Rogue Aamir Khan starts shooting for 'Dhoom 3'

Mumbai, Jan 9: A day after Deepika Padukone visited the JNU campus to express solidarity with students who had been attacked, her film "Chhapaak" made another splash on Wednesday over the name of its antagonist.

While Deepika was the focus of many a discussion on social media and beyond for showing up at a public meeting in the university, the film, based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, was also making news for quite another reason.

In what could well be a storm in a 'Twitter cup', "Nadeem Khan" and "Rajesh" began trending on the microblogging site after a magazine article claimed the name of the antagonist had been changed. By 4 pm, 'Nadeem Khan' clocked close to 60,000 tweets and 'Rajesh' close behind with 50,000.

In 2005, Laxmi was disfigured for life when a man called Nadeem Khan and three others allegedly hurled acid at her in Delhi's upscale Khan Market.

In the film based on her life, the narrative remains the same but the names have been changed. So, Laxmi is 'Malti' Agarwal and Nadeem becomes 'Babboo' aka 'Bashir Khan'.

On Wednesday, Swarajya magazine wrote an article headlined, "The Ways Of Bollywood: In Deepika Padukone-Starer Chhapaak, Acid Attacker Naeem Khan Becomes ‘Rajesh'." "As part of a backlash against Padukone's JNU 'meet and greet', social media users researched the names of the characters involved in the movie Chhapaak and conspicuously found the name of main perpetrator Naeem Khan absent," the article alleged.

But in the Meghna Gulzar directed film, there is no mention of any Nadeem or Naeem Khan. Moreover, Rajesh is the name of Malti's boyfriend.

Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Babul Supriyo jumped into the controversy, saying it was another example of "absolute hypocrisy".

"...When you say all characters are fictitious and don't have any resemblance with living beings and all of that, this is absolute hypocrisy. When you change the name which also changes the religion, it has been done very deliberately," Supriyo told a TV channel when asked to comment on the controversy.

South Delhi BJP MP Ramesh Biduri also called for a boycott of the movie.

With Deepika grabbing attention by going to JNU, many appreciated her 'silent solidarity' but others criticised her for "supporting the Leftists" and said it was a promotional stunt ahead of the release.

"#BoycottChhapaak" was trending on Twitter as was "#ISupportDeepika".

Washington, Feb 19: Popular Indian-American stand-up comedian Hasan Minhaj, who has been critical of both US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would perform at the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents Association.

Hasan Minhaj, whose parents come from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, will serve as the entertainer at the event.

Kenan Thompson, the actor, and longest-tenured Saturday Night Live cast-member will serve as the host for the annual White House Correspondents Association's (WHCA) dinner on April 25.

"Hasan Minhaj, the Peabody award-winning host of Netflix's Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, will return to the dinner as featured entertainer," the WHCA announced.

"Kenan and Hasan are two of the most engaged and engaging entertainers in America. I'm thrilled they'll help us celebrate the role of a free press in our democracy," said Jonathan Karl, Chief White House Correspondent for ABC News and president of the WHCA.

"We're looking forward to a lively evening honouring the most important political journalism of the past year," he said.

President Trump who has skipped the WHCA dinner for the last three years is unlikely to attend this time as well.

Hasan Minhaj has hosted his Netflix show since 2018, drawing critics' raves, including a Peabody award in 2019, for his humorous and informed examination of issues of domestic and global import.

He was the entertainer at the 2017 WHCA Dinner when he was a senior correspondent on The Daily Show. His one-hour Netflix comedy special Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King was released in 2017, for which he won his first Peabody Award in 2018.

Kenan Thompson began his career as a member of Nickelodeon's sketch series All That. Kenan Thompson is currently in his 17th season on SNL where he has set a record for the most celebrity impressions performed on the show.

In 2018, he received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics and a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

At its annual dinner, WHCA will be presenting two new awards at the 2020 dinner: The Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability and the Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage by Visual Journalists.

These are in addition to the longstanding Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage and Merriman Smith Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure.

This year's dinner will also include the inaugural presentation of the Collier Prize for State Government Accountability, administered by the University of Florida''s College of Journalism and Communications to recognize outstanding statehouse reporting.

New Delhi, Feb 19: Deepika Padukone on Wednesday shared her much-awaited first look from the upcoming sports-drama '83' as Romi Dev, wife of cricket stalwart Kapil Dev. The actor also penned a message expressing gratitude for the iconic role.

The 'Chhapaak' actor shared the still on Twitter along with a caption that reads, "To play a small part in a film that captures one of the most iconic moments in sporting history has been an absolute honour!83 for me is an ode to every woman who puts her husband's dream before her own..."

In the absorbing first look, Deepika is seen sharing a smile along with Ranveer Singh, she is also seen sporting short hair. The star is seen wearing a high-neck top, while Ranveer is wearing team India's official blazer.

Previously, Ranveer shared the teaser of the flick in an event, which gave a glance of the lead characters of the flick featuring Tahir Raj Bhasin as Sunil Gavaskar, Jiiva as K Srikkanth, Saqib Saleem as Mohinder Amarnath, Jatin Sarna as Yashpal Sharma, Chirag Patil as Sandeep Patil, Dinker Sharma as Kirti Azad and Nishant Dahiya as Roger Binny, Harrdy Sandhu as Madan Lal, Sahil Khattar as Syed Kirmani, Ammy Virk as Balwinder Singh Sandhu and Addinath M Kothare as Dilip Vengsarkar, Dhairya Karwa as Ravi Shashtri and R Badree as Sunil Valson along with Pankaj Tripathi as PR Man Singh.

'83' is being co-produced by Madhu Mantena, Sajid Nadiadwala, and Reliance Entertainment. Helmed by Kabir Khan, the movie is slated for release on April 10.