It's fake news: Srishti Behl on RSS meeting Netflix

Agencies
October 21, 2019

Mumbai, Oct 21: Top Netflix executive Srishti Behl Arya rubbished reports of the streaming service meeting the representatives of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to restrict "anti national" and "anti-Hindu" content on shows from the streaming platform.

There were reports that the RSS, the ideological fountainhead of the ruling BJP, have been holding informal meetings with Netflix, Amazon and other digital platforms to monitor content critical of the government.

Asked about the same, Arya, who is director - International Original Film, India, Netflix, dubbed the story "fake news".

"It's not a true story. There was no meeting at all. It's a fake news," she told reporters on Sunday evening.

Arya was speaking at the panel discussion "Artistic Freedom: Mapping Out The Entertainment Story" at the Jio MAMI 21st Mumbai Film Festival with Star.

Aparna Purohit, head of India Originals of Amazon Prime, singer Sona Mohapatra and actor Sobhita Dhulipala were also a part of the panel.

There were also reports that the government is keen on censoring digital content.

Asked if the scenario was scary, Purohit said, "We will continue to comply with the law of the land."

Srishti said unlike storytelling, the law of the land is not subjective.

"The law is the law. It's not like, 'I don't like you, so I'm going to stab you.' Whatever is permitted by the law, we would go into those spaces and the rest is all about the stories that creators want to tell."

Sobhita, who featured in Amazon's critically-acclaimed series "Made in Heaven", said every time a voice is suppressed, many more come out in the open against the injustice.

"The more variety of stories there will be addressing it in different ways. Back in the days in those typical Indian films people didn't show men and women in their intimate moments, so it would come out in songs or some cheesy moments because they couldn't address it in a normal way.

"Maybe political statements will be made but in a subtler, simpler, maybe more clever ways, that's not conventionally offensive. Anurag Kashyap's work has such political undertones but it's not really in your face, it leaves people thinking," she added.

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Agencies
March 24,2020

Los Angeles, Mar 24: In a bizarre video shot from her rose petal filled bathtub, pop star Madonna has called the coronavirus pandemic "a great equaliser".

The music icon said the virus doesn't discriminate between rich and poor.

That's the thing about COVID-1. It doesn't care about how rich you are, how famous you are, how funny you are, how smart you are, where you live, how old you are, what amazing stories you can tell.

It's the great equaliser and what's terrible about it is what's great about it. What's terrible about it is that it's made us all equal in many ways, and what's wonderful about is, is that it's made us all equal in many ways, Madonna said in the video while having a milky bath in tub full of roses.

The 61-year-old singer, who had to cancel two of her concerts in Paris due to coronavirus outbreak, also referenced her 1995 song Human Nature in the video saying we are all going down together .

According to the Johns Hopkins coronavirus tracker, the death toll from the virus globally has risen to 14,641 with 336,000 cases reported in 173 countries and territories.

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News Network
February 3,2020

Feb 3: Actor-cum-activist Swara Bhaskar on Sunday targetted the Central government over granting Padma Shri to Pakistan-origin singer Adnan Sami who became an Indian citizen in 2016.

Addressing "Save the Constitution, Save the Country" rally here in Madhya Pradesh, Bhaskar said that passing the new citizenship amendment act tantamount to "betrayal" of the Constitution.

Sami, born in London to a Pakistani Air force veteran, applied for Indian citizenship in 2015 and became a citizen of the country in January 2016.

He was one of the 118 people chosen for the Padma Shri awards by the Centre last month.

"The legal process to grant citizenship to refugees and arrest infiltrators already exists in India. You (the government) have granted Indian citizenship to Adnan Sami and now selected him for Padma Shri through that process. (If this is the case) What is the need and justification for the Citizenship Amendment Act?" Bhaskar asked.

"On the one hand you abuse us (anti-CAA protesters), cane-charge us, slap us, hurl teargas shells at us and on the other hand you award Padma Shri to a Pakistani," she said

Bhaskar said the government labels some people as the members of "tukde-tukde gang" and anti-nationals" as per its convenience.

"Supporters of the CAA and the NRC keep harping about the so-called infiltrators having entered our country. If that is the case then why are we unable to see these intruders?" she asked.

"The problem is that they have intruded into the minds of the government and the ruling party," she said.

Bhaskar said the government seems to have "fallen in love with Pakistan".

"It sees Pakistan everywhere. My devout grandmother doesn't chant Hanuman Chalisa as often as this government keeps chanting the Pakistan mantra," she said.

Without naming the RSS, the actor said, "Sitting in Nagpur, these people are spreading politics of hatred".

Bhaskar said Pakistan chose to become a religious nation after the Partition in 1947 unlike India which opted to become a "secular republic where one's religion has nothing to do with citizenship".

"(Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali) Jinnah died a long ago, but his admirers want to divide the country again in the name of a religion," Bhaskar said.

She criticised BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya for his controversial remarks about the 'presence' of Bangladeshi infiltrators in Indore, after some labourers were found eating poha and not rotis.

"If poha is Bangladeshi cuisine, then Kailash Vijayvariya, who grew up eating poha (in Indore), should be required to show his Indian citizenship papers," she demanded.

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News Network
May 26,2020

Washington, May 26: Making a slight change to the name of their newborn, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his singer girlfriend Grimes have now named their first child X AE A-Xii.

The difference is only in the numeral part of the name which is now written in the Roman format.

Earlier this month, the celebrity couple hogged headlines for naming their son X AE A-12.

The change in the name came when an Instagram follower of the Canadian singer asked if she had considered changing the name of the child and she replied with, "X AE A-Xii."

However, the performer didn't provide further insight concerning the reason behind the change.

Canadian singer Grimes gave birth to her first child on May 4.

The 32-year-old had earlier taken to Twitter and explained the meaning of the baby's name.  

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