Is Salman Khan secretly dating Iulia Vantur?

Not so long ago, the Jai Ho actor was linked to the Romanian beauty Iulia Vantur. However, reports about them parting ways followed soon. But looks like there is more to this prem kahaani than what meets the eye

Iulia Vantur will make her Bollywood debut with Atul Agnihotri’s next O Teri. The babe hasn’t landed a role in the Pulkit Sharma starrer but will be seen grooving to special number in the film. And we all know this wouldn’t have been possible without a certain Salman Khan, hai na? But what’s strange is that though Sallu miyaan and his alleged ex-girlfriend called it quits in August last year, the two have stayed in touch. In fact, Ms Vantur often visited SK’s place even after the two had broken up. That’s not all. In November, when Khan went to Romania to shoot a song for his film Jai Ho, we apparently heard that he met Iulia. Thanks to Dabangg Khan, now the foreign import is gearing to enter filmdom. The way things are going it certainly doesn’t seem Salman-Iulia relationship has ended, no?
Since Iulia is part of Agnihotri’s film, the pretty lady will be in town for a long time, we assume. This means Sallu and Iulia could spend more time with each other. Maybe that’s’ reason why the Romanian model bagged the dance number instead of Elli Avram. Well, we are just guessing but it all makes sense, no?

 

Pink, blue, green - Mumbai's Monorail is quite colourful

Pink, blue, green - Mumbai's Monorail is quite colourful

 

 

Ekta Kapoor finally gets the rights to make a biopic on cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin!

The Balaji head honcho has bought the rights to make a biopic on one of the best captains of the Indian cricket

That Ekta Kapoor is planning to make a film based on the life of cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin is a stale fact. But things were stuck because Balaji head honcho was reportedly, not getting the rights to make the biopic.However, now we hear that Ekta has finally got the rights to make the film on Azhar’s life. That’s not all! The two also met on Monday (January 27) to finalise the film, which will be directed by Kunal Deshmukh.
Now we are really looking forward to this biopic. After all, Azhar has had quite an eventful life, na? A life ban on playing cricket, a divorce with his wife Naureen, a second marriage with Salman Khan’s ex-flame Sangeeta Bijlani followed by a separation 14 years later and the tragic demise of his 19-year-old son in a bike accident. Now we hope that Ekta is able to do justice to this cricket legend. After all, he is one of the few people in the world of cricket, who’s worshipped by many.
There are many biopics which are being made currently, including a biopic on Mary Kom, which has Priyanka Chopra portraying the character of the woman wrestler. Then there is a film based on the life of Sarabjit Singh. But we must say, Ekta Kapoor’s biopic on Mohammed Azharuddin tops our watch list. Hai na BollywoodLifers?

Jairam Ramesh and Priyanka prompted Rahul Gandhi from behind the camera during the recording of interview

 

 

 The knives are out in the Congress after Rahul Gandhi’s poor show in his first full-length TV interview, which not only disappointed the party rank and file but also gave a handle to detractors to deride the Gandhi family.
The debacle of an interview is now being blamed on inappropriate briefing given to the Gandhi scion on crucial issues.
For starters, the Congress’ media department has washed its hands off the interview. It says it did not organise the one-on-one with the loudest mouth on television. Instead, it has put the blame on Rahul’s inner circle and public relations agencies Genesis Burson-Marsteller and IPAN (Hill and Knowlton) for the dismal performance.
The two public relations agencies were hired to bolster the public image of Rahul Gandhi, who besides being the Congress vice-president, also heads the party’s 2014 election campaign. What has angered Congressmen the most is what they call “inappropriate briefing” given to Rahul before he was sent to the “inquisition”.
Congress leaders told dna that Rahul could not take the TV anchor head on, on questions related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Attributing this to inappropriate briefing before the interview, one of the leaders said: “He (Rahul) should have been briefed on 1984; told that 442 people who were involved in the anti-Sikh riots have been convicted by various courts over the years; that prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi have apologised for the loss of lives.”
An influential section within the Congress feels that Rahul’s attempts to project himself as an outsider battling the establishment will have repercussions for the party, which has ruled the country for more than 50 years. They say the attempt to show Rahul as a man with a mission, fighting for the “real issues”, was defeated by his oft-repeated assertions on some issues while avoiding questions on crucial issues. The interview has given Rahul the dubious distinction of being a “dodger” unable to face real issues.
The interview was conducted on Saturday in Jawahar Bhawan, the seat of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra watched the recording and also prompted Rahul from behind the camera, according to sources.
Congress managers on record, however, say they are happy at the wide publicity the interview has given to Rahul, who has now emerged as a man of determination with clear-cut ideas, not stepping aside from questions fired at him, no matter how tough.
But inputs received from various states over the past two days tell a different story. Ordinary workers and lower-rung leaders are disappointed and they believe Rahul should change and connect with the masses.
While agreeing with Rahul’s idea of changing the system, a senior leader said this can be done only after acquiring power. “You need the mandate to bring about a change. Rahul should have been toiling in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh like how Indira Gandhi used to do,” he said. The leader felt the only reason for the weakening of the Congress is that leaders have stopped going to the people.
A party general secretary said while Rahul explained that the Gujarat riots were fundamentally different from the anti-Sikh riots he should have used facts and figures to buttress his claim. Rahul should have trained his guns on BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
What Rahul missed to say in the interview has now been left to party spokespersons to carry forward. Ever since the interview, Abhishek Singhvi and RS Surjewala have been at pains to explain that Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh have apologised for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, and that the Supreme Court had to transfer trials in the 2002 Gujarat riots out of Gujarat en masse.
Singhvi said even Rahul’s worst critics would have to concede that he has shown honesty of purpose, commitment, passion and humility, and that he had just begun his journey.

Nation's first monorail to roll out in Mumbai on Feb 1

 The country's first monorail service will commence operations next month on the 8.9km Wadala-Chembur section in the central-eastern suburbs of the metropolis after a delay of over two years.

The monorail service will be inaugurated on February 1 by Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan here and the commercial operations will begin from the next day, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) chief UPS Madan told reporters here on Thursday.

The Rs 3,000 crore mono rail project is being implemented in two phases. The first phase comprises the 8.9km long Wadala-Chembur section, which will be thrown open to the public on Saturday while in the second phase the services will be extended to Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk in South Mumbai.

The Authority has fixed fares between Rs 5-11 for the first phase of operations, he said adding that MMRDA will operate six trains in the first phase, and another 10 will be added in the second.

To begin with, the services will operate with four coaches having a combined carrying capacity of 2,300 passengers at every 15 minutes, Madan said.

"We aim to provide a service at every four minutes going forward," he said.

The monorail project has been executed by a consortium of engineering major Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) and Malaysian firm Scomi Engineering and owned and operated by MMRDA.

The monorail is expected to reduce the travel time between Wadala and Chembur by almost half, from 40 minutes at present to nearly 21 minutes.

MMRDA has already spent Rs 1,900 crore of the Rs 3,000 crore allocated for the project, Madan said adding, "the civil work on the second phase of the project has been completed."

IPL Auction 2014

Johnson, Haddin valued at top base price for IPL auction

 

Freshly-crowned Ashes heroes Mitchell Johnson, Brad Haddin and Steven Smith are part of a group of 31 players that has attracted the highest base price of Rs 20 million (US$ 320,000 approx.) for the IPL player auction to be to be held in Bangalore on February 12 and 13. They are part of the 232-strong auction list of capped players from ten countries, which was finalised by the IPL last week and distributed to the eight franchises.

There are 46 Indians on the list including prominent players like Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Karthik, Pragyan Ojha and Yusuf Pathan, all of whom have been listed at the top base price of Rs 20 million. Irfan Pathan, the allrounder, is not in the top bracket but has been valued at Rs 15 million.

One notable absentee is fast bowler Varun Aaron, who is back with the national team after a lengthy injury lay-off. It was initially thought that he had skipped the IPL, but it has emerged that he is still getting his paperwork in place.*

Among the overseas players, some of the notable names missing are the Sri Lanka pair of Kumar Sangakkara and Dinesh Chandimal, Australia's Michael Clarke and Mitchell Marsh, England's Stuart Broad, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, and West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach.

With Sri Lanka touring Ireland and England this summer players like Sangakkara - who also has a young family - are likely to have decided to cool their heels before the UK trip. However Sangakkara's team-mates Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews have decided to enter the auction even if they are bound to miss the business end of the IPL.

Among the first-timers, New Zealand allrounder Corey Anderson tops the list and could likely be one of the most sought-after players. Anderson hit the fastest ODI century, in 36 balls, against West Indies. The 23-year-old, who is now the fastest to register both a century and a five-for in an ODI career, has a base price of Rs 10 million. Anderson has been the best allrounder in the ongoing one-day series against India, which New Zealand have won. 

Alex Hales, currently the No. 1-ranked batsman in Twenty20 internationals, is also searching for a top-bracket deal after that became a clause in the agreement he made with his county Nottinghamshire to be allowed into the auction. Both Hales and Samit Patel will only be allowed to participate should they secure the most lucrative contracts available

The biggest England name in the list is Kevin Pietersen who is a free agent again after Delhi Daredevils opted not to retain any players. Although England's central contracts have clauses to allow players a period at the IPL - a period that has been extended under the new deals - Pietersen's IPL participation could well by a thorny issue again if there has been a breakdown in the relationship between him and England's team director Andy Flower as has been suggested.

As expected, Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes have not put their names forward for this year's tournament even though both would have gathered significant interest. After the 5-0 Ashes whitewash there is a desire in English cricket for the rejuvenation of the Test side to be made a priority and both Broad and Stokes, who impressed in the Ashes, will be central to that. However, Ian Bell, who does not play T20 for England, has put his name forward.

Perhaps a little more surprising is the absence of Jos Buttler, England's explosive limited-overs wicketkeeper, who has a strong reputation in Twenty20. However, not joining the IPL means he will have an extended run of four-day County Championship cricket at the start of the English season to push his claims to be England's Test keeper - a role that is now far more fluid following Matt Prior's omission during the Ashes.

Once again Pakistan players will be not part of the auction although two Pakistan-born players - Azhar Mahmood (England) and Fawad Ahmad (Australia) - have been listed.

Australian chinaman bowler Brad Hogg, at 43, will be the oldest capped player in the auction and is listed at reserve price of Rs 15 million. Hogg was part of Rajasthan Royals till IPL 2013, though he played just the one match last season. The other 40-plus capped player is former Sri Lanka offspinner Muttiah Muralitharn (Rs 10 million), who was with Royal Challengers Bangalore last season.

Ryan ten Doeschate, who was with Kolkata Knight Riders till last year, is the solitary player form the Associates (Netherlands) and has a base price of Rs 10 million.

According to the new IPL player regulations, it has been decided that all players will be paid in Indian rupees from this year. Overseas players will be paid in the currency of their choice at the prevailing exchange rate on either the actual date of payment or contract due date, whichever is beneficial to the player.

 

Kapil Sharma CCL Controversy

Kapil Sharma walks out of CCL, leaves organisers fuming

 

 

Stand up comic Kapil Sharma, who was supposed to co-host the inaugural day of CCL 4 with Mandira Bedi in the city on Saturday, walked out of his hosting duties at the nth hour, apparently due to not getting a vanity van! 

"He was to reach the stadium at noon to rehearse with Mandira. But he reached a good two hours late (2 pm), leaving no time for the rehearsal," reveals an event organiser. Besides reaching the venue late, Kapil's team began to ask for multiple things from the organisers. "They started demanding last minute changes to the script. He was adamant on being given a vanity van." 

We offered him an AC room, but he refused, as the commentary box was on the other side and we were told he cannot walk all the way!" reveals the official. When his demands were not met, Kapil and his team walked out of the event within half an hour of reaching there.
Worried that this might jeopardise his relationship with Salman and Sohail Khan (co-owner Mumbai Heroes), Kapil's team tried calling the latter. "But Sohail categorically told them to keep him out of it," says the official, adding, "They have been desperately trying to make amends, but we will not have them back."
However, a close friend of Kapil, who had accompanied him to the match, justified his decision citing 'creative and logistical issues'. She reasoned, "We reached at 1 pm as we had got stuck in traffic. After we reached, no provisions were made. Kapil sat on the floor for an hour and a half. There were no chairs, no water. His back started to hurt. Besides, he needs space to rehearse. A room was offered to us when we almost left. We didn't leave because of the vanity van. The organisers wanted him to sit in the commentary box. But Kapil is not a cricket expert. We had our script ready, but no one from the CCL creative team spoke to us!"
Speaking about the remuneration, Kapil's friend says, "In the contract, Kapil has been signed for four matches and paid `13 lakh in advance for one. We also texted Vishnu sir (founder, managing director, CCL) about the confusion. We have no hard feelings and are hoping to go for the Dubai match."

 

'Not sure of our fast-bowling choices' - Dhoni

MS Dhoni has called for vast improvement from his fast bowlers after their inability to exert any pressure on New Zealand, with 278 on the board, led to a 0-3 series defeat with a game to go. India's failure to contain the opposition has been a major factor in their run of six successive overseas ODIs without a win, and Dhoni said he had no clarity at the moment on which fast bowlers he could take with him to the 2015 World Cup.

"When it comes to the bowling department, we are still in the same phase wherein we are still looking at who our permanent bowlers are," Dhoni said. "We know the spinners and they look good and we know they are the ones who will carry on until the World Cup provided there are no injuries. Fast bowling, we are still not sure who our choices are and what individuals we are looking forward to.

"Back at home we talk about pace and bounce. We get bowlers who can bowl quick but they end up giving more runs without even bowling at the slog. So we have to find a fair balance.

"We need a fair amount of improvement especially in our bowling department. If the batsman is playing good shots, you accept it but it is important that we bowl according to what the plan is and not go off it. To some extent it was quite a disappointing bowling performance from the fast bowlers. But the positive is the spinners bowled really well."

Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin slowed New Zealand considerably after the first ten overs, giving away just 30 runs in the next ten. But on either side of that period, boundaries flowed off the fast bowlers, nullifying the pressure the spinners had been able to create. Dhoni said the quicks had been unable to stick to what had been planned.

"It was a wicket where you would like the bowlers to hit the back of length mark close to the off-stump area but right from the start we gave away too many boundaries," Dhoni said. "We gave too much width to the batsmen and the balls were quite short, which meant they could freely score off them. So we didn't start off well. Not only that, after the 10th over when we initiated the spinners to come and bowl, they bowled quite well and then when we again asked the fast bowlers to come back and bowl, they gave away the runs freely, which means we weren't able to hang on to the pressure created by the spinners." 

Jadeja and Ashwin troubled Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor with turn and bounce during that initial ten-over period. A wicket at that point could have meant a different game, but Dhoni took both spinners off after five overs each. He did not have faith in his fast bowlers after seeing their opening spells and decided to hold back his spinners for the latter stage of the chase, by when he expected the asking-rate would have climbed.

"I saw the first ten overs how the fast bowlers bowled. I wasn't sure they would be able to keep the pressure on. So I personally thought that it was important to keep the spinners, especially Jadeja, and use them later to some extent when they [New Zealand] had to go for the big shots. But the way the fast bowlers bowled in the middle overs, it meant that they never really had to play those big shots. That was a crucial phase where, with the open field, we should not have given away too many runs. But we were giving a boundary every over and we were not able to build any pressure."

Dhoni said he was happy with the talent pool of fast bowlers within the side but stressed that the bowlers needed to learn how to improvise according to the situation. 

"When it comes to the talent part, we definitely have bowlers who can bowl well," Dhoni said. "But at the same time they will have to start using their brains more and improvise themselves what needs to be done. This is one area where we lack when it comes to the fast-bowling department. But if you just see the talent aspect definitely we have got bowlers who can do well.

"Shami is someone who has been quite consistent apart from this series. Bhuvi has been off this series but he has been good overall. If you look at the whole pool of bowlers, we can keep working on them, but at the end of the day they need to push themselves because with rule changes it is going to be quite tough. But it hasn't been rule changes in this series, it has been bad bowling. We have to keep it tight, but we have a pool of bowlers when it comes to talent." 

Source: Abhishek Purohit is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo