I just said what I felt: Swara Bhaskar

Agencies
February 1, 2018

Actress Swara Bhaskar has recently been in the news for the noise her letter to Sanjay Leela Bhansali made. The actress is herself very surprised with the development.

“I am so happy that people have read it… I didn’t think it will become such a big issue,” she says. The actress had written two letters in English and Hindi where she mentioned that she was “reduced to a vagina” after viewing Padmaavat. Understandably, the letter received a lot of support, and even criticism. In fact, writers Siddharth-Gatima, who have written scripts for Bhansali’s movies, came out with a counter letter.

“I think everyone has the right to keep their opinion — just like I do. I don’t agree to that letter — that’s all. I was polite and respectful. I did not have any vicious intention. I had valid questions in my mind. If people do not agree, it’s fine; it is a democracy. It is good that there is a debate because art demands debates.  But this debate has turned into a bawaal (ruckus) now. So many people are reacting because I used the ‘v’ word. Why is everyone who is not connected to the film getting angry?” questions the actress.

Swara says that she has not received any response from Bhansali either, with whom she had a two-scene role in the Hrithik Roshan-Aishwarya Rai starrer Guzaarish. “It was an open letter through a publication. I have had no response from him, but it has become the subject of national conversation. In fact, one has to remember that I have been one of those voices that supported Padmaavat. Now that it has reached a platform for public consumption, I felt that my questions should be a part of the national discussion and so I put it on a public platform,” she says.

Swara says that she does not know what kind of a backlash she would get from the film industry in terms of work tomorrow. “See, I have not thought about all that because I have said earlier that I just said what I felt and had no hatred in what I wished to convey. They are very valid questions. It is important to have this conversation in our society,” says the actress.

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News Network
April 14,2020

Mumbai, Apr 14: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has thanked Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan for providing 25,000 personal protective equipment for health workers.

Khan on Monday provided the personal protective equipment (PPE) kits to the frontline medical staff in Maharashtra fighting to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic in the state.

Tope took to Twitter to thank the actor for the help.

Many thanks Mr. Shah Rukh Khan for your kind contribution of 25,000 PPE kits. This will go a long way in supporting our fight against COVID19 & protecting our frontline medical care team @iamsrk @MeerFoundation @CMOMaharashtra," he tweeted.

The actor and his wife Gauri Khan recently offered their four-storey personal office space for treating COVID-19 patients.

Khan had earlier announced various initiatives to help the country during the crisis.

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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
April 2,2020

Mumbai, Apr 2: Ramayan, the over three-decade-old TV series based on Hindu mythology, garnered 170 million viewers in four shows over the last weekend in its new avatar, the BARC said on Thursday.

This catapulted the Ramanand Sagar production as the highest watched serial in the Hindi general entertainment space ever, the Broadcast Audience Research Council said.

The show was relaunched last Saturday amid the gloomy times of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a lot of thrust laid by the government machinery to popularise the series.

BARC's chief executive Sunil Lulla said the numbers notched up by the series was a bit surprising and called the move as a brilliant one by the Prasar Bharti.

He said eventually, we will also see advertisers flock the series which will be running for a few more days.

The inaugural show of the series on Saturday morning had 34 million viewers glued to their TV sets watching and enjoyed a rating of 3.4 per cent, while a telecast the same evening had 45 million viewers and a rating of 5.2 per cent.

The show bettered its performance on Sunday, with 40 million and 51 million people watching it in the morning and evening telecasts, respectively.

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