Ashmit Patel gets Freida Pinto in a Hollywood deal

IndiaGlitz

It’s not that Hollywood is unaware of the happenings in our B-town. In fact the people there do keep a tab on our cinema and an eye on our screen talents. And here we can prove it how…

Our birdies said that Ashmit Patel has bagged an international flick. And his co-star will be none other than ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ famed Freida Pinto! Lucky guy na….

Titled ‘American Empire’, the film will be directed by Andy Armstrong, the associate director of ‘Planet Of The Apes’. While Kevin D Ward has penned the script, the film will be produced by Edge Filmworks.

According to reports the film’s story is based on underworld, crime and politics.

Incidentally, Ashmit – a sibling of actress Amisha Patel - already has two international projects, one of which will release shortly.

Little Master's powerplay with tweets

Nikhil Taneja

In the 22 years Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has played international cricket, he has been perceived as shy and reserved; a public personality who ably guarded his privacy. Although one of India’s most revered and followed public figures, Tendulkar’s not known to be a man of words, and has given interviews only when absolutely necessary.

But on May 4, when Tendulkar joined the Twitter bandwagon, within a single night, his tweets revealed an almost entirely unknown side of him. He was funny, cheeky, candid and friendly – he had let down his guard almost as easily as he had been fiercely private all these years.

While having dinner with Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Atul Kasbekar, he cheekily said about how they were ‘3 more idiots’. He put up a picture of himself holding crabs and joked about how his wife is Scorpio and not Cancerian. He even put up a picture of himself, in his nightclothes, just before he went to bed for the day.

It was a surprising and completely unexpected shift in, what was perceived as, Tendulkar’s persona. Elsewhere, Shah Rukh Khan has put up pictures of his children kissing him, while Sania Mirza has put up a picture of her husband, Shoib Mallik jogging.

Recently, Shane Warne, in full public view, tweeted to Shah Rukh Khan, after his team Kolkata Knight Riders was knocked out of the Indian Premier League, asking him to “hang in there, mate”, when he could have easily made a private call.

Being themselves

We spoke to Mumbai’s top clinical psychologists to understand what makes celebrities let down their guard on social networking websites like Twitter, when they constantly complain about invasion of privacy in interviews.

“It’s all about the willingness in the process,” explains Dr Kanan Khatau Chikhal. “In front of the media, celebrities are under pressure to speak in the correct way, lest it be portrayed wrongly. But on Twitter, they will tell you only as much as they want to.”

“Celebrities are usually guarded in real life because they know they are role models,” adds Dr Seema Hingoranny. “They want to be loved by everyone, so they are nervous about how the media might portray them. On the other hand, social networking sites let them clarify what they want to and speak their heart out.”

Dr Anjali Chhabria feels that it’s a great PR (public relations) exercise for celebrities. “Everyone’s aware about the attention these websites get in the media. It’s the easiest way for celebrities to build their images, without having to go through the media.”

Dual lives

The psychologists also feel that after a point of time, celebrities get tired of being portrayed as demi-gods by the media, and want to be more accessible to the fans. Says Dr Hingoranny, “They are leading dual lives. They are used to being guarded in front of the media and that’s why they don’t talk about their private lives. But given a chance, they’d like to reveal a more human side of theirs, that the public isn’t aware of.”

Agrees Dr Chikhal, “Of course, there are some people who use it for the publicity, but quite a few actually want to use it in a healthy way, to feel a part of the community. They want to belong, share, and want to be heard and seen in a ‘normal person’ fashion, than on a pedestal.”

Tendulkar’s tweets analysed

Dr Chikhal: I think some people, who are shy in person, or while communicating face-to-face, prefer the communicating through emails or text messages, because they can say everything they want to, without communicating personally. Maybe Sachin has found his preferable mode of expression.

Dr Hingoranny: When people are guarded all the time, after a time, they get fed up and want to let their guards down. Maybe, in Sachin’s case too, he was just bored or tired of having people in awe of him. Or perhaps, someone close to him persuaded him to reveal the other facets of his personality online.

Dr Chhabria: With success, comes confidence, and with confidence, people’s personalities change. Perhaps Sachin

felt that it is time for him to change the image the world has given him, and he wants to share more of himself. Or maybe an image consultant has helped him.

Most retweeted

39 BeingSalmanKhan Iss chappal ke malik ko chappal dena banta hai boss, do the same if u c chappals in mint condition

57 iamsrk when i was a kid...use to tie a towel on my neck..wear my sisters tights & my red swimming trunks on top. eye mask & wanted to fly...

69 MaheshNBhatt Capital punishment would be more effective as a preventive measure if it were administered prior to the crime. Woody Allen

76 sachin_rt Hanging with vinod chopra and @atulkasbekar...3 more idiots???

100+ PritishNandy The world's toughest tongue twister: The sixth sick Sikh's sixth sheep is sick.

100+ atulkasbekar Ladies n Gentlemen it is my proud privilege to introduce Finally to Twitter, SACHIN TENDULKAR, @sachin_rt, follow the King now, go go go !!!

Most followed

Shashi Tharoor 765,530

Shah Rukh Khan 337,756

Priyanka Chopra 325,100

Sachin Tendulkar 194,512

Karan Johar 186,007

Katrina speaks about Salman

Indo-Asian News Service

Katrina Kaif, who usually remains tight-lipped about her relationship with actor Salman Khan, says the star always guided her and genuinely believed she would join the big league in Bollywood one day.

"Salman had been always there, more than anything to guide because I didn't know anything about the industry. What would remain special in my mind is that from the very beginning Salman told me that I will achieve this success in the industry. And at that point it was too far off," said Katrina.

"That time I couldn't see myself one movie ahead, forget 15 movies ahead. I think that he believed it genuinely," the 25-year-old actor said.

She entered Bollywood in 2003 with the dud Boom. Her first big hit was 2005 romantic comedy Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya in which she teamed up with Salman. After that she gave a string of hits, including Namastey London, Partner, Welcome, Singh Is Kinng and critically acclaimed New York.

But Katrina feels nobody can plan success.

"It's (success) destiny, no one can plan it. There are many people who are connected with the industry because of their father, mother or other family members; still they are not able to achieve what is termed as success in the industry.

"You can come here, make two or three films, your co-stars could be your friends - all this you can plan but you can't plan which film would be successful. The miracle that happened with my life has been the success of my films. Because, had those films not been successful, no one would have done anything for me," said Katrina.

She is now eager to take more responsibilities and do more diverse roles like the one she is doing in Prakash Jha's Raajneeti, where she plays a politician.

"Till now I have done a genre of films. People have accepted me, loved me and have given me so much support. I never imagined getting so much. But I feel that there are other types of films to do. See other contemporary actors, they have done much more diverse roles.

"People can say that the success ratio of my films has been very, very good, but I still feel people should see me on other kinds of films too...

"May be something like a remake of Sita Aur Gita...In Raajneeti, I have more responsibility. But you will have to remember that there I am with six very important guys, all have very important roles," said Katrina.

The actress maintains she always wanted to do something unusual in life.

"I always used to make a world in my head and live in that. I always wanted to be something unusual. Some of the dreams I remember, they may sound stupid - I wanted to be a firefighter, I wanted to be a stunt woman, I wanted to go to NASA. Acting was something to fancy," said Katrina.

Lara Dutta upset with HOUSEFULL maker Sajid Khan!

Joginder Tuteja, Bollywood Trade News Network

HOUSEFULL is a hit and on the verge of becoming a superhit if it continues to do good business in the second week as well. Everyone associated with the film has benefitted, including Lara Dutta who was getting good reviews after BILLU, DO KNOT DISTURB and BLUE but was still was in search of a huge money spinner to consolidate her position at the box office. Now with HOUSEFULL clicking with audience, she has seen the best of both worlds with good reviews for her comic act being the icing on the cake.

"I enjoyed working on the film and it was great to be associated with all these people. It was a wonderful opportunity and not just did I have so many great scenes but also ended up working with number of animals", laughs Lara who had a couple of hilarious scenes with a parrot and a tiger.

However, she wasn't quite laughing till the time she signed HOUSEFULL with Sajid Khan. Reason being that she missed the opportunity of working with the film maker in HEYY BABYY.

CHECK OUT: HOUSEFULL grosses Rs. 95 crores

"Oh yes, I was upset with him when he didn't take me for HEYY BABYY", says Lara with mock anger, "I love his sense of humour and really wanted to be a part of his cinema. I told him categorically that I should have been there in HEYY BABYY. This is why when HOUSEFULL was being planned, I reminded him for our conversation."

Lara was pronto signed and expectedly, she was over the moon.

"I was the most thrilled living being at that time", remembers Lara, "Sajid had so much faith in me. The biggest compliment that he gave me was when he compared me with Madhuri (Dixit) and Sridevi when it came to comedy. I am glad he saw such potential in me."

Hrithik takes to smoking for Guzaarish, will quit with Kites

Hrithik Roshan who is known for his supremely fit body has taken to smoking big time. But they say there is no smoke without fire. So how did the health conscious Hrithik take to the unhealthy trait? Well it’s all for his next film Guzaarish .

“I have started smoking for my character of a paralyzed man that I play in my next film Guzaarish ”, says Hrithik. Sanjay Leela Bhansali who is the director of Guzaarish insists on having his actors get inside their characters to perfection. He made Hrithik look less muscular and also made him sport some weight around his midriff. Further he wanted Hrithik to smoke for his character in Guzaarish .

However cigarettes won’t be Hrithik’s companion for long. “I will stop smoking on May 21”, says Hrithik firmly asserting that it was plainly for professional reasons. May 21 is when his big film Kites will hit the theatres.

After Guzaarish his next film Running with the Bulls directed by Zoya Akhtar, too, demands he put on five kilos. But this time he has to accumulate the weight in terms of muscle mass. So Hrithik is determined to look fit and his sheer willpower will see him through punishing workouts and diet. The actor is presently going through hardcore gym training for three hours every day in his new gym on the terrace of his Juhu residence.

Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor: Nominated for ‘3 Idiots’ for IIFA Awards!

The nominations for the Micromax IIFA Awards have been announced. Amongst many others, the film‘3 Idiots’ has 14nominations, for various categories.

Aamir Khan, who created waves with his amazing performance in the flick has been nominated for the Best Male Actor, and Kareena Kapoor as the Best Female Actor, for ‘3 Idiots’.

The other categories in which the film has won nominations are –

Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor: Nominated for ‘3 Idiots’ for IIFA Awards!

The nominations for the Micromax IIFA Awards have been announced. Amongst many others, the film‘3 Idiots’ has 14 nominations, for various categories.

Aamir Khan, who created waves with his amazing performance in the flick has been nominated for the Best Male Actor, and Kareena Kapoor as the Best Female Actor, for ‘3 Idiots’.

The other categories in which the film has won nominations are –

Best Film, 3 Idiots
Best Director Raj Kumar Hirani
Best Supporting Actor Sharman Joshi
Best Comic Role Omi Vaidya
Best Negative Role Boman Irani
Best Music Director Shantanu Moitra
Best Story Abhijat Joshi, Raj Kumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Best Lyrics Swadanand Kirke
Best Singer Male Shaan for Behti Hawa Sa Tha woh
Best Singer Female Shreya Ghoshal for Zoobi Doobi

The IIFA 11th Videocon weekend celebrations are going to be held from the 3rd -5th of June, in Colombo Sri Lanka. Many extravagant performances are scheduled to be held during the weekend, and many bollywood personalities are scheduled to be there to be a part of the massive celebrations.

The IIFA 11th Videocon weekend celebrations are going to be held from the 3rd -5th of June, in Colombo Sri Lanka. Many extravagant performances are scheduled to be held during the weekend, and many bollywood personalities are scheduled to be there to be a part of the massive celebrations.

Familiarity of Rahmania

Amitava Sanyal, Hindustan Times

Allah Rakha Rahman has been the Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar of Indian film music ever since Mani Ratnam’s 1992 film, Roja. Many meteors have blazed across this pitiless sky since then, but only Rahman has shimmered on like a star. So much so that in recent times he has been sounding a bit too much like, well, himself. Despite his talent at introducing refreshing new voices, or using known voices in refreshingly new ways, some of his recent songs induce that familiar feeling: the gut knows what it sounds like but the lips can’t sing it.

Consider ‘Behene de’ from the new Mani Ratnam film, Raavan. It’s a rain song, a Ratnam standardum. And the opening bars of it brought on for me a fidgety déjà vu. But the earlier tune kept eluding me. I called up a singer who has recorded Rahman’s compositions and I played him the song. A few bars into it he started humming ‘Satrangi re’ — and the coin dropped. Sure enough, the new song, though not quite the same, had the all-too-familiar vibes of the old number from another Ratnam film, 1998’s Dil Se.

Now, predictability may be a virtue on the cricket pitch, but is it good for entertainment? In the unforgiving world of the latter, ‘good’ may spell as ‘boring’.

This way or that, the six songs of Raavan have the hologram of Rahmania all over. They all come with rich, multi-track arrangements, they cleverly intersperse raw voices with polished ones, and they are recorded impeccably. They come across on the car audio and the computer earphone as stereophonically as on the big-base sound system.

The tribal chanting of ‘Beera’, the first track and one which is titled after the film’s protagonist Beera Munda, a.k.a. ‘Raavan’, begins like a jingle for a jungle juice. Along the way, Mustafa Kutoane’s unintelligible incantations leave you with an oddly African feel.

In the martial ‘Thok de killi’, Deepak P.A.’s warm guitar leavens a cake that’s sliced by Sukhwinder Singh’s knife-like voice. In ‘Ranjha Ranjha’, the abrasive rrra-s of Rekha Bharadwaj work as an attractive rustic foil against the smoothness of Javed Ali in the foreground and Anuradha Sriram at the back.

We come out of the jungle with ‘Khili re’, a ballad that happens to be the only song rendered by a single voice. And Reena Bhardwaj stretches the balladry with typical Rahmanian sweetness. It’s also the only song in which the poignancy Gulzar’s lyrics floats above the sound.

By the time you get to Ila Arun’s ‘Kata kata’, there’s a distinct feel that the Indian tribal is lip-synching sounds pickled in Indian, African and West Asian traditions. As with Tendulkar, we expect the world of ‘Jai ho’ Rahman. And more often than not, like Tendulkar, he delivers.

Live for the Acoustic

If there’s one sound that Ankur Tewari has pursued across what he calls ‘Hindi-Urdu rock-n-roll ballads’ it’s the acoustic. The sharpness that comes of it makes his debut album, Jannat, a refreshing morsel amid the butter-chicken richness of arrangements that’s de rigueur today.

The 10 original tracks are stitched together by Ankur’s guitar. The neon riffs by the album’s Lahore-based co-producer, Xulfi, and Constantino Francorsi, its Mumbai-based co-producer, etch spaghetti doodles behind the simplistic lyrics.

If there’s one weakness it’s the kitchen department. Fahd Shah’s drums are boring when they’re not unimaginative.

The ‘Doped’ version of the first song, ‘Chand chahiye’, is the album’s final tribute to the acoustic sound. Yes, it twangs.

Imran Khan: The Next Superstar in the Making?

Imran has been out of sight for a while but will be seen a lot this year soon. After the recent pictures of the shirtless lad have been released for the movie I Hate Luv Stories, Dharma productions phone has not stopped ringing. His gay fans are totally bowled over and are demanding autographed pictures from the production.

They need not worry as they will get to see the sexy star a lot this year with films like I Hate Luv Stories, Break Ke Baad and Delhi Belly all lined up. The actor gave us a few tit bits about these upcoming films.

I Hate Luv Stories is a romantic comedy set on a backdrop of the film industry. The lovely Sonam Kapoor with whom Imran has longed to work with will finally be seen together in this film. Imran plays the role of an assistant director and Sonam is an assistant designer.

IHLS is now complete and all set to release on the 2nd of July. The promotions of the film will be starting soon while the shirtless pictures of Imran have already made the fans go gaga over him.

About Delhi Belly, Imran says, "Delhi Belly is a film about three guys, there's no romantic track. It's the kind of cinema you haven't seen in India before. For one, it's in English.

That alone makes it different because only a minority speaks the language in our country and that makes it a niche film. I fell madly in love with the script when I read it. I'd have done anything to be a part of this film. It's turned out exactly the way I had visualised. "

About Break Ke Baad all that Imran has to say is that it is not a typical boy meets girl and falls in love kind of a movie. The couple has been in a long term relationship and decides to break-up.

About co-star Deepika, Imran says that she is one of the hardest workers he knows and a thorough professional. With such interesting projects coming up we're sure Imran is the next superstar in the making!

Ranbir rejects Karan Johar-SRK movie

Sampurn Wire

MUMBAI: Ranbir Kapoor is one of the hottest and much in-demand heroes in Bollywood these days. With his charming personality he also has managed to create a favourable fan following. Industry observers claim that with his recent hits like ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani’, ‘Wake up Sid’ and the upcoming ‘Rajneeti’, he is sure to become a force to reckon with in Hindi films.

At this stage in his career on his way to stardom, Ranbir does not want to take any chances and has therefore rejected a film with Bollywood's No 1 hero, Shahrukh Khan.

Filmmaker Karan Johar approached Ranbir with three scripts under Dharma Productions. One of these scripts was supposed to be with SRK.

The script seemed to be really interesting but Ranbir was not that keen to do a film with SRK at this stage of his career. Despite being comfortable working with an ensemble cast in ‘Rajneeti’, Ranbir feels that it is not the right time to do a film with SRK who is leaps ahead in terms of popularity.

There also is the possibility that SRK would grab all the attention and Ranbir might get isolated.

That means the audience will have to wait a while more to see to see this charming duo together on the screen.

Shiny Ahuja gets his first film after rape controversy

Just when it seemed like the end of the road for Shiney Ahuja, he’s been signed for a film. This is the first project the actor has landed after being arrested for allegedly raping his maid.

The film, titled Shunya , is a horror flick being directed by Puja Bedi, the niece of Bobby Bedi, who producedBandit Queen . Sayali Bhagat plays the female lead.

A source informs, “Shooting for the film begins on May 12 in Lavasa, a small town near Pune. The court has barred Shiney only from entering Mumbai.”

Shiney could not be reached for comment

Getting Even: Sallu wants to romance Ranbir's girlfriend

The two may come together in Atul Agnhotri's film

Deepika Padukone and Salman Khan may act opposite each other in Atul Agnihotri's next film. It seems Atul, who is Salman's brother in law, is keen about casting Deepika. The details are not yet finalised.

Earlier there had been speculation that Deepika has been signed for Anees Bazmee's film with Salman. But when Anees denied the rumour, the buzz died down.

Now with this latest development, the industry is waiting to see whether Deepika will accept the project or not, as Deepika is a close friend of Shah Rukh Khan and Shah Rukh is not on friendly terms with Salman.

Another reason is that Deepika's former boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor has been linked with Salman's girlfriend Katrina Kaif.

Courtesy: Mid-Day.com

Katrina taking dirt biking lessons for ‘Running with the Bulls’

by Jasmine

Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif, who’s all set to star in Zoya Akhtar’s new venture ‘Running with the Bulls,’ is busy taking dirt biking lessons to better prepare for her role in the movie.

“I'm experiencing something this thrilling for the first time," said Katrina excitedly about the dirt biking lessons she’s taking.

Interestingly, Katrina is not just required to take lessons in dirt biking but also to learn deep-sea diving for certain scenes in which she will be doing some stunts underwater in the film.

According to a source close to the starlet, “Katrina has never attempted anything like this before but has already started preparing for her role."

Apparently, Kat is not the only one required to get training to do these stunts in the film, other casts members, too, are busy preparing for their respective stunts.

Apart from Katrina, Zoya’s film features Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol, Farhan Akhtar and Kalki Keochlin in the main leads.

Katrina committed towards her work

Reportedly, Kat is so committed towards her work that even though she’s currently visiting her family in London she’s taking time out to prepare for her role in the film ‘Running with the Bulls.’

"Though Katrina is in London visiting her family, she is making time to meet deep sea diving instructors. She is very kicked about the stunts in the film - be it dirt bike riding for which she has already started training," revealed a source familiar with the matter.

Katrina’s Bollywood career going great

Katrina’s career seems to be going great these days. Though her highly-anticipated film ‘Raajneeti’ is yet to be released, critically acclaimed filmmaker Prakash Jha has already signed her for another one of his ventures, Aarakshan.

Apparently, Katrina impressed the director with her hard work and dedication while she was filming for ‘Raajneeti.’

In the film Kat will be working with mega-star Amitabh Bachchan and Ajay Devgan.

Raheema is recovering fast: AR Rahman

Prithwish Ganguly & Soumyadipta Banerjee / DNA

Mumbai: Even as Raheema Rahman — music composer AR Rahman’s daughter — is in the process of getting discharged from Bandra’s Asian Heart Institute, Rahman has cancelled all his appointments for this month as he plans to stay by his ailing daughter’s side.

Rahman says, “For the past 3 nights, I have been playing a loving father to my daughter. No music, nothing. I want to sincerely thank all my friends and family members for their prayers and good wishes. God has been kind and Raheema is recovering fast.”

“I also want to thank all my friends from the media for their support and understanding of the situation and for respecting our privacy,” he adds.

According to hospital sources, the child has been declared out of danger and will be discharged after a 24-hour medical surveillance.

“The child had been diagnosed with this condition for almost eight years now. It’s a condition when the heart cannot pump the required amount of blood into the body. Hence the patient becomes weak and might even have blackouts as the brain sometimes lacks the required oxygen. It is a congenital defect and she had been suffering from this ailment for quite sometime. The doctors haven’t recommended operation at this stage,” says a source.

It's a Wonderful Afterlife Movie Review

By Martin D'Souza, Bollywood Trade News Network

Long after IT'S A WONDERFUL AFTERLIFE has run its course on screen, you wonder what the film was all about. If you managed to stay awake, that is.

And this is a film by Gurinder Chadha. Mind bender would be apt to describe this film from 'Bend It Films'.

It's about a mother who is looking to get her daughter (a little obese) married off. When potential grooms or their parents refuse (which is understandable), she gets them bumped off using food as her lethal weapon. These then return as ghost / spirits not to haunt her but to help her in her mission to get a son-in-law. What is Shabhana Azmi doing in this movie, I really don't know.

The investigation of the murders has been handed to a cop of Indian origin, as he would have easy access to pierce the Indian Diaspora, since the murders point to India and spicy curries.

With a plot as flat as this you can imagine what the rest of the movie will be like.

Movie Review : It's a Wonderful Afterlife

Anushka wants to play modern Indian woman

Joginder Tuteja, Press Trust Of India

She may be new to the industry but model-turned-actress Anushka Sharma is looking forward to play modern, defining roles in her upcoming films.

"I want to be seen as a character with whom girls can relate to. Honestly, I feel that leading ladies in films should be the representation of different women in India. When it comes to me, I would be representing certain segment of female audiences on screen," Anushka told PTI.

If in Ran Be Bana Di Jodi, she played a regular middle class Punjabi girl, inBadmaash Company Anushka is enacting the role of an urban girl-next-door.

The 22-year-old actress, who is paired opposite Shahid Kapoor in Badmaash Company, is confident that audience will connect to the character of Bulbul.

"In 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' many girls were able to relate to Taani. Taani clicked with the audience due to the way that character was presented on screen and Bulbul may also work with them," said Anushka.

She maintains that the USP of this Parmeet Sethi directed film is the freshness that it comes with.

"'Badmaash Company' is a really young and fresh film. It is not just a thriller or a crime film. It has a mix of everything though the genre remains as that of a cool caper. But at the core of it, it is about friendship of these four youngsters," said the actress.

After working with a senior actor like Shah Rukh Khan in Rab Ne... and Shahid in Badmaash Company, Anushka will be starring opposite Akshay Kumar in Patiala House.

Isn't it all falling well in place for the young girl who stepped into Bollywood with no filmy connection?

"That's true, it is great to have found an opportunity of playing different roles, working with different actors and experimenting right at the beginning of my career. The biggest advantage of being a part of filmmaking is that you can play so many characters in such a short span of time," she said.

Anushka says she is quite naive when it comes to what works with the audience. "I am not trying to sound serious but the fact remains that films do reflect real life. Ours is an extremely diverse nation and there could be so many characters that boys and girls from different parts of the country could possibly relate to. Hence, with them no one can be quite sure that with whom they would be able to relate to better", said Anushka.

Starring Shahid Kapoor in lead along with Vir Das and Meiyang Chang in key roles, the Yash Raj Films production released all over today.

Tagore inspired all the movements in Bangladesh: Hasina

Press Trust Of India

Bangladesh celebrated the 149th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate and poet Rabindranath Tagore on Saturday, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina describing him as a source of inspiration for all movements in the country.

Hasina opening the main official programme at a city hall recalled his contribution towards reshaping the Bengali literature and the nation's cultural life and values.

Hasina in another statement called Tagore a "lighthouse" for the Bengalis as he wandered in their hearts and said "he was a source of inspiration in all movements, struggles, revolutions, thoughts and creativity of the Bengali nation."

Cultural groups including the apex Sammilita Sangskritik Jote organized colourful street marches and concerts in open air and inside auditoriums across Bangladesh as leading artistes rendered Rabindra Sangit, which the poet himself expected him to keep alive to the posterity, though he earned the credit of being Asia's first Nobel Laureate for his poetry in 1913.

Special Television programmes including talk shows and newspaper supplements, however, paid rich tributes to the poet, the composer of the national anthems of both India and Bangladesh, reviewing his greatness also as a playwright, novelist, short story writer, artist, educationists, social reformer, nationalist and business manager.

"Our bonds with Rabindranath are getting closer with the passage of time as his literature has become a source of inspiration and courage for us during the days of our crisis or debacle," President Zillur Rahman said in a statement to mark his birth anniversary.

Her arch-rival main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Khaleda Zia also issued a statement paying her rich tributes to the memories of Tagore.

As part of the national celebrations, the state-run apex Bangla Academy and Shilpakala Academy will organise programmes based on various creative works of the great poet while various programmes at Shilaidah in western Kushtia, Patisar in northwestern Naogaon and Dakkhindihi in Phultola upazila of southwestern Khulna ---the three districts that harbour the memories of Tagore were underway to mark the day.

Bangla Academy this year confers veteran Bangladeshi Rabindra Sangeet exponents Kalim Sharafi and Sanjida Khatun with Rabindra Awards.

Octogenarian Sharafi received the award for his contribution in promoting and preserving Rabindra Sangeet, while Professor Khatun received it for her research on Tagore songs.

Why Hrithik wanted to give up acting

Dibyojyoti Baksi, Indo-Asian News Service

Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan's knee injury had made him seriously think of giving up acting and he was planning to turn singer or director. But his knee improved after surgery and he was able to shoot forKites.

"I worked on Kites only for seven months. Before that I was trying to treat my knee. For six months there was no sign of recovering from my knee pain. That time I thought either I will turn to singing or direct a film," Hrithik told IANS in an interview.

"I knew if I want to be an actor then I would be an actor and never compromise on my work. If I couldn't dance, if I couldn't jump, then I didn't want to be an actor. I was going through all those thoughts at that time," he added.

Hrithik's knee trouble began when he did some daring stunts in Krrish and Dhoom 2. He had torn the ligament of his right knee and continued working despite the tremendous pain. In December 2007, after wrapping up Jodhaa-Akbar, he went to Singapore for six weeks treatment. He endured several injuries during the shooting of Kites.

The 36-year-old says he did not give the nod to any movie after he completed Jodhaa-Akbar because he was incapable of doing strenuous acts. But when the narration of "Kites" came along through director Anurag Basu, he had no reasons to refuse.

"When I heard Kites from Anurag Basu, I could imagine the scenes and could see my face in the character. His vision was so strong that it passed on to me. I was seeing myself doing all those things and at that time I said to myself that if I can see it in my head then it will manifest, somehow. I jumped up after that and said - 'This is what I was looking for and I will do this film'," he said.

After completing Kites, Hrithik says he feels all his movies in the past 10 years were like a preparation for him to essay Jay, his character in the movie.

"Whatever film I did before Kites was a preparation for getting me ready for Kites. I call the phase before Koi… Mil Gayaas a reference phase of my life when all the acting was reference acting. I had seen somebody doing something and I wanted to do the same way. From Koi… Mil Gaya I started to enjoy the true flight of an actor," he said.

Kites, a film about an Indian man's affair with a Latin woman, played by Mexican actress Barbara Mori, and their predicament as they don't understand each other's language, is being made in Hindi and English. The English version of "Kites" has been presented and reworked by well-known Hollywood director Brett Ratner.

Produced by Hrithik's father and filmmaker Rakesh Roshan, the film will be distributed and marketed by Reliance BIG Pictures. It will release May 21 in over 60 countries.

After "Kites", Hrithik will gear up for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Guzaarish in which he plays a paraplegic opposite Aishwarya Rai. He is also looking forward to Zoya Akhtar's film Running with the Bulls, which is expected to be ready for release by the end of this year.

Gurinder Chadha visits Golden temple ahead of film release

Press Trust of India

British-Indian filmmaker Gurinder Chadha, who offered prayers in the golden temple here, says her films are about the richness of Punjabi culture.

The Bend It Like Beckham director says she shares a special bond with the city and the world famous temple, which also formed the setting of her last film, Aishwarya Rai starrer Bride & Prejudice.

Chadha is also releasing Hai Marjawan, the Hindi version of her upcoming movie It's A Wonderful Afterlife.

The 50-year-old director said that though her movies are comedies they are based in reality and that's why they are liked by the audience.

Chadha said wherever she goes people described her Punjab Di Kuri (daughter of Punjab) since people all over like her productions, which are largely influenced by Punjabi culture.

Chadha in the evening also paid obeisance in the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple for the success of her latest production. The director also visited the Langar (community kitchen) and ate food with crossed legs on cemented floor.

Chadha says that she always comes to pray before the Waheguru (Almighty) before the release of her films.

Starring veteran Bollywood actress Shabana Azmi in a key role, It's A Wonderful Afterlife is romantic comedy and describes the story of a mother who goes to extreme lengths to get her daughter married.

Besides Shabana, it also stars Goldy Notay, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Sally Hawkins and Jimi Mistry.

The movie Hai Marjaawan is not the first movie that was dubbed, Chadha had also dubbed her 2004 Bride & Prejudice in Hindi and titled it Balle Balle Amritsar To LA.