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HAS ‘EVERY WOMAN HER’ DURGA WITHIN
Actor Rituparna Sengupta says that inclusivity during festivals is the only way forward
This year, the Durga Puja festivities will be a little different for actor Rituparna Sengupta. To mark the occasion, Sengupta, 49, recently collaborated with trans women and acid attack survivors for a music video. She believes that everyone should be a part of the festivities. Sengupta shares, “I’ve occasionally spoken about how trans people as well as sex workers have the right to participate in the rituals involving worshipping the Goddess. Every woman has Durga within her.”
The actor adds, “They are very much a part of the society and I’ll always raise my voice against any kind of discrimination against them. During Durga Puja, I’m planning to spend a day with them and help with necessities.”
The Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji (2011) actor asserts that “power and agility resides within every woman and it’s important that the world sees it”. She continues, “They have been through hell and back. I want to acknowledge it. That’s what they
All the stereotypical notions of masculinity — about men not crying, not showing emotions or ‘mard ko dard nahi hota’ — have gouged deep into the psyche of men. This adds to the stigma surrounding mental health issues, dissuading many men from seeking help. “I feel it’s a similar situation where men had testicular cancer and were scared to talk about it,” shares international pop sensation Ronan Keating, on the occasion of World Mental Health Day.
The When You Say Nothing At All hitmaker, who struggled while coping with the deaths of his mother and Boyzone bandmate Stephen Gately, uses his star power to remove the stigma around mental health. He is a brand ambassador of UK charity StrongMen, which supports men following bereavement. “We need to be able to speak about it, understand and express [freely],” the 44-year-old singer says, stressing on the need for discussions around mental wellness, which is something he does with his children.
But what about his own mental health? “I lean on my wife (designer Sharyn Storm Keating). She knows me and looks for signs... Also, I know when I’m going down a rabbit hole and what I need to do,” he concludes. need. As humans, it’s our basic responsibility to be kind to each other. That’s what I teach my children too.”
Talking about her children, the actor says, “I wanted to go and meet them (in Singapore) during Durga Puja but, there are travel restrictions. When you land in Singapore, you need to go through an institutional quarantine for 14 days.”
She reveals that she will be celebrating the festival while shuttling between Kolkata and Mumbai instead. “After shooting portions of a Hindi film in Mumbai, I will fly back to Kolkata to be with my niece on her fifth birthday,” concludes the critically acclaimed actor.
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In India, Prime Video Channels has launched with eight popular streaming services — discovery+, Lionsgate Play, ErosNow, Docubay, MUBI, hoichoi, ManoramaMAX, and ShortsTV, that offer around 10,000 titles across genres and languages.
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