FIR against Salman Khan over 'Loveratri'

New Delhi, April 4: Extending a helping hand to curb the spread of coronavirus, superstar Shah Rukh Khan and wife Gauri Khan have offered their personal office space in Mumbai for quarantine purpose for children, elderly and women.

The information was tweeted by the official Twitter handle of BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) on Saturday that thanked the couple for the gesture.

"Stronger together. We thank Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan for offering their 4-storey personal office space to help expand our quarantine capacity equipped with essentials for quarantined children, women and elderly, Indeed a thoughtful and timely gesture!" the tweet read.

Earlier the 54-year-old superstar and his group companies had pledged to donate to a number of relief funds, including the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) fund and the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund to combat the coronavirus.

The 'Devdas' actor had taken to Twitter on Thursday and shared that his companies -- Kolkata Knight Riders, Red Chillies Entertainment, Meer Foundation, and Red Chillies VFX -- are taking several initiatives to support the relief efforts.

The Padma Shri awardee also announced that his initial efforts will be focused on three cities -- Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi, "with the realisation that this is a start and we stand ready to contribute in whichever way possible going forward".

Meanwhile, India's tally of coronavirus positive cases rose to 2,902, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday.

Out of 2,902 cases, 2,650 are active cases and 184 have been cured or discharged or have migrated. The total number of deaths reported due to the disease rose to 68 on Saturday.

Mumbai, Jun 8: Veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar has won the 2020 Richard Dawkins Award for critical thinking, holding religious dogma up to scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values.

Akhtar has become the first Indian to be given the honour, which recognises a distinguished individual from the field of science, scholarship, education, or entertainment, who publicly proclaims the values of secularism and rationalism and upholding scientific truth.

Akhtar's wife, veteran actor Shabana Azmi said the award's relevance becomes more prominent especially in the current times when secularism is under attack.

"I am thrilled. I know what a hero Richard Dawkins has been for Javed. The award gains all the more significant because in today’s time when secularism is being attacked by religious fundamentalists of all hues, this award comes as a validation of Javed’s long service to rational thinking," Azmi told PTI.

The award is named after world-renowned English evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. Actor-comedian Ricky Gervais received the honour last year.

Bollywood celebrities Anil Kapoor and Dia Mirza took to Twitter to congratulate the 75-year-old writer for the recognition.

"Knowing that Richard Dawkins has been your hero since you read 'The Selfish Gene', the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award must be extra special for you @Javedakhtarjadu Saab! It's a truly incredible honour! Congratulations!" Kapoor tweeted.

Dia said Akhtar's win is a proud moment for rhe country.

"Javed Akhtar Saab has won the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award 2020 for critical thinking, holding religious dogma upto scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values. He is the only Indian to have won this award! @Javedakhtarjadu Congratulations! You make us proud," Dia wrote.

New Delhi, April 6: Acknowledging on being scared and talking of not seeing his family for three weeks, actor Salman Khan along with nephew Nirvaan on Sunday shared their lockdown experience in a video message.

The 54-year-old star, without disclosing where the actor actually is, shared a video message on Twitter along with his brother Sohail Khan's son, Nirvaan.

Salman began the one-minute and 26-seconds long video, by saying: "We came here for a few days and now we're stuck and scared"

The 'Bharat' actor then introduced Nirvaan and asked him "How long has it been since you saw your father?", to which Nirvaan replied, "It must have been three weeks."

"I have not seen my father for three weeks. We are here and he is alone at home," Salman added.

The 'Sultan' actor then asks the boy: "You remember the film dialogue, 'the one who got scared, died.' It does not apply here in this situation. We are scared and bravely we admit that we are scared. Please don't be brave in this situation."

Nirvaan also further requested everybody to stay safe and maintain social-distance.

"I think it's better for everyone to stay home, avoid contact and I think the longer we stay indoors the faster this ends," he added.

The 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' star concluded the video by saying: "The one who got afraid saved himself and lives of others around him. Moral of the story, 'We're all scared'."

Urging people to take the government's advisory of self-isolation seriously amid the rising cases of coronavirus in the country, the megastar had earlier shared a video message for fans.