Sanjay Dutt's lawyer loses son, wife and mother in Mumbai house collapse

June 12, 2013

Mumbai, Jun 12: Faraaz Merchant, the 12-year-old son of noted criminal lawyer Rizwan Merchant, made several calls to his father's cellphone while still buried under the rubble of the six-storey Altaf Manzil building in Mahim that collapsed Monday evening.

The two, however, could not speak to each other. Soon after midnight, Faraaz stopped responding to calls, a family member told The Indian Express. At around 11 am Tuesday, his mangled body was recovered.

"My son was so cold. I held him in my arms, he stayed immobile," said Merchant, 54, known for having defended actor Sanjay Dutt in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

Merchant's wife Asifa and mother Tahera were among the nine others who died.

Two caged parrots which the family kept as pets were removed safely.

While a part of Altaf Manzil, the Merchant family's home for over three decades, was reduced to rubble, another part stood intact. Marble flooring, white paint and a dining space were visible from outside.

Barring Merchant, the rest of the family had just returned from a trip to Turkey on Monday morning. Merchant, his eldest son Faiz, also a lawyer, and daughter Fiza, were in his office in South Mumbai, when he received a call, a little after 8:30 pm, from neighbours informing him about the collapse.

"Merchant rushed home, and remained at the spot, hoping for a miracle. The family lived on the first floor, where the impact was the worst," said Farhana Shah, an associate lawyer.

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News Network
April 16,2020

New Delhi, Apr 16: Actor Salman Khan on Thursday put out a sharp message to the "jokers" who were flouting government-imposed guidelines and venturing out during the ongoing lockdown, putting at risk countless lives to the deadly coronavirus.

In his characteristic 'Bhai' style, Salman also appealed to people to not attack doctors, nurses and police personnel who are in the frontline of the battle against COVID-19.

In a 10-minute hard hitting video shared on Instagram he begins with a "Hello, namaste, salaam, sasriyakaal, Kem Cho' in typical TV reality show 'Big Boss' style and goes on to say 'Zindagi ka Bigg Boss' has begun with the entire country staying in lockdown mode at home.
He said he had taken a two-day "chhutti" (leave) but "This corona, COVID-19 has given everyone a 'chutti'."

Khan said he was staying at his farmhouse in Panvel near Mumbai with his family including his mother, two sisters their children and some other people who had come to visit.

In the video he said that he had sent a friend to get rations for the family from a village around five kilometres away. He recounted that the police stopped him and in the process, his friend took off the mask to speak to the policeman who reprimanded him and asked him to put the mask back on. Salman said that he too chided his friend for doing such a thing.

"Don't go out, don't do social gatherings, stay with your family, the government has said if you are doing namaaz, do it at home, do pooja at home..." the actor said, adding that those who had a wish to kill their families should step out.
"Go out get your ration, nobody is stopping you, go nearby but wear your masks, your gloves, go alone," the actor said underlining that the government has assured that everybody will get ration.

The actor said that whoever does not understand a coronavirus positive patient's pain is anti-human.

He pointed out that doctors, nurses and policemen are putting in long hours to curb the spread of coronavirus and urged people to respect their work and stay inside.

The actor said policemen would not have taken action and hit people if they followed guidelines and stayed inside. "If you weren't going out with friends, police wouldn't have hit you. Do you think police are enjoying it?," he asked.

"Doctors and nurses are working to save your lives and what do you do? You started pelting stones at them? Those who have been diagnosed with coronavirus, are running away from the hospitals. Where are you running? Towards life or death?," he questioned in his video.

The 'Dabangg 2' star appreciated the efforts by the frontline warriors and said, "the virus that started in China is over in China now, but because of a few jokers, the whole of India will sit at home for a long time."

The 54-year-old star said that he was aware of many people who wouldn't come out of their homes earlier but have started doing so since they've been asked to not go out.

"You are putting everyone's lives at risk," the Bajrangi Bhaijaan actor said.

Salman concluded by urging people to respect the work of the doctors, nurses, police personnel and those who work in banks, take care to ensure that the disease does not spread further and pray that it does not come to a situation where the military has to be called in to stop people from doing the wrong thing.

Filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri took to Twitter to shared the video message. "Very well said @BeingSalmanKhan I hope wisdom prevails everywhere," he tweeted.

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Agencies
March 16,2020

Mumbai, Mar 16: In the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, all filmmaking and producing bodies have unanimously decided to stop shooting for all kinds of entertainment formats temporarily.

A notification unanimously issued by the Indian Motion Pictures Producers' Association, Federation of Western India Cine Employees and other similar bodies have ordered that shooting for films, TV shows, digital and other kinds of entertainment format will have to remain suspended between March 19 to 31.

The notification reads: "In view of the epidemic spread of COVID-19 throughout the world including India, an urgent joint meeting of IMPPA- WIPFA-IFTPC-IFTDA-FWICE held on 15-3-2020 unanimously decided to stop shooting of films, TV serials, web series and all other entertainment, including digital formats from 19-3-2020 till 31-3-2020 as a result of health advisory, closure of all cinema halls, all sporting, educational institutes and entertainment events by the Government of India which has declared a medical emergency over the coronavirus. We appreciate and support all the steps taken by the Government of India to control the virus."

"All units shooting till the stoppage comes into force have been strictly advised to follow all precautionary and preventive measures without fail."

"Decision about re-starting shootings shall be taken on 30-3-2020 after considering the prevailing situation."

It was reported only yesterday that superstar Salman Khan is continuing shooting in the city for his upcoming flick 'Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai' even though the makers insist they are strictly adhering to the safety norms of World Health Organisation (WHO).

Meanwhile, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan tweeted this morning requesting his fans not to gather outside the gate of his bungalow Jalsa for their weekly meet and suggested them to stay safe.

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Agencies
June 22,2020

Mumbai, Jun 22: After he recently took a dig at a Bollywood actor, without taking name, alleging power play and alleging that the music industry is run like the mafia, Sonu Nigam has now come down on T-Series chairman and MD, Bhushan Kumar.

Sonu has shared a new Instagram video on Monday morning, which he captioned: "Laaton ke mafia baaton se nahi maante (you cannot reason with the uncouth mafia with words)."

In the video, the singer says in Hindi: "Bhushan Kumar, ab toh tera naam lena hi padega mujhe. Aur ab tu tu ke layak hai. Tune galat admi se panga le liya (Bhushan Kumar, now I have to mention your name. And now, you deserve being addressed without respect. You have messed with the wrong person)."

Sonu Nigam is one of the finest singer of Indian film industry.
I can't believe bollywood Mafia's are targeting him 😣

T series Bhushan Kumar has support of Ajay devgn and Salman khan. And they are trying to end career of Sonu Nigam. 😣

I Support Sonu Nigam.#SonuNigam pic.twitter.com/MWwfrshcJZ

— Sic Mindus मसलु (@SarcasticFire) June 22, 2020
"Tu bhul gaya woh time jab tu mere ghar pe aake… ‘bhai bhai meri album kar do. Bhai 'Deewana' kar do. Bhai, Smita Thackeray se milwa do, Bal Thackeray se milwa do. Abu Salem se bacha lo. Abu Salem galiyaan de raha hai'... yaad hai na? Yaad hai ki nahi yeh sab cheezein? Main tujhe keh raha hoon mere muh mat lagna ab tu bas. (Do you remember the time when you used to come to my home requesting me… ‘brother record an album for me. Brother, record Deewana for me. Brother, introduce me to Smita Thackeray and Bal Thackeray. Save me from Abu Salem. Abu Salem is abusing me'… do you remember? Don't mess with me, I am warning you)."

"Marina Cover yaad hai na? Woh kyon boli, woh kyon back out kiya yeh mujhe nahi pata. Media ko pata hai mafia kis tarah function karta hai. Uska video mere paas padha hai. Ab agar tune mere se panga liya, toh woh video main apni YouTube channel mein dal dunga. Samjha? Mere mooh mat lagna (Do you remember Marina Cover? I don't know no why they spoke and why they backed out, but media knows how the mafia functions. I still have that video with me. Now if you mess with me, I will upload that video on my YouTube channel. So don't mess with me)."

In a recent video posted on Instagram, Sonu Nigam had appealed to music companies (without taking names) to be a little kind towards newcomer artistes, saying otherwise more people will commit suicide. He had mentioned in his previous video that currently two companies rule the music industry. He had also claimed falling prey to power play by a Bollywood actor.

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