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New Delhi, March 12 (IANS) The stars and the weather do not foretell well for the 15th Lok Sabha poll in April-May.

While April may turn out to be cruel in terms of the mercury, which touches 40 degrees Celsius and beyond in most states of India, crystal-gazers see a turbulent political atmosphere post-poll – one that could be marked by an anarchy-like situation and violence.

The five-phase parliamentary elections begin April 16.

“This election is not good for the Indian constitution. The country has seen too much criminsalisation of politics and it does not point to good times ahead,” astrologer Jagannath Mishra, associated with the Arya Samaj Mandir at Harit Vihar in the capital, told IANS.

Mishra felt that the smaller parties – especially the state-level ones – could improve their fortunes and the country would possibly see another coalition government.

“The period post-election will be marked by terrorism, treachery and violence,” he said ominously.

To coumpound the grim prophecies, Mishra, like many of his peers, predicted earthquakes and sea storms – probably mini tsunamis – which could cause damage to life and property in a couple of months after the elections.

However, Mishra saw a marginal improvement in the bleak financial scenario.

Astrologer Ashok Sanoria echoed Mishra. “Around September, when five planets converge in Scorpio, the climate will prove fickle. Storms, those that originate in water, will ravage the US and will also affect India,” Sanoria, who has a consultation cell in Vivek Vihar, told IANS.

A new government will be in place in September, Sanoria said.

The astrologer, who took part in the Nakshatra Festival at the Pragati Maidan in Delhi, was recently interviwed by a national television channel for helping trace a kidnapped child with the help of his “Egyptian vaastu pendulum” that responds to queries.

The election, predicted Sanoria, would not benefit any party – neither the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nor the Congress. “This time, three parties are going to make the govenrment and BJP might be at the forefront,” Sanoria contended.

But the coalition government will not last for more than a year and a half. “Then the Congress will make a comeback, but Manmohan Singh will not be prime minister. It will be a surprise choice,” Sanoria said.

The soothsayer hinted that the future prime minsiter could be a woman. Explaining the position of the planets, he said as the king of the zodaic formation would then be Venus and its minister (attendant) the moon, the comibation could pitchfork an intelligent woman to power because both the planets are feminine.

“It could be Jayalalitha for her personal horoscope is very strong,” he said.

“Neither L.K. Advani nor Mayawati can become prime minister now. Advani, who is now under the influence of Saturn (mahadasha of shani), will probably become prime minister later in life. However, this period will be good for Advani unlike the Vidhan Sabha poll, when the stars in his personal horoscope were not favourable,” Sanoria predicted.

Renowned astrologer Bejan Daruwalla, who is in Kolkata at the moment, said he did not have the time to work out the positions of the planets during elections. “I do not want to predict something funny. But I think India will ultimately do well. I had predicted last year that the country would win an Oscar either in 2008 or 2009,” the astrologer, who was honoured with an award recently, told IANS from Kolkata.

Delhi-based astrologer B.B.Sharma, whose grandfather Mangat Ram Sharma was one of the three astrologers who decided the time for the country’s declaration of Independence in 1947, said the temporary positions of planets in April could benefit the Congress.

“Sun, which is now facing Saturn, will enter Aries and will augur well for those in power. Sun relates to power and royalty. Saturn, which is also another powerful planet, will be free of sun’s fierce glare and politicians who are ruled by Saturn will gain,” he said.

Jupiter, the noble ruler of the zodiac, is now debilitated in conjunct with node Rahu (guru-chandal yog), which will have a grim bearing on politics and on the fate of the nation as a whole, cautioned Sharma, whose family has been associated with the Birla Temple for nearly six decades.

“It is better if the country concentrates on strengthening its economy and eradicating poverty by building more employment opporunities. Elections will deplete finances and will not be able to address core issues,” said Prem Nath Updhayay, an astrologer in south Delhi’s Kalkaji area.

“Invoking Jupiter through enterprise and knowledge should be the priority now to shake off the malefic influence of Saturn, Mars and Rahu on the country’s polity and economy,” he added.

(Madhusree Chatterjee can be contacted at madhu.c@ians.in)

Washington, March 10 (ANI): Julia Roberts is reportedly set to turn producer for the remake of Jesus Henry Christ.

The Oscar-winning actress will allegedly produce the forthcoming independent comedy to be directed by its original filmmaker Dennis Lee.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film tells the story of a boy conceived in a petri dish and his subsequent track down of his biological father, reports Contactmusic.

There has been no word as yet if the ‘Pretty Woman’ star would appear in the movie.

Roberts has previously worked with Lee in his feature directorial debut on “Fireflies in the Garden” starring Ryan Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson and Carrie-Anne Moss. (ANI)

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Mumbai, March 10 (IANS) Farah Khan surprised debutant director Anthony D’Souza not just by agreeing to choreograph a song in his film “Blue” with Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue but by insisting on doing it free for her “dear friend”.

“We’ve the cheque ready. But she won’t accept it. Farah won’t take any money for the Kylie Minogue song, although it’s a very lengthy and taxing number. She says she can’t charge me because I’m a very old and dear friend,” said D’Souza.

D’Souza and choreographer-director Farah have known each other for 18 years.

“I first got to know her in 1991. I made ads and music videos. She went on to make a name for herself as a choreographer and then a filmmaker. I had decided she’d choreograph for me when I turn director. When this complicated number came my way I knew it was Farah’s call. But I didn’t know she’d insist on doing it for free,” he said.

Farah has become very choosy when it comes to signing on choreography assignments ever since she turned director with “Main Hoon Na” in 2004 – one of the reasons why D’Souza was pleasantly surprised when she agreed almost immediately.

The song has been composed by Oscar-winner A.R. Rahman and D’Souza wanted it to be really special.

“The number was very intricately filmed. It starts off with Kylie, then all the other members of the cast are brought in. I’d have paid Farah any amount to choreograph it,” the director said.

Apart from Kylie, the song in “Blue” also features Akshay Kumar, Zayed Khan, Lara Dutta and Sanjay Dutt.

By Subhash K Jha

True friendships in this industry , known to worship only the rising sun and spiraling sensex, are rare .

So when one hears of Farah Khan setting aside her resolve to relinquish the pleasures of choreography for motherhood domesticity and direction(in that order) for friendship’s sake , one ‘s heart soars with joy.

Debutante director Anthony D’Souza who shot a very complicated item song with Kylie Minogue and the rest of the cast for Blue , takes you by surprise when he says Farah Khan not only agreed to come out of her extended maternity leave to do the song she also refused to charge any money.

“We’ve the cheque ready. But she won’t accept it. Farah won’t take any money for the Kylie Minogue song, although it’s a very lengthy and taxing number. She says she can’t charge me because I’m a very old and dear friend.”

Anthony and Farah have known each other for 18 years. “I first got to know her in 1991. I made ads and music videos. She went on to make a name for herself as a choreographer and then a filmmaker.I had decided she’d choreograph for me when I turn director. When this complicated number came my way I knew it was Farah’s call. But I didn’t know she’d insist on doing it for free,” says the director emotionally.

The number acquires a special distinction because it would be the first Hindi song composed by A R Rahman after the Oscars, and that too featuring an international artiste.

“The number was very intricately filmed. It starts off with Kylie then all the other members of the cast are brought in. I’d have paid Farah any amount to choreograph it,” says Anthony emotionally. -Sampurn Medai[NF]

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Rang De Basanti which came and won hearts three years ago will be the star attractions at the ongoing SAARC Film Festival in Abu Dhabi. Pakistani movie ‘Khuda Ke Liye’ directed by Shoaib Mansoor will also give it company.

The festival will also feature a film from Bangladesh – AHA, Caravan from Nepal and Sri Lankan movie Nisalgira and Samanala Thatu.

All the movies to be screened during the fest will be subtitled in English and Arabic.

The five-day-event, which started on Saturday, March 7 has been organised by the embassies of the SAARC nations – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka – in UAE.

It’s organized in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage (ADACH) and is going to be the first South Asian regional film festival to be hosted in the country and will get over on March 11.

It’s good to see this good movie which couldn’t qualify for the Oscars ( foreign film category) get more international attention after three long years! -

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Mumbai, March 8 (IANS) Director-choreographer Farah Khan says Australian singer Kylie Minogue was “a dream to work with” in forthcoming film “Blue”, but she was even more excited to work with Akshay Kumar after a year’s gap.

The two had last come together for Farah’s directorial venture “Om Shanti Om”, where Akshay was seen in a cameo as ‘Khiladi Kumar’. And she didn’t miss the opportunity to work with him in the much-hyped song featuring Kylie in director Anthony D’Souza’s “Blue”.

“I enjoy working with Akshay and have always had great fun shooting with him. In ‘Om Shanti Om’ he was a riot and sporting enough to have consented to do a cameo. We were in splits throughout when he came back in his ‘Khiladi Kumar’ image. This was a year and a half back and when we shot again in ‘Blue’, it was quite nostalgic,” Farah told IANS.

The ace choreographer bonded quite well with Kylie even though they were working together for the first time.

“That’s right, we hadn’t interacted earlier but knew about each other’s work. She had seen ‘Om Shanti Om’ and was also aware about my musical ‘Bombay Dreams’. Once we started working together for the ‘Blue’ song, we gelled well quite quickly. She is a dream to work with,” Farah said.

Farah has now become very choosy when it comes to taking up choreography assignments ever since she donned the director’s hat for “Main Hoon Na” in 2004. But she has made exceptions.

In fact, one of the songs she decided to choreograph earlier also featured Akshay. The number was “Mast Kalandar” from the film “Heyy Babyy”, which was directed by her brother Sajid Khan. Of course, the song had her favourite actor friend Shah Rukh kahan making an appearance too.

“It’s always a great experience to work with Akshay since he is a fun-loving guy. Moreover, he is very professional and very punctual. There were many factors that contributed to me agreeing to work on the song and Akshay being a part of it only helped,” Farah said about accepting “Blue”.

Apart from Kylie and Akshay, the much-awaited song also features Zayed Khan, Lara Dutta and Sanjay Dutt. Composed by Oscar-winning musician A.R. Rahman, the number has been sung by Kylie and Sonu Nigam.

“The number is a mix of Western and Punjabi bhangra, hence turning out to be a great mix. Rahman has come up with a great tune again. To begin with, while Kylie sings her own portion in English, Sonu Nigam brings on a Punjabi element in the second half of the song,” she explained.

“Blue” is set to release in the latter half of 2009.

London, March 7 (ANI): Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron’s former dance teacher left her red-faced on a British chat show by talking about her embarrassing childhood habits over the phone.

It happened when broadcasters Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan were interviewing the ‘Monster’ star on March 5.

According to reports, the talk show was going smoothly until the programme’s producers made a surprise call to Theron’s former dance teacher Bernice Lloyd in her native South Africa.

‘Charlize was a wonderful child. She was always so beautiful and so disciplined and always, always showed entrepreneurial skills,” the Daily Express quoted Bernice as saying.

‘She always had these entrepreneurial skills and she used to buy sweets from the school tuck shop and sell them at night to hungry children for a profit. We thought it was wonderful – we, her teachers, thought that showed gumption (initiative),’ she added.

Theron, who was mortified by the revelation, then exclaimed: ‘Oh my god, Bernice! This in insane! I don’t remember selling candy at a profit! I did start drinking at a very early age, so my memory is a bit dodgy.’ (ANI)

Los Angeles, March 7 (EFE) Antonio Banderas, whose new movie “Thick as Thieves” debuts this weekend in Spain, is still very much in demand in the film world and says he has no regrets about his career despite some mistakes along the way.

“I wouldn’t change anything at all,” the Spanish actor told EFE news agency.

“The things I’ve done have happened because they had to happen that way,” said the 49-year-old actor, who recalled that he was the first to be offered the role of Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas in the 2000 film “Before Night Falls”, for which compatriot Javier Bardem was nominated for an Oscar.

“I was a close friend of Julian (Schnabel, the film’s director) and I didn’t do it because another film came up, `The Body’, that came and went without pain or glory, but I’d already signed and that role gave Javier his triumphant entry into the US,” the Spanish actor said.

“But I don’t have any regrets or feel resentment; even though envy seems to be a constant nowadays, I’ve never had any ill feelings like that. I have what I have; I play with the cards life’s given me and I never look back, and why should I when life’s treated me so well,” said Banderas, who agreed to work on “Thick as Thieves” largely because of the chance to star alongside Morgan Freeman.

“He’s wonderful. I did the movie for him. That’s the truth. I was working on (another film, ‘Dali’) and everything changed all of a sudden, probably we’ll start back now in May; I was in Marbella and when they told me there was a chance to work with him I got a flight and went to New York,” Banderas said.

Banderas met there with Freeman – a best supporting actor winner for the Clint Eastwood film “Million Dollar Baby” – and director Mimi Leder (“Deep Impact”) and they gave the green light to the project.

“Thick as Thieves” is the story of a veteran thief (Freeman) who hires a younger crook (Banderas) to help him steal two famous Faberge eggs from an impenetrable vault, part of an effort to pay back a debt to the Russian mob.

“It’s a genre film, pure entertainment. There are some ulterior motives and nothing is as it seems,” said the actor, who turns 50 in August.

Banderas will have a busy schedule in the coming months, with filming scheduled for both “Dali” and an upcoming Woody Allen movie.

“Dali”, directed by Britain’s Simon West, will be divided into two distinctly different parts: one that is highly comedic (“we want to play like he played, enjoy ourselves”) and another more profound and serious (about the scandal of blank canvases signed by Dali and used for forgeries).

New York, Mar 6 (ANI): Legendary actor Kirk Douglas has not given up his job as an actor even at the age of 92.

The “Spartacus” star has been nominated for a Best Actor Oscar three times, but he has still retired.

Douglas is gearing up for the debut of “Before I Forget,” his one-man show opening on March 7 at the aptly named Kirk Douglas Theatre in LA.

When asked how he will cope with the demands of a 90-minute solo production at his age, the actor replied in the positive.

“The jury is still out. Let’s see if I can do it. I certainly will try,” the New York Post quoted him as saying. (ANI)

San Francisco, March 6 (DPA) US comedian and Oscar winner Robin Williams is to undergo surgery to replace a heart valve, his representatives told the US celebrity magazine People.

Williams, 57, was admitted to a southern Florida hospital this week with shortness of breath and broke off a tour of his one-man comedy show “Weapons of Self-Destruction”.

Doctors ordered him to take a rest, but Williams’ spokesmen told People Thursday that his 80-city tour, which began in September and was to go to New York’s Broadway in the spring, would resume in the autumn.

“This tour has been amazing fun, and I can’t wait to get back out on the road after a little tune-up,” the performer who won the best supporting actor Oscar in 1997 for “Good Will Hunting” said in a statement.

The date of Williams’ surgery to replace his aortic valve was not announced.

Heart valves are replaced when they fail to open or close properly. The aortic valve regulates the flow of blood from the heart’s left ventricle into the aorta, which distributes blood to the rest of the body.

The surgery is the same undergone this week by former first lady Barbara Bush, wife of former president George H.W. Bush and mother of former president George W. Bush.

Williams began his entertainment career as a stand-up comic and became a household name when he played an extraterrestrial in the television comedy “Mork and Mindy” in the late 1970s and early ’80s.

He has since taken a mixture of comic and dramatic film roles and received Oscar nominations for 1987′s “Good Morning Vietnam”, 1989′s “Dead Poets Society” and 1991′s “The Fisher King”.

London, March 6 (ANI): Oscar-winner Benicio Del Toro has become the latest celebrity to enjoy one-to-one talk with controversial Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.

The film star’s meeting with Chavez came during his tour to the South American country, aimed at promoting his Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara biopic Che.

According to reports, Del Toro took time out of his busy promotional schedule to pay Chavez a visit in Caracas.

The actor has refused to tell what he discussed with Chavez, but it seems that he found the leader to be “nice”.

“(I) had a good time with the president,’ the Daily Express quoted him as saying.

Chavez has previously played host to Hollywood stars Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey and Danny Glover. (ANI)

London, March 6 (IANS) Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry has become the latest celebrity to release her own fragrance.

Her self-titled perfume, Halle, apparently “reveals the woman within”, reports thesun.co.uk.

Every fragrance is backed by one exotic promotional picture of Halle or the other.

Wearing a white summer beach dress, the actress sizzles with her legs underwater in one pic and lies across the sand in the other, even managing a rare grin.

London, March 5 (IANS) Hollywood actress Charlize Theron is determined to take a break from making “doom and gloom” movies by doing a comedy film.

The South African star who won an Oscar for her dark performance in “Monster” is sick of playing serious roles and is urging Hollywood bosses to cast her in a more light-hearted picture, reports contactmusic.com.

“I’m starting to figure that if there’s a woman in a ‘doom and gloom’ scenario, my name comes up…the next one has to be a comedy,” she said.

The actress says she would also like to try singing and dancing in a film.

“I’ve always let it be known that I would love to do a musical. I also love going to ballet, it’s very cathartic,” she said.

London, March 5 (IANS) Oscar winning actress Reese Witherspoon says getting divorced from her former actor husband Ryan Philippe has been “very humiliating and very isolating” for her.

“Maybe it wasn’t the right decision to marry to begin with. I still have moments where I’m like, ‘Nothing’s ever going to make sense again.’ I’m never going to feel any better,” said the 32-year-old, reports mirror.co.uk.

Witherspoon split with 34-year-old Phillipe in 2006 after seven years of marriage. They have two children together Ava, nine, and Deacon, five.

Both, however, have found love again. While Phillipe is with Australian actress Abbie Cornish, Witherspoon is dating actor Jake Gyllenhaal.

Ciudad Juarez (Mexico), March 5 (EFE) Twenty inmates were killed and six injured when a fight broke out between two rival gangs at a prison in this northern Mexican city.

Hundreds of soldiers and members of the federal police rushed to the site to control the situation following the incident Wednesday, the report said.

Eighteen inmates died on the spot, while two others, who have been shifted to a hospital, later succumbed to their injuries, officials said.

Prison warden Oscar Hermosillo said the clash continued for about two hours until the soldiers stormed into the prison and restored the order.

The city witnessed 368 murders in separate drug related violence between Jan 1 and Feb 28 this year, the report said.

Since taking office in December 2006, President Felipe Calderon has deployed some 40,000 soldiers and federal police in different parts of the country to control the drug related violence.

Washington, March5 (ANI): Charlize Theron would not think twice if offered a comedy role since the actress feels she needs to break away from the ‘doom and gloom’ movie stereotype.

The ‘Monster’ star, who bagged on Oscar for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the film, revealed she felt she was being typecast and would hence love to involve herself in more light hearted projects.

‘I’m starting to figure that if there’s a woman in a ‘doom and gloom’ scenario, my name comes up… the next one has to be a comedy,’ Contactmusic quoted her as saying.

The former model further unwrapped her ambitions of doing a musical, saying: ‘I’ve always let it be known that I would love to do a musical. I love going to ballet, it’s very cathartic.’

Theron was named the sexiest woman alive by fashion bible Esquire last year.

She was also in news for being appointed as the United Nations Messenger Of Peace for her contribution in ending violence against women. (ANI)

New York, March 5 (ANI): Robert De Niro and Al Pacino have filed a lawsuit against a US watch company and a film distributor for 10 million dollars claiming identity theft.

The Hollywood veterans are suing Tutima USA over images from their recent film ‘Righteous Kill”, which were used for the brand’s promotion purposes without their consent.

Similarly, distributor Overture Films have also been dragged to Manhattan Federal Court for getting into “an unauthorized commercial tie linking the movie and the stars with Tutima”, reports the New York Daily News.

According a source close to the Oscar winners, the onscreen product-placement deal was not to be stretched to any off screen endorsements, which were published in The Wall Street Journal, Men’s Vogue, etc and on Tutima’s Web site.

The suit stated, ‘De Niro’s and Pacino’s contracts specifically prohibit the use of their names, voices or likenesses in commercial tie-ins without their prior written consent.’ (ANI)

London, Mar 4 (ANI): American actress Angela Bassett is set to don the director’s hat with a dramatic comedy venture.

According to Hollywood Reporter, the ER star will be directing an independent movie United States, a dramatic comedy based on the book Erasure by Percival Everett, reports the Daily Express.

The Oscar nominated actress will be taking the help of her actor/producer husband Courtney B. Vance.

United States will be Bassett/Vance Productions’ first feature. (ANI)

London, March 04 (ANI): Sean Penn has joined a campaign calling for Harvey Milk’s birthday to be marked as a ‘day of significance”.

The actor bagged an Oscar for his performance in the film ‘Milk’ based on the life of gay rights activist and politician Milk.

Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

And now, 48-year-old Penn has joined hands with other supporters to reintroduce the bill banned by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last year.

State Senator Mark Leno said that Milk now held a more significant place as a public figure and equal rights campaigner.

‘Given California’s fiscal crisis, the bill was written to have no cost to the state, and state workers and school employees would not get the day off from work,’ the Daily Star quoted Leno as saying. (ANI)

London, March 04 (ANI): Sean Penn has joined a campaign insisting officially designation to Harvey Milk’s birthday as a ‘day of significance”.

The actor bagged an Oscar for his performance in the film ‘Milk’ based on the life of gay rights activist and politician.

Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

And now, 48-year-old Penn has joined hands with other supporters to reintroduce the bill banned by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last year.

State Senator Mark Leno said that Milk now held a more significant place as a public figure and equal rights campaigner.

‘Given California’s fiscal crisis, the bill was written to have no cost to the state, and state workers and school employees would not get the day off from work,’ the Daily Star quoted Leno as saying.