Conspiracy of silence broken: Filmmaker on gangrape verdict

May 6, 2017

New Delhi, May 6: Filmmaker Vibha Bakshi, the director of a National Award winning documentary on the December 16 gangrape of a physiotherapy intern, today hailed the Supreme Court's verdict upholding the death sentence given to four convicts and said the "conspiracy of silence has been broken".

BakshiAnother filmmaker Leslee Udwin, whose film 'India's Daughter' had kicked up a row here for showing the interview of one of the convicts and was subsequently banned, said that she would release the unedited version of her film.

Bakshi, who had made a documentary 'Daughters of Mother India' in the aftermath of the horrific Delhi gangrape case, said that men need to start talking about the issue of women's safety.

"This is a landmark judgement. But we have to understand that as a society we need to change our mindset. It's not only about these four people being hanged," she stressed.

Bakshi said that it's the men who need to talk about women's safety and equality.

"It's not only a women's issue. Men need to talk about women's safety and equality and we need to change the biases. If men get involved we will win," said the filmmaker.

Bakshi said that people were discussing the gangrape verdict which was a good sign.

"The conspiracy of silence has been broken. Today the only conversation that is happening is about this verdict. We are directly or indirectly involved in it. This momentum must not stop," she hoped.

Meanwhile, Udwin wondered whether the ban on her film would be lifted now.

"Well now that the Supreme court judgement is out, will the government lift the ban? Are they prepared to look in the mirror? After the verdict, I'll release the unedited version of the film with new evidence which I'd left out not to prejudice Supreme Court trial," Udwin said in a series of tweets.

Despite several attempts, Edwin couldn't be reached.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, through a unanimous verdict, upheld the Delhi High Court judgement on death penalty to the four convicts.

The HC had concurred with the trial court decision in the gang rape that took place on December 16, 2012.

Those who will face the gallows are Mukesh (29), Pawan (22), Vinay Sharma (23) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31). One of the accused, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide in Tihar jail while a juvenile was sentenced to three years' punishment in a reform home, and released in 2015.

The six men had attacked the 23-year-old paramedic student, and a male friend in a moving bus as it drove through the streets of New Delhi on the night of December 16.

Later on, she succumbed to her injuries, on December 29, 2012 while undergoing treatment at Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital where she was flown by the government.

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News Network
April 8,2020

Los Angeles, Apr 8: American folk legend John Prine has passed away due to the coronavirus complications. He was 73.

Prine, whose coronavirus diagnosis was revealed on March 17, died on Tuesday, his publicist told Variety.

His wife and manager, Fiona, had on April 3 posted on Twitter that Prine was severely ill after being admitted into intensive care unit of a hospital.

In a career spanning over half a century, Prine churned out heartfelt and unforgettable songs like Angel From Montgomery, Sweet Revenge and In Spite of Ourselves .

He was regarded as one of the greatest by many of his peers including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Bette Midler and many other music legends.

Born on October 10, 1946 in Maywood, Illinois, the singer-songwritter emerged on the Chicago folk scene in the late 1960s, when he was discovered by country star Kris Kristofferson.

He is still remembered for his 1971 anti-war track Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore , which came at the height of the Vietnam War and is still relevant to many till date.

In recent years, he had taken a step back from music but came back in 2018 with the album The Tree of Forgiveness . It was his first LP in 13 years.

Prine was a winner of two Grammy award for best contemporary folk albums -- The Missing Years (1991) and Fair & Square (2005). He was an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and also bestowed with Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

The news of his demise sent shockwaves across the music industry, with stars like Bruce Springsteen, Kacey Musgraves, Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler and others paying their tributes to the legend.

Over here on E Street, we are crushed by the loss of John Prine. John and I were "New Dylans" together in the early 70s and he was never anything but the lovliest guy in the world. A true national treasure and a songwriter for the ages. We send our love and prayers to his family, Springsteen wrote in a post on Twitter.

While Musgraves posted, Heartbroken.

Raitt, who recorded Angel from Montgomery in the 1970s, said he is feeling crushed after learning about Prine's demise.

Words can't even come close. I'm crushed by the loss of my dear friend, John. My heart and love go out to Fiona and all the family. For all of us whose hearts are breaking, we will keep singing his songs and holding him near, he wrote.

Midler shared a news link about Prine, saying, He's gone.

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News Network
April 30,2020

Mumbai, Apr 29: Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor is not keeping well and has been admitted to a city hospital here, his elder brother Randhir Kapoor said.

The 67-year-old actor was taken to H N Reliance hospital by his family on Wednesday morning.

"He is in the hospital. He is suffering from cancer and he has some breathing problem, so he has been admitted to the hospital. He is stable now," Randhir told PTI.

The actor returned to India last September after undergoing treatment for cancer in the US for almost a year.

In February, Kapoor was hospitalised twice due to his health issues.

He was first admitted to a hospital in Delhi where he was attending a family function. At the time, Kapoor had said that he was suffering from an "infection".

After his return to Mumbai, he was again admitted to a hospital with viral fever. He was discharged soon after.

Kapoor, who has been quite active on social media, hasn't posted anything on his Twitter account since April 2.

The actor recently announced his next project, a remake of Hollywood film "The Intern", also featuring Deepika Padukone.

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News Network
June 11,2020

Washington, Jun 11: Music maestro AR Rahman has joined the international film 'No Land's Man' as co-producer and composer.

Helmed by renowned Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, the upcoming movie has Indian thespian Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Australian theatre actor Megan Mitchell, and Bangladeshi musician and actor Tahsan Rahman Khan in pivotal roles.

"Time always gives birth to new worlds, new ideals. The newborn world has new challenges and new stories to tell. This is one such story," Variety quoted Rahman as saying.

The movie chronicles the life of a South Asian, whose journey gets complicated when he meets an Australian woman in the U.S.

The film, shot in the U.S., Australia and India, is predominantly in English with some dialogue in Hindi and Urdu.

'Sacred Games' actor, Siddique said: "The filming experience for this project was challenging but a fulfilling one. AR Rahman's brilliance will definitely make the film richer."

"Farooki and I first spoke about 'No Land's Man' at Film Bazaar in 2014. Between then and now, the film has become even more relevant as it looks at what it means to be a vulnerable person in a racially-divided world," producer Srihari Sathe said.

'No Land's Man' won the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and Asia Pacific Screen Awards' Script Development fund in 2014. It was part of the Asian Project Market at Busan and was chosen as the best project at India's Film Bazaar the same year.

Earlier in January, Siddiqui posted multiple pictures on Instagram with the team of the flick, marking the schedule wrap in New York and Sydney for 'No Land's Man.'

He also captioned the post as: "Wonderful experience with the most energetic team."

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