Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who filed a police complaint against an unknown person who had been sending derogatory and abusive messages on his blog and mobile phone, revealed Monday that the police is investigating the matter.

"The Police has been informed of this grave and insidious act and many of the level of commissioner and equal rank who are personal friends have been wanting to seek more information, have been incensed and are in action.

"Soon there shall be a sharing of details, not just in India but in the country of its origin," Bachchan posted on his blog.

Ever since the news was made public Sunday, the 67-year-old received many supportive messages from friends and well-wishers.

"The media picked up our blog of yesterday (Saturday) and spread it out into the world of information and now for the entire day there has been a barrage of messages of support, of wanting to catch the culprits and take them to task, of grave indignation and of being incensed by this show of absolute garbage that has been directed towards me," he wrote.

The actor said he will never spare anyone who talks ill about his family.

"There is a limit to which this can be tolerated. I can be a gentleman up to a point. But beyond that I shall stop being one. You go to the level of so much as touching my family and little innocent grand children and you shall have to pay extremely dearly," he posted.

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Dia Mirza is all set to turn producer. "You can expect an announcement next week. I should have locked my script by then," she says, crossing her fingers. She could be playing the lead, with Zayed Khan opposite her.

Mirza would like to make biopics. "I'm inspired by the true-life stories of painter Amrita Shergill, Bharat Natyam dancer Rukmani Devi and poet and freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu. I'd like to recreate their lives some day," she says.

One of her films, Johnny Mastana, has been ready for a year. Mirza hopes it will release soon and silence those who have been saying that the film has been stalled. My best performance "The delay is because of a tussle between UTV and Twentieth Century Fox over the rights. It is my best performance yet," asserts the actress.

None of her films have worked in the last three years, including Arshad Warsi's first home production, Hum Tum Aur Ghost. "I've really worked hard on them," sighs Dia, who's considering two scripts she's heard over the last couple of weeks. "I don't want any more failures."

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Beauty queen-turned-actress Aishwarya Rai has denied being the brand ambassador for French dairy brand Danone - as has been reported in the media.

Danone has a joint venture (JV) with Yakult in India, for which Kajol is the brand ambassador. Rumours were rife that besides the JV, Danone was also planning to go independent and Aishwarya was roped in as the face for it. The actress' publicist has denied the reports.

"Media reportage on Aishwarya Rai Bachchan signed on as the brand ambassador for Danone products is entirely untrue. This kind of vicarious publicity shows unprofessionalism on part of the brand and their agency," said a statement from her publicist.

"We would again like to reiterate that there is no truth to these rumours and would request the media in future to cross-check facts with us before reporting such false and untrue stories," it further read.

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Film: "Robot"; Music Director: A.R. Rahman; Singers: Srinivas D, Khatija Rahman, Mohit Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal, Rahman, Suzanne, Kash 'N' Krissy, Pradeep Vijay, Pravin Mani, Rags, Yogi B, Hariharan, Sadhana Sargam, Benny Dayal, Naresh Iyer, Javed Ali, Chinmayi, Madhushree, Keerthi Sagathia and Tanvi Madhushree; Rating: **

There are many factors that compel you to have high expectations from the soundtrack of director Shankar's forthcoming film "Robot" - it is one of the most expensive films of the year, it stars Rajnikant and Aishwarya Rai and, most importantly, the music has been composed by Oscar-winning music director A.R. Rahman.

In spite of all these factors, the music of "Robot" doesn't impress that much. It lacks the punch and the wow factor that Rahman's songs are known for.

The album has seven tracks.

The soundtrack of "Robot" begins with "O naye insaan", sung by Rahman's daughter Khatija Rahman and Srinivas D. The slow-paced track is a gloomy one and is sung in a way that it seems a robot is singing it. It's a situational track. Even though it is not such a treat to hear, the song might look good on screen.

Next is a romantic song "Pyaara tera gussa hai", which has something like a scientific language. With Mohit Chauhan and Shreya Ghoshal behind the mike, it has some weird lyrics, maybe because the film features a robot.

Then comes "Naina mile". The fast-paced number is sung by Rahman along with Suzzane and Kash 'N' Krissy. It fails to make a mark.

Strong orchestration marks the arrival of "Arima arima". Sung by Hariharan and Sadhana Sargam, the song describes the protagonist of the film. This is also a situational number and and not hummable.

Up next is the song called "Kilimanjaro", a very strange title for a song. Javed Ali and Chinmayi have crooned this peppy track that talks about a girl from the hills. It is better than others but doesn't exude the charm of Rahman's compositions.

Then comes the title track of the film in two versions. One titled "Chitti dance showcase" and the other "Boom boom robo da".

"Chitti..." sung by Pradeep Vijay, Pravin Mani, Rags and Yogi B fluctuates between slow and fast beats, while "Boom Boom..." voiced by Madhushree, Keerthi Sagathia and Tanvi Shah along with Rags and Yogi B is a fast number with a hip hop flavour.

Unfortunately, none of the versions really appeal to the listeners.

On the whole, the music of "Robot" does not appeal. They may suit the script of the sci-film, but the audio is not impressive.

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Oi oi.. What is this I'm hearing now? My birdy from Bandra has stopped by and without even a Hi, Hello, is cribbing about Shah Rukh Khan. Aisa kya hua, I wonder and he tells me that the superstar took over the promotional interviews of We Are Family. Matlab?

Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal were giving interviews for their forthcoming film at Mehboob Studio on Wednesday afternoon when Khan, who was shooting a print campaign for a suiting endorsement, dropped in ekdum achanak... Much to everyone's surprise.

Aur pata hai kya? Making space for himself between Kapoor and Rampal, Khan started talking about his production, Ra.One, how the three had a blast while shooting the superhero flick and all that blah blah and more blah.

Birdy goes on to tell me that the three actors' filmmaker buddy, Karan Johar, who was also there, had no option but to grin and bear it all. Really now!

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Actor Katrina Kaif has decided to ensure that no one intrudes in her personal life.

Kat, who broke down after a press conference in Mumbai on Tuesday, said, "It was disturbing. Everyone questioned me about a statement made by Salman.

I won't be bullied into talking about my personal life. I will take contractual action to ensure limits are not crossed," she said.

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Actor Kareena Kapoor has introduced We Are family co-star Arjun Rampal to yoga.

"You can't work with Kareena and not do yoga. It is a given that you will have to include it in your fitness regime.

She makes sure that you work out and keep fit," said Rampal. The actor is all praises about Kareena's acting skills as well.

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Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has cleared the air over a reported rift with choreographer-director Farah Khan, saying that just because he wasn't on her next project didn't mean that they weren't friends.

He wished her luck for her next film "Tees Maar Khan", for which she signed on Akshay Kumar instead of Shah Rukh.

"My friendship with all is as it was before, love them the same way. Many times if we are not working with each other doesn't mean that I hate her or end of friendship. I don't take my wife's decision, how could I take others. I want to see everyone doing well.

"When I am shooting with someone, I am more in touch with him. This time I am not in touch with Farah but wish her all the success and hope this film ('Tees Maar Khan') becomes a bigger hit than 'Om Shanti Om', which was her last film.

I just hope she become even a bigger producer. Yes, she is a friend of mine. I am not doing a film with her, which doesn't mean I don't love her," said Shah Rukh.

Shah Rukh played the lead role in Farah's last film "Om Shanti Om".

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Saif Ali Khan has tied up with game creator Sangam Gupta of Trine Animation and Gaming Studio, one of the few Indian companies that create Xbox and PlayStation games. The pre-release promotions for the actor-producer's next home production, Agent Vinod, will kick off in April 2011 with a PlayStation game and a comic book. A keen gamer himself, Khan lists his favourite games as Half Life and Quake for PS2 amongst first person shooters, and Age Of Empires and The Mist amongst strategy titles. His new partner, 24-year-old Gupta, has eight-nine games to his credit, including Gothic 3, WiiYoga, and Sony's soon-to-release Street Cricket.

The Delhi whiz kid has been in talks with the superstar for the last three weeks. He cracked the deal by showing Khan one of his faves - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - also revolving around a secret service agent on a treasure hunt. "Saif loved it and we're trying to come up with an action shooter game along those lines. You get to play Agent Vinod and go looking for clues around the country, interacting with other characters, including Kareena's (Kapoor) along the way," informs Gupta.

For all ages

The game and the comic book will also include characters that are not part of the film. "The idea is to come up with a different medium of expression that will appeal to kids and adults," says Khan, who is brainstorming with Gupta on the graphic style and visuals in consultation with director Sriram Raghavan, and will do the voiceover himself, along with the other actors.

Earlier, too, Bollywood movies have come up with such games, but not one that reportedly costs over Rs 5 crore. Khan refuses to discuss figures but admits that the "scale is fairly impressive". Gupta asserts that in terms of platform, technology and hardware, it will be on par with games based on Hollywood movies. "What will set it apart is that it's set in India and has a 'desi' feel to it. If you look at the $1 billion gaming markets in China and Korea, the most popular games have local characters and indigenous themes," he reasons.

Agent Vinod is Gupta's stepping-stone to Bollywood, which he believes is an untapped market. "Hollywood's big ticket movies spend $10-15 million on such games that are proven models in the UK and US. And even during the global slowdown, the PS2 and PS3 markets were unaffected because a game offers 30 hours of entertainment for as little as Rs 500. In the US, the gaming market is bigger than that of movies and music put together," he points out. "Even back home, the consumption numbers have doubled since last year. It's the right time for Agent Vinod to step in," he adds.

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Hi da hi my mint ki golis! Suddenly, Vyjjy, my silvery-bearded ex-beau has been calling me to get back together. Since I'm just not interested, I told him to take a never-ending sail in his yacht. Khair, why bother about insignificant people when there's a lot more important and chatpati gup to shup about. So read on...

For starters, I've just been informed that Kangna Ranaut has taken off to Dubai. Kyun? Kyunki she wanted to get herself a cool new hairstyle and also some touch up of hair colouring, reveals Sher Lock Holmes. Huh?

Do't be alarmed my dahlings. It's not that there aren't good salons and parlours in and around Ranaut's neighbourhood in Bandra. But apparently, she owes her loyalty to a certain Sera Salon in Dubai.

Suna hai, she was maha impressed when she went there for a hair-trim and colour job a few months ago. So much so that she's believed to have decided that whenever she would need anything to be done about her zulfein, she'd visit this Sera place again.

I just hope it's not the influence of Salman Khan, who's recommending her in his next couple of movies. We all know about his trips to Dubai for his hair weaving jobs in the not-so-distant past. Hai na?

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Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has for the first time teamed up with wife Gauri Khan to endorse D'Décor, the world's third largest furnishing company, as its brand ambassadors.

"I feel very humble and happy when any company signs me as their brand ambassador and so I am very happy to be part of D'Décor," Shah Rukh told reporters at the Taj Lands End Hotel where he and his wife were officially declared the brand ambassadors.

Gauri, who was also present, said: "I haven't worked so hard ever, so after working for two long days, I slept last two days. It was a fantastic experience."

Shah Rukh, known as a caring husband and father, was quite attentive at the event and made sure Gauri was comfortable. He helped Gauri in holding the microphone properly so that the media could hear whatever little she had to say.

Ajay Arora, managing director of D'Décor, decided to sign them as brand ambassadors because he felt they were the best examples of perfect homemakers.

"We thought that apart from being celebrities, Shah Rukh and Gauri have made a wonderful home, both by decor and feeling, so we decided to make them brand ambassadors of the company," said Arora.

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After several delays, music maestro A.R. Rahman's theme song for the Commonwealth Games will finally be unveiled this Saturday.

"Oh yaaro, India bula liya" (Friends, we have called you to India) has been composed and sung by the double-Oscar award winner.

He will be performing the whole song at the first hearing Saturday, according to a statement by the Organising Committee of the Games.

The venue for the event has not been finalised yet.

The unveiling of the song got delayed after the Group of Ministers (GoM) on the Games asked Rahman to tweak it. He said it would take him at least 10 days to do so.

The Games are to be held Oct 3-14.

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The Delhi High Court Thursday refused to restrain Colors TV channel from screening Bollywood film "Lamhaa" based on Kashmir. A petition seeking the curbs was filed by two army officers.

The petitioners sought a ban on the screening of Rahul Dholakia-directed film on the channel Aug 29 alleging that it showed the security forces in poor light. They also sought withdrawal of the film from cinema halls.

The public interest litigation (PIL) was moved by Colonel Rajiv Mehrotra and Captain Rahul Soni.

A division bench of chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Manmohan after watching the film's CD in the chamber, declined to pass a stay order against the channel.

The court asked the petitioners to approach the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) by Friday and file a representation raising the issue.

The Sanjay Dutt and Bipasha Basu-starrer was released in July.

The court also issued notices to the central government, CBFC and the film producer and sought their reply within two weeks.

Appearing for the petitioners, counsel Jyoti Singh submitted that the "objectionable" scenes and dialogues in the movie were eliciting sharp reaction from jawans who were feeling hurt.

Seeking a ban on the screening of the movie in cinema halls and also the TV channel, the officers contended the movie has focused on Jammu and Kashmir resident's demand for a separate state, depicting army officers in a poor light.

"The army officers were shown in nexus with terrorist organisations, Pakistani businessmen and intelligence agency. There are scenes and conversations where deals are being struck with army officers in consideration for opening of borders for a few hours so as to permit safe ingress of the terrorists into the country," the officers alleged.

The court fixed Sep 22 as the next date for hearing.

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Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif, who had always refrained from speaking about her relationship with actor Salman Khan, has finally confirmed that she was single.

"I am single. But beyond that I don't think I need to give too much of details," Katrina told reporters Tuesday at the Trident hotel, where she was named as the international brand ambassador of Etihad Airways.

Etihad Airways is the national airlines of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The actress who garnered rave reviews for her role in director Prakash Jha's political drama "Raajneeti" said that sometime it becomes very difficult to take a personal decision and more so if it has to be taken publicly.

"Sometimes it's hard enough to take decisions, professional sometimes but mostly personal and wherever the decision that you have to take, it's very difficult to take them and if you have to make them in front of everybody, whether it's media, or the public or the world, I think that's a little bit more than what I can handle. That's why for six years, I have never commented who I am with, if I had a break up, if there is an argument," Katrina said.

The actress said she thinks commitment changes with situation.

"If you commit to something, you must stand by. But if you commit to something and the situation changes, then perhaps the commitment also changes," she said.

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Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Tuesday laughed out reports claiming her filmmaker friend Karan Johar has asked her to shed weight for his movie, saying she is happy with the little that she has gained recently.

"I read the report on the flight today (Tuesday). It is completely false. I am not going to lose any weight. I have gained a little recently and I am very happy with it," Kareena told reporters here at a press conference of her film "We Are Family".

"I am amazed Karan has told the whole world about it but has not discussed anything with me," she said sarcastically.

Releasing Sep 3, the film stars Kajol, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal and is said to be the Indian version of Hollywood hit "Stepmom".

The actress, who claims the film is her 40th project, says the film has helped her in strengthening her bond with co-star Kajol.

"I have always admired Kajol as an actress. We have worked together earlier in 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' but we had very few scenes together.

"But in this film, we got a chance to share a lot of time and you will find us together in almost every frame. We have become very close friends now," Kareena said.

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When Salman Khan is not making news for his reported moody behaviour, it seems he is busy channelising his energies onto canvas. Now, the actor-artist says he plans to organise an exhibition of his latest paintings sometime next year. "I think I will have an exhibition sometime in February," says Khan. When prodded on the possible location, he jokes, "Not in Mumbai. Maybe in Paris somewhere?"

Arrangements are currently being made to finalise the gallery for his art exhibition in the city. The actor will also promote his NGO, Being Human Foundation, through his art-works. That Khan is an avid painter is known to his fans. He had gifted actor Ranbir Kapoor a painting of his grandfather Raj Kapoor on his TV show Dus Ka Dum in 2008. But his recent present to friend and actor Aamir Khan - a picture perfect charcoal painting of Aamir's character from Ghajini - drew everyone's attention to his talent once again. Even the legendary artist MF Husain has praised Khan's canvas skills.

Recalling the instance when Husain gifted Madhuri Dixit a portrait he had made of her after watching Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, Salman says, "I was also part of that film and hugely appreciated in it. But I never got any paintings or anything from him (Husain). They said he made a painting of me begging with a bowl and all that. But we met up after, and it's all okay. He saw some of my works and he quite liked them as well."

The superstar is known to gift his family and friends works of art and has even faced trouble on that front. In 2007, he had promised to paint sister-in-law Amrita Arora, a version of The Last Supper. Instead of Jesus's 13 disciples, Arora wanted the painting to portray her family members. When she announced this, the Catholic community threatened to file a police complaint against Salman for hurting their "religious sentiments".

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On Monday morning, for the first time in just under 20 days, Hrithik Roshan tweeted.

But instead of promoting his movie or giving up more disgusting habits like smoking, the actor sent out a series of bizarre tweets from his phone, ranging from 'Uu' to 'Aurus'.

After an hour, during which his fans tried decoding what he could possibly have meant in his cryptic tweets, the actor revealed, "Wow!

Freaky! Blackberry was tossing around in my hand luggage and typed and tweeted whole words all by itself! Maybe a sign, the universe asking me to tweet more often!"

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 After her son John Abraham became a star, Phiroza Irani detached herself from his career. She doesn't even have photographs or posters of his films in her house. However, after a screening of Aashayein recently, she asked him for a collage of his pictures from the movie.

"Phiroza aunty works with some charitable organisations. And one of them is for people who have been or are going through traumatic experiences," informs a friend of the Abraham family, adding, "She felt that the collage of pictures would symbolise hope for them."

The friend adds that Irani was stunned by John's performance. "She felt that the John on screen and the one she knew were two different people. She went home beaming at her son's act," says the friend.

While Abraham wasn't available for comment, his spokesperson confirms: "Considering that John's character in Aashayein epitomises hope, Phiroza aunty will be using the movie's story to encourage people to struggle through the difficult phases of life."

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Now a chidiya from Churchgate wants me to hear a tidbit on Imran Khan. The heartthrob had gone to judge a street dance contest at Malhar, St Xavier's festival, recently and the moment the students saw him, they went berserk.

So much so that each time he picked the microphone to say something, all the girls screamed, 'I love you Imran'!

Bas, aur kya? The declarations of love embarrassed him and all he could say was: 'Thank you,' while trying to hide his blush.

Predictably, there was a stampede at the end of the competition and everyone reached out for the Khan, to click photographs or to shake hands with him.

They all wanted a piece of him and he had no option but to comply. Chalo, badhiya hai.

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It's been less than two month since her marriage to Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and Sakshi Singh Rawat is already a celebrity in cyberspace. Sakshi currently has three fan pages on social networking website Facebook, and over one thousand followers on Twitter.

While Gauri Khan and Sussanne Roshan - who are married to actors Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan respectively - have many fans online, as do wives of other actors, Sakshi's popularity on the internet is a first for an Indian sportsperson's wife.

Sakshi, who joined Twitter in May, started tweeting actively only after her wedding in July. "My best frnd... the bestest boyfriend..husband still yet to sink in...n the best human being i know apart from my parents..love u loads mahi (sic)', was her first tweet after her wedding.

Sakshi also makes sure to interact with fans. "Life with him (Dhoni) is the same the way it has been for almost 3 yrs now," she tweeted to a fan, who asked about how things had changed after marriage.

In fact, she's even had a Twitter-fight. SH007, a follower, asked her to post 'personal' pictures of her and Dhoni to prove that hers is a real account. In reply, she wrote, "I don't need to prove nething to you". To this, the user replied, "Learn to be polite.. u r nothin but MS is celeb (sic)."

Her Facebook fan pages - Sakshi Singh Rawat (638 members), The Lucky Indian lady (383 members) and Celebrity Overnight - Sakshi Singh Rawat (322 members) - are updated regularly and have numerous fan photos. Having been bombarded too many messages and friend, she has notdisabled the option of adding her.

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Hi da hi my sizzling pakoras and pakoris! It's been raining billis and kuttas and kameenas for the last couple of days, but I'm not perturbed. Thanks to the garma-garam gup that Sher Lock Holmes and other spies shup to me from all over tinsel town. So what am I waiting for? Here goes your dose of daily goss...

For starters, let me tell you that arch rivals Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan were shooting in the same vicinity the other afternoon. On her way to my penthouse, my birdy from Bandra dropped in at Mehboob Studio, hoping to find the scoop of the year.

A birdy saw Sallu giving interviews to the various channels, to promote his chhota bhai Arbaaz's maiden production venture, Dabangg. And in another set-up in another building, SRK was shooting a TV commercial.

Not surprisingly, both the Khans were aware of each other's presence within the studio premises... and chose to keep to their own space, instead of stepping out and sparking off yet another controversy about their jhagda patties. Tsk tsk.

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After Madhuri Dixit backed out from the project on personal grounds, Indian origin US filmmaker Krishna Shah is now considering casting Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra in the lead role in a biopic on late prime minister Indira Gandhi.

Titled "Mother: The Indira Gandhi Story", it will be a big-budget two-part movie on the life of the Indian leader who was known as Iron Lady. Shah is working on the casting with Academy Award winning make-up artiste Jenny Shircore.

After going through the photographs of many Indian actresses, Shircore believes that Priyanka is the only Bollywood actress whom she can make look like Indira Gandhi after some prosthetic work on her face, Shircore says Priyanka's face matches that of the late prime minister.

"Yes, I am in conversation with Jenny who thinks that Priyanka is the one who can fit in the character of Indira, but it will be too premature to talk about casting as we have not approached anybody as yet," Shah said in a statement.

Madhuri could not do the movie because of her mother-in-law’s illness.

Shah is reportedly also in conversation with other actors like Albert Finney, Emily Watson, Tom Hanks and Tommy Lee Jones to play other characters in the film.

The first part of the movie will be based on Indira Gandhi's life till the 1971 war, while part two will look more into her personal life as a mother to her sons -- Rajiv, who succeeded her as the prie minister, and Sanjay Gandhi.

The script of the movie has also undergone changes.

"The script has been reworked after I got my hands on Richard Nixon’s personal tapes related to the 1971 Bangladesh War. My research has changed the script a lot and now we are looking at casting an appropriate face for Indira Gandhi’s character," said Shah.

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Actor and now, producer Anil Kapoor, is planning to enter into TV programming. And he claims that he's committed to taking Indian television several notches higher.

"My production house is planning something, which has never been attempted on the small screen before. I never do things which others do," says Kapoor, adding that it would not be fair to compare the US TV industry to the Indian.

The actor's debut American televised series 24 will go on air from August 23 in India on AXN. Kapoor, who plays Oman Hasan, President of a fictional Middle Eastern country in the series, says he is not averse to doing Indian television provided the projects offerred are satisfying.

"They are ahead of us and we are doing good work, but we still have a long way to go." Talking about the scale of shows in the US, he said that the budget of 24 was more than a Bollywood big budget film. "My TV project will be on the lines of 24," said Kapoor.

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Bollywood beauty Katrina Kaif has been named the brand ambassador of Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, an official said.

The announcement will be made in Mumbai Tuesday in the presence of Etihad Airways' vice-president (Marketing) Andrew Ward, and country manager (India) Neerja Bhatia in the presence of Katrina Kaif, the official said.

According to the official, positioning itself as a frontrunner in the increasingly competitive luxury airline segment, Etihad Airways is constantly developing and communicating its unmatched and uncompromised service to patrons.

"With a vision to be a truly 21st century global airline, the association with Katrina Kaif will further symbolize Etihad Airways' brand attributes, showcasing young, premium and fresh approach to service in the air and on the ground," the official added.

Katrina, 27, currently ranks as the top Bollywood star and has soared to this position in less than seven years, which has resulted in a string of awards to her credit.

Starting with Kaizad Gustaad's "Boom" in 2003, Katrina has also acted in Tamil and Malayalam movies.

Her prominent movies include "Sarkar", "Partner", "Welcome", "Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya", "Namaste London", "Race", "Singhh Is King", "Yuuvraaj", "New York", "Rajneeti", "De Dana Dan" and "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani".

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Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan doesn't seem to shy away when it comes to expressing his sentiments for the nation.

Describing his nationality, Shah Rukh tweeted: "I am half Hyderabadi (mom) half Pathan(Dad), some Kashmiri (grandmom). Born in Delhi, live in Mumbai. Have a punjabi wife and own Kolkata (India Premier League) team. Indian at heart (sic)."

The 44-year-old is currently shooting in Hyderabad and feels nostalgic with his visit to the city after 12 years.

"Flew into Ramoji Rao in Hyderabad... last I shot here was 'Badshah', some 12 years ago... time flies... and how nice to be here," he posted.

Shiv Sena had hit out at the actor, who is also the co-owner of IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders, for his comments on Pakistani cricketers.

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After the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan is headed to Mahatma Gandhi's birthplace Porbandar to shoot for the second phase of promotional ad for Gujarat Tourism.

"Boarded for Jamnagar and then by road to Porbandar, birthplace of Gandhiji...Closer my Mahatma to thee," Amitabh posted on his Twitter page.

"Through with Ahmedabad and Sabarmati Ashram, now on to Porbandar...such history, culture and sentiments," he added.

The 67-year-old, who is the brand ambassador for Gujarat, has been visiting several places of historical importance and even some religious monuments in the state.

"Last night went to the Akshardham temple for darshan and to the Laser Water show...exquisite! A must see. Design, technology, faith..."

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The Morani brothers want to cash in on the newfound, or shall we say rehashed, “friendship” between Priyanka Chopra and Shahid Kapoor (please see our story below). The newest addition on the Rishi Kapoor-Morani world tour, with Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and (ahem) Priyanka Chopra, may well be Shahid Kapoor.

Apparently, the Moranis have approached Shahid to be a part of the world tour. A source says, “They are very keen on having Shahid on board because he is a great dancer. He’s in fact better than Ranbir. Getting the two Kapoors to perform together on stage will take the show to another level. Both actors have millions of fans across the globe.”

Surely watching two strapping young lads shake a leg should guarantee a packed audience, but a Shahid-Priyanka dance number on stage would be worth more.

Mohammad Morani, head honcho of Cineyug, doesn’t deny having approached Shahid and says, “It will be good to have Ranbir and Shahid on the same platform, but nothing is concrete yet. It will take nearly another month to finalise everything.”

Despite a text message, Shahid remained unavailable for comment but his spokesperson says, “Shahid has to work out his shooting and promotion dates for Mausam and then he’ll decide if he can be a part of the show.” One can blame it on the weatherman, if that doesn’t work out.

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Salman Khan and Deepika Padukone are loved and admired for their lively personalities, but recently the two stars revealed a different side to them. The duo broke down while of the sets of two popular reality shows.

Salman Khan was the celebrity judge on a dance reality show recently. While watching a performance and listening to 'Sau Dard' song from 'Jaaneman' in the background, he got so emotional that he couldn't stop his tears.

And before we could guess whom he was missing, Salman explained that the song is very special to him. Likewise, Deepika Padukone got emotional and burst into tears on a singing reality show recently.

The actress got emotional and couldn't stop weeping after listening to 'Mai Jahan Rahu' from 'Namastey London'. It was obvious that the song brought back the bitter-sweet past sweet memories.

Incidentally, rumour has it that Salman and Deepika's ex-lovers Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor are dating each other. What ever the true story may be, we hope Salman and Deeps too, find true love soon.

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Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone has confirmed signing a Vishal Bharadwaj project.

"Yes it's true! I signed a film with Vishal Bharadwaj! I'm really really excited... he is a genius," Deepika posted on her Twitter page.

Known for making films like "Omkara" and "Kaminey", the filmmaker is right now busy shooting "Saat Khoon Maaf" starring Priyanka Chopra.

Meanwhile Deepika is busy promoting her film "Lafangey Parindey", releasing Friday.

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Prakash Jha's "Raajneeti" is running to packed houses at a retrospective of his films being held in Fiji and the Indian filmmaker is overwhelmed by the response to his political thriller.

"I'm overwhelmed with the response the film has had internationally. I am amazed that a film with this kind of a context is appealing to so many people and getting acclaim from critics world over," Jha said in a statement from Fiji.

Fiji National University, Fiji Audio Visual Commission, Damodar Brothers and the Indian high commission in Fiji have organised the festival that was inaugurated Wednesday by Fiji Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimar.

"Raajneeti" starred big names like Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Katrina Kaif and the violent thriller about the clash between two brothers of a political family set somewhere in northern India had the cash registers ringing when it was released in India in June this year.

Along with "Rajneeti", which is said to be the third highest grossing film across the world, Jha's "GangaaJal", "Apaharan", "Mrityudand", "Parinati" and "Damul" are also being showcased.

Another retrospective of Jha's films was held at the Nehru Centre in London June 30-July 2 this year.

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Cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar has music ranking second only after his love for Cricket. His immense admiration for the legendary Mangeshkar sisters is too known to all. The maestro is in fact on a mission to help Asha Bhonsle top the illustrious list of top 5 most iconic musicians of the world from the last 50 years, in a poll conducted by CNN. 

CNN’s new arts and culture show "icon," in conjunction with music magazine "Songlines," has shortlisted 20 globally renowned musicians from the past 50 years. Of the 20 nominations, Asha Bhonsle is the only Indian artist competing with the likes of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Bob Marley, The Beatles to name a few.

Sachin Tendulkar has pasted the link of the poll on his profile page of a microblogging site which will enable Asha’s global fans and Sachin’s above 5 Lakh followers to vote for her.

Other than spreading the word about Asha’s billionth achievement, Sachin has even expressed his admiration for her by saying, “Wonderful to know that Asha Bhonsle's name has figured in the all time top 20 music icons in the world of the last 50years. She is the only Indian to figure in this list. Let's vote to make her the no 1 artist in the world.”

Asha too obliged her fan Sachin as she responded, “Thank you so much Sachin...I admire you a lot. It feels great to be in list of 20 icons...more then that feel so good for my country.”

Sachin Tendulkar is undoubtedly the number one batsman in the world and the maestro now intends to see Asha too achieve the position she ideally deserves in the world of music.

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When he made his last public appearance in Mumbai 15 years ago, Rajnikanth didn't anticipate that the next one would take so long and generate such hysteria. But in the decade and half gone by, his stardom has only grown manifold.

Perhaps no other Indian actor has a R 150-crore movie riding on him. On Saturday night, everyone present at the music launch of Robot (Enthiran in Tamil, Telugu), waited to hear Rajnikanth speak.

And he held the audience's attention with his sense of humour. Talking about his sci-fi extravaganza, the superstar said, "Kamal Haasan was first supposed to do the role, then Shah Rukh Khan was approached. I don't know what happened... 'Daane daane pe likha hai khaanewaale ka naam' (It's my destiny that I'm the hero of the film)."

He added, "I'm thankful to the director, Shankar, for having confidence in me."

Rajnikanth also thanked Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for agreeing to act opposite him, as he recalled an instance when a fan was shocked to learn that she was playing his heroine. "My neighbours had guests visiting from Rajasthan. The patriarch of the visiting family wondered what happened to my hair and I said they're gone.

He asked me whether I'd retired from the movies and I replied that I'm doing a sci-fi film. After I told him that Aishwarya Rai is the heroine, he wanted to know who the hero is. When I answered that I'm playing the hero, his jaw dropped. He wondered what was wrong with Abhishek and Amitabh Bachchan to have let Aishwarya agree to be my heroine," recalled the actor, leaving everyone in the audience, including the Bachchan family in splits.

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On Tuesday, actor Shah Rukh Khan's father-in-law, RP Chibba, was shifted, for unknown reasons, from the Max hospital to Fortis Escorts, Okhla, for an angioplasty.

Meanwhile, Shah Rukh tweeted thank you to the doctors of Max Hospital, where Chibba was admitted in emergency. While Gauri is still in Delhi, SRK flew back to Mumbai.

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Even before he started his Being Human Foundation, Salman Khan has been involved with many charitable causes. So when he learnt that there was a blood donation drive at Santa Cruz's Khera Nagar on Sunday, he reached the venue with his Dabangg team at around 3:30 pm.

But by then the camp had called it a day. Khan wanted to call for a mobile van but when told that another camp was in progress at Bandra's Almeida Park, he proceeded there. Along with him, brothers, Arbaaz and Sohail, Dabangg's leading lady, Sonakshi Sinha, and director, Abhinav Kashyap donated blood.

"What's more, when Salman heard that the camp would continue for another couple of hours, he called his industry friends over," says a source.

Soon, his buddies, Ameesha and Ashmit Patel, Farah Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Dia Mirza and Dino Morea, sister Arpita and sister-in-law Malaika Arora Khan, had turned up. Even Khan's security queued up to donate blood. And just before the camp wound up at around 9:30 pm, Aamir Khan and Kangna Ranaut also showed up.

Riteish Deshmukh, who has shot a commercial for the organisers of the camp a couple of months ago, said that he had come to this camp on Khan's urging. "It was great to see so many people participating in the drive," he says. "I'm told that they collected more than 60,000 units on Sunday alone."

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The good looking Punjabi munda is back to entertain his fans with ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana’. Only this time around, he will not be in his furious avatar, rather he will make audiences laugh like never before. 

One look at the film’s poster makes Sunny’s intentions clear. The actor is popular for heavy dialogues like ‘Dhai Kilo Ka Haat’ and ‘Tareekh Pe Tareekh’ that depict him as an angry man, but this time Sunny defines his agenda as, “Iss Film Mein Main Maar Maar Ke Nahin... Hasaa Hasaa Ke Maaroonga.”

Sunny assures, “I know my fans love me for my angry man avatar, but they won’t be disappointed seeing the different side to me in ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana’. I will stick to my promise – ‘Hasaa Hasaa Ke Maaroonga’.”

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It will be another 10 days before the Commonwealth Games theme song is officially launched but Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman today promised it would be worth the wait as his 'Yaaro India bula liya' would be unlike anything that has happened before.

The Group of Minister (GoM) on the Commonwealth Games approved the song at a meeting on Sunday.

Rahman said the song would go beyond Shakira's chart-buster for this year's soccer World Cup 'Waka Waka'.

Rahman said the launch of the song will have to wait for some more time because he is still giving some final touches.

"I have been working on the song for the past six months. It is in my voice with a chorus and I promise that it will be a big part of the celebration and will be unlike anything that has happened before in India," the celebrated musician told reporters.

Rahman, however, refused to give details about the song beyond the opening line 'Yaaro India bula liya', saying it would be better if it is launched properly.

"I can't reveal much because I have to tweak the lyrics a bit and add some sound elements. But the song is about India, about energy, winning and not giving up. We want the crowd to sing along with us at the opening ceremony. It is simple but not simplistic," he said.

When asked whether the song will manage to overshadow Shakira's popular football World Cup anthem 'Waka Waka', Rahman said it is "exactly not" Waka Waka'.

"It is not 'Waka Waka'. We wanted to go beyond it. It is complex, difficult to explain but I am sure you will like it when you hear it," he added.

"I have cancelled all my prior engagements to prepare this theme so you can understand how serious I am about this," he added.

Rahman said that he was initially apprehensive whether the GoM will like the song.

Organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi said the theme will make every Indian proud.

"The GoM gave us their consent in the meeting yesterday and I am sure Rahman's song will make every Indian happy and it will spread awareness," he said.

The opening ceremony will have Rahman performing live.

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Bollywood actress Rani Mukherjee Friday lent a helping hand to her actress aunt Debasree Roy to save stray dogs in the city.

The Bollywood beauty was in town for the official launch of the website of a non-profit organisation run by Debasree.

"My aunt (Debasree Roy) used to get ridiculed for loving dogs. I do support her cause," Rani said.

"You all should support her in her endeavour," Rani told mediapersons after the launch at a city five-star hotel.

Debasree Roy Foundation is primarily dedicated to promoting the cause of birds and animals suffering from lack of care and needless suffering.

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Katrina Kaif has no plans to get married anytime soon, but she has already decided the colour of her wedding outfit. The actress, who walked the ramp at the inaugural India International Jewellery Week (IIJW) to showcase the Nakshatra bridal collection, will go green on her D-day.

"At the moment I don’t know when I’ll marry. I had once said 2012, but for that too I have two years to go. Such things are not planned. You never know what’s in store for you, but whenever it happens, I would love to wear something in green," Katrina told repoters.

"I don’t know, why, but I have this thing in my mind," added the 26-year-old, who is the Nakshatra brand ambassador.

Wearing a peach ruffled lehenga with a jewel encrusted top by Neeta Lulla, the actress sported a chunky diamond set that was based on the traditional seven-stone floral cluster design of the brand.

Talking about her association with the brand, Katrina said: "It’s an iconic brand because its not just a jewellery brand, it symbolises the Indian woman."

The actress also unvieled a new bangle collection - the divine circles - from Nakshatra at the IIJW.

For Katrina, jwellery given to her is very special.

"Jewellery is something that becomes all the more special when it is gifted. My favourite piece of jewellery is a pendant that was gifted to me. It has a religious symbol on it, something from the Quran. That piece is very special to me."

IIJW is India’s first-ever jewellery week and will run till August 19 at the Grand Hyatt, Santa Cruz.

The extravaganza will showcase the collections of 30 designers, including Farah Khan Ali, Varun D. Jani, Bina Goenka and Rhea Nasta. Well-known jewellery brands like Mirari, Gitanjali, Amrapali, Tanishq and Ganjam are also participating.(IANS)

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Deepika Padukone and the new man in her life Siddharth Mallya are at it again - making joint appearances at hi-profile events that is. The latest was last night (August 15) at the India International Jewellery Week. Deepika was walking the ramp for Farah Khan Ali, and she walked in with Siddharth, who was also in the front row during the show, cheering for her.

When asked about Siddharth’s presence and the reason for his cheering for her, Deepika diplomatically answered: "There were many others in the audience cheering for me too, so why should I talk about just one person?"

Deepi looked stunning in a lehenga choli, which also showed off her RK tattoo that she got back in the days when she was seeing Ranbir Kapoor. And Siddharth was walking right behind her, so we’re sure he’s been getting a good view of it too.

So what’s Deepika going to do about this reminder of her past? Could it be that it doesn’t bother her or Siddharth? More power to them, if that’s the case. If not, a little laser work might be on the cards to get rid of the tattoo permanently.

And when Deepika does get ready to talk about Siddharth, we’re hoping she won’t come up with the good old (and boring) ’We’re just good friends’ spiel. Their body language tells a whole other story, just check it out in these pics.

But Deepika’s not ready to spill yet. In fact, she says she’s single and adds that she has no plans to get hitched anytime soon.

"I’m single and I really don’t know when I will get married. You don’t plan these things. They just happen to you. As it is, I’ve been in the industry since just two years. I’m quite new, I want to concentrate on my work first," she said.

So she agrees that these things aren’t planned. And we just might have a different answer from Deepi soon.

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Kailash Kher and his band Kailasa will perform at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. The 90-minute show will be part of the daylong Qutub Festival, which is held annually at the Qutub Complex.

The festival, which generally takes place in November or December, will be held in October this year to coincide with the Commonwealth Games. The event is organised by the Sahitya Kala Parishad in collaboration with the Delhi government.

Great response

Says Kher, "I am excited and looking forward to it. Each time we perform in Delhi, we get a tremendous response. We have played all over the world, but this time, it's going to be wow!" Currently, a lot of questions are being raised about the games' kickoff, due to incomplete projects. But Kher has other worries. "I am not concerned about the games starting on time. I know they will start on schedule. My only fear is security, as there will be thousands of people thronging the show," he adds.

Being sporty

The singer had earlier performed at the IPL games with Akshay Kumar for the Delhi Daredevils. "I started my career with sports, by doing a jingle for the 2002 Cricket World Cup. That's when I came into limelight," he states.

Kher reveals that he might take stage at the Commonwealth Games, as well. "I may perform for the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. But nothing is finalised as yet," he says.

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Actress Bipasha Basu was taken in for a shock after a women tried to smooch her at Bangalore airport.

The actress wrote on microblogging site Twitter: "Funniest thing happened at BLR airport entrance! One aunty pulled me dwn (down) almost pinned me to smooch me!

Somehow I was saved! Near escape!" And this is not the first time that Bipasha went through this kind of weird experience.

"In Sri Lanka at an award function I was saying hello to people outside the hotel, one girl pulled my hand and bit my finger hard! But today's aunty shocked me more!"

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All of us must be cognizant of news channels and their amusing race for reporting of (frivolous) stories. You sure still remember the story of ’Prince’ falling into a pit and his ’rescue operation’ basking the headlines as ’breaking news’ for days. But all said and done, we have to admit that they do attract eyeballs. Anusha Rizvi, an erstwhile journalist herself has shown us a mirror through PEEPLI [LIVE]. And the reflection isn’t something to be proud of.

It’s a story of Peepli, a poor farmer Natha (Omkar Das Manikpuri) and his brother Budhia (Raghubir Yadav) from Mukhya Pradesh, indebted of a government loan and unable to repay it. The threat of his land getting auctioned looms large on them. Natha along with his brother Budhia (Raghubur Yadav) are informed of a government program that provides aid to the family of indebted farmers who have committed suicide. After an argument (hilarious) between the brothers, it’s finally decided that Natha will bear the brunt of ending his life.

Local elections are imminent and after the media comes to know of this development (impending suicide), it snowballs, involving scheming politicians, bureaucrats, local henchmen, all trying to have their share from the pie. Whether Natha will commit suicide or not becomes a matter of national interest.

Anusha Rizvi takes time to introduce the principal characters. But once that is done and you are acquainted with the dialect, you become part of the activities of the village. It almost feels that you are experiencing it ’live’.

The gloomy issue of farmers’ suicide has been brilliantly executed in a light-hearted satire. It’s entertaining and at the same time poignant. At no point does it become preachy or goes over-the-top in its narration.

Although the core issue is the farmer’s suicide, Anusha Rizvi touches many a pain areas through her excellent script and narrative. It takes a dig on the news hungry media, scheming politicians and the complex government schemes. It literally shows how politicians and media don’t want to address the issue but want to encash it for their own benefit.

It is laden with some thought-provoking dialogues by Anusha Rizvi. We are tempted to mention a few like ’Zinda rehte hue kuch kiya nahin, marne ke baad sarkar kya karegi’ or ’Na marne ka hand pump, to soch marne ka kya’, which move you.

There are copious scenes that completely crack you up. A TV journalist is interviewing Natha’s bachpan ka dost after he goes missing. Then there’s another journalist Kumar Deepak (Vishal O. Sharma) who examines Natha’s faeces to determine his state of mind. There’s also a poll conducted by a news channel to determine why Natha absconds. One of the reasons given is ’terrorists’. There are many other scenes which deserve a mention but we suggest you experience it yourself.

You will surely get goose bumps with the scene which shows the hand of a dead body. Also, note the scene in which journalist Nandita Mallik (Malaika Shenoy) confronts Rakesh (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) about him being in the wrong profession.

The climax is a high-point of the film which elucidates the rural-urban divide. The revealing fact of plentiful farmers leaving their profession in a country that ’lives in the villages’ is disconcerting.

Omkar Das Manikpuri is sure to get an award or two for his blank face performance. Raghubir Yadav is meticulous. Malaika Shenoy is awesome. Shalini Vatsa (Natha’s wife) is top class. Farrukh Jaffer (Natha’s mother) is hilarious. The constant bickering between the saas-bahu is funny at times. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is good. Vishal Sharma (Kumar Deepak) looks a quintessential journalist and is amazing. Naseeruddin Shah can be termed misfit in this lesser-known-artist setup.

PEEPLI [LIVE] is a brilliant satire which is riveting and heartfelt. Most importantly, it makes you think, and rethink. After LAGAAN this could be yet another journey for producer Aamir Khan all the way to the Kodak Theatre. Surely worth having a ’peep’.

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In real, Kareena Kapoor is yet to become a mother but she has already experienced the feeling of having a baby bump. It all happened during the shooting of of Ra. One.

Kareena Kapoor was spotted with a baby bump on the set of Ra. One. One particular scene requires Bebo to become pregnant and for the fist time in her career, she portrayed the role of a pregnant woman.

In the film, she plays mother to an eight year old. Ra. One is a superhero flick, starring Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor in the lead role. Speaking about the film, King Khan said, "Ra.One is a superhero film.

There is a good guy, there is a bad guy, there is a beautiful girl, there is a wonderful singer and a fantastic director".

"It’s a kind of film, a genre we guys haven’t tried at Red Chilies. On behalf of the whole team, I would like to try and I hope we succeed. It’s a new thing for all of us, so we are giving it our best shot," he added.

Currently, Kareena and Shahrukh are shooting in London.

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From being able to express themselves freely to fighting injustices without let, the country's freedom has empowered its people in many ways. Joining in the celebration of the myriad meanings of that freedom on the Independence Day Aug 15 will be Bollywood stars like Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Neil Nitin Mukesh.

IANS spoke to a few celebrities from B-town and asked them what exactly independence means to them.

Priyanka Chopra: Independence for me is the fact that I get to live in a great democracy, where I can think what I want, do what I want and this year, I just want to be thankful for that. I strongly feel that being independent is all in your mind. I would urge all women to think that they are free to do what they want and they should pull up their resources, believe in themselves, their family and find the opportunity to do what they can and want to.

Vipul Shah: Independence to me means freedom to live, freedom to express myself and freedom to fight anything that is disturbing the society.

Farah Khan: For me, independence means that I am allowed to live the life I want to, say what I want to and not have the fear that someone can stop me from saying anything that's in my heart.

Manoj Bajpayee: I think independence is that I am free to think, free to act, free to go anywhere I wish to visit and free to do as I please. It's the joy of seeing an India for the Indians.

Shefali Shah: The freedom to be myself is what independence means to me. I give freedom to people in my life so that they can follow the path they wish to and I expect the same from them.

Salim Merchant: To be what I am and what I want to be, to be able to make the music that I enjoy, to be able to give a splash of youth to our national anthem, all that is independence to me.

Kailash Kher: One realises the worth of independence when one goes to other countries. You are free there, but not totally independent. You are not independent to voice your opinion, to say what you want to, unlike in your own country where you have the liberty to express yourself through different mediums. From the time India was ruled by Mughals and then the British till today, there has been a massive change. And this change is independence.

Trisha: Independence to me means the freedom to be able to live your life without judgements from anyone. To be able to make your own rules and principles and stick to them. To have the freedom to have an opinion about everything that is going on in the world.

Rituparna Sengupta: Independence is what is in your mind, your thoughts and your behaviour. Real independence comes from our real heroes, from the freedom movement. We are enjoying the fruits of that till today. I think that's real independence, which came from sheer love for the motherland.

Neil Nitin Mukesh: When it comes to independence, all I can think of is "Ae mere watan ke logon, zara aankh me bhar lo pani".

Deepika Padukone: We have definitely moved ahead in the last 63 years in every possible field. And even in our own individual freedom. We have achieved a lot for ourselves in terms of independence. I am very proud of our country.

Isha Koppikar: Independence is something which is coveted, but we don't understand the true meaning of it. After Jawaharlal Nehru and Gandhi, we have just heard promises and not seen anything. I would want to do something for the country, especially for women in self-defence.

Mugdha Godse: Independence is loving your country.

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After carving a niche for himself in the world of tennis, Leander Paes is all set to try his luck on the silver screen.

He is making his Bollywood debut with director Ashok Kohli's "Rajdhani Express".

The 37-year-old sportsman has been receiving film offers since 1996, but he was so engrossed in his career that he couldn't take the plunge at the time.

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Good friend Aamir Khan may be singing praises of ‘Incredible India’ in TV commercials, but Bollywood hunk Salman Khan begs to differ. Sallu bhai is highly upset and angry by the state of affairs in India.

In his recent posts on a social networking website, Salman flayed the ‘Incredible India’ concept. He said, “What’s India? Nation where Pizza reaches home faster than an Ambulance & Police, where you get Car Loan @ 5 percent but Education Loan @ 12 percent, where Rice is Rs 40 but Sim card is free, where people worship Goddess Durga but want to kill their girl child?,” questioned the Khan.

The angry Salman further said, “Olympic shooter wins gold, Govt gives 3 crores. Another shooter dies fighting with terrorist, Govt pays 1 lakh. Really, Incredible India!”

The actor later clarified that his previous posts were SMSes he received and thought were worth sharing. By revealing his lesser known side to his fans through the though provoking tweets, Salman certainly won many hearts.

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Rahul Mahajan was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai after complaining of chest pains.

It seems his family doctor suggested that he be admitted to the hospital after his check up. Initially, Rahul’s blood pressure was also low. But doctors said later that his condition was stable and that he would be discharged after being treated.

Apparently Rahul has been upset these past weeks. It’s been during this time that his wife Dimpy Ganguly accused him of domestic violence and walked out on him.

She said he had kicked her, punched her, and dragged her because she refused to answer him about a late night sms she received.

Dimpy later returned back to him, and Rahul said that they were sorting out their problems. The couple have since enrolled for counselling as well.

Rahul and Dimpy were married on the reality TV show ’Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jayega’

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Indian mega star Aamir Khan and filmmaker Yash Chopra have decided to work together.While the market buzzed with news of Aamir playing the villain in Dhoom 3, sources close to the actor denied it categorically. However, it is now known that Aamir met with Aditya Chopra, who gave him an one-line narration of the role of the villain the film. And, an insider reveals, “Aamir has loved what he heard. In all probability, he will listen to the script on August 13 when he returns from Melbourne and Delhi.”

Aamir doesn’t wish to confirm or deny these developments as yet because he will start reading the script next week after his Peepli Live releases. However, it is said that the actor is keen to play the baddie because what he heard from Adi has truly excited him. A trade source says, “After 3 Idiots Aamir needs something very challenging and dynamic. And he knows that playing the villain in a established franchise like the Dhoom series will create a huge buzz.”

Dhoom 3 in all likelihood may not be directed by Sanjay Gadhvi. Chances are that the film may have a director of Aamir’s choice. As of now, the Chopras are very excited because their villains have been the most talked about characters in the Dhoom series. The first one had John Abraham, the second had Hrithk Roshan, and if they get Aamir for the third, it will be the crowning glory.

Aamir has earlier played a baddie in Raakh and Fanaa. But reports say that the villain of Dhoom 3 will be a very stylised character. And he is likely to make as much impact as Gabbar Singh of Sholay or Dr Mogambo from Mr India.

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The lively and vivacious Vidya Balan is keeping unwell of late. The actress is allegedly suffering from a severe muscle pull on her shoulder which is giving her extreme pain. 

But though she had been down with her injury, Vidya Balan knows how to honour her commitments.

Her doctor strictly advised Vidya bed-rest for a week’s time for the pain to come under control.

But being the professional she is, Vidya Balan who had already committed to attend the South Filmfare Awards on Saturday, August 7 took the pain to fly all the way to Chennai to be there.

Now that’s an award-worthy gesture, Vidya!

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Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan's "Peepli Live", which will perhaps be the first non-commercial Hindi film to hit over 600 screens when it releases Friday, has already recovered its investment by selling its satellite rights for Rs. 100 million.

Made on a budget of approximately Rs.100 million (including marketing costs), journalist-turned director Anusha Rizvi's directorial debut is a satire on the farmers suicides and the subsequent political and media reaction.

It will hit 600 screens in India and 100 in overseas markets, except Britain.

"In Britain we have partnered with Artificial Eye (again first for a Hindi Film), a premium distribution chain that looks into art house main stream release and own the largest art house exhibition chain called Curzon theatres. We will release 'Peepli Live' in Britain on September 24," said a source close to Aamir Khan Productions.

The cast of the film is a mixed bag - many actors are tribals from Bhadwai village in Madhya Pradesh, while other cast members are from late playwright Habib Tanvir's theatre troupe Naya Theatre, including the main lead Omkar Das Manikpuri, who plays Natha in "Peepli Live".

The film also stars Naseeruddin Shah, Malaika Shenoy, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Shalini Vatsa, Farrukh Jaffer, Vishal O. Sharma, Aamir Bashir, Sitaram Panchal and Yugal Kishore.

This is the fourth film from Aamir Khan Productions Ltd. after "Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In India" (2001), "Taare Zameen Par"(2007) and "Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na"(2008).

If Aamir's earlier three commercial films were blocbusters, "Peepli Live" has earned a reputation for itself in the global film circuit. The movie recently won the Best First Feature Film award at the 31st Durban International Film Festival in South Africa.

"Peepli Live" also competed in the Sundance Film Festival, the first film from India to do so. The movie was picked up by specialty German distribution company, Rapid Eye Movies, for a special screening at the Berlin International Film Festival. It recently had its Melbourne premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival MIFF 2010.

The film has also put the spotlight on over 1,000 villages across India that are called Peepli.

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