Shared a bond like that of siblings with Sridevi: Kamal Haasan

Agencies
March 1, 2018

Chennai, Mar 1: They may have been one of the most romantic pairs on screen, but Kamal Haasan and late female superstar Sridevi shared a bond like that of siblings.

"Sridevi en thangachi (Sridevi was my younger sister)," Haasan said, decades after he was paired opposite Sridevi in a number of Tamil films such as 'Guru', 'Varumayin Niram Sivappu', 'Vaazhve Maayam' and 'Moondram Pirai', the last one being also remade as Hindi classic 'Sadma' in 1983.

Sridevi, who died of accidental drowning in her hotel bath tub in Dubai last week, captured millions of hearts across India as a Bollywood diva. She had started her career in Tamil cinema industry, besides doing some Telugu films.

She later moved to Mumbai to enjoy a successful career in Hindi cinema.

Writing in the concluding part of his weekly series in Tamil magazine 'Ananda Vikatan,' Haasan, now a politician, said he was revealing the nature of his bond with the late Sridevi as he does not stand the risk of his "market" getting affected now.

"Those days, couples (at weddings) were compared to us, saying they looked like Kamal and Sridevi. They must have seen us singing duets and hugging. We hid the truth (about the nature of the relationship) so as to not shatter that dream," he said.

Drawing parallels with the children donning the roles of god couples Murugan-Valli or Krishna-Rukmini in plays, Haasan said the boy playing the said roles would often describe the girl as 'thangachi', meaning younger sister.

"I and Sridevi were like one such Annan-thangachi (brother and sister)," he added.

Indicating that people in the industry had a fair idea about this, Haasan said he was asked not to speak about it "since you are being celebrated as a couple."

Haasan said after doing three films together with her, he was in the mindset of "Sridevi again?" for another script, adding that she herself could have shared similar thoughts.

But none consulted the two and "they (apparently the producers and directors) decided "that the two will pair opposite each other," he said, adding, after a point of time, "all heroes desired to act with her."

"If our acting was watched keenly, we would look like siblings. One could find the resemblance of myself in her acting," he said.

During the course of their career, Sridevi would often seek Haasan's opinions on her films and would patiently listen to his criticism.

While she did not dub in her voice in her first two Hindi films, she did so in her third project, Haasan recalled.

The deceased actor "became Sridevi by sheer hard work," he said and pointed out to her commitment.

Expressing sadness over the death of his one-time co-star, he said many senior women actors had called him up and cried following the death of the 54-year-old actor.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

New Delhi, Jul 31: After an FIR was registered against her in various sections including abetment of suicide in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case, actor Rhea Chakraborty on Friday said that she has faith in the judiciary and she will get justice.

In a video statement issued by her lawyers, the actor refrained from commenting on "horrible things" being said against her saying that the matter is sub judice. 

“I have immense faith in God and the judiciary. I believe that I will get justice. Even though horrible things are being said about me in the electronic media. I refrain from commenting on the advice of my lawyers as the matter is sub judice. Satyamev Jayate. The truth shall prevail," Chakraborty said in the video statement. 

An FIR was filed by Rajput's father KK Singh against Chakraborty in Bihar under several sections including abetment of suicide.

Days after Rajput's death, Chakraborty said she was the "girlfriend" of the 'Dil Bechara' actor while requesting a CBI inquiry in the case.

Rajput was found dead in his Mumbai residence on June 14.

Chakraborty has also approached the Supreme Court for transfer of investigation to Mumbai in the FIR registered against her in Patna. 

Earlier in the day, targeting Chakraborty over Rajput's death, Bihar Minister and JD-U leader Maheshwar Hazari said she played the role of "vishkanya" and alleged that there is a "big gang" behind the "killing" of the actor.

"There is a big gang behind the killing of Sushant Singh Rajput. Earlier also talented people who went to Mumbai for work were killed. This gang used Rhea Chakraborty. She trapped Sushant Singh Rajput in a love affair, got his money transferred. Later, she started drama of 'bhoot pret' (ghosts) and played the role of a 'vishkanya'. She sabotaged his talent and defamed love," Hazari said.

According to the Maharashtra police, statements of 41 people, including filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, film critic Rajeev Masand, director-producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and filmmaker Aditya Chopra have been recorded in the investigation so far.

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had said that Mumbai Police are investigating the case and it will not be transferred to the CBI. 

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News Network
April 24,2020

Mumbai, Apr 24: A complaint has been filed with police against Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut for allegedly referring to members of a particular community as a terrorist in a video released in support of her sister Rangoli Chandel, an official said on Friday.

The complaint was filed by a lawyer, Ali Kashif Khan Deshmukh, at the suburban Amboli Police Station on Wednesday.

The Twitter account of Chandel, who is also the 33- year-old actor's manager, recently got suspended for alleged hate speech.

According to the complaint, while supporting her sister, Ranaut, in the video, allegedly referred to members of a particular community as "terrorist", the official said.

Ranaut had released the video some time back.

Following the release of the video, Deshmukh submitted an application to the Amboli police seeking registration of a case against the actor, the official said.

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News Network
February 12,2020

London, Feb 12: Oscar-winning British director Steve McQueen is returning to his art roots with a series of short films at London's Tate Modern art gallery, offering a sensory exploration of black identity.

McQueen, who became the first black director to win the best picture Academy Award in 2014 for "12 Years a Slave", is now based between London and Amsterdam and is focused on championing diversity in the film industry.

Visitors to his new exhibition will be greeted by "Static", a film of New York's Statue of Liberty, scrutinising the iconic symbol from every possible angle at very close range against a deafening backdrop of the helicopter from where the footage was filmed.

"What interests Steve is our view of the world, how humans are trying to represent Liberty," said Fiontan Moran, assistant curator of the exhibition.

"7th Nov, 2001" features a still shot of a body while McQueen's cousin Marcus tells of how he accidentally killed his brother, a particularly traumatic experience for the artist.

"Western Deep" is another visceral work, giving a sense through sights and sounds in an interactive installation of the experiences of miners in South Africa, following them to the bottom of the mine.

"Ashes", meanwhile, is a tribute to a young fisherman from Grenada, the island where McQueen's family originated.

The images of beauty and sweetness filmed from his boat are tragically reversed on the other side of the projection screen, which shows a grave commissioned by McQueen for the eponymous young fisherman, who was killed by drug traffickers.

African-American singer, actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson (1898-1976) is honoured in "End Credits".

The film shows censored FBI documents detailing the agency's surveillance of Robeson, read by a voice-over artist, for five hours.

"He is... testing the limits of how people can be documented in an era of mass surveillance," said Moran.

In a similarly militant vein, the exhibition features the sculpture "Weight", which was first shown in the prison cell where the writer and playwright Oscar Wilde was imprisoned.

It depicts a golden mosquito net draped over a metal prison bed frame, addressing the theme of confinement and the power of the imagination to break free.

The show runs alongside an exhibition of McQueen's giant portraits of London school classes, many of which appeared on the streets of London last year.

"I remember my first school trip to Tate when I was an impressionable eight-year-old, which was really the moment I gained an understanding that anything is possible," said McQueen, adding it was "where in some ways my journey as an artist first began".

He recently told the Financial Times newspaper the difference between his art films and his feature films was that the former were poetry, the latter like a novel.

"Poetry is condensed, precise, fragmented," he said. "The novel is the yarn".

The exhibition opens on February 13 and runs until May 11.

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