..India thump England again, close in on 5-0 sweep

MUMBAI, October 23, 2011 (AFP) - World champions India stayed on course for a clean sweep of the one-day series against England with a six-wicket win in the fourth match here on Sunday.

Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina hit half-centuries as the hosts made light of a bad start to overhaul England's modest 220 all out in the 41st over of their innings in the day-night match.

Raina smashed 80 off 62 balls and Kohli made an unbeaten 86, the pair having put on 131 for the fourth wicket after India were reduced to 46-3 in the 14th over.

Another win in Tuesday's final one-dayer at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata will give Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men a resounding 5-0 series win over Alastair Cook's struggling tourists.

The emphatic victory was set up by the bowlers who shot England out for a modest total in India's first match at the Wankhede stadium since winning the World Cup final against Sri Lanka in April.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shattered the top order with 3-38, before 21-year-old debutant fast bowler Varun Aaron polished off the tail with 3-24 on a slow wicket.

Tim Bresnan top-scored with 45 and Kevin Pietersen made 41, but five England batsmen failed to reach double-figures after Cook won the toss and elected to bat.

"We want to finish the series on a high, but we will have to play good cricket again in Kolkata to win," Dhoni said, when asked if a 5-0 scoreline was on his mind.

"Overall the team has performed very well in the series. With so many young players in the side the fielding has been good. Varun bowled quick and that's one thing we are looking for."

Cook rued his team's low total that cost England the match.

"We fell short again," he said. "A lot of our top order got in. It's been quite similar all through this tour. In Indian conditions, once you get in, you've got to get a 70, 80, 90.

"We kept losing wickets, and 220 was not enough. I can't fault the desire and commitment from the lads in training, but we're just not performing.

"We've got one more left and we're desperate to try and get a win," the England captain said.

The tourists went into the match with with a new-look attack that included 21-year-old Durham leg-spinner Scott Borthwick and 22-year-old Surrey fast bowler Stuart Meaker.

The two youngsters, who replaced Graeme Swann and Jade Dernbach, went for a combined tally of 104 runs in 17 overs.

Fast bowler Steven Finn dealt two early blows when he bowled Parthiv Patel and Gautam Gambhir in successive overs to leave India on 21-2 by the eighth over.

It soon became 46-3 when Meaker had Ajinkya Rahane caught behind, but Kohli and Raina settled in to deny England another quick breakthrough.

..Win over England not revenge, says Dhoni

Mohali, (AFP): India's One-day series win over England should not be regarded as revenge for the side's humiliating defeats to their rivals a few months ago, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said. The Indian captain added he was disappointed at England's behaviour on the field, saying the strategy to intimidate the opposition was clearly not paying dividends.

"Revenge is a very strong word and should not be used in sport," Dhoni said after the world champions scored a five-wicket win in Mohali on Thursday night to take a 3-0 lead in the five-match series. "On one hand we talk about the spirit of the game and on the other we talk about revenge. It should not be like that."
Young batsman Ajinkya Rahane top-scored with 91 as India surpassed England's challenging 298-4 with four balls to spare after Dhoni smashed two boundaries in the final over.
The series win came after a disastrous tour of England in July-September when India were blanked 4-0 in the Tests to concede the number one spot and also lost the one-dayers 3-0. "I am quite happy with the performance of the team when it comes to the one-day format. Victory is always a good feeling," said Dhoni, who led India to World Cup glory in April.
India won without seven top stars, including Sachin Tendulkar, who were part of the team that beat Sri Lanka in the World Cup final in Mumbai. Dhoni, however, warned England to tone down their aggressive behaviour on the field, which earned the wrath of the umpires during the second game in New Delhi on Monday.
That match was marred by verbal exchanges between Indian batsmen and England's fielders, and the tension also appeared to spill over on the field in Mohali.
"There were lots of gestures flowing around in the field when it came to the England side," Dhoni said. "But I don't think that strategy is working. It's not only about 'giving it' to the opposition. You have to be fair. If our players are saying something to the opposition, which happens at times, I don't want them to get really personal or say things that are not within the guidelines."
"A bit of chit-chat is fine, because that makes the game interesting. You don't always want a friendly series, as long as things don't get too personal. "But I think they (England) should change the plan for the next two games," the Indian captain said.
England fast bowler Tim Bresnan was quoted earlier this week as saying that his team was using verbal volleys to intimidate batsmen since Indian pitches offered no assistance to the bowlers.
"It's part of the game," Bresnan said. "We can't really use the ball to intimidate as much as we would like, so we have to do other things to get into the batsman's bubble, like a little bit of a word or a look or a stare."
England captain Alastair Cook was, however, more concerned about trying to avoid a 5-0 whitewash. "We prepared as well as we could have prepared, but just have not quite delivered," Cook said.
"But we've got two more games to go and need to pick ourselves up when we've already lost the series. That is the challenge. There was desperation out there to try to win, and we've got to keep that desperation for the next two games."
The fourth one-dayer will be played in Mumbai on Sunday before the final game in Kolkata on October 25. England will end the tour with a one-off Twenty20 international in Kolkata on Oct 29.

England desperate to win last two ODIs: Trott

Mumbai, Oct 22 (IANS) England's seasoned middle-order batsman Jonathan Trott said Saturday that the visitors are desperate to win the remaining two ODIs of the five-match series against India.
Having lost the series 0-3, Trott said England haven't played well in India.

'I just think we haven't played as well as we did in England. I think India played well. They will admit they played a lot better than what they did in the summer,' Trott said on the eve of the fourth ODI here at the Wankhede Stadium.


'But there are two games to go and a good performance in those games would give us a spring while going back,' he said.

'It's definitely not a case of damage limitation. It's a case of realising that you haven't played well in the first three games. We haven't played up to our expectations. India have played better cricket. It's an opportunity in for us the last two games to put some good performances for the team as well as individuals,' the South-Africa born player said.

Trott said England's failure to play well in key moments in the series was the difference between the two teams.

'I can't pinpoint the exact reason. I think we lost key periods of the games or India played well in the key periods of the games. I think we played well the other night (at Mohali when England mustered 298). Got a good total but just could not get across the line. Our basics haven't been up to the scratch. Things like big partnerships, fielding. We haven't done well. Good opportunity there up tomorrow and the next game,' Trott said.

On the verbal wars between the two teams, Trott said such things happen in the heat of the moment.

'Whichever XI takes the field, are highly motivated to win. I think guys get across very well. It comes across differently on TV which is not the case. We get the best out of each other. Sometimes you go out of way to do it and things happen in the heat of the moment. The guys take a lot of pride in their performance and want to win. That's what they want to do.'

'The match officials hadn't given any official warning. The officials have spoken to the two captains about that sort of stuff and that's all I've heard about the stuff going on,' he said.

Tell Me O Kkhuda

The film is said to be Hema's attempt to re-launch her daughter Esha Deol. It tracks the story of a girl's passionate quest to know her origins. Esha Deol is not just the leading lady of her mother Hema Malini's production venture 'Tell Me Oh Khuda'. She is also the assistant director, her mother's chief technical adviser and editor. Esha has a lot of hopes pinned on the movie. She hopes it will get her back on track. This should be the turning point in her career.

Esha has been missing from the marquee for the last few years. The Dhoom Machale girl disappeared from the big screen since a long time due to her continuous flops movies at Box-Office. Esha is unhappy with her career then her  mother Hema Malini decided to produce a movie for her. Tell Me Oh Khuda is about a girl in search of her father.


Esha has a deglam look in the film and even learnt to ride a camel in Rajasthan's desert for the film. For 10 days she rode the camel like a professional for a camel race. she had the best calves on display in the typical Rajasthani camel-rider's costume, the kurta lungi and all. Esha said Ilost oodles of weight for the movie under the guidance of her trainer Satyajit 'Satya' Chaurasia. Rocky S has styled Esha for the film. Like in her earlier outing Dhoom, the need for a taut body was to get into some cool clothes which her character demand.


 Pritam Chakraborty gave melodious music in this movie. Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has agreed to be a part of Hema Malini's directorial venture 'Tell Me Oh Khuda'. Salman khan had shared the screen with Esha Deol just for a track called someone somebody which has been choreographed by Bosco-Caesa.


Shahrukh Khan, Vinod Khanna, Akshay Kumar, and various Bollywood celebs were present at the music launch of the upcoming release TELL ME O KKHUDA at Intercontinental.



The film also stars Dharmendra as Esha’s father, the real-life father. Dharmendra and Esha Deol will act with each other in a film, this is the first time he would be sharing screen space with daughter Esha.


First film to feature Dharmender, Hema Malini and Esha Deol


This movie has completed its shooting in the mid 2010 but they didn’t released the movie because at the same time her brothers “Yamla Pagla Deewana” began and she doesn’t want to release her movie at the same time YPD gets released. So they delayed the release date to February but now due to the World Cup fever they have again postponed the release of the movie.


  The film has been extensively shot in Turkey besides various places in India.Rajasthan (Jaisalmer, Goa and Mumbai)

Desi Boyz

About Story:- Desi Boyz is set in the times of the economic recession. The year is 2009. The world has been struck by the financial meltdown. But Nick Mathur (John Abraham) and Jerry Patel (Akshay Kumar) don't feel a thing in their comfortable pad in London.
Nick feels smug with his successful investment banking job, the new bonus in his pocket and his beautiful fiance, Radhika, by his side, while Jerry is so used to scraping the bottom of the barrel and living off his best buddy Nick, that recession feels like home. But life has something else for these two lads.
 Nick and Jerry stop smiling the day Nick's company decides to downsize and unceremoniously fires him. And Jerry is informed by the Social Services that his nephew Veer, whose local guardian Jerry is will be placed in a foster home unless he gets a steady job.
 Desi Boyz is the story of two men who are forced to do something extremely bizarre which gives them instant gratification but the repercussions tear them apart and its aftermath which tests everything including their friendship.
Action comedy film which revolves around two friends Akshay and John Abraham who after losing their jobs start working as Pole Dancers, what happens after that, how they meet the beautiful heroines, with lots of comedy encounters is all about the movie.

Speedy Singhs

Story: Young Canadian-Indian Rajveer Singh ( Vinay Virmani) doesn't want to end up in his family business as a truck driver. Instead, he aspires to be a professional ice hockey player but is unable to do so due to the familiar problems of racism that the Indian community faces in distant shores. His only option is to set up his own team with the Punjabi boys of the neighbourhood, find a suitable coach (Rob Lowe) and break the racist barrier. But more importantly, he must convince his disapproving dad (Anupam Kher) who believes trucking is a better career than hockey.

Movie Review: Speedy Singhs is a smart little surprise package. It's a cheerful film that makes you smile with its subtle humour, its repartee-filled screenplay, its deftness at handling the umpteen relationships and its finely-nuanced performances.

Leading this pack of oddballs is Russell Peters who packs a punch as the offensive, scheming Punjabi groom who not only wants the suitable Punjabi girl as his bride but also her dad's business which might just be handed over to the hockey enthusiast nephew, Rajveer. Rajveer, on his part, is equally charming as the diehard hockey player who smiles his way through all the lows and never loses focus, not even when his dad throws him out of the house.

But more than the performances -- and the hockey matches -- it is the sundry relationships that form the core of the film. Rajveer's unflinching bond with his family, his tentative romance with law student Camille Bell, his highs and lows with coach Winters, his camaraderie with his team mates and his love-hate relationship with bro-in-law Russell Peters make for some compelling viewing.

A little more spice and edge to the delineation of the game itself would have made the film an action-packed adventure too. Nevertheless, Speedy Singhs, with a guest appearance by Akshay Kumar (as himself), is an entertaining watch.

'Rockstar' title can go against film: Ranbir

Actor Ranbir Kapoor says the title of his upcoming film Rockstar may suggest that it is a story of a grungy young boy, but this isn't so. "The title Rockstar can sometimes go against us because when people hear Rockstar, they feel the film will have this guy who will wear a leather jacket, will break the guitar, will create a mess on the stage. Actually the film is about a character, a Jat boy, and whatever happens in his life, he tells the world about it through his songs," Ranbir told reporters.

The actor has strummed the guitar, indulged in head banging, and rocked the stage for the movie, set for release Nov 11. In the movie, Ranbir plays the role of Janardhan or Jordan, an aspiring singer, who goes on to be a popular rockstar.
Ranbir went out of his way to learn how to play the guitar for the film.
"I had no idea how to play the guitar and neither can I sing. But since the character was that of a musician, I felt it was important to learn how to play the guitar because when I would perform on the stage before a large audiences, they would feel truth behind it," he said.

Will Ra.One be No. 1?

For Shah Rukh Khan, it is not just the big investment, but his very reputation as the Badshah of Bollywood that's at stake.

If film-making is nothing short of a gamble, Shah Rukh Khan is the Great Gambler of the year.

Ra.One, at an estimated Rs 150 crore, will probably be Bollywood's most expensive movie ever. “Gawd, I am making a film beyond my means,” he tweeted (even if he's not telling us what his budget is). But the ante goes far beyond the mere financials with this movie for the Badshah of Bollywood.

What's at stake, beside the big money invested in Ra.One, is a dream, his once-unchallenged supremacy as the reigning deity of Bollywood, and that intangible called reputation. SRK has invested so much of his personal reputation in his dream project, and stuck his neck out so far with this one that nothing short of mega-success will do.

Bollywood's history is littered with the shards of many dreams; the smaller ones are crushed underfoot and forgotten quickly, the bigger, more ambitious ones serve as cautionary tales. Shah Rukh himself has tasted a fair amount of financial and creative defeat as a producer — big-time with Asoka and Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani; to a lesser degree with Paheli and Billu.

But cinematic history also has its glorious triumphs. Like Mughal-e-Azam, the result of K. Asif's magnificent and extravagant passion. Or the more recent Devdas, which often survived merely on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's determination and passion (but also turned out to be his biggest hit).

But then, there's more to Ra.One than the money. The Badshah of Bollywood has been a little battered of late, with his throne under attack, mainly from the other two mega-Khans, Aamir and Salman.

Aamir has been near-infallible over the last few years with a string of record-breaking mainstream films as actor (Rang de Basanti, Ghajini, 3 Idiots) and more offbeat movies as producer (Taare Zameen Par, Peepli [Live], Delhi Belly, Mumbai Diaries). All of them have delivered profits. Aamir has delivered both quality and box-office collections — the Holy Grail, in short.

Salman has had four blockbusters to his name in recent times — Wanted, Dabangg, Ready and Bodyguard — and conquered the box office with over Rs 500 crore business. But quality? Class? Uh-oh. Dabangg had a quirky stylised feel, with Salman's performance so tongue-in-cheek as to border on self-caricature, but he carried it off. However, Wanted, Ready and Bodyguard simply don't fall into that category: money-spinners, yes; memorable, no.

Meanwhile, Shah Rukh has had a relatively quieter time onscreen in the same period. His last big hits were My Name is Khan in 2010 and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi in 2008. Both did well but didn't quite bust the box office. What with health problems, IPL controversies, much-publicised tiffs, including one with Salman, and a fallout of sorts with Farah Khan, the Badshah has not protected his supremacy too well.

For a star who openly declares he loves his stardom and never wants to let go of it, he has been careless about it. But then, he's a man of many contradictions — and that's what makes him fascinating.

Here is a star who can be instinctively humble and arrogant in equal measure, who can be genuinely uncaring about money and openly chase it, who can claim he's not being pompous (a much-used word with him) even as he is being just that, who can toast you with real warmth and freeze you with chilling sarcasm.

Every time I did an interview with him and sat down to transcribe his pronouncements, it was amusing to see how he would contradict himself any number of times in the space of that one interview. So one had to choose: which Shah Rukh did one project in that particular article?

However, there are some things that never change, are never self-contradicted. One of them is how incredibly hard he works. Shah Rukh never jokes about that because it is far too precious to him. He is very proud (as he should be) about the fact that his superstardom has come after a long, hard journey, one full of uncalculated risks.

When a star reaches what seem like unassailable heights or gets trapped in the creative sandpit that success often brings with it, it is easy to forget that he got there by taking not one, but a series of risks — some based on instinct, some on pure emotion and a few on solid groundwork.

It is true of most stars and especially so with Shah Rukh Khan. Let's skip the fact that becoming an actor and trying to break into Bollywood is itself a huge leap of faith that's common to most aspirants.

Take Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, now the longest running one in Hindi cinema, a cult film, and so on. But when Shah Rukh put his faith in the film's first-time director, Aditya Chopra was not the force he now is, nor was Yash Raj Films the monolith it is. Adi (as he is known) was the son of the legendary Yash Chopra and had assisted him on some movies, but that need not necessarily have translated into much, as many other heirs and assistants have shown. But SRK signed on. It was pretty much the same story with Karan Johar. On the sets of DDLJ, Shah Rukh promised Johar — more as a friend than actor — that if he ever made a film, he would star in it. That film turned out to be Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, and one of Shah Rukh's biggest hits, but the promise he made to Johar could well have led him nowhere. You can repeat the story once again with Farah Khan and Main Hoon Na.

What's it with you — do you have a great script sense, I once asked SRK. “I have no script sense at all!” he told me breezily. “These are all emotional decisions.”

Ra.One is one of those emotional decisions for SRK, because it is a film he is making as much for himself as his son, Aryan. And it doesn't get bigger than his children for SRK. But the film is also an educated gamble. It has not been made with the impetuousness of youth but the risk appetite of an actor who has learned to hedge his bets and, more importantly, has far more at stake than he did in his early days.

Nobody is more aware of that than the superstar himself. You can see that he is promoting his film with desperation. It will pay off — Ra.One has already made quite a bit of money in pre-release deals. But the problem is that SRK needs it to be nothing short of a mega-hit. And as any gambler will tell you, you've got to bet big to win big.