Debris from a metro rail construction site hit the actress’ car on Wednesday, while she was travelling to work
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; September 20, 2019)

Mouni Roy had a rather close shave on Wednesday. The actress was heading to a cinema hall for the trailer launch of her film, Made In China, when a cement rock landed on the roof of her car at a metro rail construction site near Juhu.

The fact that the incident took place on a busy road, near a traffic intersection, made it even more dangerous. Mouni tweeted about it, saying, “Was on my way to work, at Juhu signal a huge rock falls on the car from 11 floors up. I can’t help but think what if anybody was crossing the road? (sic)”

Later that evening, she told us, “I have a damaged car, which will take a while to repair. The (car’s) roof, was thankfully, a sturdy one. Had it been otherwise, I don’t know what would have happened. People use that road all the time. What if the rock had fallen on someone’s head? Initially, the construction workers did not take my driver seriously when he asked them what had happened. Only when I got down and spoke angrily to them, did they call their supervisor. It means that if someone is not a known face, they won’t take swift action. I just want people to be careful while moving around metro construction sites.”

The word about the incident reached Mouni’s mother in Kolkata and a few of her friends by early evening. “My mom and friends were worried, but I assured them that I was fine. It was a close call. Development is good, but not without due responsibility,” she signed off.

Randeep Hooda, with wildlife photographer Sarosh Lodhi

On Global Tiger Day, actor and tiger conservationist Randeep Hooda speaks of the need to involve locals in conservation while re-thinking infra projects that affect ecosystem
Ranjeet Jadhav (MID-DAY; July 29, 2019)

As the world celebrates Global Tiger Day today, July 29, actor and conservationist Randeep Hooda applauded the efforts of forest officials and workers in wildlife conservation, pointing to the rise in tiger population in the state. The latest tiger population figures will be announced by the state government soon. Hooda, who has been taking up several issues related to environment and wildlife conservation, said that these efforts will see true success only if local communities staying surrounding tiger reserves and national parks are involved.

Hooda, in conversation with mid-day, also spoke of Tigress T1 while also extending his full support to the Save Aarey campaign. Aarey needs to be protected from unplanned projects and encroachment, he said, adding that the car depot needed to be shifted to some other location. He spoke to mid-day about what is going right and what isn't in our effort at conservation.

Excerpts from the conversation:

What are the major challenges to conservation as of today?
I think our forest department officers and the staff on the ground including the vanmazoors are doing a commendable job to protect tigers and other wild animals. It reflects in the increased number of tigers. However, the reduction in forest cover is something that worries me. Human and tiger populations are both growing but the habitat is shrinking. Most tiger deaths are a result of infighting and not poaching. Also, death due to electrocution needs to be addressed. Effective enforcement of laws is a must for this. We also need to link wildlife corridors connecting one forest with another for species to travel. Lastly, the most important thing - involve local communities in conservation because it can't be done from five-star hotels. It will only be truly successful if the local communities staying around tiger reserves and national parks have goodwill for the wildlife. For this, we must provide them jobs and employment opportunities in the wildlife tourism sector. Farmers staying along the periphery of tiger reserves should get compensation for crop depredation/cattle kill/man-animal conflict. This addresses their ire.

The threats our tiger reserves and national park face...
Linear infrastructure projects passing through ecologically rich forest patches pose a huge threat to wildlife. Authorities need to undertake detailed studies to ascertain if the project really needs to pass through the forest.



Is involving private hunters to capture/shoot a problem animal a solution?
I don't think it is needed. We have dedicated veterinarians and sharpshooters from the police department. Despite this, controversial shooter Nawab Shafat Ali Khan was involved in the T1 (Avni) operation. She was allegedly shot down by his son who did not seem to have the licence for the weapon used. What happened to that case? We have really good laws but somewhere the implementation fails. The court in an order had said that all animals have the same rights as humans and so laws related to wildlife offences including poaching and electrocution should be made stringent. It should be considered as murder. People will then think a hundred times before committing such heinous crimes.

Your take on Aarey Milk colony?
Is there no other area where the car depot can be shifted? Aarey Milk Colony is an ecologically rich area and acts as a buffer zone to Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Protecting the green cover from unplanned development and mushrooming encroachment is the need of the hour. Inhabitants of Aarey, including the tribals, are not being heard. There is no doubt that the Metro will prove beneficial to the city but it cannot come up at the cost of an ecologically rich area. From planners to the government, everyone must think of this. I fully support the Aarey fight. The car depot needs to be shifted to some other location even if it means higher costs.

And the coastal road project?
I have not studied it in detail but the project should be implemented without causing much harm to the coastline and marine species.

The state forest department has been carrying out massive tree plantation drives every year. Do you think it works?
The tree plantation drive is a really good initiative but I think the authorities need to grow taller saplings before they are given out for plantation. The survival rate of small saplings is low. Forest department nurseries need to be strengthened. But again, we cannot replicate the ecosystem of a forest through plantation drives.
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95
Percentage of world's wild tigers lost since the beginning of 20th century

3,900
No. of wild tigers left in the world

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; June 13, 2014)

Every time you travel to London or New York or any other top city in the world, you come back envious feeling why can't our country have this public transport system? If only we had it, many of us would not take our cars as we could reach faster in a comfortable environment. While Delhi was the first city in India to get a world-class underground AC metro, Mumbai recently inaugurated its first AC metro line connecting the Western suburbs in Versova to the Eastern suburbs in Ghatkopar in flat 21 minutes. Incidentally, comparing Mumbai with the other leading cities of the world, one cannot help but compare that the city of Bollywood, Mumbai, is certainly better on one count over the city of Hollywood, Los Angeles. Unlike Mumbai where we have taxis, buses and the local train, in LA you are at the mercy of the fleecing taxi service in many parts of the city, as that is the only means of transport.

Alia Bhatt recently tore her calf muscle and is currently on crutches. Bombay Times decided to take the first AC metro train ride with Varun Dhawan to check it out. He was clear that even though his dulhaniya was on crutches, he could look after her and he did. All three of us excitedly got on to the train at Versova and got off midway at the Western Express Highway in flat 10 minutes. And what a ride it was.

CONVERSATION WITH ALIA BHATT:
How do you feel after the ride on the metro?
I remember when I was in school, people were initially protesting, there were walks and people were saying, `Oh no, the stations will be right in front of our houses, the roads are too small,' but now people will be so happy. I was so excited taking the ride. I would earlier ask my mom, `Do you think this will come up in front of us? Will we be able to go by an AC train?' And she would be like, `Let's see. I don't think you will be able to.' And then finally it has happened. It was so much fun and the AC was chilling. I could never imagine that I would see a WH Smith on a station in Versova. Whenever I see WH Smith, I feel I am back in London. Now I don't need to go anywhere for that. It's pretty much the same like abroad, except that it's not underground. I used to love riding the tube in London and would just travel randomly to just sit on the tube. I love randomly looking at people sitting, eating their granola bar, listening to their music. But, of course, you are not allowed to eat in our metro here, which I think is a good thing, as it will help maintain that cleanliness.

What do you like and not like about Varun?
What I like firstly, is that I feel that he is a very nice person, which is also scary at times as he always wants to do the right thing and always wants to be correct, which is also inspiring for me as I am a very impulsive person. He will think a lot about his actions, reactions and all of that. As an actor what I like about him is that he gives too much. He will do extra rehearsals and do everything extra. Even though he is such a good dancer and I feel we should not do much as after some time it becomes mechanical, he will keep doing more. Watching him, I feel I should also be doing more. He is also very honest. As a child, I would easily lie or make up stories to get away from my grandmother and mother, but I have learnt from Varun that no matter how ridiculous it sounds, he will always be honest. It's a quality he has. His niceness sometimes irritates me as I feel he never listens to his heart and he always listens to his mind. I think from my heart and sometimes, face repercussions for it, but I feel at least I am living in the moment. I feel he overthinks a lot. If he thinks something is not right, for that moment he will magnify that so much that it will sound like a national crisis. But if you call him after two days, he will say ,`Actually it is not that bad.' It could be about a shot he has given or anything else. He will be hyper.

Would you get married to a guy like Varun?
I don't have all these hassles of him being an actor or not an actor. For me, for someone to be my partner, he must be my best friend and I should be able to be myself around him and I am totally like that around him. Varun asks Alia, `What has success changed in you because anyone who says nothing is lying?' I feel I have forgotten what it used to be in school, in life and with my friends. Of late, I am missing that a lot. I have forgotten what makes me happy except for working, which is a bit strange, and I am trying to figure that out.

CONVERSATION WITH VARUN DHAWAN:
How do you feel after the ride in the metro?
I felt super proud that we have this in our Mumbai now. I used to go to HR College taking a train from Santacruz station everyday. We can now travel safely and comfortably.

What do you like or not like about Alia?
I like the Alia that I see in her home space with her mother and sister, where she is let loose and she doesn't have any inhibitions and she is not conscious about her movements or bothering about how she is dressing and how she is looking. She talks a lot of stuff even when the camera is on, which is rubbish, but she is very funny when she is with her friends and I like that. I have interacted a lot with her mom Soni aunty since we did SOTY and am very fond of her mother. During SOTY, my mom was not on set as I did not want my mother to come, but Soni aunty would be there as Alia was much younger and needed that support. I used to love the makhana aunty would bring for us. She was really sweet and motherly. I really want to correct the way Alia walks. I myself have saved her from falling some 100 times already. I am not lying about this. She really needs to learn how to walk.

Would you get married to a girl like Alia in your real life?
No, because I have decided that I will not marry an actress.

Alia spoke about you being her support system after SOTY when she was totally down and out.
I was just being myself as she was very vulnerable at that time. I am extremely fond of her and then I am very protective about people I care for. That's my nature that if I am emotionally attached to a person, I will go out of my way to take care of them.

How has success changed you?
I have been trying and putting that extra pressure to probably be good. I feel pressure at home, not necessarily from my parents, but from their friends, about people's expectations from me and my own expectations from myself. My dad went through a golden run in the 90s. He is a director where he had two films release on the same day and they both did well. No director has had 4 to 5 releases in a year with 90% hits. I saw that period. So, for me, success is not a singular film being a hit, but it is about being able to entertain continuously in each film. I feel when I do a film, it is my film. I forget that I am just an actor. Alia always tells me that it is wrong and I should just relax and that there are other people to take care of that.

Karan Johar will tell me, `Varun, stop stressing and making everyone hyper. We will handle this.' For instance, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania is my love story and it is about the boy from Delhi and his connection with that girl Kavya. We may be perceived as being glamorous, where people feel that we don't do anything fun and adventurous, but in reality both Alia and me have grown up roaming around in Juhu in an auto. I really identify with him and want people to feel and see that.

Alia asks Varun, `Do you think that in trying too hard to be good, you may lose yourself as a person?' I might lose my mind maybe, but if I can go out and do good and help even one or two people, it's enough. It's not about being a saint, I may be a bigger sinner than you, but the thing about doing good is setting the right example and doing the right thing. We underestimate ourselves as humans. We can do good, have fun, make mistakes, we just need to find the balance. I have a fear of failure and of making mistakes. I don't want my mother to turn around and tell me that I have done wrong. Apart from my mother, there is another person in the world that I wouldn't want to disappoint.