Actor Mamta Kulkarni's role in hubby's drug ring under scanner

April 28, 2016

Mumbai, Apr 28: The Thane police, which seized 20 tonnes of ephedrine in a record haul this month, is investigating reports that actor Mamta Kulkarni is a central figure in the international drug ring that tried to smuggle in the contraband.

MamtaThe development came as investigators revealed on Wednesday that Mamta's Kenya-based husband, Vicky Goswami, was the kingpin of the drug operation.

Vicky has a well-known history of serious drug offences. In 1997, he was arrested for drug trafficking in Dubai and served 15 years in a prison there. He later moved with Mamta to the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, where he is currently facing fresh charges. He is wanted by the US and the Thane police for drug offences. "This is an international racket and Vicky Goswami is the main link to it. As for Mamta Kulkarni, we are probing her role," Thane police commissioner Parambir Singh said, referring to the ephedrine haul.

Vicky was named as the prime suspect after the police received information about his operations from the United States' Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) on Tuesday.

Mamta, who is believed to be in Kenya currently, featured in several Bollywood movies in the 1990s, including the Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Karan Arjun. While senior Thane officers did not divulge details about her role in her husband's drug syndicate, sources in the police said she was the face of the ring.

As Vicky cannot leave Kenya because of an Interpol notice against him, he asked Mamta to meet clients in Dubai, Singapore, South Africa and the US, said a Thane police officer, who didn't want to be named.

Mamta allegedly also struck business deals with drug networks in Maharashtra, and Vicky used her name to carry out bank transactions. The couple allegedly also routed huge sums from drug deals through the hawala channel.

Mamta apparently never came under the authorities' scanner until now. Meanwhile, the Crime Branch on Tuesday arrested one Punit Shringi, who was allegedly the main link between Vicky and drug cartels in Mumbai and Thane.Shringi has reportedly revealed that Manoj Jain, a director of a firm called, was also involved and had met Vicky several times in Kenya.

The 20 tonnes of ephedrine was seized from a Solapur factory earlier this month. According to the Thane police, gangs in India, Poland and some other European countries had planned to send the consignment to Eastern Europe from Mumbai via Gujarat.

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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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News Network
May 8,2020

London, May 8: Actor Florence Pugh says the most terrifying aspect of starring in the upcoming superhero film "Black Widow" was doing the Russian accent.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe's stand-alone film, the Oscar-nominated actor plays Yelena Belova, a sister-figure to Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff/ the titular Black Widow who was trained in the Red Room.

"I was scared because my Russian accent was going to be out there and I didn't know what it sounded like.

"I'm also playing a character who no-one's seen before but they've read about her. I didn't know whether people were going to hate me!" Pugh told ELLE UK for its June issue.

The 24-year-old actor also said the idea of joining the MCU itself was quite "daunting".

"When you think of Marvel, it's big and daunting. Especially being a relatively small actor to look at it and go, 'Oh! I'm going to be a part of this', that's a big decision," she said.

"Black Widow", which was scheduled to hit the theatres on May 1, will now release on November 6 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Directed by Cate Shortland, the film also stars David Harbour and Rachel Weisz.

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News Network
February 9,2020

New Delhi, Feb 9: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani got emotional while watching the movie "Shikara: The Untold Story Of Kashmiri Pandits". It is a Hindi-language period film produced and directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir.

In a video clip, the political veteran is seen trying to hold back his tears at the end of the film while Mr Chopra rushes to console him. Other people around them were also seen getting emotional and congratulating the filmmaker for the movie.

"Shikara" is about how Kashmiri Pandits were forced to flee from their houses in the Kashmir Valley in early 1990, in the wake of insurgency. The filmmaker said the film showcases how Kashmiri Pandits rebuilt their lives in the aftermath of the tragic event.

Featuring Aadil Khan and Sadia, Shikara released on February 7. Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who is from Kashmir, dedicates his movie to his mother, who died in 2007.

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Abdul Gaffar Bolar
 - 
Monday, 10 Feb 2020

Does this man know the trouble and pain of humans???

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