Entertainment News

Salman’s last day of shoot at Dublin for Ek Tha Tiger

Admin — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 05:08:29 +0000

The 'man' is back again; we are talking about none other than Salman Khan. After having delivered back to back superhits, this Box Office's darling is back with yet another thriller called Ek Tha Tiger, a film that really promise to roar at the BO. Bollywood Hungama brings to you a sneak peak at some of images that were shot on the sets of this film, courtesy the film's director Kabir Khan.

The adjoining picture was shot at the 500 year old Trinity College that played host to Salman 'Tiger' Khan & the crew members. Needless to say, his international fans went berserk after having spotted their superstar. People drive down from all over to see him. The makers of this film are also planning to shoot the film at various exotic locations of the world. "Tigers last day in Dublin Trinity college… People drive down from all over to see him," tweeted Kabir Khan.

Since this is the first time Salman will be seen in an YRF banner, the stakes of the film are absolute red hot at the Box Office!

The Businessman climax shot in Goa

Admin — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 05:02:35 +0000

Tollywood heartthrob Mahesh Babu's forthcoming The Businessman under the direction of sensational Puri Jagannadh is progressing at a brisk pace in Mumbai now. The film has almost completed the major portions and according to sources, the crew will start shooting the climax in Goa from October 27.

The entire shooting will be complete by November and the unit will go to South Africa to can a couple of songs in December. The movie is releasing on January 11, 2012.

Mahesh Babu used to normally take more than a year to complete a film, but he is now completing the shooting of The Businessman in three months. Kajal Aggarwal is the heroine of The Businessman, produced by Venkat under the banner of RR Movie Makers. S.S. Thaman is composing the music.

Ra One (2011) Movie Review, Details, Music Review

Admin — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 04:55:23 +0000

Star Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Arjun Rampal, Kareena Kapoor, Armaan Verma, Sanjay Dutt (Special appearance), Priyanka Chopra (Special appearance), Satish Shah, Dalip Tahil, Shahana Goswami, Suresh Menon, Tom Wu and Rajinikanth (Special appearance)

Director: Anubhav Sinha

Producer: Gauri Khan and Shahrukh Khan

Music Directors: Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani

Lyrics: Vishal Dadlani, Niranjan Iyengar, Kumaar, Panchhi Jalonvi, Anvita Dutt Guptan, and Anubhav Sinha

Audio: T-Series

Genre: Sci-Fi

India’s very own superhero seems to be creating a lot of hype all around. Shahrukh’s idea of giving our country its very own super hero is on the way to materialization. The promotional activities of the movie are such that it is really hard for one to not have knowledge of its upcoming release. There seems to be nothing left behind in the modern day marketing strategy for Ra.One. Be it computer games, merchandises, or other goodies Ra. One has all. Let’s take a sneak-peak into King Khan’s upcoming effort.

Directed by Anubhav Sinha, the Bollywood science-fiction endeavour featuring Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Karoor and Arjun Rampal is being produced under the Red Chillies Entertainment Banner. It is Shahrukh Khan’s home production and quite understandable why he’s put his heart and soul into the movie. David Benullo has done the writing bit but the screenplay was purely in Shahrukh’s hands. Also the story is by Anubhav Sinha and the lyrical duo Vishal- Shekhar is doing the music. The most interesting bit of the music is the inclusion of international pop sensation Akon.

The movie is at present scheduled to be released on the 26th of this month.

The basic framework of this movie revolves around Jeevan (Shahrukh Khan). The person concerned is a software engineer residing in Miami. Jeevan keeps playing a particular video game where he tries to defeat the villain Ra.One.

Jeevan’s son also has an important part to play in the movie. His relationship with his father is one of the main driving forces behind Jeevan’s developing the video game which lands everyone in a spot. Jeevan designs the super video game villain to impress his son however the villainous program soon turns self aware and kills the father.

It’s after this that the son has to fight out the supervillain with the hero of the game who is an exact impression of his father. In the desire to extract the superhero from the game the father son duo bond in a way that had happened never before.

Ra.One Music Review

Music is something which no bollywood film today can do without, Ra.One is no exception. The music of Ra. One is without a doubt one of the best things about the movie. Vishal-Shekhar have done an amazing job at working on the melody of the movie. In addition international rap star Akon has only added more versatility to the music of the movie. “Chammak Challo” is already ruling the chartbusters.

With 15 soundtracks, the movie is rich with music and has a lot to promise to global fans. Is it really worth the hype? Let’s find out.

Starting off with something that’s on everybody’s lips, “Chammak Challo” is indeed the talk of the town today. Akon’s funky tone adds magic to the soundtrack. Making Akon sing on a hindi track was in no way an easy job as some of the sources specified. However the international pop star showed a very keen interest in the track and proved to be a very quick learner. Add to that the versatile genres and instrumental beats of the magical duo Vishal-Shekhar. It was indeed a wise decision to use the track in promoting the movie as it just seems to linger in your vocal chords. Another version of this song adds bhangra beats to the track and further lifts up the spirit of the track. There is no doubting that this song is gonna rule both the chartbusters for quite some time.

Another popular track Dildara an adaptation of the popular Stand by me is written by Jerry Lieber, Mike Stoller and Ben E King. Vishal-Shekhar has again created magic here using Gospel music. This genre does not fail to touch you to the very core of your heart.

Bhare Naina is another example of the amazing touch of Gospel music though with fine touches of Indian classical music. Singer Nandini Shrikar has given an amazing voice to the track with her classicak voice. One can now easily compare her singing to other classical veterans like Rekha Bharadwaj, Richa Sharma and Shilpa Rao. The fusion of western and Indian instruments is just a classic example of soulful music thanks to the amazing skills of Vishal-Shekhar.

Right by your side is another power-packed college themed track voiced in a boying sing song charm of Siddarth Coutto. The track gives one the feel good ambience in the light moments of the movie. Vishal-Shekhar then pay tripute to the great R.D. Burman in the track Raftaarein. Voice modulation in grumbling tones makes it an absolutely thrilling number. Jiya Mora Ghabraye has the power packed voice of Sukhwinder Singh and Vishal Dadlani on backup vocals. A fast track which glides one through the dark moments of the movie thed background music here is just to die for.

All the background scores and themes be it the superhero’s theme or the song of the end never fails to disappoint. It has both the melancholic and melodramatic touch to the orchestra. Nostalgia looms at large as the music touches all those passionate about music.

This could be the biggest scam in India

Admin — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 05:17:48 +0000

Indians seem to have taken a fancy to scams the same way that Somalians have to piracy. Almost every other breaking news on TV channels talks about some money making racket or the other. The latest scam to be unearthed may however be bigger than all the previous scams put together. And its ramifications may be even more lethal.

Under the double-tax treaty signed with the Swiss government, the Swiss will now have to provide details to the Indian government on transactions involving Indians. It's thus no big surprise that black money is quickly exiting the Swiss Alps. But then where are these illegal piles of cash going? Well, it may be coming right back to India and sitting peacefully in our own backyard. And the amount involved could be as hefty as US$ 40-45 bn. But, this is just the figure for one year, 2010-11. The actual amount of black money entering the country could be a lot more.

Do you ever look at the latest export numbers, FII data, etc. and believe that these numbers are works of fiction or a figment of someone's imagination? Well, the latest black money scam may be just that. According to three analysts from Kotak Securites, who have been studying various data points, the numbers just don't add up. Here are a couple of examples:

Official export data shows a 79% year-on-year (YoY) growth in engineering exports in 2010-11. However, exports by engineering companies in the BSE 500 index show just a 11% growth. In dollars terms, the difference is even starker. There appears to be a US$ 28 bn shortfall in exports. Now, the probability that this amount has come in through over-invoicing or fictitious exports is higher than that it came from tiny engineering companies which are not part of the BSE 500 index.

Copper exports have also quadrupled from Rs 85 bn to Rs 367 bn. But, how is this possible in India, a country which does not as a practice export this mineral. China apparently bought the whole lot. So is the dragon nation also part of this public hoodwinking?

Also, in 2010-11 foreign investor flows added up to US$ 22 bn, according to official data. The Kotak analysts did a cross-check with international sources like exchange-traded funds and EPFR Global. Their analysis shows that not more than US$ 4.5 bn came in to India. So, where did the other US$ 17.5 come from?

Well, India really needs to clean up its act. Else even the legitimate flows of capital into the country may dry up. Greater disclosures, a strong clampdown on corruption and a complete shakedown of government frauds need to take place. Anna Hazare's movement and his 12-day fast should not go in vain. And neither should India's reputation as an investment destination.

By Equitymaster – India's leading 'independent' equity research initiative. Trusted by over a million members all over the world, Equitymaster is known for its well-researched, unbiased and honest opinions on the Indian stock markets.

‘Robust’ pledge by new defence secretary Hammond

Admin — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 04:59:55 +0000

Philip Hammond has pledged to ensure UK defences are robust, as he begins his first full day as defence secretary.Liam Fox resigned from the post on Friday after a week of pressure over his working relationship with friend and self-styled adviser Adam Werritty.In a statement, Mr Hammond said he would "ensure that our defences are robust and that the finances that lie behind them are equally robust".Mr Fox's conduct is being investigated by Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell.

Unanswered questions

The former defence secretary had been under intense pressure this week after it emerged that Mr Werritty had met him 22 times at the MoD and joined him on 18 overseas trips since he came to office last year – despite having no official role.Labour has called for a broader investigation into the rules governing ministerial conduct.

Showdown averted in New York’s Wall Street protests

Admin — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 04:55:34 +0000

(Spot2Day) – Anti-Wall Street protesters claimed victory on Friday when plans to clean the park they occupy were postponed, while police forces in financial capitals around the world braced for a weekend of rallies.A planned cleanup of the Lower Manhattan park that has been home to the Occupy Wall Street movement since September 17 was delayed just hours before it was due to begin by Brookfield Office Properties, which manages the publicly accessible park.

The move averted a possible showdown between police and protesters who viewed the cleanup as a ploy to evict them. Protesters loudly cheered the decision, and several hundred set off marching toward the city's financial district.Police arrested 14 people, but there were no widespread disruptions.

"This development has emboldened the movement and sent a clear message that the power of the people has prevailed against Wall Street," Occupy Wall Street said in a statement, estimating more than 3,000 people had gathered in Zucotti park.

New Yorkus Michael Bloomberg, in his weekly radio address on Friday, said his office was not involved in the decision to postpone the cleanup.

"My understanding is that Brookfield got lots of calls from many elected officials threatening them and saying, 'If you don't stop this, we'll make your life much more difficult,'" said Bloomberg, who added that he did not know which officials had called the company.

Protesters are upset that the billions of dollars in U.S. bank bailouts doled out during the recession allowed banks to resume earning huge profits while average Americans got scant relief from high unemployment and job insecurity.They also argue that the richest 1 percent of Americans do not pay their fair share in taxes.Many protesters feared the cleaning would be an attempt to shut down the movement that has sparked solidarity protests in other cities.

White House eliminates insurance program

Admin — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 04:45:35 +0000

The Obama administration cut a major planned benefit from the 2010 health-care law on Friday, announcing that a program to offer Americans insurance for long-term care was simply unworkable.

Although the program had been dogged from the start by doubts about its feasibility, its elimination marks the first time the administration has backed away from a key piece of President Obama’s signature legislative achievement.

Republican critics of the law immediately said the decision proved that the legislation is unsound and unsustainable. Every major GOP presidential candidate has pledged to work to repeal it.Because the insurance program had been projected to reduce the federal deficit by $86 billion over the next 10 years, terminating it complicates the nation’s budget picture. It is now estimated that the health-care law will cut the deficit by $124 billion from 2012 to 2021, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Known as the Community Living Assistance Services (CLASS) Act, the program was intended to be purely voluntary and open to all working Americans. It would have provided a basic lifetime benefit of a least $50 a day in the event of illness or disability, to be used to pay for even nonmedical needs, such as making a house wheelchair-accessible or hiring a home caregiver to assist with basic tasks.

The program was to be entirely self-financed with the premiums participants paid. Obama officials said that presented them with a problem: If they designed a benefits package generous enough to meet the law’s requirements, they would have had to set premiums so high that few healthy people would enroll. And without a large share of healthy people in the pool, the CLASS plan would have become even more expensive, forcing the government to raise premiums even higher, to the point of the program’s collapse.For the past 19 months, experts in the administration had searched for ways to get around the conundrum.

Kathy Greenlee, assistant secretary for aging at the Department of Health and Human Services, announced its conclusion Friday: “At this point, we do not have a viable path forward to implement the CLASS Act.”Rep. Phil Gingrey said the finding was long overdue. The Georgia Republican, who sponsored a bill to repeal the legislation, observed that more than a year ago the chief actuary for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services determined that the program was at significant risk of failure.

“I feel justified and vindicated,” Gingrey said. Like other Republicans, he predicted that this would be the first thread in the health-care law to unravel. “The bottom line is: As people start to understand this bill, you are going to see more and more of a domino effect,” he said.Sherry Glied, assistant secretary for planning and evaluation at HHS, countered that the CLASS program was an isolated case whose practicality was questionable from the beginning. Indeed, she said, for this very reason, the law stipulated that the secretary of health and human services had to certify that any CLASS Act plan she designed would be solvent for the next 75 years before she could implement it.“There is a very clear difference between that kind of uncertainty and the rest of the law,” Glied said.Meanwhile, consumer advocates accused the administration of giving up too easily.“I’m very disappointed,” said Connie Garner, who helped draft the CLASS Act while on the staff of the late senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).

Silvio Berlusconi scrapes through confidence vote

Admin — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 04:38:41 +0000

The Italian PM's embattled government survives after winning an absolute majority of one Silvio Berlusconi's embattled government scraped through a confidence vote on Friday, winning what even one of his own deputies called a "pyrrhic victory".

The 316 to 301 result left him with an absolute majority of just one in the lower house of the Italian parliament. But it was a better outcome than had been feared minutes earlier as three of the prime minister's supporters unexpectedly announced they were deserting him.

Constitutionally, Berlusconi could have survived with a simple majority of votes cast. But government whips wanted an outright majority to stem mounting dissidence within the ranks of the prime minister's Freedom People (PdL) movement and convince the electorate that his administration could continue to govern.

Recent weeks have seen the emergence of a rebel faction, led by Claudio Scajola, a former minister. Though Scajola, who resigned in an alleged corruption scandal last year, voted for the government, several of his fellow rebels decided to abstain.

Among others who abandoned Berlusconi was Santo Versace, the brother of the designers Donatella and the late Gianni Versace.With majority whips alternately cajoling and haranguing doubters, everything possible was done to bring out the vote in favour of the prime minister and his beleaguered administration. One of Berlusconi's deputies went through the division lobby on crutches with a leg in plaster.

The prime minister sought the confidence vote after his government failed on Tuesday to secure approval for the 2010 public accounts. Berlusconi has been struggling to get legislation through the lower house ever since last year when his former lieutenant, Gianfranco Fini, walked out of his party, taking with him several other deputies previously loyal to the government.

Before the vote, Italy's billionaire prime minister had appealed to the chamber to back him, saying Italy needed stability at a time of economic crisis. But his pledge to battle on helped send share prices umbling on the Milan stock exchange and raised the already unsustainably high interest rate on Italian government debt.

The reaction in the markets was a clear sign that investors are less concerned now about stability than government paralysis. With a fragile majority and his credibility in shreds because of the numerous scandals and trials in which he is involved, Berlusconi has appeared incapable of reacting effectively to the simmering debt crisis in the eurozone.

Many of the potential rebels among his followers and allies would nevertheless prefer to bring him down in January. That would open the way for an election in the spring – a better moment than mid-winter for persuading sceptical voters Italy can make a new start under the right.

Berlusconi returned to power in 2008 promising his government would never "put its hands in the pockets of the Italian people". But as the eurozone debt crisis has spread, it has been forced to approve a string of austerity packages that have raised taxes and other levies, including VAT. The austerity packages may reduce the government deficit. But they risk constraining Italy's already weak potential for economic growth.

Berlusconi's government has so far been unable to come up with a credible plan for reanimating the economy. Its policy – or lack of one – has been fiercely criticised by both trade unions and employers' groups.One of Berlusconi's serving ministers, Giancarlo Galan, who holds the culture and heritage portfolio, said he wanted to see the prime minister embark on a programme of reforms to free up the economy. "If he doesn't manage it, it would be better to have elections," he told a local newspaper.

The president, Giorgio Napolitano, has said he will not dissolve parliament for as long as Berlusconi's government enjoys the confidence of parliament. In an effort to underline the seriousness of the political crisis in Italy, the main opposition parties boycotted Berlusconi's speech to the house on Thursday.

Gov’t could not have cancelled spectrum allocation: CBI

Admin — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 04:31:20 +0000

NEW DELHI: A day after the Supreme Court questioned the government's failure to cancel spectrum allocations despite being aware of alleged irregularities, the CBI on Friday said issuance of letters of intent and acceptance of licence fee made scrapping of the agreements legally untenable.In a short note submitted to a bench headed by Justice GS Singhvi, the CBI said the LoIs provided that licences would follow once entry fee, performance guarantee and unequivocal undertakings were given. Shyam Telecom and Swan fulfilled these conditions on January 11, 2008 while all others did it a day earlier.

Petitioner Centre for Public Interest Litigation had also submitted that no legal rights were created in favour of the telecom companies on January 10, 2008, the day when the LoIs were granted. The CBI said: "The statement that no rights were created for the allottees on January 10, 2008 is legally unsound. It may not be correct to state that after receiving the amount of Rs 1,600 crore for each licence, and fulfilling of other conditions in the LoIs, the licences would still be open to cancellation."

A bench of Justices Singhvi and HL Dattu had on Thursday asked the government why it failed to take steps to cancel spectrum allocation, which took place much after January 10, 2008, even after the head of the government was aware of the alleged irregularities in the grant of licences.

To lend force to its stand that cancellation of spectrum allocation was legally untenable after grant of LoIs and acceptance of licence fee, the CBI cited a January 4, 2011, judgment of the Supreme Court, in which Justices Singhvi and C K Prasad had taken the view that a letter of intent could create rights in favour of the LoI holder.

Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, appearing for accused Sanjay Chandra, requested for an urgent hearing on his client's plea for interim bail. The court fixed October 31 for hearing on this plea.

Supreme Court seeks answers from Centre, UP on Taj Mahal safety

Admin — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 04:25:24 +0000

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday took suo motu note of a British media report reproduced in Indian newspapers which said that the 17th century Mughal monument of love — Taj Mahal – might collapse in the next five years and issued notices to the Union and UP governments.

A bench of Justices D K Jain and A R Dave asked the ministry of environment and forest, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Mayawati government to file affidavits responding to the news report which quoted BJP MP Ram Shankar Katheria saying that the Taj could collapse in five years.

The MP had said that the foundation of the monument, built between 1631 and 1648 on the banks of Yamuna river in Agra by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, had been damaged and the wood used in the wells had rotted.

Appearing for the ASI, advocate A D N Rao told the bench that in 2004 a similar concern was raised by advocate Ajay Agrawal relating to tilting of minarets because of lack of water in the river. Rao said the ASI had examined the entire structure before ruling out any danger to the monument.

In an affidavit, the ASI had in 2005 detailed the steps taken towards preservation of the monument. "Studies were carried out by the Survey of India, as per the request of the ASI in 2004-05, and it submitted a preliminary report confirming the stability of the monument." However, it had then promised to file a detailed report. But, the bench of Justices Jain and Dave wanted a fresh response from the governments and the ASI and posted the matter for further hearing on November 15

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