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New Delhi:

Indian screenwriter, lyricist, and poet Javed Akhtar recently in conversation with NDTV Creators Manch, addressed the ongoing Diljit Dosanjh controversy over his Punjabi film Sardaar Ji 3, featuring Pakistani actor Hania Aamir. He shared his thoughts on the ongoing situation and whether it is fair for the singer-actor.

When asked about Diljit Dosanjh starring alongside Pakistani actress Hania Aamir in Sardaar Ji 3, and the backlash he received, Javed Akhtar said that he wasn’t aware when the movie was shot.

On being told that the makers say it was shot before the Pahalgam attack earlier this year, he said, “Ab kya karein bechara. The movie was shot earlier. Usko pata toh nahi tha ki aisa hoga. Iss mein Pakistani aadmi ka paisa toh nahi doobega, Hindustani ka paisa doobega. Toh phir kya faayda?”

He adds, “Usko pehle pata hota yeh hone wala hain, toh woh thodi na leta Pakistani actress. I think the government and the censor board should look at the situation with a little sympathy. And say that don’t do this again, but since you made this film before, then release it. But it should not happen again.The Sardaar Ji 3 Controversy

Diljit Dosanjh’s Punjabi film Sardaar Ji 3 has been released worldwide in theatres today, except in India.

Diljit Dosanjh and team Sardaar Ji 3 have faced severe flak ever since the trailer of the film was dropped on Sunday (June 22). Diljit released the trailer of the film, announcing the release date and revealing Pakistani actor Hania Aamir’s presence in the film.

The Federation of Western India Cine Employees earlier sent a letter to Imtiaz Ali to cut his ties with the singer-actor. Imtiaz Ali has an upcoming untitled film with Diljit Dosanjh which was reportedly scheduled for a Baisakhi 2026 release. It also has Naseeruddin Shah, Vedang Raina, and Sharvari in key roles.

Punjabi singer-star Diljit Dosanjh is facing criticism for casting Pakistani star Hania Aamir in his upcoming Punjabi film Sardaar Ji 3. In an apparent move to steer clear of controversy on ground in India, the horror comedy movie is also skipping a theatrical release in the country and going for an overseas screening on Friday (June 27).

The announcement comes two months after the deadly terror attack in Jammu Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, 2025 and the subsequent Operation Sindoor, the air missile strikes carried out by the Indian armed forces on May 7, 2025 targeted on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack.Diljit Dosanjh is being trolled on social media over casting Pakistani actor Hania Aamir in his latest Punjabi movie Sardaar Ji 3.

On Sunday night, Diljit Dosanjh shared the trailer on his Instagram page. “Sardaar Ji 3 Releasing 27th June OVERSEAS Only FADH LAO BHOOND DIAN LATTAN,” he captioned his post.

The Amar Singh Chamkila star’s team also posted the link of Sohni Lagdi, a song from Sardaar Ji 3 featuring Diljit Dosanjh and Hania Aamir. The track will be out today. “Sohni lagdi – Song Out Tomorrow 

• nothing too dramatic, so I did what most of us tend to do… ignored it, masked it, and kept going. It finally caught up with me while shooting for my current movie, and things took a turn. Movements that once felt like second nature – dancing, stunts, even the simplest stretches – became restricted. What I thought was temporary turned out to be far more serious.”
• The Antim actor added, “The biggest mistake? Taking the pain lightly and hoping it would heal on its own. But now… here we are. After two surgeries, I’m officially on the road to recovery. The journey has just begun, and I’m filled with nothing but gratitude, hope, and a burning desire to get back to doing what I love the most – being in front of the camera.”
• He expressed deep gratitude towards the doctors and his family for taking such good care of him, as he concluded, “This phase has taught me that good health isn’t just about a six-pack – it’s about what’s happening inside. Don’t ignore the whispers your body sends you. Act early. Heal properly. To the doctors – thank you for the laser-sharp attention and care. To my producer @isajidqureshi & director @dir_kiran – your patience

New Delhi:

Aayush Sharma took to Instagram to update his followers on his back-to-back surgeries recently. Stating how his back pain had initially started when he was performing a stunt for his film Ruslaan, he admitted to ignoring it at first. However, things started acting up while he was filming his latest movie and he realised his backache was a little more serious. He updated everyone that he was officially on his road to recovery.

What’s Happening

• Aayush Sharma recently put up an Instagram post, revealing details about his recent surgeries.
• He penned a long post explaining how it all began with a simple back pain while he was shooting for Ruslaan. However, with time, the symptoms exacerbated and he had to seek medical attention.

The clip posted by a media outlet on Instagram shows the Laughter Chefs 2 contestants discussing a dish.

Addressing a cook present at the reality show, Krushna Abhishek said, “Apne kaha tha iss mein Middle-Eastern taste chahiye. Woh ek special ingredient mere haath lag chuka hai. (You said that this dish will require a Middle-Eastern touch. For that, I have got my hands on a special ingredient).”

To this, Ankita Lokhande revealed that she had also brought the same component.

“Main khoj kar layi (I searched and brought it),” she shared. The ingredient in question was Borkut, an Indian jujube. 

In a playful competition, Krushna Abhishek snatched the ingredient from Ankita Lokhande and ran away. That’s when the Pavitra Rishta actress made the shocking claim. While chasing behind Krushna, she exclaimed, “Mai pregnant hoon. Bhaag nahi sakti. (I am pregnant. I cannot run).”

Krushna Abhishek was visibly taken aback by the remark.

“Aaj humare ghar mei aa raha lalla hai (Today, we will be welcoming a boy at our house),” he said in jest, prompting laughter from Ankita Lokhande and the others

Karisma Kapoor’s ex-husband, Sunjay Kapur, died after suffering a heart attack during a polo match in England on June 12. His family announced a prayer meeting in his memory, to be held in New Delhi on June 22. Karisma, along with their two children, Samaira and Kiaan, flew to the capital earlier today to attend the ceremony. 

On Sunday, Karisma and her kids were spotted at Mumbai’s Kalina airport. All three of them were dressed in sombre white for the prayer meeting.Karisma’s sister Kareena Kapoor and her husband Saif Ali Khan also made their way to the airport. The couple seemed to be joining Karisma at Sanjay Kapur’s prayer meet in Delhi.Last week, Sunjay Kapur’s family released a press note citing details of his cremation and prayer meet. While Sunjay’s last rites took place on Thursday at the Lodhi Road Cremation Ground in New Delhi, the prayer meeting will be held today between 4 pm and 5 pm at the Taj Palace Hotel. The note had the signatures of his mother, Rani Surinder Kapur, his wife Priya, Safira, and Azarias. His kids with Karisma Kapoor were also mentioned.

Sunjay Kapur died after suffering a heart attack at the age of 53. According to sources close to him, the businessman was playing polo at the Guards Polo Club when he reportedly suffocated. He requested to stop the game and then left the ground. Soon after, he suffered a heart attack and died.

The sources further shared that Sunjay apparently swallowed a bee and the sting in his throat caused a heart attack. Sunjay was running a polo team – Aureus – of which he was the patron. He was playing against Sujan, which is a team run by Jaisal Singh,

Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, issued a rebuke of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s public statements from Indian soil, claiming that he personally urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and prevent her from addressing Bangladeshis online. 

In remarks delivered during an interaction at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, Mr Yunus described a volatile political atmosphere in post-Hasina Bangladesh and expressed frustration over what he suggests to be Delhi’s indifference to the destabilising impact of her continued communications.

“The whole anger and everything is now transferred to India, because she went there. Not only is she living there, but the problem is, when I had a chance to talk to Prime Minister Modi, I just simply said, ‘You want to host her? I cannot force you to abandon that policy, but please help us in making sure she doesn’t speak to Bangladeshi people, the way she is doing’,” Mr Yunus said. 

According to Mr Yunus, Ms Hasina, who fled to India after being ousted by a student-led uprising in August 2024, continues to issue addresses to Bangladeshis through social media platforms, including YouTube and Facebook, often announcing these broadcasts in advance. These, Mr Yunus said, provoke public anger and risk inciting unrest in Bangladesh.

“She announces on such and such day at such and such hour, she will speak, and the whole of Bangladesh gets very angry, the way she is speaking. Why is she keeping this whole anger thing inside of us now? And is India doing what you asked? No. Mr Modi’s answer, I quote, he said, ‘It’s the social media, we cannot control it’,” Mr Yunus claimed. 

“What can you say? It’s an explosive situation. You can’t just walk away by saying it’s social media. So this is what is still going on,” he added. 

Raja Raghuvanshi and Sonam’s families were not familiar with one another and met through a matrimonial app while seeking partners for their children, the former’s cousin, Arpit, has said.

In an exclusive chat with NDTV, Arpit said Raja and Sonam’s families – both from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore – also met a couple of times and visited each other, before fixing the marriage at the woman’s residence on February 10.

The details emerge at a time when Raja’s murder by Sonam, just days after their marriage on May 11, has sent waves of shock and grief through both the families and left them distraught. 

The case initially came to light as that of a “missing couple”, after Raja and Sonam could not be traced during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, but gradually took a tragic turn and revealed a shocking betrayal. Sonam was in love with Raj Kushwaha and had plotted and hired three hitmen to get rid of Raja.

“The two families did not know each other before Raja and Sonam’s marriage. There is an application where Raghuvanshi families look for marriage prospects. It was through this application that we found a match for Raja,” Arpit said.

“Both families gradually began meeting and visiting each other and eventually decided to proceed with the marriage. They finalised the wedding on February 10 at Sonam’s house,” he added. 

A 34-year-old woman was hacked to death and her teenage daughter seriously injured in an attack in this hill district, police said on Monday.

A younger daughter who was missing after the incident has been found safe with the suspect, who is now in custody, they said.

The attack took place late Sunday evening at the woman’s rented home in Appappara village, under the Thirunelli police station limits.

The victim, Praveena, had been living there with her two daughters after separating from her husband, police said.

According to the police, the attack was allegedly carried out by Praveena’s male friend, identified as Dileesh.

Her 14-year-old daughter suffered deep wounds to her neck and ear and is being treated at a government hospital.

The suspect fled the scene with Praveena’s nine-year-old daughter, prompting a major search operation.

Police used drones and combed nearby forest areas despite rough weather conditions and difficult terrain.

Both the suspect and the missing girl were found on Monday near a forested area close to the house and the girl appeared unharmed, police said.

Authorities said that some containers have been found along the coasts of southern Kollam and coastal Alappuzha districts.

Containers from a Liberian cargo ship that sank off the Kerala coast have started washing ashore, while the oil spill spreading from the vessel has prompted authorities to issue a high alert along the state’s coastline, officials said on Monday.

Authorities said that some containers have been found along the coasts of southern Kollam and coastal Alappuzha districts.

In the wake of the sinking of the ship off the Kerala coast, a high-level meeting was convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to assess the situation.

An advisory has been issued urging coastal residents and fishermen to remain vigilant.

So far, nine containers have washed ashore, and an advisory has been reiterated for coastal residents and fishermen to remain alert, according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).

The cargo ship capsized and sank early on Sunday, leading to a significant oil spill. According to the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), the sunken vessel had 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel and 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil in its tanks.

The India Meteorological Department has issued red alerts for Idukki, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts and orange alerts for the remaining districts.

Heavy rain lashed many districts of Kerala on Friday, disrupting normal life and causing waterlogging.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued red alerts for Idukki, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts and orange alerts for the remaining districts today.

Authorities in several districts have declared holidays for educational institutions under their jurisdiction.

As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), strong westerly winds are likely to persist at lower tropospheric levels over Kerala and the Lakshadweep region for the next two to three days, resulting in widespread rainfall.

The IMD stated, “Strong westerlies likely to continue at lower tropospheric levels over Kerala and the Lakshadweep region during the next 2-3 days. Under the influence of these, widespread rainfall activity with scattered Heavy rainfall to Very Heavy rainfall with isolated Extremely Heavy rainfall is very likely to occur over Kerala on 29th & 30th May 2025. Heavy rainfall is very likely to occur at isolated places over Kerala on 31st May, 1st and 2nd June 2025.”

District administrations across Kerala have declared a holiday for all educational institutions in several districts on May 30 (Friday).

The precautionary measure applies to professional colleges, anganwadis, tuition centers, madrassas, and special coaching classes.

Kannur District Collector announced a holiday for all educational institutions, including anganwadis, madrassas, tuition centers, and special classes. The district declared a similar holiday on the previous day due to intense rainfall.