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Lionel Messi retires from international football after loss in Copa America final

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Messi

East Rutherford: Lionel Messi sensationally announced his retirement from international football on Sunday after Argentina crashed to an upset defeat against Chile in the final of the Copa America.

The heartbroken Barcelona superstar was distraught after missing a spot-kick as Chile snatched victory in a penalty shoot-out — Messi’s fourth straight defeat in a major final while representing Argentina.

“For me the national team is over,” the crestfallen 29-year-old told reporters.

“I’ve done all I can, I’ve been in four finals and it hurts not to be a champion.

“It’s a hard moment for me and the team, and it’s difficult to say, but it’s over with the Argentina team.”

Messi’s dramatic announcement followed Argentina’s third loss in a major final since 2014.

They were beaten 1-0 by Germany in the final of the World Cup in 2014 and lost on penalties, also to Chile, in the final of the 2015 Copa America.

Messi also tasted defeat with Argentina in the final of the 2007 Copa America.

Despite a glittering career that has seen him be named FIFA World Player of the Year on no fewer than five occasions, Messi has often faced baffling criticism from Argentina fans.

Although universally regarded as one of the greatest footballers ever, he has regularly been criticised for his failure to land a major title in the colours of Argentina.

Messi’s failure to match the achievements in the Argentina jersey of Diego Maradona, who single-handedly carried the team to victory in the 1986 World Cup, has often been held against him.

Maradona himself has often taken potshots at Messi, criticizing him on the eve of the tournament for a perceived “lack of personality.”

“He’s a really good person, but he has no personality,” Maradona said in Paris shortly before the start of Euro 2016.

“He lacks the character to be a leader.”

Messi’s bombshell decision comes after a gruelling season which was disrupted by injury last year.

He recovered to help Barcelona win the Spanish title once more and was relishing the prospect of leading Argentina to glory in the Copa America Centenario.

His commitment to playing for Argentina was reflected in his decision to fly from Spain to Argentina for a low-key friendly against Honduras shortly before the tournament, where he suffered a back injury.

He then returned to Spain to give evidence at his trial for tax fraud before jetting off to the United States to join up with his Argentina team-mates.

Although he was injured for his team’s opening group game against Chile, he came on as a substitute in a 5-0 hammering of Panama to score a hat-trick in 19 minutes.

He then equalled Argentina’s international goalscoring record of 54, held by Gabriel Batistuta, in the quarter-finals before setting a new mark with his 55th international goal in the semi-final win over the United States.

(Agencies)

Report: Islamophobia is a multimillion-dollar industry

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More than $200m spent on promoting fear and hatred of Muslims in US by various groups between 2008 and 2013.

More than half of Muslims in the US say they have faced some discrimination [EPA]

More than half of Muslims in the US say they have faced some discrimination [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

More than $200m was spent towards promoting “fear and hatred” of Muslims in the United States by various organisations between 2008 and 2013, according to a fresh joint report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the University of California, Berkeley.

Released on Monday, the report identifies 74 groups, including feminist, Christian, Zionist and prominent news organisations, which either funded or fostered Islamophobia.

“It is an entire industry of itself. There are people making millions of dollars per year from promoting Islamophobia. They often present themselves as experts on Islamic affairs when they are not,” Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, a spokesman for CAIR, told Al Jazeera.

“They have fuelled an environment of distrust among the American public by claiming that Muslims do not belong to the American community and that they could never be loyal citizens.”

Ruiz said that Islamophobia has posed two main dangers: a rise in hate crimes and anti-Islamic legislation.

“For example, in the last year alone in Florida, there has been a 500 percent increase in hate crimes against Muslims. Mosques have been vandalised and there have been a number of bomb threats towards Islamic groups.

“And Florida’s government is even trying to ban school books from making any references to Islam in history.”

Since 2013, the country has seen a rise in the number of bills or amendments – about 81 – designed to “vilify Islamic religious practices”, 80 of which were introduced to state legislatures by Republicans, the report notes.

It cited Florida Senator Alan Hayes as once distributing literature that said: “Our religious, political, and peaceful way of life is under attack by Islam and Sharia Law. Save my generation from this ideology that is invading our country and masquerading as a ‘religion’. It’s sedition: They are determined to overthrow our State and our Country.”

Meira Neggaz, the executive director of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) – a US-based think-tank, told Al Jazeera a poll published in March showed that one out of every five American Muslims had experienced discrimination on a regular basis, while more than half of them had faced some discrimination.

“The other faith group you would think would suffer from some discrimination are Jews. They do, but far lower – only about 5 percent,” she said.

She also noted that the rise in anti-Islamic sentiment was more tied to political rhetoric than terrorist events.

“2008 and 2012 – the years of election campaigns – saw spikes in Islamophobia that had nothing to do with terror. And we are now seeing similar trends in this election cycle.

“It is part of a broader backlash against minorities. Lawmakers who are legislating against Muslims are also against other minority groups.

“At least 32 states have introduced and debated anti-sharia or anti-foreign law bills. And, according to our research, 80 percent of legislators who sponsor this type of legislation also sponsor bills restricting the rights of other minorities and vulnerable groups.”

Neggaz emphasised that Islamophobia is a threat to US democracy and affects all of the country’s residents.

“Religious discrimination is illegal. There has to be legal procedures that can address that.”

Giving the coach’s interview was nerve wracking: Kumble

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anil_kumble

Kolkata: Former leg-spinner Anil Kumble, who was appointed the India cricket team’s head coach, said it was a nerve wracking experience giving the interview for the job before his former team-mates.

Kumble was interviewed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) cricket advisory committee comprising Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman and Sourav Ganguly at a five-star hotel here on Tuesday.

“Sachin was on teleconference, but of course there was Dada (Ganguly) and Laxman on the other side of the table, so it was nerve-racking but it was great to present a plan,” Kumble was quoted as saying by bcci.tv.

Speaking about his appointment, the 45-year-old, who retired from international cricket in 2008, said, “It will be wonderful to get into the Indian dressing room as the coach. I am really looking forward to the challenge and the huge responsibility. I know there will be a lot of expectations and that is something which I am looking forward to.”

Kumble also said that he will work behind the scenes, much like former India coaches John Wright and Gary Kirsten, who helped Indian cricket scale new heights.

“I played a lot under John Wright, he’s been a great influence on how I’ll go about the job, in terms of being in the background. When I became a mentor for Mumbai Indians, I brought John in because he understood a lot about Indian culture and then the way coaches work,” he said.

“I was involved with Gary Kirsten only for the Test matches, a very short period. He was, again, someone who worked in the background and didn’t make himself visible. Exactly how I’d like to work as well. Not in the front, but behind the scenes.”

The former tweaker, who once bowled with a broken jaw, also said he would try and build leaders from the present team and try to share the burden of the captain.

“Important as a coach to take some burden off the captain,” he said. “Captain has a lot of things on his head, all cricketing decisions and non-cricketing as well.

“Having been with the Indian team for such a long time and having had various experiences of not just conditions, but outside the cricket field, when you’re a coach, you’re not just coach on the field but also off it. You’re trying to build personalities, trying to build leaders. That’s how I’d like to look at this team,” he remarked.

Kumble also said that he has talked to Test captain Virat Kohli and will look to iron out their strategies just before the Test tour to the West Indies.

“We have the West Indies Test series coming up, so that’s something our focus will be on,” he said.

“I’ve spoken to Virat (Kohli) and MS (Dhoni), must be on the flight back from Zimbabwe. It’s nice to have a camp here in Bengaluru before we go into the tour. We’ll sit down and iron out and get ready for the West Indies tour.

“Bowling, getting 20 wickets in Test cricket will win you matches. That’s the focus and we’ll take it from there. Batting, we have some great talent there. I believe this team has the potential. It’s a young team and driven by young leaders,” he added.

“Looking forward to working with Virat and MS. Long-term, we have lots of Tests coming up in India, that’ll be our focus.”

The 45-year-old added that he will aim to be an enabler and not an imposer.

“They are already playing a good brand of cricket,” he said.

“I will bring my characteristics as well but won’t impose them on the players. My job is to convince players to buy into what I believe in and what they believe in. At the end of it, they need to own it. If the team doesn’t own what we agree on, then it’s not going to work. I’m only an enabler. I work as an enabler to make sure things happen,” Kumble added.

(IANS)

Woman techie found murdered at railway station in Chennai

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Crime-against-Women

Chennai: A 24-year-old woman employee of an IT firm was today found murdered at a city railway station. S Swathi, employed with software giant Infosys, was found dead with cut injuries on her face and neck around 6.30 am on a platform in Nungambakkam railway station, police said.

The incident is believed to have taken place when Swathi, a resident of Choolaimedu near the station, was waiting to board a suburban train to reach her office as per her routine, they said.

It caused a flutter in the neighbourhood and the station, which usually gets busy around 7 am.

The body had been retrieved and sent for postmortem, police said, adding various angles were being probed to find out the assailant and also ascertain the motive behind the killing.

Infosys described the incident as “unfortunate” and said it was cooperating with investigating officials.

“We are saddened by the unfortunate incident that has led to the demise of our employee in Chennai. We are working with the local authorities as they investigate the matter and will continue to provide our co-operation and support,” it said in a statement.

“Our deepest sympathies and prayers are with the family of the deceased. Infosys will provide all the necessary support to the family in their hour of grief,” it further said.

The victim was employed with Infosys’ branch at Mahindra World City at Singaperumalkoil on the city outskirts.

(PTI)

‘Brexit to impact Indian IT industry in short-term’

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Infosys-Puneinf

Bengaluru: Britain exiting the European Union (Brexit) would impact the Indian IT industry in the short-term owing to volatility in the exchange rate, uncertainty and terms of exit, a top industry representative said on Friday.

 

“The impact of Brexit will certainly be negative in the short-term on account of volatility in the exchange rates, uncertainty in the markets and the terms on which Britain will leave the Eu,” Nasscom President R. Chandrashekhar said.

Britons voted 51.9 per cent for Brexit against 48.1 per cent of ‘Remain’ vote in a historic referendum on Thursday.

The referendum turnout was 71.8 per cent — with more than 30 million people voting. This was the highest turnout at a British poll since 1992.

Terming the Brexit as a phase of uncertainty in the near term, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) executive said the historic move was also a mix of challenges and opportunities in the longer term.

“Europe is of prime importance for India, as it is not only the second largest market for our industry, but also contributes nearly 30 per cent of software export revenue, which is equivalent to $100 billion,” Chandrashekhar asserted.

Noting that Britain had been a gateway for the Indian industry’s investment across the EU over the decades, Chandrashekhar said a decline in value of British currency (pound sterling) would render contracts losing propositions unless they were renegotiated.

“The uncertainty surrounding protracted negotiations on the terms of exit and/or future engagement with EU could impact decision-making for large projects,” the Nasscom president pointed out.

The exit may also lead to Indian outsourcing firms setting up separate offices or operations for EU and divestment from Britain.

Mobility of skilled labour between Britain and the EU will also be affected, while changes in the financial system and banks would have a bearing due to currency impact.

“Hence we urge policy makers in Brussels and London to provide greater clarity and guidance on the next steps so as to ensure our businesses have the clarity to stay invested in Britain,” said Chandrashekhar.

According to indications, British policy makers are committed to minimise the possible negative impact of the referendum to quit the EU.

The historic development will also unleash opportunities as about 800 Indian firms, employing 110,000 people across the country, have a deeper partnership with Britain.

“In the long term, however, Brexit could lead to strengthening of Indo-British economic relationship, as Britain seeks to compensate for loss of preferential access to EU markets,” Chandrashekhar affirmed.

With Britain less dependent on intra-EU immigration into its country, it could become more open to high-skilled immigration from other non-EU countries, including India.

“Britain will be under no obligation to adopt restrictive EU data localisation norms, which it does not subscribe to in their entirety. All these factors could benefit our bilateral economic relations,” the former telecom secretary added.

(Agencies)

“A Scandall is a coming of age, murder mystery cum super natural thriller”: Johnny Baweja

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johnny_baweja

Johnny Baweja happens to be a dynamic & handsome dude who is making his debut with a very sensuously crafted murder mystery named A Scandall which is releasing this week. But Johnny Baba begs to differ when A Scandall is inadvertently referred to as a sexually oriented sleazy film. He avers, “I fail to understand why everyone is trying to judge a book by its cover, I mean they are just making an assumption that A Scandall is a sexy & a sleazy film which on the contrary it is not. In short A Scandall is a whodunit albeit coming of age murder mystery cum super natural thriller.”

Johnny Baweja

So what is your debut film A Scandall all about?

As I have already mentioned before A Scandall is not at all a sexy or a sleazy film. It is a coming of age, murder mystery cum super natural thriller. And yes my film A Scandall too has a tag line. Everyone has one and we cannot run away from it. The film sets out to talk about sex, incest & of course scandals. Which is surely going to raise everyone’s eyebrows, yet I would call A Scandall an introspective, thought provoking albeit an entertaining film too. And the credit for making such an interesting & entertaining film goes to director Ishan Trivedi who has earlier directed films like Radio & Saade Saath Phere. And in his hat trick film A Scandall he definitely is going to hit the Bull’s Eye.

Now tell us briefly about your interesting role in A Scandall?

Of course I found my role in A Scandall a very interesting albeit an entertaining one too. So in A Scandall I have enacted the role of a man named Vidhu, who happens to be a film making student. Now to discuss about his characteristics, he happens to be very bold, straight forward albeit an honest young guy. On the surface Vidhu may look like a bad guy as his character has a grey shade to it. But then honestly speaking, who isn’t mean in real life? Everyone is mean because everyone thinks of only himself or herself and no one does only charity all the time.

How did you tackle such a tough role in your debut film A Scandall that too with such an effortless ease?

I will not mince word as I totally agree with you that indeed enacting the role in A Scandall was extremely tough. That apart right at the outset I would like to clarify that to enact the role of Vidhu was really difficult especially because I was sailing in not just one but two different boats, namely producing the film A Scandall as well as acting in it. Besides A Scandall I had earlier acted in a film called Swan for producer T. P. Aggarwal who has been my mentor all along and supported me very well. But yes technically A Scandall can be termed as my debut film as it has been released first while T. P. Sir’s Swan will be released very soon. In fact I would say that every film has its own individual destiny. Swan was made entirely for film festival circuit all over the globe and it has already participated in Mexico, Berlin & Miami amongst other film festivals and has won several awards and has garnered rave reviews. But of course at some places it was rejected and at some places it was selected.

How did you bag the offer of A Scandall?

Now it so happened that I bumped into director Ishaan Trivedi at someone else’s office when he was busy working on the script of a film. When he asked me if I would like to act in his film, I listened to the narration and told him that I would love to do the film which was then in its writing stage, because as an actor, I would love to be part of some film which has a social cause and was not just a run of the mill story. The film did not take off then but when Ishaan finished writing the subject of A Scandall, he asked me to play the lead.

Johnny, you belong to a filmy family of Bollywood then how come your uncle the most prominent producer & director Harry Baweja never offered to launch you as an actor, so much so that you had to turn a producer to launch yourself as an actor?

Be that as it may but tell me sir why should I ask my uncle to launch me as an actor, even though the fact remains that my father had produced Trinetra which had launched my uncle as a director. Besides you seem to have forgotten one fact that T. P. Sir had already given me a break in his film Swan so what if it has done the rounds of only the film festival circuits till this date. And I would also love to clarify one thing specifically that though I have nothing against my uncle Harry Baweja, the fact is that every father would like to cast his own son and my uncle is no exception to the rule.

So what was the reason for your uncle Harry Baweja & Cousin Harman Baweja to distance themselves from you when an MMS of your film was leaked all over?

It happens, it’s their choice. I have nothing more to comment on this topic.

Ok tell me how was it like working with Reet Mazumdar, your leading actress in A Scandall?

She is very good both as an actress & as a co – star too. In fact I have known Reet now for a long time ever since we were cast together in Swan too, though it was Ishaan Trivedi who cast Reet in A Scandall. Earlier he was to direct a film with Reet but the film did not materialize but he remembered her when he decided to launch A Scandall.

And how was it working with your director Ishaan Trivedi?

To describe him in just one word he is fabulous. I really loved working with him both as a producer and as an actor too.

So what’s next on your agenda?

Sir believe me I am not the kind of actor who would keep on boasting that I have signed half a dozen films and that I am currently in talks with a few more producers. In fact I want people in the industry as well as the audiences to see me in my film A Scandall and then I will take a call about which film to do next.

Shiv Sena asks Modi if Yoga will relieve pain of inflation

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yoga-school-india

Mumbai: In yet another salvo at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shiv Sena today said bringing yoga to the centre stage of the world was a praise-worthy effort, but will practising the ancient form of exercise relieve people of the pain of inflation.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi deserves praise for making 130 countries perform yoga. The world bends if somebody makes it do so. Through yoga, Modi made 130 nations lay on the ground.

“What is now needed is to make Pakistan lie down forever. This can only happen with the help of weapons. Pakistan deserves a permanent ‘Shavaasan’ (a yoga position that involves lying down like a corpse),” the Sena said in an editorial in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.

It said that while chief ministers of non-BJP states may oppose Modi, yoga is a science that should not be opposed.

“A lot can be achieved through yoga. But, in daily life, can yoga help in relieving the pains of high inflation and corruption? It would be good if a clarification is given on this as well,” it said.

The United Nations had last year declared June 21 as the International Day of Yoga.

Lakhs of people across India and abroad stretched themselves in various postures to mark the second International Yoga Day as the Prime Minister maintained that yoga is not a religious activity.

Sena, which is part of the BJP-led governments in Maharashtra and at the Centre, has been critical of BJP and the Modi government following strain in their ties since their alliance in Maharashtra collapsed ahead of the October 2014 Assembly polls due to problems over seat-sharing.

Though they did come together after the election, Sena has been reduced to a junior partner and has lost no opportunity to hit out at BJP leaders.

Recently, Sena had been critical of Modi’s remarks abroad about India being plagued by corruption, saying they “maligned the nation’s image”, and questioned if scams in BJP-ruled Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat can be attributed to others.

(PTI)

Modi meets Xi, seeks support for India’s NSG bid

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Narendra_Modi

Tashkent: As India makes a strong bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met Chinese President Xi Jinping and is understood to have sought China’s support for it, seen as very crucial to take forward the process.

The outcome of the meeting between Modi and Xi here will determine proceedings at the two-day plenary meeting of the atomic trading club which began in Seoul today, sources said.

Though some other countries like Turkey, New Zealand and South Africa have reservations over India’s membership to the 48-nation grouping, India feels their opposition will fizzle out once China takes a favourable position towards New Delhi.

China’s position on India’s NSG bid is very crucial, sources said.
Modi arrived here today on a two-day visit to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

Earlier, Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain met Xi on the sidelines of the summit and thanked China for supporting Pakistan’s case for NSG membership.

Giving clear indication of its opposition to India’s NSG bid, China yesterday had underlined the differences within NSG members, saying “parties are yet to see eye-to-eye on this issue”.
While making some right noises of playing “constructive” role on the issue of memberships of India and Pakistan, China maintained that the matter was not on the agenda of the plenary. Here too, Beijing clubbed the two sub-continental neighbours despite the marked difference in their nuclear non-proliferation track record.

Coinciding with the SCO summit, the two-day annual plenary of the NSG began today in the South Korean capital during which India’s application for membership of the atomic trading club is likely to be deliberated upon.

While the US and France have issued statements ahead of the plenary strongly supporting India’s case and asking members to back New Delhi, China has been unrelenting in its opposition harping on the need to have a criteria for non-NPT countries like India and clubbing India’s case with that of Pakistan for which it is batting.

Roughly 20 countries are backing India’s case fully but given that the decisions in NSG are taken by consensus, India faces an uphill task. India is seeking membership of NSG to enable it to trade in and export nuclear technology.

(Agencies)

Pakistan mourns assassinated Sufi singer Amjad Sabri

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Security tight at funeral of Qawwali singer Amjad Sabri, who was killed by Taliban gunmen in Karachi on Wednesday.

amjad-sabri

by Al Jazeera

Thousands of people have attended the funeral of slain Pakistani Qawwali singer Amjad Sabri in Karachi, amid a major security operation.

Large crowds gathered for the procession and funeral service on Thursday, which was led by the spiritual heir of Sufi saint Baba Farid, Pakistani media reported.

Al Jazeera’s Alia Chughtai, reporting from Karachi, said the area of Liaquatabad Road where the funeral was held was under lockdown by security forces.

“The police services have cleared out the roads for the funeral procession and everything in the area is under lockdown,” Chughtai reported.

Sabri was killed on Wednesday while driving in his car in the city’s Liaqatabad area. A motorcycle pulled up alongside the vehicle and the attackers opened fire.

The 45-year-old singer is survived by his wife and five children. Sabri’s brother, who was also in the vehicle, was wounded.

“Two riders used 30-bore pistols to shoot Sabri five times. The bullet to the head took the qawwal’s life. The attackers took the Hassan Square route to escape,” Inspector General Mushtaq Mehar told Pakistan’s English language newspaper Dawn.

“It was a targeted killing and an act of terrorism,” Muqaddas Haider, a senior police officer told AFP news agency, without naming possible suspects.
Sabri’s body was laid to rest next to his father Ghulam Farid Sabri in Paposh Nagar graveyard, in the compound of Pir Herat Shah Warsi’s shrine.

The killing of the singer was met with shock and condemnation. Neighbours congregated outside the singer’s home to offer condolences to his relatives, while TV channels broadcast recordings of his music in tribute.

Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan’s prime minister, was among those condemning the killing and ordered an investigation.

A splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the raid, saying Sabri’s qawwalis were blasphemous.

Fakhre Alam, the Chairman of the Sindh Board of Film Censors, claimed on Twitter that Sabri had earlier submitted an application for security, but the home department refused to follow up on it.

Asghari Begum, Amjad Sabri’s mother told Al Jazeera, that about six months ago three unknown assailants came to their residence and had burst open the front door. Amjad was not present, and they had left.

Sabri and his late father, Ghulam Farid Sabri, were well-known qawwali singers – a style of music rooted in Sufism, or Islamic mysticism – that is popular across South Asia with roots tracing back to the 13th century.

Sufi mosques and shrines have come under attack in recent years, including the 2010 bombing of the Data Darbar shrine in Lahore that killed more than 40 people.

Movie Review: ‘Astu’ A Sensitive Tale About A Father & A Daughter Relationship!

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aSTU

Till now Astu has won more than 27 National & International film awards and now it is set to release on 15th Jul, all over Maharashtra.

The story is about a Sanskrit scholar Chakrapani Shastri who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and he lives in his own world far away from the present and then starts the turmoil of the family who has to look after him. The relationship between the father and his daughter is the theme of the film and it has been essayed very beautifully in the film. The film stars veteran Dr. Mohan Agashe, Amruta Subhash, Iravati Harshe, Devika Daftardar & Milind Soman amongst others. The film has been written & directed by Sumitra Bhave & Sunil Sukhthankar and the music is by Dhanajay Kharvindikar & Saket Kanetkar.

The performance of the crippled protagonist Appa played by Dr. Mohan Agashe has been appreciated all over and the performance of the Mahta’s wife played by Amruta Subhash has also been appreciated a lot and she has won the National Award too for her role.

The film has been produced by Sheela Rao & Dr. Mohan Agashe and that the dictum that Marathi films have a lot of good content is proved more evident from this film. The film has won many prestigious awards till now. The film was supposed to have a limited release but now it will have a big release to reach more audiences and that’s why the film is being re – released as revealed by the producer Sheela Rao.

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