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Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Who's Crazy About Bollywood Hottie Madhuri?

Kunal Kapoor is so excited about his role in Aaja Nachle that he just can’t find words to describe it. The actor has performed with none other than Madhuri Dixit for the first time and he just can’t stop raving about her.

"I had great fun shooting for Aaja Nachle. I hope that it will translate itself on-screen. I worked with Madhuri for the first time. What was more interesting was watching her perform. Every time she was performing a scene we all used to sit on the sets watching her and when the shot was over we would all clap. She thought we were all crazy," shares Kunal.

Was performing a role , which is in contrast to his nature difficult? "Surprisingly, it wasn’t difficult for me," he says. "My character is cool and calm, but maybe the aggressiveness of my childhood must have been lurking somewhere and it has come out in my role," says Kunal. He admits to be a huge fan of Madhuri. This is Kunal’s second film with Konkona after Laaga Chunari Mein Daag. This is Kunal’s second film under the Yash Raj Banner. When asked if he is concentrating on bigger banners now that his career has taken off, Kunal replies, "Not necessarily. I like to work with good directors and would love to do films, which people will watch on a larger scale. I want to work with the right people and if their films reach out to a wider audience then why not." Kunal is also doing a cameo in Shyam Benegal’s Mahadev.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Triplets: I want my Kid to be a Director


Life couldn’t have been more fulfilling for choreographer-turned-director Farha Khan. Riding high on the success of Om Shanti Om, she is eagerly awaiting the birth of her triplets, in two months from now. Fagged out at times, but mostly upbeat, Farah says, “Since the time I conceived, my babies have been accompanying me everywhere including the post production work. So it’s but natural that films will be seeped into their blood.” The mum-to-be goes on to express her ardent wish, “I hope at least one of them becomes a film director.” Till then of course, Farah is busy reading more scripts for her next film. At 42, when most women pull away from an active working life, Farah is raring to go. Farah has no regrets whatsoever. She married Shirish Kunder who is younger than her by eight years. “There’s no formula to a successful marriage. I am glad I married someone younger and yes, even though there’s an age gap there’s no scope for insecurity. I don’t have illusions that Shirish married a beauty because I am not one. In fact, when he proposed, he was clear that only if I intend to have his babies, he would marry me. He may be eight years younger, but I am the kid in this relationship,” she explains.

Monday, November 26, 2007

India Beats Pakistan!


Anil Kumble's tenure as India captain got off to a perfect start at his happy hunting ground as the hosts thumped Pakistan by six wickets in the first Test to go 1-0 up in the three-match cricket series in the Capital. Kumble's tryst with Ferozeshah Kotla continued unabated and the Man of the Match award came as the icing on the cake for the veteran leg-spinner, who claimed seven wickets in the match, besides scoring a defiant 24 runs in the first innings. Needing 32 for a facile win, India completed the formalities in little over half an hour 32 minutes to be precise to score the required runs in 6.2 overs and record their seventh consecutive Test win at Kotla. Sachin Tendulkar 56 not out scored the winning run in style, rocking to his back foot to cut Danish Kaneria past the point fielder for a scorching boundary. Trying to pull Shoaib Akhtar, Ganguly offering a swirling catch to Sohail Tanvir at fine leg to leave without adding to his overnight score. Ganguly's 48 came off 64 balls in two hours, during which he hit eight boundaries. Tendulkar, however, provided the reason for celebration for the sparse Kotla crowd by notching up his 46th Test fifty via a full-blooded cut off Kaneria. Both the teams now move to Kolkata for the second Test, which gets underway on 30th November.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Miss Bollywood Shilpa Shetty


Tickets for the final show of Shilpa Shetty's debut musical in London Miss Bollywood are almost sold out. Shilpa Shetty has said that the response to her debut musical Miss Bollywood has been "fantastic" and tickets for the final show at the Royal Albert Hall in London on December 12 has almost been sold out. "It is truly my privilege and a great platform to showcase India's culture," Shetty told newsmen on Tuesday night. In the musical, Shilpa Shetty leads a performing group of over 40 leading dancers from Bollywood and beyond. Miss Bollywood is set against the backdrop of London as the city prepares for the 2012 Olympics. It follows the story of 'Maya' -- performed by Shilpa Shetty -- a classically trained dancer and choreographer who recently arrived from India to set up a dance academy in a soon to be demolished East London building. It is a concoction of riveting dance sequences, showcasing a combination of eclectic dance forms taken from the east and west of India. "Miss Bollywood will appeal not only to fans of Bollywood films and their super catchy hit songs but also to the mainstream audiences for high energy dance or musical theatre. Extravaganza is the right description." Farhath Hussain, producer, promoter and organizer of the musical said he planned to take the musical to Australia, USA and Dubai in due course.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Sush and Shah Rukh Khan Sizzle


After "Main Hoon Na" the unanimous opinion was Shah Rukh Khan and Sushmita Sen made a sizzling pair. They are coming together once again in "Dulha Mil Gaya". The SRK makes a special appearance opposite Sushmita Sen. “That has been organized completely by producer Vivek Vaswani. It has got nothing to do with me. It's a romantic comedy. "The actually reason I'm doing it is the director Mudassar Aziz. He wrote the songs of 'Zindaggi Rocks'. I feel he has tremendous potential. When I heard the script I just fell for it," said the sizzling actress. This is not for the first time that the actress is working with a debutant director. In addition, Sushmita has agreed to do another film with comedy king David Dhawan. This is her third film with the Salman Khan-Dhawan team after super hits "Biwi No 1" and "Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya?" About Salman, she says that she loves working with him. “We've such a beautiful equation. He's one hero who doesn't let me feel my height. On the contrary whenever I kick off my high heels he asks me to put them on. It's not hard to see why he's so loved”, says Sushmita Sen.

Lost to Them

The Destiny They Could Not Avoid
From a young age, Yash Kaushal had heard stories of the beautiful silver beaches and lush forests of East Africa. Leaving India behind and postponing his arranged marriage, he departs from Bombay in search of adventure and intrigue. Unlike many of the young Indian men who find their way to Africa's shores in the early 1920s, Yash is of a privileged family. Eventually, he settles in Kenya and raises his family there. Among his children is the beautiful Selina, who against all tradition falls in love with the handsome, green-eyed Englishman Dirk Willers.

Set against the backdrop of a country striving toward independence, Lost is a captivating epic of one family's struggle against racial discrimination, and one woman's quest toward happiness. Will Selina be able to break the ties of her society, her culture, and all that she had been taught to believe in? Will she be strong enough to stand by her love?

Monday, November 19, 2007

ISRO Plans to Send Spacecraft


The Indian Space Research Organization is evaluating the feasibility of undertaking a manned space flight and is expected to submit a project report to the government by March 2008. The space agency, which has also drawn up plans to send a spacecraft to Mars and have flyby missions to comets and asteroids over the next five years, is also set to revamp the transponders on its communication satellites to 500 from the current 175, to meet the growing demand in the various sectors. Meanwhile, the Centre has proposed to more than double the plan outlay of Isro to Rs 273 billion to enable it achieve its ambitious programmes including facilitating tele-medicine and tele-education services. The Eleventh Plan has identified building capabilities in space communications and navigation, developing navigational satellite systems, research in satellite communications and self sustenance of INSAT or G -SAT systems as major areas of focus. The Isro is expected to operationalise the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III, capable of putting four tonne satellites in orbit and develop technologies to recover spacecraft after completion of missions. India’s maiden moon mission Chandrayaan-I will take to the skies on April 9, 2008 and Isro has already begun finalising details for a second lunar mission with a possible launch in the next three years. India is also developing its own version of the Global Positioning System by launching seven satellites in the next six years. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), expected to be functional by 2012, will be used for surveying, telecommunications, transport, identifying disaster areas and public safety among others.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Sonali comes across real life in her role


Sonali Kulkarni, who is playing the role of a TV reporter in her ‘Mohandas’ got the taste of reel life in real life.

While shooting for her film ‘Mohandas’, Sonali goes to a coal mine for an investigative story. The scene requires her to interview Sharbani Mukherjee about her plight in a rice field. According to the script Sonali was to interview Sharbani and while the interview is on, some people from town charge towards them. They force Sonali to abandon the interview and leave from the place.

The movie’s director Mazhar Kamran says, "We had chosen one particular field for our shot. We had also taken due permission for it. However, when we started the shoot, one of the owners of this field came rushing in and asked us to leave. I very patiently told him that we had taken prior permission and also paid for it. Still he kept insisting and started shouting and ordering us to scram. When I offered to pay more money, he just flipped and began abusing also. It was exactly the way we wanted our shoot to be." This proved a blessing in disguise for the director and a great experience for actor Sonali.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Aishwarya Rai Pregnant!?


Bollywood star couple Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai offered prayers at a dargah in Andhra Pradesh. They were accompanied by Jaya Bachchan and Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, who also visited and prayed at the Ameen Peer dargah - also known as 'Pedda dargah' - in Kadapa.
All of them reached the town in a helicopter from Bangalore at around 0900 hours, police said. The visit to the dargah has sparked rumours of Aishwarya’s pregnancy. Abhishek and Aishwarya, who got married in April this year, offered a 'Chadar' and conducted special prayers at the dargah, which is believed to have been established by a spiritual leader belonging to the clan of Prophet Mohammad.
A large number of Bachchan fans and curious onlookers gathered at the dargah to have a glimpse of the star couple. Amar Singh's family and the Bachchans later left for Bangalore after spending about three hours at the dargah. The Pedda (big) Dargah is visited by a number of Bollywood personalities and politicians. Music director A R Rahman is a frequent visitor to the dargah.




Rani bonds with Rakhi Sawant


Everyone who has seen Rani Mukherjee give a smashing performance as a saucy tart in Saawariya is commenting on the similarities between Rani's and Rakhi Sawant’s speech patterns and body language. The decision to incorporate elements of Rakhi Sawant’s personality into the character was taken on the day Rakhi, who's a huge fan of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s work, was invited on the sets of Saawariya when Rani was shooting. That's when Sanjay Leela Bhansali heard Rakhi speak and decided to incorporate her cute and wonky way of speaking the English language into Rani's character. In fact, Rakhi who saw the ‘tribute’ at the film's premiere caught on immediately and was quite tickled by the way Rani had adopted Rakhi's speech patterns. "I wasn't aware of the similarities. I'm a big Sanjay Leela Bhansali fan and I adore Rani. Yes, he had invited me to the sets. He made me feel very special. When I watched him shoot with Rani I became an even bigger fan of Sanjayji. Even a walk-on part in his film is invaluable." said Rakhi Sawant.

"Saawariya"


Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the name itself epitomizes the pinnacle of immaculate style in modern Indian cinema with an unparallel exuberance that one can anticipate on big screen. Besides his immaculately pristine visual perception, his films have always been high on emotional quotient and have often forayed into human relationships with great emotional depth in a backdrop of aesthetically sketched out cultural embellishments. Exotic and platonic to the core, ‘Saawariya’ foretells the tale of two lovers in a backdrop of larger than life scintillating surroundings. It has been set in a palette of blues and greens in all its frames and scenes with the reflection of the shades on the paved floors, pavements, streets, bars and rooftops in making it a desired dream world to aspire. Like all his previous visual spectacles, it’s a story of a lonesome man who fades away in the moonlight on the deserted streets that reflect the poetry in motion. Despite all its lavish spectacles in all frames, Bhansali dares pitch in a realistically painful and sad love story to conservative Indian audiences with two unknown faces in author backed lead roles. Bhansali being an ardent “literature aficionado” inspires this four nights love saga from the famous works of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s short story - “White Nights”. After ‘Devdas’ (inspired from Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s famous novel “Devdas”) and ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ (inspired from Bernard Shaw’s “Candida”), this stunning sentimental is a great inspirational lift from Fyodor.
Commercially speaking, Bhansali’s ‘Saawariya’ will be opening to modest houses as compared to SRK’s ‘Om Shanti Om’ but will positively be going up in coming weekends. It’s likely to be one of the biggest grosser of this year but will have to battle out for supremacy at the box office with ‘Om Shanti Om’. All credits to Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his cast and crew for showcasing their consistency and precision in conceiving another visual spectacle with an unconventional theme! After soulfully conceived ‘Black’, this film promises to be another winner in all segments of cinema, so have a nice weekend with a film that boasts high standards of quality work in Indian cinema. Great Job!!! Ends…

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Oh Maria, Says Karan!


Karan Johar, whose celebrity conversations on television over "Koffee" are famous, was buried in books yesterday morning while on a flight to Dubai. The filmmaker and chat show host was studying Russian tennis champion Maria Sharapova! The reason? He is doing an interview with her for his show. Karan, who was in Dubai only last week to shoot with Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, was invited for the formal launch of a Dubai lifestyle project yesterday which was done by the celebrated player and style icon.
Part of the launch programme included dinner with Sharapova, to which five lucky winners were invited, and an interaction between the Indian filmmaker and Russian tennis ace. Sharapova’s involvement in the lifesyle project is because her alma mater, the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, is a partner in Dubai to set up its first branch outside the US. “I’ve been asked to do a one-on-one with Sharapova,” revealed Karan who also admitted that he was not much of a sports enthusiast. “In spite of my impossible schedules, I readily agreed. She is a sports legend, after all.”

Sachin Declines


Indian master blaster cricketer Sachin Tendulkar turned down the offer to become the captain of India's Test cricket team just two days before his appointment was to be formally announced. The veteran batsman, who had initially agreed to take over the mantle after Rahul Dravid stepped down, has informed the Indian Cricket Board President Sharad Pawar and national selectors about his decision. The veteran batsman, who had initially agreed to take over the mantle after Rahul Dravid stepped down, has informed the Board President Sharad Pawar and national selectors about his decision. Confirming the report, the board said that Sachin had told Pawar to look towards younger players. In a letter written to Sharad Pawar and national selection team, Sachin didn’t disclose the reason but says that he does not want to be the Test captain at this stage. The selectors will meet on Thursday to announce team for the remaining three one-dayers against Pakistan and also the new Test captain. With Tendulkar now out of the equation the 26-year-old Dhoni, who has been impressive in the Twenty20 and ODIs, appears to also take up the responsibilities in the longer of version of the game. however, on the other hand former India coach Greg Chappell feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni, front-runner to become the Test captain after Sachin Tendulkar turned down the offer, needs at least another year to be ready to take up the responsibility.
Chappell said Dhoni was still learning by leading the team in the ODIs and Twenty20 and would be ready for Test captaincy in next 12 months.While former skipper Ravi shastri says, Mahendra Singh Dhoni may have impressed with his leadership skills in the one-dayers but burdening him with the Test captaincy would be asking for too much from the youngster. Dhoni had proved his mettle as skipper but it was not the right time to anoint him Test captain. It will put him under a lot of pressure. In future he may do it but not at this moment.

Sania Aims to Crack Top 20


After a season that saw more highs than lows, Sania Mirza has set herself an ambitious target. In her sixth year on the WTA senior circuit the Indian poster girl, who is currently ranked 32, wants to crack the top-20. Sania Mirza, who parted ways with South African trainer Heath Mathew ahead of the US hard court season, said that she was zeroing in on a few names as a permanent travelling coach. "My game will not be affected with the frequent change of coaches. As of now, I have not decided about filling the vacancy. I have a few names in mind. I will disclose them at the right time." The 2007 season, punctuated by frequent injuries, was bittersweet for Sania. She breached the top-30 for the first time with successful runs on the US hard-court circuit and cut short her season after re occurrence of her injuries. The 20-year-old will start her 2008 campaign at the Hopman Cup in Perth where she and Rohan Bopanna have a direct entry for their good show this year. Sania said doing well at the mixed doubles challenge in January is her immediate goal. Four doubles titles came her way this season with victories at Morocco with Vania King of the US, Cincinnati with Bethanie Mattek of the US, Stanford with Shahar Peer of Israel and New Haven with Mara Santangelo of Spain. Sania, who ended the year with a 32-11 record in doubles, however says singles is her priority. Sania reached her only singles final of 2007 at Stanford in July. She had some notable wins over Martina Hingis, Dinara Safina and Patty Schnyder. Her best Grand Slam result for the year was a third round spot at the US Open in August - eventually losing to good friend and on court nemesis Anna Chakvetadze.

India Seek Reforms


Pressing for time-bound reforms in international financial institutions, India has warned that their "credibility" would be adversely affected if developing nations are not given an "effective voice" in the functioning of these bodies. While developing countries have made significant efforts towards good governance and domestic resource mobilization, the support by the international community has lagged far behind, Member of Parliament Sachin Pilot said addressing the economic and financial committee of the United Nations General Assembly. There was a need for "time-bound" action to restructure international financial institutions to give adequate representations to the developing world or else the "legitimacy and credibility" of these bodies will be adversely affected.Demanding that the developed nations fulfill their commitments regarding financial aid to the developing nations, Pilot rejected the contention that private sector investments are panacea for lack of development.He particularly mentioned "trade distorting" agricultural subsidies by the rich and limited access to the developing countries in the markets of developed States.Private sector, cannot replace public sector investments in infrastructure development and in sustaining equitable and inclusive growth.Besides, public sector investment is particularly important in social sector and human resource development.

Tanishaa Visits Street Kids


The street urchins hanging around South Mumbai’s Azad Maidan could not have asked for anything as glamorous as Bollywood actress Tanishaa. But there they were begging from office-goers for a few coins to buy their vada pav breakfast, when her car drew up and she spilled out dressed in a pretty pink halter top and white capris. Tanishaa, came with packets of biscuits and other food that she proceeded to distribute among the grubby hands that reached out to her.
Among the kids, Rabi and Jhelur Kumar, who are nine and eight respectively, were humming
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa umindful of the fact that the actress has nothing to do with this Himesh Reshammiya number. Watching them tear into the biscuits, Tanishaa said, “It’s heart wrenching to see street urchins malnourished while kids from privileged families have to be put on special diets!”She forgets though that she herself was a pampered girl at home many years ago. But now, Tanishaa proudly said that privileged position had been occupied by her lovable niece Nysa — elder sister Kajol and Ajay Devgan’s daughter. “It’s a great feeling to be an aunt. Meanwhile, the street kids danced in a circle around her. One shy 12-year-old boy commented, Jahan mulgi, wahin hum ,” catching Tanisha’s attention. She giggled, “Aisa comment karega toh tumko koi ladki nahin mileage .”