‘Dabangg’ wins four awards at ‘Bollywood Oscars’

TORONTO: Screen tough guy Salman Khan’s corrupt cop romp “Dabangg” (Fearless) led with four wins at the Indian International Film Academy awards, held on Saturday for the first time in North America.

The film won in the hugely important music categories for best female playback singer, best male playback singer and best music direction, as well as best screenplay.

“My Name is Khan,” starring Shah Rukh Khan as a Muslim suffering from Asperger’s syndrome who is detained at a US airport after his disability is mistaken for suspicious behaviour, followed with two nods for best story and best lyrics.

The award for best dialogue went to the thriller “Ishqiya.”

Shah Rukh Khan, Anil Kapoor (“Slumdog Millionaire”) and the Deol family were among the dozens of Bollywood superstars in attendance, along with Oscar-winners Hilary Swank and Cuba Gooding Jr.

Salman Khan, however, could not make it to Toronto as he was reportedly shooting his next film “Bodyguard,” a romantic action movie with Kareena Kapoor.

“I love you so much,” said Mamta Sharma over and over, after winning the award for best female playback singer for the song “Munni Badnam.”

A tense moment followed when a fan grabbed Shah Rukh Khan onstage, leading the “King of Bollywood” to complain that he was hurting his leg.

“This is the problem, only men grab my thighs,” Khan quipped as his assailant was escorted off stage.

Khan’s return to the awards show after a six year absence had earlier been put in doubt by a knee injury that had required “a couple of injections” and it being taped up at a hospital.

He said he had fractured a part of the bone and the ligament was swollen “to three times the size it should be,” but he vowed to perform a dance number at the IIFA show.

Khan last attended the IIFA in Amsterdam in 2005, and last performed at the show a year earlier in Singapore. He was nominated this year in the best actor category for his role in “My Name Is Khan.”

A three-day festival leading up to awards night saw flash mobs of Indian dancers, gala movie premieres, a fashion show and Indian cultural events.

Jermaine Jackson performed his late brother Michael’s hits with Indian pop singer Sonu Nigam at an IIFA concert on Friday to commemorate the second anniversary of Michael’s death.

Ontario has the second-largest Indian diaspora in the world, topping 600,000 out of a total population of 13 million, “and their passion for Indian cinema has become ours (all Ontarians) too,” said Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.

Launched in 2000 at the Millennium Dome in London, the annual IIFA awards have been held in 11 cities around the world, including Colombo, Macao, Bangkok, Dubai, Amsterdam and Johannesburg.

It is designed to celebrate the popular Hindi-language film industry and win new audiences abroad.

Bollywood gangster movie “Once Upon a Time in Mumbai” had led the field in the nominations with 12 in categories including best film and best male lead for Ajay Devgan, one of Bollywood’s leading actors.

“Dabangg” was close behind with 11 nominations.

Other movies still in the running for a clutch of awards include the drama “Ishqiya” (Love) with nine nominations. Romantic comedy “Band Baaja Baaraat” (The Wedding Planners) and the thriller “Rajneeti” (Politics) both had eight.

The nominations came from more than 1,500 votes from the Indian film fraternity.

Worldwide demos called to release Assange

Supporters of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange planned to hold protests in the capitals of Spain, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Peru and the Netherlands to demand Assanges release, the re-establishment of Wikileaks domain and restoration of Visa and Mastercard services to the website.

A statement on the Spanish website Free Wikileaks said: We seek the liberation of Julian Assange in United Kingdom territory. It called on protesters to gather in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and other Spanish cities. The rally in Amsterdam was sponsored by the Dutch Pirates Party to call for protection of freedom of the press and to express displeasure with the attempt to silence sites such as WikiLeaks.

The 39-year old Australian hacker is jailed at the Wandsworth isolation unit in London after he was arrested for charges of rape and sexual molestation of two women Sarah and Jessica, early this month.

The publishing website WikiLeaks insists that the allegations against Assange are politically motivated attempts in retaliation for the release of more than 250,000 confidential cables, believed to have been passed to WikiLeaks by a US Army private. A spokesman for Wikileaks spokesman said the arrest and detention of Assange was an attack on media freedom. They pledged to continue publishing the controversial US cables.

In the US, President Barack Obama expressed his regrets for Wikileaks deplorable documents dump as he assured Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that it will not influence the diplomatic relations between US and Turkey. Obama offered similar statements to Mexican president Felipe Calderon. The latest comments were Obamas strongest condemnation so far against the website. Assange is due to appear in court for the second time on Tuesday. He was denied by a London court to post bail due to risk of fleeing.

This week, hacktivists and supporters of Wikileaks, Assange launched Operation Payback and Operation Leakspin, the start of the so-called first global cyber war.

Apoorva Lakhia plays the antagonist in Knock Out

It looks like recession has given Bollywood directors a chance to live out their acting fantasies. The season of directors turning actors is upon us full-blast. After a full-fledged debut as leading men by Farhan Akhtar and Rituparno Ghosh and cameos by Sudhir Mishra (Corporate), Karan Johar (Luck By Chance) and Anurag Kashyap (Luck By Chance), it is Apoorva Lakhia’s turn.

Unlike his colleagues, Lakhia will be seen as a villain in buddy Sanjay Dutt’s film Knock Out. Ironically, he plays the guy who wants to kill Dutt.

He plays what a source from the film’s unit describes as, “The villain, a highly scientific very precise killer who uses a combination of killer squads, sophisticated technology and razor-sharp mind to locate and liquidate Sanjay Dutt…Lakhia’s character turns the tables on Sanju so quickly and with lethal efficiency. His character is volatile and unpredictable. Lakhia takes the audience to a gripping climax where he fights it out with Sanju.”

According to sources from Knock Out, Lakhia’s is one of the best villainous roles seen till now. When asked about it, the director, currently keeping low because of recession and the ensuing aridity of movies on the floors, says, “Where did you hear about this? I’m really not at liberty to talk about it. Before my character kills Sanju, my producer will kill me if I squeal.”

Director Mani Shankar too chooses to remain tight-lipped. But a source says shooting with Lakhia was not easy. Apparently, the shooting got cancelled three times when Lakhia was to give his first shot for Knock Out.

Says the source, “There was rain thunderstorm and strong winds every time director Mani Shankar tried to take Lakhia’s first shot. Yes, the shooting got postponed three times, almost as if nature was conspiring to keep Lakhia off camera. Finally the director decided to shoot the scene despite the bad weather. Although he had spent so much time behind the camera, it took a while for Lakhia to figure out how merciless a close-up lens could be. There were lots of intense off-camera discussions between Mani and Lakhia before every shot.”

After the experience Lakhia was heard telling the director, “Direction is so much easier.”

Incidentally, Apoorva Lakhia’s cousin Aditya Lakhia is an actor. He played Kachra in Lagaan.

Himesh set to launch his international music album

It was not too long ago when Himesh Reshammiya became the first man from India to perform at the Wembley Arena and Heineken music hall Amsterdam with a packed audience. Now he is thinking bigger and would now be the first International Pop star to be launched globally from India in the mainstream Western music market. The album is titled “at da edge” and has 15 songs written, composed and sung by Himesh. The highlight of this album is that all songs would be in English. Also, world’s biggest Music Publishers and also one of the biggest Music Labels have come on the board to sign Himesh.

There would also be a series of music videos that would be directed for the album and the man who would come on board is Roman White, creator of worldwide hit videos of Justin Bibber, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. Himesh’s first mainstream international album in English, “at da edge” would be released across 122 countries. Also, Himesh’s look is being styled by the best designers in Hollywood.

Says Himesh excitedly, “It’s been a year of research and study of what works in the West and now that I am ready with my album, I can only say that it is due to the blessing of God, my parents and the people of India and I would like to state here that music has no language. It’s been a 360 degree reinvention for me and I have enjoyed every moment of working on this project which not only excites me monetarily but also creatively.”

Himesh says that one big video will also be shot in India as Roman is also very excited to shoot one video in India. Himesh’s series of music videos will be produced by Vivek Singhania of Picture Perfect and Executive Producer Randy Brewer of Revolution Films. These are very high end videos being filmed across the globe in very exotic and scenic locations by Roman White in September and the music and videos should be launched by March 2011.

Roman says “The one thing I love about Himesh’s music is that all of the songs are so different from one another. They range from fantastic dance songs like Bootyful to songs with more of a rock edge like Dangerously In Love. The great thing about that is we can really have a lot of fun with the videos, creating something that’s equally unique visually that goes perfectly with tone and lyrics of each song. I also love that there are some great ballads with even better love stories. I’m a huge fan of love stories, and any time I can create a video where people are falling in love it just makes me smile. Who doesn’t love to watch a great love story?”

Vivek Singhania is delighted with the response by music publishers and music labels to Himesh’s music and says Himesh has been absolutely swamped by offers from the very best music publishers and music labels and soon formal announcements about his tie ups with the biggest and the best will be made public. These videos will feature some of the world’s most famous female models and one of the duets will feature a big ticket female artiste with Himesh as a singer and with her appearance in the video.

Randy Brewer says he has long been in the music business and has worked with the best artistes but finds the unique freshness in Himesh’s music so intriguing that he believes Himesh’s music will create records and possible history in the US markets. Randy is very excited about these videos and believes these will be amongst the finest works out of his production company.

Sources close to Himesh reveal that all rights of his music rest with Himesh alone and if the revenues earned by the Roman White filmed songs of Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood are any indication, then Himesh should have a huge grosser in hand. If Himesh is able to strike the right notes then sky is truly the limit.

Five soldiers killed in Yemen ambush

SANAA: Suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen on Thursday ambushed a Yemeni army patrol under cover of darkness in the mountainous east of the country, killing five soldiers and wounding one, a security official told foreign news agency.

The attack, on an army vehicle, took place in Ataq city, capital of Shabwa province, at around 3:00 am (midnight GMT), the official said.

“Five soldiers were killed and the sixth was injured in Shabwa in an armed attack by suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Verdict on Kosovo breakaway today

THE HAGUE: Serbia warned that all the world”s borders would be at risk if the UN”s highest court backed Kosovo”s declaration of independence in a verdict due Thursday.

As Kosovo won support from Washington on the eve of the annoucement, its former rulers in Belgrade said the court would set a dangerous precedent if it endorsed the February 2008 declaration which came a decade after conflict.

“No frontier in the world and in the region would be safe” if the court supported Kosovo”s “secession”, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said in The Hague ahead of the International Court of Justice”s statement.

Serbia cautioned that no conclusions should be drawn before a “careful analysis” of the court”s text.

“This process ends with the UN General Assembly, which must confirm the opinion of the court and make a political conclusion about the road to be followed,” the Tanjug news agency quoted Jeremic as saying.

US Vice President Joe Biden met Kosovo”s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci in Washington on Wednesday and “reaffirmed the United States” full support for an independent, democratic, whole and multi-ethnic Kosovo whose future lies firmly within European and Euro-Atlantic institutions,” a White House statement said.

ICJ president Hisashi Owada will read the advisory opinion, which is not binding on any of the parties, at the court”s seat at the Peace Palace in The Hague from 3:00 pm (1300 GMT).

The reading was expected to last up to three hours.

Analysts believe the court would treat the issue with some ambiguity to avoid setting a legal precedent for other minority groups.

“Because of the highly sensitive nature of this case, I believe the court will be very cautious,” international law analyst Jean D”Aspremont of the University of Amsterdam said.

The 1998-99 war between separatist Kosovo Albanians and Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic”s security forces ended when a Nato air campaign ousted the Serbs and established a UN protectorate. The conflict claimed several thousand mostly ethnic Albanian lives.

Kosovo, with its two million inhabitants — 90 percent of them ethnic Albanians — unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February 2008 after UN-brokered negotiations failed.

So far, 69 countries have recognised Kosovo as independent, including the United States and 22 of the 27 EU countries. Serbia”s ally, Russia, has not.

The UN General Assembly, at Serbia”s request, asked the ICJ in October 2008 to render a legal opinion.

Belgrade has said it wants to continue negotiations on the status of Kosovo, which it considers its southern province, after the ICJ verdict.

But Pristina has ruled out further status talks and expects the court to endorse its move to statehood, prompting more countries to recognise it as independent.

Nato-led peacekeepers in Kosovo were ready for violence that may meet the ruling, although they did not expect any, their German commander said.

Eros out, Saif Ali Khan takes Agent Vinod to Cinemax?

Agent Vinod, the film that’s all the buzz, thanks to its starcast Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, has cut all ties with Eros International. Grapevine says that budgets were an issue.

Apparently, the official financers of the film, Eros International, wanted to rework the budget of the film and cut down numbers, something that producers from Illuminati Films, Saif Ali Khan and Dinesh Vijan, were not happy about. Any compromise on the film was not acceptable to the producers. This led to disagreement and fall out between Eros and Illuminati films.

It is being said that Cinemax has now stepped in and will now be the official presenter of Agent Vinod. When we contacted co-producer Dinesh Vijan to confirm this news, he avoided commenting on the presenter of the film. “There are no budget issues. We are going ahead with the same budget we started off with and the film is being produced by Illuminati films. Any involvement of Cinemax is something I am not aware off,” he said.

Agent Vinod is all set to go on floors this week and has quite a feisty itinerary to talk about. The shoot starts off in Morocco and the crew will be shooting in all the talked about European countries like Amsterdam the locales in east of Europe, coming back to Delhi eventually. The film will be directed by Sriram Raghavan.

Volcano ash brings more air travel chaos to Europe

LONDON: Ash clouds from Iceland”s Eyjafjoell volcano brought fresh travel chaos to thousands of passengers Monday, as airports shut in Britain, the Netherlands and Ireland.

London Heathrow, Europe”s busiest air hub, and London Gatwick, were hit with a new round of delays and cancellations following a six-hour overnight shutdown.

Amsterdam, one of Europe”s key air interchanges, was closed for seven hours from 0400 GMT as the denser part of the ash cloud drifted east.

Around 1,000 flights in Europe would be cancelled, said Eurocontrol, the intergovernmental agency coordinating air traffic control, saying it expected 28,000 flights to operate Monday in the continent.

“The areas of ash concentration are mainly at low levels. During the course of the day, the current cloud is expected to disperse somewhat,” it added, saying it would affect mainly parts of Britain.

Heathrow, and Gatwick, Britain”s second-busiest airport, reopened at 0600 GMT, but airports in Northern Ireland stayed shut until at least 1200 GMT.

Other airports that had closed down temporarily reopened, but services were struggling to get back to normal.

“The Civil Aviation Authority has lifted the no-fly zone that has been affecting flights at Heathrow and Gatwick,” said National Air Traffic Services, which manages British airspace.

“The decision comes following further information from the Met Office about the nature and location of the ash cloud.

“The no-fly zone remains in place in two key areas, affecting operations in Northern Ireland and the Shetland isles.

“All other airports are open.”

Passengers at Liverpool arrived to find their flights were still cancelled, despite the flight ban being lifted for the airport.

“It”s been terrible. There”s just nothing going,” said Margaret Palombella, 55, who was heading to Portugal.

“They said I might be able to get away on Wednesday night.”

The disruption had knock-on effects in other countries, with planes stuck in the wrong places. Some 32 flights from Portugal were cancelled, authorities there said.

The latest ash closures came at the beginning of a week where air travel disruption was already expected, due to a five-day strike by British Airways cabin crew set to kick off Tuesday.

In the Netherlands, besides Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Groningen airports were temporarily closed, but Eindhoven and Maastricht airports were open.

The ash clouds are over “the western part of the country and are moving slowly east”, Dutch air traffic control spokeswoman Marjolein Wenting told AFP.

In Ireland, Dublin airport reopened at 1100 GMT after a 17-hour shutdown as the cloud moved east, Sligo was back in action at 0900 GMT and Donegal was to follow at 1300 GMT.

Outside of Dublin, the country”s other two principal airports, Cork and Shannon, remained open.

The volcanic dust at more concentrated levels presents a danger to plane engines, though some industry officials have complained that the safety measures and airport closures have been excessive.

British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh said blanket bans on flying were “a gross over-reaction to a very minor risk”.

British Prime Minister David Cameron”s spokesman said passenger safety was the government”s priority and it was down to experts to make a judgement.

Hovever, the new PM was “willing to listen to any views,” he added.

Europe”s skies were partially closed for up to a week in April following the eruption of Iceland”s Eyjafjoell volcano, in the biggest shutdown of the continent”s airspace for more than 50 years.

Britain”s Met Office weather service said Monday Eyjafjoell “continues to erupt”, with the ash plume thought to be seven to eight kilometres (four to five miles) high, with extremes at nine kilometres (5.5 miles).

The international airline industry body, IATA, has estimated last month”s shutdown cost carriers some 1.7 billion dollars (1.4 billion euros).

On Sunday, Eurocontrol said, disruptions in Ireland and northern Britain resulted in a loss of some 400 flights.

Al Qaeda threatens attacks if harm comes to US cleric

Al Qaeda’s regional wing in Yemen has threatened the United States with more attacks should any harm come to a US born radical cleric wanted dead or alive by Washington, according to an audio tape posted online on Sunday.
US officials said in April President Barack Obama’s administration had authorised operations to capture or kill Yemen-based Anwar al-Awlaki, a leading figure linked to al Qaeda’s Yemen wing, which claimed responsibility for a failed bombing of a Detroit-bound plane in December. That was a failure but tell me, what will success be like, the wing’s leader Nasser al-Wahayshi said in an audio recording which appeared on websites often used by Islamic militants. It will inevitably be a disaster for you (Americans), for we are enamoured with the attacks of September 11, he said. Obama, tell your people and do not hide from them the size of the danger that constantly awaits you. Divulge to them the result of the investigations on the cells and the ongoing plans and the targets of the Mujahideen, said Wahayshi, who was once a close associate of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The threats of the United States do not frighten us, Muslims, do not worry about the sheikh (Awlaki), he is in safe hands, Wahayshi said.

Iceland: Heathrow along with other airports closed due to volcanic ash

Two of Europe’s busiest airports closed early Monday morning as a dense cloud of volcanic ash drifted from Iceland, aviation authorities said.
The airspace over London’s Heathrow Airport closed at 1 a.m. local time Monday, Britain’s National Air Traffic Service said in a statement late Sunday night. In Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport, another of Europe’s biggest air travel hubs, was closed until 2 p.m. local time Monday, a statement on Dutch airline KLM’s website said. Airports across Britain and Ireland were closed for much of Sunday because of the drifting ash. The shifting of the no-fly zone southward will allow airports in northern England, including the key cities of Manchester and Liverpool, to reopen after 1 a.m. local time. But all airports in Northern Ireland, as well as some Scottish facilities, will remain shut. Ash can clog jet engines. The April 14 eruption at Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokul volcano forced most countries in northern Europe to shut their airspace between April 15-20, grounding more than 100,000 flights and an estimated 10 million travelers worldwide. The shutdown cost airlines more than $2 billion. Eyjafjallajokul (pronounced ay-yah-FYAH-lah-yer-kuhl) erupted in April for the first time in nearly two centuries. During its last eruption, starting in 1821, its emissions rumbled on for two years.

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