Bollywood
Bhumi speaks up for gender-neutral performing arts awards
Hours after Brian May, the guitarist of the British rock group Queen, slammed the decision of the Brit Awards management to do away with gender-specific awards, Bollywood actress Bhumi Pednekar came out in support of the move, saying that it is time human beings started celebrating artistes irrespective of the gender they belong to.
The Brit Awards, which celebrate the best in British and international music, have replaced Best Male/Female Solo Artiste of the Year and Best International Male Solo/Female Solo Artiste of the Year with two gender-neutral categories — Best Artiste and Best International Artiste of the Year, respectively.
Pednekar, who is known to articulate her opinions on gender and environmental issues, says that society needs to be more open to the reality that’s unfolding each day.
Batting for inclusivity, Pednekar said: “I have always felt that gender must not be important to determine the value of an artiste’s skill or creation. Artistes should be celebrated solely because of their body of work and not by how they choose to identify themselves.”
Almost echoing the sentiments of the best-selling ‘genderqueer’ English Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Sam Smith’s concern that the award categories ruled out non-binary artistes like him, Pednekar said: “People are identifying with diverse genders and we just can’t turn a blind eye to this reality.”
Pednekar praised the Brit Awards management for “doing away with gendered awards” and said: “We have to ensure that our society acknowledges gender diversity. I laud the Brit Awards. It is a step in the right direction and shows across the world will soon follow suit.”
She added a note of caution, saying the journey towards more inclusivity must not come at the price of representation. “We should also keep in mind that while we try to be more inclusive, it should not lead to less representation or less inclusion of genders in a world that is governed by the binary lens. That would be counterproductive to equality.”
Most recently, the Berlin Film Festival awarded its first-ever gender-neutral Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance to Maren Eggert for her role in the German sci-fi romance, ‘I’m Your Man’.
The Gotham Awards, which will be held on Monday, November 29, also announced that their best actor and best actress prizes will be combined into a single lead performance category.
Bollywood
Saif Ali Khan stabbing case: Actor met rickshaw driver in hospital ahead of getting discharged
Mumbai, Jan 22: A day after Saif Ali Khan was discharged, pictures of the auto-rickshaw driver Bhajan Singh Rana posing with the Bollywood star in the hospital before he left for home started to do the rounds on social media.
Rickshaw driver Bhajan Singh Rana was the one who took Saif to Lilavati hospital on January 16 after the Bollywood star was stabbed multiple times during a robbery attempt in his house in wee hours.
Before leaving the hospital for home, Saif personally called the rickshaw driver to meet him at the hospital.
In one image, the auto-rickshaw driver is sitting next to Saif on the hospital bed as they smile at the camera. Saif’s bruised hand is on Bhajan Singh Rana’s shoulder. In another photograph, the duo are standing and smiling at the lens.
The 54-year-old star, who is married to Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Khan, thanked the rickshaw driver and told him to feel free to ask for help whenever he needed.
Saif along with his veteran-actress mother Sharmila Tagore, expressed their gratitude towards Bhajan Singh Rana.
As per sources, Saif praised the rickshaw driver for his work and said: “Keep helping others like this. And as for the fare that day, don’t worry, it will be taken care of.”
He jokingly added: “If you ever need help in life, remember me.”
When Bhajan Singh Rana was asked how he reached the hospital, as all the media personnel were present, he told Media: “I entered the hospital wearing a mask.”
The auto rickshaw driver said that he had first got a call from Saif’s personal assistant.
He said that he “ just prayed” that the actor gets well.
“I took a few selfies with him. I took a few photos with him.”
The driver recalled the night, when Saif was stabbed and said that the actor asked him to drive slowly as it was a “little painful.”
Bollywood
Feroz Abbas calls performing ‘Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya’ at Taj Mahal ‘a tribute’
Mumbai, Jan 22: Feroz Abbas Khan is currently busy with ‘Mughal-e-Azam: The Musical’. As part of the musical, the iconic love song “Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya” from the movie “Mughal-e-Azam” was staged at the Taj Mahal on 14th Jan 2025 this year.
“Mughal-e-Azam: The Musical” will take place till 23rd February, 2025. It will mark the end of the Delhi run for this epic masterpiece. Before performing in Delhi, the musical is expected to be performed in Mumbai at NMACC till 26th January 2025.
Talking about the emotional experience, Feroz Abbas Khan revealed, “We wanted to celebrate the enduring legacy of love by performing ‘Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya’ in front of the Taj Mahal. Incidentally, Shakeel Badayuni who wrote this definitive love anthem also praised the Taj for being a monument to love in another famous song. In a way, our performance was a tribute to Shakeel saab, to Naushad ji who tuned both the songs, to the Taj and to love that transcends all barriers.”
He further added, “While distilling K Asif’s timeless epic into a stage production, we did not anticipate the momentous journey it would go on to undertake across the globe. The fact that we are now all set to stage our 300th performance in Delhi has an enormous personal significance for all of us.”
Meanwhile, producer Deepesh Salgia was quoted saying, “Shapoorji Pallonji has been associated with the magnificence of ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ for over 75 years in its cinematic as well as musical form. Be it the luxurious production canvas or the marketing campaign, we have always worked towards setting new benchmarks. In the same spirit, the performance at the Taj is our tribute to the concluding season of the musical in Delhi.”
The musical features more than 550 exquisite costumes, breathtaking sets, live singing, and stunning Kathak choreography.
Directed by Feroz Abbas Khan, ‘Mughal-E-Azam: The Musical’ has been produced by Deepesh Salgia, under the assistance of Shapoorji Pallonji.
Bollywood
Saif Ali Khan case: Mumbai Police find clues from crime scene
Mumbai, Jan 22: The Mumbai Police have recovered a piece of cloth from actor Safi Ali Khan’s apartment which belongs to accused Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad, the Bangladeshi national arrested in the attack case.
Sources said the Bandra police recovered cloth from Khan’s house, which the accused used to cover his face. The cloth fell from his face in Saif’s son Jahangir’s room during the scuffle.
The cloth can be seen in the CCTV footage when Shehzad is climbing up the stairs before committing the crime. The police have sent the cloth and hair samples for DNA testing to the forensic department.
Earlier, the officials said that Shehzad had entered the actor’s building, Satguru Sharan, in the Bandra area by scaling its compound wall and found the security guards sleeping.
Sources said that both the security guards in the building were sleeping when the attacker entered it by crossing over the boundary wall.
The sources further said that as Shehzad found both the security guards sleeping, he entered the building from the main entrance where no CCTV camera exists. The accused removed his shoes and kept them in his bag to avoid making any noise. He also switched off his phone.
The police on Tuesday recreated the crime scene with the accused at the building. Police took the accused wherever he went after fleeing from Saif Ali Khan’s house. Shehzad was taken to the garden near the Satguru Sharan building and then to the National College Bus Stop where he was said to have stopped and stayed for a while after committing the crime. During the probe, the police took Shehzad to the Bandra Railway Station from where he had fled. Police are trying to find out how he reached the station.
The police were trying to record the chain of events starting from Shehzad’s entry to the building to his fleeing before being arrested.
Saif Ali Khan was stabbed six times by Shehzad inside his apartment in the early hours of January 16. The actor underwent emergency surgery at the Lilavati Hospital and was discharged on Tuesday. Three days after the attack, the police arrested the accused from neighbouring Thane city.
A court in Mumbai on Sunday remanded the accused in five-day police custody.
Shehzad, a native of Jhalokathi district in Bangladesh was residing in Mumbai for over five months. He had been working odd jobs and was associated with a housekeeping agency, the police have said.
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