
Balveer fame Joyita Chatterjee tests positive for Covid-19; says ‘I will be fine super soon'
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Joyita began experiencing symptoms such as cough and cold, which prompted her to take a COVID-19 test. Following a positive result, the actress immediately began isolating and is currently following all health protocols.
Confirming the news, Joyita shared, "Yes, this is true and I am indeed COVID-19 positive at the moment. However, I am confident that I will be fine super soon and it's just a phase. I had taken my vaccines in the past and so, I feel things should be normal very soon."
The actress also thanked her well-wishers for their support, adding, "I am following my protocols and isolation and will be back in action soon. Wishing everyone that they take care of their health and put it as first priority. Thank you so much to everyone for all the love and concern. Keep praying for my speedy recovery. Grateful to one and all."
Joyita is not the only actor recently affected by the virus. Actress Shilpa Shirodkar, who had earlier tested positive, has now recovered and is reportedly doing well.
Joyita, who is also active as a podcaster and content creator, has maintained a positive and responsible approach through her recovery. Her health update serves as a reminder for people to remain cautious and prioritize their health as case numbers fluctuate.
The entertainment industry continues to be mindful of safety measures as public figures like Joyita urge fans to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions.

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Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Is a mega earthquake hitting Japan today? The Manga prediction everyone's talking about
Japan is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. With the summers in full swing, people across the globe have been planning a visit to this Asian country rich in natural landscapes, cultural history, modern technology and unforgettable experiences- all of which call the names of travellers who adore exploring new adventures. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now However, currently and especially today, on July 5, people in Japan are scared for their lives and those planning to visit the country have put their plans on hold. Why so? Let's find out! A tsunami to hit Japan? Image credits: X This is because a Japanese manga novel has predicted that a mega-earthquake will hit Japan today. The buzz started from the 2021 reprint of a 1999 manga called 'The Future I Saw' by Ryo Tatsuki, a retired manga artist known as Japan's 'New Baba Vanga'. In it she predicted a crack under the seabed between Japan and the Philippines, triggering a tsunami three times larger than the 2011 one that hit the country. Why are the people scared? In 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit Japan's northern Tohoku region. The incident claimed the lives of nearly 20,000 people and caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster. Many believe that Tatsuki had predicted the occurrence. According to the South China Morning Post, a manga's cover included the words "massive disaster in March 2011" leading people to believe that she foresaw the event. Long-time followers of the new Baba Vanga also believe that she predicted the death of Princess Diana, musician Freddie Mercury and the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, over 1,000 earthquakes have rattled the Tokara island chain of the country since June 21, with the latest one on July 3 leading to the evacuation of one small southern island's 89 residents. With these quakes coinciding with the predicted doomsday, people's fears have only amped up. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Will a mega earthquake truly occur? Image credits: X Seismologists insist that the predictions are scientifically impossible. 'At the moment, it is still impossible to predict an earthquake with specific timing, location or its magnitude,' the Japan Meteorological Agency told the Associated Press last month, calling any such prediction 'a hoax' and 'disinformation'. The author herself tried to diminish the speculation through a statement issued by her publisher which clarified that she was "not a prophet" and that the mega earthquake may not happen. She encouraged readers not to be 'overly swayed' by her dreams and 'act appropriately based on expert opinions'.


The Print
10 hours ago
- The Print
‘He never spoke about why he wanted to die'—Guru Dutt's sister broke her silence
We spoke first about the fear and loneliness the pandemic had wrapped around us all. 'I have a son who lives in Europe,' she said softly. 'Do you think I'll ever see him again?' I didn't know her, didn't know her son, but I told her I believed she would. That the world, somehow, would find its way back, as it always has. Our talk stretched beyond 15 minutes. At the very end, she hesitated and said, 'I will talk about Guru… but you must promise me one thing: don't ask about…' She mentioned a deeply personal subject, and I promised I wouldn't press her on it. I kept that promise. The Covid-19 lockdown had just started when I decided to call Lalita Lajmi, the artist who was also Guru Dutt's sister. I told her that I was in the process of writing a book on her brother, the legendary filmmaker and actor. She was 88 then, and I could hear the hesitation in her voice right away. A stranger calling, asking her to share memories of someone so precious. Our first conversation felt formal and a bit distant, ending at a tentative promise that she would call back. As a biographer familiar with such delicate beginnings, I knew well that sometimes a promise is just a gentle way of saying no. The story of Guru and Geeta That one call opened the door to many more conversations. After the lockdown, I frequently visited her modest flat in Andheri, Mumbai, where she lived alone, supported by a caretaker. She welcomed me with Saraswat lunches and tender, unfiltered memories of Guru and Geeta Dutt. I had already done much research on Guru Dutt's cinema, but I longed to understand the man who created Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) while wrestling with shadows so deep he tried to end his own life repeatedly. And I wanted to understand why Geeta Dutt, a singer and brilliant star in her own right, was often absent from previous stories about her husband. Through Lalita Lajmi's words, the story of Guru and Geeta unfolded. Raw, honest, and heartbreakingly human. 'We had a disturbed childhood…Financially, it was a difficult life,' Lajmi told me. 'I was seven years younger than Guru Dutt. Our family lived in a tiny two-bedroom flat in Calcutta. There were our parents, my maternal grandmother and five of us kids. The flat was so small that we kept colliding into one another. Our father did not believe in success. He believed in poetry, which is not enough to survive. My parents would often have heated arguments. I looked up to our elder brother, Guru Dutt.' Lajmi witnessed Guru and Geeta's life closely, and I was quietly drawn to the stories she narrated, the moments she remembered with care. Guru Dutt was sensitive, deeply observant, and remarkably creative even as a child. His early training in classical dance at Uday Shankar's legendary institute in Almora shaped his sense of rhythm and visual expression. He began his film journey as a choreographer at Prabhat Film Company in Pune, working on Lakharani (1945). But when the studio fell on hard times, the late 1940s became a period of relentless struggle for him – marked by disappointment, rejection, and a quiet ache that left lasting scars. 'It was during this bleak phase, shaped by his father's own disillusionments and his personal setbacks, that he conceived a story idea called Kashmakash,' recalled Lajmi. This story, born of inner conflict, would become the soul of Pyaasa a decade later. The story of the star singer Geeta Roy and the struggling filmmaker Guru Dutt finding love in Tinseltown was a hot topic at the time. Lajmi witnessed their romance from the early days till the very end. 'All through their courtship days, I was their courier and chaperone,' Lajmi remembered. They took little Lalita wherever they went, and would exchange letters through her, too. 'We all loved Geeta. Lovely, wonderful Bengali lady. She used to come in a big car, but she was very humble, very good at heart.' They married in 1953, shortly after Guru Dutt's successful directorial debut, Baazi (1951). Geeta Dutt was the lead singer for all her husband's movies until Kaagaz Ke Phool. From the playful charm of Babuji Dheere Chalna, Ye lo Main Haari Piya, Jaane Kahan Mera Jigar Gaya Ji, to the haunting depth of Aaj Sajan Mohe Ang Laga Lo, and Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam, her songs became inseparable from Guru Dutt's cinema. Her immense talent was often seen as a cornerstone of his early successes, including the timeless Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool. But in their personal lives, the happiness didn't last. 'They were deeply in love. But there was one major conflict in their relationship. Guru had promised that Geeta would continue singing even after their marriage. But now he wanted her to sing only in the films produced by Guru Dutt. He wanted Geeta to take care of the family, and the big house they had built. With every successful film, Guru achieved fame while Geeta felt that she had been denied her share of fame,' Lajmi told me. According to her, it was Guru's need for control that fractured his relationship with Geeta. Also read: Guru Dutt built Bollywood's most unlikely dream team—bus conductor, unknown writer, dancer Guru Dutt's growing turmoil Those close to Guru Dutt recall a man haunted by insomnia and inner unrest. Sleep evaded him. His sister later attributed his struggles to a deeper, undiagnosed pain. Lalita Lajmi also felt his turmoil grew with the kind of intense, emotional films he began making, far removed from the lighter thrillers and romances of his early days. 'The kind of serious films he was making had also affected him. His personality had changed. He had become more reclusive…sometimes he used to call me, saying he wanted to talk about something. But whenever I went to meet him, he never really confided,' she said. The emotional toll affected Guru Dutt as he turned increasingly to alcohol and sleeping pills. During the making of Pyaasa, he attempted suicide for the first time but was saved. Pyaasa turned out to be a major critical and commercial success and elevated his stature as a filmmaker. At Guru Dutt Films, he set a simple rule of striking a careful balance – follow each artistic gamble like Pyaasa with bankable commercial ventures like C.I.D. (1956) to keep the company thriving. But Pyaasa changed everything. Buoyed by its triumph, Guru Dutt skipped the 'safe rule' and flew straight into his most personal, expensive, and daring film, Kaagaz Ke Phool. The ambitious quasi-autobiographical film, now considered a classic, was the biggest failure of Guru Dutt's career. It broke his heart, and he officially never directed a film again. Though he produced his most successful film, Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960), soon after, the sleepless nights and inner turmoil only deepened. The couple built a beautiful bungalow in Bombay's upscale Pali Hill. But as arguments grew more frequent, Geeta began to believe the house was haunted and that they could not be happy there. 'Someone had suggested to her that the major rift in their relationship began after they shifted to that bungalow. There was a particular tree in the house, and she said there's a ghost who lives in that tree, who is bringing bad omen and ruining their marriage,' Lajmi told me. According to her, it was Geeta who said that they should leave the bungalow and live somewhere else. The bungalow was Guru Dutt's dream house, one he had aspired to own since his early days in the city. One morning, he called in workers and told them to demolish it. 'He loved that house, and he was heartbroken when it was demolished. Their lives could really never come back on track after that,' Lajmi said. By the time Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) was in production, Guru and Geeta Dutt had realised that their marriage was not working. 'Geeta Dutt, too, had taken to alcohol and sleeping pills majorly,' recalled Lajmi. Guru Dutt tried to end his life again. 'The second time, it was an overdose of sleeping pills…His body had gone completely cold. He was unconscious for three days. Then, on the fourth day, we heard his scream. The first person he asked for was Geeta. It was strange because their relationship was going through hell. They were thinking of separation, but in those moments, he wanted Geeta to be near him. I think they deeply loved each other despite their differences,' she said. Also read: Guru Dutt turned melancholia into art. He was 'lost in filmmaking, lost to life' 'He never said anything' Lajmi told me that her brother never spoke about why he wanted to die. 'Sometimes, he used to call me. I would rush to him even in the middle of the night. But he would sit quietly, not say anything. I felt he wanted to say something. But he never did. Never.' During my multiple conversations with Lajmi for my book, Guru Dutt: An Unfinished Story (2021), there were many such moments when she was moved by her memories. She confessed to carrying a quiet guilt. She believed she hadn't done enough for her brother, who she later understood was silently crying for help. She sensed it in the recurring themes of his films – the loneliness, the longing, the quiet despair woven between the frames. Guru Dutt was found dead in his room on the morning of 10 October 1964. Lalita Lajmi had vivid memories of that morning. 'He was dead, his right arm out, half-opened eyes, an unfinished book, and the right leg folded as if to get up from his bed. There was some coloured liquid in the glass.' The coloured liquid was crushed sleeping pills dissolved in water. 'What is the first image that comes to mind when you think about your brother?' I asked her. She went silent for a few moments, her face acquiring a deeply melancholic look, as if travelling back in time. 'For years, I had dreams of Guru Dutt lying on his bed with his eyes half-open and an unfinished book. I try to wake him up. 'Get up! Get up! Your admirers are waiting below the balcony!' I keep looking at his face. He looks like he is in a deep sleep. I keep waiting for him to get up but he is dead. The moment in time is frozen for me forever,' she replied. In the end, it is those memories and his cinema that truly live on. Yasser Usman is an award-winning journalist, editor, and Bollywood biographer. His latest biography, 'Guru Dutt: An Unfinished Story', was published in 2021. His X handle is @yasser_aks. Views are personal. (Edited by Zoya Bhatti)


NDTV
10 hours ago
- NDTV
Is Manga's July 5 Earthquake Prediction Going To Come True? What We Know
A manga novel has predicted that a mega-earthquake will hit Japan today, July 5. The 2021 reprint of 'The Future I Saw' by Ryo Tatsuki, a retired manga artist who is also known as the "New Baba Vanga", warns that a "huge" tsunami will wash over countries in the Pacific Ocean. This prediction has triggered widespread panic and has sparked concerns from some superstitious tourists about travelling to Japan. Last month, Tatsuki tried to dampen the speculation, saying in a statement issued by her publisher that she was "not a prophet" and that the megearthquake may not happen. But she fell short of entirely withdrawing her statement, per Time Magazine. Seismologists insist that earthquake predictions are scientifically impossible. However, fans believe Tatsuki because she seemingly predicted the devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011, which claimed the lives of nearly 20,000 people and caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster. What has manga predicted? Online buzz originated from a 2021 manga called "The Future I Saw" by Ryo Tatsuki. According to the prediction, a crack will emerge under the seabed between Japan and the Philippines, triggering a tsunami three times larger than the one in 2011. While the book contains no scientific backing, some have interpreted it as a prediction of a catastrophic event that will occur today, July 5. Social media videos and posts spreading the rumour have gained widespread traction, especially in East Asia (Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, South Korea). Tatsuki, dubbed Japan's "Baba Vanga", rose to prominence after she seemingly predicted the 9.0-magnitude earthquake which struck Japan's northern Tohoku region in 2011. According to the South China Morning Post, the manga's cover included the words "massive disaster in March 2011", leading some to believe that she foresaw the event over a decade beforehand. Fans also claim Tatsuki predicted the unexpected deaths of Princess Diana and musician Freddie Mercury, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, a swarm of over 1,000 earthquakes near Japan's Tokara Islands and a volcanic eruption on Mount Shinmoe in Kyushu have also reignited fears, as they coincide with the manga's predicted timeline. Though seismologists dismiss any link, the timing has amplified public concern. Will the "megaquake" prophecy come true? Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. However, scientists have said scientifically-based earthquake prediction is "impossible". But as the manga prediction continues to generate buzz online, seismologists dismissed the likelihood of the "prediction" coming to pass. "At the moment, it is still impossible to predict an earthquake with specific timing, location or its magnitude," the Japan Meteorological Agency said, calling any such prediction "a hoax" and "disinformation," per SCMP. Tatsuki herself appeared to have dampened the speculation, saying in a statement that she was "not a prophet". She urged readers not to be "overly swayed" by her dreams and "act appropriately based on expert opinions". The Japanese government has also warned about the earthquake speculation, saying that it was "regrettable that people are being affected by baseless information in this age of modern science". But it is imperative to note that the Japanese authorities have warned that there is an 80% chance of a magnitude 9 earthquake originating from the Nankai Trough occurring before 2055. According to SCMP, this earthquake is expected to cause catastrophic destruction, with the government estimating a death toll of up to 300,000 and $2 trillion in economic damage. The manga prediction impact The viral rumours of impending disaster have reportedly spooked tourists. According to Reuters, Japan saw a record number of visitors this year, with April setting an all-time monthly high of 3.9 million travellers. However, this dipped in May, with arrivals from Hong Kong down 11% year-on-year. Some airlines, including Hong Kong Airlines and Greater Bay Airlines, have also cancelled flights to Japanese cities, citing low passenger demand. Also Read | Why A 'Manga-Predicted' Earthquake On July 5 Has The Internet Buzzing? Travel agencies have blamed the wild "megaearthquake" rumours. "The rumours have had a significant impact," said Huen, adding that his firm had seen its Japan-related business halve. Discounts and the introduction of earthquake insurance had "prevented Japan-bound travel from dropping to zero," said Steve Huen of Hong Kong-based travel agency EGL Tours. However, it remains unclear whether the manga prediction is the main reason why some Hong Kong visitors are steering clear. Notably, Japan experiences about 1,500 earthquakes a year. The country has spent decades putting earthquake preparedness plans in place. Given the history and frequency of earthquakes in the country, the panic is understandable. However, experts have strongly urged the public not to take irrational actions driven by anxiety. Professor Naoya Sekiya from the University of Tokyo emphasised the importance of preparedness for disasters at any time, rather than focusing on unsubstantiated predictions.