Salman Khan asks Kolkata rock band to record their take of Dabangg soundtrack.

Salman Khan has gone and done it yet again. Giving breaks to unknown musicians, that is. On Saturday night, Khan asked a young band of rock musicians from Kolkata performing on TV show India's Got Talent to record a rock version album of five songs from his upcoming flick, Dabangg.

A source from Colors, the channel that airs IGT had this to say, "The five Kolkata boys call themselves Underground Authority. On Saturday, they performed their take on Humma Humma (the track appears in Mani Ratnam's Bombay and is picturised on Sonali Bendre among others).

While Sonali Bendre, Sajid Khan and Kirron Kher are the show's judges, Salman Khan was there as a guest judge promoting Dabangg. Sonali and Salman particularly loved their performance. Khan even said that he thought their version was much better than A R Rehman's original composition."

The actor said that he had seen their previous performance on TV and was so moved by them that he had immediately called up his brother Sohail and asked him to call the group and tell the boys that he wanted them to record five songs from Dabangg in a rock version.

The boys thought that the Khan bro was prank-caller and didn't answer the phone. They also deleted all his messages. Salman told the boys he was serious and that they should have taken Sohail's calls."

The boys then played their rock versions of Munni Badnaam Hui and Tere Mast Nain. That night, Salman called up Bhushan Kumar, owner, T-Series (the label that released Dabangg's music) and asked him to book a recording studio for the band to record their songs as he wanted to hear them.

A source from T-Series confirms, "Bhushan got a call from Bhai on Sunday night saying he wanted this rock band to make a rock version of the Dabangg songs. The normal trend is to have their instrumental or acoustic versions or remixes. But film songs in a rock version is a completely different concept.

Last night, the two heard the songs. If all goes as planned, the rock version of the soundtrack will be a first for the music company. Salman wants this to be released the same time as the film (this week)."

Neetu Chandra Says about Pakistan Cricketer Mohammad Asif

Bollywood actress Neetu Chandra today denied having any links with Pakistani bowler Mohammad Asif, who is at the centre of a 'spot-fixing' scandal that has rocked world cricket.

The controversy began with most Indian television channels discussing a “leaked” document, which they claimed, was prepared by the Interpol and Scotland Yard for the Pakistan Cricket Board. Apparently, this document contains various phone numbers of people who interacted with Mohammad Asif in 2009.

The TV reports stated that in this document, the only mobile number from Mumbai, belonged of actress Neetu Chandra, and insinuated that she could be involved in the infamous match-fixing scandal.

They further claimed that according to the document, the actress had made two phone calls and exchanged SMS's with the controversial cricketer, discussing sensitive cricket issues and deals.

But Neetu Chandra's publicist Dale Bhagwagar vehemently denied all the allegations. “Personally, Neetu does not know Mohammad Asif or any Pakistani cricketer for that matter. Her name is being unceremoniously dragged in the match- fixing debate with baseless allegations, ” said the celebrity publicist.

“Neetu didn't even know how Asif looked like. Within minutes of this controversy breaking out, I met her and showed her his picture from the internet on my BlackBerry.

Neetu glanced at it and almost jumped from her chair, joking, 'Oh, he's too dark'. She also doesn't know or understand how her cell number has featured on such a scandalous list. If it indeed has, it could well be a conspiracy, ” added the PR specialist.

Owing to her active association with sports, recently, Neetu also became one of the few privileged Bollywood celebrities to have the honour of running with the Commonwealth Games torch (popularly known as the Queen's Baton) in her hometown Patna.

Apart from being a regular basketball player, the actress is a Black Belt 2nd Dan in Taekwondo, having participated in various martial arts tournaments at a district, national, as well as international level. Though Bhagwagar revealed, she is not a cricket fan.

This year, Neetu has an impressive line-up of films like Anees Bazmee's 'No Problem' (with Sunil Shetty, Akshaye Khanna and Sushmita Sen), Gary Grewal's 'Khusar Prasad Ka Bhoot' (with Paresh Rawal and Randeep Hooda), Barnali Shukla's 'Kuch Love Jaisa' (with Rahul Bose) amongst two other mega-budget ventures opposite superstars of the South.

England's Paul Collingwood relieved to be playing again following Pakistan scandals

That may well prove to be a vain hope given the weight of allegations and the lingering prospect that another Pakistan player could be on the verge of being named as part of the betting investigation underway. But for Paul Collingwood, the England Twenty20 captain, the fact the two teams now play six matches over the course of little more than two weeks will allow the chance to provide a different form of headline.

“We just wanted to get out there and play,” he said. “The players have been great the past couple of days. We have focussed solely on cricketing matters and today they got their teeth into it. We just want to get on with the cricket now. There have been lots of allegations and speculation because the cricket has not been on but once we start playing again people start talking about good bowling, good catches. That kind of thing. Hopefully that will do all the talking now.


“We all know we will get to the bottom of this. We will do everything we can as players or management to eradicate this form the game. It is as simple as that, but whatever was in the papers this morning did not change our preparation – it was just to focus on the cricket.”

This was England’s first match in this format since winning the World Twenty20 in Barbados in May. The spot-fixing scandal hardly made it an occasion to celebrate returning heroes but England’s victory was the polished performance of champions.

“I’m delighted,” said Collingwood. “The strategy seems to be working in terms of the Twenty20 form of the game. The bowlers were fantastic. We had a hiccup with the bat but Morgan and Yardy saw us through.” There was no Kevin Pietersen yesterday, the player of the World Twenty20, who is still waiting to discover if he faces disciplinary action for a message on Twitter after he had been left out of the one-day squad. One player who will almost certainly be in trouble is Dimitri Mascarenhas, the Hampshire captain, after comments appeared on his Twitter page criticising Geoff Miller, the chairman of selectors.

The message read: “Geoff miller is a complete ----. He had no clue what he is doing. ---- -----,. Chairman of selectors came to Liverpool and didn’t even come and say hi... what a -----. Doesn’t take much to say hello, does it.”

Last month Azeem Rafiq, the Yorkshire spinner, was suspended for a month and fined £500 by the ECB for an obscene message on Twitter.

'Gaayam 2' - as entertaining as original (Telugu Movie Review)

'Gaayam 2'; Cast: Jagapathi Babu, Vimala Raman, Kota Sreenivasa Rao, Kota Prasad, Tanikella Bharani, Ravi Kale, Jeeva, Revathy and others; Producer: C. Dharma Kartha; Director: Praveen Sri; Music Director: Ilayaraja; Camera: Anil Bhandari

It is always a big challenge and also little difficult to make a sequel of a trendsetter. 'Gaayam 2', which has hit the screens nearly 17 years after the original 'Gaayam', is a successful attempt in re-connecting to the director Ram Gopal Varma's movie.

Backed by superb performances from artists like Jagapathi Babu and Kota Sreenivasa Rao, who were part of the original film, 'Gaayam-2' also shines because of its excellent screenplay, background music and superb cinemetography.

Shot in Bangkok and Hyderabad, the film has got an interesting visual platform to narrate the screenplay. Besides this technical support, 'Gaayam-2' makes an impact through the screenplay which is quite interesting.

The original film had more emotions, but the sequel has less emotional content. The film could have also been a little fast-paced.

Still the film's director Praveen Sri, a protege of Varma, has more or less succeeded in delivering a tightly scripted film effectively. The director has also been able to incorporate many recent political developments into the story to make it contemporary and interesting.

The first half of the film has been heavily inspired by Hollywood film 'A History of Violence'.

The film starts with Durga settled in Bangkok with his wife and adopted child with a changed name and identity. Now Durga is Ram, a hotel owner who hides his identity to have a peaceful life. His real identity is not known even to his wife.

But Gaayam's guru Narayan, who had a running feud with Durga, wants revenge. He wants to settle scores with Durga and gets the shock of his life when he acidentally stumbles upon the fact that Durga is staying in Bangkok by hiding his real identity.

He despatches his lawyer and son to Bangkok to trace Durga. Narayan's son Shankar abducts Ram's adopted son Chaithanya. Later Ram reveals his identity as Durga and he comes to India. And then starts the drama between Durga and Narayan, who now wants to be a chief minister.

Performaance wise Jagapathi Babu, who had scored very well in the original, stands out as a top class performer in this film too. He shows lot of intensity through his eyes and voice.

Vimala Raman shows that she can show her class and can mix glamour well even in a house wife's role. Kota Sreenivasa Rao is the pick of the lot and looks as menacing as ever in this role of Narayan.

It is a real tragedy that his son Kota Prasad, who has Shankara, died in an accident a few days before the release. Kota Prasad has given a strong performance in the film like another veteran actor Thanikella Bharani.

Other artists like Ravi Kale, Jeeva are also quite effective in their respective roles.

Anil Bhandari has done a good camera work. Ilayaraja's perfect background score lifts the tempo of the film and its editing and art department work is excellent too.

'Gaayam 2' is a good watch even if you have not seen the original.

Pak court to probe 26/11 Indian witnesses?

New Delhi, Sep 6: Though Pakistani commission got India's mild approval to investigate the Indian witnesses in Mumbai 26/11 attack, but it still has to wait for Pakistani court's approval.


Pakistani court, which is conducting the trial of the Mumbai attacks accused, like LeT operative Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, decided that any discussion between the two country would be held as premature without the court's consent.


Pakistan earlier proposed India to investigate the Indian witnesses before the Pakistani court through video conferences.

India has no problem in cooperating with Pakistan in such an arrangement as New Delhi had already agreed to let its officials depose before a Pakistani court through video-conferencing, stated government sources.

However, India will wait for a formal request from Pakistan to inquire the Indian witnesses.

According the sources, Pakistani proposal could be a ploy to further delay its probe against the accused in the Mumbai attacks that left 166 people dead.

Woman keeps mom’s body for months

Shalini Gupta has just ordered the pizza that’s lying on her dining table. On the wall adjacent to the longest sofa in the room are two photographs. One is of a woman in a white sari with chandelier earrings, a distant look on her face. The other is that of her parents together. “My parents were rich. Look at my mother’s earrings. Doesn’t it seem so?” she asks.

Shalini betrays no emotions. At least nothing to suggest she has been living with the body of her 80-year-old woman mother, Vinode Gupta, who passed away at least six months back at their D-58 residence in Saket. Strangely, Shalini, who had been living with her for the past 15 years, had no idea that her mother was dead.

On the left is another bedroom which Shalini doesn’t allow entry into. “It’s too messy. The maid hasn’t come in a long while,” she explains. Shalini’s mother’s room is dimly lit. The corridor light is enough to reveal what lies inside. The room has a strange stench; musty and gloomy. In the room is a sofa-cum-bed on which the body was found. Beneath it lie a pair of cream-coloured slippers.


Clad in a pair of black pyjamas, a dark grey shirt and a pair of red and black bathroom slippers, Shalini appears disillusioned. “This was where my mother slept. My father died last December.” But she does not show any sign of remorse. “My mother died because she was ill. She was too old and had lived a very traumatic life.” Shalini, the only child of her parents, has been taking care of her mother for the past 15 years.

Fat men enjoy longer lasting sex scientific research show

FAT men last longer in bed, while lean gym jocks are prone to premature ejaculation, a new study has found.

The scientific research, from Erciyes University in Turkey, found that men with excess body fat develop more female sex hormones that influence their sexual performance.

Men with high fat levels were found to have higher levels of the female sex hormone oestradiol, which disrupts the chemical balance in their body, making them last longer during sex.

The survey’s results found fat men could last an average of 7.3 minutes during love making, while others only lasted 1.8 minutes.

To find the results, researchers spent a year recording the body mass index (BMI) of more than 100 patients referred for specialist treatment.

They compared these results with 100 other male patients who lasted longer during sex.

Results concluded that the men needing treatment for premature ejaculation had lower BMI scores, meaning they were fitter.

"We found that premature ejaculators were leaner," the report stated.

Ranvir, Konkona give marriage news on Twitter

Newly-wed Bollywood couple Ranvir Shorey and Konkona Sen Sharma took to micro-blogging site Twitter to announce their marriage, after tying the knot in an intimate ceremony on Friday.

"Hey guys. Ranvir and I got married on the 3rd. Thanks for all the good wishes! Goodnight," Konkona wrote on her Twitter page.

The actors, who have been in a relationship for over three years, got married in the traditional manner at their Goregaon residence.

While Ranvir arrived dressed as a Punjabi groom on a horse-drawn carriage, the 30-year-old actress reportedly wore her grandmother's jewellery for the ceremony.

"We wanted you to read it here first but... We got married! Yay!" the newly weds wrote on their respective Twitter pages.

Ranvir, 38, famous for his humourous roles in films like Khosla Ka Ghosla and Pyar Ke Side Effects, also added in a later post, "The best wish/advice I've received on marriage so far: "Congratulations! Don't do it again."

Konkona, who won the National award for Mr and Mrs Iyer, has shared screen space with Ranvir in films like Mixed Doubles, Aaja Nachle and Traffic Signal'

Their friends in Bollywood also took to the micro-blogging site to congratulate the couple. "Congratulations konkona, lots of love n happiness to a new life (sic)," wrote actress Genelia D'souza.

Filmmaker Karan Johar wrote, "huge congratulations!!! The best years ahead!!"

"Congratulations both of you - bahut saara pyar (lots of love)," wrote veteran actress Shabana Azmi.

Bihar hostage drama ends; Maoists free three policemen

Maoist guerrillas released the three abducted Bihar policemen in Lakhisarai district Monday, ending the tense seven-day drama. They were 'safe and healthy', state police chief Neelmani said.

'The three policemen have been freed by the Maoists. They are safe and healthy. They will be sent to their homes soon,' he told reporters here.

The three policemen - Abhay Prasad Yadav, Rupesh Kumar Sinha and Ehsan Khan - were set free around 6 a.m. in Lakho Chak area of Lakhisarai district, about 150 km from here. They are now in police custody.

'They are relaxed and happy. Their smiling and bright faces show that they are in an upbeat mood after their release,' another police official told IANS on phone from Lakhisarai.

'Top police officials and Lakhisarai district magistrate have been talking to the released policemen. They will be brought before the media soon,' the police official said.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the police station in Lakhisarai town to have a glimpse of the three released policemen.

'It is not yet decided whether they will be taken to their respective homes or to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna,' the police official said.

Reports reaching here said that there is a festival-like air in the homes of the three released policemen.

'We will celebrate Eid Monday itself ahead of real Eid as my son is reaching home. We are busy preparing for it,' Ehsan's father Mohiuddin Khan said.

Similar sentiments were expressed by family members of Rupesh and Abhay. 'It is a red letter day for us. We will celebrate it like never before,' Rupesh's father Uday Shankar Sinha said.

Rajni Devi, the wife of Abhay, is unable to epress her happiness. She said she was waiting to welcome her husband.

The release comes days after the bullet-riddled body of Lucas Tete, another abducted policemen, was found near a forest in Lakhisarai district. He was killed by the Maoists Sep 3.

The four policemen were abducted by Maoists after a six-hour gunfight in Lakhisarai Aug 29.

The gunbattle left seven policemen dead and 10 injured. The Maoists claimed the gunfight was in retaliation for the killing of their leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad and a journalist on the night of July 1-2 in Andhra Pradesh.

Pakistan match-fixing claims: Yasir Hameed facing ACU interview over claims

The ACU detectives will be free to talk to Hameed as he is not part of the criminal investigation being carried out by Scotland Yard and it is likely he will be asked to explain comments made on film to an undercover reporter at the weekend during which he stated Pakistan were “fixing almost every match”.

Hameed’s comments added to the pressure around the Pakistan squad who are potentially facing the prospect of another player being charged by the ICC this week. It was revealed on Sunday that a fourth Pakistani cricketer was being investigated for match-fixing.



“We want to be prompt and decisive on this matter,” said Haroon Lorgat, the chief executive of the ICC. “It is not something we want to drag our heels on and as soon as we are in a position to make charges and disclosures we will do so.”

Hameed’s nickname within the Pakistan team is ‘Bacha’, which means child in Urdu, and his naivety in talking with such openness to a complete stranger just days after the story of spot-fixing during the Lord’s Test broke is startling.

“He (Hameed) is 30-31 but mentally he is 15-16,” said Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan one-day captain. “I don’t know who he was sitting with or in what situation he gave this message but we have know him for a long time. We know we can expect anything from him and he does this kind of thing. People know what type of character he is.”

Hameed, who played in the third and fourth Tests but is not in the one-day squad, was summoned to the Pakistan High Commission in London on Sunday for a meeting with Ijaz Butt, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Hameed later issued an affidavit through the High Commission claiming his comments to the News of the World were simply a repeat of the allegations made against Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir, and Mohammad Asif that had already been reported by the media. He claims he was duped into talking to the newspaper’s investigative journalist, Mazher Mahmood, believing him to be a sponsor offering a £50,000 deal with the airline Etihad.

He said two days later the same man called him and offered £25,000 to give a statement against the three players under investigation, which he refused.

Hameed then claimed to have received a text threatening to expose him drinking wine during the interview, a potentially damaging allegation against a Muslim during the month of Ramadan. The statement claims the text read: “Please call me. Incidentally you are in video drinking wine and saying all the quotes. Denying it is just stupid and we will be releasing the video to TV. Better that you just stand up and speak the truth.”

Hameed’s statement gave the mobile phone number which sent the message. When called, the number diverted to the Metropolitan Police adding to the sense of madness around this case.

Hameed is shown on the hidden camera speaking casually about the case against the Pakistan team but goes further claiming he lost his place in the team because he refused to become involved in match-fixing. “They offered me handsome money,” Hameed is shown saying. “I would’ve come to you in a Ferrari now. I mean there is enough so that your desires are fulfilled...buy a car, that is how much money they were giving. Man, they’ve offered big, big money. Up to £150,000” He said the approach was made during the Champions Trophy in 2004.

It is an offence under the ICC’s code of conduct for a player not to report a suspicious approach which would give the ACU enough reason to interview Hameed.

The idea of a match-fixing amnesty was put forward by the Professional Cricketers’ Association as a way of persuading more players to come forward with what could be valuable information.

“This is the kind of thing that we need to consider if what we are trying to do is to root things out properly,” said Angus Porter, chief executive of the PCA. “It is not a firm proposal, just a suggestion that somebody may wish to take up as something that might be necessary as a way of helping to sort out the problem.”

If Hameed is contacted by the ACU he may have to face an independent commissioner who the ICC plan to appoint to head what will be the biggest ever probe into corruption in cricket.

Suicide car bomber kills 14 in northwest Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — At least 14 people were killed and 34 wounded when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a police post in northwest Pakistan on Monday, police said.

"There were nine policemen among the dead," senior police official Iftikhar Ahmad told AFP by telephone after the attack on Lakki Marwat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, not far from tribal areas that are a stronghold of the Taliban.

Shahid Hameed, a spokesman for the Lakki Marwat police, also confirmed the death toll. Police said 20 policemen were among the injured.

Police said the blast destroyed the police station building and damaged a nearby administrative building.

A doctor in Lakki Marwat's main hospital said eight bodies and 13 wounded had been taken to his hospital, which was also damaged.

"There are six policeman among the dead. The other two bodies are beyond recognition," doctor Abdul Majid Marwat told AFP.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombing but the Pakistani Taliban has been blamed for similar attacks.

The group Friday vowed to carry out further attacks inside Pakistan and against the United States and Europe after the US State Department added the group to a blacklist of foreign terrorist organisations.

Militants have launched a series of attacks as Muslims mark the final days of the holy fasting month of Ramadan even as the country struggles to deal with massive flooding that has killed nearly 1,800 people and left millions reliant on aid handouts.

On Friday, a suicide bomber killed at least 59 people at a Shiite Muslim rally in Quetta, capital of the southwest province of Baluchistan.

That attack came just days after three suicide bombers killed 31 people and wounded hundreds more during a Shiite mourning procession in Lahore. The attack was subsequently claimed by the Pakistani Taliban.

Northwest Pakistan suffers from chronic insecurity, largely connected to the semi-autonomous tribal belt near Afghanistan, which Washington calls the most dangerous place on earth and a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda.

More than 3,660 people have been killed in a series of suicide attacks and bomb explosions, many of them carried out by the Taliban and other Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist extremists, in Pakistan during the last three years.

Hameed is mentally 15, unreliable: Afridi

LONDON: Yasir Hameed might have backtracked on allegations of match-fixing against his Pakistan teammates but the side's captain Shahid Afridi is still livid with the opener and has ridiculed him as being mentally a teenager.

Afridi, who has apologised for the 'spot-fixing' scandal involving Pakistani players that has shaken the core of international cricket, said Hameed cannot be trusted.

"Yasir Hameed is about 30 or 31 - but mentally he is 15 or 16," Afridi said.

"People know the type of character he is. We have known him for a long time and we know what to expect from him. He has done this sort of thing many times. Is he unreliable? Well, he is sitting with someone he does not know and gives these messages out, so, yes.

"I don't know who he was sitting with or in what situation he gave this message," he added.

In the video of a sting operation carried out by the 'News of the World', Hameed had claimed that almost every match Pakistan played was fixed. But he later went back on the statement, saying that he was tricked and later blackmailed to stand by the remarks.

Afridi, who led Pakistan in Sunday's Twenty20 match against England which the visitors lost, said he has told his players not to read newspapers.

"It was a relief to be playing again. Even though it was not a perfect performance. All the allegations are history now and until the ICC completes their investigations and it is all before us, we don't want to talk about it," he said.

Relieved but regret Tete's killing: Nitish

Patna: Addressing the media after the Maoists released the three abducted policemen on Monday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said the appeal for an all-party meet may have influenced the release of the cops.

"I want to thank the intellectuals for raising their voice against this. That did have a positive impact. I want to thank all political parties for aiding the government, attending the all-party meet and consenting for talks," he said.

Relieved over the release of the three policemen, Nitish said public pressure helped end the crisis. The released cops are now being taken to their families.

"I want to congratulate the families of these policemen," he said.

Regretting the killing of one policeman, the chief minister said the Maoist spokesperson rejected our offer of unconditional talks.

Havaldar Lukas Tete was found dead in Bihar's Lakhisarai forest on Friday with a note from the Naxals who killed him pinned to his body. It warned that unless the government releases eight Naxal leaders from jail, three other policemen taken hostage will be murdered.