1. Watch the ‘Untold’ Saga of Kashmiri Pandits in ‘Shikara’ Trailer
The trailer of Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s upcoming film Shikara has finally dropped. The clip begins with a couple witnessing a Kashmiri Pandit’s house being burned down. Their world turns upside down when thousands of Kashmiri Pandits are forced to leave their hometown. In a country torn by politics and hate, the film shows that love is the only hope.
Shikara also shows how the Pandits were treated when they had to flee from Kashmir and take refuge elsewhere. The film stars Sadia and Aadil Khan in lead roles and will hit theatres on 7 February.
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2. Deepika Padukone Joins Protest Against Violence at JNU
Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone on Tuesday, 7 January joined a protest rally against the attack that took place on students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). On Sunday, a mob of masked young people stormed the JNU campus in south Delhi and targeted students in three hostels, unleashing mayhem with sticks, stones and iron rods, hitting inmates and breaking windows, furniture and personal belongings. They also attacked a women's hostel.
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3. ‘Dream Girl’ Director Apologises to Swara For Distasteful Comment
Dream Girl director Raaj Shaandilyaa apologised for his distasteful tweet about Swara Bhasker, after the actor hit back at him for calling her “sasti cheez” on social media.
Raaj put out a tweet this morning, 7 January, which read, “Sasti chizon pe dhyaan na de, Swara Bhasker se mehenga Dainik Bhasker bikta hai. (Don’t pay heed to cheap things because even Dainik Bhasker [newspaper] is more valuable than Swara Bhasker.”
The tweet has since been deleted, but Swara posted a screenshot of it and wrote, “Agli baar role offer karne and aapki film ka trailer share karne ki request vale messages bhejne ke pehle aap bhi sasti harkaton ke baare me thoda soch lo. Good luck.”
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4. Bhushan Kumar Denies Being at Govt’s Bollywood-CAA Meet But...
The Chairman and Managing Director of T-Series, Bhushan Kumar, was reportedly one of the few members of the Hindi film industry to have attended the interactive discussion on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) organised by the government on Sunday night. However, when asked about it at the trailer launch of Malang, the head of one of Bollywood’s biggest music label and film production companies denied being there.
At the Malang trailer launch held in Mumbai on Monday evening, one of the journalists enquired about Kumar being at the meeting on CAA organised by Union Minister Piyush Goyal, to which he said, “I was in Grand Hyatt, so that does not mean that I was in a meeting or something.”
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5. Weinstein Indicted on New Charges in LA; New York Trial Under Way
Harvey Weinstein has been indicted on new sex crime charges in Los Angeles, just as his trial on separate rape and sexual assault charges in New York was poised to get underway, prosecutors announced Monday, 6 January. The Hollywood mogul has been charged with raping one woman and sexually assaulting another in separate incidents over a two-day period in 2013, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a news release.
“We believe the evidence will show that the defendant used his power and influence to gain access to his victims and then commit violent crimes against them,” Lacey said.
“I want to commend the victims who have come forward and bravely recounted what happened to them. It is my hope that all victims of sexual violence find strength and healing as they move forward.”
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