Preity Zinta says she won't settle in US, rules out selling her stake in Kings XI Punjab

mangalore@coastaldigest.com (TNN)
June 19, 2014

Mumbai/New Delhi, Jun 19: Actress Preity Zinta on Wednesday night ruled out selling her stake in IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab.

"A big Thank U 2all the people 4the support. Amazed at how much speculation in the media. No I'm not selling my stake or settling in the US," she posted on her Twitter account.

Preity Zinta sold"SO called sources says anything & its getting reported. Pls No hearsay. There are many IMP Issues in India which are much more news worthy," she added.

Kings XI Punjab had lost to Kolkata Knight Riders in the final of the recent IPL competition.

Gangster warned us not to harass Preity: Wadias

The Preity Zinta-Ness Wadia mess turned murkier on Wednesday with the industrialist's group lodging a complaint with the police that gangster Ravi Pujari has warned it against "harassing" the actor.

The office of industrialist Nusli Wadia filed a case with the N M Joshi Marg police station on Tuesday, saying his personal secretary received a threatening call on the office phone followed by a text message on the mobile phone from someone claiming to be Pujari the day before.

Pujari, a splinter from Mumbai don Chhota Rajan's gang, is believed to be holed up in Australia and is wanted in Mumbai and Mangalore in over three dozen cases, mostly extortions bids. Police have registered a case of criminal intimidation and transferred it to the anti-extortion cell.

A crime branch official said when the caller wanted to speak to Nusli Wadia, he was told the industrialist was out of the country. He then left a message: "We are all from underworld. Preity Zinta should not be harassed or else... .''

Within an hour, the caller rang again, but the secretary disconnected. Soon, the secretary received a text message that said: "Give message to Wadia, don't f*** around with Preity Zinta or else I will f*** whole of your business. Don Ravi Pujari."

"Preliminary inquiries suggest the call was made using VOIP (voice over internet protocol, a technology that allows calls over the internet) and the mobile number from which Wadia's secretary received the SMS was from Iran," said police chief Rakesh Maria.

Asked if it was a prank call, Maria said: "The crime branch will probe all those possible angles in this threat case."

Senior crime branch officials said the call could have been from Pujari, who is always looking to grab publicity. Last month, he had called up NSEL payment scandal accused Jignesh Shah's lawyer and demanded money. "If you see his past record, he has always tried to grab publicity to run his extortion racket. His victims are mostly from the film industry," said a senior IPS officer.

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News Network
June 11,2020

Washington, Jun 11: Music maestro AR Rahman has joined the international film 'No Land's Man' as co-producer and composer.

Helmed by renowned Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, the upcoming movie has Indian thespian Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Australian theatre actor Megan Mitchell, and Bangladeshi musician and actor Tahsan Rahman Khan in pivotal roles.

"Time always gives birth to new worlds, new ideals. The newborn world has new challenges and new stories to tell. This is one such story," Variety quoted Rahman as saying.

The movie chronicles the life of a South Asian, whose journey gets complicated when he meets an Australian woman in the U.S.

The film, shot in the U.S., Australia and India, is predominantly in English with some dialogue in Hindi and Urdu.

'Sacred Games' actor, Siddique said: "The filming experience for this project was challenging but a fulfilling one. AR Rahman's brilliance will definitely make the film richer."

"Farooki and I first spoke about 'No Land's Man' at Film Bazaar in 2014. Between then and now, the film has become even more relevant as it looks at what it means to be a vulnerable person in a racially-divided world," producer Srihari Sathe said.

'No Land's Man' won the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and Asia Pacific Screen Awards' Script Development fund in 2014. It was part of the Asian Project Market at Busan and was chosen as the best project at India's Film Bazaar the same year.

Earlier in January, Siddiqui posted multiple pictures on Instagram with the team of the flick, marking the schedule wrap in New York and Sydney for 'No Land's Man.'

He also captioned the post as: "Wonderful experience with the most energetic team."

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News Network
June 20,2020

New Delhi, Jun 20: Taking cues from her own experience, actor Deepika Padukone on Saturday emphasised that people suffering from depression cannot 'snap out' of the mental health condition.

Continuing with her daily practice of posting mental health messages for people struggling with depression and other issues, Padukone posted the recent message on social media.

"Repeat after me: You cannot 'snap out' of depression," Padukone wrote on Twitter.

Padukone had started with the series of mental health quotes after the sudden demise of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who committed suicide by hanging himself at his Bandra residence in Mumbai.

The 'Tamasha' actor started voicing her opinion on the importance of mental health through her foundation 'The Live Love Laugh Foundation' (TLLLF) in June 2015. Through the platform, the actor keeps launching nationwide awareness as well as destigmatisation campaigns.

Meanwhile, scores of comments followed on her latest post on mental health, where netizens too shared their take on mental health.

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News Network
June 16,2020

Mumbai, Jun 16: Filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee remembers Sushant Singh Rajput as a dance loving 'chhokra' from an engineering college who, having made it in Bollywood, was “enthused, sincere and totally focused” on his craft.

Banerjeee said the actor always had “a book or two” with him and took pride in the fact that he had an “inner intellectual life away from the shallower aspects of showbiz”.

Rajput was found dead in his Bandra apartment on Sunday at the age of 34, leaving his friends, colleagues and collaborators in a state of shock.

The Patna-born actor and the director worked together in 2015 film "Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!" when Rajput was a relative newcomer in the industry. Banerjee says it was Rajput's vulnerability and willingness to do different that made him stand out for the role.

In an interview with news agency, the filmmaker looks back at Rajput's sincerity, his love for science and astronomy and how an outsider has to work harder than a "mediocre, unmotivated and entitled establishment elite" to succeed in Bollywood.

Excerpts:

You worked with Sushant when he was less than two-year-old in the film industry. What struck you the most in him to cast as Detective Byomkesh Bakshy?

Banerjee: His vulnerability and intensity and the ambition to do different things than the usual Bollywood stuff.

What were your memories of Sushant- the actor and the person?

Banerjee: As an actor he would tense himself up for the scene and then completely plunge in take after take. He would put a lot of value on preparation. He would be up the previous night of the shoot, reading the scene and making notes and land up on the sets all raring to go.

He would be on, ready and give his hundred per cent throughout the shoot of Byomkesh - no matter how hard or long the day. The unit did not really have to worry about him - considering he was the star. That's what I remember - a total pro, enthused, sincere and totally focused.

As a person, he seemed to me a happy dance loving 'chhokra' from an engineering college who had made it in showbiz and now was serious about acting. He was deeply nostalgic about his carefree student days in Delhi. We used to laugh a lot - I remember that quite clearly.

Sushant's friends say that he spoke more about books and his love for astronomy than films and their fate, which is rare for an actor in the industry. Do you also remember him that way?

Banerjee: Totally true. He was a science and astronomy nut. Always had a book or two with him - and was proud of the fact that he had an inner intellectual life away from the shallower aspects of showbiz. I recognized it as a reflex, protective action to prevent the Bollywood swamp sucking him in totally. And also an identity he wanted to protect and project.

Sushant's death has brought to the fore the struggles of outsiders and the alienation they often face from the nepotistic culture of the industry. Did you feel that Sushant was also fighting this battle despite being a successful actor?

Banerjee: We all fight it, day in and out - whether successful or failing. But the trick is to define that success and failure ourselves and not let the narrative constantly forced by the establishment to get to you. Those who know this weather the storm and ultimately survive and thrive.

The biggest unfairness in all this is that it takes double the talent, energy and hard work for an outsider to convince the audience and the industry that he or she is as safe a box office bet as a mediocre, unmotivated and entitled establishment elite.

The media colludes in this by wallowing in family, coterie and celebrity worship. This leads to deep anger and frustration. Those who can let this slide survive. Those who can't - those who hurt a little more or are vulnerable and impressionable - they are at risk.

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