Malayalam actor Abi passes away at 49

Los Angeles, Jul 1: Bollywood stars Alia Bhatt, Hrithik Roshan and costume designer Neeta Lulla are among the 819 artistes and executives who have received invitations to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

Bhatt's last movie, the Zoya Akhtar-directed Gully Boy was India's official entry for best international feature category at the 2019 Oscars. However, the film had failed to make it to the final five.

Other prominent Indian names to receive invitations are casting director Nandini Shrikent, documentary filmmakers Nishtha Jain, Shirley Abraham, Amit Madheshiya, visual effects supervisors Vishal Anand and Sandeep Kamal.

In a statement, the Academy said the new invitees include 36 per cent of people of colour and 45 per cent women. Artistes from 68 countries have been invited as members.

Those who accept the invitation will have voting rights at the 93rd Academy Awards, scheduled to be held on April 25, 2021.

"The Academy is delighted to welcome these distinguished fellow travellers in the motion picture arts and sciences. We have always embraced extraordinary talent that reflects the rich variety of our global film community, and never more so than now," Academy President David Rubin said.

The Academy has been actively working to introduce more diversity in its voting to avoid a controversy like 2016 when the Oscars were dubbed "white" for failing to recognise talents of colour.

The 2020 batch boasts of major Hollywood names like Cynthia Erivo, John David Washington, Constance Wu, Zazie Beetz, Florence Pugh, Zendaya, Awkwafina, Yalitza Aparicio, Mackenzie Davis, Ana de Armas, Adele Haenel, Thomasin McKenzie, Olivia Wilde and others.

The stars of multiple Oscar-winning South Korean movie Parasite -- Jang Hye-Jin, Jo Yeo-Jeong, Park So-Dam and Lee Jung-Eun -- are among the invitees.

Directors Lulu Wang, Ari Aster, Terence Davies, Matthew Vaughn, Robert Eggers, Matt Reeves, Alma Har’el are on the list as well.

The Academy has announced a new five-year plan that includes implementing inclusion standards for nominees.

"We take great pride in the strides we have made in exceeding our initial inclusion goals set back in 2016, but acknowledge the road ahead is a long one.  We are committed to staying the course.

"We look forward to continuing to foster an Academy that reflects the world around us in our membership, our programs, our new Museum, and in our awards," Academy CEO Dawn Hudson said.

In 2019, the organisation had invited 842 new members which included Indian names such as filmmakers Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap and veteran actor Anupam Kher.

Mumbai, Jul 19: Mumbai Police have registered an FIR against two Instagram account holders for allegedly threatening actor Rhea Chakraborty, an official said on Sunday.

The location of the two accused is yet to be traced, the official said, adding that the investigation in the case is at primary stage.

Chakraborty on Thursday requested the cyber crime cell to look into the rape and murder threats she has been receiving ever since the death of close friend, actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Rajput, 34, was found dead in his apartment in suburban Bandra here on June 14, leaving people in the film industry and audiences shocked.

Chakraborty, in particular, was subjected to online hate with users blaming her for Rajput's suicide.

"We registered the First Information Report (FIR) on Saturday under Indian Penal Code Sections 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication), 509 (intending to insult modesty of any woman) and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act," Santacruz police station's senior inspector Shriram Koregaonkar said.

"No arrest has been made so far. We are conducting an investigation in the case," he added.

On Thursday, sharing a screenshot of a hate message she received on Instagram, Chakraborty said while she had ignored many abusive texts sent to her in the past month, the harassment was now unbearable.

The 28-year-old actor eventually disabled the comments section of her Instagram page.

Chakraborty, known for films such as "Mere Dad Ki Maruti" and "Jalebi", had tagged the cyber cell and requested the authorities to look into the threats.

On June 18, she was called to the Bandra police station to record her statement in connection with Rajput's death.

Mumbai, Jun 16: The International Space University (ISU) in France has paid homage to Sushant Singh Rajput in a statement, saying the news of the actor's death was "deeply saddening".

Rajput was found dead in his Bandra apartment on Sunday.

According to an official, Mumbai Police found out during the probe that the 34-year-old actor was under medication for depression.

The official Twitter handle of ISU on Monday tweeted how Rajput was supposed to visit the campus last year but was unable to due to scheduling conflict.

"We are deeply saddened by the dramatic news on the death of well known Indian actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Mr Singh Rajput was a believer and strong supporter of STEM education and was following ISU on social media.

"He had even accepted an invitation to visit ISU's Central Campus in the summer of 2019 but other agenda priorities prevented him from travelling to Strasbourg," the statement by the university read.

ISU paid condolences to Rajput's family and friends, saying the actor's memory will "remain among his thousands of followers across India and all over the world".

Rajput had enrolled at Delhi Technical University (DTU) in 2003, which was then known as Delhi College of Engineering, but left the course to pursue his showbiz dreams.

Even after leaving the four-year degree course, he remained fascinated with science and had a deep interest in astronomy.

As part of his research for the film "Chanda Mama Door Ke", he also visited the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 2017.

Rajput had stayed in NASA to train for his role as an astronaut for the film, which was eventually shelved.

The actor also owned Meade 14" LX600 telescope.