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I made no effort to win it: Riddhi Sen on National Award (Lead, correcting Intro)

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By Subhash K Jha
Mumbai, April 14 (IANS) The biggest surprise that the 65th National awards has thrown forward is to honour the 19-year-old Bengali actor Riddhi Sen for his performance as a transgender in Kaushik Ganguly’s “Nagarkirtan”.

No stranger to awards and recognition even at this young age, Riddhi seems overjoyed at being the youngest actor to win the National award in the Best Actor category.

“I don’t know if I am really the youngest. But I must be the happiest.I made no effort to win it. The honour has come to me on its own and I therefore feel happy about it. I was shooting for a film when I was informed that I had won a National award. So I celebrated in the best way possible, by working.

“My mother always taught me that work hard is the only means to achieving one’s ambitions. Acting is all I’ve known from my childhood,” he said.

Riddhi who is born in a family of theatre and film actors started his career as a film actor when he was 11.

“I was doing theatre in my father (stage and film actor Kaushik Sen)’s theatre group(Swapanasandhani) from long before that. I’ve known no other than life(apart from acting).”

At age 15, Riddhi had been honoured with the Bengal government’s prestigious award the Mahanayak Samman for his performance in Open Tee Bioscope.

Riddhi had rejected the honour on political grounds. Isn’t he too young to be mixing his art with politics?

“I don’t agree. Politics can never be separated from art in our country,no matter what an actor’s age. Yes, I had said no to that honour firstly I didn’t think I was worthy at that young age of an award named after the great Uttam Kumar.Secondly, there was a lot of things in West Bengal’s politics that I didn’t like.Also, it was not the National award that I was rejecting,” he said.

Mamata Bannerjee must have been very upset?

“She still is, I think. But one has to be fearless in what one does. Otherwise I’d have never accepted the challenge of doing Nagarkirtan,” said the young actor.

Speaking on landing the National award winning part in “Nagarkirtan”, Riddhi says: “Not for moment did I consider rejecting the part just because it was unconventional. What is the point of being an actor if you don’t dive into personalities that are unknown to you?”

Riddhi says he played the transgender in “Nagarkirtan” as a woman rather than an unfinished woman.

“I studied the mannerisms and graces of my mother , who is my greatest influence, and my girlfriend.I imbibed their personality and made sure I didn’t mimic them.I never thought of the impact that the character would make or that I’d win a National award for it. One doesn’t do a role after assessing its influence. One does it because it’s there waiting to be brought alive,” said the actor.

There was family friend, the late and much missed filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh who also went through a struggle similar to the character in “Nagarkirtan” and Riddhi says Ritu was an influence.

“Our family was very close to him. I did observe him. But like I said, I played my character as a woman, not as man struggling to be a woman. The film and the character are very relevant because of what is happening in the character,” says Ridhi referring to the Article 377.

Any burning ambitions to be in Bollywood?

Laughs Ridhi, “I’ve done parts in Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani, Omung Kumar’s Bhoomi and most importantly in Leena Yadav’s Parched where I played Tannishta Chatterjee’s wayward sexist son.These were not large parts in terms of the footage. But my mother has always taught me to look at the larger picture. Being in important significant films is more important to me than counting the number of scenes and shots I have.”

–IANS
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma

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World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.

Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.

During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.

On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”

Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.

It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.

Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.

Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”

On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”

The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.

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