Global News Post: Entertainment

Are Violent Games Linked to Violent Crimes?

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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">As video game images become increasingly
more realistic and graphic, policy makers are debating if there is a link
between the violence depicted in those games and violence in real life.   <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A 20-year-old gunman's shooting spree at a
school in the northeastern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United
  States</st1:place></st1:country-region> this month has reinvigorated
discussions about violence, prompting lawmakers to call for greater examination
of brutality in video games.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But evidence does not suggest violence in
games causes violence in life, says Virginia Tech's James Ivory, a professor in
the university's department of communication who researches the effects of
video games.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"The agreement is pretty well universal
among social scientists that there is not a clearly established link between
actual violent crime and violent media usage," says Ivory.  <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He adds that it is possible, though debated,
that exposure to violent video games could make a person think or respond more
aggressively in the short term, or, in Ivory's words, "might even make you
potentially more of a jerk to somebody." 
But, he emphasizes, temporary aggression and violent crime are worlds
apart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Graphic games are popular.  Eight of the 20 best-selling video games in
2011 contained intense violence, language or sexual content deemed suitable
only for players 17 and older.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Criminal defense attorney Rene Sandler says
she has represented clients who played violent shooter games, gaining points
with each kill.   <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">    <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Violent video games are an enormous
problem in this country, and violent video games have been at the core of
violent behaviors after watching these video games or cumulatively playing
games," Sandler says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Video games differ from movies or other
media because game players are active participants, not passive viewers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"People have argued that violent video
games should influence you more because you're taking on the role of someone
violent," explains Ivory. 
"Conceptually that all makes sense, but empirically, there's not a
lot of evidence for stronger effects of games than television."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Players don't confuse games with reality, a
high school student and gamer told VOA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"I'm not saying it's right, but it's
just virtual people," he said. 
"It's not real people.  It
doesn't have any intentions of killing anyone in the real world."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Wayne LaPierre, head of the National Rifle
Association, disagrees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"There exists in this country, sadly, a
callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and sows violence
against its own people, through vicious, violent video games," LaPierre
told reporters this month.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He named the popular game 'Grand Theft Auto'
as an example.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">One of the creators of 'Grand Theft Auto,'
Navid Khonsari, says he grew up playing video games in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Iran</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region>
and the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
where video games were enjoyed by people of all ages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The discerning factor among the countries,
says Khonsari, "is that while video games have been readily available,
what has been limited is the accessibility to weapons."  <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The focus on virtual violence might be
limiting substantive discussions about firearm regulations and mental health
treatment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"When we talk about violent video games
and actual violent crime, we're chasing something that hasn't really been
observed and we're not talking about other things that have been
observed," says Ivory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Despite the renewed focus on video game
violence, investigators of the most recent <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> school shooting have not said
whether the young gunman was a player of violent video games.    <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Interest in video games continues to grow
around the globe.  Analysts estimate
people spent about $70 billion worldwide on video games and components in
2012.  North America, Western Europe and
East Asia remain key markets, while gaming is on the rise in <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Brazil</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region> and <st1:place w:st="on">Southeast
 Asia</st1:place>. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Are Violent Games Linked to Violent Crimes?

By Suzanne Presto As video game images become increasingly more realistic and graphic, policy makers are debating if there i...

New Documentary Portrays Islam as Path to Women's Empowerment

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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By Carolyn Weaver</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="429" scrolling="no" src="http://www.voanews.com/flashembed.aspx?t=vid&id=1556198&w=640&h=429&skin=embeded" width="640"></iframe>A growing number of women in Islamic countries have turned in recent years to serious study of their religion: memorizing the Quran, learning to recite it properly, and studying hadith and other aspects of Islam. An American-made documentary, The Light in Her Eyes, shows how this religious movement can also foster greater freedom for women in traditional societies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The focus of the film, Syrian preacher Houda al-Habash, established her summer Quran School for girls in 1982, when she was just 17. Until the spring of 2012, she held classes on the women's side of a Damascus mosque, where girls memorized the Quran, practiced reciting it, and studied other Islamic teachings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She also supervised religious study classes for girls and women in other parts of the city.

American filmmaker Julia Meltzer, who was teaching journalism at the University of Damascus in 2005, happened to meet al-Habash through a colleague who was studying with her.

"From the moment that I walked into her mosque, I thought, you know, we don't get to see places like this, where girls study Quran with other women who have been trained and studied for a long time," said Meltzer, who made the film with co-director Laura Nix.  
They were struck by how al-Habash merged conservative traditions with progressive ideals for women's greater role in the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She believes that Islam requires women to wear hijab, and that wives should serve their husbands. Yet she also thinks women should be highly educated, and pursue careers and public lives, if they choose, even if it means staying up late to finish their housework, too.

"You are free in your choices, free in your way of thinking, free in your faith, free in everything," she tells a graduating class at her school.

"Women can be teachers and students, women can rule and arbitrate," she says. "Does religious law allow a woman to be president? Yes! Don't shut off your brain," she urges the girls.

"It's a story about just one mosque," Nix explains. "We don't claim to be telling a story [about] the entire region. But at least for the girls and women in Houda's mosque, it's a place for them to go, in a way that's comfortable for their parents. And they're also driven to learn more about their religion, and Houda offers an environment that's very organized, very warm and inclusive and inviting."

Although warm, al-Habash also is a demanding teacher, who urges her students to read more, and study harder in their other classes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Islam regards all learning as a form of worship, she says, adding,"Whenever a human being reads, he benefits and his mind grows."

The Light in Her Eyes includes TV clips of ultraconservative male clerics protesting against women's participation in public life. al-Habash responds in the film by saying that her study of Islam has taught her that they are mistaken.

"Muslims themselves have deprived women of everything, even the right to learn, teach and to enter the mosque," she says firmly. "This is ignorance, which has nothing to do with religion."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b> The Light in Her Eyes Trailer</b></span></div>
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"I started memorizing Quran when I was three years old," al-Khaldi tells the filmmakers. "And I finished memorizing Quran when I was 10. For girls, it is very important to learn what is in Quran, because if you don't really know what is the [truth], you are going to be misled."

Meltzer and co-director Laura Nix finished filming in November 2010, soon before the uprising began. They didn't have government permission to film, so they had to shoot discreetly, especially in the street.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"We never felt like we were in danger, but we recognized that at any point, we could be asked to stop shooting," Meltzer said. "The big challenge was for Houda to let us into her life and to let us into the mosque, because the risk was much, much greater for her. If she had been stopped or found out or questioned by the secret police, it could have been very dangerous for her and her family. Or they just might have shut her school down."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Why did al-Habash agree to take that risk?  "Houda's interested in having there be a different vision of Islam in the West," Meltzer says. "And she could tell we wanted to be able to give a different story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Occasionally when we were shooting something, she'd say, 'Oh no, you're not allowed to use that.' But when we included that in the final film, she didn't say anything. At the Dubai premiere, she came with her entire family, and she said she's really proud of the film, and feels it tells a truthful story about her."

The film had its U.S. broadcast premiere on the public television series POV.---VOA News
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New Documentary Portrays Islam as Path to Women's Empowerment

By Carolyn Weaver A growing number of women in Islamic countries have turned in recent years to serious study of their religion: mem...

Justin Bieber Wins Top Prize at American Music Awards

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">An
18-year-old has won the top prize at the American Music Awards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Canadian
Justin Bieber won artist of the year Sunday in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:city> at the 40th anniversary show,
beating out Rihanna, Maroon 5, Drake, and Katy Perry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
teenager said when he accepted his award that it was "hard growing up with
everyone watching me" and he thanked his mother for "always believing
in me."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Bieber
also won in the pop/rock album category for this album Believe, and he won the
pop/rock male artist award.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Canadian
Carly Rae Jepsen won favorite new artist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">New
mom Adele from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region>
took the top prize in the adult contemporary category.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Taylor
Swift won her fifth consecutive award for favorite country female artist, while
Luke Bryan won the country male prize.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Usher
kicked off the three-hour televised show on ABC with green laser lights beaming
onstage as he performed a medley of songs. 
Usher also took home the prize for best soul/R&B artist.  <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">American
Music Award nominees are selected based on sales and airplay, and fans chose
the winners by voting online. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Justin Bieber Wins Top Prize at American Music Awards

An 18-year-old has won the top prize at the American Music Awards. Canadian Justin Bieber won artist of the year Sunday in Los An...

Indian TV Channels Urged To Stop Reality Shows Depicting Animal Abuse

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span dir="RTL"></span>  </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) - Entertainment channels that feature reality shows depicting scenes of live insects being eaten and animals being abused have been asked to stop airing such programmes, Press Trust of India reported</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) said several TV</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span dir="RTL"></span> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">programmes were exploiting animals, birds and insects for the sake of entertainment and said such content might create the wrong impression among viewers</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">BCCC, a self-regulatory body for Non-News Channels, said many entertainment channels airing reality shows were exhibiting content "extremely harmful" to animals. The Council covers about 235 TV networks</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span dir="RTL"></span>"</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For instance, live insects are eaten to show courage in a manner that is distasteful. A few channels have a reality show where animals are killed week after week and animal parts like sheep eyeballs and worms are eaten to show one's bravery," the BCCC said in an advisory issued on Friday</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The BCCC said it was disturbing that "some channels rope in popular movie stars in serials in which animals are shown as being stalked, teased, tails being pulled at, food being pulled away etc and is veritable torture of animals as an act of bravery</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span dir="RTL"></span>." </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The advisory said not only were animals hurt and killed before, during and post filming, in many cases animals, especially reptilian and wild mammalian, were depicted as cruel and fearful when in fact they were placed in unnatural environments where their natural behaviour was repressed</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It added that such incorrect depiction led to "wrong impressions being created and the spreading of unfortunate myths</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span dir="RTL"></span>." </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span dir="RTL"></span>“</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We advise TV channels not to produce, purchase or broadcast content that is in any way harmful to the health and well being of any species," BCCC said</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span dir="LTR"></span> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">-- NNN-BERNAMA</span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Indian TV Channels Urged To Stop Reality Shows Depicting Animal Abuse

NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) - Entertainment channels that feature reality shows depicting scenes of live insects being eaten and anim...

India Bids Farewell to Rajesh Khanna

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The first superstar of Indian cinema Rajesh Khanna was cremated in Mumbai today. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u1:p></u1:p>His last journey began from his residence Aashirwaad in Mumbai and his body was taken to the cremation ground in a glass casket to allow his fans to pay their last respects. Rajesh Khanna popularly known as Kaka died at home in Mumbai yesterday. He was battling with cancer.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
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India Bids Farewell to Rajesh Khanna

The first superstar of Indian cinema Rajesh Khanna was cremated in Mumbai today. His last journey began from his residence Aashirwaad in ...

India: Yesteryear Bollywood Superstar Rajesh Khanna Dies

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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: justify;">NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Yesteryear Bollywood superstar, Rajesh Khanna, has died at the age of 69 in Mumbai.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Indian media reported that the actor suffered from cancer.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rajesh Khanna, who was married to "Bobby" heroin Dimple Kapadia had appeared in more than 160 films, including hits such as Kati Patang, Aaradhana, Andaz, Haathi Mere Saathi and Amar Prem.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Khanna and his ex-wife, Dimple had two daughters, Twinkle Khanna, who is married to actor Akshay Kumar, and Rinke Khanna, who is married to a businessman, Sameer Saran.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The BBC made a film on him, titled 'Bombay Superstar' in 1974. A textbook prescribed by Bombay University contains an essay, 'The Charisma of Rajesh Khanna'.--NNN-BERNAMA</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Meanwhile United News of India reports:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rajesh Khanna Is Dead</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">MUMBAI, India (NNN-UNI) -- Bollywood's most popular superstar Rajesh Khanna died at his residence in suburban Bandra after battling a prolonged illness. He was 69.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The actor passed away at 1320 hrs this afternoon, family sources said.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">His condition had been deteriorating since April when he stopped eating and had complained of weakness.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">He was admitted to Lilavati Hospital twice in the past month and was re-admitted there last week and was discharged on Monday. -- NNN-UNI</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><b>Watch Related Video</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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India: Yesteryear Bollywood Superstar Rajesh Khanna Dies

NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Yesteryear Bollywood superstar, Rajesh Khanna, has died at the age of 69 in Mumbai. Indian media report...

Indian-American Spells to Win

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By Pia Salmre<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSPp_KGggzBl7w5g-Ii_-39-tGf103lOkaXQ99sSNis-3bNHf90g_znmWQ255Oiw29SnYIltlqgX3JAmkj2yy0tmp1ubL2j9DV5lfNBy4lDhoC3PoFQEkNP7MsD_LmChVUMdBW7OIVJU/s1600/4520F420-29B4-4C7B-9C19-210D414FF478_w640_r1_s_cx0_cy10_cw0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSPp_KGggzBl7w5g-Ii_-39-tGf103lOkaXQ99sSNis-3bNHf90g_znmWQ255Oiw29SnYIltlqgX3JAmkj2yy0tmp1ubL2j9DV5lfNBy4lDhoC3PoFQEkNP7MsD_LmChVUMdBW7OIVJU/s320/4520F420-29B4-4C7B-9C19-210D414FF478_w640_r1_s_cx0_cy10_cw0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Snigdha Nandipati celebrates her spelling bee victory<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">with her grandparents, Mallikarjunarao and<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Rajeswari Chalavadi Photo © VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></i></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps 14-year-old Snigdha Nandipati, a second generation American, was destined to win this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">  </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After all, she explains, her name in Sanskrit means smooth like the honey produced by bees.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The eighth-grade student from San Diego, California also carries a lucky charm with a bee on it. ” I keep it in my pocket for all the spelling bees I’ve gone to and it has worked very well,” she explains.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But winning the highly competitive spelling contest against more than 250 of the best spellers in the world took more than luck.  It took a lot of hard work and preparation to win the contest in late May.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Snigdha’s father and spelling coach, Krishnarao Nandipati, played big role in his daughter’s success.  For him, it began with what he described as a strong belief in helping his children reach their dreams.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“You find what the kids are interested in and not what you are interested in,” said the senior Nandipati, a computer programmer.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He found two ways to help his daughter study. The first one utilized 30,000 flashcards and 6 to 10 hours of practice every day.  The second involved enrolling her in a series of spelling contests run by the North South Foundation, an organization devoted to helping Indian-American youth prepare for college.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I’ve been interested in spelling bees since fourth grade and I won my first one in fifth grade,” said Snigdha.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The experience Snigdha gained in the foundation’s  nationally-run contests cannot be over-estimated.  All five of the most recent winners of the Scripps National Spelling Bee were of Indian heritage and participated in the North South Foundation’s regional and national contests. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The tournaments act as a training ground.  Parents start their kids as young as 6 years old in workshops and online coaching to help their children excel.  Contests form the basis for measuring achievement in more than 80 regional centers across the United States.  And competitions are held not only in spelling, but in math, geography, science, vocabulary, writing and public speaking.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Krishnarao Nandipati said he believed that the contests create not only good spelling habits, but research skills that will serve his daughter well in high school and college.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Snigdha says she spends a lot time reading, which she credits with helping her spelling skills.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“When I read books I list the words that sound interesting and I look them up later,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> “When I came across really weird words, those that didn’t follow any particular rules,  I would research them on Wikipedia, learn about their background so that I would remember the word.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May, Snigdha had to defeat contestants from all 50 U.S. states, as well as youngsters from as far away as China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For her victory, Snigdha won the $30,000 grand prize, two educational scholarships and a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama. All are heady prizes for a 14-year-old. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But what impressed her even more was receiving the final print edition of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica.  Mortally wounded by the Internet and Wikipedia, the 244-year-old reference work is going out of print in favor of a digital version. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“For a long time I have been relying on Wikipedia and now I get to read an actual hard copy of something,” Snigdha said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But other than Snigdha, how many teenagers would even care? <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Her maturity and drive certainly separate her from her peers, but picking her out of a group of students is tough. She giggles a lot, wears braces, gives a lot of yes and no answers, and carries a lucky charm.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In many ways, Snigdha is still an awkward kid.  But don’t underestimate her.  She can spell words you don’t even know exist. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Indian-American Spells to Win

By Pia Salmre Snigdha Nandipati celebrates her spelling bee victory with her grandparents, Mallikarjunarao and Rajeswari Chalavadi Photo ...

India: Vice President Presents Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2011 to Renowned Bengali Actor Soumitra Chatterjee

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</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Films Play a Significant Role in Portraying the Linguistic and Regional Diversity of the Culture - Vice President<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Vice President gives away the National Film Awards 2011<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">National Award Ceremony to be held Every Year on 3rd May Cinema the Social Mirror of Indian Society: Ambika Soni<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Soumitra Chatterjee, Conferred the Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2011<o:p></o:p></span></i></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Vice President, Mohd. Hamid Ansari presenting the Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2011 to Soumitra Chatterjee, at the 59th National Film Awards function, in New Delhi on May 03, 2012. The Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Smt. Ambika Soni, the Ministers of State for Information and Broadcasting, Chowdhury Mohan Jatua and Dr. S. Jagathrakshakan and the Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Uday Kumar Varma are also seen.</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Photo© PIB<o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">New Delhi (PIB) --- The Vice President,  M. Hamid Ansari has said films played a significant role in portraying the linguistic and regional diversity of our culture. Indian cinema had successfully adapted traditional Indian narrative and oral traditions to the requirements of technology and formats of new media. Our films had become ambassadors of our culture, tradition and society. They fostered people-to-people relations and promoted our image and interests that had enduring significance. Indian commercial cinema formed a principal element of our culture and impacted the lives of the people. The Vice President,  M. Hamid Ansari stated this while delivering his address at the 59th National Film Awards function here today.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Elaborating further, the Vice President said selection of two films in regional languages as the Best Feature Films, was an achievement for regional film industry. It was an under-appreciated fact that over 80 per cent of the films certified for public exhibition were regional films. Complimenting Dada Sahab Phalke Award winner, the Vice President said the partnership of  Soumtira Chatterjee with Satyajit Ray could be counted as a memorable director-actor combination in the history of cinema. The Vice President also lauded the 11 children who had won the Best Child Artists Awards for the 59th National Film Awards.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Information & Broadcasting, Smt. Ambika Soni said that the year 2013 would be observed as the Centenary year of Indian Cinema. India’s first full length feature film “Raja Harishchandra” was released on 3rd May 1913 at Mumbai’s Coronation Cinema. To commemorate the release of India’s first film, the National Film Awards Ceremony would now on be held on 3rd of May every year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Minister added that cinema had always been the social mirror of Indian society, acting as a catalyst and believing in the power of ideas, human relationships and the plurality of Indian culture. She stated that cinema reflected the vast diversity and the intrinsic plurality of the Indian society.  These awards have encouraged young film makers to believe in the “Essence of Good and Meaningful Cinema”. Elaborating further, the Minister stated that regional languages continued to be the mainstay of Indian cinema and that the National Film Award was an acknowledgement of good cinema irrespective of language barriers and budgetary constraints. The recognition given to offbeat film reflected the depth of national awards on the one hand and at the same time would encourage film makers in many other regional languages to make quality films.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">On the occasion, the Minister mentioned that few projects were being undertaken by the I&B Ministry to commemorate the centenary celebrations of Indian Cinema.  The first related to the setting up of the “National Heritage Mission”, to digitalise and restore all audio and video tapes of Indian films for which over Rs.500 crores have been set aside in the XII Five Year Plan. The second project pertained to the setting up of the Museum of Indian Cinema. It would be housed in the Films Division Complex in Mumbai. The Heritage building of Gulshan Mahal, a popular filming location would be restored by December, 2012 and the new museum building would be ready before May, 2013.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Complimenting the winners, the Minister said that through their ingenuity, skills & talent, they had provided entertainment which has woven together the people of this country into one proud nation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The highlights of the 59th National Film Awards are as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The top honour in the Feature Film category,  the Best Film  is shared by  films Deool (Marathi)  produced by Abhijeet Gholap & directed by Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni  and Byari (Byari language) produced by T.H. Althaf Hussain & directed by Suveeram.  The award carries Swarna Kamal and cash prize of Rs. 2, 50,000/-.  In Non-feature film category thetop honour, Best Film goes to And We Play On (Hindi & English) directed and produced by Pramod Purswane .  The awards carriesSwarna Kamal and Cash prize of Rs. 1, 50,000/-.  In Best Writing on Cinema category the Swarna Kamal goes to the book titled R.D. Burman– The Man, The Music written by Anirudha Bhattacharjee & BalajiVittal, published by Harper Collins India. Whereas Manoj Barpujari fromAssam has been awarded Best Film Critic.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In Feature Film category, five films have won three awards each. These Films are The Dirty Picture (Hindi), Balgandharva(Marathi), Anhe Ghorey Da Daan (Punjabi), Deool (Marathi)  &Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbo Na (Bengali).  Six films have won two awards each. These are Chillar Party (Hindi),  Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai(Tamil), Aaranyakandam (Tamil), Phijigee Mani (Manipuri) , ZindagiNa Milegi Dobara (Hindi) & Game (Hindi). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Best Actor award goes to Girish Kulkarni for film Deool(Marathi) and Best Actress to Vidya Balan for the film The Dirty Picture (Hindi). Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai (Tamil) won the award for Wholesome Entertainment, Chillar Party (Hindi) won Best Children Film, Best Director to  Gurvinder Singh for Punjabi  film Anhe Ghorey Da Daan , Best Singer to Anand Bhate (Male)  for Marathi film Balgandharva andRoopa Ganguly (Female) for the Bengali film Abosheyshey . Kumararaja Thiagarajan has won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut film of a Director.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the Non-Feature film category, three films have won two awards each.  The Film Tiger Dynasty has won the Best Environmental Film & Best Cinematography awards.  Awards for Best Direction and Best Editing have been taken away by the film. There is Something in the Air.  FilmPanchakki has been awarded Best Short Fiction and Best Music Direction.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The number of entries in all the three broad sections of awards ----Feature Films, Non-Feature Films and Best writing on Cinema have been increasing year by year.  The number of entries for 2011 stood at 186 in the feature films category, which is the highest in the history of the National Film Awards.  Last year, 161 entries were received in this category. Entries in the non-feature films category have also steadily rising and this year 156 entries as compared to 113 last year.  More and  more authors and writers are now sending their entries for awards in Best Writing on Cinema category.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India: Vice President Presents Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2011 to Renowned Bengali Actor Soumitra Chatterjee

Films Play a Significant Role in Portraying the Linguistic and Regional Diversity of the Culture - Vice President Vice President gives a...

New Show to Chronicle History of Indian Television

New Show to Chronicle History of Indian Television

NEW DELHI (NNN-Bernama) -- A new show titled `Inside Indian Television` is all set to revisit the history and transformation of the small ...

Madonna Album Released in Russia Three Days Early

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)--- Russia's largest search engine Yandex has made U.S. pop star Madonna's new album available for download three days before its worldwide release, the company said on Friday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The album, MDNA, is also available in Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, as a result of a deal between Yandex and the Russian branch of Universal Music.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It will be streamed online on Yandex's music site, Yandex Music, from March 23 through 26, and will be available to download for the first 100,000 listeners, the firm said in a press release.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The announcement comes just a day after Madonna condemned a new law in St. Petersburg banning "gay propaganda," pledging to speak out against the bill at her concert there in August.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"I will come to St Petersburg to speak up for the gay community and to give strength and inspiration to anyone who is or feels oppressed," the 53-year-old singer said in comments posted on her Facebook page. "I'm a freedom fighter."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Vitaly Milonov, a deputy with the ruling United Russia party and the legislation's principal architect, said he would personally attend the gig to watch for any violation of the law, which imposes fines of between 5,000 rubles and 500,000 rubles ($170 and $17,000) for "public actions aimed at promoting sodomy, lesbianism, bisexualism, and transgenderism" among minors.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">However, gay rights activists have vowed to hold protests if Madonna goes ahead with the St. Petersburg concert to "draw international attention to the problem of hypocrisy amongst western pop stars for the sake of massive profits in Russia."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, although homophobia remains widespread. A 2010 survey by the independent pollster Levada Center showed that 74 percent of Russians thought gays and lesbians were "amoral" and "mentally defective," while only 45 percent said they should enjoy the same rights as heterosexuals.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Madonna Album Released in Russia Three Days Early

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)--- Russia's largest search engine Yandex has made U.S. pop star Madonna's new album available for download thr...

'Make Chai, Not War' Showcase Brings Stand-Up Comedy to India

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><i>Three Indian-Americans use comedy to promote religious tolerance, break down prejudices and make people laugh.</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>By Matt Hilburn from Washington, DC</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;">Photo: Rajiv Satlay</span></i><i style="font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;"> Photo </span></i><i style="font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;">©</span></i><i style="font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;"> VOA</span></i><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 8pt;"> News</span></i></span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In the United States, a stand-up comedy routine about Indians in America is never complete without a joke about a miserly shopkeeper with a heavy accent, chasing away riffraff with a broom. But that stereotypical humor doesn't make much sense in India. At least that's what three Indian-American comedians have found on their unique tour of the South Asian nation.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The “Make Chai, Not War” showcase features comedians Rajiv Satyal, Azhar Usman and Hari Kondabolu. They use stand-up comedy to talk about religious tolerance, breaking down prejudices and their experiences growing up Indian-American in the United States.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While the tour sponsored by the U.S. State Department has lofty ambitions, Rajiv Satyal said, “Our goal is to make people laugh. I know that sounds simple, but it seems that can get lost sometimes in the grander scheme of things.”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Satyal added that he wanted to “make them laugh in the room and, make them think on the way home.”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“If you can change some minds through some of the things you’re saying, and get people to talk, then hopefully, we’re promoting religious and racial harmony without being preachy,” he said on the phone from Patna, the tour’s fourth stop.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The idea for the tour came from a State Department cultural attaché who saw Azhar Usman perform in London several years ago, according to State Department spokesperson Emily Horne. The officer brought Usman over for a tour in India, and he was so well received that the State Department decided to invite the full group this time.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While the focus of the two-week tour, which ends January 17, is stand-up comedy, the performers are also holding discussions with audiences, facilitating workshops and giving interviews to the media, said Horne. The group is making appearances in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Calcutta, Durgapur, Bombay and Patna.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The comedy routines have been well received, according to Satyal, playing to as many as 1,200 people in sold out shows. Satyal said he does the same act no matter where he’s performing, but he did say there have been occasions on the tour where he’s slowed down the pace to be more easily understood.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Not all of his jokes work as well in India as they do back home in the U.S. Satyal said he has stopped trying to get laughs using the stereotype in the U.S. that all convenience stores are owned by Indians. On the flipside, he said he can do jokes about the Indian stereotype that Gujaratis are very frugal, which would not be understood in the U.S.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Satyal also noted that his comedic style is often new to his Indian audiences.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Traditional Indian comedy has more mimicry of politicians and Bollywood stars, Satyal said, adding that stand-up is a very American form.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“To get up and talk about, 'Here’s who I am and here’s my point of view, here’s what I think,' … it’s very American,” he said. “[To say] 'Here are my foibles, here are my flaws and my faults,' is very new to Indians.”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Satyal got his start in comedy in 2002, when his brother spotted a newspaper ad for a contest for the funniest person in Cincinnati, Ohio, Satyal’s hometown in the Midwestern U.S. He made it to the semifinals the first time and won it the next year, he said.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Comedy is not a common path for Indian-Americans, many of whom are pushed by their parents into more traditional fields like medicine, academia, law and business.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Entertainment is kind of the last area someone would go into,” Satyal said, adding that for his parents’ generation, many don’t quite understand making fun of Indian-Americans in a self-deprecating way. But he said that his own parents, who came to the U.S. in the 1970s, have always been supportive of his decision to become a comedian.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Additionally, he thinks comedy can be a positive force for the Indian-American community.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Only when a community is doing well can comedians really emerge and make fun of it,” he said. “It’s actually a compliment that we’re making fun of ourselves.” ---VOA News</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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'Make Chai, Not War' Showcase Brings Stand-Up Comedy to India

Three Indian-Americans use comedy to promote religious tolerance, break down prejudices and make people laugh. By Matt Hilburn from Washing...

Hollywood Films Focus on Women Abused in Bosnian War

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">By Alan Silverman from Hollywood<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhooWcoxDxgCIhYioM1-GlcSJypiAjDlRIuyWVJIj0bgvpcFgtCJPbYyiZ5On25mWWzf1hjcLb3TqccDKRagR63NvfFYtF4-MzRDQSSiMjUao3UD3sY5ufI7LFHsvBaalMZYgwV65snPcA/s1600/In%252BThe%252BLand%252Bof%252BBlood%252BAnd%252BHoney%252BScene%252B480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhooWcoxDxgCIhYioM1-GlcSJypiAjDlRIuyWVJIj0bgvpcFgtCJPbYyiZ5On25mWWzf1hjcLb3TqccDKRagR63NvfFYtF4-MzRDQSSiMjUao3UD3sY5ufI7LFHsvBaalMZYgwV65snPcA/s1600/In%252BThe%252BLand%252Bof%252BBlood%252BAnd%252BHoney%252BScene%252B480.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Photo: Ken Regan <i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Photo </span>©<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> VOA</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> News</span></span></i></span></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Zana Marjanovic in a scene from " In the Land of Blood and Honey "</span></div></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Angelina Jolie makes her directing debut with a powerful drama set amid the "ethnic cleansing" of the Bosnian War. The drama, and another film on the atrocities in Bosnia, are drawn from true stories of brutality toward women in that 1990's conflict.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/exncU6xSDIw" width="640"></iframe> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Who were you …before the war?" asks Serbian commander Danijel of his captive, a Muslim woman named Ajila from Sarajevo. Their complicated relationship plays out during In The Land of Blood and Honey, written and directed by actress and human rights activist Angelina Jolie.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I just wanted to tell a story about human beings from all sides and how war affects them," explains Jolie.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Her visits to refugee camps and war zones as United Nations goodwill ambassador motivated Jolie to research and write the script about the systematic rapes and murders during the Bosnian conflict.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpkpptMMRIIsjci-m9r6roO9SH_tOrnwmHiGeMMIKuBcLKK4pIEeQE9tLkv4Gonun7UGoaWgvmkHxDMb103Yj8jxTxcbzKsuEjuNkkr5mITcF48QMf67E__d5yEgJ1VQEgWC5pIBAWWB4/s1600/ALB%252BANGELINA%252BJOLIE%252B300x300.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;">Angelina Jolie talks about "In The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Land</st1:placetype>  of </st1:place></span></i></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Blood And Honey</st1:placename></st1:place>"</span></i><i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Photo </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">©</span></i><i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> VOA</span></i><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background: white; font-size: 8.0pt;"> News</span></i></span><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><br />
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</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"When I started to look into it and I traveled to the region, I felt that I should have known more. This was in my generation and how do I not know enough? And why did it take us so long? Then at some point there was this script and it just sat on my desk for a while until Brad saw it one day and convinced me to show it to somebody and try," Jolie says.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">'Brad,' of course, is her husband and fellow celebrity, Brad Pitt. Concerned that it might appear to be a Hollywood star's 'vanity' project, Jolie kept her name off the script that was initially sent to cast members like Zana Marjanovic, who plays Ajila.  </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I think, first of all, that it's a very truthful representation of Bosnia. I am from a mixed marriage," notes Marjanovic.  "A lot of my friends are. And it's about all these beautiful things that could have happened between these people and the war made it impossible. That's actually my personal feeling toward the country where I was born and where I live now."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Serbian actors play the militia men who brutalize their Muslim women captives. Goran Kostic co-stars as Danijel, the troubled commander and Ajila's lover. He says his character does not represent all Serbians. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"The guilt is individual. We can not possibly blame a side and say all of the Serbs are the same or vice versa. I think everybody understands the nature of conflict, that no side is a clean side or the 'right' side. But we as artists have a duty to criticize ourselves, and I would expect that other artists from different groups in different countries would have the same strength and courage to criticize themselves."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In The Land of Blood and Honey is not the only cinematic portrayal of brutality against women during the Bosnian War. As If I Am Not There is based on a novel by Croatian journalist Slavenka Drakulic. It was made into a film by Irish writer-director Juanita Wilson.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I think there are so many people living with the devastating consequences that it will take a long time for it to heal," Wilson says, "but I firmly believe that telling stories is a really important part of healing and until people have that voice and can portray what has happened to them, that there never will be any understanding between any of us on this planet." </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Like Wilson, Jolie hopes her film can help bring understanding.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"I hope it brings dialogue in the region and around the world …and that people remember this time," Jolie says. "Many people who have seen the film said to me 'I feel ashamed' and there are many people who should."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Angelina Jolie's In The Land of Blood and Honey is currently at American theaters. Juanita Wilson's As If I Am Not There is Ireland's submission for this year's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. ---VOA News</span></div></div>

Hollywood Films Focus on Women Abused in Bosnian War

By Alan Silverman from Hollywood Photo: Ken Regan Photo © VOA News Zana Marjanovic in a scene from " In the Land of Blood and H...

‘Children Movies are always safe routes to take’ – Varun Mehta

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</span></span></h3><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">By<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.groundreport.com/krishnayadav"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Krishnayadav</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>  <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="facibeenhere"><span id="article_date"> </span></span><span class="facibeenhere"></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br clear="all" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <br clear="all" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> </span><o:p></o:p></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBT7uZzz0aI_qt8aOFaQy1Q5dKi_Cux2Ql6BG8S14iu_Nyh0YfJfNqOhm-wYC8DYA9CZjQZhSPyZdjKBIac-CoNJ7ecJt1sEnjoecDPQqjfnmCeHcTULUv9ikFmgD4sqdWd1dYJ6aICKc/s1600/The+Wonder+stone+Premiere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBT7uZzz0aI_qt8aOFaQy1Q5dKi_Cux2Ql6BG8S14iu_Nyh0YfJfNqOhm-wYC8DYA9CZjQZhSPyZdjKBIac-CoNJ7ecJt1sEnjoecDPQqjfnmCeHcTULUv9ikFmgD4sqdWd1dYJ6aICKc/s320/The+Wonder+stone+Premiere.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">The Wonder stone Premiere</span> Photo <a href="http://www.groundreport.com/includes/ajax/image_popup.php?image=2943434&image_id=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">© <span style="background: white;">GroundReport</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></i></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><a href="http://www.groundreport.com/Media_and_Tech/-Children-Movies-are-always-safe-routes-to-take-Va/2943434" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">GroundReport</span></a> </span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">- Making film on kids is a difficult job especially when it’s a message oriented film and the kids have to perform no lesser than the adults. It’s a big challenge but Varun Mehta claims to have succeeded in this. His Film ‘The Wonder Stone’ that talk about an adventure of an alien stone with the Kids finally saw its premiere on 28<sup>th</sup><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>of December 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The movie has already been in News by receiving honors at Children’s International Film Festival at Chennai followed by the Music Video ‘Evolution’ screened at Cristal Movie Awards at <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Switzerland</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The film stars 6 ordinary school kids from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Aligarh</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></st1:place> and Varun leaves no stone turned to have the environment rustic and true to the environment of the city. One of the kids find the alien stone and it results in an explosion only to give him majestic superpowers but the changes that leads to the conclusion is another story.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">When asked about the experience Varun replies – ‘It was a very very tough job…because it’s a one man’s show. I have worked on each and every frame of this movie from start to finish. It was really tiring but I am glad that I managed to complete it. I accept the flaws and I take the blame too. But In the end I know people will enjoy the film more.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">But why only Children? The film could have been on a large level with adults, Varun replied –“‘Sure, but the innocence of kids can’t be portrayed by adults. The emotions displayed by kids in this movie are far better than any senior artist and you will agree when you will watch the movie yourself’. Besides Children Movies are always safe routes to take. If you have made a good kiddo movie with a good story. Rarely people take the technical side for criticism.” The film has also been uploaded on YouTube on 31<sup>st</sup><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>of December 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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‘Children Movies are always safe routes to take’ – Varun Mehta

By Krishnayadav The Wonder stone Premiere Photo © GroundReport GroundReport - Making film on kids is a difficult job espe...

India: Actor Shahrukh Khan Facing Case for Dancing With Scantily Dressed Women in Kerala

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">KOCHI</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (NNN-Bernama) -- Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is in a spot with the police here, which registered a case against the actor on Thursday for violating provisions of Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act 1986, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Shah Rukh, who was here on Dec 4 for the inauguration of the showroom, had performed the popular number 'Chamak Challo' from his recently released movie 'RA.One', along with several skimpily clad artistes. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The police said the cases have been registered against Shah Rukh and partners of a textile showroom here, who organised the function, under Section 3, 6 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) act 1986 and under IPC sections 294 (obscene acts and songs), and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ernakulam Judicial First Class Magistrate A Ijas had directed police to register cases against the actor and partners of the private textile showroom after a petition by one Mathew Saju Pulluvuzhi.--NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India: Actor Shahrukh Khan Facing Case for Dancing With Scantily Dressed Women in Kerala

KOCHI (NNN-Bernama) -- Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is in a spot with the police here, which registered a case against the actor on...