Watch Naga Shourya About Powar Star Pawan Kalyan
Salman Khan wears a Keffiyah @ Palestine fans
Mumbai: Salman Khan, who is currently shooting for his much awaited film ‘Sultan’, took some time off his busy schedule to meet the actors of ‘Freedom Theatre’ from Palestine.
The eight actors came to India to collaborate with a Delhi-based theatre group Jana Natya Manch for the play titled ‘Hamesha Samida’. The actors are on a 10-city tour in India. As soon as the play’s director and co-star Sudhanva Deshpande learnt about the Palestinian actors being huge fans of Salman, he reached out to his friend Kabir Khan and requested him to arrange a meeting with the superstar.
Kabir arranged the meeting at a hotel on Tuesday afternoon. The fans gifted Salman a Keffiyeh which took Salman back to his ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ days. The actor happily wore the Keffiyeh and posed for few pictures with his fans.
“Let my one-night stand be a secret” – Girish Kumar
Mumbai: Bollywood star Girish Kumar and his lovely co-star Navneet Kaur Dhillon, came together to launch the trailer of their upcoming rom-com ‘romantic-comedy ‘Loveshhuda‘. At the launch event, the two stars set the ball rolling with a live performance of their sexy dance number. The stars sat down for an interaction with their Vaibhav Misra and producer Vijay Galani. Talking about his film and experience working with his director, Girish said, “I wish to have many hits 10 years down the line. Vaibhav has written a fabulous script. It is a very real story and has many layers to it.”
With the trailer starting off with a one-night stand, we just had to ask the leading man if he has ever felt adventurous before and been through similar situations. However, Girish avoided the question saying his family was present at the event. The actor coyly said, “Let my one-night stand be a secret.” Girish, who was last seen in 2013’s ‘Ramaiya Vatsavaiya’, had only kind words for his leading lady. He said, “Shruti Hasan and Navneet, both are hard working. The film required a fresh face so we signed her.”
The film, considered being a fresh and quirky love story, will mark the debut of former Miss World 2013 Navneet in the film industry. When asked about her debut role and her time on the sets, Navneet said, “I thank the Miss India contest for bagging ‘Loveshhuda’. Talent is very important. I feel that I am a born actress. Beauty pageants and acting are two different things.”
The starlet also said that her director Vaibhav scolded her on the sets, and that she learned a lot from Girish.
Talking about the film’s kissing scenes that may run into censor board trouble, Girish said, “We are trying to do real thing as a youth centric film.”
Sonakshi Sinha says Delhi brings out the ‘chuglikhor’ in her
Mumbai: Sonakshi Sinha flew to Delhi today, to attend the launch of her father, Shatrughan Sinha’s biography. The book titled ‘Anything But Khamosh’, was in the news lately because of its revealing content.
Several online reports alleged that the actor turned politician aggressively lashed out against the ruling party and drops hints at how Amit Shah and Smriti Irani were given Cabinet posts despite performing poorly in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
However, Sinha cleared the air on his social networking handle, urging fans and followers not to believe all the rumours about the book.
KTR Claims Amaravathi Credit!
In the run upto GHMC polls, incumbent TRS is leaving no stone unturned to win the hearts of Hyderabadis. Given that the population of Seemandhra is considerable in Greater Hyderabad, TRS is going all out to woo them. Proving this yet again, IT & Panchayat Raj Minister of Telangana, Mr KT Rama Rao has stated that Telangana government would support Seemandhras in all ways.
Talking at a public meeting, KTR said, “We won’t even let houseflies to harm the brothers of Seemandhras. The Law & Order of state is maintained well and in the 18 months of our rule, we stood as an example in the nation in maintaining the Law & Order.”
This is not all. Mr KTR has went onto claim that the credit for the development works in the truncated state of Andhra Pradesh. “KCR had worked hard for the carving out of Telangana state. Even now he is committed for the development of Telangana. We had earlier stated that if Telangana is formed, both Telugu states would be benefited.
At the time of the bifurcation itself, we stated that it’d help both the Telugu states. Then many Seemandhra people, leaders didn’t believe it. But now it turned out to be true. If Telangana is not formed, would Andhra be having an opportunity to have new capital city Amaravathi? Had the new state is not formed, would Andhra get all these industries, ports? If state is not divided, I don’t think Andhra would get IIT, IIMs.
If Telangana is not formed, Andhra wouldn’t have developed in the next 25 years,” said emotional KTR who asked people of Seemandhra to think and take wise choice.He further said that CMs of both neighbouring states (KCR, Chandrababu Naidu) are in good terms and alleged that few are not liking this. KTR said that Seemandhra people in Hyderabad are safe.
That scene to be shot in industrial estate @ Brahmotsavam
Chennai: The makers of superstar Mahesh Babu-starrer Telugu family drama “Brahmotsavam” will film a crucial scene in the city’s popular Ambattur industrial estate early next week, a source said.
“The makers were on the lookout for a location with a factory as the backdrop. They wanted to shoot a key scene and they couldn’t afford the time to build a factory set. When they learnt about Ambattur industrial estate, they decided to shoot here,” a source from the film’s unit told IANS.
The scene will feature Mahesh Babu and Sathyaraj, the source said, adding that the shoot will last a “few hours”. Directed by Srikanth Addala, the film also stars Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Pranitha Subhash in important roles. Produced by PVP Cinema, the film has music by Mickey J Meyer.
Sehwag Lashes Out At ‘inefficient’ Team Selection
New Delhi: Swashbuckling former India opener Virender Sehwag, who recently retired from international cricket, has lashed out at selectors who picked players under the influence of “people in power” and at inefficient running of state associations. Asked if it’s a problem that state associations were not run efficiently, Sehwag, who recently shifted to Haryana from Delhi in domestic cricket, said, “Yes. It’s not just Delhi. There are other associations which have problems.
“You need to change things at U-19 and U-16 level because that’s problem area. If you pick over-age players, it is a problem that needs to be identified. If you have a player whose name and stature is big, you won’t have this problem,” he told ‘Cricinfo’. Sehwag said that he cannot become a selector as that could be a ‘conflict of interest’ as he has opened a school where young cricketers would be groomed but would love to be part of a state association in another capacity. “No, there is a conflict of interest. I have my Sehwag International School (in Haryana). So I cannot be a part of it. I cannot be a selector but if any association wants me to be a part of it, I would love to do that. There are other cricketers who have a reputation but they are not getting the opportunity to be a part of the selection panels.
“What is happening is that the guys in power introduce names to the selectors and the selectors then act according to these people’s whims,” he said. Sehwag, now 37, last played for India in 2013 after scoring 8586 runs from 104 Tests and 8273 runs from 251 ODIs. He might be known to have unflinchingly stuck to his ‘see the ball and hit it’ batting approach irrespective of match situations in his playing days, but Sehwag said he made changes in his techniques early in his career to emulate iconic Sachin Tendulkar. “When I was growing up, I played a lot of 10- and 12-over games, I would bat in middle order. I got only 10-odd balls to face and I tried to score as much as I could. I applied the same approach in domestic and international cricket and people were appreciating my strike rate being more than 80 or 90 in Test cricket,” Sehwag said when asked if his approach changed how batsmen opened the innings in a fundamental way.
“I was just playing my game and not thinking that I have to score quickly or do something different except when I joined the team and wanted to bat like Tendulkar. I realised there could be only one Tendulkar and I changed my stance and backlift. I realised I should change my game and I did it. After that, I was playing with my own technique,” he said. Asked if there was only one Sehwag as well, he said, “Yes, because of my mindset and the impact I had on the team but there was only one Tendulkar.
Infosys plans campus in Warangal
Hyderabad: The Telangana government’s efforts to take information technology beyond Hyderabad and expand to Tier-II and Tier-III cities in the state is set to get a boost with IT bellwether Infosys planning a campus in Warangal. The facility on the lines of its Mysuru campus will come up in the second biggest town in the state, about 150 km from here. This was discussed during Infosys’s chief executive officer Vishal Sikka’s meeting with Information Technology Minister K.T. Rama Rao on Monday.
The proposed campus in Warangal will serve as a centre for the IT major to train fresh engineering graduates. Located over 350 acres, Infosys’s Mysuru campus is home to thousands of trainees and employees. A formal announcement about the proposed Warangal campus is likely to be made in February next year when the Bengaluru-headquartered company will open its largest campus in Hyderabad. “Infosys also told us that there are many things they would like to do in terms of business plans. Once (Vishal) Sikka is back in February, we will share details,” the minister told reporters after the meeting.
The new IT policy of Telangana — also set to be unveiled in February — proposes various sops to the companies looking to expand their operations to Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Sikka invited Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to inaugurate the campus at Pocharam on the outskirts of Hyderabad. This is the second campus of the company in Hyderabad. The Infosys IT SEZ is spread over 450 acres and when fully completed it will have a capacity for 25,000 employees. The first phase with a built-up area of 30 lakh sq. ft. with 16,000 employee-capacity comprises software development blocks and residential training facilities.
Infosys’s existing campus at Gachibowli has a capacity of 10,000 employees. Meanwhile, Infosys announced the launch of its solar PV power plant of 6.6 MW capacity at its Pocharam campus. “With this launch, combined with the existing 0.6 MW capacity rooftop solar plant, the Infosys campus in Pocharam will be one of the first corporate campuses in India that will be run completely by renewable energy,” the company said in a statement.
Largest textile park to come up in Warangal
Hyderabad: India’s largest textile park will come up in Telangana’s Warangal town, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao announced on Wednesday. He said the proposed ‘cotton-to-garment’ park will be set up in an area of 2,000-3,000 acres. The Warangal district collector has already released Rs.100 crore for acquiring land for the textile cluster. The chief minister said that while textile parks in different parts of the country like Solapur, Tirupur and Surat were engaged in manufacturing specific categories of garments, the proposed park in Warangal will cover all segments.
KCR, as the chief minister is known, said the international standard park will also have an apparel park for readymade clothing. He said the government would promote the park in collaboration with various companies. “Some companies have already come forward.” He was confident that with a major railway junction in Warangal and the possibility to build an airport, the textile cluster would have tremendous potential.
He believes the park with a township will increase Warangal’s population by four to five lakh in three to four years. With a population of 10 lakh, Warangal is the second biggest city in Telangana after Hyderabad. KCR announced that Warangal will also be developed as an education hub. He said the foundation stone for a health university would be laid soon. He also declared that a tribal university, veterinary and agriculture colleges and a sainik school too will come up in the town. He announced the formation of a special development authority for development of Warangal, which has been selected under the Smart Cities project of the central government. Every year, Warangal will be allocated Rs.300 crore in the budget. A total of Rs.3,000 crore is expected to be provided under all schemes.
A multi-speciality hospital, multistoried buildings for the offices of municipal corporation, district collector, police commissioner, development of a theme park and convention centre were the other announcements made by the chief minister. The government will also construct 30,000 houses under double bed-room housing scheme for poor over next two years to make Warangal a slum-free city.
A warning to Nawaz Sharif
The latest Pathankot attacks may be a message to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from its army chief, Raheel Sharif. When Modi dropped in one Nawaz Sharif unexpectedly although at the latter’s invitation, there was an atmosphere of goodwill generated and hopes were fostered once again for peace.
It is precisely this informal bonhomie that may have angered Raheel Sharif. Angered at not being in the know about Sharif’s invitation to Modi, and the subsequent bonhomie, analysts say that Raheel wanted to remind Sharif of who was the actual boss in Pakistan, the one who runs the show.
It may be recalled that even during the Vajpayee regime, after the famous Lahore bus visit by Vajpayee, General Pervez Musharraf who was then the Army Chief of Pakistan engineered Kargil. Nawaz Sharif who was the Prime Minister at that time too, reportedly had no knowledge of this.
So, India while continuing to engage with the civilian government of Pakistan should be prepared at the same time for any military eventualities.
Surbhi enjoyed brush with action in ‘Express Raja’
Chennai: Actress Surbhi says she thoroughly enjoyed her brief stint with action in forthcoming Telugu romantic-comedy “Express Raja”, which features Sharwanand in the lead. “Though I was never informed initially that I would be required to do some action sequence, my excitement knew no bounds when I was told about it on the sets,” Surbhi told IANS. “I’m a huge fan of action films. It was so much fun bashing up the baddies. I’ve always felt when women do action in films; what you get to see on screen will be very different from the experience of watching men do it,” she said.
Directed by Meralapaka Gandhi, the film is slated to releases in theatres on January 14. Surbhi calls “Express Raja” a fast-paced entertainer with “twists and turns”. “The ‘express’ in the title refers to the pace at which some events unfold in the film,” said Surbhi, who plays Amulya, a character from a rich family.
“It’s a versatile character. I spent 45 days shooting for this project and Amulya made me feel very special,” she said. She describes the experience of working with Sharwanand as “absolute pleasure”. “He made me feel comfortable at all times. He’s very easy to get along,” she said. Surbhi will resume shooting for a yet-untitled Telugu project with Nani later this month. Her Tamil film “Pugazh” is gearing up for release in February.
B-Wood’s ‘Mastani’ turns 30!
Mumbai: Deepika Padukone, who has once again showed her acting capability with her portrayal of Mastani in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film “Bajirao Mastani”, turned 30 on Tuesday. The actress has received birthday wishes galore from her friends and colleagues in the Bollywood fraternity. Celebrities like Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh and Mika Singh, among others, have wished the “Piku” actress a year full of luck and happiness.
Deepika, who is the daughter of former World No.1 badminton player Prakash Padukone, made her acting debut in 2006 as the pivotal character of the Kannada film Aishwarya. She then essayed a double-role in her first B-Town release “Om Shanti Om”, which helped her win a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.
The 2012 box office-hit “Cocktail” marked a turning point in her career. Her other films include “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani”, “Chennai Express” and “Happy New Year”. She was also lauded for her performances in the tragic romance “Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela”.
Here is what tinsel town had to say:
Abhishek Bachchan: @deepikapadukone happy birthday Madame! Have a stellar year. Big love.
Neil Nitin Mukesh: @deepikapadukone Happy Birthday. God bless you with loads and loads of Happiness always.
Dino Morea: Praises of #Mastani will be heard for decades to come – go Dips! Happy birthday gorgeous @deepikapadukone
Ritesh Sidhwani: Happy birthday @deepikapadukone have a super year ahead wish u loads of happiness success peace and love.
Mika Singh: Happy birthday to the most beautiful, hot, intelligent, greatest dancer, the sweetest.. No.1 actress @deepikapadukone. God bless you always.
Riteish Deshmukh: Happy Birthday Mastani @deepikapadukone – wishing you happiness and love.
Shanoo Sharma: Happy birthday @deepikapadukone full power, love and strength to you!Sukh Shanti Shakti.
Pic Talk: Hottie Spices Up In See Through
Curly beauty Taapsee Pannu is known for her safe dressing. However, the damsel indeed wants to shed that image. Although Tapsee acted in glamorous roles in several films, she didn’t cross limits. Now, the leggy lasso posed bold for her latest photo shoot.
Taapsee left very little to imagination by flaunting her assets through the black see-through fabric. Sat elegantly on bike, Tapsee who shed oodles of weight to look more attractive is appearing really hot in the picture. Looks like, the ‘Shadow’ lady is tired of being classified as cute.
On the work front, Taapsee doesn’t have a single project in Telugu. But, the seductress is on cloud nine with a Bollywood offer to share screen space with Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan.
Taapsee will play the character of an independent woman who hails from Delhi in the flick to be produced by Shoojit Sircar. Apart from this, Taapsee has signed a Tamil project Kaan. With the latest photo shoot, Tapsee sent strong message to filmmakers that, she is ready for ultra glamorous roles!
Budding scientist designs safety bus
The Children’s Science Exhibition, being held as part of the Indian Science Congress, has brought to the fore latent creativity. A safety transport bus conceived by T. Apoorva, a class 10 student of Prashanthi Vidya Kendra, Kasaragod, Kerala, has caught the imagination of visitors. Even the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation authorities have evinced interest in her project.
Ms. Apoorva told The Hindu that the objective of the project was to minimise the risk of death of passengers during accidents, especially fire, and ensure safety and advanced transportation technology. Bus accidents involving fire are common. Since they have only one entry door, it becomes difficult to rescue those trapped inside.
Hence, the safety bus has been conceived and designed so that the body panel opens on all sides in case of accidents. The model bus is also fitted with fire sensor and has other safety features, she said. Ms. Apoorva spent about 18 to 20 hours on it.
