Riz Ahmed becomes first Muslim and South-Asian male actor to win Emmy

Agencies
September 20, 2017

Los Angeles, Sept 20: British Pakistan actor Riz Ahmed became the first Muslim actor as well as the man of Asian descent to win an Emmy award at the TV's biggest night on Sunday and spoke about the "systematic issue of inclusion".

The actor took home the trophy for the outstanding lead actor in a limited series for "The Night Of", in which he plays, Nasir Khan, the son of a Pakistani cab driver from Queens who becomes a murder suspect.

Ahmed is the second Asian actor ever to receive the honour, following "The Good Wife" star Archie Panjabi, who won the supporting actress award in a drama series in 2010.

In his speech, he talked about the importance of the Innocence Project and the New York-based South Asian Youth Action organisation.

"I want to say it is always strange reaping the rewards of a story that's based on real world suffering, but if this show has shown a light on some of the prejudice in our societies, Islamophobia, some of the injustice in our justice system, then maybe that is something.

"I don't know if any one person's win changes something that's a systemic issue of inclusion. In this industry, that's something that happens slowly over time," he said in his powerful speech on stage.

Ahmed, 34, praised Ed Skrein's decision to step away from the part of an Asian character in "Hellboy" reboot to give chance to a more deserving actor.

Ahmed said it was important to represent cultural authenticity in roles and Skrein's example will lead to more awareness around the conversation.

Born in London to a British Pakistani family, Ahmed was initially known for his work in independent films, such as "The Road to Guantanamo", "Shifty", "Four Lions", "Trishna" and Mira Nair's "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" before his breakout role in "Nightcrawler" in 2014, alongside Jake Gyllenhaal.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Bihar, Mar 5: A complaint has been filed before a court in Bihar against lyricist Javed Akhtar over his remarks on the FIRs being registered against expelled AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in the wake of Delhi riots.

The complaint was lodged on Wednesday by Amit Kumar, a local advocate, before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Thakur Aman Kumar.

On the basis of a newspaper report, the complainant has alleged that Akhtar's remarks were seditious and promoted religious hatred.

The media report was based on Akhtar's tweet of February 27 that "So many killed, so many injured, so many houses burned, so many shops looted so many people turned destitute but police has sealed only one house and looking for his owner. Incidentally, his name is Tahir. Hats off to the consistency of the Delhi police."

The violence in northeast Delhi claimed at least 42 lives and left over 200 injured. The former Rajya Sabha member was heavily trolled for the tweet.

In a subsequent tweet, Akhtar who asserted that he is a non-believer and a rationalist, had clarified that he was not asking "why Tahir but why ONLY Tahir and not even an FIR against those who have openly threatened violence in the presence of the police".

The matter is likely to come up for hearing on March 25.

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Agencies
July 8,2020

Mumbai: The 11th edition of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival is going virtual this year due to the COVID-19 lockdown. The festival is coming up with a full-slate of 157 films from 42 countries.

Tipped as South Asia's biggest LGBTQIA+ film festival, it is the first Indian film festival to come up with a slate of new programs for this year.

The slate of films include 30 films from India, as well as films from countries like Belarus, Iran, Iceland, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, Tunisia, etc.

"We are extremely delighted to launch the registration for the KASHISH 2020 Virtual with a full slate of films as well as panel discussions, filmmaker Q&As, etc, almost replicating the ground event. Only this year not only Mumbaikars but people across India and the world can participate in the festival and enjoy amazing LGBTQIA+ films, discussions and performances!", said Sridhar Rangayan, festival director.

"We are thrilled by almost 95 per cent of the filmmakers whose films were selected to screen at the ground festival, agreeing to screen with us at our online festival. We are overwhelmed by the response from the filmmakers, and we are really glad to reach their films out to the world. This speaks a lot about their trust and support towards the festival", said Saagar Gupta, Director, Programming.

The registrations to attend the festival is now open and details can be viewed at the festival website http://mumbaiqueerfest.com/attend/ along with information about the film line-up. There are early-bird full-festival passes at a modest price in India and outside India. The early-bird offer will be open for a week.

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News Network
March 27,2020

New Delhi, Mar 27: By posting a stunning picture of herself, actor Kareena Kapoor Khan on Friday motivated people to stay strong during the tough times that the country is facing amid the coronavirus crisis.
The actor took to Instagram and posted a high-on-style picture of herself clicked from behind.
In the picture, the 'Jab We Met' actor is seen standing in front of make-up mirrors that had lights adding on to the shine of the picture.
"Nothing can dim the light that shines from within... Stay strong. We can and we will," she captioned the picture in which she is seen wearing a blue bodycon dress having puffy sleeves.
The glamourous picture received scores of comments from the celebrated actor's fans.
With the entertainment industry under shutdown, many celebrities are self-isolating them to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus rose to 724 on Friday, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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