Kamal Haasan says never intended to hurt Hindus; announces 'whistle-blower' app

Agencies
November 7, 2017

Chennai, Nov 7: Facing flak over his comments on right wing extremism, veteran actor Kamal Haasan today said he never intended to hurt Hindus and opposed violence in the name of any religion. 

Addressing a press conference here coinciding with his 63rd birthday, amid expectations of a big announcement by him on his long hinted political entry, the actor said he was already there. 

"I am already here," (that he was in politics) and was holding discussions with various experts on the matter, he said replying to a question. 

Referring to his write up in a Tamil weekly last week, the actor said violence in the name of any religion was not proper, adding it was not his "appeal" against violence but "apprehension." 

"I don't start with the intention of hurting Hindus," he said adding he never used the word 'terrorism'. 

Haasan said he was not bothered about how many Hindus were present in that hall or even in the country but was concerned about those back at home. 

"I will be reduced to tears if they (family) deny me the weapon called love," he said. 

Haasan recently courted controversy when he hit out at what he called Hindu extremism last week, claiming that right-wing groups have taken to violence because their earlier "strategy" has stopped working. 

A complaint has been filed against the actor in a court in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus by his remarks. 

"Earlier such Hindu right-wingers, without indulging in violence against those belonging to other religions, made the latter indulge in violence through their arguments and counter-arguments," he said in the controversial remarks. 

However, since "this old conspiracy" had begun to fail, the groups were indulging in violence, he said. 

"Extremism is in no way a (mark of) success or growth for those who call themselves Hindus," he said in the writeup. 

Amidst a strong buzz of his possible political entry, the veteran actor announced the launch of a 'digital platform' which he said could act as a 'whistle-blower'. 

At the packed press conference, he said people can share complaints and their grievances on the app for possible redressal. 

Haasan said he will undertake a state-wide tour of Tamil Nadu. 

"#KH", an app, will serve as a 'digital platform' and a 'whistleblower,' the veteran star said adding it was under testing and he could give a complete picture on it by January. 

The actor had been critical of the AIADMK government on corruption, drawing the ire of several ministers in recent past.

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News Network
April 6,2020

New Delhi, April 6: Acknowledging on being scared and talking of not seeing his family for three weeks, actor Salman Khan along with nephew Nirvaan on Sunday shared their lockdown experience in a video message.

The 54-year-old star, without disclosing where the actor actually is, shared a video message on Twitter along with his brother Sohail Khan's son, Nirvaan.

Salman began the one-minute and 26-seconds long video, by saying: "We came here for a few days and now we're stuck and scared"

The 'Bharat' actor then introduced Nirvaan and asked him "How long has it been since you saw your father?", to which Nirvaan replied, "It must have been three weeks."

"I have not seen my father for three weeks. We are here and he is alone at home," Salman added.

The 'Sultan' actor then asks the boy: "You remember the film dialogue, 'the one who got scared, died.' It does not apply here in this situation. We are scared and bravely we admit that we are scared. Please don't be brave in this situation."

Nirvaan also further requested everybody to stay safe and maintain social-distance.

"I think it's better for everyone to stay home, avoid contact and I think the longer we stay indoors the faster this ends," he added.

The 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' star concluded the video by saying: "The one who got afraid saved himself and lives of others around him. Moral of the story, 'We're all scared'."

Urging people to take the government's advisory of self-isolation seriously amid the rising cases of coronavirus in the country, the megastar had earlier shared a video message for fans. 

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Mumbai, Jan 9: A day after Deepika Padukone visited the JNU campus to express solidarity with students who had been attacked, her film "Chhapaak" made another splash on Wednesday over the name of its antagonist.

While Deepika was the focus of many a discussion on social media and beyond for showing up at a public meeting in the university, the film, based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, was also making news for quite another reason.

In what could well be a storm in a 'Twitter cup', "Nadeem Khan" and "Rajesh" began trending on the microblogging site after a magazine article claimed the name of the antagonist had been changed. By 4 pm, 'Nadeem Khan' clocked close to 60,000 tweets and 'Rajesh' close behind with 50,000.

In 2005, Laxmi was disfigured for life when a man called Nadeem Khan and three others allegedly hurled acid at her in Delhi's upscale Khan Market.

In the film based on her life, the narrative remains the same but the names have been changed. So, Laxmi is 'Malti' Agarwal and Nadeem becomes 'Babboo' aka 'Bashir Khan'.

On Wednesday, Swarajya magazine wrote an article headlined, "The Ways Of Bollywood: In Deepika Padukone-Starer Chhapaak, Acid Attacker Naeem Khan Becomes ‘Rajesh'." "As part of a backlash against Padukone's JNU 'meet and greet', social media users researched the names of the characters involved in the movie Chhapaak and conspicuously found the name of main perpetrator Naeem Khan absent," the article alleged.

But in the Meghna Gulzar directed film, there is no mention of any Nadeem or Naeem Khan. Moreover, Rajesh is the name of Malti's boyfriend.

Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Babul Supriyo jumped into the controversy, saying it was another example of "absolute hypocrisy".

"...When you say all characters are fictitious and don't have any resemblance with living beings and all of that, this is absolute hypocrisy. When you change the name which also changes the religion, it has been done very deliberately," Supriyo told a TV channel when asked to comment on the controversy.

South Delhi BJP MP Ramesh Biduri also called for a boycott of the movie.

With Deepika grabbing attention by going to JNU, many appreciated her 'silent solidarity' but others criticised her for "supporting the Leftists" and said it was a promotional stunt ahead of the release.

"#BoycottChhapaak" was trending on Twitter as was "#ISupportDeepika".

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News Network
March 19,2020

London, Mar 19: "Game of Thrones" star Indira Varma has revealed that she has tested positive for coronavirus.

Her diagnosis comes two days after fellow "Game of Thrones" actor Kristofer Hivju also said that he tested positive for the COVID-19 infection.

Varma, who played the role of Ellaria Sand in the epic HBO series, took to Instagram on Wednesday to share the news.

"I'm in bed with it and it's not nice. Stay safe and healthy and be kind to your fellow people," she wrote.

The 46-year-old actor was starring in the modern take of Anton Chekhov's play "The Seagull" in London's West End, alongside "Game of Thrones" alum Emilia Clarke.

The play is on hold due to the pandemic.

"So sad our and so many other shows around the world have gone dark affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. We hope to be back soon and urge you all (and the govt) to support us when we do. Phoenix/ Seagull rising from the ashes (sic)," Varma wrote in her post with photos from the rehearsals.

Varma and Hivju join Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Idris Elba, Olga Kurylenko, and Rachel Matthews among the Hollywood celebrities who contracted the virus.

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