Aishwarya Rai - Sachin default on windmill taxes

Aishwarya Rai, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, several others and political leaders who own windmills in Satara’s Patan block, haven’t paid taxes to local village panchayats, the legislative assembly was informed during question hour on Friday.

A debate ensued in the house on a question raised by Shambhuraj Desai, a Shiv Sena member from Patan, in Satara district. Taking note of the issue, speaker Babasaheb Kupekar directed the state to take steps to recover the tax and grants, and inform him about the progress before the state legislature’s budget session.

“Stars like Aishwarya Rai have their windmills here. They are not paying their dues and we are simply watching,” Kupekar said, asking the minister of state for rural affairs, Siddharam Mhetre, act on the matter immediately.

Seeking government clarification on the issue, Desai said that out of the outstanding dues of Rs16 crore, only Rs36 lakh have been recovered so far. Joining the debate, BJP leader Eknath Khadse said, “I also have a list of ruling party members who own windmills. Can we not ask them to pay the dues when poor village panchayats are suffering?”

In his defence, Mhetre said the government was considering a proposal to streamline the process of recovering dues. However, Khadse asked, “Why were the dues not recovered for so many years, when the concerned law of 1999 is clear on the matter?”
The speaker lamented that the government had not initiated any action for the recovery of taxes. He directed the minister to take steps to recover the dues before the next session of the state legislature.

Aishwarya Rai masters Tamil

Mumbai, December 20: Aishwarya Rai has many hidden talents. One is her ability to grasp languages quickly. This, the unit of Shankar's Robot discovered, while shooting with her. She was required to hold her own against the glib-talking Rajnikanth.

Tamil isn't really familiar territory for Aishwarya, so Rajnikanth and director Shankar came prepared for several re takes.

Never a problem

To everyone's surprise, Aishwarya got a grip of the language in no time at all. Says a source from the set, "She was soon rattling off the dialogues and getting a hang of the emotions with equal skill in both the Hindi and Tamil takes. So much so, that Rajnikanth, who has waited for decades to work with Aishwarya was taken aback."

When asked about the incident, Aishwarya laughs, "Regional languages have never been a problem. I did a Bengali film Chokher Bali and I was able to get a hang of the complex intonations, though later they needed a particular sing-song tone and my voice had to be dubbed."

Back to basics

But the buzz in Robot is that they are planning to retain her Tamil lines in the final print. Says the actress from Ooty, "I'm not familiar with Tamil. My mother tongue Tulu is very different from Tamil. But you must remember my first film Iruvar was in Tamil and I had to say lengthy lines in that film. From my beginnings with Mani Ratnam in Tamil to this my second Tamil film of my career.... it's been quite a journey."

Deepika Padukone on The Man and Elle

Deepika Padukone needs no introduction for she is the girl par excellence who debuted in the smash hit flick OSO, opposite none other than the King Khan himself! After OSO, Deepika was seen alongside beau Ranbir Kapoor in Bachna Ae Haseeno and despite being pitted against two haseenas, Deepika managed to stand her own. Now Deepika, who has been the face of countless brands, graces the cover of not one but two fashion and lifestyle magazines this month. While she is lending her pretty face to the latest edition of the famous lifestyle magazine The Man, Deepika is also seen strutting her stuff in the special anniversary issue of fashion magazine Elle.

In The Man, Deepika speaks about how she manages to stay fit despite such a hectic schedule (a must read for all the wannabe Deepikas). Not just that, she also shares some of her beauty tips with the readers (again, a must read for all the wannabe Deepikas). Besides all of this, she gives the readers the actual reasons for her to be associated with a million brands that she is endorsing (needless to say, that, this again, is a must read for all the wannabe Deepikas).

On the other hand Elle features Deepika in a shiny green silk and leather embellished dress, designed by Manish Arora. The special anniversary issue also gives a low down on Elle’s 50 Most Stylish People and on the 100 top peoples, things, places and trends that shaped the year 2008.

Deepika surely knows what it means to be seen at the right place at the right time. After all, being the cover girl of two top fashion and lifestyle magazines, weeks before of the release of her next flick Chandni Chowk To China will surely get her all the attention she truly deserves. Way to go babe!!!

Kareena Kapoor - Supermodel???

Kareena Kapoor - Surgeon as well as supermodel???

For her forthcoming ‘Kambakth Ishq’ Kareena Kapoor has decided to follow the looks of Sarah Jessica Parker from ‘S*x and the City’. Kareena is quoted as saying,

“My looks in Kambakht Ishq will be something audiences have not seen before. It is completely different from Tashan, Golmaal Returns and Jab We Met. I play a surgeon and a supermodel in Kambakht Ishq and my styling has been done keeping my character in mind. I always discuss my roles with Lolo and when I asked her about Kambakht Ishq, she told me to get inspiration from Sarah Jessica Parker’s look in S*x And The City. Lolo loves watching TV serials and Sarah’s cool, chic, glamorous and yet simple styles”.

Kareena Kapoor In ‘Kambakth Ishq’

Sarah Jessica Parker from ‘S*x and the City’. Kareena is quoted as saying, “My looks in Kambakht Ishq will be something audiences have not seen before. It is completely different from Tashan, Golmaal Returns and Jab We Met.

I play a surgeon and a supermodel in Kambakht Ishq and my styling has been done keeping my character in mind. I always discuss my roles with Lolo and when I asked her about Kambakht Ishq, she told me to get inspiration from Sarah Jessica Parker’s look in S*x And The City. Lolo loves watching TV serials and Sarah’s cool, chic, glamorous and yet simple styles”.

The movie has Kareena playing a surgeon who then gets transformed into an international supermodel in Italy. However, Kareena has decided to let go for her zero-size figure and go for a fuller look as she has to look convincing both as a surgeon and an international model.
“Yeah my character flies to Italy to become a super-model to support herself financially.

I didn’t want to play the character looking like an international model because she’s basically in another profession. So she can’t really have the figure of Victoria Beckham, can she? I had to look more filled up. Again, for my next release Main Aur Mrs Khanna with Salman, I play a wife. So I wanted to look more filled up. Not that wives can’t be curvaceous. The one I played in Golmaal Returns certainly was,” says Kareena.

Now Kareena has decided to hold steady with her new weight. “I weigh 54 kgs now, which for a girl of my height is quite fine. People used to wonder what ‘Size 0′ is and I’d joke, ‘Just look at me’. I don’t want that anymore. I want to look like a nice normal healthy girl,” she says.

Shah Rukh Khan - Proves His Mettle

'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi' is yet another love story of Yash Raj Films with its favorite star Shah Rukh Khan. The banner has had 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge' starring the pair of Shah Rukh opposite Kajol that hit the screens for the longest period. Then, the banner under the guidance of Aditya Chopra made 'Mohabattein' with Shah Rukh, Aishwarya Rai and Amitabh Bachchan. This time, Aditya Chopra comes back after some eight years with his favorite Shah Rukh along with a new face Anushka Sharma. It is said that Yash Chopra himself asked his son Aditya to make one movie in the wake of several of their flicks touching a low graph.

Aditya narrated the story idea to his friend Jaideep Sahni who completed the script in three months. They sought some 60 days' dates from Shah Rukh for the shoot, and also found a fresh face from Bangalore named Anushka. Soon the director began the start-to-finish shoot at the Amritsar club besides their studio in Mumbai. The USP of the movie is that in one song it salutes the super stars of yesteryears. Believe it that all SRK's co-stars like Kajol, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukherjee, obliged him. The movie is a love story but quite different in other ways. First, it's shot in India unlike others in London or Switzerland. Its lead couple faces no opposition from their families. Besides, they wear simple clothes unlike in Aditya's earlier movies.

The story begins with Surinder played by Shah Rukh Khan who is a simpleton but completely changes at the sight of Taani played by Anushka Sharma, who is just reverse of him . She is flamboyant and vivacious. But both fall a prey to circumstances and come together. However, Surinder changes into Raj by undergoing a personality change. This is a flaw ; how come Anushka didn't find out that it's her husband?

Two, Shah Rukh keeps doing so till the end. Luckily, there comes a change when Anushka is ready to elope with Raj, her dance partner. This is excellent. Anyway, the director and the storywriter are at fault . The movie runs longer than needed and that too when the audience looks for shorter duration. The music by Salim-Sulaiman is good at places. Haule Haule is an excellent composition and Dance Pe Chance is good for foot tapping. However, the other tracks are average. Ravi Chandran's cinematography is perfect.

Actingwise, Shah Rukh is superb. Anushka looks like her character even though she is a new face and gels well with ace actor like SRK. Vinay Pathak lends support throughout the movie. The present generation may appreciate the movie. So, the movie is likely to fare well at multiplexes and not so well at others. Luckily, there is no competitor in the field as it's the only release. The fate of the film, according to the actor, is in the hands of God. "Aditya and I feel that God has made this film. We think rab will take care of it and the people who go to watch it. We just want them to smile in this time of depression."

Diya Mirza - gets tech savvy !!!

If you are one of those who pay a regular visit to the bookstores, then we are sure you must've noticed that bookstores of late seem extra illuminated, more than ever! The reason for this is Diya Mirza, who is redefining the term 'cover-girl' and how...only on the December edition (which also happens to be the second anniversary issue) of 'T3', the tech-gizmo-gadget magazine.

We are really at a staggering short of words to describe the beauty with which she carries the flamingly crimson red dress on the cover. One mere look at Diya, and we start wondering if the dress is enhancing her or vice versa. But amidst all this, what we forgot about is the lucky cell phone that has found its place in heaven, we mean, Diya's palms! The reader will be in for a shock not to see her interview anywhere in the mag. But the shock will be doubled when they see her posing with all the latest gizmos and gadgets, which include a laptop, watch and yes... a cell phone also!

We are sure of one thing that those for whom gadgets and gizmos mean nothing will start meaning them the world after checking out this issue! Just check it out yourself...it's a collector's item!

Diya Mirza Attended Peaceful Protest against Mumbai Killing

It was the huge crowd gathered in Mumbai near Taj Hotel protesting against the Mumbai killing and casual attitude of the government that led to the 26th November 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai. Diya Mirza along with Neha Dhupia and other celebrities from the city took with common mass of the city to express their solidarity and condolences with people who were killed in the heinous act of fanaticism.

The protestors were marching through the city bearing signs and flags with an appeal to the people of the nation to rally against the country’s politicians. Though the rally was more focused on a need for peace yet it displayed anger and disappointment within the people and against the government.

Priyanka Chopra’s 12 rashis!

Sanjeev Kumar did it in Naya Din Nayi Raat, Eddie Murphy’s done it in Nutty Professor, and now apni Priyanka Chopra’s all set to do it as well.

Play multiple roles, that is! While these actors played nine and seven roles in their films respectively, Priyanka is apparently going to play 12 different roles in Ashutosh Gowarikar’s What’s your Rashi? with boyfriend Harman Baweja.

And the buzz is that she will be playing 12 different characters belonging to the 12 rashis (zodiac signs)! Now obviously nobody’s willing to reveal the facts but in an earlier interview to BT, the actress admitted that this film is very special to her. “It’s a romantic comedy and my character is something nobody’s ever played in Indian cinema, no female heroine for sure.”
Hmmm, so do we conclude the buzz is true?

Priyanka Chopra’s 12 different characters in ‘What’s your Rashi’

These days Priyanka Chopra’s career graph is on the right platform. She has become the talk of the town after two successful films ‘Fashion’ and ‘Dostana’.

The buzz is that she is very excited about her forthcoming film ‘What’s your Rashi’ with Harman Baweja. The film is directed by none other Ashutosh Gowarikar.

The director Ashutosh Gowarikar is back on the news headlines with his next flick ‘What’s your Rashi’. It is said that Priyanka Chopra will play 12 different roles in a single movie. The title of the film is based on 12 zodiac signs but nothing has been announced officially. The movie is based on the novel Kimball Ravenswood which is written by Madhu Rye.

Talking about Harman Baweja and Priyanka Chopra Ashutosh stated, “When I saw Harman in the film ‘Love Story 2050′ I requested his father to show me the rushes. He turned out to be fantastic. He is an amazing actor. I was confirmed in my belief that he is the best person for the part. Harman came into the picture first then I signed Priyanka Chopra.”

Priyanka Chopra says, “It is a romantic comedy and my character is something nobody’s ever played in Indian cinema, no female actress for sure. I hope the film turns out interesting too. This film will also give a lift to my career.”