Anupam Kher in war of words with Gujarat riots director

April 23, 2014

Anupam_KherMumbai, Apr 23: The documentary ‘The Final Solution’ based on the communal riots that tore Gujarat apart in 2002, has caught its director Rakesh Sharma in a war of words against Anupam Kher. The popular actor has been accused of stalling the clearance of the documentary as the chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

Kher headed CBFC from October, 2003 to October, 2004. According to reports, Sharma has alleged that the veteran actor put obstructions to the release of his documentary ‘The Final Solution’, and that it could only reach audience after the UPA government was voted to power in 2004.

Sharma was reportedly quoted by a news channel as saying, “‘The Final Solution’ was cleared when the UPA was in power, and not under NDA. Kher’s regime as Censor Board chief was the worst as he has feudal mindset.”

Sharma also alleged that Kher and his team went ahead and had the film banned and then when the regime changed, the film was cleared without any cuts under a panel headed by noted director Shyam Benegal.

Reportedly Kher said, “If as he (Sharma) claims it was cleared under UPA does it mean the Congress sponsored the film? Is Sharmila Tagore a Congress supporter just because UPA appointed her? It’s only on merit we are selected.”

Incidentally, Sharmila Tagore, a leading actor of the 1960s and 1970s, succeeded Kher as the chairperson of CBFC in 2004.

According to a news channel report, Kher credited the attack on him for stopping the release of ‘The Final Solution’ as a response to his decision to back Narendra Modi, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. “Don’t make me feel guilty for backing Modi. One doesn’t become pro-Hindu or pro-Hindutva simply because one thinks Modi is a good leader,” Kher was quoted by NDTV.

In a series of tweets in the early hours on Sunday morning, Kher reportedly wrote, “People like Rakesh Sharma have their own agendas. But this time he stands exposed. Let him produce d proof tat I did’t pass his documentary. Pseudo Seculars r cowards. They rely on lies. They are frightened people who hide behind agendas. God save our country from such people.”

Kher claimed his stand and said that he, along with other members of the censor board were behind clearing the film, and that Sharma had also thanked him for it.

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News Network
June 15,2020

Mumbai, Jun 15: Actor Sushant Singh Rajput's brother-in-law O.P. Singh, who is the Additional Director General of Police and posted as Special Officer in the Haryana Chief Minister's Office, suspected some foul play in the crime, it is reliably learnt on Monday. He is seeking a thorough probe into the incident.

"Sushant Singh Rajput has been murdered, he cannot commit suicide. I demand CBI enquiry into the matter," Jan Adhikar Party Chief Pappu Yadav told media persona at the actor’s residence in Patna, where his family resides.

The 34-year-old actor was found hanging at his apartment in Mumbai's Bandra on Sunday.

His sister lives in Chandigarh.

State officials said Singh has left for Mumbai soon he came to know about the suicide incident.

Expressing condolences, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said actor Rajput's death is an "irreparable loss" to not only the film industry but also for the entire society.

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News Network
July 14,2020

Los Angeles, Jul 14: US officials on Monday found the body of "Glee" actress Naya Rivera in the Californian lake where she drowned last week during a boat trip with her four-year-old son.

Rivera's body was retrieved and an initial examination found no evidence of foul play or suicide, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub told a press conference.

"We are confident the body we found is that of Naya Rivera," said Ayub, pointing to the location, appearance, clothing and condition of the body.

Her body was being taken to a medical examiner's office for a full autopsy and confirmation of her identity from dental records, though no other missing persons have been reported at Lake Piru, he added.

Rivera, 33, is believed to have accidentally drowned after renting the boat with her young son at the camping and recreational hotspot around an hour's drive northwest of Los Angeles.

She vanished on Wednesday afternoon, and a massive search involving divers, patrol boats and helicopters was launched after her sleeping son was spotted drifting alone in a boat on the lake.

The son later told investigators that Rivera had helped him into the boat before "he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water," said the sheriff.

Ayub pointed to the lake's strong currents as a possible cause of a fatal accident.

"The idea perhaps being that the boat started drifting -- it was unanchored -- and that she mustered enough energy to get her son back onto the boat, but not enough to save herself," he said.

The lake has been closed to the public since Wednesday, with around 100 personnel, including the US Coast Guard and rescuers from neighboring counties, joining the search.

Search teams used footage from video messaging calls Rivera made from the boat before her disappearance, as well as interviews with her son, to scour portions of the lake bed for her remains over six days, with no success.

"We believe she was concealed within some of the shrubbery on the floor bed of the lake" before eventually floating to the surface due to natural decomposition, said Ayyub.

With less than one foot (30 centimeters) of visibility underwater in daylight, the recovery operation was a "complex search effort" even with use of sonar equipment, he said.

Rivera was best known for her role as high school cheerleader Santana Lopez in "Glee."

She starred for six seasons in the wildly popular musical television series set in a US high school that ended in 2015.

The "Glee" cast has been struck by tragedy before.

Actor Mark Salling took his own life in 2018, weeks before being sentenced for possession of child pornography.

Canadian castmate Cory Monteith died in July 2013 of an overdose of drugs and alcohol.

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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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