Acid Attack Victim 'Swapnika' Died':Latest Video footage

Britney Spears' in love with indian Choreographer?

Hyderabad Dec 31 :Britney Spears spent Christmas with Bollywood dance instructor Sandip Soparrkar.

The 27-year-old singer - who has two sons, three-year-old Sean Preston, and two-year-old Jayden James, with ex-husband Kevin Federline - sparked rumours there is more to her relationship with Sandip after spending the festive holiday with him in his home country of India.

A source said: "It's early days yet but their romance is going from strength to strength. Britney and Sandip tried to keep their trip to India a secret as they are determined to have a relationship just like any other couple.

"Sandip is very down to earth and keeps Britney grounded. He is also quite spiritual and sensitive, which is a side of him she adores."

Britney is said to be so taken with the dance instructor - who choreographed the video for her hit single 'Womanizer' - she is even attempting to learn more about Indian culture to feel closer to Sandip.

The source added to Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper: "For Christmas, Sandip - or Sandy as Britney calls him - presented her with a traditional Indian sari. She wore it during a candlelit dinner.

"The pair were whispering and giggling all night. Sandip ordered local delicacies such as chicken tikka and cottage cheese curry. They were really cute together."

Earlier this month, Sandip revealed he was looking forward to working with Britney on routines for her upcoming world tour.

He said: "I'll be meeting her for work only, when she visits Jodhpur. We'll just be doing a bit of rehearsals, since I am planning to do the rumba, which is the dance of love. Britney is really looking forward to coming to India.

"She has heard a lot about it and what tops her list here is trying out the spicy Indian curry."

Acid Attack Victim 'Swapnika' Died

Hyderabad Dec 31: Warangal Acid attack victim Swapnika who is undergoing treatment in Yashoda Hospital in Hyderabad was died in Early Hours of Wednesday.Seriously Injured Swapnika fighting for her life was in Coma from past two days.Swapnika was the final year Engineering student of KITS Colleged Warangal.

NDTV Video on Swapnika's death .

Swapnika addressing to media after the Acid attack

Audi R8 comes to Hyderabad

Hyderabad Dec 30 :The R8 model of premier luxury car brand'Audi' made its debut in Hyderabad today.

The Audi R8 is the latest offering from the Audi stable and has won several awards across the world, Rajiv M Sanghvi, Managing Director of Olympus Motors, dealers of Audi India, for Andhra Pradesh, told reporters."It has won number of awards and is truly a futuristic car. It has 42 litre engine," he said.

The car, with ex-showroom price of Rs 1.17 crore, has got two orders in the city so far and they will be delivered next month, he said.

Replying to a query, Sanghvi said the impact of global financial crisis is likely to be minimal on the sales of Audi R8.

its a source from PTI

Ramalinga Raju asks Employees for 'Continued faith' in Company

Hyderabad, Dec 30 : Satyam Computer Services founder-chairman B. Ramalinga Raju Tuesday told his employees to beware of "wild speculation and unchecked rumours" following the Maytas’ deal fiasco.

“Please be assured that the board and the leadership team are doing everything possible to get Satyam back on track. We cannot do this without your help, however. I ask for your continued faith in Satyam and for your steadfast focus on your customers, especially in the face of wild speculation and unchecked rumor,” Raju said in a letter to his over 50,000 employees.

Admitting that events of the past two weeks had raised many questions, especially on the viability of the company’s business strategy to diversify and the effectiveness of its corporate governance, Raju asserted Satyam did not and does not intend to retreat from IT and BPO (business process outsourcing) services in any way.

The company would focus exclusively on these markets, he said.

“We are committed to the IT services and BPO business as it has been since the company’s inception in 1987. While the idea that we could diversify into an unrelated business was rejected by our investors, it was formed with the belief that doing so would not imperil our leadership in our core business or lessen our commitment to it, and that all stakeholders would benefit,” the letter stated.

On corporate governance, Raju noted that the board arrived at a decision to bid for Maytas by following all required processes and procedures. While there was a spirited discussion among members, their vote to approve the motion was unanimous.

The chairman also flagged to his techies about the company winning numerous awards for excellence in corporate governance, including the Golden Peacock Global Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance on two separate occasions, with the most recently being in 2008.

“Over the past two weeks, we have been communicating these facts to our customers, and I'm pleased to report that customers continue to show a high level of trust in Satyam,” Raju said.

Referring to the loss of investor confidence in the management, Raju said the company had taken steps to regain their confidence.

'The steps include strengthening the board by changing its size and composition, and engaging DSP Merrill Lynch to provide strategic advice and options,” he added.

The board will meet Jan 10 to consider the options and chart a course of action to boost stakeholders' confidence.

'Ghajini' made USD 4 million in Overseas on Chirstmas Weekend

Hyderabad Dec 30 :Aamir Khan's Ghajini has grossed USD 4 million in overseas in its opening Christmas weekend.

BIG Pictures was the distributor of the film across 22 countries overseas. Jawahar Sharma, COO - International Film Business, BIG Pictures said that the film's opening weekend performance in the Middle East and North America has set new records.

In North America the film opened with weekend collections of USD 1.4 million, the second highest in 2008.

In Middle East the opening weekend collection stood at USD 0.92 million, highest opening for a Hindi film.

Australia saw the film doing business of Australian dollars 254,000. The film will also open in Myanmar, Uganda, Malaysia and Morocco in coming weeks, Sharma said.

Ghajini also opened simultaneously in UK, Ireland, Norway, Germany, Denmark, Holland, Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, New Zealand, Fiji, Mauritius, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia where it has broken all previous records including that of any previous Aamir Khan starrer.

"Ghajini's performance demonstrates that the overseas audience are equally accepting of quality action films, which are still a rarity coming out of India. We are extremely pleased with the film's opening, which has created bench marks in various international markets like North America, Australia and Middle East," Sharma said.

Bhumika's New Film with Navdeep Titled 'Yagam'

Bhumika's new film with Navdeep as hero has been titled as Yagam. Director Arun Prasad who directed Gowtham SSC directs the film. Bhumika ,Kim Sharma are playing opposite Navadeep in this romantic action entertainer that has almost completed its shooting part. Major part of the shooting is took place in Bangkok and Hyderabad.The movie is going to be Released in January End.Bhumuka's Husband's Down Town Films Presents the movie Yagam

First day of 2009 to see 4 new realeases in Tollywood

Hyderabad Dec 30:on Jan 1st 2009 Tollywood is going to see four Telugu film releases. Krishna Vamsi’s Sasirekha Parinayam with Tarun and Genelia generated lots of interest among the movie lovers. Harsha P Reddy’s thriller Indumathi is also releasing on the same day. Posani Krishna Murali’s Mental Krishna with Satya Krishnan as heroine will hit the marquee on 1st Jan. Yashwant’s Maha Nagaramlo is also releasing today .

Sun Pictures is Funding Highly for Rajini Kanth's 'Yantram'

Hyderabad Dec 30 :The budget of Shankar’s magnum opus, ‘Endhiran, the Robot’, might touch Rs.180 crore, it is reported. Sun Pictures, who have taken over the production of the Rajnikanth-starrer from Ayngaran Films International, have reportedly asked the director not to worry about the costs, however high it may be. The original budget of the film was Rs. 150 crore.

It is learnt that the company has advised Shankar to re-shoot some of the sequences that were recently shot in Chennai. Though originally meant to be shot overseas, these were canned in Chennai due to the financial reservations expressed by Ayngaran Films.

The producers have reportedly reached an understanding with the English film channel HBO to market the film.

The film has some of the biggest names in Hollywood working in its technical team. The female lead is Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and the music is scored by A.R.Rahman

Chiranjeevi himself is a symbol of victory

Hyderabad Dec 30 :Praja Rajyam party president Chiranjeevi arrived to New Delhi to request the Chief Election Commissioner to grant his party a common symbol to contest in the coming elections. After meeting the Election Commissioner, addressing the media Chiranjeevi said that, he has requested the commissioner to grant his party a common symbol for the coming elections.

Even if the election commission does not grant his party a common symbol, chiranjeevi said that, contestants still have fair chance of winning the elections with the Symbol- Chiru He is confident that his image is enough to give his party a landslide victory with a clean sweep in the elections. Chiranjeevi said that his party would win at least 225 seats in the coming elections.

Michael Jackson Preparing for World Tour?

Los Angeles Dec 30 – Michael Jackson is not only not suffering from a life-threatening lung ailment, he's so healthy he's planning a world tour!

In response to recent comments made by celebrity conspiracy-theorist Ian Halperin, the pop icon's rep issued a statement Monday saying that "wild allegations concerning Mr. Jackson's health are a total fabrication."

"Concerning this author's allegations, we would hope in the future that legitimate media will not continue to be exploited by such an obvious attempt to promote this unauthorized 'biography,'" Jackson spokesman Dr. Tohme Tohme said of Halperin's in-the-works bio, which claims that the Thriller artist is suffering from a genetic condition called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency that could require a lung transplant to save him.

"Mr. Jackson is in fine health, and finalizing negotiations with a major entertainment company and television network for both a world tour and a series of specials and appearances," Tohme continued.

Well, that would be news then, wouldn't it?

Jackson said something along those lines in October when he put the kibosh on rumors—started by his own brothers—that the original Jackson 5 would be teaming up for a "Hey, look at us!" tour.

"I am now in the studio developing new and exciting projects that I look forward to sharing with my fans in concert soon," Jacko said at the time.

We're sure the loyal fans who have stuck with him—through good times and bad, trials and errors, wheelchair rides and face masks, flops and Thriller reissues—can hardly wait.

Rare Pic of the day : Genelia Childhood pic

Genelia not only a Good actor but also a good Sports person too

No alliance with BJP for Lok Sabha polls, says Chiranjeevi

New Delhi, Dec 29 (IANS) South Indian film star-turned-politician Chiranjeevi Monday ruled out an alliance between his newly formed political outfit Praja Rajyam and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in his home state Andhra Pradesh for the coming Lok Sabha elections.”We are ready to form an alliance with all secular parties,” Chiranjeevi told reporters after his meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N. Gopalaswami here.

“Praja Rajyam is a secular party while the BJP is not and there could not be any truck with it,” he said.

He also said a final decision on the poll alliance was yet to be taken.

The South Indian matinee idol said he requested the Election Commission to allot a symbol to his party though, according to the rules, the poll panel does not provide a common symbol to the candidates of a new party contesting the polls for the first time.

Without a common symbol, each candidate will have to contest on his/her own separate symbol.

“A single symbol is very important for the party’s identity and we have discussed the matter with Gopalaswami,” Chiranjeevi said.

He cited the instances of other parties like the Telugu Desam Party and Telangana Rashtriya Samiti, which were granted symbols soon after they were launched.

Sneha's Marraige with Playback Singer Gireesh on Feb 1st ?

Hyderabad Dec 29:South Indian Actress Sneha Who started her career with 'Priyamaina Neeku' famous for her traditional look is entering into Wedlock with Playback Tamil Singer Gireesh .There association started in a Tamil TV show and has gone a bit beyond friendship.With Parents Approving Sneha is going to marry in Feb.

Rare pic of the Day :Sushmitha Sen with Daughter Reene

'Krishnavamshi's' Next Project With Srikanth

Hyderabad Dec 29: After 'Shasiraka Parinayam' Krishnavamshi is going to Direct Srikanth in his Next film.Incidentally Its going to be Srikanth's 10th movie in his career.Earlier Srikanth played as a cop in Krishna Vamsi’s “Khadgam” and for his performance got tremendous appreciation, and now that is the reason that Srikanth wants to work under him again. This film will have political backdrop. There will be 3 heroines opposite Srikanth. It will be launched in Next Month.

Rare Pic of the Day : Bala Krishna's Family Pic

'Ghajini' to be Dubbed to Spanish

Hyderabad Dec 29 :Madhu Mantena one of the producer of "Ghajini", is planning to dub his smash hit into Spanish language and release it in the US and Spain in about two months' time.
He said, 'Usually most big films are dubbed in German and released in Germany, but we are dubbing 'Ghajini' in Spanish because I feel Spanish emotions are very close to Indian emotions.'
He said that though Spain has a small market, it would get good play in the US.
'The Spanish community is the second largest community after the Americans in the US. So we plan to give it a mainstream Spanish release in the US. We are mainly targeting the west coast and Mexican borders that have a huge Spanish population,' Mantena said.

KBL Swetha Prasad Pairing with Vaibhav of 'Godava' fame

Hyderabad Dec 29 :'Godava' Fame Vaibhav, son of A.KodandaRami Reddy is pairing up with Swetha Prasad of 'Kotha bangaru Lokam' that is going to be produced by their own Prosuction House. G.Nageshwar Reddy is directing this flick. Earlier, Nageshwar Reddy directed 'Seema Sastri' with Allari Naresh and achieved a success. The technical departments include Gopi Mohan for Screenplay, BVS Ravi to pen dialogues. This movie would go on to floors from January.

Maska Trailer

Starring
Ram, Hansika, Sheela, Sunil, Mukesh Rushi, Pradeep raawat, Naresh, Jhansi, Paruchuri Venkateswararao, Telangana Sakuntala, Brahmanandam, Aali, Dharmavarapu, MS Narayana, Krishna Bhagwan.

Miss South India 2009

Faith Pandey (centre) was crowned Pantaloons Femina Miss India South 2009 along with Ragini Dwivedi (left) as the first runner up and Zara Shah (right) the second runner up. The event was held in Hyderabad Convention Center HITEX

Hollywood actress 'Jessica Alba' in Tamil Film?

Hyderabad Dec 29 :As everyone knows about the most famous Hollywood actress Jessica Alba of 'Fantastic 4 ' fame who will be called to act in the Tamil film GOA. It would be surprised one to all but the buzz are ahead around the Kollywood that Venkat prabhu(Sajora Film Director) called Jessica Alba to act in his upcoming film GOA. He needs a Hollywood actor to act in the movie and decided to call Jessica to do the role. But the confirmation from her is not yet received by Venkat. She is my best actress and I’m expecting her to do this kind of movie. Lets see what gonna to be happen. we should really appreciate the director for taking different attempt to give films in variety of styles.

Prakajraj is Happy for his own productions Success

Hyderabad Dec 29 :Prakash Raj is happy that his movie Tamil Movie in which he acted and Produced 'Abhiyum Naanum' is doing well and turning out to be popular among the family audiences. Prakash Raj Says , “The film rocks and has been declared a hit. I was in the theatre on Christmas eve, gauging audience reaction to my film. After the show, some of them came and hugged me and said with tears in their eyes — ‘I could see the reflection of the love I shower on my children in the movie’. As a filmmaker, I can’t ask for anything more. The appreciation has been overwhelming.” The film is a multiplex hit and is doing well in all major cities of tamil nadu. Its Telugu version has been snapped up by leading producer and distributor Dil Raju for a whopping Rs 1.25 crore. Last week, producer Boney Kapoor and his actress wife Sridevi, who watched the movie with their two daughters, purchased the Hindi remake rights of the film. It is likely to be directed by Radha Mohan, who did the original. Boney is keen on casting his brother Anil Kapoor to reprise Prakash Raj’s role in the original. He is also trying to rope in his niece Sonam Kapoor to enact Trisha’s role. Priyadarshan, who saw a special screening of the film said, “It is the best feel-good family entertainer I have seen in recent times.” Vikram’s wife Shyla told Prakash Raj that it was one of the most moving films she had seen and that it was a lovely experience. Prakash also said that in most theatres, the audience gave a standing ovation at the end of the show.

Shekar Kammula to Direct Rama Naidu's grandson 'Rana'

Hyderabad Dec 28 :At last after a year gap director Sekhar Kammula Had decided to direct a film in his own style introducing Rana, Ramanaidu’s grandson Producer Suresh Babu's Son.

It is known fact that Rana has been trying to make debut as actor but now that his launch pad has been confirmed.

Sekhar Kammula is introducing Rana as hero in his next film that is to be produced by prestigious production house AVM. And the movie would be officially launched in the first week of January.

AVM has already producing another movie in Telugu with Varun Sandesh (of Happy Days fame) as hero. Now it has roped in Sekhar and Rana together for this new flick.

Varun Sandesh AVM Productions Movie titled as 'Evaraina Epudaina'

Hyderabad Dec 28 :'Happy Days’ and‘Kotha Bangaru Lokam’fame Varun Sandesh who is Riding high with his success graph, now geared for new project which is on sets is being directed by Marthand K Shankar. Varun Sandesh is pairing up with Vimala Raman(Miss Australia 2004) a entry into tollywood it is a love story which is being produced together by M.Sharvanan and MS Guhan on AVM Productions banner.

Presently, the crew is busy shooting in the outskirts of Hyderabad city. The movie is almost near the end . The title is decalared as 'Evaraina Epudaina' with a tag line – Premalo Padochu.Once the talkie parts are done, the songs will be completed in the remaining schedule. The makers are planning to release the film in the month of April.

Nagarjuna's 'King' was shortened by 10 min

Hyderabad Dec 28 :Nagarjuna’s King which was released last weekend and has got Hit talk all over Andhra and the collections seem to be excellent but the general talk is that it is too lengthy. Hence the film has been trimmed by 10 minutes. From tomorrow, in all the screens it will be showing the trimmed and tight version.

Dhoni acting with John Abraham and Genelia Ssouza

Hyderabad Dec 28 :After Anil Kumble, the Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni, who is seeking his hand on both. The actor is ready to make its debut with John Abraham and Genelia DSouza David Dhawan in 'Hook Ya Crook ". Uday Chopra is also in the movie.

Thunderstorm leaves vacationing Obama family in dark for 10 hours

HONOLULU Dec 28 :Power was restored to much of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, after a thunderstorm led to a massive blackout that left about 800,000 residents and tourists -including vacationing U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and his family in the dark for 10 hours

NC(National Conference) leads but Jammu Kashmir to have a hung Assembly

Hyderabad Dec 28 :National Conference, which is emerging as the single largest party in Jammu and Kashmir after elections, will stake a claim to form the government in alliance with the Congress, said party President Omar Abdullah.Find the election results below


JAMMU AND KASHMIR POLL RESULTS (87)

Party Wins
NC 28
PDP 21
Cong 17
BJP 11
Oth 10

Remembering Savithri on her Death Anniversary

Salman Khan turns 43 Today

Hyderabad Dec 28 :Bollywood's "most eligible bachelor", Salman Khan, turned 43 today. The actor and his "Khan"daan left for their farmhouse at Panvel in Navi Mumbai last night where he will spent his birthday in the company of close family and friends.

Salman, who has seen several ups and downs in his 20- year-old film career, remains one of the most loved personalities and one of the biggest draws in the industry.

The actor who recently turned script-writer with director Anil Sharma's 'Veer' is currently shooting for it in Mumbai.

Other upcoming films include Vipul Shah's 'London Dreams', Sohail Khan's 'Main aur Mrs Khanna' and Boney Kapoor's 'Wanted: Dead or alive'.

Jummu Kashmir Grears up for Election Results today

SRINAGAR Dec 28: From being one of the world's flashpoints, Jammu & Kashmir appears to be sliding into a healthy morass of democratic politics.
As the state awaits results from the seven-phase elections on Sunday, the political majors - National Conference, People's Democratic Party and Congress - are engaged in hectic behind-the-scenes manoeuvres for a no-holds-barred crack at power.

With no party seeing a clear majority, the scene has shifted to smoke-filled parlours - like in the rest of the country. Old rivalries are being forgotten as new alliances are sought with the three contending parties working overtime to prove right the adage that there are no permanent friends or allies in politics. For all their claim to be different, J&K seems to have succumbed to the seduction of the realpolitik of stitching up a coalition.

Observers predict neither PDP nor NC will get a majority in the 87-member House, though some feel that the high turnout could favour the former. Congress is expected to emerge poorer because of the impact of the Amarnath land transfer controversy on its Jammu voter base, but may finish with enough clout to play the tiebreaker. BJP may bag some seats in the Hindu-dominated Samba, Jammu and Udhampur districts, but will remain on the Jammu margins.

Despite the polarization over the Amarnath land transfer controversy and the violence that ensued, Kashmiris for the first time in decades overwhelmingly defied a separatist boycott call, posting between 50% and 80% turnouts, indicating that they would rather go with the democratic flow and have themselves heard.

Apprehending the unexpected, senior Shia PDP leader Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari on Thursday met Congress leader and Union water resources minister Saif-ud-din Soz in a hotel here and discussed the possibilities for government formation if PDP emerges as a leading player. What could rock Ansari's boat, however, is the ambivalence with which ex-chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad tends to view a Congress-PDP alliance, which only a few months ago had hit rock bottom.

"Why should we form a coalition government? We are emerging as the largest single party on Sunday," Azad told TOI.

While Soz and M L Fotedar favour a coalition with PDP, Azad appears to be veering towards NC, said a Congress politician.

Omar Abdullah, equally upbeat about NC's prospects, said: "Our party will emerge as the single largest and we will form the next government with the support of like-minded parties. Not necessarily the Congress. The Independents, too, will have a role in government formation.''

"We are in touch with a few Independent candidates. Smaller groups will have a role to play. But it would be premature to discuss the posibilities,'' he added.

Interestingly, Congress MP Sachin Pilot - he is also Farooq Abdullah's son-in-law - is busy trying to bring about a thaw in the relations between the Abdullahs and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi that have been sour. Sonia has been miffed with Farooq over his "intemperate" remarks on the Bofors case that went against Rajiv Gandhi. Making things worse, Farooq joined BJP-led NDA at the Centre.

Sachin even tried to arrange a dinner party for the two families to sort out their differences, which couldn't materialise due to Sonia's engagements.

Aware that the going won't be smooth, PDP's Tariq Hamid Karra, who was finance minister in Azad's government, is hopeful of allying with Congress. "Congress is our natural ally,'' he said, claiming the party's high command has given indications about ties with PDP.

PDP leader and ex-chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, when contacted, said: "Wait until Sunday. Let's not make any kind of hypothesis.''

But Tahir Mohiuddin, editor of Chattan, a popular Urdu weekly, said, "The next government seems likely to be headed by NC - maybe with support of Congress, because Congress can't afford to stay out of power given their weakening hold in Jammu, evident in the last phase.''

Rare piic of the day : Jayasudha Family Pic

Humur : Pic of the day

Day has come Where Man Cannot live without Phone and Laptop in the Bathroom too

'Badri' girl Amisha Marrying?

Hyderabad Dec 27 :The honeysweet beauty Ameesha Patel of Badri and Nani Fame was making news in the tinsel town recently. Apparently, the buzz was that she got married to beau Kanav Puri and it looked almost a confirmation until Ameesha was asked about it. The pretty starlet quashed all that as rumors and made it clear that there is still a lot of time for that to happen. For now, Ameesha is busy minting money with her plum offers and is looking for a House in Mumbai to buy

Pawan Kalayans 'Puli' Changed to 'Komaram Puli'

Hyderabad Dec 27 : Pawan Kalyan's Film 'Puli' Which is on Sets changed its title to 'Komaram Puli' a Press Conference is held in Hyderabad by director Surya and Producer Ramesh to announce the same.'Nikhisha' a new heronie from bollywood is debuting with this movie.The latest schedule Komaram Puli will be starting on 3 January and will continue till 15 February. With this schedule, the talkie part of the film will be complete. The songs will be shot in March and the producer is planning to release the film in Summer of 2009. Remaining Starcast includes Manoj Bajpai, Charan Raj, Saranya, Nassar and Ali. AR Rehman provides music. Binod Pradhan handles cinematography

Jeevitha Reacts to Neetu Chandra's Allegations

Rare Pic of the Day : Meenakshi Sheshadri Family Pic

Miss India South Final at Hyderabad International Convention Centre

The Pantaloons Femina Miss India South 2009 finalists gear up for the grand finale tonight at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre.

Kamal Hassan to act in 'Wednesday' Tamil Version

Hyderabad Dec 27 :These days, terrorism-related stories have become popular among filmmakers. According to sources, the recently-released critically-acclaimed, slick Bollywood thriller A Wednesday is being remade in Tamil with Kamal Haasan acquiring its remake rights.

Sources add that while top actor Kamal would be enacting the role of a mysterious bomber, which was portrayed beautifully by Nasiruddeen Shah, Malayalam superstar Mammootty would be playing the role of the police commissioner, which was enacted by Anupam Kher. It is believed that Kamal would be producing the movie and the details of who will comprise the remaining cast and crew, including the director, are being worked out

"Stalin" Murugadoss Dreams Big in Bollywood

Hyderabad Dec 26 :Every director from the south dreams of making it Big in Bollywod. Many directors tried their best but not succeeded. Only exceptions are Mani Ratnam and Ram Gopal Varma. According to sources, now Murugadoss is dreaming to make it Big in Bollywood.

Ghajini as been getting rave reviews and Murugadoss is on cloud nine. The buzz is that, Murugadoss has aspirations to become the number one director in India. If the sources are to believed, his next script is ready but he will only delve into it after a much-needed gap since Ghajini has drained most of his creative energy.

Benz Buses all set to redefine luxury travel in State

Hyderabad Dec 26 : Passengers can hope to travel long distance in the luxury of Mercedes Benz buses to be introduced by the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) soon. APSRTC officials said that for starters a Mercedes Benz bus would be test-driven for 45 days in the state. Based on its performance, the corporation will place an order for procuring a few MB buses.

During the test period, APSRTC will ply the bus and collect regular ticket fare from passengers. "Except fuel, there is nothing the corporation has to bear during the test period. The 45-seater vehicle will be given to the corporation with insurance," a senior APSRTC official said. Similarly, 17 new luxury buses (10 Luxura and seven Serita vehicles) would be introduced in addition to the existing 100 Garuda buses for high-end passengers. A high-end Tata 1623 will also hit the roads before the second week of January.

"The difference between new buses and the existing Garuda fleet is that the passenger will have more legroom and more space in the aisle. The driver will also have more comfortable place to run the vehicle," the official said. The corporation has formulated plans to run these luxury shuttle services buses between Hyderabad and Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Banglore and Tirupati and from Vijayawada to coastal Andhra.

Global Recession Hits GRE Exam takers

HYDERABAD Dec 26 : Global meltdown and a series of murders of Indian youth, especially from Andhra Pradesh, in America seem to have deterred studentsfrom taking the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) that enables admission into academic programmes in the US. The number of aspirants taking GRE has come down drastically: it has fallen from 75,000 in the last year to 55,000 this year.

India, which used to lead in its share of GRE candidates, has come almost to the level of China this year (52,000).

A city-based consultants Education Testing Services, said the number has come down in the city as well with not more than a few hundred students opting for the test. "The numbers are low this year. Since this is a countrywide scenario, we were not surprised. The meltdown and anxiety about future prospects could be the reason," an ETS consultant told TOI.

Most students who go abroad usually opt for either business management, technical education or medicine. According to the ETS website, the GRE takers for 2008 from across the globe were expected to be around 6,75,000 whereas the figures at the closing of the year is 6,21,000.

"I was planning to apply for a short-term course in finance in the US, but dropped the plan as not many post-studies opportunities are existing now. There was also talk this year that the GRE will be tougher as not many immigrants are welcome to the US during the meltdown," Gillete Sam, a language trainer and MBA student from the city, said.

Meanwhile, coaching institutes which were teeming with GRE aspirants the previous years have been hit by the meltdown. "The number of students joining the institute for GRE coaching has also gone down. Many of them expressed fears that the current economic crisis might not give them a chance to settle in the US. Who would want to return to India after paying through the nose," TIME course coordinator and spokesperson Jaideep Singh Chowdhary said. Chowdhary said students were also worried about their safety aboard as many students had been murdered in the past few months in the US.

The all-time low in the recent years is after the upsurge of the number of applicants from the India in 2007. The ETS had to stop the tests as the number of people applying for tests were more than they could manage.

The ETS has plans of conducting orientation programmes to increase the number of applicants as the graduate programmes in the US would have to be run with vacant seats as most of the Asian students in America are from India and China.

Television Industry Calling Jyothika

Hyderabad Dec 26 :Ever since Sonia Aggarwal, who married director Selvaraghavan, decided to act in a tele-serial, many married heroines are being offered a part either in soap operas or on reality shows. Sonia Aggarwal is reportedly commanding Rs.75,000 per day.

The Grapevine is that a popular television channel has sent feelers to actress Jyothika, who had quit cinema to marry Suriya. Jo has reportedly been offered a fee higher than what Sonia commands. The bubbly actress has reportedly expressed her willingness to act provided the script is challenging enough

Prabhudeva won't act again!

Hyderabad Dec 26 :Prabhudeva has opted out of the Thankar Bachan film, in which was to play the lead. It was the tragic death of his 12-year-old son that prompted Prabhudeva to change his mind, it is reported.

The shooting for the film was to commence in January, after the release of his Tamil Flim ‘Villu’, starring Vijay and Nayantara. Prabhudeva has conveyed his decision to Thankar, it is reported.

Prabhudeva, who has not donned the grease paint for the past few years, has been concentrating in directing films in Tamil and Telugu’. ‘Villu’is likely to be released during Sankranthi.

'Pak deploys more troops near Rajasthan border'

Jaipur Dec 26 : Pakistan has deployed more troops across the international border with Rajasthan in the wake escalation of tension between the two countries, BSF officials said.

"A lot of military movement is being noticed in districts just across the international border for the last few days, which is not normal," R C Dhyani, DIG of Rajasthan frontier BSF,said over phone from Jodhpur.

"Patrolling across the border has intesified while defence personnel are constantly on vigil from watch towers," he said.

Targets in Pak identified: IAF officer

"It was not a normal practice some days ago and after escalation of tension between two countries Pakistan has deployed more troops across border," he added.

Dhyani said though the situation is under control, the BSF is prepared to meet any eventuality.

ADG of BSF U K Bansal visited the border areas in Barmer, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur districts on Wednesday and he is understood to have noticed that the movement of troops across the border has intensifed

At Last Vikrams Film 'Mallana's Release date was announced

Hyderabad :After having disappeared from the silver screen for a long time, the famous hero Vikram is all set to arrive with his new film and he has been busy wrapping up the remaining parts of the movie. We are talking about the film 'Mallanna' and this has been directed by Susi Ganesan as a bilingual in Telugu and Tamil. Now, the makers have announced that the film will be hitting the screens on May 1st next year. Looks like the summer next year is going to be real hot.

Four years after tsunami ,hunt for missing children continues

CHENNAI Dec 26: "I want to see her at least once,'' says Sergeant Ravi Shankar of the Indian Air Force, breaking down. The sergeant, posted in New Delhi, is visiting Chennai in the hope that he may finally be reunited with his daughter Apurva Kumari who, if alive, would be 12 years old today.

Accompanied by his friend M Venkataraman, Shankar has been to several temples across the country, showing his daughter's photos to strangers in the desperate hope that someone would help him track her. Venkataraman too is searching for his son Arvind Srinivasan, who would be a teenager now.

It is the eve of the fourth anniversary of the tsunami that killed 1,20,000 along the coastlines of 12 countries in south east Asia. In India, the toll was estimated at 10,805 dead and over 5,640 missing, of which children constituted a large percentage. Many like Apurva and Arvind remain untraced. In their case, their fathers are certain that the children, after being separated from the families, made it to a tsunami relief camp, from where they were abducted.

The two children went missing when tsunami waves crashed into the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, sweeping away hundreds with their force. Ravi Shankar and Venkataraman, both sergeants, had been posted at the Air Force Station, Car Nicobar Islands. Apurva was eight years old and Arvind 12 years when the tidal waves hit the islands on December 26, 2004, submerging most of them under water.

Both men say they were able to hold on to a tree branch and float to safety. Ravi Shankar's wife clung to her one-year-old baby boy and managed to reach dry ground. But the baby had swallowed too much sea water and died in her arms. Their daughter was missing. As for the Venkataramans, he managed to drag his wife out from a mass of dead bodies floating in the water and save her. His daughter, 13, too managed to swim to safety, but his son was not to be found.

When the sergeants, who were transferred to the Air Force Station at Tambaram in the aftermath of tsunami, went back to Port Blair a few months later, they showed photographs of their missing children to relief workers. Some of them said they had seen children who resembled Arvind and Apurva in the camps. "At least three women said they had seen my daughter," recalled Ravi Shankar. But there were no further leads to go by; the crestfallen father had to return to work.

As for Venkataraman, he had read a report that orphans from Andaman and Nicobar Islands were sent to Kolkata. Sensing hope, the sergeant and his in-laws visited orphanages in the city, carrying photos of Arvind. The register of orphans in one of the camps run by the Nirmala School, a welfare institution in Port Blair, even mentioned a boy named Arvind.

"One of the pastors serving with a missionary in Kolkata said he had seen the boy in the camp in Port Blair. We flew to Port Blair. The authorities in the camp had apparently sent my son with two men, who claimed they were his uncles, but had no identity or even an address," said a shocked Venkataraman.

Last year, Sivakami, a friend of his sister-in-law, who left Andaman after the tsunami disaster to settle in Tamil Nadu, recalled meeting Arvind in one of the relief camps, and in fact, had spotted "the accompanying uncle'' as well. Venkataraman took her to a police station in Puducherry, where his in-laws reside, and got the sketch of the "uncle'' using computer generated graphics. He went back to Port Blair with the picture, but in vain. "A complaint of kidnap has been filed but Andaman police slept on it," he said. After he petitioned the President, Prime Minister and home minister, the police made a few enquiries but the boy was nowhere to be found.

With the governments and police force unwilling to part with information on the investigation and unable to help, the frustrated fathers are now visiting temples and astrologers keeping their fingers tightly crossed and with undying hope in their heart. "A keen study of videos shot at the relief camps in Port Blair could open a door or two,'' pointed out Venkataraman. But they were denied the tapes.

Puri-Prabhas to Team up Again

Hyderabad Dec 26 :Presently Prabhas is in Malaysia to shoot some songs and scenes for Billa. In a recent press release he states, “My next film is be produced by Aditya Ram and Puri Jagannath is to be the director and presenter. The film will be a big budget film.”

Aditya Ram confirmed the news and said, “When it is a film Prabhas-Puri film, there will be lots of expectations. The film will definitely go beyond everyone's expectations. Presently, story discussions are in progress and will be finalized very soon.”

Neninthe, Puri Jagannath's brainchild which released last week, is receiving mixed reviews. He is currently negotiating with Ravi Teja and Priyamani for another upcoming project

Nagchaithanya ,Karthika's Film on Sets in Bangalore

Hyderabad Dec 26 :Nag Chainthanya along with Karthika daughter of Radha debuts into Tollywood. The new Untitled movie will be directed by Vasu Varma is being produced by ‘Dil’ Raju on his Sri Venkateswara Creations banner. The movie launch witnessed the attendance of all the members of Akkineni family.

The movie’s shooting schedule started from the 18th of this month.The first schedule was previously planned to be canned in a college located in Agra. However, due to security reasons in the wake of terror attacks, the makers failed to obtain the necessary clearance beforehand. As a substitution, it was started in a college on 18th of this month in Bangalore

Rare Pic of the Day : N T Rama Rao Family Picture

Humur Pic of the Day : Praying Cat

Please God, Let me Catch just 1 Mouse today!

Obama Xmas speech evokes ‘new chapter’

Washington, Dec. 26: President-elect Barack Obama has urged the American people in a holiday address to put their shoulder to the “wheel of history” to forge brighter days from the misery of economic crisis. Twenty-seven days before taking office, Mr Obama also spoke poignantly in the radio and online video message of the sacrifice of US servicemen and women deployed abroad while their young children marvel at Christmas gifts back home. Mr Obama said the “season of giving” should be a time for Americans to unite in a new sense of national common purpose. “We must all do our part to serve one another, to seek new ideas and new innovation and to start a new chapter for our great country,” he said on Wednesday.

“That is the spirit that will guide my administration in the New Year. If the American people come together and put their shoulder to the wheel of history, then I know that we can put our people back to work and point our country in a new direction. That is how we will see ourselves through this time of crisis, and reach the promise of a brighter day.” Mr Obama, who is spending Christmas in Hawaii where he grew up, also paid tribute to US sailors, soldiers, airmen, marines and coast guard forces. “In towns and cities across America, there is an empty seat at the dinner table; in distant bases and on ships at sea, our servicemen and women can only wonder at the look on their child’s face as they open a gift back home.”

Turning from foreign wars to another huge early challenge for his administration which takes office on January 20, the President-elect raised the plight of Americans feeling the lash of the economic crisis at home. Meanwhile, President-elect Barack Obama and his family planned a Christmas day that includes opening presents in the morning and sharing a traditional turkey and ham dinner in the evening.
Mr Obama and his family were vacationing at a beachfront rental home in Kailua in his native Hawaii. Aides said the Obamas were to enjoy a traditional holiday meal at their home on Thur-sday and would have close family friends from Chicago visit throughout the day.

The Obamas have kept a low profile while vacationing in a quiet neighbourhood on Oahu. The family spent Christmas Eve offering an appreciation to the US military in a recorded message. “This holiday season, their families celebrate with a joy that is muted knowing that a loved one is absent, and sometimes in danger,” Mr Obama said in the message. He asked the country to look to George Washington’s improbable crossing of the Delaware river, as inspiration to get through current tough times. The President-elect said in a holiday message that Washington and his Army “faced impossible odds” as they fought.

'Ghajini' gets bumper opening, mixed reviews

Mumbai, Dec 26th : Aamir Khan's much-awaited "Ghajini", depicting the story of a man with a brief memory loss out to avenge the death of his fiancee, had a bumper opening worldwide and received mixed reviews. Aamir said the advance bookings of the film were four times more than the record opening any movie has ever got. There were about 650 paid previews all over the country which boosted the Box Office collections. The three-hour-and-four-minute-long movie written and directed by A R Murugadoss is a remake of a 2005 Tamil film by the same name which starred Asin and Surya in the lead. The film was dubbed in Telugu also. According to trade analyst Amod Mehra, the film has got a "bumper opening" worldwide. "It is a well-made film even though the length is a slight hitch," Mehra told PTI. Decks were cleared for the smooth release of the film which got entangled in copyright issues after Madras High Court lifted a stay and Bombay High court refused to grant a stay on it yesterday. The film was in news throughout its making primarily due to Aamir's specially acquired all-beefed-up look and a new hairdo. The special hair cut was done in March, a few days after the actor's birthday. Critics said despite flaws in the story, the treatment and presentation make all the difference. "Asin is a lively actress and poses a serious threat to all present leading Bollywood heroines. Aamir is the soul of the film. The length should have been trimmed by half an hour," a critic said said. According to trade sources, the film has been released with nearly 1,500 prints. Makers of the film left no stone unturned to promote it since Diwali. Aamir justified the marketing blitz. "Each film is a brand. 'Ghajini' has a huge canvass and the promotions have been done accordingly," he said interacting with reporters after the press screening yesterday. Aamir said his new look was to suit the character which has suffered injuries in the head. The actor also underwent physical training to shape his body. After watching the film with her films, college goer Pooja said, "Performances are to die for and the film is technically superior. I felt the violence was too much and the film should have been trimmed a lot." Sachin, a bank executive, watched the film with his family at a suburban multiplex as it was Christmas holiday. He felt that there were too many faults in the script. "I wonder why there is no mention of a police case in the near fatal attack on Aamir's character who is a top business tycoon," he said. Another college student Priya said she did not like the ending. "Aamir is grievously injured before he kills Ghajini, the villain. The next shot shows Aamir, fully recovered and hair grown, at a orphanage named after his dead fiancee Kalpana celebrating the birthday of one of the inmates," she said. Vijay M, who watched the dubbed Telugu version said the plot of the story is excellent. Especially performance of the lead roles in the movie are commendable. "Though I haven't seen the Hindi version, I believe it will maintain the same tempo," he said.

PRP may have to contest AP polls without a common symbol

Hyderabad, Dec 26th : In what could prove to be an electoral disaster, actor Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) will have to contest the ensuing elections in Andhra Pradesh on different symbols as it is not yet a recognised political party.

While Congress, BJP, CPI, CPM, RJD, NCP and BSP are the recognised political parties at the national level, Telugu Desam Party and Telangana Rashtra Samiti are recognised as state parties in Andhra Pradesh with permanent poll symbols.

As per the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) (Amendment) Order, 2005, only "recognised" political parties are eligible for a permanent election symbol while "registered" parties will have to choose from the 59 "free symbols" available.

The PRP wanted the 'Rising Sun' as its election symbol but it is unlikely to get it, at least for the 2009 elections.

Ironically, the rising sun is not even a free symbol in the list prescribed by the Election Commission of India and the PRP will have to pick from symbols like aeroplane,almirah, axe, balloon, banana, bangles, cake, comb, cot, frock, electric pole, diesel pump, camera, fork, harmonium etc.

Sources in the Election Commission here told PTI that as per rule 6A of the said Order, a political party shall be eligible for recognition as a state party in a State, "if, and only if" it has secured not less than six per cent of the total valid votes polled in the state and, in addition, it has returned at least two members to the Legislative Assembly and at least one member to the House of People (Lok Sabha) in a general election. "Since Praja Rajyam is a new party, it has only been registered with the Election Commission of India. It gets recognised only if it fulfils the criteria laid down in the Election rules and only then it becomes eligible for allotment of a permanent election symbol. In the ensuing polls it will have to make do with only the free symbols," a top EC official said.

Being a registered political party, PRP could, however, be given "preference" in allotment of poll symbol in a particular constituency.

"The PRP also has the option of making a representation seeking a common symbol for all its candidates across the state. But the allotment is not guaranteed," the EC official added.

As per para 12 (3)(a) of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) (Amendment) Order, 2005, if two or more candidates from registered political parties vie for a particular symbol, the allotment is done only through draw of lots.

Besides, if any sitting MLA seeks a particular symbol in a constituency, he shall be allotted the symbol and no one else, the rules say.

As such, there is no guarantee that the PRP will get the symbol of its choice across all constituencies.

Having to face elections without a common symbol could prove a tough task for the fledgling party, political observers say.

South Indian Producers Council to ban Nayantara?

Hyderabad Dec 26th :Tamil film producer’s council is contemplating a ban on Nayanthara. its already known that director Lingusamy and his production house Tirupathi Brothers have complained that Nayan refused to star in their forthcoming venture after receiving an advance of Rs. 25 lakhs.

But sources close to Nayan point out that the venture failed to take off on the stipulated time mentioned in the contract and Nayan’s call sheet was wasted. The advance amount, as per their claims, is adjusted towards the loss incurred by the actress. The buzz in Kollywood is that the Producers’ Council may take stern on the actress which could pave way for her ban in the Telugu and Malayalam film industries too.

Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan admitted to hospital

MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan was on Thursday admitted to Leelavati Hospital in Mumbai after he complained of abdominal pain.


Hospital spokesperson Mohan Rajan said 38-year-old Saif was undergoing treatment but refused to reveal more details.

Saif had spent a week in a Mumbai hospital last year after complaining of chest pain.

The actor had undergone an emergency appendectomy surgery after complaining of abdomen pain during a shoot in Kuala Lumpur in early 2006.