Conspiracy of silence broken: Filmmaker on gangrape verdict

May 6, 2017

New Delhi, May 6: Filmmaker Vibha Bakshi, the director of a National Award winning documentary on the December 16 gangrape of a physiotherapy intern, today hailed the Supreme Court's verdict upholding the death sentence given to four convicts and said the "conspiracy of silence has been broken".

BakshiAnother filmmaker Leslee Udwin, whose film 'India's Daughter' had kicked up a row here for showing the interview of one of the convicts and was subsequently banned, said that she would release the unedited version of her film.

Bakshi, who had made a documentary 'Daughters of Mother India' in the aftermath of the horrific Delhi gangrape case, said that men need to start talking about the issue of women's safety.

"This is a landmark judgement. But we have to understand that as a society we need to change our mindset. It's not only about these four people being hanged," she stressed.

Bakshi said that it's the men who need to talk about women's safety and equality.

"It's not only a women's issue. Men need to talk about women's safety and equality and we need to change the biases. If men get involved we will win," said the filmmaker.

Bakshi said that people were discussing the gangrape verdict which was a good sign.

"The conspiracy of silence has been broken. Today the only conversation that is happening is about this verdict. We are directly or indirectly involved in it. This momentum must not stop," she hoped.

Meanwhile, Udwin wondered whether the ban on her film would be lifted now.

"Well now that the Supreme court judgement is out, will the government lift the ban? Are they prepared to look in the mirror? After the verdict, I'll release the unedited version of the film with new evidence which I'd left out not to prejudice Supreme Court trial," Udwin said in a series of tweets.

Despite several attempts, Edwin couldn't be reached.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, through a unanimous verdict, upheld the Delhi High Court judgement on death penalty to the four convicts.

The HC had concurred with the trial court decision in the gang rape that took place on December 16, 2012.

Those who will face the gallows are Mukesh (29), Pawan (22), Vinay Sharma (23) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31). One of the accused, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide in Tihar jail while a juvenile was sentenced to three years' punishment in a reform home, and released in 2015.

The six men had attacked the 23-year-old paramedic student, and a male friend in a moving bus as it drove through the streets of New Delhi on the night of December 16.

Later on, she succumbed to her injuries, on December 29, 2012 while undergoing treatment at Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital where she was flown by the government.

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News Network
May 12,2020

Mumbai, May 12: Superstar Salman Khan on Tuesday released his latest romantic single "Tere Bina" featuring Jacqueline Fernandez while in quarantine at his Panvel farm house.

The actor, along with close family and friends from the industry, including Iulia Vantur, Waluscha De Sousa, is living in the farm house. This is the second song Salman has released amid the coronavirus pandemic, after "Pyaar Karona."

"About seven weeks ago, when we came to the farm, we didn't know we will be here under a lockdown. So we wanted to do things to keep ourselves busy. That's when we decided to do these songs. We launched 'Pyaar Karona' and now, we are launching 'Tere Bina'," Salman said in a statement.

The song, sung and directed by Salman, is composed by his friend Ajay Bhatia and written by Shab bir Ahmed.

The actor said he had the song "Tere Bina" with him for quite a while but because it wasn't fitting into any of his film, he decided to release it now.

Jacqueline said she didn't think they would be able to shoot the song, which they finished in four days of evening shoots, with such limitations.

"We are used to shooting songs on a large stage with grand production costs. There are costumes, hair, make up. All of a sudden, we find ourselves with a team of three people. For the first time, I was checking lighting and moving props around. It was a great experience and it taught us how to make the most of what we have," she said.

Salman recently sent out food packets and ration from his farm house to those affected by the lockdown.

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Agencies
March 24,2020

Los Angeles, Mar 24: In a bizarre video shot from her rose petal filled bathtub, pop star Madonna has called the coronavirus pandemic "a great equaliser".

The music icon said the virus doesn't discriminate between rich and poor.

That's the thing about COVID-1. It doesn't care about how rich you are, how famous you are, how funny you are, how smart you are, where you live, how old you are, what amazing stories you can tell.

It's the great equaliser and what's terrible about it is what's great about it. What's terrible about it is that it's made us all equal in many ways, and what's wonderful about is, is that it's made us all equal in many ways, Madonna said in the video while having a milky bath in tub full of roses.

The 61-year-old singer, who had to cancel two of her concerts in Paris due to coronavirus outbreak, also referenced her 1995 song Human Nature in the video saying we are all going down together .

According to the Johns Hopkins coronavirus tracker, the death toll from the virus globally has risen to 14,641 with 336,000 cases reported in 173 countries and territories.

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Agencies
June 6,2020

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie feels discrimination and impunity cannot be justified in any way, and says she hopes people in the US can come together to "address the deep structural wrongs in our society".

The Oscar-winning star, who turned 45 on Thursday, also donated $200,000 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, reports people.com.

"Rights don't belong to any one group to give to another. Discrimination and impunity cannot be tolerated, explained away or justified. I hope we can come together as Americans to address the deep structural wrongs in our society," Jolie said.

"I stand with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in their fight for racial equality, social justice, and their call for urgent legislative reform," she added.

Meanwhile, the actress celebrated her birthday amid lockdown with her six children -- Maddox, 18, Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 14, and 11-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.

The actress and activist has been active since the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world and has donated to different organisations.

Jolie previously donated $1 million to No Kid Hungry, the organisation working to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I knew that there were problems in America, that there was poverty, but I could not believe when I realised how many school children in America were dependent on a meal to not go hungry. I was so disgusted that we have gotten to this point as a country and that we would let the most vulnerable be in such a state. I can't imagine what it feels like for those parents," she said while opening up about her reason to get associated with the organisation.

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