Latest news with #Hindu
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
Ayodhya Ram temple's main work to be completed by October, says temple trust
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai on Friday said finishing touches are currently being given to the Ram temple in Ayodhya, marking a crucial stage in its construction. Talking to reporters, Rai confirmed that once this work is complete, all heavy machinery will be taken down. He said the "main work of the temple will be completed by October". Emphasising that public 'darshan' (viewing) should not be hindered, Rai highlighted the pending works crucial for the security of the temple complex. They include the construction of the boundary wall, which has not yet begun. He noted that these tasks, along with the construction of the auditorium, restrooms and the Trust office within the complex "may take another year to be completed". The construction of the Ram temple began after a historic Supreme Court judgment in 2019 on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit. The Hindu litigants argued that the Babri mosque was constructed at the site of a temple marking the birthplace of Lord Ram. The consecration ceremony was held on January 22 last year.
News18
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Kuberaa Review: Dhanush, Nagarjuna's Film Is A Predictable But Engaging Tale Of Greed
Last Updated: Kuberaa Review: Directed by Shekar Kammula, the film stars Dhanush, Nagarjuna, and Jim Sarbh. It tells the story of a naive beggar outsmarting a cunning millionaire. Dhanush, Nagarjuna's Kuberaa review out now. Kuberaa Movie Review: It is natural to expect a moral tale about greed or an existential fable about wealth with a film titled Kuberaa (the Hindu God of wealth) and with a beggar for a protagonist. But what one would fear is the film turning overly sentimental about poverty. Kuberaa is both. As expected, it is a story of a naive beggar taking a cunning multi-millionaire for a ride, throwing a familiar light on the rich, exposing them to be self-serving murderers. It is a social commentary on the top one percent, failing to help the rest. On the other hand, the film also has a familiar gaze of the poor as a naive and oppressed lot – a perspective that has been popularised by our mainstream commercial films. However, Kuberaa treads this path carefully. While it has unidimensional characters – a rich guy for a villain and a poor guy for a hero – it is cautious enough not to become an overly melodramatic film about poverty. The problem, however, is the lack of nuance. Nevertheless, Shekar Kammula makes up for the surface-level politics of the film with an engaging screenplay, a huge compliment given the 180-minute runtime of the film. The essence (or should I say message) of Kuberaa has a problem of oversimplification. As a film, it becomes one of the rare ones in recent times that relies solely on the story. Kammula isn't bothered about theatre moments or lack of 'punches' and such gimmicks. He takes his time to tell his story with a restrained pace. Hence, we don't get to see either Dhanush or Nagarjuna for a really long time in the movie. Instead, we see a solid story of a political scam unfolding. Employees of a government oil rig are elated to find pure crude oil in the Bay of Bengal that would serve the entire country for 15 long years. The information is ratted out to a multi-millionaire Neeraj (Jim Sarbh), who strikes a deal with the central ministers. The oil rig is bombed with all the employees, and the project is closed. The whole sector gets privatised and comes under Neeraj's control. In return, Neeraj has to pay a sum of one lakh crore to the ministers – half of it in black. Neeraj and his father find a former CBI officer, Deepak (Nagarjuna), as the right fit to get the job done. An erstwhile honest official, he is now behind bars for doing his duty. In exchange for freedom and money, the honest officer agrees to get his hands dirty. He comes up with a plan of turning a bunch of beggars into 'benamis' and running shelf companies to do the dirty work of transferring the money. They take in Deva (Dhanush), a beggar from Tirupati, and three more. When the naive Deva realises something is amiss, he escapes, and all hell breaks loose for the rich. There's nothing that's surprising with Kuberaa. We have a familiar redemption arc for Deepak. We have seen Neeraj's kind in numerous films by A.R. Murugadoss and Shankar. We've seen the naivety and nobility of Deva too. Hence, it is easy to write off Kuberaa as lacking novelty, and one wouldn't be wrong to do so. But one also has the onus of explaining why the film continues to be engaging despite its predictability. The reason is the solid craftsmanship of Shekar Kammula, who creates brilliant drama despite using familiar scenarios. The meeting of Deva and Sameera (Rashmika Mandanna) is an example of such good drama. Kammula brings in Sameera, an outsider to the story, without us batting an eye. His mechanics are subtle. This is aided by solid performances from almost all the cast members. Dhanush, Nagarjuna, Rashmika, Jim Sarbh, and even Sayaji Shinde, who makes a brief appearance, leave a lasting impact. The commendable craftsmanship of Kammula also becomes evident in the evolution of Deva's character from being completely illiterate to becoming a man who starts understanding worldly things. The transformation is subtle, gradual, and believable. That's the success of Kuberaa. It might be telling you something you already know, but it tells it in such an engaging fashion that you forget you know the story already. I only wish such dexterity was shown in creating nuance. The gaze on beggars is shallow in the film. It doesn't make sense why every beggar in the film is shown to be a Tarzan-like figure. They are poor, not savages. They might be uncivilised but not primitive. If the villains are choosing only such unsound individuals, it doesn't get registered either. Thus, all the beggars in the film are shown as individuals completely cut off from civilisation. It is ironic because Kuberaa is a film that tries to humanise them. On top of that, the film's climax is underwhelming, to say the least. While Kuberaa carefully steers away from the generic nature of commercial entertainers, the end seems like an easy way out and undermines its desire to be unique. First Published:
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Campaign launched to protect Hindus, says Pravin Togadia
Praveen Togadia, president of Antarashtriya Hindu Parishad, said on Friday that Hindu Suraksha Abhiyan has been launched across the country for the protection of the Hindu community. Speaking to reporters here, Mr. Togadia said the campaign revolves around four key issues for which they are drumming up support from the community members across the country. He said there should be a law to control population so that there was no demographic shift, and the Hindus remain in majority. For this to happen, every Hindu couple should have at least three children, failing which there was a threat of Hindus being reduced to a minority, Mr. Togadia said. He said infiltrators should be identified and deported. Mr. Togadia called for freeing Hindu temples from government control, and the issue will be taken up as part of the campaign. He said nearly one lakh Hanuman Chalisa Centres will be opened to network and unite Hindus. The centres will not only provide religious education to the Hindus but will teach them self-defence, provide legal services, ration for the poor, health services, etc.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
Bhagalpur and Banka administrations gear up for Shrawani Mela
1 2 3 Bhagalpur: The district administrations of Bhagalpur and Banka are making elaborate arrangements for the month-long Shrawani Mela, to be held from July 11 to Aug 9, during which approximately 50-55 lakh pilgrims visit Sultanganj to fetch holy Ganga water and trek barefoot to Baba Baidyanath Dham at Deoghar in neighbouring Jharkhand, carrying kanwars. The Hindu pilgrims, known as kanwariyas , reach Sultanganj in Bhagalpur from across India, as well as neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Nepal, to fetch holy Ganga water and trek barefoot to Deoghar via routes falling in Banka district. In connection with this, the district officials, including Bhagalpur DM Nawal Kishor Choudhary, city SP Shubhank Mishra, DDC Pradeep Singh, sadar subdivisional officer Vikash Kumar, along with Sultanganj MLA Lalit Narayan Mandal, nagar parishad chairperson Rajesh Kumar Guddu and his deputy Neelam Devi, have reviewed the mela preparations at Sultanganj and the trek routes. They reviewed the preparations made by different departments like road, electricity, health, public health engineering, water resources, food safety, information and public relations among others. Choudhary directed the officials of various departments to ensure that the devotees do not face any problem during the pilgrimage. Choudhary said on Friday that they will ensure a safe, secure and people-friendly pilgrimage during the Shrawani Mela. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Perdagangkan CFD Emas dengan Broker Tepercaya IC Markets Mendaftar Undo "Flood control divisions will be deployed. Different departments have been asked to make arrangements in accordance with the directives within a week," the DM said. He directed the electricity department to make proper arrangements and improve their infrastructure for an uninterrupted power supply to the Sultanganj region and on the trek routes. The officials concerned were also instructed to ensure adequate street lights on trek routes and at the embankments at Sultanganj Siri Ghat, besides fencing/barricading the area. A direction to the public health engineering department was given to ensure sanitation and availability of pure drinking water through tankers, hand pumps and other means. The officials concerned were also asked to ensure availability of hygienic food and check the rates of the products sold at the shops en route. The health department officials were asked to ensure round-the-clock services, besides the police were instructed to regulate the movement of heavy and big commercial vehicles en route to Sultanganj and on the trek routes to Deoghar. Directives were given to put a layer of fine sand on the trek route, of which nearly 100 kilometres fall in Banka district, for the convenience of the barefoot devotees. Instructions were also given to the officials to cover drains en route and marking them with yellow paint, provide ambulances at Namami Gangey and Siri ghats at Sultanganj, earmark 'panda chowki' and register pandas (pastors), and make parking arrangements. After collecting the holy water of the Ganga at Sultanganj, where the river becomes 'uttarvahini' (flow turning towards north), the devotees trek barefoot nearly 105 kilometres, carrying kanwars on their shoulders, while chanting 'bolo bam'. On reaching Deoghar, the devotees pay obeisance to Lord Shiva by pouring the holy water on the Shivalinga — one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in the country — and seek blessings.
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Top news of the day: June 20, 2025
Sun TV share dispute: Company says all acts done as per legal obligations Sun TV Network Limited, on Friday (June 20, 2025), responding to news reports on DMK MP and former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran issuing a legal notice to his elder brother Kalanithi Maran who is the Chairman of Sun TV Network and to others, said the allegations are incorrect, misleading, speculating, defamatory and not supported by facts or law. Congress, RJD responsible for Bihar's issues, says PM Modi in Siwan In poll-bound Bihar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Siwan on Friday (June 20, 2025), and slammed Opposition parties Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal for taking Bihar into the mire, all the while listing work done by the NDA government in the last one decade to take Bihar forward. BJP accounts for nearly 45% of total election spending in 2024 Lok Sabha polls: ADR The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spent nearly ₹1,494 crore, accounting for 44.56% of the total election expenditure, during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, poll rights body the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) said on Friday (June 20, 2025). The Congress followed next with ₹620 crore or 18.5% of the total expenses among the 32 national and regional parties whose records were analysed, the ADR said. Eight days after Air India Crash, Gujarat Govt says 220 victims identified via DNA Eight days after the London-bound Air India plane crashed in Gujarat, the State government announced on Friday (June 20, 2025) that 220 victims have been identified through DNA profiling, with the remains of 202 already handed over to their families. Centre sets up panel to examine reliance of students on coaching, fairness of entrance exams The Ministry of Education has set up a nine-member panel to examine issues relating to coaching and the emergence of 'dummy schools' besides the effectiveness and fairness of entrance examinations, according to officials. The panel headed by Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi will suggest measures to reduce the dependency of students on coaching centres for transition to higher education. Bombay High Court raises alarm over commuter deaths on Mumbai local network, calls for preventive steps The Bombay High Court on Friday (June 20, 2025) expressed concern over deaths of commuters on Mumbai local trains, describing the situation as 'alarming', an observation coming days after five people lost their lives post-falling off a packed suburban service. Bharat Mata row: Kerala govt vs Raj Bhavan stand-off hits the streets The Raj Bhavan-Kerala government row over the contentious use of a saffron-flag-bearing image of Bharat Mata sitting astride a lion, arguably emblematic of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) notion of a Hindu nation, at State events spilt onto the streets on Friday (June 20, 2025). Calcutta High Court restrains West Bengal Government from giving monetary support to 'jobless' Group C, D school employees The Calcutta High Court on Friday (June 20, 2025) restrained the West Bengal Government from implementing a scheme till September 26 to provide monetary support to non-teaching staff who lost their jobs following a Supreme Court judgment that held the selection process tainted. T.N. Pollution Control Board forms expert panel to assess mercury contamination in Neyveli, Parangipettai The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has constituted a four-member technical expert committee to carry out detailed inspection and analyse water and soil samples to identify source of mercury contamination in ground water samples in Neyveli and Parangipettai in Cuddalore district. Israel, Iran launch strikes a week into their war as new diplomatic effort takes shape Israel and Iran exchanged strikes a week into their war on Friday (June 20, 2025) as President Donald Trump weighed U.S. military involvement and new diplomatic efforts appeared to be underway. Mr. Trump has been weighing whether to attack Iran by striking its well-defended Fordo uranium enrichment facility, which is buried under a mountain and widely considered to be out of reach of all but America's 'bunker-buster' bombs.
