नवाजुद्दीन सिद्दीकी और नंदिता दास ने किया ‘मंटो’ का प्रमोशन

आज की दिल्ली/योगराज शर्मा

बॉलीवुड के दिग्गज अभिनेता नवाजुद्दीन सिद्दीकी इन दिनों अपनी रिलीज के लिए तैयार बायोलॉजिकल ड्रामा ‘मंटो’ के प्रमोशन में जुटे हैं। इसी सिलसिले में वह फिल्म की लेखक और निर्देशक नंदिता दास के साथ दिल्ली में थे। चाणक्यपुरी पीवीआर में आयोजित प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस में फिल्म मुख्य अभिनेत्री रसिका दुग्गल भी उपस्थित थीं। इस दौरान पूरी टीम अपनी इस फिल्म को लेकर एक्साइटेड और आश्वस्त नजर आई। बता दें कि ‘मंटो’ स्वतंत्रता पूर्व यानी 1940 के दौर की कहानी पर आधारित है, जिसमें नवाज ने इंडो-पाक लेखक सहादत हसन मंटो का किरदार निभाया है। मीडिया के साथ बातचीत में अपने किरदार के बारे में नवाज ने कहा, ‘इस फिल्म मेरा चरित्र एक साहसी व्यक्ति का है। मंटो सच्चाई का पालन करता है। जब मुझे मंटो के बारे में पता चला, तो मुझे लगा कि वह मेरे ही जैसा है। मुझे लगता है कि असली जीवन में मैं भी उसी के जैसा हूं। मेरे लिए वाकई में यह एक विशेष चरित्र है।’ ‘मंटो’ और गणेश गायतोंडे जैसे पात्रों की तैयारी के बारे में पूछने पर उन्होंने मजाकिया लहजे में कहा, ‘यह एक गुप्त सूत्र है, मैं इसे किसी को नहीं बताऊंगा।’ वहीं नंदिता दास ने कहा, ‘दिल्ली मेरी जगह है, यह मेरा घर है। मुझे यहां हर समय अद्भुत अनुभव होता है।’ फिल्म के बारे में उन्होंने कहा, ‘समाज के लिए समाज की सच्चाई को चित्रित करने की दिशा में मेरे लिए एक जरिया है ‘मंटो’। ‘मंटो’ मानवता के बारे में बात करती है। यह एक प्रेरणादायक चरित्र है। हम सबने मंटो की वास्तविकता एवं उसकी सच्चाई को प्रदर्शित करने की कोशिश की है, ठीक उसी तरह जैसा कि वह है। इस प्रक्रिया में एक अद्भुत अनुभव हुआ, जिससे मैं पूरी तरह से अभिभूत हूं। यह एक बेहतरीन समय था।’ वहीं, अभिनेत्री रसिका दुग्गल ने कहा, ‘फिल्म में काम करने का मेरा अनुभव शानदार रहा। जब नंदिता ने मुझे फिल्म के बारे में बताया, तो मुझमें बहुत उत्साह आ गया। यह एक सपना था, जो मेरे लिए सच साबित हुआ... एक ही फिल्म में सबकुछ, मंटो, नवाज, नंदिता। मेरे लिए यह एक सुंदर यात्रा थी।’ उन्होंने आगे कहा, ‘हां, मैं नवाज के साथ काम करते समय परेशान थी, लेकिन किसी तरह मैं उनके साथ काम करने में कामयाब रही, और अब मैं इसके बारे में बहुत अच्छा महसूस करती हूं।’ बता दें कि एचपी स्टूडियो, फिल्मस्टॉक, वायाकॉम 18 मोशन पिक्चर्स और नंदिता दास एनिसिएटिव्स के बैनर के तहत बनी इस फिल्म में ताहिर राज भसीन, फेरीना वजीर, जावेद अख्तर, ऋषि कपूर, रणवीर शौरी, इला अरुण आदि की भी प्रमुख भूमिकाएं हैं। ‘मंटो’ 21 सितंबर को रिलीज होनेवाली है।

Bhutan Issues Special Stamp Featuring Sandip Soparrkar and Dance for a Cause

AAJ KI DELHI/YORAAJ SHARMA

Internationally acclaimed choreographer Sandip Soparrkar was recently honoured by the Government of Bhutan with official stamp issued for his initiative ‘Dance for a Cause’. A personalized postage stamp featuring Choreographer Sandip Soparrkar and Dance for a Cause logo was issued by the Government of Bhutan. In 2008 Sandip Soparrkar had launched his Initiative Dance for a Cause at the World Economic forum in Davos, Switzerland with help of late Parmeshwar Godrej. This intiative is a way through which Sandip uses dance and drama as a medium to raise awareness about various social issues Prevalent in society. Mr Karma Wangdi, Chief Executive Officer, Bhutan Postal Corporation Ltd said, “Dance for a Cause is a heartwarming initiative by Mr Sandip Soparrkar that has received international appreciation, be it United Nations or The government of India, all have praised the Worldwide social awareness work that Dance for a Cause has been doing. This stamp costing 30 Bhutanese Ngultrum issued by the Bhutan Postal corporation Ltd celebrates and recognises 10 years of Dance for a Cause.” In the past decade Sandip Soparrkar and Team have raised awareness for issues such as animal rights, cancer awareness, aids, care for mentally challenged individuals, drugs awareness and more. Last year the Government of India honoured the initiative with the National Excellence Award too Sandip Soparrkar Said, “There are so many big and small social issues in the world we live in. As a dancer I believe it is my responsibility to bring to light the problems that surround us because to me dance is not just a form of entertainment but also a form of education and it is the best way to make an impact and bring change and that is what exactly dance for a Cause does. It awakens souls of people making them more sensitive towards issues prevalent in the society. “ This is the first time ever that an official postage stamp has been issued in the name of any international style dancer by the government of Bhutan making India and the entire dance community proud of this very special achievement.

The Predator – Olivia Munn, Casey Bracket

Aaj Ki Delhi/Yograaj Sharma

The Predator sees writer/director Shane Black returning to a world he first experienced back in 1987 as an actor. In this new film, he’s expanding and exploring the story of the alien hunters and the human beings that must face the threat. With the government attempting to cover up the extent of Predator incursions on Earth, a rag-tag group of military veterans must figure out what is going on and how to save the world – or at least themselves – as the battle spreads from the depths of outer space to once-safe suburbia. Olivia Munn is a talented actress who began working on television and has successfully segued into cinematic work. She’s known for movies including X-Men: Apocalypse, Magic Mike, and Office Christmas Party. In The Predator, she’s scientist Casey Bracket, dragged into an adventure she might not be quite ready for, but will bring all of her skills to help with. Here, Munn talks getting the part, her own history with Predator movies and the sheer number of spines being ripped out in the film… Who is Casey Bracket in the movie? She’s an evolutionary scientist and biologist. In this movie, we have two storylines that merge into one. We've got Trevante Rhodes, Boyd Holbrook and Thomas Jane and that group of guys – the soldiers, and their interactions with the Predator. And on the other side, my character has been brought in by the CIA because of her expertise in evolutionary biology to get a better understanding of what they have found. She’s only called if there is a higher life that's found, and here there is definitely some alien activity. How did you get involved? I had actually heard about it before from my reps. They talked to me about it, but I just said no. I wasn't interested because typically in a big movie like this, I'll probably go see it, but as an actress, the female role is usually delegated to just being the love interest. But, it ended coming back around, and they said that Shane just wanted to meet. I'm a huge fan of his work and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is one of my all-time favorite movies, so I wanted to meet with him. I really trusted him as a director. He's a filmmaker that is really collaborative and actually allows you to bring what you want to the character. I read the script and then had another meeting with Shane about some of my thoughts, and he was really receptive to it. She definitely doesn’t come across as a damsel in distress… When you're fighting for your life, you have to shoot, even though nobody wants to be in a position where they have to fight for their life. The guys – they're soldiers – but I approached this character as a scientist. I'm sure that she's picked up a gun before… I grew up in a military family so I knew how to shoot guns. Making this movie was not about us finding moments for her to not be a damsel in distress. It just wasn’t on the page; it’s not what we were doing. Was there much training or preparation for the role? She's not a trained athlete or assassin, but I think she's healthy and physical. We did a lot of gun training and that was really fun. And I loved being able to do that with the guys, learning how to shoot together; every time we did that, I learned all these different techniques and tools and skills. But then I tried to incorporate what my character would do and put a little bit of shakiness into it. In this movie, there's something really big going on and for her, it's fascinating. This is something that she's waited her entire life for – especially as an evolutionary scientist, somebody who studies how creatures evolve and change. And yet this is happening right before her eyes, so, there is a shock and awe value that's happening. While everyone else is running away from the Predator, she's running towards the aliens, because she’s fascinated. Does working on real sets and location help your performance? It's very intimidating and visceral. And it really puts you in that space. But that being said, there's still so much stuff that is put in during post with CG and the VFX and everything that really amps it up for the audiences at home. We get enough that we can allow our performances to be even more real. A movie like this really takes advantage of how great technology is and where we've come from, and what we can do with it and how realistic things are. Especially when it comes to like the blood and guts and the destruction and death. Shane has said it won’t shy away from the violence… I’m really big on it. I think we've gotten so PC that we lose the fun of going to the movies sometimes. For me, the more bloody spines being ripped out, the better! What is your relationship with the original Predator? How old were you when you first saw it and how cool is it to now be in a Predator movie? I actually hadn’t seen it! I didn't see it until a few months before shooting. I mean, I knew of it and maybe I knew some of the catchphrases and lines, but no, I never saw it until I signed up for this movie. What's really great about this movie is that while it’s technically a sequel, it's not picking up right where the other movies left off. But at the same time, it's acknowledging all the previous ones and it's not pretending like they didn't happen. And it's interesting because we have some throwbacks from the very first Predator which I love that Shane was able to incorporate. I really enjoy that. But for me, it wasn't imperative to have watched that film before I signed on because I knew it would be its own beast. After getting it, I did watch it. And loved it. And I kept saying to Shane, “can we not have a scene where someone has to hide in the mud? Can I go hide in the mud?” Because that's a genius way to not be discovered by aliens!

Demonstrations to highlight the Rafale fighter aircraft deal scam

Aaj Ki Delhi/Yograaj Sharma

· The Congress-led UPA Government were to buy 36 Rafale fighter aircraft for Rs 18,940 crore, but the BJP-led Modi Government changed the Rafale contract to buy 36 aircraft for 7.50 billion Euroes, which means each aircraft would cost Rs 1670.70 crore, and 36 aircraft for a total of Rs 60,145 crore are being bought. It is beyond the comprehension of the common people that how come the cost of 36 Rafale aircraft has increased by Rs 41,205 crore in four years---Ajay Maken. · The Modi Government deliberately did not keep transparency in the Rafale deal as it wanted to help out its rich friend Ambani—Ajay Maken. · Under the leadership of DPCC president Shri Ajay Maken, the Delhi Congress is holding protest demonstrations in all the districts to highlight the Rafale aircraft deal scam, and Shri Ajay Maken attended two demonstrations today at 70 Foota road, Kirari district and Raja Garden Chowk in the Tilak Nagar district. · The Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre had declared the cost of the defence deals in Parliament. Shri Ajay Maken said that when the Congress-led UPA Government could disclose the cost of the defence deals, why the Modi Government is shying away from declaring the cost of the Rafale aircraft deal public.- Ajay Maken · Do not the people of country have the right to know the cost of the Rafale aircraft deal? In the core values of a democracy, it is expected of a democratic government that whatever it does should be transparent. - Ajay Maken NEW DELHI, September 9—Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Shri Ajay Maken today attended demonstrations at the 70 Foota Road, Kirari and Raja Garden chowk, in the Tilak Nagar District at the Congress party’s district-level demonstrations to highlight the Rafale fighter aircraft deal scam committed by the BJP-led Modi Government at the Centre, among the people. Prototype of the Rafale aircrafts were also paraded in these demonstrations. District Presidents Shri Surender Kumar and Shri Pradeep Sharma were also present in their respective area demonstrations. It may be recalled that on 8 September, 2018 the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee held a novel protest at the inner circle in Connaught Place, starting from Palika Bazar, by parading prototypes of the Rafale aircrafts in the accompaniment of a band, to highlight the Rafale aircraft deal scam among the people. Addressing the demonstrators Shri Maken said that the Modi Government was not revealing the commercial price of the aircraft on the plea that there is a secrecy clause which prohibits disclosure of commercial price. Shri Maken said that all these were lies as during the Congress-led UPA Government, the cost of the defence deals were disclosed in Parliament. Shri Maken said that when the Congress-led UPA Government could make public the cost of the defence deals, then why the Modi Government was shying away from making public the cost of Rafale aircraft deal. Shri Maken asked don’t the people of the country have a right to know the cost of the Rafale aircraft? He said that the core value of a democracy is transparency and it is expected of a democratic Government that they would be transparent in their working. Shri Maken said that why is the Modi Government at the Centre running away from holding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe on the Rs 1,71,000 crore scam committed by the BJP-led Modi Government at the Centre and Ambani in the Rafale fighter aircraft deal. Shri Maken said that the Modi Government has compromised the external and internal security of the country by giving the contract for the Rafale deal to Modi’s rich friend Ambani’s company which was registered only 12 days before the Rafale deal contract was signed, instead of giving the maintenance contract to the Public Sector Company Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Ambani’s company has neither the expertise for manufacturing or maintenance of fighter aircraft. Shri Ajay Maken said that when the Congress-led UPA Government was in power at the Centre, bid for the Rafale aircraft was opened at the global level on 12 December, 2012 under which 36 Rafale aircraft were to be bought at the rate of Rs 526.10 crore per aircraft for a total cost of Rs 18,940 crore. Shri Maken said that the BJP-led Modi Government has now altered the contract to buy 36 Rafale aircraft with each Rafale aircraft costing 7.50 billion Euros, which amounts to Rs 1670.70 crore per aircraft, which means that 36 Rafale aircraft would now cost the country Rs 60,145 crore. Shri Maken said that it is very strange that in four years time, the cost of 36 Rafale aircraft jumped from Rs 18,940 crore in 2012 to Rs 60,145 crore. Shri Maken said that the BJP Government at the Centre should clarify how come the price of 36 Rafale aircraft increased by Rs 41,205 crore in four years. Shri Maken said that the Congress-led UPA Government were to give the maintenance of the Rafale aircraft to Public Sector company Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd but the Modi Government has given the contract to its rich friend Ambani’s company which was registered only 12 days before the contract was awarded. Shri Maken said that the HAL employs thousands of workers and they will be rendered unemployed by not giving the maintenance of the Rafale contract to the Government-owned HAL, as the Modi Government has decided to favour the company of its rich friend Ambani by giving it the maintenance contract.

Javed Akhtar is Indian Music Industry’s “Person of the Year”

Aaj Ki Delhi/Yograaj Sharma

Eminent script writer, lyricist, poet and Chairman of IPRS, Mr. Javed Akhtar was recognized and awarded with the inaugural Indian Music Industry “PERSON OF THE YEAR” award. In a glittering function organized by the IMI during the first “DIALOGUE- Indian Music Conclave” organized by the IMI which is the apex Indian Music Industry body, Mr. Akhtar was presented with the award by Mr. Shridhar Subramaniam President of Sony Music India and Chairman of IMI and by Seymour Stein, Co-founder/ Chairman Sire Records and VP Warner Bros Records. An audio-visual which was played during the presentation contained messages from personalities such as Oscar winner and renowned music maestro AR Rahman, Filmmaker Karan Johar etc., demonstrated the respect with which Mr. Akhtar is viewed across the film and music industry. Stakeholders in the music sector such as Vikram Mehra, MD Saregama, Devraj Sanyal MD & CEO Universal Music Group India and South Asia spoke of the immense respect that Mr Javed Akhtar has gathered the industry by ensuring that the creator and music business communities build bridges in an effort to work together for the success and betterment of the industry and for his role in ensuring that authors, composers settle their long standing with the music industry which had been festering for years. Shridhar Subramaniam, Chairman of IMI said that, “this award is recognition of Javed Saab’s outstanding leadership which will allow the industry now to concentrate on bigger challenges and to expand and bring value to all stakeholders and users of music.” In his address to the conference on receiving the award, Mr Javed Akhtar said, that the creator was an indispensable part of the music industry and the soft power of creators could be a critical part of the strength of the music industry as it deals with the serious challenges posed by technology. He said, “this award is not only recognition of me, it is recognition for all stakeholders in the Industry- of the extremely positive and mature fashion in which the industry now conducts and views itself”. Mandar Thakur, COO of Times Music and Director of IPRS said that, Javed Saab’s status as a leader is not only limited to IPRS but is acknowledged across the industry- all of this as a result of the extremely positive and constructionist role he has played in bringing together stakeholders on one table. The IMI Music Person of the Year award is recognition of this reality” Devraj Sanyal MD & CEO of Universal Music Group, India and South Asia said, “Javed Saab’s exemplary leadership and even handed approach to all stakeholders has brought this industry to an extremely positive point - something we have not seen for quite some time now. The Indian music industry must take advantage of this great synergy that has been built up between all of us- I feel, that given Javed Saab’s leadership, we are up to this task- good things lie ahead for the industry.” IMI (‘Indian Music Industry”) is the apex music industry association and an affiliate of IFPI (International federation of Phonogram Industries) and the premier recorded music industry body in India. IPRS is India’s only Registered Copyright Society authorized to carry on the business and granting of licenses in respect of literary works and musical works including when these works are exploited as part of sound recordings or cinematograph films.

Amitabh Bachchan @ The KBC 10 Press Conference

Aaj Ki Delhi/Kabir Mumbai Amitabh Bachchan’s Kaun Banega Crorepati has been among the most popular Indian TV game shows ever since it started back in 2000. In last 18 years, the show has completed 9 seasons and now Big B is coming back with the 10th season.Interestingly, Amitabh has hosted all the seasons of KBC except of the 3rd one in which Shah Rukh Khan was the host.The megastar of Bollywood attended the press conference of KBC 10 today and looked stylish as always. The kind of screen presence he carries is magnificent and even his photos are the proof. Have a look-