"I was very happy to learn from my friends in PETA that Jallikattu (a bull taming sport)is now illegal as are other cruel uses of bulls for performance, such as bull racing, via a notification by your ministry," Abraham wrote in the letter.Since the central government is expected to respond to the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court by Jan 11 on a petition by organisers of Jallikattu challenging the ban, Abraham requested the ministry not to grant any such permission."As an actor, I choose to perform, but animals used for Jallikattu and bull races don't. During Jallikattu, bulls are deliberately terrorised and made to suffer for entertainment. They are taunted by crowds, pushed, hit and wrestled to the ground," he wrote.In 2011, the ministry issued a notification which banned the use of bulls as performing animals - thereby banning Jallikattu."It has been reported that the ministry is being pressured by a few Jallikattu supporters to allow it to continue. However, even if the ban on Jallikattu under the notification in the Gazette of India did not exist, the cruel treatment of animals during it is still illegal," a PETA official said.
"Another trip is towards Nasik to inaugurate a school for 'special' children, one that I have initiated some years ago through a very dedicated friend of mine from the police force,"Even after spending four decades in the industry, the 69-year-old actor admits he still finds public appearances scary."Public appearances are scary and time consuming. Welcome and speeches of wisdom and care follow, photographs are taken and then the relief when you can get back home," he said."In the end, one wonders whether the trip was worth its while. Did the presence enhance the conditions or not. That is of value, nothing else matters...," he added.
Approximately 40,000 curious, eager, aggressive tourists and bystanders showed up to ogle, jostle and heckle at the Aurangabad Fort. The larger nightmare for them was getting to the fort. The cars carrying Shahid, Priyanka and Kohli's unit had to halt a good two km away from the interior of the fort. There was no choice but to walk the rest of the way."We did have some difficulties. But it was all fine. The walk was tough. We had to go up to the foot of the fort on Tata Sumos and then there was no road, so we had no choice but to walk," said Kohli."I've to say Priyanka is a very gutsy girl. We were all concerned about her security specially. But she was calm. Inside the fort people just bought tickets and kept trooping in. Yeah, we did have problems keeping them out of camera range and on a couple of occasions there were aggressive fans who tried to muscle in their way to get Shahid and Priyanka's attention. I've to thank the local administration and my team for managing the shoot," he added.The crowds were apparently uncontrollable and had to be warned off and threatened to back off."The Aurangabad Fort has at any given time as many as 12,000 visitors. Kunal Kohli couldn't get permission to restrict the area. So he had to shoot with Priyanka and Shahid with the fort open to the public. As news spread about the two stars shooting in Aurangabad, crowds swelled inside the fort to unmanageable numbers," said a source.After a point during the shooting of the song, things began to get out of hand.Onlookers would repeatedly get into camera range, and when they were told to back off, they became unruly and finally unmanageable.But Kohli's troubles at Aurangabad are not over.Apparently fans and gawkers who had collected at the fort have taken pictures of Shahid and Priyanka shooting the song together and posted the pictures on microblogging sites, thereby giving away the pair's carefully-guarded look."The song is set in 1910 and we had worked hard on Priyanka and Shahid's look. But the look is out on Twitter. How do you control fans from clicking pictures? You can't! You just have to bear with it," said Kohli."But I really don't think the crowds in Aurangabad were doing anything they shouldn't have. It was perfectly justifiable for them to get excited about two big stars in their small town. The last star who shot in Aurangabad was Sunil Dutt more than 30 years ago. We tried to keep it a secret. But that was impossible," he added.
Hrithik’s much awaited movie 'Agneepath' is going to hit the silver screen later this month.Directed by Karan Johar, Hrithik's new flick is the remake of the classic movie of the same name that had thrilled the audience in 1990's.Hrithik will be seen playing the cult character 'Vijay Deenanath Chauhan' in the film. It was played by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan in the original version.In Johar’s movie, he will be seen romancing Bollywood's glamour doll Priyanka Chopra.
In fact, Piggy Chops has uploaded a poster of the film in micro-blogging site Twitter, where she is seen romancing her macho co-star.Apart from acting and dancing, the Bollywood star has also captivated his fans with his beefcake body.Even Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan appreciated his worked out body and tweeted: "Saw hrithiks worked out body on his fone...noticed even the telefone looked open mouthed and overawed!!" After tasting success in his very first movie ‘Kaho Naa Pyar Hai’, Hrithik proved his acting skills in films like like ‘Kabhi Khushi Khabhi Gham’, ‘Dhoom 2’, ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ and ‘Guzaarish’
"Her character Mahi Arora is very contemporary, very edgy, very hard-hitting and very real like my other cinema. Kareena will definitely be a shock element to the people because of the way she has worked in the film," the 43-year-old producer-director said here at the launch of photographer Dabboo Ratnani's calendar. "I am looking at the film because I know the story, I know the screenplay, I know the dialogues. She will be fabulous," he added.Known for his films like "Chandni Bar", "Satta", "Page 3", "Traffic Signal" and "Fashion", Bhandarkar believes "Heroine" will be a milestone in Kareena's career. " 'Heroine' is 25 percent over. The next schedule is in February, March and April and the picture will release in September. The way you people are waiting for the film, so am I. I hope it finishes really soon," he said.The director found himself in a tight spot when Aishwarya Rai, the original choice for the film, decided to quit the project due to her pregnancy. Kareena is also expected to tie the knot with Saif Ali Khan early this year and the actress may wrap the film up before that.
The "Rockstar" actor has joined hands with veteran actress and social activist Shabana Azmi for the cause by becoming a goodwill ambassador of her NGO, Mijwan Welfare Society.While talking about the social issue, Ranbir praised Shabana's efforts towards it."I haven't done much for Mijwan Welfare Society besides attaching my name to it. Like Shabana aunty said that being an actor, there is a certain amount of people who will listen to your voice. This is a movement for which the lady sitting next to me is very passionate about," Ranbir said sitting next to Shabana at an event here."We must believe in that because there is a lot of honesty, love and feelings behind it. There is no agenda behind it," he added.Ranbir, son of Rishi and Neetu Kapoor, also has an elder sister, Riddhima. He says in his home, she was always given an extra edge over him."I have a sister. She has been very close to me and my family. My parents have brought us up equally or as a matter of fact, my sister was given an extra edge over me. I think that is how every Indian family should bring up their children," said the 29-year-old.Meanwhile, Ranbir's first release this year would be Anurag Basu's "Barfi!", set to hit theatres July 13.He will also be seen with ex-girlfriend Deepika Padukone in Karan Johar's "Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani", to be directed by Ayan Mukerji of "Wake Up Sid" fame.
Mirza, , was stopped by the customs officials when she attempted to cross the green channel on arrival by a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok, around 2.30 a.m.On checking her baggage, the customs officials found she was carrying the goods like cosmetics and branded purses valued at around Rs.200,000, which she had not declared.However, Mirza claimed ignorance about the customs rules and said she had no intention to evade duties. She agreed to pay up a penalty of Rs.150,000 before she was allowed to leave.Later, denying news reports that she was carrying undeclared jewelery, Mirza tweeted: "For those that are running unverified news about me please be informed that I was not questioned by customs for undeclared jewellery. False."Last year, Bollywood actresses Bipasha Basu and Minissha Lamba were similarly hauled up by the customs for carrying undeclared goods.
"Launching my dad's film today with a little pooja at YRF...shoot starts tomorrow with @iamsrk and Katrina Kaif..Dad directing after 'Veer-Zaara'," actor Uday Chopra wrote on microblogging site Twitter.This for first time that Shah Rukh will romance Katrina on the big screen in the yet to be titled film, which also features Anushka Sharma.Yash Chopra returns to direction after seven years - his last directorial venture was cross-border love story "Veer Zaara" in 2004.The music of the new film will be composed by A.R. Rahman and Gulzar will pen the lyrics.
Guess who I met while working out at true fitness!! My new inspiration! That's Mrs Madhavi Laad. Age 66. working out! Pushed by her son to join the gym! Bravo son! Moral 'its never to late 2 to be great!!" (So what's your excuse??!!) Cheers," the 37-year-old tweeted.Hrithik will be seen flaunting his toned body in the forthcoming "Ageenpath''
The actor-singer is currently busy shooting for filmmaker David Dhawan's "Chashme Buddoor" remake. Apart from Ali, the film also stars Anupam Kher, Rishi Kapoor, Siddharth and Divyendu Sharma of "Pyaar Ka Punchnama" fame.The original 1981 film starred Farooque Sheikh, Rakesh Bedi and Ravi Baswani.Ali made his Bollywood debut with "Tere Bin Laden", which won him critical acclaim from all over. He later entertained audiences in "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan". Ali's next will be "London, Paris, New York", with Aditi Rao Hydari. Directed by Anu Menon, it releases Mar 2.
Produced by MAASK Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. in association with Filament Glo (India) Pvt. Ltd, the "Chaalis Chauraasi" cast features veteran Naseeruddin Shah along with Kay Kay Menon, Atul Kulkarni and Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan. In a surprise, the film doesn't have any female co-stars.The entire plot of "Chaalis Chauraasi" revolves around a police van MH-02-A-4084 and four policemen - Pankaj Suri aka Sir (Naseer), Albert Pinto aka Pinto (Kay Kay), Bhaskar Sardesai aka Bobby (Atul) and Shakti Chinappa aka Shakti (Ravi).The foursome see a big opportunity when they are given a mission to pull off. However, things take a nightmarish turn when another policeman stops their van en-route and uses them as his backup to catch a gangster.The story unfolds through the night where the fine line between law and crime is crossed many times, leading to some thrilling and some funny moments. The four men, who believed themselves to be rough and tough, learn different truths about themselves."There are two aspects to how 'Chaalis Chauraasi' was conceived - life imitating art or art imitating life? A chance discussion amongst friends one evening on the recent night patrolling of cops reported in the media got us excited and led to the germination of the story idea," said Shetty."The film falls under the humour crime genre and the four primary male characters have colourful personalities. There is continuous entertainment through the film in the form of humour," he added.With Mumbai at night and dark alleys as the backdrop and a cat and mouse game between gangsters and police, the film is said to be a complete masala flick. Three item songs are like icing on the cake.The music of the film is by Lalit Pandit. Much to the delight of music lovers, Shetty has also incorporated a remixed version of the popular song "Hawa Hawa", which was composed by Pakistani singer Hassan Jahangir.The film is mostly shot in the night. For 25 days, the cast crew shot in the night only and there are very few shooting schedules in daylight. According to Kay Kay, the cast enjoyed working as a team and when together they used to forget about the stress of shooting in night.Usually known for intense performance, Atul would be seen doing some singing and dancing for the very first time, and the actor admits that he thoroughly enjoyed working in the film.After leaving the audience in awe with his performance in "The Dirty Picture", this would be Naseer's first release of 2012.
The new trend also means more work for male actors.While Ram, 38, plays a middle-aged business tycoon in the romantic drama "Bade Ache Lagte Hain", Mohnish, 47, has impressed all as a simple but reserved Dr Ashutosh in hospital drama "Kuch Toh Log Kahenge", and Ronit, 46, fights for justice in "Adalat" as lawyer K.D. Pathak.The shows have not only brought fresh flavour on the small screen but also bailed out channels crumbling under the hackneyed plot of mothers-in-law on the warpath against daughters-in-law.Sony heaved a sigh of relief when their experiment "Saas Bina Sasural" got an overwhelming response, and then they aired "Bade Ache Lagte Hain", that introduced a fresh concept of a romance between a 40-plus business tycoon and a 30-plus woman who come together by arranged marriage on the small screen. It boosted viewership and Sony's TRPs too."Sony was not doing very well in the past couple of years. So we had to show something different with a different storytelling. We were thinking of what shows to come up with and this is what we decided upon. And I am glad the results are positive and has proved to be a trendsetter," said Virendra Shahane, fiction head, Sony TV."Kuch Toh Log Kahenge", an adaptation of hit 1980s Pakistani TV series "Dhoop Kinare", deviates from kitchen politics. The show's producer Rajan Shahi credits the new trend of "strong stories" and "intelligent viewership" for the serial's success."It is a positive trend that men are getting a chance to play prominent roles thanks to strong and good stories which are not just about kitchen politics," Rajan Shahi told IANS."There was a time when male actors had important parts to play but down the time, the girl became the face of the shows. Good story telling and intelligent viewership have changed that trend."The boy's family is given equal importance as the girl's family. It was a dismal state in the industry when actors were either out of work or were seen playing a father or a grandfather at the age of 30-40. I am so happy that with realistic stories, the actors are getting to play their age," he added.Years ago, shows like "Office Office", "Karamchand", "Mohandas B.A.L.L.B., "Mr.Yogi", "Shaktimaan", "Just Mohabbat" and "Byomkesh Bakshi" had men in the lead. But all that changed when Ekta brought in her saas-bahu sagas - "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" and "Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki", with female protagonists as frontrunners. It became the success mantra. But not any more.Colors show "Parichay" centres on Kunal Chopra played by Samir Soni, 43. The show depicts his conflicts in life and how he deals with his grievances. Another show "Havan" has middle-aged actor Narendra Jha playing the protagonist."I am so glad that the show is being promoted through the male protagonist. Otherwise, almost all shows are sold through a woman and her problems. It just goes to show that men are now really getting their due on TV," Samir said in an interview to IANS.Actor Daya Shankar Pandey of "Mahima Shani Dev Ki" and Shivaji Satam of "CID" are some other names that carried the shows on their shoulders.Shahi says middle-aged actors who became the victim of their own popularity have got rid of that baggage, which helped them in getting work."A big aspect of this was that actors who became popular with their shows initially became larger than life and there was always a baggage of casting them in a daily soap... because with their popularity, their attitude changed and it became difficult to work with them," he said."But now they have adapted to the industry. They are reinventing themselves and competing with young talent. Even actors in their 30s are considering themselves newcomers. So it is a very healthy atmosphere for actors of all age groups and style," he added.
"I am not moving in with her...yet. We haven't made any concrete plans to stay together," said Kunal.Safety issues for single actresses is an ongoing concern. Last month (Dec 23) an intruder broke into Soha's home. Luckily, Kunal was with her when the thief barged in."It was a scary situation. Thank god, nothing untoward happened. I managed to catch him just in time and took him to the police station," said the actor.Apparently there is considerable family pressure on Soha to marry her devoted boyfriend, but she says: "Though it (the intruder incident) was a terrifying experience, I am not convinced marriage is the solution. I'd prefer solid grills for the window and some handy pepper spray."Kunal and Soha worked together in "99" and "Dhoondte Reh Jaoge" and right now he is busy with "Go, Goa Gone", which is being produced by Soha's brother Saif Ali Khan who is also acting in the zombie movie.
