Need to respect freedom of expression: Vidya on Gurmehar Kaur

March 1, 2017

Mumbai, Mar 1: Actress Vidya Balan says she doesn't want to add anything more to what is already happening with Delhi University student Gurmehar Kaur but feels one must respect others' freedom of expression.

vidyaLady Sri Ram Ram College student Gurmehar Kaur, daughter of Kargil martyr Captain Mandeep Singh, had launched a viral social media campaign against Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) following violence between members of unions AISA and ABVP workers in Delhi University's Ramjas College.

Kaur, 20, withdrew from her social media campaign yesterday after allegedly receiving threats from the members of the RSS-backed outfit and getting trolled.

When asked about what she feels regarding the issue, Vidya told reporters, "I don't want to say much about this. I think what we really need to do is respect people's freedom of expression. 'He said something she said something', all are right in their places. But I don't want to add anything more, everyone has the right to express what they feel."

The "Dirty Picture" actress, however, added that violence should not happen and there is no justification for that.

She was speaking at the launch of the book "The Wrong Turn" by Sanjay Chopra and Namita Roy Ghose, last evening.

Last week, Delhi University's Ramjas College witnessed violence between members of AISA and ABVP workers.

The genesis of the clash was an invite to JNU students Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid to address a seminar on Culture of Protests which was withdrawn by the college authorities following opposition by the ABVP.

Filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia, who was also present at the event, said it is sad a mountain has been made out of a mole hill.

"She is an innocent girl, she said something and it's sad all the prominent people are commenting on that. They have made her life difficult. I feel very bad, helpless. If the majority thinks like this I don't think the nation is moving on the right path."

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News Network
April 14,2020

Mumbai, Apr 14: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has thanked Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan for providing 25,000 personal protective equipment for health workers.

Khan on Monday provided the personal protective equipment (PPE) kits to the frontline medical staff in Maharashtra fighting to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic in the state.

Tope took to Twitter to thank the actor for the help.

Many thanks Mr. Shah Rukh Khan for your kind contribution of 25,000 PPE kits. This will go a long way in supporting our fight against COVID19 & protecting our frontline medical care team @iamsrk @MeerFoundation @CMOMaharashtra," he tweeted.

The actor and his wife Gauri Khan recently offered their four-storey personal office space for treating COVID-19 patients.

Khan had earlier announced various initiatives to help the country during the crisis.

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Agencies
March 3,2020

Chennai, Mar 3: Makkal Needhi Maiyam president and actor Kamal Hassan on Tuesday appeared before Chennai Police on Tuesday in connection the deaths last month of three people on the set of the movie, 'Indian 2'.

Hassan appeared before Chennai Police Commissioner in Egmore to record his statement.

Three people died while around 10 suffered injuries when a crane collapsed while shooting of the film was underway in Chennai at EVP Studios on February 19.

Madhu, personal assistant to director Shankar, Krishna, assistant director, and a staffer Chandran, lost their lives in the incident.

In an open letter, "Indian 2" Director S Shankar announced Rs 1 crore as financial assistance to the kin of the deceased.

'Indian 2' stars Kamal Haasan, Kajal Agarwal, Rakul Preet, Siddharth, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Delhi Ganesh and Nedumudi Venu in prominent roles.

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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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