Preity Zinta has always been my crush: Chetan Bhagat

April 26, 2015

Mumbai, Apr 26: Writer Chetan Bhagat is looking forward to sharing judging duties on reality dance show "Nach Baliye" with Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, on whom he had a huge crush in college.

Chetan BhagatThe 41-year-old "2 States" author said Preity has been a huge influence on the female characters in his books and he is thrilled to sit next to the "Kal Ho Na Ho" actress.

"It is great to work with her. She has been my crush, since I first saw in "Dil Se". There was no actress like her at that time. In fact she has almost shaped the female characters in my books. She has been a huge influence. The women in my novels are all bubbly, talkative and bold, like Preity.

"And she makes for a great reality show judge because she talks a lot. I, sometimes, also feel she is too lenient with the contestants," Chetan told PTI.

The writer said he would judge the compatibility of couples on the basis of different tasks and challenges on the seventh season of the show.

"They wanted a person, who could see how real these couples are. It is not a solo dance competition, it's a couple show. But I have been a reality show sceptic, I have often thought if they are real after a certain point.

"So I am there as a sceptic, I am there to make sure they are on track and they are the real couples and not reality show couples. There have been rumours during previous seasons that some people just pretend to be couple on the show, so I will see to it that audience gets what is real. It will be interesting to see how these couples are beyond their two-minute act on stage," he said.

When asked if "Nach Baliye" will give way to more TV shows for him, the "Kai Po Che!" writer said, "There is a novelty attached to this season as makers have revamped it and added interesting things but after this do I want to make a career out of reality TV? I am not sure. But if people like me this time, I would love to come back for the next season.

Choreographer Marzi Pestonji will be third judge on the show, which will premiere tomorrow.

The show will see celebrity couples Jay Soni-Pooja Shah, Smiley Suri-Vineet Bangera, Mrunal Thakur-Sharad Chandra, Neha Saxena-Shakti Arora, Himmanshoo Malhotra-Amruta Khanvilkar, Rashami Desai-Nandish Sandhu, Sana Saeed-Dipesh Patel, Nidhi-Arpit Ranka, Karishma Tanna-Upen Patel, Aishwarya Sakhuja-Rohit Nag and Payal Rohtagi and Sangram Singh competing for the coveted title.

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News Network
June 27,2020

Patna, Jun 27: As Sushant Singh Rajput’s family tries to come to terms with his loss, they have decided to honour his legacy and celebrate his passion for cinema, science and sports.

In an emotional statement shared on Saturday, the Bollywood actor’s family remembered him as a “free-spirited” person who worked hard to turn his dreams into reality.

“He was free-spirited, talkative and incredibly bright. He was curious about just everything. He dreamed without restraints, and chased those dreams with the heart of a lion. He smiled generously. He was the pride and inspiration of the family,” the statement read.

Rajput, 34, known for films like Kai Po Che!, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story and Chhichhore, was found dead in his Bandra apartment on June 14, sending shockwaves in the film industry and elsewhere.

The family said that the actor’s untimely demise has created an irreparable void in their lives.

“We can’t bring ourselves to accept that we wouldn’t get to hear his easy laughs anymore. That we wouldn’t see his sparkling eyes again. That we wouldn’t hear his endless rants about science again. His loss has created a permanent, glaring void in the family that will never be filled.”

Thanking his admirers for being a constant support as they try and recover from the loss, the family added that Rajput, “truly loved and cherished every single one of his fans.”

The actor, who made the storybook transition from Patna boy to television and then the starry lights of the Hindi film industry, was the youngest of five siblings and is survived by his father and four sisters. His mother had passed away in 2002 when he was a young teen.

To honour his memory and legacy, the family has decided to set up Sushant Singh Rajput Foundation (SSRF) that will support young talents in cinema, science and sports.

His childhood home in Rajiv Nagar, Patna, will be turned into a memorial, where all his personal memorabilia and belongings, that include thousands of books, his Meade 14’’ LX-600 telescope, flight-simulator, will be on display for his fans and admirers.

The actor’s family, who used to fondly call him Gulshan, will also maintain his social media accounts as legacy accounts to keep his memories alive.

Rajput started his acting career with television after dropping out from Delhi Technological University in the early 2000s. He was one of the few talents to have made a successful transition to movies.

The actor made his Bollywood debut in 2013 with Kai Po Che!. In past seven years, he had featured in a number of hits including blockbusters Neeraj Pandey’s MS Dhoni: The Untold Story and Chhichhore by Nitesh Tiwari.

Tiwari’s 2019 hit was Rajput’s last theatrical release.

On Thursday, it was announced that Dil Bechara, which is the actor’s last movie he shot for, will premiere on Disney + Hotstar on July 24.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Bihar, Mar 5: A complaint has been filed before a court in Bihar against lyricist Javed Akhtar over his remarks on the FIRs being registered against expelled AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in the wake of Delhi riots.

The complaint was lodged on Wednesday by Amit Kumar, a local advocate, before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Thakur Aman Kumar.

On the basis of a newspaper report, the complainant has alleged that Akhtar's remarks were seditious and promoted religious hatred.

The media report was based on Akhtar's tweet of February 27 that "So many killed, so many injured, so many houses burned, so many shops looted so many people turned destitute but police has sealed only one house and looking for his owner. Incidentally, his name is Tahir. Hats off to the consistency of the Delhi police."

The violence in northeast Delhi claimed at least 42 lives and left over 200 injured. The former Rajya Sabha member was heavily trolled for the tweet.

In a subsequent tweet, Akhtar who asserted that he is a non-believer and a rationalist, had clarified that he was not asking "why Tahir but why ONLY Tahir and not even an FIR against those who have openly threatened violence in the presence of the police".

The matter is likely to come up for hearing on March 25.

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Agencies
January 6,2020

Kochi, Jan 6: A trial court on Monday framed charges against Malayalam film actor Dileep and other accused in the case of alleged abduction and molestation of a south Indian actress in 2017.

The actor and nine other accused were present in the additional special sessions court in Ernakulamwhen the charges were framed against them.

All of them have denied the charges.

On Saturday, the Court had dismissed a plea filed by Dileep, seeking to exclude him from the list of accused.

The Court had admitted the prosecution argument that there is prima facie evidence against him in the crime and dismissed the plea of the actor, who is eighth accused in the case.

The court had also not allowed a plea by the actor to grant him 10 days time to file the appeal in a higher court in the light of the Supreme Court order in November 2019 that the trial should be completed in six months.

The court is hearing the case in-camera.

On December 19, Dileep, along with his lawyers and a technical expert, had examined the contents of the electronic records at the closed room of the court.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed that the actor be allowed to inspect the records to enable him to present an effective defence during the trial.

In February 2017, the actress was allegedly abducted and molested by the accused.

Seven people, including the key accused 'Pulsar' Suni were arrested in connection with the actress' abduction case.

There are 10 accused in the case.

The entire act had allegedly taken place in a moving vehicle, which was filmed by the accused to blackmail her.

Dileep was subsequently arrested and arrayed as an accused in connection with offences under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and IT Act.

The top court had directed that the trial in case be concluded expeditiously, preferably within six months from the date of the judgement.

A woman judge is hearing the case.

In February 2019, the High Court, while considering a plea seeking to transfer the case to a Sessions Court headed by a woman judge to conduct the trial, had ordered the CBI special court Judge-III Ernakulam Honey M Varghese to complete the trial expeditiously.

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