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Angelina Jolie visits Burkina Faso as U.N. Special Envoy
Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie has visited war-weakened Burkina Faso to show solidarity with people who continue to welcome the displaced, despite grappling with their own insecurity, and said the world isn’t doing enough to help.
“The humanitarian crisis in the Sahel seems to me to be totally neglected. It is treated as being of little geopolitical importance,” Jolie told the Associated Press. “There’s a bias in the way we think about which countries and which people matter.”
Read: Burkina Faso says at least 100 civilians killed in attack
While Burkina Faso has been battling a five-year Islamic insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State that’s killed thousands and displaced more than one million people, it is also hosting more than 22,000 refugees, the majority Malian.
As Special Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Jolie marked World Refugee Day on Sunday in Burkina Faso’s Goudoubo refugee camp in the Sahel, where she finished a two-day visit. She spoke with the camp’s Malian refugees and internally displaced people in the nation’s hard-hit Center-North and Sahel regions.
After 20 years of work with the U.N. refugee agency, Jolie told the AP the increasing displacement meant the world was on a “terrifying trajectory towards instability”, and that governments had to do something about the conflicts driving the vast numbers of refugees.
“Compared to when I began working with UNHCR twenty years ago, it seems like governments have largely given up on diplomacy ... countries which have the least are doing the most to support the refugees,” she said.
Read:Churchill painting owned by Angelina Jolie sells for $11.5M
“The truth is we are not doing half of what we could and should ... to enable refugees to return home, or to support host countries, like Burkina Faso, coping for years with a fraction of the humanitarian aid needed to provide basic support and protection,” Jolie said.
Malians began fleeing to Burkina Faso in 2012 after their lives were upended by an Islamic insurgency, where it took a French-led military intervention to regain power in several major towns. The fighting has since spread across the border to Burkina Faso, creating the fastest growing displacement crisis in the world. Last month Burkina Faso experienced its deadliest attack in years, when gunmen killed at least 132 civilians in Solhan village in the Sahel’s Yagha province, displacing thousands.
The increasing attacks are stretching the U.N.’s ability to respond to displaced people within the country as well as the refugees it’s hosting.
“Funding levels for the response are critically low and with growing numbers of people forced to flee ... the gap is widening,” UNHCR representative in Burkina Faso Abdouraouf Gnon-Konde told the AP.
Read:Angelina Jolie lauds Bangladesh’s leadership role in Rohingya crisis
The attacks are also exacerbating problems for refugees who came to the country seeking security.
“We insisted on staying (in Burkina Faso), (but) we stay with fear. We are too scared,” said Fadimata Mohamed Ali Wallet, a Malian refugee living in the camp. “Today there is not a country where there isn’t a problem. This (terrorism) problem covers all of Africa,” she said.
Metal fans mosh at 1st UK live music festival since pandemic
Thousands of heavy metal fans were camping, singing — and even moshing — on Saturday at Britain’s first full music festival since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The three-day Download Festival, taking place at Donington Park in central England, is one of a series of test events to see whether mass gatherings can resume without triggering outbreaks of COVID-19.
About 10,000 fans, a tenth of the festival’s pre-pandemic attendance, secured tickets to watch more than 40 U.K.-based bands including Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Enter Shikari and Bullet for My Valentine.
Attendees all took COVID-19 tests before the event, and don’t have to wear masks or follow social distancing rules during the festival.
Promoter Andy Copping said there was a “real sense of euphoria” at the event, which runs through Sunday, despite the wet weather lashing much of the U.K. after several weeks of warm sunshine.
“It wouldn’t be Download unless there was a bit of rain,” he said.
Concertgoer Alexander Milas said rain and mud would not mar the event.
“In a way it makes it better,” he said. “It is amazing how that brings people together. The sheer misery and joy of being around a lot of like-minded, really wonderful people. I feel like it is perfect because it’s like ‘Weather be damned, we are going to have a great time.’”
Britain has recorded almost128,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest toll in Europe. The government has delayed the lifting of remaining social and economic restrictions for four weeks from the planned June 21 date amid a rise in cases driven by the highly contagious delta variant first identified in India.
Health officials are aiming to give everyone 18 and over in the U.K. a first dose of vaccine by July 19, and to have everyone over 50 fully vaccinated with both doses.
All mass events in Britain were canceled in March 2020 when the country entered the first of three lockdowns. Crowds are starting to return to performances and sporting events as part of the pilot program, with capacity limits being increased despite a nationwide surge in infections.
A Euro 2020 soccer semi-final and the tournament final at Wembley Stadium in July will be played in front of 40,000 fans, about half capacity. The government plans to allow full-capacity crowds of 15,000 to watch the women’s and men’s Wimbledon tennis finals on July 10 and 11.
Rapper IDK to launch music business program through Harvard
Rapper IDK is launching a music business program through Harvard University for students of color.
IDK’s No Label Academy, a 10-day program, will take place August 21-31 on the school’s campus in Boston and will help students kickstart careers in the music industry. Applications opened this week and students who are accepted will receive free tuition.
“I decided to create this program for the purpose of letting people in the BIPOC community know that a job in the arts is a lot more realistic than what society makes it seem these days,” IDK, 29, said in a statement.
READ: 'Nothing less than a giant': Rapper-actor DMX dies at 50
IDK is partnering with Nike and other brands to launch the comprehensive program. Brian K. Price, clinical professor of law at Harvard Law School and director of the Transactional Law Clinics, said he’s accepted the invitation to serve as an adviser for the new program “because education is key to launching and maintaining a successful enterprise.”
“Anyone aspiring to do music as a business must think like and excel as an entrepreneur. There must be a foundation of knowledge and how to apply that knowledge. Learning from experience is one way; learning from ‘the experienced’ is another,” he said. “I’m happy to support initiatives that help learners understand how to make wise decisions.”
READ: Rapper YG arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of robbery
Bangladesh Short Film and Documentary Festival begins Friday
Here's some good news for movie buffs. The third edition of the Bangladesh Short Film and Documentary Festival will begin on June 18.
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, it will be a virtual event this year, according to Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.
Read: First-ever Bangladesh European Union Film Festival (BEUFF) kicks off online
A total of 119 films -- 81 fictional and 38 documentaries -- will be shown at this year's event that will virtually run till June 25. The Academy is dedicating this year's festival to the legendary filmmaker Hiralal Sen.
BSA Director General Liaquat Ali Lucky and Director of the Academy's Theatre and Film Department, Afsana Karim Mimi, shared the details of the festival at a virtual press meet streamed on its Facebook page on June 16.
State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid will virtually inaugurate the festival at 5 pm on June 18 as the chief guest.
Read:Rehana Maryam Noor: The Bangladeshi Film in the prestigious list of Cannes
Secretary of the Ministry of Culture Badrul Arefin, noted filmmaker Amitabh Reza Chowdhury and prominent film scholar-researcher Anupam Hayat will join the inauguration ceremony as special guests, while Mimi will deliver the welcome speech.
The inauguration ceremony will be chaired by the BSA Director General.
At the virtual press briefing, the organisers said that of the 400-plus films submitted, the 119 were selected by a five-member selection committee.
Read: First Bangladeshi film in Cannes' Un Certain Regard: After Matir Moyna, 'Rehana Maryam Noor' makes history
Hayat, advisor to Bangladesh Documentary Council Sazzad Zahir, Secretary General of Bangladesh Short Film Forum Rakibul Hasan, film critic Sadia Khalid, and Assistant Director of BSA's Theatre and Film Department Chakladar Mostafa Al Masoud are the members of the committee.
A five-member jury will select the best films of the festival. The jurors are Bangladesh Documentary Council President Faridur Rahman, Bangladesh Short Film Forum President Zahidur Rahman Anjan, filmmaker Amitabh Reza Chowdhury, actress Mimi and eminent filmmaker Syed Salahuddin Zaki.
Seven separate awards will be conferred on the recipients, based on each of the two categories (fictional films and documentaries).
Read: Female filmmakers of Bangladesh have made their mark in the industry
The festival will also feature three masterclasses from June 21st to June 23rd at 6 pm. These masterclasses will be conducted by Amitabh Reza Chowdhury, Shabnam Ferdousi and Lawrence Apu Rozario.
BSA organised this exclusive film festival in 2016 and 2018 across all the 64 districts of Bangladesh.
'Ahimsa – Gandhi: The Power of the Powerless' decodes the force of nonviolence
"Ahimsa Gandhi" sheds the light on the eternal influence of nonviolence including the impact of Gandhi's philosophy on Emmy nominee and journalist Ramesh Sharma's one-and-a-half-hour film "Ahimsa Gandhi: The Power of the Powerless" shows how the Gandhian message of nonviolence went across the world. It has won the Best Documentary Award at the New York Indian Film Festival this year. The title song of the film has been sung by AR Rahman and Bono.
Insights into the Documentary
world leaders like Martin Luther King Jr, former South African president Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama.
The film also shows how the Gandhian message of nonviolence shaped South Africa's Anti-Apartheid Movement, the US Civil Rights Movement, Poland's Solidarity Movement, and the then Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution.
Also read: Let's be inspired by Gandhi’s spirit: UN chief
It masterfully crafts Nelson Mandela's fight against injustice and struggle to restore basic human rights for the coloured citizens of his country.
The film, starred by Ramesh Sharma himself, decodes the power of nonviolence as a whole and its relevance today.
Along with the interviews of world-renowned scholars, biographers; close family members of Mahatma Gandhi and Nobel laureates such as the Dalai Lama, former Polish president Lech Walesa, the documentary presents rare archival footage, photographs, and inspirational songs.
Also read: Indian HC celebrates Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniv
The Maker of Ahimsa Gandhi
Ramesh, who has written and directed "Ahimsa Gandhi," came to the limelight after winning his first national award for his documentary on Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim. His political thriller film "New Delhi Times" won several National Film Awards.
Since then Ramesh has been actively involved in thefilm and television business. He has written, directed, and produced numerous films as well as documentaries.
Ramesh Sharma's 78-minute documentary "The Journalist and The Jihadi: The Murder of Daniel Pearl" was his joint work with HBO. It was nominated for two Emmy awards in 2007. The documentary also won the national award in India for the best investigative work of the year.
Also read: PM feels the necessity of Gandhian approach in today’s divisive world
Verdict
To bring the philosophy and inspiration of Gandhi back among the youths, the story of the iconic leader needs to be told in a new narrative style so that the new audience can connect with it. And "Ahimsa Gandhi" brings the eternal message of non-violence to the screen in a different way.
Dhaka, OIC Youth Capital 2020-21: Bangabandhu-Youth Art Competition begins June 17
A month-long virtual exhibition, part of the program for capital Dhaka serving as the OIC Youth Capital 2020-21, titled ‘Bangabandhu-Youth Art Competition’ is going to begin June 17, organised, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA).
A hundred works of art selected in four categories will be displayed in this special virtual exhibition.
The virtual exhibition will be inaugurated on June 17 at 4 pm by State Minister for Youth and Sports Zahid Ahsan Russell as the chief guest. Taha Ayhan, President of the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum ICYF, Istanbul, Turkey will also join the event as the guest of honour at the virtual inauguration ceremony.
READ: 9th Liberation DocFest concludes: '3 Logical Exits' wins top prize
Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Akhtar Hossain, Secretary of the Ministry of Culture Badrul Arefin will also join the inauguration ceremony as special guests, while the Director General of BSA Liaquat Ali Lucky will deliver the welcome speech.
The inauguration ceremony will be chaired by State Minister for Culture KM Khalid.
Details regarding this special exhibition was announced at a virtual press conference on Tuesday. BSA Director General Liakat Ali Lucky and Director of Fine Arts Department Syeda Mahbuba Karim were present at the press conference held on the official Facebook page of BSA, hosted by its Public Relations Officer Hasan Mahmud.
A total of 335 artists aged 18-35 from 57 member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other countries registered themselves to participate in the competition from Bangladesh, Asia and other countries of the world. There were four mediums of the competition - Contemporary Art, Calligraphy, Photography and Graphic Design.
Participatory artists competed on six subjects of the paintings, including Bangabandhu and Bangladesh, COVID-19 Pandemic, Humanity in Refugee Crisis, Youth Spirit in Technology, Islamic Art, and Climate Change.
The judges from Bangladesh are Professor Jamal Ahmed, Professor Moinuddin Ahmed, artist Syeda Mahbuba Karim on Contemporary Art; Mustafa Zaman, Mahbub Morshed, Ferdous Ara Begum on Calligraphy, Professor Mamun Kaiser, Professor Naima Haque, artist Farzana Ahmed on Graphic Design and eminent photographer Nasir Ali Mamun, Khandaker Mofizul Islam and M Yusuf Ali on Photography.
Judges who selected the artworks from Asia and other regions are Professor Basma Dajani (Jordan), Ferdous Ara Begum and Mustafa Zaman on Calligraphy; Professor Dr Marcus Graf (Germany), Ahmet Albayrak (Turkey), Kornelija Koneska (Macedonia), Professor Moinuddin Ahmed, Syeda Mahbuba Karim on Contemporary Art, Shaikha Al Marri (Qatar), Professor Naima Haque, Professor Mamun Kaiser on Graphic Design and Murat Gur (Turkey), Mostafa Mahfouz Nouh (Egypt), Nasir Ali Mamun and Khandaker Mufizul Islam on Photography.
READ: First-ever Bangladesh European Union Film Festival (BEUFF) kicks off online
Each category will include a grand award comprising a certificate and USD 2500. Besides, all four categories will feature 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes for artists representing the three regions. Each 1st prize winner will receive USD 500 while the 2nd prize winner will get USD 300 and the 3rd prize winner will receive USD 200, according to the organizers.
The exhibition will be available for the art admirers at the virtual galleries and websites of BSA and OIC.
Pori Moni files sexual assault complaint against Uttara Club’s ex-president Nasiruddin, 5 others
Dhallywood star Pori Moni on Monday filed a sexual assault complaint against six people, including former president of Uttara Club Ltd Nasiruddin Mahmud.
Pori Moni lodged the complaint with Savar Model Police Station, said its officer-in-charge Kazi Mainul Islam.
Earlier, Pori Moni in her verified Facebook page, uploaded a status seeking justice from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, claiming that the six people attempted to rape and kill her.
Read: Pori Moni's plea for justice from PM causes sensation
The popular actress, whose real name is Shamsun Nahar Smriti, addressed the post to the Prime Minister, stating that she is seeking justice as a loyal citizen of the country.
"I’ve been physically assaulted and they even attempted to rape and kill me. I want justice. I’ve asked for help from so many people. However, they just listened to me and commented that they'll 'look into it' while the fact is that no one has helped me yet," Pori Moni stated in her post.
She has mentioned that she tried to contact the local police station and even IGP Benazir Ahmed, but she was yet to receive any formal help regarding her complaint.
"I haven't found justice in the last three or four days. Where can I find justice? I’m a woman and actress, but first of all I’m a human being. I can’t remain silent over what happened to me today," she added.
In her post, Pori Moni then addressed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as her "mother", writing: "I was about 2 and a half years old when my mother died. Today, I need a mother more than anytime else. I’ve never seen you, accepting any injustice quietly. I need you; I need your help to stay alive. Please save me, mother."
Pori Moni’s press conference
Pori Moni revealed the name and details of her assaulters via a press conference on Sunday night, at her residence in Gulshan in the capital.
Read:Forbes Asia’s 100 Digital Stars features Bangladeshi actress Pori Moni
The press conference took place after the actress surprised the nation through a status from her verified Facebook page on Sunday evening.
Bursting into tears at the press conference, Pori Moni described what exactly happened to her, sharing the graphic details of the incident and revealed who tried to rape her.
Sitting beside noted director Chayanika Chowdhury, Pori Moni said at the press conference that Nasir Uddin Mahmud, a businessman and currently appointed entertainment and cultural affairs secretary of Dhaka Boat Club, assaulted her at the club in Birulia, Uttara in the capital on Wednesday night.
The actress said that she went to the boat club with her costume designer Jimmy and Jimmy’s friend Omi for a professional meeting regarding a movie, where Nasir and another man offered them drinks at that time. She refused the offer stating that she was feeling unwell.
At one point, Nasir ganged up on her at the club and forced her to drink by putting the neck of a bottle into her mouth, beat her up and tried to rape her at the same time, Pori Moni said at the press briefing.
Read: Pori Moni: A Dazzling Star in Bangladeshi Cinema
During the assault, Nasir addressed himself as a “friend” of Benazir Ahmed, Inspector General of Bangladesh Police and president of the Dhaka Boat Club.
The actress went on saying that when she was able to get out after two and a half hours, she went straight to the Banani Police Station but the officials refused to hear her words. She stated that she has also contacted Zayed Khan, general secretary of Film Artists Association, and other leaders of the film industry, however, did not get any legal or logistic support.
Nasir U Mahmud's Facebook profile shows that he is currently the chairman of Kunj Developers, former president of Uttara Club, former district chairman of Lions Clubs International, a former footballer who played in the Dhaka first division and former elected general secretary of SM Hall of Dhaka University.
Ned Beatty, titanic character actor of ‘Network,’ dies at 83
Ned Beatty, the Oscar-nominated character actor who in half a century of American movies, including “Deliverance,” “Network” and “Superman,” was a booming, indelible presence in even the smallest parts, has died. He was 83.
Beatty’s manager, Deborah Miller, said Beatty died Sunday of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by friends and loved ones.
After years in regional theater, Beatty was cast in 1972′s “Deliverance” as Bobby Trippe, the happy-go-lucky member of a male river-boating party terrorized by backwoods thugs in “Deliverance.” The scene in which Trippe is brutalized and forced to “squeal like a pig” became the most memorable in the movie and established Beatty as an actor whose name moviegoers may not have known but whose face they always recognized.
Read:Plans for movie on New Zealand mosque attacks draw criticism
“For people like me, there’s a lot of ‘I know you! I know you! What have I seen you in?’” Beatty remarked without rancor in 1992.
Beatty received only one Oscar nomination, as supporting actor for his role as corporate executive Arthur Jensen in 1976′s “Network,” but he contributed to some of the most popular movies of his time and worked constantly, his credits including more than 150 movies and TV shows.
Beatty’s appearance in “Network,” scripted by Paddy Chayefsky an directed by Sidney Lumet, was brief but titanic. His three-minute monologue ranks among the greatest in movies. Jensen summons anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch) to a long, dimly lit boardroom for a come-to-Jesus about the elemental powers of media.
“You have meddled with the primal forces of nature, Mr. Beale, and I won’t have it!” Beatty shouts from across the boardroom before explaining that there is no America, no democracy. “There is only IBM and ITT and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon. Those are the nations of the world today.”
Read:‘Conjuring 3’ tops ‘A Quiet Place 2’ as moviegoing returns
He was equally memorable as Otis, the idiot henchman of villainous Lex Luthor in the first two Christopher Reeve “Superman” movies and as the racist sheriff in “White Lightning.” Other films included “All The President’s Men,” “The Front Page,” “Nashville,” and “The Big Easy.” In a 1977 interview, he had explained why he preferred being a supporting actor.
“Stars never want to throw the audience a curveball, but my great joy is throwing curveballs,” he told The New York Times. “Being a star cuts down on your effectiveness as an actor because you become an identifiable part of a product and somewhat predictable. You have to mind your P’s and Q’s and nurture your fans. But I like to surprise the audience, to do the unexpected.”
He landed a rare leading role in the Irish film “Hear My Song” in 1991. The true story of legendary Irish tenor Josef Locke, who disappeared at the height of a brilliant career, it was well reviewed but largely unseen in the United States. Between movies, Beatty worked often in TV and theater. He had recurring roles in “Roseanne” as John Goodman’s father and as a detective on “Homicide: Life on the Street.”
On Broadway he won critical praise (and a Drama Desk Award) for his portrayal of Big Daddy in a revival of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” a role he had first played as a 21-year-old in a stock company production. His more recent movies included “Toy Story 3” (as the duplicitous stuffed bear Lotso) in 2010 and the villainous tortoise mayor in “Rango.” He retired in 2013.
Read:COVID-19 spurs shutdown of ‘Mission Impossible’ set
Ned Thomas Beatty was born in 1937 in Louisville, Ky., and raised in Lexington, where he joined the Protestant Disciples of Christ Christian Church. “It was the theater I attended as a kid,” he told The Associated Press in 1992. “It was where people got down to their truest emotions and talked about things they didn’t talk about in everyday life. ... The preaching was very often theatrical.” For a time he thought of becoming a priest, but changed his mind after he was cast in a high school production of “Harvey.”
He spent 10 summers at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia, and eight years at the Arena Stage Company in Washington, D.C. At the Arena Stage, he appeared in Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” and starred in Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.” Then his life changed forever when he took a train to New York to audition for director John Boorman for the role of Bobby Trippe. Boorman told him the role was cast, but changed his mind after seeing Beatty audition.
Beatty, who married Sandra Johnson in 1999, had eight children from three previous marriages.
9th Liberation DocFest concludes: '3 Logical Exits' wins top prize
The 9th edition of Liberation DocFest Bangladesh concluded on Saturday, crowning Mahdi Fleifel (Denmark/Lebanon) directed ‘3 Logical Exits’ as the best film of the International Competition section.
The five-day festival also awarded the film ‘Why Not’ in the National Competition section, directed by Shekh Al Mamun.
The 9th edition of the fest drew a tremendous response and participation from film enthusiasts around the world by providing a breathing space for all amid the coronavirus pandemic for the second year in a row.
Read: Curtain rises for 9th Liberation DocFest
Organized annually by the Liberation War Museum (LWM), the edition wrapped up with a concluding and award-giving ceremony on Saturday night via Zoom. The closing ceremony was joined by legendary actor and former Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor MP, Liberation War Museum Trustee Mofidul Hoque, award-winning filmmaker, educator and also late filmmaker Tareque Masud's wife and Chairperson of Tareque Masud Memorial Trust (TMMT) Catherine Masud, one of the National Competition jurors Alam Khorshed, festival director Tareq Ahmed and participating filmmakers from the different regions of the world.
Lauding the success of the festival, Asaduzzaman Noor said, “I express my heartfelt gratitude on behalf of our Liberation War Museum, to everyone concerned with the 9th Liberation DocFest Bangladesh, supported by the Dhaka DocLab. These young filmmakers are working with various limitations. Still, they managed to tell and are continuously telling great stories about liberation, freedom and independence.”
Read: 9th Liberation DocFest postponed as covid cases surge
“Viewers and makers couldn’t come to the LWM and enjoy the festival live due to the pandemic, yet everyone successfully contributed to organizing the DocFest this year in this new virtual medium. We will see each other, shake hands and have tea or coffee together in a better future, celebrating the untold stories,” Noor said at the event.
Catherine Masud lauded the organizers and participating filmmakers from home and abroad, saying, “In our time, Tareque Masud and I tried to portray the truth against all threats and censorship. To the young filmmakers, I urge you to never feel afraid of telling your stories through documentaries like these. We will never rise if we rise alone. We must rise together.”
Why is Kareena Kapoor the talk of the town
With fame comes controversies. Over the years, several Bollywood celebrities have found themselves the subject of unwanted attention in India for various reasons -- from surprise weddings and baby bumps to extra-marital affairs and divorces. The latest celebrity to hog the limelight is actress Kareena Kapoor Khan, this time not for any feel-good news.
Kareena has recently been trending on Twitter, following reports that she had demanded a whopping Rs 12 crore fee for playing the mythological character Sita on-screen. Thousands used the hashtag #BoycottKareenKhan to slam Kareena for demanding such a high fee for portraying the revered Hindu character despite being married to a Muslim actor in real life.
Read:Radhe: A Salman Khan movie to watch with family this Eid
Let's explore the controversy.
Why is Sita revered in India
Sita is the lead female character of Ramayana, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, penned by sage Valmiki between 500 BCE and 100 BCE. In the Hindu epic, Sita is described as the daughter of Bhumi (the Earth) and the adopted daughter of King Janaka of Videha kingdom and his wife, Queen Sunayana.
The marriage between Sita, known for her dedication and purity, and Rama, the Prince of the ancient kingdom of Ayodhya, in itself is a story worth telling. Sita chose Rama as her husband in a swayamvara — bride choosing the best from among a list of suitors after a contest. This was after Rama successfully completed the task of stringing a magic bow.
Sita subsequently accompanied Rama to his kingdom but had to soon go into exile with her husband and brother-in-law Laksmana for 14 years through the plotting of his stepmother. In exile, they settled in a forest from where she was abducted by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. Rama gathered an army of monkeys and rescued Sita after killing Ravana in a war.
Later Sita was asked by Rama, an incarnation of a Hindu God, to prove her chastity. Sita entered fire, but was saved by other Hindu Gods. After the couple's triumphant return to Ayodhya, Rama's righteous rule came to be known as Ram-raj (golden rule) for all mankind.
Why the controversy
In the later 1980s, Indian state TV telecast a series based on the ancient Sanskrit epic of the same name. The TV series, Ramayana, broke all records and became a national craze then.
Read: Kareena Kapoor blessed with a baby boy, again
Over the years, a number of Hindu nationalist parties, including India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, rode the TV show to spark a Hindu awakening in this country. And the BJP cashed in on the opportunity to start a campaign, Ram Janmabhoomi (Rama’s birthplace) movement, and forged a sense of Hindu togetherness to eventually come to power.
"Criticised for its government's poor handling of the Covid situation in the country, many in the BJP are now trying to salvage the party's nationalist image and divert people's attention from the health situation. And Kareena is indeed the ideal diversion tactic," said Prof Suneeta Roy, a political pundit.
Kareena and the social media
Four months ago, 40-year-old Kareena also hogged the limelight when she gave birth to a baby boy -- their second son -- at a private hospital in the Indian city of Mumbai.
In fact, Kareena and her husband Saif Ali Khan -- dubbed Saifeena by the paparazzi -- announced the pregnancy on social media in August last year. "We are very pleased to announce that we are expecting an addition to our family!! Thank you to all our well-wishers for all their love and support."
Kareena and Saif -- the son of former Indian cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and former Bollywood's yesteryear heroine Sharmila Tagore -- tied the knot in 2012. The couple welcomed their first son, Taimur, in December 2016. Saif also has two children -- actor Sara Ali Khan and Ibrahim Ali Khan with former wife Amrita Singh, also a Bollywood actress.
Born to the Kapoor family, known as the 'First Family of Bollywood', Kareena -- the granddaughter of legendary actor-director Raj Kapoor, made her acting debut opposite another legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan's son Abhishek with the 2000 drama Refugee.
Read: Dance India Dance: Kareena Kapoor Khan admits having a crush on THIS Aashiqui actor; Find out
But her real success came in 2004 when she played a sex worker in the drama Chameli.
She subsequently earned critical recognition for her role in the 2006 crime flick Omkara, a character based on William Shakespeare's heroine Desdemona.
Recipient of several awards, Kareena is one of Bollywood's highest-paid actresses. She will be next seen in Advait Chandan's Laal Singh Chaddha and Karan Johar's Takht. Kareena is also all set to publish her first pregnancy book later this year.