He was completely furious about the project he started as he has been cut off without even giving him any credit. He added, “Some people take information from you and cut you off from something you started without even giving you credit.”

Atif who is now collaborating with popular American rock band, Guns N’ Roses and is the face of the ‘Pakistan America Peace Through Music Project‘, was chosen by the musician turned humanitarian Todd Shea. Atif says, “Todd mentioned my voice being the main reason why he chose me the face of the project. After listening to me, he became a fan and then he started researching on me and found out that this guy is famous.”

Faraz updates his facebook status:

Source: koolmuzone.com

Whenever a catastrophe has hit the country, the first people to come out on the front line of crisis management are the civil society, of which celebrities have played a crucial role. Whether it’s the solo performance of Madam Noor Jehan at the battle front in the 1975 war to entertain the troops or it’s the numerous charity drives that modern day artistes have taken up for the earthquake in 2005, the IDP crisis last year, or the devastating floods this season- celebrities have played a pivotal role in fuelling efficacy and charity in the country.

Ever since the floods took a turn for the worst, metropolis all over the country have witnessed fundraisers every Sunday. Last week saw fashion mayhem at Lahore’s Royal Palm Golf Club, where women descended in hoards to polish off designer wear at more than 50% off. The fashion industry’s fresh and most coveted talents like Rizwanullah and Feeha Jamshed were sold off in bare minutes! And it’s not just the fashion designers, but the jewellers, the interior designers, the beauticians that all come together for a cause, along with the prominent event managers in the city. What’s more, inspite of the fact that there is zero faith in the government right now, the Punjab Governer’s family aligned itself with this social initiative that saw the Punjab Governor’s lovely wife Aamna Taseer sell tickets to the event at the entrance, and her son Sheheryar selling ‘Love Pakistan’ Tee shirts a few feet away. Similar events are on the social calendar for Lahore’s elite who have donated personal designer ware that shall be on sale coming Sunday at Sanam Taseer’s art gallery, the Drawing Room.

Although such events are heartily welcome and do generate significant funds, they are rather esoteric in their focus and appeal as they target only a certain ‘social set’.  A novel gesture by the music fraternity called the ‘Celebrity Camp’ last weekend really hit the nail on the head by engaging a much wider populace and drawing them to the Mall of Lahore. There are hardly any activities for the youth and general public with the deplorable security situation of the country, and that is where ‘Celebrity Camp’ scored high.

The concept was the brainchild of Mandana Zaidi, manager for Noori, who actualised this plan along with RJ Fizza Aslam and Ali Zafar’s manager, Sarfaraz. “We wanted to do something and play our part as Pakistanis. This is not something we want to own, but something we want to do,” clarified Mandana in a show of humility and collective spirit. Even though fashion took a back seat at this particular event, Munib Nawaz’s clothes hung alongside Maria B.’s who explained that “the concept for this event is ‘Meray Log’ and we want to duplicate this and take it all over the country.”

Celebrities such as Aaminah Haq, Ammar Belal, EP, Call, Ali Azmat and Shoaib Akhtar donated personal items for auctioning, while bands such as Laal, Fariha Pervaiz, Nauman, Jal and Noori took the stage to perform. Laal’s role in the event was perhaps the most pertinent. As a band with a strong political orientation and one that has worked most extensively with the peasants, and even has a special song dedicated to the flood victims, Laal epitomised entertainment with a soul.  In the coming months, Laal’s role as a political and social agent will be pivotal since they have been working with the peasantry and farmers for a few years now and probably have the trust and network required to be able to effectively help those affected by the flood. Taimur Rahman, Laal frontman, has been using his role as an academic at LUMS, and a member of the college’s relief committee (which has raised about 2 crores) and will soon be heading out the affected regions with their student and faculty trekkers, he said. “We will be performing all over the country for free and have recently been invited by Harvard University to also perform there as well. For Eid, Laal and Noori are joining hands to go out and distribute gifts to children and perform for them,” said Taimur. Ali Hamza also confirmed, “We are going to conduct a drive across all the major towns and focus on giving the kids a good time.”

Interestingly the event was not ticketed. But as one took the escalator to the venue, there stood a mob of camera men ready to attack and a young troop with plastic containers asking one to deposit however much they could at that point. Quite akin to candid camera, the presenter would shove herself into the faces of unsuspecting guests asking them how it felt to have made a donation. As Ali Hamza explained, “We are not so much working on relief. We are trying to work towards the rehabilitation process. We need to take some initiative and commitment as a part of the civil society to think long term and create plans that are sustainable. A flood is a very complex problem with layers of issues. So we need to think how to tackle this problem intelligently.” It was hearting to see how the Noori brothers were actively engaging with the crowd, going up to people personally talking to them about the crisis and how each one can help in the process. And with such persistence and a small ‘galla’ they managed to raise half a million rupees. A night of charity, song and brotherhood which truly was music for the soul.

Source: thenews.com.pk

Reading this Home Minister RR Patil was rather upset. He went ahead and commented to the media that “Mumbai traffic has been steadily growing and the common man is spending almost 4-5 hours commuting. And it is them that one should be thinking off”.

Understanding Mr Patil’s ire, Amitabh was quick to explain as he said in a letter to the media that, “Mumbai as a city has given my family and me a place in their hearts besides recognition and respect.” He went on to say, “My blog represents my heart and on the matter of the Metro it clearly says the ‘general happiness’ that it brings to ‘commuters’ and that ‘the misery of crowded locals and the uncertainties of the three wheeler or the yellow black cab shall hopefully be greatly reduced’. Indeed I have ended the piece by saying welcome ‘fellow passengers’. By fellow passenger I include myself as one.”

Foot in mouth, Big B?

Source: thenews.com.pk

The beauty from Barbados, Rihanna, will forever be young and beautiful now that she has been sculpted in wax for the Madame Tussads museum in Washington, D.C. The ‘Rude Boy’ singer’s wax double is dressed in black lace corset, fitted jacket, skinny pants and black silk heels, by Balmain, which was donated by Rihanna and is the outfit she wore to the French fashion house’s show during Paris Fashion Week last October. Plus the double  is seen sporting Rihanna’s trademark blonde cropped hair style. Madame Tussauds added diamond earrings, tennis bracelet and a ring, as well as a glittering pin on the jacket lapel of the figure.

Rihanna, 22,  poses giving ‘herself’ a smooch it might be because she was too excited about how the figure turned out when she went for a sneak peek before the unveiling and couldn’t help but upload a Twitpic on her Twitter account.

Source: thenews.com.pk

Sharad Kelkar who effortlessly played the double shaded protagonist in the show told TellyBuzz, “I’m really very sad that the show is ending. At the end of it, it’s the channel’s call and to be frank it’s a profit and loss game. As actors we could just inquire why such a decision was taken, but cannot not do much to change the decision taken”.

Sharad is unhappy with the timing of the show’s ending. As we know, the pair of Thakur and Amoli was receiving an enormous response for their chemistry together. “See in any fiction show when the lead characters unite after ample differences, it’s always a big thing and according to me that clicked with the audience. Also it’s more upsetting that the show is ending when the track was building up for an interesting future.”

When inquired about his take on the low TRP ratings of his show he said, “On a personal front I don’t think that the TRP of our show was that bad when compared to the other shows in the same time slot. I think they had to make way for their new projects, so like other shows they planned to scrap ours too.”

Sharad is in fact pleased to see the audience reaction who have been sending petitions for the show to continue. “Yes I myself have been receiving around lakhs of mails regarding the same, but as Ashwini Yardi said in her interview that, ‘Every good thing has to come to an end’, I’m taking it positively that they would at least try starting a sequel of Bairi Piya, that is if audience demand is really strong”, saying which he signed off.

Reporter & Author: Pooja Shenoy

Source: india-forums.com

It is buzzed that the production house has finalized most of the cast but the channel wasn’t impressed with the choice of actors. The production
house had to cast afresh.

Informs our source, ”Gagan Malik has been finalized to play the male lead of the show. Apart from him Faisal Raza Khan, Nimai Bali and Seema Pandey, Tulika have been finalized to play pivotal roles. Krishna’s dadi from Star Plus’ Pratigya will also be seen in the show. Channel is planning to launch the show as soon as they finish with their final casting “.

We also hear that Gagan’s character will be of a simple and nice guy who can at times become aggressive.

When contacted, Gagan Malik refused to comment. Producer Pearl Grey also remained unavailable for comment.

As reported earlier by Tellybuzz the show is based on honor killings in the country.

Reporter & Author: Minal Loiwal

Source: india-forums.com

As per the present track the preparations for Abhay and Pihu’s marriage ceremony are in full swing; and among all the twist and turns that the creative’s are planning, one major high point would be Shweta Tiwari‘s emotional dance performance on the Bollywood number ‘Der Na Hojaye’ from the movie Heena in an Indo western attire.

A Little Birdie informs us that, “Though Pihu and Abhay’s wedding preparations are on, Pihu is still in a dilemma whether to marry Abhay or not. She very well knows that Rudra (Iqbal Khan) is the one she loves from childhood, at the same time her ego is not allowing her to get back to Rudra leaving Abhay. Her dilemma will increase manifold during Shweta Tiwari’s performance on the emotional number.”

Our source also adds that, “Post Shweta Tiwari’s performance Rudra enters the venue with his new friend Gauri (Binny Sharma); Rudra will try his level best to stop Pihu’s wedding and Gauri will help him in it”.

When contacted, Abhivyanjana Pandey Creative Head of the show confirmed the news saying, “Yes Shweta Tiwari will be performing in one of the rituals during Pihu and Abhay’s wedding. We chose Shweta because she is very gorgeous and carries glamour very well. Also there is lot many twists expected in the forthcoming marriage episodes.”

If sources are to be believed Shweta Tiwari will be shooting for the dance sequence tomorrow and the episode will be aired early next week. Also there will be a Maha episode next weekend that is September 11th wherein viewers will get to know whether Pihu’s wedding to Abhay happens or not.

Reporter: Srividya Rajesh

Author: Ranjini Nair, Pooja Shenoy

Source: india-forums.com

Imagine is planning a special episode on the occasion of Janmashtami in which Ulka will be seen giving a stunning performance.

Our source tells us, “Ulka Gupta will be seen in the Special Episode of Rehna Hai Teri Palkon ki Chaaon Mein. In the Janmashtami celebration, Ulka will be dancing along with Rashmi Desai of Uttaran fame”.

When contacted, Ulka told us, “Yes I am performing in the show. Rashmi didi of Uttaran will be dancing with me. We performed on the song from Lagaan, Madhuban Mein. I enacted Krishna while Rashmi didi was Radha. It was good fun. Didi is a very good dancer, but I can’t dance. So I preferred to be Krishna as there will not be much of dance to do”.

Ulka plans to make a comeback to television, and says that her father is waiting for a good role to come her way!!

Reporter and Author: Ranjini Nair

Source: india-forums.com

Incidentally, Smita has accepted to do this cameo for dear friend and mentor Raakesh Paswan who conceived and developed her character of Punpunwali in Bhagyavidhaata.
We hear that Smita will be seen in a completely new look. She has a very important cameo role to play and will be seen in the initial two episodes.

When contacted, Smita Singh confirmed the news to TellyBuzz and said, “Yes, I am doing a meaty cameo for Raakeshji’s new show Baba Aiso Var Dhoondo. I owe my popularity as Punpunwali to Raakeshji, and during the making of Bhagyavidhaata we have become very close friends. This is his first show as Producer, and as his friend it is my responsibility to do a good job”.

Elaborating on her cameo, Smita states, “The character offered to me is superb. You can say that the story line of the show would not have got a move without the introduction of this character that I play. It is a strong role and I will appear in a new and stylised look. I play a bhabhi here and my character name is Seeta Devi who has negative shades. I am very confident that with this role, I will not let down my fans who have loved me as Punpunwali. I can say that as an actor I am highly contented to be part of the first two episodes of this show. My gut feeling says that this show will give the channel a face lift”.

We tried contacting Producer Raakesh Paswan, but he remained unavailable.

Baba Aiso Var Dhoondo is expected to launch on September 13th..

Reporter and Author: Srividya Rajesh

Source: india-forums.com

“It was nice working with Abhay again. We are used to working with each other so now we know what each other does best so we help each other out. He is a very natural actor and that’s the best thing about him,” Kalki told.

The 27-year-old Indian actress of French descent starred opposite Abhay in director Anurag Kashyap’s critically acclaimed 2009 Hindi film “Dev D”, a modern take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Bengali novel “Devdas”. While Kalki played Chandramukhi, Abhay featured as Devdas.

In director Zoya Akhtar’s “Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara”, Kalki worked with a female director for the first time and says it turned out to be great fun.

“It was superb working with Zoya Akhtar. It’s so much fun because she is so down to earth and also listens to girls,” quipped the actress, who was here with beau Kashyap for the launch of the talent portal Tumbhi.

When asked what role is she playing in Tumbhi, Kalki said: “Absolutely nothing. I’m just a loyal girlfriend. I showed up because Anurag asked me to. It’s a good concept.

“At the end of the day everything in this industry happens through connections so talented people who are new to the city have to find someone who has some connection with the film industry.”

She feels the portal will work as a bridge between wannabes and the film industry.

“It’s so hard for someone new to survive in this industry. When I was new here, it was so hard. I was clueless. I didn’t know what was going on. I used to sit at Prithvi Theatre every day finding out things and there was no set way of doing it.

“This portal just makes it easier. For any artist it is useful. It is economical, you can just upload stuff from your home. It is very practical,” said Kalki.

Source: santabanta.com