Ek Chalis Ki Last Local - Movie Preview

‘Ek Chalis Ki Last Local’ is a comic thriller about two people who miss the last local train at 1:40 am to Vikhroli and have poore dhayi ghante (full two-and-half hours) before the next local will arrive. The movie meanders with an intriguing drama with a set of stories intertwined with each other. The tale revolves around Nilesh (Abhay Deol), a call center executive and how missing the last train home proves to be a significant episode in his life.

Nilesh bumps into Madhu (Neha Dhupia) who has also missed her train on the same station and because there is an auto strike, the duo finds themselves getting together and soon seated in a desi bar for some time pass before their next train. One thing leads to another and circumstances spiral off into experiences and events, some bizarre and beautiful whereas others unpleasant and uncanny. Subtle and dark humor take you by surprise and so does the mystery and excitement as the film picks up pace and Nilesh’s life comes on “fast track”.

Simply surmised, ‘Ek Chalis Ki Last Local’ is uncertain, riotous with alarming twists thrown in to the plot. A story of Nilesh fraught under the pressure of his circumstances for complete two and a half hours and then emerging triumphant with two and a half crores. Taking the audience on a confusing trail, here is an intriguing, comic & psychosomatic drama that unscrambles itself with unforgettable characters and captivating performances.

Kareena heats up Love Story!

That Kareena Kapoor is making a sensational appearance in the forthcoming romantic comedy, Kya Love Story Hai, is no surprise. The actress shot for her first song after Yeh Mera Dil (Don) at Mumbai's Filmistan Studio last week where all the key media were invited.

Rendered by Alisha Chinai and composed by Pritam, Kareena's It's Rocking Yaara Kabhi Ishq To Karo is being tipped off as the next chartbuster.

"Before I went on break I did Yeh Mera Dil and the first thing after my break I have done is this song for Kya Love Story Hai ," she smiles. Kareena's lost a lot of weight and is back in form thanks to continuous Yoga. "I am looking forward to the release of this song on television. It's truly rocking!"

Choreographer Bosco can't have enough of Bebo, and says, "She's fantastic. What can I say about her? She lends so much energy and attitude to the song."

What does Kareena like the most about the song? "It's so lively and danceable. And it's among the most glamorous numbers I've done! I drive in a limo, wear a gown and strum a 25-feet guitar."

Kya Love Story Hai releases worldwide on April 20. It also stars Tusshar Kapoor and Ayesha Takia and is being distributed internationally by Studio 18.

Hrithik Roshan brand ambassador for Sony Ericsson

Mobile handset maker Sony Ericsson today named Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan as its brand ambassador for India and SAARC countries.

Hrithik will be endorsing all Sony Ericsson products as part of the company's marketing initiatives, a company statement said.

As brand ambassador, he will play a key role in further strengthening the brand's connect with the local audience in India and in enhancing brand recall and popularity to fuel business growth, the statement added.

Akshay Kumar to sue British tabloid over Shilpa Shetty story

Akshay Kumar is livid over a sleazy story in the British tabloid News of the World. The story quoted a friend of Akshay who claimed the star detailed to him Shilpa's performance in bed with him during their affair.

The earthy and popular Akshay is married to Twinkle Khanna, daughter of Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna, both formidable and popular stars of yester years.

Despite his past relationship with Shilpa Shetty and the now much-married Raveena Tandon, the Bollywood hunk is greatly embarrassed and aggravated by the tabloid story which he claims is not true.

Shilpa, on her part, also believes Akshay would never speak such lies about her!

Rakhi Sawant, the tigress

Rakhi Sawant has now joined the long list of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) endorsers.

In the new ad, she dresses up like a tiger to protest against the use of animals in circuses.

The actress has been in the news for a while now, after the reality series Bigg Boss and Rakhi Ke Bouncers.

It's 'You, Me And Hum' for Ajay-Kajol Devgan

Talented actress Kajol, who made a comeback with Aamir Khan in "Fanna" last year, will now be seen with hubby Ajay Devgan in their home production "You, Me and Hum".

"I won't be able to give you much detail. Yes, Ajay is making this film with Kajol. He is producing as well as directing it," said Kumar Mangat, Ajay's business manager.

Scripted by Ajay, the film is a love story and will go on the floors soon.

The last time they were seen together was in 2000 in a children's film "Raju Chacha" - it was Kajol's first film after marriage. Loaded with special effects, "Raju Chacha" was one of the most expensive films of 2000 but sank without a trace.

After the film's failure, Ajay never made an attempt at producing films and concentrated on his acting career and gave powerful performances in "Company", "Bhoot", "GangaaJal", "Khakee", "Masti", "Yuva", "Apaharan" and "Omkara".

Meanwhile, wife Kajol was busy with home and daughter Nysa.

Before "Raju Chacha", the couple were seen in hits like "Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha" and "Ishq". They also paired up for "Dil Kya Kare", "Gundaraj" and "Hulchul".

Shah Rukh Khan at Madame Tussauds - 3rd April

Madame Tussauds, London is offering one lucky winner the chance to meet with Bollywood legend Shah Rukh Khan on Tuesday April 3rd when the star unveils his new wax figure at the world famous London attraction. The winner will be among the first to see the Bollywood star’s wax figure and will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet with the King himself.

Experts from the museum have already met the Bollywood star and taken precise measurements of his physical features, his face and his hair.

Shah Rukh Khan is looking forward to the unveiling: “It has been a lifelong dream since I visited the attraction as a child to be immortalised in wax and meet my very own Madame Tussauds double. This is truly a great honour. I was delighted to be involved in the whole creative process and can’t wait to see the finished figure for myself.” He will join figures of fellow Bollywood greats, Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai.

Big B to fight pollution with IIFA

Amitabh Bachchan never seems to tire of causes to promote! Now the Big B's put his pen to paper for the cause of global pollution, and all for the sake of IIFA.

When it comes to endorsing International Indian Film Academy, trust Amitabh Bachchan to go the extra mile – so much so the actor along with British actress Sienna Miller, signed the IIFA Bond for Global Cool — a star-studded initiative to reduce pollution – at the IIFA curtain raiser at Madame Tussauds in London.

"We're launching the IIFA weekend in Yorkshire, and this is the press conference to promote it. And also bringing in a new concept on global warming and making IIFA connected with it," said Bachchan.

And Bachchan is so committed to the cause that he's roping in his entire family – including the yet-to-be-included Aishwarya Rai.

"I pledge myself to this bond, and I pledge other members of my family, my family also consists of my wife who is a celebrity in her own right, my son Abhishek and his wife to be, who is also a famous personality," said Bachchan.

"And I am sure that all of us getting together will be able to propagate this very worthy cause in the years to come," he added.

It looks like a case of a family that supports a cause together, stays together!

Mukesh Ambani to tie up with Yashraj Films?

Its been heard that there's another mega-marriage between a business house and Bollywood in the offing. Reportedly Mukesh Ambani is planning to venture into the business of film production with a tie-up with Yashraj Films.

Although the exact nature of the deal is not yet known, Mukesh Ambani's entry into the film industry does make the plot thicken a bit, what with little brother Anil Ambani already having a big stake in the show business, through Adlabs. Anil's Reliance ADAG finances all Adlabs films, it has a 51 per cent stake in the company. The most recent projects of Reliance Adlabs are Namastey London, and in-the-making projects like Ram Gopal Varma's Sholay, Marigold, Harry Baweja's Love 2050, Sudhir Mishra's Khoya Khoya Chand, Prakash Jha's Dil Dosti Etc.

Yashraj Films being in direct competition to Adlabs, Mukesh's new business move will pitch the two brothers directly against each other at the box-office.

Industry sources say that Yashraj Films is planning to go in for major expansion. They already have five big projects on the floors (Tara Rum Pum, Aaja Nachle, Laaga Chunri Mein Daag, Chak De India and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom), they're looking for many more. Hence the need to look for a big financer, which they've apparently found in Mukeshbhai.

The move doesn't really come as a surprise since the Ambanis' interest in, and proximity to, films and the film industry is well-known.

UTV aggregates largest library of World Cinema

INDIA is happening across the world, but is the WORLD happening across India?

UTV, the diversified media entity with presence in Movies, New Media (Animation & Gaming), TV Broadcasting, announced another first in the Indian media space with launch of its new business vertical UTV Palador- a 360-degree initiative in world cinema under the brand name of 'Olive Collection’. UTV Palador's 'Olive Collection' will have the world's largest library of world cinema under one roof with over 1000 film tittles from 20 countries that have won over 3000 (cumulative) awards that include the likes of BAFTA, Cannes, Pusan, Berlin, Venice and Toronto amongst others.

The company will invest Rs. 70 crores in the category. The Non-Indian language Movie Segment is estimated to Rs.1500 crores by 2009 and UTV Palador believes that World Cinema in their model could account for 20% of that.

UTV Palador's business strategy for the Olive Collection World Cinema titles is three fold:

(A) Initiate World Cinema theatres in selective locations all over India - and Special Film Clubs and Corporate Screenings
(B) DVD Label
(C) World Cinema Movie Channel

UTV Palador's 'Olive Collection' will host World's greatest collection of World Cinema, masterpieces, films from countries like France, Japan, China, Russia, Poland, Denmark, Brazil, Argentina in languages like French, Polish, Russian, Italian, Brazilian, Mexican, Japanese with subtitles. These films being classic cinematic experiences are counted in the league of the most important films ever made in the history of World Cinema. Featuring maverick film directors like Akira Kurosawa, Francois Truffaut, Michael Haneke, Wim Wenders, Chabrol, Kiarostami and Kitano along with 50 others who are considered to have shaped the thinking of the world cinema.

Further, Mr. Screwvala adds, 'UTV Palador’s main objective is to ensure that the beauty, timelessness and quality of the world's greatest filmmakers is not lost to Indians. It was our vision to ensure that quality cinema is not a one off event at limited location but a regular part of India's entertainment industry. In addition, this is an extremely high potential category with no significant competition in the horizon.'

The Olive Collection is privileged to have as its brand ambassador and partner - Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, “In India, World Cinema has been available to a privileged few. Our endevour is to bring cinema of the world to the common man in India,' says Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.

The roll out plan for the Olive Collection would begin across all of the platforms beginning this April 2007 each platform reaching the youth, corporate, connoisseurs of world cinema across the country. The Olive DVD Collection will release the World Cinema titles in a phased manner and will include special features like a special short film that lends itself to the main film along with bonus features by master director. The DVD would also have short film by an Indian director as part of strategy to promote Indian talent along with memorabilia like rare posters, photographs. On the theatrical front 20 theatres across the country will release the Olive Collection films with 2 shows daily that will account for nearly 15,000 shows per annum. The Olive Collection films will be released in Adlabs Metro & Huma in Mumbai, Gold Adlabs in Pune and in Satyam Cinemas in Chennai. The films will roll out to Delhi, Bangalore and Calcutta in the second phase.

Source

KBC: SRK will be back after a break

The flurry of questions will stop at least for now as the sometimes controversial season one of Kaun Banega Crorepati with King Khan as host goes on a break.

After giving massages to tense contestants to expensive Tag Hauer watches to those losing on the hot seat to cars to all, the magnamous Shah Rukh Khan will miss playing dost (friend) to the contestants and mouthing those one-liners.

"I will miss saying kachha-pakka (sure or not). I will miss saying 'let's play Kaun Banega Crorepati'," says he.

The show has also been SRK's window to some reality - at least that's what he claims.

"Because of the show, I met so many people. I got in touch with reality and because of that my acting will become better," says King Khan.

SRK's duties as KBC host invited contant comparisons to previous host Amitabh Bachchan and the TRPs of the show fell dramatically. Despite this, the host dost will be back for the second season of KBC soon - or at least that's what he is hoping for.

Raqeeb - Movie Preview

Raqeeb is a musical thriller – a roller coaster ride that hurtles from one twist to the next at breakneck speed. The story has many themes that are so different and yet so closely linked that they overlap each other. These themes are like shadows where the viewer is never quite sure where one shadow ends and the next begins. Seduction leads to love, love becomes betrayal, betrayal is motivated by passion, passion leads to obsession and to crime, and this crime reveals another betrayal which again is motivated by love.

The protagonist, Remo Mathews, is a computer whiz kid and the owner of a highly successful software company. Remo’s parents had died in a car crash when he was still a child. Siddharth is his employee and probably, only friend. Siddharth is the extroverted playboy, and is the exact opposite of Remo who is shy, introverted and asthmatic. Siddharth constantly pesters Remo to socialize so that he can meet a few girls and fall in love with one of them. Remo seems to be averse to the whole idea until, one day Siddharth plays a prank and sets Remo up for a blind date.

Remo meets the girl and after the initial hilarious misunderstanding falls in love with her. The girl is Sofie, a theatre actress who is high on life. Love blossoms and all is going smoothly until Remo and Sofie discover that her parents died in the same car crash in which Remo’s parents had been killed. Sofie realizes that Remo’s parents were responsible for the death of her parents. Remo doesn’t know how to deal with this tragic discovery. Siddharth persuades him to propose to Sofie. Remo proposes and after the initial hesitation, Sofie accepts. Remo and Sofie get married. Thereafter, the story takes an unexpected twist with the introduction of Sunny.

Sunny is a struggling actor who was in love with Sofie. But Sofie had always wanted a luxurious life which Sunny was unable to provide. Hence, Sofie married Remo. When they meet again, the old love is rekindled. Thus begins a torrid affair between them. Finally, tired of having to meet secretly and only occasionally, they plan to kill Remo. The plan is to hide Remo’s asthma medicine and then aggravate his asthma so as to trigger an asthma attack. Once the asthma attack occurs, Sunny has to pretend to shoot Remo with fake bullets so as to aggravate his condition further eventually leading to death. The post mortem will reveal that Remo died of natural causes and hence, no one will be suspected of any foul play.

The D-day arrives and Sunny comes to Remo’s house to execute the plan. But there is another twist in the tale. Sofie double crosses Sunny as well and he is arrested and accused of Remo’s murder.

Why does Sofie double cross Sunny?
Is there more to her than what meets the eye?
Does she really love anyone?
Does Siddharth find out the truth about Sofie?
Is Sunny able to clear his name?
And…is Remo really dead or has he pulled off a Houdini act?

All these questions are answered as the story breathlessly races to its nail biting, chilling climax!

Sanju sees Bapu on KBC

Kaun Banega Crorepati, next special celebrity episode with feature Bollywood’s blockbuster hit flick – ‘Munnabhai’ comic pair – Sanjay Dutt & Boman Irani.

Making way to Gandhigiri on KBC both Sanjay & Boman will dash the spirit of goodness as practiced in their movie Munnabhai. In their riveting humor and ishtyle, the perfect pair of two intense & multi-faceted actors will get on with the game, as the star host- SRK, warmly welcomes them to celebrate the Gandhi’s dictum ‘Kar bhala toh ho bhala’, inviting them to play for a noble cause!

As the show proceeds with a comical sidekick, Sanjay tries out some of his popular Munnabhai frolics- playing along, he once tries to slide an earphone in jest to aid him with an answer, while he is caught by Boman & SRK! Sometimes even consulting Bapu (the famous imaginary character of Munnabhai-2) whom, only he can see & hear, to guide him to the correct answers.

All the three master pranksters (SRK, Sanjay & Boman) pull a fast one on Arshad Warsi (aka Circuit, the trusted aide of Munna Bhai), when they call him to tell that he is on their Phone-A-Friend helpline as they are stuck on the big- 2 crore question! Arshad, caught completely off-guard becomes numb and topples over to just guess an answer, of the hard-hitting question.

SRK surprises the audiences, as he tells them about Sanjay’s hidden talent of ‘air guitaring’ and requests him to demonstrate a small piece of his skill on the show. Shah Rukh playing the perfect host & dost also, requests Boman to sing the International popular number – "We Are The World" that had originally been sung by various artistes. At this Boman leaves everyone jaw dropped as he actually modulates his voice singing & mimicking all the original singers!

The episode will air on March 29 on Star Plus.

British tabloid unveils Shilpa's personal life

Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty is basking in fame in England. But with fame comes intrusion of privacy too and Shilpa perhaps has encountered the first intrusion into her private life.

A leading British tabloid News Of The World has revealed the spicy sex life of Shilpa who arguably has the best figure in Bollywood.

Shilpa’s torrid love affair with Akshay Kumar, although a thing of the past now, made waves in Bollywood, and Akshay has now reportedly claimed that he was the first man to bed the sultry actress.

"Shilpa's got a very sexy side and is incredible in bed. She's a lady and made me hold off for years before she would let me sleep with her... but it was worth the wait. The first time we did it was so special, romantic and passionate. It was truly unforgettable " the Newsoftheworld quoted a friend as having being told by Akshay.

"Akshay told us that Shilpa was a very innocent girl when they met. She may not have even kissed a man before they started dating and she insisted on taking things very slowly. Shilpa wanted to hold hands and loved romantic gestures. After a few years though, their relationship moved on to a new level and she felt that she could trust Akshay. I think she thought she was going to marry him and she would never have slept with a man if she didn't think it was serious.”

“After that first time Shilpa wouldn't leave Akshay alone and wanted to spend lots more time with him. He told us that she was truly sensational in bed. He also said that her prim and proper nature soon disappeared in the heat of the moment. She sounded pretty crazy when it came to sex," the friend added.

Shilpa’s romance with Akshay continued till 1998 after which their love crumbled and he started a new relationship with her friend, Twinkle Khanna , whom he later married.

Arjun Rampal signed for KAANTE 2

After Suneil Shetty, Arjun Rampal has been signed for KAANTE 2.

It must be mentioned that from the original star cast that comprised of six lead protagonists, only Sanjay Dutt and Suneil Shetty have been so far confirmed. With Arjun signed on for the film, it only adds on to the hunk brigade. One also tends to believe that Kumar Gaurav would be a certain inclusion to this Sanjay Gupta film since he was the only man who was shown to walk out alive in the film's climax.

With KAANTE 2 in his kitty now, things are certainly looking bright for Arjun who also has diverse and interesting films like OM SHANTI OM, DUS KAHANIYAAN, MERIDIAN and THE LAST LEAR coming up.

Aishwarya-Abhishek will tie knot on April 20

Speculations regarding the date for Bollywood’s most talked about wedding have finally been put to rest.

Star couple Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai will tie the knot on April 20 in Mumbai.

No Bollywood bigwigs like Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan have been invited for the wedding, which will be a small family affair.

There will be no honeymoon for the couple as Amitabh Bachchan’s mother and Abhishek’s grandmother, Teji Bachchan is not well. But there is hearsay of a lavish reception because cutting off the film industry from the celebrations is not really an option.

The rights for covering the wedding have reportedly been sold to an international media house.

News of the Ash-Abhishek romance started making rounds last year while the couple were shooting for Umrao Jaan and Guru.

Aishwarya and Abhishek finally got engaged on January 14 this year soon after they returned from the premiere of their film Guru in Toronto and New York.

Akshay joins Ashley for AIDS campaign

After Sushmita Sen, it’s now Akshay Kumar who has joined hands with Hollywood diva Ashley Judd in the AIDS awareness campaign endorsed by her in India.

Ashley Judd, who has been the youth icon for AIDS awareness in her hometown as well, is now doing the job in India. She is trying to rope in Bollywood celebrities to fight for the cause. After meeting up with Shah Rukh Khan and Sush, the actress visited Jaipur to meet Bollywood star Akshay Kumar. The duo reached out to the masses, encouraging prescribed usage of contraceptives.

Akshay Kumar whose recent film Namastey London had an average opening has picked up quickly through the weekend. And now with the film being appreciated everywhere it seems like Akshay can take some time out for a social cause.

Aamir Khan's work dubbed

In perhaps the first time ever in the two decade old career of Aamir Khan, his work has been dubbed after its release.

We are talking about the latest Coke advertisement that has been on air for around a fortnight now and has been termed as the 'worst ever' amongst all the earlier Coke ads featuring the Khan. The ad has now been dubbed with some more words, phrases etc. added to make them more meaningful for the audience.

Readers may note that the original ad features Khan as a railways waiter who brings a bottle of Coke for one of the passengers only to realize it to be emptied as soon as it becomes dark in the compartment.

Finger is raised at everyone in suspicion and finally it is realized that everyone including Khan had a sip or two from the bottle, hence projecting the cause of one India, one culture, one taste.

Sadly, that doesn't come across in a convincing manner at all and even breaches towards being irritant with silly body language and mannerisms of everyone involved. Looking at the negative response to the ad, it appears that the makers have aimed at doing a damage control and that's the reason why the dubbing has happened to explain the reasons behind all the acts that happen on screen.

Does it manage to impress this time around? Not really and one wonders for how long would this ad now stay on the screen? Or would the perfectionist Khan put down his foot and start working on the next Coke script soon?

Akshaye Khanna - A fashion icon?

Normally reserved Akshaye Khanna was the cynosure of everyone's eyes when he walked the ramp for designer Manav Gangwani. He was the talk of the fashion fraternity in Delhi. In fact Manav Gangwani had asked him to choose between 4 outfits & Akshaye chose the Dhoti outfit.

When asked on how he felt walking the ramp for the first time in the fashion week and his views on fashion, he said, "I enjoyed it thoroughly, it was fun, and fashion to me is an extension of your personality."

A fashion insider commented, "The fashion circle was truly stunned when they saw Akshaye walking the ramp. We always knew him to be a handsome & an iconic actor, but he looked so cool when he walked the ramp. It was good to see him in such a different light"

Mumbai sways to Shakira's hips

The much awaited concert by Columbian singing sensation, Shakira, got underway at the MMRDA grounds in Mumbai on Sunday night after an hour's delay.

The 5000-something crowd were immediatedly mollified when the hip-shaking songstress launched into a Spanish song from her album Oral Fixation. Soon, she had the crowds chanting her name.


Before every song, Shakira, clad in an midriff-baring outfit, launched into a brief history about how the song came along.

She rocked with the guitar and even performed an act with a mouth organ against a backdrop of sun and moon patterns. Don't Bother, Whenever Wherever and Illegal were some of the numbers she performed to the enthusiastic crowd.

And what better way to end her debut concert in India, and than with the hugely popular Hips Don't Lie number?

SRK gifts Santros to KBC contestants

Probably inspired from the Oprah Winfrey show, Shah Rukh Khan and the producers of KBC handed out 9 cars to the contestants of the show. The lucky nine were the ones who were selected for the fastest finger first round but who could not make it to the hot seat.

As SRK is the brand ambassador of Hyundai Santro, it was probably the most likely car to be given out. It may be recalled that Oprah Winfrey gave away 276 Pontiac G-6 midsize 2005 sports sedans in 2004 to all the members of her audience present at the studio.

Though Shah Rukh tags the episode as nothing special, he went onto say that they did want to do something as the season was going to end.

Nayee Padoasan 2 leading lady finalized

Ankita Shrivastava from Lucknow won the title of the Nayee Padosan 2 held by the producers of Nayee Padosan. She has been selected amongst eight beautiful girls. The contest was judged by Govinda, Sohail Khan, Amrita Arora, Nitin Manmohan and director BH Tharun Kumar.

It was organized in search of new face for leading lady of the movie. The contest saw rounds like a ramp walk, acting sessions and dance numbers. Ekram Akhtar, the writer of the film announced the winner's name.

Ankita will play the leading lady in the film which is a sequel to Nayee Padosan. The contest was organized by Pooja Ghai and Vikaas Kalantri’s White Leaf Entertainment. The sequel will be directed by BH Tharun Kumar who also directed the original. While Vikas Kalantri and Aslam Khan are retained from the original cast while Anuj Sawhney has decided to move on.

Abhishek Bachchan launches Motorola's new product

Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan, brand ambassador for Motorola, launched the company's flagship entertainment Personal Digital Assistant MOTOROKR E6 on saturday, which will provide information about a song played as well as live news.

"Music addiction with MOTOROKR E6 is truly awesome. It is a music optimised device, which avails the user with marvellous facilities. E6 is a truly ultimate entertainment PDA, which keeps you occupied," Abhishek told reporters at a press conference in the capital.

"As a user I am very excited about using this handset. MOTOROKR has given me a truly complete multimedia experience. I think it is the last word for true music lovers," he added.

MOTOROKR is the first Motorola handset in the country to offer Music ID and Screen 3 applications. Music ID is a song identification service that enables a user to identify all the information about a song played, with the help of a server. Screen 3 is a live news and information service.

"Not every handset enables you to master and enjoy various experiences that a multimedia handset could offer, but with MOTOROKR E6 all this has changed," said Lloyd Mathias, of Motorola India Mobile Device.

"E6 has been specifically designed to create superior experiences around video, music, games and photos. Whether you want to capture special moments on camera, listen to music, check e-mails, play games or movies while on the go, E6 makes it all simple and easy," he added.

Shilpa to run UK Marathon for Indian cause

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty loves competition. After winning the big crown at the UK reality show Big Brother, she is now set to participate in the 26.2 mile long London Marathon.

The London Marathon will take place on the April 22. The race for a select category of A-list female runners will kick start at 9 a.m. Shilpa is running the marathon for a worthy social cause. If she wins, she plans to donate her prize money to an Indian charity Water Aid – which provides clean unadulterated water to villages in India.

Incidentally, Shilpa’s Big Brother housemate Jade Goody, who is infamous for having made racist comments on the Indian actress, participated in the Marathon earlier this year. She ran a third of the course before collapsing and being hospitalized. However, Shilpa is said to be preparing hard for the final run.

Big B, Rakeysh Mehra, Ashutosh for red carpet premier of ‘The Namesake’

While the whole world has shifted its base to the West coast for the World Cup, some one from the West has finally landed in India. It’s none other than, one of the most awaited movies for 2007, UTV and Mira Nair’s ‘The Namesake’ that released in India yesterday.

Based on Pulitzer Award winning writer Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel, the film has got some exceptional reviews in US after its release. One of which described it as must watch for every one who comes to America and tries to hold on to their heritage.

The Mumbai premiere was attended by Bollywood’s first family Amitabh, Jaya, Abhishek Bachchan along with Aishwarya Rai.

Also present were Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Ashutosh & Sunita Gowariker, Rahul Bose, Akshay Khanna in attendance at the premier who were all set to relish the masterpiece.

'The Namesake' team was present in full force at the premiere graced by vivacious Tabu who plays 'Ashima'. She walked the red carpet with her co-star and gifted actor Irfan Khan followed by the chief navigator of the movie, the star director Mira Nair. Sooni Taraporewala, the scriptwriter of the film too came along with her team. Also present at the premier was UTV’s head honcho Ronnie Screwvala along with other celebrities from the film fraternity.

'The Namesake' is the tale of the Ganguli family whose move from Kolkata to New York evokes a lifelong balancing act to meld to a new-fangled world without forgetting the old. Though parents Ashoke and Ashima long for the family and mores that enveloped them in India, they take pride in the opportunities their sacrifices have afforded their children. Paradoxically their son Gogol is frayed between finding his own unique individuality without losing his heritage.

Ayesha opts out of Aamir Khan's film

Ayesha Takia is no more part of Aamir Khan’s forthcoming film. She was signed for one of the female leads in the film.

This is a Hindi remake of Tamil hit film Ghajini. The film is to be directed by A R Murugadoss and produced by Madhu Verma and Alu Arvind. Talking about her exit from the project, Ayesha informs that there were some irreversible differences and due to which she is not doing the film.

Yana Gupta in Adnan Sami's new album

Adnan Sami's new Album with T-Series Kisi Din will feature the attractive and svelte Yana Gupta who will be seen on-screen after quite some time.

This dazzling lady charged absolutely nothing for the video! When asked for the reason for this generous gesture, Yana had only one thing to say, "Well, the best things in life come for free! Also I truly enjoyed working with Adnan and the director as well. I feel this video will project me in a very different way and that's why I did it." Looks like the spirit of generosity is in the air!

With this album Yana joins the elite list of leading ladies that Adnan Sami has revered in his albums. The lady has been keeping quite busy by endorsing a fitness brand and is about to come out with her own fitness book as well as a show on it! What's more she is also going to conduct women's workshops. Quite a brand ambassador for women power!

This album in collaboration with T-Series is a much awaited album after a hiatus of three years when Adnan was completely immersed in playback singing. In this album he is featured with his much anticipated new look.

So What's New?

The trade is disturbed. Films are flopping in a row. Audiences are not even willing to see films with a line-up of stars. Where are they going wrong?

There is such a thing as overkill, and a major problem seems to be that before the release of a film, everyone just talks and talks about the film, till audiences know all about it. Why would they spend money on seeing the film then?

The dialogue between the makers and stars of the film with the audience might go somewhat like this:

Kudiyon Ka Hai Zamana:
It's about Rekha trying to get Mahima Chaudhary married before she turns 25. Its great fun, come see it people.

Audience: Ha ha, you're joking, right? Mahima and 25?

Guru :
It is not the biopic of Dhirubhai Ambani and Amitabh Bachchan on TV swears it is Abhishek's best performance. Look Abhi and Ash even got engaged to please you mass types.

Audience (Doubtfully): Isn't that pushing it a bit too much? Why, what is the film lacking?
Anwar:
It's about this guy who is mistaken for a terrorist, and then there's this cop, and a TV reporter and...

Audience: Don't get us all mixed up. Just play that Maula song.

Risk :
It's about this honest cop who takes on the underworld and….

Audience: So what's new?


Salaam-E-Ishq :
It's got all these stars, and Priyanka playing Rakhi Sawant, and Anil Kapoor kissing Anjana Sukhani, and the John-Vidya affair gossip was spread to whip up curiosity…. please see the film, people.

Audience: We'd rather see the real Rakhi Sawant. And Emraan's kissing is better, thank you. And we know John is with Bipasha, don't fool us.
Parzania:
A little boy goes missing in the Gujarat riots.

Audience (Petulantly): Don't remind us of it, give us entertainment.


Traffic Signal:
Hey, all of you, it's about people begging at the traffic signal and how the Dubai bhais get the money.

Audience: Maaf karo, aage jao

Black Friday:
See the real story of the Mumbai bomb blasts. Raw and realistic!

Audience: We saw it on TV already!


Undertrial:
Rajpal Yadav is this poor guy who is accused of raping his three daughters. It's a real story! Come see it one and all.

Audience (Annoyed): Rajpal Yadav, you're offering us Rajpal Yadav?

Eklavya – The Royal Guard:
Amitabh Bachchan plays this royal guard and Saif is a prince and LA Times says it's a masterpiece. You better see it or no more Munnabhai for you morons.

Audience: Aisa kya? We won't see it, ja Mamu!

Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd:
It's very exciting—six couples on a honeymoon. And Boman kisses Shabana and….

Audience: Does anyone besides uncle and aunty kiss? No? Then not interested! We will dance to Sajnaji vari vari, and that's it!

Nishabd:
Sixty year old Amitabh Bachchan falls in lust with 18 year old Jiah Khan….

Audience (Hands over their ears and eyes shut): Shame shame!


Nehlle Pe Dehlla:
Err, we've forgotten what it's about, but there's Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan and Shakti Kapoor's murda.

Audience: We'll forget to see it, don't worry.

1971 :
It's about the Bangladesh War and POWs, very thrilling!

Audience: Which war? When? Didn't Amitabh Bachchan fight in it already?


Red :
Aftab and Celina have a 27 minute kiss…. and a 30 minute love-making scene…

Audience: Is that all they do? Does it have a story?

Sarhad Paar:
Sorry it took so long to make and it's incomplete, don't see it.

Audience: Thanks for the honesty, we won't!


Hattrick:
It's got three guys crazy about cricket and the world Cup is on.

Audience: So? We are crazy about cricket too, we can see the real World Cup.

Just Married:
It's about these couples on their honeymoon…

Audience: Again?? How many times can we see other people's boring honeymoons?