The Asian Independent - January 2019

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18 January 2019 ENTERTAINMENT www.theasianindependent.co.uk Multi-faceted Kader Khan leaves behind a vast oeuvre of work, fond memories Mumbai : An actor-writercomedian and Quranic scholar, the multi-talented Kader Khan, who died early on Tuesday (IST) in Toronto aged 81, has left behind a vast oeuvre of work from a career spanning over four decades and will be remembered as much for his contribution to Hindu filmdom as for deciphering Islam for the laity across the religious spectrum. The sad news of Kader Khan's passing shocked the Bollywood fraternity on New Year's Day, when it broke early on Tuesday morning. He had spent nearly four months in hospital, for various old-age related ailments, including breathing issues, and finally succumbed on December 31 evening (Toronto time). Born on October 22, 1937 in Kabul to a Pashtun family, Kader Khan (KK) migrated to Mumbai in 1952 and was educated in a local municipal school and later graduated from Mumbai's Ismail Yusuf College, Jogeshwari, a government-run institution. He followed up with a diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the M. S. Saboo Siddique Institute in Mumbai and later became a professor there for around seven years. According to a close family friend Javed Jamaluddin, the family initially lived in te notorious Arab Gully in south Mumbai, before shifting to the suburbs and Kader Khan, who loved to read and write, continuing his higher education there. It was during his college days that he developed a passion for theatre, acting and penning stories and dialogues. He penned a drama, "Local Train" which bagged the first prize at the National Jagruti Drama Competition in the early 1970s, Jamaluddin said. It was Narendra Singh Bedi, son of the legendary Rajinder Singh Bedi who gave Kader Khan the first break for writing the superhit musical "Jawani Diwani" (1972) starring Randhir Kapoor-Jaya Bhaduri, and since then he never looked back. Bollywood thespian, Dilip Kumar, who happened to watch one of his plays during a college day function, offered Kader Khan a role and an assignment for writing dislogues. But he was already busy with scripting the Rajesh Khanna starrer "Roti" (1974), so later, he wrote the film 'Bairaag" (1976), a mega-hit musical featuring Dilip Kumar and his wife Saira Banu in the lead roles, with Kader Khan in a character role. An avid reader and a filmbuff, he had a huge collection of books on various subjects related to film-making, acting, screenplay-writing, penning stories-dialogues and other departments from all over the world, besides being a Quranic Scholar with a mastery over Arabic and Urdu. It was Kader Khan who inspired his friend, A. Krishnamurthi, head of Tina Films International (TFI) to venture into its first Bollywood venture, "Ghar Ek Mandir" (1984), a hit with a multi-star cast, and even insisted on writing the dialogues for it. "After he saw the story, he wanted to play the role of Seth Dharamdas, which was originally assigned to Amjad Khan. He dedicated a lot of time and his dialogues became 'the pearls in the necklace' in that film, and later in many of our other films. I knew him since his early days in the film industry and he was truly a good human being, a great actor and an acclaimed writer" Krishnamurthi told IANS. During the shooting of one TFI film, "Aag" (1994), in which Sonali Bendre debuted as an actress, Kader Khan inspired the co-female lead, Shilpa Shetty, to learn Urdu to improve her diction and dialogue delivery and even taught her bits of it during takes, producer K. Ramji said. Starting with his first film as an actor in the late Yash Chopra's directorial debut, the super-hit musical "Daag" (1973), over the next 40 years he went on to act in over 300 films in memorable roles, and also wrote the story or dialogues for more than 250 films in Hindi and Urdu, starting with "Roti" (1974). With his rich experience on stage, Kader Khan effortlessly managed to enact all types of negative-positive character roles, besides as a villain, comedian, and double-roles, though competing with some of the biggest names of his era. He worked with top actors of Didn’t win ‘Bigg Boss’, but ruled it: Sreesanth New Delhi, Former Indian cricketer Sreesanth, who lost the “Bigg Boss 12” trophy to actress Dipika Kakar, says that he did not win the show, but ended up winning thousands of hearts. “Though I have not become the winner of the show, I have won so many hearts. Isn’t that a remarkable achievement? When I entered the show, I thought that I would get evicted in a week or two, but I survived. Not only survived, I ruled the show,” Sreesanth told IANS. Be it his threats of quitting the show or his aggressive fights with co-contestants, Sreesanth was always in news during his “Bigg Boss” journey. Asked if all that was his strategy to make him reach the finals, the 35-year old denied and said: “Everything that you saw in the show was natural and spontaneous. Nothing was planned and scripted. I did not even make any strategy.” “I did not plan that I would react to things in some particular manner. I was being myself. And talking about fights, they obviously will happen because living inside the house for over 90 days with different kinds of people ain’t easy.” In an earlier interview to IANS, Sreesanth, who was slapped a life ban by the BCCI in 2015 for alleged involvement in betting and spot fixing, said he wanted to enter the “Bigg Boss” house to change people’s perception about his image. The first runner-up of the show, which concluded on Sunday, “thanked people” for understanding him and “giving him a chance to prove himself”. “I am honoured and blessed to receive so much love from people. My fans supported me throughout my thick and thin. This show has given me a lot, though nothing compared to the game of cricket,” he added. Sreesanth will now amaze viewers with his stunts in another reality show titled “Khatron Ke Khiladi”. the day like Rajesh Khanna, Feroze Khan, Jeetendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Randhir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Govinda, Salman Khan and with the leading directors like T. Rama Rao, Yash Chopra, A. Krishnamurthi, K. Raghavendra Rao, K. Bapaiah, Dasari Narayan Rao and David Dhavan, among many others. Some of his most memorable films as a comediancharacter actor are: "Daag", "Adalat", "Bairaag", "Parvarish", "Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, "Shalimar", "Mr. Natwarlal", "Suhaag", "Dhan Daulat", "Qurbani", "Jwalamukhi", "Abdullah", "Naseeb", "Yaarana", "Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai", "Satte Pe Satta", "Desh Premee", "Sanam Teri Kasam", "Mehndi Rang Layegi", "Himmatwala", "Coolie", "Ghar Ek Mandir", "John Jaani Janardhan", "Tawaif", "Loha", "Jawab Hum Denge", "Shahenshah", "Pyar Ka Mandir", "Khoon Bhari Maang", "Baap Numbri, Beta Dus Numbri", "Saajan", "Bol Radha Bol", "Meherbaan", "Aankhen", "Eena Meena Deeka", "Coolie No.1", "Saajan Chale Sasural", "Judaai", "Dulhe Raja," "Aunty No.1" and "Sooryavansham". He penned the story-dialogues for top-grossing and acclaimed films like: "Jawani Diwani", "Benaam", "Roti", "Amar Akbar Anthony", "Parvarish", "Muqaddar Ka Sikandar", "Suhaag", "Mr. Natwarlal, "Yaarana", "Lawaaris", "Desh Premee", "Khuddar", "Coolie", "Sharaabi", "Ganga Jamna Saraswati", "Singhasan", "Khoon Bhari Maang" and "Aunty No. 1". He also produced a film, "Shama" in 1981. ‘MTV Ace of Space’ winner done with reality shows New Delhi : Divya Agarwal has been announced as the winner of the reality show “MTV Ace of Space”. She says that she is not interested in taking up another reality show unless it’s dance-based. The grand finale was aired on Monday on MTV. The show’s mastermind, Vikas Gupta, also announced Pratik and Varun Sood as the first and second runners-up. The show saw 18 contestants battling it out against shrinking walls and daunting challenges. “My journey started 10 years back as a dance teacher and it’s an amazing feeling to be the winner of one of the most amazing reality shows in India,” Divya told IANS after her victory. Talking about her “struggling days”, she said: “I didn’t have money for food. I had to live in certain situations where I never wanted to live in a house so, all of those experiences… I think have made me so strong.” Thanks to the show, she feels that has won a lot of friends and also “realised the importance of losing people”.
www.theasianindependent.co.uk Congress governments in MP, Rajasthan to withdraw cases against DALITS Bhopal/Jaipur : Heeding to BSP chief Mayawati's ultimatum, the Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan on Tuesday said they will withdraw cases filed against Dalits during the 'Bharat Bandh' last year that witnessed largescale violence. The decisions were announced by the two governments a day after Mayawati threatened to take back the BSP's support to them if they did not withdraw the cases filed against the Dalits during the 'Bharat Bandh' called by Dalit groups. The Madhya Pradesh government will withdraw all the "political cases" filed by the previous BJP government against workers of political parties and Dalit activists, Law Minister P.C. Sharma said. "We (Congress) have been fighting (against the BJP government). Irrespective of any party, those who have been fighting the BJP government which had sent people to jail... those political cases will be withdrawn," he said. Last week, Sharma had indicated that the government was drafting a proposal to withdraw "politically motivated" cases against political and trade union leaders filed during the BJP's rule during the last 15 years. In Jaipur, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said his government will revoke cases registered against Dalits during the Bharat Bandh of April 2 last year after reviewing them. Speaking to the media at the Congress office, Gehlot said: "Our government will review all such cases to ensure that innocents are released." He said that Mayawati's demand was valid. The previous government had framed cases against many people "and hence our government will review all such cases". "In fact, I am thankful to Mayawati for giving support to our party. She herself took the initiative to extend support to the Congress and hence I am thankful to her." The BSP has two members in the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly in which the Congress has 114 MLAs and is two short of the majority mark. The Samajwadi Party has one MLA and has also extended support to the government. There are four independents. In the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly, the Congress has 99 members and its pre-poll ally Rashtriya Lok Dal has one MLA. There are six BSP MLAs and 13 independents. The Congress had supported the protest in April 2018 against the changes to the SC/ST Act brought in by the Supreme Court which were later nullified by a legislation passed in Parliament. NEWS Centre approves renaming of Allahabad as Prayagraj New Delhi : Days ahead of the "Kumbh Mela", the Union Home Ministry has approved the Uttar Pradesh government's proposal to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj. A no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Home Ministry will now ensure that names of other institutes in the district, including railway station, high court and university, are also changed. In October last year, the Yogi Adityanath-led government had proposed the change in the name of Allahabad. A government statement cited "board researched documents" behind the name change and found that "there were 14 Prayags in the country but only one here, also known as King of all Prayags". Confirming the move, a senior Home Ministry official said: "There are some central institutions, high court, railway station and organisations named after Allahabad. Letters have been sent to other Central ministries informing that the Home Ministry has approved the proposal of the UP government. The state government will now get approval from other Central ministries and change the names accordingly." Under the government guidelines for the renaming of railway stations, villages, towns and cities, it is mandatory to obtain a NOC from the Union Home Ministry by the state government. The Home Ministry had earlier approved the renaming of the British-era railway station Robertsgang as Sonbhadra, Farah Town railway station near Mathura and iconic Mughalsarai junction after Deen Dayal Upadhyay -- both in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow : Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and amid talks of anti- BJP Mahagatbandhan in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party Chief and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said there will be "confulence of thoughts and people" in the state. "Uttar Pradesh me vicharo ka sangam hoga, logo ka sangam hoga. Aur bahot jaldi wo aap logo ke samne aa jayega aur dikhai de jayega (in Uttar Pradesh, there will be a confluence of thoughts and of people and it will be known very soon)," he said while addressing a press conference here. He was responding to a question on the alliance in the state ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. When asked further that Congress will be a part of this confluence, he said, "Hamne kaha vicharo ka sangam hoga, logo ka sangam hoga, usi me pura jawab hai (I said that there will be confluence of people and thoughts. All answers are included in that)." The SP and the Bahujan Samaj Party had defeated the ruling BJP in several by-polls including the state's Chief Minister Gorakhpur parliamentary seat. The BJP and its allies had January 2019 19 In UP, there will be confluence of people, thoughts : Akhilesh on alliance won 73 out of 80 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. On December 26, the Samajwadi Party leader had lashed out at the Congress for not including its sole legislator in Madhya Pradesh in the cabinet despite its support in formation of the government and in attaining the majority mark. Talking to the media, the former UP Chief Minister said that by doing so, the Congress had "cleared the path for UP". This statement from the 45-yearold leader is being seen as another indication of the growing space and disenchantment of the SP from the Congress and the likelihood of the Congress being kept out of the proposed "grand alliance" in Uttar Pradesh for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. On the other hand, Mayawati, the BSP supremo and a prospective partner in the 'mahagathbandhan' has already given enough hints about acting tough on the Congress. Miffed with the Congress, the BSP chief had, soon after extending support to that party in MP, said that people had with heavy heart voted for the Congress and that she was extending support only to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party at bay.
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The Asian Independent - January 2019

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