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Bhumi speaks up for gender-neutral performing arts awards

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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

Complaint against Netflix & Mukesh Chhabra for inappropriate language on ‘India’s Got Latent 2’

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Mumbai, Sep 23: Samay Raina’s show ‘India’s Got Latent’ has once again landed in trouble after a complaint was filed against the casting director Mukesh Chhabra and Netflix India for inappropriate language being used on the show.

Complainant Anurag Shrivastav has alleged that he arrived in Mumbai on the evening of September 22, 2026, and while watching Netflix on his laptop in the hotel room, he saw the ‘India’s Got Latent’ episode that had actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, actor and YouTuber Bhuvan Bam, casting director Mukesh Chhabra, and stand-up comedian Kaustubh Agarwal, alongside host Samay Raina as part of the panel.

As he was watching the episode, the complainant came across some objectionable statements and realized their serious social impact.

During the episode, Mukesh Chhabra allegedly said, “Mere Aaram Nagar mein aao, gaand marao.”

“In the said episode, Mr. Mukesh Chhabra appears as a panel member. While watching the program, he was allegedly heard using highly inappropriate, objectionable, and sexually suggestive language, stating:

“Mere Aaram Nagar mein aao, gaand marao,” read the complaint.

“The authenticity of this statement, the identification of the voice/person, the complete context, and the exact timestamp need to be verified from the original and unedited recording”, it went on.

The complainant further stated that if the authenticity of this statement is proven, it poses a huge question on the dignity of the viewers and cyber security of children.

The complainant further demanded the investigation of Netflix’s role in this. It was further asked on what basis such content was allowed on the streaming platform. An investigation into the role of Monika Shergill, Netflix India’s content chief, was also demanded.

‘India’s Got Latent’ is no stranger to controversies. In February 2025, content creator and podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia faced massive backlash after his remarks about parents and sex during one of the episodes of season one.

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David Warner reacts to AI video of him dancing to ‘Jailer 2’ song: Bollywood Dave has some moves

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Mumbai, Sep 23: Former Australian cricketer and an ardent fan of Indian cinema David Warner was left amused after an AI-generated video showed him dancing to the song ‘Ala Bolelo’ from the upcoming film ‘Jailer 2’.

Sharing the clip on social media, Warner jokingly asked his followers to rate his “technique” out of 10 and said that the Bollywood version of him has some “moves”.

Posting the clip on Instagram, Warner wrote in the caption: “Righto Who made this?? I have no idea what song this is or what dance I’m doing but apparently Bollywood Dave has some moves. Rate the technique out of 10. Please comment below if you’re the person who sent this.”

Jailer 2 is an upcoming Indian Tamil-language action comedy film written and directed by Nelson Dilipkumar.

A sequel to th 2023 film Jailer, it also stars Rajinikanth, Ramya Krishnan, Yogi Babu, Mirnaa and Rithvik reprising their roles from the predecessor, with S. J. Suryah, Mithun Chakraborty, Vidya Balan, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Anna Rajan and Jatin Sarna joining the cast. Jailer 2 is scheduled to release worldwide on 15 October 2026 in theatres.

Talking about the 2023 film Jailer, the film stars Rajinikanth as a retired jailer who sets out to apprehend an eccentric idol smuggler threatening his family. The cast also includes Ramya Krishnan, Vinayakan, Tamannaah Bhatia, Sunil, Vasanth Ravi, Yogi Babu and Mirnaa in supporting roles. Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar and Jackie Shroff play guest appearances.

Jailer was released theatrically on 10 August 2023. The film received positive reviews from critics and emerged as the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2023, sixth highest-grossing Indian film of 2023 and second highest-grossing Tamil film of all time.

Meanwhile, Warner is a left-handed opening batter. Warner was the first Australian cricketer in 132 years to be selected for the national team in any format without first-class experience. He captained Australia in ODIs and T20Is, served as vice-captain across formats before his suspension, and played domestic cricket for the New South Wales Cricket Team.

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Vivek Oberoi reacts to Salman Khan’s stand against social media trolls

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Mumbai, Sep 23: Actor Vivek Oberoi, who has often found himself at the centre of discussions surrounding his equation with Salman Khan, has reacted to the superstar’s strong stand against social media trolls.

In an exclusive conversation with media, Vivek chose to focus on positivity when asked about the constant trolling and conversations around Salman.

“There are so many things in life to do positive, why should we do negative, why should we talk?” Vivek said.

Salman, during the recent Weekend Ka Vaar episode of Bigg Boss, questioned the mentality behind trolling and said that people should look after their own lives and families instead of constantly targeting others.

He had also come out in defence of women being body-shamed after pregnancy, in an apparent reference to the trolling faced by his close friend and former co-star Katrina Kaif over her post-pregnancy weight gain.

Without naming Katrina, Salman had questioned why anyone should troll a woman simply for gaining weight after giving birth.

He said that gaining weight during and after pregnancy is normal and that when she returns to films, she will get fit again, adding that she may simply want to spend time with her family at present.

He also criticised the culture of body- and age-shaming celebrities online, calling such trolling unnecessary and “dirty”.

Vivek, meanwhile has previously spoken about the difficult phase in his life when his equation with Salman became a subject of intense public discussion.

The two actors had a very public fallout in 2003, when Vivek, who was then associated with Aishwarya Rai, held a press conference alleging that Salman had threatened him over the phone.

Vivek claimed that Salman had repeatedly called him and objected to his relationship with Aishwarya, who was reportedly once dating Salman.

Over the years, Vivek has maintained that he would rather move forward and focus on the positive aspects of his life.

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