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
July 25,2020

Bhubaneswar, Jul 25: The COVID-19 pandemic has hit many people hard, and the latest victim of the pandemic is Bollywood actor Kartika Sahoo from Odisha. With the entertainment industry almost non-functional and most productions on hold, the actor is forced to sell vegetables for a living.

Sahoo, who hails from the from Garadpur block of the Kendrapada district in Odisha, said that he went to Mumbai to try his luck in Bollywood at the age of 17. For many years he worked as a bodyguard to film stars and cricketers such as Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar, among others.

Lady luck shone on him in 2018, and he landed noticeable roles in the action sequences of many movies, he said while speaking with news agency. He also has a fight sequence with Akshay Kumar in his upcoming film 'Sooryavanshi'.

Just before the nationwide lockdown which started on March 22, Sahoo had returned home to Odisha after shooting a fight sequence in Jaipur. Since then, with no work, the actor has been living off his savings to sustain his family. But, after four months of no work, and a medical emergency, a major part of his savings was drained.

To find work, he moved to state capital Bhubaneswar, but to no avail. In the end, Sahoo had to resort to selling vegetables in Rasulgad there.

Sahoo is still hopeful and said that he'll again try his luck in Bollywood once the situation is back to normal, till then he'll struggle, like others, for survival.

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News Network
June 11,2020

Washington, Jun 11: Music maestro AR Rahman has joined the international film 'No Land's Man' as co-producer and composer.

Helmed by renowned Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, the upcoming movie has Indian thespian Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Australian theatre actor Megan Mitchell, and Bangladeshi musician and actor Tahsan Rahman Khan in pivotal roles.

"Time always gives birth to new worlds, new ideals. The newborn world has new challenges and new stories to tell. This is one such story," Variety quoted Rahman as saying.

The movie chronicles the life of a South Asian, whose journey gets complicated when he meets an Australian woman in the U.S.

The film, shot in the U.S., Australia and India, is predominantly in English with some dialogue in Hindi and Urdu.

'Sacred Games' actor, Siddique said: "The filming experience for this project was challenging but a fulfilling one. AR Rahman's brilliance will definitely make the film richer."

"Farooki and I first spoke about 'No Land's Man' at Film Bazaar in 2014. Between then and now, the film has become even more relevant as it looks at what it means to be a vulnerable person in a racially-divided world," producer Srihari Sathe said.

'No Land's Man' won the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and Asia Pacific Screen Awards' Script Development fund in 2014. It was part of the Asian Project Market at Busan and was chosen as the best project at India's Film Bazaar the same year.

Earlier in January, Siddiqui posted multiple pictures on Instagram with the team of the flick, marking the schedule wrap in New York and Sydney for 'No Land's Man.'

He also captioned the post as: "Wonderful experience with the most energetic team."

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News Network
June 15,2020

Mumbai, Jun 15: Maharashtra police's cyber department has asked people to refrain from circulating online pictures of the body of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who was found hanging in his apartment in Mumbai's Bandra area.

Terming it as a "disturbing trend", it warned that circulation of such pictures could attract legal action.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging in his apartment on Sunday, sending shockwaves rippling through the Hindi film industry and elsewhere.

Later, some people circulated pictures of the actor's body on social media platforms, following which the state police's cyber department said it was in "bad taste".

A disturbing trend has been observed on Social Media platforms by Maharashtra Cyber that pictures of deceased actor Sushant Singh Rajput are being circulated, which are disturbing and in bad taste," it tweeted late Sunday night.

"It is emphasised that circulation of such pictures is against legal guidelines and court directions, and are liable to invite legal action," it added.

Urging netizens to refrain from posting such photos, the cyber department said the pictures already circulated should be deleted henceforth.

"In the digital age, every piece of information we read or watch needs to be cross-checked, verified and we all have to be careful before believing or forwarding them," it said.

After the actor's death, police said no note was found at the spot.

Police sources also said they did not find any foul play in their initial investigation.

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