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‘Panipat’: Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon reveal their first look

Panipat,Sanjay dutt, Kriti Sanon, Panipat first lookLead actors from the historical period drama film ‘Panipat’ shared their look from the film on Monday. While Sanjay Dutt is seen as fierce battle warrior, ‘Ahmad Shah Abdali,’ Kriti Sanon is seen as graceful ‘Parvati Bai’.

Dutt shared the glimpse of his character on his social media handle and captioned the picture as, “Ahmad Shah Abdali – Death strikes where his shadow falls. Panipat trailer out tomorrow. #panipatlook.”

Dutt is playing the role of a fierce battle warrior as shown in the poster and is seen with a big moustache and beard.

On the other hand, Kriti Sanon shared the poster of her character in the movie. She is playing the character of a queen named ‘Parvati’. Sanon captioned the post as, “Parvati Bai – A True Queen Needs No Crown. Panipat Trailer Out Tomorrow.”

In the poster, she is see attired in traditional Maharashtrian saree.

Based on the third battle of Panipat, the film also stars Arjun Kapoor. The first poster of the film was released on Sunday. The trailer of Panipat will be released on Tuesday.

In the period drama, Kapoor will be seen playing the role of ‘Sadashiv Rao Bhau’ and ‘Kriti Sanon’ will be playing the role of his wife in the film.

The historical drama produced and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker is slated to release on December 6.

Viineet Kumar begins shoot for ‘Thiruttu Payale 2’ remake

Viineet Kumar,Thiruttu Payale 2Actor Viineet Kumar has commenced shooting for his next, the Hindi remake of Tamil hit “Thiruttu Payale 2” in Varanasi.

Produced by Ramesh Reddy, the film is directed by Susi Ganeshan, who also helmed the 2017 original.

The thriller is about a police officer who tries comes across a man who blackmails women for money and tries to expose him but keeps getting beaten by him at his own game.

“The schedule of the film is very well-timed for me. Diwali celebrations have just happened and it’s great to be in front of the camera with new energy. I’m very excited that we’re shooting in Varanasi and that the film has given me a chance to be at the place that owns my heart,” Viineet said in a statement.

“Thiruttu Payale 2” also stars Urvashi Rautela, Akshay Oberoi.

Viineet was recently seen in “Saand Ki Aankh”. His next release is Suman Ghosh-directed black comedy “Aadhaar”.

My role in ‘The Kill Team’ not of a stereotypical villain reveals Alexander Skarsgard

Alexander Skarsgard,The Kill TeamAlexander Skarsgard says he was excited about starring in the upcoming war drama “The Kill Team” as his character was not a “stereotypical villain”.

The “Big Little Lies” actor features as Sergeant Deeks, an Army leader who leads recruits to kill civilians during the US invasion of Afghanistan.

“I got excited about playing Deeks. I thought it was a really fascinating character that was well written and wasn’t the stereotypical villain,” Skarsgard told Collider.

Led by Nat Wolff, the film is a big screen adaptation of the 2013 war documentary of the same name.

The story follows Andrew Briggman (Wolff), a young soldier who is morally conflicted under the direction of Deeks.

Skarsgard said it wasn’t tough to get into the skin of the character, adding “which I should probably talk to a shrink about”.

“It was more about shaping it and mapping out the trajectory of the manipulation of the young soldiers. That was something I was really excited about working on cause it’s almost like a love story with jealousy,” he added.

Directed by Dan Krauss, “The Kill Team” will release in the US last month.

Lana Del Rey always writes first and last songs of her albums before others

Lana Del Rey,Del rey, del, rey, lanaLana Del Rey says while writing new material, she believes in penning down the first and last tracks of a potential album.

The singer said the two songs are essential in deciding the direction of her record.

“I always say that if you have a closer and an opener, then you know where you are going,” Del Rey told a leading magazine.

She said it took her four years on creating the closing track of her latest LP, ‘Norman F***ing Rockwell’, but the song — “Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – but I Have It” came together when she met collaborator, singer-songwriter Jack Antonoff.

“Not because it was special but it wasn’t piecing together. So, I sang that to Jack a capella the day I met him and we did ‘Norman’ (titular opening track) the next day. Just a series of chords that he played that I freestyled over.

“And I thought, ‘I’ve got the first song and I’ve got the 13th song. And then I pretty much knew what to do in between, I just didn’t know how long it’s going to take. I have the same thing for this next album but it’s actually going to take longer than I want if it’s going to be as good as this one,” Del Rey said.

I’ve been through a lot, learned a lot, says Demi Lovato

demi lovato 1Singer Demi Lovato has opened up about her 2018 overdose and said the incident has taught her a lot.

The 27-year-old singer made her first public appearance at Teen Vogue Summit, where she recalled her transformative journey of the past one year.

“I’ve gone through a lot, and this is really my first public thing, so I’m a little nervous. Over the past year, I’ve learned a ton. I feel like I’m more in tune with who I am now, where I’m at today.

“I’ve learned a lot, I’ve been through a lot and I think as time goes on, as we are being faced with challenges in our life, on a daily basis like we all are, we are all human,” Lovato said.

The “Solo” singer said whenever she looks in the mirror, she sees someone who has “been through a lot”.

“I genuinely see a fighter. I don’t see a championship winner, but I see a fighter and someone who is going to continue to fight no matter what is thrown in their way,’ she added.

Lovato said she is still struggling at times to accept her body, reported Variety.

“We hear the term body positivity all the time. To be honest, I don’t always feel positive about my body. Sometimes I do not like what I see. I don’t sit there and dwell on it. I also don’t lie to myself,” she said.

“I used to look in the mirror if I was having a bad body image day and say ‘I love my body, you’re beautifully and wonderfully made.’ But I didn’t believe it. I don’t have to lie to myself and tell myself I have an amazing body. All I have to say is ‘I’m healthy.’ In that statement, I express gratitude. I am grateful for my strength and things I can do with my body. I am saying I’m healthy and I accept the way my body is today without changing anything,” she added.

Dating older women more fun, says Helena Bonham Carter

helena Bonham CarterHelena Bonham Carter believes it is “more fun” for a man to date an older woman.

The 53-year-old actor, who is currently in a relationship with writer Rye Dag Holmboe, said people are slightly “frightened” of older women but her boyfriend is not one of them.

“Everybody ages at a different rate. My boyfriend is unbelievably mature. He’s an old soul in a young body, what more could I want? People are slightly frightened of older women, but he isn’t. Women can be very powerful when they’re older.

“Why can’t we be sexually and romantically attractive just when our eggs are expired? Actually, it’s much more fun because we’re so freed of the terror, there is no consequence, it’s all just for fun,” Carter told a leading newspaper, who is 32.

The actor said her boyfriend has already forged a healthy relationship with her children — Billy, 16, and Nell, 11, whom she shares with former partner, filmmaker Tim Burton.

“The person who’s being introduced, they’ve got to do the work too. It won’t work unless the other person realises, he’s got to have different, separate relationships with the children as well.

“One thing about my boyfriend, he’s always thought he mustn’t represent a loss to my children, they mustn’t think his presence means they’re going to lose their mum on some level. He’s tried to forge – and very successfully – his own relationship with them and not be another father,” she said.

 

PMC Bank failure: Collapse of faith in Indian Banking System

pmc BANK, PMC BANK SCAM, PMC BANK CRISISThe current incident of Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC ) Bank failure has once again shown the ugly face of Indian Banking System(IBS). It has shattered the trust of lakhs of  people who deposit their hard earned money in the banks to keep it safe and secure. But, it has also unmasked that how the bank regulators including RBI and NABARD management, internal auditors and statutory auditors are unserious and keep their vigilant eyes closed.

Alicia Tuovila in an article in Investopedia.com, defining Statutory Audit, states, “A statutory audit is a legally required review of the accuracy of a company’s or government’s financial statements and records. The purpose of a statutory audit is to determine whether an organisation provides a fair and accurate representation of its financial position by examining information such as bank balances, book keeping records and financial transactions.”

There is a saying “Saamp ko nahin, Saamp ki  Maa ko mariye jo anginat Saamp paida karti hai.”(Don’t kill the snake, but kill the mother of snakes which gives birth to hundreds of snakes.)

The above mentioned auditing and checking authorities, responsible for curbing the birth of snakes in the IBS, should be kicked off with a hard hit. If they can’t even notice or smell the internal health of the banks during their off-site and on-site inspection and audit period, then what kind of surveillance they are keeping?

PMC Bank, a cooperative bank operating in seven states with 137 branches, having a deposit of Rs. 11617 crore, a loan portfolio of Rs. 8383 crore, net profit of Rs. 99.69 crore and a declared NPA of mere 3.76% in its 31.03.2019 balance sheet. What a glorious picture the bank was sprucing up! Then what were the reasons of its sudden collapse? Keeping aside the rules & regulations, distorting all  bars and codes, the bank had reportedly lent a major portion of its loan portfolio nearly 70 per cent of total advancement to a single entity HDIL, which has gone bad. RBI failed to identify the violation of rules by the PMC bank, why?

PMC bank collapse is not the first incident in IBS, Nirav Modi & Mehul Choksi  caused an alleged fraud of Rs. 13570 crore to Punjab National Bank and Vijay Mallya eloped after giving a jolt  of Rs. 9000 crore.

During the financial year 2018-19, 6801 fraud cases involving an amount of Rs. 71500 crore have been detected  in the Indian Banks and this shows only detected face, there may be some higher jerks which are still waiting to see the light .

A leading daily on  September 8,2019 reports that during the first quarter  (April to June) of this fiscal year of 2019-20, frauds worth Rs. 32000 crore have rattled the 18 Public Sector Banks or Govt banks. An RTI answered by RBI reveals that 2480 fraud cases defrauding the amount of Rs. 31898.63 crore have been lime lighted. 38% of the chunk  i.e  1197 cases of fraud involving an amount of Rs. 12012.77 crore relate to SBI alone. Allahabad Bank with 381 cases and amount of Rs. 2855.46 crore  got the second position and the Punjab National Bank, despite having a deep wound of fraud of Rs. 13000 crore in February, 2018 by the big whale Nirav Modi, got the third position with a fraud of Rs 2526.55 crore during these three months of this year. Other Public sector banks are also not far behind, they also play major role in keeping the fraud train running with nearly the same speed.

What is safety of public money in Indian Banks?

The BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016 enforced the public to deposit their hard earned all life savings to the banks by imposing  NOTE-BANDI, which kept the earnings of the people on stake without making an arrangement to secure and guarantee the entire deposit. Presently the deposits of a person upto the maximum  limit of Rs. one lakh in a bank are guaranteed by DICGC (Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation) set up with a mission to contribute to financial stability by securing public confidence in the banking system through provision of deposit insurance, particularly for the benefit of the small depositors.

Banks covered by Deposit Insurance Scheme are (I) All commercial banks including the branches of foreign banks functioning in India, Local Area Banks and Regional Rural Banks and  (II) Co-operative Banks – All eligible co-operative banks as defined in Section 2(g g) of the DICGC Act .

What RBI states about the role of DICGC?

Reserve bank of India under the head of frequently asked questions regarding the role of DICGC states that in the event of a bank failure, DICGC protects bank deposits that are payable in India.

The DICGC insures all deposits such as savings, fixed, current, recurring, etc. except the following types of deposits.

(i) Deposits of foreign Governments;(ii) Deposits of Central/State Governments;

(iii)Inter-bank deposits; (iv) Deposits of the State Land Development Banks with the State co-operative bank;(v) Any amount due on account of any deposit received outside India (vi) Any amount, which has been specifically exempted by the corporation with the previous approval of Reserve Bank of India.

What is the maximum deposit amount insured by the DICGC?

Each depositor in a bank is insured upto a maximum of Rs.1,00,000 (Rupees One Lakh) for both principal and interest amount held by him in the same capacity and same right as on the date of liquidation/cancellation of bank’s licence or the date on which the scheme of amalgamation/merger/reconstruction comes into force.

Never  put your all eggs in a single basket

The elderly retired persons or the present working employees keep their funds in the banks to give a security cover to their future life and the farmers and businessmen also have their savings/sale proceeds  or working funds in their accounts with the banks for their day to day needs. Also the government has made such harsh rules and regulations which stop the public from keeping cash in their white  pockets, so the people are forced to keep money in banks. But when the money of the public is not safe even in the government banks and no security cover from the banks or the government has been provided to the depositors beyond Rs. One lakh per bank (Not Per Branch), where the people should go? Such type of restrictions and unsecure environment lead to unaccounted money and situation of chaos.

Keeping in mind all the consequences, the public should not keep more than Rs. one lakh in a single bank. If a person keeps his money in different branches of a single bank, even then total of his all deposits in all the branches are counted as one account and no security coverage from DICGC to more than Rs. one lakh deposit even in scattered accounts in the same bank. In the present scenario, the  public should follow the thumb rule, “Never  put your all eggs in a single basket.”

Keep your deposits in different banks and not in different branches of a single bank. However, it’s not a so better way  of good governance. The government should come forward to frame rules for securing the hundred per cent savings of its  citizens and  provide a trustworthy platform to keep their earnings, otherwise  collapse of PMC Bank may collapse the faith of public on the Indian Banking System.

By Jag Mohan Thaken


Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AFTERNOON VOICE and AFTERNOON VOICE does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

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Opening Kashmir to EU Delegation is based on Pick and Choose Nature

jammu and kashmir, j&K, EU delegation, EUWith no doubt, opening Kashmir for delegation from outside Jammu and Kashmir to visit state and assess the situation for themselves is an important step for democracy and transparency. But if the government would do that ensuring without the selective nature of pick and choose, it could serve the purpose far better. Otherwise the exercise becomes suspect, cosmetic and aimed at optics that can be counter-productive.

Though it is a good walk to unlock the situation and restore the normalcy in the state but the visit of a delegation of lawmakers for European Union must be weighed in the light that Indian lawmakers were restrained from the same purpose. The political leanings of the group of 27 lawmakers from different parts of Europe are different. What is much noteworthy in this fray is intriguing manner in which this delegation was give permission while Indians were not within last three months.

Since the Modi-led government revoked J&K’s special status under Article 370 and bifurcated the state into three union territories, many delegations of politicians tried to visit the state to see the ground reality of J&K but never succeeded. On August 24, a delegation of nine opposition parties led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited J&K to meet the people and party leaders in the region where restrictions have been imposed. However, the delegation was not allowed to step out of Srinagar airport and was sent back. Parties that were part of the delegation included Congress, CPI-M, CPI, RJD, NCP, TMC, and DMK. In this backdrop if the oppositions are lashing out the government’s decision is not wrong.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the delegation and while welcoming them, he expressed the hope that they have a fruitful visit to various parts of the country including Jammu and Kashmir. PMO statement said, “Their visit to J&K should give the delegation a better understanding of the cultural and religious diversity of the region of J&K and Ladakh, a part from giving them a clear view of the development and government priorities of the region.”

But the main question that lingers over the heads of many including oppositions is, did the government allow EU MPs to interact with locals of J&K and valley to better know the ground reality? Were they permitted to meet the common people who could tell them how they are living there in the state?

The delegation including two government officials reportedly was driven in cavalcade of blacks, accompanied by armed troops and security jeeps. Though it is not an individual’s case that this delegation should be stopped from visiting as some media outlets are suggesting but what is more important is that the delegation must have freedom to move around the state.

This shift of the government would be meaningful only if all the deletions from across the country and the world wishing to visit Kashmir to take a stock of the situation of Kashmir are allowed entry into state without any selective basis of pick and choose. There is no justification now for stopping all other Indian or foreign delegations including media team foreign press.


(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

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Letters to the Editor: 04 November, 2019

letters to the editor, afternoon voice,Save Aarey forest

As a resident of Mumbai for the last 60 years, I am not against the Metro car shed being constructed at the Aarey colony site in Goregaon because we all know how vastly it would improve our transport system. However, all I want is to stop the trees in the forest area from being cut down because it has been there for hundreds of years and a lot of tribal people (Adivasis) who worship the trees live there.
Felling of trees for the sake of constructing a car shed is not a wise move. The trees must be saved by all means because like the cow, it is sacred to some people.

Jubel D’Cruz

 

Flag bearers of BJP need to end saffron stalemate

The mandate in Maharashtra state elections is for BJP-Sena and it is up to the flag bearers to come to a conclusion and break the stalemate. Instead of making the people to suffer, the coalition partners should play a positive role and see that there is no further delay in forming the government. There are pressing problems pending and it is up to the high command of these two parties to come to a conclusion. They should be able to honor the mandate of the people in the best way possible instead of just buying time. Sena should adhere to coalition dharma and the Maharashtra deadlock should come to an end soon.

Krishnan Maniam

 

Farokh Engineer should respect the fairer sex

Farokh Engineer may have been a flamboyant debonair cricketer of his times but he has no business to ridicule Virat Kohli’s actress wife Anushka Sharma in public. His comments about selectors serving tea to Anushka during a World Cup game in England was in bad taste. Serving tea is courtesy and Anushka though has denied the claim. Engineer has made a mountain out of a molehill and should apologise to Anushka Sharma in public.

Virat and Anushka are both celebrities in their own world and both have a vast fan following. Targeting them for cheap publicity is unfair and unethical. Celebrities too have a personal life and let us all respect and give them that space. Farokh Engineer loves to be in the news but the former India wicketkeeper should realise that modern day cricket is stressful as well as professional and he should respect the privacy of fellow cricketers.

S.N. Kabra

 

Build colony for accommodating Central govt ministers

It refers to proposed plan of new Central Vista in New Delhi for construction of new most-modern and spacious buildings for Parliament, Central Secretariat, office and residence for Prime Minister, all between Rashtrapati Bhawan and India Gate retaining present heritage buildings of Sansad Bhawan, North Block and South Block as Museum of Democracy, The Making of India and India at Seventy-Five respectively.

But at the same time, a colony should also be developed nearby on lines of New Moti Bagh for building accommodations for all the ministers in Central Government at one consolidated place for reducing expenses on security and reducing traffic-congestion and man-hours in ministers going to their offices and to attend Parliament.

Long-term planning should also include construction of more multi-storey accommodations to shift residences of all Parliamentarians in multi-storey buildings rather than providing accommodation to many of them in extra-ordinary spacious government-bungalows.

Large number of such vacated government-bungalows can be developed in five-starred resorts to be given on rental to desiring ones including to foreigners as guest-houses or vocational luxurious stay on commercial basis.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal


(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

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SC dismisses Vikas Yadav’s plea for parole

Vikas Yadav Nitish Katara murder case,Nitish Katara,Vikas,Yadav,Vikas yadav,Katara,murder caseThe Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the parole plea of Vikas Yadav, who is serving a 25-year jail term for killing business executive Nitish Katara in 2002.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the convict was awarded 25 years of jail term and it has to be served without any grant of remission.

“You have been sentenced for 25 years of imprisonment, complete it,” the bench said, while dismissing the plea of Yadav for grant of four-week parole.

The bench, meanwhile, also dismissed another plea of Yadav in which he had challenged the constitutional validity of the Delhi High court order awarding him 25 years of jail term without any remission.

Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal Yadav were sentenced for kidnapping and killing Katara on the intervening night of February 16 and 17, 2002 for his alleged affair with Bharti Yadav, sister of Vikas, as they belonged to different castes.

The third convict Sukhdev Pehalwan was granted 20 years of jail term in the case.

Yadav had sought grant of parole on grounds including that he has already served over 17 years of jail term in the Katara murder case.