India ready for third edition of IPL

The third edition of the Indian Premier League is all set to begin. Defending champions Deccan Chargers would take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening game at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

Led by Adam Gilchrist, the Chargers had made a remarkable turnaround last year when they leaped from last place to eventually win the title.

Sourav Ganguly's Knight Riders on the other hand have much to prove. The Shah Rukh Khan-backed team had finished last in 2009, despite having a star-studded team and the most elaborate of coaching set-ups.

This year's IPL would also feature those cricketers, who have returned to the mainstream after being banned for playing in the unofficial Indian Cricket League.

Most notable of them is Shane Bond, who has been signed by Delhi Daredevils.

Five new venues have been added to the IPL itinerary, while one regular venue --- Hyderabad --- has been dropped due to the Telangana agitation in Andhra Pradesh.

Ahmedabad, Cuttack, Dharamsala, Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium, and Nagpur would get their slice of IPL action this year.

Hrithik Roshan and Sussanne to heal the world

Bollywood answer to Greek Gods in looks, Hrithik Roshan and his better half Sussanne have joined hands to heal the world and make it a better place. The lovely couple has come together for the first time to endorse a concept, which is close to their heart and involves their little children.

Hrithik Roshan has banked both his children's cord blood stem cells with LifeCell International, India 's pioneer stem cell banking company. Hrithik has come forward to endorse the concept as a Brand Patron for LifeCell International with an aim to create awareness about the novel concept and its benefits.

The couple will create awareness on cord blood stem cell banking and an official declaration on this is expected soon where the concept of Blood stem banking will be explained to the media. Blood stem banking is a unique concept which is very much useful for children and that’s the reason why the concerning heart of Hrithik and Sussanne started beating together for the benefit of their children.

Aamir to share stage with James Cameron

Our Mr. Perfectionist is going to enjoy a once-in-lifetime experience soon….

Come March 13 and Aamir Khan is reported to meet James Cameron in association with an event in New Delhi. The actor said to share the stage with the ‘Avatar’ director for a forum where they will be discussing on the topic ‘Future of Cinema’.

The actor, sources said, is looking forward to meet the Hollywood director.

For his homework on the well-acclaimed filmmaker, Aamir said to be going through all of Cameron’s films. Besides, Aamir is planning to sit with Cameron and talk to him about his views on the changing nature of films.

Sources added to say that the two will be attending a private dinner the same evening.

Actor Akshay Kumar refused the Safety in Shooting

Pushing yourself beyond imaginable limits may well be the norm when it comes to doing stunts in Bollywood movies. In keeping with the style, actor Akshay Kumar refused to use safety harnesses while shooting for his upcoming film Housefull.

A particular scene required Akshay to jump from the balcony of one building to another. Since even a slight mistake could have been fatal, the team advised Akshay to use cable wires to perform the stunt. The actor, however, refused, asserting he didn’t need any help.

“Akshay had to jump from one balcony to another for a scene. It was advisable to use cables for it since the stunt was quite risky and one small slip would have him badly injured. But Akshay refused and did the stunt himself, minus the cable wires,” reveals a source from the production team.

Harbhajan Singh Girl Friend Priya Reddy

Punjabi girls now have a reason to smile. Finally, the Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh today categorically rejected the reports with regard to his proposedmarriage with Bangalore based girl Priya Reddy and said that he would only tie nuptial knot with a Punjabi girl.

“The report published in a section of press about me getting married with final year psychology student at Bishop Cotton is totally baseless and devoid of the facts. I am not goingto marry her. Definitely, I know her very much even as she is just a good friend. But, it does not mean I will marry her,” Turbanator, maintained.

“I came to know about the report when my close friends and family members rang me up to congratulate over my marriage plans. Although I know Priya very well and even went along with her for outings, but it does not mean that I am going to marry her,” he asserted.

“Even my parent scolded me for my reported decision of marriage, which I never took and it was only after my assurance to them to abide by their decision about my marriage, they calmed down,”he added.

Asked about his marriage plans, Bhajji said that he would take decision on the issue only after a couple of years. It will be an arranged marriage and bride, a Punjabi girl, would be selected only by my family members.

Deepika was not interested do to the project

Known for his straight forward talks, Nana Patekar recently gave piece of his mind to our poor tall beauty Deepika Padukone.

It all happened when Nana approached Deepika with a script, for a Prakash Jha’s film which Nana is going to direct. The actor said to have written the script keeping Deepika in mind.

However, when the actress went through it, she pointed out few alterations in the script, which unfortunately didn’t impress Nana. He refused to acknowledge her suggestions and was so furious that he said to have given an earful to her and left.

Meanwhile other sources said that Deepika was not interested do to the project as she is not able to relate to her character in the film.

Adding fuel to fire will be Indian Premier League (IPL) matches on the big screen.

In March usually a dry month for Bollywood thanks to the Class 10 and 12 board exams and so the industry has little to offer in terms of big budget outings. Adding fuel to fire will be Indian Premier League (IPL) matches on the big screen.

"We have no options this month. Whatever comes our way, we'll show. March is a lean month as always due to exams. We are hoping some content works and brings in footfalls through word of mouth, though we'll also be showing IPL at one of our screens at normal cinema rates," Amit Awasthi, manager (programming and operations) of Spice Cinemas, told IANS. The IPL tournament begins Friday.

Tusshar Dhingra, COO of Big Cinemas, said: "There's really not much to do (this month), but we are trying to do whatever we can to get that additional footfall. There are three to four big Hollywood releases coming up and some small Bollywood movies. We are also screening IPL in cinemas at standard ticket rates and with additional packages."

The month opened on a commercially disappointing note with the release of Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?, Road, Movie, Hello Zindagi, Thanks Maa and Rokkk.

Expectations were high from the Ajay Devgn-Konkona Sen Sharma-starrer Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?, based on Sharad Joshi's short story, but it didn't work despite the fact that there wasn't any competition at the ticket window.

Dev Benegal's internationally acclaimed Abhay Deol-starrer Road, Movie also failed to bring footfalls to the theatres.

Movies lined up for release this month include Hide N Seek that stars not-so-big names like Purab Kohli, Arjan Bajwa, Ayaaz Khan, Samir Kochhar, Mrinalini Sharma and debutant Amruta Patki and Na Ghar Ke Na Ghaat Ke features Ravi Kishan, TV actress Narayani Shastri and Rahul Aggarwal. Swaha is also coming this month.

Right Yaa Wrong is the only movie that boasts of big names - the film has Sunny Deol and Irrfan Khan in the leads. Yogesh Raizada, corporate head (cinemas) of Wave Cinemas, said: "Movies will keep on coming, they are not stopping, but the occupancy and expectations won't be there as it is an annual dull period. We are trying to fill it up by screening IPL and that too at prices equivalent to cinema tickets.

"The best part is exams will get over by maximum March 25 and IPL will build up hype by that time, which sounds good." Multiplexes are trying to cash in on IPL fever. The tournament is starting March 12 and will end April 25 and multiplexes have warmed up to the initiative of screening the matches.

"IPL has become a strong property. On top of that, no big budget film is releasing during this period. So, screening matches will be beneficial for the halls because no major film shows will be affected and they (theatres) will have something to fall back on for sustenance," UFO Moviez India CEO Rajesh Mishra had told IANS in an interview.

Around 800 screens around India, including close to 65 in Delhi and surrounding areas, are expected to screen the matches at movie ticket prices that range from Rs.120-180 across different properties depending on the timing of the match.

"It has always been that during the time of exams, the movie lineup has been dull and so to make up for that we are going to screen IPL this time across most of our screens," said a source from PVR cinemas.

Other movies lined up this month are Ekta Kapoor's Love Sex Aur Dhokha, Vikram Bhatt's Shaapit, Sushant Singh-Hrishita Bhatt-starrer Idiot Box and

Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan's Lahore. March will also see the release of Shyam Benegal's talked about film Well Done Abba along with Hum Tum Aur Ghost and Crime Partner. All the movies are releasing March 26.

April will begin with the release of Shahid Kapoor-starrer Paathshala, Vivek Oberoi's Prince and Phoonk 2. Other fillers during the month Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai, Tum Milo Toh Sahi, Apartment, Mirch, Run Bhola Run and It's A Wonderful After Life.