Priyanka Chopra excited about Guinness Book

Eighty years ago legendary British actor Lupino Lane created a (yet unbroken) record for a male actor playing 24 roles in Only Me (1929). And now Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra is all excited about the possibility of her entering the record books for doing 12 roles in forthcoming What’s Your Raashee.

“I was aware about Sanjeev Kumar playing nine roles in ‘Naya Din Nayi Raat’ and Kamal Haasan being seen 10 times over in ‘Dashavatharam’. However, even I got to know about Lupino Lane’s achievement very recently. Hats off to him to have done that eight decades back and that too in a silent film,” said Priyanka.

In Ashutosh Gowariker’s What’s Your Raashee, she plays 12 different roles and the film has already been referred to the Guinness Book of World Records.

While there have been quite a few double role performances by leading ladies in the past, there aren’t many movies where a Bollywood actress has played even a triple role, let aside coming close to enacting a dozen-odd characters in a single outing.

“Yes, I have been told about this. I guess not just in India but even in world cinema no woman has ever played 12 different characters in the film. In fact, the producers of What’s Your Raashee have got in touch with the Guinness Book of World Records and we are awaiting their response,” said Priyanka.

If one goes down the memory lane, one can comfortably say that with What’s Your Raashee?, Priyanka may well boast of doing the biggest ever film written for a woman protagonist in the history of Indian cinema.

“Please don’t make it all sound so big and heavy. Let’s just look at it as an entertaining movie and leave it there. Words like ‘greatest’ and ‘biggest’ don’t hold much relevance if one doesn’t justify each of the characters. You may win when it comes to count but then you must also be able to put some weight in your performance,” she said.

So was she overjoyed when Gowariker approached her for the role?

“Not at all. In fact I was quite nervous about how I would manage to pull it off. A role may look fantastic on paper and you too may feel confident of pulling it off. Still, you have to be extra careful to make sure that audiences too like what you bring to the table,” said Priyanka, who has given three consecutive hits – Dostana, Fashion and Kaminey.

This was the reason why she stayed away from all the limelight while shooting for What’s Your Raashee? and her look for each of the characters too was kept under wraps.

“You end up picking on all the flattery around you but none of that helps in what comes across on screen”, she said. “What’s Your Raashee? has such a fantastic script written with each of the 12 roles boasting of such well-etched characterisation.

“I had to go all out in following Ashutosh’s vision. With the coming together of a great production house, an intelligent director, a fantastic co-star and some melodious music, it all seems to have summed up well. Now that the mathematics part has gone well, it is time to see how audiences react to our effort.”

What’s Your Raashee? is set to release Sep 25.

Katie Price was raped more than once

In a shocking revelation, the former glamour model Jordan a.k.a. Katie Price, who recently split with her estranged husband Peter Andre, has said that she was raped more than once when she was young. Jordan made the shocking claims in response to allegations that her new boyfriend Alex Reid had starred in a film which glorified rape, reports Daily Mail.

Denying allegations, Katie Price writes in her weekly column for OK! magazine. "I was appalled by the headlines claiming he's taken part in something which glorifies rape. This is completely untrue. Rape is a subject very close to my own heart. I was raped when I was younger, more than once.

"Needless to say, I'd never be associated with anything or anyone so sick. I've never talked about this before, but I feel I have to now because I was so hurt by these accusations that I would not take a subject, which affects so many women, seriously, " Daily Mail quotes her writing in her weekly column for OK! magazine.

Jordan claims that her cage-fighter boyfriend Reid was also equally upset, despite starring in the film [^]. She further writes "Someone who was close to Alex was also raped and he is as horrified as I am by these claims. I urge any woman who has been affected by rape and needs help to talk to somebody they trust about it,"

She adds, "I'm so happy [^] at the moment. Alex and me are really strong. There's been a lot of rubbish written about his new gangster [^] movie, people saying it's porn. He's acting. He didn't have sex. He had his pants on."

However, the glamour girl previously revealed that she was sexually assaulted with two friends when she was six. Speaking to Piers Morgan, she described how a man lured them into bushes as they played in a park, before offering to buy them an ice cream if they let him touch them, reports Daily Mail.

Is Home Alone kid the father of MJ's son?

Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin has shot down a sensational UK newspaper report suggesting he is the biological father of Michael Jackson's youngest son Prince Michael II.

The Sun published an article on Monday naming former child star Culkin, a close friend of the pop superstar, as the dad of the seven year old, aka Blanket.

The boy was delivered via a surrogate, whose identity has never officially been disclosed.

Culkin, who has yet to publicly speak about the death of his pal, is the latest to be linked to the controversy.

But the actor's representative Michelle Bega has blasted the claims, saying, "The enquiries are too preposterous for us to even acknowledge."

Culkin, who is now 29, became friends with Jackson after he rose to fame in 1990 with the film Home Alone.

A source told the Sun, "But Jackson and Culkin were best friends. He was one of the few people Jackson really trusted and Mack never let him down.

Really, Jackson idolised him that's why he asked Mack to donate sperm. Deep down, I think he always wished Mack was his son. Creating Blanket was the next best thing."

The actor frequently visited Jackson at his Neverland ranch and spoke as a witness for him at his trial for child abuse in 2005.

Sperm in England

Michael Jackson's sperm is being flown to England.

The singer's family is planning to spend £900 (Rs 71,500) moving the sample to a London clinic to protect it from "unscrupulous" people who might use it to create a new heir to his billion dollar estate.

Michael deposited the genetic material in an LA sperm bank last year, hoping it could be used to conceive his fourth child,

MJ's family to fly his DNA samples to clinic

Michael Jackson's worried family are planning to fly his DNA samples to a secure English clinic, in order to prevent it from unscrupulous fortune seekers who could use it to create a new heir to the star's mega fortune.

The King of Pop's family took the decision after they found out that the 'Thriller' star gave a sperm sample to a Los Angeles donor bank last year, when he was considering having a fourth child.

And as the legal battle over the singer's multi-billion dollar estate is going on, the Jacksons are not ready to trust anyone. Friends close to the family fear that rogue elements could use the sperm sample to give birth to a new claimant to Jacko's riches.

"It might sound crazy but when it comes to Michael anything is possible," the Mirror quoted a source as saying.

It was recently revealed that the singer approached British doctor Susan Etok last October about having his fourth child.

"With everything that's at stake the last thing the Jackson family need is someone using his sperm to give birth to a child and produce another potential heir to Michael's estate," said a source.

"The family know Michael authorised a number of people to access this sperm sample. The problem is they don't know who has access and given that a number of doctors have been implicated in his death then something sinister could easily happen," added the source.

Another reason for Jackson storing samples could be that he knew his drug problems might damage his DNA. The sperm was cryogenically frozen to allow it to be preserved indefinitely.

Moving the sample to London would cost 900 pounds for transport. The annual storage fee would amount to another 125 pounds.

World's unluckiest Wedding

Bankruptcy, broken bones and a burglary almost ruin ken, karen porter's shaadi

Kenneth and Karen Porter carefully arranged their wedding day, but nothing could have prepared them for the chaos that would follow.

The couple saw a succession of companies involved in their wedding wedding shops, hotels and even airlines go bust before their big day.

They saw the bridal gown store burgled, their holiday plans fall apart and even watched in horror as an iron bought to remove creases from the wedding dress blew up before their eyes.

But since the pair tied the knot nearly two weeks ago, their fortunes have improved they even enjoyed fine weather on their week-long honeymoon.

"We had been planning the wedding for more than a year," said Karen. "But it was one thing after another. It's been a really hard year."

"Everybody who's dealt with us has had bad luck. It's been a nightmare. But the wedding was perfect," she said.

Run of Bad Luck

* The airline and hotel provider for their Greek honeymoon went broke soon after the two booked.

* The shop where Karen had ordered her wedding dress was burgled.

* The hotel booked for their reception went bankrupt the Porters forfeited their £300
(Rs 24,000) deposit.

* They got tickets to Michael Jackson's show, but he died.

* Karen underwent a foot operation which left her unable to wear shoes up until a week before the wedding. She feared she'd marry in slippers.

* Tickets for a replacement concert, to see Oasis, had to be cancelled after Karen's foot operation meant she couldn't walk.

* The hand-held steamer bought to steam her wedding clothes blew up.

The girl with two vaginas

Suffering periods that lasted up to 21 days and finding sex difficult, Lauren Williams knew that something was wrong.

The 28-year-old from Chingford, Essex, was stunned to discover she had been born with a rare medical condition, which left her with two vaginas, two wombs and two cervixes.

Following the shocking diagnosis, and after an operation to create one single vagina, Lauren is enjoying life more and is even able to laugh about her unique configuration.

In her early twenties, Lauren could never have guessed the reason why she found some sexual positions uncomfortable.

"I just presumed I must have a short vagina." It was only when she went for a smear test at 24 that she was alerted to the fact that she could have a medical problem. Lauren explains: "I'd had smear tests done before but they were all with nurses. This time I saw a doctor who said that something didn't look quite right down there and referred me to a gynaecologist."

By this time, Lauren also had concerns about her periods which were lasting 21 days. "I put it down to the fact that I'd been using a contraceptive implant for three years which had made my cycle go haywire."

The gynaecologist diagnosed Lauren with a bicornuate uterus, which meant that it had a septum down the middle giving it the shape of a heart.

As this could have increased her chances of miscarriage in the future, she was booked in for an operation to fix it.

After coming round from the anaesthetic, a doctor came to tell her that she'd been misdiagnosed.

"He arrived with a troop of other medics and sat on my bed," Lauren recalls. "He seemed quite excited and said that they'd got the prognosis wrong. I didn't have a bicornuate uterus after all. I actually had two of everything. Two uteruses, two cervixes and two vaginas. I was shocked. I'd never noticed that I had two vaginas and none of my previous boyfriends had either. Even the doctor said he'd never seen anything like it before."

The surgeon removed the barrier between her two vaginas, leaving her with one big one. "The vagina I was using was half the size of a normal one."

Following the operation Lauren had to keep packing her vagina with giant swabs to prevent a new barrier from forming.

"I'd never really examined myself down there before," she says. "But it seemed strange to me how none of the doctors and nurses that I'd seen over the years had cottoned on to the problem."

"I was worried that I'd been left with a huge vagina, but I felt uncomfortable about bringing it up with the doctors." It was two weeks before Lauren was able to have sex with her boyfriend of a year, Mike, 31.

"He wasn't at all fazed by my medical revelation, but the first time we made love after the operation was a big deal for me. I felt like I was some sort of born again virgin. The sex was fine though and I no longer found certain positions uncomfortable."

Lauren has now been able to lead a normal life. "Having two of everything doesn't bother me. I find it quite amusing and don't mind telling people about it." If she decides to have a family she will have to take extra precautions while pregnant. "The doctor told me that conceiving won't be a problem as the uterus with the baby inside will push the other one to one side. But I'll have to use condoms throughout the pregnancy to stop myself falling pregnant in my other womb. That's going to feel really weird."

Lauren separated from Mike in March last year and has been single ever since.

"My vagina looks completely normal so I've got no fears about getting into a new relationship. As a veterinary nurse I compare myself to a cat as they've got two uterine horns! I accept who I am and any boyfriend will have to too inside and out."

SRK, Aamir and Big B Ka Emosanal Attyachaar!

Maa…mein aa gaya…

Screams the young boy; tearing the crowd gathered in-front of his house, only to find his mommy dead.

Nahiii!

The famous words said by the hero, drown in the loud crash of the medicine bottle and wails of audience in theater.

Action…Drama and loads of ‘rona dhona’ in bolly-flicks is something Indian cinema is renowned for. Touching the chords with right emotional components has been prevalent since a long time.

Dreadful death of a positive character due to cancer and tuberculosis would give a filmmaker masala and make audience drown the theater with their woeful tears. Indian cinema has come a long way, and so has the trend of diseases.

Today Mommy doesn’t die on khatiyas from a mere fever. Our filmmakers in tinsel town have been innovative to churn out storylines based on new set of syndromes that always existed, but were never touched upon.

In this brave new era, Bollywood is embracing disability and is not shunning it to sub-plots; making a difference, filmmakers today convey a message to make aam junta sensitive to medical conditions that were earlier locked up in Pagalkhaanas.

Taare Zameen Par (Dyslexia):
Actor-producer Aamir Khan reinvented his career as a director with this masterpiece, which brought him countless laurels.

Ishaan Awasthi (Darsheel Safary) a dyslexic patient finds difficulty in reading and writing. His misery goes unnoticed even by his parents, in the name of carelessness.

Misery reaches its last stage when Ram Shankar Nikumbh (Aamir Khan) Ishaan’s painting teacher first discovers his disease and induces a great level of conviction by making things easily teachable to him.

Taare Zameen Par conveyed the message- every child is special and parents should let them live to the fullest without any pressure.

My Name Is Khan (Autism):
My Name Is Khan is yet to hit the silver screens. This SRK-Kajol starrer has already created buzz due to the beautiful on-screen couple making a comeback.

My Name Is Khan revolves around a very sensitive condition called Autism, a syndrome that impacts social interaction abilities. SRK suffering from this disease eventually falls in a big soup. What happens next is interesting to witness. The story has been penned down and directed by Karan Johar.

U Me Aur Hum (Alzheimer):
‘I will there with you in your thick and thin’ promises Ajay (Ajay Devgan) to Piya (Kajol) who are happily married. However, fate has something else in store for them.

Piya a patient of Alzheimer tends to forget things and eventually it leads to a total memory loss, where she can recognize none, not even her husband and son. A well-directed film by Ajay Devgan, it got critical acclaim for its portrayal of Alzheimer Disease in a sensitive way.

Woh Lamhe (Schizophrenia):
Loosely based on the life of late Parveen Babi; Kangana Ranaut stepped into the shoes of sensuous actress, who in her later stages suffered from schizophrenia. Kangana Ranaut fitted in the glove perfectly.

Rituparna Gupta is another actress in a complex author-backed role in Beti Kromi, who brought into limelight the fatal consequences like miscarriage of this disorder and garnered loads of critical acclaim for her performance.

Luck (Dextrocardia):
Dextrocardia is definitely not a disease, but an unusual case of a person born with their heart situated on the right side, instead of left.

Such is the extent of ignorance– that when this medical condition was showcased in LUCK, it did not go down well with many, including critics. Imran Khan is discovered with his heart on the right side, when he escapes death as bullet crosses his chest from the left side where a heart is usually located.

Pa (Progeria):
Child is father of the man, here in ‘Pa’; it can be interpreted quite literally, as Abhishek plays on-screen father to his real dad Amitabh Bachchan. Sounds confusing?

Well it’s not really that hard to understand, if you understand Progeria, a rare genetic condition in which a person ages 4-6 times faster than an average human being. Premature aging should pretty much explain the reason for Big B to play sonny to his sonny!

Cheeni Kum director, ad whiz R. Balakrishnan aka Balki is directing ‘Pa’. Balki is keeping his film and Big B’s kiddie look a big secret; we say what’s all the hush-hush about, after all Balki we can watch better on Progeria- Robin Williams JACK is on DVD you know!

No room for love

...if you are a lesbian couple in the Capital. While the law may have changed, Delhi hotels are yet to step out of the closet. Ishita Sharma and Vasudha Grover find out

Delhi watched as the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community celebrated the decriminalisation of Article 377, even pitched in when the stepping-out parties were thrown. But a month after the landmark ruling and a lot of brouhaha, it seems saadi Dilli hasn't really had a change of heart.

MiD DAY reporters Ishita Sharma and Vasudha Grover posed as a lesbian couple and went searching for the most basic requirement - a hotel room to spend some cosy time. The response they received ranged from curiosity to embarrassing questions and even ignorance.

Girls only?

We started with the affordable hotels of Karol Bagh. Our first stop was Crown DLX, where the owner refused to rent out a room to 'only girls'. "Agar Delhi mein rehte ho to apne ghar jao (If you have a home in Delhi, go there)," said the bespectacled man, as he showed us the door.

The manager at our next stop, Hotel Arihant, was more accommodating maybe because his hotel seemed to have seen better days. But even he was perplexed about our 'couple' status.

Our final destination at Karol Bagh was Hotel Sunstar, whose owner asked, "Aap dono ladkiyon ko room mein karna kya hai (What will you girls do in a room?)" Embarrassed, we thought it was best to leave.

Five-star no-deals

After touring a few hotels in the Paharganj area and being greeted with the same doubtful response, we decided to approach a more expensive and respectable hotel. We walked into the jazzy Le Meridien property at Connaught Place.

We asked for a room and hinted we needed it for just a couple of hours. The hotel staff was polite and accommodating but wasn't too eager to show us the room. After 30 minutes of waiting and being ignored, we walked out.

Two to tango? (Left to right) The two reporters at Paharganj, at Le Meridien hotel and at the Kalkaji gym

Work out

After failing to find a room, we decided to try our luck at gyms. We approached Fitness Finesse, a unisex stylish wellness lounge at Kalkaji.

Even before we could introduce ourselves as a couple, the man at the counter offered us a 'couple discount' and added we need not come to the gym together. We guessed the moolah was enough to keep him quiet.
The final verdict: if you are a member of the LGBT community and wish to spend some private time with your loved one, don't eye rooms in Delhi hotels.

Kareena Missed Saif’s Love Aaj Kal Premier

Love Aaj Kal had a grand premier but Kareena Kapoor gave a miss it what was the most important day in her beau’s life. The reason, well Kareena was too tired to attend the premier and preferred lounging in a spa at Hotel Leela Kempinski in Gurgaon. Saif and Deepika Padukone walked down the red carpet together with Saif having and sizzling Deepika in his arms.

Kareena’s name had always been linked to the movie with Saif admitting to that fact that he wanted Kareena in his first home production. Director Imtiaz Ali was adamant on having Deepika and had it his way. Deepika Padukone wasn’t happy Kareena’s name being talked about more than hers and this led to a cold war between the two.

Kareena Kapoor might have skipped that premier as she did not want to see Deepika playing a character which could have so easily been hers. Or she might not have felt comfortable seeing Saif and Deepika walk hand in hand. Whatever be the reasons Bebo it was the most important day in Saif’s career and fatigue was no excuse to skip the premier!

Shiney gets Bollywood company in jail

Shiney Ahuja is currently in judicial custody being accused of raping his maid servant. Ironically in the same jail is gangster Abu Salem, on whom his character in the Anurag Basu film Gangster (2006) was based upon. Now Shiney has got another filmy companion. It is filmmaker Sunil Agnihotri, known for his mega hit fantasy serial Chandrakanta and his Akshay Kumar double role starrer Jai Kishen (1997) and Akshay’s solo starrer Daava (1997).

It is learnt that Sunil Agnihotri has been convicted in a cheque bouncing case filed by producer Samir Hingora. Samir has been the producer of Sanjay Dutt-Manisha Koirala starrer Sanam (1997) and Jackie Shroff’s double role starrer Dil Hi To Hai (1992).

Sunil has been arrested under sec. 138 and will be lodged at Arthur Road prison serving six months imprisonment sentence. His last directed film was Arbaaz Khan starrer Alibaba Aur Chaalis Chor (2004). Industry sources say, he was planning to make a comeback with a big budget thriller but alas

Jennifer Aniston: I Think I’m Pregnant!

Another day, another Jennifer Aniston is pregnant rumour, but this time it must be true because she called Brad Pitt to tell him! I don’t know who is listening in on their private conversations, but really, maybe they should consider changing phone carriers! So, the story goes…

…Jen thinks she’s preggo and her first response? To call her ex-husband!

A source (duh, the one listening in on Jen and Brad’s private convo!) said, “Brad could tell right away by Jen’s voice that something was wrong. That’s when Jen confided she was late on her monthly cycle and thought she might be pregnant, before asking Brad point blank how he felt about it.

“He calmly told her that if it was true, it wasn’t a bad thing; that she should just stay calm and look at everything as sensibly as possible.”

The phone-conversation spy said, “He let her pour her feelings out because he could tell she needed to,” the source added. “Jen didn’t go into specifics about who she’s slept with, and Brad never asked her. But he did say she should go and get a test done to find out if she really was pregnant.” Clearly, Jennifer Aniston wouldn’t be smart enough to GET A TEST DONE TO DETERMINE IF SHE’S PREGNANT OR NOT.

Spy added, “And Brad also told Jen not to jump to any conclusions until she knew for sure.

“One part of Brad was happy for Jen, that she might be a step closer to fulfilling her dream of becoming a mom. But a part of him remains confused, because it’s brought back memories of when he and Jen were a married couple and dreamed of starting a family together.” Shouldn’t have CHEATED ON HER BRAD.

So, if you believe all of that, hold on to your hats, because Jennifer is LYING to Brad about being pregnant, because she wants to string him along.

The same source (or maybe a new one?) said, “Brad’s a very trusting guy, but he’s being warned by friends that Jen’s baby revelation could be a ploy to keep him on the hook emotionally, because deep in her heart, he’s the man she really wants to share her life with.”

In conclusion, Jennifer Aniston may or may not be pregnant. Brad Pitt may or may not care either way. And I love Starbucks. See? I’m nothing if not helpful.

Tired and Embarrassed, Saif shocks everyone

The recent hectic round of production-related activities and marketing culimating in the painful process of pacifying the Sikh federations about the length of his beard, has taken a toll on Saif Ali Khan.

The actor is exhausted and completely not in the mood for any more events related to the film.

The premiere last night was held in Delhi instead of Mumbai. This would be construed as odd behaviour considering all of Saif and Kareena’s friends together at a Mumbai premiere would have constituted almost the entire industry. And they were just a phonecall away.

Says Saif, “That’s precisely why we decided not to have a premiere in Mumbai. I’d have had to call up everyone personally and ask them to come. It would’ve seemed like asking for a favour. And I don’t want anyone to watch my film out of a sense of generosity.”

The last-minute decision to shift the venue of the premiere to Delhi kept most of Saif’s colleagues out. But it didn’t stop Akshay Kumar from rooting for Love Aaj Kal from London. Akshay prophesied it would be a big hit.

Saif is delighted. “I’m so happy Akshay said that. I wish the industry would show more kindness towards films. When Kareena’s Kambakkt Ishq came there was so much negativity about it. It’s scary.”

It’s this fear of an anticipatory wail that provoked Saif to transfer the premiere venue.

“It wasn’t really a premiere in Delhi. Just a screening for people close to us, ” clarifies Saif. “Only the cast and crew and people connected with the film were there. That’s the way we wanted to keep it.”

But Saif and Kareena’s friends in Mumbai are none too pleased. One of his leading ladies with whom he recently did a racy film says, “What’s the point of a premiere in Delhi when the whole industry is in Mumbai? I’d have definitely gone, for Saif and Imtiaz Ali’s sake. I want to see what they’ve done together.”

But Saif isn’t really bothered. It has been a hectic time for him. “Earlier producers like Ramesh Taurani made me do a lot of publicity for their films. Now I totally followed that model for my own production. And I’m exhausted. When I was younger I found publicity boring.Now I know better.”

The experience of producing a film has helped Saif understand the value of economizing. “I used to waste a lot of money and I’m not proud of it. It’s not about cutting corners. It’s an art to respect money.

I’ve seen my wealthy friends buying the right air tickets, booking the right room at the best possible prices. We did go a tiny bit over-budget in my first production. Next time it won’t happen.”

Madonna turns journalist to write about religion

‘Queen of Pop’ Madonna has turned journalist for Israel's biggest-selling newspaper.

The 50-year-old pop star's article on her conversion to the Jewish cult of Kaballah has been displayed prominently on the front page of Yediot Ahronot with a byline.

The article titled 'How My Life Changed' was translated into Hebrew by the paper and an excerpt of it was published on Wednesday while the full article will be published on Friday.

In her article, the singer describes her religious awakening more than a decade ago.

Madonna who was born a Christian had alienated the Church with her antics including her many sexually explicit stage shows where she had appeared crucified.

She is an astute follower of Kaballah and has adopted the Hebrew name of Esther and studies Jewish mysticism.

The singer had also made a private pilgrimage to Israel in 2004 and will perform in two shows in the country in September as part of her 'Sticky & Sweet' international tour.

Josh Brolin says ‘sex with Megan Fox’ was uncomfortable

Actor Josh Brolin found shooting a love scene with Megan Fox in new film ‘Jonah Hex’ “uncomfortable”.

"To be honest, it was uncomfortable; those scenes are uncomfortable,” the Sun quoted him as saying.

In the movie adapted from a comic book, the ‘No Country For Old Men’ star plays gun-slinging ‘Jonah Hex’ who falls in love with ‘Leila’, a prostitute played by Fox.

And his look in the film demanded him to spend three hours every day with his mouth pulled back and stuck with gaffer tape, as prosthetics and a mouthpiece was fitted.

It was apparently another discomforting factor, apart from the room full of cameras, while doing the sex scenes with the ‘Transformers’ actress.

He said: "It was especially uncomfortable because I had this thing on my face. It was tough to figure out how to kiss with that thing on."

Meanwhile, Fox revealed about the character she plays in the film, she said: "She`s a prostitute. It`s sort of like a post-Civil War apocalyptic western - and, unfortunately for women, that`s how they made their living back then.

"Leila`s a tough, no-nonsense prostitute. I was really happy with it. It is a dark, no-nonsense, no bulls**t comic book movie."

Madonna shocks with her super skinny frame

Pop superstar Madonna is famous for her grilling fitness regime but it seems that her pursuit to acquire the perfect body has backfired.

The 50-year-old star shocked onlookers as she stepped out here wearing a short-sleeves top revealing her arms. Her fresh faced appearance was clearly in contrast with her protruding muscles and thick bulging veins, visible through her ageing and wrinkled skin, the Daily Mail reported.

The 'Material Girl's punishing regime, including two-hours of workouts, six days a week, is legendary but it seems that she has taken it too far with no fat on her body and her arms having a skeletal look.

The singer is said to have undergone numerous cosmetic alterations in the quest for youthfulness. She is also believed to have had cheek implants, which seems to be the secret behind her young face.

The procedure, dubbed the 'pillow face', gives a plumped-up look, as opposed to the pinched back 'wind tunnel' results of a face-lift or the 'frozen' effects of Botox.

Western actresses flocking to Bollywood

Many western actresses are swarming Bollywood.

MTV nominated American actress-model Denise Richards (The World is not Enough) recently starred in Sabbir Khan directed “Kambakkht Ishq” (Unfortunate Love), while Golden Camera winner Australian actress-singer Kylie Minogue (Neighbours) is part of “Blue” (Anthony D’Souza). MTV winner actress-model Barbara Mori (Inspiracion) of Uruguay-Japanese-Mexican origin is heroine of “Kites” (Anurag Basu), while Florence Brudenell-Bruce of United Kingdom plays love interest Jo of hero Saif Ali Khan in “Love Aaj Kal” (Imtiaz Ali).

Kalki Koechlin, 26, of French descent, who studied at Goldsmiths University of London, is Chanda in “Dev. D” (Anurag Kashyap) and British model Lisa Lazarus plays second lead in “Veer” (Anil Sharma). German model-actress-singer Claudia Ciesla (10:10) is Linda in “Karma: Crime, Passion, Reincarnation” (M.R. Shahjahan).

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, while welcoming western stars to Bollywood, urged the Bollywood filmmakers not to blindly copy the West and try to preserve the rich cultural heritage of India.

Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that cinema being a powerful medium; Bollywood had the duty to create pride among Indian audiences about their ancient heritage while adopting the good aspects of Western civilization.

Pre-Arrest Bail For Actresses

An additional district and sessions court on Tuesday granted a pre-arrest bail on submitting surety bounds of Rs 50,000 each until July 27, to stage actresses Deedar, Nida Chaudhry, Sonia Idrees and three others.

On the directions of apex court to impede vulgarity in films, the case had been registered at Qila Gujjar Singh Police Station against Deedar, Nida Chaudhry, Sonia Idrees, Hina Shaheen, producers Zafar Sharif and Maqsood Ahmed and others.

In Thursday’s hearing, the court accepted their interim bail and directed them to submit surety bounds of Rs 50,000 in court within the next seven days.

The court also directed them to join the police investigation. Meanwhile, Investigation Officer Sub-Inspector Saifullah presented the case record in the court. The petitioners’ lawyers said their clients were not involved in any type of vulgar acts and should be granted bail.

End of the road for Shoaib Akhtar?

Has the colourful journey of the Rawalpindi Express finally come to an end?

That's the question doing the rounds in Pakistan cricket after the selectors omitted Shoaib Akhtar for the one-day series in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy probables.

Shoaib Akhtar
While the maverick fast bowler declined to comment apart from the customary "I am not finished and I will fight back" or "I am fit enough to play in the one-day series and Champions Trophy", the writing appears to be clear on the wall.

Finally, it seems the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the interim selectors have had enough of his antics.

Perhaps, no modern day cricketer has remained so much in the news as Shoaib without having performed or even played consistently for the national side in the last two years.

"I think the selectors have taken a decision on the basis of what they have seen of Shoaib in recent times. I believe he still has some cricket left in him and needs to work hard on his fitness and focus on cricket alone to make another comeback," said former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, who is said to be one of the few players close to the fast bowler.

But even Latif admitted that Shoaib now needed to set his priorities right and just focus on cricket.

Former pace bowler Sarfaraz Nawaz, however, feels the present board officials and selectors have settled old scores. "He has lived by his own rules and they don't like that. But I think Pakistan will suffer since he can serve Pakistan cricket for one or two years," Sarfaraz said.

Now, it is said that the inputs from captain Younis Khan, coach Intikhab Alam, manager Yawar Saeed and some senior players played an influential role in Akhtar's omission.

Even former chief selector Abdul Qadir has alleged that Alam and Yawar had told him clearly they did not want Shoaib in the team and were instrumental in having him dropped from the World T20 squad in May.

"For so long everyone has tolerated him because they always believed he would produce those match-winning spells for Pakistan. I believed he could win us the 2003 World Cup. But he let everyone down. I am not surprised he is not wanted in the team," said former Chairman of PCB, Lt General (retd) Tauqir Zia.

Backstreet Boys eyeing comeback

Grammy nominated American boy band group Backstreet Boys are pinning high hopes for their second shot at fame with a comeback and this time they want to be as big as the English rock legends Rolling Stones.

The '90s pop group who enjoyed a string of hits including Quit playing games with my heart and Show me the meaning of being lonely have reformed their association minus former bandmate Kevin Richardson, a website reports.

Another singer Nick Carter has been battling alcohol and drug demons for 10 years, but has however sobered up for their comeback tour.

"There are demons I am fighting but I just want to be fit and healthy. If you fall off the horse, you just have to get back on again. We're here to stay – we want to be as big as the Rolling Stones," he said.

Other band members include Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and A.J. McLean.

Brown apologises for Rihanna assault on YouTube

Singer Chris Brown has issued an apology on popular video sharing website YouTube for assaulting former girlfriend Rihanna. The singer, who confessed felony assault last month, posted a two-minute clip on the website, expressing his "deepest regret over the fight".

The 20-year-old said he accepted 'full responsibility' for beating the R&B lady, who was later left with facial injuries. "I've told Rihanna countless times and I'm telling you today I'm truly, truly sorry I wasn't able to handle the situation differently and better," The Sun quoted him as saying.

Brown is due to attend anger management courses and do community service.