Thanks To Puja Committee And An NGO, Muslim Doctors Did Not Have To Vacate Their Flat
Kolkata, Aug 03: Four Muslim doctors, staying at a rented house in Kolkata’s Kudghat area who made it to the news for facing racial discrimination, have been assured by the locals that they would not have to shift elsewhere. The positive change took place, when the Durga Puja committee and a local NGO, came to their rescue.
The Muslim doctors, are currently doing their staff ship in various government hospitals across the city were in for a shock when one of the neighbours heckled and misbehaved with them, as a friend of them came visiting.
“We had already been turned down by many landlords, just because of our Muslim identity. So, we were very much relieved when our current landlord agreed to rent out his flat to us. We were glad that we finally managed to get accommodation. However, that was just the beginning of our ordeal, for one of the neighbours had a strong reservation to the house being rent out to us,” narrated Dr Mohammad Aftab Alam, among the four Muslim doctors who had to vacate the flat to eNewsroom. Dr Aftab is doing his staff ship with Beliaghata Infectious Diseases Hospital.
However, the neighbour never got a chance to make his reservations heard until their friend came to visit them at their residence. “This friend was supposed to stay overnight with us. But he was accosted by this neighbour and asked for his identity card. When we raised an alarm, saying that we were ready to show all the necessary documents but to our landlord and not him, then he loudly declared that how he had warned everyone to not rent out their flats to ‘bachelors and Muslims’,” recounted Dr Aftab.
Following which, he posted his ordeal on social media. “Someone alerted an NGO called Sangati Abijaan came to our rescue. The members of this NGO along with a number of local residents of this area came forward to help us,” said he.
Talking to eNewsroom, Dwaipayan Banerjee, a research scholar and Founder Member of the NGO said, “This is not the first time that we have come across such a situation. In Kolkata too, many deny renting out houses to Muslims. But, this time around, when we talked to the locals regarding this issue, they were more than willing to support these young boys.”
What was more encouraging was the fact the even the local Durga Puja Committee members lent their support to the boys. “It would have been a matter of shame if the boys had to vacate their flat,” said Bhaskar Majumdar, a school teacher and resident of Kudghat area. He further added, “The neighbour, who had raised an objection, had never anticipated such a reaction and has now maintained that he had no objection to the four staying in the flat. The locals have pledged their support to the boys and have maintained that no tenant would be targeted simply because of the religion.”
On being asked why such an incident took place, in the heart of the city, he explained, “When – Hindu-Muslim is all that we can hear throughout the day, what else one can expect to transpire. The politicians of today are banking on the politics of hate. So, definitely, such cases will be on the rise. He further added, “When we went over to clear the differences, I categorically told him, I would have been overjoyed, if I had four doctors as my neighbours. We did our best to clear the prejudice that existed, following which this particular neighbour has maintained that he has no objection to the boys staying put.”
Meanwhile the boys too overjoyed with not having to vacate the flat. “We will never have enough word to thank Dwaipayan da’s timely intervention, the local residents of Kudghat including the Puja committee, for having stood by us and making sure that we didn’t have to vacate our residence has further strengthened our hope in our democracy and spirit of Kolkata. I am sure if such interventions are made in time to iron out the differences or prejudice that exists in the society, the rise graph of hate in India will be curbed for sure.”
Courtesy: enewsroom.in
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'Homebound' makes it to Oscar shortlist for best international feature
Mumbai (PTI): Neeraj Ghaywan's much acclaimed "Homebound" is among the 15 films shortlisted in the best international feature category at the Oscars, moving a step close to the final five nominations and maybe a win.
The movie, inspired by a true story that became the basis of a news article during the pandemic, has been creating a global buzz since its debut in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival this May.
Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese is a fan and has come onboard as an executive producer ahead of the award season.
Produced by Karan Johar and Adar Poonawalla, and starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor, "Homebound" is Ghaywan's second movie after "Masaan".
"Homebound" will compete for an Oscar nomination alongside Argentina's “Belén”, Brazil's “The Secret Agent”, French drama "It Was Just an Accident”, Germany's "Sound of Falling” and Iraq's "The President's Cake".
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The other movies in the shortlist include Japan's “Kokuho”, Jordan's “All That’s Left of You”, Norway's “Sentimental Value”, Palestine's “Palestine 36”, South Korean hit “No Other Choice”, Spain's “Sirat”, "Late Shift" from Switzerland, “Left-Handed Girl”from Taiwan and Tunisian drama “The Voice of Hind Rajab”, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced in a release on Tuesday.
The award for best foreign film, now re-categorised as best international feature, has so far eluded India.
Only three Indian films have received nominations in the category -- Mehmood Khan’s “Mother India”, Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay” and Ashutosh Gowarikar’s “Lagaan”. Deepa Mehta’s “Water”, starring John Abraham and Lisa Ray, also received a nomination but it was submitted from Canada.
Gujarati film "Chhello Show" in 2023 was the last film to get shortlisted.
Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya was the first Indian to get an Oscar, bagging the coveted prize in 1983 for the film "Gandhi". Other than her, A R Rahman, Resul Pukootty and M M Keeravani have also won individual Oscars.
Team "Homebound" celebrated the shortlist news with posts on social media.
"We made the shortlist... Way to go team Homebound'!" Johar shared in Instagram Stories.
In a post, the producer said it was difficult for him to articulate how "proud and elated" he was with the news.
"All of us @dharmamovies are privileged to have this proud and important film in our filmography... thank you @neeraj.ghaywan for making so many dreams of ours come true... from Cannes to being on the Oscar shortlist this has been such an overwhelming journey! Love to the entire cast and crew and teams of this special special film! Upwards and onwards...."
Ghaywan also shared the news on X.
"#Homebound has been shortlisted for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards! We are deeply grateful for the extraordinary love and support we've received from around the world," he wrote on X with a special poster of the film.
Jethwa, who plays one of the two friends in the story opposite Ishaan Khatter, said the moment feels "surreal and incredibly humbling".
"To see 'Homebound' being shortlisted and progressing towards the Oscars is something I could have only dreamed of. I am deeply grateful for the love and support the film has received from audiences around the world," he said as he acknowledged Johar, Ghaywan and co-star Khatter and the rest of the team.
Khatter also shared the news on his Instagram stories and wrote, "Oscar ab dur nahi".
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"Homebound" is inspired by journalist Basharat Peer's The New York Times article “Taking Amrit Home”, also titled "A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway".
The film portrays the childhood friendship between a Muslim and Dalit who chase a police job that promises them the dignity they have long been denied due to their surnames.
The Academy on Tuesday also announced shortlists in 11 other categories, including the newly added casting Oscars, animated shorts, cinematography, documentary feature, documentary short, original score and song, sound and visual effects categories.
Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
Twenty-four categories will be awarded at the 98th Oscars. Each category has five nominees, except for best picture, which has 10.
The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
