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‘T For Taj Mahal’ Trailer To Be Unveiled At Cannes

Sony Pictures Networks Productions (SPNP) is all set to launch the trailer of their next film T For Taj Mahal on an international platform.

The trailer of the film will be unveiled at the India Pavilion in Cannes Film Festival on 9th May, 2018.

Directed by 6 time president’s National Award winner Kireet Khurana, T for Taj Mahal is a relevant & timely story exploring a subject that is a big challenge in the country – the namely that of lack of education.
The film stars Subrat Dutta, US actress Ali Faulkner of The Twilight Saga – Breaking Dawn fame, Bidita Bag & Manoj Pahwa.

T For Taj Mahal is produced by Sony Pictures Networks Productions & Abis Rizvi Films. Post Cannes the film will be presented at London Indian Film Festival in the month of Jun, 2018.

The film will release theatrically in India later on this year.

Sneha Rajani, Deputy President & Head, Sony Pictures Networks Productions averrerd, “T For Taj Mahal is a story that deserves to be seen by the global audiences and a platform like the India Pavilion at Cannes Film Festival allows for the film fraternity across the world to sample it and help us take it as far & wide as possible. I truly hope everyone loves the film and will embrace the intent in its full glory.”
Kireet Khurana, Director averred, “I am grateful that Sony Pictures Networks Productions (SPNP) is so committed to the film and is going the extra mile for something they believe in. A platform like Cannes allows the film to be presented to a wider audience, especially given the relevant subject. I am looking forward to the reactions post the trailer launch”

One of the youngest film studios in India, Sony Pictures Networks Productions (SPNP) is the film production arm of Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of the Sony Corporation which owns & operates the Sony Entertainment Network of television Channels. The division was set up in 2013 with a mandate to produce engaging, entertaining & high-quality cinema for Indian diaspora audiences worldwide. SPN Productions also produced the critically acclaimed film Piku in the year 2015, which went on to become one of the biggest breakout hits of the year – amassing innumerable awards including 3 National Awards. The studio released 2 films in the year 2017 year namely, Mubarakan & Poster Boys, and both got a lot of love from the audiences. This year the studio is all set for the release of Soorma.

Districts vie for the top spot in SSLC results

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SSLC (class 10) students shines in primary and secondary education minister Tanveer Sait’s home district – Mysuru in the final board exams, the results were out on Monday, Yashas MC, of city-based school – Sadvidya High School secures out of out, that is he has secured 625 out of 625 and from the same school two other students – Aditihi Rao and Keerthana R have secured 624.

Three students from the city have managed to score 624 marks, another student Shivani M Bhat from Marimallappa’s High School has secured 624 marks. Two other students – Spandana Dev from Saint Thomas High School and Srinandini KR from VVS Pandit Nehru High School have scored 623.

The overall performance of students in SSLC exams in Mysuru, which is also the home district of chief minister Siddaramaiah has improved drastically this year compared to last year. In 2016-17, with a passing percentage of 72.29 Mysuru stood at 21st position, this year (in 2017-18) with a passing percentage of 82.9 it scaled up to 11th position. Compare to last year the pass percentage has increased by 10.61%

But since 2011, Mysuru has failed to secure a position in a scale of one to five. From 2011-12 to present year, the district has managed to be in the top ten position only twice, in 2014-15 with 89.13 pass percentage it stood at 10th position and in the subsequent academic year it stood at 8th position with 85.56 pass percentage.

Thanks to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) of Mysuru district for its new efforts to improve the SSLC results, From November 2017, DPI started providing workbooks for each subjects to all the schools (government, private and aided) across the district. A senior officer in DPI told TNIE that said it seems students thoroughly learnt the questions and answers of these books. “This is one of the main reason, why students have done well in SSLC from the district, we are sure that next year we will be among the top five position,” said officer.

The department started the process of identifying students with low level learning ability at Government schools from July 2017 and it has been completed few months ago, these students were exposed to the special classes for one hour everyday before and after the schools hours.

Apart from this initiative quiz competitions on different subjects on every Saturdays were organized and unique programs like drawing science diagrams and writing maths formulas using Rangoli powder on the floor were made to practice by the students.

The ignored, inconvenient truth about the Islamic State

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Title: The Way of the Strangers – Encounters with the Islamic State; Author: Graeme Wood; Publisher: Penguin Random House; Pages: 352; Price: Rs 499

It is very easy to dismiss terrorists, especially those of a fundamentalist religious persuasion, as a group of savages in unstable or failed states distorting their faith for their own purposes. But can this approach be applicable to the Islamic State (IS), or suggest how we can tackle its growing global threat?

The approach is totally wrong, argues journalist and academician Graeme Wood — and not only for the IS. As we have known from the “Global War on Terrorism”, America and its allies ignored the fact that ideologies cannot be fought militarily, but by proving they are wrong or that better ideas are available.

However, in the case of the Islamic State, says Wood, it is not that its adherents’ view of Islam is wrong, for all its usual activities — slavery, mutilation and extreme violence against non-Muslims and “apostate” Muslims (Shias, Sunnis, Sufis, secular, “insufficiently Islamic”, etc) who oppose them — are based on Islamic scripture and practice (in the faith’s initial days though).

Though a minority, uncompromising and apocalyptic view, it is Islamic — though a mindset not shared by the vast mainstream of Muslims, who seek to describe it as a travesty of their religion, he shows.

Then, given the number of educated professionals the IS has been recruiting from affluent and modern Western societies and elsewhere, it definitely strikes a chord among some in the Muslim community at large, he says.

“The breadth of the appeal of the Islamic State was shocking as its depth. Three generations of conservative Muslims from outside London, a skirt-chasing bachelor from South Australia, and tens of thousands of others had drunk their inspiration from the same fountains. In addition to the physical caliphate, with its territory and war and economy to run, there was a caliphate of the imaginations to which all these people had already emigrated long before they slipped across the Turkish border…”

And all these had been “persuaded by the same propaganda, and, in many cases, the same people”, argues Wood.

It is accounts of interactions with some of these people — spread over Egypt, Japan, Australia, the Philippines’ Mindanao, Britain, the US, including in Dallas (a short distance from the author’s own childhood home), and spanning an Egyptian tailor, who once worked in New York and stitched a suit for Paul Newman, an Italian-origin Australian who is now the top Islamist firebrand Down Under, a mild Japanese academician, a British IS apologist — though with no intention of travelling to its territory, among others, he uses in his bid to explain the IS phenomenon.

Woven in are the theology and theologians of the Islamic State, the role of former Baathists, its difference from its jihadi forebear, Al Qaeda and other Islamist parties, and a concise but incisive narration of Islam’s rifts and challenges that helped give birth to such ideologies.

Furnishing his accounts of interactions with these characters, the “visible surface of a cause that was stirring emotions and convictions of tens of millions of others, and that would continue them for decades to come, even if it lost its core territory in Syria and Iraq”, Wood also provides insights into IS’ influencing and recruiting techniques — e.g., focussing on the most incongruous, not pious possibilities, and others.

While he wonders at the jarring prospect of smart, even gentle and well-mannered, intelligent people with the most wicked beliefs”, he however tells us that “when someone says something too evil to believe, one response is not to doubt their sincerity but to expand one’s capacity to imagine what otherwise decent people can desire”.

That, he holds, is the “proper response” to the Islamic State, but while stressing understanding what primes it rather than advocating steps to combat it, Wood also admits that “the tragedy is that even those inverted visionaries who live to realise their error will never be able to undo the misery they have inflicted on so many others”.

However, despite Wood’s thesis of how the Islamic State has its roots in Islam, this is no anti-Muslim rant, but rather a warning — for other Semitic as well as other faiths — on how an uncompromising attitude on reprising past practice of a religion, even in different contemporary circumstances, is a definite recipe for bloodshed and strife.

Of intense Love stories, Partition, and Delhi

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Flick through a story of love across races, borders and lifestyles; go through a heart-warming, hilarious and inspiring collection of true anecdotes from the life of writer Preeti Shenoy, telling us to love a little stronger; read a moving saga of a family as well as a commentary on the lives of hundreds who were affected by the Partition; and enjoy 10 free-wheeling articles written in conversational style, verging on the informally careless — all with the flavour of Delhi.

The IANS bookshelf has a good amount of love and romance to offer this weekend.

1. Book: Love Knows No Boundaries; Author: Sujay Kantawala; Publisher: publishing; Price: Rs 195; Pages: 133

As the son of a State Governor in Chad, Sayed Shaquille Ahamat, has little to worry about. However, his family expects him to eventually take over his father’s business, marry a local girl and settle down, and there is a little reason for him not to fulfil their wishes.

Then, a polo accident leaves him nearly paralysed below the hip and turns his life topsy turvy. As he struggles to return to a semblance of normalcy, his efforts bring him into contact with an Ayurvedic centre in Sharjah. The head of the treatment centre is a beautiful ascetic, Ritambhara Devi, and Shaquille falls in love with her. To everyone’s surprise, she reciprocates his feelings.

Meanwhile, Ritambhara’s position and responsibilities elevate constantly at the Swami Samarthanand Ashram where she has lived since childhood. She will not give up her country, her religion and her Guruji to join Shaquille. Neither is Shaquille willing to forsake his way of life. So, what next?

2. Book: Love A Little Stronger; Author: Preeti Shenoy; Publisher: Srishti; Price: Rs 175; Pages: 164

Life is a collection of moments, some memorable and some mundane. Often it is the tiniest thing that brings the greatest joy, even though, at that time, we have no idea that what we are witnessing may be magical, something that we will talk about and laugh over after many years.

Packed with her hilarious narratives, poignant observations and a writing style loved by millions across the world, this book is certain to strike a chord with anybody who has children.

For those who have read “34 Bubble Gums” and “Candies”, this is a new version, with many additional stories. For others, it is a heart-warming, hilarious and inspiring collection of true anecdotes from the author’s life, telling us to love a little stronger, no matter what happens.

3. Book: The Tale of Two Countries; Author: B.K. Karkra; Publisher: Rupa; Price: Rs 295; Pages: 183

“The outside environment seemed to have completely overshadowed his genes. He was getting more and more Anglicised with every passing year and almost felt embarrassed of being the son of his parents. He felt that they were out of tune with life in Britain…”

Having survived the horrors of Partition, young lovers Guru and Sukhi begin a journey of blissful matrimony. Supporting each other through the various ups and downs of life, they migrate to England, start a business and see the birth of their only child, Gursukh, in due course. Everything seems perfect, yet the couple makes one last journey back to India.

What makes them take this journey? Weaving history with fiction, “The Tale of Two Countries” is a moving saga of a family and as well as a commentary on the lives of hundreds like the Grewals who, lured by life abroad, take the plunge, and have to deal with both the pressure to make good in an alien land as well as the longing for the motherland left behind.

4. Book: Earth Republic; Author: V. Shruti Devi; Publisher: Notion Press; Price: Rs 500; Pages: 201

“Earth Republic: Chatter from the Capital’s Cauldron (and Beyond)” is a collection of 10 free-wheeling articles written in conversational style, verging on the informally careless.

The potpourri of commentaries on theatre, sports, food, agriculture, world politics, Bruce Springsteen, Imran Khan, women’s rights, world peace, people’s belief systems, the right to privacy judgement — all with the flavour of New Delhi, right up to the present-day NCR, with tribal India and outer space forming a billowing backdrop for the grand production that is the Republic of Earth.

“Earth Republic” brings to the recliner, as well as to the office-desk-trying-to-look-busy, thoughts from time and space, and last night’s rally at the mantle-piece. It is an invitation to forge reality and rattle the galaxy, all in one pranayama-yoga clarion call.

South Indian Film Stars Round Up

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The Five Best Pairs Of South indian Cinema
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The South Indian movie has the best five pairs which the South Indian movie fans like to see again and again. To start off with Junior NTR & Kajal Agarwal’s pair looks very good and the films that they have worked together have proved to be a super hit. They both appeared in the film Temper, which is now being made in Hindi, with Ranveer Singh. Next come Mahesh Babu and Shruti Haaasan who were last seen in Srimanthudu. The film proved to be a Blockbuster, but the audience liked the pair of Mahesh Babu who is the most handsome actor and Shruti Haasan who is the most gorgeous actress. The movie Sarrainudu was loved by the audience and this movie has been seen over 120 million times on YouTube. In the movie, the pair of Allu Arjun and Rakul Preet Singh looked very good and the pair is really quite beautiful. After the movie Bahubali, people have started calling Bahubali and Devsena to Prabhas and Anushka Shetty. Whenever this couple comes on the big screen, then there is a different enthusiasm amongst the people. There is always news that they can marry each other and they both have never said anything about this. But the audience wants to see them as a couple in real lives too. Vijay and Samantha Akkineni worked together in Kathihi and other films and they proved a super hit. Samantha Akkineni has worked with Vijay again in Mersal which was also a hit.
Samantha Akkineni To Do An Item Song In A Telugu Movie
Samantha Akkineni is a very popular South Indian actress, who made her entry into films after her initial modeling assignments and debuted with screen name Yashoda in Moscowin Cauvery, however, the first ever film of her to release was Baana Kaathadi, which was a miserable failure at the Box-Office turnstiles. However, she set her foot firmly in Tollywood with Ye Maaya Chesave, Dookudu, and Brindavanam, and her roles in these movies, both of girl next door cute looks and ultra glamorous appearances. Samantha Akkineni has now been asked to do a special item number in an upcoming Telugu movie. And moreover Samantha Akkineni has agreed to do the item song. But of course she has also got a whopping remuneration for this particular song and it will be soon shot in a big set which has been erected inside the Ramoji Film City.
Mahesh Babu Overjoyed With 125 Crores Run For His New Film
Superstar Mahesh Babu is feeling overjoyed these days about his new release Bharath Ane Nenu, which is said to be the fastest money spinner of Telugu cinema, already having crossed 125 crores mark. He stated that they knew they had a terrific film on their hands as Siva Garu (director Koratala Siva) is a great storyteller. But one never knows which way the wind blows. It’s always the audience which gives the final verdict. Mahesh Babu also feels a role like Bharath is not just rare; it is also a privilege to play such a powerful and politically pertinent part. It is very rare for actors to get such powerful films. The characterization of Bharath is his best till date for which he will always be grateful to Shiva Garu for conceiving this part for him. In conclusion Mahesh Babu said that he is a game for a sequel to Bharath Ane Nenu.

Anu Emmanuel Is Finally Getting Her Dues

Malyalam actress Anu Emmanuel had marked her entry with Majnu, but because of her homely and serious looks in the movie, no one took her seriously. Everyone thought that she is just another beauty who came from Mollywood but everything is now changing. Though Anu Emmanuel entertained the audience with her homely look and girl next door image in her initial movies, she suddenly jumped into the glamorous arena. Even in her real life, she started appearing as an ultramodern girl. But as soon as she got the offer as a commercial heroine, the actress has changed her looks. In Kittu Unnadu Jagratha, Oxygen and Agnyathavasi movie, Anu Emmanuel showed a totally different and hottest side of her which is why the actress is now getting more offers. She recently enacted the role of the lady love of Allu Arjun in Naa Oeru Surya Naa Illu India. The posters and promos of the movie gave a hint that Anu did glamour show. Interestingly, she even attended the pre-release event with her stylish looks. Her glamour is now making the audience sleepless. That apart Anu is also playing the female lead in Naga Chaitanya’s Sailaja Reddy Alludu, Ravi Teja’s Amar Akbar Anthony which will get released this year and many more has seen her signing on the dotted line.

Thalaivar’s Kaala To Clash With Sultan’s Race 3 On This Ramzan Eid

Yes! It’s time for Thalaivar versus Sultan at the Box-Office turnstiles on the eve of this Ramzan Eid. The recent strike in the Tamil film industry had stalled the release of many big-ticket movies including Rajnkanth’s gangster drama Kaala. The film which was supposed to hit the screens on 27th Apr, 2018, had been postponed due to strikes. The makers of Kaala are now planning to release the film in Jun, 2018 or Jul, 2018 and since Ramzan Eid, which is coming in June is celebrated across the country as a national holiday, they are deciding to block this date. Interestingly, Salman Khan’s mega-budget stylish action thriller Race 3 is also scheduled to be released on the same date. So if this clash happens, it will naturally be Thalaivar versus Sultan at the Box-Office turnstiles. Talking about Race 3, the film is expected to be grander than its previous two installments. Unlike, the last two parts which was helmed by Abbas-Mustan, Race 3 is directed by ace choreographer Remo D’Souza. The film is produced under the banners of Salman Khan Films and Tips. It also features Bobby Deol, Jacqueline Fernandez, Saqib Saleem, Daisy Shah, Anil Kapoor and Freddy Daruwala in key roles. On the other hand, Rajinikanth’s Kaala is directed by Pa. Ranjith and produced by Rajinikanth’s son-in-law Dhanush K Raja under the banner of Wunderbar Films along with Lyca Productions. It also features Huma Qureshi, Nana Patekar, Sampath, Sayaji Shinde and Samuthirakani in pivotal roles.

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Sends Notices To Telangana Government (TG)

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recently sent a notice to the Telangana Government (TG) and the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry over a Telugu actress’ allegations of sexual exploitation. The commission took suo moto cognizance of media reports about the allegations raised by actress Sri Reddy and a lack of grievance redressal mechanism for women in the film industry. Sri Reddy created a sensation by resorting to strip protest against casting couch in Tollywood in front of the office of Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce (TFCC). Sri Reddy, who started her career as a news reader on a Telugu channel and also did small roles in a couple of films, named a few prominent personalities of the industry. She started the “SriReddyLeaks” page on Facebook to expose those exploiting women aspiring to work in films. Besides she has questioned the Telangana Government and the Movie Artists’ Association (MAA) on the absence of a Committee Against Sexual Harassment. The Commission observed that the contents of the media reports, if true, tantamount to inaction of the part of the State Government. The NHRC then issued notices to Telangana’s Chief Secretary and I&B Ministry Secretary, calling for a detailed report in the matter within four weeks. The panel also noted that Sri Reddy had staged a semi-nude protest outside the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce and an annoyed MAA not only dismissed her allegations but also declared that she will not be given its membership under any circumstances.

Producer Anil Sunkara Drops Venkatesh And Rana Duggabati’s Projects

Producer Anil Sunkara makes films with both 14 Reels and also on his own production banner AK Entertainments. But in recent times, while 14 Reels scored a disaster like Lie, even Anil’s own production house lost big betting on Kirrak Party. Quite surprisingly, now Anil is said to have dropped two interesting projects after these developments. Actually, Venkatesh and Ravi Teja’s film was supposed to take off but for reasons unknown, the film didn’t happen. Later Venkatesh moved to Fun and Frustration to be directed by Anil Ravipudi. And then Rana Duggabati’s rumored biopic of Stuartpuram notorious robber “Tiger Nageswara Rao” under the direction of Vamsi Krishna Akella is also Anil’s movie only. But this film is also not happening any soon. Rumors now allege that Anil Sunkara dropped the two projects due to some financial constraints, while his friends starting 14 Reels Plus without him as a partner led to the dropping of these two films.

Mehreen Gets A Call From Nithiin

Punjabi beauty Mehreen is one of the most happening actresses in Tollywood. She will next be seen opposite Gopichand in Pantham, Vijay Deverakonda’s Tamil-Telugu bilingual NOTA and the Venkatesh-Varun Tej multistarrer F2. Mehreen is now also said to have been roped in as the leading lady in Nithiin’s next film after his call to her. This project will be directed by Venky Kudumula, who had made a successful debut with Naga Shaurya’s Chalo. Apparently, Venkatesh felt that Nithiin-Mehreen’s pairing will bring in the freshness to the movie and zeroed in on the young actress. The movie will be produced under Nithiin’s home banner. The project will be launched soon after Nithiin wraps up Srinivasa Kalyanam’s North Indian schedule.

Sex scandal jeopardizes Nobel Prize for Literature

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The Nobel Prize for Literature, one of the oldest and most prestigious cultural awards, could be cancelled in 2018 as the institution that awards it is mired in a sex and financial scandal.

The Swedish Academy is under fire for how it dealt with alleged sexual misconduct by French photographer Jean-Claude Arnault, who is married to a former member of the centuries-old institution, the BBC reported on Thursday.

The Academy was scheduled to decide whether this year’s prize will go ahead, with some members reportedly concerned it was in no state to make such an award.

In November, inspired by the #MeToo campaign, 18 women made allegations of sexual assault and harassment against Arnault. Several of the alleged incidents reportedly happened in properties belonging to the Academy. Arnault has denied all the allegations.

The organisation then voted against removing his wife, the poet and writer Katarina Frostenson from its 18-person committee.

The following day, the Academy’s Permanent Secretary Sara Danius said the institution had cut all ties with Arnault in light of the reported allegations and additional claims that some Academy staff and members’ relatives had experienced “unwanted intimacy” at the his hands.

Till now, six members of the Swedish Academy have stepped down, including Danius.

The academy is also under fire for contravening its own conflict of interest regulations by providing funding to the Kulturplats Forum, a cultural centre run by Arnault and Frostenson.

An independent investigation by a Swedish law firm revealed that “unacceptable behaviour by (Arnault) in the form of unwanted intimacy had indeed taken place, but the knowledge was not widely spread in the Academy”.

But the team of lawyers also discovered that the Academy had received a letter in 1996 outlining alleged sexual assault at Arnault’s cultural forum, indicating that November was not the first time that some members were made aware that the photographer’s name had been connected with misconduct.

In its statement, the organization said it “deeply regrets that the letter was shelved and no measures taken to investigate the charges”.

Ebba Witt-Brattstroem, the former wife of Horace Engdahl, Academy’s Permanent Secretary from 1999 to 2009 and currently a member of the Nobel Committee for Literature, had also cast doubt on the claim that its members were largely unaware of Arnault’s alleged misconduct.

The flurry of withdrawals is potentially catastrophic for the 230-year-old academy, whose members, elected by secret ballot, must be approved by the King and traditionally hold their positions for life.

In 1943 — the last time the literature prize was postponed — was the height of World War II and the Nazis ruled much of the European continent.

Hollywood Stars Round Up

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Lonnie Montrel Taylor Shot And Killed

Lonnie Montrel Taylor the rapper, a fan favorite in his native state of Mississippi, was one of the two people fatally shot in while driving in Jackson recently on a Sunday night. He was 22 years old. Lonnie Montrel Taylor, was in his vehicle along with an unidentified female passenger. The Jackson State University student was shot from the rear multiple times, which caused his SUV to swerve and crash into a house. The female passenger remained unharmed, while Lonnie Montrel Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene. The Jackson Police Department has been unable to find a suspect or a motive for the killing. Lionnie Montrel Taylor rose to local game in 2015 due to the release of the track “Colors.” He later on earned the top downloaded mixtape spot on LiveMixtapes with “They Know What’s Goin’ On” that same year. Elsewhere, the single “Special” has garnered over 2.4 million views on the Worldstarhiphop YouTube channel. In a Dec, 2017 interview with ThisIs50, Lonnie Montreal Taylor talked about the advice he got from 50 Cent, telling listeners his goal of buying his family a home with his first ever “mega-check.” In Lonnie Montreal Taylor’s view, that day was coming up in the near future, too. Just hours before he was fatally shot, Lonnie Montrel Taylor wrote as a caption on Instagram: “no going back….you know imma keep it coming”.

Ashley Judd Sues Harvey Weinstein

Ashley Judd recently filed defamation and sexual harassment lawsuit against film producer Harvey Weinstein, alleging that he damaged her movie career after she refused his sexual advances. The civil lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in Santa Monica, accuses Harvey Weinstein of causing Ashley Judd to lose a part in 1998 in the film The Lord Of The Rings by making “baseless smears” against her. The lawsuit alleges that Harvey Weinstein “was retaliating against Ashley Judd for rejecting his sexual demands approximately one year earlier, when he cornered her in a hotel room under the guise of discussing business.”

Cannes Film Festival To Create A Hotline

Marlene Schiappa, France’s gender equality minister, said that the industry grandees would be warned to watch their behavior when they arrive at the world’s most prestigious film festival, which takes place in the Riviera resort next month. “We’ve gone into partnership with the Cannes Film Festival to tackle sexual harassment and also set up a helpline.” Marlene Schiappa said. “One of the rapes that harvey Weinstein is accused of happened at Cannes, and so the festival cannot fail to act.” Marlene Schiappa also stated that the measures were aimed at protecting not only actresses but all women working in or around the film industry. The Cannes festival has come under fire in the past for alleged sexism, notably over the obligation for women to wear high-heeled shoes on the red carpet. Harvey Weinstein has been accused of four sexual assaults at Cannes in the recent years including the alleged rape of a 21-year-old Italian actress Asia Argento.

Jonathan And Jacinta Split

Jonathan Scott and his identical twin brother, Drew Scott, have been making hearts swoon since their HGTV series Property Brothers premiered in the year 2011. Adoring fans who favored Jonathan Scott, the perpetually single bachelor, were ultimately crushed when he took his relationship with a woman named Jacinta Kuznetsov public. After meeting at a charity event in the Fall of the year 2015, the couple embarked on a whirlwind romance that seamlessly fused their separate lives into one, with the couple traveling the world together and Jacinta Kuznetsov eventually working for the brother’s production company. To outward observers, their relationship appeared to be flourishing, and after Drew Scott proposed to his long-time girlfriend, fans assumed it was only a matter of time before Jonathan Scott followed suit and put some bling on Jacinta Kuznetsov’s ring finger. But just recently, he dropped a bombshell when he announced via an Instagram post that their relationship was over.
Jackie Chan’s Daughter Is Homeless

While Jackie Chan continues to earn mountains of money, his estranged daughter Etta Ng claims that she’s homeless and sleeping under a bridge. Just recently Etta Ng & her girlfriend Andi Autumn posted a two-minute video on YouTube in which they claim to have been neglected by their friends & family because of homophobia and are now homeless. Etta Ng is the daughter from Jackie Chan’s earlier affair with beauty queen Elaine Ng and its unclear where she resides. “We’ve been homeless for a month due to homophobic parents,” Etta Ng read from a prepared statement. “We pretty much slept under a bridge, and other things.” The couple says they’ve been to the police, food banks and even and LGBTQ centers for help but to no avail. Andi Autumn claims they’ll be split up if they get help from shelters. “We don’t know what to do at this point,” she said. “We just want to let people know what’s going on because at this point it seems ridiculous that no one can help. I don’t understand.” Etta Ng came out as a lesbian last fall in a series of Instagram posts featuring Andi Autumn. Jackie Chan and Etta Ng have never had a formal relationship, Etta Ng told in the year 2015. “He is not my dad,” she said. “I have no feelings for him. He is my biological father but he is not in my life.” Over the years, Jackie Chan, who in theyear 2017 had pulled in $49 million, has said very little about their relationship.

Enrique Iglesias’ Unique Way of Carrying His Twin Babies

Enrique Iglesias is really finding fatherhood to be surreal. The “El Baño” singer took to Instagram to gush over his newborn baby. “I still can’t believe…you’re mine,” Enrique Iglesias writes along with a photo of him holding one their new additions in a unique way. The star Enrique Iglesias and his girlfriend Anna Kournikova welcomed their twins at the end of last year. The twins are named Nicholas & Lucy and were born on 16th Dec, 2018, in Miami. The couple has been together for over 16 years and true to their low-key relationship style, the former tennis star’s pregnancy was kept a secret until after the twins were born. In Mar, this year, the star shared a video of himself kissing his daughter, and the kisses seem to be endless. “Can’t get enough of my sunshine.” the singer writes.

Joe Dreams Of Doing A Duet With Kacey

While promoting his new collaboration with K -Swiss, DNCE singer Joe Jonas admitted to that’s not the only team-up he’d be down to try. Could it be time for a country duet for the “Cake By The Ocean” singer? Maybe! When asked if the singer, who just hit up the Stagecoach Music Festival with his brother Nick Jonas and fiancée Sophie Turner over the weekend, had ever thought about doing a country collaboration, here’s what he had to say: “I would love that. That would be amazing. I am a huge Kacey Musgraves fan. Doing collaboration with her, a duet would be a dream.” As for a possible JoBro reunion, Joe shot down the idea for now. “I think right now we are all focused on our individual careers and personal lives,” said the singer. “We get to be brothers and that’s something that we want to really be the forefront of who we are as people. I think right now we are doing our own thing. You can never say never, but we are going to stay focused on our individual stuff.”

ASI’s ‘beauty parlour’ treatment cause of Taj’s browning, says historian

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Welcoming the Supreme Court’s concern over discolouring of the Taj Mahal, the 17th century monument to love in Agra, historian Prof R. Nath, an authority on Mughal architecture, said “mud-pack treatment with ‘Multani Mitti’ was the chief cause (of its browning) and this should be stopped forthwith”.

Talking to IANS on phone from Ajmer, where he has shifted from Agra, Nath said: “I had on dozens of occasions warned that the beauty parlour treatment with Fuller’s Earth would leave permanent scars and make the surface rough for deposits in the ambient air to settle down. In their wisdom, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) experts have damaged the original ‘Vajr Lep’, a concoction of paste using local ingradients, to provide a permanent cover.”

Nath said another problem area in respect of the security and safety of the Taj Mahal is the dry river Yamuna.

“On scores of occasions, and in a number of my research papers, I had recorded that Yamuna was an integral part of the Taj Mahal complex and the foundation resting on wells needed water round the year. The state and central governments ignored the warning I had given that the water in the river was necessary to buttress the heavy weight of the main edifice. The dome alone weighs 12,500 tonnes. My fear is some day the huge structure could just cave in,” he said.

You do not need foreign experts to tell you what to do and how to conserve these valuable heritage structures, Nath said.

“The temples in Rajasthan, all marble, Dilwara, Girnar, built in 12th century, stand out sparkling white, without any signs of fatigue. Why is only the Taj Mahal wearing out and looking pale and sick?”

The 80-year-old historian, who has written more than 300 research papers and authored dozens of books on Mughal architecture and history, is deeply pained and anguished. “I am not physically fit, otherwise I would have protested and raised an alarm. The powers that be do not seem interested in preserving history and heritage.”

He accused the ASI of ignoring its own 1923 conservation manual by Sir John Marshall, which prescribes almost everything related to the conservation of protected national monuments and is not convinced of the ASI’s expertise in protecting the monument.

“Cracks are bound to develop in any structure over the years, but they have to be periodically investigated and filled with material that is compatible with the structure,” he said.

The Taj Mahal underwent its first repair in 1652, when there was a leak in its dome. The leak was plugged using ingredients that had waterproofing qualities like pulses, gum and gur, said Nath.

“The lime-mortar mix was used in ancient and medieval times for roofing and for filling the cracks and crevices. Aurangzeb had the Taj repaired with the same materials in several thick layers and the leakage was plugged permanently. The materials used by ASI are a poor substitute to the original,” he said.

“Chances are the pores of the marble slabs would be opened because of the treatment, exposing the stones to environmental onslaughts. The builders of the Taj Mahal gave it a permanent treatment using a ‘desi’ concoction developed after years of painstaking research. This is called the ‘vajra lep’,” Nath said, adding that there was no history of “Multani mitti” being used on large marble buildings in “Greece, Italy or anywhere else in the world”.

“Since it is essentially a bleaching agent, will it not make the Taj’s surface rough and uneven,” he questioned.

Local conservationists, too, are not convinced about the usefulness and safety of treating the Taj Mahal with a mudpack on a regular basis. Experts point out that air pollution in Agra is the main reason for the deteriorating condition of the monument and that the government should focus on that instead.

“If the (previous) treatment was so good, why do they have to give it another one so soon,” asked Surendra Sharma of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society.

“What this means is that all our efforts to fight environmental pollution in the Taj Trapezium Zone have dismally failed. If pollution has been checked as claimed by the departments concerned, then what are the factors that are disfiguring the Taj Mahal?” Sharma asked.

Prez Kovind to confer National Film Awards in New Delhi today

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Sridevi will be given Best Actress award posthumously for ‘Mom’

Vinod Khanna will be conferred Dadasaheb Phalke award posthumously

President Ram Nath Kovind will confer the 65th National Film Awards in New Delhi on Thursday (May 03). The awards had been announced last month.

Late eminent actress Sridevi will be given Best Actress award posthumously for her movie -Mom, whereas Riddhi Sen has been selected for Best Actor for his role in Bengali film -Nagarkirtan.

Vinod Khanna will be conferred Indian cinema’s highest honour Dadasaheb Phalke award posthumously for his contribution to Indian cinema. Khanna will be the 49th recipient of the Award.

Assamese Film Village Rockstars will be awarded for the Best Feature Film and Film Newton as the Best Hindi Film. Jayaraj will receive the Best Director award for the movie Bhayanakam.

Fahad Fazil will be given as the Best Supporting Actor for the movie Thondimuthalum Drikshakshiyum, while Divya Dutta for the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in the Hindi feature film, Irada.

Baahubali-2 will receive the award for Best Popular Film for Providing Wholesale Entertainment, Best Special Effects and Best Action Direction Award. The film Dhappa will be awarded as Best Feature Film on national integration.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani and MoS for Information and Broadcasting Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore will be present on the occasion.

Hindusthan Samchar/Shri Ram Shaw

Bollywood Awards Round Up

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Bollywood Celebs Bagged 9th Newsmakers Achiever’s Award

Bollywood Celebs like Bappi Lahiri, Acharya Dr. Lokesh Muni, Bharti Singh, Swapnil Joshi, Bhagyashree Mote, Rajeev Nigam, Rohit Roy, Makrand Deshpande et al recently bagged the 9th Newsmakers Achiever’s Award.

Vaidehi Taman, Editor of Afternoon Voice recently organized a unique event of Charity & appreciation & 9th Newsmakers Achievers’ Award 2018 at Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan, Mumbai where the awards were given in different arenas.

This year we have dedicated the day to help “Divyang” (handicap) & Sex Workers’ daughters who are pursuing education; the thought is inspired from and in support with our Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana”.

Director of NBC Vaidehi averred, “We give out these award event to mainly acknowledge the unsung heroes those who are giving lots of contribution towards this society and in the field they are working in this is an amalgamation of sung & unsung heroes and a very unique experiment with the charity, we do it every year and this is our 9th year.”

Acharya Dr. Lokesh Muni bagged the “Best Spiritual Leader Award”, B J Khatal bagged the “Lifetime Achievement Award”, Bappi Lahiri bagged the “Lifetime Achievement” award, Bharti Singh & Rajiv Nigam bagged the “Best Comedian Award”, Bhagyashree Mote, Makrand deshpande, Rohit Roy, Nitanshi Goel & Swwapnil Joshi bagged the “Best Actor” award, Amit Tyagi of Aajtak, Neeru Sharma of E 24 & Vibha Kaul Bhat bagged the “Best Editor” award, Sonal Sonkavde bagged the “Best Author award, Priya Kataria Puri bagged the “Best Designer” award. Bhaiyyu Ji Maharaj came specially to give the awards.

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