Amitabh Bachachan turns storyteller; discusses women empowerment

November 30, 2013

Amitabh_BachachanNew Delhi, Nov 30: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan wove his cinematic magic at the Penguin annual lecture here where he spoke about women's empowerment, Hindi cinema, his father and much more to an awestruck audience in a floodlight sports stadium.

Arriving with a couple of fat books with bookmarks peeking through it, the 71-year-old actor, dressed in a deep blue suit, took to the stage with a 'namaste'.

"Never trust anyone without a book in his hand," said the veteran actor before plunging into his talk a "novel departure" to "bring some others script to life" and "entertain thoughts than merely amuse."

He dipped into memories of his father and "literary giant" the legendary poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan, whose birth anniversary was just two days ago.

Bachchan said his father had called him his greatest poetry but "my biggest problem in my life I do not know whether I am a free verse or a couplet, a chaupai or a shloka."

The veteran actor said he remains puzzled by his father's habit in his last days of watching Hindi films rather than turning to his greatest companion his beloved books.

"I don't know what he saw in the flickering darkness it had to be more than Hindi cinema's excessive poetic justice in three hours!"

"Did he see a flame that burns itself up lighting up the fire of the written word within...?

He called Indian cinema older than Hollywood, now in its centenary year as monster.

"We are our own monster an animal of many animal parts..."

Replying to audience questions, the actor even expressed his wish to play the character "my father played in his autobiography."

In his speech, Bachchan, an ambassador of the United Nations, often quoted statistics to emphasise the lesser literacy rates among woman in parts of India like his native Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, about female infanticide, bride burning about misogyny, dowry deaths, rape cases, prostitution, acid attacks and other issues affecting women.

Bachchan said he would try and "build a girls' school again."

He said, "True equality can only exist if the whole society embraces it."

Bachchan referred to feature films as the "great passion of India" cutting across all other performing arts and the Indian film industry as absorbing all religions, languages and cultures in it.

"The filmy ambrosia's nectar so intoxicating that it has achieved what that no Indian politician has ever done," said Bachchan before posing the question "In our cinema bad guys always come to no good what about in India itself?

"Indian cinema has no nuclear bomb never suffers a recession" but, said the actor "people call it it is degenerate, trebling, trashy, flashy hocus-focus," said the actor . Bachchan went on to deliver the "Because the whole country is a juxtaposition of .." dialogue from his film "Amar Akbar Anthony" to a round of applause.

In a sit down talk with Rajdeep Sardesai, Bachchan said previously cinema was looked upon as "something infra dig below the dignity of any society."

"It has become a culture. I would never imagine 50 years ago that a publishing house would invite a film actor to speak.... We should have many more people in the arts coming so that they come to know they are not isolated and their thinking is for the betterment of humanity and the betterment of society."

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Agencies
July 19,2020

Mumbai, Jul 19: Mumbai Police have registered an FIR against two Instagram account holders for allegedly threatening actor Rhea Chakraborty, an official said on Sunday.

The location of the two accused is yet to be traced, the official said, adding that the investigation in the case is at primary stage.

Chakraborty on Thursday requested the cyber crime cell to look into the rape and murder threats she has been receiving ever since the death of close friend, actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Rajput, 34, was found dead in his apartment in suburban Bandra here on June 14, leaving people in the film industry and audiences shocked.

Chakraborty, in particular, was subjected to online hate with users blaming her for Rajput's suicide.

"We registered the First Information Report (FIR) on Saturday under Indian Penal Code Sections 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication), 509 (intending to insult modesty of any woman) and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act," Santacruz police station's senior inspector Shriram Koregaonkar said.

"No arrest has been made so far. We are conducting an investigation in the case," he added.

On Thursday, sharing a screenshot of a hate message she received on Instagram, Chakraborty said while she had ignored many abusive texts sent to her in the past month, the harassment was now unbearable.

The 28-year-old actor eventually disabled the comments section of her Instagram page.

Chakraborty, known for films such as "Mere Dad Ki Maruti" and "Jalebi", had tagged the cyber cell and requested the authorities to look into the threats.

On June 18, she was called to the Bandra police station to record her statement in connection with Rajput's death.

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News Network
February 2,2020

Feb 2: After creating a buzz with her recent low-key marriage, actor and model Pamela Anderson recently broke off her marriage with famous movie mogul Jon Peters, after just 12 days the wedding, reported Fox News.

The couple got married on January 20 in Malibu, California in a private marriage ceremony.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of the couple's split on Saturday stating that the pair has decided to "uncouple."

"I have been moved by the warm reception to Jon and my union. We would be very grateful for your support as we take some time apart to reevaluate what we want from life and from one another," Fox News quoted Anderson saying.

"Life is a journey and love is a process. With that universal truth in mind, we have mutually decided to put off the formalization of our marriage certificate and put our faith in the process, "she added.

Fox News further quoted a source close to Anderson as saying, "She's known Jon forever, but she never lived with him, contrary to some reports. And until you live with someone... Well, let's just say Pamela asked for a break. She is heading back to her compound in Ladysmith, Canada, to be with her family."

According to Fox News, the couple did not have any official marriage license.

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News Network
June 30,2020

Mumbai, Jun 30: Actor Aamir Khan on Tuesday issued a statement and confirmed that some of his staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, while the rest of his family members have tested negative.

Khan also announced that he was taking his mother for a COVID-19 test and urged his fans to pray for her test to come out as negative.

The '3 Idiots' star put out the statement on Instagram and said, "This is to inform you that some of my staff have tested positive. They were immediately quarantined, and BMC officials were very prompt and efficient in taking them to a medical facility."

Thanking the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for their precautionary steps, he added, "I would like to thank the BMC for taking such good care of them, and for fumigating and sterilising the entire society."

Informing about the health of his family members, the 'Thugs of Hindostan' actor added, "The rest of us have all been tested and found negative," and informed that, "Right now I am taking my mother to get her tested. She is the last person in the loop. Please pray that she is negative."

Thanking the BMC, and hospital authorities for their swift prompt, he added, "I would, once again, like to thank the BMC for the prompt, professional and caring manner in which they helped us. And a big thank you to Kokilaben Hospital and the doctors, nurses and staff there. They were very caring and professional with the testing process."

Aamir also urged his fans to be safe amid the coronavirus outbreak.

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