgrading their devices.
In estimates published in November 2014, IDC said it expected 235.7m tablets to ship in 2014, with 67.7% of them running Google’s Android software, 27.5% running Apple’s iOS, and 4.6% running Windows software.
About this Forecast:
eMarketer said in its article about the forecasts as "eMarketer bases all of its forecasts on a multipronged approach that focuses on both worldwide and local trends in the economy, technology and population, along with company-, product-, country- and demographic-specific trends, and trends in specific consumer behaviors. We analyze quantitative and qualitative data from a variety of research firms, government agencies, media outlets and company reports, weighting each piece of information based on methodology and soundness.
In addition, every element of each eMarketer forecast fits within the larger matrix of all its forecasts, with the same assumptions and general framework used to project figures in a wide variety of areas. Regular re-evaluation of each forecast means those assumptions and framework are constantly updated to reflect new market developments and other trends."

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

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Social Media Usage (Statistics)

In a new survey conducted in September 2014, the Pew Research Center finds that Facebook remains by far the most popular social media site. While its growth has slowed, the level of user engagement with the platform has increased. Other platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn saw significant increases over the past year in the proportion of online adults who now use their sites.

The results in this report are based on the 81% of American adults who use the internet. Other key findings:

• Multi-platform use is on the rise: 52% of online adults now use two or more social media sites, a significant increase from 2013, when it stood at 42% of internet users.
• For the first time, more than half of all online adults 65 and older (56%) use Facebook. This represents 31% of all seniors.
• For the first time, roughly half of internet-using young adults ages 18-29 (53%) use Instagram. And half 0f all Instagram users (49%) use the site daily.
• For the first time, the share of internet users with college educations using LinkedIn reached 50%.
• Women dominate Pinterest: 42% of online women now use the platform, compared with 13% of online men.

While Facebook remains the most popular social media site, its overall growth has slowed and other sites continue to see increases in usership.

Facebook continues to be the most popular social media site, but its membership saw little change from 2013. The one notable exception is older adults: For the first time in Pew Research findings, more than half (56%) of internet users ages 65 and older use Facebook. Overall, 71% of internet users are on Facebook, a proportion that represents no change from August 2013.
Every other social media platform measured saw significant growth between 2013 and 2014. Instagram not only increased its overall user figure by nine percentage points, but also saw significant growth in almost every demographic group. LinkedIn continued to grow among groups with which it was already popular, such as professionals and college graduates, while Twitter and Pinterest saw increases in usership across a variety of demographic groups.
the-engagement-of-facebook-users-continues-to-grow-while-daily-use-on-other-platforms-shows-little-change

The engagement of Facebook users continues to grow, while daily use on other platforms shows little change.

Facebook’s large base of users continues to be very active. Fully 70% engage with the site daily (and 45% do so several times a day), a significant increase from the 63% who did so in 2013. About half (49%) of Instagram users and 17% of Pinterest users engage with their respective platforms daily, although neither of these represent a significant change from 2013. Some 36% of Twitter users visit the site daily, but this actually represents a 10-point decrease from the 46% who did so in 2013. While the 13% of LinkedIn users who engage with the platform daily is unchanged from 2013, the proportion of users who use the site weekly or less often increased significantly—that is, more users log on less frequently.
52-of-online-adults-use-multiple-social-media-sites-facebook-acts-as-home-base-it-remains-the-most-popular-site-for-those-who-only-use-one-and-has-significant-overlap-wit

52% of online adults use multiple social media sites. Facebook acts as “home base” — it remains the most popular site for those who only use one, and has significant overlap with other platforms.

Fully 52% of online adults use two or more social media sites, a significant increase from the 42% who did so in 2013. At the same time, significantly fewer adults use just one site — 28% compared with 36% last year. As in 2013, Facebook remains the most popular site among those who use only one — fully 79% of those who use just one site report using Facebook. As in years past, a significant majority of Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn users say they also use Facebook, more than any other site. At the same time, the proportion of Facebook users who also use another site is on the rise — that is, there are more Facebook users this year who also use Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn than there were in 2013.

Social media users in the entire adult population

The results of this report are focused on all internet users. In this survey, 81% of all American adults ages 18+ are internet users. The usage figures of the five social networking platforms measured are presented as a proportion of the total American adult population.
About this survey
The findings reported here were collected in omnibus surveys underwritten by the University of Michigan. The survey questions were designed in consultation with Dr. Nicole Ellison and Dr. Cliff Lampe from the University of Michigan’s School of Information. Further reports with more details about how people use social media will be produced later this year.
The results are based on data from telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International from September 11 to September 14, 2014 and September 18 to September 21, 2014. Telephone interviews were conducted in English and Spanish by landline (1,002) and cell phone (1,001, including 594 without a landline phone). For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. For results based on Internet users (n=1,597), the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

Adapted from PewResearch Internet Project.

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

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Gilgit-Baltistan a Traveler's Paradise

Though this is not a photographic blog but the as I went through this photographic page on Facebook I saw some amazing work done by this photographer. I hope you too will find these landscape images as eye catching as I got at first look.
Enjoy!

Babusar Pass

Nalter Lake

Sadpara Lake

Katpana , Skardu

Somewhere in Gilgit-Baltistan

Nagar Valley

Nagar Valley

Nagar Valley

Ghanche

Nagar Valley

Hunza

Lady Finger & Hunza Peak Along With Ultar Sar In A Stary Night

Cold Desert , Skardu

Skardu-Shigar Road

Beyond Sost Near Khunjrab

Hunza

Somewhere in Gilgit-Baltistan

Khapulu

Spantik Peak 7,027m

Moonlit Night In Shigar Valley

Somewhere in Gilgit-Baltistan

Khapulu

Ultar Sar 7,388m

Nagar Valley

Hopper Nagar

Hunza

Hopper Nagar

Upper Kachura Lake

The images have taken from S.M.Bukhari's facebook page. S.M.Bukhari is a landscape photographer based in Sialkot, Pakistan. The visual drama and artistry of his photographs are born of a keen eye for the many moods of Nature and a life-long passion for the wilderness. This passion shines throughout Bukhari’s work and has attracted a wide audience around the world.

His talent for rare captures of amazing light and fleeting atmosphere imbue his portfolio with a sense of the epic, majestic and the bold. His success derives from patient single-minded pursuit of all the unique moments that generate the magic and energy of the wilderness, often spending months immersing himself in the landscape he shoots despite the rigors of season and weather.

Bukhari’s photographs have been published extensively worldwide in a large variety of media ranging from calendars, books, advertising and the publications of National Geographic, Outdoor Photographer, Popular Photography and many more. Express channel has produced a documentary with his work. He is an executive member of Photography Arts Society of Pakistan (PASP) established 1980.He is also a brand ambassador of Samyang Optics Co in Pakistan.He had done successful workshops on photography art in Alhamra Arts Gallery , Lahore . Pak Tea House , Lahore & Minerva Art Gallery ,Islamabad.He also was engaged with ISPR for a project work.

Find SM Bukhari on Facebook, Flickr

Read Also: Hunza in Pictures

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

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Cost of Living Around the World

Here is an interactive infographic map that shows the current living costs of countries around the world. The parameter used to measure the cost of living is The Consumer Price Index (CPI), it determines the difference in the living costs between countries takes into account the prices of groceries, transportation, restaurants and utilities.
The CPI in the infographic is a relative indicator of a country's living costs compared to New York. So, for instance, if a country has a CPI of 70, on average it enjoys 30% cheaper living costs compared to New York.
India tops the list for having lowest cost of living followed by Nepal and Pakistan. While on other end Switzerland takes first place for having highest cost of living followed by Norway and Venezuela.



The Consumer Price Index takes into account the cost of groceries, transportation, restaurants and utilities, each containing a number of variables. The cost of groceries, for instance, is made up of the price for meat, bread, rice, eggs, fruits, vegetables and alcohol. The transportation cost includes one-way tickets, monthly passes, taxi fares, petrol prices as well as the prices of a Volkswagen Golf. The restaurant costs comprise of prices for meals in expensive, mid-range and inexpensive restaurants, as well as the prices for coffee products, alcohol and water in restaurants. The utilities costs are determined by the prices for electricity, heating, water and Internet, among the few.
The data was collected by Numbeo, the world's largest database of user-contributed data on costs and prices around the world.

Read Also: Internet Speeds and Costs Around the World

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

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10 Things You Must Give Up to Move Forward

If you want to fly and move on to better things, you have to give up the things that weigh you down – which is not always as obvious and easy as it sounds.
Starting today, give up…

1. Letting the opinions of others control your life. – People know your name, not your story.  They’ve heard what you’ve done, but not what you’ve been through.  So take their opinions of you with a grain of salt.  In the end, it’s not what others think, it’s what you think about yourself that counts.  Sometimes you have to do exactly what’s best for you and your life, not what’s best for everyone else.
2. The shame of past failures. – You will fail sometimes, and that’s okay.  The faster you accept this, the faster you can get on with being brilliant.  Your past does not equal your future.  Just because you failed yesterday; or all day today; or a moment ago; or for the last six months; or for the last sixteen years, doesn’t have any impact on the current moment.  All that matters is what you do right now.
   
3. Being indecisive about what you want. – You will never leave where you are until you decide where you would rather be.  It’s all about finding and pursuing your passion.  Neglecting passion blocks creative flow.  When you’re passionate, you’re energized.  Likewise, when you lack passion, your energy is low and unproductive.  Energy is everything when it comes to being successful.  Make a decision to figure out what you want, and then pursue it passionately.
4. Procrastinating on the goals that matter to you. – There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.  Follow your intuition.  Don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do.  When there is love and inspiration, you can’t go wrong.  And whatever it is you want to do, do it now.  There are only so many tomorrows.  Trust me, in a year from now, you will wish you had started today.
5. Choosing to do nothing. – You don’t get to choose how you are going to die, or when.  You can only decide how you are going to live, right now.  Every day is a new chance to choose.  Choose to change your perspective.  Choose to flip the switch in your mind from negative to positive.  Choose to turn on the light and stop fretting about with insecurity and doubt.  Choose to do work that you are proud of.  Choose to see the best in others, and to show your best to others. Choose to truly LIVE, right now.
6. Your need to be right. – If you keep on saying you’re right, even if you are right now, eventually you will be wrong.  Aim for success, but never give up your right to be wrong.  Because when you do, you will also lose your ability to learn new things and move forward with your life.  Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
7. Running from problems that should be fixed. – We make life harder than it has to be.  The difficulties started when… conversations became texting, feelings became subliminal, sex became a game, the word ‘love’ fell out of context, trust faded as honesty waned, insecurities became a way of living, jealously became a habit, being hurt started to feel natural, and running away from it all became our solution.  Stop running!  Face these issues, fix the problems, communicate, appreciate, forgive and LOVE the people in your life who deserve it.
8. Making excuses rather than decisions. – Life is a continuous exercise in creative problem solving.  A mistake doesn’t become a failure until you refuse to correct it. Thus, most long-term failures are the outcome of people who make excuses instead of decisions.
9. Overlooking the positive points in your life. – What you see often depends entirely on what you’re looking for.  Do your best and surrender the rest.  When you stay stuck in regret of the life you think you should have had, you end up missing the beauty of what you do have.  You will have a hard time ever being happy if you aren’t thankful for the good things in your life right now.
   
10. Not appreciating the present moment. – We do not remember days, we remember moments.  Too often we try to accomplish something big without realizing that the greatest part of life is made up of the little things.  Live authentically and cherish each precious moment of your journey.  Because when you finally arrive at your desired destination, I guarantee you, another journey will begin.

Originally posted on  Mark and Angel Life Hack

Read Also: Log kya Kahenge

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

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Description of World Countries in One Sentence

1. Afghanistan

2.  Australia

3. Bhutan

4. Canada

5. China

6. France

7. Greece

8. Greenland

9. India

10. Italy

11. Madagascar

12. Malaysia

13. Mongolia

14. Netherlands

15. New Zealand

16. Pakistan

17. Poland

18. Portugal

19. Russia

20. Saudi Arabia

21. Sweden

22. Switzerland

23. Thailand

24. Tibet

25. U.S.A

The article originally appeared at Hothcpotch Post. It has been reproduced after taking permissions from Hotchpotch Post.

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