SRK Peformance with varun ranveer

SRK Gives Electrifying Performance With Varun, Ranveer

It was superstar Shah Rukh Khan who got the loudest cheer with his energetic performance on his song ‘Jhoome Jo Pathaan’ at the grand opening of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre.

On Saturday, SRK took the stage and danced on on ‘Jhoome Jo Pathan’ in front of a cheering crowd with Varun Dhawan and Ranveer Singh. The trio enthralled the audience by doing the hook step in sync.

Take a look at the trio’s dance

The internet is clearly bowled over by SRK’s live performance.

“I am screaming looking at SRK,” a social media user commented.

“So many international guests, so many Millionaire Billionaire in this event of #NMACC.But look here how they all standing and recording videos of one and only. Shah Rukh Khan. The King Khan For You All,” another one commented.

SRK concluded his performance by doing his signature open-arms pose.

In another clip, SRK was doing the Naatu Naatu hook step as he sang a line.

Check out

In another clip, Shah Rukh, Varun, and Ranveer did a step to AP Dhillon’s Brown Munde. The singer later shared a picture with Shah Rukh on his Instagram Stories as they posed for the camera.

SRK’s wife Gauri Khan and children Aryan Khan and Suhana Khan also attended the gala. SRK looked dashing in a long black sherwani paired with a black Pathani salwar. On the other hand, Gauri opted for a white saree. Aryan was dressed in a black blazer that he teamed up with black pants. Suhana looked gorgeous in a golden saree.

SRK and Gauri’s youngest child AbRam did not attend the event. (ANI)

Read More:http://13.232.95.176/

Pathaan

‘Pathaan Has Injected a Fresh Lease of Life Into Bollywood’

Priyanka Gupta, a socialite and social worker from Lucknow, says the Shahrukh Khan-starrer ticks all the boxes to qualify as a super-duper entertainer

I am very choosy about the movies to be watched in a theatre. Therefore, before buying tickets for Pathaan, I checked its reviews in the media, sought responses of my friends and the occupancy in the cinema halls before placing my buck on it. I am happy to say that the ticket-money was well spent; the film just blew my mind.

Though I am not a die-hard fan of Shahrukh Khan, from the terrific response of the audience in the cinema halls, I can tell you that the Hindi audience was long waiting for an entertainer like Pathaan. This SRK-entertainer has lived up to the expectations and the hype created before the release. Be it the star power, action sequences, choreography, twist & turns, or the high pitch of Rashtravad (nationalism), the movie ticks all the boxes to qualify as a paisa-wasool blockbuster.

The movie’s never-before kind of success came as a big relief for the cinema hall owners, who had been reeling under financial hardships since Covid times. Even after the theatres had reopened, most of the movies were run of the mill and could not book adequate profit. Not just theatre owners, it has also brought much-needed succour for the struggling Bollywood. Many critics had begun to write off Bollywood studios in favour of the South Indian cinema.

Looking into the gloom that prevailed for the past couple of years, Pathaan comes as a breath of fresh air. I think the negative campaign by various outfits against Shahrukh Khan may have also worked in its favour. The audience is not a fool. If the movie gives us the bang for our buck, we shall watch it. I am glad that wisdom prevailed over negativity. All those Boycott Bollywood, saffron bikini, body-shaming messages finally fell flat on their face.

Gupta (left) calls Pathaan a complete entertainer

Deepika Padukone is not the only star who has worn a bhagwa color outfit in a song. I can count any number of songs on fingertips where heroines had put on clothes of similar colour in far more ‘outrageous’ settings with bawdy lyrics. But Team Shahrukh has to face bigger scrutiny for reasons that I would not like to discuss or elaborate here.

ALSO READ: ‘Pathaan Brings Old World Revelry To Theatres’

The story line is entertaining, so is the background music, action sequences (however unbelievable) and a fast pace. Watching it on a large screen was an engrossing experience. I particularly found the Salman Khan’s cameo as one of the movie’s finest moments; Sallu’s entry set the audience on fire. But overall, it was a collective fare. Shahrukh Khan, Deepika, John Abraham, along with other co-stars, delivered a complete massala hit that Bollywood is known for.

The bottom line is audience will decide for themselves which movie to watch and which movie to abandon. Those who are trying to set an agenda in the field of entertainment will not succeed. To quote a cinematic line for the occasion, Indian audience only wants three things from a movie: Entertainment, entertainment and… entertainment.

As told to Rajat Rai

Read more: http://13.232.95.176/

Assam CM Gets A 2 AM Call From King Khan Over 'Pathaan'

Assam CM Gets A 2 AM Call From King Khan Over ‘Pathaan’

Amid raging debate over the upcoming movie ‘Pathaan’, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan called him late night and expressed concern over reports about protests by a rightwing outfit in Guwahati against the release of his film.

CM Sarma said that he assured SRK that the state government will maintain law and order and ensure no such incident takes place during the release of his film.

“Bollywood actor Shri @iamsrk called me and we talked today morning at 2 am. He expressed concern about an incident in Guwahati during the screening of his film,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a tweet on Sunday.

He assured that the state government will act if any incident of law-and-order violation is reported.

“I assured him that it’s the duty of the state govt to maintain law and order. we will enquire and ensure no such untoward incidents,” he added.

“Action will be taken, if law and order is violated. So far, I have not received any complaints from the cinema hall owners or the makers of the film. If there’s been any incident, Shah Rukh Khan, himself, should have called me up. If he does so, I will look into the matter,” the Assam CM further said.

Notably on Friday, reacting to alleged protests by a rightwing outfit in Assam against the release of Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Pathaan’, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he doesn’t know Shah Rukh Khan neither is he aware of the movie ‘Pathaan’.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Sarma said, “Who is Shah Rukh Khan? Why should we care? We already have many Shah Rukh Khans?”

Earlier on Friday, he said people should instead talk about the release of Assamese film ‘Dr Bezabaruah 2’.

“I have not heard about any movie by the name of ‘Pathaan’ and neither do I have any time for it,” CM Sarma said.

“We should rather focus on watching the Assamese movie Dr. Bezbaruah part 2, which has been directed by Sanjive Narain,” he added.

Several rightwingers allegedly stormed into a cinema hall in Assam’s Narengi on Friday, vandalising property and burning down posters of ‘Pathaan’.

Earlier, on January 5, members of the same rightwing outfit allegedly created a ruckus at Alpha One Mall in Ahmedabad’s Vastrapur, wrecking property and tearing down posters of the movie.

‘Pathaan’ has been mired in controversy ever since Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra objected to one of its songs — ‘Besharam Rang’.

Mishra had said, “The costumes in the song, at first glance, are objectionable. It is clear that the song of the film ‘Pathaan’ has been shot with a dirty mindset.”

Helmed by Siddharth Anand, ‘Pathaan’ starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, and John Abraham, is scheduled to release in theatres on January 25. (ANI)

Read more: http://13.232.95.176/

Five Things That Happened Last Week (And What to Make of Them)

A corporate icon with feet of clay

When it comes to successful corporate leaders, CEOs, or business tycoons, India’s mainstream business media have usually been hagiographical in their features, stories or reports (quick disclosure: for a large part of my long career as a journalist, I have been part of that endeavour). The tendency to to puff up business personalities or add extra hype to their achievements is something that has been ubiquitous in business publications, particularly in the 1990s. It is during the latter part of that decade that Chandha Kochhar’s public image began getting built up.

Her rise, first at the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI), which she joined as a management trainee, and then at the bank it became, was always celebrated by the media. Kochhar and a few of her women colleagues were handpicked and groomed by the then head of ICICI, the legendary Narayanan Vaghul who transformed the organisation and, uncommon in that era, gave women managers the opportunity to break the glass ceiling and get positions in the C-suite, which was, especially in Corporate India and particularly in the banking sector, till then a rarefied preserve for men.

Kochhar eventually became chairperson of ICICI Bank and was feted regularly by various forums–topping the rankings of women CEOs, popularity polls, and so on. Till her reputation took a nose-dive. It happened in the most sordid of ways but one that is very common in Indian business: corporate cronyism. The details of how Kochhar allegedly got her bank to sanction loans worth ₹3,250 crore to the Videocon group, which in a suspected quid pro quo, invested in her husband, Deepak’s renewable energy venture, are by now well-known. Kochhar has fallen from grace and she and her husband are now in jail. 

Some media have still lamented Kochhar’s fate and described her rise and fall from grace as an unfortunate saga. The fact, however, is that in India we often tend to accord disproportionate credit and praise upon people who are probably just doing their jobs. Kochhar was a banker and not a bad one for much of her career. Was she extraordinary in her achievements? Probably not till she got embroiled in the scam that combusted her career. 

The thing is that the scandal that involves her is not even an ingenious one. There is nothing original nor new about cronyism in Indian banking. Legions of bankers have over the years had nexuses with business and industry. Instances of banks lending money to ventures and companies that are doomed to fail are myriad in Indian corporate history. Most of what Kochhar’s bank lent to Videocon turned into bad debt. And instances where quid pro quo of the kind that she is involved in are as common as kickbacks to bankers are for large loan sanctions.

The lesson from the Kochhar saga should be that the media ought to exercise self-restraint and control when it comes to reporting or writing on business personalities. Restraints and controls that stop themselves from getting carried away.

Killer Indian cough syrup strikes again

An Indian made cough syrup has been identified as being a child killer drug. First, nearly 70 children in Gambia died after being administered the drug. And then, more recently, 18 children in Uzbekistan succumbed similarly. The company that made the syrup that killed the Uzbekistani children, the Noida-based Marion Biotech, says it has suspended production of the syrup. But while a debate rages on about the culpability of the company, little action has been taken against it.

India is billed as being the pharmaceuticals capital of the world, primarily because Indian pharma companies are adept at making generics and equally adept at keeping costs and, therefore, prices down. Incidents such as the ones caused by the killer syrup can dent that reputation and hobble India’s ambition of a drug supplier to the world.

That is one consequence of the deaths in Gambia and Uzbekistan. The bigger one is about what happens to the pharma companies involved in these incidents? If human lives have been the toll that has had to be paid for their alleged action, should not the strictest punishment be meted out to those who are in charge of the companies? Till date, however, there has been no indication of such action. That is truly unfortunate. 

Will China’s economy overtake the USA?

The Economist recently did a thought provoking story about whether China could become the largest economy in the world by taking over the USA’s. First, the facts. China has a population that is more than four times the US’s ( China’s pop. is 1.4 billion; the US’s is 331 million). Second, in terms of purchasing price parity (PPP), or rates of currency conversion that try to equalise the purchasing power of different currencies, by eliminating the differences in price levels between countries, China’s GDP overtook America’s six years ago. 

However, when converted into dollars and using the normal exchange rates, China’s GDP, says The Economist, was $17.7 trillion compared to the USA’s $23 trillion. The magazine also says that China’s growth is slowed down by several factors and that could mean that it could lose out in the catch up game. China’s severe lockdowns when Covid breaks out, its depressed industrial and business sentiments because of fresh regulations on tech and other sectors that were rapidly growing before could all affect GDP growth. According to the magazine, the Chinese economy, which grew at 8.1% in 2021, may be “lucky to grow by even 3% this year”. So, it could take a while before China tops the list of the world’s biggest economies.

Regression continues unabated in Indian “culture”

It is 2023 and in India, and religious sentiments are being hurt because of a skimpy outfit that a film actor–Deepika Padukone–has worn in a forthcoming film in which she co-stars with Shahrukh Khan. The hurt sentiments are not because of the skimpiness of Padukone’s outfit–it is a bikini–but because of its colour (it is orange or, if you like, saffron) and the lyrics of a song that accompanies her and Khan’s dance in the film (the lyrics describe the colour as being “besharam” or shameless and also that the “world has not seen my true colours yet”). 

The sentiments are so badly hurt that some people have burnt effigies of Padukone and Khan in north India and many have called for a ban on the song. The board that certifies films in India has also instructed the filmmakers to edit the film appropriately. While no official statement has been forthcoming, it is believed that the protests may well have been instigated by the Bharatiya Janata Party, whose symbolic colours feature saffron, a hue similar to orange. 

Thin-skinnedness is so rampant in the Indian scenario today that it is scary. Also, could it be that we are waiting for a day when there could be a call for a ban on one of the most common ingredients in an originally Muslim dish, biryani–saffron? 

Crime goes digital… sort of

This one is designed to begin the year on a macabre note. According to media reports, a man in Uttar Pradesh who was arrested on suspicion of killing his wife may have done so after googling “how to commit a murder”. Police said he also allegedly tried to buy poison from a B2C e-commerce site, Flipkart and also searched Google to see whether he could buy a gun online. 

Crime in the age of Google may not be clever but it certainly can be unconventional.

Pathaan Song Controversy

Bigotry Is Being Passed As Religious Sentiment

Yusra Naqvi, a student of history in Jamia Millia Islamia University, says Shahrukh and Deepika have been targeted for not pandering to the powers that be

Amid the catastrophic rise in poverty and hunger index, inflation, violence, mass unemployment, delinquency and many more disturbing and important issues longing for public attention, the Indian media has been flooded of late with bigotry and frivolous claims over a song controversy in the film ‘Pathaan’.  Some Right-wing politicians and religious leaders have demanded that the movie should be banned and boycotted, owing to the saffron-coloured bikini worn by actress Deepika Padukone in the song, Besharam Rang, which, literally, means ‘shameless colour’. The song is accused of disrespecting the colour saffron which they reportedly consider as a symbol of the Sanatan Dharma.

The argument is apparently vague and unnecessary with a clear intention of spreading hatred by the religious appropriation of a universal colour which can be used by people of any community at their own will. The diffusion of cultures by intermingling of various sects and communities is indicative of a historically ‘shared’ Indian culture. Saffron is considered auspicious in many Islamic as well as other religious occasions and practices, hence, it cannot be symbolic of one religion in particular.

These claims represent a narrow and sectarian understanding of religion, as a whole, while reflecting, yet again, a sense of growing intolerance which aims at strengthening communal biases and hate politics.

ALSO READ: ‘Boycott Calls Won’t Work, Nor Will Vulgarity’

This ‘cancel culture’ has become a repetitive phenomenon in recent times, where certain titles, scenes or songs of movies have been called out for hurting the religious sentiments of people. However, in the present case, a female, and her exposed body, is being regarded as ‘obscene’, linking it to the prestige of saffron.

Such statements targeting women’s clothing in today’s world are deplorable and retrograde. Instead, why do we not vent our annoyance for films and songs promoting violence and the objectification of women? Indeed, the dogmatic justifications of meaningless claims are thus filled with bigotry and misogyny in the name of religious sentiments.

This can be seen as an attempt by the Right-wing ultra-nationalists to assert their ideological dominance in every sphere of public life and to impose their opinion by encouraging this forcible pattern of ‘cancel culture’. For this, they tend to choose specific celebrities who are seemingly easy to target based on past controversies.

For instance, no objection was meted out when a BJP supporter danced on a hit Bhojpuri song, wearing saffron robes. But, on the other hand, Shahrukh Khan, being a Muslim celebrity, is targeted for wearing a ‘green’ shirt.

Three years ago, just before the release of her movie Chapaak, Deepika Padukone was defamed as a ‘sympathiser of the Tukde-Tukde Gang’ when all she did was stand in solidarity with JNU students against the violence inflicted upon them by Right-wing masked goons inside the campus. This had barely anything to do with the theme of the film which was based on acid-attack survivors.

Similarly, the movie Pathaan has been dragged into controversy serving no other purpose than feeding the political interests of a particular group of people. In recent times, Indian cinema, always deeply secular and celebrating pluralism, was established with the sole purpose of entertainment while reflecting certain social narratives of contemporary India. It is now being misused as a means of spreading feelings of bitterness and contempt within the masses. We, as a society, need to condemn this practice and look beyond narrow horizons which restrict social harmony.

As told to Amit Sengupta

Read more: http://13.232.95.176/

SRK Pathaan

‘Positive Log Zinda Hain,’ Says SRK Amid Calls To Boycott ‘Pathaan’

Days after Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra objected to the ‘Pathaan’ song Besharam Rang for its green and saffron costumes worn by Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, King Khan, on Thursday, sent out a message of positivity at the inauguration of Kolkata International Film Festival 2022. (KIFF)

Without mentioning anything related to the Besharam Rang controversy, SRK in his speech said, “Cinema and in fact, the advent of articulation through social media platforms have now become the foremost expressions of human experience and emotion. The collective narrative of times is shaped by social media and contrary to the belief that the spread of social media will affect cinema negatively.”

He added, “I believe cinema has a more important role to play now. Social media is often driven by a certain narrowness of view that limits human nature…I read somewhere negativity increases social media consumption and thereby increases its commercial value as well…Such pursuits enclose collective narrative making it divisive and destructive.”

“Cinema exposes the vulnerability of human nature by telling stories in the simplest form as they are lived. It allows us to know each other better in a way it’s best placed to sustain a collective counter-narrative that speaks to the larger nature of humankind,” SRK continued.

After concluding his speech, Shah Rukh tweaked his Pathaan dialogue in order to urge people to focus on positivity.

“Kuch dino se hum yaha aa nahi paaye ..aapse mil nahi paaye. lekin ab duniya jo hai normal ho gayi hai. Hum sab khush hai, main sabse zyada khush hu aur ye baat batane mein mujhe bilkul bhi aapatti nahi hai ki duniya kuch bhi kar le, main aur aap log aur jitne bhi positive log hai, sab ke sab zinda hai (We haven’t been able to meet for a while, but the world is becoming normal now. We are all happy and I am the happiest. And I have no qualms in saying, that no matter what the world does, me and you, and all positive people in the world are ALIVE),” SRK said.

‘Besharam Rang’ was dropped online on December 12, and soon it became the talk of the town. While several liked the peppy track, there were also who found ‘Besharam Rang’ objectionable over the use of saffron and green costumes. A slew of activists in Indore even staged a protest against Pathaan and Besharam Rang song and set effigies of Deepika and Shah Rukh on fire. (ANI)

Read More: http://13.232.95.176

Deepika Pathaan Song

Deepika Costumes In ‘Pathaan’ Song Sparks Row

Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone’s new song ‘Besharam Rang’ from their upcoming film ‘Pathaan’ has brewed a fresh controversy.

The first track from the film, which has been the talk of the town ever since it was released, is trending, and this time, not for the right reasons!

Taking to his Twitter account, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra has made his objections to the song clear.

Sharing a video of himself speaking to local media the minister tweeted saying that he is not sure if the film will be allowed to be released in Madhya Pradesh.

He has objected to the choice of outfits in the song and the color saffron of the costumes donned by Deepika in some of the song sequences.

Narottam Mishra tweeted in Hindi, “The costumes in the song at first glance are objectionable. Actress Deepika Padukone who supports the ‘Tukde Tukde gang’ is in the song of the film #Pathan. The costumes are highly objectionable and the song has been shot with a dirty mindset. The scenes and costumes of the songs should be corrected, otherwise, we will consider whether or not to allow the film to be released in Madhya Pradesh.”

Composed by Vishal-Sheykhar with lyrics by Kumaar, the peppy track showcases the sizzling chemistry between Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone.

Deepika’s sizzling moves and SRK’s hot look, undoubtedly, won many hearts however, now that trouble has knocked on their doors, it remains to be seen how the makers respond to it.

‘Pathaan’ is scheduled to hit theatres on January 25, 2023. (ANI)

Read More: http://13.232.95.176