Delhi
Friday, 21st October, 2011
15
On The Go
‘Amitabh has made inestimable contribution to global cinema’
Showbiz
‘Rockstar’ title can go against film: Ranbir ERIKA FISH / QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOL / AFP
New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS): Congratulating legendary Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan on receiving an honorary Australian doctorate, the country’s High Commissioner to India Peter Varghese said Thursday the Bollywood star has made an “inestimable contribution to global cinema”. Bachchan was Thursday awarded an honorary Australian doctorate by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) for his outstanding contribution to creative industries over several decades. “I congratulate Bachchan on his honorary doctorate from QUT, an important academic institution in my home city of Brisbane,” Varghese said. “I want to thank Bachchan for his enormous contribution to global cinema. In accepting this award he will encourage the important cultural conversation between India and Australia,” Varghese added. Bachchan is the second person to receive the honor. Infosys Technologies chief mentor Narayana Murthy was the first.
No t
Co
blah
Mumbai , Oct 20 (IANS): Bollywood 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.
o
l i
lh
De
On
co
o eG Th
‘Senorita’ girl visits Delhi
ol !
New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS/EFE): Maria del Mar Fernandez, the Spanish voice behind the Bollywood hit song “Senorita”, is experiencing first-hand India’s passion for the single during her visit to this capital. The flamenco singer from the southern city of Cadiz gave her first concert Wednesday in New Delhi at the Cervantes Institute’s auditorium, where a big screen was mounted outside due to the enormous interest her visit has generated. Fernandez’s singing voice has become widely recognizable in this nation of 1.2 billion people after this summer’s premiere of “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara”. The movie’s biggest musical hit, “Senorita”, a Latin-flavored flamenco song with vocals in both Hindi and Spanish, can now be heard across India. “They don’t know my face so much but when they ask me what I’m doing here and I tell them I’m the singer of ‘Senorita’, they get excited. Everyone knows the song here. It’s incredible,” Fernandez told EFE. Official commitments aside, Fernandez took some time to savor the essence of the city: from the constant honking of horns on chaotic roads to India’s more spiritual and folkloric aspects. The flamenco singer is being accompanied on her visit to New Delhi by guitarist and songwriting partner Jose Carlos Gomez and percussionist Carlos Martin.
Who is Prateik’s girl in ‘Issaq’? New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS): The hunt for actor Prateik Babbar’s love interest in his new film “Issaq” is over but the producers have decided to keep the identity of the girl under wraps. They believe that the chemistry between the girl and Prateik is the USP of the film and it should not fizzle out soon as the film is still under production. “Since the film is an adaptation of ‘Romeo and Juliet’, the chemistry between the two is very important. After a lot of search we have found the right girl,” said director Manish Tiwary. “We were looking for somebody who is very young and innocent and at the same time can carry off the rustic look of a Banarasi girl. As of now all I can say is I am very happy with Bachchi (her character’s name in the film) and she certainly looks very good with Prateik who has a lean look in the film,” Tiwary added. The film, produced by Shailesh Singh and Dhaval Gada, is being shot in Banaras in Uttar Pradesh and is slated to release early next year.
New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS): Singing legend Asha Bhosle entered the Guinness World Records Thursday for the most single studio recordings. The 78-year-old has reportedly recorded up to 11,000 solos, duets and chorus-backed songs in over 20 Indian languages since 1947. Asha, who has evergreen numbers like “Dum maro dum”, “Mehbooba mehbooba” (“Sholay”), “Piya tu ab to aaja” (“Caravan”) and “Chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko” (“Yaadon ki Baraat”) to her credit, was conferred with the Guinness honour at the Asian awards function held in London, a statement said. The singer is elated with the record. “Aaj sahi mayne mein mujhe aisa lag raha hai ki mein world ki recognised singer hogayi hu. Mujhe ye pata tha key sabse zyada mere recorded songs hai phir bhi main aaj tak chup rahi (Today, I truly
feel I am a world recognised singer. I always knew I have the maximum number of songs to my credit, still I never said anything all this while,” Asha said. She thanked music researcher Vishwas Nerurkar for helping her get the Guinness title. Asha also had a message for her fans. “Mein apne chahanewalo ko kehna chahungi ke aapka pyar mere liye issi tarha se barkarar rahein aur jis tarha aapne mere gaano ko pyaar kiya hai usi tarhan meri acting (Hindi film ‘Maaee’) ko bi aapka pyar aur ashirwad miley (To all those who love me, I would like to say that I hope your love for me remains the way it has always been and just the way you have loved my songs, you will love my Hindi film ‘Maaee’ too),” she said. Asha will make her big screen acting debut with “Maaee”, which is complete and ready for release.
IANS
Asha Bhosle enters Guinness World Records