Lillete loves theatre or money?

If you have to describe Lillete Dubey in one word, it has to be bindaas! The theatre person and Bollywood actor is smart, doesn’t like maintaining an image and is eager to push the envelope. “I can do enough ‘khush raho beta’ type of roles in Bollywood but I don’t want to. In theatre, I can play a 75-year-old or a man. If I stand on the stage with a balloon in my hand, you’ll even buy that I’m a 10-year-old. I have developed interest in cinema now and I have no qualms about playing any roles.It may be a cameo but it has to be something that people remember me for. I’m not Hema Malini or Dimple, who wouldn’t want to be featured as anything but...

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I want to be Devdas' Paro: Tata Young

She may have made Dhoom sound like Doom but Thai pop sensation Tata Young counts it the as the most important experience of her life.“I was inspired by Hindi film music so it is kind of apt that one of my biggest successes – the song Dhoom Machale – came from Bollywood,” said Tata on a recent visit to Delhi.Singing, however, is just a part of her CV. “I enjoy doing all – modelling, acting and singing. But I feel my voice can do more miracles than acting and modelling,” she added.But despite that, she believes she can do more in the acting department in Bollywood. “I’m a big fan of Shah Rukh and Amitabh Bachchan. I have watched a few Bollywood...

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Age is on my side:Hansika

'I did get a lot of offers for roles opposite younger actors but for me, it’s the script that’s important', says HansikaWhat have you been upto since Aap Ka Suroor?l I got numerous offers after the film but I wanted to do something really different after playing Riya in Aap Ka Suroor. I took three months break after the film and then signed Kumar Mangat’s Money Hai Toh Honey Hai . I also did a South film opposite Junior NTR which has completed 200 days and I’ll be leaving soon for Mauritius for a Telugu film Country, opposite Junior NTR again.What’s your role in Money Hai Toh... all about?It’s a complete contrast to my earlier film. In Money......

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The 3.5 cr babe!

Personally, her love boat is rocking ever since she hitched up with Chhote Nawab Saif Ali Khan, but professionally too — actress Kareena Kapoor’s on the rise.After she delivered the hit Jab We Met with ‘ex’ Shahid Kapoor, Kareena has regained her status as the No 1 actress in Bollywood and is now drawing a whopping Rs 3.5 crore per film.This is the highest amount being paid to any Bollywood actress. Kareena’s future projects include films like Tashan with Akshay Kumar and Saif, Kambhakht Ishq with Akshay again, Golmaal Returns with Ajay Devgan, Agent Vinod with Saif, another with John Abraham and Karan Johar’s next.“I have always dabbled and...

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Jessy turns music director

The shooting of Sawal, the latest film being directed by B Jaya has been completed recently and the film is expected to release soon.Thota Venkateshwara Rao is producing the film starring Bharath and Suhani in the lead. Suhani, a well known child artiste will be making her debut as an actress.The music will be launched on December 18, and sources say, debutant music director Jessy Gift, is a bundle of nerves these days. Having made his mark as a playback singer with songs in movies like Malleeswari and Yuvasena, this time he's composed the music for Sawal. It will be interesting to see if he manages to hit the bull's eye this time too.Source:...

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Sanjay gets back in shape

All those Bollywood hunks with six packs had better step aside, Sanjay Dutt the original stud of the silver screen, is back to claim his title.Yes, Munnabhai who is out on bail, is using every moment of his temporary freedom to get back into real action. "I am enjoying the luxury of time before I get down to serious work," said a charged Dutt who begins shooting for his next film EMI from Wednesday.And, Dutt has a secret weapon up his sleeve. He’s enlisted the services of noted Hollywood training guru Mark Twight to get fighting fit. Twight had trained the warriors in the film 300 and got actor Gerard Butler, who plays the leader of the Spartans,...

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Gimme more!

One of them is an engineer, another was considering business management while the third could have done nothing but make music. Now that all three of them have found their true calling in music, they couldn’t ask for more. DT chats with Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy...You recently performed in Delhi, how was the experience?Shankar: It was very emotional, the passion of the crowd moved me.Ehsaan: Delhi crowd has always been so wonderful; we wanted to give them more.Loy: It was a memorable experience performing to the wonderful sea of humanity gathered.How difficult was it becoming what you are today?Shankar: I was an engineer with a lucrative job and...

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Sex 'switch' to help in pest control

LONDON: Turning off a sex "switch" triggered when female insects mate may be a smart and green way of controlling pests in future. Scientists said on Sunday that they had found a molecular receptor, or switch, common to all insects that sets off post-mating behavior like egg-laying. Developing a chemical to artificially block its action could stop insect populations in their tracks and help fight the spread of many human and animal diseases. "If you had an inhibitor of this receptor then you could interfere with its function and it would, in effect, be a birth control pill for insects," said Barry Dickson from the Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna, Austria. Many female insects undergo profound changes in behavior after mating. Some species start laying multiple eggs. Female mosquitoes,...

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German battery to ignite electric car

FRANKFURT: German cars are known for strength, speed and high fuel consumption, but a firm in eastern Saxony has designed a lithium-ion battery membrane that could finally make electric cars common. For years, battery-powered cars have been hampered by technological hurdles, with researchers seeking to resolve problems of weight, autonomy and ways of recharging vehicles quickly and easily. Recent progress towards lighter and more powerful batteries has been made however, in particular by groups like the Japanese car maker Toyota with its hybrid vehicles, and high-tech firms in France. Germans were said to be plodding along behind, but batteries made by the a firm called Li-Tec "take up 30% less volume than those from Toyota" and "allow you to go three times further for the same weight than...

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Ethnic problem stirs Malaysian lawyers

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Bar Council has urged the government to set up a panel of experts to study the grievances of all communities who feel they are marginalised. Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan said the study should focus on identifying such groups and studying the issue of their access to resources with the aim of providing recommendations to improve the quality of their lives, The Star newspaper reported on Monday. She made the call Sunday at a human rights rally, called Festival of Rights, which the police declared illegal and detained four lawyers and as many human rights activists. She added that the council would write to the inspector general of police to complain about the arrests of several people. The government ordered a crackdown on public protests during the last fortnight...

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Kat’s in luck!

Katrina Kaif has penchant for things exquisite and elegant. Among her many passions is her weakness for designer wear. And so, recently when she was window-shopping in a mall her eyes fell on a designer outfit and she wanted to buy it.A close friend of the actress revealed, “Katrina was shopping at a mall in Worli when she stepped into a store that displayed only exclusive designer wear. While she was looking around, her eyes fell on a Gucci dress. She fell in love with it instantly and wanted to buy it then and there.” However, our khabroo told us that Katrina felt that the outfit was too expensive and so she didn't buy it. “The dress had a...

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Rock and role, soniye!

Prachi Desai aka Bani of Kasamh Se is making all the right moves as far as her career goes. The latest is that she has been signed opposite Farhan Akhtar in the film Rock On. Farhan, too, will make his acting debut in Rock On.Rock On is being produced by Farhan and close aide, Ritesh Sidhwani. Sidhwani says, “Yes, it is true that Prachi will play the female lead opposite Farhan in Rock On. The film has a contemporary theme and its USP is its music. We intend to finish shooting for the film by March 2008.”Needless to say, Prachi is excited about her big Bollywood break. The only words that she's able to mutter when asked about her film are 'great',...

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Playing it again, Sam?

Remember Kitty, the not-so-bright secretary of the carrot-eating, eccentric detective Karamchand from the popular detective series? Well, Sameera Reddy is all set to play the role of Kitty in the film Race.Sameera went through the episodes of Karamchand in order to get into the skin of the character, which was earlier played by Sushmita Mukherjee.The feisty actress says that she found it really difficult to play a bimbette. Says Sameera, “People say that it is tough to do action scenes but I found it very tough to play a bimbette. I had to practice Kitty's manner of walking, talking and rolling my eyes the way she did. But, on the whole, it was...

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A Tabu subject?

The controversy surrounding Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen has spelt big bucks for her publishers and booksellers; demand for her books - Lajja (Shame) and her autobiography, Dwikhandita (Split in Two)- has skyrocketed. Bollywood, too, is keen to make hay while the sun shines. The latest is that UTV is making a film on Nasreen. Details have been finalised rather quickly. Tabu has already been roped in to play Nasreen. A source close to UTV says, “UTV thinks that Tabu will suit the role very well. The film will go on the floors next year. It will be a biopic.”In full filmi style, a love angle will also be added to the film. “Yes, there will...

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Kyon, Ray?

Remakes seem to be the flavour of the season, but shouldn't there be some classics that should be sacrosanct? They remade Don, Sholay, Karz… So far, so good. But who would have thought about recreating Satyajit Ray's 1964 Bengali classic Charulata? Apparently London-based filmmaker Amitabh Neil Ray has bravely decided to film his own version of the classic. He is making the film in Hindi and English. Does the fact that he shares his last name with the legendary filmmaker (no, he isn't a relative) have anything to do with it?Anyway, make it, he will. In Charulata we had the beautiful and talented Madhabi Mukherjee doing full justice to the title...

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Chan-nai calling

Himesh Reshammiya's first Tamil film, Dashaavtaram's, music will be released by Jackie Chan. The action superstar is expected to fly down to Chennai in February 2008 for the music launch of this film starring Kamal Hassan in 10 different roles.Apparently, the producer of the film, Oscar Films' Ravichandran, managed to persuade Chan to do the honours since he holds the rights to release Jackie Chan's movies in India. According to our sources, Ravichandran showed the Rush Hour series of the southern superstar's films which got him impressed. He was amazed at Kamal's range and the 10 different roles he plays in the same movie, especially the part...

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Attention tension?

Recently, Amitabh Bachchan stayed away from an AIDS awareness function. Did it have to do with Shah Rukh Khan being the chief guest at the occasion?Amitabh Bachchan said that he was unable to attend a function organised by Smita Thakeray' Mukti Foundation because of the shooting schedule of Aladdin. Later, we found out, that the shooting actually got over by 5 pm. The event was supposed to begin only after 8 pm. What reached in place of Big B was a recorded message that flashed on the screens explaining his absence from the venue. Says Allwyn Roderick from Mukti Foundation, “Mr. Bachchan could not attend the function as he was busy shooting for...

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Skin deep love

Victoria Beckham shuns nightwear so she can feel the soccer star’s athletic physique next to her body. The Spice Girl, who has three sons, eight-year-old Brooklyn, five-year-old Romeo and two-year-old Cruz, with David, said, “I sleep naked. I’m going to be naked if I’m getting in bed with him every night!” Victoria — who has her own clothing line, DVB, and a his and hers fragrance line with David— also slammed her celebrity rivals, including Paris Hilton, who she claims have no input into their respective empires. She added, “There are so many, and I hate the word celebrities, clothing lines and fragrances, and most of them have nothing to do...

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Jessica, Eva design boots for charity

Jessica Simpson and Eva Longoria have both designed a pair of UGG Boots for a charity auction.The actresses are among a host of celebrities who have come up with their own unique hand painted creations for the popular sheepskin boots which will go under the hammer for UGG Australia’s Art and Sole sale.The stars were asked to use the word ‘hope’ as the inspiration behind their designs.Dukes of Hazzard actress Jessica decorated her boots with butterflies and flowers while Desperate Housewives star Eva opted for hearts and her own signature.Penelope Cruz, John Travolta, Cindy Crawford, Minnie Driver, Miley Cyrus, Matthew McConaughey, Liv Tyler,...

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Heidi Klum keeps goldfish in nappy bag

Heidi Klum keeps goldfish in her diaper bag to entertain her children. The stunning Victoria’s Secret model — who has two children, two-year-old Henry and one-year-old Johan with husband Seal, as well as a three-year-old daughter, Leni, from a previous relationship — admits she is amazed by how many things she needs to keep in the diaper bag. Heidi said, “I need loads of diapers all different sizes. Then there’s always wet wipes, milk, water, goldfish — there’s tons of things you have to bring to keep them entertained, like bananas. Henry eats three bananas a day!”The 34-year-old Project Runway host also revealed her secrets for getting back...

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Craig vows to bare all in next Bond movie

Daniel Craig has vowed to ‘go totally nude’ for the next Bond film. The hunky 39-year-old actor, who made his debut as suave spy James Bond in last year’s Casino Royale, insists it’s only fair he appears naked when he reprises his role, because Bond girls are always expected to strip off.He said, “I’d go totally nude. I’ve got nothing to hide, and after all, we ask the girls to reveal almost all, so why not the men?”Daniel also revealed he felt ‘nervous’ at the stir he caused in the now infamous Casino Royale scene where he emerges from the sea in tight blue swimming trunks.He added to New!, “Did I know the trunk thing would be such a big deal?...

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No life without wife

Life is not so rosy for David Beckham these days. With wife Victoria away for the Spice Girls Reunion tour, dad recovering from a heart attack and Christmas around the corner, Becks has found that the instability has made his obsessive compulsive disorder worse.The LA Galaxy star, 32, is so anxious that he can’t relax until everything is in its exact place —particularly on his private jet. On a recent trip, he demanded spotless upholstery and symmetrical crockery.An insider says, “David likes his jet arranged so that everything looks neat and when a meal is served to him he insists that there is a row of glasses of different sizes on the tray.“He...

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I miss being pregnant

Heidi Klum has confessed she misses being pregnant and wants more babies. The Victoria’s Secret model has two sons with husband Seal— two-year-old Henry and one-year-old Johan — and a three-year-old daughter Leni from her relationship with Italian businessman Flavio Briatore.Heidi, 34, said: “I do miss being pregnant. Children are very addictive. Once they start growing up, you miss when they were little. So, maybe...”The German supermodel also revealed her singer husband treats daughter Leni as his own daughter, but is rather rough with his sons because he wants them to grow up tough.She said, “Seal is Leni’s father. Seal and I feel very lucky...

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Dhoom Machale

New Delhi: While car makers in India are in the race to introduce low-cost vehicles, including the Rs 1-lakh car from Tata, Japanese bike maker Yamaha has introduced two bikes priced over Rs 10-lakh to restart its ride in India.Yamaha Motor India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yamaha Motor Company, which had been struggling to woo Indian customers, now wants to re-establish itself in the premium segment with the launch of the two sport motorcycles – MT-01 and YZS-R1 – priced at Rs 10.5 lakh each (showroom price).Both 998cc-powered YZS-R1 and 1680cc-powered MT-01 would be brought in India as completely built units. Yamaha would initially retail...

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Dabur to set up twenty wellness shops in Mumbai in three years

New Delhi: Home-grown FMCG major Dabur India plans to set up 20 outlets for specialty beauty, health and wellness retail business in Mumbai in the next three years.H&B Stores Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dabur India Ltd, will launch the ‘new-u’ outlets, offering a wide range of health and beauty solutions under one roof. The first ‘new-u’ will roll out in Delhi by the end of January next year, followed by other cities including Mumbai.‘‘We will launch four to five stores by the first quarter of FY-2009 in Mumbai, and 15 more stores in the city in the next two years,’’ H&B Stores CEO Peter Baker told Mumbai Mirror.The sizes of these...

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Centre may relax cap on SEZ lands

New Delhi: The Centre may allow special economic zones (SEZs) to be bigger than the current limit of 5,000 hectares, a Commerce Ministry official has revealed.“Since the resettlement and rehabilitation policy is in place, the government may think of relaxing the upper limit of 5,000 hectares for SEZs,” Commerce Secretary G K Pillai said at the India Economic Summit here on Monday.Talking to newspersons on the sidelines, Pillai pointed out that out of 472 SEZs that have been formally approved, only 34 are multi-product and specified that there are only three-four cases of people wanting the sizes to be increased.He added that the government would...

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AP docs operate on 3-legged boy

Hyderabad: Notwithstanding the agitation by junior doctors, surgeons at the Niloufer Children’s Hospital in Hyderabad, on Tuesday performed a rare surgery on a 6-year-old boy who had three legs and four feet. The corrective surgery is being conducted in three phases, with a gap of six months between operations. In the first phase on Tuesday, P Niranjan’s third limb was removed and the pelvic girdle refashioned.A team of nine orthopaedic specialists and plastic surgeons, led by Dr A Narendra Kumar, conducted the operation. Kumar had performed a similar surgery in 2002 on a baby with three hands.Niranjan hails from a poor family in Mahbubnagar...

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I am not disabled, says woman whose feet face backwards

Beijing: A woman, born with a rare condition, has refused to be classified as disabled.Wang Fang, 27, of China, was born with her feet facing the wrong way, but has learned to live with her condition and recently refused a disability pension.Wang, who has a five year-old son with normal feet, said, “I can run faster than most of my friends and have a regular job as a waitress in the family restaurant. There is no reason to class me as disabled,” Wang said in a report published in the Daily Mail.Doctors and her family feared she would not be able to walk properly when she was born, but now agree that she can outrun anyone she knows.“I can walk...

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Musharraf’s son defends his dad in cyberspace

Islamabad: President Pervez Musharraf’s son Bilal and rock band Junoon’s guitarist Salman Ahmed, who till recently were good pals, are now clashing in cyberspace over the imposition of emergency in Pakistan.Ahmed, who was a supporter of Musharraf’s policies especially his stand against terrorism and his vision of “enlightened moderation”, has been prolific on the cyberspace, calling the President a “dictator” and “Pharaoh”, since the imposition of emergency on November 3.This provoked an angry response from Bilal. In his letters, which have now been taken off most websites, Bilal has accused Ahmed who he says was a close friend and a spiritual...

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Don’t purchase their diamonds

July 24, 2007: Two robbers snatch a bag containing diamonds worth Rs 62 lakh from Ketan M Patel, a Dubai-based diamond merchant, near the Pancharatna Building in Charni Road. Four months later, they land in the police net one after another, without being able to sell a single diamond from the loot.The D B Marg Police pushed the two thieves - Rauf Habib Sheikh alias Bablu and Nasir Yasin Sheikh alias Raja Kida - into a corner by alerting diamond traders all the way up to Jaipur that the two would try to sell the loot.On Sunday, the D B Marg Police picked up Bablu from Koparkhairane and recovered diamonds worth Rs 36 lakh from his home in Kharghar.Kida...

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ULCRA out, Versova car shed in

The repealing of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act has done a world of good for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority and the first phase of the Mumbai Metro Rail project.The 30-acre land at Versova, where a car shed will be constructed for the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro link, has been declared surplus after the repeal. According to ULCRA, any land measuring 5,000 square kilometres is declared surplus and can be claimed by the government.The land was under litigation for the past two years resulting in delay of the first phase of the project. Sources said that authorities at Mumbai Metro One - the consortium of...

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Hearing commences in Rani Mukherjee land case

Kopargaon (Maharashtra) (PTI): Hearing by the Ahmednagar district administration in the Rs 33-lakh fake land deal case involving Bollywood actress Rani Mukherjee commenced on Tuesday. The hearing involving Mukherjee and Sampat More has been adjourned till December 31. "The lawyers of Rani Mukherjee and More presented their arguments. But no decision has been taken and the hearing has been adjourned till December 31," Sub-Divisional Magistrate Srirampur, Nandkumar Suryavanshi, told PTI. Mukherjee was duped of Rs 33 lakh in a land deal in Shirdi in Ahmednagar district. The actress bought a plot in the pilgrim town, hoping to build a house but was duped into paying for land belonging to the State Farming Corporation. The plot is yet to receive the required government clearance. The actress had...

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US-Iran 'nuclear game' goes on

Iran's first reaction to the best news it had heard for a long time was - silence.For more than 12 hours, state media did not even mention the new US intelligence assessment that said Iran no longer had an active nuclear weapons programme. It was almost as if it was too good to be true. The authorities simply could not believe their ears.Now they have regained their balance, the mood in Tehran is little short of triumphalist.The foreign ministry says the new assessment shows that everything US President George W Bush says on the nuclear issue is "unreliable and fictitious".Iranian TV has been covering the report full time, with lengthy discussions...

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Cancer cases 'to increase a third by 2020'

Cases of cancer are expected to increase by a third by 2020 with nearly 300,000 people having the disease diagnosed each year, according to a landmark government report published yesterday. The five-year Cancer Reform Strategy said the ageing population, obesity epidemic and rise in lifestyle cancers would cause the rise in the number of people having cancer diagnosed each year. Over half of all cancers could be prevented if people adopted healthy lifestyles such as stopping smoking, avoiding obesity, eating a healthy diet, undertaking a moderate level of physical activity, avoiding an excessive alcohol intake and avoiding excessive exposure to the sun. The new strategy includes plans to speed up drug approval, more money for radiotherapy services and a possible clampdown on sunbeds and cigarette...

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Sue what?

Suresh Wadkar is now embroiled in a fresh controversy about his attitude on Jjhoom India. The singer refuses to re-perform in the Wild Card entry segment as he feels that he is too senior to bear the ignominy that ensues from performing with the ousted contestants. He says that things are worse for him as his co-performer Shweta Tiwari doesn't know how to even hum a song.This has upset the channel guys (SaharaOne). They can, as per contract, sue Wadkar if he gives the Wild Card segment a miss. Wadkar, however, has turned a deaf ear to the channel's communication.Confirming that Wadkar has turned down the Wild Card offer, Kalyan Sundaram (Programming...

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