Ajith Jogi demands CBI probe into wildlife killings
(IANS) Claiming that poachers have virtually taken over Chhattisgarh's sanctuaries, Congress leader Ajit Jogi Monday sought a CBI probe into a spate of killings of tigers and other wild animals in the state.
"Poachers have done massive networking in the state, they have virtually taken command over sanctuaries and parks. Dozens of tigers, leopards, elephants and other animals were killed in the state in recent months and the poachers supplied organs of these animals to China and the US," Jogi said in a statement.
"The CBI should probe the spate of killings of rare wild animals in Chhattisgarh," he added.
Last week, a six-year-old tigress was killed in Bhoramdev sanctuary in Kawardha, the home district of Chief Minister Raman Singh. In September, a mob lynched a tigress in presence of forest officials in Rajnandgaon district.
Meanwhile, the forest department Monday said four people, included two forest department staff, have been arrested for the Bhoramdev sanctuary killing.
This is something straight out of a film. While it is quite normal in the whole world for erring and wayward husbands to ill treat their wives and even throw them out of the house, what we are now witnessing in Hyderabad is quite the opposite.
Popular TV anchor and film actress Jhansi is now living separately with her daughter for quite some time. She has reportedly ‘kicked out’ her husband Jogi Naidu from her house as well as her life. Jogi Naidu alleges that he is being mistreated and bullied by his former wife. She is also not allowing him to meet their daughter even once in a month.
Jhansi is now doing very well financially. She is making around five lakhs per month. There are also many colorful stories floating around that she is having a steamy affair with a film actor and also moving very closely with the CEO of a TV channel.
Jogi Naidu is now seeking justice and also protection from the domineering Jhansi.
His views on Narmada dam oustees had raised the hackles in Gujarat and now Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan may be headed for more trouble with the state.
Gujarat forest officials are probing if Aamir had violated the Wildlife Act in Kutch during the shoot of Lagaan eight years ago.
Close on the heels of Gujarat police re-opening a chinkara hunting case against Salman Khan , the forest officials in Kutch region have begun a detailed probe to find out if there had been violation of the Wildlife Act by Aamir when he was in the district in connection with filming of the movie, a senior forest department official informed.
In fact, a preliminary probe by forest officials has shown that "the producers did not take permission from the forest department for filming the endangered species and thus violated rules", he said.
Aamir and his team were in parts of Kutch district for months for the shooting of ‘Lagaan’ and he had created a big fan following among the locals.
"A detailed inquiry will be conducted and statements of all concerned people will be taken. Preliminary probe has revealed that the producers did not take permission from the forest department to film the chinkara. Some forest department officials will also be questioned," Kutch forest officials investigating the case said.
The official said even though no animal was harmed in any way during the filming process the producers and some officials had broken the rules and moreover, the footage taken was used for commercial purpose.
"If the filming was done in connection with a documentary or wildlife film, then there was no issue but since the film and the footage of the chinkara was used for commercial purpose then it is not allowed," the official said.
Regarding possible action against Aamir, the official said, "it is premature to say if or not action could be taken against him. First, we have to see who all were present when the footage was taken and then we will take statements of the concerned people and then decide".
He said that in the preliminary probe a forest beat guard, who had taken the production team to film the chinkara, had said that he only led them the spot and was not aware how and what they filmed.
"It is an eight-year-old case and somebody should have done something about it many years ago. Let us see what evidence can be gathered before deciding on course of action," the official said.
Salman, who has been convicted and sentenced to jail in two poaching cases in Rajasthan, has more to worry as the Gujarat CID on June 21 decided to reopen a case against him for allegedly killing a chinkara in Kutch district in 1998 during the shooting for movie Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam .
Gujarat forest officials had probed these allegations but had closed the case for lack of evidence.
However, an NGO persuaded the matter and filed an application with the CID to probe the matter further.
Salman, who has found himself on the wrong side of the law for rash driving also, is accused of killing two of the endangered deer species in Samara village in 1998.
After news that Ajith has been admitted to the Apollo hospitals owing to his backache that recurred during the shoots of Kreedom in Vishakapatnam, his fans have been desperate to know the status of his health. Behindwoods’ inbox is thronged with mails from Ajith fans and special prayers are being conducted all over for his faster recovery.
Meanwhile, Shalini - while talking to a news source in this regard - stated that Ajith’s condition is normal now. She also said that Ajith would participate in the shoots of Kreedom that are proposed to be held in Chennai on Friday.
Besides, another news source from Vishakapatnam confirmed Shalini’s statement. Ajith’s ailment was due to the recurrence of his back pain and there need not be any concerns about the actor’s health, the source added.
After allowing it to grow for four months, Ajith has now removed his beard.
Ajith is appearing in the role of aggressive police officer in Raju Sundaram directed ‘Ekan'. He is someone who destroys the opponent without thinking. So, he grew his heard for that role. Now that the action scenes have been shot, he has removed the beard.
Nayantara is his pair in ‘Ekan'. Now the romantic scenes are being shot. Along with them, Raju Sundaram is also shooting the scenes of Ajith's brother Navdeep.
Suhasini appears as Navdeep's mother. But she is not Ajith's mother, but his aunt. Suhasini is the second wife to Ajith's father.
The film will have equal weight for action and sentiment!
Ajith's Kireedam has been receiving mixed reviews. The remake of Malayalam hit titled the same, Kireedam features Ajith, Trisha and Raj Kiran in lead roles.A sad ending to the movie, where Ajith's fails to realize his father's dreams of becoming a cop was not received well by Ajith-fans.
As a result, director A L Vijay has opted a change in the climax. Now the climax has been re-edited and it has a positive ending.Director Vijay says, “The movie is doing well at box-office especially in urban centres. But the climax has been changed due to request from Ajith fans and the audience in general. They want a positive ending”.
Konatala demands detailed probe into YSR copter crash
2011/8/17 10:55:30 Former minister Konatala Ramakrishna on Wednesday opined that the government has not ordered a comprehensive probe into helicopter crash that killed former chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy on September 2, 2009.
Talking to media persons, Ramakrishna said the probe done by three investigating agencies have failed to come up with proper reason for crash except claiming the negligence. He demanded that the government order probe into incident with the Supreme Court sitting judge. He expressed confidence that the Supreme Court judge would give a clear reason for collapse of copter.
Konatala appealed to the ministers loyal to YSR to mount pressure on the government to order probe with the Supreme Court judge. He wondered about the State Cabinet decision to initiate action on two officials who are responsible for the crash.
He alleged that the government wants to close the file by initiating action against two officials which was only an `eye wash’. He suspected that the voice over record has recorded conversation only for 7 minutes instead of 23 minutes of flight. (INN)
After acting in the remake of a Rajinikanth’s film, Ajith is all set to act in another remake. It will be a movie that featured the legendary actor ‘Nadigar Thilagam’ Sivaji Ganesan.
Sivaji Productions is planning to remake Sivaji’s blockbuster ‘Puthiya Paravai’, for which the choice of the director is yet to be decided.
Ajith will act in Sivaji’s role, while Prabhu will play the role of the distinctive actor M.R. Radha. The selection of heroine and music director will be made soon. It is tipped that either K.S. Ravikumar or Vishnuvardhan will direct the movie.
So it will be another remake to Ajith, whose market was redeemed by a remake.
Ajith and Shalini are proud parents of a baby girl.
A small flashback...
In 1999, Ajith and Shalini fell in love. When both parents agreed to the wedding, the function took place amidst great fanfare. The wedding reception at Taj Connemara was graced by film personalities from Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam as well as politicians.
After being free of any family responsibility all these years, Shalini's pregnancy got confirmed when Ajith was immersed in 'Billa' shooting in Malaysia. Despite being so occupied, he made periodic visits to be with his dear wife.
The due date was given as Dec end or Jan first week. Yesterday, Shalini was admitted to the hospital and the child was born early this morning at 1.30am through surgical means.Like any expectant father, Ajith was all tense till the doctor gave him the good news. His reaction was to immediately look heavenward and convey his thanks to the lord. He then spent joyous moments with wife and child when they were brought to their private room.
Resembling Ajith, the child weighs 3.3 kgs. Both mother and child are doing well. Ajith has celebrated the birth of his daughter by distributing sweets to friends and relatives.
Shah Rukh Khan will be seen in a wildlife conservation awareness campaign shortly. The campaign is a multi–media education and awareness campaign that aims to protect the future of the world's endangered wildlife
Shah Rukh Khan will be seen in a wildlife conservation awareness campaign shortly. Sanskara Development Trust, along with the Asian Conservation Awareness Programme (ACAP) / WildAid, will launch a national educational awareness campaign on wildlife conservation. The campaign is a multi–media education and awareness campaign that aims to protect the future of the world's endangered wildlife by drastically reducing consumer demand for endangered species parts and products.
With the support of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the campaign will run on leading television networks like Doordarshan, National Geographic, Discovery/Animal Planet, CNN IBN, NDTV, India TV, among others. The Airports Authority of India (AAI), Ministry of Civil Aviation, and Parliamentarians in India have also supported the campaign that will start with the broadcast of superstar Shah Rukh Khan's message across all international and domestic airports.
Shah Rukh highlights the challenges faced by forest guards in protecting India's wildlife in his message, "……… he is our nation's unsung hero - the Indian Forest Guard. He is a real life hero because he does this to save the jungle, and the animals that live there. ……. Day in and day out, he is matching wits & battling powerful enemies - wildlife poachers & timber smugglers, and he is willing to lay down his life for this".
"We hope that the momentum of this powerful and unique campaign will help compliment India's ongoing efforts to save its remaining wildlife and its threatened habitats." - Aneetaa (Tykee) Malhotra , Managing Trustee, Sanskara Development Trust & Senior Consultant, ACAP / WildAid.
"With continuous and sustained support from Indian celebrities and by working in collaboration with the Indian Government, associations such as the AAI, media, businesses, conservationists and the public, ACAP in collaboration with Sanskara is building long term support for India's as well as the world's wildlife and natural heritage.”- Steve Trent, Director of ACAP and founding Director of WildAid.
Sanskara Development Trust is a non profit organization which aims to build support for the preservation of wildlife and its natural habitat through innovative programs and projects, working collectively with Governments, NGO's, Corporates and local communities.
The Emraan Hashmi-Jacqueline Fernandes starrer has a serial killer on the prowl targeting women of all age groups
Murder 2 will feature serial killings apart from explicit scenes between lead pair Emraan Hashmi and Jacqueline Fernandes.
Producers Mukesh and Mahesh Bhatt, director Mohit Suri and writer Shagufta Rafique wanted to take the gory story to a heightened level.
Says Suri, "The film is set in Goa and unfolds around Christmas and New Year, the peak tourist season. Milling crowds make it impossible for the authorities to keep tabs on everyone and everything."
The film has a serial killer on the loose and he targets women.
Adds Mohit, "We have incorporated several real-life incidents like women's bodies being found on Goa's beaches as well as the Nithari killings which rocked Noida, when discovered in 2007."
Shagufta reveals, "The murderer is the suspense angle of the film. Murder 2 is pronounced with a pathological killer at work." The flick is currently in post-production.
collaborations 'Villain' and 'Varalaaru' were mega hits. Their third film together is for AVM!
After 'Billa' is over, Ajith will act in 'Akbar' directed by Raju Sundaram. Shriya is his heroine. After this, he will act in the film directed by KS Ravikumar and produced by AVM's Balasubramanian.
Since their earlier 2 films were super hits, distributors are expectant over their third collaboration.
For his next film, Ajith is busy fighting in Hong Kong. For his first directorial venture, Raju Sundaram is breaking his head as to who should pair with Ajith. After considering Shriya, Bipasha Basu and others, they have finally settled on Katrina Kaif.
Salman Khan is shooting for the Hindi version of 'Pokkiri' in Chennai and his girlfriend Katrina Kaif followed him here. When Raju Sundaram happened to meet her, he narrated the story of his new film. After a great deal of consideration, Kaif finally gave her assent, much to everyone's delight. Most actresses who come here from north India are not greatly lauded. Will Katrina change that?
2011/8/19 11:38:25 Pradesh Congress Committee president Botsa Satyanarayana on Friday stated that he was not afraid of Central Bureau of Investigation probe.
Talking to media persons after coming out of meeting with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation corporators at Gandhi Bhavan, Botsa said that as a member of YSR cabinet he was ready for CBI probe.
Botsa Satyanarayana statement assumes importance in the wake of Y S R Congress party supporters demanding probe against all members of YSR’s cabinet. The PCC chief said that there was no need to seek CBI probe on the ministers and the agency itself would take up probe as part of investigation on ministers, if necessary.
Stating that he was not involved in any irregularities and corruption, Botsa said the ministers who are indulged in corruption should be afraid of CBI probe. He asked the Congress MLA Balineni Srinivasa Reddy to make his position clear on whether he was staying in Congress or YSR Congress party. He also advised Balineni, who was mines minister in YSR regime, to write a letter to CBI seeking probe against him.
The PCC President asked the YSR congress supporters not to look CBI probe on Jagan assets in a magnifying glass and make baseless comments. (INN)
strong rumour mills around Tamil Cinema is that Ajith has signed a contract with the Superstar Rajinikanth's daughter Aishwarya's Ocher Studios to do a sequel of Billa under the banner. According to the sources, Ocher will pay a whopping Rs.10 crores as his salary for this project. If our information is true, Ajith is the only actor, who is getting such a huge amount as salary after the Superstar. This film will be directed by none other than the director of Billa -2007, Vishnuvardhan.
According to a source, the successful actor and director have completed the preliminary discussions and will continue the script work after returning from their Cannes trip. Just a couple of weeks ago, Soundarya successfully made a deal with Hollywood giant Warner Brothers to make feature films in all the four South Indian languages and Billa – 2 is the first film in the row.
It is said that Rajinikanth only gave the idea of booking Ajith for this new venture and tipped Ajith-Vishnu combination to make the sequel to Billa. The total budget of the film is Rs.30 crores and this project will be commenced in 2009, after the release of Ajith's project under Shivaji Productions.
Aalwar is Ultimate star Ajith’s latest venture, as we have already reported to you. Ajith’s personification in the movie is of a fearless and macho man! The Ultimate star has been grueling himself in the gym for the past two months and can now be seen with a brawny build for Aalwar. He has also put on 6 kilos for this movie!
Ajith is pairing with charming Asin in this movie. Mahadevan, Pasupathi, Sathyan and Manorama are playing important roles. Srikanth Deva is composing music and Ravi Maria has penned down the dialogues. Chella who has worked with director S.J.Suryah as associate director for the movies Vali, Kushi and New is at the helm of this movie. Producer Mohan Natarajan said that Aalwar’s shooting is scheduled to start from August 1st.
Ajith’s Billa is now almost ready and if everything goes on well as expected then the movie might make it just in time for Diwali. With this being so, projects seem to be knocking at Ajith’s doors. If sources are to be believed, then the actor’s next project could very well be for London Karunas’ Ayngaran Films.
Earlier, rumours were afloat in the Kollywood circles that Prabhu Deva would direct the movie. Well, now the focus has shifted to his elder brother Raju Sundaram. Gossip mills have it that when Raju approached Ajith with a story he seemed to have liked it and has given a go ahead signal. And the latest heart-throb, Shriya, could be Ajith’s arm candy in this film.
The movie is tentatively titled as Akbar, according to our sources and all details are expected to be announced formally in a few days. If everything falls in place, then Akbar may start rolling from December.
After the super success of Billa the glam Nayanthara pairs up with Ajith for the movie Aegan. This Raju Sundaram's film, featuring Ajith in the lead role, was said to be introducing Bollywood beauty Katrina Kaif.
After Katrina had pulled off from the venture, efforts were made to rope in queen of Telugu filmdom, Ileana into the venture.
Finally Nayana got the chance. The news is confirmed by reliable sources belonging to the production house Ayngaran International, which produces the film. It is believed that Nayan has been booked and paid an advance.
It will be a back to back film for Ajith-Nayan pair after the successful Billa. Nayantara, meanwhile, as already announced, will act in Kuselan in Hyderabad, in which she is paired with superstar Rajinikanth.
2006/11/28 9:15:00 Remaking yesteryear blockbusters is fast becoming a fad in Bollywood. Now the same talk is doing the rounds in Tamil too.
Recently, Vijay confessed to a dream of doing the remake of Rajinikanth hit Murattu Kaalai. Now it is not clear as to who will remake it. But Vijay has expressed the desire for the same.
Elsewhere, Ajith is not left far behind in this remake dream.
Kollywood buzz has it that Ajith maybe doing the remake of Billa soon, for Balaji’s son, Suresh Balaji’s production.
It maybe recalled that it was Balaji who made the original Billa with Rajini not long ago.
Further, Billa’s original, Don, was recently remade in Hindi with Shahrukh Khan.
2011/8/14 7:01:25 Congress MP V.Hanumantha Rao warned of retaliatory attacks if Telangana students or people are attacked anywhere in Andhra region.
Talking to media persons here on Sunday, the Rajya Sabha MP condemned the alleged attack on some Telangana students in Guntur yesterday. He said violence would not solve any problem. "Violence always breeds more violence and there might be retaliatory attacks if students from Telangana are attacked in Andhra region," he cautioned.
Hanumantha Rao also found fault with some Congress leaders criticising the deletion of Clause 14F. He said the deletion was not a new development and the subject was thoroughly discussed in the legislative assembly, before it moved to other levels. He said some leaders within the Congress were trying to mislead the people by making irresponsible statements. He said he would meet the Union Health Minister and Andhra Pradesh Congress Affairs incharge Ghulam Nabi Azad soon to give complain against specific leaders.
With reference to the demands seeking probe into the decisions taken by the cabinet of Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy, the Congress MP said the CBI must initiate an inquiry against K.V.P.Ramchandra Rao, the then political advisor to YSR. He said the then Chief Minister YSR never took any decision without consulting KVP. Therefore, KVP would be the best person to answer all questions related to major decisions taken during the YSR regime. Infact, Hanumanth Rao advised KVP Ramachandra Rao to welcome the probe and disclose the details voluntarily to the investigating agencies, in order to bring more clarity on his image and YSR's image.
Hanumantha Rao said that YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was trying to shield himself from the corruption charges by shifting the blame on the YSR cabinet. He also demanded that the party must take action against leaders facing corruption charges and those with tainted image. (INN)
Why Jagan is afraid of probe if not guilty, asks CPI
2011/8/17 5:13:15 Communist Party of India state general secretary K Narayana on Wednesday asked as to why YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has approached the Supreme Court seeking stay against the CBI probe against his alleged illegal assets. He said Jagan’s efforts to stall the probe are an admission that he amassed wealth illegally.
Talking to media persons after participating in a dharna at Himayath nagar, K Narayana said there was no need to file a petition seeking stay on CBI probe if Jagan has not committed any mistake.
He asked as to why Jagan, who earlier stated that he was ready for any kind of probe, was backtracking on CBI probe? If Jagan has not resorted to illegal methods what is the need for him to file a petition in the Supreme Court? He advised Jagan to cooperate with CBI and high court officials to complete the probe and come clean from the corruption allegations.
Condemning the arrest of civil activist Anna hazare, Narayana demanded his immediate release. Besides, he asked the centre to apologies to Anna Hazare. (INN)
(IANS) Claiming that poachers have virtually taken over Chhattisgarh's sanctuaries, Congress leader Ajit Jogi Monday sought a CBI probe into a spate of killings of tigers and other wild animals in the state.
