title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: During 1944, the balance of naval power in the Pacific decisively turned against Japan, and by early 1945, its fleet was much depleted and badly hobbled by critical fuel shortages in the home islands. In a desperate attempt to slow the Allied advance, "Yamato" was dispatched on a one-way mission to Okinawa in April 1945, with orders to beach herself and fight until destroyed, thus protecting the island. The task force was spotted south of Kyushu by US submarines and aircraft, and on 7 April 1945 she was sunk by American carrier-based bombers and torpedo bombers with the loss of most of her crew.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: During the 1930s the Japanese government adopted an ultranationalist militancy with a view to greatly expand the Japanese Empire. Japan withdrew from the League of Nations in 1934, renouncing its treaty obligations. After withdrawing from the Washington Naval Treaty, which limited the size and power of capital ships, the Imperial Japanese Navy began their design of the new "Yamato" class of heavy battleships. Their planners recognized Japan would be unable to compete with the output of U.S. naval shipyards should war break out, so the 70,000 ton vessels of the "Yamato" class were designed to be capable of engaging multiple enemy battleships at the same time.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: The keel of "Yamato", the lead ship of the class, was laid down at the Kure Naval Arsenal, Hiroshima, on 4 November 1937, in a dockyard that had to be adapted to accommodate her enormous hull. The dock was deepened by one meter, and gantry cranes capable of lifting up to 350 tonnes were installed. Extreme secrecy was maintained throughout construction, a canopy even being erected over part of the drydock to screen the ship from view. "Yamato" was launched on 8 August 1940, with Captain (later Vice-Admiral) Miyazato Shutoku in command. A great effort was made in Japan to ensure the ships were built in extreme secrecy to prevent American intelligence officials from learning of their existence and specifications.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: "Yamato"s main battery consisted of nine 45-caliber Type 94 guns—the largest ever fitted to a warship, although the shells were not as heavy as those fired by the British 18-inch naval guns of . Each gun was long, weighed , and was capable of firing high-explosive or armor-piercing shells . Her secondary battery comprised twelve guns mounted in four triple turrets (one forward, one aft, two midships), and twelve guns in six twin mounts (three on each side amidships). These turrets had been taken off the "Mogami"-class cruisers when those vessels were converted to a main armament of guns. In addition, "Yamato" carried twenty-four anti-aircraft guns, primarily mounted amidships. When refitted in 1944 and 1945 for naval engagements in the South Pacific, the secondary battery configuration was changed to six 155 mm guns and twenty-four 127 mm guns, and the number of 25 mm anti-aircraft guns was increased to 162.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: During October or November 1941 "Yamato" underwent sea trials, reaching her maximum possible speed of . As war loomed, priority was given to accelerating military construction. On 16 December, months ahead of schedule, the battleship was formally commissioned at Kure, in a ceremony more austere than usual, as the Japanese were still intent on concealing the ship's characteristics. The same day, under Captain (later Vice-Admiral) Gihachi Takayanagi, she joined fellow battleships and in the 1st Battleship Division.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: On 12 February 1942, "Yamato" became the flagship of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's Combined Fleet. A veteran of Japan's crushing victory over Russia at the Battle of Tsushima in the Russo-Japanese War, the Pearl Harbor victor was planning a decisive engagement with the United States Navy at Midway Island. After participating in war games "Yamato" departed Hiroshima Bay on 27 May for duty with Yamamoto's main battleship group. US codebreakers were aware of Yamamoto's intentions and the Battle of Midway proved disastrous for Japan's carrier force, with four fleet carriers and 332 aircraft lost. Yamamoto exercised overall command from "Yamato"s bridge, but his battle plan had widely dispersed his forces to lure the Americans into a trap, and the battleship group was too far away to take part in the engagement. On 5 June, Yamamoto ordered the remaining ships to return to Japan, so "Yamato" withdrew with the main battleship force to Hashirajima, before making her way back to Kure.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: "Yamato" left Kure for Truk on 17 August 1942. After 11 days at sea, she was sighted by the American submarine , which fired four torpedoes, all of which missed; "Yamato" arrived safely at Truk later that day. She remained there throughout the Guadalcanal campaign because of a lack of 46 cm ammunition suitable for shore bombardment, uncharted seas around Guadalcanal, and her high fuel consumption. Before the year's end, Captain (later Rear Admiral) Chiaki Matsuda was assigned to command "Yamato".


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: On 11 February 1943, "Yamato" was replaced by her sister ship "Musashi" as flagship of the Combined Fleet. The battleship spent only a single day away from Truk between her arrival in August 1942 and her departure on 8 May 1943. On that day, she set sail for Yokosuka and from there for Kure, arriving on 14 May. She spent nine days in dry dock for inspection and general repairs, and after sailing to Japan's western Inland Sea she was again dry-docked in late July for significant refitting and upgrades. On 16 August, "Yamato" began her return to Truk, where she joined a large task force formed in response to American raids on the Tarawa and Makin atolls. She sortied in late September with "Nagato", three carriers, and smaller warships to intercept US Task Force 15, and again a month later with six battleships, three carriers, and eleven cruisers. Intelligence had reported that the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor was nearly empty of ships, which the Japanese interpreted to mean that an American naval force would strike at Wake Island. But there were no radar contacts for six days, and the fleet returned to Truk, arriving on 26 October.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: "Yamato" escorted Transport Operation BO-1 from Truk to Yokosuka during 12–17 December. Subsequently, because of their extensive storage capacity and thick armor protection, "Yamato" and "Musashi" were pressed into service as transport vessels. On 25 December, while ferrying troops and equipment—which were wanted as reinforcements for the garrisons at Kavieng and the Admiralty Islands—from Yokosuka to Truk, "Yamato" and her task group were intercepted by the American submarine about out at sea. "Skate" fired a spread of four torpedoes at "Yamato"; one struck the battleship's starboard side toward the stern. A hole below the top of her anti-torpedo bulge and measuring some across was ripped open in the hull, and a joint between the upper and lower armored belts failed, causing the rear turret's upper magazine to flood. "Yamato" took on about 3,000 tons of water, but reached Truk later that day. The repair ship effected temporary repairs, and "Yamato" departed on 10 January for Kure.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: On 16 January 1944, "Yamato" arrived at Kure for repairs of the torpedo damage and was dry-docked until 3 February. During this time, armor plate sloped at ° was fitted in the area of damage to her hull. It had been proposed that of steel be used to bolster the ship's defense against flooding from torpedo hits outside the armored citadel, but this was rejected out of hand because the additional weight would have increased "Yamato"s displacement and draft too much. While "Yamato" was dry-docked, Captain Nobuei Morishita—former captain of the battleship —assumed command. On 25 February, "Yamato" and "Musashi" were reassigned from the 1st Battleship Division to the Second Fleet.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: "Yamato" was again dry-docked at Kure for further upgrades to all her radar and anti-aircraft systems from 25 February to 18 March 1944. Each of the two beam-mounted 6.1 inch (155-mm) triple turrets was removed and replaced by three pairs of 5-inch (127-mm) AA guns in double mounts. In addition, 8 triple and 26 single 25mm AA mounts were added, increasing the total number of 127 mm and 25 mm anti-aircraft guns to 24 and 162, respectively. Shelters were also added on the upper deck for the increased AA crews. A Type 13 air search and Type 22, Mod 4, surface search/gunnery control radar were installed, and the main mast was altered. Her radar suite was also upgraded to include infrared identification systems and aircraft search and gunnery control radars. She left the dry dock on 18 March and went through several trials beginning on 11 April. "Yamato" left Kure on 21 April and embarked soldiers and materiel the following day at Okinoshima for a mission to Manila, reaching the Philippines on 28 April. She then moved on to Malaya to join Vice-Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's Mobile Fleet at Lingga; this force arrived at Tawi Tawi on 14 May.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: In early June, "Yamato" and "Musashi" were again requisitioned as troop transports, this time to reinforce the garrison and naval defenses of the island of Biak as part of Operation Kon. The mission was cancelled when word reached Ozawa's headquarters of American carrier attacks on the Mariana Islands. Instead, the Imperial Japanese Navy reorganized, concentrating the majority of its remaining fighting strength in the hope of achieving a decisive success against the Americans. By this time though, the entire Japanese navy was inferior in numbers and experience to the U.S. Pacific Fleet. From 19 to 23 June 1944, "Yamato" escorted forces of Ozawa's Mobile Fleet during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, dubbed by American pilots "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". The Japanese lost three aircraft carriers and 426 aircraft; "Yamato"s only significant contribution was mistakenly opening fire on returning Japanese aircraft.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: Following the battle, "Yamato" withdrew with the Mobile Fleet to the Hashirajima staging area near Kure to refuel and rearm. With "Musashi" she left the fleet on 24 June for the short journey to Kure, where she received five more triple 25 mm anti-aircraft mounts. The opportunity was taken to put in place "emergency buoyancy keeping procedures". These resulted in the removal of almost every flammable item from the battleship, including linoleum, bedding, and mattresses. In place of the latter, men slept on planks which could be used to repair damage. Flammable paints received a new silicone based overcoat, and additional portable pumps and fire fighting apparatus were installed. Leaving Japan on 8 July, "Yamato"—accompanied by the battleships "Musashi", , "Nagato", and 11 cruisers and destroyers—sailed south. "Yamato" and "Musashi" headed for the Lingga Islands, arriving on 16–17 July. By this stage of the war, Japan's tanker fleet had been much reduced by marauding American submarines, so major fleet units were stationed in the East Indies to be near the source of their fuel supply. The battleships remained at the islands for the next three months.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: Between 22 and 25 October 1944, as part of Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force (also known as Force A or First Striking Force), "Yamato" took part in one of the largest naval engagements in history—the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In response to the American invasion of the Philippines, Operation Shō-Gō called for a number of Japanese groups to converge on the island of Leyte, where American troops were landing. On 18 October, "Yamato" was given a coating of black camouflage in preparation for her nighttime transit of the San Bernardino Strait; the main ingredient was soot taken from her smokestack. While en route to Leyte, the force was attacked in Palawan Passage on 23 October by the submarines and , which sank two "Takao"-class heavy cruisers including Kurita's flagship, , and damaged a third. Kurita survived the loss of "Atago" and transferred his flag to "Yamato".


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: The following day the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea hurt the Center Force badly with the loss of one more heavy cruiser, eliminating a substantial part of the fleet's anti-aircraft defence. During the course of the day, American carrier aircraft sortied a total of 259 times. Aircraft from the struck "Yamato" with two armor-piercing bombs and scored one near miss; "Yamato" suffered moderate damage and took on about of water, but remained battleworthy. However, her sister ship "Musashi" became the focus of the American attacks and eventually sank after being hit with 17 bombs and 19 torpedoes.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: Unknown to the Japanese admiral, the main American battle group under the command of Admiral William Halsey Jr., departed the Leyte Gulf area on the evening of 24 October. Convinced that Kurita's Center Force had been turned back, Halsey took his powerful Task Force 38 in pursuit of the Japanese Northern Force, a decoy group composed of one fleet aircraft carrier (), three light carriers, two "Ise"-class hybrid battleship-carriers, and their escorts. The deception was a success, drawing away five fleet carriers and five light carriers with more than 600 aircraft among them, six fast battleships, eight cruisers, and over 40 destroyers. During the hours of darkness, Kurita's force navigated the San Bernardino Strait and shortly after dawn, in the Battle off Samar, attacked an American formation that had remained in the area to provide close support for the invading troops. Known as "Taffy 3", this small group comprised six escort carriers, three destroyers, and four destroyer escorts. In the initial stages of this battle, "Yamato" engaged enemy surface targets for the only time in her career, hitting several American ships. After "Yamato" confirmed primary battery hits on the escort carrier , a spread of torpedoes heading for "Yamato" was spotted; the battleship was forced to steer away from the fighting to avoid them and was unable to rejoin the battle. Although armed only with torpedoes and 5 inch guns and under attack by large caliber cannons, the light American surface combatants, supported by FM-2 Wildcats and TBM Avengers from Taffy 3's escort carriers, attacked so ferociously that Kurita believed his ships were engaging a full American task force of fleet carriers. A mistaken report that he was facing six fleet carriers, three cruisers, and two destroyers led Kurita to order his task force to turn and disengage. "Yamato" emerged from the battle without serious damage; only three near misses from bombs and 17 casualties from strafing were suffered during the battle itself, while carrier strikes during the retreat caused light damage to the ship and injured or killed 21 crewmen. Three more heavy cruisers and one light cruiser were subsequently lost. The Centre Force sank one American escort carrier (CVE), two destroyers, and a destroyer escort. A second CVE was lost by kamikaze attack after the surface engagement.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: Following the engagement, "Yamato" and the remnants of Kurita's force returned to Brunei. On 15 November 1944, the 1st Battleship Division was disbanded and "Yamato" became the flagship of the Second Fleet. On 21 November, while transiting the East China Sea in a withdrawal to Kure Naval Base, "Yamato"s battle group was attacked by the submarine . The battleship "Kongō" and destroyer were lost. "Yamato" was immediately drydocked for repairs and anti-aircraft upgrades on reaching Kure, where several of the battleship's older anti-aircraft guns were replaced. On 25 November, Captain Aruga Kōsaku was named "Yamato"s commander.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: On 1 January 1945, "Yamato", "Haruna" and "Nagato" were transferred to the newly reactivated 1st Battleship Division. "Yamato" left drydock two days later for Japan's Inland Sea. This reassignment was brief; the 1st Battleship Division was deactivated once again on 10 February and "Yamato" was allotted to the 1st Carrier Division. On 19 March, American carrier aircraft from TG 58.1 attacked Kure Harbour. Although 16 warships were hit, "Yamato" sustained only minor damage from a number of near misses and from one bomb that struck her bridge. The intervention of a squadron of Kawanishi N1K1 "Shiden" fighters (named "George" by the Allies) flown by veteran Japanese fighter instructors prevented the raid from doing too much damage to the base and assembled ships, while "Yamato"s ability to maneuver—albeit slowly—in the Nasami Channel benefited her.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: As the final step before their planned invasion of the Japanese mainland, Allied forces invaded Okinawa on 1 April. The Imperial Japanese Navy's response was to organise a mission codenamed Operation Ten-Go that would see the commitment of much of Japan's remaining surface strength. "Yamato" and nine escorts (the cruiser and eight destroyers) would sail to Okinawa and, in concert with "kamikaze" and Okinawa-based army units, attack the Allied forces assembled on and around Okinawa. "Yamato" would then be beached to act as an unsinkable gun emplacement and continue to fight until destroyed. In preparation for the mission, "Yamato" had taken on a full stock of ammunition on 29 March. According to the Japanese plan, the ships were supposed to take aboard only enough fuel for a one way voyage to Okinawa, but additional fuel amounting to 60% of capacity was issued on the authority of local base commanders. Designated the "Surface Special Attack Force", the ships left Tokuyama at 15:20 on 6 April.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: Unfortunately for the Japanese, the Allies had intercepted and decoded their radio transmissions, learning the particulars of Operation Ten-Go. Further confirmation of Japanese intentions came around 20:00 when the Surface Special Attack Force, navigating the Bungo Strait, was spotted by the American submarines and . Both reported "Yamato"s position to the main American carrier strike force, but neither could attack because of the speed of the Japanese ships——and their extreme zigzagging.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: The Allied forces around Okinawa braced for an assault. Admiral Raymond Spruance ordered six battleships already engaged in shore bombardment in the sector to prepare for surface action against "Yamato". These orders were countermanded in favor of strikes from Admiral Marc Mitscher's aircraft carriers, but as a contingency the battleships together with 7 cruisers and 21 destroyers were sent to interdict the Japanese force before it could reach the vulnerable transports and landing craft.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: "Yamato"s crew were at general quarters and ready for anti-aircraft action by dawn on 7 April. The first Allied aircraft made contact with the Surface Special Attack Force at 08:23; two flying boats arrived soon thereafter, and for the next five hours, "Yamato" fired Common Type 3 or "Beehive" ("3 Shiki tsûjôdan") shells at the Allied seaplanes, but could not prevent them from shadowing the force. "Yamato" obtained her first radar contact with aircraft at 10:00; an hour later, American F6F Hellcat fighters appeared overhead to deal with any Japanese aircraft that might appear. None did.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: At about 12:30, 280 bomber and torpedo bomber aircraft arrived over the Japanese force. , which had fallen out of formation with engine trouble, was caught and sunk by a detachment of aircraft from . The Surface Special Attack Force increased speed to , and following standard Japanese anti-aircraft defensive measures, the destroyers began circling "Yamato". The first aircraft swooped in to attack at 12:37. "Yahagi" turned and raced away at in an attempt to draw off some of the attackers; it drew off only an insignificant number. "Yamato" was not hit for four minutes, but at 12:41 two bombs obliterated two of her triple 25 mm anti-aircraft mounts and blew a hole in the deck. A third bomb then destroyed her radar room and the starboard aft 127 mm mount. At 12:45 a single torpedo struck "Yamato" far forward on her port side, sending shock waves throughout the ship. At 12:46, another two bombs struck the battleship's port side, one slightly ahead of the aft 155 mm centreline turret and the other right on top of the gun. These caused a great deal of damage to the turret and its magazines; only one man survived. Because many of the ship's crew who did not go down with the vessel were killed by strafing aircraft as they swam in the oily water, the details are uncertain, but authors Garzke and Dulin record that little damage was caused. Shortly afterward, up to three more torpedoes struck "Yamato". Two impacts, on the port side near the engine room and on one of the boiler rooms, are confirmed; the third is disputed but is regarded by Garzke and Dulin as probable because it would explain the reported flooding in "Yamato"s auxiliary steering room. The attack ended around 12:47, leaving the battleship listing ° to port; counterflooding—deliberately flooding compartments on the other side of the ship—reduced the list to °. One boiler room had been disabled, slightly reducing "Yamato"s top speed, and strafing had incapacitated many of the gun crews who manned "Yamato"s unprotected 25 mm anti-aircraft weapons, sharply curtailing their effectiveness.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: The second attack started just before 13:00. In a coordinated strike, dive bombers flew high overhead to begin their runs while torpedo bombers approached from all directions at just above sea level. Overwhelmed by the number of targets, the battleship's anti-aircraft guns were ineffective, and the Japanese tried desperate measures to break up the attack. "Yamato"s main guns were loaded with "Beehive" shells fused to explode one second after firing—a mere from the ship—but these had little effect. Three or four torpedoes struck the battleship on the port side and one to starboard. Three hits, close together on the port side, are confirmed: one struck a fire room that had already been hit, one impacted a different fire room, and the third hit the hull adjacent to a damaged outboard engine room, increasing the water flow into that space and possibly flooding nearby locations. The fourth hit, unconfirmed, may have struck aft of the third; Garzke and Dulin believe this would explain the rapid flooding reported in that location. This attack left "Yamato" in a perilous position, listing ° to port. Counterflooding of all remaining starboard void spaces lessened this to °, but further correction would have required repairs or flooding the starboard engine and fire rooms. Although the battleship was not yet in danger of sinking, the list meant the main battery was unable to fire and her speed was limited to .


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: The third and most damaging attack developed at about 13:40. At least four bombs hit the ship's superstructure and caused heavy casualties among her 25 mm anti-aircraft gun crews. Many near misses drove in her outer plating, compromising her defense against torpedoes. Most serious were four more torpedo impacts. Three exploded on the port side, increasing water flow into the port inner engine room and flooding yet another fire room and the steering gear room. With the auxiliary steering room already under water, the ship lost maneuverability and became stuck in a starboard turn. The fourth torpedo most likely hit the starboard outer engine room, which, along with three other rooms on the starboard side, was being counterflooded to reduce the port list. The torpedo strike accelerated the rate of flooding and trapped many crewmen.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: At 14:02, the order was belatedly given to abandon ship. By this time, "Yamato"s speed had dropped to and her list was increasing. Fires raged out of control and alarms on the bridge warned of critical temperatures in the forward main battery magazines. Protocol called for flooding the magazines to prevent explosion, but the pumping stations had been knocked out.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: At 14:05, "Yahagi" sank, the victim of twelve bombs and seven torpedoes. At the same time, a final flight of torpedo bombers attacked "Yamato" from her starboard side. Her list was now such that the torpedoes—set to a depth of —struck the bottom of her hull. The battleship continued her inexorable roll to port. By 14:20, the power went out and her remaining 25 mm anti-aircraft guns began to drop into the sea. Three minutes later, "Yamato" capsized. Her main 46 cm turrets fell off, and as she rolled suction was created that drew swimming crewmen back toward the ship. When the roll reached approximately °, one of the two bow magazines detonated in a tremendous explosion. The resulting mushroom cloud—over high—was seen away on Kyūshū. "Yamato" sank rapidly, losing an estimated 3,055 of her 3,332 crew, including fleet commander Vice-Admiral Seiichi Itō. The few survivors were recovered by the four surviving destroyers, which withdrew to Japan.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: From the first attack at 12:37 to the explosion at 14:23, "Yamato" was hit by at least 11 torpedoes and 6 bombs. There may have been two more torpedo and bomb hits, but this is not confirmed.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: Due to often confused circumstances and incomplete information regarding their sinkings, it took until 2019 to discover and identify most wrecks of Japanese capital ships lost in World War II. Drawing on US wartime records, an expedition to the East China Sea in 1982 produced some results, but the wreckage discovered could not be clearly identified. A second expedition returned to the site two years later, and the team's photographic and video records were later confirmed by one of the battleship's designers, Shigeru Makino, to show the "Yamato"s last resting place. The wreck lies southwest of Kyushu under of water in two main pieces; a bow section comprising the front two thirds of the ship, and a separate stern section.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: On 16 July 2015, a group of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers began meetings to study the feasibility of raising the ship from the ocean floor and recovering the remains of crewmembers entombed in the wreckage. The group said it plans to request government funds to research the technical feasibility of recovering the ship. In May 2016, the wreckage was surveyed using digital technology, giving a more detailed view and confirming the earlier identification. The resulting video revealed many details such as the Imperial chrysanthemum on the bow, the massive propeller, and the detached main gun turret. The nine-minute video of this survey is being shown at the "Yamato" Museum in Kure.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: From the time of their construction, "Yamato" and her sister "Musashi" carried significant weight in Japanese culture. The battleships represented the epitome of Imperial Japanese naval engineering, and because of their size, speed, and power, visibly embodied Japan's determination and readiness to defend its interests against the Western Powers and the United States in particular. Shigeru Fukudome, chief of the Operations Section of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff, described the ships as "symbols of naval power that provided to officers and men alike a profound sense of confidence in their navy." "Yamato"s symbolic might was such that some Japanese citizens held the belief that their country could never fall as long as the ship was able to fight.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: Decades after the war, "Yamato" was memorialised in various forms by the Japanese. Historically, the word "Yamato" was used as a poetic name for Japan; thus, her name became a metaphor for the end of the Japanese empire. In April 1968, a memorial tower was erected at Cape Inutabu on Tokunoshima, an island in the Amami Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture, to commemorate the lives lost in Operation Ten-Go. In October 1974, Leiji Matsumoto created a new television series, "Space Battleship Yamato", about rebuilding the battleship as a starship and its interstellar quest to save Earth. The series was a huge success, spawning eight feature films and four more TV series, the most recent of which was released in 2017. The series popularised the space opera. As post-war Japanese tried to redefine the purpose of their lives, "Yamato" became a symbol of heroism and of their desire to regain a sense of masculinity after their country's defeat in the war. Brought to the United States as "Star Blazers", the animated series proved popular and established a foundation for anime in the North American entertainment market. The motif in "Space Battleship Yamato" was repeated in "Silent Service", a popular manga and anime that explores issues of nuclear weapons and the Japan–US relationship. It tells the story of a nuclear-powered super submarine whose crew mutinies and renames the vessel "Yamato", in allusion to the World War II battleship and the ideals she symbolises.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: In 2005, the "Yamato" Museum was opened near the site of the former Kure shipyards. Although intended to educate on the maritime history of post Meiji-era Japan, the museum gives special attention to its namesake; the battleship is a common theme among several of its exhibits, which includes a section dedicated to Matsumoto's animated series. The centrepiece of the museum, occupying a large section of the ground floor, is a long model of "Yamato" (1:10 scale).


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: Later that year, Toei released a 143-minute movie, "Yamato", based on a book by Jun Henmi, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II; Tamiya released special editions of scale models of the battleship in conjunction with the film's release. Based on a book of the same name, the film is a tale about the sailors aboard the doomed battleship and the concepts of honour and duty. The film was shown on more than 290 screens across the country and was a commercial success, taking in a record 5.11 billion yen at the domestic box office.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: A second "Yamato", dubbed the ""Yamato" Mark II", is a central plot device in the 2016 video game "", in which it was constructed in secret following the end of World War II and financed with misappropriated government funds, being stored at Iwami Shipbuilding's facility in Onomichi.


title: Japanese battleship Yamato

text: The 2019 Japanese film "The Great War of Archimedes (アルキメデスの大戦, Archimedes no Taisen)" based on a manga by Norifusa Mita tells the story of a dispute within the Japanese Navy over whether to fund the construction of aircraft carriers or a new battleship that would become "Yamato". The film begins with the sinking of "Yamato" and ends with its commissioning.


title: Cirkus (film)

text: Cirkus is an upcoming 2022 Indian Hindi-language period comedy drama film directed and produced by Rohit Shetty. The film is jointly produced by Rohit Shetty Productionz and T-Series. The film stars Ranveer Singh in a dual role alongside Pooja Hegde, Jacqueline Fernandez and Varun Sharma. It also features Deepika Padukone and Ajay Devgn in special appearances.


title: Cirkus (film)

text: "Cirkus" is based on William Shakespeare's play "The Comedy of Errors". Principal photography for the film began in November 2020 at Mumbai and also took place in Ooty.


title: Cirkus (film)

text: "Cirkus" is scheduled for worldwide theatrical release on 23 December 2022, coinciding with Christmas Eve.


title: Cirkus (film)

text: The Principal photography began on 17 November 2020 in Mumbai. Film production was halted during the final schedule in April 2021 as shootings were stopped in Mumbai, due to the second wave of COVID-19, and the final schedule resumed in Ooty around November 2021 and was completed within December 2021. Some patchwork also took place in July 2022. The entire filming for Cirkus was wrapped up on November 2022. The trailer of the film was released on 2 December 2022 worldwide.


title: Cirkus (film)

text: Two sets of twins are separated after they are born. Ranveer Singh is going to play a double role in this film. These twins will meet after a few years. The cirkus will employ two people under the age of these twins. After this coincidental meeting, both the twins will face so many problems.


title: Cirkus (film)

text: The music of the film is composed by Devi Sri Prasad, Badshah and Lijo George-DJ Chetas. The first single titled "Current Laga Re" was released on 8 December 2022. The second single "Sun Zara", sung by Papon and Shreya Ghoshal released on 16 December 2022.


title: Cirkus (film)

text: "Cirkus" was initially scheduled to release on 31 December 2021, during New Year, and then on 15 July 2022, but couldn't meet the dates due to production delays via COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2022, the new release date with first official poster was announced — 23 December 2022, thus eyeing Christmas Eve.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert at dine-in, take-out and delivery chain locations. They also serve chicken wings on their WingStreet menu.


title: Pizza Hut

text: The chain headquartered in Plano, Texas, operates 17,639 restaurants worldwide as of 2020, making it the world's largest pizza chain by number of locations. It is owned by Yum! Brands, Inc., one of the world's largest restaurant companies.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Pizza Hut began on May 31, 1958, by two brothers, Dan and Frank Carney, both Wichita State students, as a single location in Wichita, Kansas. The now famous little brick building was close to their childhood home and stomping grounds. The Carney brothers grew up in the College Hill neighborhood amongst many life long Wichita families where tree-lined streets were filled with historical homes with a scenic park as their playground. Six months after their launch, later they opened a second outlet and within a year they had six Pizza Hut restaurants.


title: Pizza Hut

text: One early employee was future Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach Bill Parcells, who had worked for the company while a college student and football player at Wichita State University. Parcells was considering a franchise for a career (as well as law school) but instead chose to enter coaching, eventually becoming a head coach in the National Football League.


title: Pizza Hut

text: The brothers began franchising in 1959. The iconic Pizza Hut building style was designed in 1963 by Chicago architect George Lindstrom and was implemented in 1969.PepsiCo acquired Pizza Hut in November 1977. Twenty years later, Pizza Hut (alongside Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken) were spun off by PepsiCo on May 30, 1997, and all three restaurant chains became part of a new company named Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. The company assumed the name of Yum! Brands on May 22, 2002.


title: Pizza Hut

text: In August 1994, Pizza Hut and the Santa Cruz Operation (SCO) announced , a pilot program in the Santa Cruz area that allowed consumers to use their own computer to order pizza delivery from a local Pizza Hut restaurant, with connection being made over the Internet to a central Pizza Hut server in Wichita, Kansas. The PizzaNet application software was developed by SCO's Professional Services group. PizzaNet was based on the first commercially licensed and bundled Internet operating system, SCO Global Access.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Before closing in 2015, the oldest continuously operating Pizza Hut was in Manhattan, Kansas, in a shopping and tavern district known as Aggieville near Kansas State University. The first Pizza Hut restaurant east of the Mississippi River was opened in Athens, Ohio, in 1966 by Lawrence Berberick and Gary Meyers.


title: Pizza Hut

text: The company announced a rebrand that began on November 19, 2014, in an effort to increase sales, which had dropped in the previous two years. The menu was expanded to introduce various items such as crust flavors and 11 new specialty pizzas. Work uniforms for employees were also refreshed. In 2017, Pizza Hut was listed by UK-based company Richtopia at number 24 in the list of 200 Most Influential Brands in the World.


title: Pizza Hut

text: On June 25 and 27, 2019, it was reported that Pizza Hut was bringing back their logo and the red roof design that was used from 1976 until 1999.


title: Pizza Hut

text: On August 7, 2019, Pizza Hut announced its intention to close about 500 of its 7,496 dine-in restaurants in the US, by the middle of 2021.


title: Pizza Hut

text: On August 18, 2020, it was announced that Pizza Hut will be closing 300 restaurants after the bankruptcy of NPC International, one of its franchise providers. A company representative stated, "We have continued to work with NPC and its lenders to optimize NPC's Pizza Hut restaurant footprint and strengthen the portfolio for the future, and today's joint agreement to close up to 300 NPC Pizza Hut restaurants is an important step toward a healthier business."


title: Pizza Hut

text: Pizza Hut is split into several different restaurant formats: the original family-style dine-in locations; storefront delivery and carry-out locations; and hybrid locations that have carry-out, delivery, and dine-in options. Some full-size Pizza Hut locations have a lunch buffet, with "all-you-can-eat" pizza, salad, desserts, and breadsticks, and a pasta bar. Pizza Hut has other business concepts independent of the store type.


title: Pizza Hut

text: In 1975, Pizza Hut began testing concepts with Applegate's Landing. These restaurants had exteriors that looked like Colonial Style houses and had eclectic interiors featuring a truck with a salad bar in the bed. The chain offered much of the same Italian-American fare, such as pizza and pasta dishes with some additions like hamburgers and bread pudding. Applegate's Landing went defunct in the mid-1980s except for one location in McPherson, Kansas that closed in fall, 1995.


title: Pizza Hut

text: An upscale concept was unveiled in 2004, called "Pizza Hut Italian Bistro". At 50 U.S. locations, the Bistro is similar to a traditional Pizza Hut, except that the menu features new, Italian-themed dishes such as penne pasta, chicken pomodoro, and toasted sandwiches. Instead of black, white, and red, Bistro locations feature a burgundy and tan motif. In some cases, Pizza Hut has replaced a red roof location with the new concept. Pizza Hut Express locations are fast food restaurants that offer a limited menu with many products not seen at a traditional Pizza Hut. These stores are often paired in a colocation with WingStreet in the US and Canada, or other sibling brands such as KFC or Taco Bell and found on college campuses, food courts, theme parks, bowling alleys, and within stores such as Target.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Vintage locations featuring the red roof, designed by architect Richard D. Burke, can be found in the United States and Canada; several exist in the UK, Australia, and Mexico. In his book "Orange Roofs, Golden Arches", Phillip Langdon wrote that the Pizza Hut red roof architecture "is something of a strange object – considered outside the realm of significant architecture, yet swiftly reflecting shifts in popular taste and unquestionably making an impact on daily life. These buildings rarely show up in architectural journals, yet they have become some of the most numerous and conspicuous in the United States today."


title: Pizza Hut

text: "Curbed.com" reports, "Despite Pizza Hut's decision to discontinue the form when they made the shift toward delivery, there were still 6,304 traditional units standing as of 2004, each with the shingled roofs and trapezoidal windows signifying equal parts suburban comfort and strip-mall anomie." This building style was common in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The name "red roof" is somewhat anachronistic now since many locations have brown roofs. Dozens of these restaurants have closed or been relocated or rebuilt.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Many of the older locations with the red roof design have a beer if not a full bar, music from a jukebox, and sometimes an arcade. In the mid-1980s, the company moved into other formats, including delivery or carryout and the fast food "Express" model.


title: Pizza Hut

text: The "stuffed-crust" pizza was introduced on March 26, 1995. By the end of the year, it had become one of their most popular lines.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Regional differences are seen in the products and bases. The company has localized to Southeast Asia with a baked rice dish called Curry Zazzle.


title: Pizza Hut

text: On May 9, 2008, Pizza Hut created "The Natural" pizza, which featured natural ingredients and was sold in Seattle, Denver and Dallas. This was discontinued on October 27, 2009, in the Dallas market.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Pizza Hut developed a pizza for use as space food, which was delivered to the International Space Station in 2001. It was vacuum-sealed and about 6 in (15 cm) in diameter to fit in the station's oven. It was launched on a Soyuz and eaten by Yuri Usachov in orbit.


title: Pizza Hut

text: In recent years, the chain has seen a downturn in profits. In 2015, the franchise stated it would be pumping more capital into its London branches. Pizza Hut is installing cocktail bars in its London branches as part of a £60 million bid to win back "the Nando's generation".


title: Pizza Hut

text: In January 2019, Pizza Hut announced it had expanded beer delivery to 300 locations across the U.S., with plans to expand to 1,000 locations by the summer.


title: Pizza Hut

text: In March 2020, Pizza Hut Hong Kong announced that it had partnered with furniture retailer IKEA on a joint venture. IKEA launched a new side table called SÄVA, which was designed to resemble a pizza saver. The table would be boxed in packaging resembling a pizza box, and the building instructions included a suggestion to order a Swedish meatball pizza from Pizza Hut, which would contain the same meatballs served in IKEA restaurants. A 2021 menu addition, designed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the introduction of stuffed-crust-pizza, was "nothing but the stuffed crust," a ring of dough filled with cheese.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Pizza Hut's first television commercial was produced in 1965 by Bob Walterscheidt for the Harry Crow agency in Wichita, and was entitled "Putt-Putt to the Pizza Hut". The ad looks just like an old movie and is set in fast motion. It features a man in a business suit and tie, played by Ron Williams, who was then a production manager for Wichita's ABC affiliate KAKE-TV, as he starts ordering take-out, leaves his house, and gets into his 1965 Mustang JR by driving to Pizza Hut, where he is chased by a variety of townspeople, portrayed by neighborhood kids, Walterscheidt and his daughter, and various employees for Harry Crow and KAKE-TV. He goes inside Pizza Hut by picking up his pizza and gets back in the 1965 Mustang Jr to return home. They went eating all the pizza except the man who ordered it, which makes the man very upset, as he calls Pizza Hut again. The ad first aired on November 19, 1966, during halftime of the Notre Dame vs. Michigan State "Game of the Century", and dramatically increased sales for the franchise. "Putt-Putt to the Pizza Hut" ran on TV for eight years and was nominated for a Clio Award.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Until early 2007, Pizza Hut's main advertising slogan was "Gather 'round the good stuff". From 2008 to 2009, the advertising slogan was "Now You're Eating!". From 2009 to 2012, the advertising slogan was "Your Favorites. Your Pizza Hut" From 2012 to 2016, the advertising slogan was "Make it great", a variation of the 1987–1995 slogan "Makin' it great!". From 1995 to 1999, the slogan was "You'll love the stuff we're made of". The advertising slogan is currently "No one outpizzas the hut".


title: Pizza Hut

text: Pizza Hut does not have an official international mascot, but at one time, a series of commercials in the U.S. aired, titled "The Pizza Head Show". These commercials ran from 1991 to 1999 and was created by Walter Williams, creator of the Mr. Bill sketches from "Saturday Night Live" in the late 1970s - upon which the ad campaign was based. The ads featured a slice of pizza with a face made out of toppings called "Pizza Head". In the 1970s, Pizza Hut used the signature red roof with a jolly man named "Pizza Hut Pete". Pete was on the bags, cups, balloons, and hand puppets for the kids. In Australia during the mid to late 1990s, the advertising mascot was a delivery boy named Dougie, with boyish good looks, who upon delivering pizza to his father, would hear the catchphrase "Here's a tip: Be good to your mother". Adding to the impact of these advertisements, the role of Dougie was played by famous Australian soap opera and police drama actor Diarmid Heidenreich.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Pizza Hut sponsored the film "Back to the Future Part II" (1989) and offered a free pair of futuristic sunglasses, known as "Solar Shades", with the purchase of Pizza Hut pizza. Pizza Hut also engaged in product placement within the film, having a futuristic version of their logo with their trademarked red hut printed on the side of a mylar dehydrated pizza wrapper in the McFly family dinner scene, and appear on a storefront in Hill Valley in the year 2015.


title: Pizza Hut

text: The 1990 NES game "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game" came with a coupon for a free pizza. The game included Pizza Hut product placement in the form of background advertisements and pizza that would refill the character's life.


title: Pizza Hut

text: In 1995, Donald Trump and his ex-wife Ivana Trump appeared in a commercial. The last scene of the commercial showed Ivana asking for the last slice, to which Donald replied, "Actually, dear, you're only entitled to half", a play on the couple's recent divorce.


title: Pizza Hut

text: In 1995, Ringo Starr appeared in a Pizza Hut commercial that teased to a Beatles reunion, but featured three members of The Monkees. A commercial with Rush Limbaugh dates from the same year, in which he boasts "nobody is more right than me," yet he states for the first time he will do something wrong, which was to participate in Pizza Hut's then "eating pizza crust first" campaign regarding their stuffed-crust pizzas.


title: Pizza Hut

text: In 1999, the announcer says, "The best pizzas under one roof" in the Big New Yorker pizza commercial seen on the PlayStation Pizza Hut Demo Disc 1. Also, in 1999, the game "Crazy Taxi" for Sega Dreamcast featured Pizza Hut as one of the locations to which players were able to drive and drop off customers. However, in the game's 2010 re-release for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, all of the product placement, including the Pizza Hut locations, were removed and replaced with generic locations.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Early 2007 had Pizza Hut move into several more interactive ways of marketing to the consumer. Using mobile-phone SMS technology and their MyHut ordering site, they aired several television commercials (commencing just before the Super Bowl) containing hidden words that viewers could type into their phones to receive coupons. Other innovative efforts included their "MySpace Ted" campaign, which took advantage of the popularity of social networking, and the burgeoning user-submission marketing movement via their Vice President of Pizza contest.


title: Pizza Hut

text: In 1996, as part of Pizza Hut's global advertising strategy using celebrities, Formula One driver Damon Hill and BBC motorsport commentator Murray Walker advertised the stuffed-crust pizza, which parodies Walker's extravagant style.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Talk show host Jonathan Ross co-starred in an ad with American model Caprice Bourret. They advertised the new stuffed-crust pizza, with Jonathan Ross saying "stuffed cwust" due to his rhotacism.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Following England's defeat to Germany on penalties in the semifinals of Euro '96, Gareth Southgate, Stuart Pearce, and Chris Waddle featured in an advertisement, which shows Southgate wearing a paper bag over his head in shame as his penalty miss allowed England to lose the shootout. Waddle and Pearce, who both missed in a shootout vs West Germany at World Cup '90, are ridiculing him, emphasizing the word "miss" at every opportunity. After Southgate finishes his pizza, he takes off his paper bag, heads for the door, and bangs his head against the wall. Pearce responds with, "this time he's hit the post".


title: Pizza Hut

text: In 1997, former Soviet Union leader Gorbachev starred in a Pizza Hut commercial with his granddaughter Anastasia Virganskaya to raise money for the Perestroyka Archives. The ad "obviously exploited the shock value of having a former world leader appear... [and] played on the fact that Gorbachev was far more popular outside Russia than inside it". It was filmed on a multi-million budget with a cinematic quality, including mounting cameras on the Kremlin and shutting down Red Square to get the establishing shots of the square, and dialogue entirely in Russian with English subtitles, to show Pizza Hut as a global brand compared to its American rivals.


title: Pizza Hut

text: In recent years, Pizza Hut has had various celebrity spokespeople, including Jessica Simpson, the Muppets, and Damon Hill and Murray Walker.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Pizza Hut paid for their logo to appear on a Russian Proton rocket in 2000, which launched the Russian Zvezda module.


title: Pizza Hut

text: On April 1, 2008, Pizza Hut in America sent emails to customers advertising their pasta items. The email (and similar advertising on the company's website) stated: "Pasta so good, we changed our name to Pasta Hut!" The name change was a publicity stunt held on April Fools' Day, extending through the month of April, with the company's Dallas headquarters changing its exterior logo to Pasta Hut.


title: Pizza Hut

text: This name change was also used to promote the new Tuscani Pasta line and the new Pizza Hut dine-in menu. The first Pasta Hut advertisement shows the original Pizza Hut restaurant being imploded and recreated with a "Pasta Hut" sign.


title: Pizza Hut

text: A version of this stunt was re-created by Pizza Hut's UK operation later that year in October 2008, which included ten locations in London temporarily taking on new "Pasta Hut" signage. Pizza Hut UK's chief executive at the time has insisted that this was solely intended as a "PR exercise" and the chain never planned on permanently changing its name in the UK or elsewhere.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Pizza Hut has sponsored the Book It! reading-incentive program since it started in January 1985. Students who read books according to the goal set by the classroom teacher, in any month from October through March, are rewarded with a Pizza Hut certificate good for a free, one-topping Personal Pan Pizza; and the classroom whose students read the most books is rewarded with a pizza party. Book It! was conceived in 1984 during a dinner with Art Gunther, President of Pizza Hut, and Bud Gates, SVP of Marketing at Pizza Hut, as a way to help Gunther's son read more.


title: Pizza Hut

text: The program has been criticized by some psychologists on the grounds it may lead to overjustification and reduce children's intrinsic interest in reading. Book It! was also criticized by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood in 2007 who described it as "one of corporate America's most insidious school-based brand promotions." A pamphlet produced by the group argued the program promoted junk food to a captive market, made teachers into promoters for Pizza Hut, and undermined parents by making visits to the chain an integral part of bringing up their children to be literate. However, a study of the program found participation in the program neither increased nor decreased reading motivation. The program's 25th anniversary was in 2010. The Book It! program in Australia ceased in 2002.


title: Pizza Hut

text: In 2003, Yum! launched WingStreet in combination with existing Pizza Hut franchises. On October 19, 2009, Company president Scott Bergren publicized WingStreet's national launch. The chain predicted aggressive growth, adding more than 4,000 locations by 2010. In 2012, Pizza Hut opened a standalone pilot store in Denton, Texas. The store was unsuccessful in collecting sales and closed the following year.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Restaurants with WingStreet sections on their menus sell breaded and traditional buffalo wings for take-out and delivery. Their sauces include original Buffalo (in mild, medium, and hot levels of spiciness), sweet chili, spicy garlic, honey barbecue, and garlic Parmesan, as well as cajun and lemon pepper dry rubs. They also offer sauce-free "naked" wings.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Pizza Hut's China operations are part of the Yum! spinoff Yum China. Pizza Hut was one of the first American franchises to open in Iraq.


title: Pizza Hut

text: In China, Pizza Hut () used an altered business model, offering a fine-dining atmosphere with knives and forks and using an expanded menu catering to Chinese tastes. By 2008, Pizza Hut operated restaurants and delivery locations. That year, the company introduced "Pizza Hut Express", opening locations in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou. The 160 restaurants were in 40 Chinese cities in 2005. As of 2015, Pizza Hut had 1,903 restaurants in China.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Savio S. Chan (陳少宏, Pinyin: "Chén Shàohóng") and Michael Zakkour, authors of "", stated middle-class Chinese perceive Pizza Hut as "akin to fine dining", though Pizza Hut was "China's largest and most successful foreign casual-dining chain".


title: Pizza Hut

text: Pizza Hut Pakistan () is the Pakistani franchisee of Pizza Hut. It is owned by MCR (Pvt) Ltd and is headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. The first outlet was opened in Karachi in 1993. Currently, Pizza Hut has a presence in 23 major cities.


title: Pizza Hut

text: Pizza Hut began operating in Russia in 1991, when food supplies dwindled during the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, prompting Russian President Boris Yeltsin to call Pizza Hut deliveries. Pizza Hut suspended operations in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.


title: Pizza Hut

text: “Tavan Bogd Foods Pizza” LLC officially opened Pizza Hut on July 14, 2014 in Mongolia. They currently work under three concepts: Restaurant, Delivery, and Express, and provide products and services in 13 areas.


title: Pizza Hut

text: In the United Kingdom, Pizza Hut was criticized in October 2007 for the high salt content of its meals, some of which were found to contain more than twice the daily recommended amount of salt for an adult. The toppings that consumers prefer, however, (ham, sausage, bacon, etc.) naturally contain high levels of salt.


title: Pizza Hut

text: To meet the Food Standards Agency 2010 target for salt levels in foods, between 2008 and 2010, the company removed over 15% of salt across its menu.


title: Pizza Hut

text: In July 2014, delivery drivers in the United States filed a class-action lawsuit over Pizza Hut "paying delivery drivers net wages below minimum wage due to unreimbursed automobile expenses" in violation of the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act. An attempt by Pizza Hut to have the case dismissed in November 2015 failed. In December 2016, the case, "Linkovich v. Capital Pizza Huts, Inc., et al.," was decided by arbitration, in which Pizza Hut paid damages.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: Aurora Aksnes () (born 15 June 1996), known mononymously as Aurora (stylized in all caps), is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and record producer. Born in Stavanger and raised in the towns of Høle and Os, she began writing her first songs and learning dance at the age of six. After some of her songs were uploaded online and became popular in Norway, she signed a recording contract with Petroleum Records, Decca and Glassnote Records in 2014. Aurora gained recognition with her debut extended play (EP), "Running with the Wolves" (2015), which contained the sleeper hit "Runaway". Later that year, she provided the backing track for the John Lewis Christmas advert, singing a cover of the Oasis song "Half the World Away".


title: Aurora (singer)

text: Aurora's debut studio album, "All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend" (2016) received generally positive reviews, charting in various European countries and earning platinum certification two times in Norway. Her second EP "Infections of a Different Kind (Step 1)" (2018) was the first part of a two-part album, while the second part was her second studio album, "A Different Kind of Human (Step 2)" (2019). Her third studio album "The Gods We Can Touch" was released on 21 January 2022.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: Her music is primarily electropop, folk, and art pop with vocals referred to as "ethereal". She only played piano at the beginning of her career, but later involved herself in percussion and other aspects of music production. In addition to her solo work, Aurora has collaborated with and co-written songs for other artists, including Icarus, Askjell, Lena, Travis and the Chemical Brothers. She has also contributed to soundtracks for several films and television series, including "Girls", "Frozen II" and "Wolfwalkers".


title: Aurora (singer)

text: Aurora was born on 15 June 1996 in the Stavanger University Hospital in Stavanger, the youngest of three daughters to midwife May Britt (née Froastad) and garage door salesman Jan Øystein Aksnes. Her oldest sister, Miranda, is a makeup artist and former teacher. Her other sister Viktoria is a fashion designer, stylist, and blogger. She spent her first three years in Høle, a small town where her parents had lived for 15 years. In her house in Høle, Aurora developed her taste for nature, singing, and traditional clothing, such as hats and long skirts. Later the family moved further north in western Norway, to a house in the small village of Drange, located in the woodlands of the Os mountains, a remote municipality in Hordaland, near Bergen and "" (a fjord which translates to "fjord of light"). Aurora has described this place as: "There are almost no cars, and the roads are small and bumpy, and there are lots of trees everywhere; it's very quiet, and the internet is bad." She has also compared it to the fictional land of Narnia.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: She calls herself a "forest person" due to being surrounded by nature and her love to "climb trees", and being "isolated and hidden". She has also shown interest in the ocean since she lived close to the sea, and her parents have a sailboat. When she attended school, her sisters—Miranda (currently her makeup artist) and Viktoria Aksnes (currently her costume designer)—worried that she might be bullied due to her eccentric personality and style of dress. Contrary to this, Aurora's classmates asked for more time than she was willing to give, and she instead preferred to spend time in the forest. She also claimed that withdrawing into natural spaces gave her time to philosophize and discover the "power" of her own mind. As a child, she was afraid of people who sought to hug her and disliked such a gesture in general: "I used to be terrified of people who wanted to hug me", she said. "I did not like to be hugged as a child. And I used to be terrified of one of my teachers at school, but then I met him a few months ago, and it was really nice. It’s weird how things change."


title: Aurora (singer)

text: One of her earliest musical memories is finding an electric piano in her parents' attic that once belonged to her sister Miranda, and being fascinated by the melodies it could produce on that instrument, or sing along to the song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" around the family table. Even though her parents sang that song in a choir as a hobby, Aurora is the only member in her family to pursue a musical career. She started learning to play piano when she was six by playing the songs she listened to: "I really love classic music, and when I found this piano in the attic, I just started pressing the keys and trying to figure out my favorite classical songs. I started to make melodies that I recognized. There was something special about being able to play just by yourself – something about the emotion in it made me want to continue playing." At age nine, when she had a better handle of the English language, she began writing songs. She has mentioned being influenced at that time by artists like Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Enya, and the Chemical Brothers.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: Her parents had never encouraged her to pursue this activity as a career or hobby, but as she got older, she went from imitating classical music to composing her own material, never thinking of doing it to entertain people, and preferring to keep her music private. Instead, besides a songwriter she aspired to become a doctor, a physicist or a dancer, and she took dance classes from 6 to 16 years old and performed in a contemporary dance group. The group participated at the Norwegian Youth Festival of Art twice, dancing with the songs "Decode" by Paramore and "Feeling Good" in the background. They also danced to Michael Jackson's "Ghosts" at an event in 2011. She also expressed that her dislike of her own voice was a reason not to think of being a singer.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: According to Aurora, the first song she ever finished writing was titled "The Lonely Man". Her first work before embarking on her music career was washing a pizza restaurant using a hose. Songs from her early works were written in this early stage of her life. Another of her early compositions was "I Had a Dream", which referred to how hard the world can be. Although she considered it a "really long and boring song about world peace" she performed it once at her high school's leaving ceremony. The recording of her song "Puppet" (which was originally made as a Christmas gift for her parents) and a video filmed by a classmate of her school performance were uploaded online without her permission (which made her angry), and was quickly discovered by a representative of the agency of Artists Made Management, a Norwegian management company, who invited Aurora to visit their office for a meeting in early 2013. Aurora initially denied the proposal: "At first I thought no", she recalls, "but then my mum said I should think about the idea of sharing my music with the world because maybe there's someone out there who desperately needs it. And that could actually be a good thing". In a few hours, both songs received thousands of visits in Norway, which earned Aurora some recognition in her country, in addition to a fan base on Facebook.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: Aurora self-released the song "Puppet" as her debut single in December 2012 under her birth name. Aurora then set about working on her songwriting for around a year before giving her "first proper live performance" at Nabovarsel Minifestival in Bergen. About similar performances to that one she said: "I don’t think I was born to be an entertainer, I used to really be afraid of playing live on-stage. Obviously it’s terrifying! But now I’ve learned to, and I’ve learned to not focus on myself, cause it’s not about me. Now I only think about giving everyone the best experience. A magic moment." Her second single, "Awakening", followed in March 2014, which became the first one released under the stage name Aurora. Her third single "Under Stars" was the first one signed to her labels Glassnote Records and Decca Records, released in November 2014. Both songs established her as a "Promising Artist" of 2015 and attracted the attention of critics in Europe and the United States, especially for the artist's voice. Her next single "Runaway" was released in February 2015, which gained attention from singers Katy Perry and Troye Sivan.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: Her next single, "Running with the Wolves" was released in April 2015, and its music video was released two months later. The song gained attention from BBC Radio station. It was released alongside the announcement of the release of her debut EP "Running with the Wolves". Released in May 2015 on digital platforms, the EP received positive reviews from online music blogs and national press. To promote the EP, she appeared at summer festivals such as Way Out West, Wilderness, and Green Man Festival. Aurora's next single, "Murder Song (5, 4, 3, 2, 1)", was released in September 2015 and has received continued support in the national press, on national radio, and popular online music blogs. Aurora also performed at the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize Concert, saying that she and her family "have been following it from the living room at home for many years", and "it is an incredibly beautiful thing to be a part of." Her presentation was praised by the concert's host Jay Leno. She has played a sold-out headline show in London and supported Of Monsters and Men at Brixton Academy in November 2015. Aurora recorded a cover of the Oasis song "Half the World Away" for the 2015 John Lewis Christmas advert. Her next single, titled "Conqueror", was released in January 2016, and a music video was released the following month. Before the single release, the song appeared in the soundtrack of the videogame FIFA 16.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: In early 2016, Aurora featured on British band Icarus' song "Home" and released a cover of David Bowie's "Life on Mars" for the HBO "Girls" television series. After a prolific start with her first musical productions, she released her debut album "All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend" in March 2016, receiving generally positive reviews from critics. After releasing the album, Aurora embarked on an international concert tour beginning in Australia that lasted more than a year.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: On 14 March 2016, Aurora made her American television debut on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon", performing "Conqueror", which was later performed on "Conan". On 25 July 2016 she performed her cover of "Life on Mars" on "The Howard Stern Show". The following night on 26 July, she performed "I Went Too Far" on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert", which was later released as the album's fifth single. The album's sixth and final single "Winter Bird" was released on 20 December. Aurora became the first in a series of emerging artists to partner with YouTube for a creative content distribution program, she also starred in her own short documentary directed by Isaac Ravishankara and produced by The Fader, titled "Nothing is Eternal."


title: Aurora (singer)

text: When "All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend" debuted, Aurora said that it was "the first album of many" she was planning to release. As of 12 May 2016, after coming back from her European tour, the singer announced that she was ready to begin writing and producing more material, which will form her second studio album. She stated in a Facebook event that she has fifteen demo songs and has written a thousand songs/poems. Her next project consisted of covering the song "Scarborough Fair" for the Brazilian telenovela "Deus Salve o Rei" and filming the opening sequence for it. Between April and August 2018, the singer released two singles, "Queendom" and "Forgotten Love", which would be included in the first half of a two-part album divided into "steps". Aurora recorded the album during her stay in France in January of that year, and the production included the producers Askjell Solstrand, Roy Kerr and Tim Bran, with Aurora herself also involved in this aspect. Some of that new material was anticipated in live performances, including festivals like Lollapalooza and Coachella.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: While maintaining some of the themes and stories of the previous album, this production would mark the first time that Aurora has incorporated themes of politics and sexuality into her music. Most of the new inspiration came from the interaction that she had with her fans during her first tour. The music video for "Queendom" saw its release in May 2018, which presented themes of inclusivity and empowerment of "the underdog", particularly her LGBT fans. In the video, Aurora kisses one of her female dancers to convey that "every type of love is accepted and embraced" in her "queendom".


title: Aurora (singer)

text: On 28 September 2018, the singer released the first half of her second album on EP format, under the title "Infections of a Different Kind (Step 1)". The EP features eight songs, and the title itself comes from the eighth track included on it, which Aurora declared as "the most important song I've ever written". "A Different Kind of Human (Step 2)" followed on 7 June 2019, with lead singles "Animal" and "The River".


title: Aurora (singer)

text: On 12 April 2019, Aurora contributed with co-writing and vocals in the songs "Eve of Destruction", "Bango", and "The Universe Sent Me" for the Chemical Brothers' ninth album "No Geography". On 4 November 2019, the soundtrack to the Disney film "Frozen II" was released, with Aurora providing backing vocals on the song "Into the Unknown". On 9 February 2020, she performed the song on stage as part of the 92nd Academy Awards alongside Menzel and 9 singers that dubbed the song in their respective languages. She released her solo version of "Into the Unknown" as a standalone single on 3 March 2020.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: Aurora released the single "Exist for Love" in May 2020, which was presented as her first love song ever with a self-directed music video. The song was made during the COVID-19 lockdown in collaboration with Isobel Waller-Bridge, who composed the string arrangements. It was the first glimpse into what she described as "a new era" in her career, with the upcoming release of a new album. Under the musical direction of Gaute Tønder, she recorded the title track of the Christmas miniseries for Norwegian public broadcaster NRK; such contribution was made known in mid-November of the same year. She also provided her vocals on the songs "Vinterens Gåte" and "Det Ev Ei Rosa Sprunge" (Norwegian version of the German song "Es ist ein Ros entsprungen"), from the album "Juleroser" by Herborg Kråkevik, in which the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and other Norwegian artists. She also re-recorded her track "Running with the Wolves" for the animated fantasy and adventure film "Wolfwalkers".


title: Aurora (singer)

text: In early 2021, she released five compilation EPs in celebration of her song "Runaway" receiving over 100 million streams on Spotify: "For the Humans Who Take Long Walks in the Forest", "Music for the Free Spirits", "Stories", "For the Metal People" and "Music for the Fellow Witches Out There" throughout February. On 7 July 2021, Aurora released the single "Cure for Me" as the lead single for the forthcoming album. On 14 October, "Giving in to the Love" was released as the album's third single, and "The Gods We Can Touch" was announced for release on 21 January 2022. Aurora featured in Sub Urban's song "Paramour", released on 19 November as a single for the latter's upcoming debut album. She also released the song "Midas Touch for the soundtrack of the third season of the Amazon Prime Video Hanna series. To promote "The Gods We Can Touch", she announced a concert tour throughout the United States and Europe (with Sub Urban, Sei Selina and Metteson as supporting acts) in 2022. "Heathens" was released on December 3, 2021 as the album's fourth single, and a virtual concert film was announced, which released exclusively to Moment House on 25 January 2022, a week later after the album's release. A collaborative event with the video game "Sky: Children of the Light" was released on October 17, 2022, which included a virtual concert that premiered on December 8 after The Game Awards 2022 and reoccured from December 9 until January 2, 2023.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: Aurora's early influences were limited, since at home she didn't have access to radio or music channels on television, and even as she entered her singing career she admitted that she had listened to very few artists. She has mentioned Enya, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, the Beatles, Johnny Cash, Underworld, Oasis, Björk, Kate Bush, and Ane Brun. as her major influences. She said that the first album she bought was Dylan's "Blonde on Blonde". She also talked about heavy metal as a major inspiration for her from a young age, citing French band Gojira as her "favorite band" and has attended two of their concerts. She first listened to one of their songs when she was around 11 years old, and described it as "so hard and so intense and dark, and it felt like an explosion." Aurora has also listened to bands Mastodon, System of a Down, Tool, Metallica, Refused and Slayer. She also stated in a BBC Radio 2 interview that she had a great love for many Scandinavian heavy metal bands as well as David Bowie. Her love for heavy metal inspired her compilation EP "For the Metal People", which included some of her songs influenced by the genre. Aurora also expressed her admiration for rock musician Iggy Pop, adding that when she met him during a festival in Belgium she was "so happy I almost peed my pants." She and frontman of Nordic folk band Wardruna have shared admiration for each other's work, and performed the song "Helvegen" together several times.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: She has covered some of her influences' songs, some of them are "Mr. Tambourine Man", "Famous Blue Raincoat", "Life on Mars", "Across the Universe", and "Make You Feel My Love". About recent influences, Aurora stated that she dislikes listening to music, which she described as "noise" or "interference" for her, adding that she has "music in my mind all the time". She also said that she does not have streaming platforms like iTunes and Spotify but she has "some LPs at home and a few CDs." She added she only likes to listen to some of her influences' music during travelling.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: I don't want to write sad songs only to make people sad, I'll end up with lots of depressed fans. That's not my goal at all. But I want people to know that it's not dangerous to cry or think of something sad for a while. It's easier to think about it through a song, which can also be beautiful while being sad. It's like taking medicine with a teaspoon of sugar. It's important to have some hope.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: Aurora has an eclectic musical style, consisting of art pop, Nordic-folk, synth-pop, electropop, electro-folk, dark pop, avant-garde pop, alt-pop, folk-pop, and new-age. Haley Weiss of "Interview" introduces her as a "poetic author of art-pop" and an "unaffectedly curious artist". John Murphy of "MusicOMH" describes her songs as a "beguiling mix of sizzling synth-pop, and for want of a better phrase, Nordic-folk". Michael Craag of "The Guardian" describes her to be "dark electro-pop". Cyclone Wehner from "Music Feeds" said her music has attracted her a cult fanbase with her "darkly romantic electro-folk" along with her eccentricity. Writing for "Paper", Mathias Rosenzweig sees her as "Scandinavia's newest dark pop prodigy" with her love for Nordic folklore, similar to Björk's interest of Icelandic mountains and countrysides. Rosenzweig also mentioned her "unexpected melodic twists" akin to Sia with the "prodigy vibes" of Lorde. Lisa Higgins from "Clash", describes her as an artist with an avant-garde pop sound, while Jessica Fynn from the same magazine sees her as an "alt-pop aesthete". Chris Tinkham of "Paste" says that she has a "dark folk-pop" sound.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: Aurora has a soprano vocal range. The word "ethereal" has often been used to qualify her tone of voice, while the repeated use of vocals (like "ah", "oh" and "la") has also been pointed out as something characteristic in her music. Aurora composes her songs in English, given her susceptibility to interpreting highly personal lyrics in her native Norwegian. However, she has sung songs like "Stjernestøv", "Vinterens Gåte" and "Det Hev Ei Rosa Sprunge" in her native language. However, since "Infections of a Different Kind (Step 1)" she began to include lyrics in an "emotional language" that she invented in favor of changing the energy and meaning of her interpretation. She mostly plays the piano, but also knows how to play other instruments like ukulele, guitar and the harp. She has progressively become involved in percussion and other aspects of the production of her songs.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: Aurora currently lives in Bergen, but regularly travels to her hometown in Os to visit her parents. She considers herself an introvert. At an early age, she experienced the loss of several loved ones. When a close friend of her family died on Christmas Eve, 11-year-old Aurora had to witness everyone dejected at the funeral service. This experience led her to developing dysphemia, a disorder that prompted her to learn sign language. When a friend from her sign language class died in a car accident, Aurora performed a currently unreleased song titled "Why Did You Go a Place?" during a private concert for her funeral. A friend from Os also died by suicide, and another with whom Aurora had a relationship died in 2011 at the Utøya massacre at the age of 17. Aurora wrote the song "Little Boy in the Grass" as a tribute to the latter and the other victims of the massacre.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: Aurora identifies as bisexual. When asked in an interview with "The Independent" about her sexuality, she stated, "I just like to enjoy what is there, and I like to explore. Just love everything around you and you’re loving yourself." She had cats as pets during her childhood, and in her adulthood she had an algae ball she named "Igor Septimus", which was a gift from her fans in Switzerland. According to her, it was one of her "best friends" and she liked to put it on the refrigerator. Years later, she revealed that it had died. In late 2021, Aurora announced that she had become an aunt when her sister's first child was born. Aurora also talked about collecting dead insects, including moths like one she named "Nightcrawler".


title: Aurora (singer)

text: In her early years, she drew attention for her childish appearance, pale skin without makeup and short platinum blonde hair the same color as her eyebrows, in contrast to her deep vocal range and the deep meaning of her songs. Aurora then changed her hair style to a partially shaved style referred to as "Norwegian viking", and since 2018 has been characterized by a "two-layered" style (long in front and short in back) reminiscent of anime characters. During the period between "Infections of a Different Kind (Step 1)" and "A Different Kind of Human (Step 2)" it became common for her to have lines drawn on her face, which represented "tears and wrinkles of expression."


title: Aurora (singer)

text: She identifies as a feminist, and is an advocate of human rights, including racial rights and LGBT rights. She has also expressed a preference for not wearing make-up. She has also showed support for various environmental awareness movements, topics that she explored in songs like "Apple Tree", "The Seed", and "Soulless Creatures" from her second album. She hailed initiatives made by band Coldplay and activist Greta Thunberg. Her wardrobe is mostly designed from reused garments by Aurora herself and her sister Viktoria. Aurora is a pescatarian, and has expressed her belief that the individual's awareness of food choices is an important part of an environmentally conscious lifestyle.


title: Aurora (singer)

text: Aurora has been involved in several philanthropic causes. In October 2020, she performed her song "Warrior" for volunteers of the Clean Sounds Movement, and called on fellow singers Billie Eilish and Sigrid to do the same. She also participated in several music festivals online, such as Vi er Live (in demonstration against racism and the murder of George Floyd), SOS Rainforest (supporting indigenous communities and jungles of Africa, Asia and South America), and Exist For Love Sessions (to promote various emerging artists). In November 2021, Aurora headlined a non-profit charity event during COP26 to donate funds for Brian Eno's "EarthPercent" charity.


title: Shamshera

text: Shamshera is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language period action drama film produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films and directed by Karan Malhotra. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor in his first dual role alongside Sanjay Dutt, Vaani Kapoor, Ronit Roy, and Saurabh Shukla. Set in around 1800s, the story follows a dacoit tribe and their fight for independence against British rule.


title: Shamshera

text: "Shamshera" was theatrically released on 22 July 2022 in IMAX theatres. It received generally negative reviews from critics and eventually emerged as a major box office bomb.


title: Shamshera

text: 1871: Shamshera is a "Khameran" tribesman, who along with his people was oppressed by the people of Kaza because of caste and status discrimination. Due to this, Shamshera counterattacks and pillages the kingdom, which leads to Kaza, creating a fearful reputation against the Khamerans. The kings and the wealthy men of the empire seek the help of the British to drive away the Khameran tribe from their village forest. The British accept the deal in exchange for 5000 gold coins. The British attack the Khameran tribe, but Shamshera and the tribal people fight valiantly and the British flee. Shamshera receives a message that their tribe could live peacefully and regain their lost respect if they promised to stop plundering Kaza and move to a fortress outside the city premises.


title: Shamshera

text: Shamshera and his men arrive at the forest where they realize that it is a trap led by Shudh Singh, and are captured where they are tortured mercilessly. Shamshera is told by the British to provide 10,000 gold coins, in exchange for sparing the Khameran tribe. Realizing that the deal would be difficult to achieve inside the fortress. Shamshera forms a plan to help the tribe escape from the fortress, but to no avail where he tells his wife about his plan to frame himself as a traitor and also tells her to cook-up a story to save the tribe from getting killed. Shamshera tries to escape by climbing the wall of the fortress where the officers-in-charge spots Shamshera and shoots him, leaving Shamshera wounded and later getting hanged by Shudh Singh. Believing that Shamshera is a traitor, The tribe develops a hatred against him, thus leaving the truth to be buried.


title: Shamshera

text: 1896: Balli is a tribesman from the "Khameran" tribe, who aspires to become a cop where he asks to provide a test, to a conniving Indian cop Daroga Shudh Singh. Shudh Singh asks him to beat a child to prove his worth, and Balli refuses and takes the child's place and bears the punishment. That night, Balli learns about his father Shamshera's past. After learning the truth, Balli fakes his death and escapes from the fortress with the help of Shamshera's trusted ally Pir Baba. When Shamshera decided to move to the fortress, a few Khamerans decided to stay back, where they are now residing in a town named Nagina, and had camouflaged their identities, doing all petty jobs in the town for a living and they were waiting for Shamshera, as he would come and help them regain their lost respect and dignity. As advised by Pir Baba, and with the help of a local dancer named Sona, Balli starts looting the rich people of Kaza and refers himself as Shamshera. The British General is worried about the new Shamshera. Shudh Singh invites the General for his wedding, where the General deduce that Shamshera would come to the wedding.


title: Shamshera

text: Balli is able to steal the gold from Shudh Singh's wedding, but his youngest gang member is shot by the sadistic cop. With the information given by a gang member of Balli, Shudh Singh conducts a and confiscates all the gold that the gang had stolen until now, where Sona (who is pregnant with Balli's child) is caught by Shudh Singh, where he attempts to kill her and Balli's child, but the General stops him. Though heartbroken, Balli plans to steal the "Queen's Crown", which is supposed to arrive at Kaza. Despite tight security, Balli steals the Queen's crown and puts a blot on the British General's reputation. Balli makes a deal with the General to free the Khamerans, in exchange for the Queen's Crown.


title: Shamshera

text: The General agrees and Balli returns with the surviving members of his crew to the Kaza Fortress. Shudh Singh kills the British forces, and places the blame on Balli, and takes the credit for returning the crown to the queen, but forgets about placing the blame on Khamerans. The Khamerans learn about Shamshera's sacrifice from Pir Baba, where they get enraged and breaks the fortress's gates to fight alongside Balli. They slaughter the police force. Balli fights Shudh Singh, and he hangs Shudh Singh in the same way, in which he hanged Shamshera. Balli leaves the Queen's Crown to the British General, due to him having saved Sona's life. The Khamerans ride alongside Balli, and are hopeful that they will be able to live a dignified life hereafter.


title: Shamshera

text: "Shamshera" was officially launched in May 2018 by Yash Raj Films through a motion poster, starring Ranbir Kapoor as the titular character Shamshera. Sanjay Dutt was cast in a pivotal role, and Vaani Kapoor was signed to play the female lead. To prepare her role, Vaani Kapoor took professional training in Kathak. Kapoor portrays a dancer.


title: Shamshera

text: Principal photography begun in December 2018. For the film, a massive fort was built at Film City, Goregaon, requiring 2 months of preparation and the effort of nearly 300 workers. Filming ended in September 2020.


title: Shamshera

text: Shamshera soundtrack is composed by Mithoon with lyrics by Mithoon, Karan Malhotra and Piyush Mishra.


title: Shamshera

text: "Shamshera" released in cinemas on 22 July 2022. Originally planned for cinema release on 20 December 2019, "Shamshera" was later on highly delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was then rescheduled to 25 June 2021, but due to the second wave of pandemic, the release was postponed to 18 March 2022, that once again got delayed due to Omicron variant spread at the time. It released on 22 July 2022. The film was released in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu and in IMAX theatres.


title: Shamshera

text: The digital streaming rights of the film are sold to Amazon Prime Video. The film digitally streamed on Amazon Prime Video from 19 August 2022 in Hindi and dubbed versions of Tamil and Telugu languages.


title: Shamshera

text: "Shamshera" earned 10.25 crores at the domestic box office on its opening day. On the second day, the film collected 10.50 crore. On the third day, the film collected 11 crore, taking a total domestic opening weekend of 31.75 crore.


title: Shamshera

text: "Shamshera" receieved mixed to negative reviews from critics. Anna M. M. Vetticad of "Firstpost" rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Ranbir is gorgeous in every imaginable way in "Shamshera" in terms of his acting, sex appeal, dancing, litheness in the action scenes and magnetic personality". Tina Das of "The Print" rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "While RRR relies heavily on VFX, Ranbir Kapoor's "Shamshera" affects the heart and feels more realistic with its new caste angle and Vaani Kapoor's acting". Avinash Lohana of "Pinkvilla" rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Karan Malhotra's Shamshera starring Ranbir Kapoor, Vaani Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt is in line with the ongoing trend of workable films, and has the right amount of drama, action, romance, humour and all other masala potboiler elements to entertain the audience". Mugdha Kapoor of "DNA India" rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Ranbir Kapoor shines in the double role, and the film marks the perfect comeback for the actor". A critic for "Filmfare" rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "The South film industry has been making such films for the last few years, and "Shamshera" is Bollywood's bold attempt at replicating the formula. The Hindi film industry needs a renaissance and let's hope this film becomes a catalyst towards it".


title: Shamshera

text: Rachana Dubey of "The Times of India" rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "To sum it up, director and co-writer Karan Malhotra surely seemed to have had a grand vision at the onset, but it's his execution that seems to have betrayed him". Sonil Dedhia of "News 18" rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote ""Shamshera" doesn't really have the punch or the thrill that is required to pull off a film of this scale. The film feels a little too long, blame it on weak editing". Shalini Langer of "The Indian Express" rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Ranbir Kapoor is efficiently good as Shamshera, a leader of a tribe first treated as outcastes and later betrayed and kept enslaved in a fort". Tushar Joshi of "India Today" rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote ""Shamshera" is a mess that needs more than just star power to come to its rescue". Sukanya Verma of "Rediff" rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote ""Shamshera's" problem is a shocking inability to support its bombastic ideas with gripping drama. The result is the wastage of not one but two Ranbir Kapoors". Taran Adarsh rated the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, called the film an 'epic disappointment' and wrote, "Even Ranbir Kapoor's star-power cannot save this ship from sinking". Saibal Chatterjee of "NDTV" rated the film 1 out of 5 stars and wrote "Moral of the story for Ranbir Kapoor - the actor should henceforth read his scripts with a more critical eye before buying into them. He owes it to his talent".


title: Rekha

text: Bhanurekha Ganesan (born 10 October 1954), better known by her stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in more than 180 films and is the recipient of several accolades, including one National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards. She has often played strong and complicated female characters—from fictional to literary—in both mainstream and independent films. Though her career has gone through certain periods of decline, Rekha has gained a reputation for reinventing herself numerous times and has been credited for her ability to sustain her status. In 2010, the Government of India honoured her with Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour.


title: Rekha

text: The daughter of actors Pushpavalli and Gemini Ganesan, Rekha started her career as a child actress in Telugu films "Inti Guttu" (1958) and "Rangula Ratnam" (1966). Her first film as a lead happened with the Kannada movie "Operation Jackpot Nalli C.I.D 999" (1969). Her Hindi debut with "Sawan Bhadon" (1970) established her as a rising star, but despite the success of several of her early films, she was often panned in the press for her looks and weight. Motivated by criticism, she started working on her appearance and put effort into improving her acting technique and command of the Hindi language, resulting in a well-publicised transformation. Early recognition in 1978 for her performances in "Ghar" and "Muqaddar Ka Sikandar" marked the beginning of the most successful period of her career, and she was one of Hindi cinema's leading stars through most of the 1980s and early 1990s.


title: Rekha

text: For her performance in the comedy "Khubsoorat" (1980), Rekha received her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She followed it with roles in "Baseraa" (1981), "Ek Hi Bhool" (1981), "Jeevan Dhaara" (1982) and "Agar Tum Na Hote" (1983). While mostly prolific in popular Hindi cinema, during this time she ventured into parallel cinema, a movement of neo-realist arthouse films. These films included dramas such as "Kalyug" (1981), "Vijeta" (1982) and "Utsav" (1984), and her portrayal of a classical courtesan in "Umrao Jaan" (1981) won her the National Film Award for Best Actress. After a short setback in the mid 1980s, she was among the actresses who led a new trend of women-centred revenge films, starting with "Khoon Bhari Maang" (1988), for which she won a second Best Actress award at Filmfare.


title: Rekha

text: Her work was much less prolific in subsequent decades. Her roles in early 1990s mostly met with lukewarm reviews. In 1996, she played against type in the role of an underworld don in the action thriller "Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi" (1996), for which she won a third Filmfare Award in the Best Supporting Actress category, and further appeared in "" (1996) and "" (1997) to critical acclaim but some public scrutiny. During the 2000s, she was praised for her supporting roles in the 2001 dramas "Zubeidaa" and "Lajja", and started playing mother roles, among which was her role in the science fiction "Koi... Mil Gaya" (2003) and its superhero sequel "Krrish" (2006), both commercial successes. The lattermost emerged as her highest-grossing release.


title: Rekha

text: Apart from acting, Rekha has served as a member for the Rajya Sabha since 2012. Her private life and public image have been the subject of frequent media interest and discussion. Her pairing opposite Amitabh Bachchan starting in the 1970s in a number of successful films was accompanied by speculation about a love affair between the two, culminating in their starring film "Silsila" (1981), which was reflective of media projections. Her only marriage to the Delhi-based industrialist and television manufacturer Mukesh Agarwal in March 1990 ended seven months later when he died by suicide. Her public image has often been tied to her perceived sex appeal. Rekha is reluctant to give interviews or discuss her life, which resulted in her being labelled a recluse.


title: Rekha

text: Rekha was born Bhanurekha Ganesan in Madras (present-day Chennai) on 10 October 1954 to South Indian actors Gemini Ganesan and Pushpavalli, when the couple were unmarried. Ganesan was previously married to T. R. "Bobjima" Alamelu and had four children: the Illinois-based radiation oncologist Revathi Swaminathan, the gynecologist Kamala Selvaraj, "The Times of India" journalist Narayani Ganesan, and the medical doctor Jaya Shreedhar. He had two more children with actress Savitri—Vijaya Chamundeswari, a fitness expert, and Sathish Kumaar. Meanwhile, Pushpavalli had two children (Babuji and Rama) from her earlier marriage to the lawyer I. V. Rangachari. Ganesan and Pushpavalli had another daughter, Radha (born 1955). Nagaprasad and the actress Shubha are her cousins, while Vedantam Raghavayya and his wife Suryaprabha are her uncle and aunt, respectively. Rekha's mother tongue is Telugu, and she is fluent in Hindi and English, having revealed she thinks in the latter.


title: Rekha

text: Rekha did not reveal her family background until mid-1970s. During her unstable childhood, her relationship with her father Ganesan was poor. Ganesan did not want to recognize her as his daughter and give her a living. He rarely met both of his children with Pushpavalli, who subsequently married K. Prakash, a cinematographer from Madras, and she legally changed her name to K. Pushpavalli. She gave birth to two more children, Dhanalakshmi (who later married to the actor Tej Sapru) and the dancer Seshu (died 21 May 1991). Due to her mother's hectic acting schedule at the time, Rekha would often stay with her grandmother. Asked in an interview by Simi Garewal about her father, Rekha believed he was never even aware of her existence. She recalled that her mother often spoke about him and added that despite never having lived with him, she felt his presence all through. Even so, the relationship started to improve five years after Pushpavalli died in 1991. He told a "Cine Blitz" interviewer of his happiness about this and stated, "Rekha and I have such a good rapport. We are really close." He died in 2005.


title: Rekha

text: Rekha was one year old when she played a small role in the Telugu-language drama "Inti Guttu". Directed by Vedantam Raghavayya, the film was released in late 1958 and became a commercial success. She was enrolled at a kindergarten when she was at the age of three and next joined the Presentation Convent School in Madras during her adolescence. She also met Narayani, Ganesan and Aramelu's second daughter, at the school when the latter was around nine or ten years old. Always an awkward and lonely girl, she admitted that she experienced childhood obesity. In a 1990 interview to "The Illustrated Weekly of India", she called herself as "the fattest girl in the school". In this period, she developed a love for dances and sports, although never participated in them due to her weight. Because of this, she was bullied by many of her schoolmates, who called her "lotta" (Tamil for "bastard"). Rekha, describing herself as a "firm believer" in God and destiny, used to spend her time at the school's chapel. Another brief screen role came with the release of "Rangula Ratnam" (1966)—a political satire which was popular among the audience—co-starring Pushpavalli and sister Radha.


title: Rekha

text: According to her biographer Yasser Usman, Rekha was asked by Pushpavalli to start an acting career when their family faced financial troubles in 1968, as the latter was sure that it would help them. Although never had interest for acting, Rekha (who was initially aspired to be a flight attendant) obeyed her desire and, at the age of 13 to 14—while she was in ninth grade—she dropped out from school to start a full-time career in acting; she later regretted not having completed her education. A protective sister, she did not let her younger sister Radha to join her, because she wanted Radha to finish hers.