Microsoft Sets Sept. 15 Date for IE9 Beta Launch

On Thursday afternoon, Microsoft sent out invitations to the launch of Internet Explorer 9 beta on Sept. 15, in San Francisco. The invitation to the event, dubbed "Beauty of the Web," included an HTML5 invitation site with an animated word game taking advantage of that emerging set of Web standards.

Microsoft had previously disclosed that it would release an IE9 beta in September.

Since March, the software giant has released four "platform previews," which lacked a true user interface with conveniences like bookmarks, search, and history. And just last week, the fourth preview was released, with the accompanying blog post by Internet Explorer General Manager Dean Hachamovitch noting that it would be the last platform preview before the beta phase. He also noted that the previews had been downloaded 2.5 million times, and the accompanying test site of demos had received over 20 million visits.

It's expected that the September beta will be our first look at a new interface, about which Microsoft has been very tight-lipped. But speculation about a Chrome-like "tabs-on-top" look or incorporation of an Office-like ribbon toolbar has kept Web software pundits busy. Another idea being tossed around is that the user interface will resemble the Zune/Windows Phone 7 "Metro" look.

The Microsoft team working on IE9 has focuses on two objectives: speed and standards support. For speed the browser takes advantage of graphics hardware acceleration using the version of DirectX present in Vista and Windows 7, so XP users won't be able to take advantage of the new faster browser.

Compliance with upcoming web standards means support for HTML5, SVG, and CSS3. With the fourth platform preview, it seems Microsoft has got the internal workings pretty much nailed down, having integrated its new Chakra JavaScript engine directly into the browser code rather than as a separate script engine accessed via COM (Component Object Model) Internet Explorer General Manager Dean Hachamovitch claims that this approach "significantly improves performance for real world websites."

PCMag.com will be at the launch, so look for up to the minute coverage and testing at the time of launch. In the meantime, you can check out the fourth platform preview at ietestdrive.com. Microsoft hasn't given any indication of the date of IE9's final launch, but many expect it to be during the company's Mix web developer conference next April.

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Oracle Wields Java as a Weapon

I'll say this for Oracle, at least it's consistently contradictory. The executives will extol the virtues of their partners, then turn right around and kick them in the--well, you know--and deploy an "innovative" copy of their partner's free software.

Or they'll claim to love open source, then let a prominent open source project suffer death by ignoring.

Or they'll tout open standards, then turn around and use patents on a standard programming language, then sue one of the biggest users of that technology.

Yes, consistent indeed.

Last week, when Oracle announced it was suing Google for alleged infringement of Oracle's JavaLinux to the heavens. patents, my initial reaction was one of resigned realization: when Oracle bought Sun Microsystems last year, I always wondered if it was just to get control of MySQL, arguably Oracle's once-biggest potential threat. They weren't doing anything with OpenSolaris, after all, and just this week at LinuxCon, praised

Yesterday, I realized, was the other piece of Oracle business plan: buy Sun, get Sun's Java IP, and then start shaking down as many Java implementers with deep pockets as possible. Repeat.

As programmer Joe Cheng tweeted so eloquently last night: "One word: SCOracle."

There are, of course, many learned and experienced pundits offering early analysis of this lawsuit, so I won't belabor the point. Bruce Perens asks, what about the Java patent grant? And Joel West has an excellent play-by-play on his blog, tagging this as a likely negotiation ploy.

Instead of adding my voice to the rising cacophony of dismay, I want to put the question out there that's been bothering me quite a bit as I've watched Oracle kill or weaponize components of Sun:

What's going to happen to OpenOffice.org?

The open source office suite, once owned by Sun, is now part of Oracle's stable of properties. The question then becomes, will Oracle continue to feed and care for OpenOffice.org, or will it put the project out to pasture, as it seems to be doing with OpenSolaris?

OpenOffice.org doesn't need Oracle to survive, of course, but without corporate backing to keep the project's lead developers going, OpenOffice.org, the best platform for open document standards to date, would likely suffer.

So we should ask Oracle what they plan to do with OpenOffice.org.

Then figure they'll actually do the exact opposite.

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Amartya Sen hits out at Facebook; says no intention to join

After falling victim to identity theft on 'Facebook', Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen has said he got no help from the managers of the social networking site in closing the "fraudulent" page of someone impersonating him. Sen said he never intends to open any account at a site where it is difficult to
check the "genuineness" of a participant.

According to a recent newspaper report, an 'impostor' pretending to be Amartya Sen had created a page on Facebook, which showed Sen as having 490 fans, and was liberally posting views that radically contradicted the political and economic views held by the Professor.

"I do not have any Facebook site of my own, and do not intend to open one. The story.....is indeed correct, and the site referred to there, where someone pretending to be me answered questions -- in first person -- as Amartya Sen, had nothing whatsoever to do with me," Sen said through email.

"The fraudulent Facebook page has been in operation, I understand, for some months now, but I came to know of it only two days ago when a young Italian enthusiast told me about this site, having been deceived himself in thinking it to be genuine," he added.

Disappointed that he never got any help from the Facebook managers in solving the issue, Sen said, "The managers of the Facebook system are not helpful in monitoring the veracity of the sites and communications. I got no help from them, and if the fraudulent site pretending to be from me has now been closed -- as I am told it has been...."

Efforts to get a specific response from the Facebook did not materialise.

The renowned economist, however, does not completely disapprove of social networking sites.

"I don't use Facebook not because I disapprove of them. The genuine ones could help communication across the world, of which I am entirely in favour. Indeed, I think such communications can be very useful in getting people closer to each other despite the geographical distances separating them," Sen said.

"If the honour system is respected, the Facebook can have good effects, without the possibility of distorting people's views -- as my economic and political assessments were distorted by that fraudulent site," he added.

Earlier, reacting to the revelation, Sen had said "I had no clue what he could be talking about, but there I was in what pretended to be a Facebook site run by me, with a picture of mine (real) and date of birth (real), replying to others with easy abandon -— telling them what to read and what to avoid, corresponding in first person."

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Amartya Sen hits out at Facebook; says no intention to join

After falling victim to identity theft on 'Facebook', Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen has said he got no help from the managers of the social networking site in closing the "fraudulent" page of someone impersonating him. Sen said he never intends to open any account at a site where it is difficult to
check the "genuineness" of a participant.

According to a recent newspaper report, an 'impostor' pretending to be Amartya Sen had created a page on Facebook, which showed Sen as having 490 fans, and was liberally posting views that radically contradicted the political and economic views held by the Professor.

"I do not have any Facebook site of my own, and do not intend to open one. The story.....is indeed correct, and the site referred to there, where someone pretending to be me answered questions -- in first person -- as Amartya Sen, had nothing whatsoever to do with me," Sen said through email.

"The fraudulent Facebook page has been in operation, I understand, for some months now, but I came to know of it only two days ago when a young Italian enthusiast told me about this site, having been deceived himself in thinking it to be genuine," he added.

Disappointed that he never got any help from the Facebook managers in solving the issue, Sen said, "The managers of the Facebook system are not helpful in monitoring the veracity of the sites and communications. I got no help from them, and if the fraudulent site pretending to be from me has now been closed -- as I am told it has been...."

Efforts to get a specific response from the Facebook did not materialise.

The renowned economist, however, does not completely disapprove of social networking sites.

"I don't use Facebook not because I disapprove of them. The genuine ones could help communication across the world, of which I am entirely in favour. Indeed, I think such communications can be very useful in getting people closer to each other despite the geographical distances separating them," Sen said.

"If the honour system is respected, the Facebook can have good effects, without the possibility of distorting people's views -- as my economic and political assessments were distorted by that fraudulent site," he added.

Earlier, reacting to the revelation, Sen had said "I had no clue what he could be talking about, but there I was in what pretended to be a Facebook site run by me, with a picture of mine (real) and date of birth (real), replying to others with easy abandon -— telling them what to read and what to avoid, corresponding in first person."

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We won't allow technology harming security: Pilot

The Centre will ensure that no communication or information technology poses any threat to national security, Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot said on Saturday, referring to the BlackBerry controversy.

“Action is necessary as some of the services of Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of the smartphone, have implications for our safety and security, particularly when we are fighting terrorism. National security is paramount,” he said here.

“We do not want any situation in which a technology can harm our internal security. For these reasons, the Home Ministry is considering a wide range of issues from time to time.” He hoped that the Canada-based RIM would cooperate with the law enforcement agencies and address their legitimate concerns.

The Centre had to take certain measures if a technology had implications for internal security, and the issue of BlackBerry services was one of them. “It is not an issue of imposing a ban; what we want is cooperation from them for the sake of security issues,” Mr. Pilot said.

The government has set an August 31 deadline for RIM and telecom operators offering its services to address its security concerns, failing which, it warned, it will shut down BlackBerry Enterprise Services and BlackBerry Messenger Services.

As for telemarketing calls and messages, Mr. Pilot said they had become a nuisance, and the government would soon come out with some kind of regulation.

“There are around 65 crore telecom users in the country, and these SMS and calls are an invasion of privacy, therefore a holistic view should be taken and strong steps initiated to address this.”

“Regulators, service providers and marketing services need to come together to make stringent laws on the subject… I believe that very soon some steps will be taken. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has even held a meeting and discussed the issue with all stakeholders, and soon something concrete will be done to check this menace.”

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3 more H1N1 cases reported from UP; toll reaches 145

With three more cases of swine flu -- two from Lucknow and one from Allahabad detected on Friday -- the total number of persons found infected with H1N1 virus in the state has reached to 145 this year. Of this, seven victims have already lost their lives.

In Lucknow, one Chaitali Biswas (30) and Aman Akash (20) tested positive for the virus at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) on Friday. A resident of Kolkata, Chaitali was on a visit to SGPGI where she went for a routine check up following symptoms of cold and fever. Akash happens to be the resident of Lucknow. Chief medical officer Dr AK Shukla said that the two have been quarantined.

In all, over a dozen patients are under close observation at SGPGI alone. This include five patients who have been admitted to the Tertiary Care Institute. Medical superintendent, SGPGIMS, Dr AK Bhatt said that the patients were being constantly monitored. Another seven patients have been quarantined and provided medicine `Tamiflu' and masks.

Meanwhile, Allahabad registered its first victim of swine flu on Friday when a 63-year-old woman hailing from Pratapgarh was found positive at SGPGI. The woman was further admitted to Army Hospital in an isolated ward where a team of doctors are treating her. She was administered with Tamiflu and the mask.

Medical officer, epidemic cell, Dr Rajendra Kumar told TOI that the woman had approached the hospital authorities three days back and doctors had sent her swab sample to SGPGI, Lucknow for test. On Friday, the woman was found positive for swine flu.

No case of swine flu has been detected from Varanasi this year. Ironically, the city, which receives a number of foreign tourists is yet to initiate screening of passengers at its airport.

"So far we have not received any instructions to start the screening at airport though sporadic cases of infectious swine flu are pouring from central and western part of the state,'' said Dr Shaukat Kamal, assistant director, National Institute of Communicable Disease (NICD), Varanasi and nodal officer for swine flu in the region while talking to TOI on Friday. Only the health staffs and paramedics involved in the control programme have been vaccinated on a precautionary note in the region, he added.

It may be mentioned here that around 20,000 air passengers of international flights were screened for suspected swine flu cases at Babatpur Airport during the period of nine months (May 2009 to January 2010).

Dr RS Verma, chief medical officer, Varanasi, claimed that as many as two isolation wards (each with 10-beds) at DDU and SPG hospitals have been reserved for swine flu cases while a stock of around 7,500 Tamiflu tablets are ready to meet any emergency situation. Likewise, as many as 45 swine flu protection kit with gloves and face masks apart from 15 sample collection kits are also available with the department, he added.

No swine flu case was reported from Kanpur, even though one suspected case of swine flu was reported in July. The patient, thankfully, tested negative.

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22 superbug cases in just one hospital...

Twenty-two patients in three months in a single hospital. This statistic should serve as an answer to anyone who wants to understand why the NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1) is creating ripples — both within India and in the rest of the world.

Hinduja Hospital in Mahim isolated the super bacteria in 22 patients within a span of three months. This has happened within a year of the bacteria being isolated for the first time by European doctors in a Swedish patient who had travelled to New Delhi for an operation.

"If a single hospital can isolate such a significant number of bacteria with a new resistance gene in a short period of time; the data from all the Indian hospitals, if available would potentially be more interesting and shocking than the human genome project data, which is considered as a discovery more important than the moon landing itself," wrote Dr Abdul Ghafar K, consultant in infectious diseases at Apollo Hospital, Chennai, in an editorial in JAPI, one of the leading Indian research journals.

A senior microbiologist from Mumbai who doesn't want to be named believes that mutations in bugs — to create superbugs — can only occur in countries like India where antibiotics are routinely overused or abused.
But Dr Abhay Chaudhary, president of the Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists believes that the European conclusion that it originated from the Indian subcontinent is not substantiated. "Some of the extrapolations in the study which appeared in the study that appeared in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal are inappropriate," he said.

While the truth about NDM-1's origins remain debatable, there are few things most Indian doctors agree upon: widespread abuse and overuse of antibiotics and the subsequent resistance in the community. In his JAPI article in March, Dr Ghafur wrote, "Our country, India, is the world leader in antibiotic resistance; in no other country antibiotics been misused to such an extent."

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Peepli is a happy pill for Aamir

Aamir Khan is predictably in a happy mood as he sits down for a chat-his first to a news publication-since his new production Peepli (Live) opened to good initials on Friday.

"One is never fully confident that one's film is guaranteed to work at the box office. Choosing a script, as an actor or as a filmmaker, is an emotional decision. If it touches my heart, I'm in," he says, when you point out Brand Aamir Khan is enough to pull the crowds even if his participation, as in the case of Peepli (Live), is only in the capacity of a producer.

That brings us to money matters. "The film cost Rs 10 crore, which is a small budget by the standards of the Hindi film industry," he says.

"But given its unconventional theme and the absence of familiar stars, even that amount seemed big while we made the film. I'm glad that people love Peepli (Live)." While Bollywood's most successful actor-filmmaker of the hour has always acknowledged his fan base as the biggest factor for his success, of late he also seems to be in the mood to be friends with the media unlike a few years ago, when he had virtually boycotted journalists.

"My relationship with the media is a happy one right now. I am thankful and grateful that they are interested in me," he says.

Aamir was always one to choose his words well.

A TV set blaring in the background momentarily distracts him, and Aamir, ever the perfectionist, springs into action. He gets up personally to reduce the volume.

For Aamir, even giving an interview should be a flawless affair and not a routine publicity act to just get over with.

He gives due credit to debutant director Anusha Rizvi for the way Peepli (Live) has shaped up.

"The research, the scripting and the casting were entirely done by Anusha and her husband Mahmood Farooqui. I did support their effort creatively but my main role lay in providing resources." So what is the one factor that makes Peepli (Live) a special film? "I'll vote for the film's unusual casting among several other important factors. The cast is what makes this film real and effective," Aamir says, adding: "A lot of them were facing the camera for the first time, and they have given the film a freshness which is its biggest appeal." During Saturday's whirlwind tour of the city for the postrelease promotion of Peepli (Live), Aamir was accompanied by the film's lead actors, Raghubir Yadav and Omkardas Manikpuri.

"This is the second time I've worked with Aamir after Lagaan. I can only say he has matured impressively as a filmmaker in all these years," Raghubir says.

On his part, the producer seems equally impressed by the actor. "I've been a huge fan of Ragu ji ever since I saw Massey Sahib ," says Aamir referring to Pradeep Kishen's 1985 film that won Raghubir the Critic's Award at the Venice Film Festival.

"I admire his tendency to be selective about good work." Call it a mutual admiration club. But maybe, it is exactly the sort of professional and personal respect a creator and a performer need to have for each other to make good movies.

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Stars unite for Leh

After Lady Gaga voiced support for victims of the cloudburst in Leh, by tweeting the numbers of various helplines, Bollywood celebrities are also using Twitter to help relief work as much as possible.

Actresses Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone, Shabana Azmi and Kunal Kapoor are
some of the actors who have tweeted their support. “I request people to make small contributions to help the affected children of Leh region. Children are the most vulnerable and it is now important that they get clean drinking water. We know how unsafe drinking water can lead to diarrhoea and cause even death among young children. Small steps on your part can go a long way to help save children,” said actor Kunal Kapoor.

Deepika PadukoneActress Deepika Padukone asked people to aid the NGO Save the Children, which has a rescue team in Leh. Pls support Save the Children’s relief efforts in Leh.

Actress Priyanka Chopra tweeted about her childhood in Leh, asking people donate as much as possible for the displaced families. “I think I was in Class 4 when I was in Leh. My brother was just born. My dad was in the army and was posted there. I stayed in Leh for a year and my memories of that place are tremendous,” Priyanka said. “We (film stars) take out time for endorsements, for shows, for 50 other things... why can’t we take out time for this (to help the victims)?” she added. Azmi also voiced her concern, calling on people to help.

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TV Show 'Khichdi' becomes a Bollywood Film

Breaking News! In a welcome development that will set a new trend, the popular TV show, 'Khichdi' has become a full-fledged Bollywood film. The new movie 'Khichdi' is produced by Hats Off Productions and written and directed by Aatish Kapadia.

'Khichdi' will be a comedy movie with full of humor and drama. Aatish Kapadia has added new content and style to the original TV show. 'Khichdi' began on Star Plus in 2002. It broke all records and was very popular among the viewers.

Even the characters of this TV serial became very popular among the masses. Fox Star Studios India, which is in charge of marketing 'Khichdi' is excited about its upcoming venture. It believes that the audience will give 'Khichdi' thumbs up, as they love to watch clean comedy movies.

A lot is expected from 'Khichdi', which is set to hit the silver screens on October 1, 2010.

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Peepli live strikes gold at the box office

As expected Aamir Khan’s stupendous production venture “Peepli Live”, a non commercial film about farmer suicides, got rave reviews at the box office on its opening day, taking the actor pleasantly by surprise, and ranking up about Rs 70 million and still counting.

“Initially, we had planned to open with 200 screens. But the reaction to the promos and trailers has been most encouraging. We are trying to react to the perceived demand to the film,” said Aamir in a statement.

During times when a majority of Hindi films carrying big star names have been flopping left, right center attributed to the fact that their content is poor, comes Aamir Khan produced Peepli [Live] starring no big names but superbly directed strong on content brilliant multi layered satire. It takes you straight into the heart of the real India, into the lives of BPL (Below Poverty Line) people and their problems. While on the periphery the film might appear to be a spoof on the farmer suicides, it ends up conveying much more and presents some shocking facts.

Journalist-turned-director Anusha Rizvi’s directorial debut, “Peepli Live” was made on a budget of approximately Rs 100 million (including marketing costs) and recovered its investment even before its release by selling its satellite rights for Rs 100 million and music rights for Rs 40 million.

“‘Peepli Live’ has opened extremely well. What is surprising is the reaction from single screens – it opened to almost 90 to 95 percent in single screens,” said a source close to Aamir.

The cast of the film didn’t have any big names except Naseeruddin Shah. Many actors are tribals from Bhadwai village in Madhya Pradesh, while other cast members are from late playwright Habib Tanvir’s theatre troupe Naya Theatre, including the main lead Omkar Das Manikpuri, who plays Natha.

“Peepli Live” had the widest film release ever for a non star cast Hindi film. It hit 600 screens in India and 100 in overseas markets, except Britain Friday.

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Remembering white architect with Indian heart

As the nation is celebrating the independence day and the grateful nation is recalling all those who had shed their blood during the freedom struggle, it is also a time when we discuss the contribution of a British architect who had designed many wonderful buildings of the capital, including Sujan Singh Park, St.Stephen's college, Regal Cinema and Scindia House. Well, he was Walter Sykes George (1881-1962) for you.

He was part of the team headed by the great architects like Edward Lutyens and Herbert Baker. They were designing various buildings of New Delhi in 1920s and George Walter was active member of their team. However, he was different in the sense that he remained in India even afterNew Delhi was built unlike his seniors who all left. George did not leave India even after it got freedom from Britishers in 1947.

The first master piece came from Walter George was Regal cinema of Connaught Place. Regal was the first picture hall of New Delhi,was opened in 1932. The most notable feature of Regal was that Walter George created a restaurant right on the first floor of Regal building.

The idea was to create a place for relaxation for all those movie goers to enjoy coffer there after viewing the movie. According to noted historian and author RV Smith, “ In the early days, English also plays used to be staged in Regal. It used to be the favourite spot for whites living inNew Delhi area”. The restaurant located on the first floor which has windows extending the width of the building.

Seating in the auditorium is located in stalls and a tiny balcony, which is supported by a series of pillars. The space between each pillar contains a private box.

Walter George, who was born and brought up in Manchester, studied at the Royal College of Art, London. It is said for him that he could work in several big and complex projects simultaneously. He wasdesigning perhaps India’s first multi stored residential apartments, Sujan Singh Park and the new building of St.stephans college at a one time in late 30s.While talking about his days in Sujan Singh Park, former ICS officer of 1934 batch, late Badruddin Tyabji once told this writer almost two decades ago, “ Though I have lived in many spacious places since my childhood, I can not forget my days of Sujan Singh Park.

All the residents get sun light in their flats. We had nice garden outside our flats. It was dream to live there.” It is worthwhile to mention here that Mr Badruddin Tyabji was responsible for all the arrangements of first independence day celebrations in capital that took place in both Red fort and later in the evening at National Stadium then known as Irwin stadium. During those days many senior government officials also used to live at Sujan Singh Park.

Said Devinder Gupta,CMD of realty advisory Century 21 India,” As my house is very close to Sujan Singh Park, I see the beautiful building daily and I admire the total facade of it. It is really amazing that it was built in early 40s. It is high time that we acknowledge the contribution of even whites who had done yeoman service for our country.”

According to noted architect J.K. Jain, once the project of making of New Delhi was completed in 1929 and it was officially inaugurated in 1931, most of the talented British architects associated with the building of the new capital started leaving India. Perhaps only Walter George decided to stay on and establish a private practice in Delhi.

“ Like most of his great seniors, he always created space for servant flats in houses. He created this in Sujan Sngh and St.Stephans college. You would also see good space for storage in his creations. There is a clear stamp of his genius on Sujan Singh Park and St.Stephen's college . He exposed red bricks and put the paste of lime and brick dust on them,” Jain concludes, who is also the head of designers arch e-homes.

Walter George was also responsible for establishing the first training facility for architects in North India. The Department of Architecture came into existence as part of the Delhi Polytechnic at Kashmiri Gate in 1942. Later, it became school of planning and architecture. RV Smith rues the fact that there is hardly anybody who talk about the creations of Walter George. It is high time that we remember the role played by outsiders and adopted India as their own.Ends

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Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon

When you talk about songs filled with nationalistic fervour, you would remember the great songs wrote by Kavi Pradeep. His absolutely outstanding song Aye Mere Watan ke logon was, written as tribute to the soldiers who had died defending the country during the Indo-china war. The song was famously performed live by Lata Mangeshkar in the presence of Pt. Nehru at the Ramlila grounds, New Delhi, on Republic Day, 26 January 1963.



Pt Nehru was so moved to hear the song that tears started rolling down from his eyes. Kavi Pradeep pledged the royalties of the song to War Widows Fund and on 25 August 2005, Bombay High court ordered, Saregama (HMV) to pay Rs10 lakh as arrears in royalty due to the Fund.



His first recognition, for his patriotic song, in film Bandhan (1940), though it was for writing a daringly patriotic song, Door Haaton aye Duniya walon (Move Away O Outsiders), in India`s first golden jubilee hit, Kismet (1943), that his status as nationalistic writer got immortalized.



In a career span, of nearly five decades, Kavi Pradeep, wrote about 1,700 songs nationalistic poems including the lyrics for some 72 films, including hits like, Chal Chal Re Naujawan, film Bandhan (1940), Aao Bachchon Tumhe Dikhayen, film Jagriti (1954), De Di Hame Azaadi Bina Khadag Bina Dhaal, and Yahaan vahaan jahaan tahaan mat poochho kahaan kahaan, film Jai Santoshi Ma (1975) for which he also did a playback version in the film. In 1958, HMV released an album comprising of 13 songs with his lyrics, soon he was made the Rashtrakavi, (Poet Laureate), and came to be known as, Kavi Pradeep. In 1997, he was honoured by India`s highest award in Cinema, the Dada Saheb Phalke Award.



Kismet was his groundbreaking effort since it came at the time of the "Quit India" movement. The country was in strife with all national leaders in Jail. He cleverly wrote Aj Himalay ki choti se phir hamne lalkara hai...door hato ae duniyawalon Hindustan hamara hai.The song was supposed to warn the Axis powers, but the Indian public understood the real meaning of the song. Theatres around the country were resounded with "once more" calls once the song ended. The reel had to be rewound and the song was screened again and again. Kismet made Box Office history for its time by running for 3-1/2 years in one theatre.



He continued his patriotic zeal with renewed vigor after Independence in movies such as Jagriti, ‘Dedi humein azadi bina khadak bina dhal, Sabarmati ke sant tune kar diya kamal...` is considered to be his tribute to Bapu.



During 1962 (Indo-China) war days, he heard about Param Vir Major Shaitan Singh Bhati. He was so touched by his sacrifice and bravery that he penned down the lines `Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon` (translation: O people of my country). This song was originally supposed to be sung by Asha Bhosle, due to a misunderstanding between composer C Ramchandra andLata Mangeshkar. Kavi Pradeep though, was adamant about having Lata Mangeshkar sing the song , as he felt that hers was the only voice that could do justice to the number. C Ramchandra was unsure whether Mangeshkar would agree to sing, so Kavi Pradeep began the task of convincing her tohear the song.



On hearing the song she was moved so much that she instantly agreed to sing the song, on condition that Kavi Pradeep be present at the rehearsals.



Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo went on to become one of the greatest patriotic songs of the country. It was while listening to Lata Mangeshkar’s rendition of Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo that the then Prime Minister of India - Pt Nehru was moved to tears. For writing the song he was conferred the honour of "Rashtriya Kavi" (National Poet) by the Government Of India.

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Mera Rang De Basanti Chola

New Delhi-On both Independence day and Republic day, we suddenly start listening to patriotic numbers like Aye Watan, Aye Watan, Watan Ki Raha Main, Mera Rang De Basanti Chola (Saheed) , Apni Azadi Ko Hum (Leader), title track of Hindusthan Ki Kasam and Kar Chale Hum Fida (Haqeeqat). Listening to these songs make you nostalgic and fill the heart with nationalistic fervor as well.



Dekho Veer Jawano Apne , Khoon Pe Yeh Ilzaam Na Aaye, Maa Na Kahe Ki Mere Bete, Waqt Pada To Kaam Na Aaye (Anand Bakshi/Laxmi-Pyre/Kishor Kumar)



This was how a lame Rajesh Khanna exhorted the platoons of soldiers going to the battle field in J Omprakash`s Aakraman. In this war flick of 1973, the enemies whom the sapoots were out to slay were Pakistanis.



Only the issue was not Kargil but liberation of Bangladesh. So what we witnessed in Kashmir few years back was nothing but the repetition of the same old story.



But it was not always Pakisthan that provoked war frenzy in us. Before it, it was the prerogative of the `firangis`. During the pre-independence days, Akand Bharat was the fondly cherished dream of the freedom fighters. Hence during the Quit India movement, Kavi Pradeep , a great patriot as he was, wrote Dur Hato Aie Duniyawalo, Hindusthan Hamara Hai (Kismat, 1943).



It is said that the producer of this film Sashadhar Mukharjee was very skeptical about the reaction of the British rulers. But Pradeep somehow persuaded him to include the song in the film. At the same time he convinced the British rulers that, the song was targeted at the Japanese and German who were foes of England at that time, due to 2nd World War. But when the Indian freedom fighters lapped up the song and used it as a slogan against Britishers, the real design dawned on them. But then it was too late.



After the long drawn struggle, when India got the much awaited freedom, its euphoria stayed with the people well beyond a decade. Each successive anniversary was celebrated with increased enthusiasm and fervor. Films were made retracting the days of struggle and enumerating the dreams and ambitions of a young India. In Anandmath(1952), Hemant Kumar set Bankim Chandra`s Vande Mataram to a racy and rabble rousing composition, (which was totally opposite to the slow, solemn classical composition that our radio stations play in the morning everyday.)



And Lata Mangeshkar from her side complimented Hemnant Kumar`s chorus by singing it with feeling and a rare flourish.Talk of patriotic numbers and many more film songs of such caliber come to mind.



Songs like Aye Watan, Aye Watan, Watan Ki Raha Main, Mera Rang De Basanti Chola(Saheed) , Apni Azadi Ko Hum (Leader), title track of Hindusthan Ki Kasam and Kar Chale Hum Fida (Haqeekat) not only make one nostalgic but fill the heart with nationalistic fervor as well.



But all the patriotic songs of the Hindi films don`t sound like war cries. Hence before some critic dubs our film makers as jingoists, who advocate fervent nationalism and fierce fanaticism, he should think twice because they have a cache of cool compositions that neutralize the opprobrium.



Songs like Aao Bachchon Tumhe Dikhaon( Jagruti) Jahan Daal, Daal Par (Sikandar-E-Azam), Mere Desh Main (Jigri Dost), Yeh Desh Hai Veer Jawano Ka (Naya Daur), are all meaningful and benign compositions. These songs not only highlight the great social traditions and moral values of our ancient civilization, but give a glimpse of our history and heritage as well. And Chodo Kal Ki Baaten (Hum Hindusthani) deserves a special mention, because this can very well called one of the best compostion of not so prolific lady composer Ms Usha Khanna.



The youthful and spirited playback singing of Mukesh is able compemented by handsome and gentlemanly presence of Sunil Dutt on screen. And the sleek use of mandolin and accordion in orchestration and the pleasant vocal chorus that support the lead voices have a heart warming impact.



Mere Desh Ki Dharti (Upkaar) - if Raj Kapoor was die hard optimist, Manoj Kumar is a hard core pacifist. Needless to say songs of their films like Honthon Pe Sachchai Rahati Hai, Mera Naam Raju (Jis Desh Main Ganga Bahati Hai) and Hai Preet Jahan Ki Reet Sada (Purab Aur Pachchim) preached non-violence and advocated peaceful co-existence.

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Jinnah-Liquat left many properties in India

Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his deputy in the Muslim League and the first prime minister of Pakistan, Liquat Ali Khan had left large properties in India.

In terms of valuations of their properties in present context, they must be costing close to Rs700- Rs750 crores.

Jinnah had one house each in the most exclusive areas of both Mumbai (then Bombay) and in New Delhi. While he managed to sell his 10, Aurangjeb Road mansion here before going to Pakistan, the house in Malabar Hill in Mumbai remained unsold.

This house was designed according to European architecture. Even though his estrange daughter, Dina claimed that house many times, the Indian government had never accepted her claim. It is a well-known fact that Dina is the mother of Bombay Dyeing Chairman, Nusli Wadia. And since long Pakistan too has been asking for that house of their founding father to start their Mumbai consulate. And the Indian government has always rejected this request.

Mumbaikar Zafar Iqbal, an ex-IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre, says that considering the prime location where Jinnah house of Mumbai is situatated, it is a gold mine. It would be not less than Rs 125 crores in today’s context. It is a dream house.

Delhi’s Jinnah house is little unfortunate in the sense that unlike the Jinnah house of Mumbai, this has never remained in news.

It is said that Jinnah started visiting more often than not in this part of the country after 1940 when Muslim League demanded a separate state for the Indian Muslims. Before he purchased his Delhi house, he used to stay either at Hotel Maidens or Imperial Hotel instead of staying with some of his party leaders.

It is said that Jinnah was not very keen of having a house in Delhi to start with. But after some of his close Muslim league colleagues including LiquatAli Khan persuaded him to have one here, he purchased 10 Aurangjeb Road house.

In fact, Muslim league leaders also convinced him that as he would have to visit Delhi to meet and organise the Muslims, hence he must have his own house here. In this house, Altaf Hussain, the editor of The DAWN, the organ of Muslim League, used to stay. The Dawn during those days used to publish from Darya Ganj.

Jinnah, who belonged to Islamia Khoja community of Gujarat, had sold this house to Ram Krishna Dalmia for less than Rs3 lakhs. Inarguably a very big sum in 1947. Realty experts say that the present cost of 10, Aurangjeb Road would be not be less than Rs200 crores at any cost whatsoever.

The likes of Laxmi Mittal and KP Singh of DLF too have huge mansions on this very road. And from exclusive Aurangjeb Road, Tilak Lane is also not very far away. In a huge mansion on this lane, LiquatAli Khan used t live with his pretty wife, Gul-e-rana, a teacher of English in IP college of Delhi University.

Liquat Ali Khan, who later became the first prime minister of Pakistan, had huge properties in both Delhi and Karnal. Unfortunately, he too could not dispose off his house while going to the county which created. It is said that later Indian government took over the control of his house. And Indian government given that house to Pakistan government to make it the official residence of their Delhi based high-commissioner. And lastly, Khan was killed in a same place in 1951 where Benazir Bhutto was killed.

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Curfew reimposed in many parts of valley

Curfew was re-imposed in Srinagar and most other towns of Kashmir Valley after four people were killed in firing on Friday. Situation is extremely tense in the area. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will chair a high-level meeting on Saturday to take stock of the situation. Omar had cancelled the meeting scheduled to be held on Friday in protest against the latest civilian deaths.

According to reports, there was fresh violence today. One person was injured in firing in Singhpora Pattan area of Baramulla district.

At least 55 people have been killed in the recent wave of clashes between protesters and security forces in the last 2 months.

"The government is talking about confidence building measures, we have made four proposals and unless these are addressed, our protests will continue," said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

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PM concludes CWG meet, says guilty to be punished

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday held a meeting with ministers concerned and other stake-holders to take stock of the preparations for the Commonwealth Games to be held in October.

The meeting began at 4.30 pm at the Prime Minister's residence. It was attended by Minister of Urban Development S Jaipal Reddy, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports MS Gill, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi, and other top government officials.

Singh said those found guilty of corruption in Commonwealth Games preparations would face severe and exemplary punishment.

Sources said that there is likely to be an oversight panel headed by Sports Minister MS Gill, and the Organising Committee of the CWG will report to this panel.

Prime Minister said that there had been slippages in the time schedules of some of the construction works and deficiencies had also been observed in some of the works. He said that, in the run up to the Games, it was important to gain public confidence by instilling order and carrying out effective supervision of the preparation works.

The Cabinet Secretary was directed to liaise closely with the Group of Ministers (GoM) on CWG to ensure effective coordination among all the concerned authorities.

"The Cabinet Secretary will have jurisdiction over matters relating to Commonwealth Games Organising Committee and and a Secretary level officer will liase with the GoM on a daily basis," Singh said.

The Prime Minister directed the ministries concerned, the Government of the National Capital Region (NCR) and the Organising Committee to complete all pending works expeditiously through time-bound action plans and carry out a quality audit of the completed facilities.

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Beware, East India Company is back

Sanjiv Mehta is a 48-year-old Indian businessman who for the past many years has worked to restore the formerly British-owned East India Company. In 2004, Mehta proceeded to buy all the company’s shares, mostly owned by British businessmen. He has spent the last six years travelling and talking to museum curators and historians in an attempt to gain a proper understanding of the heritage of the company. Mehta efforts are somewhat surprising given that the 400-year-old company acted as a vehicle for the expansion of British imperial rule in his homeland.

The East India Company was granted its first charter by Elizabeth I on December 31st, 1600. It was dissolved on January 1st, 1874, after the Government of India Act transferred the company’s powers to the Crown.

The flagship store of the revamped East India Company is due to open in Mayfair this spring. Mehta thereafter plans to open a second store in London, as well as stores in India, the Middle East, Japan, Russia and the United States. The stores will notably sell coffee, tea, spices, chocolate, leather goods and furniture.

East India Company, the trading company with a 400-year-history whose highlight was ruling India - the `jewel of the Crown` - will soon open outlets to sell tea, coffee, spices and fabrics.Bought in 2004 by Indian-originbusinessman Sanjiv Mehta, 48, the company will now seek to conquer the retail market by opening its flagship store in Mayfair, central London , this year, with more outlets planned in India, the Middle East and later in Japan , Russia and the US.

Items to be stocked include furniture, chocolates, leather goods, fruit pickles and sushi, but Mehta is clear that each outlet will have a contemporary feel and but `tell of the connection to its past`.

The company was established in 1600 by Elizabeth I, but on 1 January 1874, it was dissolved after the Government of India Act transferred its powers to the Crown.

In 1874, The Times wrote: "It accomplished a work such as in the whole history of the human race no other company ever attempted and as such is likely to attempt in the years to come."

In 2004, Mehta bought all the shares of the company and invested 20 million pounds along with other investors to develop the company. It continues to be one of the most recognised brands in the world.

Mehta told The Times: "I have not created this brand, history has created it. I am just the curator of it, a custodian, if you like, and the fiduciary responsibility is very great. In my lifetime I could not possibly create a brand like this. Nobody could."

He added: "This company has huge potential. What makes this more special is that I am Indian, so there is a huge feeling of redemption for me. It is buying back a company that owned India. It would be nice to go back to my motherland as the owner. It is very personal to me."

Mehta hopes to make profits by the end of the first quarter of 2012 and expects to be register a turnover of 65 million pounds by the end of 2015.

He said: "The company is full of human history. Everything that I do with this company has to be for the greater good. If I do not manage to take this company forward, I must make sure that I do not destroy it."

We have to think about how we change the world around us. Every salesperson will be required to study the history of the company so they can sell an experience to the customer, not merely a product, Mehta said.

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SRK's father rejected Pakistan for India

Taj Mohammed Khan was a handsome young man when India was dived on communal lines in 1947. Activist of Congress in his home town in Peshawar, he was deeply hurt when Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan started migrating to India and Muslims to Pakistan. As a secularist and somebody who shunned the two-nation theory of MA Jinnah, he too decided to shift to secular India rather than staying back in a country carved out for Muslims. Father of certain Shah Rukh Khan of Bollywood, Taj Mohammad came to Delhi once and for all leaving behind his home.

Unlike the general perception that only Hindus and Muslims migrated to India in the wake of partition of the country in 1947, if not in large numbers, many Muslim families too decided to shift to India rather than staying in an Islamic country. Taj Mohammad too shifted his family to India. Taj Mohammad, whose family used to live at Bazar Kissaa Khani in Peshawar city, was a Congress activist and totally opposed to the idea of partition of thecountry on the basis of religion. He came to Delhi along with his family members.

Taj Mohammad was a lawyer and died of cancer in 1981. According to an ex-IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre and keen student of Modern Indian history, Zafar Iqbal, "many prominentMuslims families with secular and Congress background had decided to migrate to India at that time. They were not at all ready to live in an out and out Islamic country". Prominent Congress leader Mohammad Yunus, a close relative of Frontier Gandhi Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, too came to India. He was one of the founders of Trade Fair Authority of India.

Noted theatre activist and teacher in Satyawati College of DU, Shamshul Islam’s family also rejected the very thought of living in an Islamic Pakistan. “ My grand father and father came toIndia in 1947 in the height of communal clashes. I really owe to my elders that they shifted to India instead of staying back in Rawalpindi. Despite some issues, India is a great nation,” he said.

Once HC Shourie, who was the Rehabilitation commissioner of refugees, told this reporter in late 80s that some Muslims families from NWFP region of Pakistan came to India as there was not much impact of Jinnah and Muslim League there. The local people were close to Gandhiji and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. That was the major reason for many Muslims to leave Pakistan and settled in secular India. It may be recalled that Mr Shourie was a very respected Consumer Right activists and father of eminent author and journalist, Arun Shourie and TV personality Nalini Singh.

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A sad tale of missing historic tri-color

August 15, 1947. Time: Midnight. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India had begun his address to the nation from All India Radio, calling the moment a tryst with destiny. After his historic and emotionally charged speech, the entire nation started waiting for the moment when he would unfurl the tri-colour for the first time from the imposing Red Fort. That was the moment each and every Indian was waiting for. And finally it came.

The mood in Delhi, like in others parts of the country, was absolutely joyous and electric. Before the start of Pandit Nehru`s maiden speech and unfurling of flag, there was a breathtaking performance by shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan who kept everyone spellbound. He was very young then. And then camethe moment of truth. In excellent weather conditions, Jawaharlal Nehru first unfurled our national flag to the great delight of the crowd gathered there.

Though television was not there those days, All India Radio was giving a running commentary. In the mild breeze the tri-colour was flying in all its glory. Recalls SA Abdullah, historian, then a student of St. Stephen`s College, "with thousands of people watching, it was a grand moment". That was one moment one can`t describe so easily.

Although no flag should be deemed ordinary, this was indeed a special flag. But the question is where has that historic flag gone? Shockingly nobody knows about it. One thought it could be in Nehru Memorial Museum since many things related toJawaharlal Nehru are kept there. But it is not at there. The museum`s director OP Kejriwal says that they don`t have that particular flag.

But Kejriwal suggests that one should better look for it at the National Museum. Following his advice, one tries there too, only to get a negative answer. But the staffers at the National Museum advise to visit the National Archives as they had seen many flags there. That is some encouragement but shockingly it is not there either. The deputy director of National Archives says they don`t have that flag although they have one that was unfurled by the soldiers who were responsible for the Naval mutiny in Bombay in 1946. There can`t be two opinions about the fact that even this one is equally pious for every Indian.

Naval Mutiny flag

According to another eminent historian Anirudh Despande, those who were at the forefront of Naval Mutiny used to carry three flags, the Congress flag, Muslim League flag and Communist party flag. Naturally, Congress flag is there at the National Archives. But the flag unfurled on the first Independence Day is still untraceable.

Even after drawing a blank from three places an attempt is made with the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) - the agency that looks after the arrangements for the Independence Day at the Red Fort grounds - but not a single soul there is ready to speak on the matter. The only answer that their employees have is "We are not aware of that".

There is still one last place to try before one can think of winding up the `search-the-flag mission` and that is the Rashtrapati Bhawan which has many historic things lying in the maalkana. The suggestion is worth trying. When contacted, the lady at the media wing of Rashtrapati Bhawan replies, "The flag is not in Rashtrapti Bhawan". Where could it be?

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Pic. 1st 3D Porn movie

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World's first 3D porn film!

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Dipika Celebrate Independence Day

Deepika Padukone
It’s a weekend and an off so hopefully everybody will get time to relax and that’s freedom!

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Bipasa's Indepence Day

Bipasha Basu
Freedom allows me to be myself. As a woman I can choose the profession I want and be respected for what I do. Today, women can afford financial freedom. Because we live in independent India, I get opportunities to exercise personal freedom.

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Preity Zinta On independence Day

Preity Zinta
I am attending our Independence Day parade in New York City this year! Looking forward to all the festivities. According to me, Freedom is about pride. It’s about d fighting spirit & its about shutting your critics, not with words but actions! Its wanting to win. Freedom to me is the choice to think, live and act the way I want to; the choice to say yes or no. I think I have that choice.

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Top Couple On independence day

Kareena Kapoor
I love the flag hoisting on Independence Day. As a child, I would hold elder sister Karisma Kapoor’s hand and toddle off to the RK Studios in Chembur in Mumbai where my grandfather Raj Kapoor had a ceremony every Independence Day for the children in the family. Freedom to me is about getting to make your own choices in life.

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Big B View on Independence Day

Amitabh Bachchan
I’d like to bring in peace and harmony in this country and freedom is our constitution, our democracy according to me. We have every right to express ourselves.

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Sonam Kapoor celebrate India’s Independence Day

French philosopher Rousseau has said that "Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains." To me, freedom is the natural state of a human being and an individual has every right to freedom of expression or opinion or action and by conforming to societal and political pressures and losing that freedom of expression that person is harming him or herself.

Today, I would hope that awareness in this country increases and that can only be done by educating our dominantly youthful nation. Illiteracy is the reason why any nation suffers and my wish would be for a literate nation. Better infrastructure and better roads is also something I would like to have for my country.

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Bollywood biggies celebrate India’s Independence Day

As India enters its 64th year of Independence, Renuka Vyavahare finds what ‘freedom’ means for Bollywood’s biggest stars. Is India shinning as we would like to believe?

Shah Rukh Khan

I said we were developing...now we are amongst the world leaders. Each nation has to go through stages. We went through ours. There's nothing wrong about celebrating our achievements, irrespective of the measure. We have a reason to celebrate in what we believe. So far, we have done very well. But we are not the leading light. We have lit a spark. But I am sure in another five to six years we will get brighter.

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Independence Day Special Photo

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I want to see Sonam's film: Shahid Kapoor

Shahid Kapoor, who is back in the city after a hectic schedule in Scotland for Mausam, wants to catch his co-star Sonam Kapoor's I Hate Luv Storys.

"Yeah I want to see Sonam's film and all the other films that I've missed while I was away," said Shahid.

Talking about

his two months in Edinburgh, he said: "Shooting in Edinburgh was like a dream. The place was so beautiful, I felt I was transported to paradise.

Shahid Kapoor"And then being directed by dad was a dream come true. He is like an encyclopaedia of acting. I've learnt so much in the last one month. I tried to absorb as much as I could," said Shahid.

He missed his mom and kid-brother like crazy during the shooting abroad.

"In fact, I wanted my brother to come over to Scotland. But kids that age have their own life and commitments," said Shahid sounding every inch the concerned big brother.

Now until the next schedule of Mausam, in Punjab, the actor will be with his mom and brother.

"Not just mom and my brother, but my closest friend Sri also. He stays in Bangalore. I've invited him over to Mumbai to spend time with me, my brother and mom. I'm now going to catch up on all the films that I missed while I was gone," said Shahid.

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‘Peepli Live’ shines at Box Office on Opening Day

Breaking News! Once again, the perfectionist in Bollywood, Aamir Khan got clicked with his own production venture 'Peepli Live'. The movie bagged Rs 70 million at the box office on its release day.

According to the Bollywood reports, 'Peepli Live' is sweeping all its contemporaries in a surprising way having no renowned stars except Naseeruddin Shah from single screens.

The movie based on simple solid story about farmer suicides, their humiliation by the politicians, bureaucrats, and media people, taking the actorAamir Khan without his on-screen presence in the movie to the top.

As Aamir revealed in an interview on yesterday that he was not fit for the role of Natha what Omkar Das Manikpuri plays, the artist really impressed Aamir with his mind-blowing and fantastic performance in the movie.

However, more reports are yet to be revealed for the box office condition of the film on the first week of its release. 'Peepli Live' is the fourth film fromAamir Khan Productions Ltd. after Lagaan (2001), Taare Zameen Par (2007) and Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na (2008).

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Khichdi - first Indian TV show to be made into feature film

In a significant development which is a first in the Indian entertainment space, a very popular television series is serving as an inspiration for a film backed by an international studio. Fox Star Studios that brought Slumdog Millionaire and My Name is Khan to audiences in India is presenting the feature film which takes off from the popular sitcom Khichdi . Bringing Hollywood practices to India where popular and successful television shows like Mr Bean, Batman, Simpsons, Mission Impossible, Star Wars and Sex and the City get made into films regularly, this would be the first time in India that a series will migrate onto the cinema platform. Given the challenge that Bollywood has to create new content – this could be a start of a new trend!

The film titled Khichdi – The Movie produced by Hats Off Productions, written and directed by Aatish Kapadia is an all out fun and crazy ride and is best described as “Comedy Family ki Family Comedy”. The film is freshly written and retains the humour and the eccentricities of the much loved characters that have made close to 50 million people laugh over the last 7 years whilst taking an updated view of today's times.

Khichdi is an immensely popular sitcom series that originated on Star Plus in 2002. The series produced by Hats Off Productions broke all records achieving the highest TVR for a comedy sitcom on Indian satellite television. In its first run the show reached out to 8.6 million viewers tickling households across the country via the power of television and stole the show at awards functions in India by winning the maximum number of awards for a comedy.

The unique flavor of the comedy and the characters made the series very popular among television audiences. In a recent research conducted in July 2010 – the characters of Hansa, Praful, Babuji, Himanshu and Jayshree have rated very high on recall and likeability amongst audiences.

Vijay Singh, CEO Fox Star Studios India said “We are very excited about the research feedback from the audiences that have seen Khichdi - The Movie. Audiences loved the ‘saaf suthri comedy’ and found it to be funnier than most recent comedy films. Audiences are looking for new experiences and lets face it, there are very few good clean comedy films that audiences can go and watch with the entire family ....that’s the promise of Khichdi-the Movie !.

Producer of the film Jamnadas Majethia (JD) of Hats Off Productions, came to us with his vision of taking the humour of the television characters to the big screen. Hats Off Production has an amazing track record and understand the comedy genre and were best placed to deliver a great comedy film for the entire family.” added Vijay Singh

“The TV serial changed the grammar of comedy when it came on television and viewers got addicted to the humour. They were enjoying watching it again and again and we are sure that Khichdi – the Movie will create the same magic on the big screen and hopefully redefine comedy in Indian cinema.” said JD Majethia.
In its new avatar – Khichdi, the Movie goes on a roller coaster ride where the ridiculous tasks that the Parekh family attempts to fulfill takes them through a tsunami of hilarious situations.

“Khichdi is and shall always remain closest to my heart as it is the first show produced by Hats Off Productions and thanks to JD’s insistence, I directed my own idea for the first time and Khichdi achieved cult status as it created a new genre of humour. Khichdi the Movie will now take the madness atleast 10 notches ahead. Watch out for this fun and craziness coming soon to a cinema Hall near you.” says writer- director Aatish Kapadia

With the focus on good content, especially good comedy for the whole family, Khichdi – The Movie is something to look forward to on October 1, 2010.

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Item girl Vidya Balan?

When Vidya Balan romanced two men in Ishqiya, it was seen as a rather bold role for the usually sober actress. Breaking the mould yet again, Vidya will soon be seen doing an item number in Santosh Sivan's next Urumi.

Incidentally, Vidya was never opposed to the idea of doing

an item number. Two years back in an interview she had clearly said that she would love to do one if she liked the song. Judging by that, Urumi must have some good tracks.

Apparently, post Ishqiya, Sivan was so impressed by Vidya's desi avatar that he immediately decided to use her for the item number.

VidyaWhile Genelia D'Souza has been chosen to the princess in the lead role, Vidya will be seen sizzling the screen in an item number.

Vidya will be seen performing traditional Mohiniattam dance form. A source told Mumbai Mirror, "It won't be a raunchy number but definitely a very sensuous one."

Santosh Sivan is known for his ability to portray women sensuously with his much appreciated cinematography. Remember Kareena Kapoor in Asoka!

Vidya is surely going to turn the heat on.

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