Shivaay doesn't have religion angle: Ajay Devgn

August 8, 2016

Mumbai, Aug 8: Actor-producer Ajay Devgn says his upcoming film "Shivaay" won't hurt any religious sentiments as the movie deals with human elements of Lord Shiva.

ShivaayAjay, who has also directed the movie, said he is not portraying Shiva but a common man, who is a devotee of the God.

"There is no religion (angle in the film). I am not portraying Shiva. If you see my lines also, 'jiske bheetar basa Shivaay', (means) who has Shiva in his heart. In the film also, he is not sitting and meditating and praying. He has got tattoos of Shiva all over his body and he is called Shivaay in the film," the 47-year-old "Drishyam" star said in an interview on the sidelines of the film's trailer launch in Indore. Ajay said Shiva was the only God who had flaws and that was an interesting concept to toy with.

"The thought is, man who believes in the supernatural power. Shiva, I feel, is the only God which also connects to today's youth. Every other God is flawless, Shiva is the only god with all the flaws.

"He smokes, drink 'bhang', when he gets wild he will kill randomly, then he will realise that he has made a mistake, people can fool him also. He is good by heart.. When he gets violent he is terrible. This is what humans are. Shiva, I feel is the only God which has all the elements," the actor said.

This much-ambitious project took two years to complete and Ajay said the film needed special attention as he didn't want to make "mediocre" stuff.

"I am bored of making films which are mediocre. We have to raise the bar. Somebody has to make an effort. For that you have to make lots of sacrifices. I have not worked for the past two years in any other film."

The actor cut his fee too for the movie as he believed the grand scale of "Shivaay" needed sacrifices from him.

"Technically, people will think I've lost so much of revenue because I've not worked. In a film like this, to make it on this scale, if I would've kept my remuneration as an actor and a director, I don't think that was possible. So, that also I sacrificed."

When asked how did the idea to make "Shivaay" struck him, Ajay said it was writer Sandeep Srivastava who came up with a thought which was inspired from a true incident.

"There was a thought which Sandeep my writer had, which was inspired from a true incident. Not that I made (the film on) true incident but it was inspired from there, we had read an article. From there, I thought the emotional ground was very strong. It's not about the story, its about the screenplay. So that's how it started."

Ajay is making a return to direction after eight years. His last directorial venture was romantic drama "U Me aur Hum", which had him and wife Kajol in lead roles.

The film didn't do well at the box-office and the actor feels it was because people didn't have an idea about Alzheimer's disease on which the movie was based.

"The kind of response I got for 'U Me aur Hum', here the emotional drama was concerned, you'll see some articles stuck in my office also..It did very well in overseas and urban market.

"But you can't call it a blockbuster because half the country didn't understand what Alzheimer's is." Meanwhile, "Shivaay" is set to release on October 28. It also stars newcomers Sayyeishaa Saigal and Erica.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New York, Aug 4: National Award-winning documentary "Son Rise" and Geetu Mohandas-directed "Moothon" were among the films that took home the big honours at the 20th New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), which switched to a virtual edition this year amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Over 45 feature-length narratives, shorts and documentaries from the Indian subcontinent were showcased at the festival’s virtual edition that ran for 10 days beginning July 24.

The films programmed were in various languages including Assamese, Bengali, Haryanvi, Hindi, English, Ladakhi, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali and Tamil.

The award ceremony for the festival was held virtually Sunday, with the filmmakers, cast, award winners and festival officials joining from across India and the US.

The award for the Best Documentary (Short) went to Saurav Vishnu-directed "Tailing Pond", which highlights the "horrifying effects of uranium extraction on the health of the indigenous population" of Jadugoda, Jharkhand.

"Son Rise" by Vibha Bakshi won the award for Best Documentary (Feature).

The documentary had won the National Award for the Best non-feature film in 2019 and was among the two centrepieces hosted by the festival this year. NYIFF called "Son Rise" “a powerful documentary about patriarchy in Haryana and efforts by a few good men to bring meaningful change in the society.”

The award for Best Short (Narrative) went to Sanat Ganu's "Arabian Nights". The narrative focuses on a child, his imaginary friend and a family that attends a conference where the attendees believe the earth is flat.

Director and scriptwriter Sudhanshu Saria accepted the award for Best Screenplay for "Knock Knock Knock". Saria’s screenplay “explores the lonely life of a man, an unlikely friendship that may or may not be real.”

Sanjana Dipu won the award for Best Child Actor for "Moothon" for her performance of a teenager in search of a brother.

Garggi Ananthan won the Best Actress award for her role as Kalyani in the film "Run Kalyani" and the Best Actor award went to Malayalam star Nivin Pauly for "Moothon". The award for the Best Director went to 23-year old Achal Mishra for "Gamak Ghar".

"Moothon" won the award for Best Film and its director Mohandas accepted the award for the film, which is "about love and loss that travels from the quiet, lush beaches of Lakshadweep to the mad hustle-bustle of the streets of Mumbai."

Produced by award-winning Indian film director and writer Anurag Kashyap, "Moothon" had premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

NYIFF festival director Aseem Chhabra said that the process of searching for films for the festival began last fall and they were ready to showcase them to audiences in New York in April but had to change plans for the festival due to the pandemic.

"I know the best way to enjoy films is in a theatre with the audience and have live interactions, conversations. But the virtual festival is the next best option and in the process, we have been able to reach out to a much larger audience in the US, North America as well in several other countries.”

NYIFF said that a virtual edition expanded the reach of the festival and audiences from 95 countries were able to access and view the films.

Dr Nirmal Mattoo, Chairman of the Indo-American Arts Council, co-founder and owner of Atlantic Dialysis Management services, the largest private dialysis provider in New York State, said NYIFF works with an independent jury - filmmakers, film professors, writers and critics.

Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), the leading cultural organisation, presents the festival.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the closure of theatres but we believe that in such trying times arts, including films are even more important for the community’s well-being. So, this year we have decided to bring the films directly into your living rooms.” IAAC Vice-Chairman Rakesh Kaul had said.

The New York Indian Film Festival is the oldest Indian film event in North America. Over the years, the festival has held New York premieres of a wide range of films, many of them critically acclaimed, including "Monsoon Wedding", "The Namesake", "Slumdog Millionaire", "Shahid", "Dum Laga Ke Haisha" and "Gangs of Wasseypur". 

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News Network
February 2,2020

Feb 2: After creating a buzz with her recent low-key marriage, actor and model Pamela Anderson recently broke off her marriage with famous movie mogul Jon Peters, after just 12 days the wedding, reported Fox News.

The couple got married on January 20 in Malibu, California in a private marriage ceremony.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of the couple's split on Saturday stating that the pair has decided to "uncouple."

"I have been moved by the warm reception to Jon and my union. We would be very grateful for your support as we take some time apart to reevaluate what we want from life and from one another," Fox News quoted Anderson saying.

"Life is a journey and love is a process. With that universal truth in mind, we have mutually decided to put off the formalization of our marriage certificate and put our faith in the process, "she added.

Fox News further quoted a source close to Anderson as saying, "She's known Jon forever, but she never lived with him, contrary to some reports. And until you live with someone... Well, let's just say Pamela asked for a break. She is heading back to her compound in Ladysmith, Canada, to be with her family."

According to Fox News, the couple did not have any official marriage license.

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News Network
April 8,2020

Washington, Apr 8: Choosing stethoscope over the crown, Miss England 2019, Bhasha Mukherjee, has returned to work as a doctor as the world battles with coronavirus pandemic.

According to CNN, she was a junior doctor with a specialisation in respiratory medicine, before being crowned as Miss England in August last year. The beauty queen, who has her roots in India's Kolkata city, had taken a career break from the medical field.

She had paused her medical career for some humanitarian work that she was offered by several charities and was on a tour to different countries including India.

"I was invited to Africa, to Turkey, then to India, Pakistan and several other Asian countries to be an ambassador for various charity work," CNN quoted her as saying.

She had been in India at the beginning of March for four weeks. During her stay as an ambassador of the Coventry Mercia Lions Club, the 24-year-old had visited several schools and had donated stationery and other items to the needy.

Mukherjee then returned back UK as the situation worsened there with the coronavirus spreading at a fast rate. She then contacted the hospital and asked them that she wanted to rejoin.

According to CNN, the Miss England beauty pageant winner said that she felt wrong to be wearing the crown while people around the world were dying from the virus.

"When you are doing all this humanitarian work abroad, you're still expected to put the crown on, get ready... look pretty. I wanted to come back home. I wanted to come and go straight to work," CNN quoted her as saying.

"I felt a sense of this is what I'd got this degree for and what better time to be part of this particular sector than now. It was incredible the way the whole world was celebrating all key workers, and I wanted to be one of those, and I knew I could help," she added.

As the beauty queen has a recent travel history, she is currently in self-isolation and will return to work once her quarantine period is over.
She was crowned as Miss England 2019 in August last year.

According to World Health Organisation, 13,53,361people have been affected by coronavirus and over 80,000 people have lost their lives to it.

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