Akshay Kumar signed up as brand ambassador of Eveready?

One need not give any introduction about the Macho Man of the tinsel town. The very word ‘Khiladi’ very aptly describes the man with the golden touch: Akshay Kumar!

We all know that the USP of this man lies in his ability to connect with the audience. And it is this ability that has made him not just the silver screen’s darling, but also the darling of the FMCG sector! News Trends’s ever reliable sources inform that this dude has now been signed as the brand ambassador of Eveready batteries. Readers may note the fact that, prior to this man, it was none other than Big B who was endorsing the said brand.

The official announcement regarding Akshay’s appointment as the new face of the brand is awaited.

The 2011 Razzie Awards

Awards season is hitting its peak tonight with the oscars being announced any minute. But we can’t forget about the all important Razzie Awards. Just in-case you don’t know what a Razzie Award is, they were created by the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation to celebrate the worst films and the most terrible performances of the past year.

This year Sarah Jessica Parker, Ashton Kutcher and Jessica Alba all took home Razzies. Sex in the City was a big winner, Sarah Jessica Parker took home the worst actress award. The film also won worst screen ensemble, worst screen couple and it was also named Worst Sequel.

Not surprisingly none of this year’s winners actually showed up to collect their awards. It’s a shame they couldn’t learn a lesson in humor from Sandra Bullock, she famously showed up at last years Razzie Awards to collect hers.

Iran drama wins top award at Berlin film festival

BERLIN: Iranian drama “Nader and Simin: A Separation” won the Golden Bear for best picture at the Berlin film festival on Saturday, fulfilling its billing as overwhelming favourite to scoop the coveted award.

Director Asghar Farhadi’s portrayal of a marriage in crisis explores Iran’s class divisions, religious conservatism and its judicial system while at the same time maintaining the tension of a crime thriller. AGENCIES

”The King”s Speech” leads obvious Globe field

LOS ANGELES: “The King”s Speech” is precisely the kind of film that has long appealed to awards voters: It”s historical, focuses on royalty, depicts a character overcoming physical adversity and features a classy cast.

So it should come as no surprise that it received the most Golden Globe nominations Tuesday with seven, including best picture, on a morning when there were few surprises to be found. The film”s director, Tom Hooper, was also among the nominees, as were stars Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter.

Based on the story of how King George VI (Firth) battled a stammer with the help of an unorthodox speech therapist (Rush) just prior to World War II, “The King”s Speech” hits all the right notes and does it with impeccable polish. But beneath the flawless production values and period trappings is a relevant story about uplift – always popular come awards time.

Other top nominees were David Fincher”s “The Social Network,” which traces the origins of Facebook, and David O. Russell”s “The Fighter,” inspired by the true story of Boston-area boxer “Irish” Micky Ward. Both films received six nominations, including best picture and best director. “The Social Network” has been racking up top honors from critics groups across the country in recent days, including those in New York and Los Angeles.

These may all sound vastly different, but Rush, a supporting-actor nominee, sees a uniting thread among the front-runners.

“When I look at the films that have been nominated and the films that have been emerging through festivals in the last couple of months, it”s fascinating to me. Somebody actually did comment online that maybe we”re going back to the great old days of the ”70s where films had a bit of meat and a bit of bite and a bit of social commentary,” he said.

“The themes seem to be, particularly with our film, themes about leadership, communication, friendship – qualities that I think people are yearning for on some kind of grander scale. And that applies to certainly the ones I”ve seen, like ”The Social Network” or the individual ruggedness through ”127 Hours,” it”s quite fascinating how these things become the zeitgeist.”

The visceral, intimate “127 Hours,” based on the true story of a hiker who was trapped beneath a boulder for that duration, has also been a favorite so far, but it only received three Golden Globe nominations: best actor in a drama (James Franco), screenplay and original score. Still, it”s been in the mix among awards prognosticators and critics filling out their top-10 lists.

Even some of the wackier picks that had people all worked up Tuesday morning – the flashy but critically panned “Burlesque” and “The Tourist” earning three nominations each, including best musical or comedy – also make some sense historically. Yes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which hands out the awards on Jan. 16, has been more in alignment with Academy Awards voters over the past decade or so. But the group – composed of about 85 critics and reporters for overseas outlets – also likes its international superstars.

And so we have Johnny Depp receiving not one but two nominations, competing against himself as best musical or comedy actor for “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Tourist,” and his “Tourist” co-star Angelina Jolie is a best-actress nominee.

“Three Golden Globe nominations for ”The Tourist” is a dream come true,” said German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who was also a Golden Globe nominee and Academy Award winner for his 2007 debut, “The Lives of Others.” “No one is more fun to watch than Johnny and Angelina. They are great artists, and in my book, they deserve every nomination and award on the globe.”

Two songs from the guilty-pleasure “Burlesque” were nominated, ones sung by Cher and Christina Aguilera. Other glamorous surprise nominees include Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal for “Love and Other Drugs” and Halle Berry for “Frankie and Alice.” Meanwhile, the Coen Brothers” acclaimed remake of the Western “True Grit” was oddly shut out.

It”s highly unlikely those lighter, frothier titles will surface again when Oscar nominations are announced Jan. 25 – after all, the Golden Globes are divided into drama and musical/comedy categories, so there”s room for a wider range of films. If any of the five best comedy nominees is likely to be included among the 10 best-picture slots at the Academy Awards, it”s “The Kids Are All Right,” starring Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, who were both nominated for playing a lesbian couple.

Still, while the obviousness of the Golden Globes doesn”t necessarily make it a surefire Oscar predictor, it can be pretty close. All four acting winners at the Academy Awards this past year had won previously at the Globes. But then there was the behemoth “Avatar,” which won at the Globes, while the independent “The Hurt Locker” quietly gathered steam and took home the best-picture Oscar.

One thing that”s certain: With Ricky Gervais hosting, and the drinks flowing as always, Golden Globe night will at least be entertaining to watch, even if not all of the nominated films themselves are.

Rahman gets Golden Globe nomination for 127 Hours

A R Rahman, by far the most noted name in the Indian film music industry, has made the country proud once again, this time by winning a Golden Globe nomination for Danny Boyle’s new film 127 Hours, in the Best Original Score category.

However, what’s interesting to note is the fact that Rahman had earlier won a Golden Globe award as well as two Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire which was again a Danny Boyle film.

Contending with Rahman in the same category are heavyweights such as Alexandre Desplat for The King’s Speech, Danny Elfman for Alice in Wonderland, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Social Network and Hans Zimmer for Inception.

We hope the ‘Mozart of Madras’ brings home the coveted statue yet again!

Lisa Ray to host travel-based show

Lisa Ray made heads turn after appearing in the music video ‘Afreen’ and Bollywood film Kasoor. However, the pretty lady was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer (multiple myeloma) and went into exile for a few years.

After successfully fighting out the life-threatening disease, Lisa is now back with renewed vigour. The Canadian beauty has in fact been roped in by lifestyle channel TLC to anchor their new travel-based show that goes on air early next year.

The show aims to depict the cultural backdrop of India like never before and Lisa is mighty excited at this golden opportunity.

We hope that this marks the beginning of many more interesting things to come for the stunning Lisa Ray.

Darpan’s 30th death anniversary today

Staff Report

KARACHI: Pakistan’s one of the famous film actors Syed Ishrat Abbas alias Darpan passed away about 30 years ago but his acting is still alive.

Darpan was one of the original romantic heroes of the golden age of the Pakistan film industry.

Darpan was a top hero in the beginning of the 60s. He was introduced in film Amanat in 1950 and after one more Punjabi film Billo.

He died on November 8, 1980 in Lahore. Trend Pk

KP’s cultural revival effort – Trend Pk VIDEO

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is very rich in culture and tradition. Aisha Butt shares with us an effort to revive the golden culture of the northwestern province of Pakistan. (November 1, 2010)

KP’s cultural revival effort – Trend Pk VIDEO

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is very rich in culture and tradition. Aisha Butt shares with us an effort to revive the golden culture of the northwestern province of Pakistan. (November 1, 2010)

KP’s cultural revival effort – Trend Pk VIDEO

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is very rich in culture and tradition. Aisha Butt shares with us an effort to revive the golden culture of the northwestern province of Pakistan. (November 1, 2010)

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