Deepa Mehta’s ‘Videsh’ release has been preponed

Deepa Mehta the talented director is back with a bang! ‘Videsh’ starring Preity Zinta and Vansh Bhardwaj releases in both Hindi and Punjabi and will now hit the theatres on 20th March ’09. Sanjay Bhutiani, CEO of BR Films, the co-producers, informed us that Deepa Mehta would be flying down from Toronto to Mumbai to join Preity in the promotions of ‘Videsh’. They will also be taking going on a multi-city tour to promote the film.

This maverick director who has time and again highlighted tragedies and travesty faced by women is now going to unveil yet another aspect of society which stays behind doors. The film has already released in Canada to an overwhelming response; with Preity Zinta winning the ‘Best Actress’ award at the Chicago film festival, and also getting nominated at the 29th Genie Awards which is the Canadian equivalent to the Oscars.

Kylie Minogue loves Sari

Kylie Minogue is not only shaking a leg for Blue she’s also fallen in love with all things Indian including Bollywood and the sari.

Now it can be told. The reason why Akshay Kumar has been playing Kylie Minogue’s unofficial host in Mumbai is because she is a huge Akshay Kumar fan.

Says a source, “It started when Kylie watched Chandni Chowk To China. She was completely hooked to Akshay’s antics. In fact one of her main incentives for accepting Blue was the opportunity to meet up with Akshay.

When she decided to do the film and the date for her arrival was confirmed she made discreet inquiries about Akshay’s schedules and his availability. She also wanted to go through the full India experience, including the khana,a wedding and of course the Taj Mahal and Jaipur -Rajashthan route.”

While some of of his guests’ primary prerequisites have already been worked out, Akshay is in the process of trying to work out the other details.

Confirming Kylie’s Akshay-centric attitude to Bollywood, the film’s director Anthony D’Souza says, “Kylie is a big Bollywood buff. She’s She has done her homework. She has seen lots of our movies. And she’s a huge Akshay fan.She’s seen lots of his films. I think she was at the premiere of Chandni Chowk To China in London. The comfort level between them comes from the fact that Kylie knows Akshay’s work.”

She’s also able to match steps with her Bollywood co-stars.

Says Tony, “She gets the nuances perfectly correct. And she’s very intelligent.I’ve shot with her for a week and I’m bowled over by her professionalism.And she’s a fantastic performer.”

Kylie has no Hindi dialogues in Blue. But apparently she gets into a saree for a part of her song, though Tony isn’t telling.

Movie Review: Karma Aur Holi

Movie Review: Karma Aur Holi
Star Cast: Sushmita Sen, Randeep Hooda, Drena DeNiro, Naomi Campbell, Suresh Oberoi, Rati Agnihotri, Suchitra Krishnamoorthy and Deepal Shaw.
Director: Manish Gupta;
Rating: ** - Could have been better.

Produced by legendary Hollywood actor Robert De Niro’s daughter Drena De Niro, Karma Aur Holi (earlier titled Karma Confessions and Holi) is not your typical NRI flick that tries to force the message down your throat about how better India is than the USA or how one is struggling to find his own identity in the land of Uncle Sam, but then it is again not a very engaging film that can be you focused for its two hour running time.

Meera (Sushmita) is a financial consultant cum yoga teacher and her hubby Dev (Hooda) runs publishing house. They have a great huge house and everything seems to be going picture perfect or is it really? They plan to throw a Holi bash for their friends and relatives at their new mansion and all the guests assemble the evening before the Holi party. Amongst them are Meera’s ever worrying sister Vani (Rati) and her mature hubby Shekhar (Oberoi) and their 17 year old son Vikram (Chandan), there is a male chauvinist Dr. Nimish with his docile wife Sujata (Suchitra) and her sister Preeti (Deepal), there is Meera’s wannabe filmmaker friend Javed (Armin Amiri) and his girlfriend Jennifer (Naomi), Dev’s associate Geentanjali (Maya) and Meera’s tarot reader friend Megan (Drena). As the evening begins to unfold, skeletons start tumbling out of each of these characters’ bags and leads to complicated situations. How those close to them and around them get affected by these and what solutions come out of them when the ‘Holi’ day arrives forms the rest of the film.

The concept of the film is nice but it hasn’t really been developed much. Lack of creative writing is seen at every step. The film tends to get too much talkative with nothing much happening beyond the four walls of the mansion. Then again, most of the problems or dilemmas faced by the characters are plain clichéd like for example the MCP Dr. Nimish and his docile wife track. You very well guess it that towards the end she is going to walk out on him in the end. But what keeps you some what attentive is the acting. Sushmita Sen rocks with her no pretentious NRI accent act. She is perhaps the most loveable thing in the film. Also, her topless act in the shower followed by her smoochathon with Randeep gets many wolf whistles in the auditorium. Randeep Hooda is okay but expressionless most of the time. Amongst other who leave an impression are Suchitra Krishnamoorthy and Suresh Oberoi. Famous international model Naomi Campbell is a major let down. Not only is her role ill-developed but she is plain wooden.

Director Manish Gupta (not to be confused with The Stoneman Murders director by the same name) has got together an ensemble cast but has made a kind of a film that tries to tell many stories but none of which is quiet interesting enough. At best, it makes for a good lazy Sunday afternoon DVD watch.

AISHWARYA RAI BOTOX SITA AND ANGRY ABHISHEK ON THE SETS OF RAVANA....Ravana Review

While the still of Aishwarya-Abhishek starrer Mani Ratnam flick, Ravana is doing the rounds on the net, many of us are assuming that Ash plays the role of Sita in the flick, however Aishwarya denies the news. She says, “The name of my character is not ‘Sita’. I am playing a woman who has similarities with the Sita of Ramayana.”

“I can’t give any details about Ravana at the moment. You will have to wait and watch. All I can say that it is an intense film set in today’s time and Mani has given a totally new perspective to the art of storytelling.” Ash also tell how she and Abhishek never got play the regular coochie-coo couple in their movies.

She says, “We have never been paired opposite each other in the conventional way, apart from the film Kuchh Naa Kaho. Be it Dhoom 2 or Sarkar Raj, it’s not the conventional man-wife pairing. Even in Guru, the film revolves around Abhishek. So, by the time Ravana happened, we have become used to this.”

Source: Filmofila.com

Ravana Review: Raavan is a Hindi language film directed by Mani Ratnam set to be released in 2009. It stars Vikram,Abhishek Bachchan,Aishwarya Rai,Govinda and Ravi Kishan in the Hindi version. It is also being made in simultaneously in Tamil as Ashokavanam with a slightly different cast.

Mani Ratnam is reportedly producing a present day version of the Indian epic Ramayana which tells the story of Rama, whose wife Sita is abducted by the demon (Rakshasa) king of Lanka, Ravana.Mani Ratnam had earlier directed Thalapathi which bore a close resemblance to the Mahabharata.

While details of the films are closely guarded and pictures from the film set are yet to be revealed there have been numerous reports and speculations on the casting of both the films.
It was earlier reported that Abhishek Bachchan was cast as the protagonist based on Rama and Vikram would be portraying the title character based on Ravana.More recent reports have Abhishek portraying the role of Ravana and Vikram playing Rama.There are conflicting reports on the role Vikram is playing in the Tamil Version Ashokavanam.While earlier sources report Vikram playing Rama and Prithviraj Sukumaran portraying Ravana,more recent speculations are that Vikram plays Ravana while Prithviraj is Rama.
Aishwarya Rai plays a contemporary Sita, appearing as an accomplished Carnatic Musician in both versions of Mani Ratnam's films.
Govinda plays a forest officer who takes Vikram's character through the forests in search of a wanted criminal.While it was earlier speculated that it was a contemporary version of Hanuman,Govinda refutes the claim.Karthik Muthuraman plays the character in Ashokavanam.
Ravi Kishan and Ajay Gehi are reported to play characters based on Ravana’s brothers Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana.Prabhu Ganesan plays the character of Vibhishana in Ashokavanam.
A recent article in The Times of India mentions Tejaswini Kolhapure playing a pivotal role in Raavan.

EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS OF RIHANNA'S BLOOD ON CHRIS BROWN'S CAR

RIHANNA'S BLOOD Droplets of Rihanna’s blood are spattered on the inside of the car. There are blood smears around the hand brake, revealing that she was leaning toward or being pulled toward the driver’s side while bleeding.VIOLENT STRUGGLE Police used “latent print tape” to lift fingerprints from the information monitor in the center of the dash. The angle of the print, top left to bottom right, indicates an attempt by Rihanna to try to push away from her attacker . A piece of plastic lays on the passenger-side floor, broken off during the struggle.

Source: radaronline.com

IPL WAR BETWEEN SHILPA SHETTY AND PREITY ZINTA

Stories of the two IPL queens battling it out on the playing field and on television came to a sudden turning point this week when Shilpa Shetty extended an olive branch to her supposed rival in the IPL Preity Zinta. Shilpa and Raj Kundra are hosting a grand party to celebrate their entry into the IPL on March 10 at the Grand Hyatt. And Preity is invited.

Says Shilpa, "I really want these unsavoury rumours about our rivalry to end. On an impulse I sent a sms to Preity inviting her for the party that Raj and I are hosting."

Shilpa was pleasantly surprised when Preity replied back. "She said she'd love to come. But can't because she'd be out of town. I think that just about takes care of that. I'm sure we'll have other occasions to interact. For now it's enough that she accepted my invitation."

Shilpa thinks these rivalry stories are unnecessary. "We're both well brought-up girls. We were even together in the Bachchans' world tour. And we got along fine. We don't need to be seen as these warring women at all, please." About the party on the 10th Shilpa says, "It's been a while since Raj and I had friends share in our happiness. The IPL deal is a good occasion to have a get-together. We're inviting all our friends."

Movie New Sherlock Holmes

Here is a brand new photo from the upcoming “Sherlock Holmes” film. The shot features a look at Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock and Jude Law as Dr. Watson.
Mark Strong (RocknRolla) who plays occult-dabling satanist Lord Blackwood in the film spoke to TotalFilm about how the upcoming Guy Ritchie-directed “Sherlock Holmes” movie will end.

He told Total Film:

“There’s a fantastic sequence where we duel to the death on a half-built Tower Bridge. It’s a perfect way to end the movie, Robert and I hammering seven bells out of each other on top of this swinging bridge with Victorian London as a backdrop. It’s going to be amazing.”

“There’s a touch of Dracula about him,” he said of the character. “He needed to have an element of showmanship about him by virtue of the fact that he’s trying to persuade everyone around him that he’s so in league with the Devil that he’s able to conquer death. I just wanted to make him an equal adversary of Sherlock Holmes.”

The full interview appears in issue 153 of Total Film magazine.

In a dynamic new portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous characters, “Sherlock Holmes” sends Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson on their latest challenge. Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes will battle as never before to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country.

Guy Ritchie’s (Snatch, RocknRolla) “Sherlock Holmes” also stars Kelly Reilly and Rachel McAdams.
“Sherlock Holmes” is scheduled for release on November 20, 2009.

Pictures wallpapaers Of Katrina Kaif

Kareena Kapoor on cover of Blender Magazine (March 2009)

IIFA 2009 : GET READY

The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) weekend will be taking Indian films and its annual award ceremony to Macau, this year. The ceremony is held over an extended weekend and the dates have been earmarked as 11, 12 and 13 June.

Amitabh Bachchan, who is the brand ambassador of IIFA, will be accompanied by his wife, Jaya Bachchan, son and daughter-in-law, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. A host of film celebrities will also be keeping them company in an effort to promote Hindi films globally.

The organizers of the event, Wizcraft, are expected to make a formal announcement soon. The event will be held at The Venetian in Macau, which is the current hotspot of the jetset, in Asia.

The award ceremony has travelled across continents from London, Yorkshire and Amsterdam in Europe, Johannesburg and Sun City in South Africa and Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai and Bangkok in Asia.

ASHLEE SIMPSON'S BABY MADE FIRST APPEARANCE

Pete Wentz said of his secret to putting Bronx to sleep,

“To get our son to sleep we play him Bob Dylan’s ‘You Belong To Me’. Or a little Sinatra.”

The Fall Out Boy rocker continued,


“My boy’s probably the last person in the world to appreciate my singing voice. Although I wrote a lullaby especially for him – you’ll find it on our new album if you look hard enough – it’s a hidden track. We had so much fun doing it I’m going to put out an album of songs for children.”

Pictures of Hilary Duff

Gorgeous Kareena Kapoor in Harpers Bazaar Photoshoot

Sonam Kapoor sizzles on the cover of Cineblitz magazine March 2009

Sonam Kapoor sizzles on the cover of Cineblitz magazine for the month of March 2009. She looks ok on the cover particular not much available for us to see. She looks cool in full pink coat. Here is the cover of Cineblitz March 2009.

Freida Pinto :Unveiling of the Extreme Beauty in Vogue Exhibition in Milan

Freida Pinto arrives on the occasion of the unveiling of the Extreme Beauty in Vogue exhibition, in downtown Milan, Italy. She was photographes on the Red carpet at the event.

Know More President Barack Hussein Obama

Barack Obama Biography Profile

President Barack Hussein Obama II is the first President with dark colored skin to be elected as President of the United States of America. He was a junior Senator from the State of Illinois from January 3, 2005 until his resigned in November 16, 2008, after he got elected to the presidency.

Barack Obama's Parents
Barack Obama's parents met in 1960 while they were both studying at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. At that time, Obama's father was already married to a Kenyan woman named Kezia Obama. His mother was not aware of this relationship.

Obama's mother was a white American named Stanley Ann Dunham, who hailed from Wichita, Kansas. According to Obama, she was a non practicing Protestant Christian who called herself an atheist. Obama's grandparents from his mother's side were non practicing Methodist and Baptist Protestant Christians of English and Irish descent. During her later career, she worked as an anthropologist doing social welfare work.

Barack Obama's father was a black African named Barack Obama, Sr. who worked as a goatherd in Nyanza Province in Kenya. According to Barack Obama, his father was raised a Muslim who later became an atheist.

Barack Obama's parents married each other on February 2, 1961 and Barack Obama was born six months later on August 4th, 1961 at a medical center on the island of Honolulu, Hawaii.

Barack Obama's Religion
According to Obama, he was not taught much about religion when he was a child. Barack Obama's religious views began to develop only when he became an adult and were influenced by the views of his Christian grandparents who raised him. This is picture of Obama with his grandparents when he graduated from high school.

Today, Barack Obama's religion is Protestant Christianity. He was baptized at the Trinity United Church of Christ at the age of 27 in 1988. Since then, Obama has been an active member of that Church.

Barack Obama's Kenyan Family
Barack Obama's parents separated when Obama was two years old and divorced in 1964. His father went to Harward. There he met an American teacher called Ruth, whom he took to Kenya and married. Their marriage ended in divorce. Then Obama's father returned to his first wife in Kenya, a local Muslim woman called Kezia Obama. She has four children - one daughter called Auma and three sons. One of her sons, Roy studied in a Madrasa.

In total, Barack Obama's father had seven other children of which six are still alive. In Kenya, he worked as a government geologist. He met his son only once, before he died in a car accident in 1982, when Obama was 21 years old. In the picture, bottom row from left is half sister Auma, Kezia and step grandmother Sarah. Roy is the guy standing behind with the unknown woman in his arms. Obama's step mother Kezia currently lives in Britain.

Barack Obama's Indonesian Family
After divorcing Barack Obama's father, Obama's mother Ann Dunham married an Indonesian foreign student Lolo Soetoro, who was studying at a college in Hawaii. He was also a Muslim. In 1967, they moved to Indonesia.

They had a daughter named Maya Soetoro-Ng, who was Barack Obama's half sister. In Indonesia, Obama attended local schools in Jakarta such as Besuki Public School and St. Francis of Assisi School. Here he picked up the Indonesian language. His mother lived mostly in Indonesia, visiting Hawaii only for five years from 1971 - 1977. She divorced Soetoro in 1980. Later Soetoro married Erna Kustina, with whom he had two children - Yusuf and Ruhayu, who were both Muslim. Soetoro died in 1987 due to a liver ailment while Ann Dunham, Obama's mother died of ovarian cancer in 1995, when she returned to Hawaii.

Barack Obama's Grandparents
When Barack Obama was 10 years old, he returned to Honolulu and began to live with his white Christian maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Armour Dunham. They were non practicing Methodist and Baptist Protestant Christians of English and Irish descent.

His grandfather had joined the US Army during the Second World War while Obama's grandmother worked at the Boeing factory in thier hometown of Wichita, Kansas. After the war, Obama's grandfather worked as a furniture salesman while his grandmother was vice president of a bank.

Stanley died in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1992. His grandmother Madelyn passed away on November 2nd, 2008, just before Barack Obama won the presidential election.

Barack Obama's Education
The young Barack was known to use alcohol, marijuana and cocaine during his teenage years. During this time, he was known as Barry to his friends.

After finishing high school in 1979, Barack Obama studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York City and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science and International Relations) in 1983. He shifted to Chicago and began working as a Director in a church based NGO called Development Communities Project. In 1988, Obama joined the Harvard Law School. In the summer of 1989, he worked as a summer associate at the law firm of Sidley and Austin.

Barack Obama's Marriage
It was here, at the Sidley and Austin law firm that Obama met his future wife - Michelle Robinson. Michelle Obama was born on January 17th, 1964 and was brought up in Chicago, Illinois. She was a Christian who belonged to the same Church as Obama. Her father Frazer Robinson worked at the city water plant while her mother Marian Shields Robinson was a secretary at Spiegels Catalog Store. Michelle Obama lived in a normal two parent family with her younger brother Craig. Both siblings did well at school and completed college.

At the law firm, Michelle Robinson was assigned for three months as Barack Obama's advisor. After three months they began dating and finally got engaged in 1991. Michelle and Barack Obama were married on October 3, 1992 by Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois. It was the first marriage for both of them.

Barack Obama's, first daughter, Malia Ann, was born seven years later in 1998. In 2001, a second daughter, Natasha also known as Sasha were born to the couple.

Barack Obama's Book
Barack Obama later got a fellowship and a publishing contract from the University of Chicago Law School to write a book about race relations. He travelled to Bali with his wife Michelle to complete writing this book. Obama's autobiography book was published in 1995 and was titled, 'Dreams From My Father'.

President Barack Obama
When he returned to Chicago, Barack Obama began working as a Professor at the University of Chicago Law School, teaching constitutional law for twelve years. He later got elected to the Senate in the State of Illnois before winning the Presidential Election in 2008.