Abhi-Ash to star together in Rajkumar Santoshi’s rom-com Ladies & Gentleman

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will be playing the steady woman in ‘Casanova’ Abhishek’s life for Raj Kumar Santoshi’s Ladies & Gentleman. After having done everything from a family drama (Dhai Akshar Prem Ke) to a bio-pic (Guru) to a modern-day drama (Raavan) together, this is Aishwarya’s opportunity to have fun with Abhishek his expense.

In Santoshi’s film which he starts shooting in July, Abhishek plays a guy with an insatiable roving eye. Aishwarya has sportingly agreed to let her husband play the field on screen. 3 years ago, she refused Dostana with Abhishek because her character was shown walking away with another man. “I don’t think that would go down well with our fans,” she had argued.

“That’s Ash for you… beautiful and dutiful to the core. She won’t do any role that compromises her personal dignity or image as the Bachchan bahu. But if Abhishek is playing a devious unfaithful character she doesn’t mind bending the gender rules,” says a close friend of the couple.

This would be their first rom-com together.

For the first time in his career, Abhishek plays a full-blown womanizer in Ladies & Gentleman. And Aishwarya has no objections to him romancing several girls in her presence, albeit on screen.

Laughs Santoshi, “I had actually offered this film to Aishwarya five years ago. And look at destiny. It’s come back to her. Every role is earmarked for a particular actor. I feel Aishwarya is perfect for this film. Though Aishwarya has done comedy before, this is a new genre for Abhishek and for them as a pair.”

Santoshi starts a new banner, named after his mother, with Ladies & Gentleman.

Says the director, “This comedy takes me into the same genre as Andaz Apna Apna and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. But the humour here is not slapstick.”

With Ladies & Gentleman, Santoshi is starting a new banner named after his mother. Says Santoshi, “I’m starting my new production house named after my mother Rajam Santoshi. She passed away last year. I learnt the art of narration from her. If people say I am a good narrator it’s because of my mother and father (filmmaker) P L Santoshi.”

Elizabeth Taylor, Movie Legend Dies at 79

Hollywood icon, Elizabeth Taylor passed away on Wednesday at the age of 79. Taylor had been hospitalized in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for the last six weeks where she died of congestive heart failure. Her publicist Sally Morrison stated that.

“All her children were with her.”

She was a larger than life character both on and off camera. Taylor, famous for her beauty and grace, won three Oscars during her long career. Although her personal life was also the source of tabloid fascination, her real life was plagued with heartbreak and personal tragedy.

Elizabeth Taylor was born in London and starred in over 50 movies, she began her movie career as a child, she was already a star by the age of twelve. Taylor married an astonishing eight times, twice to Richard Burton who she starred with in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966), this was one of her Oscar winning roles.

Elizabeth Taylor was awarded a special Oscar in 1993, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. This was to honor Taylor for her humanitarian work for AIDS research, she helped to raise more than $200million for the cause.

Her son Michael Wilding said in a statement;

“Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts.”

‘Laker Girl’ Jeanie’s book details life secrets

LOS ANGELES: Anybody who has ever worked for a family business knows it is hard to juggle the competing issues of work life versus family life.

But when your family business is as high profile as professional basketball’s Los Angeles Lakers — one of the winningest championship teams of all time — the job can be even more challenging. Add in that you are dating the team’s coach, and it gets even more complicated.

Welcome to the world of Jeanie Buss and her memoir “Laker Girl,” which is currently in bookstores.

Buss is executive vice president of business operations for the Lakers, one of the world’s best known sports franchises. She is the daughter of team owner, Dr. Jerry Buss, and sister to executive vice president of player personnel, Jim Buss. As important, she is the girlfriend of coach Phil Jackson.

She calls juggling her personal and her business life one of the most challenging issues she faces, day-to-day.

“My dad is very clear about family time being family time and not letting business encroach on that. And if there is a serious business issue, we make an appointment, sit down and have a meeting and keep it separate,” Buss told Reuters.

“Anybody who’s in a family business will agree that it’s really hard to keep boundaries, yet it’s really important to keep the sanity of the family,” she said.

Buss is, perhaps, the biggest Laker booster of them all, and it comes across in “Laker Girl.” Readers gain insight into the team during its championship season of 2009-2010, as well as into Buss’s life with Jackson and her career in business.

During the last season, Buss wrote in a daily journal and her thoughts on the team’s ups-and-downs over roughly eight months provide a timeline for “Laker Girl.”

She said that one question she is often asked is what it’s like to be a woman working in such a storied sports franchise, and by writing in journal form she could “share in real time, the highs and the lows” of working for the team.

Interspersed between the journal entries are chapters on her father’s start in southern California real estate, in which he amassed the fortune he used to purchase the Lakers in 1979.

Buss also shares her own work experiences with readers, starting out as a 19 year-old promoter of World Team Tennis matches in the late 1970s and moving on to her work with the Lakers, helping market the team and sell merchandise associated with it and its players, including Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.

When asked what the Laker brand stands for, she is quick to reply. “In one word, I would say winning.

“My dad…he’s an American story. He is a self-made man who used education to pull himself out of a poor childhood,” Buss said. “He built an empire, but all the time being a fan. For him, he runs the team as a family and its fans like to win.”

“Laker Girl” offers readers some basic business tips as Buss relates experiences about being a highly-placed executive in a male-dominated business.

“You’ve got to stay true to yourself,” Buss said. “You have to have discipline and know your stuff and if people try to dismiss you, that’s their loss.

“Know what you’re good at, what your talents are, and hone those skills. That is what will help you succeed,” she said.

And, of course, she addresses the inevitable: whether Jackson will ever pop the marriage question.

Hint: the final answer is on the last page.

Indian Cricket Team Personal Accident Policy

World cup is starting from 19th February and the fever of cricket is on his top. Indian cricket board has also insured every player of Indian team going for world cup worth $ 500,000. There is another insurance policy has been taken by BCCI worth Rs 130 crore to secure them from matches affected by bad weather.

Oriental Insurance Company Deputy General Manager said that BCCI has taken group personal insurance policy from them. The players’ participation in the world cup will get the cover of Rs 2.3 crore under this insurance policy.

The main purpose of policy is to provide financial shelter to players from injuries. This policy will provide them benefit in case of death, disability or injury during the match, on or off the field accident. The duration of the insurance is of two months. It starts from 10th February and ends on 9th April.

The policy is in accordance with ICC laws. There is another policy introduce by the board of amount 1 crore. This is contingent policy and its purpose is to protect the board from financial loses due to cancellation of matches resulting from bad weather. There is a rule that if match went off without bowling a single ball then board could claim the compensation.

Issue of World Cup Captaincy Is About Solve

Who will be captain of Pakistan for ICC World Cup 2011? This issue is now about to solve. In this regard the Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board Ijaz Butt met to the team manager Intakhab Alam in Christ Church, and took advices. After the criticism from former cricketers on him and board, the chairman PCB decided to announce captain for World Cup soon. Probebly it is expected after third ODI match between Pakistan and New Zealand.

Talking to a private news channel team manager confirmed his meeting with PCB chairman and said that in next two, three days the situation will be on the screen. But he didn’t give his personal opinion that who should be captain and said that PCB will take a decision in the larger interest of the country.

According to sources PCB has made Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq opponents but they didn’t allow this issue to disturb the mutual relations. Both players spend a lot of time off the field together. The decision of PCB to not announce captain affected the entire team and experts said that board should take decision soon now in order to achieve better results.

Reliable sources said that Chief selector of Pakistan cricket team Mohsin Hussan Khan is in the favor of Misbah-ul-Haq and he voted for him because he thinks that the captaincy of Test series couldn’t pressurize him and his individual progress is becoming better. The coach Waqar Younis is also in the favor to give captaincy of Mega event to Misbah-ul-Haq.

Before this the Presidency has given free hand to Ijaz Butt on the issue of the selection of captain and advised the chairman to use his own authority without gaining any sort of pressure. After getting the favor of some board officals and former cricketers Misbah-
ul-Haq became the strong candidate and it is difficult for Shahid Afridi to play as ODI captain after the series against New Zealand.

The Good Performer Deserves To Be Captain Former Crickets

Captain for the World Cup should have a wonderful individual career. Lose of non announcement of captain is much more then spot-fixing scandal. In the near past our players cannot give good performance in this situation a batting coach is very necessary for the team. These statements are given by former skippers Zaheer Abbass, Imzamam-ul-Haq, Mudassar Nazar and Mushtaq Ahmed while talking to a private news channel.

Legend Zaheer Abbass said that due to non announcement of captain a lobby is creating in the team, the players should realize their task is to play and making captain is a task of the board. Zaheer Abbass said that Pakistan hardly won the Test series against Kiwis but Misbah-ul-Haq was criticized that he played negative cricket. He further said that whose individual performance is good he should be the captain. India, Australia, South Africa, and England are the favorite teams for the World Cup. It is difficult for Pakistan to come in the list of favorites of Mega event but if the players work hard then they can came near to victory in the World Cup and in order to gain a high morale green shirts should win the currently playing ODI series against New Zealand.

Former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq repeated Zaheer Abbass and said I think that the task of captaincy should give to that player whose individual performance is good. Planning of captain and position setting of players are organized in the last 2, 3 series before the World Cup. Now we have not this chance. Our up- coming captain will lead the team with a disturb mind in Mega event. He further said that in 1992 and T20 World Cups, we were not favorites but we won the titles and after solving these problems this team can perform well.

Mudassar Nazar, former captain and coach, said that we will feel the unavailability of suspended Muhammad Amir but now we should leave these issues and look towards forward. He said that after every World Cup, the teams start their preparations for the next one but here the situation is opposite from this. He further said not announcing the captain gives lose to team more the spot-fixing scandal.

Former leg spinner Mushtaq Ahmed said that captain should announced soon because no time is remaining in the start of World Cup, and in my personal opinion Shahid Afridi should be captain of the team.

During an interview Rashid Lateef, the former wicket keeper captain, said that the non announcement of captain shows that board members have not developed any consensus. All the other boards have announced their captains but PCB is yet to announce the team leader for World Cup, this decision is very dangerous for the team. Lateef further said that Shahid Afridi should be captain for Mega event, but if board wants to give captaincy to Mishbah-ul-Haq then it should be announce soon. The format of event is suitable for Pakistan by giving and two good performances in quarter final and semi-final, green shirts can reach into
final of World Cup.

Madonna most talked about celebrity

LONDON: Madonna has emerged as the most talked about celebrity in the past ten years, grabbing most print space in newspapers and magazines.

The 52-year-old Material Girl beat off competition from TV mogul Simon Cowell and singer Robbie Williams to clinch the top spot, with her name appearing in UK
publications and magazines 46,000 times since the year 2000.

Cowell, 51, came second with 29,888 mentions and with a score of 28,563 ”Escape” hitmaker Williams took the third place in the study for website Clickliverpool.

Supermodel Kate Moss ranked fourth, being named 28,056 times, while pop princess Britney Spears came fifth with 27,588 score.

Despite constantly being in news for her personal and professional life, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham ranked only sixth with a score of 25,833, while her soccer star husband David followed with 24,953.

King of Pop Michael Jackson (24,688), Beatles legend Paul McCartney (21,556) and Australian pop star Kylie Minogue (19,694) rounded off the top ten.

Live Chat: Ajay Devgn on December 21 at 1630 hrs IST

The year 2010 has been truly memorable for Ajay Devgn both on the personal and professional front. While he became father to a baby boy earlier this year, he’s also had a great year at the Box Office with hits such as Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge, Raajneeti, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai and Golmaal 3.

Now Ajay is excited about his latest release Toonpur Ka Superrhero- India’s first live animation film. As the film opens across cinema halls this Christmas eve, we at Bollywood Hungama give you an opportunity to have a live video chat with the actor par excellence Ajay Devgn on Tuesday, December 21, at 1630 hrs IST. Don’t miss!

Live Chat: Ajay Devgn on December 21 at 1600 hrs IST

The year 2010 has been truly memorable for Ajay Devgn both on the personal and professional front. While he became father to a baby boy earlier this year, he’s also had a great year at the Box Office with hits such as Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge, Raajneeti, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai and Golmaal 3.

Now Ajay is excited about his latest release Toonpur Ka Superrhero- India’s first live animation film. As the film opens across cinema halls this Christmas eve, we at Bollywood Hungama give you an opportunity to have a live video chat with the actor par excellence Ajay Devgn on Tuesday, December 21, at 1600 hrs IST. Don’t miss!

Rajinikanth turns 60

MUMBAI: The Indian nation’s biggest screen idol Rajinikanth celebrates his 60th birthday today.

The megastar who usually prefers to celebrate this day out of town, has decided to spend the day with his family after many years.

2010 has been a really good year for the icon, both career and family wise. While Enthiran has gone on to become the biggest commercial hit ever, on the personal front two new additions to his family have kept Rajini busy.

The actor”s daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth got married to Ashwin, and keeping the new son-in-law entertained alongwith the baby grandson, Linga (Aishwarya Rajinikanth and Dhanush’s son) seems like a nice way to celebrate his birthday.

So it”s no surprise that despite millions of religious fans lining up for special poojas and welfare activities for their favourite idol, Rajini prefers to keep it within the family this year. Happy Birthday, Rajinikanth!

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