Aashiqui 2 singer Ankit Tiwari arrested on rape charge

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Popular playback singer Ankit Tiwari was today arrested for allegedly raping his female friend on several occasions for over a year on the pretext of marriage, police said.

Twenty four-year-old Tiwari, known for his popular song Sun Raha Hai Na from Aashiqui 2, was arrested by Versova police this morning after the woman, who is said to be his girlfriend, complained that he sexually assaulted her between October 2012 and December 2013 assuring marriage but failed to keep the promise, they said.

Ankit's brother Ankur was also arrested for threatening the woman with dire consequences over the period of time.

In her complaint to police on April 7, the victim accused Ankit of repeatedly raping her since October 2012 for over a year with the promise to marry her. When Ankit failed to keep his promise, she approached the police.

Ankit has been booked under IPC sections 376 (rape), 493 (cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage), and 506(2) (criminal intimidation) while his brother was charged with criminal intimidation.

Lawyer Nagesh Mishra, representing both the accused, trashed the charges saying they were completely fabricated and filed to extort money from Ankit.

"Why was the victim silent all this while? When she learnt that Ankit has become successful in his career, she came to us to demand money. But when we flatly refused to pay, she filed a false complaint against my clients," Mishra said.

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Media mogul Ekta Kapoor is teaming up with Bejoy Nambiar for their upcoming production Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi, a comedy to be set in the by-lanes of Delhi.

The film's quirky title has been chosen through a survey by the youth of Delhi.

"Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho Gayi has a quintessential Delhi flavor. While deciding on its title, we took inputs from Delhi students from various colleges.

"We zeroed in on the word jhand, which is very popular in the city. The word describes the hilarious crisis situation that the actor is in," Nambiar said in a statement.

It will be directed by newbie filmmaker Aman Sachdeva.

"The film is about a fun, quirky and no-holds barred friendship that turns crazy when competition seeps in," Sachdeva said.

The film features former Miss India Simran Kaur and newcomer Siddharth Gupta in prominent roles.

Acclaimed Bollywood filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj is excited about his debut stage production, which premiered in Paris this week.

A Flowering Tree, an opera based on a classic Indian folk tale by famous Kannada writer and scholar AK Ramanujan, will be on at the city's Le Chatelet theatre until May 13.

"The entire experience has opened a whole new window in my mind. Staging is something I have worked on for the first time and I was excited like a little kid," said 48-year-old Bhardwaj, who directed the opera set to a musical score by composer and conductor John Adams.

"The story revolves around just three main characters -- a prince, a girl called Kumudha, and the narrator. Within that we tried to explore a number of creative elements like using the choir as props and puppets by Dadi Pudumjee. The sets are very minimalist and it is through movements that we are able to convey a sense of space," added Omkara director.

The two-act opera was first commissioned as part of the Vienna New Crowned Hope Festival to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth and uses Mozart's The Magic Flute as its model.

"It is a magical tale of a girl transforming into a flowering tree. The ethos and soul of the production is very Indian. Folk tales have their own charm and tackle major themes but in a very subtle way," said Bhardwaj, who was in London during a break from rehearsals to complete mixing a song for his upcoming Bollywood release Haider.