Latest news with #Ashfaque
New Indian Express
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Alappuzha man in line for Sony film awards
ALAPPUZHA: Alappuzha native Mohammed Ashfaque has been shortlisted for the Sony Future Filmmakers Awards, a prestigious global platform organised by Sony and Creo to encourage emerging talents in filmmaking from around the world. Ashfaque, a final-year cinematography student at the K R Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts, Kottayam, made it to the final shortlist in the students category of the awards. The short film titled 'URA' produced by the institute and cinema to - gaphed by Ashfaque, was selected among the top five entries in the category. The short list was chosen from 11,750 films submitted by more than 7,500 filmmakers across 158 countries and territories. The other shortlisted films in the students category include: 'Long Journey Till Down' by Luis JArellano (Mexico); 'When Big People Lie' by Gianfranco Fernandez-Ruiz and GusMurrai (USA); 'Rock Paper Scissors' by Hayder Hoozeer (UK) and Franz Bohm (Germany); ' Angel in the Stone' by Faith Olaewe and Doyinsola Ajayi (Nigeria) The shortlisted winners will be given the chance to attend a four-day immersive programme behind the scenes at the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City from June 2 to 5. The award ceremony will be held on June 5 at Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles. He is the son of Abdul Gafoor and Sajeena Gafoor, from Bahrain House (Saga) in Alappuzha, Kerala.
Business Recorder
23-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Economist urges depoliticisation of NFC award, proposes new formula
The federal government should depoliticise the National Finance Commission (NFC) award by appointing technocrats rather than politicians and revising the distribution formula, said noted economist Dr Ashfaque Hassan Khan. The economist made these recommendations in his report 'NFC Award and Population: Has It Distorted Pakistan's Population?' Currently, the President of Pakistan constitutes a Finance Commission for five five-year terms under Article 180 of the Constitution. The President may constitute the Commission consisting of non-political figures,' the report states. The proposed Commission will have a secretariat with professional and administrative staff to provide research and secretarial assistance to the chairperson and members of the Commission. Weightage of population in NFC 'Once the Commission is constituted by the President, the government may provide the Terms of Reference (TOR) to the Finance Commission at the beginning of the Commission, based on the priorities of the government,' read the report. Moreover, the Commission will have the authority to change the parameters as well as their weights for resource distribution between the federal and provincial governments and among the provinces to complete their assignments according to the TOR provided by the government, it added. Dr. Ashfaque's report highlights several flaws in the current NFC setup, particularly criticising the overreliance on population as the dominant criterion for resource allocation. The report noted that from 1974 to 2009, population was the sole criterion, i.e. 100%, used to allocate funds among provinces. However, the 7th NFC Award of 2010 introduced multiple criteria including, poverty/backwardness, revenue collection and inverse population density, but population remained the dominant indicator with 82% weight. NFC award major reason behind govt's inability to go after untaxed sectors: economist The report proposed that the weight of the population is reduced to 25%, with 15% weightage given to the population of the 1998 census and 10% to the population of the 2023 census of each province. Dr Ashfaque suggested using the income gap as the key indicator for the NFC award, with a 30% weight. 'The larger the income gap of the province with the richest province, the more resources are provided to the provinces to minimise the gap.'
India.com
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
This actress, who once worked as maid, eloped with another man despite being married, ended up sleeping on the streets due to...; She was...
If you're a Bollywood buff, you'll recognise the scene in the photo above from the popular movie Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham , where Ashfaque's family comes to see Ruksar, and Ashfaque's grandmother mistakenly thinks the bride is Sayeeda Begum (Daijaan). Actress Shashikala Saigal, who played Ashfaque's grandmother in K3G, is also well-known for portraying Fruity's grandmother in the beloved TV show Sonpari. With over 100 films to her credit and numerous prestigious awards throughout her illustrious career, some of Shashikala's most iconic films include Anupama, Daku, Waqt, Gumrah, Khubsoorat, Bimla, and many others. Despite spending many years in the industry, she had a troubled personal life. Let's begin with her life before entering the film world, she worked as a maid, sweeping and mopping houses to earn a living. She would often go from one studio to another, searching for work. One day, she met Noor Jehan, who gave her a small opportunity by including her in a qawwali scene for the film Zeenat. In 1947, she landed a side role in Jugnu, alongside Noor Jehan and Dilip Kumar. Shashikala made headlines throughout her illustrious career. At the age of 19, she married Om Prakash Saigal, who belonged to the family of Indian cinema's first superstar, K.L. Saigal. However, after a few years, differences began to grow between them. In an old interview, she shared: 'You can call it infatuation or whatever. I was besotted with O.P. Saigal and married him. I thought I'd settle down, but destiny kept me fettered to the camera as his business failed. Despite the money I made, I was frustrated and angry at how actresses like Shyama had graduated to lead roles while I was stuck with second leads and bit roles, even doing double shifts to keep my kitchen fires burning. The regular fights with my husband saw me send my daughters to a boarding school in Panchgani.' When Shashikala Eloped with Her Boyfriend Despite being married to O.P. Saigal, Shashikala was in a relationship with another man. She later admitted that her boyfriend had misled her at the time, calling it the biggest mistake of her life. With nowhere to live, she ended up sleeping on pavements. In an emotional interview, she recalled, 'Yes, destiny wasn't done playing me a bad hand. Differences between my husband and me worsened when the kids were in boarding school. That's when, in a misguided moment straight out of my film Gumrah, I eloped with another man abroad—leaving behind my husband, kids, and career. It was the biggest mistake of my life, for which I paid dearly. I was humiliated and tortured for days until I returned—crazy and broken. For days, I roamed the streets like a madwoman, sleeping on pavements, eating whatever I could find, and touring ashrams and temples in search of peace.'
