Nandana gets hate mail for nudity in Rang Rasiya
Press Trust of India
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 (Kolkata)
Actress Nandana Sen today said she received hate mail and faced objections from different quarters for a nude scene in the period drama Rang Rasiya where she plays the muse for 19th century painter Raja Ravi Varma.
Sen, who created an uproar four or five years ago after a portrait in which she posed as Goddess Laxmi was leaked while shooting a film, said, “I received hate mail for the scenes. There were objections from different quarters also. If a Kate Winslet does a nude scene, it’s okay there. But if it happens in India we create an uproar. What’s wrong in depicting nudity in a dignified way?” asked the actress who has done a backless scene in Tango Charlie (2005).
“There are two ways of depicting nudity. One is demeaning to a woman where you objectify her body, while the other one celebrates the power of women,” she said while regretting that nudity was still a taboo in India.
“These incidents are similar to what happens with my character Sugandha in the film,” said the actress who plays muse to painter Raja Ravi Varma in the biopic.
In the film Sugandha had to face ostracism from society for baring her body as a model for the artist.
Holding that there should be no shame attached to the human body, the film’s director Ketan Mehta said “Sensuality has been an integral part of the Indian culture.
“We are proud of the sculptures and paintings in Khajuraho and Konark. Liberating our minds is important.”
Read more at: NDTV
Bachchans blessed with a Girl!
NDTVMovies.com
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 (New Delhi)
The biggest Bollywood news this year has just been delivered. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has delivered a baby girl today (November 16, 2011) at Mumbai’s Seven Hills Hospital.
Abhishek Bachchan tweeted, “IT’S A GIRL!!!!!! 
))))”.
Proud grandfather Amitabh Bachchan tweeted, “T 561 – I AM DADA to the cutest baby girl !”
“T 561 – A dada ji … Ecstatic !!!!” Amitabh tweeted thereafter.
Post the big news Twitter has been flooded with wishes for the Bachchan family and Amitabh was quick to that all his friends and well-wishers for their wishes.
“T 561 – thank you all ..!” he tweeted.
Hospital sources said the delivery was normal and came a few minutes before 10 a.m. The Bachchan and Rai families were present for the momentous occasion.
Aishwarya, 38, developed labour pains around 4 a.m. and was taken to the labour room where the delivery took place after nearly six hours.
The actress is on the fifth floor of the luxury private hospital in Andheri east.
Read more at: NDTV
Aishwarya, baby “doing great” tweets Abhishek
NDTVMovies.com
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 (New Delhi)
New mother Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her baby are doing well and resting. This was posted minutes ago by new dad Abhishek Bachchan on Twitter.
“Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes. Both Aishwarya and the baby are doing great and taking some much needed rest….” Abhishek posted.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan delivered a baby girl today at Mumbai’s Seven Hills Hospital.
Among the first visitors at the hospital were Abhishek’s childhood friend Goldie Behl and his wife Sonali.
The Bachchan baby has generated huge interest and an avalanche of posts and tweets on social sites.
Obviously, just as excited is Abhishek Bachchan. “And I’m trying my level best to get rid of this caffeine high and get some sleep too. Don’t think it’ll work. TOO EXCITED!!!!”
Read more at: NDTV
FIR against Zubeen Garg
Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Nov 12 – Leading Assamese newspaper Asomiya Pratidin has lodged an FIR with the Chandmari police station alleging that popular singer Zubeen Garg visited its office last night and threatened the employees of the organisation.
Zubeen, however, denied the allegation and had filed a counter FIR stating that employees of the organisation had confined him to a room of the office where he went to clarify his position on a news item.
Source: Assam Tribune
Jackson doctor convicted in star’s drug death
Associated Press
Tuesday, November 08, 2011 (Los Angeles)
Michael Jackson’s doctor was convicted Monday (November 7, 2011) of involuntary manslaughter in the pop star’s death for supplying an insomnia-plagued Jackson with a powerful operating-room anesthetic to help him sleep as he rehearsed for his big comeback.
In Pics: Dr Conrad Murray convicted
Dr. Conrad Murray sat stone-faced, his chin held high, as he heard the verdict that could send him to prison for up to four years and cost him his license to practice medicine. He was handcuffed and immediately led off to jail without bail to await sentencing November 29.
The verdict marked the latest chapter in one of pop culture’s most shocking tragedies — the 2009 drug-overdose death of the King of Pop at age 50 as he was about to mount a series of heavily promoted concerts in London that he hoped would turn his career around after a slide prompted by child-molestation allegations and years of bizarre behavior.
A shriek broke the silence in the packed courtroom when the jury’s decision was read, and the crowd outside the courthouse erupted in cheers. Jubilant Jackson fans sang Beat It and held signs that read Guilty and Killer. Drivers honked their horns.
Members of Jackson’s family wept, and his mother, Katherine Jackson, said, “I feel better now.” His sister La Toya said she was overjoyed and added: “Michael was looking over us.”
Members of the jury were escorted from the building and not available for comment.
Defense attorney Ed Chernoff said later in the day the verdict was a disappointment and would be appealed. Asked how Murray took the verdict, Chernoff said, “he’s a pretty strong guy.”
Regarding Murray’s future, he said, “the keys to his handcuffs belong to the judge. We certainly would like to do anything we can to keep him from going to prison.”
The jury deliberated less than nine hours after a six-week trial that depicted Jackson as a tormented genius on the brink of what might have been his greatest triumph but for one impediment — extreme insomnia.
Jackson’s death marked the end of an incredible rise to fame from his humble beginnings in Gary, Ind. The tiny powerhouse singer and dancer with the magnetic smile enchanted audiences and elevated the Jackson Five to the top of the pop music world.
As a solo adult act, the self-anointed King of Pop sold out concerts and topped the recording charts with albums such as 1982′s Thriller, which remains the biggest-selling album of all time, with more than 100 million copies sold worldwide.
His public life, however, eventually became a surreal depiction of the toll of celebrity. He went on wild spending sprees, married and divorced Lisa Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe, and had three children who were kept disguised in masks because he feared their kidnapping.
When he was tried and acquitted of child molestation in 2005, Jackson appeared to fall apart, moving to the Middle East and other countries in search of a new life.
The comeback concerts in London were his chance for redemption. Mindful of the physical requirements, he hired Murray as his private doctor.
Prosecutors portrayed the 58-year-old Murray as an incompetent doctor who administered propofol — an extremely potent anesthetic normally used during surgery — in Jackson’s bedroom without adequate safeguards and botched his care when things went wrong.
Murray, who did not testify, told police that he administered only a small dose on the day Jackson died. And his lawyers blamed Jackson for his own death, saying the singer gave himself an extra, lethal dose while Murray wasn’t watching.
Prosecutors said that theory was crazy, and in any case, they argued, Murray should not have left Jackson alone.
The jury was not asked to determine whether Murray actually gave Jackson the fatal dose, only whether he was primarily responsible for the singer’s death.
Deputy District Attorney David Walgren extended his sympathies to the Jackson family, who “lost not a pop icon, but a son and a father.”
In Las Vegas, a former Murray patient and current friend, Donna DiGiacomo, sobbed and said the jury was under “overwhelming pressure to convict.”
“This man didn’t deserve this. They needed a scapegoat,” said DiGiacomo, a former Long Island, N.Y., teacher’s aide who said she didn’t believe Murray did anything to intentionally harm Jackson.
Testimony came from medical experts, household employees and Murray’s former girlfriends, among others. The most shocking moments, however, came when prosecutors displayed a large picture of Jackson’s gaunt, lifeless body on a hospital gurney and played his drugged, slurred voice, as recorded by Murray just weeks before the singer’s death.
Jackson talked about his hope of cementing a legacy larger than that of Elvis Presley or the Beatles.
“We have to be phenomenal,” he said about his “This Is It” concerts in London. “When people leave this show, when people leave my show, I want them to say, ‘I’ve never seen nothing like this in my life. Go. Go. I’ve never seen nothing like this. Go. It’s amazing. He’s the greatest entertainer in the world.’”
Craving sleep, Jackson had searched for a doctor who would give him the intravenous propofol that Jackson called his “milk” and believed to be his salvation. Other medical professionals turned him down, according to testimony.
Prosecutors said Murray abandoned his medical judgment for money. According to testimony, Jackson planned to pay the cardiologist $150,000 a month for an extended tour in Europe.
Murray gave up his practices in Houston and Las Vegas and agreed to travel with Jackson and be his personal physician indefinitely. For six weeks, as Jackson undertook strenuous rehearsals, Murray infused him with propofol every night, the doctor told police. He said he later tried to wean Jackson from the drug because he feared he was becoming addicted.
In the end, the doctor was never paid a penny because Jackson died before signing a contract with Murray.
The circumstances of Jackson’s death on June 25, 2009, were as bizarre as any chapter in the superstar’s sensational life story.
During the last 24 hours of his life, Jackson sang and danced at a spirited rehearsal, reveling in the adulation of fans who greeted him outside. Testimony showed Murray gave Jackson intravenous doses that night of the sedatives lorazepam and midazolam. Jackson also took a Valium pill. But nothing seemed to bring sleep.
Finally, Murray told police, he gave the singer a small dose of propofol — 25 milligrams — that seemed to put him to sleep. The doctor said he felt it was safe to leave his patient’s bedside for a few minutes, but Jackson was not breathing when he returned. Witnesses said he was most likely dead at that point.
What happened next was a matter of dispute during the trial. Security and household staff described Murray as panicked, never calling 911 but trying to give Jackson CPR on his bed instead of on the firm floor. A guard said Murray was concerned with packing up and hiding medicine bottles and IV equipment before telling him to call 911.
There is no law against administering propofol or the other sedatives. But expert witnesses for the prosecution said that using propofol at home without lifesaving equipment on hand was an egregious deviation from the standard of medical care. Prosecutors called it gross negligence, the legal basis for an involuntary manslaughter charge.
Read more at: NDTV
Michael Jackson’s fans hail Murray verdict
Associated Press
Tuesday, November 08, 2011 (Los Angeles)
Fans of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson celebrated outside a Los Angeles court house on Monday as a jury inside found the singer’s doctor guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
In Pics: Dr Conrad Murray convicted
The verdict came after a trial that Dr Conrad Murray, as a reckless caregiver, administered a lethal dose of a powerful anaesthetic that killed the pop star.
Murray’s attorney Michael Flanagan said his client will appeal the verdict.
Jubilant Jackson fans sang Beat It and held signs that read “Guilty” and “Justice for Michael” after the guilty verdict came through.
“I’m happy now that justice is finally being served. Michael deserves justice,” said one fan, clutching pictures of the singer.
Another supporter commented: “Victory for Michael Jackson. Victory. Conrad Murray will never kill another human being again. Justice is served.”
Members of Jackson’s family wept in court.
Michael’s sister, LaToya, said she was overjoyed.
“Wonderful, absolutely, justice was served,” she told reporters as she was escorted from the courthouse by security officers and bombarded with questions from the waiting media.
Prosecutors portrayed 58-year-old Murray as an incompetent doctor who administered propofol – an extremely potent anaesthetic normally used during surgery – in Jackson’s bedroom, without adequate safeguards and botched his care when things went wrong.
Murray, who did not testify, told police that he administered only a small dose on the day Jackson died.
His lawyers blamed Jackson for his own death, saying the singer gave himself an extra, lethal dose while Murray was not watching.
Prosecutors quashed that theory and in any case, they argued, Murray should not have left Jackson alone.
The jury was not asked to determine whether Murray actually gave Jackson the fatal dose, only whether he was primarily responsible for the singer’s death.
Murray sat stone-faced, his chin held high, as he heard the involuntary manslaughter guilty verdict that could send him to prison for up to four years.
It could also cost him his licence to practice medicine.
Murray was handcuffed and immediately led off to jail without bail to await sentencing on 29 November.
His defence team did not hold an official news conference after the guilty verdict was read. But Murray’s attorney, Michael Flanagan, made a brief comment as he walked away from the courthouse.
“Certainly there’ll be an appeal,” Flanagan said.
Murray’s conviction marked the latest chapter in one of pop culture’s most shocking tragedies – the death of the King of Pop on the eve of the singer’s heavily promoted comeback concerts.
Read more at: NDTV
Rahul Gandhi watches Chirag Paswan’s debut film
Press Trust of India
Tuesday, November 08, 2011 (New Delhi)
Taking a break from his busy political schedule, Rahul Gandhi today watched Mile Na Mile Hum, the debut film of Chirag Paswan, son of Rajya Sabha MP and Lok Janshakti Party supremo, Ram Vilas Paswan.
Rahul watched the movie in a South Delhi multiplex with Chirag and his parents, Ram Vilas Paswan and Rina.
Kangana Ranaut is the lead actress in the film, supported by Sagrika Gadekar and Neeru Bajwa.
After the movie was over, Chirag told PTI, “Rahul appreciated the social message in the movie and has appreciated my work. He was keen to know the time taken to shoot the entire project and enquired about my experience. He watched the movie like a family member and liked the songs and dance sequences in it,” Chirag said.
Read more at: NDTV
Lindsay Lohan released from jail hours after checking in
BANG Showbiz
Monday, November 07, 2011 (Los Angeles)
Lindsay Lohan has been released from jail after serving just four-and-a half hours of a 30-day sentence.
The 25-year-old actress handed herself over to authorities at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, California, at 8:48 pm last night (November 6, 2011) but due to overcrowding she was released at 1.30 am this morning (November 7, 2011).
The Mean Girls star was sentenced to prison last week after admitting she had violated the terms of her probation in relation to a 2007 DUI (Driving Under the Influence) case.
Lindsay acknowledged in court that she had failed to show up at community service appointments at a women’s shelter in Los Angeles.
Superior Court Judge Stephanie Saunter told Lindsay – who attended the Los Angeles Superior Court Airport branch in a navy polka dot dress and Giuseppe Zanotti high heels – she will now have to perform all of her community service at a morgue and complete 19 psycho-therapy sessions by March 29, 2012.
If she completes them all, her probation will be over and the rest of the sentence will be stayed indefinitely. If she fails to do so, she will have to serve the remainder of the 270 days of her sentence.
On Thursday (November 10, 2011) Lindsay is due to re-shoot her pictures for Playboy magazine.
The troubled star, who was paid around $1 million to pose naked in the pages of Hugh Hefner’s men’s magazine, has to strip off for the cameras again after bosses decided they weren’t satisfied with the first set of shots.
A source previously said, “Lindsay was told the Playboy executives wanted to go in another direction with her shoot so they asked her to come back for a second time.The first pictures of Lindsay weren’t exactly what they wanted so they have a new theme that they want to shoot.”
Read more at: NDTV
Will Ranbir’s Rockstar rock the box office?
Indo-Asian News Service
Monday, November 07, 2011 (Mumbai)
Ranbir Kapoor’s role as the reluctant but ruthless politician in hit political thriller Raajneeti earned him a lot of praise, but his Anjaana Anjaani failed to garner the same response.
Now the young actor is hoping to make a mark with Rockstar, releasing Friday, where his character goes through various shades.
For the film, he teamed up with young director Imtiaz Ali, known for making films like Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal.
The musical drama with Delhi as its backdrop tells the story of Janardhan Jakhar (Ranbir), a Jat boy living in the middle-class locality of Pitampura who dreams of becoming a famous rockstar like Jim Morrison.
He tries hard to prove himself as a singer but instead of appreciating him, the audiences ridicule and humiliate him. While contemplating his failed attempts, it occurs to Janardhan that most of the famous musical stars have something in common–tragedy.
So, Janardhan, who is leading a happy life, decides to bear pain to become a well-known singer. He approaches Heer Kaul (Nargis Fakhri), who is rich, beautiful and arrogant. She has broken many hearts. Hoping she will break his heart too, Janardhan starts following her.
The story then moves forward as the happy-go-lucky boy leaves behind Janardhan and becomes Jordan after going through various ups and downs in life. His transformation from a simple naive individual to a tortured soul, from a college campus in Delhi to the international stage.
His fulfils his dream, but in his quest for fame he loses his heart forever.
Ranbir is said to have left no stone unturned to make his character believable on the screen. From learning to play the guitar to staying with a Jat family and from eating at local dhabas to milking cows – the 29-year-old did all to bring authenticity in his character.
Co-produced by Eros International and Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision, the film, made on a budget of more than Rs.60 crore, has been extensively shot in Delhi in locations like St. Stephen’s College, Connaught Place and Nizamuddin, among others.
One of the songs that mark the turning point in the film has been shot in the Nizamuddin dargah.
Some portions of the film have also been shot in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Mumbai.
Imtiaz also shot the film offshore–in the Czech Republic and Italy.
The music, composed by Oscar winner A.R. Rahman, is already a rage and the promos of the film have received a positive response.
Ranbir and Imtiaz have been extensively promoting the film with city tours. The team was recently part of the concert where both Rahman and Ranbir performed live on stage for their fans. They are also planning a show in Kashmir and London.
Rockstar will introduce two new faces to the Indian film industry–Pakistani-American model Nargis will be seen for the first time as Ranbir’s love interest and it will also launch Brazil based Moufid Aziz, born to parents of Portuguese and Arabic origin.
After RA.One, movie buffs are eagerly looking forward to the release of this film, but whether it will be able to strike a chord is yet to be seen.
Read more at: NDTV
Media free to report on Ash’s baby: Big B
NDTVMovies.com
Monday, November 07, 2011 (New Delhi)
The latest on the Bachchan baby, possibly due any day after November 10, won’t bring cheer to fans.
Amitabh Bachchan, has just tweeted on some reports earlier which said the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) had banned TV channels from placing reporters and cameras outside hospitals.
Mr. Bachchan began his series of tweets refuting reports that he had asked the I&B Ministry to block news of Aishwarya’s delivery.
“Absolute rubbish. “Firstly I have no such intention ever, secondly do you really think I&B would listen to me !?? No way baby !” he tweeted.
He then goes on to say that someone from the media has sent him a message asking him ” .. to respect ur family’s privacy n women’s dignity all tv news networks decided not to follow aishwarya’s pregnancy or delivery. Not a single line news till official announcement. No camera’s and OBs will be stationed at your place or hospital. Regards ..” Mr Bachchan claims an order from the I&B to the media may have been attributed to the Bachchans attempting to block all news of Aishwarya’s delivery.
Mr Bachchan ended this round of his frequent jostling with the media by reaching out to his Twitter followers, who he refers to as his extended family.
“BUT ..!! No worries TwXmFt ! Every other day some ridiculous, malicious and completely false allegations are thrown at me ! Smiley ! ”
Read more at: NDTV
