QWrap: Amitabh Bachchan Turns 75; Anupam Kher Named Head of FTII

Here’s a quick look at all that made news today!

File photo of Amitabh Bacchan. 

(Photo: Reuters)

1. Amitabh Bachchan on ‘Coolie’, and a Second Chance at Life

It was July 1982 when Amitabh Bachchan met with a serious accident on the sets of Coolie. He was critically injured. When he walked out of the Breach Candy hospital after a month, he called it his second birth.

Just like his reel life, Bachchan’s real life has been full of drama. In his blogs he has vividly recounted several such episodes. On his 75th birthday, The Quint has done a series of podcast from Amitabh Bachchan’s blog about his life, before he became the phenomenon that he is. These are his stories from school, his reflections about life, which offer us a tiny peep into the parallel universe of Amitabh Bachchan.

Read more here.

2. Rain & Rumours Caused Elphinstone Tragedy, No Negligence: Railways

The authorities have been given a clean chit on the Elphinstone stampede tragedy in an inquiry report submitted by the Western Railways (WR). On 29 September, 23 people were crushed to death in a stampede on the stairwell of a narrow foot-over bridge at the Elphinstone station in Mumbai.

The incident was caused due to panic and confusion created on the bridge coupled with rains. No one can be held responsible for the incident.

Ravinder Bhaker, Chief Public Relations Officer, WR

The report places the blame squarely on the circumstances, saying that railway commuters, “unprepared for the rains”, gathered on the Elphinstone-Parel foot-over bridge, using the bridge's roof to shelter themselves from the sudden rain

Read more here.

3. Anupam Kher Is the New FTII Chairman; Gajendra Chauhan Reacts

Veteran actor Anupam Kher was appointed the new chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) on Wednesday, 11 October.

The National School of Drama alumnus will replace Gajendra Chauhan.

Speaking to The Quint about the appointment, Anupam Kher’s wife, actor and BJP MP Kirron Kher said:

I was sitting in the office in Chandigarh with a lot of people and I suddenly got a call from the media and I picked up the phone and they started saying this and I was like ‘Oh! My God’ and I told the office yaar TV lagao. I saw it on that and I haven’t had time to speak to Anupam. I am in Chandigarh now and he lives is in Mumbai.

Read more here.

4. Sex With Wife Below the Age of 18 is Rape: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 11 October, ruled that sex with wife between 15 and 18 years of age will be a punishable offence under the IPC.

A man can now be prosecuted for rape if the minor wife files a complaint, said the apex court.

The apex court said that Exception 2 to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) – which exempts marital rape of girls between the age of 15 and 18 from the purview of rape – is violative of Article 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution. The age of consent is 18 years.

Read more here.

5. Aarushi Murder: What’s at Play in Allahabad HC’s Oct 12 Verdict

On 12 October 2017, the Allahabad High Court will pronounce its verdict on the appeal filed by Dr Rajesh Talwar and Dr Nupur Talwar, against their conviction for the murder of their daughter and servant on the night of 15 May 2008.

In November 2013, a special CBI court in Ghaziabad had convicted the Talwars of the double murder of Aarushi and Hemraj, and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Rajesh Talwar was also convicted under s. 203 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for giving false information about an offence.

Read more here.

Video Editor: Sunil Goswami