Prank video to Bajrangi Bhaijaan: Chand Nawab is a star in Pakistan

July 21, 2015

New Delhi, Jul 21: Pakistani television journalist Chand Nawab is over the moon that he inspired a character in the hit film Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which features Salman Khan as an Indian who sneaks into Pakistan to reunite a speech-impaired girl with her family.

chand nawab“I saw the film on the first day it was released in Pakistan. And I was very happy with the way Nawazuddin Siddiqui portrayed me in Bajrangi Bhaijaan,” Nawab told Hindustan Times on phone from Karachi on Monday.

“Do you know that all shows of the film have been booked in advance till July 27? People can’t get tickets for any of the four daily shows at all halls in Karachi. And so many people have been calling me to tell me they enjoyed watching the character inspired by me,” he said.

Six years ago, Nawab became an unlikely hit on YouTube after his colleagues posted a video of his flubs as a prank. It was this same video that inspired the character of Chand Nawab, the Pakistani journalist who helps Salman Khan in Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

“I want to thank (director) Kabir Khan, Salman Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui for the way they portrayed me and Pakistan in the film. Nawazuddin has done a good role,” said Nawab, a reporter with Karachi-based Indus News.

“I was on a TV show with Kabir Khan and he suggested I should come to Mumbai and work in films,” he added with a laugh.

Nawab said he had been receiving calls from friends and colleagues even at 3am to discuss the character in the film. “Others have been coming to my home with cakes and sweets. My colleagues and bosses have expressed their appreciation,” he said.

And thanks to the film, there have also been offers to appear in Pakistani television commercials. “There have been some offers, let’s see what happens,” said Nawab, whose mother hailed from Agra and his father from Bharatpur.

But there is also a tinge of regret. Nawab said he would have been happier if his wife Riffat, who passed away last year, could have watched Bajrangi Bhaijaan with him.

“She was a doctor and she inspired me a lot. She would always stand by me,” he said, adding that his ‘sasural’ (in-laws’ home) is at Tonk in Rajasthan.

While 52-year-old Nawab is now basking in the fame generated by Bajrangi Bhaijaan, there was a time when he was upset by the video on YouTube that started it all.

“I had once gone to Iran some years ago and I met some Indian journalists there. At the time, I told them that the YouTube video had spoiled my reputation not just in Pakistan but also in India. People would point to that video and say, ‘Look, this is the quality of Pakistani television journalism,’” he said.

But as time passed, Nawab changed his opinion about the video that features a series of flubs he made while recording a P2C or piece-to-camera, the clip that anchors a television report, for a report about people leaving Karachi to spend the Eid holidays with their families in the interiors of Sindh.

Nawab wanted the P2C to feature a train pulling out the railway station behind him but the flubs made him repeat the same sentence almost 20 times. At other times, he was interrupted by people walking up and down the stairway on which he was standing.

Perhaps the ultimate tribute is that the YouTube video inspired a complete scene in Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

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News Network
March 26,2020

Washington, Mar 26: American media personality Kylie Jenner has donated 1 million USD to fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.
Dr Thais Aliabadi shared the same in an Instagram post on Wednesday, "One of my patients, a beautiful Living Angel just donated $1,000,000 to help us buy hundreds of thousands of masks, face shields, and other protective gear which we will have delivered directly to our first responders, as too many masks at hospitals are disappearing before making their way onto the faces of our front line heroes."

According to Page Six, a representative for Jenner confirmed that the 22-year-old star has made the contribution, and said, "I can confirm that she did make the donation."
Now, thanks to Jenner's generosity, Aliabadi will be able to disperse the hundreds of thousands of various necessary essentials needed to combat the dissemination of COVID-19.
The doctor issued huge gratitude and thanks to the Kylie Cosmetics founder and said that she has "never felt more blessed to be a doctor."
Dr Aliabadi was on-hand to deliver Jenner's daughter, Stormi, according to TMZ.
Kylie reciprocated the doctor's kind words by replying to Dr Aliabadi's thank-you post, she wrote, "I love you! and thank YOU for all the love and care you put into everything that you do! You're an angel on earth."
Last Week, Jenner pleaded in an Instagram post, "The coronavirus is a real thing, "I listened to the Surgeon General this morning... he definitely encouraged me to come on here and talk to you guys."

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Agencies
July 11,2020

New Delhi, Jul 11: The COVID-19 triggered restrictions on cinema exhibition industry have not only disheartened movie goers, but axed several thousand jobs and costed the industry an estimated ₹ 5,000 crore in revenue.

The sector has been one of the hardest hit due to COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions implemented to curb its spread.

Presently, cinemas and multiplexes continue to remain in the list of prohibited activities under the Centre's Unlock 2.0 Guidelines.

In an interview to media persons, movie exhibition major Inox Leisure's Chief Executive Alok Tandon said, "The industry on an average collects about ₹ 1,000 crore a month of 'Box Office' and on an average generates about ₹ 500 crore a month of ancillary revenues."

"Keeping in mind that the lockdown has been effective for more than 100 days now, which is about 3.5 months, the cinema exhibition industry would have accumulated losses worth ₹ 5,000 crore so far."

According to Tandon, associated businesses such as pre and post-production, make-up artistes, graphics, film set fabrication, film crew, events, marketing, F&B services have all been impacted due to the restrictions.

"With the production and exhibition of movies coming to a halt, the industry was bound to witness some job losses," he said without divulging any estimates.

As per industry data, the multiplex industry in India employs more than 200,000 people directly and accounts for nearly 60 % of revenues of the film business.

On the way forward, Tandon elaborated that the industry expects to regain business momentum and sentiment post resumption of operations.

"We believe it will be a matter of a couple of blockbusters, and we will be back to our usual operational numbers," he said.

"We are rightfully relying on the unshakeable passion of the Indian movie lovers, who are yearning to step out and spend time enjoying the giant screen experience."

Furthermore, he cited that industry has sent representation to the Centre for immediate re-commencement of operations and a support package.

"We have requested for financial support in the form of salary subsidies during the lockdown period, interest-free loans for three years, exemptions from various taxes and duties, like 'GST, Show tax, LBETs and Property taxes' for a period of one year from the date of operations, waiver on electricity minimum demand charges for one year and auto renewal of licenses and permits for the next one year," he said.

"We have been talking to our mall developer partners and are working together with them to see through this phase."

However, even after re-commencement, the industry anticipates at least 3-6 months before things return anywhere close to normal.

"The cinema ecosystem is such that we will need all the aspects of the business to swing into action and fire together for us to see a resurgence, and we are highly optimistic about the same," he said.

In terms of global experience, Tandon pointed out that cinemas have started operating in more than 25 major countries, and some of those markets are witnessing a healthy response.

"India is a massive movie market and we are confident that the passionate and responsible movie lovers will turn up in huge numbers to enjoy their favourite form of entertainment and also follow the prevention guidelines at the same time, ensuring a safe and steady revival of the cinema exhibition sector," Tandon said.

The film exhibition industry in India is mainly comprised of single screen and multiplexes.

At present there are around 9,527 cinemas across the country, including 6,327 single and 3,200 multiplex screens.

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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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