The controversy over Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s mega movie `Padmavati’ refuses to die with the royal family of Jaipur jumping on to the bandwagon. The release date of film Padmavati has been deferred. The voice of support can be heard from some corners of the Bollywood fraternity. 

Veteran actor Shabana Azmi took Twitter to express her support.

Ad film director Gauri Shinde said on Twitter. 

Actress of Anarkali of Aarah Swara Bhaskar also registered her support for Padmavati on Twitter. 

Some more…

Karni Sena is consistently threatening Actress Deepika Padukone and Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

The Bollywood film Padmavati, based on a poem about a Rajput queen written by 16th century Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi, has sparked protests across the country over “misrepresentations” and “distortion of facts”

Responding to the controversy, leading lady Deepika Padukone said, “As a woman, as an artiste, as someone who has worked and given two years of my life to this movie, I feel hurt, I feel angry , but I also think it is extremely funny that people are reacting like this to a film. I am feeling so many emotions at this point.”

Perturbed but not silenced, Deepika, however, continues to promote the film in her capacity. While talking to DNA After Hrs, the actress said, “I have full faith in the judicial system of our country. I know no wrong will be done.” She has received protection from Mumbai police and is currently function amidst high security. Mumbai police have even warned protestors to maintain law and order and abide only by the constitutional freedom given to them. 

BJP Leader threatens Deepika and Ranveer

The vitriol over Bollywood film Padmavati went up a notch as a BJP office bearer from Haryana said he would double the bounty on the heads of actor Deepika Padukone and filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, to Rs. 10 crore. Surajpal Amu, the party’s chief media coordinator who made the announcement, also threatened to “break the legs” of Ranveer Singh, who plays the role of Alauddin Khilji, the Delhi Sultan obsessed about the legendary 13th Century Queen of Chittor.

After the most vocal group Rajput Karni Sena, which had attacked Bhansali in Jaipur and vandalised a theatre in Noida few days ago, now threatening to harm the lead actress Deepika Padukone by referring to the nose chopping of ‘Surpanakha’, few more shocking threats have been issued by outfits around the country.

Karni Sena President Threatens to chop off Deepika’s nose.

Veteran Bollywood actor, politician and former union minister Vinod Khanna died here on Thursday morning following prolonged illness, a family friend said. He was 70. Khanna was hospitalised over a month ago for cancer but the family then remained tight-lipped about his condition.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee condoled the demise of Khanna, who is survived by his former wife Geetanjali and their sons Akshaye and Rahul, who are now actors, and his present wife Kavita and son Sakshi and daughter Shraddha.

The senior Khanna was admitted to Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital in the first week of April. In a brief statement, the hospital said Khanna breathed his last at 11.20 a.m. due to advanced bladder carcinoma. Khanna’s funeral will be held at a crematorium in Worli here this evening.

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“Saddened to know about the demise of one of the greatest legends of Indian cinema,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said. “We have lost an eminent personality who played a variety of roles in his film career and later in his social-political life. His contribution, both in films and as a minister, will always be remembered,” Fadnavis added.

The actor was Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of the Lok Sabha from Gurdaspur in Punjab. He was into his fourth term as MP from the seat.

Khanna debuted in Bollywood in 1968 with “Man Ka Meet” as a villain. After playing various supporting roles in movies like “Purab Aur Paschim”, “Sachaa Jhutha” and “Mastana”, he got his first big break as a lead in 1971 with “Hum Tum Aur Woh”. He featured in some of the biggest Bollywood hits like “Mere Apne”, “Insaaf”, “Parvarish”, “Muqaddar Ka Siqandar”, “Qurbani”, “Dayavaan”, “Mera Gaon Mera Desh”, “The Burning Train” and “Amar Akbar Anthony”.

Filmmaker Subhash Ghai called Vinod Khanna a “real handsome man” both on and off screen. “He celebrated his life with love and dignity and compassion for others and in service to his nation as MP,” Ghai said.

Born in Peshawar (now in Pakistan) in a business family, he attended St. Mary’s School in Mumbai and St. Xaviers High School and Delhi Public School in Delhi and later the Barnes School, Nashik. He graduated in B.Com from Mumbai’s Sydenham College.

The Bollywood bug bit the young Khanna after watching the Dilip Kumar-Madhubala epic “Mughal-E-Azam” and the Dev Anand-Waheeda Rehman-starrer “Solva Saal”. Initially, he started with small roles and grew to playing mostly villains opposite some of the biggest names of that era before seamlessly graduating to lead characters.

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At the height of his career, Khanna suddenly took ‘sanyas’ in 1982 to become a disciple of Bhagwan Rajneesh, the founder of Osho, and lived in Pune for five years. He returned to Bollywood in 1987 and simultaneously got into electoral politics. He was appointed Minister of State for Culture and Tourism in July 2002 and later Minister of State for External Affairs in the government of then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Khanna was first elected from Gurdaspur in 1998. He was re-elected in 1999 and 2004. He lost narrowly in 2009 to Pratap Singh Bajwa (Congress). He avenged his defeat in 2014 by winning from Gurdaspur for the fourth time. Khanna remained popular in the constituency despite accusations that he remained absent from the area most of the time.

Various celebrities from the entertainments industry and politicians like Vasundhara Raje, Mamata Banerjee, Lata Mangeshkar, Rajinikanth, Shatrughan Sinha, Anil Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Hema Malini, Mahesh Bhatt, S.S. Rajamouli, Anupam Kher, Akshay Kumar and Madhuri Dixit-Nene paid tributes to Vinod Khanna over Twitter.

IANS

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson has rejected as “outrageous allegations” comments doing the rounds in the Pakistani press that actor Om Puri, who died recently, was “murdered as part of a political conspiracy”.

BJP spokesperson Shaina NC said the Pakistani press needs to exercise restraint. “First, Om Puri was our national treasure. His death is none of their business. Secondly, even if they make it their business they should get their facts right and not make wild outrageous allegations supported by absolutely ridiculous arguments, she said.

The spokesperson further said: “We in India believe in a free and fair press. Not a free-for-all press.”

Reports in print and television media in Pakistan claimed that Om Puri was “smothered to death with a pillow.” There was some speculation in India at the time of Om Puri’s death that he may not have died of a heart attack, as stated. An unverified report said his body had been found naked with an injury mark on the back of his head.

Some reports in the Pakistani press, without giving any evidence, said that Salman Khan and Fawad Khan are likely to be killed next.

The claim of “murder” by the Pakistani media is based on the assertion that Om Puri was against the Narendra Modi government.

However, this is not true. Om Puri had spoken out against boycotting of Pakistani artistes after the Uri attack in Jammu and Kashmir in September last year and he had once spoken against sacrifices by Indian soldiers. But he later regretted those remarks (“Did we force them to join the army?”). He has not said anything against the Modi government.

He was also subjected to vicious trolling because of the remarks on Indian soldiers.

On a television show when Om Puri was queried about his comments on the soldiers and asked whether he was anti-national, he got very emotional and said he would never participate in a television debate again.

He explained that during another television debate he was asked a question. “I was answering. In the middle of my answer, they asked me about soldiers and in irritation I said what I did. It was wrong. Terribly wrong of me to disrespect our soldiers. I pronounce myself guilty,” he said.

He said being sorry was not enough and he was willing to go to jail because of the comment if the government decided to punish him. Later, he visited the families of soldiers killed in the Uri attack and offered help to the children.

About banning Pakistani artistes, he said that “people in our country are angry. Let the Pakistanis stay away for a while. But the Indian government is quiet over the issue. Let the Indian government decide to send back all artistes, entrepreneurs and people visiting their relatives from Pakistan.”.

He had also recalled his own pleasant visits to Pakistan. “I’ve been to Pakistan six times. Each visit has been pleasant and rewarding. Everywhere I went, I was accorded great respect and love,” he told this correspondent a month ago.

He had also expressed respect for Modi. “We may not agree with some of his policy decisions. But we cannot deny his integrity and honesty of purpose,” he had said.

–IANS

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