Bollywood sympathises with Salman after court's verdict

New Delhi, Jan 8: Actor Kangana Ranaut on Wednesday applauded director Meghna Gulzar and actor Deepika Padukone for making 'Chhapaak', a film based on acid-attack victims.

Kangana's sister Rangoli Chandel who herself is an acid-attack survivor took to Twitter to share a video of the actor where she is seen extending thanks to Gulzar and Padukone for making a film on the important issue.

"I saw the trailer of the film 'Chhapaak' recently, and after watching it I was reminded of the incident of acid attack on my sister Rangoli. Today, I and my family thank Meghna Gulzar and Deepika (Padukone) that they made a film on this issue. This will give courage to those people who gave up on their life after struggling with it," said Ranaut in the video.

"This film has placed a tight slap on the face of those monsters who succeeded in their act but not in their will. With this film, all those faces will glow that have been spoiled and their courage was broken by these monsters and the beauty of their spirit," the 'Panga' actor said.

Congratulating the team of the film, Kangana added, "I wish that with this New Year the sale of acid gets prohibited so that this country becomes free of acid-attacks. In the end many many congratulations to the team 'Chhapaak'."

The movie is based on the real-life acid attack survivor of Laxmi, who at the age of 15, was attacked allegedly by a spurned lover in 2005. Laxmi had to undergo several surgeries. Later, she took up the job of helping acid attack survivors and promoted campaigns to stop such attacks.

'Chhapaak' is being helmed by Meghna Gulzar and is being co-produced by Deepika and Fox Star Studios. The movie is set to hit theatres on January 10, 2020.

Kochi, Jan 6: A trial court on Monday framed charges against Malayalam film actor Dileep and other accused in the case of alleged abduction and molestation of a south Indian actress in 2017.

The actor and nine other accused were present in the additional special sessions court in Ernakulamwhen the charges were framed against them.

All of them have denied the charges.

On Saturday, the Court had dismissed a plea filed by Dileep, seeking to exclude him from the list of accused.

The Court had admitted the prosecution argument that there is prima facie evidence against him in the crime and dismissed the plea of the actor, who is eighth accused in the case.

The court had also not allowed a plea by the actor to grant him 10 days time to file the appeal in a higher court in the light of the Supreme Court order in November 2019 that the trial should be completed in six months.

The court is hearing the case in-camera.

On December 19, Dileep, along with his lawyers and a technical expert, had examined the contents of the electronic records at the closed room of the court.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed that the actor be allowed to inspect the records to enable him to present an effective defence during the trial.

In February 2017, the actress was allegedly abducted and molested by the accused.

Seven people, including the key accused 'Pulsar' Suni were arrested in connection with the actress' abduction case.

There are 10 accused in the case.

The entire act had allegedly taken place in a moving vehicle, which was filmed by the accused to blackmail her.

Dileep was subsequently arrested and arrayed as an accused in connection with offences under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and IT Act.

The top court had directed that the trial in case be concluded expeditiously, preferably within six months from the date of the judgement.

A woman judge is hearing the case.

In February 2019, the High Court, while considering a plea seeking to transfer the case to a Sessions Court headed by a woman judge to conduct the trial, had ordered the CBI special court Judge-III Ernakulam Honey M Varghese to complete the trial expeditiously.

Bhubaneswar, Jul 25: The COVID-19 pandemic has hit many people hard, and the latest victim of the pandemic is Bollywood actor Kartika Sahoo from Odisha. With the entertainment industry almost non-functional and most productions on hold, the actor is forced to sell vegetables for a living.

Sahoo, who hails from the from Garadpur block of the Kendrapada district in Odisha, said that he went to Mumbai to try his luck in Bollywood at the age of 17. For many years he worked as a bodyguard to film stars and cricketers such as Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar, among others.

Lady luck shone on him in 2018, and he landed noticeable roles in the action sequences of many movies, he said while speaking with news agency. He also has a fight sequence with Akshay Kumar in his upcoming film 'Sooryavanshi'.

Just before the nationwide lockdown which started on March 22, Sahoo had returned home to Odisha after shooting a fight sequence in Jaipur. Since then, with no work, the actor has been living off his savings to sustain his family. But, after four months of no work, and a medical emergency, a major part of his savings was drained.

To find work, he moved to state capital Bhubaneswar, but to no avail. In the end, Sahoo had to resort to selling vegetables in Rasulgad there.

Sahoo is still hopeful and said that he'll again try his luck in Bollywood once the situation is back to normal, till then he'll struggle, like others, for survival.