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Sonali Bendre: Sensationalism is part of society, not just confined to news

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Actress Sonali Bendre recently returned to the world of audio-visual content with her newly-released series ‘The Broken News’ where she plays a righteous editor of a news channel.

While it’s a comeback vehicle for her after a period of struggle in terms of health, the series also marked her digital debut.

In a conversation with IANS, the actress spoke about her experience of coming back in front of camera, how sensationalism isn’t confined to news in the current age, her access point for consumption of information and her detoxification process from all information junk.

While TV anchors may rupture the eardrums by screaming at the top of their lungs, or flashy graphics may blind the viewer with horrendously loud colours, it’s not just the news where sensationalism finds its place.

As Sonali says, “Sensationalism is a part of society, it’s not just the news. Everything out there has a bit of sensationalism. There are so many voices that we end up noticing only the louder ones.”

Sadly there’s not much one can do on an individual level in her opinion, “Hence, the voices just want to be louder and louder. We as a society collectively get drawn towards louder voices and that’s something really unfortunate and not in our control, honestly.”

But then how does she detoxify herself from the overwhelming flow of information that tends to turn toxic? The answer is simple, Sonali dissociates and switches off, “My way of detoxifying is to shut down completely. During my illness when I did not want to be agitated because the balance was so fragile that anything that could trigger sadness or darkness, I switched it off and focused on things that truly made a difference.”

The series marks her digital debut but for the actress the experience of working on a new medium wasn’t very different from that of films, as she shares, “For me, shooting for ‘The Broken News’ was like shooting for a longer film. In terms of working on the digital medium it didn’t make any difference as such.”

However, the changing times manifested in more ways than one. The actress explains, “Having said that, the times have definitely changed, the way of working on the sets, the technology, the rhythm of storytelling and the acting has also changed considerably.”

For someone like her, who is a voracious reader, the prime source of news consumption remains the written material either on paper or on digital.

“I am more of a reader so for me a large part of news consumption happens while I read something, opinion pieces or news articles from different backgrounds”, the actress signs off.

‘The Broken News’ is adapted from the popular British series ‘Press’, and it presents a tale of the clash of these two disparate worlds, conflicting ideologies and their incompatible ethics.

The show, produced by BBC Studios India and directed by Vinay Waikul, also stars ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ and ‘Paatal Lok’ star Jaideep Ahlawat and ‘Mirzapur’ actress Shriya Pilgaonkar.

It is currently available to stream on ZEE5.

Bollywood

Mumbai: Farhan Akhtar’s Family Driver Misuses Actor’s Cards To Fill His Pockets, Booked For ₹12 Lakh Fraud

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Mumbai: The police have registered a case against the driver of actor Farhan Akhtar’s mother, Honey Irani, and an employee of a petrol pump near Bandra Lake. The accused driver, Naresh Singh, 35, used Akhtar’s cards to fill fuel in Irani’s cars. However, he merely swiped the cards at the petrol pump and an employee there, Arun Singh, 52, gave him cash after keeping his share for the deal.

On October 1, Irani’s manager filed a complaint with the Bandra police against Singh and the petrol pump employee for allegedly cheating them of Rs 12 lakh. According to the FIR, Irani’s manager, Diya Bhatia, 36, while checking the fuel accounts, discovered that a Maruti car with a diesel capacity of 35t was recorded as having received 621t.

When Bhatia questioned Singh, he gave unsatisfactory answers, claiming he only had one card to fill petrol and diesel. The manager examined the cards’ history. She discovered that Singh had used three cards, all registered under Akhtar’s name. She further found that Singh had purchased vehicle oil for a car that had been sold seven years ago. She arranged a meeting with Trani, during which Singh confessed to cheating them.

Singh revealed that in 2022, he obtained three cards from Akhtar’s former driver, Santosh Kumar. After obtaining the cards, he always filled petrol and diesel at the SV Road petrol pump near Bandra Lake, where he conspired with the petrol pump employee. Singh frequently swiped the cards without filling petrol or diesel and was given cash after a deduction of Rs 1,000- 1500.

A case has been registered under Sections 318 (criminal breach of trust), 418 (cheating), and 3(5) (general provisions) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

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Bollywood

‘Stranger Asked For Nude Pics’: Akshay Kumar Reveals Daughter’s Disturbing Online Game Incident; Warns Parents Of Cyber Threats

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Mumbai: Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, known for keeping his personal life private, revealed a disturbing incident involving his 13-year-old daughter. Speaking at a cyber awareness program, the actor recounted how an unknown individual tried to target his daughter while she was playing an online video game.

Kumar explained, “A few months ago, my daughter was playing an online game. Some games allow interaction with strangers. While she was playing, she received messages like ‘Thank you,’ ‘That was great,’ ‘You’re doing so well,’ ‘Fantastic’ – very courteous messages that seemed harmless.”

However, the tone soon changed. “Suddenly, the person asked where she was from. She replied, ‘Mumbai.’ The conversation continued politely at first, but then the stranger asked, ‘Are you male or female?’ She answered, ‘Female.’ Shockingly, the stranger then requested her to send nude pictures,” Akshay said.

Nitara immediately closed the game and informed her mother, Twinkle Khanna, about the incident. Akshay praised his daughter’s quick thinking and her decision to share the matter with her parents.

“This is exactly how such incidents start. Children are often trapped online, later extorted for money, and in many cases, these crimes have even led to suicides,” Kumar warned.

The actor urged parents to closely monitor their children’s online activities and stressed the importance of awareness about the dangers on gaming and social platforms.

“Parents must educate their children, supervise online interactions, and teach them how to respond to strangers in digital spaces,” he added.

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Bollywood

Rani Mukerji-starrer ‘Mardaani 3’ poster unveiled on first day of Navratri

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Mumbai, Sep 22: On the first day of Navratri, the makers of “Mardaani 3” unveiled a new poster of the upcoming film setting up an epic battle between good and evil.

Yash Raj Films’ on Monday shared the poster on Instagram. The poster focuses on a close-up of Rani’s hand holding a black handgun, pointing downward. The blurry background features a yellow police barricade with the text “DELHI POLICE” prominently visible.

The caption read: “On the auspicious Day 1 of Navratri, here’s to celebrating the victory of good over evil. #RaniMukerji returns as top cop Shivani Shivaji Roy in Mardaani 3 to investigate the most challenging case of her career. #Mardaani3 in cinemas 27th February, 2026.

Directed by Abhiraj Minawala, the film is slated to release on February 27, 2026.

‘Mardaani’, produced by Yash Raj Films, is the biggest solo female-led franchise in Hindi cinema which came into force 11 years ago. The film franchise has since garnered love and acclaim for its taut storytelling. The blockbuster franchise has received unanimous love from people and has attained a cult status amongst cine-lovers.

‘Mardaani 3’ will see Rani Mukerji reprise the role of a daredevil cop, Shivani Shivaji Roy, who selflessly fights for justice.

Rani had earlier revealed that the edge of the seat thriller is ‘dark, deadly and brutal’ and it immediately piqued curiosity amongst netizens, the fans of the star and the franchise.

‘Mardaani’, which was released in 2014, was directed by Pradeep Sarkar. The second instalment was directed by Gopi Puthran, who wrote the first part of the film franchise.

While ‘Mardaani’ followed the story of human-trafficking, ‘Mardaani 2’, which was released in 2019, followed the story of a psychopath, rapist and murderer. The film franchise is known for sketching dreadful characters of its villains who are eventually countered by the titular character symbolising the victory of good over evil.

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