Karan Johar pushes Agneepath release to January 26, 2012

Every big filmmaker these days wishes to release his film during a festive / holiday weekend. Salman Khan starrer Bodyguard which recently released

during Eid / Ganpati raked in the moolah and now even SRK starrer Ra.One is expected to open huge this Diwali.

Reema Kagti’s untitled Aamir Khan starrer and Venus’ multi-starrer Tezz were supposed to release on Republic Day (Jan 26) weekend next year. However,

Aamir feels that the post-production may take some time and hence has decided to arrive at a later date.

With one slot open on the Republic Day weekend, Karan Johar has now shifted the release date of his magnum opus Agneepath from Jan 13 to Jan 26.

Karan tweeted, “AGNEEPATH is now releasing on the 26th of January, 2012″.

Meanwhile the makers of Priyadarshan directed Tezz, Venus Films, have confirmed that they are in no mood to change the release date of the film.

Tezz stars Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor, Zayed Khan, Kangna Ranaut and Sameera Reddy.

Also, Dibarkar Banerjee’s Shanghai which stars Abhay Deol and Emraan Hashmi is scheduled to release on the Republic Day next year as of now.

So, on the Republic Day next year, get ready to witness the big clash between Agneepath, Tezz and Shanghai.

Katrina to do item number in Agneepath

Katrina Kaif has bagged another item number and this time it is in Hrithik Roshan starrer Agneepath. After making the nation go

crazy with ‘Sheila Ki Jawaani’ and recently grooving to the title track Bodyguard, news is that she will be seen doing an item number yet

again; this time with Sanjay Dutt, who plays the bad man Kancha Cheena in Agneepath.

This will be the first time Katrina and Sanjay will be sharing screen space. Katrina is a fantastic dancer and Dutt being a non-dancer has decided to take

two weeks off to rehearse his steps. He will also shave his head off for the third time for Agneepath.

The song is composed by National Award winning music directors Ajay and Atul Gogavale, who had composed the music of Singham.

The item number is going to be really sizzling. Reportedly, it is going to be on the lines of another Amitabh Bachchan chartbuster ‘Jhuma Chooma De

Dein’ from Mukul Anand’s Hum.

Now this is one song we are eagerly awaiting for.

Salman to resume shooting of Ek Tha Tiger from September 10

Yash Raj Films and director Kabir Khan can breathe a sigh of relief. Salman Khan is all set to fly to Dublin to resume shooting on September 10 for Yash Raj Films-Kabir Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger. The crew, including Katrina Kaif (who, as reported, has set aside all other projects), has been keeping itself on hold monitoring Salman’s post-surgery recuperation. Now they can heave a sigh of relief, as Salman is well on the way to recovery.

Says a source close to the actor, “After the seven-hour surgery the doctors had prescribed a strict regime for Salman to follow. But he has defied the rules, as usual. He’s filled with mauj-masti in the US. He’s very happy. Salman has been calling up his brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri for the box-office figures of Bodyguard. Though the doctors have predicted the possibility of a second surgery three months from now, Salman has healed with amazing dexterity leaving even his surgeons flummoxed.”

Atul Agnihotri confirms Salman’s heartening recovery. “Salman has a Trigeminal Neuralgia with an AV Malformation. He also has another rare complication. He has been treated in the US. The procedure took seven hours and it is successful.”

About Salman not paying attention to doctors’ orders Atul says, “He is en route to recovery defying post-operation instructions. That’s Salman for you.”

About further treatment, Atul says, “Salman has to get a check-up done in three months to decide if he needs to get a second procedure done. He should commence shooting for Yash Raj soon in Dublin.”

Sources at Yash Raj confirm that the shooting resumes on September 10 which incidentally is the date when Salman’s Dabangg had released.

Kareena Kapoor has record number of festival period releases

Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar may have set their eyes on Christmas with Taare Zameen Par/Welcome 2007, Ghajini/Jumbo 2008, 3 Idiots 2009 and Tees Maar Khan 2010. Salman Khan may have captured his Eid slot with Wanted 2009, Dabangg 2010 and Bodyguard 2011. But Kareena isn’t content with just one festival. She wants them all and is pretty much having her way as well.

Says a veteran trade observer, “After all Diwali and Christmas have turned out to be most beneficial for filmmakers due to long holiday period as well as general mood of celebrations and festivities. People don’t mind spending money and if a film is indeed made well, the makers and the actors benefit the most. It is crystal clear that while all the men are fighting it out amongst themselves when it comes to festive releases, Kareena is enjoying the best of all seasons. Well, literally.”

There are facts to substantiate this claim. This year her Golmaal 3 released on Diwali. Last year her 3 Idiots had arrived on Christmas while Main Aurr Mrs Khanna had released on Diwali. In 2008, her Golmaal Returns had made a splash on Diwali while Jab We Met in 2007 too had released just a few days before Diwali. Even earlier, her films like Don – The Chase Begins Again Diwali 2006, Dosti – Friends Forever Christmas 2005 and Aitraaz Diwali 2004 had benefited by arriving in the festive season.

“Somehow this fact never got highlighted as all the rivalry seemed to be hero-centric. However, Kareena has been quietly enjoying her stint when it comes to the release of her biggies. Now the going only seems to be perfect for her in near future as well with her newer films eyeing the best available slots”, continues the observer.

As things stand today, Kareena can well enjoy quite a few celebrations coming her way in the festival season ahead. Come 2011 and she would be occupying both Eid Bodyguard as well as the Diwali Ra. One slots. Though Christmas season currently has only one confirmed release – the sequel to Shah Rukh Khan’s Don, it would be interesting to see if Kareena brings one of her movies along then.

“Well, one can never be too sure about such things”, smiles Kareena who is obviously elated with this ‘feat’, “Yes, Golmaal 3 was always planned for a Diwali release and it’s blockbuster success has made us all feel good about the effort that we all had to put to ensure that the deadline was met.”

Now with declaration coming in that Salman Khan would most definitely bring in Bodyguard on Eid 2011, Kareena knows that it is going to be quite some hard work ahead.

“I would soon be beginning shoot for the Karan Johar film with Imran (Khan)”, she talks about (tentatively titled) Short Term Shaadi here, “Meanwhile, Ra. One and Agent Vinod too have to be wrapped up. With Bodyguard coming in as well, it is going to be some really busy months ahead. But yes, it does feel great to be arriving on festive dates year after year.”

Since Ra. One has already been confirmed for Diwali 2011, one wonders when would her film with Saif Ali Khan, Agent Vinod, eventually release. The tentative plans as of now are for May 2011 but it won’t be surprising if the makers pick the long Independence Day weekend for the release. 15th August falls on a Monday and a 12th August release would give them a 4 day long weekend here, hence adding on to continued celebrations for Kareena. In between all of this, she would also be kick starting her new film with Aamir Khan. As for Short Term Shaadi, how about Christmas 2011?

Some food for thought Kareena? After all it could well be a record waiting to make an entry into the Guinness!

Blasts reported near Data Darbar

LAHORE: Three powerful explosions have been heard near Data Darbar, Geo News reported Thursday.

Police officer, bodyguard shot dead

KARACHI: SHO Brigade Nasir ul Hasan and his bodyguard Khurram Butt shot dead just after they came out of the police station in Lines Area. A passerby was also injured.

The deceased SHO had played a very active role during Karachi Operation in the 90s. Unidentified gunmen near German Hotel shot him.

All three of them were taken to hospital where SHO and his bodyguard succumbed to death, while the other man was said to be stable.

Salman takes favours for his family!

MUMBAI INDIA: Salman is always looking out for his family members. After starring in his brother Arbaaz Khan’s production Dabang, Salman will next be working on brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri’s Hindi version of the Malayalam super hit Bodyguard.

The buzz in the trade is that Boney had bought the rights of Bodyguard and wanted Prabhudebva (who directed the runaway hit Wanted not too long ago) to direct the Hindi version, but Salman asked him to hand over the rights to Atul Agnihotri. Siddique, who had directed the original in Malayalam, will also direct the Hindi version.

A source revealed, “Boney did not hesitate to give up remaking Bodyguard. He loves Salman too much and considers the actor’s wish as his command.”

Boney admitted that he initially wanted to remake Bodyguard in Hindi but he is not upset. He said, “It’s fine if Atul will make it with Siddique. Salman was keen that Atul should make it and I have no issues whatsoever. I have not done anything great. I was simply on the verge of buying the rights of Bodyguard. Salman is family to me. I love fulfilling all his wishes and will always continue to do so.”

Atul confirmed that he is making the Hindi version of Bodyguard with Salman. “I am quickly going to finalise the heroine and most of the things will be in place by end of next week. However, I am not aware that Boney too was interested in making the same film. Salman is very happy that I am producing it. Siddique will direct the film,” said Atul.

Google increas Share oF Web Search

NEW YORK: Google increased its share of the US online search market in April while Yahoo! and Microsoft both lost ground, according to figures released by tracking firm comScore.

ComScore said that 64.2 percent of the searches conducted by Americans in April were at Google sites, up from 63.7 percent in March.

Yahoo!’s share of the search market slipped 0.1 percentage points in April to 20.4 percent while Microsoft saw its share fall by 0.1 percentage points to 8.2 percent.

Search engine Ask held steady at 3.8 percent while AOL saw its market share fall by 0.3 percentage points to 3.4 percent, comScore said.

The tracking firm said Americans conducted 14.8 billion searches in April, up three percent over March, with Google accounting for 9.5 billion searches, followed by Yahoo! with three billion and Microsoft with 1.2 billion.

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Google increas Share oF Web Search was first posted on May 19, 2009 at 10:51 am.

President Barack Obama Praises shuttle crew for Hubble success

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama praised the crew of the shuttle Atlantis for their
perseverance in a difficult mission to extend the life of the 19-year-old Hubble Space
Telescope.

The astronauts themselves rejoiced at what they characterized as the unexpected full
success of their soon to end mission to equip the telescope for at least another five years of
observations.

“Like a lot of Americans I have been watching with amazement the gorgeous images you have been sending back and the incredible repair mission you have been making in space,”
said Obama in a call from the White House.

“I think you are providing a wonderful example of the kind of dedication and commitment to
exploration that represents America and the space program in general. These are traits that
have always made this country strong,” he said.

The president spoke with the astronauts for six minutes. Though the conversation was
private, the White House provided an audio recording of the exchange.

“Watching you guys out in space on some of these spacewalks is amazing,” Obama told John
Grunsfeld, an astronomer turned astronaut who led three of the mission’s five spacewalks.

“What you guys represent is an example of what vision means in the space program, always
describing our willingness to stretch beyond currrent boundaries and to look at things in new
ways,” said Obama.

“I’m hoping you guys recognize how important your mission is to the world as well as to this
country, the president said.”

“I can assure you it’s a high priority of mine to restore that sense of wonder that space can
provide and to make sure we have a strong sense of misison, not just within NASA but for
the country as a whole.”

They overcame stuck bolts, a power tool that lost battery power at a crucial point in the
repair of the telescope’s black hole hunter.

The successful outcome was a testament to the value of humans rather than robots in
space, the astronauts said.

“Many of the things we did were not possible robotically,” Grunsfeld told reporters. “That is
the real utility of humans. We are able to deal with situations that are unexpected, and we
do that all day long.”

“We all feel pretty good about what has been accomplished up here,” said Megan McArthur,
the shuttle’s robot arm operator. “We are of course looking forward to getting back home,
celebrating with eveyone, then unwinding with our families.”

The shuttle crew examined the wings and nose of their space ship using cameras and lasers
fitted to a boom on the robot arm.

Meanwhile, NASA marked another milestone on Wednesday as it gave the U.S., Russian and
Japan crew of the international space station permission to drink water recylced from urine
and huminity recovered from the breathing air.

The recycled water will make it easier for the orbital base to begin housing six rather than
three full time astronauts. The station’s current three man crew will be joined by three more
fliers who are preparing to lift off from Russian on May 27.

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President Barack Obama Praises shuttle crew for Hubble success was first posted on May 21, 2009 at 12:51 pm.

The return of Jon and Kate Plus 8

A new season of “Jon and Kate Plus 8? begins tonight. This once-wholesome little reality show about a Berks County couple’s efforts to raise adorable twins and even-more-adorable sextuplets has been rocked by scandal and dirty laundry. Is he sleeping with that sexy schoolteacher? Is she finding comfort in the arms of her bodyguard?

Reality television might be becoming a little too real for Jon and Kate Gosselin, whose sex lives and marital woes are suddenly the rage of scandal rags, bloggers and even mainstream media. Just Google “Jon and Kate” and let the muck begin.

As per reports the couple initially denied trouble in their marriage but reportedly don’t appear on camera together during tonight’s opening episode of “Jon and Kate Plus 8.”

The couple has been through many changes since they agreed to do the show five years ago, saying they wanted to create a visual record of their family and help meet the expenses of raising eight children.

“Just the whole diaper and formula thing will just about kill you, and one spouse ends up staying home because child care costs are so exorbitant,” said Natalie Foxwell of Lower Paxton Twp., who is the mother of fraternal twins and president of Keystone Mothers of Multiples.

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“My group is all about helping families that have multiples,” said Foxwell, who said she doesn’t watch “Jon and Kate Plus 8.”

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The return of Jon and Kate Plus 8 was first posted on May 25, 2009 at 2:04 pm.