Imran Khan shrunk Katrina Kaif’s role

Mumbai, June 11: Katrina Kaif, who was paired for the first time with heartthrob Imran Khan in Sanjay Gadhvi’s 7 Days in Paris, isn’t too excited about the film anymore, as the final script has turned out to be different from the one narrated to her. Changes were made in the script according to Imran Khan’s demands.

Salman Khan in mature love story

Mumbai, June 11: Sohail Khan’s next will be a love story, starring bade bhaiya Salman Khan. Sohail had earlier directed Salman in Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, Auzaar and Hello Brother.

Sohail confirmed, “Yes, I’m taking my dad, Salim Khan’s help to write the love story. No one knows script writing as well as he does.” While the finer details of the love story are yet to be decided, Sohail said that it will be a realistic and mature love story. “I want to direct Salmanbhai again after I finish producing Partner 2,” he said.

Aditya skips family screening of ‘New York’

Mumbai, June 11:While Yash Raj Films is set to release their much-delayed New York on June 26, a special screening of the film caused some real-life family drama.

Aditya Chopra made only a brief appearance towards the end of screening. It had something to do with the presence of his ex-wife Payal at the screening.

Madhur Bhandarkar to make Sobhraj film?

Kathmandu, June 11:Will Madhur Bhandarkar, the man who exposed the murky side of the media in “Page Three” and the fashion industry in the Priyanka
Chopra-starrer “Fashion”, now delve into the six-year-old saga of Charles Sobhraj, who is imprisoned in a dingy jail in Nepal?

Girl pushed off from Charminar by financer dies

Hyderabad, June 11: A girl Sumera Khatoon who was critically injured yesterday when a Financer pushed of Old city pushed off from Historic Monument Charminar. The dead body of victim girl was preserved in the Mortuary of the Osmania General Hospital.

Karnataka minister donates Rs.450 million gold crown to Tirupati

Hyderabad, June 11: Karnataka’s minister for tourism and leading industrialist Gali Janardhan Reddy Thursday presented a diamond-studded gold crown, estimated to be worth Rs.450 million (Rs.45 crore), to the famous Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirupati.

Janardhan Reddy, who owns Brahmani steel plant and Obulapuram mines in Andhra Pradesh, made the rich offering on the occasion of his birthday.

He refused to publicly divulge the value of the crown but it is estimated to be Rs.450 million. The crown weighs 30 kg and it took nine months for the diamond workers to make it.

Teens kidnap, sodomize, kill 8-year-old

Patna, June 11: Eight-year-old Satyam was kidnapped, sodomized and killed by 14-year-old Avinash and 13-year-old Khursheed alias Monu, all neighbours at Ashok Nagar under the Kankerbagh police station.

The gory killing had the residents of Kankerbagh seething in anger. They came out on the streets, set ablaze the kirana shop owned by Avinash’s father and blocked traffic at Ashok Nagar and on the New By-pass Road on Saturday morning.

Verdict 2009: Jaswant questions BJP leadership

New Delhi, June 11: Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jaswant Singh has called for making it a “current party” and admitted that it had failed to effectively convey its message to the masses, leading to its election debacle.

“There is a need for ideological distillation of thought. The BJP has to be a current party. It can’t be a party of yesterday. I think there’s lack of clarity on what Hindutva means,” the former central minister told a news channel in an interview on Wednesday.

‘I’m a lover, not a fighter’ says Google to US government probes

California, June 11: Google doesn’t believe it needs to change its ways despite three separate US government inquiries into whether some of the internet search leader’s actions are thwarting competition.

“There is no reason to be upset or surprised with the scrutiny,” Dana Wagner, Google’s competition counsel, told reporters on Wednesday. “It comes with the territory.”

Salman Khan takes Azhar for a ride

Mumbai, June 11: Salman Khan is known for his benevolence and the latest person who has been touched by the actor is none other than the Slumdog Millionaire kid Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail who played the character of Salim in Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning film.

‘Paradise’ for Guantanamo Uighurs

The long and unhappy odyssey of the Guantanamo Uighurs, from China’s Xinjiang province to Cuba via Afghanistan, is apparently about to end in a remote archipelago some call a Pacific island paradise.

The government of Palau, a nation of 20,000 people about two and a half times the size of the US capital, Washington DC, has announced it will accept up to 17 ethnic Uighur detainees following a request from the US.

Palau is better known for its coral reefs and lakes full of gently pulsating jellyfish than as a power player in international politics.

The essence of Islamist resistance

Most Western analysts of political Islam make the same mistake. They instinctively assume that conflict with the West has mainly to do with specific foreign policies, particularly of the US with respect to Israel, the Arab world and Iran, and, if those changed, all would be well.

In fact, my intensive contact over the years with Iranian clerics, Hezbollah and Hamas suggest that the conflict with the West is much deeper. It is rooted in radically different world views about human nature and the good society.

A Muslim woman’s tale: Salma by morning, Seema by evening

To go from Azad Apartment to Sancharlok—two residential buildings in East Delhi — all one needs to do is to cross a busy main road. But one woman has to go a step farther: she has to wear new identities.

She is Salma when she gets down from one building; Seema when she climbs into the other.

“When I was new in Delhi, I was thrown out from work several times because of my name. Then I decided to live with a double identity,” said Salma, who declined to give her full name or be photographed. “Now I am a Hindu for Hindus and a Muslim for Muslims.”

College fails 12 students who didn’t pay money for ACs

Mumbai, June 11: Around 12 first year BMM students from National College in Bandra had to pay a heavy price for sticking to their morals. The college failed around 12 students who protested and did not pay Rs 5,000 to install ACs in the educational institute.

Students frisked

Two students have spoken up about the injustice. Said Sanket Bhatt (19), “I passed my first semester with a first class in most subjects.

I have been deliberately failed because I protested and didn’t pay money for renovating the classrooms.

Sanjay Dutt works free of cost in KKD

Mumbai, June 11: It was sheer goodwill that made large hearted Sanjay Dutt do a cameo in KAL KISSNE DEKHA. In this Jackky Bhagnani launch pad, he is seen in the title song (featuring the lead actor with Vaishali Desai and Akshay Kapoor in a beach party). He not just plays drums in the song but also matches a step or two with the young actors.

“Deepika’s personality grounds mine”: Saif

Mumbai, June 11: Saif Ali Khan is just five minutes away before he addresses the Indian media on his maiden venture into production for his film Love Aaj Kal in which he stars opposite the beautiful leggy Deepika Padukone.

But inside the PVR theatre, the room temperature is high and our mind is on overdrive. He has it all. A successful career and a blissful relationship with Kareena Kapoor.

Media keeps waiting for more than an hour but they don’t complaint because the man in question is a ‘nawab’.

Three of family end life

Ahmedabad, June 11: Three members of a family allegedly committed suicide by consuming some poisonous
substance in Jundagadh district on Thursday, police said. The incident came to light when residents of Meghna society in Keshod town found the bodies of Govind Devecha (57) his wife Ranjan (45) and son Kumar (28), at their residence this morning, they said.Police suspect that financial problems may be one of reasons behind the extreme step.

—Agencies

Advani, Congress MPs keep away from Modi’s pathshala

Gandhinagar, June 11: As is the prevalent practice, all newly elected members of parliament from the state were called to attend a meeting here on Wednesday before they go back for the parliament’s monsoon session. The meet discussed pending issues of the state before the central government.

‘My Shahid-Genelia film has been completed well within budget’ – Ken Ghosh

Mumbai, June 11: Despite all the negativity and controversy surrounding the making of his Shahid Kapoor and Genelia D’Souza starrer, director Ken Ghosh has wrapped up principal shooting of his yet untitled film (no, it is not called ‘Yahoo’).

There was a breeding controversy when Jiah Khan was replaced by Genelia D’Souza while later it was also insinuated that Shahid wanted his ‘good friend’ Priyanka Chopra in the film instead of Genelia and hence was giving cold vibes to the latter at the sets during the filming.

Subhash Ghai to go on nationwide talent hunt

Mumbai, June 11 : Filmmaker Subhash Ghai, who launched some of Bollywood’s most successful debutantes, including Madhuri Dixit, Jackie Shroff, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Manisha Koirala and Mahima Chaudhary, will be on the hunt again for new talent to win over millions of hearts on the silver screen.

His nation-wide hunt, that begins from June 26, would cover Chandigarh, Delhi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

Selected students would get the opportunity to join his ‘Actors’ Studio’ at his film institute ‘Whistling Woods International (WWI)’ at the Film City.

Manmohan offering ‘badly needed’ olive branch: Pakistani media

Islamabad, June 11 : Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has offered a ‘badly needed’ olive branch to restore sub-continental peace by offering to walk half the way to resume the dialogue with Pakistan, an editorial in a leading English daily said Thursday, while another hoped Islamabad would ‘be able to meet’ New Delhi at that point.

Manmohan Singh’s statement in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday “will be seen as the olive branch that is badly needed in the present state of impasse between India and Pakistan”, Dawn said in an editorial headlined “A silver lining”.

Chhota Shakeel fears for life, flees Pak

Mumbai, June 11: The intra-gang war in the Dawood Ibrahim group has intensified so much that one of the faction leaders Chhota Shakeel has fled Pakistan. Apparently, Shakeel fears for his life. The factions, led by Anees Ibrahim, Dawood’s younger brother, and Shakeel have been at loggerheads for several months now.

T20 WC: India thrash Ireland by 8 wickets

Trent Bridge, June 11: Zaheer Khan wreaked havoc while Rohit Sharma continued his purple patch as a ruthless India decimated Ireland by eight wickets in a rain-marred Group A tie of the Twenty20 World Cup on Wednesday.

Scorecard | In Pics | Points Table | Schedule | Women T20 WC ’09

Zaheer Khan (4/19) led the rout as India restricted a hapless Ireland to a mere 112 for eight in 18 overs and then went on to overwhelm the target in 15.3 overs with Rohit (52 not out) and Gautam Gambhir (37) making merry against the toothless Irish attack.

American held at Chennai airport for carrying revolver

Chennai, June 11: An American national was on Thursday arrested at the Chennai airport for carrying a loaded revolver, officials said.

Central Industrial and Security Force personnel found the weapon while scanning the baggage of Semilar (58) when he was about to board a Mumbai-bound flight at the domestic airport here.

He was later handed over to the airport authorities, CISF officials said.

Semilar had arrived here last week from New Delhi to undergo treatment at a private hospital.

After preliminary inquiry, officials said he had a valid licence issued in the US.