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Womanathon: ‘Run with her’ for women's empowerment

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womanathon

Bengaluru: In an initiative to empower women, SEEK Foundation will be holding ‘Womanathon,’ a marathon for women on March 8, across Bengaluru, Chennai & Hyderabad cities, which is International Women’s Day.

‘Run with her’ is the theme of the event. It will be held across three cities — Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad — on March 8. “The people who can do most to improve the situation of so many women and girls are men,” said Nithyshree, founder member of SEEK Foundation, an NGO that works for social welfare. “It’s in their hands to stop violence against women. This run is mainly a run for Respect.”

Actress Sanjjanaa Archana Galrani who is running for her mother says, “My mom is my wonder woman. The woman I respect and love the most”.

Womanathon is contributing to Seek Foundation which is a not-for-profit organisation working towards bringing consciousness in education and empowerment & knowledge to every citizen.

Seek Foundation has adopted villages like Poondandalam in Kancheepuram District and help to create awareness for women and girls.

"My debut film 'Lucknowi Ishq' is a clean romantic film retaining the Lucknowi tehzeeb": Anand Raut

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An interview with débutante director Anand Raut

Aanand Raut

Débutante director Anand Raut, a reputed theatre persona, hails from Ranchi, Jharkhand. After winning lots of accolades & critical acclaim in the theatrical arena in Ranchi, Jharkhand it was but natural that Anand Raut headed straight for the Mekkah of Bollywood in Mumbai. And in a short span of time he has succeeded in rolling out a Nawabi romantic recipe in the form of his debut offering named ‘Lucknowi Ishq’. Which is now being planned as a New Year’s release in the 1st week of Jan, 2015.

Are you confident that your debut directorial Nawabi recipe named ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ will be received well by cine goers all over?

If you are trying to compare my film ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ with Yashjraj Films ‘Dawat – E – Ishq’. Then rest assured that my film ‘Lucknowi ishq’ will be well received by the audiences all over as I have made a very clean romantic film based on the love story of Gen X especially based in Lucknow. But of course I have tried to retain the Lucknowi Tehzeeb. Believe me ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ is a purely Lucknowi love story well within modesty and not like a typical Mumbaiyya love story mostly bordering on immodesty.

So what is this pure ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ all about?

Well! ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ will depict the love story of a Doctor who loses everything for the sake of his love. The 1st half of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ deals with the one sided love of the Doctor for his so called beloved and the 2nd half of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ deals with the one sided love of the Doctor’s beloved for him and how they ultimately unite in the bonds of love forms the crux of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’.

What according to you are the highlights of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’?

The main highlights of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’ will be its high on adrenaline romantic twist in the climax besides its Lucknowi college romance which will be an eye opener and refresh the memory of yesteryear’s films like ‘Palki’, ‘Mere Mehboob’ and others of its ilk. That apart my hero Adhyayan Suman & heroine Karishma Kotak will be seen in a brand new avatar of Muslim lover boy & Muslim lover girl.

So what’s next on your filmmaking agenda after ‘lucknowi Ishq’?

First & foremost I am too busy in the preparation of the release of ‘Lucknowi Ishq’. But of course I am already on to my next project, the pre – production of which is already underway. It will be an out & out commercial venture, a sort of high octane action drama probably featuring either Ajay Devgn or John Abraham. Talks are already on with them to lure one of the star in the project. That’s it.

"Our Fillm 'Rang-E-Ishq' Is An Unusal Triangular Love Story": Jayveer Panghaal

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A Face To Face Encounter With Producer Jayveer Panghaal & Distributor Shakeel Hashmi.

L-R: Shakeel Hashmi and Jayveer Panghaal.

L-R: Shakeel Hashmi and Jayveer Panghaal.

When two diverse personalities like producer Jayveer Panghaal & distributor Shakeel Hashmi join hands they create a cinematic magic. Producer Jayveer Panghaal is a débutante entrant in the field of filmmaking while distributor Shakeel Hashmi has already proved his expertise & versatility in the distribution arena. And now Jayveer Panghaal & Shakeel Hashmi are all set to spread the colors of love, their latest offering symbolically named ‘Rang-E-Ishq’, on the celluloid silver screen on 27th Mar, 2015. This sweet, simple & innocent triangular love story in tandem with its positive & negative shades will keep, both the Multiplex & Single Screen, audiences spell bound till “The End”, especially towards the climax when they will be stunned & shockingly surprised by ‘Rang-E-Ishq’s unusual & unbelievable twists & turns. Present herewith is joint interactive session with the duo.

Shaheen: So let’s start off with both of you giving your brief introduction.

Jayveer: I hail from UP and had made my humble beginning as a steward and then graduated as a Director in Sales & Marketing in the corporate world. Academically speaking I have done Hotel Management from Nainital. Then I acquired my MBA degree from MET University. But I always had this passion for filmmaking as my favorite director is Vishal Bhardwaj and I am a big fan of his realistic films.

Shakeel: I am a North Indian guy also hailing from Uttar Pradesh. I first stepped into Bollywood in the advertising arena. And after gaining expertise I slowly & steadily inched myself into the distribution arena. And now by the grace of Allah – The Almighty I am considered a master of sorts in both the arenas of advertising & distribution.

Shaheen: How did the two of you meet?

Jayveer: Actually speaking I always wanted to be a writer, having written a lot of scripts, but I knew that I would have to struggle like hell to be a writer. So I did the next best thing that is to pursue my passion for filmmaking and the result is my debut film ‘Rang-E-Ishq’ which is all set to release on 27th Mar, 2015. And when the film was ready I was on the look out for a genuine & sincere distributor to get a proper release outlet for my film ‘Rang-E-Ishq’. To be very frank I had heard a lot of Bollywoodian stories on how the distributors take the producers for a merry go ride and cheat them out on their last penny. Anyways one of our common acquaintance suggested Shakeel Hashmi’s name and when I met him all my fears were laid to rest as I found him to be a very honest, sincere & unassuming guy. Instead of discussing about the monetary aspects Shakeel was more interested in knowing about the minutest details of the project, that is about my sorry now our film ‘Rang-E-Ishq’. In fact now I am already thinking on the lines of doing my sorry our next project together.

Shakeel: Yeah! That’s right. One of our common acquaintance gave us a mutual introduction. And on meeting him I found him to be a thorough gentlemen with picture perfect precise ideas. Our chemistry matched spot on although I had taken him to be an arty kind of film festival circuit producer in our initial meeting and when he had told me that his film’s name was ‘Rang-E-Ishq’ I had a hearty laugh as most of the film’s I am distributing of late has a fixture of the word “Ishq” in its title like my upcoming film ‘Lucknowi Ishq’, I think the word “Ishq” is proving very lucky for my distribution concern “Big Curtains Media”. So when Jayveer showed me ‘Rang-E-Ishq’s promos & songs I was floored and took an on the spot decision to be a part of it.

Shaheen: What according to both of you is the story of ‘Rang-E-Ishq’?

Jayveer: ‘Rang-E-Ishq’ is a an unusual triangular love story of a good boy, a good girl and a bad boy. The good boy is a happy go lucky boy more interested in doing social service. The good girl is a school teacher. So when the good boy sees the good girl he falls madly in love with her to a point of no return. And then the bad boy, who is a psycho – a terror in short a bad villain enters the picture perfect love scenario, the loving couple’s apple cart of happiness is overturned as the bad boy also falls in love with the good girl that too beyond redemption. That’s it and to stumble upon the unusual & unbelievable climax you will have to take a stroll in your nearest Multiplex or Single Screen Cinema when the colors of love will be spread, I mean ‘Rang-E-Ishq’ will be released on 27th Mar, 2015.

Shakeel: Jayveer has already given you an insight on the plot scenario of ‘Rang-E-Ishq’. So now I will give an insight on ‘Rang-E-Ishq’s USP. ‘Rang-E-Ishq’ has everything for everyone, for people of all ages and all walks of life. It has romance, emotions, action et al in fact all the ingredients of a commercial potboiler in lieu with the melodious & mellifluous songs. This sweet, simple & innocent triangular love story in tandem with its positive & negative shades will keep, both the Multiplex & Single Screen, audiences spell bound till “The End”, especially towards the climax when they will be stunned & shockingly surprised by ‘Rang-E-Ishq’s unusual & unbelievable twists & turns. Not to forget the brilliant performances of its trio of actors like Mujahid Khan, Kavya Khan & Deepak Kumar.

Shaheen: One last question! Do both of you have any directional plans for future?

Jayveer: Of course I will direct my own films from my own scripts but it is too soon to make any directional plans, let me first pick up some more coordination & directional tips before I set off to wield the megaphone.

Shakeel: No Shaheen Bhai not so soon. As of now I have no directional plans. Right now I am too busy, I would say rather over busy in the operational activities of my advertising & distribution concern namely Big Curtains Media.

Car in Haryana CM's convoy runs over pedestrian

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Manohar Lal Khattar

Karnal: A man in his 30s was killed when he was hit by one of the vehicles in Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s convoy near Taraori here, police said today.

According to police, two of their personnel who were travelling in the vehicle were also injured in the incident which occurred last evening as the chief minister was going to Delhi from Chandigarh.

The vehicle in the convoy turned turtle as its driver tried to avoid hitting the pedestrian, who is yet to be identified, police said.

The convoy halted at the spot and the chief minister gave instructions for dealing with the emergency before continuing with the onward journey, police said, adding that the injured policemen have been hospitalised.

Meanwhile, the deceased has been identified as Satpal, a vegetable vendor hailing from Takhana village in Karnal district, which is the home constituency of Khattar.

The Haryana chief minister has announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased.

Describing the incident as “unfortunate”, Khattar said that an FIR has been registered against the driver of the police vehicle. He also directed that steps must be taken to ensure that such mishaps do not occur again.

(Agencies)

Beef banned in Maharashtra, receives President's assent

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The slaughter of cows was previously prohibited in the state under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act of 1976. Photo: IE

The slaughter of cows was previously prohibited in the state under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act of 1976. Photo: IE

Mumbai: The bill banning cow slaughter in Maharashtra, pending for several years, on Monday received the President’s assent, which means red meat lovers in the state will have to do without beef.

This measure has taken almost twenty years to materialize and was initiated during the previous Sena-BJP government.The bill was  first submitted to the President for approval on January 30, 1996. However, subsequent governments at the Centre, including the BJP led NDA stalled it and did not seek the President’s consent.

A delegation of seven state BJP MPs led by Kirit Somaiya, (MP from Mumbai North) had met the President in New Delhi recently and submitted a memorandum seeking assent to the bill. The memorandum said that the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill, 1995, passed during the previous Shiv Sena-BJP regime, was pending for approval for 19 years.

“Thanks a lot honourable President sir for the assent on Maharashtra Animal Preservation Bill. Our dream of ban on cow-slaughter becomes reality now,” chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Twitter. A delegation of seven state BJP MPs had met the President recently and submitted a memorandum.

The law will ban beef from the slaughter of bulls and bullocks, which was previously allowed based on a fit-for-slaughter certificate, according to The Indian Express. The new Act will, however, allow the slaughter of water buffaloes.

The punishment for the sale of beef or possession of it could be prison for five years with an additional fine of Rs 10,000. “Apart from rendering people jobless, the immediate effect will be the spiralling price of other meats as people will be forced to gravitate to them,” Indian Express quoted president of the Mumbai Suburban Beef Dealer Association Mohammed Qureshi as saying.

Reuters had earlier reported that Hindu nationalists in India had stepped up attacks on the country’s beef industry, seizing trucks with cattle bound for abattoirs and blockading meat processing plants in a bid to halt the trade in the world’s second-biggest exporter of beef.

An official at a beef transport group in Maharashtra state said around 10 vehicles travelling to Mumbai had been stopped in the last week of February, the animals taken forcefully and drivers beaten up by members of Hindu nationalist groups despite carrying valid documents.

However, a BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari told The Hindu that the party’s efforts to seek a ban on slaughter of calves should not be viewed with a communal lens but keeping in mind the “interests of agrarian communities.

 (With inputs from Reuters)

Yogendra, Bhushan may face action in AAP's national executive

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Yogendra-Yadav-Prashant-Bhushan

New Delhi: Peeved at its senior leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan’s criticism of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal’s approach, the party here on Monday hinted at acting tough against the duo in the national executive meet on Wednesday.

The party’s official stand became clear a day after a joint letter by Yadav and Bhushan was leaked to the media which questioned the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) “one person-centric” approach and criticised it on various fronts.

“The attempts were being made to remove Kejriwal as the national convener of the party,” AAP leader Sanjay Singh said, obliquely referring to Yadav and Bhushan at a press conference here.

Talking about the letters being written by members to party authorities, some of whom are with the media, Singh said the party would discuss the recent turn of events, including the leakage of letters in its national executive meeting.

“The continuous leakage of letters written by party members has made the party look like a joke,” he said.

Asked whether the duo would be sacked from the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), the highest decision making body of the AAP, Singh said: “I have only announced the date for the meeting. Have I announced the decisions that will be taken there?”

AAP founding members Yadav and Bhushan, who have been raising the issue of “one man, one post” and the party becoming “person-centric”, might be asked to step down from their posts in the PAC or assume non-active roles, party sources said.

Sources said the party won’t ask them to leave but if they chose to do so, they won’t be stopped.

Party lokpal Admiral L. Ramdas, in a letter which was leaked to the media, had pointed to two camps emerging within the top leadership and had asked the AAP to reconsider the ‘one man, one post’ arrangement.

Efforts were on to contain the differences among the party members with former journalist and party member Ashutosh tweeting that the developments were just a “clash of ideas”.

Yogendra Yadav has slammed reports about the crisis in the party.

“Voters in Delhi have given us a huge mandate and this is the time to work more with a large heart,” Yadav tweeted.

“The country has placed a lot of hope with us. And I can only appeal that we should not lower that expectation with our petty issues. I pray that better sense prevails on us,” the tweet added.

(IANS)

Young Sikh boy racially abused in US, video goes viral

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sikh-boy-racial-abuse

New York: In a shocking case of racism, a young Sikh boy in the US state of Georgia has been called a “terrorist” by a group of school children, with the video of the abuse now going viral on the internet.

In the video posted on Inquisitr, the bespectacled Sikh boy is seen sitting in what appears to be a school bus and is surrounded by students.

He whispers to the camera: “The kids are being racist to me.”

A young girl sitting behind him then shouts “terrorist! terrorist!” and points her finger at the boy, who remains calm and even shouts “who cares” when the kids hurl abuses at him.

Inquisitr reported that the video was uploaded by a user named ‘Nagra Nagra’ and identified the Sikh boy as Harsukh Singh.

Singh apparently uploaded the video initially which has so far got 130,000 views, with the description,”Kids being racist to me and calling me an Afghan terrorist. Please don’t act like this towards people like me. If you don’t know, I’m not Muslim I’m Sikh.”

An online user described the video “disgusting” in which the young Sikh boy is “being bullied with racist chants on a school bus. “The Sikh bravely states that he doesn’t care what they think of him.”

The Inquisitr reported that Singh is a student at the Chattahoochee Elementary School in Duluth, Georgia.

The incident comes weeks after a Hindu temple was vandalized in Seattle. A Nazi swastika and the phrase “get out” was found spray-painted in red on the exterior of the temple and cultural centre in Washington state in February.

According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, FBI hatecrimes statistics shows that anti-Muslim hatecrimes are still at about five times more common than they were before the 9/11 attacks.

Last year, 29-year-old Sikh man Sandeep Singh was brutally injured after a Long Island man slammed his pick-up truck into him after calling him ‘Osama’ and that he should “go back to your country.”

Joseph Caleca was indicted by a grand jury on a nine-count indictment charging him with attempted murder as a hate crime, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and leaving the scene without reporting after hitting Singh.

(PTI)

PDP demands return of Afzal Guru's mortal remains

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Mufti Mohammad Sayeed

Srinagar: Ruling PDP in Jammu and Kashmir today demanded from the NDA government the return of the mortal remains of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, a day after assuming power in alliance with BJP.

Eight PDP MLAs issued a statement in this regard saying the party “promises to follow vigorously” for the return of the mortal remains.

Guru was hanged on February 9, 2013 inside Tihar Jail.

“PDP stands by the demand for return of his (Guru’s) mortal remains, and the party promises to follow vigorously for the return of the mortal remains,” the PDP statement said.

The legislators who signed the statement are Mohammad Khalil Bandh, Zahoor Ahmed Mir, Raja Manzoor Ahmad, Mohd Abas Wani, Yawar Dilawar Mir, Advocate Mohd Yosuf, Aijaz Ahmad Mir and Noor Mohd Sheikh.

“PDP has always maintained that late Afzal Guru’s hanging was travesty of justice and constitutional requirements and process was not followed in hanging him out of turn,” the statement said.

“The way he was picked up from serial no.28 and singled out has been condemned by PDP and it stands by the demand for return of his mortal remains…,” it said.

“We believe that the resolution brought by Independent MLA Rashid Ahmed to seek clemency for late Afzal Guru was justified and should have been adopted by the House at that time,” he said.

In 2011, the resolution seeking clemency for Guru could not be taken up in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly due to pandemonium in the House.

The resulotion became void as according to rules, any listed business that does not come up for discussion would lapse.

(PTI)

BJP's Sadhvi Prachi calls for boycott of Khan triumvirate, slams Mother Theresa

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sadhvi_prachi

Dehradun: Suggesting that films starring Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan are spreading a ‘culture of violence’, BJP MP Sadhvi Prachi advised youngsters not to idolise the triumvirate.

Speaking at a programme of Vishwa Hindu Parishad here yesterday, the Sadhvi, known for stoking controversies by her statements, said once she had been to a programme in Meerut where she asked a young boy what he wanted to become in life.

“He said he wanted to become like Hritik Roshan, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan. When I asked why, his mother told me because they are good at doing stunts,” she said.

Calling for a boycott of the Khan triumvirate’s films by the right wing Hindu outfits, she said, “I, for one, would ask the Bajrangis to make a bonfire of the posters of films of Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan.”

Sadhvi Prachi also accused Mother Teresa of proselytising in the name of service like all missionaries do.

“Mother Teresa indulged in conversion by luring people over to Christianity under the pretext of service,” she said.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had also made similar remarks saying that Christianity was the main objective behind Mother Teresa’s service to the poor.

“Mother Teresa’s service would have been good. But it used to have one objective, to convert the person, who was being served, into a Christian,” he had said while speaking at a function organised by NGO Apna Ghar.

(Agencies)

Delhi bus rapist: Women should allow men to rape them if they want to live

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Raise your voice.(Reuters/Ahmad Masood)

Raise your voice. (Reuters/Ahmad Masood)

by Shelly Walia, Quartz

One of the men who brutally assaulted and raped a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in New Delhi on Dec. 16, 2012 blames the victim for the savagery that he—and five other men—inflicted on her.

Had she simply been “silent” and allowed the rape, “then they would have dropped her off after doing her,” Mukesh Singh, one of the convicted in the horrific case, said in an interview from Delhi’s Tihar Jail.

It’s been more than two years since a physiotherapy student, Jyoti Singh, was raped by six men. Later, she was left to die on the city’s streets, as her male companion, who was also severely beaten up, sought help from passersby.

The incident triggered nationwide protests and a demand for a lasting, sweeping change in rape laws. The judge who handled the case said that the rape had “shocked the collective conscience” of India. The assailants are now facing death penalty—but one of them, at least, feels absolutely no remorse.

In an interview for a documentary called India’s Daughter, Mukesh— who was also the driver of the bus in which the incident occurred—said that girls are to be blamed for most of the rapes that occur in India.

“You can’t clap with one hand – it takes two hands. A decent girl won’t roam around at 9 o’clock at night. A girl is far more responsible for rape than a boy. Boy and girl are not equal. Housework and housekeeping is for girls, not roaming in discos and bars at night doing wrong things, wearing wrong clothes. About 20 per cent of girls are good.”

He went on to blame Jyoti for resisting rape.

“She should just be silent and allow the rape. Then they would have dropped her off after ‘doing her’ and only hit the boy. The 15 or 20 minutes of the incident, I was driving the bus. The girl was screaming, ‘Help me, help me.’ The juvenile put his hand in her and pulled out something. It was her intestines …We dragged her to the front of the bus and threw her out.”

Death penalty, in his opinion, will only make matters worse for future rape victims.

“The death penalty will make things even more dangerous for girls.”

“Before, they would rape and say, ‘Leave her, she won’t tell anyone.’ Now when they rape, especially the criminal types, they will just kill the girl. Death.”

The juvenile who Mukesh mentioned in his interview was six months shy of 18 at the time of the rape, and was tried separately from the other five men in a juvenile justice court. In August 2013, he was sent to a correctional facility for a maximum term of three years. At the reform home in Sept. 2014, he was found to be cooking, sewing, painting, playing volleyball, watching television or pigeons.

Mukesh, who was 26 at the time of the incident, and four other adult perpetrators were given the death penalty by a fast-track court. Though the Delhi high court upheld the penalty in Mar. 2014, the perpetrators are waiting for  Supreme Court’s hearing on their appeal.

The documentary will be broadcast in India and seven other countries on BBC4 on March 08, International Women’s Day.

Here’s the trailer.

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