Matrimonials

Australian citizen, 27, 168cm, handsome Punjabi Hindu Khatri boy. Masters in Accounting & Finance. Own business. Well established family in Sydney. Seeking good looking and qualified match. Caste no bar. Please contact: 0401 057 224 or send details with photo to: matriaussyd@gmail.com

Seeking well-qualified match from good family background for handsome, well settled Gujarati boy 31, 5’7”. Raised in India, living in Sydney since 9 years. MBA from Sydney, CPA continuing. Working with leading FMCG as accountant. Please respond with details and photo, email: kdsydney@gmail.com

Parents invite matrimonial alliance for their younger of 2 sons. DOB: 23 Oct 1984, B.Com LLB (Hons.), half-way through CPA, permanent government job (APS 6), handsome, fair, 170 cms, nondrinker, non-smoker, vegetarian. Father doctor in Canberra, elder brother software engineer. Email mpgupta@hotmail.com or mobile: 0419 749 448.

Seeking well qualified and beautiful girl for a Gujarati Nagar Brahmin boy, 29, 5’10”, Masters in Engineering, permanent resident of Australia. Currently working as a Project Manager in Sydney. Please contact on bgtmatri@gmail.com or on 02-9632 7398.

Handsome, clean shaven Jat Sikh, 28 years, 5’-9’’, professional (IT engineer, MBA), Australian citizen from well settled Sydney family seeks beautiful, slim, (5’ 4”+), educated working professional from well settled Sikh family in Australia, with strong family and cultural values, and a good sense of humour. Email groom09@ hotmail.com

Seeking Grooms

Seeking a perfect match for our 24-year-old, 5’5”, beautiful, Sikh daughter. She is a professional (lawyer), earning high income. We are well settled in Sydney for past 30 years. Father masala fried and a can of chopped tomatoes tossed in. I drain and add two cans of chickpeas. In five minutes, I’m gobbling a bowl of hot and very authentic tasting chana masala. My eyes are teary and I’m not entirely sure if it’s the spice or the emotion.

For the husband’s dinner, I decide to go all out and make him fake bhature to go with the chana. I enjoy his disbelief as I present the plate with bhature on the side and a proud sprig of coriander atop the chana working as executive in an international company and mother employed in bank. Please send details and photo to rajkhohli@gmail.com

“Wow! Chappati!” he says, eyes filled with wonder. He looks so grateful.

“And what do you call this, sweety?” He’s chasing a chana around the plate with a piece of bhatura. Pathetic. I hand him a spoon.

“Chickpeas,” I say, making it simpler for both of us.

Parents invite matrimonial alliance for their 31-year-old daughter, 5’ 2”, fair, based in Sydney. She has completed her BE and MBA, working as IT consultant. Good family background. Caste no bar. Please respond with details and photo email: gi658@yahoo.com

Parent of Punjabi Khatri girl, 28/5’8”, beautiful, professionally qualified, working in a Multi National Company in Sydney, seek professionally qualified well educated, settled boy. Caste no bar. Please e-mail bio-data and recent photograph to seekmat@gmail.com

Seeking professional match for 28/152 cm very fair, very beautiful North Indian girl, excellent job in IT, innocent divorcee. Family well settled in Australia. Please respond with details to eeshkripa@gmail.com

“I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma on June 23. Started my first cycle of treatment July 2. Not long ago. For me, it was a relief to hear what was wrong,” Lisa, 37, posted on her blog, lisaraniray. wordpress.com

“The plasma cells in my bone marrow were rampaging, multiplying, squeezing out the red blood cells and it was time to begin doing something about it. I was also tired of being tired all the time. So when I sat there with Bobcat, my life partner and reservoir of Yellow, and got the news I didn’t react and I didn’t cry. I’m an actress, believe me, I can be dramatic. Not just then though,” she added.

The model-turned-actress decided to undergo medical examination a few months ago after she felt “exhausted, pale and drained” all the time.

Explaining her disease, Lisa said: “Myeloma is incurable. It’s a relatively rare cancer of the bone marrow… Every year, approximately 2,100 more cases are diagnosed. I’m a junior member in many ways, having been diagnosed at 37, while the average age is 65… makes the disease not quite as ’sexy’ as other cancers.”

However, Lisa Ray is hopeful that “it can be cured” with the new treatments available in the healthcare sector these days. “So today with Velcade and, Revlimid and other promising new treatments in the pipeline, our improving. But only with an ever expanding toolbox of treatments and awareness can this cancer be beat. So I’m going to do everything I can to wrench the spotlight onto myeloma and cancer awareness. I believe it can be cured. That’s the dirty realist in me,” she wrote.

Lisa was born to a Bengali father and a Polish mother. She joined showbiz as a model and later ventured into films with Nethaji. After that she was seen in Vikram Bhatt’s stayed away from mainstream Hindi films as she could not speak the language fluently.

In 2002, internationally renowned filmmaker Deepa Mehta cast her opposite Rahul Khanna in the crossover film Hollywood. The Canada-based director later repeated Lisa in

Sallu sneaks in Sridevi

Bollywood actress Sridevi will be seen in a rare appearance on Sony TV’s game show Dus Ka Dum 2, hosted by Salman Khan. Her producer husband Boney Kapoor will also be there. Sridevi, who has been on a stretched sabbatical from the arc lights, went on the show specially to promote her husband’s upcoming film Wanted, which stars Salman as the protagonist. Sridevi was last seen in the 1999 Malayalam movie Devaraagam, also made an exception for the sake of Salman with whom she featured in a number of projects including Chandramukhi and Chand Ka Tukda The last Hindi film she acted in was 1997 release Kaun Sachcha Kaun Jhootha. Boney and Sridevi will be joined by the film’s lead actress Ayesha Takia and director Prabhudheva. “Now we can all shamelessly promote our film Wanted,” said an unabashed Salman. Well, at least he’s being honest!

her Oscar-nominated period drama Water (2005), in which she impressed critics with her performance as a young widow.

Deepa is deeply impressed by Lisa’s brave fight. “I knew about her illness two months ago. She told me. It was hard to believe. She wanted to keep it very private, and rightly so. Only her close friends and family knew,” said Mehta. “When Lisa blogged about her illness, I was surprised. It was very courageous of her. I think she decided that by coming out in the open about the illness she would not only be able to confront and overcome the sad situation, but also encourage others in similarly troubled spaces to fight and win over their illness,” added the director.

The actress is currently in Toronto where she has her own home. Mehta says Lisa is peaceful and very calm. “I met her last a few weeks ago. She is the epitome of grace under pressure. Truly exemplary,” said Deepa.

Lisa has just completed a romantic comedy Cooking With Stella with Mehta’s brother Dilip Mehta. “I remember when Lisa was shooting for Cooking With Stella, she was having so much fun with all of us. There was no sign of the illness. The only outward manifestation of the crisis to come was her loss of appetite. I remember telling her on the sets, ‘Lisa, you aren’t eating anything.’ She’s going to defeat this crisis. Lisa is a fighter.”

Good luck, Lisa, our wishes and prayers are with you.

Seeking Slumdog fame?

Hot news is that Shah Rukh, the King Khan, who had earlier refused the offer of Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle to work in his flick Slumdog Millionaire, is now set to work in his latest offering, Bombay Velvet to be directed by Anurag Kashyap of No Smoking and Dev D fame. Aamir Khan, the perfectionist superstar, has already signed up for the film, which will begin production by 2010. SRK and

Kashyap can manage the potentially lethal combination of Aamir and Shah Rukh Khan, they’ll have gone a long way towards making the film a success.

Bombay Velvet will be based, somewhat obviously, on the great metropolis of Mumbai. The movie, set in the 1940s, is based on real incidents that occurred during those uncertain and unsettled days of the freedom struggle.

Shah Rukh Khan had been approached by Danny Boyle to star in Slumdog Millionaire in the role that eventually went to Anil Kapoor, but he refused. SRK’s loss was Anil’s gain, as he well-remembers.... It’s unlikely that the badshah of Bollywood will let this chance slip through his fingers, is it? Up for a possible Oscar would be incentive enough!

Kaif or Turquotte?

Sounds odd? Perhaps, but it’s the truth. Katrina Kaif, Bollywood’s sizzling hot sexy bombshell who is in a romantic relationship with Salman Khan, has finally admitted that her passport mentions her name as Katrina Turquotte and not Katrina Kaif, as she is known to her innumerable fans. However, the gutsy actress refused to be apologetic surname. Of course, being Bollywood the issue had been blown out of proportion, and Katrina was accused of not being Indian. It came to light when Jackie Shroff’s wife Ayesha mentioned in an interview that she was not Katrina Kaif, as was popularly known, but was in fact, Katrina Turquotte, as mentioned in her passport. Initially Katrina didn’t clarify in the hope that the issue would die a natural death, but as it lingered on, she was compelled to come forward and clear the air. The surname Kaif, which had been suffixed to Katrina by Ayesha Shroff for the sake of simplicity and acceptability in Bollywood, stuck to Katrina’s name and she continued to be known by this surname since. Katrina is now one of Bollywood’s leading ladies and is also considered to be the lucky mascot for filmmakers and actors, Akshay Kumar (Welcome, Namaste London, Singh Is Kinng) being one of them. So what’s in a name? No matter what she’s called, Katrina will still remain her gorgeous self.

Bikey John confesses to passion

Bollywood heartthrob John Abraham’s

“Bikes are my passion and I take care of my helmets like my babies. Like people go and buy clothes, I go shopping for helmets. I have different helmets for different days,” said John recently.

“People feel I’m crazy, but I love shopping for my helmets and I have all major brands,” he added. The 36-year-old actor who is the brand ambassador of Yamaha, recently launched three new bikes - Vmax along with limited edition of Fazer and FZ series. At the launch, John talked about safety measure that bikers should keep in mind while riding.

“Safety is very important and that’s why helmets should be a biker’s priority. Safety of pillion riders is also important and they should also wear helmets,” he said.

“Indian roads, mainly Mumbai are not very conducive for two wheelers. There are riders who don’t take any precautions and are very irresponsible. On the other hand, there are people who walk on the road without thinking and taking care,” said the actor who will be next seen in films like Hook Ya Crook and 1-1800 Love

Spread the safety message, John!

Angry Ash

Aishwarya Rai maybe happily married to Abhishek Bachchan, but her past is catching up with her. The lovely lass dated Salman Khan and Vivek Oberoi in the past, and both her ex-flames have been doing the ungentlemanly thing and sneaking skeletons out of their closets. In a recent interview, it is alleged that Sallu insisted he never hit Ash and if he ever did, Ash wouldn’t have survived to see the day. Pathetic, but that’s Salman. Vivek talked about her being ‘plastic’ and claimed that she made him do all kinds of things, and called him immature! Now Ash wisely said nothing to these revelations from her ex-lovers, but naturally, she’s not happy. A friend revealed that she was very upset with all the publicity and slandering.

“What Mr Khan and Mr Oberoi are doing is very ungentlemanly. It is specially wrong when the lady is happily married and her life revolves around her new family. What happened in the past is over and done with,” the friend said.

These allegations, most of which are fabricated nearly moved Ash to tears, said the friend angrily. “She doesn’t need this stress, particularly since Aishwarya is working on two of her most difficult and challenging roles in Raavana and Guzaarish. The last thing she needs is rude distractions from the past. Recently she was so upset, she could hardly control her tears on the sets of Guzaarish. All she kept saying is, ‘I’m living my life the way I want. I wish others would do the same. Just let me be.”

That’s right, boys, let her be. Move on, you two!