C20 – December 28, 2007 – INDIA-WEST
Shakira Meets Bangladesh Cyclone-hit Kids
Shilpa Gets Court Reprieve
Pop star Shakira, an UNICEF ambassador, walks with urban children Dec. 19 in Rajshahi city, in northern Bangladesh. Shakira toured coastal villages Dec. 17 through 19 that were affected by the Nov. 15 cyclone. (UNICEF/Getty Images)
DHAKA (PTI) — Pop star Shakira was touched by a “song of grief” sung by a Bangladeshi girl victim of last month’s Sidr cyclone during her visit to the devastated areas. “She sang to me a song of grief. It was a beautiful song in Bengali...It said, ‘Mother, wherever you are, write to me.’ I will never forget her voice,” Shakira recalled the moments she spent with Nipa, an 11-year-old girl left orphaned by Sidr in Patuakhali in the southern part of the impoverished nation. Visibly shaken from her visit to Sidr-hit areas, Shakira recalled her experience in the cyclone-hit areas,
often pausing to sigh and reflect between sentences. “I was devastated to see that entire villages were wiped away. Everything they had was gone ... that touched me. The loss of so many human lives ... I will never forget the faces of the mothers who lost their children,” the pop star said. However, amid the devastation, Shakira also found hope. “Amid all this calamity, sadness and grief, I saw kids playing, singing and smiling in this semi-destroyed school. It was like an oasis ... of relief,” she said, speaking about “Child Friendly Spaces,” an institution where children traumatized by the
deadly cyclone’s devastation spend their days playing and learning. The UNICEF goodwill ambassador, who had earlier already planned to visit Bangladesh, brought the visit forward after seeing the damage caused by cyclone Sidr. The Colombian singer landed in Bangladesh Dec. 17. “I loved hearing the kids say they dream about becoming doctors and nurses...They all had positive dreams,” she was quoted as saying by the Daily Star newspaper Dec. 20. The 30-year-old pop singer left Dhaka Dec. 19 after a three-day visit as the UNICEF goodwill ambassador.
Shilpa Shetty poses with the costars of “Miss Bollywood” in London, (l-r) Wayne Perry, Anousha Dandekar and Nicholas Brown. Shetty has just won a legal victory against Stardust magazine. (Getty Images)
Gauri Khan on Vogue Cover
NEW DELHI (PTI) — A known face on almost all prominent magazine covers, Shah Rukh Khan appears to have competition brewing from within his family. His low profile and media shy wife Gauri has been put on the cover of noted fashion magazine Vogue India in its January edition. Wearing a scintillating Western style red outfit, Gauri, 37-year-old, mother of two, appears to be making a fashion statement in the photographs. The pictures were shot against the eight-floor extension of the Khans’ sprawling home, “Mannat,” with even King Khan posing along with Gauri in some pictures. Chris Cramer, celebrated Vogue photographer, said Gauri was very confident in spite of being out of limelight all this while. “She had a great pose in front of the camera and was very confident and this is something unusual even in models,” Cramer said. Priya Tanna, editor, Vogue India, said, “Vogue is a magazine that celebrates style, personality, fashion and glamour. And Gauri is someone whom we consider very stylish. And the fact that she is so elusive makes her more covetable.” The fashion magazine which has featured many celebrities including U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton among top
NEW DELHI (PTI) — Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty Dec. 14 received a reprieve with the Supreme Court refusing to vacate a Bombay High Court’s interim order restraining film magazine “Stardust” from publishing some articles on her personal life. A bench of Justices, however, asked the High Court to explore the possibility of disposing of the Rs. 200 million defamation suit filed by Shetty against the magazine in 2001. The magazine was seeking to publish articles on Shilpa Shetty’s alleged relationship with some of the male actors and also a married man, against which she obtained
an interim injunction from a single judge of the Bombay High Court on Jan. 12, 2001. The judge found the articles defamatory in nature. Magna Publishers Ltd, publishers of the magazine, moved a division bench of the High Court against the single judge’s order which dismissed it, following which the publishers appealed in the apex court. The apex court, while declining to express any opinion on the merits of the case, said it found no reason to interfere with the interim order passed by the single judge and upheld by the division bench.
Saavn Offers Mobile Bollywood Extras
By a Staff Reporter Saavn, a New York-based venture of Hungama Mobile Pvt. Ltd. and 212MEDIA, and American telecom giant Verizon Wireless have teamed up to offer Bollywood ringtones, ringback tones and music videos to users in the United States. For a fee, Verizon customers can download the tones and other extras from the Saavn mobile Web site (www.saavnmobile.com). The site is also running a promotional contest to send two lucky movie fans to Mumbai to meet superstar Shah Rukh Khan. The promotion is the latest news from a company that has enjoyed a “landmark” successful year, said a spokesperson. Earlier this year, Saavn announced partnerships with the Canadian companies Rogers Communications and Joost to expand their distribution of hit films and music from India in Canada. In the U.S., the company expanded its reach with Time Warner Cable to include areas such as Los Angeles, Dallas, Austin and Cleveland. Cable giant Cox Communications also linked up with Saavn and covered markets such as Fairfax (Va.), Phoenix, Orange County and San Diego.
A trip to India to meet Shah Rukh Khan is the prize in a new contest sponsored by mobile content provider Saavn.
Gauri Khan comes into her own this month, posed in a minidress on the cover of Vogue.
Hollywood actresses and models will now feature Gauri Khan for
the upcoming Indian edition. The issue hit news stands Dec. 20.
Saavn also partnered with many community events across the nation, including the Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival, the Indian Film Festival
[Cont. on page C28]
C28 – December 28, 2007 – INDIA-WEST
Shatru Celebrates Birthday Telugu Comedian in Guinness Book
By S. JANAKIRAM
Press Trust of India
MUMBAI — Poonam Sinha, Kamia Mulhotra, Dharmendra, Hema Malini and Shatrughan Sinha at a celebration of Shatrughan Sinha’s birthday Dec. 9.
Saavn, Verizon Team up for Mobile Bollywood Extras
[Cont. from page C20]
of Los Angeles, the Bollywood Movie Awards and the Bollywood Music and Fashion Awards. Other major initiatives launched in 2007 included partnerships and campaigns with iTunes, Verizon Wireless and Verizon FiOS. Through a separate agreement with Verizon FiOS TV, a leader in delivering Video on Demand, Saavn will offer FiOS TV customers
access to some of the best Bollywood music videos, television shows and major motion pictures. “The consumer response has been overwhelming,” observed Vin Bhat, cofounder and general manager of Saavn. To kick off 2008, Saavn will be rolling out new initiatives with major industry partners RCN and Boost Mobile.
HYDERABAD — Telugu film comedian Brahmanandam has found place in the Guinness Book of World Records for acting in the largest number of films — 754 — in a single language. “I have achieved this record in 20 years. I am thrilled. I have got an official confirmation in this regard. It is all because of the love and affection showered by the Telugu people,” he said. A lecturer before he entered the filmdom, Brahmanandam began his career with “Ahana Pellanta” directed by late Jandhyala who used to be hailed as “Hasya Brahma.” With “Ahana Pellanta” achieving stupendous success, Brahmanandam never looked back. With his unique style of acting, inimitable dialogue delivery and body language, he went on to become a household name in Andhra Pradesh in a short span of time. It is no exaggeration to say that no Telugu film was released in the 1990s without the actor. There were a number of movies which had a separate comedy track featuring Brahmanandam and other leading comedy actors like Kota Srinivasa Rao and Babu Mohan. According to rough estimates, he has been acting in a minimum of 35 films every year for the past 22 years. “Ahana Pellanta,” “Choopulu kalasina subhavela” with Jandhyala, “Money,” “Money Money” and “Anaganaga oka roju” with Ram Gopal Varma, “Vinodam,” “Ya-
Prolific Telugu film star Brahmanandam is now set to appear in the Guinness Book of World Records.
maleela’ with S.V. Krishna Reddy and “Sitaratnamgari Abbayi” with E.V.V. Satyanarayana were some of the films that brought laurels for Brahmanandam. In addition to the comedy roles, Brahmanandam also acted as a character actor and a comedy hero. His role as the main protagonist in “Babai Hotel,” the saga of a man who cares for young orphans, won critical acclaim for him. He has won many awards in his illustrious career and Nagarjuna University in Guntur presented
him with a honorary doctorate. Asked if he gets bored doing comic roles in almost all his films, the actor replies that he felt honored to entertain people. The actor, who is deeply interested in Telugu literature, was also planning to write a book based on his experience in the film industry. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy has congratulated the actor on entering the record book and hailed him as the greatest comedian in contemporary Telugu commercial cinema.
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