Gandhi-movie maker director Sir Richard Attenborough dies at 90

August 25, 2014

Richard diedLondon, Aug 25: British actor and film director Richard Attenborough died on Sunday at the age of 90, the BBC reported, citing his son.

One of Attenborough's greatest achievements was making the cinematic tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, for which he won an Oscar for best director. But he also won worldwide acting fame for roles such as a theme park owner in "Jurassic Park".

Richard Samuel Attenborough was born on August 29, 1923 in Cambridge, England. Knighted in 1976 and made a baron in June 1993, he was the elder brother of naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough.

His father Frederick was a university professor, and his mother marched behind a banner denouncing Spanish dictator General Franco and helped care for Spanish Civil War refugees.

Attenborough, who longed to act from the age of four, won a scholarship to the Royal

Academy of Dramatic Art in 1941. That year he made his stage debut in London's West End and in 1942 played his first film part in Noel Coward's “"In Which We Serve."

He later joined the Royal Air Force, qualifying as a pilot, and in 1944 volunteered for a unit filming over Germany.

Attenborough played underdogs and misfits in a string of character roles after World War Two, notably "Brighton Rock", "Seance on a Wet Afternoon" and "10 Rillington Place".

A short, round-faced man, he went on to have a long track record in the British theater and film industry.

His fifth film as a director, “"Gandhi" established him as one of Britain's best-known cinema personalities and won him a string of international awards. The $22-million epic came out in 1982 and scooped eight Hollywood Oscars, including best director - a record for a British film.

He was also a shrewd businessman with interests in commercial radio and television in Britain, and a tireless worker for numerous charities. Part of his share of the profits from “Gandhi" went to organizations like the Save the Children Fund and Gandhi's own ashrams, or alms houses, in India.

Attenborough suffered a stroke in 2008 and was confined to a wheelchair. He had been living in a care home for those in the theatrical profession with his wife, actress Sheila Sim.

His agent could not immediately be reached for comment. The BBC reported that his family was expected to make a full statement on Monday.

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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
July 14,2020

Los Angeles, Jul 14: US officials on Monday found the body of "Glee" actress Naya Rivera in the Californian lake where she drowned last week during a boat trip with her four-year-old son.

Rivera's body was retrieved and an initial examination found no evidence of foul play or suicide, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub told a press conference.

"We are confident the body we found is that of Naya Rivera," said Ayub, pointing to the location, appearance, clothing and condition of the body.

Her body was being taken to a medical examiner's office for a full autopsy and confirmation of her identity from dental records, though no other missing persons have been reported at Lake Piru, he added.

Rivera, 33, is believed to have accidentally drowned after renting the boat with her young son at the camping and recreational hotspot around an hour's drive northwest of Los Angeles.

She vanished on Wednesday afternoon, and a massive search involving divers, patrol boats and helicopters was launched after her sleeping son was spotted drifting alone in a boat on the lake.

The son later told investigators that Rivera had helped him into the boat before "he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water," said the sheriff.

Ayub pointed to the lake's strong currents as a possible cause of a fatal accident.

"The idea perhaps being that the boat started drifting -- it was unanchored -- and that she mustered enough energy to get her son back onto the boat, but not enough to save herself," he said.

The lake has been closed to the public since Wednesday, with around 100 personnel, including the US Coast Guard and rescuers from neighboring counties, joining the search.

Search teams used footage from video messaging calls Rivera made from the boat before her disappearance, as well as interviews with her son, to scour portions of the lake bed for her remains over six days, with no success.

"We believe she was concealed within some of the shrubbery on the floor bed of the lake" before eventually floating to the surface due to natural decomposition, said Ayyub.

With less than one foot (30 centimeters) of visibility underwater in daylight, the recovery operation was a "complex search effort" even with use of sonar equipment, he said.

Rivera was best known for her role as high school cheerleader Santana Lopez in "Glee."

She starred for six seasons in the wildly popular musical television series set in a US high school that ended in 2015.

The "Glee" cast has been struck by tragedy before.

Actor Mark Salling took his own life in 2018, weeks before being sentenced for possession of child pornography.

Canadian castmate Cory Monteith died in July 2013 of an overdose of drugs and alcohol.

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News Network
January 18,2020

Mumbai, Jan 18: Actor Shabana Azmi was injured in an accident on Saturday afternoon on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in Maharashtra's Raigad district, an official said.

The incident took place around 3.30 pm near Khalapur, over 60 km from Mumbai, when the car in which she was traveling rammed into a truck, said Raigad Superintendent of Police Anil Paraskar.

She was rushed to MGM hospital in Navi Mumbai and was undergoing treatment, he said.

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