Death of cow given more significance than that of police officer: Naseeruddin Shah

Agencies
December 20, 2018

Mumbai, Dec 20: In an apparent reference to the recent mob violence, actor Naseeruddin Shah said at many places the death of a cow is being given more importance than the killing of a policeman.

The veteran actor also expressed anxiety over the well-being of his children, who he said have not been brought up as followers of any particular religion.

Shah made the comments in a video interview with Karwan-e-Mohabbat India and the organisation shared it on its YouTube channel on Monday.

The actor said the "poison has already spread" and it will be now difficult to contain it.

"It will be very difficult to capture this djinn back into the bottle again. There is complete impunity for those who take law into their own hands. In many areas we are witnessing that the death of a cow is more significance than that of a police officer," he added.

Shah, who is married to actor Ratna Pathak Shah, said they chose not to give any religious education to their children -- Imaad and Vivaan -- as he believes "being good or evil has nothing to do with religion".

His fear for his children's safety is reminiscent of Aamir Khan's comments on intolerance in 2015 that had sparked a major controversy.

"I had received religious education as a child. Ratna (his wife) was from a liberal household so she received next to none. And we chose not to give religious education to our children because I believe being good or evil has nothing to do with religion. 

"We taught them about good and bad, what our beliefs are. I did make them learn a few verses from the Quran Sharif, as I believe reciting them improves one's articulation. Just like one's articulation improves reading from the Ramayana or Mahabharata from its original..." Shah added.

The actor is worried that the situation would not improve "anytime soon" and said he is angry, not scared.

"I feel anxious for my children because tomorrow if a mob surrounds them and asks, 'Are you a Hindu or a Muslim?' they will have no answer. It worries me that I don't see the situation improving anytime soon. 

"These matters don't scare me, they make me angry. And I feel every right-thinking man should feel angry, not scared. This is our home, who dare evict us from here?" he said.

On December 3, a mob, including right-wing activists, attacked a police station over alleged cow slaughter in the areas. The incident led to the deaths of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and another man.

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News Network
March 25,2020

New Delhi, Mar 25: Actor Priyanka Chopra on Tuesday night through an Instagram Live conversation put forward questions about coronavirus to World Health Organisation (WHO) experts and busted some myths about the global pandemic.

WHO General-Director Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's Technical Lead, were part of the live conversation which Priyanka shared on her Instagram. More than 45,000 fans participated in the session.

"There is so much information circulating about Covid-19. And right now we're all searching for clarity. My friends at @WHO and @glblctzn graciously brought the doctors working on the front lines here to give us answers straight from the experts. Please take some time to watch my IG Live with Dr. Tedros (General-Director at W.H.O.) and Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove (Technical Lead for Covid-19) from @WHO, who answered some questions that so many of you sent in," Chopra captioned the post.
Bollywood's 'Desi' girl also asked her fans to spread awareness about the disease and tag their friends and family in the post who are looking for answers and action steps.
PC even posted few questions submitted by the general populace and answers to the same on her Instagram story. The first question came from her husband, Nick Jonas, who also joined in on the conversation.

One of the questions was about the latest 21 day lockdown in India. Priyanka and Nick have been in self-isolation for weeks now.

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News Network
May 28,2020

Agartala, May 28: Tripura Police has registered a complaint against Bangladeshi singer Mainul Ahsan Nobel, who earned fame in the music reality show 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa' in Kolkata, for allegedly humiliating Prime Minister Narendra Modi over social media.

The complaint was filed by a resident of Belonia town in South Tripura district who is a student of Pandit Deen Dayal Petroleum University at Gandhinagar in Gujarat.

The complaint was filed on May 25, the person who is called Suman Paul said.

Nobel is not yet a popular singer in Bangladesh and has always been rejected by the audience of that country. He participated in the TV music reality show called Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in Kolkata, earned money, gained fame and returned to Bangladesh. If the person insults our prime minister it cannot be accepted. So I filed the FIR, Paul told reporters.

Belonia superintendent of police Jal Singh Meena confirmed that the complaint was registered and forwarded to Tripura Polices cyber crime cell.

The complaint was registered the same day it was filed at Belonia police station under Indian Penal code sections 500 (punishment for defamation), 504 (intentional insult), 505 (public mischief) and the IT Act.

We have registered the complaint and forwarded it to the cybercrime cell because it is not in the Indian cyberspace. We have started an investigation into the issue, the SP said.

Rajib Dutta, the officer-in-charge of Belonia police station said that as per the complaint the Bangladeshi singer had abused Modi in a Facebook post calling him a "mere chaiwala (tea seller)'.

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Agencies
February 10,2020

Hollywood star Joaquin Phoenix finally ended his dry run at the Oscars as he picked up the best actor trophy for his performance in and as "Joker" at the 92nd Academy Awards.

The 45-year-old actor had earlier bagged a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his turn as a failed, unhinged stand-up comedian who descends into chaos.

In a lengthy and rambling speech, Phoenix touched upon racism, climate change and gender inequality. He also remembered his brother River Phoenix, who died of a drug overdose at the age of 23 in 1993.

"When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric. He said, 'run to the rescue with love and peace will follow'," Phoenix said. At the Academy Awards and the entire Hollywood award season, Phoenix had emerged as an undisputed frontrunner even though he was up against the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio ("Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"), Adam Driver ("Marriage Story"), "Antonio Banderas ("Pain & Glory") and Jonathan Pryce ("The Two Popes").

An Oscar had eluded Phoenix for the most part of his career, despite his successful collaborations with Ridley Scott ("Gladiator"), James Mangold ("Walk The Line") and Paul Thomas Anderson ("The Master"), all of which had earned him nominations.

But as Arthur Fleck aka The Joker, Phoenix finally managed to break that jinx and became the second actor to win an Oscar for playing the DC comic book villain after the posthumous best supporting actor win to Heath Ledger in 2008.

As Joker, Phoenix took a deep dive into character, capturing its essence as well as maniacal spirit in both body and soul.

He lost 52 pounds to get into the physicality of Fleck and turned to a pathological disorder to get his distinct laughter right.

Phillips wrote the part keeping Phoenix in mind though the actor took some convincing to play the role.

Phoenix started the film's festival circuit tour on a positive note at Cannes last year that followed by stops at Venice and Toronto.

The film had also courted controversies, owing to its theme of gun violence in the movie as well as Phoenix's temperamental press tour that saw him walking out of an interview midway.

But critics and the fans loved the actor's riveting turn in the movie and his pointed speeches.

At the Golden Globes, he called out the industry for its insensitivity towards climate change and pulled up his peers for using private jets for travel, while at the SAGs, he joked how he would always lose a role to DiCaprio and asked Christian Bale to deliver a bad performance for once in his career.

In his acceptance speech at the BAFTAs, Phoenix acknowledged the lack of diversity in the nominations, calling himself a part of the problem. Phoenix's career most praised performances include "Signs ", "We Own the Night", "Two Lovers", "The Immigrant", "Her", "You Were Never Really Here" and "Inherent Vice".

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