Chennai Express: Is Shahrukh Khan nervous just before his new film releases?

He may be the Baadshah of Bollywood, but SRK too cannot escape feelings of excitement, nervousness and anxiety. Does he have reason?

Shahrukh Khan has been madly country and state hopping to promote his latest filmChennai Express and with less than 24 hours left for the janatas verdict, SRK expressed his true feelings on Twitter.  The actor wrote: ‘Awake now. Need to surround myself by love….think will get the kids to come and envelope me with their hugs. The best safety blankets…’ Is he nervous so close to the release of CE, which has been directed by Rs 100 crore ace Rohit Shetty and stars superhit sensation Deepika Padukone? It certainly seems so!

But SRK could feel instantly better if he knew that the micro-blogging site was buzzing with reactions to Chennai Express. King Khan’s buddy and Don director Farhan Akhtar managed to catch the film at a special screening held at Mannat recently and was overjoyed to take the mad ride cross-country. The latest entrant into the Rs 100 crore club with Bhaag Milkha Bhaag tweeted: ‘Boarded the Chennai Express last night and it was a full on Rohit Shetty style joyride! @iamsrk & @deepikapadukone in top form… Enjoy!’ Self-proclaimed film critic Kamal R Khan too had some very strong positive comments for Chennai Express and his favourite Deepika Padukone, ‘It’s interval and truth is this tat #ChennaiExpress isBaap of all films of 2013. It’s mind blowing n really really hilarious. Again @deepikapadukone has proved that she is no.1,2,3 heroine of Bollywood. All other heroines start from 4th number.She is simply the best. Yaar Rohit Shetty Tum bahut bade kamine director ho. You are not good but actually very very very best n U have proved with #ChennaiExpress. I give 4* to #ChennaiExpress. Film #ChennaiExpress will not break records but will fuck and destroy all the past records. So congrats to @iamsrk @deepikapadukone n Rohit’.

And the excitement is not limited to friends and family. A fan eagerly awaiting the Deepika Padukone-SRK film’s release tweeted: ‘History created in Ahmedabad already – 700+ senior citizens have booked the entire theatre to watch #ChennaiExpress on Aug13’.

Now this must be good news for the nervous Khan, wethinks. As for whether this film will bring Shahrukh back to the top spot in B-town….well we wait to find out!

Yash Chopra, the ‘King of Romance’ to be cremated today

Zeenews Bureau

Mumbai: Filmmaker Yash Chopra, who passed away on Sunday evening at Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital, will be cremated on Monday afternoon.

"From 9 a.m. to 12 noon, people can come in at the Yash Raj Films studio in suburban Andheri to pay their condolences. He (Chopra) will be cremated at 3 p.m.at Chandan Wadi," a YRF spokesperson told reporters.

Chopra had been in Lilavati Hospital since October 13 after he was diagnosed with dengue. The 80-year-old director died today following multi-organ failure.

"He passed away due to dengue and multiple organ failure today evening. He was in the ICU," Lilavati Hospital spokesperson Dr Sudhir told reporters.

Yash Chopra, an institution in himself spent a life doing what he loved and that was to spread romance through some of his masterpieces he created in the form of love epics like ‘Silsila’, ‘Chandni’, ‘Lamhe’, ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’ and ‘Veer Zaara’.

Yash Chopra's career spanned over five decades with more than 50 films under his belt. Yash Chopra had won several film awards, including six National Film Awards and eleven Filmfare awards including four Filmfare Award for Best Director. The Government of India honoured him with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2001 and the Padma Bhushan in 2005 for his contributions towards Indian cinema.

The legend was working on his last film called ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ which is scheduled to release this Diwali. During the shooting of JTHJ, Yash Chopra’s trip to Switzerland with SRK and Katrina (lead actors in the film) had to be cancelled after he was admitted to Lilavati hospital.

Post his illness, the director handed over the mantle to his son Aditya Chopra to shoot few last portions of the film.

A string of celebrities including Dilip Kumar and his wife Saira Banu, Shah Rukh Khan, Anil Kapoor, visited the hospital to pay their last respect to the legendary director.

India's political fraternity also paid homage to the departed filmmaker.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described Chopra as an "icon of Indian cinema" who entertained generations with his rare creativity.

"He had an aesthetic talent to make his films look larger than life. His flourish to essay romance and social drama was unmatched. He established the popularity of Indian cinema internationally and was honoured by many governments.

He will be remembered by millions of his fans around the world and his work as a director and producer will be treasured by the nation for many more generations," Singh said.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said: "Today Indian cinema has lost one of its iconic personalities and a creative genius. Through films, Yashji connected generations together. His idea of portraying love as the essence of life and relationships will fondly be remembered by all movie lovers. His death is a void which will be difficult to fill."

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla: "I am saddened by the passing away of Yash Chopra. Today we all pay tribute to him and I feel not only the Indian film industry has lost a shining star but also the world film industry.

A railway station in Switzerland is named after him. He took the Indian film industry to the world. His contribution, the Indian government and neither the Indian people will ever forget."

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha said: "I am shocked to hear about the passing away of Yash Chopra ji. I had got to know him personally and he was a great friend. One enjoyed his company immensely. When I was growing up in my younger days I remember the best films that I saw were films made by him. He was a legend; his passing away is a great loss not only to the film industry but also to the country as a whole."

Film director Ramesh Sippy said: "We have stayed together with each other. I was shocked by the news."

Another film director Madhur Bhandarkar said: "A few days ago news had come in that he was recovering and he would be back to work. Everyone was waiting for his film to release. It has been quite shocking for all of us."

Actor Jackie Shroff said: "It is sad that Yashji has passed away. He was one of the biggest directors of our industry. After coming here I got to hear the news. I express my condolences to his family, and I shall go there straight from here."

Fashion designer Nita Lulla said: "It is a great loss to the industry and to all of us whose lives Yashji has touched. I think we are going to miss him a lot because he was one of the biggest mentors of the film industry. And he has been a father to lot of us technicians and to a lot of fabulous films, and it is definitely a great loss. And I pray for him and his family."

Model Lisa Haydon said: "I think it is always sad when you lose a creative genius and someone who has done so much for our country and our films and changing the ways that people perceive Indian cinema. So it is a very sorry thing that he passed away. I actually haven't had a chance to put on the TV, but my friends here told me about it. So my best wishes to him and his family."

Actor Vidyut Jamwal said: "I think in the recent times this is the biggest loss for Bollywood. Apart from him being a legend and a genius, he was one of the nicest people that I have been told about. The kind of loss that Hindi cinema has sustained from this, I think it is difficult for such a man to be born in India again."

Celebs who swore to stay virgin

29-year-old track and field star Lolo has yet to have sex because it's "a gift I want to give my husband," and despite her hardest efforts, she hasn't been able to find any contenders.

Jones first announced she was a virgin on the social networking website Twitter.

Remember Neetu Chandra's famous saying " I don't want to die a virgin". Well we don't want to go into the details here.

 

Victoria's Secret Angel Adriana Lima began signing modelling contracts since she was 15; but managed to stay virgin till 27. She has always emphasized on sex after marriage and saved it for her husband Marco Jaric whom she married in 2009.

 Now this one is going to be a real shocker! The Williams sisters - Venus and Serena claim they have deep Christian morals, and don't believe in having sex before marriage. The question is, are you going to believe that.

What will Aishwarya wear at Cannes?

While Designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee has shot down rumours that he is designing Aishwarya Rai's wardrobe for Cannes, it is almost certain that the Bollywood star will be sporting a desi look on the red carpet this year.

The Times of India reports that the Bachchan Bahu has opted for a sari and churidar-kurtas from Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla's collection. The sari is believed to be off-white with chikankari work and antique gold embroidery. The churidar-kurtas are in beige and cream and are classic Abu-Sandeep creations.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is all set to grace the Cannes film festival for the 11th consecutive time. She will walk the red carpet on May 24 and 25. The actress who turned mother last year has been severely criticised for not being to shed those extra kilos she gained post pregnancy.

‘Titanic’ sails past $2 billion at the box office

It might just be a re-release, but 'Titanic' in 3D has sailed into the record books. The James Cameronmovie has crossed the $2 billion mark, second only to 2009 sci-fi thriller 'Avatar' which has taken in $2.8 billion. According to Reuters, the movie now stands at $2.03 billion worldwide, adding to its $1.84 billion gross in its original release.

'Titanic' at the box office
The 3D re-release also recorded the best box office opening ever in China this weekend, claiming $58 million for international distributor Fox. The huge China opening for "Titanic" and receipts from 69 other territories upped the global haul in its second overseas weekend to $88.2 million. The films re-release was timed to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the ship's sinking. 

Even a hundred years later, the sinking of the Titanic continues to be a mystery. Here's a video that recalls the entire incident a century later.

Titanic: A 100 years laterDespite the interest surrounding the sinking of the Titanic, it is fascinating to know that it wasn't the worst shipwreck ever.

10 extraordinary shipwrecks
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Casual sex in Bollywood

There was a time when casual sex was a complete no-no in Bollywood. Remember the scene in 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge' (1995) where Raj (Shah Rukh) had to give Simran (Kajol) a long monologue on 'hindustan ladki ki izzat' after he had joked that there might have been a night of drunken lovemaking between them.

In 'Hum Tum' (2004), Karan (Saif Ali Khan) had to quickly propose marriage after a night of passion with Rhea (Rani Mukherji). Karan felt that was the right thing to do since they had inadvertently ended up in bed after an emotional outburst. Fortunately, Rhea turns down the proposal on the ground that only love should be the reason for such a big commitment. Well, Karan was only following the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) — remember, according to 'hindustani sabhyata' you wed and then you bed or you only bed who you will eventually wed.

More recently, in 'Band Baaja Baraat' (2010), while the morning after was awkward between Bittoo (Ranveer) and Shruti (Anushka), there wasn't too much talk about the 'kand' as they called it.

In fact, it was actually a relief to see that other recent films like 'Jodi Breakers' and 'London Paris New York' treat sex as a natural progression of a boy-girl relationship and not as something that is seen in isolation, only symptomatic of the corrosion of Indian tradition.

If Hindi films mirror societal changes (at least, they claim to in some cases), does that mean we as a society have become more open to casual sex? While the depiction of casual sex on celluloid has come a long way from 'DDLJ' in 1995 to 'LPNY' in 2012, how much has our take on casual sex changed?

Also read: In Bed with Bollywood

Yuvraj returns to India after cancer treatment

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Yuvraj Singh along with his mother Shabnam arrives at Delhi Airport

NEW DELHI, April 9, 2012 (AFP) - India's World Cup cricket hero Yuvraj Singh returned home on Monday after receiving treatment for a cancerous tumour in the United States.

Sporting a black jacket and red baseball cap, the 30-year-old all-rounder gave thumbs up signs to well-wishers who had gathered at New Delhi airport to welcome him back.

"He is absolutely fine and will rest at home for another 10-15 days," his mother Shabnam Singh told reporters at the airport.

Left-handed Yuvraj, named man of the tournament after India's World Cup triumph at home last April, was diagnosed with a rare condition, mediastinal seminoma -- a malignant tumour between his lungs -- soon after the event.

After completing three sessions of chemotherapy in Boston in March, he had moved to London before returning to India.

"Finally the day has come! i am going home tomorrow! cant wait, excited to see my friends and family ..see you india!!," Yuvraj said on Twitter on Sunday.

Thousands of well-wishers, politicians, his team mates and other sports personalities including US cycling great Lance Armstrong had sent messages to the ailing all-rounder who is known for his aggressive batting and disciplined spin bowling.

"Today the entire country is happy, god is happy and I am very happy. My son has come back as a winner," Yuvraj's father Yograj Singh told the NDTV news channel.

Yuvraj, who scored 362 runs and bagged 15 wickets in nine World Cup matches, has not played competitive cricket since taking part in two of the three home Tests against the West Indies in November.

He has scored 8,051 runs in 274 one-dayers and 1,775 in 37 Tests since making his international debut in 2000.