Digpu News

Hindutva doesn’t mean that people of any faith other than Hinduism should be hated, feels Sanjay Raut Hindutva is a topic that has been much debated in the political and social circles of India. The manner in which Hindutva is held aloft in India’s socialist, secular environment has come in for many deliberations. But then should Hindutva be adopted as a means toward hate for their faiths is a question posed to the perpetrators of a hate-laden ideology. Ask Sanjay Raut on what the Hindutva ideology means to him and what he tells the world comes across as a whiff of fresh breeze that could soothe minds. Voicing his concern at the manner in which the BJP sees Hindutva,  Sanjay Raut , a senior leader of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray group) and Member of Parliament, opens up on what Hindutva isn’t really is, and what it actually stands for. Hindutva doesn’t at all mean that people of any faith other than Hinduism should be hated, Raut tells Reba Ayaz of Digpu News, in a free-wheeling...

Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner, Kishore Desai was born in 1937 and playing the Mandolin & Sarod in Bollywood for the past 50 years. I don’t think that any Indian national can ever forget the song  ‘ Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo Jara Ankh Mein Bharlo Pani, Jo sahid hue hain unki jara yaad karo kurbani’ . Everybody remembers this beautiful track sung by (Late) Shri Lata Mangeshkar Ji, but who played that magical mandolin music in the background? It was Kishore Desai, whose mandolin sound added magic to this forever-hit Hindi song. If you remember any of the greatest melody songs from the Golden Era. Songs like ‘ Acha To Hum Chalte Hain, Phir Kab Miloge ’  from the movie  Aan Milo Sajna  (1970) or Raj Kapoor’s famous song ‘ Awara Hoon Ya Gardish Mein Ho Aasman Ka Tara Hoon’ , or the famous Border movie song ‘ Sandese Aate Hain Sandese Jate Hain’ . Now onwards whenever you listen to any of these tracks just try to focus on the background music and whenever you fin...

Ace photographer Jayesh Sheth has worked with many celebrities, including Richard Gere, Angelina Jolie, Rekha and more Years ago, one fine day, ace fashion photographer Jayesh Sheth got a call, asking him if he would be interested in doing a photoshoot for a Hollywood celebrity. The professional he is, Jayesh Sheth took it up as a new challenge that would help him put to use all his experience and talent. The shoot was for Richard Gere. A huge fan of the top actor himself, Sheth was a bit taken aback, as he knew he was having one of the most photographed and much spoken about celebrity in front of his camera.  To his surprise, Gere never acted like a celebrity who is not accessible. On the contrary, he was very cooperative, says Jayesh Sheth. Recalling an instance at the shooting sets, Seth tells Reba Ayaz of  Digpu News in  an episode that elaborated much on what Richard Gere is as an ultimate professional and great human being.  Richard Gere didn’t want a mirror wh...

The Union Govt approving the release of the Bilkis Bano gang-rape convicts comes as a stain on the nation’s fabric Ask any sane human being in this country and they would agree that the Union Government’s concurrence and approval for the release of convicts undergoing life imprisonment in the case pertaining to the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the killing of her three-and-half-year-old child and other family members is nothing less than shocking. The nation’s conscience has been shaken, considering that the convicts had committed a serious crime, and were in prison serving their sentence. The Gujarat government’s affidavit in the Supreme Court that it had the Centre’s approval to release the convicts reveals the manner in which the Narendra Modi government has been playing its dirty cards. Think about the whole episode, and it becomes clear that the motive behind the release of the 11 convicts, convicted for a gruesome crime, is nothing but political. The saffron halo that pervades the...

Fatehpur’s former MLA Vikram Singh finds himself immersed in solving problems that affect the local people around him Even as the country as a whole needs attention in terms of development and welfare measures, there is also the need to focus on the local people and to address their issues. Addressing each and every issue that the common man faces is what Vikram Singh, former legislator from Fatehpur, in Uttar Pradesh, focusses on. And, he has seen much success, indeed. From the moment he was elected MLA of Fatehpur, and later as former MLA,  Vikram Singh  has been a consistent performer in Fatehpur. Ask the voters in his locality and they will vouch for all the good work he has done to bring development in Fatehpur. Be it the new Kendriya Vidyalaya that is finally coming to Fatehpur or the country’s first ever Railway Park, Vikram Singh has been the man who has toiled to make them all happen. In an exclusive chat for  Digpu’s Sugar-Milk-Salt , Vikram Singh tells  Re...

Ausaja has curated an exhibition of the actor’s photos and posters, which will run alongside a PVR film festival of Bachchan’s iconic films in 17 cities “Hum jahan khade ho jaate hain, line wahi se shuru hoti hain ”.  This memorable dialogue from the film Kaalia defines the actor and superstar in him. When  Amitabh Bachchan  uttered this legendary line in the film that opened in theatres in the year 1981, little did India know that it was indeed the beginning of a long line of actors who aspired to be him. Amitabh Bachchan is turning 80 tomorrow (11th October 2022) and looking back at his career would prove beyond doubt how a tall, lean man who once was rejected as unfit for the movies, ruled Indian cinema or decades together.  For anyone who hopes of a career in Hindi filmdom, Amitabh Bachchan has turned out to be the benchmark. A benchmark so high up, that it would need some extra bit of motivation, commitment and willingness to learn from failure, to reach. F...

Wildlife photographer Neeraj Chawla opens up on how urbanisation and irresponsible human behaviour are proving bad for nature and its inhabitants (Digpu's talk show Sugar-Milk-Salt  - Season 1) Accelerated urbanisation and irresponsible human behaviour have turned out to be bane for the flora and fauna around us. These days, with these aspects having increased in manifold measure, nature’s existence has been pushed to risk.  Renowned wildlife photographer Neeraj Chawla, speaking to Reba Ayaz of Digpu News in an interview, articulated this concern. Taking the example of the flamingos that migrate every year from Gujarat to the Mumbai mud lands of Sewri, Chawla explained why the  flamingos  might not come again next year. Flamingos feed on the algae that appear in the mud, post-low tides. And now with the Nhava Sheva bridge construction having been kicked off near the site, the birds could well be in trouble of being left alone. This could eventually result in stopping...