Month: July 2010

Hema takes over Esha’s comeback film

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Mumbai, July 24: Esha Deol-starrer Tell Me O Khuda, will now have a new director – Hema Malini. Esha’s mother was producing the film, but she was unhappy with what the director Mayur Puri had shot so far.

The two had several creative differences which could not be solved. It seems Hema recently viewed the footage and realised that Mayur had not stuck to the basic storyline he had narrated to her.

He had also shot too much footage. Fed up, she has removed him from the production and will now direct the rest of the film.

I like experimenters in religion: Sudhir Kakar

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New Delhi, July 24: Mughal prince Dara Shukoh, Mahatma Gandhi and spiritualist Ramakrishna Paramahansa shared a trait – they were religious secularists at heart, says psychoanalyst and writer Sudhir Kakar who loves to get into the lives of historical characters to find answers.

“The three of them tried to bring the Hindus and the Muslims together in a spirit of integration, find common ground and make them accept each other,” Kakar told IANS in an interview here.

Boy takes bomb to school to teach love rival a lesson

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Behrampore, July 24: A student of eight standard has been arrested for allegedly taking a bomb to school in Murshidabad district to teach his senior “a lesson” with whom he had an altercation apparently over a girl, the police said today.

The 14-year-old boy brought the bomb in his school bag and was waiting for the class X student in front of the school at Kandi yesterday, they said.

As the boy bragged about what he had in his bag, other students informed the teachers, they added.

Valaya’s clothes outshine Kangna on Couture Week ramp

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New Delhi, July 24: It was a classic example of clothes stealing the show from a show-stopper. Designer J.J. Valaya’s couture line at the ongoing Pearl’s Infrastructure Delhi Couture Week was so impressive that it even overshadowed the presence of Bollywood actress Kangna Ranaut.

Inspired by a fictional character “Alika”, the line had elegant saris, lehengas paired with sexy cholis and long jackets, short kurtas with skin-fit chudidars and achakans and angrakhas for men. The line was a treat to the eyes and showed designers effort in putting up a magnificent show together.

Himesh to take a break from dieting on birthday

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Mumbai, July 24: Himesh Reshammiya has been on a no-sugar diet for the last six months and has been avoiding sweets and ice creams. On his 38th birthday today, however, the Kajraare actor will indulge his sweet tooth.

Mera wala diet
Himesh reveals his ‘birthday diet’, “I will not follow my regular diet just for today. I plan to eat some kaju katlis, ice creams and some other sweets that I have been avoiding for a while now.”

Memorial for slain Egyptian woman vandalised

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Berlin, July 24: A memorial for an Egyptian woman who was murdered inside a German court last year has been vandalised just weeks after being unveiled, police in the eastern city of Dresden said.

Marwa El-Sherbiny, the mother of a three-year-old and pregnant with her second child, was stabbed 18 times last July by a man she was testifying against during an appeal hearing.

Three of the knife-shaped columns that make up the memorial for the 31-year-old Egyptian woman were knocked over.

6.0-magnitude earthquake hits Indonesia

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Jakarta, July 24: A 6.0-magnitude quake hit Indonesia’s North Sumatra province today, the local Meteorological and Geophysics agency said, but there were no reports of damage or casualties and no tsunami alert.

The quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres, 18 kilometres northwest of Panyabungan at 9:11 am (0741 IST), according to the agency.

The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 5.4.

“The quake was felt quite strongly. Many people panicked,” Mandailing Natal district police chief Hirbak Wahyu said.

Sonam is not going West, says Anil Kapoor

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New Delhi, July 24: It’s not westwards ho for daughter Sonam Kapoor, says Anil Kapoor dismissing reports that the young actress is making a move for Hollywood.

The actor’s agent in Los Angeles is handling the offers for Sonam, including one for comic star Ben Stiller’s next, but she has turned them down.

“Sonam is only four films old in Bollywood. She needs to establish herself in India first before even thinking of doing a international project,” Kapoor told PTI.

Family has 144 doctors in the house

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New Delhi, July 24: A total of 144 doctors and still counting…The Sabharwal family could well be in Guinness World Records for its five generations choosing to become doctors and the sixth generation following suit.

It all began in the 1920s when influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s talks on education and health, Lala Jeewanmal Sabharwal, a station master on the railways in Lahore decided to serve society in his own way.

MIG-27 crashes, pilot ejects out

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Kolkata, July 24: A MiG-27 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force today crashed near Hashimara in West Bengal with the pilot ejecting out of the aircraft.

However, the pilot is yet to be traced as he parachuted into a forest area.

An IAF spokesperson said in New Delhi that the MiG-27 took off from the Hashimara Air Base for a routine sortie and crashed within minutes of take-off.

The mishap took place around 1030 hours at a place around 25 kilometres away from the Hashimara base.

“The pilot ejected and parachuted into a forest area.

Azhar’s anger goes up like Jwala

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New Delhi, July 24: Former Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin today sought to scotch speculation of his romantic relationship with Jwala Gutta, saying the ace badminton doubles player is just a “good friend.” According to media reports, Azharuddin has been dating 26-year-old Jwala and is on the verge of filing for divorce from his wife of 14 years Sangeeta Bijlani within a week.

However, Azharuddin, a Congress MP from Moradabad, rubbished all such reports, terming them as baseless, fabricated and in bad taste.

Pakistani man arrested before wedding in Britain

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London, July 24: It didn’t turn out to be a dream wedding for a 32-year-old Pakistani man and his Czech bride as they were arrested moments ahead of what police called a “sham wedding”.

Abdul Majid from Pakistan and his bride, Andrea Kalejova, 22, were arrested by immigration officials from a registrar’s office in Manchester just before their nuptials began, on charges of conspiring to obtain a right to stay in Britain for Majid.

Modi has no right to criticise CBI: Congress

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New Delhi, July 24: The Congress Saturday slammed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for criticising the CBI for its probe into the 2005 killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, saying he was attacking the Supreme Court by doing so.

Congress general secretary B.K. Hariprasad said Modi has no right to criticise the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as the probe into Sheikh’s killing was held under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

Woman power in Bollywood: ‘Aisha’ proves a point

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New Delhi, July 24: Producer, director, screenplay writer, lead actor…”Aisha” is one of those rare Bollywood projects where women seem to have called the shots for every little thing.

And rightly so, says Rhea Kapoor, Bollywood star Anil Kapoor’s younger daughter, who at 23 is proudly the youngest Bollywood producer. The film has her elder sister Sonam Kapoor in the lead.

British PM asked to discuss Kohinoor return to India

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London, July 24: Keith Vaz, the Indian-origin British MP, wants the Koh-i-noor diamond to be returned to India and asks Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss the issue of its return during his visit to India next week.

Vaz said in a statement: “I believe that this is the perfect opportunity for the prime minister to discuss the issue of the Koh-i-Noor. It would be very fitting for the Koh-i-Noor to return to the country in which it was mined so soon after the diamond jubilee of the Indian republic and 161 years after its removal from India.”

Mahatma Gandhi’s long-forgotten diary recovered

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New Delhi, July 24: Mahatma Gandhi’s diary written during the year of Indian Independence and held till recently under private possession will soon be open for public viewing at the National Archives here.

The small diary handwritten by the Bapu in Gujarati is among a collection of other letters and documents handed over to the Archives by Varsha Das, former director of the Gandhi National Museum.

2 TDP leaders hacked to death

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Hyderabad, July 24: Two leaders of the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), who were brothers, were hacked to death by unidentified assailants in Andhra Pradesh’s Kadapa district in a case of fational killings, police said Saturday.

Vishwanath Reddy and Maheshwar Reddy, both brothers and local leaders of the TDP, were murdered late Friday in Nakkaladinne in Kadapa. A woman was also injured in the attack.

Some unidentified people, who came in a car, barged into the house of the two brothers after midnight and attacked them with sickles and other sharp-edged weapons, an official said.

Nasal spray fights H1N1

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New Delhi, July 24: Doctors all over India are talking about Nasovac, the intra-nasal swine flu preventive vaccine developed by scientists at the Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune. This follows reports that a swine flu pandemic in May last year claimed over 1,000 lives in the country.

Amit Shah is innocent, says Narendra Modi

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New Delhi, July 24: Gujarat Minister of State for Home Amit Shah is “completely innocent” and all allegations against him have been “fabricated”, Chief Minister Narendra Modi said here Saturday while accepting his resignation.

“Amit Shah is completely innocent. The allegations have been fabricated,” Modi said after arriving in the capital in the morning.

“Amit Shah has sent his resignation to my bungalow. I will complete the formalities after returning from here. I accept his resignation.”

No ‘religious ban’ on Man U jerseys, says Perak mufti

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Kuala Lumpur, July 24: There is no “religious ban” on Manchester United jerseys despite statements by several prominent Islamic scholars urging Muslims not to don the Premier League club’s shirts because the emblem features a devil.

Perak mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria said jerseys with devils, crosses or skulls promoted the wrong values for Muslims but that did not mean they should be banned.

Mosque Shut Down For Being too Popular

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Madrid, July 24: Angel Ros, the socialist mayor of Lleida, in the northeastern region of Catalonia, complained that the mosque was too full and closed it on Wednesday until further notice.

The building, a former garage used to service trucks, was often filled with crowds exceeding a thousand people, the council said, when the authorised limit for the venue is 240.

A new mosque is under construction on the outskirts of the town but work had been stalled because of a lack of financing during the economic crisis.

A gist of Shilpa-Raj’s Honeymoon!!!

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Mumbai, July 24: Honeymoon seems to be continuing in Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra’s life. The couple is in Paris, one of the most romantic cities in the world and with love in the air, the two seem to be having a great time.

Apparently Shilpa was away from hubby, shooting a reality dance show for some time now but she headed straight to London to be with hubby dear as soon as the show wrapped up. After spending time with family in London, the duo went to Europe where Shilpa took her 1st golf lesson at ‘Les Bordes’, which is Europe’s best golf course.

Father-Daughter in ‘Father of the Bride’ remake?

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Mumbai, July 24: As the father-daughter duo gears up for their home production, ‘Aisha’, the sexy lass Sonam Kapoor, says she is looking forward to working with her stylish father, Anil Kapoor in the near future.

But she has a condition! Sonam says, “The only film I can think of doing with my father is something like ‘Father of The Bride’.” The Hollywood flick starring Steve Martin as the father; is a beautiful film revolving around the lovely relationship between a father and daughter.

Online tool launched to find aliens in US custody

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United States, July 24: US immigration officials on Friday launched an online tool to help people find illegal aliens who have been placed in US custody.

The Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS) is designed “to assist family members, attorneys and other interested parties in locating detained aliens” being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The search service is available at the ice.gov website.