Film folk have been very busy this year, attending trailer launches and promotional events. Hitesh Harisinghani/ Rediff.com vouches for that, as he recaps 2024 with his insightful clicks.
November brings Diwali with it, and the box office may finally get some good news with the release of the festival films, Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3.
Empuraan, with its gimmicky violence and vigilante posturing, is not out to widen your perspective or open up history. All it wants to do is pick your pockets, observes Sreehari Nair.
He arrived at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport in the city in the evening and headed straight to the Ashram, the former home of Mahatma Gandhi which also served as one of the main centres of India's freedom struggle.
A police cavalcade carrying gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed left for the Sabarmati Central Jail in Gujarat on Tuesday evening, hours after he was sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment in a 2006 kidnapping case by a court in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, a senior official said.
Zakia Jafri, the wife of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the 2002 Gujarat riots, died on Saturday in Ahmedabad at the age of 86. Ehsan Jafri was among 69 persons who were killed inside Gulbarg Society, a Muslim neighbourhood in Ahmedabad, on February 28, 2002, a day after coaches of the Sabarmati Express train were burnt in Godhra, resulting in the deaths of 59 'karsevaks' returning from Ayodhya. The incident triggered horrific rioting across the state. Zakia Jafri hit the national headlines as she waged a legal battle all the way to the Supreme Court in a bid to hold top political leaders accountable for the large conspiracy for the riots post the Godhra train burning episode. Her son Tanveer Jafri said that his mother was visiting his sister's house in Ahmedabad when she complained of feeling uneasy. The doctor who was called in declared her dead at around 11:30 am. Social activist Teesta Setalvad, who was co-complainant in Jafri's protest petition in the Supreme Court, posted on X that Zakia Jafri was a compassionate leader of the human rights community.
A salute to Sarojini Naidu freedom fighter, poet, women's right activist on her 146th birth anniversary.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday urged the party to be a party of hope, not resentment, a party of the future not just of the past, and a party with a positive narrative and not just criticism. He also slammed the BJP for trying to divide North from South, emphasizing the need for inclusivity and national harmony. Tharoor highlighted the importance of economic growth and equitable distribution of its benefits, calling for the Congress to remain the voice of the voiceless.
Two more insolvency petitions were filed by Sabarmati Aviation and JetAir 17 against budget carrier Spicejet at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday. The NCLT issued a notice to the airline over the plea by operational creditor Sabarmati Aviation while asking another complainant, JetAir 17, to file additional documents in support of its claims of $27 million.
The Bullet Train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad has achieved significant progress with the completion of 386 km of pier foundation and 272 km of viaduct. Track laying is expected to begin soon as all other infrastructure work is ready.
Ridhi Dogra's personal style is all about boho vibes.
Salim Zarda, a 55-year-old life convict in the 2002 Godhra train carnage case, was arrested in Pune district for theft. Zarda, who had previously jumped parole on eight occasions, was arrested on January 22 by Pune rural police. He was handed over to Nashik police in connection with a theft case registered there. Zarda was among the 31 persons convicted in the Godhra train carnage case. He was released on parole on September 17, 2024, but failed to return.
The Nagpur violence may have been prevented had the police considered the dangerous potential of the VHP/Bajrang Dal's demonstration; had they immediately stopped the burning of the chaddar and arrested the demonstrators; and had they fanned out to counter the rumours that spread among Muslims, observes Jyoti Punwani.
Ahmad, a former Uttar Pradesh MLA and Lok Sabha MP, was brought back to the high-security jail in Gujarat in a UP police van after a nearly 24-hour-long road journey from Prayagraj.
Falling on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, Lohri and Makar Sankranti are celebrated with great joy, often marked by the tradition of kite flying.
Jailed journalist Mahesh Langa, already facing multiple charges, has been booked in a fresh case for allegedly extorting Rs 40 lakh from a real estate agent by threatening to malign his image and implicate him in a false case. This is the fifth FIR registered against him since his arrest in October 2023 for an alleged Goods and Services Tax (GST) scam. The latest case was registered based on a complaint by Janak Thakor, a real estate agent, who alleged that Langa threatened to write negative articles about him and trap him in a false case unless he paid the money. Langa has been in jail since his arrest in October and is facing charges in four previous cases registered by Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Rajkot police.
A garland presented to Mahatma Gandhi during the iconic Dandi March of the Indian freedom struggle in 1930 failed to meet its estimated price at a UK auction. The garland, which was presented to Gandhi by the wife of his personal physician, Dr Balvantrai N Kanuga, was offered as part of an "Islamic and Indian Art" sale by Lyon & Turnbull in London. Despite failing to find a buyer at the auction, the auction house said it has received significant interest since the sale and hopes to sell it to the highest bidder.
Speculation is rife that Trump may skip Sabarmati Ashram to make time for a visit to Agra, Vinay Umarji reports.
Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, has been arrested by US law enforcement authorities in Iowa. He is wanted in connection with several criminal cases in India, including the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique and the firing outside actor Salman Khan's Mumbai home.
The crime branch named 29 accused in the 4,590-page charge sheet, including 26 already arrested and three wanted persons, including Anmol Bishnoi, the brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
The BJP's victory in the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections was largely attributed to the Yamuna pollution issue, with the party successfully capitalizing on the backlash from Haryanvi-origin voters who perceived AAP's narrative on the river's pollution as an attack on their home state. The BJP's campaign focused on presenting itself as both the protector of Haryana's honor and the party with a concrete vision for the Yamuna's revival, ultimately leading to AAP's significant decline in the Yamuna belt and rural areas.
Another threat has been issued to Bollywood actor Salman Khan, with the sender demanding Rs 5 crore on 'behalf of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang', officials said on Friday.
On Wednesday, Tushar Gandhi, the son of Arun Gandhi, whose father Mani Lal was the Mahatma's third son, said in the PIL he has challenged the government's Rs 1,200-crore Gandhi Ashram Memorial and Precinct Development Project because it goes against the wishes and philosophy of the Father of the Nation.
They said at least four such cases are being looked into by the anti-terror agency officials.
A recent study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar has established the presence of coronavirus in water samples from the Sabarmati river and two lakes in Ahmedabad city of Gujarat.
Bhatt was earlier sentenced to life imprisonment in a 1990 custodial death case in Jamnagar and 20 years in jail in a 1996 case relating to planting drugs to frame a Rajasthan-based lawyer in Palanpur. He is currently lodged in the Rajkot Central Jail.
The NIA has announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information leading to the arrest of Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, officials said on Friday.
Earlier, confusion prevailed over Trump's visit to the Ashram. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Friday said the White House will take a call on such visit.
Ali, who was believed to be in a relationship with Khan back in the 1990s, sent a "direct message" to Bishnoi on Wednesday through an Instagram post.
Thousands of police personnel and CCTV cameras were deployed and traffic regulated across states on Tuesday to ensure public safety and prevent any untoward incident as the country geared up to welcome 2025.
Earlier it was announced that after landing at the airport in Ahmedabad on February 24, Trump will go to the Sabarmati Ashram and spend around 30 minutes there. All preparations are in final stages for the visit of President Trump.
Incidentally, the allegations come at a time when Lawrence Bishnoi is in the news in India for his alleged involvement in the murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai.
Both Lawrence and Anmol Bishnoi have been named as wanted accused in the April 14 firing incident outside the Bollywood actor Salman Khan's Galaxy Apartment in Mumbai's Bandra area.
The threat message was received on the Mumbai traffic police helpline and an officer read it around midnight, the official said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who landed in Ahmedabad on Thursday morning on a two-day India visit, was accorded a grand welcome at the airport in Ahmedabad. Soon after, he visited Sabarmati Ashram in the company of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupesh Patel.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will hear on January 15 the appeals filed by the Gujarat government and several other convicts in the 2002 Godhra train burning case.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched 'Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav', the government's initiative to mark 75 years of India's Independence.
Earlier this month, government sources said Indian and US officials were engaged in talks to finalise the dates for Trump's visit to India. "Both sides are in discussions to finalise the dates," a source said. Trump's two-day visit to India could take place on February 24-26.
Gandhi will now be seen in two upcoming OTT series -- Hansal Mehta's Gandhi, starring Pratik Gandhi in the title role, and Freedom at Midnight by Nikkhil Advani.
Justice U C Banerjee had already submitted an interim report in January 2005 expressing the similar view.
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