The trailer launch of Maidaan took place today, with Ajay Devgn, Priyamani, Boney Kapoor, and others in attendance.
 

Ajay Devgn was dressed in a grey shirt and black jeans, while Priyamani looked beautiful in a blue saree with gold embroidery.

The actors posed with the team, holding a football to symbolize the film’s focus on the life and journey of football coach Syed Abdul Rahim. Rahim led the team to victory during the years 1952-1962, including winning the Asian Games. He is known as the architect of modern Indian football.

Directed by Amit Sharma and produced by Boney Kapoor, the film stars Ajay Devgn in the lead role.

 
Checkout the pictures here:

A day after it emerged that a Hyderabad man duped into joining Russia’s war against Ukraine has been killed, the CBI on Thursday busted a ring involved in trafficking Indians to the country, officials said.   

Nearly two dozen Indians are believed to have been forced into fighting Russia’s war after being tricked into going to the country on the pretext of getting high-paying jobs. 

The investigation agency registered a case and began carrying out raids at over 10 locations in seven cities associated with the agents and firms involved in the trafficking. The raids are being conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Ambala, Chandigarh and Madurai, and some suspects have been detained for questioning. 

During the raids, it has emerged that the number of Indians sent by these firms to Russia and Ukraine is 35. “It is not clear whether all of them have been forced to take part in the war,” said an official. 

The CBI’s case also names Dubai-based Faisal Khan alias Baba, who runs the YouTube channel Baba Vlogs. Khan’s name has cropped up repeatedly in NDTV’s conversations with families whose sons were taken to Russia and then forced into the country’s war effort after being promised jobs as security guards or labourers, but with high wages. 

Apart from Khan’s firm, Baba Vlogs Overseas Recruitment Solutions Pvt Ltd, three other companies have been named – one each from Mumbai, Delhi and Chandigarh. The directors of the companies are also accused in the case but it is not yet clear whether they or their companies were working with Khan or operating independently. 

Officials said incriminating documents, electronic devices like desktops, laptops and phones, and Rs 50 lakh in cash have been seized in the raids. 

US President Joe Biden will use his State of the Union address Thursday to attack election rival Donald Trump for plotting “revenge and retribution” while offering skeptical voters his own optimistic version of an American comeback.

In one of the most important speeches of his long political career, the 81-year-old Democrat will try to ease growing concerns among voters about his age by painting himself as the only alternative to to anti-democratic Trump in November’s election.

“My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy,” Biden was to say in the primetime speech starting at 9:00 pm (0200 GMT), according to excerpts released by the White House.

“Now some other people my age, see a different story,” he said in a clear dig at Trump, although without mentioning his name. “An American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That’s not me.”

The oldest president in US history, Biden narrowly trails in the polls behind Republican former president Trump, who at 77 is just four years younger than him.

Biden routinely paints Trump — who was impeached twice and faces multiple criminal indictments including for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss — as a threat to the survival of US democracy.

In his speech, Biden was also to slam Republican abortion opponents, saying they have “no clue about the power of women in America,” in what Democrats see as a key vote-winning issue.

With many Americans struggling from high prices, Biden was to say of the US economy that “in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told.”

Biden was also set to use the annual speech on the floor of Congress to overcome doubts about US support for Israel’s war on Hamas, and for Washington’s backing for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.

Biden was to announce during the speech that he has ordered the US military to set up a port on Gaza’s coast to bring in more aid, reflecting the acute political pressure from many in his own party on the issue.

Biden’s age under scrutiny

However, the millions of Americans tuning in to the spectacle will be watching not just what Biden says in the joint session of Congress, but how he says it.

Will he stumble, for example? Or will he mix up the names of people and countries, deepening concerns fueled by a recent special counsel report that described him as elderly and forgetful?

The White House said Biden was fully prepared for the speech — and ready for any repeat of last year’s heckling by Trump allies, which he successfully parried with spirited ripostes.

Ahead of the speech, Trump said Biden was “on the run from his record” and accused him of “horrific devastation” during his three years so far in office.

Trump vowed a “rapid response” to Biden during the speech.

“It’s time to tell Crooked Joe Biden — you’re fired,” Trump said in a video “prebuttal”, making a well-worn reference to the catchphrase of his former TV reality show “The Apprentice.”

Trump, who is seeking a historic White House comeback, continually mocks Biden’s health and mental acuity, despite his own repeated verbal slips.

The White House meanwhile released a light-hearted video showing Biden talking to Hollywood stars who have previously played US presidents, including Geena Davis, Michael Douglas and Morgan Freeman.

In line with tradition, First Lady Jill Biden will host a number of guests chosen to highlight the White House’s priorities. 

This year they include a Texan woman forced to leave the state for an abortion, auto workers leader Shawn Fain, whose union recently backed Biden, and the prime minister of Sweden, which became NATO newest member on Thursday.

Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska and the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were both invited but were unable to attend, the White House said.

The speech comes two days after Trump and Biden all-but set up a rematch of the 2020 election with their sweeping wins in this week’s “Super Tuesday” primaries — but it is a sequel that polls show many US voters do not actually want.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)