Bollywood's biggest stars ignite the screen! From the dazzling premiere of [mention a recently released film or event] to the brewing controversies surrounding [mention a current entertainment scandal], India's entertainment scene is ablaze. This week saw [mention a significant entertainment event, e.g., a music launch, award ceremony, or box office milestone], further cementing India's position as a global entertainment powerhouse. The battle for box office supremacy heats up as [mention competing films or actors], while the digital realm witnesses the rise of [mention a trending OTT series or online sensation]. Beyond Bollywood, regional cinema continues to flourish, with [mention a noteworthy achievement in regional cinema]. From the vibrant world of music to the captivating realm of television, Abtak.com brings you the pulse of Indian entertainment. Dive in and stay updated on the latest news, reviews, and exclusive interviews—your ultimate destination for all things entertainment. Explore the captivating stories unfolding now!
Kochi: A strongly worded statement by the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) on Thursday has brought the spotlight back on alleged systemic lapses in ensuring workplace safety in the Malayalam film industry, even as police intensified their probe into the sexual assault case against director Ranjith. Calling the latest allegation by a young actress "deeply distressing," the WCC said the incident exposed the ineffectiveness of mandated institutional mechanisms on the ground. Despite directives from the Kerala High Court and the introduction of a new cinema policy, the collective questioned why Internal Committees (ICs), meant to address workplace harassment under the POSH Act, failed to act. "Where does this audacity of perpetrators come from? From a system that simply does not function," the WCC said, alleging that power structures within the industry have rendered ICs ineffective. It also raised concerns that committee members were "unaware" of a serious incident that allegedly took place on set, questioning whether the IC had reached out to the survivor at all. The collective further pointed to the lack of implementation of key recommendations, including oversight mechanisms proposed in line with the Hema Committee findings. It criticised the industry for treating compliance frameworks as a "burden" and warned that failure to enforce them in spirit would embolden perpetrators and leave film sets unsafe for women. Meanwhile, police have stepped up the investigation into the case where hugely popular director, actor, and script writer Ranjith is presently cooling his heels in judicial custody after he allegedly assaulted a young actress on his set. He was taken into custody on March 31st while attempting to go into hiding after this case surfaced. Meanwhile, the police probe team on Thursday identified the caravan in which the alleged assault took place during a film shoot in Fort Kochi in January. While no CCTV cameras were installed inside the caravan, efforts are underway to gather footage from external cameras. Investigators are also recording statements from film crew members present on the set. The complainant, a young actress who reportedly suffered trauma, approached the City Police Commissioner last week, following which a special investigation team was formed under the leadership of Aswathi Jijy. Ranjith was arrested after a discreet preliminary inquiry. Police sources indicated that the alleged misconduct inside the caravan was known to several individuals on set, and more witnesses will be questioned in the coming days. The court is set to consider both the custody application and the director's bail plea on Saturday. Reiterating its support for the survivor, the WCC said her decision to approach the police directly underscored both courage and the failure of institutional safeguards. "The industry can no longer hide behind ignorance or inertia," it said, urging strict implementation of ICs and legal safeguards to ensure dignity and safety at workplaces.
Hyderabad, Dec 5 (UNI) A 35-year-old woman died, and her nine-year-old son was critically injured in a stampede that occurred outside a theatre at RTC 'X' Roads during the premiere show of the Allu Arjun-starrer "Pushpa-2: The Rule" in the city on Wednesday night. The incident took place between 10:30 PM and 11:00 PM at the Sandhya 70 mm theatre when Allu Arjun, along with his film crew, arrived in the theatre to watch the show, police said here on Thursday. Directed by Sukumar and produced by Mythri Movie Makers in association with Sukumar Writings, the movie was released worldwide on Thurs ...Read More >
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 27 (ANI): A female student was allegedly gang-raped inside a law college in Kolkata's Kasba on Wednesday evening. The police have arrested all three accused within 24 hours. The three accused, named as Monojit Mishra (31), Zaib Ahmed (19), and Pramit Mukhopadhyay (20), were former students or staff members of the same law college. Also Read | Student Gang-Raped at South Kolkata Law College: Police Arrest 3 Youths for Sexually Assaulting Young Woman Inside Law College. According to the police, the accused named in the FIR will be produced before the A.C.J. ...Read More >
Kolkata: A law student of a south Kolkata college was allegedly gang-raped at the campus security guards' room on Wednesday evening after being offered a key union post.Cops arrested three persons -- college alumnus and ad-hoc staff Manojit Mishra and current students Pramit Mukherjee and Zaib Ahmed -- after a medical test on the survivor corroborated her complaint. Mishra was thrown out of the college's Trinamool unit in 2021 and graduated in 2022, after which he started practising law. He, however, returned to the college recently as an ad-hoc non-teaching staff member. First-year student Mu ...Read More >
KOCHI: Questioning the censor board's objection to the use of 'Janaki' in an upcoming Malayalam film and the need for modifying its title, the Kerala High Court on Friday observed that 'Janaki' was a common name used everywhere. It also wondered how the name could affect a particular section of society, as it did not belong to any specific caste or religion. Justice N Nagaresh made the remarks during the hearing of the petition filed by Cosmos Entertainments, the producer of 'JSK-Janaki Vs State of Kerala', which stars Union Minister Suresh Gopi and Anupama Parameswaran in lead roles. The Tam ...Read More >
Lucknow: In view of the Muharram observance scheduled between June 27 to July 6, director general of police (DGP) Rajeev Krishna issued a set of security guidelines to ensure communal harmony and public safety across the state during the period.The directives have been circulated to all zonal additional director generals, police commissioners, range IGs, DIGs, and senior superintendents of police, emphasising meticulous planning, proactive policing, and community engagement."No new traditions or processional routes are to be allowed without official sanction. Special focus has been placed on a ...Read More >
VISAKHAPATNAM: Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar inaugurated Andhra Pradesh's first Super ECBC (Energy Conservation Building Code) compliant building at Sagar Nagar in Visakhapatnam on Friday. Terming it a landmark in sustainable infrastructure, he emphasised the government's commitment to energy efficiency and green design in public facilities. The facility will serve as a national-level training hub for power sector staff. He urged power utilities to expedite 20 lakh rooftop solar connections, targeting 10,000 in each Assembly segment. He reaffirmed nine-hour uninterrupted power for agri ...Read More >
Bengaluru Power Cuts: Citizens of Bengaluru brace yourself for long hours of power outages from June 29 and June 30. More than 100 areas will be impacted as BESCOM undertakes its quarterly maintenance work in various of its division. Bengaluru Power Outages June 29: According to the update by BESCOM on its X handler, there will be power outages in Kittaganahalli, Palasandra, Saptagiri, Maruthinagar, Sankapur, Raghavendra Nagar, Goolarivee, Baddihalli, Kesaramadu, C.M Badawan, Kalalli and SKS village on June 29 from 10 am to 5 pm. BESCOM's executive engineer has appealed to consumers to coop ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: The government on Saturday extended the term of the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Ravi Agrawal by one year, an official notification said.The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the re-appointment of Agrawal, an IRS officer of the 1988 batch, as CBDT chairman for one year from July 1 this year to June 30, 2026, on contract basis.Agrawal took over as the CBDT chairman from Nitin Gupta in June 2024 after Gupta's extended tenure ended. Agrawal has been a member of CBDT. He was member administration and had served as DG investigation in Delhi. The gover ...Read More >
New Delhi: Nearly three weeks after businessman Arun Lohia was fatally shot inside his SUV near Chhatarpur Metro Station in South Delhi, two of the alleged shooters were injured and arrested during a police encounter on the Chirag Delhi-Khanpur stretch on Thursday. Investigations revealed that the killing stemmed from a land dispute. A third suspect was also taken into custody.According to police, the murder took place on May 15. The victim, Arun, a resident of Aya Nagar and owner of several local warehouses, was attacked around 1 pm while returning from Saket Court with his father, Rambir Loh ...Read More >
New Delhi: Three Indian citizens vanished mysteriously in Tehran. Darkness closed in as hope seemed lost. A ruthless Pakistani gang with potential links to ISI snatched them away, casting a shadow of fear. But relentless Indian diplomats refused to back down. Against all odds, a daring rescue mission ignited. Now, the captives are free, and a chilling game of espionage comes to light. The Punjab-based trio - Amritpal Singh from Hoshiarpur, Jaspal Singh from SBS Nagar and Hushnapreet Singh from Sangrur - had landed in Iran on May 1. Promised a clandestine route to Australia via Dubai and Tehra ...Read More >
ALSO READ: Lucknow Shocker: 3-Year-Old Girl, Sleeping Under Metro Station, Raped In Alambagh Area; Her Condition Critical Ashish Srivastav, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Central Lucknow, who visited the crime scene on Wednesday night itself, identified the accused as Deepak Verma. While talking to the news agency ANI, DCP Srivastava said, " On the morning of June 5, at 10 am, a complaint was registered that a 2.5 year old girl had been raped... A case was registered and five teams were formed... As per the CCTV footage of the scooter, the accused was identified as Deepak Verma... ...Read More >
Lucknow: A man accused of raping a three-year-old girl died in an encounter with Uttar Pradesh police in Lucknow on Friday, a day after a complaint was registered against him. The accused was identified as Deepak Verma. After receiving the complaint, the police formed five teams and launched a manhunt operation to nab Kumar. Kumar was initially injured in the gunfight. However, he succumbed to injuries during treatment. "Accused Deepak Verma, who was injured in an encounter with the Police, has died during treatment," DCP Central Lucknow Ashish Srivastava told news agency ANI. The girl was a ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 8 (PTI) A Kerala businessman, who recently levelled corruption charges against an ED officer posted in the state, has recorded his statement with the central agency where he is understood to have denied knowing or having any evidence against the said investigator, official sources said Sunday. The businessman, Aneesh Babu, deposed before the Enforcement Directorate in Delhi on June 6 and his statement was recorded under audio-visual camera by the agency as per the provisions of section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Such a statement made under the anti-mo ...Read More >
The CM's reaction came to the DCP (Vidhana Soudha security) letter written before the event warning against holding felicitations at Vidhana Soudha 'hastily', surfaced now Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday defended the decision to go ahead with the RCB victory celebration in front of Vidhana Soudha, saying no untoward incident happened there. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said, "The police department did not give comprehensive information about the police security arrangements at the ...Read More >
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 27 (ANI): Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik visited the command and control room on Friday to oversee security arrangements for the 148th edition of the Jagannath Rath Yatra, which is being organised in Ahmedabad and is the longest in the country. According to GS Malik, the Rath Yatra began in the morning, and he monitored the AI system in the control room, which receives feeds from drones and static CCTV cameras. Also Read | Surendra Dubey Dies: Noted Hindi Humourist and Satirist Passes Away in Raipur at 72. "The Rath Yatra started this morning... I w ...Read More >
CHENNAI: Finding prima facie materials to establish his role in the abduction of a boy from Tiruvallur, the Madras High Court on Friday refused to grant anticipatory bail to KV Kuppam MLA and leader of Puratchi Bharatham party 'Poovai' M Jagan Moorthy. Justice G Jayachandran said the court has arrived at an irresistible conclusion that for a fair investigation and fearless trial, the petitioner needs to be secured and subjected to custodial interrogation. The teenager was allegedly abducted as his brother had married a girl outside his caste from an affluent family in Theni. "The call detail ...Read More >
Srinagar- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said foreign countries were told clearly during the post-Operation Sindoor diplomatic outreach that in case of a fresh provocation, India would repeat its action. Speaking at a discussion at the Ahmedabad Management Association, Tharoor said Indian delegations which visited foreign countries in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor managed to convey that India acted with restraint and responsibility. "In other places, we actually were able to get some very high-placed people to say not only that they respected and supported India's right of self- ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 11 (PTI) A Delhi court has sought a report from police commissioner Sanjay Arora asking why no efforts were made to arrest a man who was serving 10 years in jail in a drugs case but jumped interim bail in 1998 to be held only recently. Additional sessions judge Ekta Gauba Mann was hearing the proceedings regarding a 1994 FIR registered in Jama Masjid Police Station, wherein the investigating officer produced the accused Ashok Kumar Yadav before the court. The court noted the IO's submissions that Yadav was convicted under Section 20 (contravention in relation to cannabis plant ...Read More >
LUCKNOW: Hours after the abduction and rape of a three-year-old girl sleeping with her mother under a bridge near Alambagh metro station, the accused was killed in an encounter with Lucknow police early Friday.The accused, identified as Deepak Verma, a habitual offender with multiple criminal cases lodged across city police stations, was traced through CCTV footage that captured him fleeing with the child on a white scooter around 3.30 am on Thursday.Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Zone) Ashish Srivastava said multiple police teams were formed immediately after the incident, and a rewar ...Read More >
Srinagar, Jun 7 (PTI) Authorities on Saturday barred Eid prayers from taking place at the Eidgah ground and the Jama Masjid in the old city here, while Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq claimed that he was put under house arrest. "Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid Srinagar deeply regrets to inform that the authorities have once again disallowed Eid-ul-Adha prayers at the Eidgah as well as at the historic Jama Masjid in Srinagar by closing the gates of the mosque and deploying police personnel outside," the management of the historic mosque said in a statement. ...Read More >
Bengaluru Stampede: Days after the tragic Karnataka stampede incident, in which 11 people lost their lives and several others were injured, a letter from the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Vidhana Soudha Division, Bengaluru, has surfaced showing that the police had warned against holding the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) felicitation event and cited security concerns. The fans had gathered outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium to cheer on for RCB, who had lifted the trophy in the IPL for the first time in 18 years. The letter reportedly by Vidhana Soudha's DCP MN Karibasavana Gowda, da ...Read More >
New Delhi: Alleging "blatant misuse" of agencies to defame its leaders, AAP on Thursday questioned why the first information report filed against former Delhi ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain was being kept under wraps and "selective" press notes were being leaked to the media.Bharadwaj, who is Delhi AAP convener, alleged that only two former ministers were named in the case without any reasonable cause while all the officers of the health and public works departments, who were actually responsible for executing the hospital projects, were spared. "Is the FIR so baseless that BJP ...Read More >
Mumbai, Jun 28 (PTI) A 70-year-old doctor was cheated by cyber criminals of Rs 3 crore and kept under "digital arrest" for eight days after being accused of involvement in a non-existent money laundering scam, a Mumbai police official said on Saturday. In the month of May, the victim got a call from a person identifying himself as telecom department staffer Amit Kumar, who told her a SIM card had been bought with her personal details for use in criminal activities. "She then got a call from another person who identified himself as Crime Branch officer Samadhan Pawar. He told the victim that ...Read More >
NIZAMABAD: Union home and co-operation minister Amit Shah will visit Nizamabad on June 29. The official machinery and BJP leadership have made full arrangements for his arrival. He will fly in from Ahmedabad to Begumpet Airport on Sunday, then proceed by helicopter to the Integrated District Offices Complex (IDOC) in Nizamabad. At 2 pm, he will inaugurate the National Turmeric Board office in Vinayaknagar and address the board's meeting at Baswa Garden. Afterwards, he will travel to the Kanteshwar bypass road junction to unveil a statue of former Rajya Sabha member D. Srinivas. He will conclu ...Read More >
Kolkata, Jun 28 (PTI) CCTV camera footage obtained from South Calcutta Law College has corroborated the gangrape allegations made by a first-year student in her written complaint to police, an investigating officer said on Saturday. The footage, spanning over seven hours -- from 3.30 PM to 10.50 PM on June 25 -- captured movements around the college premises, including the victim being forced into the guard's room. "The CCTV footage confirms the girl's allegations. It shows the movements of the three accused, the security guard, and the victim. We are currently examining the footage," the of ...Read More >
Bengaluru, June 29 (PTI) An unidentified woman's body, allegedly stuffed into a sack and dumped in a garbage truck, was found, police said on Sunday. The body was discovered under the Chennammanakere Achukattu Police Station limits. The deceased is believed to be between 30 and 35 years old. Police said the body was tied up and stuffed into a sack, likely dumped in the garbage truck sometime between Saturday night and early Sunday. Based on nearby CCTV footage, police suspect the body may have been transported to the spot in an auto-rickshaw. A resident, who came to dispose of garbage, gre ...Read More >
Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday postponed the hearing for businessman Boby Chemmanur's bail application in the sexual harassment case brought by actress Honey Rose to January 14, highlighting the necessity for the state government to submit its response. The court also expressed concerns regarding the urgency of this case and underscored the importance of resolving other outstanding cases. Chemmanur was taken into custody by the Ernakulam Central Police in Wayanad on Wednesday. The Ernakulam First Class Judicial Magistrate Court subsequently remanded him to 14 days of judicial custody ...Read More >
Silchar: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday visited the flood-ravaged districts of Hailakandi and Sribhumi in the Barak Valley. He assured affected residents of providing timely disbursement of rehabilitation grants and swift repair of damaged infrastructure.This marks Sarma's second visit to the flood-hit region within four days, underscoring the gravity of the situation. Speaking to the media in Sribhumi after inspecting multiple relief camps, the CM said, "Flood-related problems may persist till July. I will return before Durga Puja to ensure that roads and infrastructure ar ...Read More >
Kolkata: Probing the murder and rape of the class VIII student in New Town, cops have found that accused Soumitra Roy (22) is an undertrial accused in a four-year-old dowry death case at his hometown in Nadia's Dhantala. He was accused of torturing and killing his former wife for dowry. Cops said in a case dated Aug 2, 2021, Roy was arrested by officers of Dhantala PS. "He got bail in 2022 and then left Nadia with his family and remarried 13 months ago. He still has to appear in a Nadia court in connection with the case on a regular basis," an officer said. TOI on Monday quoted his wife Mous ...Read More >
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Thursday took strong action against the police officers allegedly responsible for the Bengaluru stampede, suspending several high-ranking officials, including the city's police commissioner. Addressing a press conference, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also announced a one-man commission to probe the lapses that triggered the deadly stampede. "Cubbon Park Police Station police inspector, station house master, station house officer, ACP, Central Division DCP, cricket stadium in-charge, additional commissioner of police, commissioner of police have been susp ...Read More >