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India's largest entertainment convention the FICCI Frames is back with a bang! The biggest of the names from Bollywood, Hollywood and the Indian corporate sector will mull over the future of the film industry at Hotel Renaissance, Mumbai from 16-18th March 2010. Adding glitz to the annual event will be a power packed line of international speakers, renowned Hollywood producer Lawrence Bender, Hollywood scriptwriter Steven De Souza, The French Film Commissions' Franck Priot and Bollywood stalwarts like Karan Johar, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Bose, Anurag Kashyap and others. FICCI Frames' Digital Media partner Hungama Digital Media Entertainment and Lawrence Bender will also hold a special screening of Bender's latest film, Countdown to Zero . Bender's films have, over the past 20 years, been nominated for 29 Academy Awards (including three for Best Picture) and have won five. His recent films include Inglorious Basterds and An Inconvenient Truth . Bender&

Superstar Mohanlal, who has been conferred the title of Lieutenant Colonel of the 122 Infantry Battalion, the Territorial Army (TA) unit stationed in Kannur, will visit the barracks this month as part of his week-long post-commission training. Battalion Commanding Officer Davidson Kolath said that all arrangements were being made for the actor's visit in the last week of this month. The actor has already completed his pre-commission training, Col. Kolath said. Mohanlal will be given a civic reception at the Jawahar Stadium during his visit. The Territorial Army unit is also planning to conduct a march past to honour Mohanlal. A few Ministers are expected to participate in the civic reception.

Actor Arun Vijay, who was very nearly written off given the number of dud movies he appeared in, made all the right moves with his last movie Malai Malai. Directed by A. Venkatesh, this neatly packaged commercial movie worked wonders with the audience. Arun is once more in the race, but it's Maanja Velu that will ensure his spot on the track. Maanja Velu is also an action movie. 'Maanja' is the mixture of glass powder and other ingredients coated on the string of a kite. It is used to cut the strings of rival kites, but if handled wrongly, it can cut you. This forms the basic plot. Karthik, Prabhu, Ganja Karuppu, Santhanam and others form the supporting cast. Mani Sharma has scored the music for Maanja Velu, which is expected to release soon. The latest rumour is that this action flick will compete against Suriya's Singam directed by Hari and Vijay's Sura directed by S.P. Rajkumar at the box office. Looks like an interesting battle! Let's see who w

Victoria Beckham is trying to comfort Cheryl Cole, saying that she understands the anguish she has been suffering. The former Spice Girl a.k.a Posh has offered support as her pal struggles to cope with allegations of Ashley's infidelity. Posh says she's convinced the Girls Aloud singer would emerge stronger than ever from the scandal. "I have so much sympathy for Cheryl. My heart goes out to her - both as a woman and as someone in the media spotlight," the Mirror quoted Victoria as saying. "I feel for her so much, it's a horrible situation but she's a fantastic, strong woman and she will be fine," she added. Victoria's husband soccer ace David Beckham, 34, was accused of getting close to his personal assistant Rebecca Loos in 2004. It put pressure on their relationship at the time but he and Victoria are now stronger than ever

Peter Andre has denied claims that he still has feelings for his ex-wife Katie Price a.k.a Jordan. The 'Mysterious Girl' singer's stylist Maddy Ford, who had a brief fling with him, claimed that Peter still loves Katie. However, setting the record straight, Pete told new! magazine that he is not in love with Jordan anymore. "Firstly, I was nothing but honest with Maddy from the start and told her that I had no intention of starting a relationship with her or anyone else," the Mirror quoted him as saying. "I explained very carefully to her that I wasn't ready for anything serious with anyone and she said she was fine with that. We were only intimate on a handful of occasions and we didn't even go on any dates. "I decided to put a stop to things when it became clear that the goal posts had changed and Maddy's feelings had too. "I didn't want to lead her on or hurt her in any way. I was t

Hollywood finally entrusted a female director with an Oscar on Sunday. Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman in the 82-year history of the Academy Awards to take the prize as her gritty Iraq War movie "The Hurt Locker" outshone "Avatar" after a nail-biting campaign season. "The Hurt Locker" also took home the top prize, best picture, and four awards in other categories. "Avatar," the 3D smash directed by Bigelow's ex-husband, James Cameron, ended up with three awards, all in technical categories. The acting races finished as expected and all four honourees took home the first statuettes of their careers. Jeff Bridges won for his lead role as a drunken country singer who gets a shot at redemption in "Crazy Heart." Sandra Bullock got the gold for playing a suburban mom who guides a homeless black teen to football stardom in "The Blind Side." In the supporting field, the prizes went to Austr

He's desirous of dancing to another Khan's tunes! Salman Khan has made clear his displeasure over the filming of a song number from sibling Arbaaz Khan 's production 'Dabanng'. Reportedly, Khan's is suitably unimpressed with the manner in which choreographer Sabina Khan made Sonakshi and him match steps to 'tere mast mast do naina'. And he's hoping to erase the mediocrity by roping in Farah Khan and canning the song sequence in Europe, a move seconded heartily by director Abhinav Kashyap. Farah, meanwhile, does assent to "shooting one song for the film." But with FK super busy over her 'Tees Maar Khan' schedule, Salman Khan may have to shift his sights elsewhere. Khan he do it?

A new film, titled "Karma: The New Revolution", will explain the role of Karma in the recent golfer Tiger Woods' apology, according to reports. Reportedly releasing on March 15, it will also explain the role Karma played in the death of entertainment icon Michael Jackson. It will highlight how Karma Yoga has helped everyday individuals overcome credit crunch, cancer and crime, it is said. Filmed in over a dozen countries, it is presented by Acharya Zen, who was reportedly quoted as saying: Karma and Redemption go hand in hand and in Verse 173 of The Dhammapadas, the Buddha states that 'a person who makes amends for his mistakes can light up the world like the moon merging from the clouds'. This suggests that Tiger Woods can redeem himself by following the Buddha's last words 'Appo Deepo Bhava' or 'Be a lamp unto yourself'. Tagline of the film is: "Take Charge of your Destiny!" Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed says tha

Souring friendship? Or so, the media buzz is hinting, at large. With international hotshot Akon showing up in Mumbai to do his loaded song number at SRK's swanky party, the party buzz was at its peak. Esteemed invitees had been informed a week in advance and the plush do was being organised under the classy supervision of the Moranis. Two names among the names in the select guest list were expressly left out… Farah Khan and her spouse Shirish Kunder!! All thanks to 'Tees Maar Khan' and Farah pencilling in Akshay Kumar into her third directorial venture. As the scribe whiff over the omission gathered momentum, Farah Khan received a text message from the Moranis seeking her starry presence at the do! A close insider states, "It's Gauri who makes the guest list, not SRK. Faran and SRK still care a lot about each other." Displaying her own share of damage control, Farah declared to the media that she "had no clue" and would be "out

In an esteemed list of the '100 Most Trusted Indians', A.R. Rahman, the "Mozart of Madras" ranked at position five! India has placed express faith in Rahman's genius. And now, the West too is merely following suit. A pair of coveted Oscars, two Grammys to delight, the BAFTA award and a cartload of honours later, Rahmania is likely to escalate some more. Notch one more high for the incomparable genius. Rahman had turned jury member for the Academy Award Committee, this year. An elated Rahman told the media, "I see me being an Oscar jury member as… an Indian being a jury member. It's tough one, because you have to compare the work of different people and pick a winner. In my eyes, anybody who creates anything is a winner." Guess, Rahman's creatively speaking…

It's being touted as an earth shattering event. Huh, quite literally. Star support for the Hiati earthquake victims is at hand with the US Consulate in Mumbai gearing up to showcase a fundraiser event. And to do the honours, reportedly, Hrithik Roshan and Aamir Khan are the first in line. Roshan's timely assistance of Rs 10 lakh towards the welfare of paraplegics and Khan's drive to improve the impoverished lot of Chanderi weavers have generated much hype, already. The Consulate plans include an auction and the accruing funds will be directed towards the altruistic move. A close source states, "Aamir and Hrithik have been approached and they have almost agreed in principle. Apart from actors, many leading painters too are expected to participate in the auction and do their bit for Hiati victims."

Designer Narendra Kumar, more renowned as Nari, and a hot fave with John Abraham , revved up the giddy spirits of fashion addicts at the Lakme Fashion Week Summer/ Resort 2010. (LFW). This time, Nari's collection was inspired by a space odyssey. "I went in for futurism," says the attire stylist in a tabloid quote. "No one has gone in for it and I wanted to be the first." His show stoppers were a kool hot(ttt) couple: Sarah Jane Dias and Neil Nitin Mukesh. Dias, Miss India 2007, who recently twirled under the spotlight with her three film deal with Excel Entertainment ( Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani ), was togged a simple white gown with a black applique work. Her head was adorned with a white rope hairpiece. Neil Nitin Mukesh strode in sporting a black denim jacket with leather detailing. The tressful finale: Nari… showed up wearing a woman's wig!

Recently, she'd rocked the ramp as a designer bride. Bipasha Basu was the maiden showstopper at the Lakme Fashion Week 2010 (LFW), and she showed up sporting a lemon and beige sari styled by Rocky S. An elated Bips had cooed to the media stating, "I was a modern day bride at the LFW and it felt wonderful. When I do get married, I want to look just the way I did at the finale!" Fashionistas and style addicts cheered… and clearly buoyed Bips. Her next big outing, though, ruined her glee to a large extent. Bips and Saif Ali Khan had showed up at the famed Mahalaxmi Race Course (Mumbai) at a high profile racing tourney to confer awards on the winners. On spotting BB in the VIP enclosure, a group of youngsters turned supremely troublesome and began heckling the actress. A round of cat calls and jeers together with high decibel comments ("item girl", "beedi jalailey le") got her goat. And an infuriated Bips stormed out of the venue with SAK

Geoffrey Fletcher, the screenwriter of "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire", has become the first African American screenwriter to take home an Academy Award. Fletcher, 39, an adjunct professor of film at Columbia University and NYU, surprised some by beating favourite Jason Reitman, writer/director of "Up in the Air". "I don't know what to say," the New York Daily News quoted Fletcher as saying during his acceptance speech. This was the Connecticut-born writer's first produced screenplay, for which he was also awarded an Independent Spirit Award.

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart couldn't stop themselves from getting touchy feely at Tribeca's Laconda Verde in New York, it has emerged. The "New Moon" co-stars were spotted together on Sunday night. "Robert and Kristen sat really close together and kept touching and rubbing each other's arms as if no one else was around," the New York Daily News quoted a witness as saying. "They definitely appeared to be an item," the source added.

Singer Ke$ha has revealed she wears her placenta round her neck to get a "second sight". The placenta helps a foetus in nutrient uptake and is expelled from the body after birth. And Ke$ha believes it enhances her chances of having a spiritual experience. "I'm into energy. I recently went to see a past-life regressionist, who is also a psychic. I wear my placenta around my neck every day, because it's supposed to give you second sight. I feel like I've had many lifetimes before," the Age quoted her, as telling the Sunday Times. The 23-year-old star also hit back at critics for labelling her as a party girl. She said: "So many people say, 'So, what, are you a party girl?' And I say, 'I'm a walking good time.' Do I sometimes go out and drink? Hell, yes. But could I have a number one song if I wasn't also working hard? Maybe that needs a little more respect. "Also,

Opera singer Placido Domingo has undergone surgery for colon cancer, revealed a spokesman. The crooner had a cancerous polyp removed last week at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and he was released on Monday, said Nancy Seltzer. She added that the cancerous growth was small and that Domingo was expected to make a full recovery. Last month she said that he was to pull out of five March performances of Handel's Tamerlano at the Royal Opera House to undergo what she described as "medically recommended preventive surgery". And at the time she refused to say why he needed to undergo surgery. "Aren't certain things allowed to be private?" the Telegraph quoted her as telling she told the New York Times at the time. It is expected that Domingo, 69, would resume his singing schedule at Milan's Teatro alla Scala on April 16 with a performance of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra.

Actor Alec Baldwin admits he envies Leonardo DiCaprio and wishes his career would have been as successful as the 'Titanic' star's. The 51-year-old, who appeared with DiCaprio in 'The Aviator' and 'The Departed', says DiCaprio has 'everything'. 'I just feel like the kind of work I would love to have done would have been more like when Leo did 'The Aviator'. I love Leo. I adore him and envy him,' dailystar.co.uk quoted Baldwin as sying. 'I remember being there with him and thinking that he has youth, he has talent, he has opportunity, he has everything in the business. I thought, 'What a great gift - to have that convergence of all your abilities and the opportunity to work with Marty Scorsese, and the scripts and the budgets and everything,'' he added.

'Good Charlotte' rocker Benji Madden is reportedly planning to move in with girlfriend and Playboy model Holly Madison. The news comes just weeks after rumours suggested that the couple had quietly split. The two started dating in December, reports contactmusic.com. 'Benji cares very much for Holly. They have been talking about living together,' said a source. According to reports, Madison is looking to quit her adopted home in Las Vegas to move back to Los Angeles where she once lived at the Playboy mansion with ex-boyfriend Hugh Hefner, to be with the Madden. Madden was previously dating socialite Paris Hilton.

Legendary folk rock duo Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel are reuniting for a concert tour in North America. Simon and Garfunkel will perform 13 North American dates in April and May, starting from New Orleans' Jazz and Heritage Festival in Louisiana April 24. The pair, who initially split in 1970, will give shows in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Michigan before crossing the border to play concerts in Canada, reports contactmusic.com.

Victoria Beckham has admitted that she would love to dress US First Lady Michelle Obama. The pop princess turned designer, who has dressed some of Hollywood's biggest names like Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parker and Drew Barrymore, said that the U.S. President's wife is her ultimate dream client. "I would love to dress Mrs. Obama absolutely absolutely absolutely! I just think she's incredible and she's a very strong woman and she's beautiful," Fox News quoted Beckham as saying at Elton John's famous Oscar bash. "I love women and I just want to make women feel good and beautiful and it's just been a huge compliment that ladies have enjoyed wearing my dresses and they look great! "It just goes to show they can flatter women of all different shapes and sizes, all different heights, and that's what it's about. It's about creating an illusion and having a great cut,&q

Hollywood actor Christian Bale has not been in contact with his family for more than 18 months after his arrest following a family row. Bale's mother Jenny said she is desperate to reunite with her son, saying she misses him terribly. She said Bale has ignored all attempts she made to make contact since he was arrested on suspicion of assault on the evening of the London premiere of his movie 'The Dark Knight' in July 2008. 'He's not talking to us, it's not the other way round. He has changed his phone numbers, and he ignores the letters, emails and birthday cards I send,' femalefirst.co.uk quoted the mother as saying. 'As awful as that night was, and although I rack my mind every day about what could have made him behave like that, I'd happily forget it happened, if we could go back to being a family. That's the most important thing. 'We miss Christian terribly. It's been more than 18 months now and it'

Model Katie Price has revealed she is in negotiations to have her four autobiographical diaries turned into a movie. 'I've got four autobiographies, well, they're four diaries. I've found a producer and he's already got three of them - I'm giving him the other one and that's what they're doing,' femalefirst.co.uk quoted Katie as saying. Katie, who has three children, Harvey, 7, Junior, 5, and Princess Tiaamii, 2, from previous relationships, claims to have someone in mind to portray her in the movie. She refused to be drawn on who. 'I'm not going to give any information, but I know it's going to be a mad film,' she said. Katie released her first autobiography 'Being Jordan' in May 2004 and subsequent instalments, 'Jordan: A Whole New World' and 'Pushed to the Limit', in April 2006 and February 2008 respectively. She is currently working on her fourth tome which focuses on her brea

Michael Jackson's former bodyguards have revealed that the King of Pop became frustrated during the final years of his life because of financial difficulties. Bill Whitfield and Mike Garcia, who served as the Jackson's minders, revealed that he often suffered fits of rage. "We were asked to leave hotels because the credit card on file was denied," the New York Post quoted Whitfield as saying on 'Good Morning America'. Also, Whitfield added: "We smile about it, but it's really more painful and hurtful. "He got so frustrated he threw my cell phone out the window, through the window and broke the glass. "And he looked at me and said, 'Bill, you're going to need a new phone.'" The bodyguards also mentioned that he tried to avoid Jackson's three kids - Prince, Paris and Blanket - from seeing images of their father on magazine covers. He added: "I'll be ahead of him, because I know he's coming th

Farrah Fawcett's log-time boyfriend Ryan O'Neal has expressed shock at the actress's omission from the Oscars' "In Memoriam" segment despite having been a member of the Academy for 40 years. "It was a terrible decision and very hurtful - Farrah was a member of the Academy for over 40 years and we could not believe she did not get a mention," the Herald Sun quoted O' Neal, as saying. The traditional video montage of stars who died in the past year including such familiar faces as Patrick Swayze, Brittany Murphy and Michael Jackson, but inexplicably omitted the Charlie's Angels star. His daughter and Oscar winner Tatum O' Neal is also planning to join her father in insisting the Academy address the omission. "Quite frankly, we were stunned at the decision not to include her in the tribute and I feel that the Academy should be scolded for that, everyone was shocked. Both Tatum and I were very upset and we intend to write

An auction at Sotheby's of more than 160 works of post-war and contemporary art from the Peter Stuyvesant Collection exceeded all expectations on Monday, raising a record 13.6 million euros ($18.6 million). The works on offer in Amsterdam were the property of British American Tobacco The Netherlands and formed the largest collection of such art ever to come to auction in the country. "We witnessed a truly remarkable depth of bidding from Europe, North and South America and Asia, almost unprecedented in a Sotheby's Amsterdam auction," said Deputy Director Bert-Jan Van Egteren. Sotheby's had expected to raise between 4.4 million and 6.3 million euros, and the 13.6 million euros raised was the highest amount achieved in the Netherlands for a sale of fine art. The collection was started by Alexander Orlow, who in 1960 invited 13 artists from 13 European countries to create paintings for the production hall at the Turmac Tobacco Company in the Netherlands as a way of b

Southern star Siddharth, who plans to turn producer next year, says he is the 'Shah Rukh Khan' of the Telugu film industry and that romance will always be his forte even though he is popular for his intense roles in Hindi movies like 'Rang De Basanti'. 'I do a lot of romantic roles in Telugu films. In fact when people say you are the Aamir Khan of Telugu films, I say I am the Shah Rukh Khan of the film industry. I do all the 'Tujhe dekha toh ye jaana sanam' type of sequences in Telugu,' Siddharth told IANS in an interview. 'I do romantic movies as my mainstay and when I want to change my mood, I do a 'Striker' or a 'Rang De Basanti'. Now that I have done a serious film like 'Striker', I need to go back to my strengths and do a romantic film,' said Siddharth, who has done Telugu films like 'Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana' and 'Bommarillu'. At the same time, the actor, who played the intense

 Guns N' Roses will play three private shows in Brazil and Argentina during the band's current tour of South America, the organizer said on Monday. The shows are set for undisclosed locations in Sao Paulo on Thursday and Buenos Aires on March 20. Plans are also in the works for a show in Rio De Janeiro. Organizer Jamison Ernest said each venue will hold about 150 people. He declined to reveal too much information for fear of riots by uninvited guests. He will co-host the Sao Paulo show with Brazilian model Ana Beatriz Barros. The 11-date tour, the band's first trek around the continent since its heyday in 1992, began on Sunday in Brasilia. Dates are on tap through April 1 in Quito, Ecuador. The band will also play Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Colombia. Ernest, a friend of Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose, also runs a clothing company and has a band, both named Yellow Fever. Guns N' Roses previously played three secret shows, two in

 The Miss Universe Organization: * NBC extends its agreement with Donald Trump and The Miss Universe Organization to broadcast the 'Miss Universe' and 'Miss USA' pageants for three additional years

After whirlwind goodbyes to fans, diminutive U.S. rapper Lil Wayne was sentenced to one year in jail on Monday after he pleaded guilty on a gun possession charge in a 2007 incident. Lil Wayne, 27, whose real name is Dwayne Carter and who also goes by the moniker "Weezy," appeared in New York State Supreme Court wearing jeans and a grey hooded sweatshirt. Justice Charles Solomon passed the sentence for attempted criminal possession of a weapon after a plea agreement in which Carter gave up his right to appeal over a case in which a gun was found in his tour bus in July 2007. Carter remained silent during the hearing and nodded solemnly when led to jail in handcuffs. His sentencing had been postponed twice in the last month, once so he could get dental surgery and then because a fire shut the courthouse for four days. Carter, whose album "Tha Carter III" was the biggest-selling U.S. release of 2008 and won him best rap album and three other prizes at t

"Avatar" may have failed to repeat the Academy Award success for "Titanic," but James Cameron's latest hit film proved once again: nothing draws eyeballs to the Oscars like the nomination of a blockbuster. Sunday night's Oscars drew 41.3 million U.S. viewers, up 5 million from last year and the biggest audience for the Academy Awards in five years, the Nielsen Company reported on Monday. The average viewership tally for the 3 1/2-hour-plus live broadcast on ABC, a unit of the Walt Disney Co, also marked the second straight year of Nielsen gains for the film industry's annual celebration. Co-hosted by comic stars Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin -- the first pair of emcees to share the stage since Oscar came to television -- the show drew middling reviews from critics, some of whom found the broadcast awkwardly paced. Oscar organizers had sought to broaden the public appeal by doubling the number of films nominated for best picture from t