Japan anime giant Isao Takahata dead at 82

Agencies
April 6, 2018

Tokyo, Apr 6: Oscar-nominated Japanese anime director Isao Takahata, who co-founded Studio Ghibli and was best known for his work "Grave of the Fireflies", has died aged 82, the studio said on Friday.

The winner of many awards domestically and internationally, Takahata was considered one of the greats of Japanese animated film and is often linked with long-term Studio Ghibli collaborator Hayao Miyazaki.

He enjoyed a career spanning several decades, producing both films and work for the small screen and his latest production, "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya", earned him an Academy nomination for best animated feature.

An adaptation of a popular tale from the 10th century -- considered one of the founding texts of Japanese literature -- the film was also selected for a slot in the Directors' Fortnight sidebar to the main Cannes film competition in 2014.

It also won rave reviews, with the New York Times in 2014 describing it as "exquisitely drawn with both watercolour delicacy and a brisk sense of line."

However, most consider Takahata's 1988 film "Grave of the Fireflies", a moving tale of two orphans during World War II, to be his best work.

In 2000, famed reviewer Roger Ebert wrote that the movie "belongs on any list of the greatest war films ever made."

Born in 1935 in Mie prefecture in central Japan, his early life was marked with violence when US forces bombed his hometown in June 1945 as World War II was coming to a close.

In an interview with the Japan Times, he described fleeing with his sister barefoot and still in his pyjamas.

On his way back to the family house, he recalled seeing piles of bodies in the street. "We were lucky to get out alive," he told the newspaper.

Takahata started his career in animation at the Toei studio in 1959, where he eventually met long-term collaborator and rival Miyazaki.

With Miyazaki, he co-founded in 1985 the Japanese animation Studio Ghibli, which went on to produce several blockbusters.

With more complex and occasionally more violent plots than depicted in the average Disney cartoon film, these films have at times confused audiences outside Japan, who largely consider animation to be primarily for young children.

However, this has not stopped the films being lucrative box-office smashes.

Takahata and Miyazaki were often described as friends and rivals at the same time.

"We would never criticise each other face-to-face because it would just cause a fight. However, I know he has criticised my work," Takahata told the Japan Times.

Over a long and distinguished career, Takahata produced around 20 films, including "Only Yesterday" (1991) and "Pom Poko" (1994).

He also produced the Miyazaki-directed 1984 film "Kaze no Tani no Naushika" ("The Valley of the Wind"), a science fantasy adventure that describes the relationship between nature and human beings.

He is also well-known for animation series "Alps no Shojo Heidi" ("Heidi, Girl of the Alps") and "Lupin Sansei" ("Lupin the Third").

Perhaps inspired by his early trauma, he was an avid anti-war campaigner and in 2013 co-signed with around 250 other film celebrities a petition against a controversial state secrets law.

According to a statement from Studio Ghibli, he died in the early hours of Thursday in a Tokyo hospital after a battle with lung cancer.

"We pray that he rests in peace," the studio said, adding that he would be buried in a private ceremony attended by close family.

After studying French literature at university, Takahata enjoyed a long relationship with France and was awarded the Order of Arts and Letters honour in recognition of his work in 2015.

"France is the country I have travelled in most and I am extremely happy to have been decorated by the nation to which I feel closest," he said in his acceptance speech.

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News Network
May 28,2020

New Delhi, May 28: On the World Menstrual Hygiene Day, former Miss World Manushi Chhillar on Thursday underlined the need to spread awareness on feminine hygiene.

The 23-year-old star has been roped in by UNICEF to spread awareness on the need to educate girls on personal hygiene.

Chhillar put out a post on Instagram expressing the need to educate girls with all information on maintaining hygiene, constructing adequate sanitation facilities and providing quick access to feminine hygiene products.

Manushi, who is participating in the UNICEF global initiative called the Red Dot Challenge, stated, "Every young girl has the right to accurate information about her body. Without the right information, girls often don't know how to safely manage their period. It's time to break the silence. I am calling all girls, boys, women and men to take the #RedDotChallenge with me. Because of Menstruation Matters. @unicefindia."

Along with the post, Chhillar shared her pictures with red dots on her hand representing the 'Red Dot Challenge.'

The former Miss World runs her own initiative on menstrual hygiene called 'Project Shakti' that works across several states of India.

The beauty queen turned actor will debut in Bollywood with the highly anticipated historical-drama 'Prithviraj' opposite Akshay Kumar. She will be playing the royal princess Sanyogita, whose tales of beauty mesmerised an entire nation.

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News Network
June 8,2020

Mumbai, Jun 8: Veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar has won the 2020 Richard Dawkins Award for critical thinking, holding religious dogma up to scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values.

Akhtar has become the first Indian to be given the honour, which recognises a distinguished individual from the field of science, scholarship, education, or entertainment, who publicly proclaims the values of secularism and rationalism and upholding scientific truth.

Akhtar's wife, veteran actor Shabana Azmi said the award's relevance becomes more prominent especially in the current times when secularism is under attack.

"I am thrilled. I know what a hero Richard Dawkins has been for Javed. The award gains all the more significant because in today’s time when secularism is being attacked by religious fundamentalists of all hues, this award comes as a validation of Javed’s long service to rational thinking," Azmi told PTI.

The award is named after world-renowned English evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. Actor-comedian Ricky Gervais received the honour last year.

Bollywood celebrities Anil Kapoor and Dia Mirza took to Twitter to congratulate the 75-year-old writer for the recognition.

"Knowing that Richard Dawkins has been your hero since you read 'The Selfish Gene', the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award must be extra special for you @Javedakhtarjadu Saab! It's a truly incredible honour! Congratulations!" Kapoor tweeted.

Dia said Akhtar's win is a proud moment for rhe country.

"Javed Akhtar Saab has won the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award 2020 for critical thinking, holding religious dogma upto scrutiny, advancing human progress and humanist values. He is the only Indian to have won this award! @Javedakhtarjadu Congratulations! You make us proud," Dia wrote.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

Washington D.C., Jan 16: Barbara Broccoli, who has since long been the producer of the James Bond franchise, recently clarified in an interview that the 007 character won't be played by a woman in the forthcoming rendition.

Broccoli, accompanied by her half brother and fellow producer Michael G. Wilson, told Variety: "He can be of any color, but he is male."

She went on to say: "I believe we should be creating new characters for women -- strong female characters. I'm not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that."

According to Fox News, the current Bond hero, Daniel Craig, announced last November that he would cease to play the legendary character once he is done with the upcoming 'No Time To Die' movie that is scheduled for release in coming April.

Commenting on Daniel parting ways with the franchise, Broccoli said: "I'm in total denial. I've accepted what Daniel has said, but I'm still in denial. It's too traumatic for me."

Fox News reported last July that the British Actress Lashana Lynch could possibly star in the 2020 Bond flick, but such speculations were dispelled once the trailer for the movie was brought out last December.

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