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Shooting for Prophet film in Rajasthan hangs in the balance

[email protected] (TNN)
November 20, 2012
Majid-Majidi

New Delhi, November 20: Celebrated Iranian director Majid Majidi has set his sights on the sweeping desert sands of Rajasthan for his epic on Prophet Mohammed. However India's chance to be part of cinematic history hangs in balance with permission for the shoot of "Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be With You)" pending before the Indian government for the last one month.

Government sources have expressed concern over the "sensitive" subject but Majidi appears unfazed by this bureaucratic challenge. Speaking exclusively to TOI, Majidi in an email interview said, "We are just shooting one scene in India... 99% of the film has already been shot in Iran. There is just one war sequence mentioned in the Quran that requires elephants in a desert region and since elephants are not found in Iran hence we were looking at India and Rajasthan as an viable location option."

The director is also planning to visit the country in December and hopes to shoot for the current film project in December or January. India has had a chequered history with film permissions. While James Bond "Skyfall" famous train sequence could not be shot in India because of delay in permissions, Katheryn Bigelow struck lucky and was able to recreate Pakistan's Abbottabad in India for her Osama flick "Zero Dark Thirty."

Known for critically Rain, Song of the Sparrows and Children of Heaven Majidi is unfazed. "We'd like to shoot in India because we really like the country. In fact I am planning to shoot a film in the future in India based on an Indian subject and we feel that shooting this scene will be a great experience to meet and work with the Indian technical cast and crew and get to know the country even better."

Speaking about the film the director who is busy with the last leg of shooting said, "The film has been shot completely in Iran. A huge set of Mecca and Medina has been created on the outskirts of Tehran. An international cast and crew has been working on this project for the last two years."

Majidi's line producers Mumbai-based Eyecandy Films who are coordinating permissions in India are hopeful that the shoot will materialise. Eyecandy's Shareen Mantri said, "It is a landmark film being made by one of the most respected directors in the world. We hope that this will pave the way for more international projects to be shot in India."

Among the international artistes who are associated with the project include set decorator of Emir Kusturica's tragic-farce Underground Aleksandar Denic and three-time Academy Award winning Italian cameraman Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now, Reds etc) have been working on this project for the last two years. The Oscar winning VFX supervisor Mr. Scott Anderson (Adventures of Tintin, King Kong, Terminator 2 etc) is doing our visual effects on the film.


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Agencies
August 6,2020

The Indian Defence Ministry, which had in its document that China intruded into the Indian territory in eastern Ladakh in early May, on August 6 took down the page which it had uploaded on its website.

According to a report by news channel NDTV, the ministry, in its document, had said the Chinese aggression has been "increasing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and more particularly in Galwan valley since May 5."

"The Chinese side has transgressed in the areas of Kungrang Nala, Gogra and north bank of Pangong Tso Lake on May 17-18," the document, titled 'Chinese Aggression on LAC' stated.

The document revealed that "... a violent face-off incident took place between the two sides on June 15, resulting in casualties on both sides."

After the clash, a second corps commander level meeting took place on June 22 to discuss the modalities of de-escalation. "While engagement and dialogue at military and diplomatic level is continuing to arrive at mutually acceptable consensus, the present standoff is likely to be prolonged," it said.

A defence ministry spokesperson told the news channel that the document "did not go through him".

The opposition Congress, meanwhile, asked the government why the report was taken down with party leader Rahul Gandhi alleging that removal of the document from websites would not change facts.

"Forget standing up to China, India's PM lacks the courage even to name them. Denying China is in our territory and removing documents from websites won't change the facts," Gandhi tweeted.

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News Network
April 8,2020

New Delhi, Apr 8: The Supreme Court on Wednesday suggested that all tests to identify coronavirus positive patients should be conducted free of cost and asked the Central government to look into creating a mechanism for providing reimbursement for the same.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, while hearing a PIL via video-conferencing, suggested that the test should be conducted free of cost in the identified private laboratories and said that the court will pass appropriate order on the matter.

The apex court was hearing a PIL filed by lawyer and petitioner Shashank Deo Sudhi seeking direction to the Centre and other respective authorities to provide free of cost the testing facility for COVID-19 to all citizens in the country.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that 118 laboratories were doing 15,000 test capacity per day and added that 47 private laboratory chains have also been involved for the same.

During the hearing, the court asked the Centre to ensure private labs don't charge a high amount for the test and suggested that the government can create an effective mechanism for reimbursement from the government for tests.

Mehta said that they will look into the suggestion and will try to devise what can be done best.

Sudhi, on the other hand, submitted that testing of coronavirus is very expensive and therefore the Central government should take all necessary steps to provide free of cost the testing facility for COVID-19 kits and others to all citizens in the country.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Mar 5: The Kerala government has given its nod to a proposal aimed at encouraging students aged between 18 and 25 years to take up part-time jobs while pursuing education so as to help them gain work experience and hone their skills.

The government has decided to accept the proposal as a policy decision at the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, an official press release said.

The aim is to ensure that in a fiscal, 90 days of work is assured for students in government departments, local body organisations, PSUs and private companies.

This will help in developing a work culture among students.

Honorariums will be given to students by the organisations employing them part-time, the release said.

Students aged between 18 and 25 years will be permitted to become part of the scheme which will help them to gain work experience and hone their skills, the release added.

In another decision, the government decided to release Rs 26 crore from the Chief Minister's disaster relief fund for providing compensation to farmers who suffered crop loss during the 2018 floods.

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