作者： bharat.cn

This Friday, we’re flocking to the theatres to catch Irrfan make a come back to the big screen after a 2-year-long hiatus, with Angrezi Medium. Speaking about working with Irrfan, his co-star in the film, Kareena Kapoor Khan, said, “I have worked with all the Khans – Shah Rukh, Salman, Aamir and Saif. But for me, it is an honour and privilege to work with Irrfan Khan. He is the pioneer, one of the finest actors among all the Khans if I may say, and he is the biggest Khan for me.”

But the biggest Khan of Hindi cinema had quite a rocky start too. He missed out plenty of coveted opportunities – the most notable of all is Mira Nair’s, Salaam Bombay. In this week’s Tuesday Trivia, we tell you how a role in Nair’s 1988-film, that could have made Irrfan, was reduced to a blink-and-you-miss cameo. And how he rose like a falcon later, The Namesake, also directed by Nair.

In 1986, when Mira Nair visited NSD (National School of Drama), her eyes were looking for trained actors who could work with street kids in her upcoming film Salaam Bombay, a film based on the lives of street kids in Mumbai. At the basement workshop of the college, she spotted Irrfan.

“I noticed his focus, his intensity, his very remarkable look – his hooded eyes. I clocked him,” she said to Anees Chhabra for his book Irrfan Khan, The Man, The dreamer, The Star.

For the 20-year-old Irrfan, it was a dream come true. He jumped on the offer and flew to Mumbai to attend the film’s workshop. He and actor Raghubhir Yadav stayed at a flat that Mira had rented. They, along with a few street kids, took part in workshops that were organised at the flat.

A towering sculpture representing the lethal Covid-19 virus was set ablaze by Indians in preparation for a religious celebration ushering in spring, as the country’s health authorities step up measures to contain the illness.
People in Mumbai gathered on Monday to torch what they dubbed the “Coronasur,” a gigantic monster-like effigy made to symbolize the virus sweeping Asia, Europe and North America. In a theatrical display ahead of the Holi festival, a jumbo-sized flaming ‘sword’ was plunged into the beast, quickly roasting it from head to toe and prompting raucous cheers from the crowd.
The ceremonial slaying of the virus comes as cases in India spike to 45, with several states reporting their first infections in the last week, prompting officials to boost containment measures across the country – in addition to burning effigies, that is.

The central government has suspended e-visas for travelers coming from new coronavirus hotspots – namely Italy, Iran, South Korea, and Japan – and imposed mandatory health checks at 21 airports. The Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) was also ordered to begin preparing facilities for those that may require quarantine, which are expected to offer 5,400 beds. An additional 75 isolation wards will also be created by other federal agencies, according to India Today.

Regional health authorities have also scaled up screenings for the illness, with thousands of travelers in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where a number of infections have been detected, monitored for any symptoms.

Naval cadets around the world think of Sergey Gorshkov as the man who said ‘Better is the enemy of good’ and transformed the Red Fleet into the powerful Soviet Navy. Little known fact is that he ‘fathered’ the Indian Navy, too.
There was little to suggest Sergey would become a sailor in February 1910, when he was born in Kamenets-Podolsky, in what would later become Ukraine. From the vast inland plains of Podolia, his family moved to Kolomna, near Moscow – and even farther away from the sea. Yet at 17, Gorshkov joined the Red Fleet. He would make its way through its ranks, fighting and leading many engagements during WWII, to become the Soviet Navy’s youngest-ever supreme commander in 1956, at the age of 42.

Soviet Admiral Sergey Gorshkov (file photo) © Russian Defense Ministry
So why did the Indian Embassy in Moscow host the celebration of what would have been Gorshkov’s 110th birthday recently? Because the legendary admiral who built the Soviet Navy into a Cold War powerhouse also transformed the Indian Navy into a modern sea power to be reckoned with.

“Gorshkov built the Soviet navy… and it was because of his efforts and skill, that the Soviet Union became a global power,” India’s ambassador to Russia Bala Venkatesh Varma told, adding that the Indo-Russian naval relationship is a rare and “unique example where something that started in the last century, 55 years ago, is still continuing today.”

This special relationship can be directly traced to Gorshkov, who laid the foundation for the ever-evolving modern military relationship between New Delhi and Moscow.