Cinema halls should be allowed to reopen in August: I&B Ministry

Agencies
July 25, 2020

Mumbai, Jul 25: Movie theatres have been shuttered for months due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country, but the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has now recommended that the Union Home Ministry allow cinema halls to reopen in August. 

I&B Secretary Amit Khare indicated this at a close-door industry interaction with the CII Media Committee on Friday. He said Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla at the Home Ministry would take the final call.

Khare said that he has recommended that cinema halls may be allowed to reopen all over India as early as August 1, or at the latest, around August 31.

The formula suggested is that alternate seats in the first row and then the next row be kept vacant, and proceeding in this fashion throughout.

Khare said that his ministry's recommendation takes into consideration the two metre social distancing norm, but tweaks it gently to two yards instead. The Home Ministry, however, still has to revert on the recommendation.

Cinema owners, present in the interaction, however, pushed back and said this formula is unwise and merely running films at 25% auditorium capacity is worse than keeping the cinemas shut.

The attendees at the meet included media CEOs like N.P. Singh of Sony, Sam Balsara (Madison), Megha Tata, (Discovery), Gaurav Gandhi (Amazon Prime), Manish Maheshwari (Twitter), S. Sivakumar (Bennett Coleman and Co Ltd), and K Madhavan, Star & Disney, and also Chairman, CII Media Committee.

The OTT platforms present, including Gandhi of Amazon Prime, did not push back. Some Bollywood producers, notably those of Amitabh Bachchan's Gulabo Sitabo, have posted their movies on OTT, rather than live out the lockdown uncertainty.

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News Network
March 26,2020

Washington, Mar 26: American media personality Kylie Jenner has donated 1 million USD to fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.
Dr Thais Aliabadi shared the same in an Instagram post on Wednesday, "One of my patients, a beautiful Living Angel just donated $1,000,000 to help us buy hundreds of thousands of masks, face shields, and other protective gear which we will have delivered directly to our first responders, as too many masks at hospitals are disappearing before making their way onto the faces of our front line heroes."

According to Page Six, a representative for Jenner confirmed that the 22-year-old star has made the contribution, and said, "I can confirm that she did make the donation."
Now, thanks to Jenner's generosity, Aliabadi will be able to disperse the hundreds of thousands of various necessary essentials needed to combat the dissemination of COVID-19.
The doctor issued huge gratitude and thanks to the Kylie Cosmetics founder and said that she has "never felt more blessed to be a doctor."
Dr Aliabadi was on-hand to deliver Jenner's daughter, Stormi, according to TMZ.
Kylie reciprocated the doctor's kind words by replying to Dr Aliabadi's thank-you post, she wrote, "I love you! and thank YOU for all the love and care you put into everything that you do! You're an angel on earth."
Last Week, Jenner pleaded in an Instagram post, "The coronavirus is a real thing, "I listened to the Surgeon General this morning... he definitely encouraged me to come on here and talk to you guys."

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News Network
February 3,2020

Feb 3: Actor-cum-activist Swara Bhaskar on Sunday targetted the Central government over granting Padma Shri to Pakistan-origin singer Adnan Sami who became an Indian citizen in 2016.

Addressing "Save the Constitution, Save the Country" rally here in Madhya Pradesh, Bhaskar said that passing the new citizenship amendment act tantamount to "betrayal" of the Constitution.

Sami, born in London to a Pakistani Air force veteran, applied for Indian citizenship in 2015 and became a citizen of the country in January 2016.

He was one of the 118 people chosen for the Padma Shri awards by the Centre last month.

"The legal process to grant citizenship to refugees and arrest infiltrators already exists in India. You (the government) have granted Indian citizenship to Adnan Sami and now selected him for Padma Shri through that process. (If this is the case) What is the need and justification for the Citizenship Amendment Act?" Bhaskar asked.

"On the one hand you abuse us (anti-CAA protesters), cane-charge us, slap us, hurl teargas shells at us and on the other hand you award Padma Shri to a Pakistani," she said

Bhaskar said the government labels some people as the members of "tukde-tukde gang" and anti-nationals" as per its convenience.

"Supporters of the CAA and the NRC keep harping about the so-called infiltrators having entered our country. If that is the case then why are we unable to see these intruders?" she asked.

"The problem is that they have intruded into the minds of the government and the ruling party," she said.

Bhaskar said the government seems to have "fallen in love with Pakistan".

"It sees Pakistan everywhere. My devout grandmother doesn't chant Hanuman Chalisa as often as this government keeps chanting the Pakistan mantra," she said.

Without naming the RSS, the actor said, "Sitting in Nagpur, these people are spreading politics of hatred".

Bhaskar said Pakistan chose to become a religious nation after the Partition in 1947 unlike India which opted to become a "secular republic where one's religion has nothing to do with citizenship".

"(Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali) Jinnah died a long ago, but his admirers want to divide the country again in the name of a religion," Bhaskar said.

She criticised BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya for his controversial remarks about the 'presence' of Bangladeshi infiltrators in Indore, after some labourers were found eating poha and not rotis.

"If poha is Bangladeshi cuisine, then Kailash Vijayvariya, who grew up eating poha (in Indore), should be required to show his Indian citizenship papers," she demanded.

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News Network
July 5,2020

Nalgonda,  Jul 5: Bollywood filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has been booked in connection with his upcoming film 'Murder' which is based on Pranay Kumar's murder in Nalgonda district.

Ram Gopal Varma was booked following Nalgonda court's directive on a petition filed by father of a man who was killed in an alleged honour killing incident in Miryalaguda in 2018.

"We have booked filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma following a court order for his upcoming movie 'Murder', which is based on sensational caste-based Pranay Kumar's murder that occurred in Miryalguda, Nalgonda District in September 2018, " Police said.

On June 21, the filmmaker has released the poster of 'Murder', based on a true story.
Police said, "Pranay's father Balaswamy has filed a petition in Nalgonda Court stating that the film will affect the on-going trial of Pranay's murder case and the film should be stalled."

"We've registered a case under relevant section of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act and taken up investigation."

"The court has ordered Nalgonda police to register a case against the film director Ram Gopal Varma and the producer," added the police.

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