Amitabh is my younger brother, claims Jaffar Hussain

FAISALABAD: One Jaffar Hussain, hailing from Faisalabad, has claimed that Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan is his younger brother, trendpk.com reported.

Jaffar Hussain resident of Nawanpind, Faisalabad asserted that Amitabh had runaway to Karachi with Amir Badsha, and later to Mumbai at the age of 14, adding that his Islamic name was Subh Sadiq.

He said that Amitabh Bachchan was keen to work in movies since childhood. He said his father Abdul Haq was a goldsmith, who had registered a case against Amir Badshah in 1963.

Hussain also stated that one of their sisters namely Sardaran Bibi (late) had great affection with Amitabh.

Karzai’s brother ‘corrupt drugs baron’ US says: WikiLeaks

NEW YORK: Leaked US documents on Monday painted President Hamid Karzai’s controversial younger brother as a corrupt drugs baron, exposing deep US concerns about graft undermining the war against the Afghan Taliban.

Internet whistleblower WikiLeaks has started to release quarter of a million confidential US diplomatic cables, detailing embarrassing and inflammatory episodes in what the White House has condemned as a “reckless and dangerous action”.

Ahmed Wali Karzai has long been dogged by allegations of unsavoury links to Afghanistan’s lucrative opium trade and private security firms.

But as a powerful figure in Kandahar, where US forces are leading the fight to break a nine-year Taliban insurgency, Western officials have kept quiet in public on the president’s younger half brother’s tainted record.

Leaked cables from the US embassy in Kabul now

MQM’s deceased leader Imran Farooq’s parents leave for London

Staff Report

KARACHI: The parents of deceased convener of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Dr. Imran Farooq, left for London early Wednesday morning from Quaid-e-Azam International Airport, Karachi.

The parents of the deceased leader are scheduled to meet MQM’s chief Altaf Husain during their stay in London.

Dr. Imran Farooq’s wife and younger brother Rehan Farooq are already present in London. SAMAA

England beat Pakistan by 24 runs

Pakistan 250 all out
Kamran Akmal 53, Umer Akmal 43
England 274 for 6 (41 overs)
Davies 87, Trott 69, Ajmal 4-49
Chasing target of 275 runs, Pakistan fell short 24 runs and bowled out at 250 runs. All batsmen played well but failed to get much-needed victory in the first ODI against England in Chester-le-Street. Kamran Akmal remained the highest scoring batsman with 53. His younger brother Umer Akmal scored 43 runs. Shahid Afridi and Fawwad Alam and Muhammad Hafeez made 19, 39 and 30 runs respectively.
Earlier, England players presented aggressive game and made 274 runs in only 41 overs. Captain Strauss, Steve Davies and Jonathan Trott scored 41, 87 and 69 runs respectively.
Saeed Ajmal did his best with four wickets Pakistan struggled to regain control. Mohammad Irfan’s much-anticipated introduction into international cricket didn’t quite go to plan. Umar Gul also didn’t do any better. While Shoaib produced a superb and unrewarded opening five-over burst.

President in UAE to condole death of Sheikh Ahmed

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday arrived United Arab Emirates (UAE) to offer his condolences to President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan over the sad demise of his younger brother, Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Geo news reported.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed died in a glider crash in Morocco on March 26, and his body was found from a lake south of Rabat after four days of search by rescuers. Sheikh Ahmed, a younger brother of Abu Dhabi’s ruler and the UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, was the Managing Director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

He was no. 27 on the Forbes list of the world’s most powerful people last year and was in his early 40s.

Pakistan and UAE enjoy close and brotherly relations, with the two sharing their joys and sorrows and having multi-faceted ties and cooperation in every sphere of life and economy.

Tony Rock

Tony Rock (born Antonio Rock on June 30, 1974) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is the younger brother of comedian Chris Rock.

Tony’s first break happened when he traveled to Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 2000, The Hollywood Reporter chose him as one of the funniest young talents from New York.

In the early 2000s, Rock hosted a short-lived game show entitled Can You Tell? for Oprah Winfrey’s Oh!

Tony has made many guest appearances, such as being on The Howard Stern Show, and he came to New York with Mark Curry and John Henton to highlight the Apollo Theater. He co-starred as Dirk Black on the UPN/CW sitcom All of Us. Tony has worked as a back-up to his brother, Chris and has appeared in his sitcom Everybody Hates Chris, in the recurring role of the title character’s uncle Ryan. Tony has hosted The Funny Spot on TV One.

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Tony Rock was first posted on February 20, 2010 at 11:26 am.

Films To Watch in 2010

MUMBAI : Films To Watch in 2010, Here’s what we suggest you bring out the popcorn for

KARTHIK CALLING KARTHIK

Farhan Akhtar’s next film is a story of a lovable loser whose chance meeting with his namesake changes his life forever. Karthik Calling Karthik has a star-studded credit list which includes Deepika Padukone, Javed Akhtar and Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy. Considering Farhan acts in the movies he either directs or produces, it seems like he is bent on wanting to typecast himself as the underdog. Weird but true!

MY NAME IS KHAN

Bollywood’s biology lessons continue with My Name Is Khan. With 9/11 as the backdrop, the movie follows Rizwan Khan (SRK) who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome. This is an autistic disease that makes the victim devoid of empathy. This, of course will give rise to many comical situations, just like Paa did. The film brings together the electrifying pair of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol back on the silver screen. Add Karan Johar to the mix and you have a surefire hit. But come on, what is the film industry going to explore next, the common cold?

RAAJNEETI

Amodern-day political rendition of the Mahabharata, Raajneeti boasts of an A-list star cast – Ajay Devgan, Arjun Rampal, Ranbir Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Vivek Oberoi, Manoj Bajpai and Katrina Kaif. The movie will use the dilemmas the characters in the book went through, and draw parallels with it in reel life. Katrina Kaif is reportedly playing the role of Sonia Gandhi in the movie. After all both of them are quite similar: accent – check; powerful woman – check; foreign descent – check; relationship with Salman Khan – no one really knows.

KITES

Kites follows the story of Hrithik Roshan, a salsa dancer who falls in love with his student. Language barriers don’t matter here, love conquers almost all. But ’something’ happens and it’s up to another student Kangna Ranaut to save the day. Maybe Sussanne walks into the movie or some other terrifying event occurs, we don’t know yet. But we hope the movie does better than Hrithik’s personal life.

RAAVANA

Amodern day rendition of the mythological text, Raavana will get Aishwariya and Abhishek on the silver screen together for the first time after getting hitched. The movie has been plagued with problems – floods, elephants stomping around the set, maybe a higher power is sending a message through all of this. We won’t say anything, let the boxoffice decide.

ACTION REPLAY

In Action Replay, a man ages backwards… Hmm, let’s see where have we heard this story before? A clear rip-off of the Hollywood hit, Benjamin Button, the film will feature Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai. Director Vipul Shah is back with Akshay Kumar and hopes his dream run will continue.

TEEN PATTI

As much as producer Ambika Hinduja denies it, Teen Patti’s plot seems like a rip-off of the Hollywood blockbuster 21. The film features three ace actors, Ben Kingsley (supposedly not doing a cameo), Big B and Madhavan. With the help of a unique algorithm, Amitabh who plays a mathematical genius leads a team of college students to make a lot of money. Does Amitabh hold the algorithm for the movie’s success or will this be just another failed spin-off?

GUZAARISH

The film that is loosely based on Whose Life is it Anyway? has Hrithik playing a paraplegic radio jockey. The film seems like a cry-till-your-tearbuds-dry-out movie – it explores the dilemma of euthanasia. Hrithik who believes in challenging himself till the cows come home, reportedly, spent hours in the wheelchair when not required to shoot, to get into the head of the character. Hrithik and Aishwarya reunite after Dhoom 2, and with Sanjay Leela Bhansali directing, it becomes one of the most awaited films in 2010, never mind Saawariya.

HOUSEFUL

Akshay Kumar has a slew of releases lined up next year and Houseful, the laugh-riot is one of them. The story follows Akshay who is very unlucky in life and is trying to find true love. The women helping him achieve this goal are Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta and Jiah Khan. In real life, however, we think it’s the other way around. Akshay will end up teaching Deepika more than two expressions, Lara how to sign movies and Jiah Khan how not to be dropped from the one-odd film she has signed.

NO PROBLEM

Anees Bazmee has three mega comedy films lined up next year. One of them is No Problem which has quite a star cast – Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, Sushmita Sen, Kangna Ranaut, Paresh Rawal and Sunil Shetty. The film is a love story of impossible proportions. Another impossible proposition is Kangna actually makes people laugh after making them weep all these years.

WELL DONE ABBA

Shyam Benegal has been travelling the world with his latest film, Well Done Abba. The satirical movie sees Boman Irani play two roles. Fitting two Bomans in one shot is a feat in itself and a testament to Benegal’s directorial skills. The movie follows the journey of Armaan Ali, a driver from Mumbai, who is out to find his daughter’s (Minissha Lamba) beau. Minissha, who has been alternating between commercial and semi-art house cinema, is reportedly playing a strong role in the film.

ROAD, MOVIE

Indian cinema has been through many fascinating twists and turns but none quite as romantic as touring cinemas. Essentially this means that the owner of one mounts the film projector on the back of a truck and the projectionist travels the length and breadth of a state with the truck, stops wherever there is a pilgrimage or a mela and projects the films he is carrying onto a white curtain which is then viewed by the locals sitting on both sides of the screen. Dev Benegal has made Road, Movie about one such projectionist (Satish Kaushik) and the young owner (Abhay Deol) and the adventures they have as they show their movies. The film has been very well received on the festival circuit.

ANJAANA ANJAANI

After playing twelve characters in What’s Your Raashee?, we’re sure Priyanka Chopra has become a stranger to herself, especially after the film tanked. Siddharth Anand ,director of Hum Tum and Salaam Namaste, tries a romcom with Anjaana Anjaani. Starring Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka, the film shows two strangers who fall in love and the journey they take together.

AISHA

Abhay Deol’s love for Delhi continues with his Bollywood release, Aisha where he plays another spoilt, rich Delhi brat. His character is modelled on Mr Knightly from Jane Austen’s novel, Emma. The movie is a romantic comedy that explores horrible mismatches. It also has a strong female role that has been bagged by Sonam Kapoor. Whether Sonam is strong enough for the film after two failed films (read: Saawariya and Delhi-6) is another matter.

KHELENGE HUM JEE JAAN SE

Ashutosh Gowariker is no stranger to large canvasses (think Lagaan, Swades, Jodhaa Akbar) so it’s no surprise that he is now filming another humongous project, Khelenge Hum Jee Jaan Se, which revolves around the Chittagong Uprising in the pre Independence days. After What’s Your Raashee?, this is another film adapted from a book, Do and Die by Manini Chatterjee. Abhishek Bachchan and Deepika Padukone lead the star cast and Nitin Chandrakant Desai leads the crew. Hopefully Ashutosh’s version of history will not be challenged, the way

KNOCK OUT

Inspired’ from the Hollywood masterpiece Phone Booth, Mani Shankar will look to re-create the magic in Bollywood. A man is trapped inside a phone booth, not because the door is stuck, but an assassin has a sniper rifle trained on him. Kangna plays the role of a journalist, Irrfan plays a cop and Sanjay Dutt the assassin.

1-800-LOVE

When you have a tag line that says, ‘From the makers of Ghajini and Jaane Tu…’ you know you’re in for a commercial roller-coaster. Abbas Tyrewala dons the director’s hat for 1-800-LOVE again and the music score is Rahman’s handiwork. A telephone call connects two people – one who wants to die, the other who is searching for meaning in life. They meet, fall in love, yada yada… If you are watching the movie and you get bored of John Abraham’s three expression repertoire, close your eyes and maybe the music will do the trick for you.

TEES MAAR KHAN

Tees Maar Khan has gotten more publicity that it ever dreamed of just because Shah Rukh Khan is not playing a role in Farah Khan’s film. But it does seem like SRK has rubbed off on the new lead actor, Akshay Kumar. Kumar plays a ’stylish’ (metrosexual) conman in the film. He will be joined by Akshaye Khanna, but the female lead has not yet been confirmed.

I HATE LUV STORYS

A true-blue rom-com, I Hate Luv Storys brings together the very glamourous Sonam Kapoor and the man with the melting eyes, Imran Khan. Described as a love story not meant to happen but which does happen, it is the story of a man who does not believe in love and a girl who does. They meet on a film set; a milieu the director Punit Malhotra is very familiar with, having cut his teeth on Karan Johar’s sets as an assistant director; and sparks fly.

HOOK YA CROOK

Finally, Bollywood gets a movie that shows hope in combining two things that Indians love best – cinema and cricket. Viraj Pradhan (John Abraham) dreams of being a cricketer but is a repeat offender who gets thrown into a maximum security prison. The jail is a haven for cricket players, but Viraj wants much more, he wants to be part of the men in blue. The film has reportedly roped in Indian cricketers for the movie but going by the ads on TV, the word ‘acting talent’ isn’t part of the Indian cricket team’s vocabulary.

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Films To Watch in 2010 was first posted on January 2, 2010 at 4:28 pm.

American Pie Band Camp

American Pie Band Camp: Band Camp is a 2005 direct-to-video spin-off to the American Pie trilogy of films and the first film in the American Pie Presents series. It was directed by Steve Rash and written by Brad Riddell. The film centers on Matt Stifler, younger brother of Steve Stifler. In this film, Matt is sent to the infamous band camp, where he meets a young woman and is compelled to change his ways.

It was released on DVD in the UK on October 31, 2005 and in the U.S. on December 26, 2005.

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American Pie Band Camp was first posted on January 2, 2010 at 4:59 pm.