Co-creators of Gully Boy soundtrack, Salvage Audio Collective, on bringing Ranveer Singh starrer hip-hop film to life
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; February 27, 2019)

Ranveer Singh's ode to India's desi hip-hop uprising, Gully Boy, banks on more than one factor when counting its success. Apart from an array of stellar performances from the leading actors and supporting cast members alike, the 18-song soundtrack and a commendable background score were inarguably elements that lifted Zoya Akhtar's offering.

Six-member group Salvage Audio Collective, that shares credit for creating the soundtrack with Karsh Kale and Ankur Tiwari, say they have been gratified. "We have been consumers and disciples of hip-hop music for years. Hence, most of our research work for the film had us [retrace] songs and records that have moved us in the past. We are also [admirers] of international icons like Ryuichi Sakamoto and Nino Rota, and home-grown heroes like A R Rahman."

The band - comprising Sohrab Nicholson, Rohan Ramanna, Stuart DaCosta, Viraaj Saxena, Rohan Rajadakshya and Shane Mendonsa - spent the first few weeks working on the project by lending each vital character a musical theme. "We created a pool of motifs that could be used as raw materials. Then, Zoya began coming in regularly, and made the process collaborative. The interesting thing about this process was discovering how much of a team sport filmmaking is," says Nicholson.

While interaction with the film's muses Divine and Naezy wasn't necessary, the group did seek help from Kale to pen and perform a rap section that was used as part of the score. "We also got rapper Rahul Piske, and our in-house multi-instrumental whiz kid Viraaj, to lend some beat-boxing [elements]. The diversity and the number of artistes involved in this project is [abundant]," says Rajadakshya.

While fans have been demanding that the background score be made commercially available, Mendonsa alludes that the chances of it are slim. "[The score was created] with the intention of serving the film. So, releasing it independently is not something we've considered yet. Never say never, though. Hip-hop is still young in India, and is getting attention owing to this film. We hope musicians will explore the space."

Kambli’s wife accuses Tiwari’s 59-year-old father of ‘deliberately brushing his hand’ against her. Ankur Tiwari says his father was punched after which he ‘blacked out’; Bangur Nagar police investigating the fracas
Sanyukta Iyer and Vijay Tagore (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 2, 2018)

Patrons at Inorbit Mall in Malad witnessed a massive ruckus on Sunday afternoon, when former India cricketer Vinod Kambli and his wife Andrea had an altercation with music composer Ankur Tiwari and his father. Ankur is the brother of Bollywood singer and music director Ankit Tiwari.

Kambli and Andrea have alleged that Tiwari’s father R K Tiwari deliberately brushed his hand against Andrea, even as the latter claimed the couple punched his 59-year-old father, and that Andrea took off her sandal to assault him.

The matter is being investigated by the Bangur Nagar police, but nobody was arrested till the time of going to press.

Mumbai Mirror spoke to Kambli, who insisted that “an old man inappropriately touched” his wife. “We were at the Game Zone in the mall around 3 pm when my wife caught hold of an old man’s hand. He had deliberately brushed his hand against her and when she caught him in the act, he pushed her away. Minutes later when we were at the food court, two men, who we assume were the man’s sons, tried to attack my wife. When I told them to back off, they told me, ‘You don’t know who we are’.”

Andrea told Mirror that she was certain the man had attempted to take “advantage of the crowds” to touch her “inappropriately”. “I was playing with my children when this guy took the opportunity to rub his hand against me. Maybe he thought nothing would happen because it was crowded. When I caught his hand, I was surprised to see this old man. He appeared embarrassed because I had caught him red-handed. He appeared scared, and said something in Hindi, on the lines that ‘I cannot do something like this’,” Andrea said. “The inappropriate touching ka zamaana is over. Such things should be dealt with strictly,” she added.

Kambli said he tweeted about the incident, after which an officer from Bandra Police Station visited his residence around 8 pm yesterday.

TIWARI’S ALLEGATIONS

Ankur Tiwari said he was at the mall with his parents, wife, and daughter. “My father, a retired bank employee, had accompanied my daughter to the Game Zone. My father told me he spotted Vinod Kambli there, and as he was walking past a woman, he blacked out,” Tiwari said.

“My father was disoriented after the attack,” Tiwari said, “He couldn’t believe he had been punched, and that a woman was screaming, accusing him of brushing his hand against her. I asked my father to identify the woman, and we realised she was Kambli’s wife.”

Rubbishing the Kamblis’s allegations that he tried to assault Andrea, Tiwari said, “I told them I wanted to speak with them, but they pushed me and hurled abuses. Kambli’s wife removed her sandal and threatened to hit me with it.”

He claimed that Kambli threatened the onlookers who had started recording the fracas on their phones. “He was abusing loudly, cursing everyone around. I asked him to speak to me politely, but he kept pushing me. His wife pushed me too. When I tried calling up the police, he snatched my phone. He even chased a woman to make sure she deleted the video recording from her phone,” Tiwari said, adding he and his father filed a complaint at Bangur Nagar Police Station around 4.30 pm.

Andrea admitted Kambli was “upset”, but according to her, it was because “nobody from the crowd tried to help”. “Vinod was upset because the onlookers were busy recording the incident. He was particularly upset with a lady who was doing the same. It was very annoying that they thought it was entertaining,” Andrea said. “When these guys were misbehaving with my wife, the onlookers were recording the incident,” Kambli said, adding it was a frightening experience for his children, Christiano and Johana.

Senior Inspector Vinay Bane from Bangur Nagar Police Station confirmed the Tiwaris had filed a complaint against Kambli and his wife.

“We are probing the matter, after which necessary action will be initiated. As of now, a non-cognisable offence has been registered.

The singer-composer will tie the knot with mechanical engineer Pallavi Shukla in Kanpur on February 23
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 15, 2018)

Last October, singer-composer Ankit Tiwari’s paternal grandmother was travelling by train from Kanpur to Delhi when she met a young girl, Pallavi Shukla, who was in the same compartment. The two started chatting and hit it off instantly. Dadi knew she’d found the perfect match for her musician grandson, who according to his mother Suman Tiwari, had “no time for love” and often misses family gatherings because of work commitments.

Three months later, the Tiwaris and Shuklas are on a last-minute shopping spree for Ankit and Pallavi’s wedding. The couple will get engaged on February 20, then after the traditional haldi, sangeet and mehendi ceremonies will tie the knot in a typical North Indian shaadi on February 23 in Kanpur, followed by a reception on February 26. The families will also host a reception in Mumbai once Ankit returns from his Delhi, Chandigarh and Kolkata tours by the month-end.

“Usually weddings in our family last 10-12 days, but Ankit doesn’t have the time. His shows are booked months in advance and we worked around his dates,” Ankit’s older brother Ankur, who also manages his work, says, adding that his conservative in-laws don’t wish to share a pic of the bride-to-be before the pheras.

The couple will dance to the tunes of Ankit’s award-winning Aashiqui 2 track “Sunn Raha Hai Na Tu” as well as his other chartbusters, “Galliyan” and “O Yara”. The groom describes his first meeting with Pallavi in Mumbai as a “private and personal affair”. “Once dadi announced that Pallavi would be the family’s daughter-in-law, everyone agreed. I’m happy that the family is happy and a little nervous too. She is a very sweet and simple girl. During our first meeting there were 10 others seated between us,” Ankit laughs.

Pallavi is a mechanical engineer who has spent the last 10 years in Bangalore. “I’ve introduced her and her family to my work and life in Mumbai where she will live after marriage,” Ankit signs off.

The TV actress who made ‘hissstory’ with Ekta Kapoor’s Naagin has bagged her big Bollywood break
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 22, 2017)

After kicking off her TV career in 2007 with Ekta Kapoor’s TV soap Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Mouni Roy went on to become a household name as Shivanya, the protagonist of the supernatural show, Naagin. After a highly successful first season, she returned in a double role for season 2 and will be back for a third installment when the show rolls again by the year-end.

Now, Mirror has learnt that after a cameo in Anubhav Sinha’s Tum Bin 2, Mouni is making a transition to the big screen with a key role in Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar’s upcoming production, the Reema Kagti-directed sports-drama, Gold, top-lining Akshay Kumar. Akshay had announced the project last year on social media, revealing that the 2018 Independence Day release was set in 1948 and based on the historic event of India’s first Olympic medal as a free nation, which came at the year’s Summer Olympics in London.

“Mouni will be seen in a completely different avatar to suit the era. She will film for 20-25 days in August and is one of the few female characters in the otherwise maledominated narrative. She will be shooting extensively with Akshay,” a source close to the development informed Mirror.

Reema, who has co-written Zoya Akhtar’s Luck By Chance and her upcoming musical-drama, the Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt-starrer Gully Boys, had last directed the thriller-drama, Talaash, in 2012, and has been working on the script of Gold for the last two years. It was her lyricist-writer friend, Ankur Tiwari, who narrated the momentous Indian hockey match from 1948 that sparked the idea for her next. “It is scripted by Rajesh Devraj and is a fictional take on the momentous game. Hockey will feature prominently in the plot but it is a strong human drama. Gold follows 12 crucial years in India’s history as well,” the source points out.

Akshay will jump into prep around the first week of July, following the release of his upcoming drama, Toilet - Ek Prem Katha, and is expected to undergo a complete transformation for his role.

Singer-composer Ankit Tiwari, who was acquitted of rape charges by the sessions court, speaks about the trauma he and his family went through in the past three years
Itishree Misra and Jha Sumit (BOMBAY TIMES; April 30, 2017)

Priyanka Borpujari, Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 9, 2014)

Singer Ankit Tiwari of Aashiqui 2 fame was arrested yesterday on charges of allegedly raping a woman he had been in a relationship with since 2012. The complainant stated that the 24-year-old singer repeatedly raped her while promising marriage.

According to Machhindra Bodkhe, inspector at Versova police station, Ankit had met the complainant at a Durga Puja event in 2012. On July 21, 2013, she allegedly invited him and some friends to celebrate the birthday of her sister, with whom she lives.

According to Bodhke, the complainant claimed that Ankit proposed marriage to her in front of everyone and forced her to consume alcohol, before taking her to the bedroom and raping her. "The next morning, she told her sister about the rape, who then confronted Ankit. He allegedly told her that since they would be getting married soon, she should not object to sex," said Bodkhe.

A month later, in August 2013, the singer put vermillion on the complainant's forehead in the presence of their friends and her sister, but when she insisted on a court marriage, he allegedly developed cold feet. The complainant alleges that Ankit's brother Ankur then threatened her against pressuring the singer for marriage by brandishing a knife.

The complainant first approached the Versova police towards the end of February 2014 and lodged a formal complaint of rape on April 14. "Since this was not a case of rape in the immediate moment, it took time to gather evidence before making a formal arrest," explained Bodkhe, adding that the evidence included the testimonies of their common friends who were present at the party last July.

Ankit has been charged under Sections 376, 493 and 417 of the IPC, for rape, cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage, and cheating.

Ankur was charged under Section 506(2) of the IPC for criminal intimidation. Ankit has been remanded to police custody until May 12, while Ankur has been remanded to judicial custody until May 22.

Ankit's lawyer Nagesh Mishra, he told Mirror, "We will fight it out."

The complainant heard us out and replied, "No comments." 
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MID-DAY (May 9, 2014)

Ankit Tiwari, the musician who shot to fame for composing and singing the song, Sunn Raha Hai Na Tu, from Aashiqui 2, has been arrested by the Versova police under rape charges. His elder brother, Ankur Tiwari, has also been booked for allegedly threatening the victim. On Thursday morning, cops came calling on Ankit’s doorstep. They asked the musician and his brother, Ankur, to come to Versova police station to record their statements. When they reached the police station, Ankit was arrested. The music director’s brother got bail, but Ankit has been sent to police custody till May 12.

Apparently, Ankit was dating an advertising professional and the two wanted to get married. In his statement, Ankit said, “I was seeing her for a year and I even got her to meet my parents. But when we found that she was a divorcee and she had a kid, my parents did not want me to continue with the relationship. I am being framed here. All the charges made by her are false and baseless.”

Lawyer Neeraj Gupta, who is representing both the accused, refuted the charges saying that it was an attempt by the victim to extort money from Ankit. Gupta noted that she wanted his client to pay her R 3 crore. “If the victim’s story is true, why was she silent till now? When she learnt that Ankit has made it big, she demanded money from him. But when he refused to pay her, she filed a false complaint against my clients,” he said.

Police inspector Machidra Vadkhe said, “The victim gave her complaint in writing in February to the ACP and the concerned DCP. On that basis, we registered an FIR in March and after verifying the evidence, we arrested him on Thursday.”

The allegation
In her statement, the victim has mentioned that in October 2012, she was introduced to Ankit Tiwari through a common friend. She says that Ankit sexually assaulted her between October 2012 and December 2013 telling her that he would marry her but he failed to keep his word. She also claims that Ankit’s brother, Ankur, threatened her with a knife and asked her to stay away from his brother.