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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.