Agents of Pak artistes accused of demanding payment in black

November 16, 2016

New Delhi, Nov 16: Agents of Pakistani artistes like Fawad Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shafaqat Amanat Ali, Mawra Hocane and Imran Abbas Naqvi are involved in black moneytransactions in India, a sting by Hindi news channel News18 India has alleged.

fawadThe news channel's sting report comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 announced the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes to curb black money in India.

The sting operation, carried out by News18 India over a fortnight ago in New Delhi and Mumbai, was aired on Tuesday night.

According to a statement issued by the channel, undercover reporters caught on camera the "agents of the Pakistani artistes" demanding majority of their fee in black. The fee was for appearance in wedding ceremonies.

While a few demanded part of the fee in cash, others wanted it transferred to their bank accounts in Australia or Dubai, the statement alleged.

The formal contract, however, reflected a paltry sum as compared to the amount agreed upon, the News18 India statement read.

As per the sting, Fawad's manager demanded Rs 50 lakh for a two-hour appearance. He demanded that the payment should be made in black and white. The black money component was to be 25 per cent of the deal amount and the rest was to be transferred to the actor`s UAE-based bank account, the statement alleged.

Singers Shafqat Amanat Ali's manager and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's representative demanded Rs 35 lakh and Rs 65 lakh respectively. Whereas, the former's contract showed just Rs 8 lakh, the latter's showed Rs 23 lakh, including taxes, News18 India said.

Actor Imran's manager demanded Rs 35 lakh for a performance, with Rs 32 lakh to be paid in black while the contract was to reflect a fee of just Rs 300,000.

Mawra's Pakistan-based manager demanded Rs 50 lakh for a two-hour appearance and asked for Rs 25 lakh in cash to be paid to her contact in Mumbai. The rest was to be transferred to her Australian bank account, the channel statement said.

News18 India said that since all the Pakistani artistes come to India on a work permit obtained through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for professional engagement, these activities violate statutory laws.

The insistence for payment in black money also violates Service Tax and Income Tax laws.

The details of the sting operation could not be independently verified.

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News Network
June 19,2020

Mumbai, Jun 19: Actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s memories will continue to be celebrated as Instagram has memorialised his account, adding “remembering” to his bio.

Rajput, 34, known for films like "Kai Po Che!", "MS Dhoni: The Untold Story", "Chhichhore", was found dead in his Bandra apartment on Sunday, sending shockwaves in the film industry and elsewhere.

Days after his untimely demise, Instagram added “remembering” to his account bio and memorialised it as a place to remember the actor’s life.

According to the photo-video sharing website, no one can log into a memorialised account. The posts the deceased person shared, including photos and videos, stay on their page and are visible to the users they were shared with.

Also, once the account is memorialised, no one will be able to make changes to any of the existing posts or information.

The actor’s last post on the social media platform was a tribute to his late mother on June 3.

Rajput’s death is being investigated by the Mumbai Police and so far statements of over 13 people, including actor’s family members and close friends, including actor Rhea Chakraborty and casting director Mukesh Chhabra, have been recorded.

The police have also sent a letter to Yash Raj Films seeking details of the contracts it had signed with him.

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Agencies
April 25,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 25: Malayalam actor Ravi Vallathol, well-known for his acting in television serials and movies, passed away on Saturday at a hospital here, family sources said.

Vallathol, son of drama legend T N Gopinathan Nair and Soudamini, was the nephew of the famous Malayalam poet Vallathol Narayana Menon.

The veteran actor had appeared in around 50 Malayalam movies and more than 50 television serials starting from1986 with the serial 'Vaitharani' on Doordarshan.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi VIjayan expressed condolences on the passing away of the actor.

"He had an extraordinary ability to immortalise the characters with a wide range of emotions," Vijayan said, adding that, his demise was a loss to both theatre, film and TV serial industry.

Opposition Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala also condoled the demise of the Vallathol.

Chennithala remembered Vallathol as a brilliant writer and social activist. Vallathol made his film debut in 'Swathi Thirunal' directed by the late Lenin Rajendran in 1987.

He had also played versatile characters in hit movies movies including Godfather, Mathilukal, Sargam, Vidheyan, Kottayam Kunjachan, Naalu Penningal, Idukki Gold among others.

He has penned more than 25 short stories among which two were adapted into television series.

He is survived by his wife Geethalakshmi.

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News Network
January 13,2020

Mumbai, Jan 13: On the ongoing protests against new Citizenship Law, Bollywood actor Zeeshan Ayub said that everyone has been exposed and the common man has understood everything and the right-wing people cannot make a fool out of them by giving vague statements.

Talking to ANI, Zeeshan said, "Law is supposed to give the citizenship but the way in which the criteria have been changed is the trouble here."

Disagreeing to the continuous statements put forward by the BJP government that CAA is not a hindrance to the citizenship, the actor further said, Things are clear now, people have now understood the facts, the people and the intention behind are now exposed,.. they can't make a fool out of common people any more."

Zeeshan said it actually the other way round, those people are the ones who are misleading the general public by fluctuating their own statements. "Home minister said something, the next day something else is being said in the Ram leela..people are getting confused., the 'Ranjahanna' actor added.

He further said, "Earlier it was Hindu-Muslim propaganda, but that didn't work, so now you are making it a case between two political parties.. basically you are changing your own statements." When asked about his take on the ongoing JNU Violence, the actor said the members of the alleged political party itself have come out and explained their part in the case and yet no action has been taken.

The actor finally said that people should develop a sense of humanity.

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