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Indo-Pak talks to mark beginning of peace, development

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Sushma Swaraj

New Delhi: India today expressed hope that re-engaging with Pakistan under a ‘Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue’ will mark beginning of peace and development as continued estrangement was a hurdle to peace and prosperity in the region.

 

Making a suo motu statement in Rajya Sabha on her last week’s visit of Islamabad and recent developments relating to ties between the two neighbours, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had discussed with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the environment conference in Paris “again re-engaging with each other.”

“The underlying sentiment, on which I am confident that this House concurs fully, was that the continued estrangement of two neighbours was a hurdle to the realisation of our shared vision of a peaceful and prosperous region,” she said.

At the same time, there was also a “sharp awareness” that principal obstacles to the growth of ties, especially terrorism, would have to be clearly and directly addressed.
She read out her statement as members of several opposition parties were in the Well vociferously raising slogans on several issues.

Swaraj said following her visit to Islamabad a ‘Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue’ with Pakistan will begin with the objective of “removing hurdles in the path of a constructive engagement by addressing issues of concern.”

Also, it aims at “exploring and establishing cooperative ties,” she said, adding initiatives on trade and connectivity, people-to-people exchanges and humanitarian issues would contribute to welfare of the entire region and promote better understanding and mutual trust.

“The new Dialogue, we sincerely hope, marks a new beginning also for peace and development in the whole region,” she said.

Following Modi-Sharif meeting on November 30, it was decided that the two sides should hold the NSA-level meeting. “The National Security Advisors of the two countries accordingly met on December 6” in Bangkok, Swaraj said.

The two NSAs focussed on “peace and security, terrorism, tranquility along the Line of Control and Jammu and Kashmir – the state which has been most directly impacted by terrorism and violation of LOC,” she said, adding her visit to Islamabad came on the back of these “constructive talks”.

Swaraj said in her talks with Sharif and Pakistan Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz in Islamabad, which where held in the backdrop of this “positive development”, the “two sides condemned terrorism and resolved to cooperate to eliminate this menace.”

“There we dwelt on the need for Pakistan to expedite the Mumbai terrorist attacks trial. The Indian side was assured of the steps being taken to expedite its early conclusion,” she said.

Following this, it was decided to begin a dialogue with Pakistan under the new title ‘Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue’ and foreign secretaries have been tasked to work out modalities and schedule of the meetings under the new dialogue, she said.

“I would like to assure the House that this Government accords the highest priority to the country’s security. In order to meet any threats in this regard, the government will take all steps, including through diplomatic channels,” she said.

The Government, she said, was “committed to building an environment of peaceful and cooperative relations with all our neighbours, including Pakistan, so that the efforts for peace and development in South Asia, initiated by the Government on the day of assuming office itself, are taken further forward.”

Swaraj said the 5th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia Istanbul Process on December 8-9 in Islamabad was devoted to the themes of security and connectivity.

“The Conference provided to us an important opportunity on a vital regional platform for political constultations and regional cooperation to reiterate India’s commitment to Afghanistan’s stability and development and our faith in its future,” she said.

The process, she said, brought together friends of Afghanistan from its immediate and extended neighbourhood as well as supporting countries and international organisations to promote political consultations and regional cooperation for a united, democractic, independent, strong and prosperous Afghanistan.

“My visit to Islamabad underlined India’s strong commitment to that cause,” she said, adding New Delhi at the conference sought full and direct transit for Afghanistan through Pakistan.

“In the context of relations between India and Pakistan, I advocated working together for peace and development in South Asia, with self-confidence and maturity,” she said.

Swaraj said the beginning of Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue was announced in a joint statement following her meeting with Aziz in Islamabad on December 9.

“This decision of the Government follows the recent developments and engagements between the two countries, especially the constructive discussions between their National Security Advisors in Bangkok on December 6, 2015.

“The meeting of the NSAs resulted from discussion between our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Miniter Nawaz Sharif in Paris on November 30,” she said.

The Minister said Prime Minister of Pakistan was invited in May 2014, among other SAARC leaders, by Modi to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new Government.

“This was a demonstration of our commitment to good neighbourly ties with Pakistan, in line with our vision for peace and development in the region through deeper regional integration in South Asia,” she said.

In their first meeting, India’s views on ties between the countries and its concerns on terrorism and violence were conveyed to the Pakistani authorities.
The meetings as decided between the two sides in May 2014, however, did not take place, she said.

The two leaders met in Ufa, Russia in July this year and agreed that the two countries had collective responsibillity to ensure peace and promote development, Swaraj said. “They condemned terrorism in all its forms and agreed to cooperate with each other to eliminate this menance from South Asia.”

At the Ufa meeting, they decided on a meeting of the NSAs to discuss all issues connected to terrorism. They also stated that the two nations were prepared to discuss all outstanding issues.

“During the Ufa meeting, PM was extended an invitation by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to visit Islambad for attending the SAARC Summit in 2016,” she said, without saying if Modi will visit Pakistan.

Swaraj said the expected meetings of NSA and Directors General of Military Operations, as envisaged at Ufa, did not materialise “for the reaons that we all know.”

Against this backdrop, when Modi and Sharif met during the COP-21 Summit in Paris on November 30, “there was a discussion on how the two countries could build an atmosphere conducive for again re-engaging with each other,” she said.

(PTI)

RSS leader Manmohan Vaidya who endorsed beef eating justifies his stance

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Manmohan Vaidya

New Delhi: A senior leader of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, who had recently said that RSS members also can eat, has strongly justified his statement.

Manmohan Vaidya, the all-India prachar pramukh of RSS last week addressing reporters in Arunachal Pradesh said that RSS doesn’t dictate food habits.

He said that even though eating beef is not traditional across the country, it is fairly common practice in Arunachal Pradesh.

He said that beef eaters can also become part of RSS. According to the report, there are nearly 3000 RSS members in Arunachal Pradesh alone who consume beef.

Vaidya also firmly rejected charges of growing intolerance in the country. He said people of certain ideologies are always intolerant to contrarian views.

Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi earlier said that those who beef can go to Pakistan. One is unsure whether he is aware that some RSS members are beef-eaters.

(Agencies)

Muslims in Bengaluru protest against erogatory remarks made against the Prophet

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Bengaluru: Muslims in Bengaluru took to the streets on Friday to stage protests after alleged derogatory remarks made against Prophet Mohammed(PBUH) by a right-wing activist in Uttar Pradesh.

Nearly 20,000 Muslim community protestors marched to the Khuddus Saheb Idgah Maidan on the Nandidurga Road to protest remarks made by right-wing leader Kamlesh Tiwari.

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According to the Commissioner of Police MA Saleem, “Police personnel were deployed to clear the traffic jams on various roads in the East Bengaluru.”

“Muslims held a meeting to condemn statements made by one Kamlesh Tiwari. No violence took place. They had a meeting at the Town Hall in the afternoon and another meeting at the Idgah Maidan,” he said.

Mufti Ashraf Ali, Shaikh Ejaz Nadwi, Mufti ShaoibUllah Miftahi, Shaikh LutFullaah, Shaikh Muzzammil, Shaikh Zakariyyah, CM Ibrahim, Syed ShafiUllah and Umar Shariff were among the Muslim religious leaders who spoke at the protest.

Historic climate deal reached, but campaigners say the work is just beginning

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‘This deal puts the fossil fuel industry on the wrong side of history.’— Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace International

(Photo: Global 2000 / Liebentritt/flickr/cc)

(Photo: Global 2000 / Liebentritt/flickr/cc)

by Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams

The global talks known as COP21 ended Saturday with nearly 200 countries agreeing to a carbon emissions-slashing deal (pdf).  But climate campaigners are saying that the agreement doesn’t go far enough, and that the real work is just beginning.

While Reuters described the deal’s adoption as “setting the course for a ‘historic’ transformation of the world’s fossil fuel-driven economy within decades in a bid to arrest global warming,” commentator George Monbiot writes Saturday of the draft agreement, “By comparison to what it could have been, it’s a miracle. By comparison to what it should have been, it’s a disaster.”

How Rainforest Action Network viewed the deal—”with both hope and disappointment”—captures the takeaway from Monbiot as well as many groups.

Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo’s take at the end of the talks was that the agreement marks “only one step on long a road, and there are parts of it that frustrate and disappoint me, but it is progress. This deal alone won’t dig us out the hole we’re in, but it makes the sides less steep.”

Here’s how environmental organization Earthjustice sums up just what the Paris Agreement commits its signatories to:

  • hold the increase in global temperature average to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees, a goal that reflects the most current science on the uppermost limit of warming if we are to reduce the risk of the most catastrophic impacts of climate change
  • review progress every five years, the first before 2020, and bring countries back to the table to increase their emissions reduction efforts
  • robust transparency provisions to hold nations accountable to carry through on their pledges
  • provide support to poorer countries to help them leapfrog to low-carbon development, adapt to climate change and cope with unavoidable loss and damage.

The Guardian reports that the deal “for the first time commits rich countries, rising economies and some of the poorest countries to work together to fight climate change.”

“The overall agreement is legally binding,” the reporting adds, “but some elements—including the pledges to curb emissions by individual countries and the climate finance elements —are not.”

That was noted by Friends of the Earth Scotland, who said that among the pact’s problems is the fact that “[t]here is no legally binding way forward to address the problem of lack of ambition of current national contributions towards post-2020 action—a very weak “facilitative dialogue” in 2018 with no obligation to actually improve these plans.” And as far as the 1.5 degree limit is concerned, the language used—”to pursue efforts”—is weak.

Naidoo said of the 1.5 degree limit, “That single number, and the new goal of net zero emissions by the second half of this century, will cause consternation in the boardrooms of coal companies and the palaces of oil-exporting states.”

“This deal puts the fossil fuel industry on the wrong side of history,” Naidoo said. Indeed, similar to Reuters‘ phrasing of the outcome, the Guardianwrote in its reporting of the deal’s adoption: “Governments have signaled an end to the fossil fuel era.” Similarly, ThinkProgress‘ Joe Romm wrote that it’s a deal “that will leave most of the world’s fossil fuels unburned.” That laudable element aside, many of the nations’ pledges put the world on a path to warming of not 2 but over 3 degrees, Earthjustice says.

On the issue of climate finance, says ActionAid, the deal “lets the world’s biggest historical polluters off the hook.” Disappointments aside, the group’s chief executive, Adriano Campolina, said the deal “provides an important hook on which people can hang their demands.”

“And so our work is just beginning,” Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen. “Whether we live in rich nations or poor ones, in low-lying coastal communities or in the American heartland, our fates are bound together.”

Others at the Paris conference took to Twitter to underscore the importance of grassroots movements now in forcing governments to commit to making the changes required:

And that sentiment brought out thousands to the streets of Paris—in defiance of a protest ban—on Saturday. Among those is Philippine activist Joseph Purugganan from the organization Focus on the Global South.

“The message here is that the real solution will come from the people,” he told the New York Times.

As Naidoo added in his statement, “To pull us free of fossil fuels we are going to need to mobilize in ever greater numbers.” And there have been successes, he noted. “This year the climate movement beat the Keystone pipeline, we kicked Shell out of the Arctic and put coal into terminal decline.”

“For us,” he said, “Paris was always a stop on an ongoing journey. Ultimately our fate will be decided over the coming decades by the collective courage of our species. I believe we will succeed.”

Gambia’s president declares Islamic statehood

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Leader Yahya Jammeh says his nation must reflect its Muslim majority and needs to break away from its colonial past.

Gambia's government has been accused of widespread human rights abuses [AFP]

Gambia’s government has been accused of widespread human rights abuses [AFP]

by Al Jazeera

Gambia’s president has declared the West African country an Islamic republic saying the decision was made because Islam is the religion of most citizens and the nation must break away from its colonial past.

President Yahya Jammeh made the declaration at the end of a political rally held on Friday at the coastal village Brufut, about 15km west of the capital Banjul.

“In line with the country’s religious identity and values, I proclaim Gambia as an Islamic state,” the Gambian leader said.

About 90 percent of Gambia’s 1.8 million people are Muslim. The country gained independence from Britain in 1965.

“Gambia cannot afford to continue the colonial legacy,” Jammeh said.

In an attempt to allay the fears of religious minorities, Jammeh said the rights of Gambia’s Christian community – who make up about eight percent of the country’s population – will be protected.

Jammeh said there will be no mandates on dress. “We will be an Islamic state that would respect the rights of all citizens and non-citizens.”

The head of the country’s Islamic body would not say if he endorsed the declaration.

“We haven’t met yet to discuss over the presidential announcement,” said Supreme Islamic Council chairman Imam Momodou Lamin Touray.

Hamat Bah, of the opposition National Reconciliation Party, criticised the decision. “There is a constitutional clause that says that Gambia is a secular state,” he said. “You cannot make such a declaration without going through a referendum.”

Jammeh’s government has been regularly criticised by Britain and other Western powers for human rights abuses. Jammeh has ruled Gambia since seizing power in 1994.

Jeffrey Smith, a senior advocacy officer at the Robert F Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, told Al Jazeera that Jammeh’s “unilateral” decision to call Gambia an Islamic republic is part of a “larger pattern of capriciousness” and has ulterior political motives.

“Gambia is not a country of laws but is rather ruled by the whims of Yahya Jammeh,” Smith said.

“Second, Jammeh has burned all bridges with his former donors in the West due to his deplorable human rights track record and the rampant corruption that he has participated in.

“As such, he is desperately attempting to foster a closer and more lucrative relationship with the Arab world. By couching his decision in terms of ‘fighting colonialism’, we can see that he is trying to cozy up with other parts of the world that harbour anti-West sentiments,” he said.

Jammeh’s announcement came after Gambia said on Wednesday it would take in Rohingya refugees as part of its “sacred duty” to alleviate the suffering of fellow Muslims fleeing Southeast Asia to escape oppression.

The government of the West African nation appealed to countries of the region to send Rohingya refugees to its shores, where it said it would set them up in refugee camps.

“The government of Gambia notes with grave concern the inhumane condition of the Rohingya people of Myanmar – especially those referred to as ‘boat people’ – currently drifting in the seas off the coast of Malaysia and Indonesia,” it said in a statement.

“As human beings – more so fellow Muslims – it is a sacred duty to help alleviate the untold hardships and sufferings fellow human beings are confronted with.”

Foreign Films Roundup

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TV4 ENTERTAINMENT

SKY INVESTS IN TV4 ENTERTAINMENT

European pay TV operator Sky has invested $0.3 million in LA based TV4 Entertainment, which owns a growing portfolio of special interest television channels. The channels are distributed across multiple online platforms in US, including Hulu, Amazon, Sony, Vimeo, YouTube & Roku. TV4’s portfolio includes a dozen channels, reaching millions of unique users every month. It has more than 30 new channels in development. The portfolio includes: DocComTV aimed at documentary devotees; All Warrior Network for fans of the warrior genre; Motorland, a video network for automotive enthusiasts; the Ultimate Champion Network, which has programming for combat sports fans & The Clarity Project, a channel exploring child illness.

DAN TO HEAD TV BUSINESS AFFAIRS FOR WME

WME is bolstering its business development ranks, enlisting Warner Bros. TV business affairs veteran Dan Limerick as head of TV business affairs. The announcement of Dan Limerick’s appointment comes just hours after WBTV said the executive would be departing the company. With Limerick on board, Catherine Sugar, a 17 year WME veteran who previously headed business affairs, is shifting to a new role as WME’s head of business affairs for global TV. Both executive appointments come as WME / IMG revs up an ambitious expansion plan to broaden the company’s reach with a host of production & distribution initiatives, from film financing to event production to traditional TV program development & distribution. Mark Shapiro, the former head of ESPN & Dick Clark Prods, is leading the charge as IMG’s New York based chief content officer.

PIXAR MAY SUFFER 1ST LOSS AT BOX OFFICE

The Good Dinosaur is shaping up to be a novelty. After 16 films, including such classics as Toy Story & Wall – E, the story of a young Apatosaurus’ quest to reunite with his family is shaping up to be Pixar’s 1st box office failure. With a production budget of $200 million and roughly $150 million spent on marketing, industry analysts & executives say that Pixar and its parent company Disney must make $500 million to break even theatrically. Currently, the film has made $131.3 million globally and is showing signs of fading fast. At this point, many project that The Good Dinosaur will be lucky to crack the $400 million mark. That would make it the lowest grossing Pixar film since A Bug’s Life made $363.4 million worldwide in 1998.

IAIN TO OPEN LONDON’S FOCUS SUMMIT

Iain Smith, executive producer on Mad Max: Fury Road & chairman of British Film Commission will deliver the opening speech at the Focus Summit, an event that focuses on developments in media landscape. Other keynote speakers at the summit, which takes place on 15th Dec, 2015 in London, include Michael Katz, VP international programming & planning at A & E Networks, & Patrick Collister, lead creative at Google’s The Zoo. The event, which will follow themes of convergence, collaboration & creativity, will seek to understanding the impact of “second screeners” on the creative process; look at the different types of creative partnerships that now exist; examine the changing relationship with today’s audience and ask how producers are handling the transition.

EX MACHINA BAGS BEST FILM AT BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM AWARDS

Alex Garland’s sci – fi movie Ex Machina was the big winner at the British Independent Film Awards, taking 4 prizes. The movie bagged “Best Film”, Garland took the prizes for “BEST Director” & “Best Screenplay” and the craft award was picked up by Andrew Whitehurst for “Best Visual Effects”. The ceremony, which was hosted by Richard Ayoade, took place at London’s old Billings gate Market. Tom Hardy won “Best Actor” for his dual role as Ronnie & Reggie Kray in Legend & Saoirse Ronan picked up the “Best Actress” prize for Brooklyn.

MATTEW TO STAR IN THE END OF LONGING

Friends star Matthew Perry will lead the cast in the world premiere of his playwriting debut, The End Of Longing, at the Playhouse Theatre, London, from 2nd Feb, 2016 to 14th May, 2016. The fast paced, bittersweet comedy will be directed by Lindsay Posner reuniting the pair, following their 1st West End collaboration on “Sexual Perversity in Chicago” at the Comedy Theatre in 2003. The End Of Longing centers on Jack, Stephanie, Joseph & Stevie, 4 lost souls, entering their 40’s and searching for meaning. After sharing 1 raucous night together in a downtown Los Angeles bar, their lives become irreversibly entwined in a rollercoaster journey that forces them to confront the darker sides of their relationships.

KAREN SETS UP SIDNEY STREET PRODUCTIONS

Karen Ross, the creative director of the UK version of MasterChef, has set up a production company named Sidney Street Productions with the backing of Endemol Shine. Sidney Street Productions will specialize in producing food, factual & lifestyle formats. MasterChef executive editor David Ambler, who has worked alongside Ross on the show for the past & years, will oversee all versions of the format from the New Year from within Shine TV. Ross launched a re – versioned MasterChef in 2005, originally as series producer, steering it from its original early evening BBC Two slot (as MasterChef Goes Large) to a returning primetime hit for BBC One with 3 successful further iteration.

ADAM JOINS MULTI – CHANNEL NETWORK COLLECTIVE STUDIO 71

Collective Studio 71, a multi – channel network formed by the merger of Collective Digital Studio & ProSiebenSat.1’s Studio 71, Germany’s largest MCN, has hired Adam Boorstin as executive Vice President of global digital distribution. Boorstin most recently served as head of partnerships at BuzzFeed
Motion Pictures. In his new role, Boorstin will oversee distribution for all Collective Studio 71’s content and lead the expansion of Collective Studio 71’s distribution network to new platforms. Boorstin will be responsible for forging new partnerships with distributors. He will identify new opportunities to distribute existing content, while also exploring exclusive custom content deals for Collective Studio 71 creators with VOD, subscription VOD & OTT platforms. He will report to CDS CEO Reza Izad.

HAIL, CAESAR!’ TO OPEN BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL

Joel Coen & Ethan Coen’s Hail, Caesar! will open the 66th Berlin International Film Festival on 11th Feb, 2015. “It’s wonderful that Joel Coen & Ethan Coen are once again opening the Berlinale. Their humor, unique characters & fantastic narrative skill are guaranteed to thrill the audience. Hail, Caesar! is the perfect start for the 2016 Berlinale,” festival director Dieter Kosslick said. In 1998, the Coen Brothers’ comedy The Big Lebowski played in the Berlinale competition program and their Western True Grit opened the festival in 2011. Hail, Caesar! is set during the latter years of Hollywood’s Golden Age, during the studio system’s heyday.

2 MULTIPLEXES TO BOW IN 2016

1 key challenge facing Moroccan cinema is screen shortage, 31 theaters for a population of 30 million, and the continuing loss of spectators in the older picture palaces, which continue to serve as important venues for Moroccan films. The country has only 2 multiplexes: a 14 screener in Casablanca and a 9 plex in Marrakech, both run by the French – Moroccan group Megarama. Extraordinary but true: These 2 multiplexes generate 2 3rd’s of all box office revenues. Megarama also runs a duplex in Fez. The situation will be partially relieved in 2016 with the opening of 2 new multiplexes by Megarama, which were initially scheduled for 2014, but have been successively postponed due to planning permission issues for the host shopping malls. In Feb, 2016 Megarama hopes to open an 11 screen complex, with 1,400 seats, in Rabat, Morocco’s capital, followed by an 8 screen venue, with 1,000 seats, in the international port city of Tangiers.

COPPOLA OUTLINES LIVECINEMA PLANS

At a round table interview at the 15th edition Marrakech Film Festival, jury prexy Francis Ford Coppola revealed details of his upcoming “live cinema” project, whose 1st trial run, Distant Vision was tested 5th Jun, 2015 in Oklahoma City Community College and live streamed to private showings in Paris, New York, Los Angeles and the Coppola family residence in Napa Valley. The 76 year old helmer also gave an insight into key moments in his career, his views on the future of the film industry and his general take on the complex international crisis resulting from recent terrorist attacks around the world. Coppola explained that his interest in live cinema came from the discussion a few years back that 3D was the “future of cinema.”

NABIL PREPS SOCIAL DRAMA RAZZIA

46 year old Nabil Ayouch is Morocco’s best known helmer, due to his incisive social dramas that highlight the plight of characters from impoverished backgrounds who resort to desperate actions. His 2012 pic, Horses Of God, about the 2003 Casablanca suicide bombers, was sold to 40 countries and officially presented in US by Jonathan Demme, where it was Morocco’s candidate for the Foreign Language Academy Award & Golden Globes. Given the rising tide of terrorist attacks throughout the world, attributed in part to under privileged environments, Ayouch’s Horses Of God is increasingly cited as a poignant insight into the underlying causes of terrorism. “Horses Of God was a premonition of what happened in Paris, not just the situation in Morocco,” said Ayouch. For his most recent film, Much Loved, Ayouch decided to switch his gaze to a more subtle form of violence provoked by poverty.

SARIM UNVEILS PLANS TO REINFORCE MOROCCAN CINEMA

After his 1st 12 months at the helm of the Moroccan Cinema Center (CCM), Sarim Fassi Fihri recently took stock of his achievements to date and outlined his plans for the coming months, including tax schemes designed to attract foreign productions. 57 year old Sarim Fassi Fihri, has a long track record as a film producer and has worked on an extensive number of important foreign & domestic productions, including Nabil Ayouch’s 1st film Mektoub & Alain Chabat’s Asterix And Obelix – Mission Cleopatra. From 2005 he presided the Moroccan film producers association, AMPAC and had a major role in terms of discussing national film policy, including organization of the industry meetings, Assises Nationales Du Cinéma, in 2007 & 2012. During his 1st 12 months in the post, he has had to handle a series of complex situations, including negotiations with the Government for new tax schemes aimed at boosting the domestic exhibition sector and attracting more foreign productions to Morocco.

MARRAKECH’S COUNTRY TRIBUTE AT ITS 15TH FEST

Atom Egoyan headed a 23 person delegation of leading Canadian producers & directors, including Brandon Cronenberg, Michel Poulette & Stephen Dunn, recently, at the 15th Marrakech International Film Festival. Launched in mid – 2000’s, Marrakech’s country tribute has become one of the fest’s highlights, filling the stage in the main auditorium of the Palais Des Congress with a galaxy of talent. This year’s ceremony follows on the heels of the 2013 tribute to Scandinavian Cinema and last year’s tribute to Japanese Cinema. Sarim Fassi Fihri, prexy of the Moroccan Cinema Center (CCM) presided the ceremony and highlighted the fact that both Morocco & Canada are bi – lingual countries “that beat with a single heart” He praised the achievements of his sister institution in Canada, the National Film Office, and referred to the multiple achievements of Canadian cinema in the international film panorama, pioneered by leading directors, from established helmers such as David Cronenberg & Denys Arcand to the generation of new talent such as Xavier Dolan who screened his 1st feature, I Killed My Mother, aged 20, in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, and then shared Cannes’ Grand Jury Prize in 2014 for Mommy.

CESC GAY ON HIS NEW MOVIESTAR SERIES

Cesc Gay’s 7th feature, Truman has Javier Camara as Tomas, a college instructor in Canada who travels to Madrid to bid farewell to his old friend Julian, an actor diagnosed with terminal cancer played by Ricardo Darin, star of Juan Jose Campanella’s Oscar winning The Secret In Their Eyes. Julian’s main concern is finding a new family for Truman, his ageing boxer friend. Directed by an audience friendly auteur & produced by Marta Esteban at Imposible Films & Diego Dubcovsky at Argentina’s BD Cine, Truman is a comedy of melancholy, wise, wistful & well-observed,” said reviewer Joe Leydon. An emotionally raw, even harsh dramedy, balancing dark twists and the excesses of the soul, Truman is performing well in Spain where it cumed $2.7 million, ranking No. 8 in its 5th week at theaters.

CHILDREN OF SATURN AIMS TO JUMP AT VENTANA SUR

Eugeni Guillem’s Children Of Saturn is the highest profile of Catalan project trio pack which was pitched this week at Ventana Sur’s Beyond the Window, in a search for potential partners & financing. A cannibal coming – of – ager – an intriguing mix – Children Of Saturn will mark the debut of Guillem, who comes from Barcelona film school Escac, a genre talent incubator whose alums include Juan Antonio Bayona & Kike Maillo. He has shot musical clips & shorts, plus a segment in the omnibus slasher The Innocents, directed by a dozen of Escac alumni. Children Of Saturn has an estimated initial budget of $4 million and was pitched for the 1st time at Oct 2015’s Sitges Film Festival, at Pitchbox, a new initiative launched in collaboration with online platform Filmarket Hub.

AL JAZEERA’S BEIN MEDIA INKS A MULTIMILLION DOLLAR 600 PIC DEAL

Al Jazeera owned beIN Media group has inked a 5 year multimillion dollar 600 title output deal with Italia Film International, the prominent Beirut based Middle East film distributor with close Hollywood ties. The pact will give it considerable content muscle and strengthen its ambitions to become a top entertainment paybox in the Arab world. beIN, until recently an Al Jazeera sports spinoff, is launching 2 channels, called beIN Movies 1 & 2 in Middle East, in a likely pay TV landscape game changer in the region where so far Orbit Showtime Network OSN was the single paybox offering movies, original programming & general entertainment. Financial terms of what is being touted as the biggest output deal ever inked in Middle East were not disclosed.

DOHA FILM INSTITUTE APPOINTS NAOMI & LUCIA AS MASTERS FOR QUMRA EVENT

The 2nd edition of Doha Film Institute’s innovative Qumra event is starting to take shape with 2 prominent female filmmakers recruited as masters: Japan’s Naomi Kawase & Argentina’s Lucrecia Martel. Both are widely known auteurs on the fest & arthouse circuits. Kawase most recently made a splash with her bittersweet drama An, about a solitary baker & 76 year old culinary genius, which opened the Cannes Un Certain Regard section this year and went on to sell widely. She is considered a purveyor of lyrical minimalism. Martel, who is Latin America’s most prominent woman director, is currently in post on period piece Zama, about an officer of Spanish Crown operating in Argentina’s wild backwaters towards the end of the 18th century on the eve of the country’s independence movements. As part of their role as Qumra Masters, they will each participate in a series of masterclasses, workshops & one – on – one sessions with directors of participating DFI backed projects & industry professionals from around the world, and also screen one of their pics for Doha audiences. Qumra, which is an Arab word believed to be the origin of the word “camera,” is a unique format event dedicated to fostering 1st & 2nd works from Arab world and beyond through a formula that blends creative workshop & festival elements.

ICFLIX PREPPING COME BACK 1ST ARABIC PRODUCTION ABOUT ISLAMIC STATE

Icflix, the Dubai based VOD platform founded by chairman Fadi Mehio & CEO Carlos Tibi in 2012 is upping its commitment to Moroccan market, by signing production deals with leading Moroccan filmmakers. The platform has also announced that it is prepping 1st Arabic production about Islamic State, Come Back, which will be shot in English, French & Arabic, lensing in Belgium, Turkey, France and multiple Middle Eastern countries, to be released in early summer of 2016. Icflix currently vies with Starz as the leading VOD platform in the 370 million Middle East -North Africa (MENA) market, that has a young & highly wired demographic. MENA market is particularly attractive to producers of Arabic content. Icflix offers Hollywood, Bollywood & Arabic content (which it terms Jazwood). Its first Arabic productions were acquired in 2014, including the Egyptian productions HIV & Al Makida that were released in Oct, 2014.

CO – PRODUCTIONS ALLOW GULF FEST TO THRIVE

The ever changing Middle East festival scene has been shaken up by instability lately just as Arab film industry gains more traction. In this scenario the Dubai International Film Festival is becoming more pivotal as a platform to nurture & launch fresh Arab fare, as it continues to boost its role as a driver for the nascent biz in the Gulf. In May, 2015 the nearby Abu Dhabi film fest shockingly shuttered after 8 editions during which it had gradually earned a significant spot on the map. Just days later Dubai, now at its 12th edition, announced it would reinstate the Dubai Film Connection co – production platform, which had been scrapped in haste in 2014.

UAE EARNS REP AS INTERNATIONAL HUB FOR HI – PRODUCTIONS

What do the latest Star Wars, Fast AND Furious & Star Trek, installments have in common? They were all recently shot in United Arab Emirates, where a combination of incentives, security, transportation, state – of – the art studio space, a futuristic skyline & exotic desert ambiance are positioning Dubai & Abu Dhabi as the prime Middle East hub for different types of international productions. In Oct, 2015, after 3 months in Vancouver & Canada, Paramount’s Star Trek: Beyond touched down in Dubai for a 2 week shoot, brought by executive producer Jeffrey Chernov who in 2010 had come with Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol in which Tom Cruise famously rappels down from Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.

MUREN TO BE FELICITATED AT PARIS IMAGES DIGITAL SUMMIT

Veteran VFX master Dennis Muren will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2nd Digital Creation Genie Awards and part of the Paris Images Digital Summit. Kudo will be awarded at a 28th Jan, 2015 ceremony to be held at Enghien – Les – Bains Centre Des Arts. Muren will deliver a Master Class on Sat 30th Jan, 2015 during event’s Festival Day. Running 28th Jan, 2016 to 30th Jan, 2016 and launched by the Ile De France Commission, the Paris Images Digital Summit is devoted to digital creation in its multiple manifestations, the latest trends & innovations in digital visual effects, CGI, motion – capture, 3D & disruptive technologies in cinema, television, advertising, video games & transmedia. California born, Muren is a VFX specialist best celebrated for his contributions to some of the defining features of Steven Spielberg, James Cameron & George Lucas which reshaped Hollywood: Star Wars saga, ET The Extra -Terrestrial (1982), Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), The Abyss (1989), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) & Super 8 (2011)

BRIE TO BE FELICITATED BY CAPRI – HOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL

Brie Larson will be felicitated by the 20th edition of the Capri -Hollywood film festival dedicated to launching Oscar hopefuls and establishing a bridgehead between Hollywood & Italy’s film & showbiz communities. Larson, an awards season frontrunner for her intense, Oscar buzz generating performance as Ma in Lenny Abrahamson’s Room is expected to make the trek to the Italo isle off the coast of Naples to receive a “Best Actress” of the Year nod. In making the announcement, Capri topper Pascal Vicedomini noted that Larson, who is 26, “is considered the new rising star in Hollywood,” thanks to her work this year in Room & Trainwreck opposite Amy Schumer. Room, which opens in Italy in Mar, 2016, will bow locally from the festival where other awards buzz pics will also launch, including John Crowley’s Brooklyn, Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl, Paolo Sorrentino’s Youth & Justin Kurzel directed Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender & Marion Cotillard.

LEONE GROUP & EAGLE PICTURES FORGE DISTRIBUTION PACT

Italy’s Leone Film Group, the company originally founded by spaghetti western master Sergio Leone, has forged a strategic pact with local indie distributor
Eagle Pictures that will see them co – release the next 2 installments in Lionsgate’s The Divergent Series – Allegiant & Ascendant – and also Keanu Reeves starrer John Wick 2 & Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge, toplining Andrew Garfield. Additionally going forward Eagle will be exclusively handling distribution on plenty of Leone’s new titles over the next 3 years. The companies will equally split costs & profits for distribution on all Italo platforms on the 4 announced pics. Leone’s heirs, who entered the Italo distribution arena in 2000, have output deals with Lionsgate & Dreamworks and close rapports with several US indies, including The Weinstein Company.

DOCU PRODUCER TO FIRE UP FICTION FEATURES & INTERNATIONAL CO – PRODUCTION

A winner of the 2015 Berlinale Co – production Market Pitch, for Abner Benaim’s Plaza Catedral, a tangled false friendship drama with thriller elements, set against the background of Panama’s social divide and of Colombia’s Cartagena Festival PuertoLab with Road To La Paz, a humanizing road movie tale, Juarez Allen broke through in 2011 co -producing Victor Kossakovsky’s Vivan Las Antipodas, a big poetic geo – docu which played Venice. Currently producing Benaim’s doc, My Name Is Not Ruben Blades, with Ruben Blades, based out of her Buenos Aires shingle Gema Films, Juarez Allen sees her future, however, more in fiction features & international co -production, one of Latin America’s current production drivers. That may not be the biggest of asks.

4 MOVIES MAKE MARKET RUNNING

4 Movies namely Era El Cielo, This Too Shall Pass, Sangre En La Boca & No Kids made some of the market running, in announcements, trading, at this week’s 7th Ventana Sur, Latin America’s top film market which for the 1st time fully caught the Latin American film industry in ongoing market transformation, as Netflix and other Internet content distributors feature ever more in film economics. Primer Plano, the Argentine sales – distribution company, recognized that about 40% of its sales revenues now come from Over-The-Top operators. As Argentina’s INCAA Film Institute launched last week its own Argentine movie VOD platform, rumors ran rife at Ventana Sur, about Netflix 6 figure dollar sum offers for packages of films, though whether any deals of this caliber have actually gone down is a moot question.

4 LATIN – AMERICAN COMPANIES TO CO – PRODUCE MARILYN

In an increasingly common pan – regional alliance for Latin America, 4 Latin American companies, Argentina’s Maravilla Cine, Chile’s Don Quijote & Rampante & Uruguay’s Cordon Films, are teaming up to co – produce real life inspired drama Marilyn. Argentine Martin Rodriguez Redondo’s feature debut. The project was selected for San Sebastian’s 2014 Europe -Latin American Co -production Forum, Chile’s Sanfic industry lab & Australab – FicValdivia. Winner of an Argentine INCAA Film Institute script contest & an Ibermedia co -production award, Marilyn is based on the true story of Marcelo B, today called Marilyn, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for shooting dead his mother & brother with a shotgun in 2009 and then was partner in Argentina’s 1st gay marriage in prison. The film will roll from Jul, 2016 produced by Maravilla Cine’s Buenos Aires based Paula Zyngierman, production manager on standout Argentine films. Marilyn focuses on the character of Marcos, a boy who lives in a farm on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. While his father does the heavy work, he stays at home with his mother & transvestites when he is alone. After the father’s death, Marcos is forced by his mother to take charge of the farm work for the 1st time, suppressing his feminine behavior. Verbal & physical violence against Marcos grows. One morning he explodes.

MORBIDO TV LOADS UP ON GENRE

AG Studios’ Morbido TV, its flagship pay TV channel for Latin America & US Hispanic, is loading up on horror, fantasy, sci – fi, occult and more and driving into original content production, as it aims for a spring 2016 launch.Despite Morbido TV’s
start – up status, it hires, own shows & early buys rep one of the most ambitious rollouts of a regional genre channel which, in Morbido TV’s case, aims to be much more: A talent hub, production force & driver of a pan – regional culture industry richly grounded in Latin American sensibility. Morbido TV will be the 1st 24 hour horror – fantasy genre channel in Latin America said Eduardo Caso, CEO of AG Networks, AG Studios multi – platform division. Among new plans, Mexico’s Rafa Lara is attached to direct Terror Mx, Morbido TV’s 1st original production, an episodic series framing “the complete history of horror -fantasy cinema in Mexico,
Pablo Guisa Koestinger, the charismatic Morbido Fest CEO Morbido TV content head, announced at Ventana Sur’s Blood Window.

GABRIELA TO MAKE HER DEBUT AS A DIRECTOR

“A woman director who likes to make Tarantino movies,” says Rodrigo Teixeira,
Gabriela Amaral Almeida has just shot her debut, the violent The Friendly Animal, for Teixeira’s RT Features, producer of Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha, Robert Eggers’ The Witch & James Gray’s upcoming To The Stars. Lensed by ace cinematographer Barbra Alvarez and a Western or so it seems in its huit clos set – up and gathering primal brutality, Animal turns on restaurant owner who is attacked, shoots one aggressor. Turning the tables, with the help of his waitress, he takes his staff & clients hostage, holing up in his restaurant.

RT FEATURES & MUNDIAL PACT FOR ERA EL CIELO

Brazil’s RT Features & Mundial, a joint venture of IM Global & Canana, the top Mexican production house, have pacted for Mundial to acquire world sales rights to Era El Cielo, written by Lucia Puenzo and highly anticipated next feature of Brazilian Marco Dutra. Deal links Mundial with Rodrigo Teixeira’s Sao Paulo based RT Features, one of Latin America’s most exciting & unusual film outfits.
Producer of Noah Baumbach’s Francis Ha, Robert Eggers’ The Witch & James Gray’s upcoming To The Stars, RT Features has also driven hard into a new generation of Brazilian directors, melding arthouse concerns with genre & narrative drive.

MANEGLIA & SCHEMBORI PREP 2 MOVIES FOLLOW UP

Paraguayan filmmakers Juan Carlos Maneglia & Tana Schembori are developing comedy adventure film Los Buscadores (Seekers), their follow up to 2012’s box office & festival’s hit action thriller 7 Boxes, which Breaking Glass Pictures picked up for US, sold by Shoreline Ent. Dubbed a “Paraguayan Indiana Jones” Seekers takes place in modern day Paraguay, with local characters and is spoken in Spanish, Guarani & Jopara, a mix of both languages. Seekers original screenplay was written by Juan Carlos Maneglia, who will co – direct alongside Tana Schembori. Set in the neighbourhood of Chacarita, a picturesque, colorful & vibrant community, right next to downtown Asuncion, the plot kicks off when a young paperboy accidentally discovering a map in a book given to him by his grandfather. He teams up with other paperboys in search for a buried treasure known as “Plata Yvyguy”.

2 MOVIES TOP BLOOD WINDOW’S BLOODY WORKS IN PROGRESS

Laura Casabe’s dramedy thriller Benavidez’s Case & Sebastian & Federico Rotstein’s horror pic Terror 5 won 2 prizes a piece at Blood Window’s 3rd Bloody Works in Progress edition in Ventana Sur. Produced by Magali Nieva Umansky at Ninja Films Argentina and toplining Norma Aleandro, Benavidez’s Case won a color correction award plus VFX supervision granted by Mexican production house Sofia Films. Benavidez’s Case also snagged opening credits design & a basic pay TV distribution deal for Latin America from Mexico’s Morbido Film Festival. Produced by Argentina’s Camargo Cine, Sebastian Perillo & Werner Cine, Terror 5 snagged concept graphic poster design service also from the Morbido Fest, plus a plaudit from Argentina’s Full Dimensional Award, consisting of a teaser post – pro work & 3D conversion plus 5 work days of 7.1 sound mixing, Foley & DCP conversion.

PALESTINIAN GAY FILM FESTIVAL BREAkS BARRIERS

It was an LGBT themed film festival held outside the borders of Palestine, featuring a number of works by directors who were neither gay nor Palestinian. But the 1st ever Kooz Queer festival which had a modest bow earlier this month in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, made little ripples of history in its own right. The tiny 3 day festival, established by grassroots org Aswat – Palestinian Gay Women and held across a handful of Haifa coffee shops & art venues, opened up a dialogue about the overlaps of occupation & sexuality; and of the borders of individual identity in the context of an uncertain international existence. The goal of the festival was to provide platform for home grown, gay themed films at a time when most LGBT Palestinians still feel a need to stay closeted.

IMAX T0 SURPASS CGV ADDS 25 SCREENS

South Korea’s CJ – CGV has ordered an additional 25 IMAX giant screens which it will locate in its rapidly expanding Chinese theater circuit. The deal, announced to coincide with the CineAsia exhibitors & distributors convention in Hong Kong, lifts IMAX to over 500 theatre signings in Greater China. It also takes IMAX’s network total in the Asia region to 520 theatres, with 275 open & 245 contracted to open. The deal brings CJ CGV’s IMAX commitment to 122 theaters, with 2 in Vietnam, 20 in South Korea & 100 in China. The company is IMAX’s 2nd largest exhibitor partner in Asia and its 3rd largest globally. The theatres will be installed in new construction projects, most of which are located in 1st or 2nd tier cities in China.

Movie Review: ‘Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie’ is really heart warming, touchy & Sensitive

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Snoopy and Charlie Brown The Peanuts Movie

Producers: Craig Schulz, Bryan Schulz, Cornelius Uliano, Paul Feig & Michael J. Travers
Director: Steve Martino
Star Cast: Alex Garfin, William Alex Waunsch, Madisyn Shipman & Troy Andrews
Genre: Comedy
Verdict: GOOD

Plot: Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved “Peanuts” gang make their big screen debut, like they’ve never been seen before, in state of the art 3D animation. Charlie Brown, the world’s most beloved underdog, embarks upon an epic & heroic quest, while his best pal, the lovable beagle Snoopy, takes to the skies to pursue his arch nemesis, the Red Baron.

Aces: The short episodic stories in The Peanuts Movie series are heart warming, touchy & sensitive. It makes you go down on a nostalgic trip down memory lane of your own childhood.

Minuses: Some of the gags, used in The Peanuts Movie, though fall flat.

Last Word: Recommended for viewers of all age and hailing from all walks of life. The Peanuts Movie is really funny too. Go have fun!

Movie Review: ‘Sorry Daddy’ has nothing new to offer. It’s like an old wine packaged in a new bottle

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sorry-daddy

Banner: S. K. Films
Producer: Wasim Khan
Director: Shakoor Sir & Vijay Pal
Star Cast: Shameem Khan, Tinu Verma, Mukesh Tiwari, Raghubir Yadav, Razzak Khan, Shehzad Khan, Gayatri Singh etc
Music: Vishnu Deva & Liyakat Ajmeri

Director duo Shakoor Sir & Vijay Pal have really made a mockery of a good theme in their debut directorial offering Sorry Daddy. Although the age old theme of street children or even the kidnapped ones being forced to beg, after their body parts are mutilated, is nothing new and represented time and again since its 1st attempt in Nanha Farishta.

Sorry Daddy is actually a children’s action drama film set in the early 2014’s. The story centre’s around the turbulent relationship between Inspector Ravi Sharma (Shameem Khan) and the street children, a relationship which is affected by children’s issues with alcohol abuse and temperament. Inspector Ravi Sharma is an honest & intelligent police officer. He burst the racket of Daddan’s (Mukesh Tiwari) illegal wine factory to show his intention against the enemy of law & society. Meanwhile, his daughter Anishka seeks his help to find out her lost school friend Aditya, who is a very bright student but always looks puzzled because of his drunken father who fights with his mother every time. One day the fight takes an ugly turn and father dies accidentally. Aditya runs away from the home in fear. Ravi arrests his mother as murderer and she lands up in prison. Innocent Aditya walks randomly in the city and meets a gang of street beggars who want to help him. But unfortunately, he lands up in the clutches of Sevak Ram (Tinu Verma). Sevak Ram is a socialist who runs a self organization for the betterment of these street children. But the truth is that he makes them handicap and pushes them in begging business.

Sorry to say but Sorry Daddy is the most pathetic film ever made in the history of Indian Cinema. The debutante directors Shakoor Sir & Vijay Pal have failed miserably in delivering the goods. Right from the word go nothing seems to work for this badly presented film. There is just one song which has been repeated throughout the film and it gets on your nerves.

Performance wise senior actors like Tinu Verma, Razzak Khan, Mukesh Tiwari, Shehzad Khan & Raghubir Yadav are mercifully wasted. Even the new actors like Shameem Khan, Gayetri Singh and hordes of others have hammed like nobody’s business. All this new actors especially Shameem Khan are more like mini financiers who finance the films just to satisfy their urge to don the grease paint & face the arc lights. They neither have the talent, the figure or even the looks to be actors. With no screen presence they end up looking more like beggars on the streets.

Tail Piece: Sorry Daddy is a sheer waste of time & energy. So stay miles away from the theatre that still has the daring to screen Sorry Daddy in their cinema halls.

Movie Review: ‘The Silent Heroes’ is the most beautiful & the most sensitive film about people with physical disability

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the silent heroes

Banner: Hans Production & Reality Films
Producer: Mahesh Bhatt & Kamal Birani
Director: Mahesh Bhatt
Star Cast: Maanuv Bharadwaj, Priyanka Panchal, Mann Bagga, Simran Deep, Nirmal Kumar Pant and other real life heroes
Music: Rahul Mishra & Aashish Jha

First things first the debutante director Mahesh Bhatt of The Silent Heroes should not be confused with our erstwhile director Mahesh Bhatt of the Bhatt Empire. The present director Mahesh Bhatt of The Silent Heroes is a journalist turned debutante director. He deserves all kudos for making such a beautiful and sensitive film about people who are battling with their life with all their physical deformity & physical disability intact. And another plus point of The Silent Heroes is that it was shot at the beautiful locales of the Himalayan Mountains Of Uttarkhand.

So The Silent Heroes is an adventure drama movie following the story of 13 real life deaf children. In fact The Silent Heroes showcases the fictional story of 13 deaf children from a school in Uttarkhand who want to work on something which will bring them respect and the world will look up to them. This school is run by 2 teachers who feel that if these children become mountaineers then their dream to rise high above everyone will be realised, after all mountaineering is a difficult sport and attempting the same with deaf children is a much bigger challenge. So the children and their families get excited about this and want to pursue this dream but they need someone to train them and believe in their nearest impossible dream. The rest of the story is of their trainer and his haunting past which compels him to help them, then follows their rigorous training and unfolding events in the Himalaya and rejections by other trainers, their final expedition and then extreme weather and challenges during this expedition with an unexpected & extremely thrilling climax to this expedition and their dream journey through the mountains.

Hats off to the producers team of Kamal Birani & Mahesh Bhatt, who incidentally also doubles up as a director, for making such a courageous & awe inspiring film The Silent Heroes minus all the commercial trappings is especially made to boost up the morale and lift up the spirit of the global disabled people. The credit should also be given to the entire cast & crew for being part of such a brilliant film like The Silent Heroes.

Performance wise all the actors like Maanuv Bharadwaj, Priyanka Panchal, Mann Bagga, Simran Deep, Nirmal Kumar Pant etc and even the real life characters are brilliantly outstanding.

Tail Piece: The Silent Heroes is certainly a not to be missed film at any cost. But how many real takers are there of such good films as most of the audiences are too fond of the regular masala films which are full of naach gaanas & dishoom dishoom.

IOC official hailing from Karnataka arrested for alleged ISIS links

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arrest

Jaipur: A senior official of state-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) was today arrested for alleged links with terror organisation ISIS, police said.

The Special Operation Group (SOG) and ATS of Rajasthan Police arrested Mohd Sirazudin, the marketing manager of IOC here.

“Sirazudin, hailing from Gulbarga in Karnataka, was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his alleged involvement in (activities of) international terrorist organisation ISIS, supplying official inputs and recruiting organisation members in the country,” Alok Tripathi, Additional DGP (ATS and SOG), said here.

“The accused was also active in flaring up and encouraging Muslim youths for (joining) ISIS activities,” Tripathi said.

On a complaint, SOG and ATS teams verified antecedents of the accused, and checked his WhatsApp and Facebook accounts.

Objectionable materials were seized from his residence in Jaipur, the ADG said, adding he used to contact youths through social media.

A number of issues of ISIS’ online magazine “Dabiq”, pictures, and video were also recovered from him, he said. Further investigation was on, he said.

(PTI)

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