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Washington, Mar 4 (ANI): Wondering what your favourite stars do to stay in perfect shape despite their busy schedules? Well, here’s your chance to know about the fitness secrets of some of the biggest Hollywood hotties, and what better way to do that than by knowing it from the horse’s mouth itself.

Stars who thronged Leeza Gibbons’ ‘Night to Make A Difference’ Oscar Viewing & After Party, have divulged the details of their workouts, and what they do to stay trim, and here’s what they had to say:

‘I do a mixture of cardio and light weights using household items,’ Fox News quoted Spice Girl Mel Brown as saying.

Scary Spice further said that she and Victoria Beckham were still BFFs and ‘talk all the time.’

On the other hand, music legend Olivia Newton-John’s fitness regime was quite exotic.

‘I walked the Great Wall of China, it kept me in shape, I did it to raise money for my hospital last year,’ she said.

Surprise performer Michael Buble revealed that he just played hockey, and the gym ‘isn’t his style.’

When it came to Teri Hatcher, she claimed that dieting was something she did not prefer.

And rocker Slash said that all he did to stay in shape was ‘wake up in the morning.’

However, Muhammad Ali’s ultra-athletic daughter Laila Ali was one girl who reported going to the toughest extreme to stay in shape.

‘Sometimes I have to lose 10 lbs the week of a fight and it can be done, it’s a lot of water weight, but it’s taking water pills, getting in the sauna, not eating much, sweating it out, it’s not healthy,’ she admitted.

Laila also claimed that she stayed away from alcohol and television. (ANI)

London, Mar 3 (ANI): It seems Sienna Miller is trying to mend the damage her affair with married actor Balthazar Getty has done to her Hollywood career.

The 27-year-old actress attended several charity bashes over the recent Oscars weekend, including the Montblanc Signature for Good charity initiative at Paramount Studios.

Although, the Factory Girl is press-shy, she went out of her way to speak graciously to journalists.

She also attended another bash later that night where the actress appeared to be sweet and light as she chatted to all.

“Sienna was doing lots of mingling. She was really working the room at both parties,” the Daily Express quoted a source as saying.

“She stopped to talk to almost everyone, whether she knew them or not. She stopped Robert De Niro and sweetly asked him for a cigarette even though she’d not met him before.

“Sienna is aware of the damage her on-off romance with Getty has done to her standing in Hollywood.

“Getty’s wife Rosetta is well-respected and has lots of friends in the industry so Sienna has many bridges to build,” the source added. (ANI)

London, March 3 (ANI): Bikini clad Kim Kardashian posed for her 2010 calendar under the scorching Mexican sun.

The head-turning model uploaded her behind-the-scenes snaps on her website, which depict her showing off her curves, reports the Sun.

The Playboy pin-up has previously attributed her curves to a tough routine and had even created her own fitness DVD.

Kardashian recently refused to do her famous back pose at the Stardust Pictures Pre-Oscar bash after an alleged wardrobe malfunction. (ANI)

New Delhi/Kolkata, Mar 2 (ANI): In a run up to the forthcoming general elections, the media department of Congress party is holding a two-day media workshop starting from Monday to acquaint the party members to facilitate the media during elections.

On the first day of the workshop, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (media) M. Veerappa Moily and Union Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes addressed the gathering.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met Trinamool Congress party chief Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata to work out a political alliance for the elections.

Banerjee told reporters soon after the meeting that the discussions were fruitful and that Congress and Trinamool Congress have joined hands to fight against the three decade old hold of Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in the state.

‘We are going to fight a battle against CPI-M. We hope that this time CPI-M will be thrown out from Bengal,’ said Banerjee.

Mukherjee also said that the decisions taken during the meeting would be made public soon.

‘We have some compulsion to announce the outcome of the discussion. We will declare the final arrangements very soon,’ said Mukherjee. (ANI)

Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh), March 1 (IANS) After enjoying all the glitter and uninterrupted media focus for days since the Oscars evening at Beverly Hills, Pinki, the star of short documentary “Smile Pinki”, which bagged the world’s most prestigious cinema award, finally got her good night’s sleep in her mother’s lap.

A completely exhausted Pinki reached her home in Rampur-Dabhai village, about 70 km off the district headquarters of Mirzapur in the south eastern corner of Uttar Pradesh, late Saturday night and jumped straight into her anxiously awaiting mother’s arms.

“She dozed off in no time and has got up only around noon today (Sunday),” her mother Shimla Devi told IANS. “Even the puja we performed last night was held while she was fast asleep in my lap.”

“I cannot deny that what our little girl has given us cannot match anything else for us in this world – we are completely overwhelmed. But now that Pinki is back home, she will have to grapple with harsh realities once again,” the mother remarked, while looking at her humble thatched dwelling in this dusty village.

And these realities were not limited to the family going without four square meals, but also battling for next day’s subsistence, even as little Pinki is dreaming of her new home that the government has promised.

“Yes, I am looking forward to sleeping in our new home with a cemented roof on top,” she told reporters.

Even though no local official cared to pay a visit to Pinki’s village, which the government declared as “adopted”, Pinki was surely impressed by the thousands of people who waited along the highway to usher her into her native village .

And sure enough, she is an optimist. “I am sure, we will not have to stay in this hut for long,” she said, while recalling all the dazzle that she witnessed thousands of kilometers away in Hollywood.

The 10-year-old girl, who shot into the spotlight after a successful surgery on her cleft lip by Varanasi based plastic surgeon Subodh Singh, is also all set to return to her village school where she is enrolled in Class 5.

“My ambition is to become a doctor,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes.

But both mother Shimla Devi and daily-wager labourer father Rajendra Sonkar were keeping their fingers crossed. “We do not even have enough to feed our five children,” lamented the father.

But the mother does not mean to understate the glory that the daughter has brought them.

“The fame that my child has got for this entire village cannot be quantified and she has really done us all proud,” she said, while hastily adding: “So what if all this does not bring any money – that I must confess – we need badly.”

Washington, Feb 27 (ANI): Teri Hatcher has confessed that she ‘had fun’ during an on-screen kiss with Desperate Housewives co-star Eva Longoria Parker.

‘I did not kiss her. She kissed me. We had fun,” Us magazine quoted her, as saying over the weekend at an Oscar bash.

As for their co-star Nicollette Sheridan bidding the show adieu, Hatcher said: ‘I haven’t said goodbye yet. She is still working.’

On the same issue, Parker said: ‘I’m so sad. She’s not only one of my best friends from the show, but I love the character Edie Britt.

“I love how ballsy she is; she kind of says and does anything she wants.’

Sheridan, who plays Wisteria Lane’s resident man-eater Edie Britt, will reportedly be killed off during a dramatic finale of the hit show.

Buzz surrounding Sheridan’s departure have been rampant for two years, following a storyline in which her character appeared to commit suicide. (ANI)

New York, March 1 (IANS) Hollywood star Sean Penn hopes his Oscar-winning performance in “Milk” will help change laws banning same-sex marriages in America.

The star won an Academy Award for his portrayal of gay politician Harvey Milk in the critically acclaimed movie and now he is urging US President Barack Obama to view the film in a bid to reverse the law and make same-sex unions legally recognized across the country, reports hollywood.com.

“Eventually we are hoping for a White House screening. I think this film will be one of the steps forward (in the fight for gay marriage). It will be part of the dialogue,” said the actor.

“I was once asked to tell the difference between luxury and necessity for a human being. The right to equality for all, including homosexuals, is of course a necessity. That’s why this right will become a reality and I think in its own way this film will be part of that,” he added.

Homosexual couples in California were granted the right to wed last year but it was revoked just months later after the passing of the Proposition 8 bill, which reversed the previous ruling permitting the unions.

On March 5, a Californian court will hear arguments in lawsuits seeking to annul the referendum, with lawmakers due to hand down a ruling within 90 days.

Film: “Tabali”; Cast: Akash, Meghna Bhagavatha, Charulatha, Sangeetha, Sadhu Kokila, Neenasam Aswath and others; Screenplaywriter-Director: N. Lokinath; Producer: M. Puttaswamy; Music: Neel; Camera: Krishna Kumar; Rating: *

Director N. Lokinath claims the story of “Tabali” is his own, but the critics feel that the film is a remake of South African movie “Tsotsi”, which won best foreign film Oscar in 2005.

The 95-minute “Tsotsi” was about the reformation of a ruthless gang leader who kidnaps a child by accident. “Tsotsi” was a rivetting drama about the triumph of love over rage, but Loki has done a shoddy job of transforming a wonderful film into a forgettable film flick called “Tabali”.

The film has been released in the same week when the entire film fraternity is busy celebrating 75 years of the Kannada film industry.

“Tabali” comes as a shocker for the ordinary film fans and more so for those cinema enthusiasts who were impressed with the sentimental narrative in “Tsotsi”.

With two flops “H2O” and “Y2K” behind him, Loki should have tried to make amends with his third film. But he has again fumbled in presenting a good film despite having a winning story on hand. He could have done a better job by just copying the original. But the so called commercial compulsions seem to have led him to add some crude comedy, and unimpressive song and fight sequences.

Loki’s imagination goes haywire in the song sequences. Besides the misplacement of songs, Loki has failed to present them properly. One song on Lord Maadesha is hummable, but it doesn’t have any connection to the story. All the other songs are badly choreographed.

The director has also failed to do justice to the important characters in the narrative. Meghna Bhagavatha and Sangeetha have not been properly used. Sadhu Kokila’s comedy sequences are irritating.

Neel’s musical is unimpressive. Veteran Krishna Kumar’s camera work isn’t up to the mark either.

The positive point is that debutant Akash has done a neat job. Charulatha, who has returned to Kannada film industry after a long time, shines despite a brief role.

While “Tsotsi” was an unforgettable film, its badly made Kannada remake version “Tabali” is a total washout.

London, March 1 (IANS) A lawsuit has been filed against pop singer Prince by a lawyer in Los Angeles.

Prince was supposed to play in Dublin’s Croke Park on June 16 last year. But according to MCD productions he failed on the deal, reports mirror.co.uk.

A source said: “The lawyer flew out from New York to LA to try to serve these papers to Prince. Apparently he pulled out of the gig so the clients are looking for compensation.”

Tickets for his performance at the Oscars party last week were up for sale for up to $200.

London, March 1 (IANS) Actress Katie Holmes did not attend the recent Academy Awards as she is on a strange diet to prepare for conceiving the second child.

The 30-year-old Holmes is going through a strange and rigorous detox diet and has supposedly become a fan of the diet which consists of having herbal drinks and a purification procedure to get rid of the toxic substances.

A source said: “Katie has almost rid her body of toxins but sometimes it makes her lethargic. Tom (husband Tom Cruise) is encouraging her to stick to the diet because they are hoping to conceive baby number two.”

Holmes and Cruise surprised everyone as they did not attend the Oscar ceremony.

Varanasi, Feb 28 (ANI): Pinky Sonkar, the protagonist of Oscar winning documentary ‘Smile Pinky’, got a rousing welcome at her native village here on Saturday.

‘Smile Pinky’ is the story of a child with a lip deformity which won the award for best short documentary at the famed Academy Awards.

Pinki’s neighbours and relatives gathered at the Varanasi airport and greeted her with garlands.

The shy little girl was accompanied by her father and Dr. Subodh Singh, the surgeon who gave Pinki the smile that ushered her into the Hollywood’s Red Carpet.

She was so excited about the whole experience.

Dr. Singh was hopeful that the documentary would create a lot of awareness about lip deformity in the society.

“This Oscar has created a lot of awareness about lip deformity. I am hopeful many doctors, hospitals and people will come forward and join hands with Smile Train Foundation. We will in return help such people suffering with lip problems not only in India but all over the world,” said Singh.

Pinky’s father said he would go all out to help out people who suffer from cleft lips.

“I will help them, I will tell them the name of the hospitals and doctors. I will not wait for them to approach me. But I will go to their doors and help them in curing this lip deformity,” said Rajendra Sonkar.

Megan Mylan’s film ‘Smile Pinky’ depicts the saga of six-year-old Pinki Sonkar who had become a social outcaste because of a cleft lip.

The 39-minute documentary traces Pinki’s journey from being ostracized to being treated like a normal girl after a social worker helped her undergo surgery. (ANI)

Washington, Feb 28 (ANI): Actress Jennifer Aniston and model Heidi Klum were judged to have had a bad hairdo at the recent Academy Awards.

Beverly Hills hairstylist Tina Dizon of the famed Juan Florentino Salon gave her opinion about the two.

“Aniston’s braid, it was a little outdated and casual. She’s such a beautiful person that I think it’s time she should break away from the safety of her hair,” Fox News quoted her as saying.

“And Heidi Klum is usually always a knock out, but her hairstyle was a little too slick, which made her hair colour too obvious – too light in front and the dark and light of her colours are too noticeable,” she stated.

As per Dizon, the two were not the only ones, as Melissa George, Lisa Rinna and Mickey Rourke also sported hairdos that were not fashionable. (ANI)

London, Feb 28 (ANI): Hollywood actress Julia Roberts snubbed an invitation to the Oscars so that she could spend the night with her children.

The stunner was offered a place at the glitzy Los Angeles event on 22 February (09), but she decided not to attend, reports The Daily Express.

Roberts has confessed that she no longer finds happiness in attending star-studded awards ceremonies, and is much happier spending a cosy evening in with her husband, Danny Moder, and their three kids: four year old twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, and Henry, 20 months.

She says, ‘My husband had been away and just returned home so I felt it best to stay home and be with my family.

“That was my priority so we watched the show on television. My life at home gives me absolute joy.’ (ANI)

London, Feb 28 (ANI): Although Mickey Rourke lost the Oscar to Sean Penn, his career seems to be back on track, and that too in a big way—he has been offered a role by pal Sylvester Stallone in the next ‘Rambo’ film.

Stallone gave the plum offer to the ‘Wrestler’ actor after they met for afternoon tea at the Four Seasons Hotel in LA.

“It was weird seeing two movie tough guys sipping tea on the veranda. They chatted about the Oscars then Sly begged Mickey to sign for Rambo V. Mickey said he was up for it,” the Sun quoted a source as saying.

And Mickey will reportedly play the baddie in the flick, which is due to be filmed later this year.

The actor will also start filming Stallone’s new thriller ‘The Expendables’, alongside Ben Kingsley, Sandra Bullock,Jet Li, Jason Statham and Forest Whitaker. (ANI)

London, Feb 28 (ANI): Oscar-winning director Ang Lee will head the jury at this year’s Venice Film Festival, organisers have announced.

The Taiwanese-born filmmaker, who made Brokeback Mountain, has won the Italian event’s main prize twice.

The festival is due to take place from 2 to 12 September, reports The BBC.

In a statement on the event’s website, Lee was praised as ‘one of the most highly appreciated international film makers’.

‘He is one of the most successful directors in creating a dialogue between the film-making culture of the East and West,’ it added.

Lee won the best director Oscar for Brokeback Mountain in 2006, which picked up a whole host of other awards.

Last year’s jury was headed by German film director Wim Wenders. (ANI)

London, Feb 28 (IANS) Oscar nominated actor Mickey Rourke’s career is back on track. He has been signed up for the next Rambo film.

Director Sylvester Stallone asked Rourke to be in the next Rambo film after meeting at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, thesun.co.uk reports.

A source said: “It was weird seeing two tough guys sipping tea on the veranda. They chatted about the Oscars, then Syl begged Mickey to sign for Rambo V. Mickey.” The movie will be shot this year.

Washington, Feb 28 (ANI): Sheryl Crow displayed her hatred towards former presidential candidate John McCain by shouting ‘F**k John McCain” at a recent event.

Crow was performing at the Global Green Pre-Oscars party on February 26, but midway through her gig, the singer launched an attack at McCain.

‘Let’s hear it for Global Green! We have new President who will make a difference in the environment,” Fox News quoted her as saying.

Crowe told the audience: ‘F**k John McCain.’

Other stars who attended the bash include Lindsay Lohan, Samantha Ronson, Hayden Panettiere, Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani, Tyrese Gibson, Jamie King, Kate Bosworth, Neil Patrick-Harris, Rosario Dawson and Heather Graham .

Crow also performed the night before at the Children Mending Hearts Foundation dinner at the House of Blues. (ANI)

Washington, Feb 28 (ANI): Joaquin Phoenix’s rep has slammed a Chicago-based psychiatrist for claiming that the actor-turned-rapper is mentally ill.

Apparently, Paul Dobransky — a relationships expert — had told the Los Angeles Times that the 34-year-old artist may be schizophrenic, pointing to his ‘socially inappropriate behavior,’ including a new rap career, bushy beard and a bizarre Late Night with David Letterman appearance.

But Phoenix’s rep tells MTV News: ‘How absolutely inappropriate for a doctor who has no personal interaction or relationship with someone to diagnose them.’

‘And to do so in a public forum. Hope they spelled his name right. Another 15-minute ‘expert’ is born!” the rep added.

However, Dobransky defended Phoenix in the Times interview, saying that he was ‘pretty offended’ by Ben Stiller’s portrayal of Phoenix at the Oscars, reports Us magazine.

He said it seemed as if Stiller was ‘potentially beating down on the mentally ill.’

‘The jury is not exactly in on what is happening,’ Dobransky said of Phoenix, whom many speculate is pulling an elaborate hoax.

‘Whatever it is, it’s not funny — whether it’s drug abuse, mental illness coming on or the clumsiest attempt ever at a career change,” the doctor added.

Phoenix, who won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Johnny Cash in Walk the Line has said that his most recent film, Two Lovers, will be his last film.

Washington, Feb 28 (ANI): Following shooting murders of her family, Jennifer Hudson is happy to be back in the spotlight and insists that performing is ‘like therapy.’

The 27-year-old popped by The Oprah Winfrey Show on Friday and said it’s good to be singing again, reports Us magazine.

Hudson’s mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew were murdered last October.

Although she did not make a direct reference to the slayings, Hudson told Winfrey: ‘I’m good. I’m really good. Glad to be back to working and doing what I love to do. I’m in a very good place.’

The Oscar-winning actress added that she found a good place for her awards – in her piano room.

She said that she has named her three dogs after her biggest accomplishments: Oscar, Grammy and Dreamgirl.

The Grammy winner recently performed at American football’s Super Bowl event and announced a string of tour dates soon afterwards. (ANI)

London, Feb 28 (ANI): Eddie Murphy will be stepping into the shoes of Richard Pryor for a new biopic, it has emerged.

Apparently the ‘Meet Dave’ actor has given up his usual fee of 25 million dollars to take on the role of his idol.

Oscar-winning writer Bill Condon is reportedly involved in the project, reports The Sun.

Richard, who starred in See No Evil, Hear No Evil, battled drug addiction before suffering a fatal heart attack in 2005. He was 65.

He infamously set himself on fire in 1980 following a cocaine and booze binge.

The comedian later used the tale into his stand-up routine by waving a lit match and saying: ‘What’s this? It’s Richard Pryor running down the street.’(ANI)