Actor Deepika Padukone, whose upcoming release “Padmavati” is caught up in a controversy, and cricketer M S Dhoni have withdrawn themselves from the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad, an official said today. The summit from November 28 to 30 will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and daughter of US President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump.
Padukone-starrer “Padmavati’s” release was deferred by its makers yesterday following stiff opposition and threats from some organisations for its alleged distortion of history. The summit, with ‘Women First, Prosperity for All’ as its theme, will see Ivanka Trump leading a delegation from her country on November 28. “There is a panel discussion on ‘Hollywood to Nollywood to Bollywood’. Earlier, Deepika Padukone was expected to be in that session, but she has now declined. We are trying (to see) who can replace her,” said Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary, IT and Industry, Telangana government.
Nollywood is the popular name for the Nigerian film industry. “Others have also dropped. For example, M S Dhoni was supposed to be in one of the sessions. Now he has declined. People are declining for various reasons. Because Dhoni is declining, we have to now bring in Sania (Mirza), Gopichand,” Ranjan told reporters on the sidelines of an event. The final list of speakers is expected to be released shortly as some last-minute changes are taking place, he said. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao would also speak at the inaugural session on November 28. There will be 53 sessions in total over three days.
“Our (Telangana) IT Minister KT Rama Rao will speak in the panel discussion on November 29. One of the names is yet to be confirmed. The panel will have Miss Trump and Cherie Blair (wife of former UK prime minister Tony Blair) and Chanda Kochhar (MD and CEO of ICICI Bank). The panel discussion will be on the theme of the event,” Ranjan said. Modi is also scheduled to have closed-door talks with some of the delegates, including John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, and Canadian businessman Prem Watsa. About 300 investors and venture capitalists are expected to take part in the event where they can interact with 1,200 budding entrepreneurs. The Telangana government will also announce the launch of Rs 100 crore ‘T-Fund’ for start-ups at the summit, Ranjan said.
