Morocco’s medal of honour for Shah Rukh
Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has been conferred Morocco’s prestigious Medal of Honour. The ongoing Marrakech International Film Festival paid tributes to Hindi Cinema’s 100 years and a bevy of Bollywood stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Sridevi and Khan were among its guest list. After the tribute, Prince Moulay Rachid hosted a dinner for Bollywood actors. At the royal dinner, Rachid presented Khan with the Medal of Honour of Morocco. The actor also tweeted his picture with the medal. “Thanks for the honour and happiness. All the best for the rest of the festival,” he tweeted. Previously, Bachchan had been decorated with the Medal of Honour of Morocco by King Mohamed.
The suspense of Bollywood film Talaash has taken everyone by surprise. But little do people know that the climax of the film takes its cue from a real-life incident involving writer Zoya Akhtar. “I had an experience which I could not explain to myself and to others while I was on my way back from a south Mumbai party,” Akhtar said in a statement. “It was near Haji Ali (in Mumbai). All six of us, who were travelling went through this. And this experience became the vital ingredient of the story of Talaash. I spoke to Reema (Kagti) about this and it became the initial trigger point of the script that we wrote together,” she added.
Sloth bears prepare for trip to Germany
Two pairs of sloth bears, which are classified as a vulnerable species, are to be moved from an Indian zoo to a German zoo under a conservation and breeding programme, an official said yesterday. The bears from the Mysore zoo are to be sent to the Leipzig zoo in about a month, said S Shivanandan, administrative officer at the Mysore zoo. Sloth bears are found in the wild only in South Asia. Their numbers are estimated at 10,000 to 15,000, and they might be extinct in Bangladesh. “The population is fast dwindling with a 30-to 40% reduction over the past decade,” said Aniruddha Mookerjee, India campaign co-ordinator for the World Society for the Protection of Animals.
Aruna Chaddha’s bail plea rejected
The Delhi High Court yesterday dismissed the bail plea of Aruna Chaddha, an accused in the suicide of former flight attendant Geetika Sharma. Justice Pratibha Rani dismissed the plea saying she will pass a detailed order later. Chaddha worked in the now defunct MDLR Airlines where Sharma too was an employee. Chaddha was arrested on August 8 and the trial court rejected her bail plea on October 15. Former Haryana minister Gopal Goyal Kanda, the owner of the airline, is the prime accused. Sharma, 23, accused Kanda and Chaddha in a note of harassing her and forcing her to commit suicide.