“Sacred Games” star Rajshri Deshpande said that she will be making a cameo appearance in Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar-starrer “The Sky is Pink”.
The actor said that the film’s director, Shonali Bose, approached for a small role in the film, which is currently in production.
“Shonali is a great friend. She asked me if I would like to do this small role in her next and I jumped at the opportunity. I said ‘It’s your film, I can’t say no’. After ‘Sacred Games’ this came my way. I really feel hopeful for the future,” Deshpande told PTI on the sideline of 2018 International Film Festival of India here.
Rajshri said that it is surreal to attend IFFI, where she started her journey as a volunteer, which was followed by her films — “Angry Indian Goddesses” and last year’s controversy-ridden “S Durga”.
“I feel that time is like this mountain. You never know who will come up when and who will come down when. Last year, we came in with ‘S Durga’ but did not succeed. But look today, I was here at a panel where people are listening to me. Last time, we were not heard,” she adds.
On the work front, the actor will be seen alongside Adil Hussain and Sandhya Mridul in Vijay Jayapal’s psychological horror drama “Nirvana Inn”.
“Kaala” may have redefined the symbolism of colours black and white in cinema but its director, Pa Ranjith says if that were true the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) would have selected the film for the ongoing gala’s Indian Panorama section.
The Rajinikanth-starrer was touted to be India’s “Black Panther” in the reviews for its political message highlighting the struggle of Dalits and Ranjith says it was difficult for him to understand that “Tiger Zinda Hai” be chosen but not “Kaala”.
“Unfortunately, they have not selected the film at IFFI. I don’t understand why ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ was selected and ‘Kaala’ was not.
The filmmaker, best known for “Kabali”, “Madras” and “Atthakathi”, says he wants both mainstream and parallel cinema to address casteism.
“They (the producers) are not ready. They are still not letting the audiences get used to different types of cinema. Producers tend to not take risks thinking they will challenge the set pattern. I want to make it clear for other producers that such a story needs to be put out. Let ‘Perumal’ be an example for others,” he says.
“I believe that the audience has an open mind and as creative people, we should not hold things back from them. I want to break all the rules,” he adds.
She charmed the critics with her portrayal of Shabbo in Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta’s “Veer Zaara” but actor Divya Dutta was initially not sure of taking up the part.
During the panel discussion ‘Redefining Stories’ at the International Film Festival of India 2018 here, the actor, who recently won the National Award for Best Supporting Actress for role in the film “Irada”, revealed that Yash Chopra-directed film came her way after a couple of multi-starrer projects which she was not proud of.
“Everyone in the industry says yes to you. Nobody says no. They are all very nice to you. I called up home and told them that I have signed 22 films… I waited like for a year and a half before I started doing multi-starrer and I wasn’t happy doing that.
“I wasn’t happy dancing around trees because I wanted to do more. Then my mother just sat me down and said ‘What are you waiting for?’ I told her something will come my way. She said what if it comes after 25 odd years. she said why don’t you do it now. Why don’t you take up those roles that are not probably your lead roles but they have so much substance, so much significance.”
The actor says she felt it was “blasphemous” to play a person which is not the lead character when “Veer Zaara” came her way.
“I thought it was blasphemy to take on friend’s role in a Yash Chopra film. But Aditya told me ‘You are never going to regret having played Shabbo’. And to date, I get love for that film.”
Rahul Bose on Thursday said that after the box office debacle of his last film, sports biopic, “Poorna: Courage Has No Limit”, he will never produce a movie that does not have a star headliner.
Poorna is based on a true story of Malavath Poorna, a tribal girl from Telangana who created history on May 25, 2014, by becoming the youngest girl in the world to scale the Mount Everest at the age of 13.
Aditi Inamdar, a Telangana girl, portrayed Poorna on screen.
The abysmal performance of the film at the ticket window especially in tier-II towns, “really broke my heart”, Bose, who also directed the film, said.
“Everybody thinks it was really gutsy to make a Rs 10 crore film on a 13-year-old girl climbing Mt Everest. I just thought it was a fantastic mainstream film. ‘Little girl climbs Everest, holds Indian flag’ what can get more mainstream than this? I wondered.
“The biggest reality check that I got after making ‘Poorna’, which also defines the Hindi film industry, this would be the last mainstream film to be made with… As a producer, never will I make a film that doesn’t have a recognisable face,” he said.
The actor-director was speaking at a panel discussion ‘Redefining Stories’ at the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
He said “Poorna” recently broke even and he is planning to release the film in China soon.
“I have never struggled. I don’t have a ‘Mera koi godfather nahi tha, phir bhi’ story. I didn’t have to change my acting or anything. Right from ‘English August’ to ‘Poorna’, I’m proud of the choices I have made, barring one or two. So I don’t have that story, Bose added.
Senior Congress party leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said that demonetisation and ‘flawed’ Goods and Service Tax (GST) implemented by the central government, are responsible for the stress on Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and real-estate sector.
Referring to a report published in a leading daily, which stated that the Centre might highlight the stress in the real estate sector at the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Central Board meeting, Chidambaram wrote on Twitter, “A news report says ‘After MSME, Government will flag stress in the real-estate sector to RBI’. What caused the stress in the two sectors? Demonetisation and a flawed GST.”
He further said that if by any means the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would not be able to revive the two sectors then the government would blame the central banking institution for everything.
“Who caused the stress in the two sectors? Everyone knows it was the government and its quack advisers. Now, Government wants RBI to rescue the two sectors and will blame RBI if the two sectors do not revive! Familiar story of killer, victims and scapegoat!” he Tweeted.
As per the media report, after highlighting the shrinking credit to MSME, the Centre might raise the issue of stress in the real estate sector that threatens job losses at the at the RBI’s Central Board meeting, which is scheduled to be held on December 14.
Close on the heels of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeking action against him for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct, Congress leader and former Union Minister Kamal Nath said on Thursday that only those who were “senseless” would seek action against him.
Kamal Nath, also Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief, said on Thursday, “Those who are demanding legal action against me for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct by inciting religious sentiments to appeal for votes have lost their senses in the politics of religion.”
It is worth mentioning that a delegation of the BJP on Wednesday petitioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) in New Delhi and demanded legal action against Nath for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct “by inciting religious sentiments to appeal for votes” in run up to the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh.
“They have lost their senses in the politics of religion. They have come down to the politics of video and WhatsApp. I am not afraid of it as people will not be influenced by it. The truth is in front of all (Dharm ki rajniti mein ye baukhla gaye hain. Ye video aur WhatsApp ki rajniti par utar aaye hain. Mujhe iski chinta nahi hai. Kyoki janta in sab baat se prabhavit hone waali nahi hai. Sacchai sabke saamne hai),” Kamal Nath told agencies.
The BJP delegation also accused the Congress leader of bribing voters ahead of Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections. Speaking to the media outside the Nirvachan Bhawan here, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that several issues pertaining to the breach of the Model Code of Conduct by the Congress were raised. “The Congress’ secularism-tactic is creating division in the society for electoral gains and violates Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951,” he added.
The controversy broke out in the poll-bound state when the BJP shared a video of Kamal Nath speaking with a gathering of Muslim clerics, telling them to bear with the RSS’ tactics till the election-day, following which the Congress would “deal with them.”
Madhya Pradesh will go to polls on November 28 in a single-phase, and results will be declared on December 11.
It refers to the Chief Justice of India on November 20, 2018, irked on alleged leak of response from the CBI Chief to media before it was submitted in the Apex Court, adjourning the matter for November 29, 2018. Such an important matter, due to which the whole working of premier-most investigating agency of the country is stalled, should have been given day-to-day hearing rather than adjourning it for nine long days.
It is noteworthy that no concrete action was taken on leakage of Apex Court verdict on NEET on July 18, 2013, even though it was assured by the then Chief Justice of India that the leakage would be probed. Investigating-report in that matter should be made public naming the guilty ones responsible for disrupting the highest court of the country through leakage of its verdict before being pronounced in the court.
– Subhash Chandra Agrawal
2) Take water cut in right spirit
Now the time has come to enforce water cut as a precautionary measure. This is a right step in the right direction as the water saved today will help BMC to prolong the stock for longer time and preserve it for a time of need. We were all wondering about the sound water resources position and the corporation need not take things lightly and start enforcing the limit stipulated per person and prevent overuse of water. It is time to conserve water through rain water harvesting system and conserve water reserved for hard times ahead if any. Presently water is up for grab and the instructions to enforce water cuts may surprise many but cut in water is essential to avoid a precarious position mid way through next year. Let us face water cut in the most practical way.
– Jayanthy Anandambal
3) Leaking of private photos
Ever since the menace of social media commenced on exchanging photos, the chances of private photos getting leaked is far more than ever before. Thus, these private photos are becoming an open secret and mostly the females are becoming targets for exposure. The recent case of Akshara Hassan is also like this. She was exposing herself too much and now paying heavy price for the same. This is not the first time such things are happening. It is a sort of revenge or for that matter show of anger towards a rejected person. This is in a very bad taste and show the display of male dominance in the society. The days are not far that leaking of private photos will become a business for black- mailing ladies.
– Nickhil Krishnan
4) RBI-Govt meet
RBI’s truce with the government is on and is a cause of an unhappy moment for the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank. The momentum builds up with allegations and counter allegations all through the rough period of our economy. Now the time has come for solving sensitive issues concerning our economy and get ahead with innovative policies to come out of the rut. For this to happen, both the sides should retreat from their positions and make an attempt at signalling compromise. Much will depend on the stance taken by RBI, particularly by Urjit Patel-adapting to Central Banks board meet and the decisions binding on that. FM should also be flexible to make the things move with a perspective on the future action plan. It is time for reconciliation rather than pointing out each other’s mistakes. Anyway, the truce should stop for ever and better counsel should prevail till next financial year.
– Abhishek Ram
5) Costly Nomenclature
The renaming spree has many bad consequences. Firstly, it costs hundreds of crores of public exchequer unnecessarily. Secondly, in the name of history it is a veiled and ditch attempt to provoke a particular community, who feels insecure by such actions which eventually goes against their ancestors. This is irrational because how may it be justified that the Mughals were invaders as one may object Aryans themselves were invaders who overwhelmed a still more ancient civilization. The BJP government deliberately raking up Ayodhya, Sabarimala, Tipu Jayanti and other controversial issues just to derive political mileage and score brownie points, while there are many issues of national importance like farmers suicide, unemployment, corruption, poor health system, loan crisis and deteriorating law and order that are crying for their consideration. They should regard that Hindus are not dumbed down cannon fodder for them anymore. They should change their priorities, otherwise should await defeat.
– Ismail Mulla
6) Sushma Swaraj signs off
As a shrewd politician, Sushma Swaraj lived a full life and as a Minister of External Affairs, she won laurels with innumerable successful efforts to bring out the stranded people overseas to India with her concerted efforts. As the Information and Broadcasting Minister, she made a mark and she was a successful campaigner for BJP. She has decided to quit politics at the right time when people ask “Why” and not Why Not? She was the senior most in the council of ministers and her decision to quit from contesting is a rude shock. She is a prominent woman leader and is a four time Lok Sabha MP. It is her own decision and it is high time to respect her decision.
– Anandambal Subbu
7) Dissolution of Kashmir state-assembly: Right but delayed step
Dissolution of Kashmir state-assembly on November 21, 2018, just following wide-spread news of possible formation of an opportunist alliance between PDP, National Conference and Congress was a delayed step in right direction.
BJP spokesperson on media revealed that talks about such an alliance were going on in Dubai and London at the behest of Pakistan for last so many days. If this is true, then Intelligence authorities must have warned in advance to make state-governor act swiftly to dissolve the state-assembly well in advance rather than being blamed for not allowing formation of a democratically elected government at behest of BJP. However, the process of checking militancy in governor-rule must not have been derailed by allowing any anti-national alliance of which unfortunately a national party was also going to be a part.
Kashmir problem should be practically solved for ever by taking bold-most step of abolition of articles 35A and 370 of the Constitution.
– Madhu Agrawal
8) The Sabarimala Row: Right to Equality
This is regarding the Sabarimala temple row that’s taking place in Kerala since the last many months where women are not allowed to enter the temple to pray. The Catholic Church is the only place of worship where not only women but people of all faiths and communities are allowed to enter. When God created human beings in His own image and likeliness (Genesis 1: 27), why are women being discriminated from entering temples?
Isn’t it unfair and disgusting that women are treated inferior to men by some people of the Hindu community? When will men learn and treat women in par with them? Women are not sex objects and men should realise this.
– Jubel D’Cruz
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
Marriage requires patience, understanding, and ability to bow out in argument and Love marriage fad has blinded people to assume that dating and small term relationship lead to marriage. In reality, it doesn’t. As people fall into a relationship before marriage, they spend a lot of time together and forget about getting along with each other. That is why all relationships don’t end up in marriage?
This is because not everyone is courageous enough to take their relationship to marriage. Many problems arise between them such as caste religion society fear parents’ pressure etc. Love is not the most important thing in marriage. You can have a happy marriage without love and without sharing. It is more common than one would imagine. But having an emotional and intellectual bond and having a physical connection tend to be really important for most couples.
Making the decision to leave a marriage is scary: There’s often a deep fear of being alone, not to mention the possibility of an unknown future. So many stick with mediocrity, settling for low-level pain and dissatisfaction instead. Men change after marriage, but the change does not last long. They change due to a variety of reasons one of which is to make their spouse or extended family happy. Their true self-emerges once the initial romance fades and small issues crop up in the family life.
Men may appear to change after marriage but in reality, this is not so. Several factors contribute to this erroneous conclusion. It is said that love is blind, and marriage, an eye-opener. When you are in love, you are blind to family and social requirements which have a large role to play in your life after marriage. You tend to overlook your partner’s negative attributes and fail to foresee the problems you could get into post-marriage. So the woman feels her husband’s undesirable behaviour is caused by the marriage and to some extent, she is responsible for it. In fact, neither men nor women change after marriage. They let their guard down, revealing traits not visible during courtship or honeymoon.
Another major difference men experience is though they don’t change after marriage, they begin to live in changed circumstances. Single men don’t have the responsibilities that come with marriage. Their inherent traits are not yet put to the test. Also, men by nature and conditioning enjoy a greater degree of independence. You cannot expect them to change just because they are married. Marriage brings with it commitments which require men to remain career-focussed. This means less time spent on romance.
In Indian conditions, marriage means more responsibility, especially in the Indian context where the ‘provider syndrome’ is dominant in the psyche of the man. Change is also perceived when there are certain expectations. Men are more independent than women and need more space. They need to let their hair down and tackle crux of the problem well within the available income.
Youth and inexperience may lead a young bride to believe life after marriage will be a long, wonderful ‘date’ with a permanent suitor waiting to fulfil her every whim. When the man who was demonstrative of his love prior to marriage stops being so afterward, the wife gets disillusioned. She feels this is not the man she married.
Life is a constant series of changes. Individuals learn, grow, adapt and embrace change for better or worse. So, men too irrespective of whether they are married or not will change. There is no hard and fast rule that love must end in marriage.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday sought about Rs 15,000 crore as central assistance towards relief and rehabilitation activities in Cyclone Gaja affected districts in the state.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi with a plea for central assistance for various sectors in the affected districts, the state government said here.
“I have submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister detailing the extent of the damage caused by the cyclone,” Palaniswami told reporters in Delhi, adding the state has sought about Rs 15,000 crore.
He said he had also urged Modi to depute a central team to assess the damage, besides seeking an immediate release of nearly Rs 1500 crore towards “temporary renovation” activities.
According to the abstract of the memorandum submitted to Modi by the Chief Minister which was released here, Tamil Nadu has sought a total sum of Rs 14,910 crore towards permanent renovation activities in various areas, including the power sector which has been badly hit.
Over one lakh electric poles had been uprooted and a significant number of power sub-stations damaged, with reports suggesting that many parts are still without power.
Cyclone Gaja had crossed the Tamil Nadu coast early on November 16 between Nagapattinam, about 300 km from here, and nearby Vedaranyam.
It had claimed 46 lives and left a trail of destruction in over ten districts, including Nagapttinam, Thiruvarur, Puthukottai and Thanjavur which suffered severe damage.
The Tamil Nadu government has already released a sum of Rs 1000 crore for immediate relief and rehabilitation efforts in the affected areas.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged on Wednesday that his political rivals were conspiring to get him eliminated, a day after a man flung chilli powder at the AAP supremo outside his office in the Delhi secretariat.
The chief minister’s spectacles broke, but he was not injured in Tuesday’s attack.
Kejriwal claimed he was attacked four times in the past two years.
He said this during his visit to Sonipat in Haryana where he handed over an ex-gratia cheque of Rs 1 crore to the family of martyred BSF jawan Narender Singh.
“During the past two years, there have been four attacks on me. This is not a minor issue. I think in India’s history, there must not be a single example when a chief minister faced attacks on four occasions in two years. So, it is clear that such attacks are not taking place, but they are being carried out,” Kejriwal told reporters in Sonipat.
He was asked who would he blame for Tuesday’s attack.
The chief minister claimed that the AAP government in Delhi has carried out lot of development in a short span of three years, including in schools and hospitals in the capital, which governments of other parties “failed” to do in the last 70 years.
He said the AAP and development works done by the party has become an eyesore to the rivals, who were conspiring to get him “eliminated”.
“We have become an eyesore for them and they are conspiring to get me killed. They are repeatedly carrying out such attacks on us. Because the way development works are being carried out in Delhi, be it bringing improvements in its schools and hospitals in a span of three years we have done so much work, these parties have not been able to do so in 70 years,” he said.
“Now, everywhere they (these parties) are being asked (by public) why they are not able to do this. People are asking if Kejriwal can give Rs 1 crore (to families of the martyrs), why they cannot give the same amount. They (these parties) feel that if this (AAP) party exists for some more time, then people will raise questions and people will make their life miserable,” Kejriwal said.
The chief minister said people in Haryana have already started raising “such questions” and elsewhere too, the parties are being asked “if AAP can bring improvement in schools, hospitals … good compensation to farmers, why cannot they?”
They are conspiring to get me killed, Kejriwal alleged.
Earlier in the day, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia alleged that the BJP leadership had knowledge of the attack on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the opposition party wants the latter eliminated to stop him from working for the people.
On its part, the BJP termed the incident as “drama” by Kejriwal, with its Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari demanding a high-level probe into it.
In Sonipat, Kejriwal handed over the ex-gratia cheque to the family of BSF jawan Narender Singh, who was brutally killed by Pakistani troops along the international border (IB) near Jammu on September 18.
Accompanied by AAP’s Haryana unit president Naveen Jaihind, Kejriwal arrived in the afternoon and met the martyr’s family in their native village Thana Kalan.
Kejriwal had also visited the village on September 21.
The Aam Aadmi Party government had earlier approved a proposal to amend a rule on awarding ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore to the kin of slain security personnel to include those who have settled in the national capital after joining service.
Addressing a gathering in the village, Kejriwal said, “We are all proud of his sacrifice.”
The Chief Minister sought to know “why successive governments do not give befitting reply to Pakistan”.
“For how long valiant soldiers such as Narender Singh ji will keep giving sacrifices, for how long will families will lose their near and dear ones. When the country needs such sacrifices, definitely these will be given, but our country is not so weak that we cannot give a befitting reply to Pakistan.
“People of our country and the Army can give befitting reply and as was said here today that there should be no politics on this issue,” Kejriwal said.
“I think all parties are one on this, then why governments are weak. Why successive governments don’t give a befitting reply to Pakistan. Every government, every party says they will give befitting reply to Pakistan, but they forget later on,” he added.
The chief minister said though no amount of money can compensate the loss, but families of martyrs need to know “that we stand behind them.”
He said the AAP government in Delhi took the decision to give the ex-gratia or “Samman Rashi”, which he felt the previous governments at the Centre should have done 70 years ago.
