New Delhi, Apr 26: Famous Punjabi singer Daler Mehndi Friday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party at its Delhi office here in the presence of Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and Union minister Vijay Goel.
BJP's candidate from northwest Delhi constituency Hans Raj Hans, Union minister and Chandni Chowk candidate Harsh Vardhan and other party leaders were also present. Mehndi's daughter is married to a son of Hans.
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".
Mumbai, Aug 3: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan says he has immense gratitude for the doctors who provided him with medical care for Covid-19 and feels overwhelmed to be free of the virus finally.
Amitabh, on Sunday, tested negative for the novel coronavirus and was discharged from hospital.
The 77-year-old actor was admitted to Nanavati hospital along with son Abhishek after testing positive for Covid-19 on July 11. Abhishek, 44, is still positive and will remain under medical care.
"It has been heartening to be back from the Hospital after the ‘mukti’ from the coronavirus but a sour taste in the mouth when Abhishek has to still be in the medical care," Amitabh wrote in his blog.
The actor said doctors are tirelessly working towards battling the virus "each hour" through consultation, sharing of information and experience with their fraternity from other parts of the world which gives "the hope of repair."
"Assuring us each minute that ‘all shall be well’ , when in fact they themselves struggle to find that confirmed patent that can be used, delivered, executed to save lives and conditions from the virus.
"When I had addressed them as 'angels in white' I had never imagined that I would be supine in their midst to savour their angelic presence, as they give us hope, inspiration and the strength to fight. They are quite quite remarkable. My gratitude shall never fail for them... feeling bad for Abhishek .. prayers he comes home soon," he added.
On Sunday, Abhishek thanked well-wishers for their continued support and said he would remain under medical care.
"I, unfortunately, due to some comorbidities remain Covid-19 positive and remain in hospital. Again, thank you all for your continued wishes and prayers for my family. Very humbled and indebted. I'll beat this and come back healthier! Promise," he wrote.
Abhishek's wife, actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, 46, and eight-year-old daughter Aaradhya were discharged from the hospital on Monday after testing negative for Covid-19.
New Delhi, Jun 2: Actor Anushka Sharma on Tuesday exhorted people to maintain hygiene and advised to stop open defecation in a bid to avoid coronavirus spread.
As the country is grappling with the coronavirus crisis, the 'PK' actor has joined the initiative with the Swachh Bharat Mission, which aims to tell the people that the contagion can be curbed through strict sanitation process.
"When women all over the country had decided that they would educate everyone on the lesson of close the door, shun the disease, no one had thought that their initiative would turn into such a huge wave!," the actor was seen saying in a video posted in the official Twitter handle of Swachh Bharat I #IndiaFightsCorona.
"Today, in the time of coronavirus pandemic, we all have to again remember and remind others about the lesson of cleanliness," she added.
"If we take care of cleanliness around us, by not defecating in the open, we will keep ourselves healthy and India clean. We will become strong to fight against any kind of disease," the 32-year-old star said.
The 'Sultan' actor noted that by stopping defecating in open and closing the toilet door at all times can be a solid measure to drive the disease out of the country.
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