Bengaluru, May 29: Actress Priyamani is engaged to longtime boyfriend Mustufa Raj in a private ceremony here.
The 31-year-old multilingual film actress, who worked in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam movies, took to Twitter to share the news with her fans.
"Happy to announce that Mustufa Raj and I got engaged on Friday the 27th at a close and private function at home," she wrote.
Priyamani will be nest seen in Kannada film "Dana Kayonu".
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".
Feb 3: Actor-cum-activist Swara Bhaskar on Sunday targetted the Central government over granting Padma Shri to Pakistan-origin singer Adnan Sami who became an Indian citizen in 2016.
Addressing "Save the Constitution, Save the Country" rally here in Madhya Pradesh, Bhaskar said that passing the new citizenship amendment act tantamount to "betrayal" of the Constitution.
Sami, born in London to a Pakistani Air force veteran, applied for Indian citizenship in 2015 and became a citizen of the country in January 2016.
He was one of the 118 people chosen for the Padma Shri awards by the Centre last month.
"The legal process to grant citizenship to refugees and arrest infiltrators already exists in India. You (the government) have granted Indian citizenship to Adnan Sami and now selected him for Padma Shri through that process. (If this is the case) What is the need and justification for the Citizenship Amendment Act?" Bhaskar asked.
"On the one hand you abuse us (anti-CAA protesters), cane-charge us, slap us, hurl teargas shells at us and on the other hand you award Padma Shri to a Pakistani," she said
Bhaskar said the government labels some people as the members of "tukde-tukde gang" and anti-nationals" as per its convenience.
"Supporters of the CAA and the NRC keep harping about the so-called infiltrators having entered our country. If that is the case then why are we unable to see these intruders?" she asked.
"The problem is that they have intruded into the minds of the government and the ruling party," she said.
Bhaskar said the government seems to have "fallen in love with Pakistan".
"It sees Pakistan everywhere. My devout grandmother doesn't chant Hanuman Chalisa as often as this government keeps chanting the Pakistan mantra," she said.
Without naming the RSS, the actor said, "Sitting in Nagpur, these people are spreading politics of hatred".
Bhaskar said Pakistan chose to become a religious nation after the Partition in 1947 unlike India which opted to become a "secular republic where one's religion has nothing to do with citizenship".
"(Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali) Jinnah died a long ago, but his admirers want to divide the country again in the name of a religion," Bhaskar said.
She criticised BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya for his controversial remarks about the 'presence' of Bangladeshi infiltrators in Indore, after some labourers were found eating poha and not rotis.
"If poha is Bangladeshi cuisine, then Kailash Vijayvariya, who grew up eating poha (in Indore), should be required to show his Indian citizenship papers," she demanded.
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.
Comments
as usual....we can here their divorse news soon......inka life me koi family naam ka cheez nahee hai.........just name and fame and live as they like.
as usual....we can here their divorse news soon......inka life me koi family naam ka cheez nahee hai.........just name and fame and live as they like.
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