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He may or may not sing for SRK’s KKR team but the hip hop sensation obliged the gathering at the event where he was welcomed by SRK’s forthcoming ‘Ra.One’ team. But it took a while and a smart move by the King Khan to make Akon sing for the Bollywood icon. SRK who confessed that he always wanted to be a rock star tried to sing Akon smash hit number ‘Smack that’, he started then humbly asked Akon to do the needful. Kareena was waiting patiently and when Akon asked the lovely ‘Kareena’ which number she would like to hear, the actress said with her trade mark lovely smile, “Beautiful”. Well that was enough to motivate the singer and he immediately crooned few lines from his famous song, “Beautiful” in his mesmerizing voice. And while Kareena was visibly seemed delighted, King Khan made the moves like a rock star pretending to hold a guitar.

Of late lots of celebrities have joined the endorsement bandwagon, becoming face of several brands. Latest ones are Shahid Kapoor and Anushka Sharma. The buzz is that these cute pair of YRF's 'Badmaash Company' has become the brand ambassadors of Vaseline, the popular skin care product. On the other hand, another hot star on the brand-wagon is Abhishek Bachchan. He was yesterday crowned as the brand ambassador of Videocon for its product D2H. Indeed these stars not only increase the brand’s value but have also become a brand themselves. Phew watta ‘brandfull’!

Tall lady Deepika Padukone is adopting but not what you think. apnadesi helps you find out! Deepika is said to have adopted a village called Ambegaon in Maharashtra as part of the Greenathon campaign. Quiz Deepika and she says, she heard of this village that has no electricity. The philanthropist in her, made her adopt this village that becomes dark after sunset, making the villagers lives miserable. Deepika also thought such a deed would help people in their daily lives as they can study, be entertained, etc. Sources say that she will follow it up with the people involved with Greenathon and personally visit Ambegaon. Earlier it was Kareena Kapoor who gave an ‘electric’ aid to a village and now it’s this tall beauty. Guess Bollywood’s going rural now! A source adds that Deepika did a lot of reading up and spoke with the Greenathon people to find out the problems of the villagers before adopting it. Now, that’s sensible adoption!

King Khan was full of his wit and mesmerizing charm, looking cool and dapper in black jeans with short gelled hair, the Badshah of bollywood made the 1+hr wait worth. SRK decided to welcome the international hip hop sensation Akon in a traditional manner and showered him with flowers, whereas his heroine of 'Ra. One' Kareena Kapoor put 'tikka' on his forehead and garlanded him. The singer was stumped and immediately SRK quipped with the display of his lovely dimpled smile, "In India, once the actress garlands you, you are married to the hero." That’s SRK for you always at his charming best, SRK and his team of his forthcoming superhero flick 'Ra.One' welcomed the international singing sensation to India who came to Mumbai on Monday to record two songs for the SRK Kareena Kapoor starrer ‘Ra. One’ being directed by Anurag Basu. Akon is expected to compose and sing two numbers for the film. After the welcome, Akon rushed to YRF studios fo

Being an actor makes you play different roles – good ones, bad ones, white and black characters… Youngster in one, old in other… Films are where one can be anything that one dreams of. Like, Aarya Babbar, who had played the character of an offender in Madhur Bhandarkar's ‘Jail’, will soon feature as a police. And the film is none other than Farah Khan’s 'Tees Maar Khan'! Stepping into comedy for the first time, the actor is said to be quite excited over the project. Remarked Arya, “It's funny that in 'Jail', I played a convict and in 'Tees Maar Khan' I play an inspector life has its own screenplay I say.” However he added to say that it is a great feeling as he’s trying different genres and this is definitely going to be a step ahead in his career. Talking about Farah, Arya revealed that she is a chilled out and a complete actor's director. “All in all she is an absolute delight to work with,” he further said. Hmm, with Farah at the w

When you find someone who knows your potentialities and projects you in the best possible way, you tend to look up to that person… Our Bebo who was so smitten with the direction skills of Rajkumar Hirani in ‘3 Idiots’, now prefers him to shoot her even for an ad commercial. Kareena Kapoor, who will soon feature in cosmetic cream ad, suggested Hirani’s name to direct the commercial. Sources said that in fact Prahlad Kakkar was to direct it but the actress thought that Hirani was the best bet to make the ad, whose theme was Aal Izz Well. As a matter of fact, Hirani has directed ads before and even acted in some of them, and this commercial is his first one in three years. However, this is not the first time our bubbly actress is showing her favouritism. Earlier after the success of ‘Jab We Met’ Kareena had pulled in director Imtiaz Ali’s to direct her for the Kurkure commercial. Sources shared their belief saying, “Bebo feels that Raju can make her look naturally gorgeou

Abhishek Bachchan is known to be very closely associated with social causes. The actor has just been appointed as the brand ambassador of WWF's World Earth Hour scheduled to take place on March 27 2010 between 8:30-9:30 p.m. World Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned off their lights for an hour as a stand against climate change. The campaign has now gone global and last year alone more than 5 million people in 4000 cities across 88 countries switched off their lights to pledge their support towards this noble cause. The concept behind this campaign is to reduce the use of electricity thereby saving the planet from warming up. Junior Bachchan was present at a press conference in the capital today where he was appointed as the brand ambassador for this noble cause. Since then, the actor has already starting spreading the word by urging his fans to join the campaign and switch off all electrical appliances fo

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Actress Sonam Kapoor has urged Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil to ban the manufacture of glass-coated strings (manja), used for flying kites, in the entire state as many birds die after getting entangled in them. 'I humbly request your support for the recent ban on 'manja' in Mumbai as well as your immediate action to extend the ban throughout Maharashtra,' she said in a letter to Patil. 'The use of 'manja' may be amusing for some, but for many families - human and bird alike - whose loved ones lose their lives, it is a situation that can be definitely prevented,' Sonam added. She has made the request on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India after the Mumbai police banned the use of glass-coated 'manja' for flying kites within the city because of injuries and fatalities to both birds and humans. The 'manja' used in kite-flying competitions is gummed and coated with powder

Comparisons with the original were inevitable when Andrew Lloyd Webber decided to write a sequel to his record-breaking musical "Phantom of the Opera". After Tuesday night's world premiere at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End, the consensus among critics was that "Love Never Dies" was a mere shadow of the show seen by more than 100 million people around the world since 1986. The new musical continues the story of The Phantom, who has left his lair at the Paris Opera House and, 10 years later, is haunting the fairgrounds of New York's Coney Island. Not all reviews were bad, but several prominent critics savaged the sequel, including the New York Times' Ben Brantley who called it a "poor sap of a show (which) feels as eager to be walloped as a clown in a carnival dunking booth". Brantley was not alone in questioning the storyline, which reviewers said was implausible and confusing. Four people are cre

After splitting with cheating husband Ashley, Cheryl Cole is all set to move out of their shared home and is busy house hunting. The singer has been looking at two luxury properties and has told friends that her marital home holds too many painful memories. Speculations are rife that Cheryl will soon come to a decision on buying a new place - probably still in the Surrey area. "Cheryl does not want the separation to be a long, drawn-out affair," the Mirror quoted a source as saying. "She wants to find somewhere quickly so she can regain stability and become settled once more. "If she can't find somewhere she likes she'll consider rented accommodation in the short term," added the source. And the news of Cheryl's house hunting is likely to come as a major blow to Ashley - reinforcing how determined she is to move on. "It's a real shame because Cheryl loved that place. But all her memories of it have be

Disney is all set to rename Rapunzel, the much-loved fairytale, because it failed to appeal to boys. The studio's forthcoming version of the Brothers Grimm story will be renamed "Tangled" after market research showed that boys do not like films with girls' names in the title. According to Disney bosses, the "gender-specific" title of its latest offering, 'The Princess and the Frog' was the reason why the film could not do wonders at the box office. The flaxen-haired heroine of Tangled will still bear the name Rapunzel when the 3-D film is released in November. "We did not want to be put in a box. Some people might assume it's a fairytale for girls when it's not. We make movies to be appreciated and loved by everybody," the Telegraph quoted Ed Catmull, president of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios, as saying of the title change. The 'Princess and the Frog' would have fared bette

The national capital will observe the Earth Hour once again this year and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Wednesday appealed to residents to turn off lights for an hour on March 27. 'Delhi was the lead city for Earth Hour 2009 when India joined this global campaign. Several historical buildings, office complexes, RWAs, shopping centers and hotels switched off in support, resulting in close to 750 MW power saving in Delhi alone,' Dikshit said at the launch of the campaign here. 'I hope that Delhi along with other cities across the country will take Earth Hour to newer heights by generating larger savings and sending a strong message to stress the need to shift to a sustainable and low carbon development path,' she added. The chief minister quipped that Delhiites would be 'willing to have a candle light dinner March 27.' Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan who is the brand ambassador of this World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) initiati

Amitabh Bachchan will receive a lifetime achievement award at the sixth edition of the Muscat International Film Festival starting March 13. 'In a few days it will be Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman and the International Film Festival, where there shall be decoration for a Lifetime of Achievement,' the 67-year-old posted on his blog bigb.bigadda.com. Other Indian artists expected to attend the film festival are Shabana Azmi , Mohanlal and Resul Pookutty. About 72 films from 20 countries are expected to be screened at the festival.

After a hiatus, Nana Patekar will be spotted soon alongside the expressly gorgeous Dimple Kapadia in 'Tum Milo To Sahi'. Recently, though, his spat with Deepika Padukone set the grapevine abuzz. Ranbir Kapoor had sounded her out that Patekar was keen on casting the actress in his future directorial effort. An eager Patekar did meet up with Padukone…. and he ended up blowing his verryyyyyy short fuse as the actress suggested a couple of changes in the script! Reportedly, Patekar didn't take too kindly to Padukone's terms and stormed out of the meeting. A close source, however, has a different tale to tell. "Deepika did not agree to the subject because she could not connect with it at all." Guess, it's a short fuse connexion!

After consistently saying no to kids for years, Simon Cowell might just end up having children with fiancee Mezhgan Hussainy after all. In an interview with Jay Leno, the music mogul said that he is "kind of torn", telling him he finally put a ring on it. Cowell appeared on 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno' on Monday and officially broke the news that he and girlfriend Mezhgan Hussainy are getting hitched, reports People. However, Leno had Cowell in confessional mode on his show, and asked him: "Are rumours you're engaged true?" "Are they true? Well, I do have somebody in my life now, Jay, yes. And I kinda made a decision this year to make somebody happy," the New York Daily News quoted Cowell as saying. He said that he'd like to get married within the next ten years and, with regard to having kids with Hussainy, he is "kind of torn." "I'm a bit too old to have kids, but then ag

Will it be 'khallas' to steamy scenes, onscreen? Eesha Koppikhar is supremely thrilled about her portrayal in 'Right Yaaa Wrong'. The delight, however, is mixed with a modicum of awkwardness too. Reason: Eesha has a couple of hot(ttt) sequences in the Neeraj Pathak directed flick, and Timmy Narang's spouse is a wee apprehensive about the new 'bahu' showing up as a saucy siren onscreen. In 'Right', Eesha enacts Anshita, Sunny Deol 's wife, who is an interior designer; a modern and independent woman who goes through personal trauma in the flick, owing to her husband's decision. Filmmaker Subhash Ghai , who presents 'Right…. is pleased as punch over Eesha's act, stating that she's "not only hot as ever, she's cool as an actress too." Meanwhile, Eesha's sweating over those scorching takes…

Her acting skills spell dynamite onscreen. And Konkona Sen Sharma is presently savouring the accolades over her comic tryst in 'Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?' Besides, she shows up as a lawyer in the Neeraj Pathak helmed 'Right Yaaa Wrong'. A great casting coup too has fructified… as reported love interests Sharma and Ranvir Shorey will share acting honours together on celluloid. Incidentally, their three year romantic link will translate into reality with Amitabh Verma's untitled romantic suspense thriller. The duo shared stage honours in 'The Blue Mug', and have fleetingly appeared in Rajat Kapoor's 'Mixed Doubles' and Madhur Bhandarkar 's 'Traffic Signal' An elated Verma told the media, "When I'd sent the script across, I'd wanted to cast both of them together. Ranvir agreed to my film, but warned me that Konkona's tastes were radically different from his. Ten days later, though, Konkona called up to tel

If Kareena Kapoor shells out Rs 3 lakh to Chanderi village to illumine the Madhya Pradesh weaver's village with electricity via a solar energy plant, Deepika Padukone isn't lagging behind. Reportedly, Padukone will brighten up the black nights of Ambegaon, a village in the interiors of Maharashtra. The initiative taken by her is part of the Greenathon campaign and the ace star has opted to adopt the village, after careful consideration. Discloses Deepika in a tabloid inter phew, "Ambegaon generally faces a blackout after sunset. So the resident villagers cannot do anything much after it is dark. With electricity, they will be able to read, write and manage other tasks." On the anvil: Deepika plans to "personally visit Ambegaon in the near future." Luminous stars. Radiant step.

He's on the Right track. Rather, Irrfan Khan will match histrionics with Sunny Deol in 'Right Yaaa Wrong', enacting a top cop Vinay Patnaik whose close pal Ajay Shridhar (Deol) takes a step that he disapproves of. The issue escalates to a peak and leads to intense rivalry between the duo. Apart from the Deol starrer, Khan will also be spotted in 'Hissss' wherein he shares screen space with a saucy snake woman enacted by Mallika Sherawat . Khan asserts that 'Hissss' is a tailor made subject and is "a role of a lifetime for Mallika." Reportedly, Mally swallows her victims in the Jennifer Lynch helmed flick… though Khan states he isn't on her gulping list. "I'm spared," guffaws Khan in a scribe chat. "Mallika does not kiss me in 'Hissss'. I'm playing the man who saves her." Khan also reserves high regard for director Lynch. "We were shooting at a Mumbai studio," bares Khan in a media ta

It was jazzed up as a biggggggg celeb night! Though, after the jubilation, it was time to sort out the serious too. Akon, the famed hip hop singer was in India on the express invitation of Shah Rukh Khan to snazz upp his swanky party and record a song number for SRK's new production: 'Ra.One' Tunesmiths Vishal Shekhar will do their number, er, record their score with Akon and the R and B singer will show up in the music video too. This apart, Akon plans to pull in Khan for an altruistic cause: raising funds for the Haiti earthquake victims. Weeks after the calamity, Akon joined forces with renowned musician Wyclef Jean; the duo performed at the Yele Festival in Haiti for the disaster affected. "There is so much more that needs to be done for Haiti," asserts Akon in a media chat. "I visited the place and it was a very moving experience for me. I definitely plan to speak to Shah Rukh about raising help for the Haiti victims. The idea is to involv

Lindsay Lohan has dragged financial company E-Trade to court in a 100 million dollar suit claiming that a boyfriend-stealing, "milkaholic" baby - also named Lindsay - in its latest advert is modelled after her. The Mean Girls star has filed the lawsuit in Nassau County Supreme Court over the commercial that went on air during the Super Bowl this year. The advert, a part of a series featuring toddlers who play the stock market, shows a boy apologizing to his girlfriend on video chat for not having called her the night before. "And that milkaholic Lindsay wasn't over?" the baby girl asks the boy. "Lindsay?" the boy replies just when a baby girl sticks her head into the frame and says, "Milk-a-what?" Lohan's lawyer, Stephanie Ovadia, said the actress's name was as recognisable as Oprah or Madonna. "Many celebrities are known by one name only, and E-Trade is using that knowledge to profit,

Mallika's is all set to seduce men with her sexy car wash sequence, Rani and YRF are going separate ways while Shruti Hassan is eyeing a new project! Check out what's hot n' happening in Bollywood! Mallika's sexy car wash sequence Mallika Sherawat's doesn't seem to be leaving any stone unturned to make her presence felt in Hollywood. After a steamy lip- lock with co- star Laz Alonso ( of Avatar fame) in her upcoming film Love, Barrack, Mallika has now shot a sexy car wash sequence for the same film in itsy- bitsy clothing. Check out the movie pictures to know what we are talking about. And then, of course, there are the controversial scenes from her other Hollywood project 'Hisss', wherein she plays a wily serpent woman. Well, for the kind of furore she had created in this part of the globe with her skimpy attire before hopping on to Hollywood, Mallika's antics in the US come as little surprise! In the political comedy Love, Ba

Cameron Diaz is "thrilled" to be starring alongside ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake in new movie, because she enjoys the singer's on-set antics. In 'Bad Teacher', the 'Charlie's Angels' actress stars as a junior high school teacher who sets out to steal a colleague's boyfriend, played by Timberlake, in the comedy. Diaz and Timberlake dated for almost four years, before splitting in 2007, and since then the singer has found love with actress Jessica Biel. But 'The Holiday' star is excited to have Justin play her love interest in the film, which also stars Molly Shannon and Jason Segel. "We're thrilled to have him. He's the best person for the job. He's going to be hilarious. He's clearly a very talented comedian, look at his Saturday Night Live (skits). He's fantastic, he's going to be so great," the Daily Star quoted her as telling Access Hollywo

Gisele Bundchen and her husband Tom Brady have chucked the plan to sell their Boston, Massachusetts home after they reportedly failed to attract a buyer. The couple placed the penthouse on the market in October (09) for 7.3 million pounds. It was just two months before the supermodel gave birth to the couple's son, Benjamin, in the bathtub there in December (09). But now, they have given up trying to sell the property, according to the Boston Herald. "They are trying to get 2,000-dollar a square foot. The most they can realistically get is 1,300 or 1,400 dollars. They are trying to get a premium because it's their house," the Daily Star quoted source as telling the newspaper.

Snappers have exposed Robert Pattinson as a smoker. And the 'Twilight' star is scared what his mum will say if she happens to find out about his vice. The British heartthrob has been enjoying sneaky fags on the London set of new movie 'Bel Ami'. "Robert tried to make sure his security shielded him from lurking photographers. But a snap has appeared in America," the Sun quoted a source as saying. "Robert's since admitted he's been scared about his mum finding out," added the source.

Beijing came alive this weekend with blazing Bollywood music; film and classical Indian dances mostly by Chinese artists at an Indian consumer show here. Hundreds of Chinese shoppers thronged to a well lit lobby of the lounge of a busy mall decorated with a life size picture of Taj Mahal and draped with tri-colour buntings at 'Incredible India Consumer' show where students of the Indian Cultural Centre enthralled them with scintillating dance and songs from latest Bollywood movies. As the well trained artists draped in Indian costumes danced to A R Rehman 's 'Jai Ho' tune with Taj providing the back drop, several Chinese shoppers occupying every inch of space were seen swaying to the lively music. The event, inaugurated by Indian Ambassador S Jaishankar. Besides the music and dance, the audience were treated to a demonstration of yoga as well as Indian dishes like samosas, chicken tikkas and masala chai supplied by the Taj Pavilion, an Indian restau

Actor Robert De Niro has been roped in to play football legend Vince Lombardi in a movie, and the makers feel he has the potential to portray the 'passion' of the football star. The biopic is being developed by ESPN Films and the National Football League. Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth has been signed to write the script, reports contactmusic.com. 'There are few actors who could accurately portray the fire, passion and grit of Lombardi, and we're thrilled to have Robert De Niro on our team,' said Charles Coplin, the NFL vice-president of programming. Lombardi is considered one of the sport's greatest after turning the fortunes of the Green Bay Packers around in the 1960s and winning five championships in nine years. He died in 1970.

Singer Jermaine Jackson is planning a concert to mark the first anniversary of his brother Michael Jackson's death. Jermaine's previous plans to honour his late brother in Vienna were shelved last year but he hasn't given up. He has reportedly booked London's Wembley Arena for a star-studded show June 8. It will be called 'Tribute by Jermaine', and will be filmed for a future DVD release, reports dailystar.co.uk. MJ died June 25 last year. 'The best way and most suitable way is to assemble the world's largest tribute in history that is only fitting to a man who moved the hearts and souls of an unimaginable amount,' he said.

Reese Witherspoon's new boyfriend is desperate to propose to her but the actress has no plans to tie the knot in near future. The 'Legally Blonde' star is believed to be dating Hollywood agent Jim Toth since February. Contactmusic.com reports that Toth's ex-girlfriend has revealed he is looking to settle down with the 33-year-old. 'He is not looking to casually date, he's looking to get more serious. He's a nice guy, but he can be needy and is definitely looking to settle down. He lost his father about a year ago and that made him want to get married,' said the former girlfriend. Witherspoon, however, has no plans to walk down the aisle. She split from actor Jake Gyllenhaal in December and was previously married to Ryan Phillippe with whom she has two children -- Ava, 10, and six-year-old Deacon. She doesn't want to fully commit again until she is 100 percent sure the relationship will last. 'Reese got married too yo

A US law firm has sued Michael Jackson's estate claiming outstanding payment for legal services over a period of three years. Venable LLP attorneys are demanding $471,103 in unpaid fees from the 'Thriller' hitmaker's estate, claiming the pop superstar received legal advice on a 'broad spectrum of matters' from September 2006 to June 2009 and failed to settle his bill, reports contactmusic.com Venable LLP is not the first law firm to demand dues from late singer's estate. Bosses at Los Angeles-based company Mesereau & Yu, who defended him during his 2005 child molestation case, also say that they owed $341,452.

Socialite Nicole Richie has started planning her wedding to rocker boyfriend Joel Madden, but refuses to divulge the date. 'I've been on the road. I just got home, and so it's really going to be now that's the time for me to sit down and think about what I want,' said Richie in an interview. People.com reports that the couple confirmed their engagement in February, with Richie saying it took becoming a mom for her to realise she was ready to be a wife. On being asked if they've set a date for the wedding, Richie said: 'Not yet, but soon.'

The TV producer accused of trying to extort millions from chat show host David Letterman has pleaded guilty in the blackmail case. Robert Halderman threatened to reveal details of Letterman's sexual affairs with several of female co-workers unless he was paid 2 million dollars, the BBC reported. Letterman confessed infidelity on-air and issued a public apology to his wife Regina Lasko on his 'Late Show with David Letterman'. He later approached authorities telling them that he was being blackmailed to keep the information out of the public domain. The legal team for Halderman previously argued he was trying "to sell rights to a screenplay inspired by Letterman's sexually-charged workplace". Halderman is now set to serve six months in prison, perform 1,000 hours of community service and give up his right to appeal against his conviction. He is due to be formally sentenced in May

John Travolta has confessed that a lifetime may not be enough to get over the death of his teenage son Jett. The Grease actor and his wife Kelly Preston, who lost their 16-year-old after he suffered a seizure in the family's Bahamas home, were said to be taking it slow since the tragedy last year. Travolta thanked his well wishers for their prayers and support at the recent Oscars. "We are working hard on healing, still. It's going to be a lifelong project. Everybody has been so enormously supportive and I really appreciate it," the New York Daily News quoted him as telling People.com. But the Academy Awards did seem to help lighten up the 56-year-old star, who arrived in jeans with a black blazer amidst the tuxedo-clad crowd. He told the site: "I didn't like how my tux pants were fitting, and my wife said to me, 'Why don't you wear jeans? You'll be comfortable, they look good on you'."

Rihanna reportedly jetted in from Germany to meet her new boyfriend Matt Kemp' family for the first time. The 23-year-old singer was said to have left the LA Dodgers baseball star beaming in delight after showing up to support his Ante Up for Autism charity fundraiser. "Matt was happy she came. It was an awesome show of support. Rihanna fit right in as if they all knew each other. It was comfortable," the Daily Telegraph quoted a source as telling E! online. Kemp, whose brother is autistic, previously swept the star off her feet after surprising her with a party for her 22nd birthday. A source said: "It was so sweet and she was really surprised. She looked just beautiful. Matt really wanted to do something nice for Rihanna this year since she didn't have much of a 21st birthday last year. It was just her closest friends, good Jamaican food, a photo booth, dancing and a nice cake."

After working with two hottest actresses of Bollywood Kareena Kapoor in JAB WE MET and Deepika Padukone in LOVE AAJ KAL, it seems the self-effacing filmmaker Imtiaz Ali now planning to work with, yet another B-town hottie, the effervescent Genelia D'souza. Buzz is that, recently the director-actor duo were spotted at a suburban coffee shop absorbed in a detailed conversation. However nothing has been confirmed yet, but the chances are quite bright about Genelia being a part of Imtiaz's film. Genelia's last superhit film was JAANE TU YAA JAANE (2008), since then it has been more than a year she delivered a hit. Though she was a part of 2009's average hit, the multistarrer LIFE PARTNER, but it didn't provide much visibility to her. And working with Imtiaz Ali will only give a boost to Genelia's career, which she desperately needs. Well it would be nothing less than a treat to see Genelia in Imtiaz Ali's film!

Lowry Digital, a subsidiary of Reliance MediaWorks Ltd. - India's fastest growing film and entertainment services company and a member of the Reliance ADA group - collaborated with groundbreaking director James Cameron on his 20th Century Fox 3-D feature film, AVATAR. The company applied their proprietary digital image processing to enhance the imagery in the film. "Lowry Digital's innovative digital image processing helped us create the wholly immersive world that Jim imagined," says Jon Landau, COO at Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment and producer on AVATAR. "We brought Lowry in to clean up and enhance live-action scenes where necessary, allowing us to present 3-D images with unprecedented quality. "Lowry's work on AVATAR is an extension of a very good relationship with Lightstorm and James Cameron," adds Landau. "It's a collaboration that goes beyond the traditional vendor-client relationship. Lowry listens to us in ord

Maverick Production's film CHASE, directed by Jag Mohan Mundhra is scheduled to release on 30th April 2009. The film's lead pair is Anuj Saxena and Udita Goswami and supporting cast includes Samir Kochar, Aditya Raj Kapoor , Tarina Patel, Rajesh Khattar, Sanjay Mishra and Shweta Menon. CHASE is an edge of the seat thriller, which will keep the audience glued to their seats till the end. Maverick Productions has a very interesting line up of films both in Hindi and Regional which they will announce soon.

Videocon d2h, the Direct-to-Home service provider arm of Videocon Group, announced its association with renowned and versatile Bollywood actor, Abhishek Bachchan as the face of their DTH brand in Mumbai. Speaking about Abhishek Bachchan as the brand ambassador for Videocon d2h, Mr. Anil Khera, CEO, Bharat Business Channel Ltd. (BBCL) commented, "Abhishek makes a perfect match with the Videocon d2h brand attributes of innovation and high-quality entertainment. As our brand's face, he will be instrumental in communicating the benefits to consumers across the country. It is our privilege to be associated with an actor of his calibre and excellent standing in the entertainment industry." Abhishek Bachchan will feature across all Videocon d2h brand and product communication including advertisements on TV, Print, Outdoor, Radio and all BTL media like POS and collaterals. Speaking on the occasion of his association with Videocon d2h, Abhishek Bachchan said, "I

Rani Mukherjee has become a total recluse these days. The actress is avoiding all social interactions in order to spend more time with herself. According to latest reports, Rani Mukherjee is even avoiding her old pals suddenly. Some of her best friends have not met her in long time now. It seems Rani's sinking career is the chief reason behind her sudden mood swing that has left everyone around her completely shocked. Or maybe she has got impressed by none other than her boy friend of three years: Adiyta Chopra, who also believes in avoiding the crowds as much as he can. Which might also include his close friends too at times. Whatever be the reason, Rani Mukherjee has surely lost her earlier avtaar when she used to be totally social and bubbly.

He has played killers and cops in the movies, and two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro may soon take on the role of iconic U.S. football coach Vince Lombardi in a film backed by sports television network ESPN. The cable TV network's division, ESPN Films, said it signed De Niro to portray Lombardi as he took the Green Bay Packers from worst to first in the National Football League. Eric Roth ("Forrest Gump") has been hired to work on a screenplay starting in 1959 when Lombardi was given his first chance to be an NFL coach by taking over the lowly Packers. Over the years, the coach's hard-nosed approach helped lead the team to three straight NFL championships and victories in the first two Super Bowls. The Packers dominated football throughout much of 1960s. Lombardi died in 1970 at age 57, and since 1971, the trophy awarded to the Super Bowl winner has been named the Vince Lombardi Trophy. ESPN said current plans call for the movie to

Irrfan Khan, popular for his serious and comic roles in Bollywood, is increasingly making inroads into the western world with projects like 'A Mighty Heart', 'Slumdog Millionaire' and even an American TV show. He admits that being an international actor gives him a high. 'It's always an inner wish of every actor to reach out to maximum audiences. I am lucky that the western world chooses me to play roles in their movies and television, whatever language it maybe. It surely gives you a high to be an international actor with quality work,' Irrfan told IANS in an e-mail interview. His first international film was London-based director Asif Kapadia's 'The Warrior'. Irrfan played a lead in the film that was shot in Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. Released in 2001, 'The Warrior' was applauded at international film festivals and made Irrfan a known face on the global arena. In the recent past, the 48-year-old was seen in in

Troubled rapper DMX was arrested in Arizona on Tuesday for violating his probation by regularly using illegal drugs during the last nine months, authorities said. The rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, told a probation officer that he used cocaine and was not complying with the terms of his treatment plan, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio told Reuters. He faces five counts of violating probation. Simmons was booked into a Phoenix jail late Tuesday afternoon and was isolated from other inmates, sheriff's officials said. "We would hope that he is finally sent to prison," Arpaio said. "We've arrested him five times already. How many times do you have to violate the law?" The rap star has faced continued legal trouble in Arizona, and was serving probation for throwing a food tray at a detention officer inside a Phoenix jail last year. Simmons spent 90 days in jail on drug, theft and animal abuse charges. His attorney

"Hurt Locker" director Kathryn Bigelow wrapped her fingers around that little golden man called Oscar on Sunday and cracked one of Hollywood's glass ceilings, but truly shattering it may take more time. Studies show that the number of jobs for women behind the camera have declined in recent years and fewer roles for women are turning up in major studio movies. One might call it "The Hangover" realization of Sunday's big party. Two days after Bigelow, 58, became the first woman to win the world's top film directing honour, Hollywood watchers say translating her victory into more female jobs may take years and depends as much on the business of moviemaking as awards. There is no disagreement that Bigelow's win will be a strong symbol for current and upcoming female filmmakers, but whether they can achieve similar success depends on the stories they want to tell, who is buying them and box office returns. "We are in th

A man was sentenced to two years in jail by a court in southern Germany on Tuesday for trying to extort $100,000 from former supermodel Cindy Crawford, German media reported. Edis Kayalar, 26, surrendered to German authorities in November after he was charged in Los Angeles with trying to extort money from Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber over a photo of their 7-year-old daughter gagged and bound to a chair. The photograph was reportedly taken by the girl's nanny as a private joke when they were playing "cops and robbers" with the girl. It fell into the hands of Kayalar, who was the nanny's friend, according to court documents in Los Angeles. Judge Joachim Spieth noted that Kayalar had admitted asking for the money even though he said it was not extortion but rather "to cover costs" for his attempt to warn Crawford that the nanny was not a good influence. "The attempted extortion was at an advanced stage and failed,&qu

A television producer pleaded guilty on Tuesday to trying to extort $2 million from U.S. talk show host David Letterman by threatening to reveal his affairs with women who worked on his late-night program on CBS. Robert Joel Halderman, a former producer for the CBS news program "48 Hours Mystery," reached a deal with prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny in exchange for serving six months in jail, performing 1,000 hours of community service and giving up his right to appeal. The case engulfed Letterman in a scandal when it became public in October, prompting the married comedian to admit to the affairs on the air. But it faded into the background weeks later when superstar golfer Tiger Woods' affairs were exposed. At Tuesday's taping of his "Late Show with David Letterman" the host said that initially he was "full of anxiety and nervous and worried," but that prosecutors assured him it would be

Rocco DiSpirito used all of his culinary tricks to slash calories from the 150 fatty foods Americans love in his new book, "NOW eat THIS!" The 43-year-old chef showed that much of the fats and sugar in comfort food like macaroni-and-cheese and brownies can be replaced with ingredients such as Greek yogurt and beans without sacrificing taste. DiSpirito, the former owner of the restaurant Rocco's 22nd Street which was the subject of a network reality show, has also completed a Web-based food/travel series "Into the Heart of Italy" with actress Marisa Tomei. The New York City native, who recently completed a triathlon, spoke to Reuters about healthy cooking, asking his fans for help and surviving reality TV. Q: What inspired you to write this book? A: "A lot of chefs have started to talk about this topic because we as a group are evolving and aging. And we realize that health as it relates to food and the messages we send out

he's not known to skirt issues, but admits to a clear proclivity for skirts! Kangna Ranaut is known to mince no words, in speaking her celeb mind, "I hate the person that I used to be," she states candidly in a fanzine inter phew. "But I've changed radically from the time I came into this industry at the age of 17. I'm 22 now and am far more professional today." Regarded highly for her classy style, Kangy expressly loves the skirts women sported in the 1970s. She says, "Skirts are elegant and practical to wear. They're very feminine too and I would like many more girls to wear skirts." On the sartorial front, she's delighted with her 'look' in Milan Luthria 's 'Once Upon A Time In Mumbai.' "I'm playing a don's girlfriend," she states. "We've gone in for a '70s look. I'd say my style in the film is a mix of Sophia Loren's, Audrey Hepburn's, Sadhana's and A

Actress Brooke Shields says being famous is like a 'drug' because it gives such great highs. The 44-year-old beauty spent much of her childhood acting and modelling and says being famous gives a kick, reports fashion.ie. 'It's a high like you can't imagine. It's like a drug,' she said.

Bhatt, naturally. In his endeavour to accomplish the different each time, Vikram Bhatt pushes the envelope as much as he can. 'Shaapit', his forthcoming horror flick with Aditya Narayan and Shweta Agarwal too employs a novel concept, unused in India, as yet. 'Shaapit' employs the use of 'Theban' or the Witches Alphabet as it commonly known. Theban was extensively used to hide the magical writing and keep it secret from intrusive eyes. Bhatt researched the language extensively before incorporating it in 'Shaapit.' Reveals Bhatt in a tabloid quote, "I was reading a Colin Wilson novel when I came across Theban. I was quite fascinated and then went all out to learn about it by picking up plenty of information about it from the internet."

She's superrrrrrrrr busy and on a speedy roll, for sure. Sonam Kapoor is busy with her filming schedules which leave her with precious little leisure. Sonam's wrapped up her bit on 'Aisha', her illustrious dad's home production. Insiders who have witnessed the rushes of the "Indian, inspired version" of Jane Austen's 'Emma', have come back lauding the nubile performer for her histrionics alongside Abhay Deol. Thereafter, Sonam's revving up for a comic trip with Akshay Kumar in Anees Bazmee 's 'Thank You', a cinematic journey she's expressly thrilled about since she "loves comedies". Though, her act in the Dharma Productions venture 'I Hate Luv Stories' is being viewed with rapt interest. Reportedly, Punit Malhotra, debutant director of the flick is truly besotted with Sonam… and what's better, his love has been reciprocated as such, as per industry insiders. Guess, 'I Love Love Sto

Hollywood star Johnny Depp's girlfriend Vanessa Paradis has been signed on as the new face of Chanel Coco Cocoon handbags. The French actress and singer, who has previously fronted lipstick and perfume campaigns for the fashion house, is a close friend of Chanel's chief designer and couturier Karl Lagerfeld. She began working with the brand in 1991 when she was placed inside a giant birdcage covered in feathers to advertise for a perfume and is now going to endorse their handbags, reports femalefirst.co.uk. In 2009, Chanel confirmed Paradis would front their campaign for Rouge Coco de Chanel because of her 'modern elegance, boldness of character and power of emotion'. In December, she made an appearance in Shanghai, China for the presentation of Chanel's Metiers d'Art collection

British pop star Robbie Williams has come under fire from anti-drugs campaigners for championing marijuana as a 'lovely' drug. The 'Feel' hitmaker, who has struggled with substance abuse problems in the past, admitted he gained several pounds while smoking cannabis but branded the drug 'lovely', reports contactmusic.com. 'Weed, it's such a lovely drug...But it doesn't mix well with me at all. It doesn't take much to trigger - I mean, I'll get psychosis from having this cup of tea! Seriously. The caffeine in that's enough. But it's just a shame about the weed, because I did love it,' he said. Anti-drugs activist Debra Bell took exception to the remarks, insisting the singer's comments are irresponsible. 'Does he really know what he's saying? This drug causes huge damage to children and their families,' she said.

Versatile actor Farooque Shaikh is making a rare move. Join IndiaGltz in finding out what he’s upto. Farooque Shaikh is known for his meaningful and powerful roles. According to movie gurus he has never made a guest or special appearance. So Farooque is doing a rare act now and breaking that jinx. He will be doing a cameo in Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan’s ‘Lahore’. According to sources, Farooque was impressed with Sanjay’s script and didn’t want to miss out a project like ‘Lahore’. Sources further reveal that Farooque will be playing a character of a coach of the Indian Kickboxing team. ‘Lahore’ includes versatile actors like Asish Vidyarthi, Mukesh Rishi, Saurabh Shukla, Nafisa Ali and many others. ‘Lahore’ is also the last movie that the late Nirmal Pandey was acting in.

They had last worked together in ‘Main Hoon Na’ and after that the grapevines were churning out an alleged tiff between director Farah Khan and music composer Anu Malik. The gossip mongers believed that due this cold air the two didn’t meet for Farah’s next ‘Om Shanti Om’. However, with ‘Tees Maar Khan’ Farah dismisses all such speculations. Anu Malik is said to be composing a song for the Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif starrer. Said the filmmaker, “Just because Anu and I didn’t work together in Om Shanti Om doesn’t mean we have a perennial problem. We are working together in Tees Maar Khan and Anu’s number is going to rock.” The song “Aji shukriya” will be similar on the lines of “Dard-e-Disco” (Om Shanti Om) where the entire cast and crew of the film will be feature in the end.

The buzz was making its round about Arjun Rampal’s possible exit from SRK’s mega production ‘Ra1’. The stylish actor was reported to have been suffering from serious back injury; due to which doubts were in the air whether Arjun will be a part of the project or not. Also it was alleged that Vivek Oberoi will play the baddie role instead of Arjun. But people, no such thing is going to happen… Having played a negative character before in ‘Om Shanti Om’ - that too opposite Shah Rukh - Rampal will surely be the villain for ‘Ra1’ as well. The actor said to be undergoing a treatment, especially to be fit and fine for the film that is full of action and stunts. Glad to confirm the actor on board, director Anubhav Sinha said to be making use of SFX technology to help Arjun feature in power-pact stunts.

After tasting the nuances of acting and producing (forthcoming debut production ‘Hum Tum Aur Ghost’), Arshad Warsi will be testing the waters by entering into direction next. Arshad said to be directing a film tentatively titled ‘Akad’. According to sources, the idea to direct struck to him through a journalist friend who gave the concept. Arshad expected to start the project in 2011. The actor revealed that the film will be an unusual action comedy and will be vaguely on the lines of Guy Ritchie and Tarantino. Said Arshad to sources, “As a director, it is the most difficult script to work on. I've got the picture in my head and so I have decided to direct it.” Having done memorable characters on screen, we are sure you will do wonders behind the screen as well, Arshad! All the best!!

Talent imports are rife in the screen industry where there is always a thirst to give audience something unique... Bollywood has come to an age where it attracts its competitive counterpart Hollywood. According to latest buzz, John Abraham, Arjun Rampal and Ashmit Patel reported to have been signed in for a Hollywood production titled ‘American Empire’. The film will be directed by ‘Planet of the Apes’ famed stunt director Andy Armstrong and produced by Edge Filmworks. The film features Nina Dobrev, Shannyn Sossamon and Leslie Mann. And speculations are that ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ actress Freida Pinto might also join the cast. The film is reported to be ‘R’ rated dark comedy which is expected to release in February next year.

This size-zero beauty rules the hearts not just for her oomph factor and striking performances, but also for her big heart. Let us take you to the ‘3 Idiots’ days when along with Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor had promoted the weavers of Chanderi in a big way alongside their film. There, Bebo had been touched by the plight of the weavers who used to work by the candle light due to the absence of electricity in their village. Refreshing those memories, Kareena took on a mission to help them out. The actress said to have donated Rs 3 lakh to build a solar energy plant. Sources believed that the plant will supply the electricity to the villagers within two months. Besides this the beauty is said to be planning to get help from her industry friends, to join her in the mission. Kareena is determined to help out several of those villages which are electricity deprived. Keep up the work Bebo!

The legendary Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan, has been invited to become the Brand ambassador of Kerala Tourism. One of the most sought after icons in advertising, the actor has earlier been seen in the same role for Gujarat Tourism. The new development was a fall out of his last visit to the state when he expressed the desire to endorse visual beauty of Kerala. Hearing this, state tourism minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan sent a letter to the biggest superstar of the country via ace cinematographer Santhosh Sivan who is in the close circuit of the actor. The department of tourism of the state is expecting the actor to give a positive nod to the call.

It seems like the whole of Bollywood has taken to Charity and Philanthropy, and not far behind in this race is Deepika Padukone. She has recently adopted a village in Maharashtra by the name of Ambegaon that needed a do-gooder desperately. Her adoption of the village was part of the Greenathon campaign and since Ambegaon village was facing major electricity crisis, Miss Padukone decided to do the needful. She decided to sponsor them. Picking this village over others wasn't a spur of the moment decision for her. She did a lot of reading and research before she gave the village a helping hand. Going the whole way, Deepika plans to visit the village in the near future again to see the progress. That's being a responsible citizen. What say?

When Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif met for a shoot on Monday, it was just like old times when they shot for Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and Raajneeti last year. The twosome was fiercely competitive when they shot for the two films. So it was when they shot again together on Monday. The competitive spirit has taken over Raajneeti in a big way. Both Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif see the film as a passport to the National Awards. With stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah, Manoj Bajpai, Nana Patekar and Ajay Devgn in the cast, the young stars of the show have decided to pull out all stops to ensure their performances are noticed at the right places. All efforts are now on by Ranbir and Katrina to ensure optimum audience participation in Raajneeti . A music video, only a part of which will be included in the film and the rest used for promotion, is to be shot. Says the director Prakash Jha, "We certainly don't want to pitch Raajneeti as a dry political drama .Ranbir and

If there is something that can actually give an inferiority complex to the best adhesive in the world, then, it has to be the 'bond' between T-Series and Music. Testimonies to this fact stand in the form of some of the recent all-time musical hits, from the stable of T-Series and which has found its place in every heart. Continuing the tradition of 'an eye for superhit music', T-Series has gone ahead and acquired the music rights of five films of Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision Ltd. These are Khatta Meetha (directed by Priyadarshan, starring Akshay Kumar and Trisha Krishnan), Golmaal 3 (directed by Rohit Shetty, starring Ajay Devgn, Kunal Khemu, Shreyas Talpade and Kareena Kapoor), Farah Khan's Tees Maar Khan (starring Akshay Kumar, Akshaye Khanna, Katrina Kaif), Neeraj Vora's Run Bhola Run (starring Govinda, Tusshar Kapoor) and an untitled film starring Saif Ali Khan and is being directed by Kunal Kohli. With this mega deal, T-Series once a

The drama explores the relations between a grief stricken father and his three daughters. Set in London, the time is now, the family of Indian origin- part of the UK Diaspora. With his wife's sudden death, Sanjay is suddenly thrown into close proximity with his three daughters. The drama unfolds over five days from the day when Manju dies to day of the funeral. Haunted by memories, grappling with this devastating loss, missing the mediating influence of his wife, Sanjay finds himself assessing and carving out new relations with his three daughters. He is faced with a further crisis when he discovers his youngest and most loved daughter Dia, has a Muslim boyfriend -Imtiaz. Confused and angry, Sanjay leaves home and wanders the streets of London one night. With an unexpected series of events, Sanjay is forced to face his past demons, his trauma over the partition of India when as a child, he was forced to leave his home with his parents. Finally to come to terms with h

Writer Milap Zaveri has written either script or dialogues of films as diverse as Masti, Kaante, Jhankaar Beats, Naksha, Heyy Babyy, Musafir and also Housefull amongst a dozen odd films. However, when it came to making his debut as a director with Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai , he decided to opt for a love story with dollops of humour and emotional moments embellished into it. "That was the idea", reveals the young man, "I am a romantic at heart but I am a fun loving guy as well. I needed a certain freshness to be brought on screen for my very first film and what better way than to start with a romantic comedy. The idea of a girl from Venus coming to Earth in search of love was so enticing that I knew I had to do it. Once I put my head down into the giving a concrete shape to the script, there were so many moments, whether funny or emotional, which came in that it was difficult to pick and choose between them." Describing Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai as a f