Poonam Pandey files FIR against husband for ‘assault’, ‘threats’
Panaji– Bollywood actress Poonam Pandey (29) on Tuesday filed an FIR against her husband Sam Ahmed at South Goa’s Canacona police station.
In the FIR filed under Sections 323, 504, 354 and 506(ii) of the Indian Penal Code, the actress has alleged that the accused Sam Ahmed Bombay (46), her spouse, had assaulted and slapped her besides threatening her with dire consequences over a “personal dispute”.
The duo were married on September 10 this year and both are on a visit to Goa on a holiday.
John Abraham wants online ads for live animals banned
Mumbai– Actor John Abraham is against platforms selling live animals online.
John has sent a letter, dated September 22, urging e-retailer Quikr to stop trading in live animals.
“By allowing dogs, cats, and other animals to be traded via your platform, Quikr is putting animals at risk of being cruelly housed and transported as well as being obtained by abusive people or impulse shoppers who are simply not prepared to provide them with lifelong care,” wrote John in the letter. Will you please join the ranks of OLX India and other leading websites by banning advertisements for live animals?”
John mentioned in the letter, that the platform claims to offer “adoptions”, but true adoptions can only be ensured by working with reputable and registered animal protection NGOs, which make sure that adopters are prepared to give a lifelong home to animals, many of whom have been abandoned after being obtained on impulse through pet shops, breeders, or websites like Quikr.
Moreover, “free adoptions” offered on Quikr have included roosters and goats –- that may be procured for illegal fighting or for slaughter –- and traders sometimes demand payment for animals advertised as “free” in messages exchanged off-site.
Yami Gautam: Ginny Weds Sunny was ‘toughest’ owing to health reasons
Mumbai– Actress Yami Gautam says her upcoming film, Ginny Weds Sunny, has been her toughest project owing to health reasons.
Yami shared a behind-the-scenes clip from the shoot of the film’s sing, “LOL”, on Instagram.
She said that no song shoot in the film went without giddiness.
“Thank you for all the love for #LOL. This film has been toughest for me for health reasons… no song shoot in #GINNYwedsSUNNY went without giddiness and feeling weak but it’s my constant support system which kept me going strong and made sure I never feel low even for a fraction of a second.
“Big hug to @neverendingdrama @amandeepkaur87@hairgaragebynatasha@imahimaagarwal #Ram #Shivraj#Nayan #Ravi! #forevergratitude,” Yami wrote.
Directed by Puneet Khanna, “Ginny Weds Sunny” is a romantic comedy drama that also stars Vikrant Massey.
Bhumi Pednekar: I’m creatively very restless
Mumbai– Actress Bhumi Pednekar, who has worked in genres as different as chalk and cheese, says she is creatively very restless.
“I have to say I have explored and experimented with roles and cinema in a short span of time, which has probably made everyone believe that I’m always looking to do something new every time I come on screen. It is a correct assumption because I’m creatively very restless,” Bhumi said.
Bhumi made her Bollywood debut in 2015 with “Dum Laga Ke Haisha”. She was later seen in films like “Shubh Mangal Saavdhan”, “Toilet : Ek Prem Katha”, “Lust Stories”, “Sonchiriya”, “Saand Ki Aankh”, “Pati Patni Aur Woh” and “Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitaare”.
Bhumi says she has a personal objective as an artiste.
“I have pushed myself constantly and I will do so in every film that I sign because deep down inside I want to test myself. I want to see how much I can push and reinvent myself on screen. I have a personal ambition to never fit into a mould as an artiste.”
The actress has mapped out her future, too. “I want to do be remembered as someone who constantly gave the audience something new and was not afraid to constantly try something new. I want to be remembered as someone who was unafraid to experiment, and presented myself in the most diverse avatars possible,” she said.
Dia Mirza: Never procured, consumed narcotic or contraband substance
Mumbai– Bollywood actress Dia Mirza has taken to Twitter to refute reports claiming she is on the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) radar and might be summoned by the agency for questioning.
Dia took to her verified Twitter account on Tuesday evening to claim that she has never in her life procured or consumed any narcotic or contraband substances of any form and called the news reports as “false, baseless” and “frivolous reporting”, which might impact her reputation and career.
The actress tweeted: “1) I would like to strongly refute and categorically deny this news as being false, baseless and with mala fide intentions.
2) Such frivolous reporting has a direct impact on my reputation being besmirched and is causing damage to my career which I have painstakingly built with years of hard work.
3) I have never procured or consumed any narcotic or contraband substances of any form in my life. I intend to pursue the full extent of legal remedies available to me as a law abiding citizen of India. Thanks to my supporters for standing by me.”
Alaya F. on how lockdown provided ‘a great learning curve’
Mumbai– Actress Alaya F. is having fun being a force unto herself, as she continues to work from home.
From styling her shoots, taking virtual dance classes, bettering her craft and watching documentaries to understand the nuances of different characters and creating her digital series, Alaya has been occupied these past months.
“I had certain work commitments to fulfill even during lockdown. As actors, our nature of work requires us to be in front of camera and usually we have a whole team of professionals to make us look our best. But due to the lockdown and the safety guidelines that were put in place, it became difficult to have a team so I had to get creative and do my own hair and make-up and even styling for shoots. I even did a cover shoot by myself at home,” said the young actress.
“On social media I have to stay active and I also have brand commitments so for everything on my social media, not only hair and make-up and styling is done by me, but also the creating video concepts, shooting them and editing them, it’s all done by me. Everything now takes five times the work it would have taken but it’s been a great learning curve. It’s given me the chance to experiment and go out of my comfort zone in a lot of ways. It also always kept me occupied and busy and overall I must say, it’s been a lot of fun,” she added.
Shweta Basu Prasad: India is hung up on idea of fairness
New Delhi– Actress Shweta Basu Prasad feels skin colour has nothing to do with beauty but says India is hung up on the idea of fairness.
“India is hung up on fairness because we have had white people ruling us for years, and maybe we think that those who are fair are ‘superior’,” Shweta said.
“I certainly don’t think skin colour has anything to do with beauty and it is sad to read matrimonial ads where the girl’s skin colour is considered far more important than her academic abilities or cultural values. Fairness beauty creams must be banned,” she added.
Talking about her definition of beauty, she said: “My definition of beauty is beyond what is physical. Beauty is what is within. What you are as a person is more important than all extended nails or eyebrows or the makeup. Everybody around me is beautiful for me because I have more beautiful people in my life than those who simply look beautiful.”
On the work front, the actress was seen in Zee Theatre’s teleplay “Gudiya Ki Shaadi”, which takes a light-hearted jab at the standards of beauty set by society, especially with regards to women. She essayed the role of Gudiya, a confident girl who is proud of her skin colour.
Shriya Pilgaonkar doesn’t want to limit herself to one genre
Mumbai– Actress Shriya Pilgaonkar was happy to get into action mode for a digital series. She says she wants to explore different genres as much as possible.
Ahead of the streaming of her series “Crackdown” on September 23, Shriya said: “I always want to keep trying new things as an actor and want to keep exploring different things without limiting myself to only one particular genre. This is my first time doing action and it’s a genre I really enjoy watching, so I had a lot of fun in the process of doing it.”
The series is by Apoorva Lakhia, known for films like “Shootout At Lokhandwala” and “Haseena Parkar”.
“This is Apoorva’s forte and I trusted him and his vision completely. I have always aimed to establish myself as an actor who is capable of pulling off any kind of part. I took some time to ease into the basics of action training and I have a lot to learn but I’m quite happy with the way my action sequences have turned out,” said Shriya.
The actress will be seen as Divya Shirodkar, a Maharashtrian girl, who is compelled to step aboard a dangerous mission, owing to her uncanny resemblance to a deadly extremist. (IANS)
