Bollywood condemns journalist Gauri Lankeshs murder

Agencies
September 6, 2017

Mumbai, Sep 6: Bollywood celebrities such as Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Sonam Kapoor and Dia Mirza have condemned the killing of senior journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh, calling it an attack on independent press.

The Kannada journalist-activist, known for her left- leaning outlook and forthright views on Hindutva politics, was shot dead by unidentified assailants at her residence last night.

Citing a pattern in the murder, Akhtar wrote on Twitter, Lankesh died a similar death as rationalists Narendra Dhabolkar, Govind Pansare and M M Kalburgi.

"Dhabolkar, Pansare, Kalburgi, and now Gauri Lankesh. If one kind of people are getting killed which kind of people are the killers," the lyricist-writer tweeted.

Azmi tweeted, "#Gauri Lankesh shot dead outside her home. Shocking. Devastating. Dabholkar Pansare Kalburgi culprits must be punished."

While Sonam wrote, "Truth alone prevails. Your voice will be heard and shall turn into an echo towards justice. #GauriLankeshMurder."
Mirza tweeted that the incident was "deeply disturbing" and the perpetrators "must found and punished".

"To kill someone for their views is not Democracy, its beginnings of a Banana Republic, where violence speaks louder than words #GauriLankesh," wrote filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.

Director Vivek Agnihotri said, "#GauriLankesh was in my batch at IIMC. An idealist leftist. In the end, became victim of the same politics she believed in and fought for."

Director Onir raised his voice, saying, "What a shame for the entire nation. #GauriLankesh killing is a blot on our democracy and is an attack on indie press."

Actor Jaaved Jaaferi wrote, "Extremely dangerous signs when a country witnesses crusaders activists and journalists who question the government being murdered. RIP #GauriLankesh."

Lankesh, 55, had returned home in her car and was opening the gate when motorcycle-borne assailants fired at her indiscriminately, with two bullets hitting her in the chest and one on her forehead, police officials said.

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Agencies
January 4,2020

Mumbai, Jan 4: After the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur constituted a panel to decide whether legendary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz's poem 'Hum Dekhenge' is offensive to Hindu sentiments, filmmaker Shoojit Sircar had a cryptic take on the burning controversy.

"Best time for the rich & small businesses to make money as most of the population are engaged with a revolutionary poet named Faiz," Sircar said in a tweet.

The poem, penned down by the iconic poet in 1979, came into limelight again recently during the protests against CAA and NRC in IIT Kanpur.

Earlier on Thursday, senior lyricist Javed Akhtar rejected the claims about the poem being 'anti-Hindu'.

IIT Kanpur on Thursday had set up a committee to look into the issue.

The move came after a complaint that the students who took out a peaceful march in the campus on December 17 against the Citizenship Amendment Act and in solidarity with Jamia Millia Islamia students, sung it as a mark of protest, which hurt the sentiments of other communities.

The CAA grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians who faced religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and came to India on or before December 31, 2014.

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Agencies
March 14,2020

Los Angeles, Mar 14: Hollywood superstar Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson on Friday gave a health update from coronavirus quarantine, saying they are taking it "one day at a time".

The couple, who is in isolation at a hospital in the state of Queensland in Australia, said they are being well cared for.

"Hello folks. @ritawilson and I want to thank everyone here Down Under who are taking such good care of us. We have COVID-19 and are in isolation so we do not spread it to anyone else.

"There are those for whom it could lead to a very serious illness. We are taking it one-day-at-a-time.There are things we can all do to get through this by following the advice of experts and taking care of ourselves and each other, no?" Hanks posted on Instagram.

The post was accompanied by a photograph that showed the couple smiling.

Hanks announced on Thursday that he and his wife have been tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The actor couple, who is currently in Australia to shoot for the pre-production of Baz Luhrmann's untitled Elvis Presley film, decided to get tested after they felt "a bit tired".

The deadly virus that first originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year has claimed over 4,200 lives and infected more than 117,330 people across 107 countries and territories, with the World Health Organisation on Wednesday describing the outbreak a pandemic.

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News Network
June 4,2020

Mumbai, Jun 4: Casting director Krish Kapur, who had worked on films like Mahesh Bhatt's Jalebi and Kriti Kharbanda-starrer Veere Ki Wedding, passed away at the age of 28 due to brain hemorrhage, his family said.

There was speculation that Kapur died in a road accident but his maternal uncle, Sunil Bhalla, dismissed the reports, saying that the casting director fainted at his home in suburban Mira Road here and suffered brain hemorrhage.

According to Bhalla, Kapur breathed his last on May 31.

"He had no medical history. He was healthy and doing absolutely fine. On May 31, he just collapsed and started to bleed. He died of brain hemorrhage," Bhalla said on Wednesday.

Kapur is survived by his mother, wife and seven-year-old child.

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