In a surprising turn of events, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Gautam Gambhir has announced his decision to step away from active politics. The former cricketer, who represented East Delhi, took to Twitter to share the news with his followers and supporters. He expressed his desire to focus on his cricket commitments, citing the need to redirect his attention to the sport he passionately played before entering politics.
“I have requested Hon’ble Party President JP Nadda ji to relieve me of my political duties so that I can focus on my upcoming cricket commitments. I sincerely thank Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi for giving me the opportunity to serve the people. Jai Hind,” Mr Gambhir wrote.
Gambhir, had joined the BJP in March 2019 and since then has become a prominent face of the party in Delhi. He contested and won the East Delhi seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by a substantial margin of 6,95,109 votes.
The decision to quit politics comes amid reports that Mr Gambhir may not get a ticket for the upcoming 2024 polls.
Kiran Rao returns to the director’s seat well over a decade after her debut film, Dhobi Ghat (2011), with a work that strikes the right notes. She does away with marquee names in Laapataa Ladies, produced by Aamir Khan Productions in association with Kindling Pictures, and employs three first-timers in a lively tale of two brides caught in a terrible mix-up.
Laapataa Ladies puts hinterland women front and centre and makes its points about gender equality unambiguously. The screenplay is, however, neither screechy nor shrill. It may not be entirely subtle about what it is driving at, but it does not overplay its hand in any manner.
Two newly married village girls who find themselves in a serious crisis. It isn’t of their making. In looking for an end to their troubles, they learn, each in her own way, that there are ways to dispel the darkness around them.
It is 2001. In fictional Nirmal Pradesh, two brides, on their way home with their respective husbands, get swapped in a passenger train. In the unsettling but life-altering chaos that ensues, they discover themselves and are never the same again.
Phool Kumari (Nitanshi Goel), barely out of her teens, is left stranded at a railway station when her husband Deepak (Sparsh Shrivastav) alights from the train holding the hand of another man’s identically attired and veiled bride (Pratibha Ranta) travelling in the same compartment.
When Deepak reaches his village home with the woman who is not his wife, he and his family are confronted with the repercussions of the embarrassing slip-up. The bride introduces herself as Pushpa Rani. Deepak has no clue where Phool, the girl he married, has disappeared.
He and his mates search high and low for the missing bride over the next few days. They lodge a complaint at the local police outpost but Inspector Shyam Manohar (Ravi Kishan) is not a man given to swinging into action. If anything, he only aggravates matter.
Pushpa, on her part, does not appear overly bothered that she isn’t where she should be. She even begins to develop a bond with two women in the family – Deepak’s mother Yashoda (Geeta Agrawal Sharma) and his sister-in-law Poonam (Rachna Gupta). And thereby lies a tale that contains the seeds of a rebellion.
Phool and Pushpa (both are Hindi words for flower) are temperamentally different. The former is grief-stricken, a bit of a babe in the woods who cannot even name the village she was headed to. The latter has her wits about her. She makes the most of the freedom that a home where she does not belong unintentionally grants her. Pushpa is a bride without the attendant shackles because she isn’t in the right place.
For poor little Phool, left to fend for herself in an unfamiliar, even perhaps unsafe, place, surviving in one piece is a challenge. She finds help in the form of a chirpy Chhotu (Satendra Soni), who does odd jobs for a rail platform tea and snacks kiosk run by the feisty Manju Maai (Chhaya Kadam).
Manju Maai, who has rid herself of an alcoholic husband and a parasitic son and has no qualms about it, takes Phool under her wings and begins to impress upon her the importance of not letting matrimony become a millstone around a girl’s neck.
The contrast may seem a touch contrived at first flush. But look deeper and the two incipient mutinies, one by a woman who has a reason, the other by an ingenue who has no option, begin to make sense. The lost ladies are two facets of assertion in the face of a grave crisis.
Adapted from a story by Biplab Goswami and scripted by Sneha Desai (who has also written the dialogues with additional inputs from Divyanidhi Sharma), Laapataa Ladies is a social satire with a pronounced feminist accent that gives the film its rationale.
The film is breezy and light on its feet. It is never, therefore, in danger of being bogged down by the weighty issues that it addresses. Its simple clarion call is in favour of the rights of women who are robbed of their dreams post-marriage and it is couched in simple methods that do not seek to draw too much attention to themselves.
Admittedly, the film isn’t saying anything particularly radical but the manner in which it articulates its concerns is informed with commendable thrust. One thing that Laapataa Ladies certainly isn’t is heavy-handed. It eschews excess. It says what it has to and moves on.
The threat that looms over Phool and Pushpa – part of it emanates from the police inspector hell-bent on cashing in on the distress that Deepak is in as a consequence of the accidental swap – exists only on the edges of the world that the laapataa ladies inhabit.
The social satire hits home because it is not only emotionally engaging, it also laced with doses of wry humour. Laapataa Ladies is an ‘issue’ film that does not fail to be entertaining. Without playing down the gravity of Phool and Pushpa’s predicaments, it finds space for hope in the bleakest of situations. That apart, the film throws well-directed punches at patriarchy, the evil of dowry, domestic violence and gender roles thrust upon women in wedlock.
The three young leads are wonderfully cast. Nitanshi Goel conveys a combination of fragility and optimism with minimum effort. Sparsh Shrivastav (of Jamtara fame) is solid. Pratibha Ranta is a show-stealer.
Among the supporting actors, Ravi Kishan as the cop whose role in the story goes beyond just policing is terrific. Geeta Agrawal Sharma, cast as Deepak’s spunky mother, is, as always, pitch-perfect. And what does one say of Chhaya Kadam? She radiates brilliance.
Several of the tertiary actors are also noteworthy. Irrespective of how much footage the film apportions to them collectively and individually, they stand out. Satendra Soni, Rachna Gupta playing Deepak’s sister-in-law and Durgesh Kumar as a slow-on-the-uptake constable contribute their mite to the film.
Laapataa Ladies gets so much right that a blip here or a blemish there can do no damage to the way it shapes up.
Cast:
Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Ravi Kishan and Chhaya Kadam
On Friday, Ranveer took to Instagram and shared a couple of pictures with his wife Deepika as the ‘Bajirao Mastani’ couple got all decked up for Day 1.
Published Date – 2 March 2024, 09:54 AM
Source: Instagram
Jamnagar: Soon-to-be parents Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone are currently in Jamnagar, Gujarat to attend the three-day pre-wedding festivities of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant.
On Friday, Ranveer took to Instagram and shared a couple of pictures with his wife Deepika as the ‘Bajirao Mastani’ couple got all decked up for Day 1.
In the pictures, Ranveer and Deepika could be seen exuding major couple goals with their stylish looks.
The ‘Gully Boy’ actor looked dapper as he wore an all-white suit. He opted for a heavy beard and accessorized his look with black and red shades.
Deepika, on the other hand, looked gorgeous in an all-black cut-sleeve dress. She tied her hair with a black ribbon and accessorized her look with statement jewelry. The ‘Pathaan’ actor opted for a heavy makeup look.
The three-day pre-wedding festivities of Anant and Radhika has already begun in Jamnagar.
From Bollywood celebs like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor to famous sports personalities like MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, who’s who from different fields has arrived to attend the lavish celebrations.
Founder and chairperson of Reliance Foundation, Nita Ambani spoke about the pre-wedding function of her son, Anant Ambani, with Radhika Merchant.
She shared the relevance of art and culture and how she is “passionate” about it, saying, “Throughout my life I have been inspired by arts and culture. It has deeply moved me and I am very passionate about it.”
While talking about her son’s wedding she mentioned, “When it came to my youngest son Anant’s wedding with Radhika, I had two important wishes – first, I wanted to celebrate our roots…Jamnagar holds special place in our hearts and has a profound significance. Gujarat is where we come from, it’s where Mukesh and his father built the refinery and I started my career by converting this arid and desert like area into a lush green township and a vibrant community.”
Convicts Dolagobinda and Bubun Sethi are residents of Bijagoth under Sadar police station of Keonjhar.
Published Date – 2 March 2024, 09:32 AM
Bhubaneswar: A local court in Odisha‘s Keonjhar district on Friday sentenced a 22-year-old youth and his father to undergo 25 and 20 years rigorous imprisonment, respectively, for sexually assaulting a minor girl.
Convicts Dolagobinda and Bubun Sethi are residents of Bijagoth under Sadar police station of Keonjhar.
“Prime accused Bubun Sethi, a truck driver, forcibly kidnapped the 15-year-old victim on October 26, 2021 after giving her an intoxicant. When the accused parked his vehicle near a tea shop in Champua area of the district, the girl suddenly regained her senses and started crying out for help. Some transgenders present at the spot informed local police, who rescued the girl,” Special Public Prosecutor Ganesh Prasad Mohapatra said.
However, the family members of the accused, to avoid getting embroiled in a police case, took away the girl, assuring the victim’s family to get her married with the accused.
Mohapatra said that the accused repeatedly sexually abused the victim under the pretext of marriage. She was also forcefully raped by Bubun Sethi’s father, Dolagobinda Sethi.
Meanwhile, the victim managed to get the contact number of some child rights activists during her captivity by Bubun Sethi in Bisra area of Sundargarh. She was rescued by the activists and later handed over to her family members in Keonjhar.
Based on the complaint lodged by the victim, the Keonjhar police registered a case on March 22, 2022 and arrested the accused father and son duo. The court, after examining the statements of 18 witnesses and other exhibits, pronounced the judgement on Friday. It also directed the District Legal Services Authority to take steps to pay the victim financial compensation of Rs 6 lakh under the Odisha Victim Compensation Scheme.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office informed IANS that this message was conveyed to negotiators following an urgent meeting of the War Cabinet led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Published Date – 2 March 2024, 10:10 AM
Tel Aviv: The mediatory talks for a temporary ceasefire into the ongoing Israel and Hamas war have come to a halt after Israel demanded a list of kidnapped hostages who are alive.
Israeli Prime Minister’s office told IANS that this message was communcated to the negotiators after an urgent meeting of the War Cabinet chaired by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel’s intelligence agency-military intelligence agency, Mossad and Shin Bet, have revealed earlier that of the 134 hostages, who are in the custody of Hamas since October 7, 2023, around 31 are dead.
International negotiators, including the US, Qatar and Egypt were expecting a ceasefire for the ongoing war from March 4. However, the decision of the Israeli government has hit a roadblock into the negotiations.
Both Israel and Hamas had almost agreed for a ceasefire for six weeks and release of 40 Israeli hostages.
Around 400 Palestinians, who are in Israeli prisons would also be released.
However, Israel was skeptical on the Palestinians who were to be released and had insisted that those accused of grave crimes, including plotting and executing mass murders would not be released.
A series of peace talks were held in Paris and Cairo a week ago with Israeli headed by Mossad Chief David Barnea, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, the US represented by William Burns, the CIA Chief, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Al Thani and Egypt by its Intelligence head, Major General Abbas Kalem.
The negotiations were to be continued on Saturday and Sunday at Doha but Israel has informed that they won’t participate unless the names of hostages who are alive were announced.
Former India tennis ace Sania Mirza has called for introspection on how women’s success is perceived in the society. The ex-India player, who got divorced from former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik a few months back, reflected on the gender discrimination she feels is still prevalent in the society. Sania opened up while reacting to an advertisement that showed how a society devalues a woman’s success. The ad also portrayed the feelings of an independent woman during the struggle she has to go through due to the social stigma.
“In 2005, I was the first Indian woman to win a WTA title. Big deal, right? When I was world no. 1 in doubles, people were keen to know when I’d settle down. Winning six grand slams isn’t settled enough for society,” said Mirza on X while reacting to the advertisement.
“I’m grateful for the support I’ve received along the way, but can’t help and think why a woman’s achievements invite conversation about gender ‘expectations’ and appearances, instead of her skill and the work itself,” she added.
While admitting that a “real conversation” about society is “difficult”, Sania said that an introspection on the issue is required.
In 2005, I was the first Indian woman to win a WTA title. Big deal, right? When I was world no. 1 in doubles, people were keen to know when I’d settle down. Winning six grand slams isn’t settled enough for society. I’m grateful for the support I’ve received along the way, but… https://t.co/PGfSvAMgFd
Sania’s personal life became a trending topic on social media in January this year after Shoaib shared his wedding pictures with Sana Javed on social media. There were rumours about the separation of Sania from Shoaib, and the former Pakistan player’s new wedding post confirmed it.
Later, Sania’s family broke the silence on the matter.
In the statement, Sania’s team and her family wrote: “Sania has always kept her personal life away from the public eye. However, today the need has arisen for her to share that Shoaib and she have been divorced for a few months now. She wishes Shoaib well for his new journey ahead!
At this sensitive period of her life, we would like to request all fans and well-wishers to refrain from indulging in any speculation and to respect her need for privacy.”
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani’s son, Anant, will marry Radhika Merchant, daughter of Encore Healthcare CEO Viren Merchant and Shaila Merchant, later this year.
Updated On – 2 March 2024, 09:51 AM
Jamnagar: At the star-studded pre-wedding extravaganza of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant, the radiant bride to be was snapped in a off shoulder rose gold gown while her future mother in-law looked glamorous in a stylish maroon outfit.
Anant Ambani, the son of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani is set to marry Radhika Merchant, the daughter of Viren Merchant, the CEO of the Encore Healthcare pharmaceutical firm and Shaila Merchant later this year.
A three day pre-wedding celebration kicked off on Friday with some of the biggest names from across the world of entertainment and business descending on the sprawling Ambani estate in Jamnagar.
On Friday night, the Ambani family posed for a family picture. The groom-to be Anant Ambani was snapped in a black suit that he paired with a white shirt. Nita Ambani oozed glamour in a stylish violet outfit and kept her hair tied in a bun and opted for emerald diamond jewellery to complement her look.
Shloka Mehta, who is married to Akash Ambani, stunned in a red gown. Matching with his wife, Akash Ambani opted for a red and black suit. The duo were seen posing with their son Prithvi.
United States Former President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump wore a shimmery golden-silver-hued saree for the event. She attended the party with her husband Jared Kushner and daughter Arabella Rose.
Ivanka Trump posed with Mukesh Ambani and was also seen having a fun conversation with Nita Ambani.
Pop sensation Rihanna’s performance to a special drone show was among the highlight of Friday night’s performance.
Bollywood celebs like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor to famous sports personalities like MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar were among the the star-studded guest list who arrived in Jamnagar to attend the lavish celebrations.
Founder and chairperson of Reliance Foundation, Nita Ambani spoke about the pre-wedding function of her son, Anant Ambani with Radhika Merchant and explained how she had two “important wishes” for the wedding and these two wishes were the reason why Jamnagar was chosen to host the big bash. In a video, Nita Ambani said that she wanted the wedding ceremony of Anant and Radhika to celebrate their roots and pay a tribute to the arts and culture.
“When it came to my youngest son Anant’s wedding with Radhika, I had two important wishes – first, I wanted to celebrate our roots… second, I wanted the celebration to be a tribute to our arts and culture,” she said.
“Jamnagar holds special place in our hearts and has a profound significance. Gujarat is where we come from, it’s where Mukesh and his father built the refinery and I started my career by converting this arid and desert like area into a lush green township and a vibrant community,” she said in the video.
On the wedding ceremony showcasing the arts and culture, Nita Ambani said that she wanted the event to be a reflection of their heritage and culture” created by the hands, heart and hardwork of our talented creative minds”.
The United States will use military aircraft to drop supplies over Gaza
Washington:
The US military will start carrying out airdrops of food and supplies into Gaza in the coming days, joining other countries like France, Jordan and Egypt that have done the same.
HOW WOULD AN AIRDROP OF AID WORK?
The United States will use military aircraft to drop supplies over Gaza. While it is unclear which type of aircraft will be used, the C-17 and C-130 are best suited for the job. According to the U.S. Air Force, a C-130 can hold 16 pallets while a C-17 can carry 40.
Military personnel on the ground load supplies onto the pallets, which are then loaded onto planes, and locked in place.
Once the aircraft is over the area where the supplies are needed, the lock holding them in place is released and they sail to the ground with the help of a parachute attached to the pallet.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
While the military can look at weather patterns ahead of time, the wind plays a large role in ensuring that they land where they should. Social media videos have shown some aid delivered by other countries ending up in the sea.
Gaza is densely populated and officials say it will be difficult to ensure that the aid reaches the people who need it and doesn’t end up in some place that is unreachable.
“It is extremely difficult to do an airdrop in such a crowded environment as is Gaza,” John Kirby, President Joe Biden’s top national security spokesperson, said.
Officials also say that without a US military presence on the ground, there is no guarantee that the aid will not end up in the hands of Hamas.
WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF PAST US AIRDROPS?
Each year over Christmas, it drops humanitarian aid to remote islands in the Pacific Ocean in an effort known as “Operation Christmas Drop.”
#DYK — Operation Christmas Drop is the world’s longest-running humanitarian & disaster relief mission. This year’s mission included aircraft from the U.S., Japan, the Republic of Korea, & for the first time, Canada.https://t.co/Llk7orRuF3pic.twitter.com/RyrsA8x7ho
In 2014, the United States military airdropped aid in northern Iraq, when civilians were trapped by Islamic State fighters. In those few months, more than 100,000 meals and 96,000 water bottles were airdropped.
WHAT ARE OPTIONS ARE BEING LOOKED AT?
On Friday, President Joe Biden told reporters that the US was also looking at the possibility of a maritime corridor to deliver large amounts of aid into Gaza.
A US official said one possible option is shipping aid by sea from Cyprus, some 210 nautical miles off Gaza’s Mediterranean coast.
No decision has been made on military involvement in such an operation, said the official, adding the Israelis were “very receptive” to the sealift option because it would avoid delays from protesters blocking land crossings to aid convoys.
But the reality is that the maritime option using the military is highly challenging, with no clear location where the aid could be unloaded from ships.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
A day after an explosion at Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe, CCTV footage has emerged showing a man carrying a bag inside the cafe’s premises in the Whitefield area of the Karnataka capital. The suspect, according to the police, allegedly placed this bag in the cafe and then left before the blast took place. Another individual, who was seen along with the suspect, has been detained and is being questioned by the Bengaluru police.
The main suspect, his face hidden by a mask, glasses, and a cap on top of his head, was caught on cameras installed inside the cafe carrying a plate of idlis.
The blast, which took place between 12.50 pm and 1 pm on Friday, resulted in ten people sustaining injuries. The police have invoked stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substances Act in response to the attack.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) swiftly arrived at the scene to conduct a thorough inquiry. The injured, comprising both cafe staff and patrons, are currently receiving medical treatment.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urged the public not to politicise the incident and called for cooperation in the ongoing investigation. The Chief Minister added that the blast might have been caused by an “improvised explosive” device.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who visited the blast site along with Home Minister G Parameshwara, provided crucial details about the sequence of events leading to the explosion. “The blast occurred at 1 pm. A young man of about 28-30 years came to the cafe, purchased Rava idli at the counter, placed the bag near a tree (adjacent to the cafe) and left. After one hour the blast took place,” Mr Shivakumar said.
The Central Crime Branch (CCB) has taken charge of the investigation, with multiple teams actively pursuing leads to identify the accused. State Police Chief Alok Mohan labeled the incident a “bomb blast” but assured the public that no one sustained serious injuries.
Rameshwaram Cafe co-founder Divya Raghavendra Rao, speaking exclusively with NDTV, said that the initial understanding following the blast was that it originated in the kitchen.
“But then we found out that there were no injuries or blood inside the kitchen and that the blast took place in the customer area,” Ms Rao told NDTV. “After looking at the CCTV footage, we saw that a guy wearing a mask and muffler came to the billing counter and ordered a rava idli. He then took his order and sat in the corner. He finished his meal and left a bag where he was sitting before exiting the restaurant.”
“We are deeply saddened by the unfortunate incident at our Brookefield branch today. We are cooperating with the authorities and officials in their investigations. Our thoughts are with the injured and their families, and we are offering them all the support, assistance and care they need and pray for their speedy recovery,” she added.
Forensic teams are currently examining the scene to gather evidence and determine the nature of the explosive device used. NSG commandos and bomb squads are still combing the area this morning.
Bengaluru’s Rameshwaram Cafe blast suspect was caught on CCTV
New Delhi:
The owner of the Rameshwaram cafe in Bengaluru, where a low-intensity bomb blast left 10 people injured on Friday, spoke to NDTV and recounted the sequence of events that led to the explosion at her Whitefield outlet.
The owner, Divya Raghavendra Rao, said that the suspect was seen having rava idli before leaving his bag in the restaurant.
“My mobile phone was not with me when the blast took place and when I picked it up, there were too many missed calls. When I called back my team, they told me that there was a blast in the restaurant,” she said.
“The first thing that I thought was that maybe the blast took place due to something inside the kitchen. But then we found out that there were no injuries or blood inside the kitchen and that the blast took place in the customer area,” Ms Rao added.
She said that after looking at the CCTV footage, they saw that a guy wearing a mask and muffler came to the billing counter and ordered a rava idli.
“He took his order and then sat in a corner. He finished his meal and then left a bag in the corner before exiting the restaurant,” Ms Rao said, adding that the blast then took place after some time.
She said that luckily there were no cylinders kept where the blast took place.
‘Rameshwaram Cafe Is My Baby’
Ms Rao said that she recently gave birth to her baby and that there was no difference between the Rameshwaram cafe and her newborn.
“My business is also my baby and the damage to my outlet equally hurts me,” she said.
In a gritty message to her customers, she said that the Rameshwaram cafe would come back very shortly and strongly.
“The Whitefield outlet will operate the same way it was operating with more tight security and more safety systems in place. We will be back,” she said.
‘Will Help People Injured In Blast’
Thanking God that there were no fatal injuries in the Rameshwaram cafe blast, Mr Rao said that she would help the injured persons.
“There were no serious injuries. Some people who have received some injuries are likely to recover in 15-30 days,” she said.
“We will take care of them to make sure that they are back to their normal lives,” she added.
In an official statement, she said she is cooperating with the authorities and officials in their investigations.
“We are deeply saddened by the unfortunate incident at our Brookefield branch today… Our thoughts are with the injured and their families, and we are offering them all the support, assistance and care they need and pray for their speedy recovery,” Ms Rao said.
