Singer Adnan Sami becomes Indian citizen, says no intolerance

Mumbai, Jan 9: A day after Deepika Padukone visited the JNU campus to express solidarity with students who had been attacked, her film "Chhapaak" made another splash on Wednesday over the name of its antagonist.

While Deepika was the focus of many a discussion on social media and beyond for showing up at a public meeting in the university, the film, based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, was also making news for quite another reason.

In what could well be a storm in a 'Twitter cup', "Nadeem Khan" and "Rajesh" began trending on the microblogging site after a magazine article claimed the name of the antagonist had been changed. By 4 pm, 'Nadeem Khan' clocked close to 60,000 tweets and 'Rajesh' close behind with 50,000.

In 2005, Laxmi was disfigured for life when a man called Nadeem Khan and three others allegedly hurled acid at her in Delhi's upscale Khan Market.

In the film based on her life, the narrative remains the same but the names have been changed. So, Laxmi is 'Malti' Agarwal and Nadeem becomes 'Babboo' aka 'Bashir Khan'.

On Wednesday, Swarajya magazine wrote an article headlined, "The Ways Of Bollywood: In Deepika Padukone-Starer Chhapaak, Acid Attacker Naeem Khan Becomes ‘Rajesh'." "As part of a backlash against Padukone's JNU 'meet and greet', social media users researched the names of the characters involved in the movie Chhapaak and conspicuously found the name of main perpetrator Naeem Khan absent," the article alleged.

But in the Meghna Gulzar directed film, there is no mention of any Nadeem or Naeem Khan. Moreover, Rajesh is the name of Malti's boyfriend.

Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Babul Supriyo jumped into the controversy, saying it was another example of "absolute hypocrisy".

"...When you say all characters are fictitious and don't have any resemblance with living beings and all of that, this is absolute hypocrisy. When you change the name which also changes the religion, it has been done very deliberately," Supriyo told a TV channel when asked to comment on the controversy.

South Delhi BJP MP Ramesh Biduri also called for a boycott of the movie.

With Deepika grabbing attention by going to JNU, many appreciated her 'silent solidarity' but others criticised her for "supporting the Leftists" and said it was a promotional stunt ahead of the release.

"#BoycottChhapaak" was trending on Twitter as was "#ISupportDeepika".

Jun 25: Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput’s last movie “Dil Bechara” is getting a release on Disney+Hotstar on July 24.

With an aim to honour the legacy of the actor, the streaming platform is making the movie available to even the non-subscribers.

Rajput was found dead at his Bandra home on June 14 at the age of 34.

Billed as a soulful love story, “Dil Bechara” marks the directorial debut of casting director and Rajput's industry friend Mukesh Chhabra. The film is produced by Fox Star Studios.

“We are humbled to be able to play a small part in sustaining the legacy of a fine actor like Sushant Singh Rajput. In celebration of his life and his extraordinary work, 'Dil Bechara' will release directly on digital this July on Disney+ Hotstar; and will be available to all subscribers and non-subscribers across India. Our prayers and wishes to his family and loved ones,” Uday Shankar, President – The Walt Disney Company APAC and Chairman, Star & Disney India, said.

The actor had a long-standing relationship with the STAR & Disney India network, having started his career with the show “Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil” in 2008 to his Bollywood transition where he delivered some of his most memorable performances in “M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story” (2016) and “Chhichhore” (2019), both produced by Fox Star Studios.

Chhabra said he never imagined he would release the film without Rajput.

 “Sushant was not just the hero of my debut film as a director, but he was a dear friend who stood by me through thick and thin. We had been close right from 'Kai Po Che!' to 'Dil Bechara'. He had promised me that he would be in my first film.

"So many plans were made together, so many dreams were dreamt together but never once did I ever imagine that I would be left alone to release this film. He always showered immense love on me while I was making it and his love will guide us as we release it,” the director said.

“Dil Bechara” is the official remake of 2014 Hollywood romantic drama “The Fault in our Stars”, which was based on John Green’s popular novel of the same name. The Hindi adaptation of the movie was done by Shashank Khaitan and Suprotim Sengupta.

“Dil Bechara” will see Rajput in a leading role alongside debutante Sanjana Sanghi, and Saif Ali Khan in an interesting cameo.

The music of the film has been composed by AR Rahman and the lyrics are by Amitabh Bhattacharya.

“Dil Bechara” revolves around Kizie Basu (Sanghi) and Immanuel Rajkumar Junior or Manny (Rajput) and explores the funny, thrilling, and tragic adventure of being alive and in love.

Together Kizie and Manny embark on an on-off-up-down-sad and sweet profound journey into the heart of that crazy little thing called life. It teaches them what it means to feel truly alive and fall in love.

Mumbai, Jul 18: Filmmaker and Yash Raj Films (YRF) chairman Aditya Chopra on Saturday recorded his statement with the Mumbai Police in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput death case, an official said.

Police have sought information about a contract signed between Rajput and YRF from Chopra who visited Versova police station this morning and left after four hours, the official said.

The "Chhichore" actor, 34, was found hanging at his apartment in Mumbai on June 14. No suicide note was found from the spot by the police.

The police are investigating allegations that professional rivalry, besides clinical depression, drove the actor to suicide.

Police are also trying to understand the reason behind Rajput ending his contract with YRF, the official said.

Earlier, the police had recorded statement of YRF's casting director Shanoo Sharma.

The police had recorded statements of 34 persons, including Rajput's family members and close friends like actors Rhea Chakraborty and Sanjana Sanghi, in connection with the case.

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Friday dismissed the need for a CBI probe into the death case of Rajput, saying the Mumbai police are capable of handling the matter.

On Thursday, Rhea Chakraborty demanded a CBI inquiry to understand what "pressures" prompted Rajput to take the extreme step of suicide.

Rajput starred in films such as Shuddh Desi Romance', Raabta, Kedarnath and Sonchiriya. But his most prominent role came as cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the biopic, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story.