Archives for October 2007

The soccer ace - who has become good pals with the Hollywood actor and his wife Katie Holmes - admires the couple's beliefs but insists he does not regularly discuss Scientology with Tom or Katie.David - who is married to Posh Spice Victoria - said: "We respect their religion. We respect everything they do and believe in."But they have never turned around to us and said, 'You have to be part of this', because that's not what they're about."It's never been about that. There's been nothing shoved down our throats because friends don't do things like that."The 32-year-old star says Tom and Katie have helped him and Victoria settle into Los Angeles life since David joined US soccer team Los Angeles Galaxy in July.He added: "They are amazing people who are just so positive about life and they have been great to us."Since moving to Hollywood, David has also become good friends with Jennifer Lopez's husband Marc Anthony.He told Arena magazine: "We talk about all sorts. What's happening that week, that day. What Jennifer's up to, what Victoria's up to. I speak to him at least three or four times a week."Meanwhile, Nicole Kidman's new movie has upset Christian groups who fear it will promote atheism to children.The Moulin Rouge star, who is a practicing Catholic, stars in The Golden Compass, an adaptation of outspoken atheist Philip Pullman's first novel in the His Dark Materials trilogy which many critics believe tells the story of a girl on a quest to kill God.Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, said: "These books denigrate Christianity, thrash the Catholic Church and sell the virtues of atheism.

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                         A young Indian has made a dazzling debut in the international music market, whizzing to the top ten of Britain's popular TV Airplay Music Chart even before his album is officially launched. Hyderabad-born Shayan Italia's 'Reflection' is fourth on the list, next only to Foo Fighters (The Pretender), Mark Ronson Feat. Amy Winehouse (Valerie) and Kanye West (Stronger), according to the latest Music Week. The 28-year-old musician held an exclusive live performance for a select gathering at the famous Mint Leaf Restaurant in London last night where Lord Karan Bilimoria described him as a budding music superstar.  "He will be the third greatest Zoroastrian musician after Zuben Mehta and Freddie Mercury," Lord Bilimoria said.  A superb vocalist, Shayan also writes his own songs. Many music experts interpret his album as mixture of light rock, funk, soft jazz, disco, pop and anything in between. Shayan told a news agency his music "incorporates the three best elements of Indian music into his work - poetic lyrics, simple yet powerful music arrangements and crystal clear vocals."  Asked whether he planned to perform in India, Shayan said he would do so after holding performances in the UK, Europe and Japan in the next two years.  Born and brought up in Hyderabad, the baby-faced musician came to London in 1999 after tragically losing both his parents at a young age. Shayan with the little savings he had, got on a plane and came to London in an attempt to crack the hardest music market in the world. Upon entering the UK, Shayan sought loans from various banks and educated himself over two years, attaining two well recognized post graduate degrees in the process - a Bachelor's Degree in Audio Engineering and a Master's Degree in Music Business Management. During that time, Shayan became the first person in history to auction a portion of his life's earnings in music on Ebay. He raised 9,000 pounds in seven days. If that wasn't enough, he then went on to raise one million dollars through private investors to fund his debut album. He has even got the biggest major - Universal - on board to distribute the record nationally through the UK. He has also signed a worldwide digital distribution deal to have the album distributed online in over 25 countries. Drawing inspiration from real life scenarios, Shayan has effortlessly created a catalogue of over 150 songs since 1998 and his second and third albums have already been written. He will have the distinction of being the first Zoroastrian to ever release a mainstream music album on international waters since Freddie Mercury did over 25 years ago. I guess determination and dedication leads one to success no matter what and this Zorastrian boy has proved his worth by sweeping people off their feet.

All but lost between France and Spain, like the fairy tale pea in the mattresses, the pocket-sized princedom principality of Andorra comprises just a handful of mountainous landscapes and meandering rivers - but the skiing is the best in the Pyrenees.

When To Go

The snow and ski season begins in mid-December, snowfalls willing, and lasts into April as resorts buffer nature's contributions with man-made snow that prolongs the season well into springtime. Late July, August and September are also popular times to visit as summer temperatures are mild. Hiking season begins once snows in the valleys and on their lower flanks melt and trickle away and continues through until October. Andorra's village festivals take place between July and September.

Pakistan are set to take a calculated gamble on pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar in the final and deciding game of their one-day series against South Africa.Shoaib is back in the squad after serving a 13-match ban for striking team-mate Mohammad Asif with a bat.The 32-year-old is short of competitive cricket but with the series level at 2-2 Pakistan believe he can tip the balance in their favour in Lahore."We will use him as our main [strike] bowler," said captain Shoaib Malik."If fit, Akhtar is an asset and has done well for Pakistan for so many years now. Even though I'm not pro-Shoaib I think its great that our bowling has strength in depthbrokengnome"But we will need a team effort to win the last match and if we win, we will go on an important tour of India [next month] with more confidence."We have never won a series against South Africa - it's time to make history."The final match was originally due to take place in Karachi, but South Africa were unwilling to play there following the recent bomb attack which marred the homecoming of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto and killed at least 130 people.The switch to Lahore may help blunt the pace of Akhtar, who has only taken 12 wickets in 10 previous one-day appearances at the Gaddafi Stadium at a cost of 39 runs each, compared to an overall average of 23.JP Duminy and Jacques Kallis South Africa levelled the series with victory in Multan"He is short of cricket. It's the first game for him in a very long time," said South Africa skipper Graeme Smith."Certainly we know what he is capable of. [But] We are prepared for him because we always knew he was available for the fifth game - it's not a surprise for us."South Africa are looking to complete a notable tour double, having won the Test series 1-0, but Smith is concerned about what he described as an "under-prepared" pitch."How it's going to play will be interesting to see, but our confidence is good and that's always the key going into important games."So far it's been a very successful tour for us, we've played some really good cricket - it will be fantastic to finish off on a high note and then catch the flight back home."

 Eros International, the leading integrated company within the  media and entertainment sector announced the global release of Dus Kahaniyaan, which will happen on November 23, 2007. Eros International’s and White Feather Films’ first project together Dus Kahaniyaan, is a sensational film with a huge lead cast. An unusual concept, Dus Kahaniyaan produced by Sanjay Dutt and Sanjay Gupta has ten spectacular stories directed by six different directors including Apoorva Lakhia, Hansal Mehta, Jasmeet Dhodi, Meghna Gulzar, Rohit Roy and Sanjay Gupta himself.  Sunil Lulla, President, Eros International, India said, “We are glad to join hands with White Feather to release Dus Kahaniyaan. Audiences expect the unusual and out of the box from Sanjay Gupta and he has lived up to expectations once again to present some remarkable cinema to film lovers”.Dus Kahaniyaan is releasing in cinemas worldwide on November 23, 2007.

                       Aishwarya Rai was born in the South indian state of Karnataka in Manglore on 1st Nov 1973. She  is younger of the two siblings, her brother being 3 years elder. When she was about 4 years old, her family moved to Bombay permanently. Her father worked as a merchant navy officer. Aishwarya did her schooling at Arya Vidya Mandir, Santacruz. Academically, she did very well and earned her position as the head girl of her school. Ash chose the science stream while at DG Ruparel College, her favorite subject being Zoology. Aishwarya wanted to do medicine, but circumstances didn't let her. Instead she chose Architecture and passed the interview at Raheja College with flying colors. By this time, Aishwarya had started getting modelling assignments. She then decided to take a break from architecture and concentrate on modelling. This green-blue eyed beauty stole ads for many prestigious firms, the ones which brought her into the limelight were the garden sari and the pepsi ad. Crowned Miss femina '94 runner up, she was a hot favorite to win the miss world title, which she did ! Her beauty and charm made her India's darling. She bagged Filmfare Award for best actress for her performance in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) as Ajay Devgan's wife who is in love with another man. She also won rave reviews for her performance as a rape victim in Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (2000). In 2003 she bagged another filmfare award for best actress for the role of paro, she portrays in film Devdas. She had a well publicised affair with Salman Khan which lasted 2 years. Apparently his endless tantrums traumatized her enough to give a press conference in spring 2003 where she declared that she would never work with him again for personal reasons. In April 2003, she suffered an accident on the sets of Khakee (2003). She broke a bone in one foot and suffered severe cuts. The incident rekindled the discussion about poor safety standards on Bollywood film sets. Their are 17,000 unofficial websites in her name and she's got to give them something to write about. So she's all set to go where no Indian star has gone before. While others have struggle alot. Aishwarya's bagged a parallel role opposite 'Meryl Streep' in French director 'Coline Serreau's' Chaos. 2003 has been her annus mirabilis. On the jury at Cannes, the international festival circuit with Chokher Bali, the crossover sets of Bride And Prejudice, the cover of Time magazine. And now she's all set to waltz into Hollywood. The film trade traditionally treats its heroines as completely interchangeable assets. Aishwarya Rai is the only Indian woman in world's Top 10 looking women. While now she has married Abhishek Bachan the son of famous Indian film cinema star  Amitabh Bachan on April of this year only.

          Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is to produce a Broadway musical called "The Color Purple", based on Alice Walker's acclaimed book. Winfrey had starred in the 1985 version of the movie directed by Steven Spielberg and co-starring Whoopi Goldberg. The plot revolves around the struggles of a young black girl who is raped by her father. The plot is close to Winfrey's heart since she had also suffered abuse when she was a child.  She says, "I hope to open the door to the possibilities for a world of people who have never been or even thought of going to a Broadway show."

                      After five months of hard work, music and fun, finally the wait for next Indian Idol came to an end and the title of Indian Idol 3 was bagged by the Sepoi Prashant Tamang. But it has raised a question that "Should the format of Indian Idol need to be changed?" among most of the viewers.The procedure for the selection of an Indian Idol is similar to the selection of American Idol in the United States. I truly feel that the Idol format is not working in our country. In US where the Idol movement started, the majority of the people talk the same language, share the same food habit and mostly belong to the same religion. Their voting pattern to some extent are unbiased, but look what is happening in India. Indians are voting in favor of their state,religion completely overlooking the talent of the participants. It is also important that SET publish all relevant information regarding voting, especially when tens of millions of people paid to cast their votes. The declaration should include a complete breakdown of the vote distribution by state and region, along with a complete listing (location, date, IP address etc.) of the single sources of votes exceeding 1,000. This disclosure would make the system transparent and would increase the public confidence in future high-profile contests like these. At this time, I am interested in knowing how many of those seven crore votes actually originated from the sepoys of the police forces and the jawans of the armed services and how many from the rest of the voters!!

            I have been demonstrating my "Instant Art" techniques before enthusiastic audiences world-wide for over 50 years. I have appeared on the hit TV show, Ripley's Believe it or Not, and holds records in the Guiness World Book of Records for being the world's fastest artist.
On July 15, 1987, I painted for 12 consecutive hours at New York City's then Penta Hotel (now Hotel Pennsylvania) during which time I completed 103 paintings and sold 55 on the spot. The proceeds were donated to the Boy Scouts of America.

                Pakistan's ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has arrived in Karachi after eight years of self-imposed exile.
Ms Bhutto is set to hold power-sharing talks with President Pervez Musharraf, which could see her becoming PM again.  Her return is greeted by about 200,000 supporters who packed the area surrounding the airport and lined the roads leading into the city.  There is also a huge security presence amid Islamist threats to assassinate both Ms Bhutto and Gen Musharraf.

Assassination threat  : Authorities have tried to persuade Ms Bhutto not to undertake a long procession through Karachi to the tomb of Pakistan's founding father, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, where she plans an address, due to security concerns.  But Ms Bhutto said before leaving that she was undeterred: "I do not believe that any true Muslim will make an attack on me because Islam forbids attacks on women and Muslims know that if they attack a woman they will burn in hell."