Bollywood stars disappointed over SC verdict on homosexuality

December 12, 2013

Bollywood

Mumbai, Dec 12: Bollywood celebrites today voiced disappointment over the Supreme Court verdict that criminalised homosexuality, calling it "violative of basic human rights".

Hollywood actress and human rights activist Mia Farrow also joined the stars in slamming the judgment, saying it was a "very dark day" for freedom and human rights in India.

"I am most disappointed with this judgement. It feels very intolerant and violative of basic human rights. It's a shame," superstar Aamir Khan said in a statement.

Actor John Abraham tweeted: "India has harboured archaic prejudices once again... The Supreme Court has criminalized homosexuality... Shame."

Filmmaker Onir, who has been vocal about gay rights, said it was a sad day for Indian democracy. "I am angry by the SC ruling on IPC 377. Very very disappointed that the bench of the Supreme Court hold us to regressive colonial 153-year-old IPC 377. A dark day for the history of judiciary and human rights in India," Onir said.

The 'My brother Nikhil' director added: "A sad day for democracy where the SC bench denies the LGBT community its constitutional rights to equality and protection against discrimination."

Actor-director Farhan Akhtar tweeted: "The Supreme Court got it wrong today. Sec377."

Farrow criticised the judgement in a series of tweets. "Very dark day for freedom and human rights as Indian Supreme Court rules to criminalize homosexuality. Canceled trip to India," tweeted the star of 'Rosemary's Baby' and in a sarcastic note added, "My wife and I would not feel welcome there."

"Well- when I have a wife- we won't be going to India. Cancelled trip to India. My wife and I would not feel welcome there," she added.

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Agencies
February 10,2020

Hollywood star Joaquin Phoenix finally ended his dry run at the Oscars as he picked up the best actor trophy for his performance in and as "Joker" at the 92nd Academy Awards.

The 45-year-old actor had earlier bagged a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his turn as a failed, unhinged stand-up comedian who descends into chaos.

In a lengthy and rambling speech, Phoenix touched upon racism, climate change and gender inequality. He also remembered his brother River Phoenix, who died of a drug overdose at the age of 23 in 1993.

"When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric. He said, 'run to the rescue with love and peace will follow'," Phoenix said. At the Academy Awards and the entire Hollywood award season, Phoenix had emerged as an undisputed frontrunner even though he was up against the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio ("Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"), Adam Driver ("Marriage Story"), "Antonio Banderas ("Pain & Glory") and Jonathan Pryce ("The Two Popes").

An Oscar had eluded Phoenix for the most part of his career, despite his successful collaborations with Ridley Scott ("Gladiator"), James Mangold ("Walk The Line") and Paul Thomas Anderson ("The Master"), all of which had earned him nominations.

But as Arthur Fleck aka The Joker, Phoenix finally managed to break that jinx and became the second actor to win an Oscar for playing the DC comic book villain after the posthumous best supporting actor win to Heath Ledger in 2008.

As Joker, Phoenix took a deep dive into character, capturing its essence as well as maniacal spirit in both body and soul.

He lost 52 pounds to get into the physicality of Fleck and turned to a pathological disorder to get his distinct laughter right.

Phillips wrote the part keeping Phoenix in mind though the actor took some convincing to play the role.

Phoenix started the film's festival circuit tour on a positive note at Cannes last year that followed by stops at Venice and Toronto.

The film had also courted controversies, owing to its theme of gun violence in the movie as well as Phoenix's temperamental press tour that saw him walking out of an interview midway.

But critics and the fans loved the actor's riveting turn in the movie and his pointed speeches.

At the Golden Globes, he called out the industry for its insensitivity towards climate change and pulled up his peers for using private jets for travel, while at the SAGs, he joked how he would always lose a role to DiCaprio and asked Christian Bale to deliver a bad performance for once in his career.

In his acceptance speech at the BAFTAs, Phoenix acknowledged the lack of diversity in the nominations, calling himself a part of the problem. Phoenix's career most praised performances include "Signs ", "We Own the Night", "Two Lovers", "The Immigrant", "Her", "You Were Never Really Here" and "Inherent Vice".

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News Network
May 20,2020

New Delhi, May 20: Singer Justin Bieber on Wednesday thanked his Indian fans for showering love on his newly-launched song 'Stuck With U'.

The 26-year-old singer shared a video on Twitter, that featured many Indian music enthusiasts crooning and making their own individual creative videos with the song playing in the background.

In reaction to it, the 'Yummy' singer tweeted: "Thank You India"

Bieber and American singer Ariana Grande teamed up for the song earlier this month to help the people affected and who are in need during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The official music video was dropped on May 8. The romantic track marks the first collaboration of the duo.

The music video has cameos by the singer's partners and features many special moments shared by the couple amid lockdown.

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Agencies
July 27,2020

Mumbai, Jul 27: Action director Parvez Khan, known for his work in films like Sriram Raghavan's Andhadhun and Badlapur, died on Monday after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 55. 

Parvez, who worked in the industry since 1986, was rushed to Ruby Hospital after he complained of chest pain, his longtime associate Nishant Khan told PTI. "He suffered a major heart attack in the morning. He was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead. He didn't have any health issues but felt chest pain last night," Nishant said.

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta, who worked with Parvez in the National Award winning 2013 drama Shahid, said the action director was extremely skilled. "Just heard that action director Parvez Khan is no more. We had worked together in Shahid where he executed the riots sequence in a single take. Very skilful, energetic and a good man. RIP Parvez. Your voice still rings in my ears," Hansal tweeted. 

Parvez started his career by assisting action director Akbar Bakshi in films like Akshay Kumar's Khiladi (1992), Shah Rukh Khan's Baazigar (1993) and Bobby Deol-starrer Soldier in 1998. It was with Ram Gopal Varma's Ab Tak Chhappan in 2004 that he started working independently and went on to have a long-standing collaboration with filmmaker Sriram Raghavan in films such as Johnny Gaddaar (2007), Saif Ali Khan-starrer Agent Vinod in 2012 and Badlapur, featuring Varun Dhawan. He is survived by wife, son, daughter-in-law and a granddaughter.

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