Big B's grand plans to celebrate father's 101st birth anniversary

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has big plans for the 101st birth anniversary of his father, well-known poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan, on Jan 18 next year. Among other things he plans to re-release his father's acclaimed book 'Madhushala' and hold a dance recital.

'There are discussions on now on how to celebrate 101 years of my father's birth anniversary. 'Madhushala' in its modern format shall be released, a journey of my father's creative works shall be conducted through the recitation of his various works, a dance recital on one of his works,' Amitabh posted on his blog bigb.bigadda.com.

Big B says that he will also release of some of his father's most important works as a collection put together by Pushpa Bharati, wife of late writer Dharam Vir Bharati.

The 67-year-old has been planning the event for a long time and has been especially devoting time to writing the foreword for the new avatar of 'Madhushala', which was first published in 1935 and considered Harivansh Rai's greatest work.

The new edition of the book will be a large coffee table sized version - it will have the original verses of the late poet accompanied with English translations by Marjorie Boulton of Oxford University. The book will also have paintings by Amitab's niece Namrata Bachchan.

'The proof is looking very good. The paintings are unique and hopefully with the written foreword should form a fitting tribute to my father's 101st anniversary,' Amitabh wrote in a previous blog entry.

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Michael Jackson film earns over $100 mn

Michael Jackson's movie This Is It has grossed $101 million in its first five days in cinemas around the world, according to preliminary studio estimates issued Sunday.

Sony, the studio that paid $60 million for rights to the film, announced over the weekend that the originally planned two-week run would be extended in the US through the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, a lucrative holiday for Hollywood Advertisement

SRK fan gifts him land on moon on his 44th b'day

Every year on his birthday, an ardent Shah Rukh Khan fan buys a piece of the moon (you heard that right!) and sends it to him.

SRK confirms, "Yes, an Australian lady buys a little land on the moon for me every year on my birthday. She has been buying it for a while now and I get these certificates from the Lunar Republic Society."

SRK adds that he has met his fan and she keeps in touch with him all year through mails, "She writes me colourful emails (in the sense one line is red, one is blue and so on). I feel blessed to have the love of so many people worldwide."

According to one online lunar real estate agency, http://www.lunarregistry.com/, the Sea of Tranquility is the most sought-after address on the moon. 1 acre (approximately 43,560 sq ft, or 4,047 sq mtrs) costs US $37.50 (Rs 1758.75) and the actor owns several acres there. An ownership package includes a beautifully engraved parchment deed, a satellite photograph of the property and an information sheet detailing the geography of your region. An interactive Full Moon Atlas on CD-ROM is available at an additional cost.

You are allowed to purchase up to 40 acres per transaction. The proceeds from the purchase of the plot on the moon, go toward the Lunar Republic Society's program for privatised human-based exploration, settlement and development of the Moon.

Now while there are many websites on the internet (based in the US, UK and Russia) that allows you to buy land on the moon, it doesn't mean you can charge NASA or other space agencies for trespassing when they land on your property.

Fine Print
Property ownership is permanently registered by the International Lunar Lands Registry in its annual publication, which is copyrighted and deposited in the United States Library of Congress and with international patent and trademark offices, including the United Kingdom (UK Patent Office), Japan (Japan Copyright Office), Russia (Rospatent) and with the United Nations (UN Depository Library), in compliance with the Berne Convention. Advertisement

Dhoni and Harbhajan send Police into Tizzy

Indian cricket captain M S Dhoni and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh today sent the police here into a tizzy as they left the team hotel without informing the police while Yuvraj Singh also went out declining an offer to have security personnel with him.

The police said they were not amused at the "irresponsible action" of the players and have prepared a report about the "security violations" made by them.

Man-of-the-match in India-Australia third one-dayer in Delhi Yuvraj Singh was the first to leave the Taj, the team hotel, and drove out in a car.

Yuvraj, who belongs to Chandigarh, drove out in a Audi bearing a temporary registration number of Haryana late this evening from the hotel in Sector 17 and returned a couple of hours later, police said.

Later, Dhoni and Harbhajan also followed suit and left the hotel for a brief period without informing the security, which a senior official said was mandatory.

"First Yuvraj left and when we told him to take a security official with him, he outrightly refused. Then captain M S Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh also left their hotel without informing," Chandigarh's Superintendent of Police (Security) H S Doon told PTI here.

He said Deputy Superintendent of Police Roshan Lal, who is the camp commandant deputed at the hotel where the teams are staying, had prepared a report about the "security violations made by the players".

"I have got the report and now we will be taking up the matter with the PCA, which is hosting tomorrow's match at Mohali," Doon said.

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SRK keen to perform at Commonwealth Games 2010 opening

Dilliwalon! I will come during Commonwealth Games (next year). Get ready,” the badshah of Bollywood called out, responded by loud cheers by delighted Delhiites.

Dressed in black — t-shirt, jeans and sunglasses — the actor said, “I would love to perform (in the opening ceremony).”

Flanked by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and CWG Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, Khan flagged off the 2009 Airtel Delhi Half Marathon held on Sunday.

Khan’s presence during the opening ceremony would be like icing on the cake for his fans.

Dikshit said, “Every citizen of India is welcome to participate. (But) I cannot say about the opening ceremony… there are people organising that.”

Lalit Bhanot, secretary general of the CWG Organising Committee said, “I would not like to comment (on this) because Shah Rukh has not spoken with us directly on the issue. Besides, there is already a committee, which is looking at the inaugural event at the opening ceremony.” Advertisement

B'day special: Rare childhodd photos of SRK

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What the future holds for Ash and SRK?

Both the Scorpions are superstars at the top of their game. Aishwarya Rai turns 36 tomorrow and SRK turns 44 on Monday. Celebrity astro-numerologist Bhavikk Sangghvi decodes what the stars in the firmament have in store for the Bollywood icons. “Ash was born on 1st November, 1973 which makes her a Number 1 person in numerology. Her sun sign is Scorpio (ruler Mars – Number 9) and her destiny number adds up to Number 5 (Mercury) which indicates a strong ‘mangal’ in her birth chart,” explains Bhavikk.“Ash is what she is ruled by – Number 1, the most powerful star in the solar system – the Sun. Without it, there is no existence. She is strong, aggressive and a complete go-getter. She is so determined about what she wants in life that nothing and absolutely nothing can stop her from doing that.

At times her approach could be a bit forceful but she knows how to mellow it down when required. Her communication skills are so effective that she can make people spell bound by her speech,” he explains further. “Ash will soon be entering her 37th year, which cannot be termed as a good time for her. Especially the year 2010 which belongs to Jupiter (Number 3) does not support Number 1 people in general,” warns Bhavikk.“On the professional front, her next release Raavan along with hubby Abhishek adds up to Number 16. If released before this year end, this film will not only do well but also Ash’s performance in this film will be widely appreciated. After that in Action Replayy, it will be Akshay Kumar who will steal the limelight from her but she will definitely share the credit of the film’s success.

Lastly, in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish, once again her work will gather great reviews from audiences and critics alike but the box office fate of the film does not look bright,” predicts Sangghvi. “Now talking about her personal life, the world is eager to know whether she will embrace motherhood in the New Year. My answer for this would be – YES. For Abhishek, he will soon enter his 35th year which is good for him. But there can be a possibility that the baby would be born only in 2011,” is Bhavikk’s final word on Ash.

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