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New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) Mallika Sherawat has been grabbing eyeballs with footage of her body-hugging costumes as a snakewoman in Jennifer Lynch’s “Hisss”, but her co-star Irrfan Khan is unperturbed and says she cannot overshadow him in the movie.

“Mallika can’t steal my limelight – never – let her do whatever she does. That’s her game. That is not my game. I entertain people. I be myself, do my work in a way that I enjoy and connect with my audience so that they remember my work for at least two years,” Irrfan told IANS. He was here Saturday for the launch of the seventh season of MTV’s adventure reality show “Roadies”.

Speaking more about “Hisss”, the actor said: “It’s a different kind of action adventure film – a very nice take on a story everyone has seen – ‘Naagin’. But through that story, the writer and director have incorporated the elements of how we as human beings call ourselves advanced and evolved, but actually we have made ourselves blind to nature.

“We have become just a consumer of nature and are only concerned about extracting things for our use, and in the process we are creating a huge crisis. On the surface, it’s just an action sort of a film with lots of nudity and sex and Mallika plays a snakewoman.”

Irrfan, who played the inspector in Danny Boyle’s multiple Oscar winning movie “Slumdog Millionaire”, said it would be unfair to reveal his part as it will spoil the essence of the film.

Other films that he is looking forward to include Sanjay Gupta’s “Acid Factory” and “Paan Singh Tomar” – both of which have streaks of action and adventure.

Why this sudden inclination towards the genre?

“I have loved adventure, especially physical sports. When I went to South Africa to shoot for ‘Acid Factory’, I sky-dived 18,000 feet. It gives you an adrenaline rush. As for the choice of genre, it’s not sudden. People have always taken me as a serious actor but I was dying to tell them I am not. As an actor, I need to do all – comedy, tragedy, action and adventure. I want variety,” the actor told IANS.

Irrfan is also excited about his stint on “MTV Roadies 7″, Indian television’s longest running reality show. He will make special appearances to throw open seven twists based on the seven sins – lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride – during the show.

“I agreed on this show for two reasons – because I love action and adventure and because I love travelling. Now I won’t be doing action, but I will be compelling the contestants to do a lot of it. I like the show as it’s a test of mental and physical endurance. It gives you a chance to challenge yourself,” he said.

London, Aug 30 (ANI): American pop girl group Pussycat Dolls may split soon, it has emerged.

It is believed that jealous rows over the surging popularity of lead singer Nicole Scherzinger may be the reason for the split of the 2003-formed group.

Earlier in the year Nicole, was specially mentioned for the group’s Slumdog Millionaire single Jai Hoh!, which was dubbed as The Pussycat Dolls featuring Nicole Scherzinger.

Band member Kimberly Wyatt’s admission that the group was taking a long break to consider their future has only sparked more speculation of the band’s break-up.

The Mirror quoted her as saying: “The girls and I have just finished our huge world tour and are taking a break from the band and doing our own thing.

‘We’re all concentrating on our own projects and deciding what the future will hold.”

The band latest concert was held earlier this month in Beirut, Lebanon. (ANI)

London, Aug 30 (ANI): Britney Spears was forced to hit the road just months after a public breakdown because she faced financial ruin, says the author of a new book.

Best-selling author and journalist Steven Dennis claims in a new book, ‘Britney: Inside The Dream’, that she stood to lose as much as 100 million dollars if she failed to honor the tour commitments that she made prior to her meltdown.

Dennis spent six months writing and researching the book, reports the Daily Express.

Robert Baker, the studio director at the Millenium Dance Complex where Britney regularly trains, told him: “If Britney didn’t go on tour she could have been hit for 100 million dollars because she was contractually obliged for another album and another tour and there was a deadline.

“The whole contract was set up and a timetable was in place before Britney had her meltdown.

“Had she quit and walked away then the recouped advances, penalties and accrued interest would have been near the 100-million-dollar mark – for someone estimated to be worth just 60 million dollars to 65 million dollars.”

Since announcing her world tour, critics have voiced their concerns that Britney was taking part in a gruelling nine-month world tour at a time when she remained mentally vulnerable.

Legally, she has been under the control of her father since February because of her mental problems.

Dennis adds, however: “I think the chief reason behind her tour was to protect Britney – firstly, to return her to an identity and routine in which she felt safe and secondly to safeguard her financially.” (ANI)

Washington, Aug 30 (ANI): If rumours are to be believed, Nicolas Cage, Halle Berry and Gwyneth Paltrow are all going nude, not for films, but yoga.

Reports suggest that nude Yoga is fast catching the fancy of international celebs like Jennifer Lopez, Rita Wilson and Naomi Watts.

The technique involves practicing conventional Yoga postures without clothes.

Various naked yoga clubs have reportedly popped up across USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, Russia, Australia, etc.

However, acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed has urged celebrities and others to take yoga seriously as, being one of the six systems of orthodox Hindu philosophy, it is highly revered in Hinduism.

It is actually a mental and physical discipline by means of which the human-soul unites with universal-soul. (ANI)

Berlin, Aug 30 (DPA) Wreath laying and remembrance ceremonies are to be held throughout Europe Sep 1 to mark the outbreak of World War II 70 years ago.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian Premier Vladimir Putin are due to join Polish President Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk for a commemorative ceremony at Westerplatte near the Polish city of Gdansk, formerly Danzig.

The shelling by a German warship of a Polish military depot at the Westerplatte peninsula was one of the first episodes in Nazi Germany’s aggression on Poland that led to the war. For five days the small Polish garrison held out against the eleven-inch guns of the battleship Schleswig-Holstein and Stukas dropping 500-pound bombs.

William L. Shirer, an American correspondent based in the German capital at the time Nazi troops invaded Poland, described the events in his Berlin Diary of Sep 1, 1939.

“At dawn this morning Hitler moved against Poland. It’s a flagrant, inexcusable, unprovoked act of aggression. But Hitler and the German High Command call it a ‘counter-attack’!”

Shirer recalled that at the start of World War I in 1914 there had been tremendous excitement in Berlin on the first day of hostilities.

Twenty-five years later, however, things were different. “Today there is no excitement, no hurrahs, no cheering, no throwing of flowers, no war fever, no war hysteria,” Shirer wrote.

“There is not even any hate for the French and British — despite Hitler’s various proclamations to the people, the party, the East Army, the West Army, accusing the ‘English war-mongers’ and ‘capitalistic Jews’ of starting this war.”

Shirer also described seeing 250 people standing about in the sun on Berlin’s Wilhelmplatz square Sep 3, 1939, when loudspeakers announced that Britain had declared war on Germany.

“They listened, there was not a murmur. They just stood there as they were before. Stunned. The people cannot realise yet that Hitler has led them into a world war,” wrote Shirer, who later went on to pen the best-selling book, “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich”.

Although the war officially began with the German invasion of Poland, Hitler had earlier already seized Austria and parts of Czechoslovakia, with no intervention by other nations. By June 1940, Germany had conquered not only Poland, but also Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and France, leaving Britain alone to battle on against the fascist forces.

That same month the German army launched its Operation Barbarossa invasion of the Soviet Union. Not until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 would the US be drawn into the war alongside Britain.

By the time the war ended in 1945, more than 55 million people had been killed and countless more made homeless.

On Sep 1, wreath-laying ceremonies are planned at Polish monuments in Berlin and Leipzig, honouring the nation’s war dead. Similar events will take place in other European towns and cities.

In London, a World War II exhibition at the Imperial War Museum was inaugurated on Aug 20, exploring the build-up to Britain’s declaration of war on Germany 70 years ago.

Among the items on display is then British prime minister Neville Chamberlain’s pocket diary containing a simple entry for Sep 3, 1939: “War declared.”

Also displayed is a letter he wrote to his sister Ida the first week of the war, with a passage reading. “I have had some dreadful anxieties, especially during one sleepless night. Of course the difficulty is with Hitler himself.

“Until he disappears and his system collapses there can be no peace,” the prime minister wrote.

In the US, numerous films and books have been or are being released dealing with the start of the five-year conflict.

Gordon Zuckermann has just brought out a historical novel, “The Sentinels: Fortunes of War”. In it, he claims that for Americans the war years represented a period of enormous personal glory and sacrifice in which they had “unselfishly helped the world to liberate itself from the tyranny of fascism”.

In the third and final volume of his non-fiction trilogy on Nazi Germany, titled “The Third Reich at War”, historian Richard Evans depicts the rise and fall of German military might from the onset of the war to its conclusion.

Evans mixes narrative of the war with personal tales from generals, front-line soldiers, Hitler Youth and middle-class housewives in his book.

Numerous World War II-themed movies have also been released during the past 12 months, including the Tom Cruise thriller “Valkyrie” in which he plays the role of Colonel Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg in an abortive 1944 anti-Hitler bomb plot.

Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Basterds”, about a group of Jewish American soldiers trained to track down and eliminate Nazis, has just opened for release in Germany.

Earlier this year, Kate Winslet won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in British director Stephen Daldry’s war-related movie “The Reader”, based on the book by German writer-historian Bernhard Schlink.

London, Aug 29 (IANS) Pop star Britney Spears took her sons to see “Shrek: The Musical” in New York.

This is the second broadway show Britney saw with her sons Jaden James and Sean Preston. The kids had accompanied their mother to “The Little Mermaid musical” Aug 22, reported thesun.co.uk

Los Angeles, Aug 28 (IANS) Hollywood singer-actress Lindsay Lohan is reportedly in talks with television heads for a reality show on her life.

Lohan, who is a favourite with the paparazzi for her social life, has turned to pop-singer Britney Spear’s manager Larry Rudolph for advice, reports contactmusic.com.

If the idea culminates, her every move could be watched in many homes as she is planning to have a camera crew to chart her day-to-day life.

London, Aug 28 (IANS) Troubled British singer Amy Winehouse wants to settle down and have a family, says her best friend Kelly Osbourne.

Winehouse has battled an addiction to drugs and alcohol and divorced her husband earlier this year, but despite her turbulent lifestyle, Osbourne insists that all Winehouse now wants is to enjoy a quiet life away from the public eye, reports contactmusic.com.

Osbourne says in her autobiography “Fierce” that she is so privileged to meet Winehouse.

“Amy gives the best advice. All talented people have troubles because they can’t come to terms with it. Deep down, all Amy wants to do is have a family, settle down and be left alone. That girl is not stupid,” writes Osbourne.

New York, Aug 28 (ANI): It has been revealed that fans at pop princess Britney Spears’ concert at Madison Square Garden had to be evicted from the show for dancing “too provocatively” at their seats.

Of those, who had been yanked out by security guards on August 25, was Sandra Ion, a Dramatics hair salon manager.

“I guess there had been a complaint from someone in our section that our dancing was too risqué,” the New York Post quoted her as saying.

“Meanwhile, Britney is onstage gyrating half-naked and singing ‘Get Naked’. It was totally ridiculous. They should have just moved whoever complained instead of all of us,” she added.

Ion said that guards forced her and her pals, including Amanda Lapore’s stylist Harliquin, to miss three songs, and Garden management refused to reimburse them.

A representative for the Garden did not return a call for comment. (ANI)

New Delhi, Aug 28 (ANI): Socialite Paris Hilton loves her boyfriend Doug Reinhardt so much that she has insisted on leaving her life-sized pictures around his house.

The pictures are supposed to serve as a reminder to Reinhardt, as she flies to Vancouver, Canada, to film a guest appearance in TV show ‘Supernatural’, reports the China Daily.

“Before jet-setting to Vancouver, Paris had her team pay a visit to Doug’s house, bringing over life-size photos of herself to hang throughout the mansion,” a source revealed to E! Online.

Hilton, who failed to ask her lover’s permission before making changes to his home, also hung several framed photographs of the couple on the walls of the property.

“Seriously, there were only a few photos that survived Paris’ redecorating,” the source added. (ANI)

London, Aug 28 (ANI): American socialite Paris Hilton has done a good turn by following in actress Angelina Jolie’s footsteps, and making a charity visit to Guatemala.

Hilton, 28, reportedly left her glitzy LA life and expensive clothes behind, as she visited the poverty-stricken country with the Interface Foundation, a charity that helps connect celebrities to good causes.

Jolie, 34, has visited troubled regions all over the world as a UN Goodwill Ambassador.

And Hilton is now said to have followed in her footsteps by visiting various village hospitals, and spending time with the local families.

Hilton, who took her mobile phone with her, has been keeping fans updated about her trip through her Twitter account.

“It’s the most rewarding and beautiful feeling to give back. It’s not hard, anyone can do it,” the Sun quoted her as saying.

“It’s all about your heart…It was a pleasure, those children touched my heart and soul.

“My outlook on life is so different now,” she added. (ANI)

London, Aug 27 (IANS) Security guards at pop diva Britney Spears’ New York show sparked outrage among concertgoers after escorting fans from their seats for dancing “too provocatively” imitating the singer.

The singer, known for her suggestive lyrics and sexually-charged stage routines, played to a packed house at Madison Square Garden Tuesday as part of her ongoing “Circus” tour and security staff appeared to be on the alert for fans imitating the star, and sparked controversy after escorting ticket-holders from their seats and forcing them to miss part of the show, reports contactmusic.com.

“I guess there had been a complaint from someone in our section that our dancing was too risque. Meanwhile, Britney is onstage gyrating half-naked and singing ‘Get naked.’ It was totally ridiculous. They should have just moved whoever complained instead of all of us,” said Sandra Ion, a Spears fan who was escorted into a hallway by the security.

London, Aug 27 (IANS) Hollywood filmmaker Quentin Tarantino had a pleasant outing in Berlin when he visited a bar dedicated to him and his movies.

The director decided to visit Tarantino’s restaurant while shooting for his movie “Inglourious Basterds” after locals told him the night spot is filled with memorabilia from his movies and that a lot of his films are played there, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

“We showed up, and the owner saw me through the window, stepping out of the car. He was really cool. He just stood in the middle of the room, and when I stepped through the door, he held out his hand and said, ‘Welcome to your bar’,” said Tarantino.

Brad Pitt starrer “Inglourious Basterds” is a World War II movie and scored the best opening day ever for a Tarantino film, reaping $14.3 million from 3,165 theatres to score the director’s best opening day ever at the domestic box office.

Washington, Aug 27 (ANI): A new promo for the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) features Russell Brand attempting to have sex with Britney Spears.

The video shows the British comic star attempting to bed Britney via telepathy.

Contactmusic quoted Brand as saying in the video: ‘Britney, this is the voice of your mind… go to Russell’s hotel room and abandon yourself. Give yourself to him, Britney. Sleep with Russell!’

The promo starts with the ‘Womanizer’ singer standing by a swimming pool in a skimpy white bikini and black hat.

Thoughts are rushing through the pop star’s mind and viewers can hear what she’s thinking.

She says: ‘I wonder if he’ll invite me. I mean, I can obviously get an invite, but it would be nice for Russell to invite me personally now that we’re friends and all.’

Meanwhile Brand is all nervous about the upcoming show with Britney.

Brand says: ‘I hope I didn’t balls it up with her last time. Some of those things I said could have been construed as offensive. I hope she don’t think ill of me.’

The promo links up to Britney again, who is chewing on her nail and thinking: ‘Should I have played it up more when he was flirting with me last year? I have to admit there is something sexy about his dangerous ways.’

All of a sudden Brand realises he can hear Britney and now he wonders if she was also listening to his thoughts.

He finally decides to give it a try and calls Britney to her room.

This is not the first time the pair has teamed up for a promo for the music awards’ presentation.

The duo had also appeared in a short clip for last year’s presentation, which had been hosted by Brand.

The VMAs are scheduled for September 13 in New York. (ANI)

Toronto, Aug 27 (IANS) Bollywood is set to steal the limelight at the Toronto International Film Festival starting here Sep 10.

For the first time, the world’s premier film event will premiere two Bollywood films – “What’s Your Raashee?” and “Dil Bole Hadippa”.

“You know, last year our audiences launched ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ that went on to win everything (at the Oscars). And this year, we are thrilled to have two Bollywood movies under big banners making their world premiere,” Cameron Bailey, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) co-director, told IANS in an exclusive interview.

He said: “It is the first time that two Bollywood films are making their world premiere here. We had major Bollywood films in the past, but not for world premiere. We had their special presentation and galas with the stars. Those films had opened just before the Toronto festival and we had their presentation.”

Bailey, who personally selected the two films during his visit to Mumbai in July, said: “These films were in the final stages when I was in Mumbai. These are highly anticipated films and we will be thrilled to see their stars like Rani Mukerji, Priyanka Chopra and Hurman Baweja in town.”

An avid fan of Rani, Bailey said: “Rani is terrific. She can go the whole range – from serious dramatic roles to light comedy. Here (in ‘Dil Bole Hadippa’) she is in the role of a woman who loves cricket but cannot get on the team because she is a woman. It has that Shakespearean conceit when she dresses as a man to get on the team.”

Rating Priyanka one of the most versatile actors today, he said: “Priyanka is incredible. In this film (‘What’s Your Raashee?’), she does 12 roles transforming herself into 12 completely different women. Now that is incredible.”

He said the film festival will also be privileged to host Ashutosh Gowariker whom he described as one of the best directors in India.

“We had Ashutosh here previously as director of ‘Lagaan’. He is a great maker of period films with such an attention to detail.

“But what is different about him this time – and people would love to see it – is that he has done a contemporary film (‘What’s Your Raashee?’), and it is a love story. Wow, he has not done that before. I am sure he will prove himself to be a master again.”

Bailey, who gave a big break to Bollywood at the festival three years ago by organizing a gala presentation for the film “Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna” in the presence of Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar, said he is determined to raise Bollywood’s profile here for two reasons.

“One, we have an avid audience which comes (only) to see Bollywood films and their stars in town. Two, we want to introduce Bollywood to our audiences that do not know this kind of cinema.”

In fact, he didn’t rule the future possibility of live musical performances by Bollywood stars at the festival.

“We would love to showcase the musical part of Bollywood, and it is something we may consider down the line,” he said.

“Many may not see it that way, but Bollywood is already a mainstream global player. Stars from Bollywood are globally recognised. People who make and finance Bollyood films are global players. See what Reliance is doing in Hollywood as a major player,” he added.

The 34th film festival, which runs from Sep 10 to 19, will feature more than 300 films, including 100 brand-new, from 64 countries.

Melbourne, Aug 27 (ANI): Britney Spears has decided to end her Circus world tour with a final performance in Melbourne, Australia.

The singer wants to finish off her tour in “a nice place” and wants to celebrate her birthday on December 2, according to her promoter Paul Dainty.

The ‘Womanizer’ hitmaker had three shows lined up for the town before adding one more.

‘It is her first trip to Australia and she is really excited. We really wanted more shows in Melbourne … so we talked at length with her management and they thought why not,’ News.com.au quoted Paul as saying.

Spears will play at Rod Laver Arena from November 11-13, after which she’ll perform in Sydney and Brisbane.

Ultimately, she will come back to Melbourne for her final show on November 27.

Paul added: ‘It is by far the biggest pop spectacle to be seen here in years,’ (ANI)

Washington, Aug 27 (ANI): Madonna has denied reports that claim the pop diva will run in Marathon des Sables next year.

Tabloid reports had earlier suggested that the 51-year-old hitmaker was under a strict training schedule for the six-day rigorous run across the Sahara Desert.

However, Madonna’s aide Liz Rosenberg has rubbished the rumours.

Contactmusic music quoted her saying: ‘It’s not true.’

Dubbed as the toughest race on the planet, the 156 miles long trek is organized every spring and is the equivalent of six marathons. (ANI)

Melbourne, Aug 27 (ANI): An angry Angelina Jolie has ‘sentenced’ Brad Pitt to sleep on the couch after learning that he still smokes pot, sources say.

The glamorous couple apparently had a heated row over the issue and blamed her partner’s ex Jennifer Aniston for his addiction to marijuana.

“Ange says it’s Jen’s fault Brad is still smoking pot, since the bulk of his drug-taking days were when he was with her,” the Daily Telegraph quoted a source as telling National Enquirer.

The insider added: ‘She’s angry and looking for someone to blame, so Jen is always going to be a prime target.’

Seemingly, the ‘Original Sin’ actress feels that she has been lied to about many things.

The source revealed: ‘Angie, feeling she’s been totally lied to, is piecing together all the other things Brad’s not been truthful to her about and come up with a fairly long list.’

However, both have jetted to France this week to work on their relationship, according to OK! Weekly. (ANI)

London, Aug 26 (IANS) Pop diva Madonna has received death threats in Serbia.

The “Frozen” hit maker has beefed up her security after the threats during her ongoing ‘Sticky & Sweet’ world tour and arrived in Belgrade, Serbia, in disguise to perform her concert in front of 30,000 fans Monday, reports contactmusic.com.

The star took extra precautions after receiving threatening messages from Balkan fanatics, hiring a posse of bodyguards to protect her as she took the stage in the Serbian capital for the first time.

The worried singer will also be accompanied by the stepped up security in neighbouring Romania, where she is set to play a gig Wednesday.

London, Aug 26 (IANS) Teen superstar Miley Cyrus has sparked rumours she’s back with her ex-boyfriend Carter Jenkins after the two were spotted at a rock band Kings of Leon concert in Los Angeles during the weekend.

Jenkins, who briefly dated the teen sensation in between boyfriends Nick Jonas and model-singer Justin Gaston, blogged about his night out with Cyrus on social-networking website Twitter.com and wrote: “Awesome show & very fun night with MiCy@mileycyrus,” reports contactmusic.com.

Cyrus and the actor, who is currently shooting romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day” with the singer’s friend Taylor Swift, joined Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel in the technician’s booth at the Forum concert. The foursome also attended the backstage VIP party after the show.