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SC declines to interfere with anticipatory bail to actor Vijay Babu in rape case

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to interfere with the anticipatory bail granted to Malayalam film producer-actor Vijay Babu in an alleged case of rape of an actor.

The top court made it clear that Babu would have to restrain from making social media posts in connection with the case and also, he cannot leave Kerala without the permission of the court.

A vacation bench comprising Justices Indira Banerjee and J.K. Maheshwari said Babu would not tamper with the evidence or try to interfere with any witness whatsoever, and also, not harass the victim.

The top court passed the order on petitions filed by the victim and the Kerala government challenging the Kerala High Court granting anticipatory bail to Babu.

Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta, representing the Kerala government, contended that Babu is an influential person in the movie industry and the witness and the evidence pertaining to the case is also connected with the film industry.

Gupta added that he deleted WhatsApp messages of 15 critical days and also informed the court that the impugned order restricted investigation up to July 3, and curbed the time on interrogation. “We don’t think that grant of bail is unwarranted but restricting time for investigation is unwarranted,” said the bench.

The top court said the restrictions on proceeding with the investigation could not be sustained and modified the order of the high court. “We make it clear that the petitioner may be interrogated beyond July 3, 2022, if necessary,” it said.

Senior advocate R. Basant, representing the victim, said Babu disclosed her identity on Facebook Live to pressurise his client and he also fled to Georgia, where there is no extradition treaty, as he opposed the anticipatory bail granted to Babu.

The top court on Tuesday had agreed to hear the plea by the Kerala actor, who was allegedly raped by Babu, challenging the High Court’s order granting conditional anticipatory bail to Babu.

During the mentioning of the case on Tuesday, the top court was informed that anticipatory bail has been granted to a person, who initially ran away to Dubai and then to Georgia and came back to India only because his passport was impounded here. The Kerala government counsel contended that the high court says that he will be granted bail if he is to be arrested and it also says that his interrogation is restricted from June 27 to July 3.

Bollywood

Ranbir Kapoor showcases singing talent, croons ‘Kabira’ at Durga Puja pandal during Navratri

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Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor added a musical touch to the Navratri celebrations as he recently visited the North Bombay Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in Mumbai.

During his visit, the actor met his filmmaker friend Ayan Mukerji and also greeted the paparazzi present at the venue, posing for pictures with them. However, what caught everyone’s attention was Ranbir’s impromptu singing performance at the pandal. The ‘Rockstar’ actor took to the stage with singer Harshdeep Kaur and crooned the popular song ‘Kabira’ from his 2013 film “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.”

In a video that went viral on social media, Ranbir was seen sharing the stage with Harshdeep Kaur as she sang ‘Kabira’. Holding a microphone, the ‘Barfi’ actor joined her in singing the popular track and even turned the mic towards the audience, encouraging them to sing along.

Videos from the event showed Ranbir dressed in a red-and-gold kurta with white pyjamas as he arrived at the Durga Puja pandal. He offered prayers to Goddess Durga and later greeted the cameras with folded hands while posing for photographs.

This year marked the 80th year of the North Bombay Sarbojanin Durga Puja celebrations, continuing the Mukherjee family’s long-standing tradition of celebrating the festival with devotion and grandeur.

Other celebrities who attended the Durga Puja celebrations included actress Kajol, who arrived at the pandal with her children, Yug and Nysa Devgn. She wore a traditional yellow-orange saree and was seen taking pictures of the idol of Goddess Durga.

Tanishaa Mukerji, veteran actor Jaya Bachchan, and filmmaker Anurag Basu were also present at the celebrations. Jaya and Anurag visited the pandal to offer prayers, while Anurag was seen wearing a blue kurta. Kajol also posed for pictures with Tanishaa and Ayan Mukerji.

On the work front, Ranbir will next be seen in Nitesh Tiwari’s “Ramayana: Rise of a Legend,” in which he will play Lord Ram. The film also stars Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana. The first part is scheduled to release in theatres on November 5, coinciding with Diwali, while the second part is expected to arrive during Diwali 2027.

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Bollywood

Neha Sharma warns legal action against AI content without consent: No hiding behind fake account

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Mumbai, Oct 17: Actress Neha Sharma is the latest celebrity to raise her voice against the misuse of AI to created fake photos and videos.

She shared a post on her official handle on Saturday and warned those creating AI-generated content using her face.

Neha took to her official X (Formerly known as Twitter) timeline, and wrote, “Anyone using my face or likeness to create AI-generated videos or images without my consent is hereby warned to STOP IMMEDIATELY (sic).”

The ‘Crook’ actress made it clear that she has not permitted anyone to use her face or likeness to generate AI content. She further asked all to take down any such content and refrain from doing anything like that in the future.

“Take down all such content already posted and refrain from creating, editing, or circulating any further AI-generated videos or images using my identity. Using my face in this manner to misrepresent me or malign my reputation is completely unacceptable. I DO NOT CONSENT TO THE UNAUTHORIZED USE OF MY FACE OR LIKENESS”, she further penned.

Neha also warned of legal action against anyone creating, posting, or circulating such content.

“Consider this a formal warning: I WILL TAKE LEGAL ACTION AGAINST EVERY INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING, POSTING, OR CIRCULATING SUCH CONTENT. No one should assume that hiding behind a fake account or the use of AI will protect them from accountability. TAKE IT DOWN NOW. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED,” concluded the post.

In the recent past, many members of the film fraternity have expressed their concern about how AI can be used to manipulate content.

As a protective measure, many of them, including Akshay Kumar, Varun Dhawan, Anil Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty, Preity Zinta, Kartik Aaryan, Mrunal Thakur, and Suniel Shetty, have even approached the court to protect their identity, image, and personality rights from AI-generated misuse.

Meanwhile, recently, a morphed video of actress Janhvi Kapoor from the ‘Devara’ song ‘Chuttamalle’ surfaced on social media, raising some new concerns.

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Entertainment

Rajinikanth calls Deva “a person of pure gold”; pays homage to late music director!

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Chennai, Oct 17: Tamil Superstar Rajinikanth on Saturday paid glowing tributes to late music director Deva, saying that he was a man without lies or deceit and that he was “a person of pure gold”.

Rajinikanth, who visited the residence of the late music director to pay homage to Deva, put out a video clip soon after in which he paid rich tribute to the much liked music director.

In hsi video, Rajinikanth said, “The sudden demise of my dear friend, music director Deva, is both shocking and sorrowful. He has scored music for three of my films –‘Annamalai’, ‘Baasha’ and ‘Arunachalam’. All three films were very big successes.”

Rajinikanth then went on to say, “When my friends insisted on opting for A R Rahman while making ‘Padaiyappa’, I went to Deva and told him that I was opting for A R Rahman, he stood up, held my hand and said, ‘Please, by all means, do so.’ I told Deva that I did not want him to mistake me. He replied, ‘I am saying this with happiness, please go ahead. That boy (A R Rahman) is coming up well. Please do well. I am very happy. It is my good fortune that I have done three films with you.'”

Citing this instance, Rajinikanth said, “Deva was a person of pure gold who was without lies or deceit. He has struggled a lot in life. He had four younger brothers and used to perform in concerts and at weddings to take care of them. Even after he became a star in the film industry, he did not let go of his brothers and kept them with himself. He was such a wonderful family man and a good human being.”

The Superstar observed, “Even when Ilaiyaraaja was ruling the roost, Deva created a style for himself and succeeded big time.”

Recalling that when Deva visited him two-and-a-half years ago, he had said, “Everyone is doing concerts. I too would like to do concerts. You must come and inaugurate my concert,” Rajinikanth recalled, “I very happily went and participated in that event.”

“Deva then did concerts abroad and was very successful. He came after going on a tour to meet me. Three months ago, he came after going to either Canada or Australia and said, ‘I am very happy. Youngsters are welcoming me so happily. I am feeling so happy Rajini sir. With this happiness, I will live for another 10 to 15 years,'” Rajinikanth recalled.

The actor said, “Maybe God thought Deva was a very nice person and that he should come to him when he was happy itself and therefore called Deva to him. May his soul rest in peace. My deepest condolences to his family members.”

For the unaware, Chennai, well known Tamil music director Deva, who has scored music for over 400 films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada, passed away at a private hospital here on Saturday.

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