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Amol Palekar’s decade-long battle for artistic freedom nears closure as Bombay HC sets final hearing on December 5, 2025

After nearly a decade of pending legal proceedings, the Bombay High Court will finally hear actor-director Amol Palekar’s long-standing petition challenging the mandatory pre-censorship of stage plays and performances. The petition is slated for final hearing on December 5 before a bench comprising Justices Riyaz Chagla and Farhan Dubash. Palekar, now 80 years old, seeks protection of artistic freedom, arguing against the existing requirement under the Bombay Police Act that imposes prior scrutiny of scripts and mandatory certification from the Maharashtra State Performance Scrutiny Board before any play or public performance can be staged. His counsel, Anil Anturkar, told the court, “The petitioner is 85 years old now and wants an outcome, be it positive or negative.” Anturkar emphasized the importance of artistic freedom in the contemporary digital era, pointing out that “there is no censorship of shows and series on OTT platforms,” questioning the logic of continuing the mandatory censorship regime for live performances. The petition specifically contests rules framed under Section 33(1)(wa) of the Bombay Police Act, which authorize police commissioners or superintendents to regulate “places of public amusement” and performances, including traditional tamashas and melas, requiring script scrutiny to safeguard “public order, decency, or morality.”Amol Palekar’s petition argues that such pre-censorship amounts to an unconstitutional curtailment of artistic freedom, stating, “This pre-censorship leads to curtailment of artistic freedom. Because of this, many historic plays have not been performed in their original form.”The Bombay High Court had admitted the plea in 2017 but long delayed its hearing on the merits. The upcoming session on December 5 is expected to bring closure to this critical issue affecting artists and cultural institutions. This case is being closely watched across the theatre community and arts organizations, as a ruling in favor of Palekar could pave the way for greater freedom and creativity in live stage performances in Maharashtra and potentially across India. Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Shekhar Suman reveals that his film with Parineeti Chopra, Adil Hussain, Amol Palekar titled Reporting Live; Shekhar also states, “If Utsav is remade, Adhyayan should be cast for my role”.

Entertainment music

Veteran actor-singer Sulakshana Pandit passes away at 71 due to cardiac arrest

Veteran actor-singer Sulakshana Pandit has passed away at the age of 71, her brother Lalit Pandit confirmed in a statement to PTI. Sulakshana was being taken to Nanavati Hospital when she passed away. According to Lalit Pandit, “She passed away due to cardiac arrest around 7 pm. She had complained of breathlessness and seemed a bit unwell. We were taking her to Nanavati hospital, but she died before we could reach the hospital.”The esteemed artiste died on Thursday, November 6, 2025, while being rushed to Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai after experiencing breathlessness the previous evening. Sulakshana Pandit achieved acclaim both as an actor and as a playback singer. She made her film debut in 1975 with Uljhan opposite Sanjeev Kumar and went on to work with leading stars such as Rajesh Khanna, Shashi Kapoor and Vinod Khanna. Her filmography includes titles such as Sankoch, Hera Pheri, Khandaan, Dharam Khanta, Do Waqt Ki Roti and Gora among many others. In parallel, she built a successful career as a playback singer, lending her voice to songs in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Oriya and Gujarati. Some of her popular tracks include ‘Tu Hi Saagar Tu Hi Kinara’, ‘Pardesiya Tere Desh Mein’, ‘Bekrar Dil Tut Gaya’, ‘Baandhi Re Kahe Preet’, ‘Saat Samundar Paar’, ‘Somvaar Ko Hum Mile’, ‘Sona Re Tujhe Kaise Miloon’, ‘Yeh Pyara Lage Tera Chehra’, and ‘Yeh Pyar Kiya Hai’. Born into a musically inclined family from Hisar in Haryana, she was the niece of the legendary classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj. She began singing at the age of nine and launched her professional career alongside her brother Mandheer Pandit. Her siblings include Lalit Pandit, Jatin Pandit, and actor ­Vijayata Pandit. Her untimely passing leaves a void in both the world of acting and music. Tributes are expected to pour in from colleagues, fans and admirers across the industry.

business Entertainment film

Aryan Khan to work on his first theatrical release before directing Shah Rukh Khan in planned 2027 film: Report

Aryan Khan, who recently earned appreciation for his debut Netflix directorial The Ba***ds of Bollywood, is already moving ahead with his next set of projects. The series, which featured Lakshya, Raghav Juyal, Bobby Deol and an ensemble cast, marked Aryan’s official entry as a director and showcased his inclination towards bold storytelling. With the streaming debut now behind him, the filmmaker is preparing for a larger leap a theatrical feature. According to industry sources, Aryan’s next directorial will be a full-fledged film intended for a big-screen release. The young filmmaker is reportedly determined to establish himself in the theatrical space before stepping into what will arguably be the most anticipated collaboration of his career directing his father, superstar Shah Rukh Khan. A source quoted by Pinkvilla revealed that Aryan is taking a measured, merit-driven approach to his career choices. “Aryan wants to deliver a theatrical success and prove himself as a filmmaker before taking on the challenge of directing his superstar father, Shah Rukh Khan,” the insider shared. The intention, the source added, is to build credibility in the industry by letting the work speak for itself rather than relying on legacy or expectations. Plans for the father-son collaboration are very much in motion, though the film is not expected to take off immediately. “If all goes as planned, Aryan’s third directorial will feature SRK in the lead. The father-son duo has already locked the core idea, but the collaboration is expected to take shape only in 2027,” the source added. For now, Aryan is dedicating his attention to completing the script for his second feature film. The project is likely to enter the casting stage soon, with more details about the genre, ensemble, and production timeline expected to emerge in the coming months. With his debut project sparking conversations and his next two films already generating industry buzz, Aryan Khan appears to be pacing his journey with focus and strategic clarity. As anticipation builds for his theatrical debut and eventually, his directorial collaboration with Shah Rukh Khan all eyes are on the young filmmaker’s next move. Also Read: Sameer Wankhede calls The Ba***ds of Bollywood a “calculated hit job” aimed at settling personal scores: “Shah Rukh Khan, Aryan Khan can’t hide behind satire”.

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‘When will my kitty stop being evil?’: New cat owner adopts 3.5 month old cat who won’t stop destroying the home, internet chimes in on being patient with mischievous young kittens

Cats are known for many things; their stereotypes are vast and expand from innocent purrs to malicious destruction of all your toilet paper you own. A cat’s temperament is capricious, so even if you think you got a princess or prince type of kitty would just likes to sit pretty, you’re surely mistaken! Cats are inherently naughty and mischievous. There’s nothing they love more than tearing into a new bag of cat food you just bought, or making your toilet look like confetti. So now that their inherent personality flaws are out of the way we can focus on the story at hand a first time cat owner, and the struggle to understand his feisty, hyper, insane kitten. This man had no idea what he signed up for when he adopted a young kitten. At just 3. 5 months old, the kitten has no chill when it comes to play time. This kitty wants to play, and play, and play, which for cats means destroy everything in sight.

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Baramulla producer Aditya Dhar on how real-life journeys shape a filmmaker’s stories: “Those who have had good life experiences become Sooraj Barjatya; difficult life experiences make you Anurag Kashyap”

A special screening for Baramulla was organized for the press at a preview theatre in Mumbai. This was followed by an interactive session with Ruchikaa Kapoor Sheikh, Director, Original Films, Netflix India, producers Aditya Dhar and Lokesh Dhar, director Aditya Suhas Jambhale, writer Monal Thaakar and actor Bhasha Sumbli. Aditya Dhar is one of the writers of the film as well, along with Monal. He explained, “For all of us filmmakers, whatever films we make, it all comes from our past and our life experiences. Those who have had good life experiences become Sooraj Barjatya! Those who go through difficult life experiences become Anurag Kashyap. Hence, Baramulla is something that is very personal to me, being a Kashmiri. But the whole point was that even a lot of Kashmiri Muslims have suffered. It would be absolutely wrong to say that only Kashmiri Pandits have felt the pain.”He added, “I know a lot of Kashmiri Muslims, who are my friends. They are in the police force and are doing a phenomenal job in Kashmir. One of the most difficult places in India to be a cop is Kashmir. In every other place in India, you don’t have a threat to life. Kashmir is the only place in India where any terrorist can come and shoot you from behind. This doesn’t happen anywhere else in the country. The cops out there are one of the patriotic bunch of people that I have seen.”Aditya Dhar further said, “I attempted to tell this story where I combine what Kashmiri Pandits experience and what these patriotic Kashmiri Muslims are experiencing right now, especially when the latter are being termed as traitors. This was a small thought and written way back in 2016. I even forgot about it as time passed. When I tried selling the script, toh kisi ne mujhe bahut gande paise offer kiye the. This is when I made up my mind that I would not sell this subject for a pittance and that I would make this film the right way.”Baramulla is backed by Jio Studios and B62 Studios and releases on Netflix on November 7. Also Read: Yami Gautam reacts to being labelled ‘nationalistic’; says, “Nationalistic hona kabse crime ho gaya?”.