Let's not discriminate: Farhan Akhtar on Kangana-Hrithik row

Agencies
October 8, 2017

Mumbai, Oct 8: Without taking any names, director-actor Farhan Akhtar today reacted to the much publicised Hrithik Roshan-Kangana Ranaut fiasco, saying the people and the media should not jump to conclusions or "discriminate" on the basis of gender.

The 43-year-old star, who has acted with Hrithik in "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" and directed him in "Lakshya", said he does not have the authority to decide "who is right or wrong" but believes it was necessary to comment on the situation.

"I agree that in our society, more often than not, it is the woman who suffers injustice and repression. It is horrifying but true that in some cases of rape, a section of society has blamed the victim. I have always found this to be unacceptable.

"... Although it is true that in most cases it is a woman that has been wronged, there is a difference between 'most' and 'all'. However, few and rare they may be, there have been cases where men have been stalked, harassed and falsely accused... It is in this spirit of objectivity and fairness that today I must speak up," Farhan wrote in a lengthy Facebook post.

The "Wazir" actor said he is not happy with the way the media has dealt with the episode, only presenting one version of the story.

"They've accepted her story at face value. Isn't this discriminating against the other party? For a moment, let's put aside emotion, prejudice, biases, our understandably protective instincts and look at the facts as they exist today."

Farhan said while Hrithik has been cooperating with the Cyber Crime Department by submitting all necessary information and documents, the "woman has avoided submitting personal communication devices" till date.

According to reports, Hrithik received explicit emails from Kangana's account and Farhan said, "If a woman was to receive these sort of emails from a man and she claimed harassment, what would your immediate reaction be?

"Would you have given the man the benefit of doubt by believing him if he said they were in a relationship and she had hacked into his computer and sent herself the mails...? Chances are you wouldn't."

Farhan urged people not to pass judgement without knowing the truth.

"The reason I felt the need to say this is that it is apparent that some people have already jumped to conclusions while some are deriving some sort of voyeuristic pleasure by encouraging the woman to carry on speaking.

"This is being done without a seconds pause to consider the effect her words will have on the person, his family or his children. As great as all of it may be for TRP, it's in terrible taste," he added.

Farhan said people "must avoid vilifying the man on the basis of unsubstantiated statements."

"... Let's not discriminate," he concluded.

While Kangana has been vocal about the matter since past one year, Hrithik had not gone public with his side of the story until recently after the Roshans decided to file a complaint with the Cyber Crime Department.

The 43-year-old star also took to social media to present his version.

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News Network
February 2,2020

Feb 2: After creating a buzz with her recent low-key marriage, actor and model Pamela Anderson recently broke off her marriage with famous movie mogul Jon Peters, after just 12 days the wedding, reported Fox News.

The couple got married on January 20 in Malibu, California in a private marriage ceremony.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of the couple's split on Saturday stating that the pair has decided to "uncouple."

"I have been moved by the warm reception to Jon and my union. We would be very grateful for your support as we take some time apart to reevaluate what we want from life and from one another," Fox News quoted Anderson saying.

"Life is a journey and love is a process. With that universal truth in mind, we have mutually decided to put off the formalization of our marriage certificate and put our faith in the process, "she added.

Fox News further quoted a source close to Anderson as saying, "She's known Jon forever, but she never lived with him, contrary to some reports. And until you live with someone... Well, let's just say Pamela asked for a break. She is heading back to her compound in Ladysmith, Canada, to be with her family."

According to Fox News, the couple did not have any official marriage license.

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News Network
February 12,2020

London, Feb 12: Oscar-winning British director Steve McQueen is returning to his art roots with a series of short films at London's Tate Modern art gallery, offering a sensory exploration of black identity.

McQueen, who became the first black director to win the best picture Academy Award in 2014 for "12 Years a Slave", is now based between London and Amsterdam and is focused on championing diversity in the film industry.

Visitors to his new exhibition will be greeted by "Static", a film of New York's Statue of Liberty, scrutinising the iconic symbol from every possible angle at very close range against a deafening backdrop of the helicopter from where the footage was filmed.

"What interests Steve is our view of the world, how humans are trying to represent Liberty," said Fiontan Moran, assistant curator of the exhibition.

"7th Nov, 2001" features a still shot of a body while McQueen's cousin Marcus tells of how he accidentally killed his brother, a particularly traumatic experience for the artist.

"Western Deep" is another visceral work, giving a sense through sights and sounds in an interactive installation of the experiences of miners in South Africa, following them to the bottom of the mine.

"Ashes", meanwhile, is a tribute to a young fisherman from Grenada, the island where McQueen's family originated.

The images of beauty and sweetness filmed from his boat are tragically reversed on the other side of the projection screen, which shows a grave commissioned by McQueen for the eponymous young fisherman, who was killed by drug traffickers.

African-American singer, actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson (1898-1976) is honoured in "End Credits".

The film shows censored FBI documents detailing the agency's surveillance of Robeson, read by a voice-over artist, for five hours.

"He is... testing the limits of how people can be documented in an era of mass surveillance," said Moran.

In a similarly militant vein, the exhibition features the sculpture "Weight", which was first shown in the prison cell where the writer and playwright Oscar Wilde was imprisoned.

It depicts a golden mosquito net draped over a metal prison bed frame, addressing the theme of confinement and the power of the imagination to break free.

The show runs alongside an exhibition of McQueen's giant portraits of London school classes, many of which appeared on the streets of London last year.

"I remember my first school trip to Tate when I was an impressionable eight-year-old, which was really the moment I gained an understanding that anything is possible," said McQueen, adding it was "where in some ways my journey as an artist first began".

He recently told the Financial Times newspaper the difference between his art films and his feature films was that the former were poetry, the latter like a novel.

"Poetry is condensed, precise, fragmented," he said. "The novel is the yarn".

The exhibition opens on February 13 and runs until May 11.

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News Network
January 9,2020

Los Angeles, Jan 9: Actors Salma Hayek and Tiffany Haddish are hopeful about the future for women in Hollywood and now cinema is making films about women because the audience was "neglected".

The duo along with Rose Byrne star in Like a Boss, a comedy directed by Miguel Arteta, which follows best friends Mia and Mel (Haddish and Byrne) who join forces to run their own boutique cosmetics company.

When the prospect of a big buyout offer from a notorious titan of the beauty industry (Hayek) tempts them, their lifelong bond - and their business - is put in jeopardy.

Hayek said she is happy with the increase in female-driven films in Hollywood.

"We're on the right path. And we're not going to stop," the actor told Variety.

"What I can tell you is that a lot more women are directing and acting and writing and producing. And there are a lot more movies made about women and for women because the audience was neglected, she said.

She was speaking at the premiere of the film in New York.

Haddish added that the mantle for change shouldn't be left to the traditional decision-makers.

To get things, one has to sometimes make noise, the actor-author said.

"It's about us putting in the work and creating the projects and creating the opportunities in order to do those things to make it better. I sit back and I listen to people talk sometimes, saying, 'They're not letting us; they're not giving it to us.' Why do we have to ask permission? Why can't we just start putting it together? If they want to come on board with it, come on board. And if not, oh well," Haddish said.

"I'm about creating an opportunity. People say I'm loud and obnoxious, but sometimes it’s the squeaky wheel that gets the oil and gets things done," she added.

The comedy comes on the heels of a year gone by in cinema that featured female protagonists in films like Little Women and Captain Marvel.

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