| When 'Slumdog Millionaire' star Freida Pinto went unrecognised Posted: 13 Dec 2010 10:24 PM PST  London, Dec 13(IANS) "Slumdog Millionaire" star Freida Pinto was surprised when nobody recognised her in a Mumbai slum recently. "People in the city recognise me as the girl from 'Slumdog Millionaire' and inevitably they stare. But when I visited the slums with an NGO, nobody recognised me at all. I didn't mind," femalefirst.co.uk quoted Pinto as saying. The 26-year-old star shot to fame after the Oscar winning movie and since then has featured on cover pages of a lot of fashion magazines and has bagged a few Hollywood projects as well. 
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| Cricketer Shane Warne bowls out wife for Liz Hurley? Posted: 13 Dec 2010 10:14 PM PST  London, Dec 13 (IANS) Australian cricketer Shane Warne issued a statement Monday that he has split from his wife Simone Callahan, following reports he is dating British model-actress Elizabeth Hurley. The spinner was pictured kissing and cuddling Hurley in a report by Britain's News of the World newspaper on Sunday, prompting her to reveal she split from her India-born businessman husband Arun Nayar "a few months ago", reports contactmusic.com. Warne refused to comment as he arrived back at his home in Melbourne in the wake of the scandal - but issued a statement confirming he is no longer with his wife Callahan, the mother of his three children. In a message posted on his website, Warne writes, "Sadly and unfortunately, Simone and I split up a while ago, our close friends and family were informed at that time. It is a private matter, so we did not make it public. We remain friends and will continue to be good parents." He later added on Twitter.com: "Hope that clears things up for everyone who is interested." A source close to Hurley revealed she has become "very close" to the 41-year-old former bowler following her separation but is concerned about the distance between them as she lives in Britain and Warne in Australia. "Shane has been a real support through the tough time she's had splitting with Arun. They have grown very close and there is an intimate bond between them. The only thing standing in their way is geography," said the source. Now the break-up has been made public, Arun is said to be "embarrassed" by the revelations because of how people will receive the news in his home-country India. "He is hugely embarrassed and upset. This will be devastating for him. The family had no idea their relationship was over," added the source. 
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| Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone to sizzle again in Adajania's next Posted: 13 Dec 2010 10:06 PM PST  New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) After wowing the audience with their sizzling chemistry in "Love Aaj Kal", Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone have teamed up again for Homi Adajania's untitled film. "I'm very excited about this story. It is romantic, funny and has a great balance of drama and entertainment. I've wanted to do a love story with a modern sensibility and treatment and I know that Homi will give us exactly that," Saif in a statement. "I'm also looking forward to my pairing with Deepika again.... She has a fantastic role in this and I think she has grown impressively since 'LAK' and will handle it very well," he added. Deepika is also excited to be working with Saif again. "I have seen Homi's 'Being Cyrus', and absolutely love his work, I have great respect for him, and I'm confident he is the perfect choice to direct this film. I haven't played shades of a character like this before. This film also marks the reunion of the Love Aaj Kal team," said Deepika. Imtiaz is writing the script for the movie, which will be shot in London, Spain and Delhi. The film is being produced by Saif's ex-business partner Dinesh Vijan under the banner Illuminati Films. "It's a similar space from where 'Love Aaj Kal' left off and then it roller-coasters from there… Imtiaz (Ali) has given us a hysterical and open-minded celebration of relationships that explore the various choices that life may offer… and what people are willing to surrender for love or sacrifice for friendship," Adajania said in a statement. 
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| Amitabh Bachchan, NDTV raise Rs.4.86 crore for tigers Posted: 13 Dec 2010 09:57 PM PST  New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) NDTV's 12-hour telethon to support the organisation's "Save Our Tiger" campaign, backed by Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, has managed to generate contributions of over Rs.4.86 crore. Campaign ambassador Bachchan, 68, along with NDTV's Prannoy Roy and Vikram Chandra highlighted the key issues of tiger conservation during the telethon. Investment banker Hemendra Kothari donated of Rs.2.43 crore, while Bachchan donated Rs.28 lakh. The megastar also auctioned his Cartier watch and two pairs of designer glasses which raised another Rs.845,000. "A year back when this campaign started, I felt honoured to be a part of it; and today I can see the efforts over the year bear fruit. The donations from this 12-hour telethon would be of immense help in providing the infrastructure required for consistent operations and activities in tiger conservation," Bachchan said in a press statement. Other well-known names like Bhaichung Bhutia, Abhishek Bachchan, Nitin Gadkari, Diya Mirza, Manish Malhotra, Soli Sorabjee, Priya Dutt too did their bit, as did industry chamber Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and corporates such as Westside, said a press statement. Children of Hyderabad-based Chirec School raised Rs.220,000 for contributing to the campaign. According to Anish Andheria, director of Wildlife Conservation Trust, the funds raised through the telethon were sufficient to create and deploy 35 rapid response teams (RRTs) and cover all the 38 tiger reserves in the country that are home to 1,411 big cats. 
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| Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones named top celebrity couple 2010 Posted: 13 Dec 2010 09:43 PM PST  London, Dec 13 (IANS) Cancer-stricken Michael Douglas and his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones have been named the top celebrity couple of 2010. The "Wall Street" legend dominated headlines in August when he revealed he has been diagnosed with a throat tumour, reports contactmusic.com In a poll by dating website chemistry.com, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt came second, while Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher rounded out the top three of the list. 
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| American singer Fergie designs shoe for charity Posted: 13 Dec 2010 09:36 PM PST  London, Dec 14 (IANS) Black Eyed Peas star Fergie has designed a pair of shoes to raise money for charity. Fergier who is known for her daring sense of style, has come up with the new footwear creation to help raise funds for breast cancer research. "If you get these in pink, they're called hope. Basically, all funds go to breast cancer research," contactmusic.com quoted her as saying. It's not the first time the popstar has put her love of fashionable footwear to good use. Earlier, she teamed up with Brown Shoe to create her own affordable line. "I designed these shoes with my fans in mind because when I was growing up I could never afford the stuff I saw in Vogue and neither can a lot of them. "I'm a girl, and I love accessories. It's one of the reasons I have huge closets, and we keep making room in the house for more closets. I don't like to throw anything away." 
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| Australian singer Dannii Minogue believes in fashion recycling Posted: 13 Dec 2010 09:28 PM PST  London, Dec 14 (IANS) Dannii Minogue often gives away her clothes to friends and family as she says it's important to "recycle" fashion. The Australian beauty thinks it's good idea for other people to be able to use her clothes in their own way, reports femalefirst.co.uk "It's important for beautiful clothes to keep moving. When I have exhausted a piece, it's loaned to friends or given away," she said. "Recycling is in fashion and fashion is in recycling, whether it is referencing style or, in our case, passing on the actual item," she added. Dannii, 39, says she often swaps clothes with her sister Kylie and her mother because they are all the same size. "Kylie, mum and I have different styles, but we're similar in size and there are lots of items we all like. We can easily buy for each other and often share clothes," she said. 
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| Bihar's Super 30 impresses Hollywood's James Cameron Posted: 13 Dec 2010 09:04 PM PST  Patna, Dec 14 (IANS) Hollywood filmmaker James Cameron was all ears when Anand Kumar, who founded Bihar's Super 30 free coaching centre for students, narrated the real life stories of hope that his institute has generated year after year. "Cameron told me it was amazing to listen to my real life stories of hope. He was so impressed that he hinted at using such stories with people across the world," Kumar, who shared the platform with Cameron during the Innovation and Knowledge Conference in Lavasa, Maharashtra, told IANS. Kumar's Super 30 centre has helped many poor students enter the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). He said Cameron, the acclaimed Canadian filmmaker of "Titanic", "Terminator", "Aliens" and "Avataar", appreciated his efforts and promised to visit Patna. The conference was held at Hill City of Lavasa Friday in association with Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) to promote innovation in diverse fields. Kumar said it was a matter of great pride that a teacher like him was given an opportunity to speak before such distinguished personalities. "It was an honour for my state also where I grew up and started my institute," he said. He said he narrated some untold stories of young and talented underprivileged students from Bihar and their journey to the IITs. It drew tremendous appreciation from the audience, Kumar added. "They clapped when I narrated my journey of the boy next door in the backwaters of Bihar, who struggled to carry on his studies due to extreme poverty, to a harbinger of hope for the poor students. "It has ushered in a silent social revolution, which has transformed many a family. But it is just a small effort," he said, adding his dream was to set up a school for the poorest of the poor. In the last three years, all 30 students of Super 30 have made it to the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) conducted by the IITs. Since 2003, 212 students of the institute have made it to the IITs. Kumar, who himself missed a chance to study at Cambridge University because he didn't have enough money, gives full scholarships to every annual batch of 30 students. They have to pass a competitive test to get into Super 30 and then commit themselves to a year of 16-hour study each day. Kumar, who started the Ramanujam School of Mathematics in 1992, founded the Super 30 in 2002. 
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