Luck by chance
All it takes sometimes are some fine strokes of luck to get that perfect picture. Item girl (by the way she doesn't mind being called one) Meghna Naidu happens to be plain lucky in this case. Did she ever know that one scintillating video, kaaliyon ka chaman, would shape her career and life for good? Did she know that one song would crown her as the sexy item number girl of Bollywood, even when she does not fall into the fair and hour-glass figure slot? And did she know some gyrating moves would move a good number of souls?




Meghna Naidu, in the city for a performance, reveals her love for dance, work and much more

Name sake
What's in a name' — Shakespeare tossed up a query in ‘Romeo and Juliet’. One man sitting in the conference room at the Press Club claims to have found an apt answer for it. "Everything," Shamsher Mehndi says bang on.

Playing real
The interview is bound to become interesting when the answer to a question shot at the interviewee is a question itself. "Why did you quit the project Hitler?" Instant reaction to this from actor Anupam Kher was, "Won't your story do without the answer to this one?" Of course, it won't and guess Kher guessed the same too in no time.

Indian allure
Kailash Kher's US tour a hit
He made his Hollywood debut singing an AR Rahman composition in Couple's Retreat and his sufiana renderings had the audience dancing at the Santa Monica Pier and Hollywood Bowl. But Kailash Kher says that he has no ambition to make it in the West.

Kailash Kher

Reel vs real
Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore has revealed she had no reservations about starring in a romantic comedy with her on/off boyfriend Justin Long. The Poison Ivy star insisted their real life relationship made their onscreen love affair in Going The Distance more believable. Barrymore enjoyed a yearlong romance with the actor which ended in 2008, but they remained close after the split and have since kept the press guessing over the status of their relationship.
Drew Barrymore

Secret wedding?
Hollywood's 'It' couple Jude Law and Sienna Miller have reportedly wed in a traditional 'Baci' ceremony in Laos.

At home
Poker Face singer Lady Gaga has moved into a 3.3-million-pound mansion in Hollywood. Gaga, 24, real name Stefani Germanotta, who had once professed her love for hotel rooms and had also said she would never settle down, will now have Los Angeles as her home base.

Lady Gaga

Google in Hollywood
The co-founders of Google are set to get the 'Hollywood treatment' with a feature film on the way. According to Deadline Hollywood, the entertainment industry blog, the film will be based on the Ken Auletta book Googled: The End of the World As We Know It and will tell the story of the Google founders.

Love for the game
Justin Timberlake has taken his passion for basketball to the next level. The pop star has got a NBA size court built at his home so that he can shoot hoops whenever he wants.

Celeb move
Halle Berry is planning to move to San Francisco to protect her daughter from paparazzi. The movie star recently rented a house in the Bay Area; so she could spend quiet time with two-year-old Nahla - her daughter with former partner, model Gabriel Aubry. And now she's seriously thinking about quitting Hollywood for good so the tot can grow up "in a place that is less of a fishbowl".

Halle Berry

Action time
Hollywood beauty Angelina Jolie has revealed that she enjoyed her role in action film Salt because it toughened her up. The actor, who plays a CIA agent trying to prove she is not a Russian spy in the film, said that she was thrilled to get the chance to do her own stunts in the action movie after giving birth to twins Knox and Vivienne in July 2008 because it toughened her up.




Angelina Jolie

Comforting touch
Rosebys Interiors India Ltd unveils its key collection of bed linen under the name of Indulgence. The new theme is exotic, stylish and spells modernization. Indulgence collection is a very versatile collection that includes bed linens, pillow covers, cushions and pillow covers.

Behind the curtain
Members of the Hanan Puppet and Shadow Art Troupe from China are in the city for a performance
Of all the performing arts, puppetry is the most popular in Hanan province of China," says Zhou Xianghui, leader of the famous Hanan Puppet and Shadow Art Troupe of China. Zhou is in the city with nine artists for a performance at the Law Bhavan on Saturday. The event has been organised by Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC).

Reviving a genre
Indian classical music, especially its Dhrupad genre, is endowed with spiritual serenity and celestial peace. The form is said to be centuries old, but came to prominence in the 15th century under Raja Man Singh Tomar's auspices.

Beyond fear
Bollywood director Abhinav Kashyap’s movie Dabangg is set to create waves
What brings in the difference? The difference itself! No kidding here. In fact, it is this drive to make something different, which brought in all the difference in Bollywood director Abhinav Kashyap's movie Dabangg.



A still from Dabangg

Short Take
He's here to train the learners on multiple aspects of filmmaking, story-writing, editing, marketing…but that isn't where the pearls of wisdom for amateurs lie. "Don't get into short filmmaking, get into it only if you have the heart and passion for it, don't get into it for commercial gains, success or fame," filmmaker Nitin Das gets candid and forthright at British Library-9, turning the interaction into more than a vox populi of similar sounding questions generally put to documentarians.

Picks & piques
Unlikely pairing
This week sees the release of Pradeep Sarkar's latest Deepika-Neil starrer made for the YashRaj banner — Lafangey Parindey. After the dismal failure of Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Sarkar seeks to reclaim audience favour by fashioning a romance between the unlikely pair of Deepika and Neil Nitin Mukesh. It's a gamble, but the pre-release publicity has been quite heavy. What matters at the box-office, though, is whether the audience is convinced about the characters and the story.

Course of action
When the star cast of a ready- to-release film visits sector 17 Piazza to promote it, we invariably believe that it's about a Bollywood product. For, film promotion other than a few press conferences was never the prerogative of regional cinema in this region until recently.


Lakhwinder Wadali

Of family and fun
Kurkure, the fun loving family snack brand from Frito Lay India unveiled its latest consumer campaign, Kurkure Spend Time with Family, which encourages people to spend time with their family.

Lens eye
On the occasion of World Photography Day, the Museum and Art Gallery, Punjabi University, has put an exhibition by Tribune lensman Rajesh Sachar. The exhibition, which will be on till September 3, was inaugurated by vice-chancellor of the varsity Dr Jaspal Singh.

Tarot Talk
ARIES: Ace of Pentacles reveals as far as business and profession is concerned, you must be diplomatic and yet determined. Real estate transaction is favoured on Wednesday. Your boss may be co-operative. Children may be difficult to be handled. A good week to get things done by people in power. Tip of the week: Take one step at a time. Avoid being hurried and over anxious. Lucky Colour: Grey.