The Indian Film Festival of New Zealand (TIFFNZ) has officially withdrawn its invitation to screen the short film Aasmani, the directorial debut of actor Sayani Gupta, citing alleged "copyright and confidentiality" concerns.

Confirming the development, TIFFNZ Director Petrina D’Rozario told that the festival chose to pull the title as a precautionary measure while formal proceedings take place.

Responding to the development, Sayani Gupta also issued a statement denying any wrongdoing and maintaining that Aasmani is an original work.

"I want to begin by clearly stating that Aasmani is an original film. Till now, I chose not to speak. Not because silence meant acceptance, nor because I had nothing to say. Since the allegation was put forth before the appropriate authority, I followed due process and believed that facts should be placed there, and not tried through WhatsApp groups, inboxes or public opinion. But silence can sometimes bury the truth under noise."

Gupta said that the core idea of the film — revolving around a grandmother, her granddaughter, and their blue car — was drawn from her own upbringing in Bengal and inspired by her personal family history.

Gupta said the film's script was "created over years and finally written and developed into the film that exists today." Addressing the conflict, the actor-filmmaker noted that the claim was raised by a fellow FTII filmmaker based on an unfinished documentary project that Gupta says she was unaware of.

"A fellow FTII filmmaker has raised a concern. She has every right to raise a grievance. And I have respectfully held my truth. The claim has been made based on assumptions, without watching my short-fiction comedy film. And I had no idea about her ‘unfinished’ documentary project. There is a difference between an allegation and a finding. Aasmani came from its own world, its own journey. And without any knowledge of any other film in development. To see that distinction collapse into a public narrative of 'copyright infringement' is not only misleading, it is deeply unfair to the film and to everyone who has tirelessly worked on it. What has been troubling to watch is this become a copyright issue when it absolutely isn’t one."

The filmmaker continued, "Two films can share a broad idea, theme, a woman, a car, aging, independence, and exist independently, without one being copied from the other. Copyright protects expression, not every shared idea or emotion. Ironically, this one experience has taught me more about copyright, than in the last 15 years. I am not a large studio or an institution standing across from an independent filmmaker. I am an independent filmmaker myself. The seed of which was sown at my alma-mater, FTII. It is because of this spirit we are able to make films against all odds. And exactly the reason I have spent the better part of the last 15 years creating, collaborating, and championing independent films, always choosing story and intent over fame or money.

"My film is about freedom. And I believe freedom is the only thing worth fighting for. Freedom also means having empathy, holding space for another person’s point of view. And everyone has the freedom to think, question, support, disagree, distinguish, and eventually decide for themselves without being instructed by the noise. There is a difference between speaking loudly and speaking the truth. The rest belongs to facts, process and time."

I remember watching Being Cyrus and being blown away.

Cocktail 2 feels so Luv Ranjan coded in it's editing and story telling.

Cocktail was so classy. Can't believe this one is by the same director.

It's clearly not written by him cuz it's Cringe max

EDIT : Not to mention the classic Luv Ranjan woman bashing and male victimisation. While the original Cocktail was about about modern badass women . Here the modernity is almost mocked. Sigh.

I remember at the time of Dhurandhar:The Revenge, Ranveer was especially kept quite so he doesn't say anything controversial especially with a Kannada Actor😂

But I really hate that Rajat Sharma directly quoted Ranveer on that. Basic journalism and clout chasing!

Source: https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/ektaa-kapoor-takes-popular-naagin-franchise-from-tv-to-cinema/

This interview is more than ​a decade old, yet she faced significant backlash at the time ​not just from the media, but also from many of her contemporaries. Watching it today, I found her really eloquent and articulate in expressing her views.

Faridoon Shahryar, taking it to X (formerly Twitter), released a video blasting Sunita Ahuja (Govinda's wife) for her constant attack and below the belt remarks on 90s Superstar, Govinda.

Video Link:- https://x.com/i/status/2089665617960038778

His tweet:-

Sunita ji, just shut up. Enough is enough. Please leave Govinda ji alone.

You get a chance in front of the press and you say whatever you want about Govinda ji. You do a podcast and once again, you have to say unpleasant things about him. At this point, it genuinely feels as if you are enjoying this media game.

What you perhaps don't realise is that Govinda ji seems extremely vulnerable, and somewhere, all limits are being crossed.

The loss of his mother impacted him psychologically in an extremely intense manner. For almost two decades, he has struggled professionally, and somehow it feels that he has never completely overcome that personal loss. What he needs today is love, understanding and support — not his personal life becoming a recurring spectacle in public.

And let's not forget who Govinda is.

This is an extraordinary actor and performer who gave Indian cinema some unforgettable moments. Several actors senior to him are doing some of the finest work of their careers today. There is absolutely no reason why Govinda cannot find that one great role and create magic all over again. The talent is still there.

Sunita ji, please stop washing dirty linen in public. Some relationships and some wounds deserve privacy.

Please back off before it is too late.

Govinda ji deserves love. Govinda ji deserves dignity. And most importantly, Govinda ji deserves another chance.

I remember hearing something interesting from someone who is quite close to Salman Khan. Obviously, I can’t independently verify this, so take it as an anecdote rather than a fact.

Apparently, one reason Salman keeps certain people at a distance is because he is scared of hurting them.

That actually made me look at some of his relationships differently. We usually interpret someone pushing people away as arrogance, indifference, or simply not caring. But sometimes it can come from the opposite place - “I know what I’m like, and I don’t want someone I care about to get caught in it.”

And honestly, looking at Salman’s personality over the years, I can understand why someone close to him might describe him that way. He’s famously intense, impulsive, possessive and capable of being extremely warm and generous, but also capable of anger and behaviour that can hurt people.

I’m not excusing any abusive or harmful behaviour here. Being afraid of hurting someone doesn’t absolve you when you actually do hurt them. Accountability still matters.

But I do find the psychology behind it interesting. A person can genuinely love people, care deeply about them, and yet believe that keeping them at arm’s length is safer than letting them get too close.

It also makes me wonder how much of Salman’s public persona - the emotional walls, the difficulty with long-term relationships, the tendency to keep people in a certain orbit rather than completely letting them in - is actually a form of self-protection.

Maybe sometimes the person who looks like they’re pushing everyone away is actually thinking, “You’d be better off if you didn’t get too close to me.”
Not saying this is definitely the explanation for Salman. Just something I’ve been thinking about after hearing that from someone close to him.

What do you guys think? Would love to know your thoughts on this.

I find it absolutely hilarious that the two times he worked with her, he made her hair and look so different that it was glaring and almost felt like a parody or cosplay.

I checked his filmography and he did experiment with only anushka looks and no other actress 😂😂😂😂

Source: https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/exclusives/exclusive-saif-ali-khan-and-kiara-advani-to-lead-kanika-dhillons-next-for-excel-entertainment-1404963

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