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Bhopal, Dec 17 (IANS) The controversy over the upcoming Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone-starter film 'Pathaan' is yet to die down in Madhya Pradesh.

Amid rising demand to ban the film in theatres, the issue is likely to be discussed in the upcoming winter session of the Assembly scheduled to commence from Monday.

The controversy around ‘Pathaan' was triggered after state Home Minister Narottam Mishra objected to a song from the film titled ‘Besharam Rang', claiming that it hurt religious sentiments of the Hindu community. Mishra said the way the colours saffron and green have been used in the costumes used in the song is objectionable.

Assembly Speaker Girish Gautam went one step further and asked Shah Rukh Khan if he would dare to watch his movie 'Pathaan' along with his daughter.

"Will he (Shah Rukh) dare to watch film with his daughter? I am asking Shah Rukh Khan, your daughter is 23-24 years old, watch your movie with her," Gautam said on Saturday.

With the five-day winter season set to begin on Monday, the issue is likely to be raised by the BJP on the floor of the House.

Besides the BJP and other right wing groups, some Congress members and several Muslim organisations have also demanded a ban on the release of 'Pathaan'.

Meanwhile, some other politicians are of the view that boycotting the film will not be the right step.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha has come forward in support of the movie, saying he doesn't support boycotting something as it is an anti-social process.

"No matter you like the film or not, it is for the censor board to decide if a movie should be released. If anyone has any problem, he/she should bring it to the notice of the censor board. The censor board will see if there are any objectionable scenes and suggest to delete them accordingly," Tankha said.

He said that if people start making personal comments against the artistes of a film, there is no end to it and it is also not good for the image of the country or the society.

After the song ‘Besharam Rang' was released, #BoycottPathaan started trending on Twitter as many objected to Deepika donning a saffron bikini in the song.

'Pathaan' is set to hit the screens on January 25, 2023.

--IANS
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Bengaluru, Dec 17 (IANS) Kannada popular actress and former MP Ramya aka Divya Spandana has come out in support of Deepika Padukone after 'Besharam Rang', a song from the latter's upcoming movie 'Pathaan', sparked a controversy.

The Hindutva activists across the country have raised objections to the song and stated that the attire of actors encourages love jihad.

Ramya, a lead actress who is making a comeback to the Kannada film industry after a long gap, has blamed misogyny for Deepika being trolled for clothes.

"Samantha trolled for her divorce. Sai Pallavi for her opinion, Rashmika for her separation, Deepika for her clothes and many, many other women for pretty much 'EVERYTHING'. Freedom of choice is our basic right. Women are embodiment of Maa Durga- misogyny is as evil we must fight," Ramya stated on her social media account.

Apart from producing Kannada movie 'Swathi Muttina Male Haniye', she will also be playing a prominent role in it.

Chetan Ahimsa, a Kannada actor and activist, had called opposition to 'Besharam Rang' song as trivial.

On the other hand, Sri Rama Sena founder Pramod Muthalik had warned that if the song is not withdrawn, they will start countrywide campaign for banning 'Pathaan'.

--IANS
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By IANSlife
New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANSlife) A.R. Rahman had no idea that "Infinite Love," his 2012 single, would spark a movement. The world was inspired by the Grammy and Oscar-winning composer's song of inclusivity, peace, and love during one of the darkest years, which was widely expected to conclude with the destruction of the Earth. Fortunately, both the world and music survived. "Infinite Love," a song by Rahman with funk, hip-hop and Indian classical influences, spread joy, thanks, and peace throughout the world.


The song has now completed a decade of existence and on this momentous occasion, Rahman has reimagined the soaring anthem for a new world, a new generation. The original track's timeless lyrics ("Infinite Love... Is The Rain Falling Into The Sea/ Infinite Love... Is The Miracle Showering Me... ") continue to honour humanity's resilience and inclusive nature. A changemaker, who has led a revolution in the arts by fostering and spotlighting diverse talent from around India and the globe, Rahman continues to be a luminary for a peaceful world order.

About 'Infinite Love', says A.R. Rahman, "I would like to thank the people of the world for their encouragement & love, particularly the artist community for showing the world that they don't care about race or nationality, and all they care for is the person you are and the gift you carry as an artist. The people who wish only good, even for their enemies. The people who have enriched their lives & others' by giving unconditionally. The people who make others' lives beautiful by creating music, movies, art & functional innovations! The people whose prayers make the world imperishable."

We are as we are because it was love that found us, fed us and led us. What better medium than art to bring the movement full circle and send it on another revolution around the world? With the new rendition of "Infinite Love," Rahman provides a powerful prayer and vigil for humanity's past, present and future. After all, though we are many, as human beings, we are one.

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)

--IANS
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Los Angeles, Dec 17 (IANS) Singer Kendrick Lamar has given 'Count Me Out' a music video treatment. The visuals feature a special guest appearance from Helen Mirren.

In the black-and-white clip, Helen stars as Kendrick's therapist who is patiently waiting for the emcee to talk.

The rapper, who is seated in front of a grand piano, later recalls the incident in which he denied taking a parking spot from someone before admitting that he did. The pair then laugh together.

After Helen asks Kendrick: "You texted me at 2 in the morning, 'I feel like I'm fallin',' why'd you feel that way?" the two split onto opposite sides of the screen. The middle section, meanwhile, narrates the rapper's lyrics in full colour. There is footage of him getting a COVID-19 test, putting on a fake smile for a toast with former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and venture capitalist Vivi Nevo, and others.

"One of these lives, I make things right/ With the wrongs I've done, that's one of you now/ With the Father, Son, 'til then, I fight/ Rain on me, put the blame on me," the Grammy winner spits. "Got guilt, got hurt, got shame on me/ Got six magazines that's aimed at me/ Done every magazine, what's fame to me? (And I'm trippin' and fallin')."

'Count Me Out' appears on Kendrick's latest offering, 'Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers'.

The project debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in May, marking his fourth No. 1 on the list.

Kendrick himself has scored eight Grammy nominations for the project. He's nominated for Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year for 'The Heart Part 5', Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, Best Music Video as well as and Best Melodic Rap Performance.

--IANS
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Mysuru (Karnataka), Oct 5 (IANS) The Dasara festivities celebrated on a grand scale in Mysuru came to an end with the iconic 'Jamboo Savari' on the occasion of Vijayadashami on Wednesday.

The authorities claimed that about five lakh people witnessed the 'Jamboo Savari' (elephant procession) and other festivities. To mark the celebrations of the concluding day, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai performed Nandi Dhwaja Puja at the North Gate of the Mysuru Palace.

After two years' Covid hiatus, the ruling BJP had decided to celebrate the Dasara festivities on a grand scale this year.

The entire city was decked up with special lighting arrangements exhibiting the rich cultural heritage of the state. The Dasara festival was inaugurated on September 26 by President Droupadi Murmu, who offered floral tributes to goddess Chamundeshwari atop Chamundi hills in Mysuru.

The elephant procession was organised after two years of restricted celebrations. The grand procession was carried out from Mysuru's Amba Vilas Palace to Bannimantap Ground covering a distance of 5 km.

This year, 57-year-old elephant Abhimanyu carried the 750 kg golden idol of goddess Chamundeshwari. Along with the procession, a torchlight parade was held during which Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot was given guard of honor.

--IANS
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Chennai, Oct 4 (IANS) Marvel Studios has now released a brand-new trailer for 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever', much to the delight of the fans of the franchise.

Directed by Ryan Coogler and produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore, 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' ventures back to the kingdom of Wakanda where a new threat emerges. The brand-new trailer and poster of the action-packed feature film traverses the hidden undersea nation called Talokan.

In the film, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M'Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba) fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T'Challa's death.

As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.

The new film will introduce Tenoch Huerta as Namor, king of Talokan. It also stars Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena and Alex Livinalli.

--IANS
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Mumbai, Oct 5 (IANS) The teaser of the upcoming Hindu mythological film, 'Adipurush' has triggered netizens over its content. While some people on the Internet are trolling the film for the poor VFX, other sections are criticising the film over inappropriate portrayal of gods in the film.

The director of the film, Om Raut, who has earlier made 'Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior', seems to be disheartened because of the trolling.

The teaser of the film was unveiled on October 2 and it was called out for its sub-par animation and graphics.

In an interview with Indian Express, Om Raut opened up on the reactions to his film's teaser. He said: "I was disheartened for sure, not surprised because the film is made for a larger medium, the big screen. You can cut it down to some extent but can't bring it down to a mobile phone."

He further mentioned: "That's an environment I can't control. Given a choice, I'd never put it on YouTube but that's the need of the hour. We need to put it there so that it reaches a wide audience."

The film, which features Prabhas as Lord Ram, Saif Ali Khan as the Raavan, Kriti Sanon as Sita and Sunny Singh in lead roles, is set to debut in theatres on January 12, 2023, in several languages.

--IANS
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Nagpur, Oct 5 (IANS) Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat has expressed concerns over the population imbalance and said that India has suffered severe consequences of deteriorating population balance in history. He called for a comprehensive policy to check population rise, and underlined the need for all sections of society to abide by it.

Bhagwat said that the balance of population was also getting disturbed due to conversion and infiltration, "which is very worrying".

Addressing RSS Swayamsevaks on the customary Vijayadashami celebration here on Wednesday at the sprawling Reshimbagh ground, Bhagwat said that due to population imbalance, many other countries of the world also broke up and separated from them, East Timor, South Sudan and Kosovo, were formed.

Bhagwat demanded the government should bring a holistic control policy of population. "The population policy should be prepared after serious brainstorming and should be implemented on all. No one should be exempted from this overall policy," he said.

Bhagwat also strongly advocated for women empowerment in the country, and said that men and women are equal in every aspect and respect, have equal potential and capabilities.

Bhagwat pointed out that women, who are regarded as "jagat janani (mother of the universe)", but at home they are treated as "slaves". The empowerment of women should begin at home and they should be given their rightful place in the society, he said.

Bhagwat underlined the importance of women's role in realizing the vision of India once again becoming a 'vishwa guru' (world leader). "If we want to build a vishwa guru Bharat then equal participation of women is also required," he said, and added that changes were also reflected in the society.

The RSS chief was speaking on women empowerment in front of its chief guest, Padma Shri Santosh Yadav, an acclaimed mountaineer, who was invited for the Vijayadashami function, the first woman chief guest for such a programme in the 97-year-old history of RSS.

He reminded that it was not the first time that a woman was invited in the RSS function, the veteran Congress leader and former Union Minister Amrita Kaur and first Lok Sabha member from Nagpur Anusuabai Kale and others were also invited in the RSS programmes.

Bhagwat said that India was fast recovering from the economic crisis due to Covid and and India's role during the Sri Lankan political crisis and also during the Ukraine war was laudable. "Our political weight has gone up in the world due to these two situations, Bhagwat asserted", he said.

The RSS chief said the dialogue with the members of minority communities will continue and it has been going on for years. The violent incidents have been condemned even by the prominent Muslim leaders in the country. "We are in favour of living in peace and harmony," said Bhagwat.

--IANS
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Doddaballapur (Karnataka), Sep 10 (IANS) Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani, on Saturday termed the killers of BJP Yuva Morcha activist Praveen Kumar Nettare, who was hacked to death by bike-borne miscreants on July 26 in Dakshina Kannada district, as cowards.

Addressing a large gathering at BJP's 'Janaspandana' mega event in Doddaballapur near Bengaluru to commemorate completion of one year in office of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and three-year tenure of BJP in Karnataka, Irani claimed that the intention of killers was to create terror in the minds of people.

"Praveen has given his blood for the country. I congratulate the organisers for paying tribute to him by placing his photograph here," she said.

"The grave of terrorist Yakub Memon was beautified during the tenure of the Congress government. Rahul Gandhi does not have the courage to question this. If Rahul Gandhi opposes terrorism, why did he fail to condemn this," Irani questioned.

She also said the Congress has included those who raised anti-India slogans in the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

"This is an anti-national act. It is betrayal to the nation to support those who raised slogans against the country. This anti-national act must be questioned by the Congress workers," the Union minister said.

She also accused the Congress of discriminating against the people of Karnataka.

"During its tenure at the Centre, Congress gave Rs 2,000 crore to Karnataka through the Central Finance Commission. The BJP, which runs a double engine government, has given Rs 5,000 crore to the state.

--IANS
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