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Jan 23: Calling himself an optimist who believes in the goodness of people, director Kabir Khan says everything these days is being looked at through the prism of religion but India is about more than that.

The director of blockbusters such as Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Ek Tha Tiger said he is happy he has a platform as a filmmaker to present a counterpoint to the prevailing narrative based on religious fault lines.

"I’m an optimist who believes in the goodness of the people. But yes, there is a certain level of bigotry that has crept in. Everything is being looked at through the prism of religion but India is not about that.

"It sounds like a cliché but when I was growing up, I was not aware of my religion. That was the greatness of this country,” Kabir told news agency.

He said he is a product of a mixed marriage and is pained to see the social fabric being tattered.

“I have celebrated the best that Indian secularism has to offer. But to see the greatness of this country being simplified and broken down into religious fault lines is a painful experience,” he added.

According to Kabir, it is dangerous to see history through the prism of religion, whether in cinema or society. But it is important to revisit history to know what happened and one can always find something that is relevant for the present, he said.

The director, who started as a documentary filmmaker, returns to his roots for a five-episode series on Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army, The Forgotten Army: Azaadi Ke Liye, on Amazon Prime, his most expensive project yet.

Asked whether this is a difficult time for filmmakers, Kabir said he believes art thrives in the time of strife and, as a storyteller, his politics will always reflect in his work.

“Every film has its politics and every filmmaker has to reflect his or her politics. Every film of mine will reflect my politics and it will never change according to the popular mood of the audience. But a film should not be just about that. Politics should be in the layers beneath," he said.

He terms his 2015 Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan an "extremely political" film. At face value, it can also be enjoyed as the story of a mute Pakistani girl who drifts into India and is taken back to her homeland by a Hanuman devotee. But there is so much more. The "chicken song", for instance, was a sly reference to the beef ban controversy at the time, he said.

"I won’t say it is a difficult time for me as a filmmaker. It is good that I have a platform where I can talk and present a counterpoint and I refuse to believe that the entire country believes the narrative that is being sent out. There are millions and millions of people, and perhaps the majority, that does not believe. And if I present the counterpoint, they will think about it.”

Discussing his new series, the director said it has always fascinated him that the sacrifice of the men and women who comprised the INA is just a forgotten footnote in history.

“I wanted to make something that stands the test of time. It goes down in posterity,” Khan, who first explored the subject in a Doordarshan documentary 20 years ago, said.

For the documentary, he traveled with former INA officers Captain Lakshmi Sahgal and Captain Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon from Singapore to India via erstwhile Burma, retracing the route that the INA followed.

“The documentary got me a lot of attention and acclaim but the story just never left me. It's actually the first script I ever wrote and I landed up with that script in Bombay from Delhi. I realised very soon that nobody's going to give me a budget of this size to make my first film.

"And then after every film, I would pick up the script and say, ‘Okay, this is the one I want to make’, because this is the story that made me want to become a filmmaker. On the way, I ended up making eight other films but this is really the story that I wanted to make,” he said.

Kabir is happy that the story has come out as a series, not a film, as it would have required to compromise with the budget and other elements.

"Without giving any numbers, this is the most expensive project I have ever worked on… It required that kind of budget."

Kabir believes the INA was responsible for bringing down the morale of the British establishment, which realised it would be impossible to keep the country colonised without the support of the local army.

"There are a lot of debates and discussions about what happened with the INA and the controversies around it. The whole point is that, if you want to judge what the Army did, sure that's your prerogative, but at least get to know what they did. Nobody knows what happened with the Army from 1942 to 1945."

He added that 55,000 men and women of the INA fought for independence and 47,000 of them died.

"Not a single person from that Army was ever taken back into the independent Army, which is such an amazing fact... the fact that the British called them traitors became the narrative and we also started assuming that they were traitors."

"They were the only women's regiment in the whole world 70 years ago. That's what they thought about women's importance in society. I don't know whether they will be happy with what the current situation is," he said.

New Delhi Apr 10:  Actor Salman Khan on Friday thanked people for staying indoors and shared two pictures, first showing Bada Qabaristan's (graveyard) gate which has been closed due to lockdown and the second was of an empty street in Mumbai.

The actor thanked the people for listening to the guidelines and understanding the gravity of this situation amid the 21-day government-imposed lockdown in view of coronavirus outbreak. The tweet by 'Dabangg' actor came soon after the conclusion of Shab-e-Barat.

Shab-e-Barat is observed as a day of forgiveness or atonement in Islam and leads to congregations at graveyards and religious places.

The 54-year-old actor took to Twitter and wrote, "Wah! Thank u for listening n understanding the gravity of this situation the country is in. God bless n protect each n every 1.

Over the past few days, appeals were made to the Muslim community from several quarters to not venture out of their houses to pray on Shab-e-Barat in view of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Earlier, the 'Tiger Zinda Hai' star shared his lockdown experience in a video message with nephew Nirvaan and urged people to take the government's advisory of self-isolation seriously amid the rising cases of coronavirus in the country.

Los Angeles, Jul 1: Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas has struck a two-year television deal with Amazon. The 37-year-old actor shared the news about her "multimillion-dollar" first look deal with the streamer in a post on Instagram.

"So honoured and excited to finally share this news with you. Looking ahead, we already have so much on our slate! Big thank you to @jsalke and her team at Amazon for being such great partners, and for sharing in the belief that talent and good content knows no boundaries," Priyanka wrote.

The actor, who launched her own production banner Purple Pebble Pictures in 2015, said she aims to create "great content" featuring "creative talent" from all over the world.

"This has always been the DNA of my production house Purple Pebble Pictures, and is the foundation of this exciting new endeavour with Amazon. ⁣⁣

"And as a storyteller, my quest is to constantly push myself to explore new ideas that not only entertain but most importantly, open minds and perspectives," Priyanka said.

She thanked her fans for being a "big part of my journey so far".

"And for those who are just getting to know me, or maybe only recognise me as Alex Parrish from 'Quantico', I'm excited for you to get to know me better," Priyanka concluded.

Priyanka, who started her Hollywood career with ABC series Quantico, has featured in films such as Baywatch and Isn't It Romantic.

Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke told Variety that she bonded with the actor over their "shared passion for diverse global storytelling".

"Priyanka is drawn to exciting original content and characters that can resonate globally. She’s a powerhouse producer, and we are thrilled to collaborate with her for years to come," she added.

Prior to her deal with Amazon, the actor lined up two projects with the streamer. She will star opposite Game of Thrones actor Richard Madden in upcoming thriller series Citadel, to be produced by Anthony and Joe Russo.

The actor will also feature in Sangeet, an unscripted series co-produced with her husband, Nick Jonas.

Priyanka's another project with Amazon is a film about Ma Anand Sheela, the assistant to guru Bhagwan Rajneesh (also known as Osho). The actor will be producing the movie which is based on Netflix docu-series Wild Wild Country.

Besides her association with Amazon, the actor will next star in two Netflix projects -- superhero movie We Can Be Heroes and The White Tiger,  opposite Rajkummar Rao.

She is currently shooting for Keanu Reeves-starrer The Matrix 4, which recently resumed filming after production was halted by the pandemic.