On the lookout for Akki's son!

January 27th, 2009

Don't get yourselves frizzled with your puzzling quotients, because it's all merely about Akshay Kumar's next film. Completing his 'London Dreams', Vipul Shah hopes on for his next project titled 'Action Replay' with his favorite star Akki on lead role. There are rumors going round in Bollywood that the title maybe rechristened as 'Fast Forward' and looks like Arjun Rampal and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's names too will feature on title cards.

Well, according to the sources a young lad donning the character of Akki's son will have a prominent role to perform. Sources suggest that Vipul has been constantly auditioning various youngsters and the film is being with comedy in mind.

The grapevine has it that Akshay Kumar is co-producing this film under his banner of Hari Om Productions. Shooting would hit the floors at ND Studios, Karjat, somewhere between mid-June 2009.

Nevertheless, Ask Vipul about this and he says "There's no such project we are working on".Of course! The filmmaker wants to keep things veiled till the film starts rolling.

Come on Vipul… we are eagerly waiting for one more hit from your combo with Akki.

Better days ahead, Rahul?

January 27th, 2009

Model-turned-actor Rahul Dev is in high spirits these days, what with no less than six of his movies lined up for release this year!

Rahul, who has been in Delhi lately, told us, “The year 2008 was extremely wonderful professionally but tragic personally. This year, I am looking forward to the release of a lot of my films. I have Freeze with Neil Nitin Mukesh and Bipasha Basu and a crazy comedy, Run Bhola Run, among others.”

And what about his debut in an animation film? “Oh, yes! I am playing the negative character opposite the great Rajnikanth in the mega animation movie being directed by his daughter Saundarya,” said he.

Preity Zinta: The New Messiah of Indian Cricket

January 26th, 2009

Riding high on the IPL success, Preity Zinta now decides to take cricket to grassroots level.

The reigning Bollywood actress Preity Zinta has always been more than a pretty face with a dimpled smile. Known for her real-life bravery and philanthropism, the lady now wants to do something for that will especially please the cricket community. Preity Zinta, the owner of the Kings XI Punjab team of the Indian Premier League (IPL) wants to nourish talent for her team and the nation at large starting at the grassroots level. "My aim is to promote cricket at the grassroots level and to nurture new talent. I also want everyone involved to have fun," Preity said.

She plans to hold a cricket seminar and a Twenty20 tournament in Chandigarh and Mohali which will see teams from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir taking part. The tournament will be organized in conjunction with the state cricket associations and the Punjab Cricket Association in particular. The matches would be played in a league format among five teams - two from Punjab and one each from the other three states. A total of 11 matches will be played in the tournament.

Preity Zinta also made lot of news as she was seen cheering and huddling with her teammates. To this Zinta retorted pertly that she was only enjoying the game in true spirit. The rumor mills however fed on the alleged Zinta-Yuvraj Singh connection for quite some months.

Meanwhile, as the IPL second season draws in, the cricket scene is abuzz with developments. The auction for the second edition will take place on 6th February in Goa where all teams, including Punjab XI Kings will vie for the crème de la crème of the international cricket. Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen and all-rounder Andrew Flintoff are in the maximum demand. Also sought are South African batsman Jean-Paul Duminy and England batsman Owais Shah. Since the cap on maximum number of overseas player has been increased to 10, all teams are interested in bringing the best talent in their side.

Saregamapa 2009 Winner | Winner of Saregamapa Challenge 2009

January 26th, 2009

Saregamapa 2009 Winner | Winner of Saregamapa Challenge 2009

Vaishali made is the winner of Saregamapa challenge 2009.Yashita Yashpal Sharma is the 2nd and shoumen nandi is 3rd topper of Saregamapa challenge 2009.Akshay Kumar with Deepika Padukone will be gracing the finale. Alongside there will be many biggies from Bollywood as well as politicians too.

Kakodkar, Madhavan Nair, Bindra, Nirmala among Padma awardees

January 26th, 2009

NEW DELHI: Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodkar, who played a key role in finalising the India-U.S. civil nuclear cooperation agreement, Indian Space Research Organisation chief G. Madhavan Nair, involved in the first Chandrayaan mission, Sister Nirmala of Mother Teresa’s Kolkata-based Missionaries of Charities and noted environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna are among ten distinguished personalities honoured with Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second highest civilian award, on this year’s Republic Day.

In all, 133 personalities from various fields were named on Sunday for Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awards on the occasion of the 60th Republic Day.

The first Olympic Gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, India’s cricket captain M.S. Dhoni, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, and the former Miss World Aishwarya Rai figure among the Padma awardees this year.

The first chancellor of Sweden-based World Maritime University Chandrika Prasad Srivastava, noted historian D.P. Chattopadhyaya, Jasbir Singh Bajaj from Punjab and Purushotam Lal from U.P., both from the world of medicine, the former Governor and noted civil servant Govind Narain and industrialist A.S. Ganguly from Maharashtra were the other Padma Vibhushan awardees.

The country’s highest civilian award – Bharat Ratna – was already announced for noted 86-year-old vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi in November last year.

Among the 30 Padma Bhushan awardees are Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia, Sam Pitroda, G. Sivarama Krishna Murthy, the duo of V.P. Dhananjayan and Shanta Dhananjayan, Vaidyanathan Ganapathi Sithapati, Shekhar Gupta, S.K. Misra, C.K. Prahalad and Sarojini Varadappan.

Padma Shri has been announced for 93 personalities. These include Aishwarya Rai, Akshay Kumar, Helen Khan, Alok Mehta, Abhay Chhajlani, Ameen Sayani, Harbhajan Singh, and Arumugam Sakthivel.

Katrina Kaif And Kareena Kapoor To Dance At The Finale Of Miss India

January 26th, 2009

Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif are set to add a dash of glamour at the grand finale of PC Jewellers Miss India Worldwide pageant to be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, on January 31.
"There will be a mix of beauty, talent and glamour at the finale of the pageant, with Bollywood beauties shaking a leg with the participants; it will be an evening to remember," host Deepak Tijori said at the press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday. Deepak's Tijori Entertainment is hosting the show with Kaleidovision.

Proud to be there

January 25th, 2009

The cold wintry morning of January 26 is not about staying indoors.

For us Indians, it is the time to celebrate, flaunt and take pride in the immense achievements that the country has made. So, even as the Republic Day parade in the capital showcases the military splendour, and the numerous tableaux provide a pretty picture of our many hued culture, celebrations are in order across the nation. And though these may remain ceremonial for an average Indian, what really fire the heart and soul of every patriotic citizen are the laurels won by Indians on the international platforms. As we celebrate our 60th Republic Day today, NT presents some Indians and events, which were a first for India and made every Indian really proud.

Abhinav Bindra: The National Anthem playing at the Beijing Olympics, even as the tricolour slowly unfurled behind the podium, is an image which will remain etched in our hearts. Sharpshooter Abhinav Bindra won the first ever Olympic gold for his country in an individual event. No celebration has been big enough to match the stature of that win.

Chandrayaan-1: The world may have considered it to be too ambitious, but India was finally on the moon as it launched its first moon mission-Chandrayaan 1 October 22, 2008. India is the fourth nation in the world to have done so.

Aravind Adiga: Though Indian authors have made it a habit to pick up the Booker with enviable frequency, yet when Aravind Adiga won the coveted award for his book The White Tiger, he became the youngest author to have got the award, crediting India with this first.

Viswanathan Anand: He became the first player in chess history to have won the World Championship in three different formats, when he defeated Vladimir Kramnik thereby becoming the World Chess Champion. With his spectacular feat, the Indian Grandmaster further spurred India's dominance in world sports.

A R Rahman: Nothing rocks India more than Bollywood songs. And now it is this very music, which is also rocking the world. By winning the Golden Globe award for the most original score for the film Slumdog Millionaire, A R Rahman has done the country really proud, being the first Indian to do so. After this an Oscar would just be the cherry on the cake.