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Siddique Rape Case: Malayalam actor celebrates his 62nd birthday with family days after evading police
onmynews.com

Siddique Rape Case: Malayalam actor celebrates his 62nd birthday with family days after evading police

Trigger Warning: This particular article contains information regarding sexual assault, which might be triggering for some readers. 

Malayalam actor Siddique, who has been accused of sexual harassment by actress Revathy Sampath, was seen celebrating his birthday with family after being on the run, evading the Kerala police. The Malayalam actor celebrated his 62nd birthday and the photos were shared by his son Shaheen Siddique on his official social media pages. Check out the pictures below!

Shaheen Siddique shared two posts on his father’s birthday. In one, he captioned it as ‘Happy Bday Vapichi’ and the other as ‘Family (sic)”. In the pictures, the Malayalam actor can be seen spending some happy moments with his family, especially his newborn granddaughter. The pictures have gone viral on social media because of the actor’s alleged recent involvement in the sexual harassment case. It is pertinent to mention that Siddique had gone absconding after the High Court rejected his pre-anticipatory bail. Following this, the Kerala police issued a lookout notice for the actor. 

However, after days of remaining absconding, Siddique made his public appearance on Tuesday (October 1) when he arrived to meet his lawyer with his son. The Malayalam actor left the venue without making any comment to the press. 

Meanwhile, after the High Court rejected his bail plea on September 24, he challenged the lower court’s verdict in the Supreme Court. As a major relief to the actor, Siddique was granted interim protection from arrest. 

After a complaint by Revathy, Siddique resigned as the General Secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA). The Malayalam actor has been charged with rape (Section 376) and criminal intimidation (Section 506) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Revathy in her complaint said, “Siddique first contacted me through social media. Later, following the promotion of the movie ‘Sukhamayirikkatte’, he invited me to his hotel room. I was 21 years old then. He sexually assaulted me and even locked me inside the room. However, I managed to escape,” as quoted by Onmanorama. 

It is worth mentioning that the sexual assault case against the Chattambinadu actor comes amid multiple FIRs filed against various Malayalam film fraternity figures after the release of the Hema Committee report.

Disclaimer: If you or anyone you know is suffering from any kind of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse, do not hesitate to seek help. There are several helplines available for the same; remember, you are not alone in the fight.

ALSO READ: TFCC to take action against woman complainant after Jani Master’s wife accused her of ‘trapping’ wealthy men

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Jigra: Vedang Raina used to say ‘original ko kharab kardiya’ for song renditions until he sang Phoolon Ka Taaro Ka for Alia Bhatt’s film
onmynews.com

Jigra: Vedang Raina used to say ‘original ko kharab kardiya’ for song renditions until he sang Phoolon Ka Taaro Ka for Alia Bhatt’s film

Phoolon Ka Taaron Ka is a classic Hindi song that perfectly embodies the loving bond between a brother and a sister. It was composed by R.D. Burman and sung by Kishore Kumar. Recently, Jigra actor Vedang Raina sang a fresh rendition of the same song for his upcoming movie with Alia Bhatt. He mentioned that he always believed that a new rendition always ‘ruined the original song’ like many others before he went ahead to sing one himself. 

Vedang Raina sat down for a conversation with Tried & Refused Productions and recalled his experience singing a fresh rendition of Phoolon Ka Taaron Ka for his upcoming film, Jigra, co-starring Alia Bhatt. The film uses the song to add an emotional depth to its plot around the love of a sibling bond.

Phoolon Ka Taaron Ka is originally from the 1971 film Hare Rama Hare Krishna. At its release, the song was an instant hit and became a memorable song for generations to come. Since the song was a classic, Vedang was nervous about singing a fresh rendition. 

He said, “I remember this thought creeped in right before it came out, ‘I have done a rendition of an RD Burman song which Kishore da sang.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God’. I’m that person who hears renditions of songs, and I’m like, ‘Original ko kharab kardiya (They have ruined the original).'” 

However, he had little time to react and express his views because the song was recorded quickly. Also, the song recording process took place many days after they had completed their shoot. 

The Archies star revealed that the team had initially decided to sing another song for the same purpose. But, one day, the film’s director, Vasan Bala, suddenly told him to get his guitar when Vedang was supposed to go for a dubbing session in the movie.

Later, when he learned he was supposed to sing a new version of Phoolon Ka Taaron Ka for their film, he confirmed its lyrics and mentally prepared himself for it. In addition, he revealed that earlier the song was not planned to be a single. Neither was it supposed to be released separately. Instead, Phoolon Ka was just recorded in a shabby way to put it in the film’s edit to add emotional depth.

Explaining how it became a proper song, he said: “That version he put out, and I think people liked it. The idea came again when the teaser trailer was getting cut. That’s when I properly went and recorded in the studio.”

On the work front, Vedang Raina debuted with the 2023 film The Archies, and his next movie, Jigra co-starring Alia Bhatt will be released in theaters on October 11, 2024.

ALSO READ: Jigra: Vedang Raina has THIS message for his 15-year-old self as he turns singer for Phoolon Ka Taaro Ka in his and Alia Bhatt’s film

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“Cops To Stop Probe”: Supreme Court Pauses High Court Order Against Sadhguru
onmynews.com

“Cops To Stop Probe”: Supreme Court Pauses High Court Order Against Sadhguru

The Supreme Court today paused a Madras High Court order, asking Tamil Nadu police to investigate cases filed against spiritual leader Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation. The top court transferred the case to itself and asked the police to file a status report.

The bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, was hearing Isha Foundation’s challenge against the high court order, following which hundreds of police personnel entered Isha Foundation’s premises in Coimbatore on Tuesday.

The high court’s direction came after retired professor S Kamaraj filed a petition, alleging that his two daughters Geeta and Lata were “brainwashed to reside at Isha Yoga Centre” in Coimbatore. He alleged that the foundation did not allow them to maintain any contact with their family.

Isha Foundation has denied the allegations and said the two women — aged 42 and 39 — had been staying at the foundation’s premises willingly. The two women were also produced in the high court, where they confirmed this.

Isha Foundation also said the petitioner and others tried to trespass into the premises under the pretext of being members of a fact-finding committee.

Hearing the matter, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud noted that a doctor at the Foundation’s Ashram was recently charged with child abuse under the stringent POCSO Act and said the probe must continue. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Isha Foundation, said the alleged incidents did not happen on its campus.

The Chief Justice then asked if the two women were online so that the bench, also comprising Justice JB Pardiwala, could speak to them. Mr Rohatgi said they were.

The Chief Justice then noted, “The first thing is that you cannot let an army of police in the establishment like this… what we will do is ask a judicial officer to visit the premises, and talk to these two inmates.”

One of the women appeared before the court virtually and reiterated that they were at the ashram willingly. She alleged that their father had been harassing them for the past eight years.

Noting that this was a habeus corpus petition, the Chief Justice said, “We would like to hear both monks in the chamber and come back in five minutes.”

The Chief Justice later said the women had told them that they joined the Ashram when they were 24 and 27, respectively, and were living there willingly. The court also noted that the mother of the two women had filed a similar petition eight years back.

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