Censor board member kicks up row over 'AIB roast' remark against Karan

February 4, 2015

Jaipur/Mumbai, Feb 4: Censor Board member and filmmaker Ashok Pandit today set off a controversy with his derogatory remarks against moviemaker Karan Johar over his expletive-laced comedy show which is being probed by the Maharashtra Goverment.

AIB roast

The Maharasthra government said that it will only check if "AIB roast" had secured appropriate clearances, a day after announcing an inquiry into the show that also featured actors Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh for obscene language and content. The "Roast" is the first of its kind in India.

Pandit, who was recently made a member of the revamped Censor Board, dubbed the comedy show as performing a "porn show on stage" and made some uncharitable remarks against Johar, a noted Producer-Director, who was the 'roast-master' at the event. In a series of tweets, he also said he supported the inquiry by the Maharashtra government.

An unfazed Johar took to Twitter to take on Pandit saying, "Not your cup of tea...don't drink it!!!". With the micro-blogging site trending with "We Stand By AIB Knockout", Bollywood star Sonakshi Sinha also slammed Pandit.

"So nice to see twitter is filled with such angels who point out hypocrisy and never use foul language and have never laughed at dirty jokes (haw)," she tweeted.

The AIB roast event staged in Mumbai in December was attended by 4,000 people and the audience included Johar's mother, Sonakshi Sinha, Alia Bhatt and Deepika Padukone among others.

The edited version of the no-holds barred "roast" of Arjun and Ranveer was later posted on YouTube, Sonakshi also faced many roasts by the members of the group.

Pandit later defended his tweets against Johar, saying he was only reacting to the way in which the filmmaker and the other brilliant actors used such kind of language which should not be spoken at a public show.

"They can't use the language in public that is not decent in any form," he said, adding, "the entire show was abnormal".

"I have reacted because I am a Karan Johar fan, Ranveer Singh fan, Arjun Kapoor man....I have very right to do that. And if they feel about my tweet if they are hurt about my tweet, they can consider it as an extension of their roast," he said in Jaipur.

Pandit also came under attack from Congress. "Filmmaker & censor board member @ashokepandit tweets filth about @karanjohar. Is this acceptable? He should quit or be removed," tweeted Salman Soz, a spokesman of the Congress.

Maharashtra Culture Minister Vinod Tawde said the state government does not intend do any "moral policing."

"On #AIBRoast, will only enquire if the AIB had taken appropriate certificate. No moral policing.. if they are allowed by law, I can't stop them," Tawde tweeted.

Yesterday, Tawde had told reporters that "officials of the Culture Department will examine the (AIB show) videos for the content. If found vulgar, an action will be initiated."

The minister had announced the inquiry following a police probe into a complaint against the participants for allegedly using "filthy and abusive language" during the event called AIB Knockout.

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News Network
March 28,2020

Chennai, Mar 28: Chennai City Corporation personnel stuck a home quarantine sticker at the office of actor-politician Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam office on Saturday, leading to speculation that the matinee star was quarantined for the coronavirus.

While there was speculation if Kamal Haasan was quarantined, the Greater Chennai Corporation said their staffers pasted the sticker on the premises because actress Gautami Tadimalli "returned from Dubai recently and her passport has this address (Eldams Road in upscale Alwarpet)."

The present residence of the actress was not known immediately.

The sticker read, "We are in home quarantine to safeguard ourselves and Chennai from the coronavirus." It was removed soon, an official said, declining to elaborate.

Kamal Haasan clarified in a statement that he was not quarantined.

"Based on the notice stuck outside my house, news has been spread saying that I have been quarantined. But most of you already know that I have not been living there for the past few years and the Makkal Needhi Maiam party office has been functioning from there," he said.

Further, the actor said, the news that he has been quarantined "is not true."

As a precautionary measure, he has been maintaining social distancing, he said.

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News Network
April 11,2020

New Delhi, Apr 11: Actor Hema Malini on Saturday expressed concern over the health workers, who are being treated badly and are restricted to enter their own building.

The 71-year-old actor took to Instagram and shared a video where she expressed concern over the situation the health workers are going through. "Friends, I have seen this in various news channels and I am very sad that the health workers are being treated very badly. They are being restricted to enter their own building," she said.

The 'Baghban' actor further said: "Just think, in such times, they are our safeguards amid such situation (coronavirus outbreak). They are the ones who are going to ground level and are finding out the patients suffering from the disease."

She went on to add that "they do so, to save you. Remember, opposing them is to play with the safety of the country and every citizen. That is why we should honour them. Jai Hind."

In the post accompanying the video, she wrote, "Some of you might have watched the following interview on India TV where I have spoken about how I spend a typical day during this lockdown and social distancing period. This is for those of you who might have missed it!"

The post garnered more than 1.3k views within 35 minutes of being posted on the photo-sharing platform.

Just like other celebrities, Hema Malini is also practicing self-isolation amid the 21-day government-imposed lockdown in view of coronavirus outbreak.

India's total cases of coronavirus on Saturday climbed to 7,529 including 242 deaths and 652 people, who have either been cured or discharged, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday. 

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News Network
January 7,2020

Mumbai, Jan 7: Actor Anil Kapoor, who next will be seen onscreen in Malang, revealed that he always tells superstar Aamir Khan not to stop working with filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani.

Kapoor was interacting with the media at the trailer launch of Malang along with his co-actors Adtiya Roy Kapur, Disha Patani, Elli AvRam, film's director Mohit Suri and producers Luv Ranjan, Bhushan Kumar, Ankur Garg and Jay Shewakraman on Monday in Mumbai.

Anil Kapoor has worked with many directors and producers in his 40-year acting career.

Talking about camp culture in the Hindi film industry and praising makers of Malang, Kapoor said, "I feel we need producers like Ankur (Garg) and Luv (Ranjan). I have told Mohit (Suri) to continue doing films with them. I always tell Aamir Khan by calling him on the phone to say that you should not leave Raju Hirani (Rajkumar Hirani). Whenever I see films of both of them, I tell Aamir not to leave him."

He continued, "I feel whenever you make a good team then you should hold on to it. Team is very important and there are certain stars that come together to make something interesting and exciting."

Kapoor gave an example of Hollywood actors and filmmakers while backing his viewpoint.

"If you see Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio they do so many films together. They can work with others, too, but they keep working with each other. There is some magic, obviously. You have to go with the casting but somewhere I feel teams should stand by each other," the actor added.

Malang stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Disha Patani, Anil Kapoor and Kunal Khemu in lead roles. It is scheduled to release on February 7.

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