Showing posts with label Mcleodganj. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mcleodganj. Show all posts
Actor Asif Basra, 53, found hanging in his McLeodganj home
8:24 AM
Yudhvir Rana & Suresh Sharma | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; November 13, 2020)
McLeodganj: Actor Asif Basra, a familiar face in Bollywood films for nearly two decades and recently seen in OTT series Pataal Lok and Hostages, allegedly died by suicide at his rented home in HP’s McLeodganj on Thursday.
The 53-year-old, who also had impressive cameos in ‘Kai Po Che,’ and ‘Jab We Met,’ was staying in the house since September.
Locals had seen him with his dog earlier in the day. He was allegedly found hanging from the roof by his girlfriend, who informed the police. “Prima facie, it appears he hanged himself,” Kangra SP Vimukt Ranjan told TOI. No suicide note has been recovered so far, he said. Basra had been visiting McLeodganj intermittently for the past five years.
“A team of forensic experts has taken evidence from the spot. His family members will reach Dharamshala on Friday. The post-mortem will be carried out only after their arrival,” Ranjan said.
Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui tweeted, “It is unbelievable, yet another loss of a dear friend #AsifBasra - gem of a talent & full of life personality…”
As an actor, Basra was known for his expressive eyes. He commanded attention even in the smallest of roles. Often his acting was so effortless you hardly seemed to notice it. He only had a minute or more of screen time as a predatory shark hitting on a lonely Geet Dhillon (Kareena Kapoor) in a railway station in Jab We Met. But we still remember the scene. His excellence was also evident in a recent Titan ad with Rajkummar Rao. The way his facial expressions change when he learns that his former young employee is offering him a CEO’s job underlined his quality as an actor. He had also worked in 2017 Himachali film, ‘Saanjh’, described as the first in the state’s western Pahari language.
Several Bollywood actors and directors expressed shock at his sudden death. Actor Divya Dutta tweeted, “Terribly shocked to hear about @asifbasra’s untimely demise. We shot together for #hostages2. Looked such a happy free spirited man! And was such a fab actor!! Rip Asif. This is hard to digest.” Ranvir Shorey posted, “Asif Basra was a warm, generous and exuberant co actor and friend. He will be missed dearly. My heart goes out to his family and friends. RIP.”
Director Rahul Dholakia wrote, “Shocked to hear about Basra!! What a wonderful actor and a jovial fellow - I mean why would he?? Very Sad - Had directed him in Parzania (Chagan), in Lamhaa (the Darzee) - and also in society - Very sad to hear about his passing !! #asifbasra Hope you are at peace.” Fellow director Vivek Agnihotri tweeted, “OMG... no way... you can’t do this Asif. We just did #TheTashkentFiles together and we were supposed to start my new film. OMG. What’s happening? Why? Not you? Never...”
Zareen Khan and Anshuman Jha-starrer loses its five day footage; compelled to reshoot
8:27 AM
Zareen Khan with director Harish Vyas and DoP Faroukh Mistry
In a bizarre development, technician misplaces five-day footage from McLeodganj schedule of Zareen Khan-starrer; director lodges police complaint, arranges re-shoot
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; July 15, 2019)
Zareen Khan's next, Hum Bhi Akele Tum Bhi Akele, may have an interesting script. For now though, there appears to be more drama off-screen than on it for the Harish Vyas-directed project. The film's crew, which wrapped up its first schedule in McLeodganj in the first week of July, finds itself in a strange dilemma — Hardik Joshi, the Digital Imaging Technician (DIT) on the film, has misplaced the hard drive that contained five-days of shoot material from the first schedule.
Turns out, he had informed cinematographer Faroukh Mistry of the loss last week, but the director of photography (DoP) chose to keep the matter from the director. Now, Vyas has registered a case of criminal breach of trust and cheating (Section 405 and 420 of Indian Penal Code) against Mistry and Joshi at the Dindoshi police station. A source from the unit of the Anshuman Jha-starrer tells mid-day, "After a month-long schedule in McLeodganj, we returned to Mumbai on July 5. Over the next week, our calls to the DIT converter went unanswered, and he did not show up at the studio either. Finally, we had to go to his house where he was holed up. It then came to light that he had misplaced two 4TB hard drives containing five days of shooting footage and the back-up from our first schedule. Not just that, he said that his boss Faroukh Mistry knew of the development for the past week. However, Faroukh denied any knowledge of this incident."
Confirming the news, Jha says, "It has been an absolute nightmare, but I am hopeful that we will recover the data. I am grateful to the Mumbai Police for their prompt response. I hope they make some headway in the case, else we will have to go back and re-shoot."
The director, in the meanwhile, has already started making arrangements for a re-shoot. "I hope the cops can find the hard drives. In any case, we are working out Anshuman and Zareen's dates for the re-shoot, should the need arise," says Vyas.
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