Katrina, Kangana, Ambanis Lead A-List Celebs at MAMI Film Festival

October 31, 2015

Mumbai, Oct 31: Bollywood A-listers turned out in full force for the opening ceremony of the 17th MAMI Mumbai International Film Festival, an event which is a platform for independent filmmakers to showcase their work. Actors Kangana Ranaut, Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and industrialist Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita led the roll call of celebrities at the event.

mami

Last year, the movie extravaganza was going through a financial crunch before it was resurrected through crowd-sourcing and social media campaigns, which saw participation of many Bollywood celebrities.

2 States star Alia said, "The festival has certainly gotten bigger and better. I am looking forward to watching many movies here. It is a great time to catch up."

Shahid actor Rajkummar Rao said he was excited to be part of the event as his movie Aligarh opened the festival.

"I feel fortunate. MAMI is a great platform and the festival is only getting better every year."

Sidharth praised the line-up of the films, even though he may not be able to watch all of them.

"Since I am busy shooting I won't be able to watch all the movies. But Kiran (Rao) has briefed me regarding the films and the line-up is impressive," he said.

From films like Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Haraamkhor, to classics like Guru Dutt's Pyaasa, Satyajit Ray's Apur Sansar and MS Sthyu's Garam Hawa, MAMI offers a huge variety to cinema enthusiasts.

A new addition to the festival this year is Movie Mela. In the "Bollywood Next 5 years" segment, actors like Alia, Parineeti Chopra, Kriti Sanon, Arjun Kapoor, Ayushmann Khurana and Aditya Roy Kapur will be participating in panel discussions to be held on October 31 at Mehboob Studio.

Also in attendance were actors Aditya Roy Kapur, Huma Qureshi, Kartik Aaryan, director Ayan Mukerji, filmmaker Kabir Khan and his wife Mini Mathur.

Actors Varun Dhawan and Deepika Padukone will also be present for separate sessions.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

Washington, Jan 11: Fresh off his win at the Golden Globes, actor Joaquin Phoenix participated in a climate change protest and was arrested by the police.

The "Joker" star took part in the weekly protests against climate change, started by Hollywood veteran Jane Fonda.

According to Variety, the 45-year-old actor also addressed the crowd of close to 300 people.

In his short speech, he took aim at the meat and dairy industry for being the third leading cause of the climate crisis.

"Sometimes we wonder what can we do in this fight against climate change, and there is something that you can do today and tomorrow, by making a choice about what you consume," Phoenix said.

"There are things I can't avoid. I flew a plane here today, or last night rather, but one thing I can do is change my eating habits," he added.

Besides Phoenix, veteran Hollywood star Martin Sheen also turned up for the protest and got arrested by the police. Actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Susan Sarandon were also present.

Capitol Police said it arrested 147 people who were charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding. All the protestors were later released.

Fonda, who was on stage with Phoenix, called him "one of the greatest living actors today".

She has been protesting weekly as part of her "Fire Drill Fridays" initiative since announcing she was moving to Washington "to be closer to the epicenter of the fight for our climate." Her participation has ended in multiple arrests.

Earlier this month, Phoenix had talked about climate change at the Golden Globes ceremony, asking Hollywood to walk the talk on the issue.

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News Network
July 14,2020

Los Angeles, Jul 14: US officials on Monday found the body of "Glee" actress Naya Rivera in the Californian lake where she drowned last week during a boat trip with her four-year-old son.

Rivera's body was retrieved and an initial examination found no evidence of foul play or suicide, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub told a press conference.

"We are confident the body we found is that of Naya Rivera," said Ayub, pointing to the location, appearance, clothing and condition of the body.

Her body was being taken to a medical examiner's office for a full autopsy and confirmation of her identity from dental records, though no other missing persons have been reported at Lake Piru, he added.

Rivera, 33, is believed to have accidentally drowned after renting the boat with her young son at the camping and recreational hotspot around an hour's drive northwest of Los Angeles.

She vanished on Wednesday afternoon, and a massive search involving divers, patrol boats and helicopters was launched after her sleeping son was spotted drifting alone in a boat on the lake.

The son later told investigators that Rivera had helped him into the boat before "he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water," said the sheriff.

Ayub pointed to the lake's strong currents as a possible cause of a fatal accident.

"The idea perhaps being that the boat started drifting -- it was unanchored -- and that she mustered enough energy to get her son back onto the boat, but not enough to save herself," he said.

The lake has been closed to the public since Wednesday, with around 100 personnel, including the US Coast Guard and rescuers from neighboring counties, joining the search.

Search teams used footage from video messaging calls Rivera made from the boat before her disappearance, as well as interviews with her son, to scour portions of the lake bed for her remains over six days, with no success.

"We believe she was concealed within some of the shrubbery on the floor bed of the lake" before eventually floating to the surface due to natural decomposition, said Ayyub.

With less than one foot (30 centimeters) of visibility underwater in daylight, the recovery operation was a "complex search effort" even with use of sonar equipment, he said.

Rivera was best known for her role as high school cheerleader Santana Lopez in "Glee."

She starred for six seasons in the wildly popular musical television series set in a US high school that ended in 2015.

The "Glee" cast has been struck by tragedy before.

Actor Mark Salling took his own life in 2018, weeks before being sentenced for possession of child pornography.

Canadian castmate Cory Monteith died in July 2013 of an overdose of drugs and alcohol.

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News Network
May 1,2020

May 1: Rubbishing reports of hospitalisation, veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah on Thursday said he was "fine" and at home observing the nationwide lockdown.

Shah, 69, in a Facebook post, thanked people for their concern and reassured them about his health.

"I thank all those enquiring after my health and reassure them I am fine," he said.

"I'm at home and observing the lockdown. Please don't believe any rumours," he added.

"A Wednesday" actor's younger son Vivaan Shah also dismissed rumours about his father's health.

"He's alright. These are just rumours," Vivaan said.

Reports about Shah's health started surfacing on social media as the industry was coming to terms with the deaths of Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor.

Rishi Kapoor, aged 67, died on Thursday in a hospital here after a two year-long battle with lukaemia, while Irrfan, 54, passed away on Wednesday due to neuroendocrine tumour, a rare form of cancer.

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