OLD INCIDENT: Govinda has been told by the Supreme Court of India to apoligise to a fan he slapped in 2008.

So wonderful are those days when you can be as temperamental as you want and the world just humours it as the right of a movie star.
But when you are no longer one, the universe gangs up to punish you. This could be what is going through Govinda’s mind as he faces a rather disagreeable situation.
In 2008, a video clip of him slapping someone at the set of a movie that he had been shooting for suddenly became public. When he was asked about it, Govinda said that the man had been trying to get close to the women on the set.
Usually such news should have passed off into history but the victim decided that he wouldn’t take it lying down. He filed a case in court and it snailed along in the judicial process.
Recently, it reached the Supreme Court of India which told Govinda that he should apologise to the fan and put an end to the matter. This was a public humiliation and he probably had it coming.
In the court his lawyer had said that he slapped the man because he was kicking Govinda’s chair from behind and harassing him. This is in somewhat at odds with the earlier version about women being harassed as the cause.
Govinda’s options are limited even though what the court said is only a suggestion and not a binding order. Soon after he heard about it, Govinda seemed to be willing to obey. But then he called a press conference and said he was still considering his options.
He also insinuated that this could be a political conspiracy against him because the man had managed to stick with the case for so long and that would need funds. It is true that Govinda had briefly entered politics and become a Parliamentarian but the problem with that theory is that he is not a politician anymore and no one really has any interest in him in that context.
Not that he did any remarkable work as a member of Parliament, when he was famous for being absent from his constituency. What he still is not able to digest is that he should be called to account for his actions.
While there might be ego at work here, he might actually be better off apologising because clearly what he did has no justification, no matter what the provocation.

Distant horizons

Tamasha, even if not a blockbuster, has done enough business and that is good news for Ranbir Kapoor. For his counterpart in the movie, Deepika Padukone, it again reaffirms her ability to never deliver a flop.
In fact, many would say that the movie worked as much as it did primarily because of her presence in it. She continues to be the reigning queen of Bollywood. But she also apparently has plans that might at some point go beyond acting.
In interviews Deepika has been talking about how much she would love to be a producer. It is not money that makes it inviting for her but the fact that she likes to get things organised and fix issues.
Production seems to be quite popular with actresses. Anushka Sharma has already turned producer with NH7. The producer’s is actually the most demanding and stressful job in the film industry and the only reason anyone would get into it is the reward if the movie becomes a hit. Ironic then that is the only reason that Deepika won’t do it for!

Khan bonding

There was a time many years ago when Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan were not really the best of friends. Once, after he had started blogging, Aamir had even made a bad joke by writing that a dog in a place when he had gone to was called Shah Rukh.
But now they seem to be quite thick. On his birthday last month, Aamir called Shah Rukh up and they are supposed to have chatted amicably. They are also frequently heard saying nice things about each other nowadays.
Recently, both of them found themselves under attack by a section of the political establishment when they said that there was a climate of intolerance in the country.
Aamir had come in for greater flak because he had recollected a question by his wife about moving out of the country. People called him unpatriotic.
But Shah Rukh has now come to Aamir’s defence in a television interview. He said that Aamir does not need to prove his patriotism to anyone. Shah Rukh was also quite caustic about those who had been vilifying them on social networking, saying that the good side of the controversy was that he now did not have to speak on everything under the sun and would be glad to stick to only those issues that he knows about.

Trial goes on

Salman Khan might have just escaped prison time some months ago after a guilty sentence in a drunk driving hit and run case, but the sword still hangs over his head.  
In what had aroused the indignation of many, he had made instant bail after his conviction in May this year. But the case is now being heard in the High Court and as soon as that comes to a fruition he will once again face the prospect of jail if found guilty.
The prosecution has told the court that no leniency should be shown and that the five-year imprisonment awarded by the lower court is what he should undergo. Salman’s defence team had wanted to call Kamaal Khan, a former actor and his friend, as a witness because he was said to be in the car while the accident had happened. Presumably, they thought Kamaal’s testimony could absolve Salman.
But the court decided that it was not necessary at this stage. But it did allow the consideration of the testimony of his driver, who at the last minute during the lower court trial, had said he was at the wheel during the accident. The trial court had found no merit in the testimony. But it waits to be seen how much weight it will have at this stage.

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