Masoom to Mausam: Shahid turns 29

He is someone, who has, in his own sweet and boyish ways, redefined the term acting. Despite the fact that he has the DNA and the genes of two of the all time superstars, he preferred to make a name for himself! Did he succeed? Well, he not just succeeded but also set unprecedented record for he is none other than birthday boy Shahid Kapoor.

Shahid Kapoor turns 29 today. His birthday resolution is to become a student of his father, veteran actor Pankaj Kapur, and learn acting from him.

Shahid has been roped in by his father to star in his most ambitious project titled Mausam. Pankaj has written the story of the movie and will direct it himself.

Shahid said, “This year I will learn a lot as an actor from my father. I am not the star of the film, my father is. To concentrate fully on my father’s project, I will not do any other movie for around 8-9 months once this movie goes on the floors. This is quite a big risk for me as an actor as I will go underground for a long time now but I am sure it will be worth it.”

Shahid Kapoor was in for a pleasant surprise when his parents and his friends got together to throw him a surprise birthday party.

With today's birthday, the irony is that he not grows a year old, but he grows ten years younger. Such is the greatness of this sabka laadla chokra called Shahid Kapoor.

Soundarya Rajnikanth engaged to Ashwin Kumar

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My Name Is Khan: Review

My Name is Khan is a film made with sincerity and sweat, ambition and conviction. It grapples with the most urgent and fraught issue facing humanity: religion. It features a striking performance by Shah Rukh Khan.

Plot

Khan is the story of Rizwan Khan, played by Shah Rukh, who has Asperger’s syndrome. This milder form of autism impairs Rizwan’s social communication skills and gives him some decidedly odd behavior patterns – he can’t stand loud sounds or the colour yellow.

He rotates stones obsessively and can barely bring himself to hug someone. Rizwan is far from crazy but he definitely moves to the beat of a different drummer. Despite this he finds love and a family with Mandira, played by Kajol.

But post 9/11, their happy home falls apart and Rizwan embarks on a grand odyssey across America so that he can tell the American president that his name is Khan but he is not a terrorist.

What Worked

The scenes of Rizwan’s childhood are some of the strongest in the film. Zarina Wahab returns after years to give a lovely, nuanced performance as Rizwan’s mother.

The film, like all Karan Johar products, is beautifully cinematographed (director of photography Ravi K Chandran).

Shahrukh's performance.

Shah Rukh and Kajol share a superb chemistry that highlights all their films, and is an important part of My Name Is Khan.

What Didn't

If there is one quibble, it would be the fact that Karan Johar could have made effective use of the talented bunch of actors who make cameo appearances.

Also the second half scrambles madly both literally and figuratively.

Performances

Shah Rukh’s performance has little subtlety about it but it is heartfelt, endearing and more controlled than anything he’s ever done before. Watch him in a lovely scene in which Kajol accepts his proposal or how he restrains his tears so that his eyes brim but never well over.

Kajol is, as usual, superb. Mandira's laughter, her determination, her joie de vivre, her grief, her anger -- Kajol brings it all to life. And, if I may say so, Kajol, no one runs up a hill dressed in a night suit, wearing floppy slippers, with no make-up on, as well as you do.

Overall, I recommend that you see Khan for SRK. The film itself is too uneven to give us the emotional high we were waiting for. But hey, this is a Karan Johar film and everyone likes a happy ending!

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Brangelina to sue Britain’s News of the World

They've put the rumors to rest. Now they're taking the rumormongers to court.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have filed suit against Britain's News of the World after the tabloid published an article last month that sparked the breakup rumor heard round the world.

The story, published Jan. 24 and since wisely removed from the newspaper's website, claimed the couple had met with a Los Angeles divorce lawyer to quietly divide their assets, hash out a custody deal and financially provide for their six children in advance of what the tab claimed was going to be a messy separation.

"The News of the World has failed to meet our clients' reasonable demands for a retraction of and apology for these false and intrusive allegations which have now been widely republished by mainstream news outlets," the couple's London-based lawyer, Keith Schilling, said in a statement.

"We have advised them to bring proceedings, which they have now done."

The story and the various incarnations of breakup rumors that followed gained more traction than the usual standard-issue Brangelina split reports.

As for the newspaper, in his statement today, Brangelina's lawyer not only discredited the story, but proved shockingly that they were less than honest about their sourcing.

If it's any consolation, the tabloid was clearly half right. Apparently, Brangelina did visit a lawyer recently just one that's gonna sue the pants off the News of the World.

Tanushree is south bound

Hemanth Hegde made headlines last year when his film Housefull caused a furor over the inclusion of a Charlie Chaplin statue in the film.


But the actor-director is not one to baulk at controversy. His next directorial venture, titled Rama Rama Shri Rama, could potentially cause a problem among certain parties. “The title is apt for the story. I’m not doing it to be in the news. One shouldn’t bother when it comes to creativity. It’s a total family-oriented film with clean comedy,” maintains Hemanth.

He also plans to bring Bollywood hottie Tanushree Dutta to Sandalwood for this film. “I wanted the film to have a pan-India image and the role demands some glamour. That’s why I chose her,” said Hemanth, who has finished his first round of talks with the heroine.

“At first, Tanushree was reluctant about doing a Kannada film. In fact, when I narrated the story to her, she thought it was for a Hindi film. But then I told her that it’ll be made in Kannada. If the film clicks here, I’ll make it in Hindi,” explains the director. Hemanth is off to Mumbai on February 15 for the second round of talks with the Bong beauty. “I’ll be there to discuss her remuneration and am confident she’ll take up this project,” he added.

Hemanth has also confirmed Avatar Gill, Gulshan Grover and former Femina Miss India contestant Aishwarya Duggal for the film. As for the hero, Hemanth himself is set to take on the role. “I recently checked out some Kannada heroes’ remuneration and found it was too high. I thought it would be better if I put the same money into the film,” he concluded.

Shah Rukh Khan is a traitor: VHP

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Monday appeared to back the Shiv Sena by calling for a nationwide boycott of Shah Rukh Khan's My Name is Khan but took objection to the Sena's Mumbai-for-Marathis stand and said every inch of India belonged to all Indians.


"People of India must boycott My Name is Khan as Shah Rukh Khan is a traitor," VHP general secretary Pravin Togadia told journalists in Mumbai. My Name is Khan, starring Shah Rukh and Kajol, is set to be released Friday. But the star is mired in a blazing row over his recent comments advocating the cause of Pakistani cricket players who were not picked by any team for IPL. Togadia threatened that posters of the film would be torn down.

Interestingly, the radical VHP leader locked horns with the Shiv Sena that had also objected to Shah Rukh's comments by saying Mumbai could not be only for Marathis.

"The VHP's stand is very clear and we differ on the Shiv Sena's position. According to us, every inch of India belongs to all Indians and every Indian has the right to stay with dignity in any part of the country... Mumbai, Delhi, and even Kashmir is for all Indians," the VHP leader said. "If we try to stay that Mumbai is for Marathis and outsiders have to leave Mumbai, then I would say India would not survive."

Emma Watson the highest paid actress of 2009

Harry Potter star Emma Watson was the highest paid female star in Hollywood in 2009.


The Hollywood’s top 40 earners list compiled by Vanity Fair magazine has the beauty, who earned 20 million pounds, at the top among the women. According to the magazine, she was paid 10 million pounds each for the final two parts of series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The 19-year-old is also the also the youngest actress on the list, reports the Telegraph. Meanwhile, Watson’s Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe was placed sixth in with an income of 25.6 million pounds.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen director Michael Bay earned the highest in Hollywood 125 million US.

Adnan Sami weds Roya in a secret ceremony

Though Adnan Sami’s scheduled wedding on January 31 to his German girlfriend Roya Faryabi in Munich fell through, it now comes to light that the couple had a secret nikaah ceremony at Adnan’s residence in Mumbai on Friday, January 30, a day before the wedding cards announced the wedding in Munich.


Only close family members of Adnan were present at this nikaah.

A source close to Adnan said, “The wedding in Munich had to be cancelled because the courts did not allow Adnan to leave the country. There are serious charges of domestic violence against him.”

Rather than cancel the wedding, Adnan decided to have a flash ceremony in Mumbai. All the arrangements were made by Adnan’s son Azaan.

At first Adnan was reluctant to confirm the development, but finally said, “Yes, we got married last Friday in a secret nikaah. And we’re loving it.”

Adnan now intends to host a wedding reception in Munich at Roya’s place and then another reception in Mumbai for all his friends. But as things stand now, Roya and Adnan are man and wife.

Speaking from Munich, Adnan’s third wife Roya Faryadi said, “Adnan is the perfect man for me. I love not just the man but also his mother and son. In fact, Adnan’s son Azaan and I get along like a house on fire. We often gang up together and tease the hell out of Adnan.”

Roya also made it clear that she is not the least perturbed by Adnan’s past record of broken marriages. “What happened in the past is the past. What I see is a man I’d like to spend my life with. Adnan is kind, caring and gentle. I hope we can make our marriage last forever. Like any good wife, I plan to shift to Mumbai to be with Adnan and his family. But I’ll keep visiting Germany. That’s where my parents stay.”

Jayaram’s house and office in Chennai attacked by enraged mob

Popular Malayalam-Tamil actor Jayaram's house and office in Valasaravakkam, Chennai, were attacked on Friday by a group of 25 activists of Naam Thamizhar Movement as a stiff reaction against the actor's comment against Tamil women during a talk show called "Ivide Husbands Happiyaanu" in a Malayalam TV channel. The talk show was aired as a promo to his new Malayalam film Happy Husbands.


According to sources, no one was injured in the attack as Jayaram and his family members were out of town. The activists damaged his car and windows in the house. Meanwhile, the police have arrested eight Naam Thamizhar activists associated with the attack.

The whole episode began when the TV anchor asked a funny question: "In most Jayaram movies, we can see only dusky-coloured housemaids appointed by his spouse(s), maybe because she is very cautious about her husband. Does it happen in real life as well?" The question was contextual as Jayaram plays a husband in the film who gets attracted to a bar dancer.

Jayaram's reply was also quick enough to hold up the good spirit of the show. "I have a buffalo like Tamil lady in my house working as a housemaid. The real intention my wife selected her is to avoid my peeping in the kitchen area. It is a trick by all wives."

According to latest reports, Jayaram apologized for having to make this comment, describing his domestic help as a buffalo-like Tamil woman. He said in a statement: "It was a joke and not aimed at hurting the sentiments of anyone. I myself am a Tamil and how could I hurt the sentiments of Tamil people? I have been in the Tamil film industry for 23 years and never have I hurt the feelings of Tamils. If any of my comments hurt women in particular, my profuse apologies."

Striker: Review

Striker is the kind of film that fills you with regret. There is skilful direction here, some nicely etched moments and commendable performances and yet the film never gathers enough momentum to make an impact. Striker never becomes the film it could have been.

Plot

Set in a Mumbai ghetto in the mid 80s, Surya (Siddharth) grows up with few luxuries. Poor health keeps him away from school often and that is when his elder brother, Chandrakant (Anoop Soni), introduces him to carrom.

Hopes for a job in Dubai replaces the passion for carrom as Surya grows into a young man. Duped by a bogus overseas employment agency, Surya loses his hard-earned money he had saved for going to Dubai and he's forced to cross paths with Jaleel (Aditya Pancholi).

Reintroduced to carrom by his childhood friend Zaid (Ankur Vikal), Surya starts playing again. Being robbed of his cash by the same man who had caused misery for many families, Surya decides to take on Jaleel on his turf.

Performances

Siddharth whom we last saw in Rang De Basanti, is very good as the angst-ridden Surya who plays his life out on the board. Aditya Pancholi looks noxious and enacts his part just too wonderfully. Anupam Kher does an okay job, partly because his character is not well-defined. Padma Priya looks confident. Ankur Vikal does very well. Seema Biswas gets into the skin of the character. Vidya Malvade doesn't get much scope. Anoop Soni is perfect. Nicolette Bird is passable.

Eventually then, Striker just isn’t compelling enough for a trip to the theater. But there are many good things here. So I recommend that you wait for the DVD.

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Narain injured on the sets of Thambi Kottai

Here’s the latest that we have on Narain! The actor, we hear, has been injured on the sets of Thambi Kottai in Thanjavur and has been hospitalised.


When we probed further, this is what we got. Reportedly, a bridge (costing nearly a crore) had been put up by director Ammu Ramesh with the help of thousands of workers for the film.

The bridge is the pivot around which the story of the film revolves. When a crucial part of the climax scene was being shot, the bridge collapsed! Narain fell down due to that, sustaining injuries.

But, here’s the happy news. Sources close to the actor state that he’ll be up and running in the next three days. Thambi Kottai has Poonam Bajwa playing the female lead, while Prabhu plays a crucial role.

Angelina Jolie had an affair with Lady Gaga?

If rumours are to be believed, then Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie had an affair with singer Lady Gaga.


According to Ian Halperin, author of the recent bestseller 'Brangelina: The Untold Story of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie', the Tomb Raider star might have cheated on partner Brad Pitt with GaGa.

Jolie - who is openly bisexual - and GaGa - a rumoured hermaphrodite - had a secret rendezvous at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel that lasted all night, Halperin alleged.

Jolie is reportedly obsessed with Gaga, reported the China Daily. It's not the first time Jolie has been accused of cheating on Pitt.

Earlier this week, In Touch Weekly magazine spoke to a housekeeper who worked extensively with the family on their numerous visits to the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.

Anna Kowalski claimed that the actress had a series of steamy sex sessions with one of the dialect coaches she worked with on the set of her movie Salt.

Kites international trailer leaked on the internet

A special two-and-a-half-minute promo of Rakesh Roshan’s Kites will hit the theatres on February 12, with the release of My Name Is Khan.


The promo showcases the love story between Barbara Mori and Hrithik Roshan, and even has a kissing scene. However, instead of hoping that the promo makes the right impact, the producers are now scratching their heads over a totally unforeseen problem.

The promo has been leaked and already made its way to the internet. The promo was specially made and sent to the 20th century Fox office in USA, who will release My Name Is Khan internationally.

Our source said, “Rakesh Roshan, the unit at Filmkraft and director Anurag Basu had made this promo keeping the international market in mind. This was supposed to be released with My Name Is Khan as it has a grand overseas release.”

“The promo was made and sent to the US office of Fox Studios. However, now the office has learnt that the promo has been leaked on the net on Wednesday. Everyone was in shock and didn’t know how this happened. Rakesh Roshan and the entire unit of Reliance Big Pictures were in the process of removing the promos from YouTube as the novelty factor would have worn off by the time My Name Is Khan releases” he added.

Rakesh Roshan remained unavailable for comment. Reliance Big pictures also remained unavailable for comment.

Madonna and Jesus Luz: New entrants of splitsville

Pop queen Madonna and Brazilian model Jesus Luz have parted ways. The pair blamed the 28 years age difference between them and a lack of common interests for the split.


The busy work schedules of Madonna, 51, and Jesus, 23, were also said to be a factor. "It was not only totally amicable but it was Luz who initiated the split," a report claimed.

Mother-of-four Madonna has told friends she and Jesus are at different places in their lives. "The problem is as simple as it is obvious - it's the age difference. How long could it last? How it even lasted a year seems a miracle to a lot of people," said a source.

"They are in such different places in their lives. They both benefited, but it's pretty much over now. Or as Madonna told me, 'We've just run out of things to talk about. It's really pushing it for us to have common ground these days. We have Kabbalah, that's about it'," added the source.

The pair began dating after Madonna's marriage to director Guy Ritchie, 41, ended in divorce in October 2008.

Prakash Raj and Pony Verma to enter wedlock?

Is this rumour all set to turn into reality? Prakash Raj, who is said to be dating Bollywood choreographer Pony Verma, might be getting ready to marry her.


They both were going steady for the past two years.

Prakash’s divorce to wife Lalitha Kumari came through some time ago.

Though the two have gone blue denying any relationship, it’s being whispered the ‘alleged affair’ was the reason for Prakash’s marriage to go kaput.

But now that Prakash is divorced, he and Pony have a chance to set things straight and a marriage can be expected in the next few months.

While Prakash is an established actor, having won two National Awards, Pony is on the verge of joining the big league, having been roped in for projects with by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Priyadarshan.

Katrina ki Ajab Kiss Ki Ghazab Kahani

In all her films so far, Katrina Kaif has kissed only once, in Kabir Khan’s New York.


Katrina has now decided to make it official. She won’t do a kissing sequence, even if the producer-director uses the oldest trick to persuade her: the script demanded it.

A friend of the actress said, “Katrina has said no to kissing scenes in all her films barring New York. And believe me, the directors are very keen to see her kiss her co-stars. Katrina cleverly keeps dodging all the so-called must-kiss scenes. She is a very conservative girl at heart. In fact, when reports claimed that she was going to wear a bikini in Dostana 2, a la Priyanka Chopra in the first Dostana, Katrina protested violently and made it clear to producer Karan Johar and director Tarun Mansukhani: no exposure, no kissing.”

Katrina said, “I don’t deny I’ve done scenes in the past where I did things that I wasn’t comfortable with. But now I won’t. I just don’t feel comfortable doing kissing scenes, or for that matter, wearing a bikini on screen.”

In both, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and Raajneeti, there was apparently a request for a kiss with Ranbir Kapoor. Katrina said a polite but firm no.

A source revealed, “All the intimate scenes in Raajneeti are between Ranbir and his American girlfriend played by Sarah Thompson. They have lingering lovemaking and kissing shots. In the Indian portion of Ranbir’s story, there’s no intimacy with Katrina. She convinced the director that the character of the dignified politician would not go down well with the audience doing intimate scenes.”

Katrina is quite firm as she said, “It’s true. I’m not at all comfortable doing kissing scenes. Call me a prude or conservative. I just don’t feel kissing scenes jell well with our audiences. So no kissing scenes for me.”

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Alicia Keys secretly engaged to Swizz Beatz?

If rumours are to be believed, pop singer Alicia Keys has secretly got engaged to rapper boyfriend Swizz Beatz.

The singer, who has just turned 29, is said to have received a seven-carat diamond ring from the hip-hop producer just before her birthday, reports revealed.

The duo was also spotted walking along a beach in Hawaii around the date of his supposed proposal.

While Alicia’s spokesperson denied the report, her friend said: “They are currently in Hawaii celebrating the engagement and her birthday. She feels blessed. She is thrilled. She is with the man who has inspired so much of her music and her new album.”

Junior NTR’s ‘junior’ wife

The grandson of former Andhra Pradesh CM, late N T Rama Rao – Junior NTR (one of Tollywood’s leading heroes), landed in a legal controversy following his family’s decision to get him married to a Std XII student.0


Singuluri Santhi Prasad, a lawyer from Vijayawada, filed a suit in the Krishna district legal services authority contending that the girl is only 17 and the families are violating the Child Marriage Restraint Act.

Junior NTR, 27, is to get engaged to N Lakshmi Pranathi, daughter of a real estate businessman Narne Srinivas Rao, in March and the couple are to be married in May. The bride’s mother is the niece of former CM and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu. Naidu is believed to have played a crucial role in fixing the alliance.

Prasad filed a suit after learning that the girl is only 17. The legal age for marriage is 18. He sought a direction that the marriage be performed only after the girl is 18.

Family sources revealed that Pranathi would be 18 by May. Besides his real estate business, her father is the chairman of a local news channel.

Jai Ho! AR Rahman

Indian composer A R Rahman scored a double triumph at the Grammy Awards here, scooping two early honours for his music from Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.


Rahman won the first Grammy of the pre-show at the Staples Center in the best compilation soundtrack for a motion picture category before his Jai Ho won in the best motion picture song category moments later.

"This is insane, god is great again," Rahman said as he accepted his second award before a VIP audience.

Rahman's rivals in the soundtrack category included Steve Jordan for Cadillac Records, Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds, and the producers of Twilight and True Blood.

In the best song category Rahman's beaten rivals included Bruce Springsteen for his song The Wrestler, from the Oscar-nominated movie of the same name.

The Grammy success comes after Rahman earned two Oscars for his music in Slumdog Millionaire at last year's Academy Awards.

The talented music maestro picked up the best original score statuette before scooping the best song Oscar.