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As Legacy Blue Tick Disappears, Elon Musk Is “Personally Paying” For Twitter Blue Subscription Of These Celebrities

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Twitter removed the legacy blue tick from verified accounts yesterday. This comes months after the company’s CEO Elon Musk announced the date to press users to sign up for Twitter Blue, its paid subscription service. Due to the recent development, many celebrities and noted personalities across various domains lost their coveted verification check mark. With the launch of Twitter Blue, only users who are subscribed to it will be able to have a blue checkmark in front of their names along with access to some brand-new features. However, basketball star LeBron James and author Stephen King still retained their checkmarks despite publicly announcing that they would not sign up for the service. It was later informed by the CEO of the company that he is “personally paying” for the Twitter Blue subscriptions of some celebrities to keep their checkmark.

This came to light after American author Stephen King took to the microblogging website and said, “My Twitter account says I’ve subscribed to Twitter Blue. I haven’t. My Twitter account says I’ve given a phone number. I haven’t.” Replying to the same, Mr Musk said, “You’re welcome namaste” along with a folding hand emoji. 

In a separate tweet, Mr Musk informed, “I’m paying for a few personally.” Later, he tweeted, “Just Shatner, LeBron and King,” referring to Star Trek star William Shatner, who had last month complained about being forced to pay to keep his blue checkmark.

Former US President Donald Trump, Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates and reality TV star Kim Kardashian were among those who lost their badges. Several Indian celebrities including Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Alia Bhatt and politicians like CM Yogi Adityanath, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi and cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma among others have also lost their verified blue ticks from their Twitter accounts.

The company introduced the blue check mark system in 2009 to help users identify that celebrities, politicians, companies and brands, news organisations and other accounts “of public interest” were genuine and not impostors or parody accounts. The company didn’t previously charge for verification.

Bollywood

BB 20: Qazi Touqeer reveals Arijit Singh can play sitar for 7 hours straight, talks about singer’s obsession with music

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Mumbai, Sep 12: Bigg Boss 20 contestant Qazi Touqeer opened up about his longstanding friendship with star singer Arijit Singh.

While chatting with his fellow housemates in an episode of BB 20, Qazi showered praise on the playback singer for his passion, fighting spirit and down-to-earth nature.

Qazi, who shares a friendship with Arijit dating back to their days on the 2005 singing reality show Fame Gurukul, spoke about the singer with immense affection and admiration.

“Bro, I’m telling you. That guy is my life,” Qazi said while talking about Arijit.

Qazi also spoke about Arijit’s passion for music and recalled how the singer could remain completely absorbed in his musical world for hours.

“That guy is my life. Uska fighting spirit crazy hai. Woh 8 ghante tak nahi thakta.” “Sitar leke baithta hai.” (He sits down with his sitar.) “Shuru jab kiya usne toh time ka kuch pata nahi chal raha hai. Saat ghanta, chhe ghanta, constant. Usi cheez mein khoya hua hai.”

(His fighting spirit is crazy. He doesn’t get tired even after eight hours. Once he starts, he loses track of time. Seven hours, six hours, constantly. He is completely lost in it)

Qazi went on to praise Arijit’s love for the process of creating music, saying that for his friend, the joy lies in the process and the music itself.

“Mereko kapdon ka shauk hai, mereko aisa hai. Uske liye maza kya hai? Process. Uska sangeet.” (I have a fascination for clothes and such things. But for him, what matters is the process. His music.)

When asked about his favourite Arijit Singh song, Qazi became emotional and chose “Tum Hi Ho” from the 2013 film Aashiqui 2. He dedicated the song to his friend, saying he shared a very close bond with him and respected him so much that “alfaz kam padh jaaye”. (Out of words)

Qazi then added, “I love you, Arijit bhai. We love Arijit. Arijit bhai, I love you so much. The whole country loves him, bhai. Kuch bolne ki baat hi nahi hai.”

For the uninitiated, Qazi and Arijit’s friendship goes back more than two decades. The two met as young contestants on Fame Gurukul in 2005 and have remained close despite their careers taking very different paths.

Their friendship received another public endorsement after Qazi entered Bigg Boss 20. Arijit took to X and revealed that Qazi had given him a reason to watch the reality show for the first time.

“I will have to watch BIG BOSS for the first time in my life cz Apna Rockstar QAZI hai udhar,” Arijit wrote.

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Akshaye Khanna enjoys a lunch date with longtime friend Rajat Rawail, latter shares rare pic

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Mumbai, Sep 10: Actor Akshaye Khanna recently caught up with his good friend and filmmaker Rajat Rawail over a relaxed lunch in Mumbai.

Rajat Rawail, on Wednesday, sharing a candid glimpse of their get-together on his social media account, wrote, “super luncheon with my best best buddy, the super talented acting juggernaut akshaye khanna & rajat rawail bandra © wed 9/9/36 © friends for ever n ever.”

In the picture, the two friends can be seen seated across a table at a restaurant, posing for the camera.

Talking about Akshaye Khanna, the actor meanwhile, continues to be in the spotlight for his choice of different roles.

After making an impact with his recent performance in Dhurandhar, the actor is now preparing to surprise audiences with another striking transformation in the upcoming mythological film ‘Mahakali’.

In the film, reportedly Akshaye Khanna will be seen as Shukracharya, the guru of the Asuras. The makers had recently unveiled the first extended glimpse, titled ‘Shukracharya’s War Cry’, showcasing the actor in an intense and dramatically transformed avatar.

Directed by Puja Aparna Kolluru and written by Prasanth Varma, Mahakali is part of the Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe. The film also stars Sriya Reddy, Bhoomi Shetty and Rohit Saraf. It is slated to release in theatres on January 8, 2027.

For the uninitiated, Akshaye Khanna has also been riding high on the success of Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar, in which he delivered a performance as Rehman Dakait which received widespread appreciation.

The action thriller, headlined by Ranveer Singh and featuring Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan and Arjun Rampal, released in theatres on December 5, 2025. Akshaye Khanna enjoys a lunch date with longtime friend Rajat Rawail, latter shares rare pics Khanna reprised his role in the franchise’s sequel, Dhurandhar: The Revenge, which released on March 19, 2026.

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Suniel Shetty wishes ‘Hera Pher’ co-star Akshay Kumar as he turns 59

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Mumbai, Sep 9: Actor Suniel Shetty wished his ‘Hera Pher’ co-star Akshay Kumar with a special social media post as he turned 59 years old on Wednesday.

He wrote on his X (Previously known as Twitter) timeline, “Some bonds don’t need too many words. Years go by, life gets busier, but the warmth respect and affection remain exactly the same. So many memories behind us… and plenty more ahead. Happy happy Birthday Akkii…have a great one. @akshaykumar (sic).”

Suniel even dropped a picture where he was seen posing alongside the birthday star.

Talking about the ‘Hera Pheri’ franchise, the primary instalment made under the direction of Priyadarshan, starring Akshay Kumar (Raju), Suniel Shetty (Shyam), and Paresh Rawal (Baburao), reached the audience back in 2000.

‘Hera Pheri’ was initially a sleeper hit, but later turned into one of Bollywood’s most beloved comedies, gaining cult status.

6 years later, in 2006, the makers released ‘Phir Hera Pheri’, bringing back the beloved trio of Akshay, Suniel and Paresh.

Now, the third instalment, ‘Hera Pheri 3’, is in the works, featuring both Akshay and Suniel.

It must be noted that apart from the ‘Hera Pheri’ franchise, Akshay and Suniel have shared the screen in various other projects such as ‘Mohra (1994)’, ‘Waqt Hamara Hai (1993)’, ‘Sapoot (1996)’, ‘Dhadkan (2000)’, ‘Awara Paagal Deewana (2002)’, ‘Aan: Men at Work (2004)’, Deewane Huye Paagal (2005), and ‘De Dana Dan (2009)’.

Talking about Akshay’s promising lineup, he will be seen reuniting with Saif Ali Khan after a long gap in Priyadarshan’s forthcoming thriller, ‘Haiwaan’. The project that will also see Shriya Pilgaonkar and Saiyami in crucial roles is a remake of the Malayalam drama ‘Oppam’.

In addition to this, Akshay has also joined the ensemble cast of Rohit Shetty’s ‘Golmaal 5’, alongside Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Kunal Kemmu, and Sharman Joshi.

Akshay has further been roped in for Anees Bazmee’s untitled next. Touted to be a family comedy, the movie will also see Vidya Balan and Raashi Khanna in important roles.

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