I wish I had married Shammi Kapoor: Bina Ramani

March 11, 2014

Bina_RamaniNew Delhi, Mar 11: Socialite Bina Ramani's life might have been a roller coaster ride from being a fashion designer, a restaurateur and even an entrepreneur to being a witness in the Jessica Lal murder case, but the only regret she has is of not marrying actor Shammi Kapoor, whom she claims to have had a tumultuous affair with.

"I wish I had married Shammi Kapoor then. I regret marrying my first husband, Andy Ramani and moving to San Fransisco" Ramani said in her recent autobiography.

Ramani has candidly written about her romance with Shammi Kapoor which "was doomed to die before it blossomed" in her recent autobiography titled "Bird in a Banyan Tree-My Story".

"I was introduced to Shammi by Raj Kapoor's wife, Krishna ji, ten months after his wife died of a sudden illness leaving him in an inconsolable state with his two children. While his film career as an actor was at its peak, he was very lonely in his personal life and was becoming increasingly reckless in his behaviour," Ramani, who was in conversation with Suhel Seth at an Oxford Store here recently said.

"Soon enough, Shammi was openly displaying his growing affection for me and, usually with Bhabhi-ji's help, managed to find many occasions where we could either meet in private or 'run into each other" publicly, she said.

However, their romance didn't blossom into marriage, because of Raj Kapoor's opposition towards the match, claims Ramani.

"My parents weren't comfortable too as the thought of losing their daughter to a movie star with a terrible reputation for 'drinking' and 'womanising' was alarming. I had plans of eloping with Shammi, when my parents introduced me to Andy while Shammi was away on a seven-day tour," she said.

While Shammi was in a jungle with his buddies, engaged in his favourite sport, he lost his love to a stranger from San Francisco – forever and I changed from Bina Lalvani to Bina Ramani in those seven days, she said.

"But today, if I am asked to choose one thing that I would like to undo in my life, is not marrying Shammi," said Ramani who is now married to Canadian citizen, George Mailhot.

After going through a troubled marriage with Andy for 13 years, Ramani said she decided to settle in Delhi and started her struggle as a fashion designer, putting Hauz Khas village together as a hub for artist and artisans.

As her life seemed to settle down after marrying George, one fine night Jessica Lal was shot dead in 1999 at her restro-bar-Tamarind Court by Manu Sharma, son of an influential politician.

Ramani writes about her seven years of roller coaster ride from being taken into police custody and sent to Tihar Jail for being a "stubbornly honest witness" to being vilified by the media to being lauded for her "heroic role in the case."

"Though I often think of the possibility that haunting memories of the Jessica Lal case would not have existed in my life's narrative, but I know if it wasn't me as the witness, Jessica would have been any other victim, and this would have been any other case," Ramani said.

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News Network
May 11,2020

Los Angeles, May 11: Iconic soul and R&B singer Betty Wright has died after a battle with cancer. She was 66. According to Entertainment Weekly, the Grammy winner passed away on Sunday in her hometown Miami, Florida, Wright's niece confirmed.

The news comes a week after singer-songwriter Chaka Khan tweeted praying for her "beloved sister", without mentioning the cause of ailment.

"Calling all my #PrayWarriors | My beloved sister, Betty Wright, is now in need of all your prays. 'Que Sera, Sera | Whatever Will Be, Will Be' In Jesus Name We Pray for Sister Betty All My Love Chaka," she wrote.

Wright, whose real name was Bessie Regina Norris, was born in 1953.

She started singing as part of her siblings' musical group called the 'Echoes of Joy', but she rose to fame in the 1970s.

The singer was a member of the gospel ensemble until they parted ways when she was 11, leading her to embrace R&B music.

Wright signed with the label Deep City Records in 1966, a year later becoming a local hit with songs "Thank You Baby" and "Paralyzed".

Her first album My First Time Around wasn't released until two years later featuring the hit "Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do."

The biggest hit of her career Clean Up Woman came a year later, which was certified gold barely days after her 18th birthday.

At the age of 23, she went on to win her first Grammy Award for Best Song, Where is the Love?

Wright continued writing and producing music for two decades, her final hit  No Pain, (No Gain) was released in 1988.

Wright also collaborated with talent in the industry including fellow Miami superstar Gloria Estefan, for whom she arranged the harmonies on the 1991 track Coming Out of the Dark, as well as Jennifer Lopez, Kelly Clarkson, and Joss Stone.

She served as the vocal coach of the girl group Danity Kane on "Making of the Band" (2006).

With her collaboration with The Roots titled Betty Wright: The Movie, Wright again came under spotlight in 2011. This was her first album in a decade.

She scored a Grammy nod for the song Surrender from the album. Her work has been sampled throughout the years by Beyonce, Mary J Blige, Afrika Bambaataa, and Chance the Rapper. Several names from the music industry such as Snoop Dogg, John Legend, and DJ Khaled condoled Wright's demise on social media.

Snoop shared a video of Wright singing "Tonight is the Night" and thanked his mentor for inviting him to "thankful Thursday's" at her Florida house years ago.

"I know god is pleased with your work. Tonight is the night you get to heavens gates. Long live. Betty Wright," he wrote on Instagram.

Legend said Wright will be missed.

"She was always so loving and giving to younger artists. Always engaged, always relevant," he tweeted.

Khaled shared a clip of his performance with Wright on the song "Holy Key" at the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards.

"Betty Wright, you are an angel. You one of my realest friends I have! You are like a mom to me! You had my back from the very beginning! We made beautiful music together! Betty Wright is an icon! And the Mother of Miami," he wrote.

Wright was married three times - her final marriage was to reggae legend Noel 'King Sporty' Williams from 1985 until his death in 2015.

She had five children: Aisha McCray, Patrice Parker, Patrick Parker, Patrice Parker, and Chaka Azuri. Her son Patrick was shot to death on Christmas Day 2005 at the age of 21.

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News Network
July 12,2020

Mumbai, Jul 12: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has sealed actor Rekha’s bungalow in suburban Bandra after a security guard there tested positive for coronavirus, a civic official said on Sunday.

The guard at the 65-year-old actor’s bungalow ‘Sea Springs’ tested positive on Tuesday, the official said.

The BMC has put a board outside the premises declaring the are as a containment zone. The security guard has been hospitalised at the BMC’s COVID-19 care facility in Bandra Kurla Complex, he said.

As the bungalow is a standalone one, only a portion of it has been sealed, he said.

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News Network
July 26,2020

Mumbai, Jul 26: Just days after actor Kangana Ranaut made some claims on Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide case and asked why the Mumbai police is not summoning some people of the Hindi film industry, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Sunday said that film director Mahesh Bhatt and Karan Johar's manager will be called for the questioning.

"Tomorrow Mahesh Bhatt will be called for questioning and we will later call Karan Johar's manager too. If required Karan Johar can also be called for the questioning in Sushant Singh Rajput case," he said while speaking to news agency.

A day Rajput's suicide, Kangana had released a two-minute video speaking highly of the deceased actor and accusing certain sections of the film industry for not acknowledging the star's talent.

Kangana had also claimed that some of the last social media posts by the actor made it evident that he was struggling to survive in the industry.

According to the police, statements of 39 people, including film critic Rajeev Masand, director-producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and filmmaker Aditya Chopra have been recorded in the investigation so far.

Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai residence on June 14.

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