Mona Singh is back with a bang

Mumbai, May 14: TV starlet Mona Singh of ‘Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi’ fame is back with a bang with her TV show ‘Naya Roop Nayi Zindagi’. The concept of the show involves transforming individuals completely and Singh will be hosting the show.

The show is based on the popular US TV show ‘Extreme Makeover’, giving people an opportunity to undergo a complete transformation with the help of cosmetic surgery, make-up, dentistry, dermatologists and personal trainers.

The show comprises of a team of experts who will select ten people with an immediate need of transformation. The show documents the physical transformation of people with an aim to change not only an individual`s looks but his life as well as the participants are real individuals who have serious deformities.

According to reports Mona Singh was deliberately chosen to be the face of the show as her hit show ‘Jassi…’ had popularized the trend of makeovers.

Here’s hoping that Mona delivers another ‘Jassi…’.


Source: zeenews.com

Madhuri: Padma Shri is my hard work

In Pics: Madhuri's magical moments

Madhuri Dixit received Padma Shri for her contribution to Indian cinema and the former Bollywood diva says the honour is a result of her hard work and honesty.

"It's always a wonderful feeling to have your work honoured. One has worked so hard for so many years. The Padma Shri is a culmination of all my hard work and honesty. I think I'm being honoured for doing my work sincerely," Madhuri said.

Madhuri's children are in the US with her in-laws and her parents.

"They're all there. I guess my kids are lucky to have three sets of parents. My husband was here with me to share this moment. He left on Sunday," she said.

Did Madhuri's children share her excitement about the award?

"Not the younger one. He's only three. Too young to understand, but my five-year-old son kept asking me why I was getting this award. I told him it was because I did movies in India for many years. 'You did movies. Why? Why do people call you Dixit?' he asked me.

"I think he's finally getting to know that his mom who cooks meals and puts them to bed had a life beyond the home and kids before marriage," Madhuri said.

Bollywood's former diva admits it's hard to bridge the gap between the life she has now in the US and her long and successful innings in the film industry.

"I've gotten used to a life with my husband and kids. And to leave them behind in the US and come to Mumbai to work is tough. Although our parents take really good care of the kids, Ram and I still worry about what's happening back home when we're in India," said the actress.

She ruled the Hindi film industry in 1980s and 90s and churned out greatest hits like Tezaab, Ram Lakhan, Beta, Dil, Saajan, Khalnayak, Dil To Pagal Hai and Devdas.

Madhuri says the fact that back home people still want to see her on screen makes her happy.

"It is wonderful to know that people still think about me in my home country, although I don't live here any more. That they still want me back, it makes me feel very wanted," the actress added.

Last time Madhuri was in the country, it was for the release of her comeback film Aaja Nachle. The film didn't work, but she says its failure wasn't a blow to her.

"I did my part sincerely. And I did everything I could. So did the whole team. I've worked in this field long enough to know 'you win some, you lose some'. Sometimes you feel everything is going right and the end product still falls apart. It's okay," she said.

So what is she doing to rectify her fans' sense of disappointment?

"Is that your way of asking if I'm doing another movie? Next time I'll ask my fans what they want to see me do on screen. The fact that I did a part for a woman specially written for an actress my age was a triumph. I'm not in India to sign another movie, not this time. I came just to receive the Padma Shri," Madhuri said.

After the Padma Shri, Madhuri is staying back in Mumbai to catch up with family friends and a whole lot of personal work.

"I do have a life beyond movies," she laughed.

I finally touch on the Madhuri Dixit aura undiminished by time, marriage, motherhood and the failed comeback vehicle.

"I never thought of what you call an aura. For me this life as a wife and mother was what I dreamt of almost all my life."

Thank God, she did at the right time.

"What's the right time?" she quipped. "If you mean the right time to have kids then let me remind you a 63-year-old woman had twins. Nothing is impossible at any age any more. As for me, I had always said if I meet the right person I wouldn't think twice about giving up my career. And that's exactly what I did. I never planned anything in life," she said.


Source: ndtvmovies.com

Akshay Kumar gets honorary doctorate

MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar is the latest film celebrity to be bestowed with an honorary doctorate degree by the University of Windsor in Canada.

He was honoured in Ontario on May 9. Akshay has been actively involved in the social work both in India and Canada.

He is in the process of setting up a home for the elderly, especially those in the Indian community, many of whom are neglected by their kin, a release in London said.

On receiving the doctorate Akshay said, "This honour that I have received today is bigger than the Oscar, I am truly humbled".

Akshay now has joined the league of honorary doctorate personalities like Yash Chopra, Amitabh Bachchan Shabana Azmi and Shilpa Shetty, who were conferred similar kind of honorary doctorates from foreign universities in the past.


Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Stallone Hopes Cyclone Helps Highlight Myanmar Injustices

Sylvester Stallone is convinced the media interest in the Myanmar cyclone will help to highlight the injustices in the Southeast Asian nation.

The action man shot his Rambo movie in the country, formerly known as Burma, and witnessed injustices and hardship first hand. He attempted to highlight the problems while promoting the film last year, but now he feels sure the world's press will descend on Myanmar in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Nargis, which has left thousands dead and millions homeless - and they won't be able to ignore what he saw.

He says, "I think what's going to come out of this devastating cyclone, and the fact that our film has made the violence that these people live under apparent is there's going to be great social change in that country. They can't hide any more."

Myanmar officials have been accused of indifference to the disaster.


Source: starpulse.com

"Largest" iPhone rollout set for India: 20,000 stores

Apple's iPhone is set to make a big splash in India. A new report says that the rollout of the iPhone in India is set to be the largest, anywhere in the world -- through both Vodaphone (previously announced) and Airtel mobile carriers. Citing industry sources, Riyaz.net says that Apple's iPhones will be sold through about 250,000 Vodafone and Airtel retail outlets including franchisee-owned shops. "This rollout would be mammoth when compared to iPhones being available only in about 7,000 AT&T outlets in the US apart from the Apple Stores," the report noted. With the launch of the new 3G iPhone expected next month (likely at WWDC), Apple is already expanding the number of countries in which the iPhone will be available, including Australia (in an non-exclusive arrangement) as well as Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Asia, Egypt, New Zealand, and South Africa via a pre-announced Vodaphone deal.

The 3G iPhone also will be available in Singapore and other Asian countries and is expected hit Europe before August.

While Apple is expected to sell the iPhone in India through its own outlets, the report says that Apple has a limited number of retail storefronts, but that both Vodaphone and Airtel are expected to offer the device in "all metros and leading tier II towns." Neither Airtel and Vodafone offered any details on the rollout, however.

“Most phone makers want their products in as many stores as possible and Apple is changing its strategy from exclusivity to wider availability,” one analyst said anonymously.

The iPhone, priced at 23,000 Rs (about $545), will be targeted at ‘high-end’ mobile phone users whose monthly bills exceed of 1,000 Rs (about $23), the report said.

The report also indicates that agreements with franchises would also be worked out, enabling non-carrier branded stories to sell the popular device. Only official company AT&T stores, not franchises, sell the phone in the US.

Bharti, Airtel's parent is also working plans to bundle iPhones along with its broadband services, which it sells to about 800,000 customers.


Source: macnn.com

Asia to Get iPhone Later This Year

SingTel and three of its telco associates have confirmed they will bring Apple's iPhone to Singapore, India, the Philippines, and Australia.

SingTel in Singapore, India's Bharti Airtel, the Philippines' Globe Telecom and Australia's Optus said they will bring the popular device to their respective countries "later this year", although SingTel could not specify whether this would be in the third or fourth quarter of the year.

The Singapore-based telco could not comment on whether the device would be 3G-enabled and if each region would get it at the same time.

ZDNet Asia previously reported sources speculating that SingTel would eventually win distribution rights for the iPhone.

However, CNet Asia carried a report today quoting rival Singapore telco, StarHub, saying all three operators in the country are expected to offer the device eventually, which means SingTel may not have won exclusivity.

A recent shortage of iPhones in the United States has also prompted some to speculate that the 3G version of the device would be making its debut soon--possibly the model which would arrive in Asia, too, although Apple and SingTel have declined to comment on this area.


Source: businessweek.com