Dropped from Incredible India, Big B now onboard Swachh Bharat

July 4, 2016

New Delhi, Jul 4: Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has been approached by the Centre to be the "face" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet 'Swachh Bharat' programmme.bigb

This comes months after reports that there was a rethink on the part of the government to sign up the actor for Incredible India campaign after the exit of another Bollywood actor Aamir Khan following his controversial remarks on perceived intolerance. However, Bachchan's name was ruled out after it appeared in Panama papers.

The Urban Development ministry had sent a letter to the Bollywood heavyweight on June 20 to "lend his voice and person" and help promote a specific part of the campaign, i.e sale of city compost for use as fertilisers in order to reduce waste being transported to landfill sites, an official said.

He said they were awaiting the actor's response.

According to the letter written by Mission Director Praveen Prakash, the government was stepping up efforts to encourage converting bio-degradable waste into compost, for use as fertiliser and reduce the waste going to landfill sites.

It is in order to encourage and publicise composting that Bachchan's participation is being sought, according to the letter.

"A major component of the Swachh Bharat Mission includes 100 per cent scientific management of solid waste in all urban areas... government is very keen to promote processing of bio-degradable component of solid waste into compost, for use as fertilisers...

"In order to succeed, this initiative will also need to be widely publicised- among farmers, citizens, nurseries and public gardens," the letter said.

"We plan to come out with a range of promotional material (radio ads, TV commercials, posters, jingles etc) to spread the message... In this respect we would be grateful if you would agree to be the face of these promotions... lending your voice and person for the radio ads, TV commercials and posters," it added.

Modi had launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Mission on October 2, 2014, and set a 5-year deadline to usher in complete cleanliness in the country.

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Agencies
April 25,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 25: Malayalam actor Ravi Vallathol, well-known for his acting in television serials and movies, passed away on Saturday at a hospital here, family sources said.

Vallathol, son of drama legend T N Gopinathan Nair and Soudamini, was the nephew of the famous Malayalam poet Vallathol Narayana Menon.

The veteran actor had appeared in around 50 Malayalam movies and more than 50 television serials starting from1986 with the serial 'Vaitharani' on Doordarshan.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi VIjayan expressed condolences on the passing away of the actor.

"He had an extraordinary ability to immortalise the characters with a wide range of emotions," Vijayan said, adding that, his demise was a loss to both theatre, film and TV serial industry.

Opposition Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala also condoled the demise of the Vallathol.

Chennithala remembered Vallathol as a brilliant writer and social activist. Vallathol made his film debut in 'Swathi Thirunal' directed by the late Lenin Rajendran in 1987.

He had also played versatile characters in hit movies movies including Godfather, Mathilukal, Sargam, Vidheyan, Kottayam Kunjachan, Naalu Penningal, Idukki Gold among others.

He has penned more than 25 short stories among which two were adapted into television series.

He is survived by his wife Geethalakshmi.

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News Network
June 3,2020

New Delhi, Jun 3: "This year feels relentless," actor Priyanka Chopra said urging Mumbai residents to take precautionary measures in view of Cyclone Nisarga.

The cyclone storm is approaching the north coast of Maharashtra with a speed of 11 kilometres per hour, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday.

Sharing Mumbai's famous Bandra-Worli Sea Link road picture on her Instagram story, the actor wrote: "Cyclone Nisarga is making its way to Mumbai, my beloved home city of more than 20 million people, including my mom and brother."

"Mumbai hasn't experienced a serious cyclone landfall since 1891, and at a time when the world is so desperate, this could be especially devastating," the 'Don' actor added.

"This year feels relentless. Please, everyone, find cover, take precautions, and follow the guidelines outlines. Please stay safe everyone, " said Chopra as she shared a swipe up link to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) page that details the Do's and Don'ts for Mumbaikars to take on Cyclone Nisarga.

Earlier, the IMD had stated that the severe cyclonic storm is expected to impact the Maharashtra coast by the afternoon/evening of June 3.

On Tuesday, actor Vicky Kaushal shared a picture of the cloudy sky on the photo-sharing platform and hoped that the "first showers only bring relief and joy and not too much drama." The 'Raazi' actor also urged people to stay safe.

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News Network
March 11,2020

Washington, Mar 11: Pop star Selena Gomez made some revelations about her personal life in a recent interview.

While explaining the lyrics of her song "Rare" on the 'Genius' YouTube channel, the 27-year-old said that there are times when she feels that she will ever be able to find a suitable partner for herself, reported Fox News.

"Some days when I wake up and I am annoyed and I am like, 'I am going to be alone forever.' But after that 15 minutes go away, I say to myself, 'I know that there is someone for everybody," the singer told in the seven-and-a-half minute long video.

However, she remains optimistic as she is still young and "this isn't the end all be all".

Elaborating upon the chorus of her song, Gomez opened up and said, "self-esteem and confidence is a constant struggle".

"It's getting better with time and age, but it will always be something that I'm working on," she added while explaining the lyrics further.

"So what I think is so important about this chorus is that it's acknowledging, 'Hey, I don't have it all. I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I do know that I'm special,' and I think that is a humble approach of saying, 'Why don't you see that I am different?'" the singer added as reported by Fox News.

Touching upon her experiences from past relationships, she commented: "In certain relationships, I've heard and I've experienced and whatnot, I think men and women do it -- especially teenagers and young people in love -- is there's this satisfaction out of hurting someone because you know that they care. Purposefully putting someone down because they want to keep them at a level. I've had someone actually say that to me before".

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