At this age and time of my life, I seek peace: Amitabh Bachchan

Agencies
November 6, 2017

Mumbai, Nov 6: Actor Amitabh Bachchan has spoken at length about his name featuring in the Panama papers and Bofors scandal, explaining that he has always cooperated with the "system" but wishes to be left alone at this stage of his life.

Bachchan wrote his anguished post on his blog yesterday and said, "Tomorrow there could be more and the process of cooperation shall continue..."

This morning, the Indian Express newspaper reported that the actor is one of the Indians figuring in the 'Paradise Papers', an investigation into offshore and banking assets carried out by the newspaper with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

The actor's post began as a response to a BMC notice sent to him for alleged "illegal construction" on his property.

"At this age and time of my life, I seek peace and freedom from prominence... To be left to lead the last few years of my life with and within myself... I do not seek epithets, I abhor them... I do not seek headlines, I do not deserve them... I do not seek acknowledgement, I am not qualified for it," Amitabh posted on his blog on Sunday.

He said he is yet to receive the notice from the authorities but, trusting the media reports, his lawyer has already given a statement on the matter.

The 75-year-old actor also talked about the controversy over his name featuring in the Panama Papers leak, another investigation done by Indian Express and ICIJ.

"In recent months I find my name appears again in the leaks of Panama, as produced by the Indian Express .. the paper has asked for reactions, for responses, for justification or not, for replies to their investigative queries."

The actor said two "instant replies" were given out by him of "denial and misuse of name" but the questions continued.

"Immediately after this, the system took over and since its revelation in the Express, has summoned me... at least 6 summons have been served to us and continue to come...

"Each one of them has been diligently, dutifully and duly replied to... personal appearances have been ordered, and we have made them at the varied different Agency Offices, both in Mumbai and in Delhi, both from Tax and Enforcement Departments and of their respective Intelligence Wings," Bachchan said.

The actor said some queries take time as the matter is more than 25 years old.

"It takes a while to dig out old files and to compile all that they want... the fullest cooperation has been extended at all hours as dutiful citizens... and even after, if there is any more query that needs to be addressed, we shall comply... It is the norm...," he said.

Bachchan said he will continue to cooperate if there is any fresh issue as he believes in abiding by the law of the land.

The actor also spoke about allegations against his family and him in the Bofors gun payoff scandal.

"There were allegations against my family and me in the Bofors Scandal... for years we were grilled, declared traitors, abused and humiliated by the hour for several years... when it became unbearable, we moved Court in the United Kingdom - for the requirement of speedy Justice .. we moved against a UK paper and won...," he said, adding while he suffered, those who accused him never faced anything.

The actor said it took 25 years for him to know that his name was planted in the scandal.

"When the media carried the news here in India, the press during one of its interactions with me asked me what I was going to do about it .. whether I would seek information on who did it, or seek retribution .. !!! WHAT RETRIBUTION AND INFORMATION WILL I SEEK ..? WILL IT TAKE AWAY THE YEARS OF SUFFERING AND MENTAL TORTURE THAT WE WENT THROUGH .. !!?? WILL IT CURE .. WILL IT REST .. ?? NO, IT WILL NOT .. so I told them, the media, I do not wish to make any comment on it .. the matter is over for me ..!

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News Network
January 30,2020

Mumbai, Jan 30: A day after a woman filed a complaint against Ganesh Acharya alleging that he had forced her to watch pornography, actor Tanushree Dutta said Bollywood should boycott the choreographer.

A 33-year-old woman, an assistant choreographer, has written to the National Commission for Women (NCW) alleging that Acharya used to make her watch porn videos whenever she visited his office in suburban Andheri.

She also alleged that Acharya and two women assaulted her during a function of the Indian Film and Television Choreographers Association (IFTCA) held in suburban Andheri on Sunday. A complaint has been filed in this regard with Amboli police.

"It's time Bollywood and the other Indian film industries boycott choreographer Ganesh Acharya completely. Hiding behind the male superstars who work with this despicable man, he has been abusing his power and position to harass, bully and take advantage of vulnerable young newcomers to the industry," Dutta said in a statement here.

Dutta had alleged that her co-star Nana Patekar harassed and misbehaved with her while shooting for a song for their 2008 film "Horn Ok Pleasss", and Acharya, who was the choreographer, introduced new steps which were "intimate".

Recalling the trauma she faced, Tanushree said even though Acharya was party to all the harassment she faced on the 'Horn ok Pleasss" set, he went on to spoil her name and reputation.

"Nobody had any regard for me and how much I had suffered psychologically and financially because of the turmoil I went though due to these people. I left the industry because I was so scared and hurt over the atrocious treatment meted out to me on 'Horn ok Pleasss' set.

"I had worked very sincerely to get to where I got in life and so went in shock for many years, over the whole episode on that set almost 12 years ago, that led to an attack on my car. They didn't just break my car, they broke my spirit that day," Dutta said, in reference to the attack on her car in 2008.

She expressed her displeasure over how "leading men" and "heroes" of Bollywood continued working with Acharya, whose most recent work includes "Simmba", "Zero", "Sanju" among others.

"Even after all the information of fraud, non payment of dues, sexual harassment of dancers, bullying and intimidation and even physical abuse of dancers is coming out about Ganesh Acharya in the media, if the actors, directors and producers still work with him, it would mean that they themselves are engaging in such acts also.

"It's a warning to the film industry to stay the hell away from Ganesh Acharya otherwise your own reputation will be joined to his character. I'm sure many more girls and boys will come out about his misbehaviour and shady business, opening floodgates in the future," she added.

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News Network
March 25,2020

New Delhi, Mar 25: Actor Priyanka Chopra on Tuesday night through an Instagram Live conversation put forward questions about coronavirus to World Health Organisation (WHO) experts and busted some myths about the global pandemic.

WHO General-Director Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's Technical Lead, were part of the live conversation which Priyanka shared on her Instagram. More than 45,000 fans participated in the session.

"There is so much information circulating about Covid-19. And right now we're all searching for clarity. My friends at @WHO and @glblctzn graciously brought the doctors working on the front lines here to give us answers straight from the experts. Please take some time to watch my IG Live with Dr. Tedros (General-Director at W.H.O.) and Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove (Technical Lead for Covid-19) from @WHO, who answered some questions that so many of you sent in," Chopra captioned the post.
Bollywood's 'Desi' girl also asked her fans to spread awareness about the disease and tag their friends and family in the post who are looking for answers and action steps.
PC even posted few questions submitted by the general populace and answers to the same on her Instagram story. The first question came from her husband, Nick Jonas, who also joined in on the conversation.

One of the questions was about the latest 21 day lockdown in India. Priyanka and Nick have been in self-isolation for weeks now.

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News Network
July 21,2020

Mumbai, Jul 21: Police have recorded statements ofthree psychiatrists and a psychotherapist as part of their probe into the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput last month, a senior official said on Monday.

Their "statements were recorded over the last three- four days" by the Bandra police who are probing the case, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IX) Abhishek Trimukhe.

The late actor was consulting these mental health professionals and hence their statements were recorded as part of the ongoing probe, police said.

Rajput was undergoing treatment for depression since November 2019, they said.

Rajput, 34, was found hanging in his suburban Bandra apartment on June 14 in what the police claimed was a case of suicide. In the initial investigation, the Mumbai police had found that the actor was under medication for depression.

So far, the police have recorded statements of over 36 people, including director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bollywood casting director Mukesh Chhabra, actress Sanjana Sanghi and Rajput's friend Sandip Singh, among others.

Rajput's friend, actor Rhea Chakraborty, has also given her statement to the police.

Filmmaker Aditya Chopra recorded his statement in connection with the case at the Versova Police Station on Saturday.

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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