Latest news with #Mitr
India.com
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- India.com
Meet actress, single mother, who worked in over 200 films, still unmarried at 55, is now..., her name is..., Hema Malini's mother was her...
Meet actress, single mother, who worked in over 200 films, still unmarried at 55, is now..., her name is..., Hema Malini's mother was her... Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai, popularly known by her screen-name Shobana is one of the most sought-after actresses in South Indian cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, she worked in over 200 films in various languages. Moreover, she also featured opposite superstars like Nandamuri Balakrishna, Venkatesh, Chiranjeevi, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Mohan Babu, Rajendra Prasad, and many more. Shobana was introduced to films by Hema Malini's mother, Jaya Chakravarthy, who saw her while she was with her aunt, renowned actress Padmini. She started working at the mere age of 14. Soon, after making her debut with the film April 18 , she became a lead heroine in the Malayalam industry. Shobana secured two National awards, one for Best Actress in 1993 for her performance in AM Fazil's Manichitrathazhu, another came in 2001 for her role in film Mitr, My Friend . She took a break from films in 2020 to focus on Bharatnatyam, and also runs her own dance school, Kalarpana in Chennai. However in 2024, she made a smashing comeback to films with Nag Ashwin's Kalki 2898 AD , starring Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone, and Disha Patani in prominent roles. Moreover, she is currently grabbing headlines for her reunion with Malayalam superstar, Mohanlal after 15 years, in the film Thudarum . Released on April 25, 2025, the film became a box office success, grossing Rs 236 crore globally. Despite being one of the most successful actresses, Shobana chose to remain unmarried and is still single at the age of 55. In a throwback interview as quoted by BollywoodShaadis, Shobana revealed why she never got married, 'Well, I am not particularly against the institution of marriage in anyways. I haven't found the time for it amidst my busy schedule. Maybe I haven't spotted the right guy. And for that matter, I have seen only a few marriages that work. That can also be one of the reasons.' She said. In 2011, Shobana became a single mom, as she adopted a baby girl Anantha Narayani. She prefers to keep her daughter away from the limelight, and restricted her pictures to be uploaded on any of her social media pages.
Gulf Today
28-02-2025
- Health
- Gulf Today
India's first transgender clinics close after USAID freeze
India's first three clinics for the transgender community closed last month following a stop-work order from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) that funded them, disrupting services for nearly 5,000 people, two sources said on Friday. US President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign aid in January pending a review to ensure all projects funded with U.S. taxpayer money are aligned with his "America First" policy. Trump has repeatedly criticised what he called USAID spending $21 million on "voter turnout" in India. The Indian government said last week it was investigating. Among the main losers following the fund freeze have been three Mitr (friend) Clinics in India that are run mostly by doctors, counsellors and other workers from the transgender community and that serve up to 5,000 people, said the sources. Both declined to be named, citing the sensitivity of the matter. Trump ally Elon Musk and Republican Senator John Kennedy have both criticised the transgender funding. "That's what American tax dollars were funding," Musk said on X on Friday in response to a post about the closure of the first of the Mitr clinics, launched in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad in 2021. The other clinics are located in the western cities of Kalyan and Pune. All provided services including guidance and medication on hormone therapy, counselling on mental health as well as on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, and legal aid, in addition to general medical care, a website for the three clinics said. Each of them needed up to Rs3 million ($34,338) a year to run and employed about eight people, said one of the sources, adding that they were looking for alternate sources of funding, public or private. Organisers of the clinics, however, have got a waiver from USAID to keep running certain life-saving activities, including providing antiretroviral medication to HIV-infected people, the sources said. Up to 10% of all clinic clients are infected by HIV, one of the sources said. "We did some really good work at Mitr Clinics," said one of the sources, a doctor. "I am proud of what we achieved there."
