MUMBAI: Better known for its romantic escapism, Bollywood is releasing a series of political satires during India’s election season that poke fun at corrupt lawmakers and religious tensions.
Featuring a goat, a ghost and a disputed dead body, three upcoming releases are aimed at making voters think before they cast their ballots — although none refers directly to real-life candidates.
In family entertainer “Bhoothnath Returns,” opening Friday, Bollywood’s biggest legend Amitabh Bachchan plays a friendly ghost who takes on an evil and corrupt local politician at the polls.
The comedy horror film “gives a serious message of voting through its storyline,” Bachchan told the Press Trust of India news agency.
“One vote can bring a sea-change in our country and I feel youth should participate in large numbers to bring that change,” said the 71-year-old, who has a history of politically-themed movies.
Director Nitesh Tiwari said the film is about the virtues of “sacrifice, courage and patriotism.”
“I hope children think this is how they want the future of their country to be, while adults should think that this is the difference they can make to the present. The theme is that we can all make a difference,” Tiwari said.
Also opening next month is “Yeh Hai Bakrapur” (“This is Bakrapur“), a socio-political satire which explores the complex belief systems in rural India through the story of a pet goat who acquires celebrity status in his village and surroundings.
Director Janaki Vishwanathan said she consciously chose to release her film bang in the middle of the world’s biggest elections.
“I believe that every decision we make in our life has a political angle — not only in terms of government and ministers but also the politics in daily life,” she told AFP.
“My film explores how the individual benefits from the larger politics and vice versa.”
“Dekh Tamasha Dekh” (“Watch the Spectacle“), releasing on April 18, is based on a true story recounted by a former police commissioner to director Feroz Abbas Khan, in which a poor man is crushed under the weight of a politician’s giant billboard.
Two groups subsequently claim the body as their own.
The film “was made to go out there at a time when people are in the frame of mind to make a very important decision, and at a time when they should know that this is all a big spectacle,” Khan said.
The results of India’s mammoth general elections are due on May 16, nearly six weeks after the start of voting.
The contest is largely between Narendra Modi of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rahul Gandhi of the ruling Congress party, whose father, grandmother and great-grandfather all served as prime minister.
The film “Youngistaan,” released on March 28, tells the story of a young prime minister struggling to balance his personal life with public office after taking on the job when his father dies — a character that several reports have likened to Gandhi’s own.
The lead actor Jackky Bhagnani denies that he is portraying the real-life politician — perhaps luckily for Gandhi, given that one critic described the movie as “brain-dead and largely insufferable.”
Bollywood has run up against politicians in the past, with films such as “Aandhi” (Storm) in 1975, allegedly based on the life of Indira Gandhi, Rahul’s grandmother and prime minister at the time.
She banned the film, which only released two years later after her electoral defeat.
Political issues have also been satirised in films such as the cult 1983 hit “Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro” (“Let it be, friends“) about exposing corruption, and “Peepli Live” in 2010 on the topic of farmer suicides.
A number of Indian film stars have gone into politics, capitalizing on their vast fan base.
One of the top regional politicians contesting this election is Jayalalithaa Jayaram, chief minister of Tamil Nadu state and a former siren of southern Indian cinema, whose party was set up by her late on-screen love interest M.G. Ramachandran.
In the northern state of Chandigarh, the actresses Kirron Kher and Gul Panag are going head-to-head for the BJP and the anti-corruption Aam Admi Party respectively.
One of Bollywood’s biggest names, Aamir Khan, is the face of a campaign to encourage voting — but it seems a number of actors will themselves be skipping the polling booths.
Voting day in Mumbai, the entertainment capital, clashes with a grand Bollywood awards ceremony in the United States, so the showbiz set are expected to decamp to Florida for a long weekend.
Bollywood turns political in India election season
Bollywood turns political in India election season
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Suspected Kashmir rebels kill Indian air force corporal
- Suspected rebels ambushed military convoy in Indian-administered Kashmir, Indian Air Force says
- Since 1989, rebel groups opposed to Indian rule have waged insurgency in disputed territory
SRINAGAR, India: An Indian air force member was killed and four more injured when suspected rebels ambushed a military convoy in Indian-administered Kashmir, an official statement said, as campaigning for national elections continues in the disputed territory.
The convoy was attacked by an unknown number of armed militants who sprayed automatic rifle fire toward at least one air force truck in the mountainous Poonch area, 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of the main city of Srinagar, the air force said in a statement.
Five air force personnel were hit in the firefight late Saturday and “one Air Warrior succumbed to his injuries later,” it said, identifying the dead man as a corporal.
A neighboring constituency took part in the first phase of India’s general election on April 19, and Poonch voters were originally scheduled to cast their ballots this week but the Election Commission of India has postponed the polling to May 25 because of inclement weather in recent days.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, with both claiming the high-altitude territory in full but administering it in parts.
Since 1989, rebel groups opposed to Indian rule have waged an insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir, demanding either independence or a merger with Pakistan.
The conflict has left tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and militants dead.
Rebel activity in the territory has registered an uptick since last month as campaigning for the elections picked up in the restive region.
In April, three suspected rebels were killed and a police officer and three soldiers wounded in three separate clashes across the territory.
Violence has drastically dropped since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked the region’s limited autonomy and stepped up a security chokehold.
Voting in India’s six-week-long national election, which started last month, will end on June 1.
Driver dies after crashing into White House perimeter gate, Secret Service says
- The driver was not immediately identified
WASHINGTON: A driver died after crashing a vehicle into a gate at the White House Saturday night, authorities said.
The driver was found dead in the vehicle following the crash shortly before 10:30 p.m. at an outer perimeter gate of the White House complex, the US Secret Service said in a statement.
Security protocols were implemented but there was no threat to the White House, the agency said.
The driver was not immediately identified.
The Secret Service will continue to investigate the matter, while turning over the fatal crash portion of the investigation to the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, the agency said.
Fake videos of Modi aides trigger political showdown in India election
- Indian police arrest nine people for circulating fake video of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah
- With more than 800 million Internet users, tackling misinformation in India is a huge challenge
BENGALURU/LUCKNOW: Manipulated videos are taking center stage as campaigning heats up in India’s election, with fake clips involving two top aides of Prime Minister Narendra Modi triggering police investigations and the arrest of some workers of his rival Congress party.
In what has been dubbed as India’s first AI election, Modi said last week fake voices were being used to purportedly show leaders making “statements that we have never even thought of,” calling it a conspiracy “to create tension in society.”
Indian police — already investigating the spread of fake videos showing Bollywood actors criticizing Modi — are now investigating a doctored online clip that showed federal home minister Amit Shah saying the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party will stop certain social guarantees for minorities, a subject sensitive for millions of voters.
Shah retorted on X, posting his “original” and the edited “fake” speech and alleging — without providing any evidence — that the main opposition Congress was behind the video it created to mislead the public. The minister said “directions have been issued to the police to address this issue.”
Indian police arrested at least nine people, including six members of Congress’ social media teams, in the states of Assam, Gujarat, Telangana and New Delhi last week for circulating the fake video, according to police statements.
Five of the Congress workers were released on bail, but the most high-profile arrest made by the cybercrime unit of New Delhi police came on Friday, when they detained a Congress national social media coordinator, Arun Reddy, for sharing the video. New Delhi is one region where Shah’s ministry directly controls police. Reddy has been sent into three-day custody.
The arrest has sparked protests from Congress workers with many posting on X using the #ReleaseArunReddy tag. Congress lawmaker Manickam Tagore said the arrest was an example of “authoritarian misuse of power by the regime.”
Congress’ head of social media, Supriya Shrinate, did not respond to messages and an email seeking comment.
MISINFORMATION
India’s election from April 19 to June 1 will be the world’s largest democratic event. With nearly a billion voters and more than 800 million Internet users, tackling the spread of misinformation is a high stakes job. It involves round-the-clock monitoring by police and election officials who often issue take down orders to Facebook and X as investigations start.
In India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, more than 500 people keep tabs on online content, flagging controversial posts and coordinating with social media companies for their removal when needed, police chief Prashant Kumar told Reuters on Saturday.
Another fake video that sparked a storm last week showed Yogi Adityanath, the state’s chief minister, criticizing Modi for not doing enough for families of those who died in a 2019 militant attack. Though fact checkers said the video was created using different parts of an original clip, state police called it an “AI generated, deepfake.”
Using Internet address tracking, state police arrested a man named Shyam Gupta on May 2 who had shared the fake video post on X a day earlier, receiving over 3,000 views and 11 likes.
The police have accused Gupta of forgery and promoting enmity under Indian law provisions that can carry a jail term of up to seven years if convicted. Reuters could not reach him as he is currently serving a 14-day custody period.
“This person is not a tech guy. Had he been tech savvy, arresting him quickly would not have been possible,” said police officer Kumar.
Australian police shoot boy dead after stabbing with ‘hallmarks’ of terrorism
SYDNEY,: Australian police said on Sunday they had shot dead a boy after he stabbed a man in Western Australia’s capital Perth, in an attack authorities said indicated terrorism.
There were signs the 16-year-old, armed with a kitchen knife, had been radicalized online, state authorities said, adding they received calls from concerned members of the local Muslim community before the attack, which occurred late on Saturday night.
The attack, in the suburb of Willetton, had “hallmarks” of terrorism but was yet to be declared a terrorist act, police said.
“At this stage it appears that he acted solely and alone,” Western Australia Premier Roger Cook told a televised press conference in the state capital Perth, regarding the attacker.
The victim, stabbed in the back, was stable in hospital, authorities said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had been briefed on the incident by police and intelligence agencies, which advised there was no ongoing threat.
“We are a peace-loving nation and there is no place for violent extremism in Australia,” Albanese said on social media platform X.
The incident comes after New South Wales police last month charged several boys with terrorism-related offenses in investigations following the stabbing of an Assyrian Christian bishop while he was giving a live-streamed sermon in Sydney, on April 15.
The attack on the bishop came only days after a stabbing spree killed six in the Sydney beachside suburb of Bondi.
Gun and knife crime is rare in Australia, which consistently ranks among the safest countries in the world, according to the federal government. (Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and William Mallard)
North Korea’s UN ambassador says new sanctions monitoring groups will fail
- Earlier this year, Russia vetoed the annual renewal of a panel of experts amid US-led accusations that North Korea has transferred weapons to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine
SEOUL: Efforts led by the US and other Western countries to form new groups to monitor sanctions on North Korea will fail, the country’s UN envoy said on Sunday, according to state media KCNA.
Ambassador Kim Song made the comment in response to a joint statement the US and its allies issued this week calling to continue the work of a UN panel of experts monitoring longstanding sanctions against Pyongyang for its nuclear weapons and missile programs.
Earlier this year, Russia vetoed the annual renewal of the panel amid US-led accusations that North Korea has transferred weapons to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine.
“The hostile forces may set up the second and third expert panels in the future but they are all bound to meet self-destruction with the passage of time,” KCNA quotes Kim as saying in a statement.
Last month, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield visited the Demilitarized Zone, a heavily fortified border between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war and urged Russia and China to stop rewarding North Korea for its bad behavior.
Her trip came after Russia rejected the annual renewal of the multinational panel of experts that has over the past 15 years monitored the implementation of UN sanctions aimed at curbing North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
