(IANS) Actress Fatima Sana Shaikh’s last release “Thugs of Hindostan” bombed at the box office, leaving her heartbroken and sad.

Despite the presence of industry giants like Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif, the “Thugs…” fizzled out and both audiences and critics wrote it off for its weak storyline and direction.

Interacting with the media at Netflix web-series ‘Selection Day’ premiere on Tuesday here, Fatima said: “Yeah.. it hasn’t done well. It is very heartbreaking. 

“It is very sad because we all tried to make a good film but unfortunately, it didn’t do well. People didn’t like it so, I am feeling very bad for it.”

Fatima is currently working on a project with Rajkummar Rao on Anurag Basu’s directorial — a sequel to “Life In A Metro”, though she said: “I don’t think it is called that.”

The “Dangal”-famed actress is looking forward to “Selection Day” which is a story of two brothers and their father who wants his sons to pursue cricket as their career.

“I am really excited and looking forward to see it because I found the trailer really interesting. I am also happy that lot of Indian shows are being made for Netflix and we (actors) are getting more opportunities. Even writers, directors and technicians.

“Now, we have lot of options in terms of viewing and performing. So, I feel it’s great that such show and series are out,” she said.

Speaking about her debut in “Dangal” which revolved around wrestling, Fatima said: “I run away from playing sports. It was the requirement for my film (Dangal) therefore, I had to do it otherwise, sports and I don’t get along really well.”

    [Nasheman news] Srinagar A day after he was expelled from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Minister Basharat Bukhari on Wednesday joined the National Conference (NC).

Bukhari was expelled for his anti-party activities.

He was here at NC chief Farooq Abdullah’s residence and joined the party in the presence of two former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers, as Omar Abdullah was also present.

Another expelled PDP leader, Peer Muhammad Hussain, was also expected to join the NC later in the day at the party headquarters here.

 [Nasheman news] New Delhi The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 p.m. on Wednesday after the opposition created ruckus over different issues including the Rafale deal.

As soon as the House met, the Congress, AIADMK and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) members trooped near the Speaker’s podium and started sloganeering.

The Congress demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the 36 ready-to-fly Rafale fighter jets deal with France while the AIADMK members wanted Karnataka to take back its proposal to construct a dam across the Cauvery river at Mekadatu.

The TDP raised several issues related to their demand for special status to Andhra Pradesh.

Amid the din, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan tried to conduct the Question Hour. But her attempts failed as the disruptions continued.

She then adjourned the House till noon.

 [Nasheman news] Jaipur  The 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction on Tuesday witnessed a new list of millionaires with Varun Chakaravarthy and Jaydev Unadkat topping the charts among the Indian players with a hefty purse of Rs 8.4 crore each, while Englishman Sam Curran emerged as the highest paid overseas player with a price tag of Rs 7.2 crore.

Varun, a little known mystery bowler, was purchased by the Kings XI Punjab while Unadkat, the left-arm quick, was snapped up by his former franchise — Rajasthan Royals, who had released him after a satisfactory stint last season.

Among other Indian players to breach the five-crore club are Axar Patel (Delhi Capitals), Mohit Sharma (Chennai Super Kings) and Shivam Dubey (Royal Challengers Bangalore). 

Besides Curran, the other sought after overseas players were South African Colin Ingram, bought by the Delhi Capitals for a whopping Rs 6.4 crore, while West Indian power-hitter Carlos Brathwaite was snapped up by the Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 5 crore.

But the major highlight of the day was the emergence of lesser known Indian players earning big in the auction. The trend was initially set by the Punjab franchise, who went for leg-spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, before further bolstering their bowling attack with the addition of Curran, and India’s pace spearhead Mohammed Shami for Rs 4.8 crore.

The Punjab side also bought 17-year-old wicket-keeper Prabhsimran Singh for a whopping Rs 4.8 crore while splurging Rs 4.2 crore for West Indian Nicolas Pooran and Rs 1 crore for Australian all-rounder Moises Henriques.

RCB also invested in many lesser known young faces like the uncapped Shivam, West Indian Shimron Hetmyer (Rs 4.2 crore), Akshsdeep Nath (Rs 3.6 crore) and Prayas Raj Barman (Rs 1.5 crore).

Delhi Capitals, formerly known as the Delhi Daredevils, also strengthened their middle-order batting by investing a lion’s share on Ingram besides spending Rs 2 crore each to bag the services of all-rounder Hanuma Vihari and Sherane Rutherford. It also got veteran India pacer and local boy Ishant Sharma for Rs 1.10 crore.

Coming to the Mumbai Indians, the side bolstered its bowling attack by buying Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga for Rs 2 crore while splurging Rs 3.4 crore to buy India discard Barinder Sran. 

Another India discard Yuvraj Singh finally found a buyer in the Mumbai franchise, who bought him for his base price of Rs 1 crore. Interestingly, the southpaw went unsold in the first round.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad focused on getting a wicketkeeper-batsman to balance their batting and in the process, bagged the services of Englishman Jonny Bairstow for Rs 2.2 crore and India Test stumper Wriddhiman Saha for Rs 1.2 crore. It also got New Zealander Martin Guptill for Rs 1 crore after the right-hander went unsold in the first round.

Having retained the bulk of their side, defending champions Chennai Super Kings hardly required any fresh faces after regaining Mohit Sharma for Rs 5 crore.

The Dinesh Karthik-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) also kept their focus on a number of rookies, besides splurging crores on Brathwaite (Rs 5 crore) and Lockie Ferguson (Rs 1.6 crore).

Inaugural IPL champions Rajasthan Royals got their main man back in the form of Unadkat but despite that spent big on bagging other quicks in Varun Aaron (Rs 2.4 crore) and Oshane Thomas (Rs 1.10 crore).

Meanwhile, South African pace spearhead Dale Steyn was among some of the biggest names to miss out even in the second and final round.

The other stars who went unsold are India Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara, New Zealanders Brendon McCullum, James Neesham and Corey Anderson, Englishmen Chris Woakes, Alex Hales and Chris Jordan, South Africans Hashim Amla and Morne Morkel, and Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews and Kusal Perera.

Former West Indian skipper Jason Holder and Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim also failed to find any buyer along with Australians Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja and stumper Ben McDermott.

Besides Pujara, the other notable Indian names to miss out in the auction include Naman Ojha, R.Vinay Kumar, Parvez Rasool, Baba Indrajith, Sheldon Jackson, Sachin Baby and Manoj Tiwary.

  Nasheman news [ Perth ]Despite being on the receiving end in the second Test against Australia, India skipper Virat Kohli has praised the effort of his bowlers and hopes they carry the momentum to the next games as well.

Chasing a challeging 287-run target, the Indian batsmen failed to put up a fight and the entire side was bundled out for just 140 runs on the final day’s morning session as the hosts levelled the series 1-1 with two games left.

However, the Indian pacers impressed with a disciplined bowling. While Ishant Sharma emerged with figures of 4/41 in Australia’s first innings, Mohammed Shami scalped six wickets, conceding 56 runs in the second innings.

“The second innings was beautiful to watch, they were outstanding together as a pack. Just to see them dominating with the ball in the second innings was beautiful and that’s something we want to build on and take forward to the next game as well,” Kohli said after the match.

“It was really pleasing to see the way our bowlers bowled relentlessly. When we looked at the pitch, we didn’t think about that (Jadeja) option. We thought four quicks would be enough,” the Indian skipper pointed out.

Meanwhile, Kohli also praised Australia’s Nathan Lyon, who bagged a total of eight wickets in the match to help out his side equalise the series.

“Nathan Lyon bowled really well on this wicket. With the skill levels and consistency that he has to get something out of this wicket was really good,” Kohli opined.

Lyon, who was picked as the ‘Player of the match’ for his notable performance, said: “It is amazing to play a role in a team victory and to have the support here in Perth and all around Australia has been fantastic. It’s pretty fair to say we have been in drought and to wrap up their tail pretty quickly was special.”

The off-spinner, who picked the massive wicket of Kohli in the second innings to firm Australia’s grip over the match, termed it as very special.

“Definitely those two wickets (Virat and Ajinkya Rahane) are special. Virat is the number one player in the world, to compete against him and to be able to take his wicket is pretty special,” expressed Lyon.

The two sides will now clash in the third Test, starting December 26 in Melbourne.

 [Nasheman news] New Delhi, It was a cold morning in the national capital with minimum temperature dropping to 5.2 degrees Celsius, three notches below the season’s average as the air quality remained ‘very poor’.

The Met department forecast a cold wave in the city for next two days till Friday.

On Tuesday also the minimum temperature was recorded at 5.1 degrees Celsius — the coldest December night since 2015. 

“Mist covered Delhi skies in the morning but the rest of the day will be clear without any signs of clouds. Haze or smoke will appear later in the day when the temperature drops,” an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official told IANS.

The humidity at 8.30 a.m. was 97 per cent — a condition considered unfavourable for pollutants to disperse.

Experts advised against any outdoor activity early morning and after sunset, and to wear N-95 or P-100 respirators when stepping out. 

The maximum temperature was expected to reach 23 degrees Celsius. Tuesday’s maximum temperature was also the same, normal for this time of the year. 

Nasheman news Mumbai Veteran actress and wife of Dilip Kumar, Saira Banu, has expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet her here and help save her husband’s bunglow from the land mafia.

In so many words she has also slammed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for not doing anything in the matter despite assurances.

“Request from Saira Banu Khan: The Hon’ble @PMOIndia Shri @narendramodi Sir, Land Mafia Samir Bhojwani released from jail. 

“No action taken despite assurances by CM @Dev_Fadnavis. 

“Padma Vibhushit betrayed, threatened by money and muscle power. Request meeting with you in #Mumbai,” read a tweet shared late on Tuesday on Dilip Kumar’s official Twitter account. 

Interacting earlier with the media, Saira Banu had sought audience with Modi, who was here on Tuesday, to discuss the issue following the builder’s release from jail.

Bhojwani had falsely claimed ownership of the two plots in upscale Pali Hill area of suburban Bandra on which the ailing 96-year-old actor’s bungalow is. 

Saira Banu had also tagged Fadnavis in her tweet. 

Fadnavis later told the media that he would speak to the couple and try sort out the issue.

This came after Modi apparently directed Fadnavis to sort out the issue as soon as possible, Saira Banu said.

“We are hopeful that the Prime Minister will look into the matter and I hope our kind Chief Minister will also look into it and take due action,” the veteran actress said.

“For the last three months, the CM has been promising me that he will talk to Bhojwani and resolve the issue. I hope he will stick to his words and do the needful,” she added.

Giving details about the dispute, Saira Banu said: “We have been facing this court dispute and harassment by Samir Bhojwani for the last 10-12 years. 

“This man (Samir Bhojwani) is an expert at land grabbing, forgery and fraudulent cases. He is doing these things because he has muscle power and money. He has big political connections, and therefore, no one is willing to take action against him.”

She also stated that Bhojwani has violated BMC guidelines but they have not taken any action against him. 

“Earlier, he wanted to build a cottage for his sister in front of our residence. At that time, we gave him permission. After that, we went out of Mumbai for two-three months and when we returned, we saw that he had built a two-three storey building instead of a cottage, and while doing so he had violated BMC rules but no one has taken any kind of action against him.

“The entire world knows that this is Dilip Kumar saab’s residence so how can he trespass on that land? He knows that Dilip saab has health issues and because of all this stress his health has deteriorated even more.”

She said Dilip Kumar was emotionally attached to his house. “It is his only house and we all are emotionally attached to it. Dilip saab’s younger sister and brother have grown up in this house.

“He hasn’t worked in 300 films that he can afford to invest in properties. In his entire film career, he has hardly been part of 56 good films. He is a man who has contributed a lot for his country through his art.” 

In December 2017, Saira Banu had lodged a police complaint alleging that Bhojwani was threatening and harassing her and Dilip Kumar over the property. Following the complaint, the Mumbai police had arrested Bhojwani.

Agra (IANS) A B.Tech student on her way to a coaching centre here was forcibly carried away by two unidentified men to the banks of river Yamuna and gang raped, police said on Wednesday.

The first year student was on her scooty on Tuesday evening when the two men on a bike intercepted and grabbed her. They took her to a secluded spot on the poiya ghat and attacked her.

According to the victim, two other boys were already there at the spot. All four then took turns to rape her.

Later on she was helped home by some passersby. 

Her parents lodged a complaint at the New Agra police station late in the evening. 

The accused are absconding, Superintendent of Police (City) Prashant Verma said.

The victim has been badly hit on her head. She was admitted to the SN Medical College hospital.