Akshay Kumar’s flop movie Raksha Bandhan joins Lall Singh Chaddha, another flop of Bollywood

Movies of Akshay Kumar usually become box office best sellers. However, his latest outing in Raksha Bandhan failed to impress the audience. Normally, a movie must have a story that appeals to the viewer. This movie was directed by Anand L. Rai was unable to create any ripple. Its title relates to a popular Hindu festival of brothers and sisters. The entire team of the film tried to improve visibility but things did not work out. As a media said – “The film went on, sank and nobody bothered to care.” Why did Akshay Kumar's Raksha Bandhan fail at the box-office? Netizens in knots over flop. He is an actor who loves movies with plenty of action like Mission Mangal, Airlift, Khiladi etcetera but this did not have much scope for such heroics. Who knows – if someone else would have played the role of the hero in place of Akshay Kumar, the outcome might have been different.

The story as per IMDb should have been a hit. It revolves around Lala Kedarnath (played by Akshay Kumar). He was the eldest and only brother of 4 sisters. His father used to run a chaat shop. Lala’s mother was on her deathbed and he promises her that he will marry only after he gets his sisters married off into suitable homes. In the process, he faces hiccups on his romantic life. It was with his childhood love Sapna (Bhumi Pedneker). She decides to wait till Lala’s sisters are married off. It is strange that Anand L. Rai failed here even though he had given movies like Tanu Weds Manu and Tanu Weds Manu Returns.

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21st annual Puri beach festival takes off with innumerable events

The 21st annual Puri beach festival took off with innumerable cultural performances and adventurous water sporting events lined up. The event started with a vedpath (chanting of vedic hymns), sankhadhwani (blowing of conch) and a display of fireworks.
In the three-day fest, there will be artistes from across the country performing their acts.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 26 November 2016.

The cultural evening began with a performance by Mahari dancer Rupashree Mahapatra and her team - the Odissi recital narrated the relationship between Lord Jagannath and his disciple. Incidentally, Mahari began in the Jagannath temple in Puri and was a ritual dance for the deities and has laid the foundation of the classical dance form of Odissi.
Then there was dances performed by artistes from Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra's Odissi school Srjan. Also performing was Kathak dancers of Arpana Rao and troupe from Mumbai apart from several folk dance forms. Melody troupes enthralled the audience with chart-buster songs from Bollywood. Against the backdrop of the scenic beach, the performances were extremely blissful.
Apart from cultural activities, there are a number of beach and adventure sports planned like beach karate, beach kabadi, volleyball, malkhamb, judo, and para sailing.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Teenagers in Jaipur take to crime to lead celebrity lifestyles

Teenagers in Jaipur have taken to crime to finance their desires to participate in in TV reality shows and become famous - they want to live a grand life as they see cine stars do. That desire is tempting them to embrace crime in a big way.
The Rajasthan police have busted a number of such gangs in past few weeks - the criminals as young as 19 have carried out robberies in the hope of laying hands on large amount of cash. Their intention is to try their lucks in Bollywood, settle in Mumbai, buy expensive clothes and live luxurious lives in metros like Delhi or Mumbai.
This has been reported timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 10 August 2016.

It seems on August 7, the Jaipur Police arrested two 19-year-old boys who tried to loot an ATM in Jhalana area. During interrogation it transpired that they came from poor families and wanted cash to take part in Bollywood auditions and, subsequently, live a celebrity lifestyle in Mumbai.
As a senior police official has explained - this is a new set of young criminals who are willing to go to any extent to pursue their celluloid dreams. hey are attracted to movies and lifestyle shows they watch on the television, and want cash to buy expensive clothes, and gadgets. Their usual targets are the ATMs which they perceive as the treasure trove of cash and many of them are first time criminals. They come to big cities like Jaipur and are exposed to modern lifestyle. Their parents think that their boys are studying in college but they carry out such heinous activities.


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Salman Khan is sentenced to five years in jail over the 2002 hit-and-run case

#SalmanKhan #Bollywood #Mumbai #SalmanVerdict At long last Bollywood superstar 49-year-old Salman Khan has been sentenced to five years in jail on a hit-and-run case of 2002 in which he had crashed his car into a group of pavement dwellers rusting in the death of one man.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 6 May 2015.

The judge has convicted the superstar of culpable homicide over the hit-and-run. The incident happened at the end of a night out drinking in Mumbai in 2002. The superstar had blamed his driver for the crash and faced a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
However, during the trial, which began last year after several legal hold-ups, witnesses had claimed that the star himself was at the wheel when his Toyota Land Cruiser mounted the pavement and ploughed into five homeless men as they slept.
It seems one of the witnesses had said - "Salman was so drunk he fell. He stood but he fell again and then he ... ran away."
Salman Khan had earlier been convicted of killing an endangered Indian gazelle in 1998. Moreover, he had reportedly assaulted Aishwarya Rai, a Bollywood actress and former Miss World, after their relationship broke down.
Incidentally, because of this conviction, Bollywood could now lose more than $31m (£20m) because they might have to cancel the blockbusters in which Salman Khan was due to appear in.

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