Gajendra Verma is a self-made artist who has won our hearts with his authentic, heartfelt tunes, and he has come a long way since his 2008 debut album ‘Emptiness.’ He is the voice behind the hits, that have been a part of our solitude playlists, like ‘Tera Ghata’ and ‘Mann Mera’.

Singer and music composer Gajendra Verma interacted with NewsX as part of our special series NewsX India A-list, for his newly released single Na Hona Tumse Door. The pop sensation is synonymous with authentic romantic music and heartfelt renditions.

“It is a romantic track that has a peppy twist to it, with a lot of rhythms,” is how the artist described the heartfelt composition in his own words. Further speaking about the idea behind the song, he said, “I wanted to present a romantic song on which you can move on or groove on.” Gajendra added that people are getting the idea behind the song and “they like this experiment.”

On being asked about the lyrics of the song, Gajendra said, “The lyrics, basically, suggest what I wanna do with someone I love, the small things- just walk on an empty lane, and just lie down under the stars. That’s what the lyrics are all about, the small things which you do.” He explained the concept behind the cinematography and said, “When we were planning the video, we didn’t want to take any storyline in it because the story was already there. It was about a song that two people who are already in love and they are spending the most amazing time with themselves.”

Describing his life during the lockdown, the singer said “It was lots of different emotions and lots of ups & downs in the last one-and-a-half year. I think it’s probably because we never before gave so much time to ourselves and to those around us.” He added, “I see it as a time where I got to deconstruct a lot of things in my life and then assemble it back again. I was just in a phase where I was continuously releasing songs not thinking about what exactly I want to portray.” Moreover, focusing on the other positive outcomes of the lockdown period on his personal life, Gajendra said, “After 12-13 years, I got an eight-month stretch with my family. That was wonderful. That was one of the best things about this period.”

Answering if this feels like a dream come true, the singer said, “Yes, it does look like a dream come true. The dream is a lot bigger than this actually, but I am gonna be there because I think I am on the right path.” He followed it up by saying, “I think what really clicked with people and with my music is that I was very honest with my approach.”

He concluded, “I have always heard a lot of western music, and if you see the approach to western music is very casual and honest. Very few songs will be there which will have a poetic or metaphorical approach to them, and that’s something I have always followed. But it doesn’t mean I don’t like the poetic, metaphorical things which we do in India. That has its own beauty. There was a space of someone getting that casualness and honestness in music, in lyrics especially. I wanted to explore that space.”

Sakshi Tanwar, Actor and Rensil D’silva, filmmaker join for an exclusive conversation with NewsX as part of the India A-list series. Sakshi Tanwar stars in the film Dial 100 which has been directed by Rensil D’Silva & is streaming on Zee5. They talked about their work in the digital film.

Explaining why she chose to act in Dial 100, which can be included in a genre that she does not usually associate with, Sakshi Tanwar said, “That is the biggest reason, that I had not done something like this. Another reason is Rensil sir. I have been wanting to work with him ever since I did 24 with him and I was waiting for the opportunity. This was a great opportunity in every way because there was a dream team. There was Manoj Bajpayee, Nina, Rensil sir, the story, the premise, the genre. Everything was a perfect mix of what I wanted. The fact that Rensil was doing the film and the cast was enough for me.”

Explaining about Dial 100 and what would entice audiences in it Rensil D’silva said, “A director’s heart lights up when you have actors like Sakshi Tanwar and Kareena Kapoor because there is certain credibility they bring to the role. When you are writing you know that some scenes are going to be very difficult to direct and you need actors of this calibre. They make things look easy but they are actually not.

He continued, “I have done thrillers but beyond that too. I have done Rang De Basanti and Student of the Year which are dramas but the industry kind of slots you. If I make thrillers I ensure that it is an emotional thriller. I am not just interested in car chases and twists and turns because you lose audiences with emotional quotient. This film I thought will have a lot of emotions. Each character, though it happens in one night, the emotional graph is low and high.”

When asked how it feels to have her film on a digital platform Tanwar said, “I think it is great because we are getting used to the new normal, we are accepting things they are and we are learning to make the most of it. It is great that people will get to see the film and they can watch it over and over again. We will get the feedback immediately, and although you are not sitting in the theatre and gauging their reactions, I think digital is a great way to connect with people. And for a film like this, it is wonderful, Zee 5 is a great platform. I have had two films earlier on Zee 5. But since this is my first digital film it makes it even more special.

Tracing the transition from TV to mini-series to the digital space she said, “Sometimes I feel God has been great to me. I was there when television was at its peak, the shows were doing so well and everybody was sort of glued to the small screen and we were going to everybody’s house on a daily basis. Fortunately, that was very popular. Then took a break and did another daily, fortunately, that was also received extremely well. Then I took a sabbatical and decided that I need to slow down. I am a mom now and I have a toddler at home. I wanted to slow down and luckily the web platform opened up for me. It was like, come we will do things at your pace. There I was experimenting with new roles, projects and it suited me very well because the commitment in terms of time was much less, one was able to explore more in lesser time so it fitted in perfectly for me. It is because of that I have the freedom to do what I want to do when I want to do

She continued, “The second part, ‘goodbye to television,’ I am too fond of the medium. I don’t know if I’ll be doing a daily again. But if there is something like 24, I’d love to do it.”

When asked if he imagined a day in which web series is as welcoming as when he did 24, Rensil D’silva said, “Well, it’s been 10 years and I don’t think any of us envisioned this. This has changed the entertainment landscape not just in India but in every part of the world. Since I was talking to Howard Gordon and Fox 21, I had a sense that in the west there would be an increasing appreciation where there is HBO, HP, Max and all these kinds of studios but I never imagined there will be this. A lot of people were telling me, that you are a feature film director, how can you do a limited series on TV. I was like, it doesn’t matter what screen you are on because actually, I am from a 30-second world of advertising. Actually what matters is who you are working with, what the idea is and what are you communicating. The screen doesn’t matter. Today I am happy to prove that.

Talking about her game-changer project Tanwar said, “I think Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki because before that I was not in the game. It sort of gave me everything that followed. Basically, I am ever so grateful for that project so it has to be that.”

On similar lines, D’silva spoke, “I think Rang De Basanti. I think that film took such a long time to sell because people used to get very confused with the script about the past and present. But I think what changed my life was The Wednesday. I started getting calls from people whom I had only heard about in the movies. I think that changed my life.”

A horrifying video from Pakistan has emerged online in which hordes of men are seen groping, mauling, and tearing off the clothes of a woman who is famous on TikTok. Several such horrific videos of the woman being “brutally attacked” in Lahore have surfaced online and for a while, the incident was among top hashtags on Twitter #minarPakistan and #400 men were among the hashtags being used by outraged netizens who expressed their shock and disgust at the violence against the woman. The woman has filed a complaint with police in which she alleged that a mob of around 400 people attacked her and her friends while she was filming a video near Minar-e-Pakistan on 14 August, as per local media reports.

“I was stripped and my clothes were torn apart,” she said alleging that the mob picked her up and started tossing her in the air, the Express Tribune quoted. The woman also alleged that she kept crying for help but to no avail and no one came to her rescue.Disturbing video clips widely circulated in social media show hundreds of men thrashing the woman, tearing her clothes and hurling it into the air. She also alleged that her gold ornaments were “forcibly taken” by unidentified people in the crowd, while the mobile phone and cash were also “snatched”. Maria Amir wrote in Dawn that there can be no more obvious metaphor for how depraved our society really is. It is hard to imagine a more powerful symbolic representation of how we have twisted the very meaning of ‘independence’ and ‘freedom’ to cater solely to one gender at the expense of another. There really is no other way to say it, we are in the midst of gender apartheid. The incident took place at the Greater Iqbal Park area in Lahore

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has publically endorsed the recent Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, said that his country is reaching out to all “Afghan leaders” and urged other countries to “stay engaged”, to economically support people in the war-ravaged country

Khan, who on Tuesday received telephone calls from his British counterpart, Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel highlighted the positive role that Pakistan played in facilitating the evacuation of diplomatic personnel and staff of international organisations and others from Afghanistan, as per Dawn report. He also underlined that an inclusive political settlement was the best way forward, during his conversation, it further reported.

Besides the Afghanistan issue, Khan also highlighted the extensive measures taken by Pakistan to contain COVID-19 and said relevant data had been shared with the UK and called for the removal of Pakistan from the red list of the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari took a jibe at Khan over the current situation in Afghanistan and said that country could not afford any more U-turns regarding the neighbouring country.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that EU will cooperate with any future Afghan government only if it respects the fundamental rights of all Afghans and prevents the use of Afghanistan’s territory by “terrorist organisations”.

Pakistan has been globally accused of sheltering the Taliban in the country.

Taliban took over the country on Sunday. Earlier on Tuesday, the Taliban had announced a “general amnesty” for all Afghan government officials and urged them to return to work, including women corresponding with Sharia law.

The Taliban leaders are discussing future government plans in Doha and are in touch with the international community and intra-Afghan parties to make government in Afghanistan.

The world is closely watching the unfolding situation in Afghanistan as the countries have scrambled to evacuate its citizens from Afghanistan.

According to news reports, the Taliban is using gunfire, whips, and sticks to control thousands of Afghans looking for a way out of the war-torn country at the Kabul airport.

A photojournalist for the Los Angeles Times, on Tuesday, captured graphic images of wounded Afghans after Taliban fighters used lethal weapons to control the crowd at the airport. “Taliban fighters use gunfire, whips, sticks and sharp objects to maintain crowd control over thousands of Afghans who continue to wait for a way out, on airport road. At least half dozen were wounded while I was there, including a woman and her child,” tweeted Marcus Yam.

Yam captured harrowing photos of the violence near the Kabul airport, which he described as “indiscriminate.” He said he saw one Taliban fighter fire into “the crowd, smiling at another Taliban fighter as if it were a game.” He said Afghans were waiting outside the airport to “try their luck” and get on a flight out of the nation, which is now under Taliban control.

Meanwhile, Members of the Taliban opened fire on people rallying in support of the Afghan national flag in the eastern Nangarhar province, a local source told Sputnik on Wednesday.

Some people were killed and others were injured, the source said. Afghan news agency Pajhwok reported that Taliban militants had beaten journalists working for it and the Ariana News broadcaster who was covering the rally. The violence provoked outrage from the local media.

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani is now in the United Arab Emirates, the UAE government confirmed on Wednesday. Ghani fled the war-torn country after it was overtaken by the Taliban.

The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement, “The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation can confirm that the UAE has welcomed President Ashraf Ghani and his family into the country on humanitarian grounds.” On Sunday, Ghani left Afghanistan after the Taliban entered the presidential palace. Ghani said he fled to prevent “bloodshed.”

Soon after the terror group claimed control over the Afghan capital, several countries evacuated their diplomatic personnel from the country, and thousands of people flocked to the Kabul airport in a desperate attempt to leave Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the Taliban had ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001 and in those five years, they imposed Sharia Islamic law in the country, introducing punishments in line with their strict interpretation of the law – publically executing convicted murderers and adulterers and carrying out amputations of those found guilty of theft. Men were required to grow beards and women had to wear the all-covering hijab.