Pakistani artistes come here on visa, not illegally: Om Puri

October 3, 2016

Mumbai, Oct 3: Veteran actor Om Puri and director Nagesh Kukunoor have come out in support of Pakistani actors, saying art and politics should be kept separate and banning the artistes will not change the situation.

OmpuPuri said Pakistani artistes are not working illegally here and if they are sent back, Indian producers, who have signed them for their films, will suffer heavy losses.

"When the government is taking an action, we all should stay quiet. It hardly matters if we send back the artists from Pakistan, who are working here, or let them stay. I have been to Pakistan six times and have met people from all strata," the 65-year-old actor said here.

"I have always received love and warmth. If the Pakistani actors leave the projects they are doing here in middle, then people in India (filmmakers) will also face financial loss. Hence, this is insignificant. The actors have not come here through any illegal way. They have valid visa. But, if the government will ask them to leave, then it is different," he said.

Filmmaker Nagesh Kukonoor said though the situation between India and Pakistan is complex, he believes art should be kept away from politics.

"I have always believed that art should stand alone. Even if you take the worst periods in a nation's history, World War II, art still had its voice. I don't think the two should be mixed.

"Having said that, the India-Pakistan situation is an extremely complex one. We are all part of the same country. 60-70 years is a very short period to actually find some kind of peaceful common ground."

Their remarks came days after superstar Salman Khan opposed the ban on Pakistani actors, saying they are artistes not terrorists.

The film industry has been divided on the issue of banning Pakistani artistes in the wake of Uri attack. Actor Randeep Hooda, filmmakers Ashoke Pandit, Anupam Kher are among those who have backed the ban.

Hooda tweeted that Pakistan should be culturally isolated.

"We are trying to isolate Pakistan economically & diplomatically so the cultural isolation must follow #BanPakArtists #IndiaComesFirst #India," he wrote.

Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar said though he believes that art has no boundaries, the situation right now is such that nothing is bigger than the country.

He also said that Pakistani artistes, who have worked in India should condemn the Uri attack.

"Definitely the artists are not terrorists, and I believe

that art has no boundary but the situation today is very different. When you see our 19 soldiers have been killed, and when we see the whole scenario... I feel a lot of Pakistani artists who work here they should have condemned the attacks on India over the years.

"When they can condemn US attack, when they can condemn Istanbul, Paris (attacks), all those attacks then why not India? My problem is that. When Peshawar (attack) happened, everybody in India condemned. So, if the Pakistani actors feel it (the attack) is happening over here, they should at least tweet about it. Right now I think nothing is bigger than the country.

Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, when asked if Pakistani actors should be allowed to do work in India, refused to be drawn into the controversy.

"This is our government's job. Our government has a lot of expertise who look after these matters and policies. Being an artist I have no opinion on this controversy. This is not my job. Government decides it and it is their duty," he told reporters at an event in the capital.

The debate began after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena demanded the ouster of the artistes from the neighbouring country.

Recently, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association also announced ban on the actors and technicians from the neighbouring country till things don't get normal between the two nations.

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News Network
May 20,2020

Mumbai, May 20: Doing his bit to help people in need during the ongoing coronavirus crisis, and the lockdown 4.0 phase, Bollywood actor Salman Khan has initiated ''Being Haangryy''- food truck facility to distribute, provide ration to needy.

To feed the affected people in Mumbai, the food truck with the words ''Being Haangryy'' written on it, was seen in Mumbai roads on Wednesday, where volunteers are providing huge bags of ration. A long queue of people was standing near the truck to get the essentials.

Many videos of the truck moving around the city providing ration kits to the people in need, surfaced on the internet from earlier this month.

However, the Bajrangi Bhaijaan actor has not announced this initiative himself on his personal social media accounts.

The Sultan actor is staying at his Panvel farmhouse with his nephew Nirvaan Khan and other family members ever since the lockdown was announced.

Earlier, the 54-year-old actor urged people to take up the ''Anna Daan'' challenge and donate to the underprivileged ones who are worst affected by the COVID-19 lockdown.

After urging people to take up the ''Anna Daan'' challenge, the actor posted a video on Twitter, that features him and Iulia Vantur, Jacqueline Fernandez among others loading the bags filled with ration on to a truck.

Khan actively posts videos on his social media handles to raise awareness about the importance of social distancing during COVID-19.

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

@jacquelinef143 @vanturiulia @rahulnarainkanal @imkamaalkhan @niketan_m @waluschaa @abhiraj88

A post shared by Salman Khan (@beingsalmankhan) on

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News Network
January 7,2020

Mumbai, Jan 7: Actor Anil Kapoor, who next will be seen onscreen in Malang, revealed that he always tells superstar Aamir Khan not to stop working with filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani.

Kapoor was interacting with the media at the trailer launch of Malang along with his co-actors Adtiya Roy Kapur, Disha Patani, Elli AvRam, film's director Mohit Suri and producers Luv Ranjan, Bhushan Kumar, Ankur Garg and Jay Shewakraman on Monday in Mumbai.

Anil Kapoor has worked with many directors and producers in his 40-year acting career.

Talking about camp culture in the Hindi film industry and praising makers of Malang, Kapoor said, "I feel we need producers like Ankur (Garg) and Luv (Ranjan). I have told Mohit (Suri) to continue doing films with them. I always tell Aamir Khan by calling him on the phone to say that you should not leave Raju Hirani (Rajkumar Hirani). Whenever I see films of both of them, I tell Aamir not to leave him."

He continued, "I feel whenever you make a good team then you should hold on to it. Team is very important and there are certain stars that come together to make something interesting and exciting."

Kapoor gave an example of Hollywood actors and filmmakers while backing his viewpoint.

"If you see Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio they do so many films together. They can work with others, too, but they keep working with each other. There is some magic, obviously. You have to go with the casting but somewhere I feel teams should stand by each other," the actor added.

Malang stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Disha Patani, Anil Kapoor and Kunal Khemu in lead roles. It is scheduled to release on February 7.

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News Network
February 9,2020

New Delhi, Feb 9: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani got emotional while watching the movie "Shikara: The Untold Story Of Kashmiri Pandits". It is a Hindi-language period film produced and directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir.

In a video clip, the political veteran is seen trying to hold back his tears at the end of the film while Mr Chopra rushes to console him. Other people around them were also seen getting emotional and congratulating the filmmaker for the movie.

"Shikara" is about how Kashmiri Pandits were forced to flee from their houses in the Kashmir Valley in early 1990, in the wake of insurgency. The filmmaker said the film showcases how Kashmiri Pandits rebuilt their lives in the aftermath of the tragic event.

Featuring Aadil Khan and Sadia, Shikara released on February 7. Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who is from Kashmir, dedicates his movie to his mother, who died in 2007.

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Abdul Gaffar Bolar
 - 
Monday, 10 Feb 2020

Does this man know the trouble and pain of humans???

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