'Chalte Chalte' actor Vishal Anand dies at 82
Mumbai: Veteran actor Vishal Anand, best known for featuring in the 1976 hit film "Chalte Chalte", passed away on Sunday following a prolonged illness, his family said in a statement on Monday. He was 82.
The actor, whose real name was Bhisham Kohli, appeared in several Hindi films in the 1970s, including "Hindustan Ki Kasam" and "Taxi Driver".
It was, however, "Chalte Chalte", also starring Simi Garewal, that earned Anand acclaim and fame. In a statement shared by Anand's nephew, actor Purab Kohli, the family said the veteran star passed away Sunday noon.
"He was not keeping in good health since the last couple of months. We would like people to remember him from the 1976 super-hit song and movie 'Chalte Chalte'.
"Our prayers are with him, may he rest in peace. We kindly request members of the press and media to respect the family's privacy during this sad time," the family said in the statement.
Anand had also produced "Chalte Chalte" and he is credited for giving veteran music composer Bappi Lahiri his big break with the Sunder Dar directorial.
The songs from the thriller, including Kishore Kumar's "Chalte Chalte Mere Ye Geet Yaad Rakhna" and "Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi", sung by Shailendra and Lata Mangeshkar, went on to become chartbusters.
Anand also featured in "Dil Se Mile Dil" (1978) and directed the Mithun Chakraborty-starrer "Kismet" in 1980.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
