Actor Kamal drops another hint at taking political plunge

Agencies
October 26, 2017

Chennai, Oct 26: Giving further indication of taking a political plunge, veteran star Kamal Haasan has said he will come out with a 'communication strategy' on his birthday next month to keep in touch with youth.

"I can see that a youth force is waiting to be coordinated," the national award winner said. Enough pinpointings of shortcomings and "loot" has been made and the time has come for a "surgery" but any kind of "armed revolution" will bear no fruit since it involved more loss of humans, he said.

Writing in his weekly series in Tamil magazine 'Ananda Vikatan,' the actor titled it this week as "Be prepared..will tell all on November 7," which happens to be his birthday. His remarks come amidst strong buzz in political circles that he might make a concrete announcement on his political entry that day.

Expressing confidence in the youth population aged 18-35 years, he said he was "proud of" the thoughts and philosophy he had developed during the age group of 18-35 years.

"I can see that a youth force is waiting.. The requirement and duty for me to coordinate them has come.. I am going to work out and announce a way of seamless communication with them on November 7." "This will be not to interact, but will be one of training and workshops that will make plans," he said. 

His aim was not to just convene an assembly of supporters but a "large council of leaders," he said, adding the agenda of such an initiative will not be to just hold talks but to work out plans. 

Haasan said only those who wanted to do something for Tamil Nadu as a "duty" and not as a "sacrifice" are welcome to join him. "Enough of (hopes) that they (apaprently government) will do.. We can do.. I can do.. If I can do, you can do too," the multiple award-winning star said. 

Many organisations were ready to work with his movement, he said and pointed out one such group working against graft and hailed it for its contribution. He said efforts were on to ensure that he and his supporters were in touch with each other, besides the latter communication with people. "Announcements on these will be made on November 7," he added. Haasan has been critical of the AIADMK government, and had a few months ago charged it with corruption, drawing strong rebuke from the ruling party including Chief Minister K Palaniswami. Ever since, the actor has been vocal about many social and political issues, including outbreak of dengue and the Supreme Court's observation on playing national anthem in cinema theatres. 

He had recently extended support to the crew of Tamil film 'Mersal', starring Vijay, which had BJP fuming at some mocking references to Goods and Services Tax (GST) rolled out by the NDA government. The party had demanded deletion of the scenes saying 'incorrect references' had been made about the tax regime. Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had met Haasan on September 21 here, setting off speculations of a new political alignment in the state where the former's AAP hardly has any presence.

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News Network
January 27,2020

Los Angeles, Jan 27: Lil Nas X, Lady Gaga, Beyonce and... Michelle Obama?

Yep.

The former first lady can now add Grammy winner to her resume, after snagging the award on music's biggest night for Best Spoken Word Album, for the audiobook of her memoir Becoming.

Her win on Sunday gives the Obama household its third Grammy: former president Barack Obama has already snagged two Grammys in the same category for his books.

She faced an eccentric group of rivals that included Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys for Beastie Boys Book and John Waters, the director-performer known for his transgressive cult films, for Mr. Know-It-All.

 Released in late 2018, Becoming saw the former first lady slam U.S. president Donald Trump for questioning her husband's citizenship and promoting the notion that he was born abroad.

"The whole [birther] thing was crazy and mean-spirited, of course, its underlying bigotry and xenophobia hardly concealed," Obama wrote.

America's first black first lady also dug into her personal life in her book, expounding on issues including a miscarriage, using in-vitro fertilization to conceive her daughters and marriage counseling.

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Agencies
May 17,2020

Mumbai, May 17: TV actor Manmeet Grewal, who worked on shows like "Aadat Se Majboor" and "Kuldeepak", committed suicide after struggling with dwindling finances amid lockdown, family friend-producer Manjit Singh Rajput said.

Grewal, who was originally from Punjab, hanged himself on Friday night at his Kharghar residence here where he lived with his wife. He was 32.

Rajput, who had known Grewal for nearly seven years, said the actor was facing "financial crisis" and wasn't able to earn due to the lockdown. 

"He was going through a major financial issue and he was also in depression. The added pressure of not being able to repay loans amid this (no work phase) got to him. His wife is completely shocked and devastated," Rajput told PTI.

The producer said last rites of the actor were performed on Saturday. 

Grewal was working on projects like a webseries and some commercials, which were put on hold due to the nationwide lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

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News Network
July 18,2020

Mumbai, Jul 18: Filmmaker and Yash Raj Films (YRF) chairman Aditya Chopra on Saturday recorded his statement with the Mumbai Police in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput death case, an official said.

Police have sought information about a contract signed between Rajput and YRF from Chopra who visited Versova police station this morning and left after four hours, the official said.

The "Chhichore" actor, 34, was found hanging at his apartment in Mumbai on June 14. No suicide note was found from the spot by the police.

The police are investigating allegations that professional rivalry, besides clinical depression, drove the actor to suicide.

Police are also trying to understand the reason behind Rajput ending his contract with YRF, the official said.

Earlier, the police had recorded statement of YRF's casting director Shanoo Sharma.

The police had recorded statements of 34 persons, including Rajput's family members and close friends like actors Rhea Chakraborty and Sanjana Sanghi, in connection with the case.

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Friday dismissed the need for a CBI probe into the death case of Rajput, saying the Mumbai police are capable of handling the matter.

On Thursday, Rhea Chakraborty demanded a CBI inquiry to understand what "pressures" prompted Rajput to take the extreme step of suicide.

Rajput starred in films such as Shuddh Desi Romance', Raabta, Kedarnath and Sonchiriya. But his most prominent role came as cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the biopic, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story.

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