Mangaluru: The Tulu film Paddayi has been chosen for the 65th National Film Award 2017 as the best Tulu feature film in Delhi on Friday.

The film, which is an adaption of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, was produced by Nithyananda Pai and directed by award-winning director Abhaya Simha from Mangaluru.

It would get the Rajat Kamal and the director and producer each would get ₹ 1 lakh in the award presentation ceremony on May 3. The film has been considered for the award in the feature film categories of movies in the languages other than those specified in the VIII Schedule of the Constitution.

The film was shot in 21 days between August and October last in Mangaluru region. Many theatre artistes who were products of Ninasam of Heggodu have acted in the film, in addition to actors from Mangaluru.

The film has been chosen for screening in the New York Indian Film Festival 2018 from May 7 to May 12. The film would be released in cinemas probably this June.

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Tehran: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who was considered a potential successor to the supreme leader, died in a helicopter crash in northern Iran, state media reported on Monday. He was 63.

The tragic incident occurred amidst heightened tensions in the Middle East, particularly due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Last month, under the directive of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Raisi had overseen an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel, further escalating regional unrest.

Social media buzzed with speculation following the news of the crash. On the microblogging platform ‘X’, the hashtag #Mossad trended as netizens speculated that the Israeli intelligence agency was behind the mishap. One user commented, “It’s never an accident,” reflecting widespread suspicions.

President Raisi was returning from a ceremony to open a dam on Iran’s border with Azerbaijan when the helicopter crashed. He had been in Azerbaijan earlier on May 19 to inaugurate the dam alongside Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. Raisi’s death was confirmed in a statement by Vice President Mohsen Mansouri and on state television, according to Reuters.

The helicopter crash follows recent escalations in the region. Iran had launched a deluge of drones and missiles on Israel in response to a suspected Israeli strike that killed top Iranian officials in Syria, deepening the conflict between the two countries.