It is interesting how Anupam Kher manages to stay in the news and it is almost always nothing connected to any movie that he is doing. It was not too far back that he was awarded the state honour of a Padma Bhushan. Instantly, there was a slew of accusatory tweets and posts against him online alleging that this was a reward bestowed on him for being such an ardent supporter of the government. And it is true that he is a staunch friend of the current dispensation and his wife is also a Member of Parliament from the ruling party.
After he got the award, online trolls pulled out an old tweet made by him five years ago which said, ‘AWARDS in our country have become a mockery of our system. There is NO authenticity left in any one of them.B it films, National or now PADMA’. And when he got the award, this was his tweet which said exactly the opposite, ‘Happy, Humbled & Honoured to share that i have been awarded The PADMA BHUSHAN by the Govt. of India. Greatest news of my life:)’. That controversy had barely died down when another raked up its head. Kher was supposed to be part of a group to visit Pakistan to take part in a literature festival. Suddenly, Kher made a series of tweets saying that his visa had been rejected while everyone else got it.
The Pakistan High Commission, on the other hand, said that Kher had not applied at all, so there was no rejection. This was technically true because Kher himself admitted that he had prepared all his documentation and had been asked to submit it only once he got the go ahead which didn’t come and he was instead informed about not getting the visa.
Kher turned it into a huge publicity stunt going to prime time television shows to say that he had been victimised for his beliefs. The Pakistani establishment meanwhile seems to have had a rethink and offered him a visa, but then Kher said he did not want it any longer because he now had other engagements.
To expend so much energy on the visa rejection and then refuse it when offered makes one wonder what the point of it all was. But then Kher is now a political figure considering his pronouncements on numerous issues and understands that every adversity is an opportunity in politics so long as you are making news.

‘Dream Girl’ lands dream plot for a pittance

Why do rich and famous people still covet free largesse from the government? That is the allegation that Hema Malini is facing. Last month, it was announced by the government of the state of Maharashtra that Hema Malini had been allotted a plot of land to start a dance academy.
Hema is a Member of Parliament from the same party that rules Maharashtra, so it was thought that political connections had worked in her favour. But a recent Right to Information application found that she had been charged just Rs70,000 for 2,000 square metres of land in a prime area of the city. The commercial rate there for an apartment would be at least Rs10,000 for one square feet. This meant that she had virtually been given the land for free. There was more unsavoury revelation when it became known that she had, in fact, been allotted land earlier in another seaside location nearby, but that she had never built anything on it citing environmental regulations. But she had not even returned that land. Hema claims that she will return the earlier plot as soon as she takes possession of the present one. But the controversy has not done her image any good.


Katrina’s mom’s
attempt to bridge
Ranbir breakup fails


The Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor breakup is being played out in public glare baring all the post-separation anxieties. For a couple, who represented the most glamorous and successful side of Bollywood, it was perhaps inevitable that should the relationship not work out it would be massive fodder for the gossip columns. Everyone’s eyes are firmly fixated on the two and what they do. And it is not as if Ranbir and Katrina can choose to completely stay out of each other’s radius because not just their personal but their professional lives were intertwined.
Recently at a major auto exhibition, the two found themselves in the same venue as ambassador for different brands and discreetly stayed away from each other. One gossip website reported that Katrina’s mother had called Ranbir’s mother and asked her to try and patch things up. She politely declined to interfere. Looming over the two is also the impending shoot of Jagga Jasoos where they are cast in leading roles. The story of this breakup is far from over.


Bollywood presence at the Oscars a high for Priyanka


So it is common knowledge that the Academy Awards this year is going through a diversity controversy with several African American actors questioning the absence of black nominees for the awards. There is going to be one community who will not feel as if they were left out and that will be Bollywood.
They might not have any nominees, but it won’t matter because that is something they are used to. What has been heartening is that there will be one of them on the stage at the Oscars. Priyanka Chopra is going to be a presenter at the Academy Awards and coming as it does within six months of her television serial Quantico being aired that is quite a big leap.
There could be a view that Priyanka only got it because she fits neatly into the slot of the token Indian and that her real mettle will be tested when she has to sustain her success by competing with other mainstream actors, but that is an uncharitable way of looking at it. So far, she has had a better run at Hollywood than others like Aishwarya Rai who, too, had tested that market and failed to make any ripples.

Send your feedback to [email protected]
Related Story