Cops set up helpline for movie theatres as MNS threat looms

October 20, 2016

Mumbai, Oct 20: MNS's attempts to mount pressure against the release of Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil are being countered, thanks to a special helpline set up following a meeting between film producers and top cops in the city on Tuesday.

mnsAt the meeting with director-general Satish Mathur, Mumbai police chief DD Padsalgikar and joint commissioner Deven Bharti, film-makers had sought protection against threats of vandalism by Raj Thackeray's party , which has warned movie halls not to screen the Johar film featuring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan.

The helpline was created to tackle the situation. It directly connects with the crime branch and has been shared with all single screens and multiplexes.

As a result, when Thackera y's supporters trooped into Metro Cinema to holler slogans and hand out a letter against the release of the film, the police promptly swung into action. The action was backed up by some tough-talking by the chief minister. Replying to a question on MNS's attempts to block the release of the film,Devendra Fadnavis said, " Anyone found taking the law into their hands will be dealt with firmly ." He pointed out that police had taken strict action and arrested 12 of the MNS members who walked into Metro cinema. He said they have been sent to judicial custody till November.

On Tuesday evening, Johar had attempted to reach out to the protestors by putting out a video statement in which he spoke of the cordial times between the two nations when the film was shot and made a promise not to engage with Pakistani "talents" in the future while reiterating his love for the country . It led to a rush of reactions on social media, some sympathising with him for having to buckle under pressure and some questioning his intent, even as MNS stubbornly stuck to their stand.

Authorities at the Multiplex Association of India refused to comment on Wednesday's events, but Mukesh Bhatt, president of the Film & Television Producers Guild of India, expressed anguish that their efforts to make peace with the MNS seem to have cut no ice.

Director Shyam Benegal wondered why people need to constantly prove their patriotism."I feel sad that he (Johar) had to make a statement like that... When you are born here, live here or make a livelihood here, you are going to live all your life in your country.You are an important and successful member of society ."

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Agencies
August 7,2020

Mumbai, Aug 7: Bhojpuri actress Anupama Pathak has died allegedly by suicide in Dahisar East, her Mumbai residence on August 2.

The police have recovered a suicide note.

Initially, an accidental death case was registered which was later converted into FIR under section 306 (abetment of suicide) of IPC against a person and a company, the police said.

Further investigation by Mumbai's Kashimira Police is underway.

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News Network
March 28,2020

Chennai, Mar 28: Chennai City Corporation personnel stuck a home quarantine sticker at the office of actor-politician Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam office on Saturday, leading to speculation that the matinee star was quarantined for the coronavirus.

While there was speculation if Kamal Haasan was quarantined, the Greater Chennai Corporation said their staffers pasted the sticker on the premises because actress Gautami Tadimalli "returned from Dubai recently and her passport has this address (Eldams Road in upscale Alwarpet)."

The present residence of the actress was not known immediately.

The sticker read, "We are in home quarantine to safeguard ourselves and Chennai from the coronavirus." It was removed soon, an official said, declining to elaborate.

Kamal Haasan clarified in a statement that he was not quarantined.

"Based on the notice stuck outside my house, news has been spread saying that I have been quarantined. But most of you already know that I have not been living there for the past few years and the Makkal Needhi Maiam party office has been functioning from there," he said.

Further, the actor said, the news that he has been quarantined "is not true."

As a precautionary measure, he has been maintaining social distancing, he said.

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News Network
July 25,2020

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.

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