When Baby Naznin met Larry King

Cultural Correspondent / April 6, 2009

Singer Baby Naznin recently went to Manhattan to attend the Bollywood Music Award show. During her visit she took the opportunity to browse the Sacks 5th Avenue outlet. And while looking for the perfume 'Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia,' exclusively available in Sacks only, she unexpectedly bumped into Larry King, host of the hugely popular talk show "Larry King Live" on CNN. One of the leading TV personalities of modern times, King has conducted some 40,000 interviews with politicians, entertainers and other newsmakers. 

The diva recalls the incident:

"I was bowled over when I saw Larry King right in front of me. As he approached me with a smile, I introduced myself. I told him that I was a singer. I even sang a few lines for him."

King also admired Naznin's beauty and refined taste as he saw the perfume in her hand. The diva did not miss the opportunity to frame the rare moment. Naznin also informed King that his show was very popular in Bangladesh. Larry King expressed his earnest wish to visit Bangladesh someday.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net

Bollywood producers set to strike

BBC News / Mumbai, April 6, 2009

Bollywood film producers are to go on strike after failing to settle differences with multi-screen cinemas over revenue sharing.

The protest means no new films will be released in popular multiplex cinemas.

Producers are demanding a 50% share in the revenues generated by the cinemas. Owners say the share should be lower if a film performs poorly.

India's film industry, the world's largest, has already been badly affected by the global economic crisis.

The indefinite strike is expected to begin on Saturday.

Actor-producer Vinay Pathak said many high-budget films have been put on hold and all parties stood to lose from the dispute.

"This problem can only be resolved if both parties find a solution that will be beneficial for producers, distributors and multiplexes, and hence for the audience," he said.

Mukesh Bhutt, a well-known Bollywood producer, told the BBC that multiplexes have grouped together and are holding the producers, who have never before united on the issue, to ransom.

But multi-screen cinema owners say producers should get less than 50% of revenues if a film does badly at the box office.

"If a movie does well, producers should get more money," said Alok Tandon, the Inox multi-screen cinema chain's chief operating officer. "If a movie doesn't do well they shouldn't."

"Everybody should be on the same platform."

Multilplexes have decided to show old films until the dispute is resolved.

The cinemas have boomed in India, especially in the cities, accounting for nearly 70% of the $2bn (1.4bn)-a-year Hindi film industry.

Many producers now make films for release only at multiplex cinemas.

Cinema-goers outside one swanky multi-screen cinema complex in Mumbai said they hoped the strike would end soon.

"If the strike is on for a longer time we will watch the IPL [Indian Premier League cricket] at home or we will watch movies at single screen cinemas," said one.

Bollywood has been badly hit by the global economic slowdown and the latest dispute will heap more misery on the industry.

It is already fearing a big drop in its audiences when the IPL cricket bonanza starts in South Africa in mid April.

The Indian film industry is the world's largest, churning out more than 900 films every year.

Source: http://www.bollywood.com

George Harrison to get Hollywood Walk of Fame star

AP / Los Angeles, April 6, 2009

Paul McCartney may have a knighthood, but it's George Harrison who is receiving the royal treatment from the Hollywood Walk of Fame this month.

Harrison will receive a star on the fabled walk on April 14, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced Friday. His widow, Olivia Harrison, and his son, Dhani, are expected to attend the unveiling.

Harrison, who died of cancer in 2001, already shares a Walk of Fame star with all four of the Beatles, but only he and John Lennon, who died in 1980, will have their own stars.

Harrison's, to be unveiled in front of Hollywood's Capitol Records building, will be the 2,382nd on the Walk.

Although once known as "the quiet Beatle" for his shy, retiring nature, Harrison was one of the group's most powerful forces.

His rockabilly-influenced playing gave the Beatles' early recordings their distinctive guitar-driven sound and his voice provided many of the group's most arresting vocal harmonies. His fascination with Eastern music also helped broaden the band's sound on such classic albums as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "The White Album."

Although overshadowed by the more prolific songwriters Lennon and McCartney, Harrison composed several of the Beatles' finest songs, including "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "Here Comes the Sun," "Something" and "Within You, Without You."

Following the group's breakup in 1970, he enjoyed a successful solo career that included such albums as "All Things Must Pass," "The Concert For Bangladesh," "Cloud Nine" and "Brainwashed."

In the late 1980s and early '90s he collaborated with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne in the whimsical musical supergroup The Traveling Wilburys.

In conjunction with the star's unveiling, Capitol/EMI said it plans to announce details for a new Harrison music project later this month. Martin Scorsese is also directing a forthcoming documentary on Harrison.

Source: Associate Press

'Fast & Furious' Races To #1 With Record-Breaking Box Office

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker's sequel is the biggest April debut ever.

Apr 6, 2009.

By Elisabeth Rappe

#1 "Fast & Furious" ($72.5 million)
#2 "Monsters vs. Aliens" ($33.5 million)
#3 "The Haunting in Connecticut" ($9.55 million)
#4 "Knowing" ($8.13 million)
#5 "I Love You, Man" ($7.85 million)

With Vin Diesel and behind the wheel, "Fast & Furious" raced to the top of the box office this weekend with a record-breaking debut of $72.5 million. That kind of money has made "Furious" not only the biggest opener of the series and a personal best for Diesel and Walker, but also the biggest April debut ever. With that kind of splashy money, Universal is probably pretty thrilled it put the pedal to the metal and released the film on April 3 instead of holding it until June, as it had previously planned. 

But it seems there can only be one stunning debut in any given weekend. Despite good reviews and the presence of Ryan Reynolds and "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart, the debut of "Adventureland" failed to crack the top five. It landed weakly at #6 with $6.01 million. 

While it dropped to #2, "Monsters vs. Aliens" wasn't entirely outdone and still brought in a tidy $33.5 million, bringing its total to $106 million. DreamWorks' 3-D adventure eclipsed "Watchmen" after just 10 days in theaters. 

"The Haunting in Connecticut" held onto #3, but its second weekend saw a steep drop of 59 percent. It took in only $9.55 million, with a total of $37.2 million, a weak showing for a horror film. 

"Knowing" also dropped a spot, bringing in $8.13 million to land at #4. The Nicolas Cage thriller has brought in $58.2 million so far, and though it's beginning to fade, it's been a solid release for Summit. 

"I Love You, Man" kept to the weekend's trend of one-spot drops but brought in only $7.85 million. With a take of $49.3 million so far, it's held better than Paul Rudd's and Jason Segel's previous solo comedies ("Role Models" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," respectively), and has been one of the strongest holdovers of a slow March.

Source: www.mtv.com

Sanat Kar’s satirical images

By Takir Hossain / April 6, 2009

Sanat Kar is one of the noted figures in Indian printmaking. He has added a new dimension and given a novel look to contemporary Indian art. Kar was born in 1935 and grew up in Calcutta (Kolkata). Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts in Dhaka has organised a solo exhibition of Sanat Kar, now on at Bengal Gallery in Dhanmondi. 

During Kar's formative years in the '50s, in the Calcutta art circuit, the blossoming of Indian art was in full swing. Kar and his comrades formed a group called 'The Artists' Circle.' Kar established himself in the contemporary printmaking medium in West Bengal. He began experimenting with etching in the early '60s and created various images with innovative thoughts. NEXT>>>>>

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net

Shahid-Priyanka trying out something new

Monday, April 6, 2009

Looks do matter. Especially when the girl in question is Priyanka Chopra. She was a stunner in her last two successful outings at the box office - Dostana and Fashion. If in the former she was the editor of a fashion magazine, in the latter she was a show- stopper herself.

Of course, all shows stopped at her arrival but she decided to take a different route altogether in her films to follow. She decided to be choosy about her work and picked on only two projects, Kaminey and What's Your Rashee. What makes Kaminey special is the fact that she got to work with director Vishal Bhardwaj, a master story teller when it comes to real Cinema, and known for giving his leading ladies an entirely different look.

While speculations were abounding about Priyanka Chopra's appearance in Kaminey, there has been a constant buzz ever since the first theatrical promo of the film hit the screens. Her hardcore Marathi girl act has made people sit up and take notice of Kaminey that has Shahid Kapoor in the lead.

Says Priyanka's close associate, "In the film, she plays the role of Sweety who is not only a bindaas girl but also someone who is traditional to the core (watch her doing those typical Maharashtrian dance steps and you will know). She is on a complete tangent if one remembers her ultra chic and glam avatar in the films that she has been seen in over the years.

Agrees Priyanka for whom Kaminey will be her first release of 2009 as a leading lady (after a hectic 2008 which saw her featuring in six back to back releases - Love Story 2050, God Tussi Great Ho, Chamku, Drona, Fashion and Dostana), "Yes, there has been an effort to make Sweety look completely different. She had to be believable and someone who isn't ultra glamorous. Also, I have gone with a minimal make-up look in the film."

Even Shahid Kapoor seems to be enjoying his double role stint in the film where one of the characters played by him not just stammers but also keeps an unkempt look. 'Reality' is what Vishal Bhardwaj has ensured in his characters and the same holds good for Shahid Kapoor too.

With both Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra seemingly going for a makeover and giving an altogether new account of themselves, the wait begins for this film which is all set to arrive at theatres on 26th June (yes, the film has been moved from it's original release date of 5th June). The duo seems to love trying out new things together!

Source: Bollywood Hungama.

Judge rejects Madonna's adoption bid

By KCBA / April 6, 2009

A Malawian judge has rejected Madonna's request to adopt a 3-year-old girl due to a residency requirement, her lawyer said.

Malawian regulation requires prospective parents to reside in the country for 18 to 24 months. 

Madonna's lawyer, Alan Chinula, told The Associated Press that the pop star, who did not attend Friday's hearing, can appeal the Supreme Court ruling. The singer adopted son David, now 3, in 2006 without fulfilling the residency requirements. The adoption was mired in controversy as many felt it was fast-tracked due to her celebrity status.

In her ruling on Friday, Judge Esimie Chombo said high-profile celebrity adoptions could lead to child trafficking. 

"Anyone could come to Malawi and quickly arrange for an adoption that might have grave consequences on the very children that the law seeks to protect," she said.

Madonna was attempting to adopt Chifundo "Mercy" James, whose mother died shortly after giving birth. In court papers, Madonna stated the girl's grandmother was unable to care for her and that the mother's brother consented to the adoption.

While many children's rights groups opposed the adoption, Malawi's Information Minister, Patricia Kaliati, fully supported it.

"We support her adoption process," Kaliati said Thursday. "Madonna's been good to us. She's supporting over 25,000 orphans in this country, and she's proved she can take care of David."

TVGuide.com's calls to Madonna's rep were not immediately returned. -- Joyce Eng

Source: http://www.kcba.com

Pooja Chopra crowned Femina Miss India 2009

By Raymond Ronamai / April 6, 2009

It would be extremely difficult to select only three out of 20 beautiful women. All the contestants of Pantaloons Femina Miss India 2009 (PFMI 2009) looked stunning on Sunday (April 5) night but at the end of the contest, three winners walked away with the coveted crowns. Ekta Choudhary, 22-year-old girl from Delhi, won the Pantaloons Femina Miss India Universe 2009 title and Pooja Chopra from Pune was crowned Miss India World 2009.

Shriya Kishore from Mumbai walked away with the Miss India Earth 2009 title. The three beauties were crowned by last year's PFMI title holders PFMI World Parvathy Omanakuttan, PFMI Universe Simran Kaur Mundi and PFMI Earth Tanvi Vyas.

This year's beauty Pageant was not without its dose of glamour. Bollywood actresses Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut and Genelia D'Souza stole the event with their wonderful stage performance. Malaika Arora Khan and actor R. Madhavan hosted the event.

Source: http://entertainment.oneindia.in

Documenting Bangladesh-3

Time has been extended for submission of film

06-04-2009,By Mridul Mamun

Bangladesh Documentary Council Informed us that the time has been extended uto 7th April, 2009  8pm for submission of film in 3rd Bangladesh Documentary Film Festival.

Source: Bangladesh Documentary Councile.

'Monsters vs. Aliens' in 3-D: Taking filmmaking to another dimension

Its success has studios plotting their next move in the format.

By John Horn 
April 6, 2009

"The Jazz Singer" brought sound to the movies. "Becky Sharp" did the same for color. Now “Monsters vs. Aliens” is accelerating Hollywood's 3-D revolution.

Change in the movie business usually happens at a glacial pace, but the surging popularity of 3-D movies, dramatized by "Monsters vs. Aliens' " $59.3-million opening weekend -- the biggest for a 3-D movie -- has directors and studio executives quickly reconsidering which, and how many, of their future film projects can be reworked into the immersive medium. NEXT>>>>

Source: http://www.latimes.com

Lauren Conrad looks beyond 'The Hills'

The star of the MTV reality show is looking forward to living her life off-camera.

By Denise Martin 
April 6, 2009

" The Hills," the MTV reality series supposedly following the life and times of rich Californian Lauren Conrad, isn't so much about her as it is about "Lauren Conrad on 'The Hills.' "

The show's fifth season premieres (April 6) tonight and marks the beginning of the end of Conrad's carefully orchestrated small-screen persona. The 23-year-old reality star, weary of living in front of cameras for the better part of five years, is after this season leaving the show that has showered her with pop culture fame.

"It's been a long time coming," she said. "I went through many phases when I thought I was done, but I'm at this point where I'm really ready."

Source: http://www.latimes.com