Comedy Central launching next month on OSN

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US television channel Comedy Central will be available from May 7 exclusively on regional pay-TV network OSN. The channel's most popular shows include The Daily Show, Comedy Central Presents, Inside Amy Schumer, Lip Sync Battle and South Park. All new content, including comedy programmes and cartoons, will be subtitled in Arabic. Comedy Central on OSN will also feature locally produced programmes — more details will be announced in the coming weeks. New episodes of shows that are broadcast on the network will also be available on OSN Play and on OSN on Demand. — The National

Padukone praised for on-set toughness

Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, who will star alongside Vin Diesel in the action movie xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, has impressed DJ Caruso, the film's director, with her dedication while training for stunts. Caruso shared a photo of 30-year-old Padukone on Twitter, saying, "#DeepikaPadukone showing #TonyJaa how it's done. Good times training for a #kickass sequence today". The film is scheduled for release in January. — Sonali Kokra

Varun confirms new Dharma film

Actor Varun Dhawan has confirmed that he is making another film with director Karan Johar's production house, Dharma Productions. On the last day of filming of Dishoom, which was partly filmed in Abu Dhabi, the 28-year-old actor was asked about Johar's upcoming film, Shuddhi. "For me, every film is important, even if I have only a day's work for the film," he said. "Every film is very close to me. As far as Shuddhi is concerned, I think that Johar has given the answers to you. I'm doing another film with Dharma, and the announcement will be made soon." As for Dishoom, starring John Abraham and Jacqueline Fernandez and coming out later this year, Dhawan said: "It's honestly been a very challenging film, because there is a lot of action. John and me have been part of some daredevil stunts." – IANS

Beyoncé teases fans with Lemonade trailer

Singer Beyoncé teased fans with a minute-long trailer for Lemonade, promoting an event that will debut on Saturday on US cable network HBO. "The past and the present merge to meet us here. What are you hiding? Why can't you see me? You're the love of my life," the singer says mysteriously over snapshots of herself, other women and vague locations. Beyoncé rarely gives interviews these days and fans have been speculating about what Lemonade will offer, for example whether it is a documentary follow up to her 2013 HBO film Life is But a Dream or a concept video with new music. — Reuters

Chicago to issue bonds for Star Wars museum

Bonds valued at up to US$1.5 billion (Dh5.5bn) will be issued in Chicago to build a museum proposed by Star Wars creator George Lucas. The museum will feature the filmmaker's collection of paintings, illustrations and digital art. The bonds will be issued by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority for the museum and the replacement of a big part of its McCormick Place convention centre, which would be demolished for the project. Lucas will also contribute $743 million to the authority for the museum. The financing plan also calls for the extension of taxes and millions of dollars from the state of Illinois. — Reuters

Fan sues Kanye West over album ‘trick’

A Kanye West fan is suing the rapper and a company owned by Jay Z, saying that they tricked people into subscribing to music-streaming service Tidal by fraudulently claiming it was the only way to buy West's album The Life of Pablo. In the lawsuit, filed in San Francisco, Justin Baker-Rhett said he signed up for the US$9.99 (Dh36.70) monthly Tidal service after West tweeted on February 15 that Pablo would never be sold anywhere else. However, the California resident called this promise a ploy to add millions of subscribers to struggling Tidal, which Jay Z controls, given that West released the album about a month later on Apple Music and Spotify, and on his own website. Baker-Rhett said the scheme tripled Tidal's subscriber base to 3 million, boosted its value by $60m to $84m, and threatened fans' privacy by forcing them to provide credit card and other personal information. "You can't trick people into paying money and giving up personal information just because the company is struggling," Baker-Rhett's lawyer Jay Edelson said. Tidal and West did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Jay Z took control of Tidal in a $56m deal in March last year. — Reuters

Dilip Kumar feeling ‘brighter and better’

Veteran actor Dilip Kumar, who was hospitalised in Mumbai suffering from a fever and nausea over the weekend, has thanked fans for their love and prayers. The 93-year-old said he was feeling “brighter and better”. Kumar took to Twitter to reassure fans that he was on the mend. “By God’s grace feeling brighter and better,” he tweeted. In another post, he shared a photograph of himself in hospital. “Thank you all for your prayers, love and affection,” he wrote. Kumar’s wife, Saira Banu, said that her husband was “recovering well and is stable”. He is expected to be discharged from hospital soon. — IANS