Documentary brings alive India's most famous tiger Machli

Agencies
May 6, 2018

New Delhi, May 6: The fascinating story of Machli, the tiger queen of Ranthambhore National Park who lived to an extraordinary age of 20 years and won the hearts of tiger fans like no other feline did, has been captured on celluloid.

Meet Machli: World's Most Famous Tiger , directed by National Award-winning filmmaker S Nallamuthu and produced by Natural History Unit India for National Geographic channel, is a homage to the legendary tigress who was known for her fierce determination, bravery and confidence.

The 60-minute documentary, which was recently screened in the national capital, has exclusive footage of never-captured sequences.

Nallamuthu filmed Machli for more than nine years. And all these years, he was able to capture some priceless moments like Machli catching her prey, how she established herself as the ruler of Ranthambore, how she gradually lost her say to her daughters and sons, and also her final moments. 

The filmmaker has his own way of promoting conservation - through his films.

These have had great impact. But I feel a different kind of impact when people actually see tigers as sentient, mindful beings and bond with them. That is why I show people why you should save tigers by creating a human connect, he says.

Nallamuthu says he has been making films with own funding, many a times borrowing.

His documentary Tiger Dynasty , tracing the journey of translocated tigers in India and shown in Britain as part of a special BBC series on endangered wildlife, won him National Film Awards for best environment movie and cinematography in 2012.

He has also worked on some of the country's premier television shows - Living on the Edge , The Great Escape , Off the Beaten Path and Wheels . He is now working on a documentary on Machli's daughter Krishna, who is now the ruling feline in Ranthambore.

I don't finish a film unless I get a good story, because I am passionate about filmmaking and wildlife. And I want the audience to connect with the animals, he says.

I could get a much higher profit margin and my life would be definitely a lot easier by churning out films every six months than focusing on one film every two years. Perhaps that is why there are not many wildlife filmmakers in the country, he adds.

Nallamuthu feels each tiger has a story waiting to be told, some more fascinating than the others.

There is something very intuitive and instinctive about making documentaries and telling stories. You marry your observations with what you feel that place and characters have to say and what the viewer needs to know. These tiger films are my way of promoting - tiger conservation, he says.

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News Network
June 19,2020

New Delhi, Jun 19: After the recent sudden demise of Sushant Singh Rajput, actor Kangana Ranaut who went public slamming nepotism in the Hindi film industry, has now revealed that she faced similar struggles like that of Sushant.

In a new statement, the "Queen" actor alleged that she was asked to apologise to Hrithik Roshan's family in order to survive. Both Kangana and Hrithik had been in the public spotlight in the year 2016 over their alleged former relationship and legal battle.

The 'Queen' actor said: "Once Javed Akhtar had called me to his house and told me that Rakesh Roshan and his family are very big people. If you don't apologise to them, you will have nowhere to go. They will put you in jail, and eventually, the only path would be that of destruction...you will commit suicide. These were his words. Why did he think if I don't apologise to you will have nowhere to go. They will put you in jail, and eventually, the only path would be that of destruction...you will commit suicide. These were his words. Why did he think if I don't apologise to Hrithik Roshan, I would have to commit suicide? He shouted and yelled at me. I was shaking in his house,"

She further continued, "Were there people calling Sushant? Were there people putting such thoughts into his mind? I have no idea, but obviously, he was in a similar situation. In his interviews, he had said that nepotism cannot co-exist with talent because they don't allow the right talent to come up. I can relate to it, and hence I am raising questions. I want to know who played the catalyst in this situation?"

Kangana adds, "I know Sushant had a big fallout with Aditya Chopra also. When I refused Sultan, he had threatened he would never work with me. Ever since our industry ganged up on me. I remember so many times feeling really lonely and feeling what will happen to me..."

The 'Manikarnika' star also revealed that all this not only happened to her professionally but personally as well it hampered her relationships. "They are very insecure about things. Despite what they did to me, there was a guy who wanted to get married to me. But he distanced himself, they made sure he ran away. With no surety about my career, my love-life completely has gone awry, with six court-cases against me, they're still trying to put me in jail."

Kangana also talked about herself: "I'm a different person; I'm very expressive. I went out there, and I just vented it out. Sushant was not a person like that at all. He just bottled it up. Media too has played a considerable part in this--the kind of monster image that was given to him. Everybody who knew him closely agrees that he was a soft and emotional person. I think that after a point it really got to him. I can understand it because even I have been portrayed as a witch and as a stalker."

Sharing that the bullying and outbursts had a psychological impact on her life situations, Kangana says, "I remember initially when people used to come to my home, I felt so embarrassed to even offer them water. Forget having a relationship or going on a date post the disaster of a relationship I had. I can only imagine that even during Manikarnika what they did to me."

Talking about the 'Kai Po Che' star, she added, "But perhaps he was just not able to vent. In fact, all these constant jibes on these petty show that he should be killed and which rated him as the least efficient... his films have done more business than your Gully Boy. People like Salman Khan said who Sushant Singh Rajput? It was after M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, everybody knew who Sushant was. We need to stop these."

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Agencies
March 1,2020

Washington D.C., Mar 1: British actor Daniel Radcliffe in a recent interview said he is not rushing back to reprise the role of young wizard, Harry Potter, anytime soon.

The 30-year-old star who rose to fame with the first eight films in J.K. Rowling's famed franchise, told Variety that he doesn't like to say no to things but reprising the role in the 'Fantastic Beasts' prequels is not something he's "rushing to do".

"I feel like those films have moved on and they're doing just fine without us. I'm happy to keep it that way. I like what my life is now," Radcliffe told the outlet.

"I'm not saying that I'll never go back into any franchise, but I like the flexibility that I have with my career now. And I don't want to get into a situation where I'm signed up for one series for years in advance," cited Variety as Radcliffe as saying.

Radcliffe is currently gearing up for his upcoming mystery-thriller 'Escape from Pretoria,' a true-life prison drama, where he is set to essay the character Tim Jenkin.

The forthcoming flick is set to hit the theatres on March 6.

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News Network
May 29,2020

New Delhi, May 29: Actor Pooja Hegde revealed that her Instagram account was hacked after unflattering memes about her colleague Samantha Ruth Prabhu were shared.

Samantha's angry fans are not buying her explanation and it has prompted a Twitter trend #PoojaMustApologizeSamantha.

On Monday night, Pooja put out a tweet that her Instagram had been hacked and was in the process of being retrieved. She urged her fans to not accept any invitations or pass out any personal information to the person asking.

She wrote, "Hi guys, so I've been informed by my team that my insta account has been hacked and my digital team is helping me with it. Please do not accept any invitations or pass out any personal information out to the person asking. Thank you."

An hour later, which she spent "stressing," the 'Mohenjodaro' star tweeted again to say the account was restored and that all activity in the while it had been hacked would be undone.

"Spent the last hour stressing about the safety of my Instagram account. Thanking my technical team for instant help at this hour. Finally, got my hands back on my Instagram Any message, follow back or post in d past hour from my account has been done will be undone. Ty," tweeted Hegde.

The 29-year-old actor announced that her feed has been cleaned up now. Her most recent Instagram post is now one on pet food that she posted three days ago.

In Pooja's tweets, there is no mention of Samantha.

According to the screenshots that are being circulated over social media, a meme of Samantha was posted from Pooja's account. It read, "I don't find her pretty at all."

This tweet has triggered Samantha's fans who have not been pacified by her explanation and are demanding that Pooja apologise, meanwhile Pooja's fans say she has nothing to apologise for.

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