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Bollywood Star Aishwarya Rai, Daughter, Hospitalized for COVID-19

Indian actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter were hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment. (Getty Images)
Indian actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter were hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment. (Getty Images)
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Bollywood Star Aishwarya Rai, Daughter, Hospitalized for COVID-19

Indian actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter were hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment. (Getty Images)
Indian actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter were hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment. (Getty Images)

Indian actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter were hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment, the Times of India reported on Saturday, days after her husband and father-in-law were admitted.

Rai’s father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan and son Abhishek Bachchan, also major Bollywood celebrities, were admitted to Mumbai’s Nanavati Hospital early this week, becoming the highest-profile patients the pandemic sweeping India.

At the same time, Aishwarya Rai, a former Miss World who regularly appears on “most beautiful” lists, and her eight-year-old daughter, Aaradhya Bachchan, tested positive for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, but they have since been in home quarantine.

“After Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter Aaradhya have been shifted to Nanavati hospital,” the newspaper said, adding that they were admitted to the top Mumbai private hospital on Friday.

A spokeswoman for Aishwarya Rai did not respond to Reuters text messages and calls seeking comment.

Fans across India prayed this week for the celebrity family as the virus continued its rapid spread without any sign of a peak.

Aishwarya Rai, 46, has worked on several Bollywood and Hollywood films. She is a brand ambassador for some multinational companies, including L’Oreal.

India, which has registered over a million coronavirus cases, has the world’s third-highest number of infections, and more than 26,000 people have died of COVID-19. Partial lockdowns have been re-imposed in some densely populated areas to control the spread of the virus.

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British Presenter Jeremy Clarkson Reveals He Has Cancer on TV Show

Horse Racing - Cheltenham Festival - Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Britain - March 13, 2026 Television presenter Jeremy Clarkson ahead of the races. (Action Images via Reuters)
Horse Racing - Cheltenham Festival - Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Britain - March 13, 2026 Television presenter Jeremy Clarkson ahead of the races. (Action Images via Reuters)
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British Presenter Jeremy Clarkson Reveals He Has Cancer on TV Show

Horse Racing - Cheltenham Festival - Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Britain - March 13, 2026 Television presenter Jeremy Clarkson ahead of the races. (Action Images via Reuters)
Horse Racing - Cheltenham Festival - Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Britain - March 13, 2026 Television presenter Jeremy Clarkson ahead of the races. (Action Images via Reuters)

British television presenter Jeremy Clarkson, ‌best known for hosting the "Top Gear" motoring show, has revealed that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.

Clarkson, 66, one of Britain's most popular and high-profile TV figures, made the disclosure during filming for his Amazon documentary show "Clarkson's Farm" for episodes which were broadcast on Wednesday.

"I’ve got cancer," Clarkson tells two of the show's other main characters in a scene filmed last year. "I had a medical, remember, back in May? I disappeared off the other week and I had a biopsy ‌and it ‌is cancer, and it’s aggressive."

Clarkson said the ‌disease ⁠had been caught "really ⁠early" and he had since had an operation to remove 10% of his prostate.

"If I hadn’t have got myself checked out and they hadn’t caught the problem early, this could well have been my last harvest," he said. "It’s only because they did catch it early, there’s every hope that I’ll be harvesting ⁠this farm for many, many years to come."

Ahead ‌of the episodes' broadcast, Clarkson ‌posted a video on Instagram on Tuesday, saying they were a "difficult watch".

"Ordinarily, ‌we try to keep the show bucolic, charming, and cheerful," ‌he said. "But the final two episodes, which drop in the middle of the night tonight, are ... they're none of those things, really. They're a difficult watch.

"They're really, really difficult."

Clarkson, who has cultivated a ‌reputation for being controversial, gained worldwide fame as presenter of the BBC's "Top Gear" show but lost ⁠his job ⁠after he punched a member of the production team in 2015.

He moved to Amazon where he made a new car show with his old show's co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May, and subsequently began making the successful "Clarkson's Farm", which chronicles his often haphazard attempts to run the farm he owns in central England.

"I don't know what's going to happen. But look, what I wanted to say was: if this is all successful, I’ll see you for season six," he says from a hospital bed at the end of the final show of the latest series. "And if it isn’t, I won’t. Take care, everyone."

Entertainment

The Grammys Add 5 New Categories and Announce Changes to Best New Artist

Grammy awards are displayed at the Grammy Museum Experience at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Oct. 10, 2017. (AP)
Grammy awards are displayed at the Grammy Museum Experience at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Oct. 10, 2017. (AP)
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The Grammys Add 5 New Categories and Announce Changes to Best New Artist

Grammy awards are displayed at the Grammy Museum Experience at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Oct. 10, 2017. (AP)
Grammy awards are displayed at the Grammy Museum Experience at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Oct. 10, 2017. (AP)

The Recording Academy has tweaked some of its rules for the 2026 Grammy Awards, including the addition of five new categories.

The academy on Tuesday announced the addition of a best Asian pop music performance category — celebrating releases across K-pop, J-pop, C-pop and beyond — awarded to the performer.

A new best traditional pop vocal performance category will be awarded to performers whose music “cannot properly be intermingled with present forms of pop music,” according to a press release.

Also, a new best Latin song category will recognize songwriters for their work on Latin songs recorded predominantly in Spanish.

The other changes affect the R&B and folk categories. A new best R&B collaboration or duo/group performance award joins the reimagined best R&B solo performance category.

Folk has experienced a similar change that country experienced last year: Best folk album has become best contemporary folk album. A best traditional folk album category has been added.

In addition to the five new categories, changes have been made regarding the criteria of a few releases. Most noteworthy: alterations to the best new artist category.

The Grammys will now allow artists to submit in the category four times, up from three. That is in an attempt to better reflect the current music market, where it can take time for an artist to break through.

There is no specified maximum number of previous releases and a screening committee is tasked with determining “whether the artist had attained this high degree of impact in the music industry prior to the eligibility year,” according to the rule book. An artist who has received a Grammy nomination in the past is not eligible.

The Grammys will also allow certain qualified members to vote in more categories.

“2027 is going to be an amazing year for the Grammy Awards, and one that reflects the extraordinary growth we’re seeing across music,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy said in a statement.

“The changes advanced by our Recording Academy members speak to the breadth of today’s music industry and the many genres, crafts and creators shaping it. We’re excited to see these updates come to life in the year ahead as we celebrate the music people who are driving music forward.”

Entertainment

Luke’s ‘Empire’ Light Saber, ‘Wizard of Oz’ Witch Hat and Lebowski Rugs Going up for Auction

This combination of images released by Heritage Auctions show the light saber used on screen by Mark Hamill's character Luke Skywalker in the 1980 "Star Wars" sequel "The Empire Strikes Back." (Heritage Auctions via AP)
This combination of images released by Heritage Auctions show the light saber used on screen by Mark Hamill's character Luke Skywalker in the 1980 "Star Wars" sequel "The Empire Strikes Back." (Heritage Auctions via AP)
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Luke’s ‘Empire’ Light Saber, ‘Wizard of Oz’ Witch Hat and Lebowski Rugs Going up for Auction

This combination of images released by Heritage Auctions show the light saber used on screen by Mark Hamill's character Luke Skywalker in the 1980 "Star Wars" sequel "The Empire Strikes Back." (Heritage Auctions via AP)
This combination of images released by Heritage Auctions show the light saber used on screen by Mark Hamill's character Luke Skywalker in the 1980 "Star Wars" sequel "The Empire Strikes Back." (Heritage Auctions via AP)

A light saber with Luke Skywalker's severed hand from “The Empire Strikes Back” that is expected to sell for seven figures headlines an upcoming auction of valuables from movies, music and other corners of pop culture.

The Hollywood & Entertainment Signature Auction presented by Heritage Auctions announced Tuesday and held July 13-17 also includes hats from “The Wizard of Oz” and “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” hoverboards from “Back to the Future II,” rugs from “The Big Lebowski” and a pair of Rocky 's boxing boots.

A major Beatles artifact will also be up for sale: John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for “If I fell,” written on the back of a Valentine card while he was in New York for the Fab Four's first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964. The bidding for it will open at $500,000.

The light saber, used onscreen by Mark Hamill in the climactic Cloud City fight in the 1980 “Star Wars” sequel, where Darth Vader declares “I am your father,” includes a severed hand effects rig. It’s never been up for auction before and bidding opens at $1 million.

Bidding starts at $100,000 for a Wicked Witch of the West hat worn by actor Margaret Hamilton in 1939's “The Wizard of Oz” and at $50,000 for the brown top hat worn by Gene Wilder as the title character in 1971's “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

The auction will also include a pair of boxing boots worn by Sylvester Stallone in “Rocky III.” Stallone wears the showy boots featuring tassels and a Nike swoosh in the opening montage of the 1982 film. Bids will begin at $100,000.

Also up for sale are the two rugs that are essential to the plot of “The Big Lebowski,” including the rug belonging to Jeff Bridges' the Dude that is soiled at the beginning of the 1998 film that “really tied the room together,” and the other that he takes from his wealthy namesake. Bidding on them opens at $15,000 apiece.

“This auction represents the full spectrum of entertainment history, from Hollywood’s Golden Age to modern blockbuster cinema and the most influential moments in popular music,” Joe Maddalena, executive vice president of Heritage Auctions, said in a statement.

Many other items including a Paul Newman hockey jersey from “Slap Shot,” a necklace worn by the title character in “The Bride of Frankenstein” and the inflatable “Otto the Autopilot” from “Airplane” will be up for auction.