'Guru' granted tax exemption in UP

Bollywood film 'Guru' starring Abhishek Bachchan and his fiancee Aishwarya Rai was on Tuesday exempted from entertainment tax by the Uttar Pradesh Government.
The decision to grant tax exemption to the Mani Ratnam film for a period of three months was taken at a meeting of the State Cabinet here, official sources said.
The State Government has in the past granted tax exemption to several Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan movies.
In another decision, the Government increased the retirement age of the employees of Lucknow and Gorakhpur sports hostels from 58 to 60 years, the sources said.

Read more...

See what happens to Shah Rukh after 35 yrs: Big B

Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan and younger rival Shah Rukh Khan appear to be bickering over who's the bigger star, media reports said on Sunday. "Let's see what happens to him after 35 years," Bachchan was quoted as saying to a news agency, referring to Khan. Bachchan's remarks were provoked by Khan's recent comments to the media that Bachchan's time was up. "I am sexy, smart and young. That was his century; this is mine," the agency was quoted Khan as saying. The war of words, which began innocuously over a perceived rivalry between the two about who was the reigning superstar of Bollywood, has been fanned by the media. Bachchan has dismissed talk of any rivalry. "Whatever he says is correct. I am old and he is young, and I agree he is smart and sexy," Bachchan said, before going on to make the remark about Khan's future. Affectionately called the "Big B," Bachchan, 63, has a massive fan following among South Asians and has acted in more than 150 movies in a career spanning more than three decades. Khan, 41, is one of the Bollywood's biggest heartthrobs of the past decade and one of the highest paid actors in the Indian movie industry. He has acted in nearly 60 movies, including the hits Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham , Kabhi Haan, Kabhi Na ', and Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna . Khan recently replaced Bachchan as host of India's most popular TV programme Kaun Banega Crorepati -- a gameshow based on Who Wants to be a Millionaire .' Early figures by the country's Television Audience Management appear to indicate the elder superstar had a bigger following.
SOURCE : THE TIMES OF INDIA

Read more...

'Kisses in Red were passionate and intense,' Celina

rapid fire...

We’ve heard that you shot for five songs in a week recently?

Yes I did. I have been shooting for songs of the films ‘Red’ and ‘Boom Shaka Laka Boom Boom’ in a period of 10 days.

It must have been pretty tiring?

No, I quite enjoy dancing. For those 10 days, that was my only workout regime.

So now you must have become quite a dancing diva?

Yeah, I am ready for the hip-hop world championship.

From where did you get the energy for it all?

If you love something, you do it anyway. I increased my glucose intake. Even when I was younger, going for my kathak classes used to give me a great high.

Also, aren’t you playing a sexy widow in ‘Red’?

It’s a very simple character and the sexuality just happens to be part of it. Just because you are a widow, it’s not like that there will be no sexual aspect to your life because most women at some point develop a conjugal bond with someone.

There is also lot of talk about your kissing scenes with Aftab Shivdasani in the film?

You could say that the kisses in ‘Janasheen’ were hot and sexy but the ones in ‘Red’ are passionate and intense.
SOURCE : DNA AFTER HRS.

Read more...

Monk's life: There was no sex in the ‘Bigg Boss’ house’

Participant Ravi Kishen on his love for his wife, his monk-like existence in the show and Carol Gracis
“I’m suffering from a three-month jetlag,” says ‘Bigg Boss’ participant Ravi Kishen from Mahableshwar where he says he has eyes only for his wife.
Luxurious prison
“I don’t want to lose sight of her for even a second. Inside the ‘Bigg Boss’ house it was like being in a 5 star prison. You couldn’t escape. If you did you would have to pay a huge penalty. We had signed a 12 page contract,” Ravi says.
Bigg fame
Ravi reveals that after ‘Bigg Boss’ he’s being mobbed at malls. “God has made me a role model. My wife has also become a star. She can’t strike a good deal in the shops. They think she can afford to pay any price,” he adds.
Wifey dearest
Ravi feels that he has changed completely after the show. “I may have come across as aggressive. But I was just being true to myself. Today I’m a changed man. I’m great at domestic chores—washing utensils and clothes. I’m dying to make pav bhaji and gajar ka halwa for my wife,” he assures.
Ravi continues, “But she isn’t allowing me to do anything except give her a foot massage. When she saw me cry on TV, she fainted. Now we’re unable to leave each other for even a second. I worship her, and she worships me too.”
Shaolin temple
Ravi says his life in the house had no sex. “We all lived like monks. We came out better persons. It was like being put in a Shaolin temple with 13 different people. I fought against dirty thoughts.
There was no time to be alone except in one corner where I sat smoking and talking to the sky. We were not under watch there,” he reveals.
Carol and me
He describes his relationship with inmate Carol Gracias as a ‘pavitra dosti.’ “I taught her how to speak Hindi. I used the platform to propagate Bhojpuri. I was the only known name there.
I lost because people in Bihar voted me out , thinking that they were voting for me to stay,” he reasons.
Lessons learnt
“I’ve gained a lot from ‘Bigg Boss’—gyan pyar, patni, parivar, dosti, asli chehre, nakli chehre, I won’t forget these experiences till the day I die,” says the actor.
Ravi plans to invite all the inmates of ‘Bigg Boss’ for dinner and says, “I want some of them to be my friends for the rest of my life.”
Nagma natter
Ravi Kishen hasn’t connected with favourite co-star and friend Nagma after coming out. “But I hear she had things to say while I was away. For her information it wasn’t me. It was Aryan Vaid who was bitching about her. But I wish her all the best,” he ends.
SOURCE : DNA

Read more...

Water nominated for Oscar honours

Deepa Mehta's film Water, a tale about the plight of Hindu widows in the 1930s, was on Tuesday nominated along with four other films in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the Oscars this year. The nominations to the 79th Annual Academy Awards were announced at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills. The other four films which won nominations are: After The Wedding (Denmark), Days of Glory (Algeria), The Lives of Others (Germany) and Pan’s Labyrinth (Mexico). Water, the final part of Mehta's trilogy which includes Earth and Fire, has been nominated as Canada's official entry for the awards. The film is set in the 1930s and focuses on the difficult times faced by widows abandoned by their families and living on the banks of the Ganga. "I am so thrilled with this news. This film has meant so much to me, we have seen so much, that to have it all end in such a way is best thing I could have asked for," Mehta said over phone from her residence in Canada. Deepa Mehta had intended to make the film in 2000 and wanted to shoot it in Varanasi, but was forced to call of the shooting after Sangh Parivar outfitsobjected to the subject of the film. The film originally starred Akshay Kumar, Nandita Das and Shabana Azmi but Mehta decided to re-shoot it with a different cast in 2005 in Sri Lanka with John Abraham, Lisa Ray and Seema Biswas in the lead roles. Speaking to TOI, John Abraham said,"The credit for this nomination goes to Deepa Mehta and the entire team of Water." John plans to go for the promotion of the film to America. When asked about the criticism he received for his performance in the film, he said,"I have got nothing to say to that, but I know my audience is with me." India had sent Rakyesh Mehra's film Rang De Basanti as its entry, but it failed to make it to the top 10 in the foreign film category.
SOURCE :THE TIMES OF INDIA

Read more...

Vidya denies rift with Aishwarya

Actor Vidya Balan has completely dismissed rumours of a rift with Aishwarya Rai during the making of Mani Ratnam's 'Guru'.
"By now I'm used to all kinds of rumours. But this one truly takes the cake. I can't say we got along like a house on fire simply because we didn't have that many scenes together. But whenever we worked together, Aishwarya was a dream co-star ... an absolute delight and someone I look up to."
She is quick to laugh off reports that Aishwarya was responsible for her rather short role in the film.
"To even suggest that she had my role cut is so ridiculous. I was aware of the extent of my role from the start. I did 'Guru' for the pleasure of working with Mani. There're moments in the film where Aishwarya needed to reach out to me emotionally. She did it so naturally and spontaneously that she won me over."
What about stories that Vidya didn't attend the premiere of 'Guru' in Canada because of Aishwarya?
"This is too much," giggles Vidya. "I wonder who's spreading such nonsense and for what purpose! I was in Australia shooting for Sajid Khan's 'Hey Baby' on January 10. The premiere of 'Guru' in Canada was on 12th. There was no way I could reach there and get back to my shooting without disrupting Sajid's schedule. I wouldn't do this to anyone, least of all Sajid Khan who's a first-time director and a dear friend."
She takes a deep breath and adds: "I hope this puts to rest all these silly speculations about Aishwarya's role in my life. She's way above all this petty politics. Her dignity in the face of adversity is exemplary. If I can possess even a fraction of her poise I'd consider myself lucky."
Vidya, who turned a year older January 1, says she is quite happy with the year gone by.
"After 'Parineeta' I needed to consolidate my position. 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' did that for me. 2007 will also hopefully start on an auspicious note with 'Salaam-e-Ishq' and Eklavya."
SOURCE : DNA AFTER HRS

Read more...