India very tolerant, special place: Katrina Kaif

Mumbai, Jun 17: A lawyer on Wednesday moved a criminal complaint against 8 persons, including Bollywood superstar Salman Khan and producer-director Karan Johar, in a local court regarding the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

The court had fixed July 3 as the next date of hearing.

In his complaint filed in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha alleged that these eight persons forced Sushant to commit suicide under a conspiracy which, he pleaded, amounted to murder.

Others named in the complaint are Aditya Chopra, Sajid Nadiadwala, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bhushan Kumar, Ekta Kapoor, and director Dinesh.

The complainant claimed that these persons did not let Sushant's movies get released under a conspiracy and the late actor was not even invited to film functions because of these people.

Ojha said that Sushant Singh Rajput's death had not only hurt the people of Bihar but the entire country.

He said the complaint had been filed under Sections 306, 109, 504 and 506 and Bollywood actor Kangana Ranawat had been listed as a witness in the case.

Sushant Singh Rajput had allegedly committed suicide at his Bandra flat in Mumbai on Sunday.

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.

Mumbai: The 11th edition of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival is going virtual this year due to the COVID-19 lockdown. The festival is coming up with a full-slate of 157 films from 42 countries.

Tipped as South Asia's biggest LGBTQIA+ film festival, it is the first Indian film festival to come up with a slate of new programs for this year.

The slate of films include 30 films from India, as well as films from countries like Belarus, Iran, Iceland, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, Tunisia, etc.

"We are extremely delighted to launch the registration for the KASHISH 2020 Virtual with a full slate of films as well as panel discussions, filmmaker Q&As, etc, almost replicating the ground event. Only this year not only Mumbaikars but people across India and the world can participate in the festival and enjoy amazing LGBTQIA+ films, discussions and performances!", said Sridhar Rangayan, festival director.

"We are thrilled by almost 95 per cent of the filmmakers whose films were selected to screen at the ground festival, agreeing to screen with us at our online festival. We are overwhelmed by the response from the filmmakers, and we are really glad to reach their films out to the world. This speaks a lot about their trust and support towards the festival", said Saagar Gupta, Director, Programming.

The registrations to attend the festival is now open and details can be viewed at the festival website http://mumbaiqueerfest.com/attend/ along with information about the film line-up. There are early-bird full-festival passes at a modest price in India and outside India. The early-bird offer will be open for a week.