Not concerned about 'Mohenjo Daro' criticism: Hrithik

August 5, 2016

New Delhi, Aug 5: The trailer of "Mohenjo Daro" may have become a butt of jokes online and made historians cringe, but lead star Hrithik Roshan has brushed away the negativity saying the film will silence critics after its release.

HrithikThis is not the first time Hrithik's film has been accused of distorting historical facts.

His 2008 film, "Jodhaa Akbar", also directed by his "Mohenjo Daro" helmer Ashutosh Gowariker, was initially slammed for being historically inaccurate but that did not stop it from becoming box office success.

"I am not concerned about it (negativity around the trailer). This current situation reminds me of a time when Twitter was not there but when I played Akbar, I was in the spotlight right from the release of the first trailer.

"People said what I did was wrong as Akbar was only four feet ten inches tall, while I am over six feet. Also that I had light eyes, which Akbar did not," Hrithik said.

"People raised several objections about the film. And now who remembers that? They have all forgotten about it. Now when you talk about 'Jodhaa Akbar', you say how great the film was and how well it did."

The 42-year-old actor says the historians, who have raised objections about usage of lip colour on women, to the use of horses in certain scenes, are least of his concern as they are not the people who will go and watch the film in theatres on August 12.

"They are not our fans, who will go to cinemas to watch the film. These historians are voicing their opinion, they have no bearing on the film being good or bad. "They are talking about how they can have lipsticks but people of the Indus Valley used to crush rose petals and put it on their lips. Our film is fiction mixed with facts."

Hrithik says "Mohenjo Daro", which also features newcomer Pooja Hegde, is a simple love story set in the backdrop of the Indus Valley civilisation.

"It is a love story, a revenge drama in the backdrop of Indus Valley. It has not been made to teach people about Mohenjo Daro. It is like 'Titanic', which was not about how the ship works, it was about a love story with Titanic as the backdrop. That is where we are coming from."

"Mohenjo Daro" is Hrithik's second historically-themed film after "Jodhaa Akbar" but the actor says his upcoming movie was way more difficult to work on as it involved shooting in harsh conditions of Bhuj in Gujarat.

"It was in a lot of way tougher than 'Jodhaa' because of the setting we were put in, long hours on the sets in Bhuj. It was quite tiring."

Praising his co-star Hrithik says he was surprised to seen how confident the actress was right from the time of their first photo shoot for the film.

"The shooting conditions were tough but Pooja was unfazed. She gave her shots naturally and spontaneously. If it was my first film, I would go home, I couldn't have done it. She is very hard working."

"Mohenjo Daro", also stars Kabir Bedi, Arunoday Singh, Suhasini Mulay and Nitish Bharadwaj.

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News Network
April 12,2020

Los Angeles, Apr 12: Pop star Rihanna has asked her fans, who are demanding her to release her new album soon, to back off as her prime focus right now is doing her bit in saving the world from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Grammy winner was one of the first Hollywood personalities who pledged support towards the relief efforts in fighting the COVID-19 outbreak.

Rihanna has been teasing new for quite some time now and eager admirers got an earful from her during an Instagram Live. Her last studio album was 'Anti' which was released in 2016.

Taking a swipe at US President Donald Trump, the Barbadian singer said, "If one of y'all ask me about the album one more time when I'm tryna save the world, unlike y'all president....on sight."

Rihanna's non-profit organisation Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently donated USD 2.1 million each to help victims of domestic violence in Los Angeles during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order.

Also CLF and and rapper Jay-Z's Shawn Carter Foundation donated USD 2 million to support undocumented workers, the incarcerated, homeless and elderly populations, and children of frontline healthcare workers in Los Angeles and New York City amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier, Rihanna, through CLF, also donated USD 5 million to support Direct Relief, Partners In Health, Feeding America, the International Rescue Committee and World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund as they continue to fight the pandemic in the US, the Caribbean and Africa.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New York, Aug 4: National Award-winning documentary "Son Rise" and Geetu Mohandas-directed "Moothon" were among the films that took home the big honours at the 20th New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), which switched to a virtual edition this year amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Over 45 feature-length narratives, shorts and documentaries from the Indian subcontinent were showcased at the festival’s virtual edition that ran for 10 days beginning July 24.

The films programmed were in various languages including Assamese, Bengali, Haryanvi, Hindi, English, Ladakhi, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali and Tamil.

The award ceremony for the festival was held virtually Sunday, with the filmmakers, cast, award winners and festival officials joining from across India and the US.

The award for the Best Documentary (Short) went to Saurav Vishnu-directed "Tailing Pond", which highlights the "horrifying effects of uranium extraction on the health of the indigenous population" of Jadugoda, Jharkhand.

"Son Rise" by Vibha Bakshi won the award for Best Documentary (Feature).

The documentary had won the National Award for the Best non-feature film in 2019 and was among the two centrepieces hosted by the festival this year. NYIFF called "Son Rise" “a powerful documentary about patriarchy in Haryana and efforts by a few good men to bring meaningful change in the society.”

The award for Best Short (Narrative) went to Sanat Ganu's "Arabian Nights". The narrative focuses on a child, his imaginary friend and a family that attends a conference where the attendees believe the earth is flat.

Director and scriptwriter Sudhanshu Saria accepted the award for Best Screenplay for "Knock Knock Knock". Saria’s screenplay “explores the lonely life of a man, an unlikely friendship that may or may not be real.”

Sanjana Dipu won the award for Best Child Actor for "Moothon" for her performance of a teenager in search of a brother.

Garggi Ananthan won the Best Actress award for her role as Kalyani in the film "Run Kalyani" and the Best Actor award went to Malayalam star Nivin Pauly for "Moothon". The award for the Best Director went to 23-year old Achal Mishra for "Gamak Ghar".

"Moothon" won the award for Best Film and its director Mohandas accepted the award for the film, which is "about love and loss that travels from the quiet, lush beaches of Lakshadweep to the mad hustle-bustle of the streets of Mumbai."

Produced by award-winning Indian film director and writer Anurag Kashyap, "Moothon" had premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

NYIFF festival director Aseem Chhabra said that the process of searching for films for the festival began last fall and they were ready to showcase them to audiences in New York in April but had to change plans for the festival due to the pandemic.

"I know the best way to enjoy films is in a theatre with the audience and have live interactions, conversations. But the virtual festival is the next best option and in the process, we have been able to reach out to a much larger audience in the US, North America as well in several other countries.”

NYIFF said that a virtual edition expanded the reach of the festival and audiences from 95 countries were able to access and view the films.

Dr Nirmal Mattoo, Chairman of the Indo-American Arts Council, co-founder and owner of Atlantic Dialysis Management services, the largest private dialysis provider in New York State, said NYIFF works with an independent jury - filmmakers, film professors, writers and critics.

Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), the leading cultural organisation, presents the festival.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the closure of theatres but we believe that in such trying times arts, including films are even more important for the community’s well-being. So, this year we have decided to bring the films directly into your living rooms.” IAAC Vice-Chairman Rakesh Kaul had said.

The New York Indian Film Festival is the oldest Indian film event in North America. Over the years, the festival has held New York premieres of a wide range of films, many of them critically acclaimed, including "Monsoon Wedding", "The Namesake", "Slumdog Millionaire", "Shahid", "Dum Laga Ke Haisha" and "Gangs of Wasseypur". 

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News Network
June 15,2020

Mumbai, Jun 15: Maharashtra police's cyber department has asked people to refrain from circulating online pictures of the body of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who was found hanging in his apartment in Mumbai's Bandra area.

Terming it as a "disturbing trend", it warned that circulation of such pictures could attract legal action.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging in his apartment on Sunday, sending shockwaves rippling through the Hindi film industry and elsewhere.

Later, some people circulated pictures of the actor's body on social media platforms, following which the state police's cyber department said it was in "bad taste".

A disturbing trend has been observed on Social Media platforms by Maharashtra Cyber that pictures of deceased actor Sushant Singh Rajput are being circulated, which are disturbing and in bad taste," it tweeted late Sunday night.

"It is emphasised that circulation of such pictures is against legal guidelines and court directions, and are liable to invite legal action," it added.

Urging netizens to refrain from posting such photos, the cyber department said the pictures already circulated should be deleted henceforth.

"In the digital age, every piece of information we read or watch needs to be cross-checked, verified and we all have to be careful before believing or forwarding them," it said.

After the actor's death, police said no note was found at the spot.

Police sources also said they did not find any foul play in their initial investigation.

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