@amuaroraofficial

Kareena, Karishma, Malaika Wish Birthday Girl Amrita With Fun-Filled Messages

It’s Amrita Arora’s birthday. Her birthday celebration would be incomplete without the wishes from bestie Kareena Kapoor Khan, Karishma Kapoor and elder sister Malaika Arora.

Taking to Instagram on Tuesday midnight, Malaika posted an adorable video of her sister where she is cutting the cake with her two sons, Rayaan and Azaan.
Malaika captioned the video, ” It’s our ammus birthday @amuaroraofficial love you much” with some heart emojis.

Friends from the industry such as Bipasha Basu, Saba Pataudi, and Farah Khan Kunder wished Amrita a happy birthday. Amrita also commented, “I love you” on Malaika’s post.

Meanwhile, Kareena Kapoor Khan penned a heartfelt note for her ‘best friend’. The ‘Heroine’ actor posted two pictures of Amrita. In one picture, Amrita is enjoying her wine in leisure. In the other frame, she is seen cooking pasta. Amrita’s favorite things got mentioned in Kareena’s caption as well.

Kareena captioned the frame, “To the Queen of our hearts May the wine, love, laughter and of course, the pasta which you threaten to make each time we meet NEVER run out…Happy Birthday Best Friend…I Love you…”

Amrita also replied saying, “Love You my Bebo.”

Karishma Kapoor posted a gorgeous picture with Amrita and captioned it, “Happy Birthday Amolas. The Person I love to bug the most.” Amrita replied, “Hahahahha yes indeed. love you lalva.”

For the uninitiated, Kareena, Karishma, Amrita and Malaika are one of the most-loved and followed girl gangs in B-town. They are each other’s confidants as well as soulmates. Their rock-solid friendship has endured the test of time. If you haven’t drooled over their party pictures, you have surely missed a thing.

Shunning the world of movies, Amrita is happily settled in domestic life with her husband Shakeel Ladak and two sons. She made a guest appearance in the reality series, ‘Moving in with Malaika.” (ANI)

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My Beautiful Blended family: Masaba Poses With Dad Viv Richards | Lokmarg

Masaba Pens Personalized Notes About Her ‘Blended’ Family

Fashion designer Masaba Gupta’s wedding festivities do not seem to get over any time soon.

Taking to Instagram stories, the ace designer shared beautiful notes about her mother Neena Gupta, her father Vivian Richards, and step-father Vivek Mehra. Masaba chose their pictures from the wedding day to complement her personalized notes.
Introducing Neena as the ‘mother of the bride’, Masaba wrote, “The sweetest thing, Thanks for raising me to be a lioness.”

‘Father of the Bride’ Viv Richards is described as “The eyes chico, they never lie. My fierce father, a gentle giant and I’m so glad I got not just your nose but also your shoulders to take on the world just like you did and emerge a fighter.”

Neena’s husband Vivek Mehra has also got featured in Masaba’s post. He is mentioned as “The gentle entrepreneur in me that you see is all courtesy this man, the kind brain and the most giving heart.”

Masaba tied the knot with beau Satyadeep Misra on January 27 in an intimate ceremony. She shared the grand frame including all the family members from both sides on that very day.

Captioning the frame as, “For the first time ever – My whole life came together. This is us. My beautiful blended family. Everything from here on is just a bonus,” Masaba re-defined modern relationships in the most graceful way.

Masaba and Satyadeep worked together on the Netflix series ‘Masaba Masaba’ which is based on Masaba’s personal and professional life. (ANI)

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Puri Shankaracharya

Ancestors Of Prophet Muhammad, Jesus Christ Were Sanatani Hindus: Puri Shankaracharya

Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati on Tuesday claimed that ancestors of Prophet Muhammad and Jesus Christ have been proved to be Sanatani Hindus.

“Opposition members in America have raised this issue in Parliament. Ancestors of Muhammad and Christ have been proved to be Sanatani Hindus,” he told reporters here.
He further said that the governments shouldn’t have control over the temples and math.

“The governments shouldn’t have control over temples and Matth, and there is a need to spend money for the development to every corner,” he added.

When asked about the lost key of the Puri’s Ratna Bhandar, Shankaracharya said, “The Odisha government and Jagannath temple administration never consulted over any issues regarding the temple. Why should I interfere in the missing key issue of Ratna Bhandar?”

There are a total of seven treasuries within the temple, out of which one remains open at all times.

Around 38 years ago the keys to four treasuries went missing, but only two keys were there with the District Collector. (ANI)

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April-May of 2024

Budget Countdown 2023-24: The Last Full Budget Of Modi Govt 2.0

As Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is going to present the Union Budget 2023-24 on Wednesday, industry and well as people from all walks of life hold great expectations from the Modi government.

This year’s Budget presentation holds significance as it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government’s last full budget before the next parliamentary elections in 2024, slated for April-May 2024.
Like the previous two Union Budgets, Union Budget 2023-24 will also be delivered in paperless form.

Amid growing public expectations around the Union Budget 2023, top business leaders of the country have also put forward their suggestions for Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Arihant Infrastructures, CMD, Ashok Chhajer told ANI that the government should focus on reducing home loan rates.

“The government should reduce home loan rates. The affordable housing segment, which is capped at Rs 45 lakh, should be changed to Rs 60-75 lakh which is the average cost of a house in Metro cities and 2-tier cities,” said Chhajer.

Hiranandani Group MD, Niranjan Hiranandani said the Budget should focus on further investments in roads, railways, ports, airports and highways, as well as slum rehabilitation schemes.

He added that if multimodal transport becomes successful in the next 2-3 years, the logistics cost can be reduced by 3-4 per cent for every item in the country.

“Logistics cost in India is 13 per cent. If our multimodal transport matters become successful in the next 2-3 years, we can reduce logistics cost by 3-4 per cent for every item in the country,” he added.

A key expectation of the healthcare sector from the upcoming Budget 2023 is an increase in expenditure on healthcare infrastructure, said experts in this field.

Keeping the COVID-19 pandemic in view, the Budget 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 focused on the country’s healthcare sector.

During the Budget 2022-2023, the Centre in its Budget announced rolling out an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem which consists of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities.

Besides, Sitharaman also highlighted the launch of the National Tele Mental Health Programme, which included building a network of 23 telecentres to support the mental well-being of individuals, and families.

According to Dr Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, Senior Vice President, NATHEALTH and MD and CEO, Fortis Healthcare, “India is amongst the most preferred destinations globally for medical tourism and therefore, increased policy support is required to encourage, facilitate medical value travel to India, develop MVT as an organized sector.”

“Another critical area is addressing the shortage of healthcare professionals – by identifying doctors, nurses and technical staff willing to work in Tier 2/3 cities and looking at non-traditional ways to double the number of doctors. We should look at best practices adopted in universities abroad (fall/summer admission pattern) to increase seats in existing medical colleges,” he said.

Dr Ashutosh further said the sector needs lower-cost financing through tax incentives for both existing and new healthcare projects. For new projects, the Government should provide a tax holiday period of 15 years and for existing projects, tax relief for 10 years as re-investment support

Dr Shravan Subramanyam, Managing Director, Wipro GE Healthcare Pvt Ltd said, “From the coming budget, we expect the further strengthening of ABDM along with the implementation of cybersecurity and data protection policies in consultation with industry. Against the backdrop of India’s nationwide 5G rollout in 2022, key announcements on allocations and policies that can influence 5G deployment for faster and safer healthcare delivery are awaited.”

“With rising incidences of both communicable and non-communicable diseases post COVID-19, further strengthening of infrastructure and bridging human resource and skill deficiencies for care area deliveries across Tier 2- Tier3 cities, semi-urban and rural areas focusing on promotion, prevention, therapy and post care is expected from this year’s budget,” Dr Subramanyam said.

The Indian Medical Association(IMA) has recently submitted suggestions to the government of India for the Budget. The IMA has submitted overall twelve suggestions for the Budget.

Some of them include– IMA feels the opportune time to do so has arrived. It is expected that GOI will be able to take this monumental step. Universal access to Health including safe water, sanitation, nutrition, primary education as well as eradication of poverty is a cornerstone in the path to the wellness of a society and nation. Conceptualizing good Governance to attain the wellness of a people could mean clubbing together these services (clinical, public health and social determinants) under one roof. At least drinking water, sanitation and poverty alleviation should be clubbed with Health as Ministry for wellness.

The Union Budget 2023 is a much-anticipated event for the real estate sector in India. Industry experts and stakeholders have high expectations from the government as they hope to see a number of reforms and initiatives that can help boost the real estate market and encourage investment in the sector.

The area of interest for the real estate sector is tax incentives. Real estate developers and investors are hoping for tax breaks and other financial incentives that can help lower the cost of developing new projects and make it more profitable for them. This can also encourage more investment in the sector and help boost the economy as a whole.

Pankaj Bansal, M3M India said, “The middle class has been looking to increase its disposable income to increase its investment in real estate, particularly the residential sector. This investment can grow multi-fold if the Union Budget brings in considerable relaxation in tax benefits on home loans. Further, buyers who want to own bigger flats and are looking to sell their existing properties are also reluctant due to stringent capital-gains tax. Gains from the sale of real estate held for over two years are subject to a long-term capital gains tax of 20 per cent. This should be set at least at 10 per cent.”

Bansal said the upcoming budget must lower the holding time for property from the current 24 to 36 months to 12 months in order to qualify it as a long-term capital asset. Such measures would certainly give the much-desired boom to the economy.

Another key area of focus for the real estate sector is affordable housing.

Industry experts said many people are struggling to find affordable housing options with the increasing cost of living and rising real estate prices.

The government is expected to announce new initiatives and funding for affordable housing projects to make them more accessible to a wider range of people.

Atul Banshal, Director Finance, Omaxe Ltd. said, “The budget should consider reducing stamp duty as that will assist it in resuming a robust real estate market and complete housing for all missions for the central government. The government must consider increasing the tax rebate on home mortgage interest from Rs 2 lakh to at least Rs 3 lakh. It is also necessary to have separate deductions for principal repayments, which are currently included under Section 80(c).”

It should also be raised from the current limit of Rs 1.5 lakhs to Rs 3 lakhs. Currently, there are no regulations governing brokerage fees; neither the buyer nor the developer is required to pay the required commission on each transaction, he said.

“Consequently, collecting the existing 18 per cent GST rate on brokerage services falls solely on realtors. Thus, real estate brokerage services must be brought on par with other service providers by lowering the GST rate to a more manageable 5 per cent as this tax cut could encourage more realty agents to join the tax system, benefiting the government’s revenue collection,” he added.

The realty sector is looking forward to an increase in tax rebates, policy reformation, receiving industry status, and the long-awaited single window clearance. In addition, the real estate sector is hoping to see increased investment in infrastructure and transportation systems. This can help improve the accessibility and livability of real estate markets, making them more attractive to potential buyers and investors.

The stakeholders in the tourism business in Himachal Pradesh are expecting special provisions for the state in the next Union Budget.

The stateholders of the tourism Industry stakeholders in the region said they were hopeful of certain special provisions in the Budget for boosting tourism industries in hill states such as Himachal Pradesh.

Local travel agents and hoteliers’ said they want special budgetary provisions in the field of tourism, which contributes significantly to the state GDP.

“We have numerous issues with our tourism industry. We are hopeful of special provisions for hill states such as Himachal, especially in the tourism sector. There are no regular flights and also no big airport where large aircraft can land. Both rail and air connectivity need to be boosted,” Mohender Seth, president of HP Tourism industry Stakeholders Association told ANI.

He added that the tourism industry took heavy losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic and in small cities like Shimla, local issues were also hurting the tourism business.

Hotel businesses are also looking at a special package to boost religious tourism and sought separate allocations for the development of infrastructure.

“We are entirely dependent on nature and are harnessing nature for tourism. Little here is manmade. We want the government to build infrastucture, rail and air connectivity in the region. We hope the Budget will us and our businesses in coming out of the pandemic shocks,’ Rajendra Singh, a hotelier told ANI.

As the countdown begins for the presentation of the Union Budget for fiscal 2023-24, citizens across a wide spectrum of society have put forward their expectations.

The Union Budget, also comprising the Railway Budget, will be presented on the floor of the Parliament on February 1, Wednesday.

ANI reached out to a few people at the Patna junction on their ideas and expectations around the Budget this year.

“The Railways should see that train fares do not go up. Also, the fare increases over the last few years should be controlled. While the rate of platform tickets has been reduced from Rs 50 to Rs 10, we want it to be reduced further,” said MD Sanjay, a passenger at Patna junction.

The passengers also demonstrated a lot of enthusiasm and excitement around the Vande Bharat trains and the Bullet Train project. Many said Vande Bharat trains should ply from all capital cities of the country.

“The Railways still need to pay a lot of attention to the cleanliness of the trains. Also, the trains that were stopped at the time of Covid should be made operational again,” said Rajan Kumar, another passenger.

Regular railway passengers also demanded an increase in the number of trains across the country.

Students demanded that the Railways run separate trains to make it easier for them to appear for outstation exams. They said they often have to travel to other cities to sit for competitive or other exams and find it tough to book seats in regular passenger trains.

Passengers further said the Railway Budget should also focus on ensuring the provision of better food in trains.

Meanwhile, railway passengers in the national capital said they expect more budgetary funds to be allocated for passenger safety and cleanliness.

Deepak Sharma, a passenger at New Delhi Railway station, said, “I want the government to ensure passenger security and they should also invest more money in securing the railway network and making it less prone to accidents. The number and frequency of trains should also increase.”

Bhawana Sharma, another commuter at New Delhi Railway station, said the safety of women passengers and catering to their hygiene should feature prominently in the Budget.

Meanwhile, homemakers said rising inflation is eating into their household budgets, making it difficult for them to put a leash on their expenses. They said the rising prices of essential food items and LPG cylinders have added to their woes.

The formal exercise to prepare the annual Budget for the next financial year (2023-24) commenced on October 10.

Budget 2023 is likely to be the last full Budget of the Modi government in its second term with the next Lok Sabha election due in April-May of 2024.

The Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday tabled the Economic Survey for the Financial Year 2022-23.

The Economic Survey said that India’s economic recovery from the Covid pandemic is complete and the economy is expected to grow in the range of 6 percent to 6.8 percent in the coming financial year 2023-24. This is in comparison to 7 percent this fiscal and 8.7 percent in 2021-22. (ANI)

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

BJP Forms Committee To Take Info On Budget Benefits To People Across Country

Ahead of the central government introducing its last complete budget tomorrow, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) high command has formed a committee to take the benefits of the budget among the public and take their feedback.

As per the BJP sources, the Committee formed on January 28, comprises nine party leaders from different states, which will be headed by former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi.
The nine members are BJP leader Vivek Venkataswamy, BJP National General Secretary Sunil Bansal, National Kisan Morcha President Raj Kumar Chahar, National Yuva Morcha President MP Tejaswi Surya, Bihar’s former Deputy CM, MP Sushil Kumar Modi, Union Government’s Chief Financial Affairs Adviser, MLA Ashok Lahiri are in the committee, BJP national spokesperson Gopala Krishna Agarwal, Sanju Verma, and Yuva Morcha national in-charge Varun Zaveri.

The responsibility of the committee is to take the information regarding the benefits of the budget to the people across the country and also get their feedback. This process will start from the next day of the Budget, February 2, and will go on till February 12, the sources said.

The members will be doing four meetings, one of which will be physical and rest three will be virtual. In addition to this, every state will be visited by one central minister and one senior BJP leader.

BJP will try to spread that when the world is facing an economic crunch due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the Indian condition is stable, and it has presented a good budget for the people. They will also try to spread how the government is working for improving the Railways facilities.

For making the program a success, a meeting of all nine members was held in the BJP headquarters today. The planning and strategy of the program were discussed in the meeting lasting one and a half hours, the sources added. (ANI)

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Paltu Kumar: The Flip-Flop Man of Indian Politics Strikes Again

Upendra Kushwaha: Nitish Was Given A ‘Jhunjhuna’

Janta Dal (United) leader Upendra Kushwaha on Tuesday lashed out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying that he was given the ‘Jhunjhuna’ of the Chairman of the parliamentary and he can’t even nominate a member.

Kushwaha even threatened to resign from the Bihar Legislative Council.
“I was a Rajya Sabha MP and Union Minister. However, I didn’t think twice while leaving those positions. The position of MLC is nothing big compared to that,” said Kushwaha.

“Even after being the Chairman of the Parliamentary Board, I cannot nominate a member. No attention was paid to my suggestions,” he complained.

“CM Nitish Kumar says I was given a lot of respect after I was made the Chairman of the Parliamentary Board’,” he said.

“When I was made the leader of the parliamentary party, I thought that I would get the opportunity to execute the responsibilities of the position. But later on I realized that as the Chairman of the Parliamentary board, I was given nothing but a ‘Jhunjhuna’ in my hands,” he rued.

“When I became the Chairman, there was no mention of the post in the party constitution. Later on, the constitution was amended and it was added,” Kushwaha alleged.

He said that the party did not appoint any member to the parliamentary board and did not even give him powers to appoint the members.

“I had suggested the Party nominate candidates from the backward cast to the Rajya Sabha. However, my suggestion was not heard,” he added. (ANI)

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James Vanderbilt

Jennifer Wears Manish Malhotra Lehenga In Hollywood Film

Fashion designer Manish Malhotra is highly responsible for putting India on the world map of fashion. The latest update regarding Manish’s work will make your chest swell with pride even more.

Hollywood celebrity Jennifer Aniston turned desi girl in ‘Murder Mystery 2’ as she wore a lehenga designed by Manish in the upcoming international film.
The film’s trailer was released on Monday evening on Netflix’s YouTube channel. In the trailer, Jennifer is seen donning an embellished ivory lehenga. Her ensemble was completed with a matching lehenga skirt, a dupatta, and traditional jewelry. Moreover, Adam Sandler also complemented her in an ivory sherwani.

Jennifer’s desi look caught netizens’ attention and left them stunned.

Jennifer and Adam also shared the trailer on their Instagram accounts. They captioned the post, “We’re baa-aack…..March 31!! @netflixfilm.” Reacting to the post, Manish’s label, Manish Malhotra World dropped a white heart emoji.

Manish also confirmed the update by posting netizens’ stories on his Instagram account.

After seeing the trailer, Manish’s close friend and filmmaker Karan Johar chimed in the comment section of Netflix India’s post.

He commented, “Go Manish!!!!! It’s your lehenga.”

Speaking of Murder Mystery 2, it is a comedy mystery film directed by Jeremy Garelick and written by James Vanderbilt. It is a sequel to the 2019 film Murder Mystery and stars Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston. Murder Mystery 2 is scheduled to be released on March 31 on Netflix. (ANI)

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court in Gujarat's Gandhinagar

Asaram Bapu Gets Life Imprisonment In 2013 Sexual Assault Case

A court in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar on Tuesday sentenced self-styled godman Asaram to life imprisonment in connection with a 2013 sexual assault case.

Asaram is sentenced to life imprisonment under Sections 376 & 377 in a sexual assault case. Court ordered Rs 50,000 ex-gratia to the victim, Public Prosecutor RC Kodekar said.
The 81-year-old is currently serving a life sentence in a Jodhpur case in another case of raping a minor girl at his ashram in Rajasthan in 2013.

In the 2013 case, a girl from Surat accused Asaram of rape. Statements from 68 people were taken in the case. There was a total of seven accused, including Asaram.

Earlier there were a total of eight accused but one of them became a government witness.

Asaram was presented virtually for the hearing. He is currently lodged in Jodhpur jail and has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Jodhpur court.

In the 2013 case, Asaram was accused of rape by a Surat girl, while Narayan Sai was accused of rape by her younger sister. Narayan Sai has been sentenced to life imprisonment whereas today the verdict came on Asaram, in which, he was found guilty.

In this case, apart from Asaram, his wife Lakshmi, daughter Bharati and four female followers Dhruvben, Nirmala, Jassi, and Meera were accused. All of these were acquitted.

The police have said that in this case, they had received strong evidence against Asaram. (ANI)

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President Droupadi Murmu

India’s 2023-24 GDP Growth In Real Terms Projected At 6.5%

The Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday tabled the Economic Survey for the Financial Year 2022-23, after the President’s address, on the first day of the Union Budget Session 2023-24.

The Economic Survey said that India’s economic recovery from the Covid pandemic is complete and the economy is expected to grow in the range of 6 percent to 6.8 percent in the coming financial year 2023-24. This is in comparison to 7 percent this fiscal and 8.7 percent in 2021-22.
Chief Economic Advisor Dr. V Anantha Nageswaran in a press conference in the national capital said that the India Monetary Fund (IMF) in its World Economic Outlook Update, has maintained India’s GDP forecast for the current Fiscal Year at 6.8 percent, the next Fiscal Year at 6.1 percent and for 2024-25 at 6.8 percent.

India’s economy is poised to do better in the remainder of this decade, the CEA said.

The Economic Survey document said the growth projection is broadly comparable to the estimates provided by multilateral agencies such as the World Bank, the IMF, the Asian Development Bank, and the Reserve Bank of India.

“The actual outcome for real GDP growth will probably lie in the range of 6.0 percent to 6.8 percent, depending on the trajectory of economic and political developments globally,” the survey read.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today tabled the Economic Survey for 2022-23 in the Parliament, a day ahead of the national Budget for the next financial year.

The Budget session of Parliament began today with an address from President Droupadi Murmu of the joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament.

The Economic Survey said that India remains the fastest-growing major economy in the world

GDP in nominal terms has been projected at 11 percent in the next fiscal.

Meanwhile, RBI projects 6.8 percent inflation this fiscal outside the upper target limit, which the Economic Survey says is “not high enough to deter private consumption, also not too low to weaken inducement to invest.”

A return of migrant workers to construction activities helped the housing market witnessed a significant decline in inventory overhang to 33 months in Q3 of FY 23 from 42 months last year.

A surge in the growth of exports in FY22 and the first half of FY23 induced a shift in the gears of the production process from mild acceleration to cruise mode.

Private Consumption as a percentage of GDP stood at 58.4 percent in the second quarter OF FY23, the highest among the second quarters of all the years since 2013-14 supported by a rebound in contact-intensive services such as trade, hotel, and transport survey points to the lower forecast for growth in global trade by the World Trade Organisation from 3.5 percent in 2022 to 1.0 percent in 2023

The Economic Survey document, formulated under the supervision of the chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran, provides insights into the state of the economy and various indicators in the current financial year 2022-23 (April-March) and the outlook for the next year.

The Economy Survey may also give some idea about the tone and texture of the actual Budget for 2023-24, to be presented tomorrow.

Budget 2023 is likely to be the last full Budget of the Modi government in its second term with the next Lok Sabha election due in April-May of 2024. Like the previous two Union Budgets, Union Budget 2023-24 will also be delivered in paperless form. (ANI)

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Pathaan

‘Pathaan Has Injected a Fresh Lease of Life Into Bollywood’

Priyanka Gupta, a socialite and social worker from Lucknow, says the Shahrukh Khan-starrer ticks all the boxes to qualify as a super-duper entertainer

I am very choosy about the movies to be watched in a theatre. Therefore, before buying tickets for Pathaan, I checked its reviews in the media, sought responses of my friends and the occupancy in the cinema halls before placing my buck on it. I am happy to say that the ticket-money was well spent; the film just blew my mind.

Though I am not a die-hard fan of Shahrukh Khan, from the terrific response of the audience in the cinema halls, I can tell you that the Hindi audience was long waiting for an entertainer like Pathaan. This SRK-entertainer has lived up to the expectations and the hype created before the release. Be it the star power, action sequences, choreography, twist & turns, or the high pitch of Rashtravad (nationalism), the movie ticks all the boxes to qualify as a paisa-wasool blockbuster.

The movie’s never-before kind of success came as a big relief for the cinema hall owners, who had been reeling under financial hardships since Covid times. Even after the theatres had reopened, most of the movies were run of the mill and could not book adequate profit. Not just theatre owners, it has also brought much-needed succour for the struggling Bollywood. Many critics had begun to write off Bollywood studios in favour of the South Indian cinema.

Looking into the gloom that prevailed for the past couple of years, Pathaan comes as a breath of fresh air. I think the negative campaign by various outfits against Shahrukh Khan may have also worked in its favour. The audience is not a fool. If the movie gives us the bang for our buck, we shall watch it. I am glad that wisdom prevailed over negativity. All those Boycott Bollywood, saffron bikini, body-shaming messages finally fell flat on their face.

Gupta (left) calls Pathaan a complete entertainer

Deepika Padukone is not the only star who has worn a bhagwa color outfit in a song. I can count any number of songs on fingertips where heroines had put on clothes of similar colour in far more ‘outrageous’ settings with bawdy lyrics. But Team Shahrukh has to face bigger scrutiny for reasons that I would not like to discuss or elaborate here.

ALSO READ: ‘Pathaan Brings Old World Revelry To Theatres’

The story line is entertaining, so is the background music, action sequences (however unbelievable) and a fast pace. Watching it on a large screen was an engrossing experience. I particularly found the Salman Khan’s cameo as one of the movie’s finest moments; Sallu’s entry set the audience on fire. But overall, it was a collective fare. Shahrukh Khan, Deepika, John Abraham, along with other co-stars, delivered a complete massala hit that Bollywood is known for.

The bottom line is audience will decide for themselves which movie to watch and which movie to abandon. Those who are trying to set an agenda in the field of entertainment will not succeed. To quote a cinematic line for the occasion, Indian audience only wants three things from a movie: Entertainment, entertainment and… entertainment.

As told to Rajat Rai

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