Kangana Ranaut does not have any love lost for the Bollywood establishment which has more or less kept her at arm’s length after her ongoing spat with Hrithik Roshan. And she got a chance to return the sentiment. Whether she was graceful about it is another question.
It had to do with the controversy surrounding the movie Padmavati, whose crew members have been a target of threats from rabble rousing politicians and their henchmen. Deepika Padukone, the heroine of the movie, had especially been the recipient of this phenomenon. There had been calls to mutilate her and even a bounty put on her head. Some in the movie industry had in response started a petition to protect Deepika which they were going to give to the prime minister. They were asking film stars to sign it.
One person who did not do it was Kangana. Initially, it was thought that this was because of her rivalry with Deepika. The two had had some exchanges in the past but that had all been thought done and dusted with. It turned out that the reason she refused to sign the petition was not because of Deepika. Instead it was because Shabana Azmi had been one of those who floated the petition. Kangana put up a statement on her reasoning, ‘I was filming Manikarnika in Jodhpur, got a call from my dear friend Anushka Sharma to sign the petition written by Ms Shabana Azmi, I explained to Anushka that Deepika Padukone has all my support but I am a bit wary of Shabana Azmi’s investment in left wing vs right wing politics. I have my own set of ideas and opinions about the current situation in our country; I am on the fence about many things and being a part of a feminist movement called ‘Deepika bachao’ led by someone who character assassinated me when I was bullied, seems to be one of them. Anushka understood but I am glad they reached out to me, like I said Deepika has all my support... I am an individual perfectly capable of supporting who I like without anyone’s support.’ Seems like she got her point across very well.
Amitabh remembers
late Shashi Kapoor
Last week saw the demise of Shashi Kapoor, one of the most loved personalities of Bollywood. He had been ailing for some time but his death marks the end of the older Kapoor generation — Raj, Shammi and Shashi — that left an indelible mark on Hindi film history. This year had already seen the death of Vinod Khanna, who was a contemporary to Shashi. It is therefore as if the curtains are coming down on an era of great actors.
One of the most heartfelt tributes to Shashi was by Amitabh Bachchan, who symbolised that era. He wrote a blog post on it in which remembered first seeing Shashi’s full page photo in a film magazine announcing that he would soon be in Hindi movies. Shashi looked so charismatic that Amitabh thought he wouldn’t stand a chance as a leading actor with people like him around. As a struggler he ran into Shashi at social gatherings and admired his humility. Amitabh even copied his hairstyle to be like Shashi’s. He also spoke about how pained he had been to see Shashi towards the end after he became unwell.
Amitabh wrote, ‘He had been ailing... somewhere he had let himself go after the passing away of his dear wife Jennifer .. I had visited him on occasion in Hospital during some of the times he had been hospitalised earlier .. but I never went to see him again .. I would never have .. I never ever wanted to see this beautiful friend and ‘samdhi’ in the state I saw him in hospital .. and I did not today, when they informed me that he had gone …’
Rumours are abuzz about Anushka getting married to Virat Kohli
Recently, Anushka Sharma came in a TV advertisement with her boyfriend, the Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli, in which they are guests in a wedding and recite mock vows from afar on behalf of the couple who are getting married.
Since then there have been endless speculation that the two might also be tying the knot soon. But it seems like it might be happening after all. Even the date is said to have been fixed and it is not in some distant future. In fact it is said to be this week itself. To that end, Virat had reportedly asked for a leave of absence from a cricket tour. The wedding is said to be slated in Italy. And the gossip mill has come out with even the flight which Anushka and Virat were taking with her brother accompanying.
The only issue is that the two have refused to confirm it. Anushka’s spokesperson was quoted as saying that when it did happen, everyone would be informed. Normally one would discount such a rumour but the fact that there is so much detail makes it a strong possibility. Also, there is the fact of Virat taking the break from the cricket tour. Normally cricket captains don’t do that until it is a sufficiently important reason and marriage would certainly count as one. But, one wonders, why they would keep it secret?
False assault news causes panic in Arjun’s family
Arjun Kapoor made the news for a rather strange reason. He is currently shooting in the state of Chhattisgarh. Apparently a local driver made his way into the vanity van of Arjun and accosted him. Posing as a fan, he asked for a handshake which Arjun complied with. But the man was drunk and proceeded to twist Arjun’s hand.
This was the sequence of events as reported in a newspaper which the other media picked up. Soon it was being said that Arjun had been assaulted. The only problem was that it was news to Arjun himself. He put up a link to one of the news items on Twitter and wrote, ‘How come I have no clue about this happening? The crowd here has been peaceful. There might have been a disturbance off camera but the local force has never let it reach till me. My entire family was in panic this morning so using words like assault isn’t cool just for effect.’ He also blamed the media for not trying to contact him to verify whether such an event had occurred. He hoped that they would be more responsible in future.
Send your feedback to
[email protected]
NON-CONFORMIST: Kangana says she has a problem with the petition initiated by Shabana Azmi.
