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New Indian Express
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Golconda sways to Bonalu fervour
HYDERABAD: The centuries-old Golconda Fort was filled with colour, devotion and music as thousands of devotees gathered on Sunday, the first Sunday of the month-long Bonalu festival in Hyderabad. Women, young girls and transgender persons offered the traditional Bonam — a decorated pot filled with rice, jaggery, curd and neem leaves — to Goddess Jagadamba, the presiding deity of the Golconda temple. Leading the procession were the Pothurajus — bare-chested, smeared in turmeric and vermillion — who danced to drum beats, clearing the way for the goddess symbolically and spiritually. With whips in hand, they stomped in rhythm with the dappu drums. Chants of 'Jai Mata Di' and 'Amma Bonalu' echoed through the fort as the procession began early and continued late into the night. Each Bonam, carried on the head, symbolised gratitude, protection and the fulfilment of vows. Sharanya, a cross-dresser carrying the Bonam, said: 'I have been coming here for 10 years. This is where the first Bonam in the city begins. Bonam means bhojanam — meal. When the goddess feeds us all year, why can't we offer her a meal in return? This is why the Bonam is made from freshly harvested crops.' Sharanya added: 'Farmers do not eat the new harvest until it is offered to the goddess. Most offerings include food that cools the body, like curd rice or jaggery. We go into a trance when the goddess enters us and then carry the Bonam. It can be turmeric rice, pachipulusu, jaggery rice or toddy. During Ashada Masam, it is believed the goddess returns to her maternal home, and these offerings welcome her and seek her blessings for health and prosperity.'
India Today
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
No human damage: Actor Nikhil Siddhartha reacts after India House set accident
The set of Ram Charan-produced and Nikhil Siddhartha-starrer 'The India House' was flooded during the shoot when a water tank burst on Thursday. Now, Siddhartha has reacted to the incident, ensuring human safety. In his post on Friday, he expressed gratitude to the technical staff and the crew who took immediate the incident on X, Siddhartha called it a 'huge mishap'. He confirmed that there was no loss of life and detailed what happened. He wrote, 'We are all safe. Sometimes, in our quest to give the best cinematic experience, we take risks. Today we survived a huge mishap thanks to the Alert Crew and Precautions taken. We lost expensive equipment but by God's grace there was no human damage. #IndiaHouse (sic)."advertisementHere's his post: Photo: Screenshot of Nikhil's X post. Producer Abhishek Agarwal also confirmed the safety of everyone on set, writing, 'A mishap occurred on the sets of #TheIndiaHouse while shooting today. Everyone on the sets is safe and sound. Thank you for all your concern. #JaiMataDi (sic)."Ram Charan's production house re-tweeted posts by Nikhil and out the post here: Clips circulating online showcased the cast and crew screaming as water floods the sets of the upcoming film. Some are seen trying to escape the rush of water, while others attempt to save the equipment. The sudden flooding, caused by the bursting of a water tank, injured a few crew members. The video shows massive damage to the set, and shooting has now been disrupted.'The India House' is being directed by debutant Ram Vamsi Krishna and produced by Ram Charan and Abhishek Watch
Time of India
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Nikhil Siddhartha reacts to the water tank bursts accident at 'The India House' sets; Calls it a 'Huge mishap'
After the news of the major mishap that occurred during the shooting of an upcoming period drama 'The India House', starring and backed by . Nikhil confirmed the accident and assured fans that there was no loss of life. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Nikhil Siddhartha reacts to the incident On X (formerly Twitter) he wrote, "We r all Safe. Sometimes in our Quest to give the Best cinematic Experience we take Risks. Today we survived a Huge mishap thanks to the Alert Crew and Precautions taken. We lost Expensive Equipment but by gods grace there was no human damage. #IndiaHouse." Backing Nikhil's reassurance, producer also issued a public note. He wrote, "A mishap occurred on the sets of #TheIndiaHouse while shooting today. Everyone on the sets is safe and sound. Thank you for all your concern. #JaiMataDi." Ram Charan's production house re-shared both Nikhil and Abhishek's updates. Viral videos show extent of flooding For the unversed, a water tank reportedly burst on Thursday at the film's set in Shamshabad, leading to sudden flooding and chaos. Videos capturing the incident have since gone viral on social media. In videos, the chaos following the burst can be clearly seen. Crew members are heard screaming and seen scrambling to escape the rapidly flooding set. Some are also spotted attempting to salvage expensive equipment. About 'The India House' 'The India House' marks the directorial debut of Ram Vamsi Krishna and is backed by Ram Charan and Abhishek Agarwal. The film, set against the backdrop of India's freedom struggle, stars Nikhil Siddhartha in the lead and also features veteran actor Anupam Kher.
Hindustan Times
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Nikhil Siddhartha addresses the accident on Ram Charan's The India House set: ‘We survived a huge mishap'
The set of Ram Charan-produced and Nikhil Siddhartha-starrer The India House was flooded during the shoot when a water tank burst on set on Thursday. Videos of the Shamshabad set being overflooded with water are doing rounds on social media, and lead actor Nikhil addressed the incident, calling it a 'huge mishap'. (Also Read: Water tank bursts on set of Ram Charan's The India House causing major flooding, crew members injured) Nikhil reacted to one of the videos doing rounds on social media from The India House set, confirming that the accident did take place. He detailed what happened and confirmed that there was no loss of life. He wrote, 'We r all Safe. Sometimes in our Quest to give the Best cinematic Experience we take Risks. Today we survived a Huge mishap thanks to the Alert Crew and Precautions taken. We lost Expensive Equipment but by gods grace there was no human damage. #IndiaHouse.' Producer Abhishek Agarwal wrote, 'A mishap occurred on the sets of #TheIndiaHouse while shooting today. Everyone on the sets is safe and sound. Thank you for all your concern. #JaiMataDi.' Ram's production house re-tweeted Nikhil and Abhishek's posts. Clips circulating on the internet show the cast and crew screaming as water floods the movie set. Some can be seen trying to escape the rush of water, while others can be seen trying to save the equipment. The sudden flooding, caused by the bursting of a water tank, injured a few crew members. The video shows massive damage done to the set, and shooting has now been disrupted. The Ïndia House is directed by Ram Vamsi Krishna and produced by Ram and Abhishek Agarwal. Talking to Hindustan Times in August last year after his film Karthikeya 2 won Best Telugu Film at the National Film Awards, Nikhil spoke about The India House and said, 'Despite what people think, The India House isn't about Veer Savarkar. It's actually about a bunch of Indian students in 1905 India who…I can't reveal more. (laughs) Let's just say this will also be something to watch out for because I want to continue telling great stories.'
Hindustan Times
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Keeping up with UP: The callous targeting of two women officers
A student of the Government Girls' Degree College once told me how she wants to join the armed forces despite opposition from her family. 'I want to join the armed forces, but my parents are not allowing me to do so as they worry what relatives and society would say,' she said. That day, I told her to rebel and compel her parents to let 'you join the armed forces as the day you will wear the uniform; the same opinionated relatives would salute you.' I was reminded of this conversation as two brave women in uniform face disparaging comments and discussions about their caste and religion, and not of their valour. Hopefully, it would not dissuade young girls who want to make a career in defence. On International Women's Day on March 8, defence minister Rajnath Singh spoke about the government's commitment to the vision of gender-inclusive armed forces, encouraging more young women to aspire for careers in defence. What the Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah said about Colonel Sofiya Qureshi is unpardonable, questioning her 'deshbhakti' (patriotism) and the fact that she had vowed to eliminate the terrorists, with whom he had the audacity to connect her. Perhaps the government and the BJP high command should have acted with alacrity to prevent their leaders from making such comments. And then the Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav, apparently attempting to condemn the minister, committed a blunder by mentioning the caste of the other officer. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath quickly condemned Gopal for his casteist comment. Also Read |Keeping up with UP| Caste census: The politics of numbers As a ray of hope has come an emotional Facebook post of a UP minister, Asim Arun, who was in the police service before joining politics. Supporting the officers, the minister wrote: 'Jai Hindi , neither Adab, nor Jai Mata Di, nor anything else, Only Jai Hindi. When we wear uniform, our only identity left is ' Indian', no caste, religion, state or anything else. But some of our leaders do not have this simple understanding as they watch your religion or caste. We fight as a group, as an identity, as a country. Leaders who look at you with glasses of caste and religion are being condemned and I also condemn them.' Thereafter he wrote about how on January 8, 2022 when he decided to enter politics, he had made a promise to always stand in the forefront to protect the honour of the uniform. Adding that he doesn't care who would get angry, he demanded legal action against the two leaders, the MP minister and Yadav. Party high commands should ponder over the comments made by the two leaders. The MP minister's comment is clearly antithetical to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assurance to assuage the grief of the family members, including young widows, of 26 people gunned down by terrorists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, 2025. In its bid to send a message to the grieving widows in particular and women in general, the government chose to name its military action 'Operation Sindoor'. The government brought to the fore two brave women officers -- Colonel Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh with an intent to instill confidence in women. Modi in his address after the ceasefire said he dedicated the heroism of the armed forces to every mother, sister and daughter of the country. Surprisingly, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi who ran the campaign, 'Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon' during the 2022 UP assembly polls failed to vociferously condemn the act. Surely, in politics, caste is flaunted. But not always in other professions. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) national president Mayawati used to call herself 'Dalit ki Beti, Jatav ki Beti' at public rallies as it helped her garner sympathy and support. But former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar, daughter of the country's tallest Dalit leader, Jagjivan Ram, never identified herself as Dalit. She always spoke about herself as a woman, not even a Dalit woman. Even after she became the first woman speaker of the Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar, a former diplomat, had described it as an achievement for women. While women are taking giant strides in every field despite such roadblocks, the real battle is about changing the mindsets in which the political parties should also come forward with a plan. Perhaps, RSS with its vast cadre can play a pivotal role in bringing this transformation. I recall how late prime minister Indira Gandhi had objected to the use of the commonly used complimentary phrase, 'she is the only man in her cabinet'. She had then said, as mentioned by her secretary PC Alexander in his opinion piece in the National Herald dated October 31, 2022, 'Indira Gandhi heartily disliked the sexist slant in this tribute. She once told me that statements like this revealed the arrogance in the thinking of some men that courage and excellence are the monopoly of men. If a woman showed such qualities, she had to be described as a man and if a man displayed lack of such qualities he had to be described as a woman. She strongly resented the condescending superiority complex underlying such statements. She told me that the worst example of the sexist superiority complex in India was the practice of making mock presents of glass bangles to political leaders as a gesture of insult.' A lot needs to change before we, as a country, celebrate the empowerment of women.
