#MeToo: Sona Mohapatra thanks Tanushree Dutta for support

News Network
November 19, 2019

Mumbai, Nov 19: Singer Sona Mohapatra on Monday thanked Tanushree Dutta for her support after the actor praised her for raising voice against music composer Anu Malik, who has been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women, adding that the #MeToo movement is far from dead.

Malik was first accused of misconduct last year during the #MeToo wave and was briefly dropped as a judge of a singing reality show on Sony channel. Several women, including singers Shweta Pandit and Neha Bhasin, levelled allegations against the composer. The allegations resurfaced with his reinstatement this September. In a daily, Tanushree, who can be credited with kick-starting India #MeToo in the showbiz sphere, had applauded Mohapatra and others for "fighting the good fight" against Malik and his reinstatement.

On her part, Mohapatra said she felt "elated" after reading the actor's critique of the channel's "double standards". "My own fight is not against just one man, but with an entire system which normalises sexual harassment and encourages perverted behaviour, power play and a lopsided system. I am not one to tire easily or run away from a battlefield and one odd fight might be lost but ultimately the war will be won. "The tide is turning and while it does take time, the good people of the world do rally together to fight evil and help change things for the larger good. So many speaking up and showing solidarity in public has strengthened the movement. MeToo will not die that easily, the second wave is here and its TimesUp now," the singer wrote on Facebook.

Mohapatra said Malik being removed from the show will be "a symbolic victory" for the people fighting for positive change, a better and safer future for children and women in India. "This is no small, petty or minor issue, this is a matter that defines what kind of ‘India Shining' we plan to be in the coming years. This is the ‘good over evil' type of fight..." she added. Mohapatra was the first to call Malik out last year, claiming that he would call her at odd hours and once referred to her as "maal" in front of her composer husband Ram Sampath. Bhasin and Pandit also came forward with their stories of alleged harassment at the hands of Malik when they were young and looking for work.

Last week, the music composer denied the allegations, saying he was "being cornered" for something he did not do and may take legal action to safeguard himself. In a statement posted on social media, Malik called the claims "false and unverified" which had affected his "only source of livelihood".

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Agencies
January 9,2020

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".

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News Network
July 24,2020

New Delhi, Jul 24: With more than 50 movies under her credits and being one of the few actors from Bollywood to make a strong imprint in Hollywood, actor Priyanka Chopra started it all by winning Miss India 2000 pageant.

Chopra who is currently celebrating the completion of 20 years in the entertainment industry, on Friday looked back and reacted to the video where she was crowned as Miss India.
The' Fashion' actor shared a video on Instagram, where she is seen watching the throwback video. The 'Dostana' actor recalled winning the title and joked about her sense of style and poses back then.

Sharing the reaction video, she wrote: "Alright guys, we're doing this! I'm watching footage from my Miss India pageant in 2000! This is where it all began... If you've never seen these before, you are in for quite a treat. #20in2020 @feminamissindia."

Throughout the video, the 'Gunday' actor is seen casually commenting on her hairstyle, enacting her own movement on stage, and also recalled her luscious hair, which she now wonders where it all got lost.

However, she took a moment to appreciate the "clever and profound" answer she gave for the question that won her the crown.

While watching the winning moment, the 'Don' star noted how she never expected to win it. She explained that she had a train booked as she was to go back and take her board exams.

Going through the old photographs that run parallel to the video, she says: "These pictures are hard to look at." Pausing at a particular photograph, she laughs and says, "I don't even know how to do that pose."

"Well, this is where everything started. These are the pictures that sent me to Tinseltown," said the actor towards the end of the video.

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News Network
May 18,2020

Washington, May 18: Joining hands with the European Commission, actor Leonardo DiCaprio launched the Virunga Fund with seed money of USD 2 million to support Africa's Virunga National Park.

Since Virunga has lost a significant amount of revenue due to COVID shutdown post-March, the fund will be used to support the national park and the communities around, reported Variety.

The fund is aimed at disease prevention efforts, protection of mountain gorilla, and other species.

"I had the great honor of meeting and supporting Virunga's courageous team in their fight against illegal oil drilling in 2013," Variety quoted DiCaprio as saying.

"Virunga urgently needs funds to protect the endangered mountain gorilla population, to provide support to the rangers and the families of rangers who have fallen in the line of duty, and to help deliver essential disease prevention efforts. It's critical that we rally together during this time of incredible crisis," he added.

The 'Titanic' actor had earlier produced a Netflix documentary film 'Virunga' which is based on the national park.

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