VHP's plea against Kamal Haasan’s ‘Uttama Villain’ dismissed

Mumbai, Jan 9: Actor Juhi Chawla on Wednesday said instead of constantly criticising the government, one should reflect on own conduct and talk about uniting rather than dividing.

The actor attended an event which aimed to counter "Free Kashmir (narrative), anti-India slogans, false propaganda and clear the misconception."

Juhi said as artistes, it's unfair to be questioned about incidents "just for a reaction" when they should be given time to truly understand the situation.

"We are going to work, thinking how to execute our task, then some incident happens somewhere and suddenly the media asks, 'what do you think about this?' We haven't understood the matter, people haven't understood the matter but you need a reaction.

"Let people understand, whether it's NRC or CAA, and what's is it about, why is this being talked about," Juhi told reporters.

The actor said it is sad that people talk about division more than unity.

"Everyone is quick to talk about dividing. Why don't we talk about uniting? Why does everyone say 'what is the government doing, why is it doing this?' but I say if you point one finger there then three fingers are at you.

Mumbai, Jun 9: Actor Sonu Sood, who has been arranging transport for migrant workers stranded in Mumbai and has faced criticism from the Shiv Sena for "enacting a political script written by BJP", was stopped outside the Bandra Terminus in Mumbai by police from meeting labourers.

A Mumbai Police official said the actor was stopped by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) when he reached the station on Monday night to meet some labourers, and added that they have not received any complaint so far in this connection.

The migrant labourers were supposed to take the Shramik Special train from Bandra Terminus to Uttar Pradesh.

Mumbai's Nirmal Nagar police station's senior inspector Shashikant Bhandare told news agency PTI that "The actor was stopped by the RPF, not by us. He wanted to meet labourers who were going to their native place. We have not received any complaint regarding this till now."

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday wondered whether the BJP propped up Sonu Sood to "offer help" to migrant workers from north India stranded in Maharashtra amidst the lockdown, with the political motive to show the Uddhav Thackeray government in poor light.

In his weekly column 'Rokhthok' in Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', Sanjay Raut questioned the sudden rise of "Mahatma" Sood on the social scene of Maharashtra during the lockdown.

Mr Raut also referred to an alleged "sting operation" against Sonu Sood ahead of the 2019 general elections, saying he had agreed to promote the BJP-led government at various platforms through his official social media accounts.

However, later that day Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray lauded Sonu Sood's initiative to arrange buses for stranded migrant workers.

The actor met Uddhav Thackeray at the latter's residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra on Sunday night.

On Monday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh backed Sonu Sood for his work for stranded migrant workers, and questioned the Maharashtra government's criticism of the actor.

Patna, Jan 22: Actor Kangana Ranaut has expressedher desire to make a movie on Chandragupta, the shepherd-turned-emperor who founded the Maurya dynasty, noting that the film industry has “not done enough justice to our history”.

The national award winner was here to take part in a programme organised by the publishers of a leading Hindi daily where she performed a jig to the tunes of Bhojpuri songs along with actor-turned-politician Ravi Kishan before the duo participated in a question and answer session.  Replying to the questions posed by Kishan, who is also the BJP MP from Gorakhpur, Ranaut on Tuesday said it was her second trip to Bihar.

“The last time, I was here as a child though I have not yet got a chance to explore the state with which I feel a connect as my Yoga teacher has his roots here,” she said.

Ranaut, who won acclaim for portraying Rani Laxmibai, the valiant queen of Jhansi who took on the British during the revolt of 1857 -- in ‘Manikarnika’, when asked if she would like to be associated with a film on any historical figure from Bihar, said, “It would be Chandragupta Maurya. The film industry has not done much justice to our history”.

A self-confessed admirer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the 32-year-old, who has won three National Awards in the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories, replied in the affirmative when asked about reports that she has turned producer and her first venture is based on the theme of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The Himachal Pradesh-born actress, who has courted controversy for taking on well-entrenched Bollywood “insiders” like Karan Johar and Hrithik Roshan, said she has had a rebellious streak since childhood and shared an anecdote about her breaking her teacher’s stick upon being hit for chatting with a classmate in school.

When Kishan asked why she has gained so much weight, Ranaut replied it was in preparation for her upcoming biopic “Thalaivi”, based on late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

The actress said her forthcoming release “Panga” is a family drama.

Ranaut said after landing in Patna, she gorged on ‘Litti Chokha’, a local delicacy.

She also regaled the audience by greeting them in Bhojpuri and repeating several commonly used phrases of the dialect after Kishan.