After it happened with My Name Is Khan, Fanaah, Laaga Chunari Main Daag….audiences (read Bajrang Dal) tearing posters, shouting names, hurling abuses at the director, someone with a creative bent in all sanity wouldn't like to see the efforts being shredded to pieces. But if the director is Ajai Sinha, things like these are immaterial.

The director, who gave us serials like Hasratein, Justajoo and is now ready to give cinema a different film called Khap, takes criticism with a pinch of salt that makes the dish interesting! In Chandigarh to promote the movie that will be released on July 29, Ajai along with actor Om Puri share their views on meaningful cinema.

"Cinema is not only laughing, cracking jokes, creating fantasy, it is also about acquainting audiences with what's going on with the real world. Meaningful cinema, if you want to put it across, is like a platform to talk about what is real and what is fantasy," says Ajai, whose movie Khap has already received a standing ovation at the German Film Festival.

When it is a movie based on real life or anything close to real life, the entire cast and crew is expected to do an in-depth research, especially the director, who would face the wrath of one wrong shot, eventually. He smiles, "Indeed. I researched a lot on this topic. I went to various villages in Haryana. The movie is not about honour killings, but about the existence of khap panchayats in the first place, which were meant to resolve issues amicably," shares Ajai, requesting people to not form any opinion without seeing the movie.

And how can we not ask him about directorial liberty, tweaks and twists here and there. "I have decorated the movie with some garnishing, just like you make a good dish and then garnish it. I have used certain real incidents, woven them in the movie, without disturbing the essence of the subject," he explains.

In a movie where the near-real quotient is high, the choice of actors is an important task in itself. Ajai agrees, nods his head in approval. He indeed made the right choice with actors like Om Puri, Govind Namdev. "The first name that came to me when I thought about the topic was Om Puri. My job is similar to a carpenter's job, who has to fit everything in the right place."

Ajai is presently working on another untitled movie based on the relationship between grandson, father and grandfather as well as another television serial. "Every director has to make their own audiences. Let's see how I fare," he winds up with a broad smile.

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Sheel Nanda has been a name in the field of cookery for the past four decades. Not only does she run the much sought after Perfect School of Cookery in Ludhiana, she has also been a judge on Sanjeev Kapoor's show. Her butter chicken recipe is part of the famous 'Darlinda's cookbook' and has won many honours.

All this started when Sheel moved to Ludhiana from Delhi as a young bride. Her cooking was appreciated in her circles and requests to learn her recipes started pouring in. She started with a small batch, and has continued doing the same for all these decades.

This chef shares with us her recipe for success.

Hard work, dil se: "Whatever field one chooses, it should come right from the bottom of the heart," says Sheel. "And, once you have chosen the field, put in all the hard work," she says.

Keep it simple: "One needs to stick to the basics," says Sheel. "No need to fall into the glory trap and do stuff just for the fancy," she stresses. For years, she has been teaching cooking with simple home ingredients and has achieved unprecedented success.

Be patient & punctual: Patience and punctuality are two characteristics that are a strict requirement to be successful, feels Sheel. "Valuing time is a must and so is keeping patience. These two qualities make one weather many a storm," she stresses.

Share your skills: "One only earns skill and admiration by sharing one's skills," says Sheel. Her visit to Scotland, to visit her sister, got her an entry into 'Darlinda's cookbook'. "I cooked at my sister's place and soon had neighbours as well as friends troop in to learn the recipe of butter chicken," she recalls.

Learn along the way: "One needs to be a learner throughout life," says Sheel. When she went to the US, not only did she appear on American TV on a show, but also brought along the concept of two-day classes. Her ice-cream classes are a hit to date!

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The students of National School of Drama (NSD) lift the curtains even as the first of the six productions awaits a grand opening. Based on Chandrasekhar Kambar's Jokumarswami, Tota Bola is the first among the lot to be showcased.

A folklore, Sajal Mandal, director of the play, has retained the essence of the Kannad play and moved the setting to Bengal to be able to communicate the idea of the play in a better manner. Translated by Dasant Dev, Tota Bola explores the life of a landlord and his wife, incapable of being a mother.

Convinced about the experimentation happening in plays, Sajal says, "When you become a part of theatre as an industry, it tends to become a way of life. Theatre has the attribute to teach and change lives." With a background in theatre studies from the Rabindranath University in Calcutta, he brings the charm of a Bengali life in his play. Now a part of the National School of Drama since the past three years, Sajal is busy trying to treat scripts in an easy and interesting manner.

"Theatre is a vast field and will only develop when playwrights experiment in one form or another," he says. "Restrictions tend to hamper theatre and stall the thoughts that can improve effective communication of views with the audience," he adds.

No form of creative art comes clean. There is a constant battle to weigh the challenges and figure out ways to reduce them. Elaborating upon the challenges in front of various actors, Sajal says, "The biggest problem today is that the group mentality for actors is diminishing. The reason is that the ability to achieve compatibility with opposing views has reduced." Another challenge is more pronounced for the performers as they need to handle the situation rather than actors. "Actors mostly work on complete scripts and build with the character; performers have to understand the concept and look after the circumstances," he says.

The script of the play revolves around an arrogant zamindar and his wife, who has not been able to mother a child. During the act of land possessions, the zamindar, played by Sayed Mehmood, kills a person, whose son, Dasanna, played by Durgesh, challenges him to spend a night along with him in the haunted farm that he has acquired. The zamindar's wife, played by Saheba Vij, prepares a fruit which is supposed to help her become a mother. Accidentally, Dassana consumes the fruit and gets close to the zamindar's wife. The wife bears a child, the landlord, out of vengeance, kills Dasanna.

An interesting line of thought, perhaps a window into society, the play is surely informative as much as a challenge for the characters in it. "If the message is clearly communicated to the audience, theatre does have the power to influence a society," Sajal says, leaving us with heavy thoughts on this creative art.

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Actress Aarti Chhabria, who won the fourth season of Colors' show Fear Factor — Khatron Ke Khiladi, says host Akshay Kumar was her biggest source of inspiration.

"Akshay has been a great source of inspiration. As I knew him even before the show, so I was quiet comfortable with him. He is a great host. He not only does his work well and to the best of his ability, but takes special interest in understanding his contestants strengths and weaknesses. He always encouraged us," Aarti, who has worked with Akshay in Awara Paagal Deewana, said. "There was a time when I was afraid of doing one of the stunts and Akshay came to me and said, 'Ye ladki haar maanane vaalo mein se nahin hai' (This girl never gives up). — IANS

The three most important things in a women's life are sleep, the Internet and showers, a new study has revealed. While men may agree on the first two items, sex is the third thing most of them say they can't live without.

New research conducted by Women at NBCU has revealed that women are becoming increasingly more passionate about the Internet and their tech gadgets.

In fact, about 54 per cent of women own smartphones compared with 46 per cent of men.

Women also tend to have more friends on social networking sites and follow more brands, and check their profiles about four or five times a day.

They are also becoming more interested in gaming. Although men have traditionally dominated the gaming world, a whopping 75 per cent of women with smartphones own a gaming app compared with 67 per cent of men. — ANI

Ayurveda and natural lifestyle healer and consultant Dr Sonica Krishan is already two books old. She has written on Ayurveda (Herbal Healers and Hone Remedies). With third one (Healing through Ayurveda) published and ready to hit the market; she believes this age old Indian medicinal practice is ready to take the globe by storm.

"Yoga is already a rage in the West and now Ayurveda is the next big thing. I write for number of US journals and the amount of queries I get online about Ayurveda is quite motivating."

Having done her BAMS (Bachelors in Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) from Panjab University she has been practicing Ayurveda from past fifteen years and has also completed NDDY (Diploma in Naturopathy, Diploma in Yoga) and ADNY (Advance diploma in Naturopathy and Yoga) from Panjab University.

A Reiki healer too, she says, "I am a firm believer that there is nothing better than natural healing. Ayurveda is all natural and makes use of only those things that our body is made of. Hence no side effects." 

Talking about her book, 'Healing through Ayurveda' she says, "My earlier two books too were on easy practices of Ayurveda and this one 'Healing through Ayurvea - Tips on 'Dosha understanding and self care' is based on basic human constitution and natural temperament. In this book I have tried to tell people about the three mental temperaments 'vata', 'pitta' and 'kapha'. They are basically the three doshas. They destroy and support the body when they are abnormal and normal respectively."

On how can one identify the self (based on these doshas) she says, "A layman cannot do it, but in the end of my book I have a questionnaire and that can help people find which temperament do they belong to."

About her earlier books she says, "Herbal healers is a book based on the daily use of herbs and 'Home Remedies' deals with Ayurvedic view of one hundred ailments and their easy management by home cures."

After having vowed the nation for two years in a row, India's only and biggest platform for discovering hidden talent, India's Got Talent is back on Colors. While Season 3 of the show will see Sonali Bendre and Kirron Kher, returning to their esteemed thrones on the judges' panel, this time they will be joined by none other than Bollywood's evergreen superstar Dharmendra on the panel. See all the action on India's Got Talent 3 starting soon on Colors.

This season of India's Got Talent is going to be different in yet another respect. Tying the show together are going to be two new hosts, gorgeous model-actor Gautam Rode and India's favorite actor-singer-dancer Meiyang Chang. Both these guys have been the heart of India's Got Talent Season 3's auditions and have gone a long way in establishing a rapport with the judges as well as the contestants. Their infectious smiles and warm attitude will definitely strike the right chord with the audiences as well.

The new addition to the judging panel this season is the dashing septuagenarian, Dharamendra, who rode into the press conference on a motorbike with Sonali riding pillion and Kirron sitting in the sidecar. The famous song from his hit film Sholay, Yeh dosti in the background added the right touch. Full of spirit and energy, Dharemdra spread his charisma and wowed everyone. Happy to pose with two gorgeous ladies, Dharemdra went into a rhapsody reciting sher after sher and garnering applause from the media. He reminisced about his days as a struggler and how he got his break via a talent hunt show. Sonali too added, that the sole purpose of the show is to find that masterpiece from India's heartland that will go on to become the pride of India just the way The Prince Group from Orissa and The Shillong Chamber Choir made India proud in the past seasons.

If you thought being new on the show might make him awkward, Dharemdra seemed at ease and showed off his cool rapport with Sonali and Kirron, by laughing, talking and even teasing the ladies. He shared many laughs with his co-judges much to the delight of everyone. Dharemdra claimed that he appreciated the gripping malkhamb performers, edgy juggling and balancing acts, folk art, bhangra, lavni and classical dance forms in this season. After the appearances of the judges, the channel had organised live performances showcasing various talents, giving the media a glimpse of what is in store. After a dance performance on a patriotic song, a dance group mesmerized everyone with the tap dance. But it was this guy who performed an acrobatic act, balancing himself on a plank and later even climbing on two stools while maintaining a balance and jumping rope and rings that impressed Dharmendra the most.

Ravindra Patil's awesome talent is to make decorative things from one piece of Aluminum wire. His workplace is Juhu beach where he makes and sells hearts, bikes, faces et al. he had earlier made a motorbike which he presented to Dharmendra while he made a bicycle on stage and gifted it to a member of the media. The Madhav rock band perked up the atmosphere with their rendition of Hare Rama Hare Krishna in a new avatar. The rocking music, guitar strings brought out a new flavour of the old song.

The very talented, evergreen actor with Greek God looks and a heart of gold, Dharmendra had loads to say. He claimed, "A talent hunt made me who I am, so it's my turn to help some other contestant chase their dreams. I feel we have so much talent in this country and very few ways in which they are being tapped. As a judge, I can empathize with their fears and apprehensions of contestants as I have been one. I am very excited to be part of India's Got Talent as this the perfect opportunity for me to connect with my fans in each and every part of the country through this medium." On the other hand the gorgeous Sonali Bendre and the third time judge said, "The talent every season only gets bigger and better! This season has not only raised the bar but also seen some meaningful and breath taking talent at the auditions."

The graceful Kirron Kher mentioned that, "This season we have returned with some such unique gems of human excellence in terms of performances and acts by individuals and groups. The India's Got Talent stage is synonymous with India at its creative best!” 

Pretty actress Hina Khan, aka Akshara from Star Plus Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, has a glowing skin and perfect complexion. Here she reveals her beauty secrets only for her fans.

What do you eat for this flawless skin?

I drink lots of water. I also have coconut water twice a day. In my diet, I have a bowl of curd and one Amla daily. I eat everything from vegetables to non-veg but in moderation. You should never starve or deprive yourself but also have control to stop before you stuff yourself too much.

Do you believe in skin treatments or prefer natural remedies?

I do go out to spa for clean up but that's it. I prefer home remedies any day. I use tomato paste on my face after removing the seeds. I put malai on face and later take steam. I also use dried powder of orange peel and mix it with milk and apply on my face for a glow. Milk and rose water combination also helps for a cooling effect.

What is your normal skin care routine? How often do you cleanse your skin, moisturize, etc?

I wash my face daily in the morning with rose water. In the evening, I remove my make up with coconut oil. I wash my face thoroughly and in the end, I put lactocalemine (water based). I don't use soap on my face. I use only face wash. I get a clean up done once in fifteen days. I use Bath & Body moisturizer.

Do you do regular facials, cleanups or spa treatments to pamper your skin?

I don't do any facials as before 35 years of age, facials are just not required. I only go for clean ups. I go to a spa once a month for full body massage which is relaxing.

Former boxing champion Mike Tyson has dismissed reports that he's heading to the UK to appear on the hit reality show Celebrity Big Brother. The Hangover star was said to be on the producers' wish list for the next season of the programme, but the 45-year-old insisted that he has "enough drama" in his own life to deal with.

"I'm shutting rumors down 2day. I'm not doing any Celebrity Big Brother shows either. I deal with enough drama. I'd never agree to it," he wrote on Twitter.

If celebrities didn't go wrong with fashion, journalism wouldn't be half as much fun! We take a look at some of the wrong fashion statements made by B-town residents in recent times

Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor dazzled Sunday night as she walked the ramp in noted fashion designer Manish Malhotra's couture show as a surprise showstopper on the third-day of the ongoing Synergy1 Delhi Couture Week in the Capital. Dressed in a white lehenga and heavily embroidered red backless overcoat with embellished gold work, the actor opened the designer's bridal collection inspired from the old world charm and opulence of royalty that prevailed in India during 1930-1940.

Actor Urmila Matondkar also made a rare guest appearance for Manish's show. The collection was an amalgamation of traditional and contemporary silhouettes with a touch of British influence.

"I have reinterpreted the 1930 and 1940s style of clothing in my designs. The collection had a flare for everything that a couture garment should have. I felt it's time to move away from duplication and revisit the classic style with glamorous look," he said.

—Agencies

R&B star Beyonce says she wants to step behind the camera for a new career as a movie director. The 29-year-old has enjoyed a number of film roles over the years and her next project will be teaming up with actor-director Clint Eastwood for a new remake of A Star Is Born, reported a publication.

"I would love to direct. Continue to learn video and maybe by then a short film," Beyonce said. The Irreplaceable hit maker has previously been seen in movies like Carmen: A Hip Hopera, Dreamgirls, which earned her two Golden Globe nominations, and Cadillac Records. — PTI

Mugdha Godse (July 26,1982, Pune) who blows candle on cake today with you, shared screen space with Shah Rukh Khan in a commercial. She appeared in one of the lead roles in the Hindi film Fashion with Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut and Arbaaz Khan. She was appreciated for her performance. In her first debut she has made a sensational mark. Astrologically Mugdha will excel in film world in 2015.