We have always needed funny philosophers: 'Patriot Act' star Hasan Minhaj

Agencies
November 24, 2018

New Delhi, Nov 24: Stand-up comedy's newest star Hasan Minhaj believes his Indian-American-Muslim identity gives him a certain edge, becoming "superpowers" in his "utility box" to help him take on all the "crazy stuff happening in politics and culture".

Minhaj, whose parents migrated to the US from Aligarh, began his comedy career on American late-night talk program, "The Daily Show", and rose to prominence after hosting the White House Correspondents Dinner last year where he roasted US President Donald Trump.

Trump, in a departure from tradition, skipped the event.

Minhaj, 33, followed that high profile act with "The Homecoming King" on Netflix, a huge hit that paved the way for "The Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj".

"I used to hate being Hasan Minhaj because people could not pronounce my name, people don't know who I am, they don't know anything about Indians, about Muslims. What am I? Now I have all these identities. These are superpowers in my utility box. I can use them at any point. It's cool," he said when asked about using his background as an asset in his comedy.

While "The Homecoming King" was more personal with Minhaj talking about being an immigrant and struggling with his dual identities, his new show focuses on politics, both American and global.

"I definitely think that it (his identity) gives me a comedic edge, for sure. Stand-up comedy is an art form, which involves a single performer on stage, sharing his/her perspective. It is one of the few art forms where individuality and uniqueness are honoured more than anything else," Minhaj told PTI over the phone.

He peppers his conversation with a unique blend of words, bringing in perspectives from American and Indian pop culture.

Minhaj, who often uses Hindi words such as "Log kya kahenge (what will people say) to drive his point home, finds it interesting that all the stuff that he thought was "weird" while growing up has become cool now.

"I used to think this stuff is so weird and then I was like 'No, it's not. It's who I am. I'm an immigrant.' The way I grew up with movies and pop culture... One of the things that I want to do is to add our culture to American popular culture."

"The Patriot Act", a pulpy, satirical take on topics such as America's marriage of convenience with Saudi Arabia (his words), oil, affirmative action and Amazon, is like "taking coffee and making a coffee espresso", he said.

"I realised my strength as a performer is having that longer runway. It takes the plane up and it takes longer to take off. You get to build a larger narrative arc, something that I never really got a chance to do on 'The Daily Show' because as a correspondent, you are servicing the show and the format."

The comedian says he wanted everything that he learnt from the four years he spent on "The Daily Show" to start his own venture of political storytelling.

"The power of both music and comedy as an art form is being able to distil esoteric things into their essence. If you see a great song, a joke or watch a great show, you go, 'that's exactly how I feel, thank you for saying this'. The magic of such shows and political satire is trying to take things that are otherwise esoteric and boring and translate it into something that is a really funny," he said.

In Minhaj's view, comedy has always been an "amazing" art form globally and is seeing a resurgence with the popularity of streaming services like Netflix.

"Comedy is suddenly given the stage and respect that it had in the '90s when cable companies started putting it on TV. It has heightened because of the internet. There are no borders to it, which is exciting. It has always been an important art form. We have always needed funny philosophers."

And comedy can be a great tool in highlighting elements that are important at a time when there are so many divisions everywhere, he said.

"I think with everything that's going on not only in our country but also in India, all the crazy stuff happening in politics and culture, civility, respect and the ability to laugh at yourself are the things that are really important.

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Agencies
June 15,2020

Mumbai, Jun 15: Actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death has reignited the discussions around the struggle of survival in Bollywood, with many insiders highlighting "cruel and unforgiving" nature of the industry, particularly tough on outsiders.

Rajput was found hanging in his Bandra apartment on Sunday.

According to a police official, Mumbai Police found out during the probe that the 34-year-old actor was under medication for depression.

An engineering student, Rajput left his course at the Delhi Technological University in the early 2000s and rose from a background dancer to a TV star with soap opera Pavitra Rishta, which gave the "outsider" his breakout show in 2009.

In 2013, he made his Bollywood debut with Kai Po Che! and went on to star in films such as Shuddh Desi Romance, Raabta, Kedarnath, Sonchiriya and Chhichhore.

But his most prominent role came as cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni's in the 2007 biopic, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story.

In a telling tweet, veteran actor Dharmendra wrote despite not knowing Rajput personally, his death served as a reminder that the industry could be "cruel".

"Pyaare Sushant, naa film dekhi na kabhi mila tum se... par tere achaanak chale jaane se bada sadma laga. This beautiful beloved 'show business" is very cruel. I can imagine your unbearable pain. I share the pain of your loving family and friends," Dharmendra wrote.

Actor Meera Chopra penned a powerful, poignant note about the loneliness one feels working in an industry, which is "cold and ruthless".

"We all knew well that Sushant was going through depression since long, but what did we do? Where was his close circle, the directors and producers he's worked with, his close friends? Why nobody came out and helped, gave him the kind of love, the work that he wanted - because nobody cares," she wrote on Twitter.

The Section 375 actor, who has been vocal about feeling suffocated by the constant judgement from the industry colleagues, said nobody in Bollywood cares about what one's going through and artistes are just a flop away from being alienated.

Chopra said the industry has "failed" Rajput and Bollywood will now never be the same.

"True, Bollywood is a small family, but a kind of family which is never there when you need them. He had to take his life for that family to realise the kind of pain and need he was in. An outsider will always feel like an outsider here.

"I just want to say to my industry that help people when they need it, and you know when they need it. There is no point tweeting when they are no more. Don't pretend to be sad when you guys didn't do anything when he was sad. Stop being such a hypocritical society," she added.

Gulshan Devaiah said, as an actor, one could understand why Rajput would've taken the step to end his life.

"As actors, somewhere deep down inside, we think we know why he did it and that’s why it so disturbing even if you didn’t know him at all. It’s a hard game to play and he played it very well but the game won in the end," Devaiah wrote.

Quoting Chopra's tweet, the Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota star dismissed the idea of Bollywood being a family.

"If one thinks it’s a family, there is the problem. Bollywood is an imaginary name for a place of work, that’s it. I am really not trying to put anybody down here and sorry if it seems," he wrote.

On Sunday, actor-producer Nikhil Dwivedi posted a strongly-worded tweet calling out the "hypocrisy" of the industry after people from the film fraternity wrote they regretted not staying in touch with the "Chhichhore" star.

"High and mighty announcing they should have kept in touch with Sushant. Come on, you didn't! And that's because his career dipped. So STFU! Are you in touch with Imran Khan, Abhay Deol and others? No! But you were, when they were doing well," Dwivedi said.

Similar sentiment was echoed by filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, who, without taking names, said the "Bollywood Privilege Club" must sit down and think hard.

"Now don't ask me to elaborate any further," he tweeted.

Addressing outsiders, filmmaker Hansal Mehta wrote a long thread about the two ends of an artiste's time in the industry - the glorious successes and the crushing lows.

"There are many young 'outsiders' in this industry. Remember this - there is an establishment that will make you feel like the next big thing until they need you. They will drop you and mock you as soon as you falter. Do not fall for the trap. The ones that celebrate you will celebrate your downfall some time later," he tweeted.

Mehta said it's important for those who don't come from a film family to not force themselves to fit in.

"Just be authentic, follow your heart and stop seeking acceptance from anybody. Your connection should be with your art, your craft and with your audience. Nothing else matters. Over the years you will succeed, you will stumble.

"But remember that nothing is more important than you. Look after yourself. And know that you matter. The world is much bigger and wiser than what you perceive. So are opportunities. If you stay they will be yours. Lots of love. Never lose heart," the filmmaker wrote.

Celebrity hairstylist-turned-director Sapna Bhavnani claimed that Rajput's battle with mental health was out in the open and yet the industry chose to look the other way.

"It’s no secret Sushant was going through very tough times for the last few years. No one in the industry stood up for him nor did they lend a helping hand. To tweet today is the biggest display of how shallow the industry really is. No one here is your friend," she wrote on Twitter.

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News Network
May 30,2020

California, May 30: Priyanka Chopra Jonas on Saturday shared a gorgeous sunkissed selfie sporting cherry lips and beaded dangler earrings.

The multi-talented star who owns a production house put out a morning selfie on Instagram wherein she is seen sporting a white collared top, flaunting her cherry red lips and dangler earrings as she embraces her peach glow in the sheer sunlight, while her shiny curls bounce the sunshine.

Along with the picture, the 'The Sky Is Pink' actor wrote, "A cherry lip and sunshine...maybe even a earring...I'm feeling adventurous."

On sharing the gorgeous selfie, the Chopra received heaps of praises from fans and celebrity followers, and the post reached more than 1.9 lakh likes including one for Sussanne Khan.

Model Masaba Gupta also chimed in the comment section and adored the beauty of the 'Baywatch' star writing, "Stunning" with a heart emoticon.

Currently, the actor is quarantined in her California house along with singer and husband Nick Jonas and has been quite active on social media.

Earlier, Priyanka recalled her parents' service in the Indian Army as America observed Memorial Day, and the 37-year-old actor dug out an old picture of her parents in uniform and posted it on Instagram.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

Washington D.C., Jan 16: Barbara Broccoli, who has since long been the producer of the James Bond franchise, recently clarified in an interview that the 007 character won't be played by a woman in the forthcoming rendition.

Broccoli, accompanied by her half brother and fellow producer Michael G. Wilson, told Variety: "He can be of any color, but he is male."

She went on to say: "I believe we should be creating new characters for women -- strong female characters. I'm not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that."

According to Fox News, the current Bond hero, Daniel Craig, announced last November that he would cease to play the legendary character once he is done with the upcoming 'No Time To Die' movie that is scheduled for release in coming April.

Commenting on Daniel parting ways with the franchise, Broccoli said: "I'm in total denial. I've accepted what Daniel has said, but I'm still in denial. It's too traumatic for me."

Fox News reported last July that the British Actress Lashana Lynch could possibly star in the 2020 Bond flick, but such speculations were dispelled once the trailer for the movie was brought out last December.

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