Month: April 2024

After superstar Aamir Khan flagged a deepfake video of himself, a purported election pitch for a certain political party; actor Ranveer Singh has become the latest victim of the menace sweeping the industry.

A video of the actor of ‘Padmaavat’ fame recently surfaced online in which he is purportedly heard voicing his political views.

However, it now turns out that the video was made using an artificial intelligence voice clone of the actor.

While the video, from the actor’s recent visit to Varanasi, appears genuine, the audio is of a AI-enabled voice clone of Ranveer.

The actor, married to Bollywood beauty Deepika Padukone, recently turned showstopper along with another prominent industry face, Kriti Sanon, at an open-air fashion show by the Ganges in Varanasi. The show was organised by top couturier Manish Malhotra.

During his visit to the ancient city, which happens to be one of the world’s oldest pilgrimage sites, Ranveer spoke highly of the changes that have come about in terms of the public infrastructure overhaul while also sharing his ‘divine’ experience of the city.

Taking to his Instagram Story on Friday, Ranveer dropped a post in which he wrote, “
Deepfake se bacho doston
(Friends, beware of deepfakes).”

While the post had nothing on the clip doing the rounds of social media currently, it was evidently in response to his deepfake video.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Ranveer will be seen reprising his role of Simmba in Rohit Shetty’s cop drama ‘Singham Again’, which also stars Deepika Padukone, actors Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff and Kareena Kapoor Khan.

Ranveer will also headline Farhan Akhtar’s ‘Don 3’. Don 3′ will arrive in 2025.

While announcing the film, Farhan requested the audience to give the same love to Ranveer as they showered on previous Don installments.

“In 1978, a character created by Salim-Javed and portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan with effortless elan, captured the imagination of theatregoers across the country. That enigmatic character was Don. In 2006, Don was reimagined and brought to life by Shah Rukh Khan in his own irresistibly charming way,” he wrote.

“The time has now come to take the legacy of Don forward and joining us in this new interpretation will be an actor whose talent and versatility I have long admired. We hope that you will show him the love you have so graciously and generously shown to Mr Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan,” the post further read. (ANI)

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Actor Rajkummar Rao is known for giving incredible performances in movies such as ‘Kai Po Che!’ and ‘Shahid’. Rao’s dedication to his craft and his love for his profession have helped him succeed in his career.

The actor is busy promoting his film ‘Srikanth-Aa Raha Hai Sabki Aankhein Kholne’. In the movie, he portrays the life of Srikanth Bolla. He is an Indian entrepreneur who founded Bollant Industries, employing unskilled and differently-abled individuals. Born visually impaired in 1992 near Hyderabad, his life story is inspiring.

In an exclusive conversation with ANI, Rao spoke about the challenges of depicting a visually impaired person on-screen and why he decided to do the film.

He said, “I found Srikanth Bolla’s story very inspiring. Born in a very poor family, how he achieved so much in his life, that he established a million-dollar company. Apart from that, he is also visually impaired. I have never played such a role, so it was very challenging for me. I felt that it would take a lot of fear to do it, but when you feel fear, you will enjoy it.”

Talking about his preparation work, he added, “The preparation was very important for this role. We used to go to blind schools for hours. We used to spend time with real-life visually impaired people. So to see and observe a lot from them, also to know about their life, that how they see the world. I spent a lot of time with Srikanth. Because we are putting his life on the screen. So to understand things from him, how he used to see things, how he made a decision. I got a lot of information from him.”

Rao continued, “The child who is playing, Shrikant, is also visually impaired. He is also blind. So I spent two days with him to understand his body language.”

Director Tushar Hiranandani shared that he made Rajkummar’s work more challenging by making him act with the visually impaired kids.

“All the children, all the characters, they are all visually impaired. So that he had to work with them. Because no one can act better than them. They are natural. So he had to match that. And he did it and in a better way.”

The ‘Kai Po Che!’ actor added, “It is a beautiful story. His character inspires others to move forward in life despite challenges. His passion helped him to fight the hurdles.”

Apart from Rao and Alaya F, the film also has Sharad Kelkar and Jyotika.

Produced by T-Series and Chalk N Cheese Films Production LLP, the movie is directed by Tushar Hiranandani and written by Jagdeep Sidhu and Sumit Purohit.

‘Srikanth’ is slated to have a theatrical release on May 10, 2024.

Meanwhile, RajKummar will also be seen in the sports drama ‘Mr and Mrs Mahi’ opposite Janhvi Kapoor. (ANI)

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Maharashtra Minister and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, Chhagan Bhujbal, who was eyeing to contest as Mahayuti candidate in the Lok Sabha polls, has withdrawn from the race on Friday over the delay in the announcement of the candidate for the Nashik seat.

“I am withdrawing from this fight. It’s taking longer. Only discussion is going on. I am withdrawing from contesting the Lok Sabha elections,” Bhujbal said while addressing a press conference on Friday.

Bhujbal claimed that he was told by NCP leaders Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel that Union Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah has suggested his name for the Nashik seat.

“On the day of Holi festival, Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel called me and said that when Nashik seat was discussed in the meeting, Amit Shah said that Chhagan Bhujbal will contest from Nashik seat, though Sameer Bhujbal’s name was also raised,” the NCP leader said.

He further alleged that the naming the candidate for the Nashik seat was taking longer despite “having the circumstances,” while urging the party to announce the candidate for the seat soon.

“When I went to Nashik, I received support from everyone, including the OBC, Marathas and ST communities. I called Devendra Fadnavis and asked him to give the candidature to Sameer Bhujbal from Nashik. Devendra Fadnavis also said that you will have to contest the elections. The Centre, which is Amit Shah and the Prime Minister also expressed the same wish. Despite these circumstances, the seat has not been announced yet,” he said.

“The issue regarding Nashik seat has not been cleared yet. The MVA declared its candidates three weeks ago and started campaigning. The more time we take the more loss we will face. Therefore, this deadlock had to be broken…I decided that I did not want to be part of this fight…I have decided that I will not be the candidate (from Nashik)…”

The Maha Vikas Aghadi has fielded Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Rajabhau Waze from Nashik, while a dispute over the seat has been going on among the alliance partners of the ruling coalition, Mahayuti, which includes the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena-Shinde faction and Ajit Pawar’s NCP.

Reportedly, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the NCP have both staked claims over the seat, which is still undecided.

The voting in Nashik will be held on May 20 in the fifth phase.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra, which has 48 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha, is polling in five seats today. The polling is held in Chandrapur, Bhandara-Gondiya, Gadchiroli-Chimur, Ramtek and Nagpur on Friday.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 23 out of 25 seats it contested in alliance with the undivided Shiv Sena. Elections to the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra will be held in five phases. The counting of votes will be held on June 4. (ANI)

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Parliamentary seats in northeastern states and West Bengal recorded high voter turnout till 3 pm in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls on Friday with polling percentage also picking up in constituencies in some other states and union territories which went to the polls. Polling percentage was relatively less in Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand.

Voting is being held in 102 seats in the first phase of Lok Sabha election.

Voting for India’s parliamentary election, the largest democratic exercise in the world, began at 7 am with Election Commission urging people to exercise their franchise in maximum number.

Of the 102 seats going to the polls on Friday, BJP-led National Democratic Alliance had won 43 seats and parties in INDIA bloc 48 seats in 2019 election. While the BJP-led NDA is seeking third consecutive term in office under leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the INDIA bloc is hoping to oust it from power.

Polling is being held in 21 states and union territories in the first phase. These are – Arunachal Pradesh (two seats), Assam (five), Bihar (four), Chhattisgarh (one), Madhya Pradesh (six), Maharashtra (five), Manipur (two), Meghalaya (two), Mizoram (one), Nagaland (one), Rajasthan (12), Sikkim (one), Tamil Nadu (39), Tripura (one), Uttar Pradesh (eight), Uttarakhand (five), West Bengal (three), Andaman and Nicobar (one), Jammu and Kashmir (one), Lakshadweep (one) and Puducherry (one).

According to Election Commission data at 3 pm, Tripura, which saw brisk polling in the initial hours, continued to maintain its lead with 68.35 poll percentage. It was 55.58 per cent for Arunachal Pradesh, Assam (60.70), Chhattisgarh (58.14), Jammu and Kashmir (57.09), Madhya Pradesh (53.40) Manipur (63.03), Meghalaya (61.95), Mizoram (49.97), Nagaland (53.38), Puducherry (58.86), Sikkim (52.72). Seats in West Bengal also witnessed a high voting percentage of 66. 34 per cent.

In seats in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, 47.44 per cent voters had cast their ballot by 3 pm.

In Tamil Nadu, where all 39 Lok Sabha seats are going to the polls, voting percentage was 51.18 per cent till 3pm. In Uttarakhand, where polling is being held on all five parliamentary seats, the voting percentage was 45.62 per cent.

The polling percentage was relatively low till 3 pm in Bihar (39.73 pc), Andaman and Nicobar islands recorded (45.48 pc), Lakshadweep (43.98), Maharashtra (44.12), Rajasthan (41.51).

Polling is also being held on Friday for assembly polls in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

According to Election Commission data at 3 pm, it was 56.19 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh and 52.73 per cent in Sikkim.

Polling will be completed in a single phase today in Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

In Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh, voting will take place across all seven phases starting April 19.

The poll schedule was announced by the Election Commission on March 16. Bypolls to 26 assembly constituencies will also be held alongside the Lok Sabha and four state assembly polls.

Voting for bypolls is being held in the Ramnagar seat in Tripura and the Vilavancode seat in Tamil Nadu today.

The first phase has the highest number of parliamentary constituencies among all phases.

An estimated 8.4 crore male voters, 8.23 crore female voters and 11,371 third gender electors are eligible to vote in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls.

The Lok Sabha polls will be held in India in seven phases, from April 19 to June 1 to elect the 543 members of the 18th Lok Sabha. The results will be announced on June 4. (ANI)

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The Ministry of National Defence of Taiwan tracked six Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 am. on Thursday (April 18) and 6 a.m. on Friday (April 19), reported Taiwan News.

As per the MND, out of the six PLA aircraft, four of them crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the southwest area of the nation’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ), while one of them crossed the line in the northeast ADIZ.

Taiwan responded by monitoring the PLA operations with planes, naval ships, and air defence missile systems. Taiwan has detected 110 Chinese naval vessels and 164 Chinese military aircraft so far this month, reported Taiwan News.

China has been using grey zone tactics more frequently since September 2020, gradually expanding the number of military planes and navy vessels in the Taiwan area.

Gray zone tactics are defined as “an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resort to direct and sizable use of force.” (ANI)

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Tripura is leading the voter turnout charts after 34.54 per cent voting percentage was recorded in the state till 11 am as per the data released by the Election Commission of India.

Other states like West Bengal (33.56) Meghalaya (33.12) and Madhya Pradesh (30.56) are also witnessing high voter turnout percentages.

The lowest turnout till 11 am has been recorded in Lakshadweep (16.33 per cent).

Voting percentages for the states participating in phase 1 elections are — Andaman and Nicobar Islands – 21.82 per cent, Arunachal Pradesh – 18.74 per cent, Assam – 27.22 per cent, Bihar – 20.42 per cent, Chhattisgarh – 28.12 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir – 22.60 per cent, Maharashtra – 19.17 per cent

Manipur – 28.19 per cent, Meghalaya – 33.12 per cent, Mizoram – 26.56 per cent, Nagaland – 22.82 per cent, Puducherry – 28.10 per cent, Rajasthan – 22.51 per cent, Sikkim – 21.20 per cent, Tamil Nadu – 23.72 per cent, Tripura – 34.54 per cent, Uttar Pradesh – 25.20 per cent, Uttarakhand 24.83 per cent.

The voter turnout in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was over 67 per cent.

Meanwhile, BJP had filed a complaint with the Election Commission after a polling agent was not allowed to enter Booth in Coochbehar constituency earlier today.

Voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024 began on Friday across 102 parliamentary constituencies spread over 21 states and Union Territories as the mega seven-phase electoral exercise commenced at 7:00 am.

Voters will exercise their franchise until 6:00 pm. According to the data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI), a total of 1.87 lakh polling stations have been set up, while 18 lakh personnel have been deployed across the 102 constituencies going to the polls.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking his third consecutive term, while the opposition bloc-INDIA- a coalition of opposing parties formed to take on the BJP in the general elections, is eyeing to oust him from power.

The second phase will be held on April 26 and the remaining phases will be May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1 accordingly. The last general elections in 2019 were also held in seven phases. (ANI)

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As of 9:30 am voter turnout percentages varied across states participating in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections with states like West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh leading the voter turnout charts.

According to the data released by the Election Commission of India, West Bengal saw a 15.09 per cent voter turnout while Madhya Pradesh recorded a 15 per cent till 9 am.

Voting percentages for the states participating in phase 1 elections are —

Andaman and Nicobar Islands – 8.64 per cent, Arunachal Pradesh – 6.29 per cent, Assam – 11.15 per cent, Bihar 9.23 per cent, Chhattisgarh 12.02 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir 10.43 per cent, Lakshadweep 5.59 per cent, Maharashtra 6.98 per cent.

Manipur 11.91 per cent, Meghalaya 13.71 per cent, Mizoram 11.22 per cent, Nagaland 10.64 per cent, Puducherry 10.11 per cent, Rajasthan 10.67 per cent, Sikkim 7.92 per cent, Tamil Nadu 8.25 per cent, Tripura 15.21 per cent, Uttar Pradesh 12.66 per cent, Uttarakhand 10.54 per cent

The voter turnout in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was over 67 per cent.

Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo informed that elections in the state are going smoothly.

“There are four to five places where the functioning of EVMs was delayed due to technical fault but all were rectified,” he said.

Voting for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024 began on Friday across 102 parliamentary constituencies spread over 21 states and Union Territories as the mega seven-phase electoral exercise commenced at 7:00 am.

Voters will exercise their franchise until 6:00 pm. According to the data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI), a total of 1.87 lakh polling stations have been set up, while 18 lakh personnel have been deployed across the 102 constituencies going to the polls.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking his third consecutive term, while the opposition bloc-INDIA- a coalition of opposing parties formed to take on the BJP in the general elections, is eyeing to oust him from power.

The second phase will be held on April 26 and the remaining phases will be May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1 accordingly. The last general elections in 2019 were also held in seven phases. (ANI)

For more details visit us: https://lokmarg.com/

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has always amazed his fans with his acting talent, charisma and sweet gestures.

He has not been missing any chance to be with his cricket team, Kolkata Knight Riders. His love for the players is also visible to everyone with the way he has come forward to cheer for them and support them during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

Recently, SRK’s picture went viral on social media in which he is seen posing with KKR player Sunil Narine and his wife Anjellia Suchit.

In the picture, he can be seen sitting between the couple as they pose for the camera. The ‘Pathaan’ actor donned white shirt and a trouser. Sunil kept it casual in a jogger suit and cap. His wife, Anjellia, carried an all-black look.

A day ago, SRK won the hearts of fans following his heartwarming gesture during Kolkata Knight Riders’s two-wicket defeat against Rajasthan Royals at iconic Eden Gardens in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

KKR came close to dethroning RR from the summit of the table but fell short in a high-scoring chase thriller following Jos Buttler’s blitzkrieg (107*).

After the game, Shah Rukh shook hands and embraced Buttler, who was the main architect of KKR’s defeat.

After the match, Shah Rukh visited the KKR dressing room and delivered a motivational speech to the players.

He especially assured team mentor Gautam Gambhir not to feel down, as the team would bounce back in their upcoming matches.

“There are days in our lives, in sports, especially when we don’t deserve to lose and there are days when we don’t deserve to win. But days are like that, which turns things around. Today, we didn’t deserve to lose. All of us played extremely well. We have to be very very proud of ourselves. Please don’t feel sad or down. Feel as happy as we feel whenever we come to the changing room and we are on a high so maintain the high. The main thing is the energy in all of us and I think we have great energy on the field. We have lovely energy here,” Shah Rukh said in a video posted by KKR on X.

“Personally, everybody is bonding together. Honestly, it is a very proud day for the way we all played. I think all of us won’t take individual names, that’s been taken. GG (Gautam Gambhir), don’t feel down, we would all be bouncing back. It is God’s plan today, as Rinku (Singh) says. I think this is what we would like, we will be back with more and better God’s plans. Thank you everyone and God bless you all,” he added.

On the work front, SRK returned to the silver screen with Siddharth Anand’s ‘Pathaan’ in January 2023.

The film in which SRK donned an awe-evoking action avatar broke several records at the box office and managed to find a place in the list of one of the highest-grossing films in the Indian film industry.

The film also marked SRK’s first hit following his sabbatical of four years after a series of flicks such as ‘Zero’ and ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’. After ‘Pathaan’, King Khan returned to theatres in September with ‘Jawan’. The film once again saw SRK in an action avatar.

In December, he came up with ‘Dunki’, which also did decent business at the box office. Helmed by Rajkumar Hirani, ‘Dunki’ focuses on the issue of immigration. Its title is taken from the term “donkey journey”, which refers to the long, winding, and often dangerous routes that people across the world take to reach the places they want to immigrate to. He has not announced his next project yet.

However, if reports are to be believed, he will be seen sharing screen space with Salman Khan in ‘Tiger vs Pathaan’. The film will reportedly have Tiger (Salman) locking horns with Pathaan, played by Shah Rukh Khan. It will mark their full-fledged collaboration after ‘Karan Arjun’. The official announcement regarding the project is still awaited. (ANI)

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The Election Commission of India on Thursday denied before Supreme Court the news report, claiming that four electronic voting machines (EVMs) were recording one extra vote for BJP during a mock poll in Kerala’s Kasaragod.

ECI official present in Supreme Court said that news reported and cited is totally false.

Senior deputy election commissioner Nitesh Kumar Vyas told a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta that “These news reports are false. We have verified the allegation from the district collector and it appears that they are false. We will submit a detailed report to the court.”

Response of ECI official came during the hearing of a batch of pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT).

Earlier in the day, the bench asked senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the Election Commission, to look into the issue after advocate Prashant Bhushan cited a news report of flagged the issue.

Bhushan, representing NGO ‘Association for Democratic Reforms’, cited a report on mock poll results of Kerala where extra votes for BJP were found recorded.

As asked by the bench, ECI official present in the court room explained the working of the EVMs and VVPAT.

He said manufacturer does not know which button is going to be allotted to which party or which machine is going to be allotted to which State.

He also apprised the court that there had been no mismatch ever between EVMs and VVPAT slips.

During the hearing, the bench observed, “This is electoral process. There has to be sanctity. Let nobody have apprehension that something which is expected is not being done.”

VVPAT is an independent vote verification system which enables an elector to see whether his vote was cast correctly.

The VVPAT generates a paper slip that is kept in a sealed cover and can be opened if there is a dispute. Currently, VVPAT slips of five randomly selected EVMs in every Assembly segment are verified. (ANI)

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