At this age and time of my life, I seek peace: Amitabh Bachchan

Agencies
November 6, 2017

Mumbai, Nov 6: Actor Amitabh Bachchan has spoken at length about his name featuring in the Panama papers and Bofors scandal, explaining that he has always cooperated with the "system" but wishes to be left alone at this stage of his life.

Bachchan wrote his anguished post on his blog yesterday and said, "Tomorrow there could be more and the process of cooperation shall continue..."

This morning, the Indian Express newspaper reported that the actor is one of the Indians figuring in the 'Paradise Papers', an investigation into offshore and banking assets carried out by the newspaper with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

The actor's post began as a response to a BMC notice sent to him for alleged "illegal construction" on his property.

"At this age and time of my life, I seek peace and freedom from prominence... To be left to lead the last few years of my life with and within myself... I do not seek epithets, I abhor them... I do not seek headlines, I do not deserve them... I do not seek acknowledgement, I am not qualified for it," Amitabh posted on his blog on Sunday.

He said he is yet to receive the notice from the authorities but, trusting the media reports, his lawyer has already given a statement on the matter.

The 75-year-old actor also talked about the controversy over his name featuring in the Panama Papers leak, another investigation done by Indian Express and ICIJ.

"In recent months I find my name appears again in the leaks of Panama, as produced by the Indian Express .. the paper has asked for reactions, for responses, for justification or not, for replies to their investigative queries."

The actor said two "instant replies" were given out by him of "denial and misuse of name" but the questions continued.

"Immediately after this, the system took over and since its revelation in the Express, has summoned me... at least 6 summons have been served to us and continue to come...

"Each one of them has been diligently, dutifully and duly replied to... personal appearances have been ordered, and we have made them at the varied different Agency Offices, both in Mumbai and in Delhi, both from Tax and Enforcement Departments and of their respective Intelligence Wings," Bachchan said.

The actor said some queries take time as the matter is more than 25 years old.

"It takes a while to dig out old files and to compile all that they want... the fullest cooperation has been extended at all hours as dutiful citizens... and even after, if there is any more query that needs to be addressed, we shall comply... It is the norm...," he said.

Bachchan said he will continue to cooperate if there is any fresh issue as he believes in abiding by the law of the land.

The actor also spoke about allegations against his family and him in the Bofors gun payoff scandal.

"There were allegations against my family and me in the Bofors Scandal... for years we were grilled, declared traitors, abused and humiliated by the hour for several years... when it became unbearable, we moved Court in the United Kingdom - for the requirement of speedy Justice .. we moved against a UK paper and won...," he said, adding while he suffered, those who accused him never faced anything.

The actor said it took 25 years for him to know that his name was planted in the scandal.

"When the media carried the news here in India, the press during one of its interactions with me asked me what I was going to do about it .. whether I would seek information on who did it, or seek retribution .. !!! WHAT RETRIBUTION AND INFORMATION WILL I SEEK ..? WILL IT TAKE AWAY THE YEARS OF SUFFERING AND MENTAL TORTURE THAT WE WENT THROUGH .. !!?? WILL IT CURE .. WILL IT REST .. ?? NO, IT WILL NOT .. so I told them, the media, I do not wish to make any comment on it .. the matter is over for me ..!

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News Network
May 30,2020

California, May 30: Priyanka Chopra Jonas on Saturday shared a gorgeous sunkissed selfie sporting cherry lips and beaded dangler earrings.

The multi-talented star who owns a production house put out a morning selfie on Instagram wherein she is seen sporting a white collared top, flaunting her cherry red lips and dangler earrings as she embraces her peach glow in the sheer sunlight, while her shiny curls bounce the sunshine.

Along with the picture, the 'The Sky Is Pink' actor wrote, "A cherry lip and sunshine...maybe even a earring...I'm feeling adventurous."

On sharing the gorgeous selfie, the Chopra received heaps of praises from fans and celebrity followers, and the post reached more than 1.9 lakh likes including one for Sussanne Khan.

Model Masaba Gupta also chimed in the comment section and adored the beauty of the 'Baywatch' star writing, "Stunning" with a heart emoticon.

Currently, the actor is quarantined in her California house along with singer and husband Nick Jonas and has been quite active on social media.

Earlier, Priyanka recalled her parents' service in the Indian Army as America observed Memorial Day, and the 37-year-old actor dug out an old picture of her parents in uniform and posted it on Instagram.

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News Network
June 15,2020

Mumbai, Jun 15: Actor Sushant Singh Rajput's brother-in-law O.P. Singh, who is the Additional Director General of Police and posted as Special Officer in the Haryana Chief Minister's Office, suspected some foul play in the crime, it is reliably learnt on Monday. He is seeking a thorough probe into the incident.

"Sushant Singh Rajput has been murdered, he cannot commit suicide. I demand CBI enquiry into the matter," Jan Adhikar Party Chief Pappu Yadav told media persona at the actor’s residence in Patna, where his family resides.

The 34-year-old actor was found hanging at his apartment in Mumbai's Bandra on Sunday.

His sister lives in Chandigarh.

State officials said Singh has left for Mumbai soon he came to know about the suicide incident.

Expressing condolences, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said actor Rajput's death is an "irreparable loss" to not only the film industry but also for the entire society.

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News Network
March 21,2020

Mar 21: The novel coronavirus outbreak in the country may have brought the ever-bustling film industry to a halt but it hasn't stopped Bollywood celebrities from utilising their massive online influence to entertain their followers as well as engage them in fitness, dance and yoga routines.

According to the Health Ministry, the coronavirus cases in India rose to 258 on Saturday after 35 fresh cases were reported in various parts of the country.

As the government encourages more social distancing, people from the film fraternity are finding ways to connect to people and ensure their self-isolation isn't wasted.

On Sunday, actor Shilpa Shetty will hold a special live fitness session across digital platforms for people to follow from home.

"In times like these, it's important to stay fit, active, and healthy. Join me on Sunday, 22nd March at 4:00 pm IST as I go LIVE on Instagram-Facebook-Helo (@theshilpashetty) and on the @ShilpaShettyApp to show you some beneficial and helpful yoga asanas.

"You can watch, learn, and practice it from the comfort of your homes. Remember, staying indoors shouldn't be an excuse for deviating from your fitness routine," the actor wrote in an Instagram post.

Online yoga and fitness programs are picking up steam, with many celebrities pitching in.

On Saturday, actor Tamannah Bhatia went live with Diva Yoga, a studio part of a larger yoga ecosystem called SARVA, where she participated in a one-hour virtual yoga class, to encourage people to pursue their fitness goals.

Malaika Arora, co-founder of the yoga studio, told news agency that as the world fights a public health crisis, "we must do our best to stay calm and safe."

"There is also a need to boost our immunity levels even if it means continuing our workout from home. The live sessions being conducted on the Diva Studios Instagram handle and immunity boosting modules being shared on the SARVA app and website are aimed at this.

"Our instructors will offer guided lessons every day... for everyone’s benefit. I encourage people to join in and be responsible for your own health. When you are fit and healthy, you can help others in a better manner. It is these small steps that will lead to a better outcome," she said.

With everything coming to a standstill, choreographer Terence Lewis has also figured out an alternate avenue to reach out to his students: through online classes.

As of now, those who are not his students do not have the access to it, but Lewis said that's going to change soon.

"In few days, we will be starting online dance tutorials for people who have no access and means to be a part of our institute directly. Since, we do not have any branches, neither do I believe in having one, we directly teach from our original space in Andheri.

"Here we have instructors who have learnt from me and is the only legit institute we have hence, we'll think of doing the online classes as way of engaging with people who are far away from us," Lewis told PTI.

As shootings of movies, TV shows and web series stand suspended till March 31, casting director and actor Abhishek Banerjee is encouraging artistes to send self tapes from their homes.

"We are encouraging that to minimise human to human contact and audition spaces. Some actors are known to us, some unknown. It's very difficult to track anybody's health of you don't know the person. So it's easier to see the self tapes and keep shortlisting them and maybe we will call them again for a proper audition when everything is alright," he said.

The process of recording a self audition, according to the "Stree" actor, isn't easy.

"Full marks and respect for actors who are sending the self tapes because audition process takes a lot of efforts and to do that alone, without any help in isolation, without cues, it's commendable."

Banerjee, who runs Casting Bay, a leading casting studios, along with his friend Anmol Ahuja, said on an average, any big casting office had around 100-150 footfalls everyday, which has now come to a griding halt.

"The minute the government decided, we stopped all auditions too. Everything is on a standstill now. The production houses have asked us to hold on the auditions and projects. The major worry is that many actors will have date issues now. Once everything opens in April, let's see how to tackle that. It'll be a very difficult situation," he added.

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