Mumbai, April 18 (IANS) Director Ram Gopal Varma says he will cast Hitesh Sharma, who accepted the challenge to watch "Phoonk 2" alone in a theatre but couldn't win it, in the third instalment of the spooky thriller as a gift. "I basically want to thank him (Hitesh) on behalf of the whole unit of 'Phoonk 2' and I am going to give a gift personally later. He is going to work with me in 'Phoonk 3'. That's my commitment in front of the media," said Varma.
Before the release of "Phoonk 2", Varma had said that anyone who could watch the film without getting scared would win Rs.500,000, but none of the contestants could sit with a steady heart through the horror flick.
Among the five short-listed from different parts of India, Hitesh from Mumbai got the opportunity to finally take the hot seat. He was shown the film alone and his heart beat was monitored with an ECG machine, but he didn't win the challenge.
Directed by debutant Milind Gadagkar, "Phoonk 2" released Friday. (IANS)
The huge success of 3-D movies like "Avatar", "Clash of the Titans" and "Alice in Wonderland" has led scientists to explore possibilities of developing 3-D technology that does not require glasses. Japanese companies supplying 3-D technology and services to Hollywood production houses have said they hope to see their goods having an impact on people's day-to-day lives within the next few years, and that further development in the technology will lower prices and makes the experience affordable for commoners, Xinhua reported Saturday.
However, before that happens, there are still a few problems that need to be solved. A 'glasses-free' 3-D technology produced by a Japanese company has induced headaches, even if they were impressive.
The latest technology sends different signals to each eye, creating the illusion of 3-D images, and a company representative has argued that future developments will lead to sharper images and less eye fatigue. "In may be five years, when the technology has further advanced and the price of the hardware has become more affordable, I think you will see 3-D sets in households," Kazuo Kaneyama was quoted as saying.
At present, the technology boasts of a 65-inch set at around 3 million yen ($32,000) - about three times more than the price of a 2-D television of the same size.
There are also problems for people with visual impairment. If one eye is stronger than the other, then the 3-D image will suffer.
"People with visual impairment will not be able to enjoy 3-D using this technology," Kaneyama said. Over the next few years, television sets are likely to be installed at exhibitions, department stores and on streets that grab our attention like never before, with the images seeming to jump out of the screens and at passers-by.
"I believe 3-D is just around the corner," said Kiyoto Kanda, representative of another company. "Photo frames that use the technology are already available at an affordable price, and other equipment is going to get cheaper in the near future."With Hollywood already beginning to invest in fully developing 3-D entertainment, opportunities to test out the new way of watching movies, sport and other programmes are likely to increase.
In Britain, a recent football game between Manchester United and Chelsea was made available in 3-D. Though these experiments have used the glasses technology, people have not looked favourably at the idea of wearing uncomfortable glasses for two or more hours at a time, opening up huge potential for companies offering glasses-free technology.(IANS)
London: American actress Christina Applegate is set to walk down the aisle with her rocker boyfriend Martyn LeNoble.Contactmusic.com reports that she is preparing for her marriage following the musician's marriage proposal on Valentine's Day.
Her representative has confirmed it saying: "Christina Applegate and musician Martyn LeNoble are engaged."
The actress began dating LeNoble in 2008, a year after she divorced her first husband Johnathon Schaech. (IANS)
Shimla, April 18 (IANS) Dharamsala, which is to host the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings Sunday, may see some thundershowers, a weather official said here.
"There are chances of one or two spells of light to moderate rain or thundershowers when the match between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings is to be played in Dharamsala," Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office here, told IANS.
The Himachal Pradesh town was rather hot Saturday at 35.6 degrees Celsius, seven notches above the average. The weatherman said the temperatures would come down with the showers in different parts of the state.
"Temperatures are likely to come down today (Sunday) with chances of spells of rain and thundershowers in the state. The maximum temperatures are now hovering five to 10 degrees above the average," Singh said.
The Dalai Lama would be the chief guest for Sunday's IPL match at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium.
One of the newest cricket venues in the country, the stadium is situated nearly 4,000 feet above sea level and surrounded by the majestic Dhauladhar range, making it one of the most beautiful grounds in the world. (IANS)
"There are chances of one or two spells of light to moderate rain or thundershowers when the match between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings is to be played in Dharamsala," Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office here, told IANS.
The Himachal Pradesh town was rather hot Saturday at 35.6 degrees Celsius, seven notches above the average. The weatherman said the temperatures would come down with the showers in different parts of the state.
"Temperatures are likely to come down today (Sunday) with chances of spells of rain and thundershowers in the state. The maximum temperatures are now hovering five to 10 degrees above the average," Singh said.
The Dalai Lama would be the chief guest for Sunday's IPL match at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium.
One of the newest cricket venues in the country, the stadium is situated nearly 4,000 feet above sea level and surrounded by the majestic Dhauladhar range, making it one of the most beautiful grounds in the world. (IANS)
Reykjavik/London/Warsaw: (DPA) The closures of European airspace were moving southward with the rolling cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano, which continued to wreak havoc Sunday with tens of thousands of stranded airline passengers.
Flight bans were imposed in Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and northern Italy and northern Serbia, after similar action across the British Isles and northern and central Europe, the European air traffic safety body Eurocontrol said.
The unprecedented shutdown of much of European airspace looked set to continue at least through the weekend, depending on weather conditions.
Airports remained closed in Poland, including Krakow, where dozens of world leaders had hoped to attend Sunday's funeral of President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, who died in an April 10 plane crash.
US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Austrian President Heinz Fischer were among the leaders who announced late Saturday that they would be unable to attend.
Kings Carl Gustav of Sweden and Juan Carlos of Spain and British Crown Prince Charles have also cancelled their plans to join mourners in Krakow.
Czech President Vaclav Klaus changed his plans and is travelling to the funeral by train and then car.
Although the shutdown is currently only over much of Europe, the repercussions are being felt by the airline industry worldwide - with hundreds of passengers stuck in India who had been hoping to travel to Europe. In the Mexican beach resort of Cancun, some 600 German tourists were reported stranded after their flights home were cancelled.
The Kenyan economy is forecast to lose millions of euros in exports of cut flowers that cannot be delivered. Deliveries of other perishible produce, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, are similarly disrupted.
The Meteorological Institute in Reykjavik said Saturday that it had seen to reduction in the plume of fire and ash from the volcano near the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier in southern Iceland.
Winds had turned to the south, meaning that the clouds of ash would continue to be driven across Europe by the prevailing jetstream.
Eurocontrol said the clouds had formed into a pincer, spreading southward across the continent, sparing only Lithuania, Latvia and Belarus in the north and southern Europe including Spain, the southern Balkan area, southern Italy, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey.
The safety panel said late Saturday that only 5,000 of the 22,000 flights that are normal for a Saturday would be able to take off or land, adding that no immediate let up was in sight.
"Forecasts suggest that the cloud of volcanic ash will persist and that the impact will continue for at least the next 24 hours," Eurocontrol warned.
As conditions continued to worsen, countries around Europe kept aircraft grounded for a third day, stranding tens of thousands of travellers.
Budget carrier Ryanair said the continuing emission of volcanic ash into the atmosphere over Iceland caused it to cancel all scheduled flights to and from Britain, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Holland, Northern France, northern Germany, Poland and the Baltic States until Monday afternoon.
"This spreading cloud of volcanic ash is an unprecedented event in Ryanair's 26-year-history," chief executive Michael O'Leary said.
Airlines fear the powdery, abraisive ash could get sucked into planes' jet engines, causing them to cut out.
Britain extended the closure of its airspace until at least 7 p.m. (1800 GMT) and reversed its decision to lift restrictions on Scotland and Northern Ireland, hours after easing them, the BBC reported.
Czech and Slovak airspace remained closed, along with northern Serbia and Bulgaria, while Paris' airports would be shut until at least Monday.
The flight ban aggravated traffic congestion in France, already reeling from a rail strike now in its 11th day. The start of school holidays added to the chaos on the roads.
German airspace will be closed until at least Sunday afternoon. Additional trains were running across Germany to meet the rise in demand for alternatives to aviation.
Flights in northern Spain were cancelled, including all those out of Oviedo.
Flight bans were imposed in Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and northern Italy and northern Serbia, after similar action across the British Isles and northern and central Europe, the European air traffic safety body Eurocontrol said.
The unprecedented shutdown of much of European airspace looked set to continue at least through the weekend, depending on weather conditions.
Airports remained closed in Poland, including Krakow, where dozens of world leaders had hoped to attend Sunday's funeral of President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, who died in an April 10 plane crash.
US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Austrian President Heinz Fischer were among the leaders who announced late Saturday that they would be unable to attend.
Kings Carl Gustav of Sweden and Juan Carlos of Spain and British Crown Prince Charles have also cancelled their plans to join mourners in Krakow.
Czech President Vaclav Klaus changed his plans and is travelling to the funeral by train and then car.
Although the shutdown is currently only over much of Europe, the repercussions are being felt by the airline industry worldwide - with hundreds of passengers stuck in India who had been hoping to travel to Europe. In the Mexican beach resort of Cancun, some 600 German tourists were reported stranded after their flights home were cancelled.
The Kenyan economy is forecast to lose millions of euros in exports of cut flowers that cannot be delivered. Deliveries of other perishible produce, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, are similarly disrupted.
The Meteorological Institute in Reykjavik said Saturday that it had seen to reduction in the plume of fire and ash from the volcano near the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier in southern Iceland.
Winds had turned to the south, meaning that the clouds of ash would continue to be driven across Europe by the prevailing jetstream.
Eurocontrol said the clouds had formed into a pincer, spreading southward across the continent, sparing only Lithuania, Latvia and Belarus in the north and southern Europe including Spain, the southern Balkan area, southern Italy, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey.
The safety panel said late Saturday that only 5,000 of the 22,000 flights that are normal for a Saturday would be able to take off or land, adding that no immediate let up was in sight.
"Forecasts suggest that the cloud of volcanic ash will persist and that the impact will continue for at least the next 24 hours," Eurocontrol warned.
As conditions continued to worsen, countries around Europe kept aircraft grounded for a third day, stranding tens of thousands of travellers.
Budget carrier Ryanair said the continuing emission of volcanic ash into the atmosphere over Iceland caused it to cancel all scheduled flights to and from Britain, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Holland, Northern France, northern Germany, Poland and the Baltic States until Monday afternoon.
"This spreading cloud of volcanic ash is an unprecedented event in Ryanair's 26-year-history," chief executive Michael O'Leary said.
Airlines fear the powdery, abraisive ash could get sucked into planes' jet engines, causing them to cut out.
Britain extended the closure of its airspace until at least 7 p.m. (1800 GMT) and reversed its decision to lift restrictions on Scotland and Northern Ireland, hours after easing them, the BBC reported.
Czech and Slovak airspace remained closed, along with northern Serbia and Bulgaria, while Paris' airports would be shut until at least Monday.
The flight ban aggravated traffic congestion in France, already reeling from a rail strike now in its 11th day. The start of school holidays added to the chaos on the roads.
German airspace will be closed until at least Sunday afternoon. Additional trains were running across Germany to meet the rise in demand for alternatives to aviation.
Flights in northern Spain were cancelled, including all those out of Oviedo.
Kolkata: India's fourth seeded Dipika Pallikal fought off a mid-match challenge to get past the higher ranked Emma Beddoes of Britain 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6 and claim the $8,000 Women's International Squash Player's Association (WISPA) title here Saturday.In an all-Egyptian men's final, Mohammed El Shorbagy edged out compatriot Tarek Momen 11-7, 3-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8 after a five set thriller to win the crown at the $50,000 Professional Squash Association (PSA) Indian Challenger.
Eighteen-year-old Dipika, who has a world rank of 49, started off tentatively, conceding the first four points in the opening game at the Calcutta Racket Club.
But Dipikal, who had beaten top seed Sharon Wee in the semifinals to reach the title round, rallied back to take the closely fought game.
The Chennai-born Dipika set the tone in the second game with some brilliantly placed shots and powerful hits to send the crowd into raptures.
The third game provided a mixed fare, as the rivals played some great rallies but also conceded negative points. Emma won in the end to draw parity.
Dipika regained her control in the fourth game, forcing Beddoes to make some errors. The pressure was telling on world number 33 Emma as Dipika played some world class squash to bag her first senior international title.
"Feels great! I had won a lot of junior titles but this one is special. I am just 18, have a long way to go but this win will certainly boost my rankings and confidence. Very happy! Hope Commonwealth Games would be good," said a jubilant Dipika, who turned professional in 2006.
In the men's event, Tarek Momen's giant killing run came to an end as he bowed to the genius of Shorbagy.
Momen had outclassed second seed Cameron Pilley and fourth seed Mohd. Azlan Iskandar earlier in the tourney. (IANS)
Kolkata: Mayor Bikash Bhattacharya opted out of the fray as West Bengal’s ruling Left Front Saturday released its list of candidates for the May 30 Kolkata civic polls, at which it faces one of its toughest tests after a series of electoral reverses.
In an apparent bid to repair its battered image in the 141 Kolkata Municipal Corporation wards, the front has nominated 92 fresh candidates and 65 women, while announcing its candidates for 140 wards. The nominee for ward number 28 will be announced later.
"More than 47 percent of our candidates are women," announced Left Front chairman Biman Bose.
The front, which has been running the board for the last five years, received a setback of sorts with Bhattacharya declining to contest citing personal reasons.
Leaders of Left Front major Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), who had named him as mayor after the last election, made frantic efforts to persuade the lawyer-turned politician to change his mind realising that the opposition would make a big issue out of his absence. But Bhattacharya stood firm.
However, Bose put up a brave face on his absence. "Before the last elections, he was not even a councillor. After he became a councillor he was elected as mayor for a single term. And he has performed. We have decided not to renominate him as we want to utilise his expertise in legal matters".
Bose declined to name any mayoral candidate, saying the front partners would take a decision after the polls if the combine emerged victorious.
That, however, seems an uphill task considering that the opposition candidates had led in a brute majority of the wards in last year’s Lok Sabha polls.
Apart from the mayor, four mayor-in-council members have also not been renominated.
CPI-M candidates would try their luck in 96 wards, followed by Communist Party of India in 14, the Forward Bloc in 11 and the Revolutionary Socialist Party in 10. The minor front partners, including the Rashtirya Janata Dal and the Socialist Party (2 each) would fight in the remaining seats. (IANS)
In an apparent bid to repair its battered image in the 141 Kolkata Municipal Corporation wards, the front has nominated 92 fresh candidates and 65 women, while announcing its candidates for 140 wards. The nominee for ward number 28 will be announced later.
"More than 47 percent of our candidates are women," announced Left Front chairman Biman Bose.
The front, which has been running the board for the last five years, received a setback of sorts with Bhattacharya declining to contest citing personal reasons.
Leaders of Left Front major Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), who had named him as mayor after the last election, made frantic efforts to persuade the lawyer-turned politician to change his mind realising that the opposition would make a big issue out of his absence. But Bhattacharya stood firm.
However, Bose put up a brave face on his absence. "Before the last elections, he was not even a councillor. After he became a councillor he was elected as mayor for a single term. And he has performed. We have decided not to renominate him as we want to utilise his expertise in legal matters".
Bose declined to name any mayoral candidate, saying the front partners would take a decision after the polls if the combine emerged victorious.
That, however, seems an uphill task considering that the opposition candidates had led in a brute majority of the wards in last year’s Lok Sabha polls.
Apart from the mayor, four mayor-in-council members have also not been renominated.
CPI-M candidates would try their luck in 96 wards, followed by Communist Party of India in 14, the Forward Bloc in 11 and the Revolutionary Socialist Party in 10. The minor front partners, including the Rashtirya Janata Dal and the Socialist Party (2 each) would fight in the remaining seats. (IANS)
Mumbai: Lara Dutta, Bipasha Basu, Sushmita Sen.... These are the names that would be offered the lead roles in the sequel to "Prince" which is all set to hit the floors early next year. Kookie Gulati, the young director of "Prince", is in a daze, not being able to believe the kind of rave reviews his film has received. And before he could even begin to let the whole idea of a potential hit sink in, he's all set to make a sequel to the movie.
Confirming this, Gulati says, "We had left the ending open, suggesting there might be more to the plot than what we had just seen. But there was just a hint of a fear. What if 'Prince' fell flat on its face? What would people say about even suggesting a sequel?"
Luckily, the response to the film has been overwhelming.
"I have an idea for the sequel which I'll now develop. Since it's the plot that has worked in 'Prince', we've to make sure the sequel is even stronger in terms of content. I'm much better prepared for the sequel. I'm more confident now."
While Vivek Oberoi will of course play the title role in the sequel, the rest of the cast, especially the leading ladies, will all change.
Says a source close to the project, "When we approached top actresses they all either said a straight no or begged off with a date excuse. They had no faith in the project. More importantly, none of them wanted to work with Vivek. On the day 'Prince' opened, Vivek began to receive congratulatory smses from some of the actresses who had declined to work with him in 'Prince'."
Vivek laughs it off.
"I wouldn't like to dwell on the past. All is good now. And I'd just like to concentrate on the positive things. Yes, we are making a sequel."
Adds Gulati: "It's been a three-year uphill climb for me and Vivek. I was making music videos for the Tauranis' Tips. It took me a great deal of effort to convince them that I could pull off a film. During the last three years, I have had no time for anything else. My three-year-old son thinks I'm a stranger in the house."
Producer Kumar Taurani also confirms plans for the sequel. (IANS)
Srinagar: The body of a 70-year-old "terrorist" killed by the army in north Kashmir's Kupwara district was exhumed Saturday after his family refuted claims that he was a separatist guerrilla. The army said it was possible the terrorists were using him as a human shield.
Habibullah Khan, 70, a resident of Devar Lolab village in the district, was killed by the army on April 14 in the Rainawari forest area of Kupwara district. The army later issued a press release saying the slain person had been a "terrorist from whom arms and ammunition had also been recovered".
Khan's son, Raj Mohammad Khan approached the police after identifying the photograph of his father and claimed that he had been a village beggar and not a separatist guerrilla.
The son also told police that Khan would normally return to his home after four to five days, but as he did not come home this time, the family got anxious.
"The Kupwara district magistrate today ordered the exhumation of the slain person's body which was later handed over to the relatives for a proper burial", a police officer said here.
Meanwhile, army spokesman Lt.Col. J.S. Brar told media persons that it was possible that Khan had been either used by the guerrillas as "a human shield or as a guide".
"Police are investigating the matter and we have nothing more to say," he added. (IANS)
Habibullah Khan, 70, a resident of Devar Lolab village in the district, was killed by the army on April 14 in the Rainawari forest area of Kupwara district. The army later issued a press release saying the slain person had been a "terrorist from whom arms and ammunition had also been recovered".
Khan's son, Raj Mohammad Khan approached the police after identifying the photograph of his father and claimed that he had been a village beggar and not a separatist guerrilla.
The son also told police that Khan would normally return to his home after four to five days, but as he did not come home this time, the family got anxious.
"The Kupwara district magistrate today ordered the exhumation of the slain person's body which was later handed over to the relatives for a proper burial", a police officer said here.
Meanwhile, army spokesman Lt.Col. J.S. Brar told media persons that it was possible that Khan had been either used by the guerrillas as "a human shield or as a guide".
"Police are investigating the matter and we have nothing more to say," he added. (IANS)
California: The dead body found on the UC Irvine campus last week has been identified as that of Mahesh Mahadevan a missing 23-year-old Indian graduate student.
According to police, Mahesh Mahadevan was found dead with a plastic bag over his head, and is suspected that he died of asphyxiation.
Mahesh Mahadevan, was missing from his campus apartment on April 10. He left behind his bank cards and his cell phone.
According to police, Mahesh Mahadevan was found dead with a plastic bag over his head, and is suspected that he died of asphyxiation.
Mahesh Mahadevan, was missing from his campus apartment on April 10. He left behind his bank cards and his cell phone.
Mallika Sherawat will do a photoshoot with a snake for her new movie - Hissss.The photoshoot will be shot by Richard Avedon, who took the photoshoot with the '80s German actress Nastassja Kinski with a enormous snake.
Mallika Sherawat is expected to bare herself for the photoshoot as Nastassja Kinski did.
New Delhi/Mumbai: Business tycoon Vijay Mallya, owner of the Royal Challenger Bangalore IPL team, has said he "knows nothing" about his step daughter Laila Mahmood being the "mystery woman" who exited IPL chief Lalit Modi's office in Mumbai just before the Income Tax officials visited it for a probe on Thursday. The income tax (IT) department, which is probing the Indian Premier League's (IPL) financial transactions covering all the franchises amidst allegations of murky deals, is reported to have questioned Mallya's daughter who works for Modi.
Mallya said in a statement, "My step daughter Laila Mahmood works for Lalit Modi. I have no knowledge whatsoever of her involvement in the income tax questioning. I called Lalit Modi and he confirmed that she has given a statement to income tax department."
The woman exiting Modi's plush office in Mumbai was caught on CCTV carrying what appeared to be a laptop and some documents. The IT authorities got into action and identified her. (IANS)
Image: Vijay Mallya with Deepika Padukone