Katrina and Ranbir Scribble Sketches At Rajneeti Promotion Event (Images)

A serious film needs serious promotion but not a somber cast. On Saturday evening, Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor looked like just any two costars sitting comfortably together and interacting with the media in Mumbai at Raajneeti Promotional event. However, everybody realised much later that there was much more to the secretive smiles the two gave each other through the evening. Though it looked like Katrina and Ranbir were seriously talking to media persons, fact is that Ranbir was up to some mischief.

Ranbir Kapoor's sketches of Katrina Kaif

Does my face look puffy asks Katrina to Ranbir upon seeing what he drew.

Ranbir Kapoor was seen scribbling on paper. Katrina, who was sitting next to him, looked visibly amused on seeing what he was writing. She too couldn’t resist doodling on the same paper. The proud doodlers then showed off their artwork to director Prakash Jha. Curious photographers later saw what Katrina and Ranbir had scribbled when the event ended and they left the piece of paper on the dais. So we have a rather funny drawing of Ranbir, a kite, a fat lady (Katrina), a Christmas tree and, of course, a fairly good drawing of Prakash Jha. Do Katrina and Ranbir want to tell us exactly which ones were made by who?

Does the cast of Raajneeti have politics on its mind? Priyanka Nahata cut the red tape to get the facts from its key players

SWEET SUCCESS, Katrina Kaif

“I would never join Indian politics, but it definitely interests me,” says actress Katrina Kaif, while promoting her new film Raajneeti. She plays princess Indu Sakseria caught in the realm of politics. “It is like the issue of poverty, which I hear and read about, but don’t know to resolve,” she says.

In the movie Katrina will be wearing crisp cotton saris, an attire she is new to. “In Indian politics, I admire Sonia Gandhi and I think she has done tremendously well for herself,” she says, denying that her role was inspired by Sonia. But she would love to portray Sonia Gandhi, if given a chance, she adds.

Though the actress continues to struggle with her Hindi diction, she emphasises that it is getting better by the day. However, when requested to speak in Hindi during the promotional event, Katrina was hesitant as she didn’t want another Bhopal-like goof up. The poor lass wanting to connect with her audiences there, mispronounced ‘haal ba’ (how are you in Bhojpuri) as ‘halwa’ (the sweet variety). The movie she says has been a lifetime experience. “If the audience comes out of the theatre and says the movie is great, without mentioning my name I will believe that my job is done,” she remarks. Sweet, indeed, we say!

POLITICALLY RIGHT, Ranbir Kapoor

“I admire Dr Manmohan Singh. I only hope there are more like him,” wishes actor Ranbir Kapoor who plays the role of Samar Pratap in Raajneeti. But the actor maintains that he is best suited to acting, though he relays the role of a politician with ease. Ranbir points out that he learnt a lot about politics during the course of the movie. “Victory is most important in our democracy. There is no place for coming second,” he points out.Tweet This

Katrina Kaif Learning Dirt Bike Riding and Deep Sea Diving For Zoya Akhtar's 'Running with the Bulls' With Hrithik

Katrina's 'just for kicks' stunts: Katrina Kaif, who will be seen as a politician in her forthcoming release 'Raajneeti', is learning dirt bike riding for Zoya Akhtar's 'Running with the Bulls' With Hrithik Roshan.

                                                        --------- Katrina Kaif ---------

The actress is said to be impressed with the script and is throwing herself into all sorts of stunt training to prepare for her role.

"Though Katrina is in London visiting her family, she is making time to meet deep sea diving instructors. She is very kicked about the stunts in the film - be it dirt bike riding for which she has already started training or deep sea diving for which she is soon to enroll in classes on her return from London," a source close to Katrina said.

"Katrina has never attempted anything like this before but has already started preparing for her role," added the source.

The cast of 'Running with the Bulls' also includes Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol.Tweet This

Sania Mirza Spotted With Shoaib Malik at Tennis Practice Court at Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hydrabad, Pictures

Sania Mirza has hit the court straightaway, soon after her marriage and was seen practicing tennis with her husband Shoaib Malik and dad Imran watching her from the sidelines at Hyderabad's Lal Bahadur Stadium. Sania Married Shoaib Malik on April 12, 2010 in Hydrabad.

Photographs of Sania, shoaib and Imran Mirza on a Tennis Court

Sania Mirza and Hubby Shoaib Malik at Lal Bahadur Tennis Stadium in Hydrabad

Pakistani cricketer Shoiab Mallik watches his wife Indian tennis player Sania Mirza during a practice session in Hyderabad on May 6, 2010

Indian tennis player Sania Mirza (L) and her husband Pakistani cricketer Shoiab Mallik (R) attend a practice session in Hyderabad on May 6, 2010.

Indian tennis player Sania Mirza fixes her hair during her practice session.

Sania Mirza (L) speaks with her husband Shoiab Mallik (C) and her father Imran Mirza (R) during a practice session in Hyderabad.

Shoaib Malik Watches Wife Sania as She Plays her Tennis Shots

Sania Mirza, Shoaib Malik and Sania's Dad Imran Mirza at Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hydrabad

Sania Mirza practices on the tennis court at Hyderabad's Lal Bahadur Stadium with her hubby Shoaib and dad Imran watching her from the sidelines.

The day Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza announced her decision to marry Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, she had become the talk of the town. First it was the Ayesha Siddiqui episode then her decision to pre-pone her wedding et al. But the two have started living with these controversies. Here's a look at all of those moments and the latest controversy which the couple is mired in.

Controversies have followed Sania, Shoaib wherever they have been, even before they got married and there seems to be no respite even now.

Less than a month after their wedding, the couple is back in Hyderabad and their homecoming, like their wedding, is causing controversy.

Shoaib Malik's appearance at Hyderabad's Gymkhana grounds for a practice session provoked some angry remarks. But Shoaib has come out in the open to clear the air about his ban.

Shoaib has issued a statement which mentions that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has banned him from participating in international matches and that does not stop him from playing first class cricket.Tweet This

IPL Awards 2010 Night, View Pictures of Bollywood and Cricket Stars Perfoming at the Event

Despite the raging controversy around the IPL, Bollywood and Cricket stars who attended and made their presence felt at the Awards Ceremony/Function.

Photographs From IPL Awards 2010

Yuvraj Singh, Shah Rukh Khan and Adam Gilchrist attends the IPL Awards Night at the Grand Hyatt on April 23, 2010 in Mumbai, India.

Actress Katrina Kaif performs on stage at the IPL Awards Night at the Grand Hyatt on April 23, 2010 in Mumbai, India.

Actress Priyanka Chopra performs on stage at the IPL Awards Night at the Grand Hyatt on April 23, 2010 in Mumbai.

Saurav Ganguly attends the IPL Awards Night at the Grand Hyatt on April 23, 2010 in Mumbai.

Lalit Modi hugs Preity Zinta during the IPL Awards Night at the Grand Hyatt on April 23, 2010 in Mumbai, India.

Karan Johar with Shilpa Shetty attends the IPL Awards Night

Actress Neha Dhupia (L) with Royal Challengers Bangalore owner Vijay Mallya (R) at the IPL Awards Night at the Grand Hyatt on April 23, 2010 in Mumbai, India.

Yuvraj Singh (C) performs on stage with Mugdha Godse (R) & Neha Dhupia (L) at the IPL Awards Night

Sameera Reddy with Lalit Modi

Preity Zinta at IPL awards 2010

Lalit Modi with Mehr Rampal

A R Rahman performs on stage at the IPL Awards Night

Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra, who own the Rajasthan Royals IPL team, at the awards ceremony picture: Viral Bhayani The IPL controversy is getting murkier and murkier, with more and more big names coming under the scanner for allegedly being involved in money laundering, match-fixing, receiving kick-backs and being proxies. But at the Sahara IPL Awards held at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai on April 23, the gathering of Bollywood stars and cricket stars were not focusing on the scandal. They were there to honour the best from this year's IPL tournament. And they also showed their support for the man in the middle of one of the biggest scandals ever seen in India - IPL commissioner Lalit Modi.

Bollywood representatives at the event included Shah Rukh Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Preity Zinta, (all three IPL team owners), Arjun Rampal, Karan Johar, Amrita Rao, Sameera Reddy, and many others. Meanwhile, the IPL players were all there too. And there was a lot of bonding going on between everyone.

Shilpa Shetty posted a picture of herself with Preity Zinta on her Twitter account and wrote, "Revelry off the field and Rivalry on the field;) ha ha. PZs such a sport!"

And what did Preity have to say? She posted on her Twitter account, "It was so nice to see Lalit (Modi) smile despite all hell breaking loose in the media. U have 2 give it 2 him for making IPL what it is!"

Preity added later, "Hope the truth comes out and media speculation stops! Breaks my heart to see IPL bashing by any and everyone."

Arjun Rampal, who has been organising the IPL after-parties with his wife Mehr, tweeted, "Just finished the IPL awards. Srk rocked the house was in great form, Karan was superb and an endearing speech from Lalit Modi."

He continued, "The sportsmen were truly sporting, Bajji, Yusuf, Rahul and Dada..take a bow. Vijay Mallya can sing. Dada and Srk still need to practice."


The first ever IPL awards concluded tonight in Grand Hyatt in Mumbai. As expected Sachin Tendulkar dominated the ceremony as he picked up 3 major awards that includes the Jury awards for Best Batsman followed by the two viewers choice award for Best Batsman and Best Captain.

The Jury was formed by Sunil Gavaskar, Brian Lara, Umpire Simon Taufel, former Indian quickie Javagal Srinath, Commentator Harsha Bhogle and Lalit Modi asthey also handed out awards to the likes Kieron Pollard (Best Debut Performance) , Jacques Kallis (Best Consistent Performer) and even M.A Chinnaswamy Stadium and DY Patil Stadium took the honors for the best Stadium respectively.

Legendary Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev was awarded with an Indian Captain’s Choice Award (An Indian Cricketing Legend I would want in my team).


List of IPL 2010 Award winners


IPL Jury Awards

Best Debut Performance: Kieron Pollard (Mumbai Indians)

Best Batsman: Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai Indians)

Best Bowler: Pragyan Ojha (Deccan Chargers)

Best Dramatic Performance: Harbhajan Singh (Mumbai Indians)

Most Consistent Performer: Jacques Kallis (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Best Breakthrough Performance 2008: Brendon McCullum (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Best Breakthrough Performance 2009: Anil Kumble (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Best Fielder: AB de Villiers (Delhi Daredevils)

Best Ground: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Best Stadium Experience: DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai


Viewers’ Choice Awards

Best Catch: David Hussey (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Best Batsman: Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai Indians)

Best Captain: Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai Indians)

Best Bowler: Pragyan Ojha (Deccan Chargers)

Best Commentator: Ravi Shastri

Most Stylish Player: Robin Uthappa (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Most Fan-Friendly Cricketer: Adam Gilchrist (Deccan Chargers)

Best Fielder: Suresh Raina (Chennai Super Kings)


Statistical Awards

Most Economical Bowler: Ravichandran Ashwin (Chennai Super Kings)

Fastest Hundred: Yusuf Pathan (Rajasthan Royals)

Highest Percentage of Runs Scored in Boundaries: Virender Sehwag (Delhi Daredevils)

Indian Cricketing Legend I Would Want in my Team: Kapil Dev


IPL Awards Jury

Lalit Modi (Convener)

Sunil Gavaskar

Brian Lara

Javagal Srinath

Simon Taufel

Harsha BogleTweet This

Rakhi Sawant apologises to ex-boyfriend’s mother

New Delhi, Item girl Rakhi Sawant has reportedly buried the hatchet with ex-beau Abhishek Awasthi and apologised to his mother for her mistakes on the reality show “Zara Nachke Dikha”.
A source said that Rakhi became emotional and made a public apology to Abhishek’s mother who was present on the sets for the mother’s special episode shoot. Rakhi even hugged her.
Abhishek’s mother too became emotional on seeing Rakhi and Abhishek dancing together and confessed that Rakhi always was and will continue to be like her daughter and that she wants them to reunite.
Abhishek and Rakhi are sharing a public platform for the first time after their much-publicised breakup. Earlier, they were seen as a couple on “Nach Baliye”.Tweet This

We don’t kiss on screen for the heck of it – Anushka Sharma

Mumbai, After playing a simple girl-next-door, Anushka Sharma has gone in for an image makeover in “Badmaash Company” where she not only wears stylish clothes but also has a kissing scene with Shahid Kapoor. The model-turned-actress says the script demanded it and it wasn’t meant just to attract attention.
“I don’t see it as a kissing scene. It’s a part of the screenplay. I think cinema is changing and we are not doing (kissing) for the heck of it. We do not need to do this (kiss on screen) to attract attention,” Anushka told IANS in an interview.
“When you see the film, the kind of chemistry Bulbul (her character in the film) and Karan (Shahid) share, the kind of love that’s there between them, you will be able to understand that the scene was justified,” said Anushka, who made her debut as a small town girl in “Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi” opposite Shah Rukh Khan.
The 22-year-old claims the audiences will be able to relate to the characters in the film as all of them represent the middle-class dreams.
“This film is about four friends, their relationships and the trials they go through to achieve their goals. All the characters are extremely relatable because they come from middle-class families with big dreams and aspirations. We have all been like that. Their dreams are really big. They have not got any patience…They want to do it right away,” she said.
Set in Mumbai of the 1990s, “Badmaash Company” is about four youngsters who start a business and find a way to beat the system.
Anushka’s gang in the film comprises Shahid, Vir Das and Miang Chang. And she says they gelled well.
“When we travelled outdoors, we got to spend time with each other…We hung out, ate out, went to the pub. Good that we got along very well because it was a pre-requisite of the film,” said Anushka.
“Badmaash Company” is actor-turned-director Parmeet Sethi’s first outing as director. Anushka says Parmeet knew the characters inside out, but was still open to others’ ideas.
Anushka enjoys not being a trained actor because it allows her to visualise scenes naturally.
“I quite enjoy the fact that I’m not a trained actor…If you are experienced, you have a certain method of acting, but I haven’t discovered that method yet. There is a positive side of not being a trained actor. When I get a scene, I see how naturally it should be done. People call it natural acting and that is also a method,” she said.
Asked if she wants to explore any particular genre, she said: “No, I am not looking forward to any particular genre. I’m open to doing films of every genre and with different directors. There are so many things that I would love to do – a period love story or an action film.”
But Anushka finds acting a difficult profession and says her hectic schedule leaves her with little time for her friends.
“I never wanted to be an actor. I wanted to remain a model. Had I wanted to be an actor I would have been more observant about actors. After ‘Rab Ne…’ I realised that it’s a very difficult profession. You don’t have time for your personal life, for your parents, and your social circuit becomes very small because you are working day and night,” she said.Tweet This

Bollywood seemed funny, yet fascinating – Barbara Mori

Mumbai, Mexican beauty Barbara Mori, who makes her Bollywood debut with “Kites”, says she finds the melodrama and song-dance sequences of Hindi films “funny yet fascinating”. She is also amazed at the brouhaha kissing scenes generate in India.
“I knew nothing about Bollywood when ‘Kites’ came to me. Rakesh Roshan (producer) and Anurag Basu (director) narrated the script to me and the only thing I felt was that this was such a different film,” Barbara, who will be seen as Hrithik Roshan’s love interest in “Kites”, told IANS in an exclusive interview.
“Then I saw some Bollywood films and realised there’s a lot more dancing and singing than we have in Mexico. I found it funny in the beginning.
“There was a scene where Hrithik is supposed to have blood on his body, then there were these singing and dancing sequences – it was a little funny, yet I was quite fascinated. Now I look forward to more Bollywood movies,” she added.
The 32-year-old is on her third visit to India ever since her association with “Kites”, to be released by Reliance BIG Pictures May 21.
Another aspect of Bollywood that amazes Barbara is the brouhaha over kissing and lovemaking scenes.
“I respect what culture is followed in each country just as I respect the culture in my own place. The culture in Indian films is different. There I can show nudity, at least partly if not fully. And kissing is not a big deal. But here somehow it’s a big thing. That was quite amazing.
“In fact, before beginning to shoot ‘Kites’, I told Hrithik, ’We’re kissing many times in the script, won’t it be a problem in your country?’ He said ‘Yeah, but things are more open now’.
“I have heard Anurag Basu has made some really good bold movies and I feel kissing must be okay now in Bollywood,” said Barbara who is totally kicked about the release of “Kites” next month.
“This is a very different movie, the first biggest movie I have done, my first English movie and the first action movie for me… I never imagined shooting in Bollywood…it has been so exciting.
“I really love the story. From the beginning, when I met Anurag Basu and Rakesh Roshan in Los Angeles, I felt really touched to see such a different love story – that of a Mexican and Indian falling in love without any language barrier,” she said.
Unlike most other foreign actors who are expected to deliver dialogues in Hindi, Barbara was lucky as her character had to speak in Spanish and English only.
But she was petrified of doing underwater scenes. “Underwater scenes we shot in the Maldives. They were very complicated and tough. Water, sea… I don’t like! Still we had to put oxygen masks, go underwater and act. For me, that was a big thing. It was difficult, but I sailed through…,” she said.
She says Hrithik gave immense support throughout the shooting.
“Hrithik has been a superb co-star. He is a great actor and has delivered some very good performances. I have seen some of his movies. I don’t remember their names but I really liked some. I specifically liked the one in which he plays a soldier… what’s that called? Ummmm….’Lak’…’ Lakshya’,” said Barbara.
She also said that Hrithik taught her Hindi. “I taught a bit of Spanish to Hrithik and he taught me some Hindi…but all the bad words!”
Barbara will be returning to Mexico Saturday and says she definitely wants to come back in time for the film’s release.Tweet This

Salman Khan to help rehabilitate child soldiers in Sri Lanka

Mumbai, The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) will hold a charity match between Indian celebrities and Sri Lankan cricketers here in June to help rehabilitate former Tamil Tiger child soldiers.
The event will be held in conjunction with the Sri Lankan cricket board, NGO Habitat for Humanity and UNICEF. Bollywood star Salman Khan will be the brand ambassador for the initiative.
“We will help to invest to make homes in Jaffna. I love you guys and I will help you soon,” the actor said at a press meet here.
This year IIFA awards will be held June 3-5 in Colombo. The charity match will take place during the three-day event.
The proceeds from the match will be used to help rehabilitate children who once fought in the ranks of the now decimated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
IIFA, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, also plans to adopt and rebuild a village populated by those displaced by the war.
Salman said he supported IIFA’s initiative that aims to help Sri Lankan people who have suffered on account of the long drawn out war that ended in a military victory for Colombo in May last year.
“I am happy to be an ‘Ambassador of Change’ and believe that it is crucial to make a difference and contribute to this worthy cause,” he said.
Sabbas Joseph, director of Wizcraft, told IANS: “We thought if we are holding IIFA in Sri Lanka, then we must partner with that country. We must see what we can do for the refugees.”Tweet This