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Lambogini

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Lamborghini "Aventador"

Our latest car porn introduces Lamborghini's new super sports car Aventador with its 700 HP bull power - powerful and classy just like his namesake, Spanish bull legend Aventador - relentlessly fighting the forces of nature in a 3-minute special effect thunderstorm, shot in the Californian desert Coyote Dry Lakebed and directed by Ole Peters.C r e d i t s :Client: Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., Sant’Agata Bolognese, ItalyBrand Marketing Manager: Douwe HilariusAgency: Philipp und Keuntje, Hamburg, GermanyCreative Direction: Diether Kerner, Soenke SchmidtCopywriter: Sandra Eichner, Adrienne TonnerArt Direction: Rouven SteimanAgency Producer: Felicitas StahnkeConsultant: Steffen SchwabProduction: Sehsucht GmbH Hamburg, GermanyService Production: Slim Pictures L.A, USADirector: Ole PetersDOP: Jordan ValentiAerial DOP: Kurt SoderlingPilot: Lance StrumpfPrecision Car Driver: Rich RutherfordSet Supervisor: Timo von WittkenConcept Design: Anja von HarsdorfArt Department Post: Anja von Harsdorf, Axel Brötje, Niklas Ohlson, Stephan WeverHead Of 3D: Timo von Wittken3D Artists: Maurice Panisch, Peter Balicki, Hannes Geiger, Felix Geremus, Vitaly Grossmann, Christian Keller, Stefan Galleithner, Christian SchnellhammerHead of Compositing: Florian Zachau2D Artists/Compositing: Yacoob Essack, Markus GratlMattepainting / Look Development: Marco IozziStoryboard Artist: Malte RomainczykTechnical Director: Martin ChatterjeeEditor: Stephan WeverExecutive Producer: Martin WoelkeProducer: Andreas Coutsoumbelis, Jan TillerMusic: DamienDamienSound Design: Supreme Music

In hunt for lost jet, new sightings of debris are promising but inconclusive

The hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 resumed in earnest Saturday as surveillance planes returned to the skies above a newly defined search area in the southern Indian Ocean and spotted floating debris for the second day in a row, and a flotilla of vessels began arriving in the zone to find and identify the objects, the Australian authorities said.

Crews on two of the ships pulled several items from the water, but investigators determined that the objects were not from the missing plane, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is overseeing the search.

With several more ships en route to the zone late Saturday, the naval contingent of the multinational search force trying to locate the Boeing 777-200 was expected to reach a total of nine vessels by Sunday. A frigate from the Royal Australian Navy was also heading to the area and was scheduled to arrive Tuesday.

Two aircraft flying over the new search area Saturday - one from the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force and the other from the Royal Australian Air Force - spotted floating debris. Five aircraft flying over the zone Friday also spotted unidentified objects.

But officials involved in the search, mindful of the amount of detritus adrift in the world's oceans, cautioned that the sightings were inconclusive on their own.

"It is not known how much flotsam, such as from fishing activities, is ordinarily there," the Maritime Safety Authority said in a statement.

A new analysis of radar data from the morning of March 8, as Flight 370 veered off its intended route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and instead flew west over Peninsular Malaysia and then south over the Indian Ocean, compelled officials to shift the search area Friday to a zone about 1,100 miles west of Perth, Australia.

The analysis showed that the plane was moving faster than investigators had previously estimated and therefore it would have burned fuel more quickly and possibly fallen into the Indian Ocean farther north than previously believed, officials said.

The new search area is about 700 miles northeast of a zone that had been the focus of search efforts for most of the week.

The revision of the search area was based largely on work done by analysts from Boeing in Seattle, part of an international team of experts collaborating with Malaysian investigators, officials here said.

They arrived at their conclusions after re-evaluating the radar data and weighing other factors such as the amount of fuel on the plane when it took off from Kuala Lumpur and its altitude as it headed over the south Indian Ocean, Malaysian officials added, offering no further elaboration.

The new search area presents more favorable conditions for the search than the previous area, in part because it has less inclement weather and water conditions and is closer to Perth, the departure point for the search planes, officials said.

It is also only a fifth of the size of the previous search area, though still large: 123,000 square miles, or 319,000 square kilometers, which is roughly the size of New Mexico or Poland.

But Australian and Malaysian officials cautioned that the new zone also posed considerable challenges.

"We are trying to find small bits of wreckage in a vast ocean," said Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Australia. "And while we are throwing everything we have at it, the task goes on."

As the search was underway Saturday, Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia's defense minister, stopped by a hotel near Kuala Lumpur to meet with the relatives of Chinese citizens who were aboard Flight 370. The Malaysian government has endured withering criticism by the relatives and friends of Chinese passengers, who have accused it of withholding information about the disappearance of the plane and not doing enough to find it.

Speaking to reporters after the closed-door meeting, Hishammuddin said the families wanted assurances that the search-and-rescue operation would continue.

"As long as there is even a remote chance of a survivor, we will pray and do whatever it takes," he said, adding, "This is t

Acid attack on Masula woman for rejecting marriage proposal

A 35-year-old man Subhani, working in a jewellery unit, threw acid on a woman and her mother on Friday night at Godugupeta street in Machilipatnam town, after his proposal to marry the woman was turned down.The incident took place around 10.45 p.m. when the 25-year-old woman and her mother were returning home to their apartment in a block of flats where Subhani, his wife and two children also stay.Last year, Subhani had proposed to marry the woman claiming that his wife had died of cancer and that he had no children. The woman's parents considered the proposal but sought time to take a decision.“Recently we came to know that his wife is alive. We rejected the proposal and decided to send our daughter to Visakhapatnam,” victim's father Mohammed Yousuf told The Hindu.On Friday, the girl and her mother went to Durga at Kakani in Guntur district. Anticipating that the girl was preparing to shift to Visakhapatnam, Subhani reportedly waited for her to return home and threw acid on her. When her mother tried to stop him, he poured it on her too, resulting in severe burn injuries on both women. Later, he poured acid on himself. He had stored the acid in a bucket. Residents of the area say that Subhani had used concentrated sulphuric acid which is commonly stocked by workers in the jewellery industry.Local people rushed the trio to a hospital. “The woman could not open her eyes and there is a danger of losing vision. Her mother has also received severe burn injuries on her entire body, but she is out of danger” a duty doctor told The Hindu.The accused, who also sustained burn injuries, is being treated at a government hospital in Machilipatnam.

Mumbai gang-rape case: trial adjourned to April 1

Lawyers want to peruse Bombay HC’s order before proceeding with trialThe sessions court here on Friday adjourned the hearing in the photojournalist’s gang-rape case till Tuesday, after the defence lawyers said they wanted to peruse the Bombay High Court’s order before proceeding with the trial.The Bombay High Court had on Thursday refused to interfere “at this stage” with the sessions court’s decision to frame a fresh charge for repeat offence of rape which can attract the death penalty.The special prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam also said the High Court’s order should be perused carefully.Principal Sessions Judge Shalini Phansalkar Joshi then adjourned the case to April 1 after receiving assurance from the lawyers that they will proceed with the case on that day.The additional charge was framed under 376(e) of IPC after the sessions court accepted the prosecution’s application in this regard.Three of the convicts — Kasim Bengali, Vijay Jadhav and Mohammed Salim Ansari — have already been sentenced to life imprisonment in the case related to gang-rape of an 18-year-old telephone operator which had taken place in the desolate Shakti Mills compound about a month before the photojournalist’s gang-rape there last year.According to the prosecution, this qualifies them for punishment under the amended section in the photojournalist’s gang-rape case.The 22-year-old magazine photojournalist was raped by Vijay Jadhav, Kasim Bengali, Salim Ansari, Siraj Rehman and a minor boy when she had gone to the Shakti Mills compound in the Central Mumbai with a male colleague on an assignment on August 22, 2013.

Audio Beat: Vaayai Moodi Pesavum - Funky tunes from a first-timer

Radian E Media and Y Not Studios jointly present Vaayai Moodi Pesavum, a socio-political satire. Produced by Varun Manian in association with S. Sashikanth and written and directed by Balaji Mohan, the film features Dulquer Salman, Nazriya, Madubala, Pandiyarajan, Vinu Chakravarthi and Robo Shankar. The music is scored by Sean Roldan. The audio was released by Mani Ratnam and received by Rana Daggubati.What they sayProducer Varun Manian: I am from the real estate field with a passion for films. When Y Not Studios Sasikanth brought director Balaji Mohan to me, I heard his narration and got interested in the project. The film has comedy, sentiment and all the necessary ingredients to click at the box office.Director Balaji Mohan: After my Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi, I took time to script a neat comedy. The highlight of Vaayai Moodi Pesavum is its narration. It’s needless to say that Dulquer, Nazriya and Madhubala have all worked hard to make my dream come true.Hero Dulquer: I have done 10 films in Malayalam and this is my first in Tamil. When I told my father Mammootty that I was doing a Tamil movie he was happy and blessed me. The story of Vaayai Moodi Pesavum is good and I am happy to be part of it.Music director Sean Roldan: I am the grandson of Chandilyan, noted Tamil writer of historical fiction. His daughter, my mother Padma Chandilyan is also a Carnatic vocalist. I learnt music from her from a tender age. I am a student of vocalist Sanjay Subramaniam. I am working with some of the known names in the film industry. I got to score the music of Vaayai Moodi Pesavum at short notice. I was given just three days to compose the songs and record them, as the cast and the crew were going out of the city to shoot the songs. I am glad I was able to deliver it to their satisfaction. Now I have finished the re-recording and it has come out well.Music Highlights: Composer Sean Roldan has tried to give different kinds of songs and also succeeded in it. ‘Shut up! Vaaya Moodu! Pesadhe!’ is an entertaining pop number sung by Sean and the director who has also written it. ‘Kadhal Ara Onnu Vizhundhuchu’ is a rock number written by Muthamil sung by Sean and Sakthisree Gopalan. ‘Mr. Fix-IT’ is an instrumental piece by Chennai Strings. Singer Haricharan is in fine form in ‘Podhum Nee Ini Varundhadhe.’ Written by Muthamil, this retro track has Chennai Strings performing brilliantly. ‘Udaigiren Udaigiren,’ written by Karky and sung well by Alaap Raju and the Madras String Quartet, is a ballad that conveys the agony of a person in love. ‘Beedhiya Kelappa’ is a Jazz instrumental theme with sax by Maarten Visser and percussion by Praveen Sparsh. ‘The Sound of Silence’ is a dub step symphony by the Chennai Strings — a repeat-worthy track. The last on the album is ‘Maatraparavai’ written by Karky and sung by Pradeep, Kalyani Nair and the Madras String Quartet. Here the composer uses the drums by David Joseph to good effect.

India should help other countries to eradicate polio: Pranab

India being declared ‘polio-free’ by the World Health Organisation is a “landmark achievement” and it should now assist other countries such as Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan in their fight against this disease, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Saturday.“India must assist other countries such as Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan in their fight against this disease in improving their health systems and infrastructure,” said Mr. Mukherjee while inaugurating the Polio Free Conclave 2014 organised by the Rotary International in New Delhi.“The unique challenge in India was the sheer number of people combined with the difficult terrain in many states. It was possible only because of the unparalleled dedication of all concerned and the relentless efforts put in by the workers, doctors, activists and various stakeholders including parents of children in achieving this day”, he said.He, however, stressed the need to be vigilant to ensure that there was no recurrence of this disease.“We must be vigilant. There is need for watchfulness and preparedness to see that there is no recurrence of this disease,” he said.The unprecedented programme to eradicate the polio virus from the country was taken up by the central and state governments supported by several national and international agencies such as Rotary International, UNICEF, WHO, CDC and Melinda and Gates Foundation, he added.The President said that the agencies helped with material resources and best practices to wipe out this crippling disease. Initiative was taken up at several levels to spread awareness, provide prompt medical attention and administer the polio vaccine.Mr. Mukherjee also presented mementos of appreciation and recognition to the former Health Minister Dr Anbumani Ramadoss and Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.Mr. Azad credited this achievement to the decision to introduce the new bivalent polio vaccine which was indigenously developed for the first time, aggressive immunization and micro block level planning covering the most endemic areas.He said strong political will at the highest levels that ensured pumping in of required financial resources and deployment of huge manpower in this gigantic task, constant monitoring and maintaining supply chains were some of the other factors.Present at the occasion were Health Secretary Lov Verma, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Gary Huang, Rotary International President Elect, D. K. Lee, Chairman, Rotary Foundation, Rajendra Saboo, Conclave Chairman, P T Prabhakar, Rotary International Director and Kalyan Banerjee, Conclave co-chairman.

Need for Speed: Young hearts, run free

Need for Speed, based on the eponymous video game, is the perfect movie to go to with friends at the end of board exams. There is so much energy and naiveté in Need for Speed that it makes the Fast and Furious franchise seem middle-aged. Casting Aaron Paul as the lead is a masterstroke for isn’t his Breaking Bad all a craze amongst the hipsters? Apparently executive producer Steven Spielberg binge watched the series. There you go.So Paul plays Tobey, a mechanic in New York who tweaks performance cars. He is sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. After serving his term, Tobey is out for revenge against those who wronged him and what better way to do so than with the mother of all races?The cars are cool, Dominic Cooper as the dastardly Dino has a lot of fun. Michael Keaton as the eccentric Monarch who hosts and runs the underground competition is obviously having more fun in this movie rather than as Raymond Sellars in Robocop. Imogen Poots is cute as Julia, the Brit girl with serious attitude. The movie is young for its celebration of the underground with the race being followed online rather than on conventional media.The funky cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘All Along the Watchtower’ adds a non-deadening riff to the proceedings. The highlight of the film has to be one of the characters walking out of his stuffy job. It ranks up there with Bridget Jones telling her smarmy boss, Daniel Cleaver, what she’d rather be doing with Saddam Hussein instead of working within 10 yards of him.Genre: ActionCast: Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots, Ramón Rodríguez, Michael KeatonDirector: Scott WaughStoryline: All life’s unfairness is settled with a raceBottomline: Fast and delirious

Nedunchalai: Road rage

In his previous film, Sillunu Oru Kaadhal, the director Krishna lost his way in trying to balance an intimate story with the overblown must-haves of a star-driven movie. He doesn’t make that mistake in Nedunchalai, which is toplined by Aari and a terrific newcomer named Shivada.This is a rock-solid B-movie. It has no use for poetry. It doesn’t waste time on tear-jerker sentimentality. It doesn’t want to elevate our taste, ennoble our souls. What a bloody relief. All it wants to do is tell a story in the best manner possible, with craft and confidence. I had a pretty good time — this, despite the censor board’s cluelessness. This is an adult movie. Coarseness is part of its texture. Why mute the vulgarity? Why not slap a rating on it that will keep away children? How will our cinema grow if we continue to infantilise it?Nedunchalai is about a highway robber named Murugan (Aari), and his legend is built up right from the flashback that details the brutal circumstances of his birth. And when he becomes a man, he begins to chase night-time trucks laden with goods. The camera drops to gaze at his shadow, beneath his pounding feet, as a wail in the soundtrack describes him perfectly — he’s a nedunchalai boochaandi.This choice of profession dusts the cobwebs off the hero. Usually, when a film features someone like Murugan, he’s a politician’s sidekick or a troublemaking drunk, but here he steals cans of Dalda and Solidaire TV sets. These heists offer a respite from the typical action scenes, and even those, when they arrive, are staged excitingly, like the one in a field ablaze with bonfires, with sparks soaring into the air.Like many films these days, Nedunchalai is set in the 1980s, but Krishna doesn’t overdo it. A few Ilaiyaraaja hits are hummed. MGR’s demise is mourned. But the film is more than these surface touches — it is fashioned along the lines of the cinema from that era. The boisterous routines between Sekar (Salim Kumar) and his portly sidekick are reminiscent of the Goundamani-Senthil comedy tracks. The heroine, a spirited Malayali named Manga (Shivada) who runs a roadside dhaba, brings to mind the character played by Lakshmi inEnnuyir Kannamma. In fact, the story itself is one of those Nallavanuku Nallavan-type essays of a rowdy mellowing into a good man.But at every point, where we expect cliché, there’s a twist. We think that Murugan and the weed-smoking cop Maasanamuthu (Prashant Narayanan) will face off in a love/lust triangle over Manga, but that’s not it. We expect a hero-villain clash in the climax, but that’s not it. We brace ourselves for one of those dreadful rowdy-turns-good-through-the-power of-love contrivances, but that’s not it. (He turns good due to a revelation that shakes his foundations, when he realises that everything he has believed in so far is false.) We look at Sekar as just a buffoon, but that’s not it — he’s a canny player. The only cliché is probably that Murugan won’t look at Manga that way, while Maasanamuthu happily slides his foot up her skirt. (He gets clubbed for his efforts.)The staging is atmospheric, the storytelling muscular — though as the film goes along, it loses some of its fizz. It’s a half-hour too long, and the ‘Injaathey’ song, though lovely, is shot with the kind of overripe imagery that doesn’t fit in with the gritty atmosphere surrounding it. I could have also lived without the pat coda.But these niggles are easily brushed aside in a work made with so much vision. Yes, I said vision. The word is too often yoked to films which attempt to do lofty things, but it’s really just about how you see your film, how much you work on it, how much care you lavish on every frame. There isn’t a lazy moment inNedunchalai. It’s one of the season’s happiest surprises.Genre: DramaDirector: KrishnaCast: Aari, Shivada, Prashant Narayanan.Storyline: A highway robber reexamines his life as a cop is out to nail him.Bottomline: A rock-solid B-movie.

The Roja girl’s back

Madhubala talks about her comeback movie, Vaayai Moodi Pesavum, and why cinema is her calling. Subha J. Rao listens inSeventeen years after Paanjalankuruchi, the movie where an entire song was dedicated to her smile and beauty (‘Un Udattoram Sirippu’), actor Madhubala makes a comeback to the Tamil screen with Balaji Mohan’s Tamil-Malayalam bilingual Vaayai Moodi Pesavum/Samsaaram Aarogyathinu Haanikaram.Though she made her debut in Tamil with K. Balachander’s Azhagan, starring alongside Mammootty, following it up with a mix of mass and class films, she achieved pan-India acclaim with Roja, the eponymous village girl who turns into a resolute woman amid the snow-clad peaks of Kashmir. “I’m still looked at as Roja. That’s amazing,” she says. “While shooting for Vaayai… in Munnar, I saw people pointing to me and saying: ‘That’s the Rojagirl.’ And there I was, a mother of two, happily travelling back in time,” she laughs.At the peak of her career, when she was just 30, Madhubala traded the arc lights for a regular life and settled down in Mumbai. “I never dreamt of making a comeback. Some years ago, I started doing small roles in Hindi films. I was sure I would do only Hindi, because it meant shooting in Mumbai and not leaving my daughters alone for long,” says Madhu. But, Tamil cinema always had a special place in her heart. “I was very impressed with what was happening in the Tamil movie scene, and had okayed a script by Lakshmy Ramakrishnan. That movie did not work out, but Balaji convinced me to sign up for his film. I was worried on many counts. The distance, the long days away from home… but he was so persistent. He said he would shoot within whatever time frame I gave. And, he did.”Madhubala says she always likes to connect the dots. “I look for signs. Mammootty Sir was my first hero… now I’m working with his son Dulquer Salmaan. It’s like the universe is telling me that I will be welcome again in the industry.”A lovely characterIn Vaayai…, Madhubala plays a writer, the heroine’s stepmom. “It is such a lovely character. I know that at my age, I will be offered only character roles; but, I want to choose roles with spunk, roles of substance. Something on the lines of what Rishi Kapoor is doing right now in Hindi. A role that is pivotal, a role that challenges me as an actor,” she says.The time is right, she says, to make a comeback. Industry trends are changing; newer stories are finding favour… “Like Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan) once said, he is able to do so much more as a character artiste than he could have as a hero.”Madhubala has also returned to a much more professionally-managed industry. “Teams stick to the script. It is all about planning and executing it well. Everything from the script to the contract comes over mail!”In her heydays, Madhubala acted under top directors — K. Balachander, Mani Ratnam, Shankar… and won critical and commercial acclaim. Despite that, on the first day of shooting for Vaayai… she was a nervous wreck. “I wondered if I would remember my dialogues. I was insecure and felt I was making a mistake. It was like being back on the sets of Azhaganas a rookie. But once, the first shot was canned, the 17 years seemed to melt away,” she says.Supportive familyHow easy then was it to say goodbye to cinema all those years ago? “It was the most difficult decision of my life. But, today, from where I stand, I can say it was the best decision too. I have a supportive husband, I’ve raised two lovely children… I would not want to change anything. Having said that, everyone has their strengths. There are women who rule the kitchen and find great joy in creating new dishes. There are women who do wonderfully well in other fields. But, other than my love for the arts, no other skill left me feeling fulfilled. I’m feeling so good now.”Madhubala admits she never realised what a good thing she had going in her first stint, with the best of roles coming her way with very little effort. “I am someone who does not think too much. Things just happened. In my youthful brashness, I thought I had arrived, even without a godfather. Now, I look at what I got with so much more gratitude and humility.”How has her family reacted to her movie? Her girls (13 and 11), who’ve watched Roja only in bits, are a little upset their mom is going to be away from them, but they understand, says Madhubala. “They don’t know their mom as an actor. For them, I’m just someone who can’t bake a cake or make a pizza! I can’t cook to save my life,” she laughs

The Wizard of Sound

Award-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty tells Udhav Naig how he discovered new challenges and possibilities while working on Rajinikanth’s upcoming animated feature KochadaiiyaanThe final phase of work on Rajinikanth’s upcoming animated feature, Kochadaiiyaan, is on in full swing at A.R. Rahman’s studio. Among those working without looking at the clock are two Oscar winners, Resul Pookutty and A.R. Rahman. Around three teams of sound editors working out of Los Angeles, Mumbai and Chennai are toiling to finish the film. Despite the deadline, Resul is quite chilled out. “My work is almost done,” says the sound designer of the film, which, he says, will give a fillip to the careers of many visual effects and sound artists in the country.Just like director K.S. Ravikumar, who urged the fans not to expect a regular Rajinikanth feature, Pookutty too begins the conversation by putting things in perspective. “It is not easy to do such an ambitious film at one tenth of the budget and in half the time that a Hollywood production house would normally take. We have done all this without compromising on quality. Rajinikanth could have done anotherSivaji or Enthiran and made millions. But he didn't. If not for his involvement, this film would never have had backers,” he says.Immersive 3D experienceWorking on this film for the last two-and-a-half years, Resul admits to have discovered new challenges and possibilities everyday. “We are very familiar with the filmic images of Rajini, and it will take a bit of time to get used to the computer generated images of the actor. My task is to make it feel real and believable through sound. Though the images are computer generated, the sound you hear will be as real as possible. We have used special microphones to create an immersive 3D experience.”How did he recreate ‘real’ sound for a film that features sequences of war and action happening in big fortresses? “For the war sequence, we got 150 people scream like how they would in a war and recorded the sound. I went to fortresses and collected samples of how sound resonates. Based on the impulse response data, we recreated the acoustics of a durbar.”The problem was that he and his team had to start from scratch. “For example, when we started working on the Foley [ambient sound], I told Soundarya that I needed the costumes of the film. But there weren’t any because the film wasn’t shot conventionally. How do I recreate the sound of a man walking in his armour? We then had to put together the entire costume,” he says.That wasn’t all. He couldn’t work onKochadaiiyaan the way he would for other films. “For instance, the image you see on screen is a composite of several layers of images. The clothes, the movement, the swords and so on were created separately and put together. My team also had to add sound, layer by layer. Add to this the responsibility of making sure the footage was safe, it was quite an extensive task.”He again drives home the point that such efforts wouldn’t be possible without the presence of a huge star like Rajinikanth. “When a film like Avatar released in India, it grossed almost Rs. 65 crore without spending a single penny. The time has come to think big. By backing Kochadaiiyaan, Rajini has forced us to take the next step,” he says.When Resul started his career, the sound department was often neglected and sound design as a concept hadn’t gained currency. The moving image has undergone so many transformations in the last couple of decades, but when it comes to sound, the technology has largely remained stagnant. ‘‘From a single mono playback, we went to multi-stereo playback, but it has stayed there,’’ he says.Post his Oscar-winning feat, however, things seem to have changed a lot, not just for him, but for sound artists in general. But, what is so special about his approach to sound design that he ended up with an Academy award and others didn’t? “Every film technician has one Friday in his/her lifetime and I had mine on the day Slumdog Millionaire released. I don’t think I am the best in India and there are others whose work I greatly respect. Let me just say this, most sound designers in the country use the same software, same equipment, but their understanding of cinema, of art and culture varies and it makes all the difference,’’ he says.He is especially miffed with the so-called ‘Sound Engineering’ boom which has resulted in thousands of small institutes cropping up across the country. ‘‘It is very sad to see kids spending so much money on these courses. If you want to be a good sound designer, you must understand the craft of filmmaking in totality. A sound designer can change the audience’s focus by drawing their attention to something else. It’s not just about learning to use the software; it is about what you do with it. I would rather urge them to join a film school than these institutes.’’Through such frank speak and his unrelenting desire to get everything right, he has gained the reputation of being a tough professional. “The stories of me being difficult are a bit exaggerated,” he says with a smile. He adds, “But those who understand the value I bring in support me.” He has had no such problems with Rahman, who, he says, cares deeply about the film as a whole. “Rahman always would listen to what I was doing and only then start composing. What I am doing is directly related to the performance and he understands that.”Directorial dreamsResul doesn’t want to just stop with sound. ‘’I will soon direct a film with a big Bollywood star. In fact, I have ideas for three films. I will start working on them as soon as I am done with Kochadaiiyaan.’’

sEtcetera: Comedy’s loss?

Do we have a new hero in the making? One look at the publicity stills of Vallavanakku Pullum Ayutham (VPA), and you will come to the conclusion that comedian Santhanam is heading for hero status. From his initial television foray with Sagala Vs Rakala to VPA,it has been one rip-roaring ride for Santhanam. Well, if his effort in VPA pays off, Kollywood will be losing a good comedian. “I am not aiming for anything like that. This script came my way and it suited my image. I thought, if actors like Jerry Lewis and Jim Carey can do lead roles as comedians, why not give it a shot? VPA is very much on those lines. It also doesn’t mean that I will not do the usual comedy roles alongside other heroes. I am open to doing any kind of role, including those that don’t call for comedy,” says Santhanam. In VPA, he is paired with Aashna Javeri under the direction of Sreenath who feels that Santhanam’s versatility will go a long way in his transition from comedian to hero.Hriday grows upDo you remember the twin kids of Arvind Swamy in the 1995 blockbuster Bombay? Well, the kids have grown up and while one of the brothers, Harsha, works abroad as a financial consultant, his twin, Hriday, completed his Engineering and followed his heart, which was set on the silver screen. “I suppose it must have been there in my subconscious mind ever since Bombay happened. So, after my graduation I joined Barry John’s Acting Studio. This led to my first lead role in the just releasedPanivizhum Nilavu directed by Koushik in which I am paired with Eden (earlier Tamil film:Andava Perumal) from Kerala,” says Hriday. The film traces the life of a college student played by Hriday and how he goes on to tackle the pressures of his personal and professional life. “It has been a great experience doingPanivizhum Nilavu and I am currently reading a few scripts; I don’t want to take up whatever comes my way, because the second film should be an even better one to take my career forward,” states a confident Hriday.Grey is good tooGone are the days when a new actress preferred to do only glamorous lead roles. Rethika Srinivas likes to play powerful roles that would not just stand apart but also give her creative satisfaction. “Hence, when the role of a leader of a gang of corrupt officials came up in Nimirndhu Nil, I grabbed it. In the film, I am not just the most corrupt but also the most organised and cleverest of the 147 officers and lead them on a confrontation course against the upright ones. In fact, when the corrupt are caught, I engineer a near-escape route for them,” says Rethika who is so passionate about her new-found acting career that she has taken a short sabbatical from her brand consultancy business. “Next on the anvil is a village character pitted against two heroes (both played by Vinay) in director Saran’sAyirathil Iruvar.”

T Congress in a fix over Sonia, Rahul tour

No convenient dates available for Sonia, Rahul Gandhi’s meetings before April 12.Telangana Congress leaders are a worried lot as their plans to bring AICC president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi to address a series of public meetings in Telangana may not materialise before April 12, in view of the local bodies polls and festivals.Congress leaders were determined to see that Ms. Gandhi addressed the first meeting in Hyderabad on April 4, but it seems impossible going by the logistics and arrangements involved in mobilising large crowds.Explaining the situation, a senior TPCC functionary said that most of the district-level leaders would be busy with the ZPTC and MPTC elections. “These leaders will not be willing to mobilise party workers for the meeting ahead of the local bodies polls on April 6,” he said. Sri Rama Navami falls on April 8 and the next day happens to be the last date for filing nominations for Assembly and Parliament elections. This leaves the party with no choice but to invite the Gandhi family after April 12.At a meeting of the campaign committee here on Saturday chaired by chairman C. Damodar Raja Narasimha and co-chairman Mohd. Ali Shabbir, it was decided that seven public meetings would be organised. The meetings are planned at Hyderabad, Adilabad, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Mahabubnagar, Warangal and Nalgonda or Khammam.“We wanted to hold the first public meeting on April 4 on a massive scale, but that seems a far cry as the local bodies elections are slated for April 6,” a senior TPCC leader told The Hindu. The leaders are also not sure if Ms. Gandhi and Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s campaign managers would allow so many public meetings.The party is banking heavily on the Gandhi family to improve its prospects and take the credit for fulfilling the six-decade-old dream of Telangana people. The meeting decided to go all-out against TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao by exposing his doublespeak on the merger.

Fifty five injured in RTC bus accidents

Forty passengers sustained injuries, two of them severely, when a hired RTC bus of Tadpatri depot overturned at Vontimitta in Rajampet mandal on Saturday.The bus overturned when the driver tried to avoid crashing into a parked car and a lorry coming in the opposite direction. Two severely injured passengers were sent to RIMS.RTC, transport and police officials inspected the accident spot.Staff Reporter: Fifteen passengers of two APSRTC buses sustained non-life threatening injuries when the two vehicles collided head-on at Bhakarapet ghat section, 3 km from Bhakarapet. The buses, from Madanapalle and Piler depots, were proceeding towards Tirupati and Piler respectively. with the other. The injured were rushed to SVRR Hospital for first aid. The accident resulted in a heavy traffic jam on the ghat road.

Ugadi, Sri Rama Navami festivities to begin tomorrow

District Cultural Affairs Council will conduct Ugadi and Sri Rama Navami festivities from March 31 to April 8.District Collector K. Sasidhar will inaugurate the Ugadi celebrations at Shilaparamam on March 31. Vidwan Sottu Sambamurthy will recite Sri Jayanama Samvatsara panchagam and Ugadi patchadi will be distributed, district in-charge tourism officer G. Gopal said on Saturday. Sri Harini will give a dance performance and cultural programmes will be performed in the evening.Sports competitions will be conducted for youth in shot put, discuss throw and tennikoit for girls from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on April 1, he said. As part of the festivities, a fancy dress competition will be conducted for children aged between six and 13 years from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on April 2. Boys and girls will perform cultural programmes on April 3.An essay-writing competition on “role of youth in elections” will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 noon on April 4, yoga, skipping and song competitions for children from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on April 5, classical and folk dance competitions on April 6 and musical chairs for women on April 7.On April 8, panakam and prasadam will be distributed at 10.30 a.m. and N. Abdulla of Rajampet will perform a comedy entertainment programme on April 8. The nine-day-long festivities will end on April 8, Mr. Gopal said. Endowments superintendent B. Sudhakar Reddy and Shilparamam administrative officer Muniraju participated.District Collector K. Ramgopal will inaugurate the Sri Jayanama Ugadi (Telugu New Year Day) celebrations at ZP meeting hall here on March 31. The celebrations included panchanga sravanam, kavi sammelan and writers’ felicitation. Apart from the staff of the district administration, the public is also invited to attend the event, said a press release.

TDP for comprehensive healthcare policy: Naidu

TDP would incorporate its vision for healthcare as also solutions to problems faced by doctors. Chandrababu Naidu criticised the Congress-led UPA coalition for not keeping the promises like providing one crore jobs a year in the last 10 years.The Telugu Desam Party is evolving a comprehensive policy aimed at making healthcare a fundamental right of the people, the poor and needy in particular.Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu favoured decentralisation of existing medical administration as it was the only way people would get medical care in their respective areas instead of rushing to the State capital for every emergency. Mr. Naidu said the party is committed to its assurance of setting up one super-specialty hospital in each district after the TDP comes back to power.Mr. Naidu was addressing a delegation of doctors and medical professionals affiliated to the Indian Medical Association, Indian Dental Association and other organisations that called on him at the NTR Trust Bhavan here on Saturday. Responding to a charter of demands submitted by the IMA, he said the TDP would incorporate its vision for healthcare as also solutions to problems faced by doctors, paramedical and other staff in its manifesto that would be released soon.He criticised the Congress-led UPA coalition for not keeping the promises like providing one crore jobs a year in the last 10 years. He said there was a spate of suicides by farmers touching 1.36 lakh while concessions to the tune of Rs. 25 lakh crore had been doled out to the corporates and other institutions.Rich tributes paid to NTRMr. Naidu earlier paid rich tributes to TDP founder and former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao at NTR Ghat in connection with the party’s 33rd foundation day on Saturday. He recalled the services of NTR who rode to power within a span of nine months.

CBI nabs IT official, husband for bribery in Madhya Pradesh

Congress alleges Narendra Modi versus Shivraj Singh Chouhan angleIn the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, a Central Bureau of Investigation team from New Delhi arrested Income Tax Deputy Commissioner Poonam Rai and her husband Ganesh Malviya — a former national election cell co-convenor of the BJP — for accepting a bribe of Rs. 10 lakh from Ramayan Builders and Developers. A Special CBI court in Bhopal handed over custody of the couple to the CBI until April 1, 2014, on Saturday.After the CBI had received a complaint from Rajesh Bhadoria, the owner of the firm and the convenor of the BJP's State cultural cell, the agency kept the couple under surveillance. The bribe of Rs. 10 lakh was the first instalment of Rs. 25 lakh allegedly demanded by Ms. Rai to overlook discrepancies in the company's returns. The bribe was sent through two conduits — an accountant and an employee of Mr. Malviya — who led the CBI to the couple's residence where they were nabbed.In court, the judge reprimanded Mr. Malviya for interrupting proceedings. Outside the court, Mr. Malviya claimed he was a victim of a political conspiracy. Mr. Bhadoria is considered close to Mr. Chouhan.“Malviya was a personal secretary of Vikram Verma when the latter was Union Cabinet Minister of Youth Affairs and sports. Poonam Rai was Verma's paying guest at that time,” said Opposition Leader Satyadev Katare.“This is the India Narendra Modi is dreaming about where a co-covenor in BJP's national cell asks a BJP's State convenor to pay a bribe of Rs. 25 lakh that too at a building of the BJP. Even partymen have to pay bribes to get work done,” Mr. Katare said while releasing pictures of Mr. Malviya with the BJP's prime ministerial candidate and Mr. Chouhan.BJP spokesman Hitesh Bajpai called the allegations baseless. “This is totally apolitical and something he (Mr. Malviya) did in his personal capacity. I am not competent to answer if he held any post in Delhi. He was not an office bearer in MP,” he told The Hindu.

There is simply no stopping Angelina Jolie leading a 'normal' life one year after double mastectomy

The actress has been directing a movie, promoting her new Disney blockbuster, travelling the world for humanitarian causes and caring for her six growing kids

The actress has been directing a movie, promoting her new Disney blockbuster, travelling the world for humanitarian causes and caring for her six growing kids
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Strong: Angelina Jolie
This time last year Angelina Jolie was recovering from a double mastectomy and preparing for another op to reconstruct her breasts.

After discovering she had an 87% risk of developing the cancer that killed her mother, the beautiful Hollywood actress decided to cut her own risk with preventative surgery.

But three months of tests and surgery couldn’t stop her leading her “normal” life – directing a movie, promoting her new Disney blockbuster, travelling the world for humanitarian causes and caring for her six growing kids.

In her role as a United Nations Special Envoy , she was recently in Sarajevo with UK Foreign Secretary William Hague in a new campaign to stop rape being used as a weapon of war.

She told troops: “It is inspiring that it is here in Bosnia, international peacekeepers are being trained to protect civilians from sexual violence. This is groundbreaking.”

There’s simply no stopping her . And when she revealed what she’d been going through last May fans wondered how on earth she’d coped.

The answer, she says, is Brad Pitt, the man who keeps her life in balance, and the love of their “rainbow family”.

That’s Maddox, 12, Pax,10, Zahara, nine, Shiloh, seven, and twins Knox and Vivienne, five.

“Brad is always encouraging me and willing to assume a lot of the parental duties,” says Angelina, 38.

“He loves being a father and that’s one thing I’m most proud of about him. With a large family, you need that support.”

Family life: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and family

The couple have survived so much gossip since they got together on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith in 2004 when Brad was married to Jennifer Aniston.

Is it on, is it off, when will they marry? But it’s clear Angie is mad about him.

She says: “Brad is a wonderful teacher and guide, for the boys in particular.

"He likes to plan things and proceed in a very deliberate and methodical way. He is much cooler and calmer... I can be more impulsive and outspoken.

"It’s very reassuring to know there is this very solid and generous man in your life.”

But how do they juggle celebrity careers and globetrotting with the demands of six children?

She says: “You get used to having this huge commotion around you.

"I’ve always been the kind of person who enjoys being alone yet once our family grew larger I discovered that I am truly happy to find myself surrounded by the children and have them come in when I’m taking a bath or lying down on the sofa or bed.

Ambassador: Jolie with William Hague

“Even though it can be tough with six kids, especially after I had the twins, things have settled into a more natural rhythm.

"We always consult each other in advance to know how much time we need for work and where we need to go.

“Brad and I never work at the same time and we have the advantage of many months off.

"He is a very hands-on father and he loves to make breakfast and drive them to school in the mornings.

"If I need to work on something I know that he will always be ready to take over.”

That wasn’t needed as she prepared for her role in the Disney remake of Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent.

In fact she honed her role as the evil Queen by practising scary voices at bathtime.

“When I told the kids I was playing her they went, ‘She’s sooo scary!’ I couldn’t figure out her voice at first,” she says.

“Then I was giving my kids a bath, making up stories about Maleficent and they weren’t really paying attention until I started to mess around with this one voice that gets very, very dark.

“Then I would go outside and scream at the bushes to expand my voice. So, mom was a bit nutso for a period.”

Her make-up and costume are so scary they even terrified her own children.

Queen: Vivienne Pitt makes her big screen debut alongside her mother

“It’s the yellow eyes that are the most frightening – and the horns,” she says.

“When Pax saw me for the first time, he ran away and go

Angelina Jolie urges action against use of sexual violence as war weapon

Angelina Jolie has paid tribute to the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre after urging the international community to stop the use of sexual violence as a war weapon.

Jolie was accompanied by the British foreign secretary, William Hague, while on a trip to Bosnia.

At the Srebrenica memorial centre museum, Jolie and Hague met women who were raped during Bosnia's 1992-95 war, as well as women whose beloved ones were killed in the massacre.

Dressed in black, with a black headscarf to respect customs of Muslim women when they go at a cemetery, Jolie laid a wreath in front of a stone monument for the victims. She then walked alongside a wall on which the names of more than 8,000 people who were killed are written.

After capturing Srebrenica on 11 July 1995, Serb forces executed more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys. More than 6,000 massacre victims, whose remains were found in mass graves, were laid to rest at a memorial cemetery in the town.

Earlier on Friday, Jolie and Hague took part at a conference in the Bosnian capital on sexual violence in war, organised by the Balkan country's defence Jolie, whose 2011 directorial debut In the Land of Blood and Honey dealt with violence against women during Bosnia's war, urged peace missions around the world to make combatting sex crimes a priority.

"The use of rape as a weapon of war is one of the most harrowing and savage of these crimes against civilians," Jolie told the conference. "This is rape so brutal, with such extreme violence, that it is even hard to talk about it," said the 38-year-old, who is a goodwill ambassador for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

Jolie and Hague are due to co-host a high-profile summit on the same topic in London in June, which is expected to be the largest ever gathering of its kind, according to the British foreign minister.

Hague said that today "sexual violence is used deliberately as a weapon of war" in the conflicts in Syria, Central African Republic and South Sudan. He said: "I hope we can all work together to prevent the horrors seen in this region from being repeated in future conflicts anywhere in the world."

About 20,000 women, mostly Muslim, were raped during Bosnia's inter-ethnic war in the 1990s, according to local estimates. So far only 33 people have been convicted for the crimes by local courts and 30 by a UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

Ryan Gosling Eva Mendes Break-Up: Actress Steps Out In Beau’s Shirt Amid Rachel McAdams Rumors?

that the former couple was rekindling their romance. (Photo : YouTube/ Screen Capture)
Eva Mendes appears to be further refuting rumors that she and Ryan Gosling have broken up by stepping out in an oversized shirt that may belong to her beau of two-and-a-half years.

Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams Rekindling Their Flame?
The actress was spotted in West Hollywood Monday sporting yet another effortless style, having her mid-length hair tousled. She also beautifully paired together some high-waisted jeans, Chanel slider platforms, BVLGARI Metal cat-eye sunglasses and an oversized blue and white striped button-down top which she tied into a loose knot at the waist. See photos here.

It was the second time in less than a week that Mendes was spotted out and about in Hollywood alone, but she still put rumors that she and Gosling had broken up to rest, as she was also spotted on Saturday walking Gosling's beloved dog, George.

Ryan Gosling Calls Eva Mendes His Muse?

The sightings all come after Mendes made her first public statement about Gosling at a New York and Company pop-up shop event on March 19, where she told E! News' Catt Sadler that Gosling was "The best."

Mendes and Gosling have been making several headlines recently, as reports continue to surface that the couple has alternately broken up and hit several rough patches, including ones which claim that Gosling has recently gotten back in touch with ex-girlfriend and The Notebook co-star, Rachel McAdams.

Sources told OK! Magazine earlier in March that McAdams was trying to win Gosling back, and Gosling had been somewhat receptive to the idea.

"Rachel has been very low-key about it all," the source said at the time. "She's played it very smart and used the whole 'just friends' angle to get close to Ryan again, but she 100 percent wants him back. He's not the cheating type, but he hasn't been honest with Eva about how much contact he has with Rachel."

Adding to the reported rumors, MTV has bee promoting their upcoming Movie Awards by persistently showing Gosling and McAdams' famous kiss as they accepted their 2005 Golden Popcorns for Best Kiss in The Notebook.

"Yes, there are a ton of memorable moments...However, there is only one memory that will forever tug on our heartstrings, and that is the moment in 2005 when Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams won Best Kiss and sealed their win with, well, just about one of the sexiest kisses of all time...seriously, why can't they just get back together?" the network wrote on its website March 20 alongside a posted video of the pair's famous makeout session.

New Eva Mendes Collection Follows Ryan Gosling Breakup and Dating Rachel McAdams

Eva Mendes recently revealed her new spring collection, following months of rumors that she may breakup with uber-hot boyfriend Ryan Gosling. Some tabloids went so far as to claim that Gosling has resumed dating ex Rachel McAdams.
Well, it's official. Eva's new spring collection launched in Los Angeles last week. For those of you that missed it, Broadway World offered up the following description of the event:
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"Select bloggers and editors were invited to the Beverly Center pop-up store launch party on March 18th, where they had the opportunity to snap photos with Eva for the in-store Instagram wall, which acted as a live-feed, displaying all photos posted with the hashtag #EvaMendesNYC. Guests also shopped the EvaMendes spring collection while they enjoyed music provided by DJ Harley Viera Newton."
Greg Scott, CEO of NY&C, recently told the press about his partnership with Eva. Scott seemed just as excited as Mendes about the launch, when he told reporters:
"We are thrilled to announce the opening of our new pop-up shop in the Beverly Center, and even more excited to give our customers the opportunity to meet Eva. Eva has really connected with the NY&C woman, which is why we know this event will be so special."
Of course, the real news surround Eva centers around her relationship with heartthrob BF Ryan Gosling. Since last year, rumors have swirled that the couple is thinking of calling it quits. One source recently told OK! that the couple has been having trouble for quite some time:
"For the past 18 months, they've been talking about taking the next step, to the point that on every vacation, Eva's been convinced he would be popping the question. The trip to Iceland in September was the last straw. She pretty much gave him an ultimatum, but he balked and she stormed out and flew back to the States without him."

Mahendra Singh Dhoni offers to quit as Chennai Super Kings captain: reports

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has reportedly offered to quit as skipper of the Chennai Super Kings in the wake of the Indian Premier League betting and match-fixing scandal. (Won't answer any questions now, ask me after ICC World Twenty20: Dhoni)

According to media reports, the Indian captain is angry that his name has been linked with the scandal and reportedly spoke to N. Srinivasan, now suspended by the Supreme Court as the BCCI chief, and offered to step down as skipper and a vice-president of India Cements.

Dhoni has been charged with conflict of interest in the past. The Indian skipper is employed by Indian Cements, the company which owns CSK. Srinivasan is the Managing Director of this company.

However on Saturday, Srinivasan told NDTV that there has been no talk of resignation and his conversations with Dhoni have been "routine post-match talk".

Dhoni has skippered CSK in the last six editions of IPL, leading the team to the title twice. He has also led the team in Champions Trophy. (Also read: Sunil Gavaskar takes over as BCCI chief for the duration of IPL)

Dhoni's name came up during a hearing of the IPL scam case in the Supreme Court on Thursday. Counsel for the petitioner (Aditya Verma of Cricket Association of Bihar), Harish Salve, had alleged that Dhoni is "guilty of corrupt conduct". He accused the India skipper of making a false statement before an inquiry committee appointed by the Supreme Court and of describing Gurunath Meiyappan - CSK official accused of spot-fixing and betting - as a "cricket enthusiast." (Complete IPL spot-fixing timeline)

On Friday, the BCCI senior counsel defended Dhoni saying he did not lie when he deposed in front of the IPL probe panel. "It was criminal to say MS Dhoni lied to the probe panel," said A. Sundaram.

AAP volunteers hunting for a house for Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi

As AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal is going to spend more time in the temple town of Varanasi from where he is contesting against formidable rival BJP's Narendra Modi, a hunt has begun for a big house by the party volunteers.

"We are looking for a house for Arvindji as he will shift to Varanasi next month," said party spokesperson Ramanand Rai.

Kejriwal has not been able to zero down on any particular house and has asked the local party leaders to look for one.

Considering that the house has to be big enough to accommodate Kejriwal's meetings with supporters, party volunteers are looking for a house which has enough space to serve the purpose.

Earlier this week, when Kejriwal was in Varanasi for the rally, where he announced his candidature against Modi, the AAP leader camped at a party worker's residence in Tagore town.

According to local AAP leaders, after the election in Delhi gets over on April 10, Kejriwal and all the party's top brass, including Sanjay Singh, Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai, will come to Varanasi ahead of voting on May 12.

Meanwhile, interestingly, Kejriwal has been asked by Delhi government to pay a rent of Rs 85,000 for the house where he was staying even after resigning from the chief ministership more than a month back.

Why Rahul Gandhi decided to go ahead with Saharanpur rally

The early morning arrest of Imran Masood, Congress' Saharanpur candidate who was caught on camera making a hate speech against Narendra Modi, begged one question: will Rahul Gandhi go ahead with his rally in Mr Masood's constituency?

At 7 am, not too many Congress leaders were willing to answer that on record. A senior leader from Uttar Pradesh told NDTV, "We are yet to get to an official confirmation but we have indications that Rahulji will skip the rally." The argument was: who will the Congress vice president campaign for since the candidate is behind bars?

By 9:45 am, when all TV channels categorically said Rahul Gandhi had cancelled the rally, another senior UP leader confirmed that "the message has been conveyed to their district unit that the Congress vice president has decided to skip the rally."

Some senior leaders even tried to offer an explanation as to why Mr Gandhi's rally was being cancelled. "You see we have not cancelled the rally but Imran who was supposed to take care of the arrangements has been arrested," said Digvijaya Singh.

For nearly four hours, neither the Congress nor Mr Gandhi's office sought to clarify the reports or issue a denial. By 2 pm, two hours before Mr Gandhi was scheduled to speak at Saharanpur, once again reports surfaced that his office had not officially cancelled the rally. Senior leaders confirmed to NDTV that the security arrangements made by the SPG was very much in place for the rally.

So what's the strategy behind the flip-flop? Though one view in the Congress was that Mr Masood's statements are deeply polarising, another view was that Congress should not "let down" its nominee just ahead of the elections.

And in a constituency where politics is deeply divided and Muslims constitute 42 per cent of the votes, Mr Masood may actually stand a chance of winning.

So, Mr Gandhi chose to address this issue at his Ghaziabad public meeting by saying he "disapproved of" Mr Masood's remarks but decided to send a political signal by going ahead with his Saharanpur rally.

Narendra Modi hits back at Rahul Gandhi, says he is proud of his ideology

BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi today hit back at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi over his "exclusionary ideology" remarks, saying he was "proud" of the ideology which was "based on altar of sacrifice and service".

Mr Gandhi had, at the release of the Congress manifesto on Wednesday, attacked Mr Modi saying, "It is not about an individual, but he (Modi) represents an ideology and that ideology is exclusionary ideology." The Congress Vice President had also said that it was this "ideology that made people fight against each other", adding that every Congressman would fight to defeat it.

"I am proud of the fact that I was born from an ideology...Yes, we have an ideology...Our ideology is society is above family...Mother India is everything for us. Our ideology is that we will live and die for the country," Mr Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate said, said at a public meeting in Baghpat in western Uttar Pradesh.

"And that is why, you (Congress) cannot fight this ideology. Your entire family has never been able to fight with this ideology. This ideology is based on the altar of sacrifice and service," he said.

Taking a dig at Union Minister and Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh, Mr Modi said the son of Chaudhary Charan Singh, who fought for the benefit of farmers, had "discarded" his father's path for power.

"We respect Chaudhary Charan Singh who fought against Congress policies so that farmers could benefit. It's the dream of a child to fulfill his parent's dream. But his son has left his father's path. If a son discards the path of his father, the society, too, does not accept him," Mr Modi said.

Uttar Pradesh will only benefit when people get rid of dynastic politics, he said, adding that there is a need for one slogan, "Sabka chutti...Sa mane Sapa (SP), Ba mane Baspa (BSP) and Ka mane Kangress (Congress)."

We don't believe in politics of anger: Rahul Gandhi at Saharanpur rally

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today addressed a rally at Saharanpur, clarifying on the comments made by his party's candidate from Saharanpur, Imran Masood, against BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

"A few months ago, our candidate used harsh words for the opposition candidate. That's not our tradition. No matter what the Opposition says about us, we always respond respectfully, said Mr Gandhi.

"We want to engage in politics of love. We'll defeat anger with love," he added.

Mr Masood, who was filmed declaring that he will kill Mr Modi, was arrested from his residence at around 4 am today.

A criminal case was registered against him yesterday after a video of him threatening to "chop Modi to pieces" went viral on the Web. Apologising for his comments yesterday, he told NDTV, "I meant that I would teach him a lesson."

Condemning Mr Masood's remarks, senior party leader Digvijaya Singh had said yesterday that the comments should not go unpunished.

An FIR or First Information Report accused Mr Masood, 40, of violating the election code of conduct, but it was not clear when and where the comments were made.

The police say they received the video CD on Thursday. Mr Masood claims he spoke those words eight months ago, when he was with the Samajwadi Party.

In the CD, Mr Masood says, "I am a man of the street, ready to give my life for my people. I am neither afraid of death or of killing. He thinks this is Gujarat. There are only 4% Muslims in Gujarat. There are 42% Muslims here."

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said the comments reflect a mindset that believes "abusing Modi is an expression of aggressive secularism." He also referred to Sonia Gandhi's "Maut Ka Saudagar (merchant of death)" barb in 2007 against Mr Modi.

Narendra Modi, 64, is contesting his first parliamentary election from Varanasi, 800 km away in India's largest and most politically vital state. In his speech, Mr Masood warns the BJP leader against "turning Uttar Pradesh into Gujarat."

The cloud and mobile are two facets of one thing: Microsoft CEO Nadella

Microsoft's India-born CEO Satya Nadella, while signalling a new course for the firm, said mobile and cloud are "two facets" of the same thing, a belief that found place in his maiden speech as chief executive of the software giant.

Nadella, who was appointed Microsoft's third CEO last month, after Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, referred to the Redmond-headquartered firm "embracing the new mobile-first, cloud-first world" in his first speech.

"I don't think of the cloud and mobile as two things. They are two facets of one thing. The cloud was created to enable mobility. And mobile devices are really uninteresting without the cloud. That's why I talk about them together. Mobile without cloud is limiting. The cloud without mobile is mostly latent potential," Nadella said in a blog post on Thursday after he was quizzed about his focus on cloud and mobile.

(Also see: Microsoft releases Word, Excel, PowerPoint apps for iPad)

Cloud generally refers to the use of a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet. This allows users to store and access data such as photographs, documents and music using devices including mobile phones, tablets and computers.

Nadella said: "Simply put, our vision is to deliver the best cloud-connected experience on every device."

Microsoft on Thursday unveiled its Office suite for Apple's iPad, hinting at the firm's growing stress on mobile apps.

Microsoft said Office 365 subscribers can add iPad as one of the chosen devices in their subscription benefits and can create and edit documents with Word, PowerPoint and Excel. The apps are available as free downloads from Apple's iTunes App Store.

Nadella said the world is "exploding" with device types, shapes, sizes and form factors and will continue to do so. Devices extend abilities in ways that are uniquely suited to task, context and occasion.

(Also see: Microsoft makes editing documents free on Office for iPhone, Android)

"As long as human curiosity and ambition drive us to create new things, capture moments and collaborate to get things done, we should expect the world of devices to follow suit. In fact, that's what drives our ongoing evolution of Windows," the Hyderabad-born techie said.

The cloud is how a phone, a tablet, a computer and a TV - all get on the same page and enable movement between them without extra effort, he added.

"The cloud is how a device becomes your device. And the cloud is how your device becomes part of your life, by connecting to all the people, information and experiences that matter to you. And for us, the cloud is also how a tablet becomes a useful and powerful tool," Nadella said.

Five things Mark Zuckerberg should buy

Shopaholic alert. If chief Facebooker Mark Zuckerberg wants to spend his millions buying up WhatsApp, Oculus and anything else available in the supermarket aisle marked 'technology,' who are we to say nay? In fact, we can think of a few things he might consider putting on his shopping list.

- Buckingham Palace: The Queen's household budget is down to her last million and she can't afford to keep the crumbling royal residence shipshape any longer, so a Zuck takeover might be given a warm welcome complete with tea and scones.

-The rights to The Social Network: That film. Hmph. Buy it up and junk it. Take that, Eduardo Saverin. Failing that, buy up a film company and make the Mark Zuckerberg version of The Social Network. Strictly not included in the cast - Jesse Eisenberg.

- A new wardrobe: We get it, Steve Jobs had his black polo-neck and Mark Zuckerberg has his grey t-shirt. We have to say though, offence meant, that it wasn't half as boring seeing the late great Mr Jobs in his uniform as it is seeing Zuck in his. Buy some shirts, Mark, maybe even some suits. He has been known to put a suit on a few times - to marry fiancee Priscilla Chan (who takes up all of the closet space leaving Zuck just one drawer, we're told).

-The right to create a new country: Facebook's active users number a little over a billion - that's the population of India. The natural (of sorts) progression of events would be the creation of a virtual country, presided over by His Excellency Mark Zuckerberg and called The Great Wall of Facebook (yes we know the original of that is not a country but it's big enough to be one).

-Tickets to space: If the Winklevoss twins can, Zuck can. The Facebook boss' arch-nemeses have bought tickets on Virgin Galactic using Bitcoins

Controversial Acts of Surekha Vani

'Meeru Achcham Maa Vaari Laage Unnaru...Maa Aayana Guddinatle Gudduthunnaru...' Not once, these kinds of double meaning dialogues are found plenty in 'Denikaina Ready' which has went for review yesterday. The majority of objections raised by the Committee were rounded on the scenes of surekha vani who acted as a Middle Class Brahmin Wife of aged husband AVS.

Though the Aunty's character was limited only for few scenes, each of those episodes were found to be vulgar projecting Brahmin women in in-admissible manner. Of course, these will be the first scenes to be chopped off from DR after the report submission. A section believes that, deletion of any number of scenes at this moment will not help Brahmins because movie has ran into third week and Manchu family has got maximum share of their profits. The rest of process to be initiated by Committee will be just for formality sake. Unluckily, everyone was talking about Haleem but not about Surekhavani's controversial acts in 'DR.'

Shakira - Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) (The Official 2010 FIFA World...

Shakira becomes Facebook's 'most popular' with 86.3m likes

The 'Hips Don't Lie' hitmaker is closely followed by Rihanna, who has 86.2m "likes", while Eminem secured the third position with 83.9 "likes", Metro.co.uk reported.Shakira also took to her page on the social networking site and said that she always wanted to have a lot of friends, but never imagined that it would be so many.The top 10 'most popular persons' on Facebook are:1. 1 Shakira - 86,420,722 likes2. 2 Rihanna - 86,271,591 likes3. 3 Eminem - 83, 935, 160 likes4. 4 Cristiano Ronaldo - 76,148,074 likes5. 5 Michael Jackson - 71,605,480 likes6. 6 Vin Diesel - 70,112,311 likes7. 7 Katy Perry - 65,694,061 likes8. 8 Will Smith - 64,732,390 likes9. 9 Justin Bieber - 64,167,464 likes10. 10 Lady Gaga - 63,776,647 likes

Angelina Jolie, Stella McCartney create Maleficent-inspired children's clothing

star Angelina Jolie collaborated with fashion designer Stella McCartney to create a children's clothing range inspired by the Disney movie.The collection, named after the movie, will include eight styles including sparkly princess dresses, bow-adorned sandals, dragon-print tees and cool sneakers for boys and girls aged 4 to 14, reports people.com. "I've always been a huge fan of Disney growing up, as was my mother, and I grew up watching all the films like most kids did," McCartney told WWD. "When the opportunity presented itself and I was invited by Angelina Jolie to visit the film set, I jumped at the chance." Starting April end, the capsule collection, which will range from $75 to $145, will be available at Stella McCartney Kids stores worldwide, as well as Disney stores and online.

Chiranjeevi 'surprised' by brother Pawan Kalyan's meeting with Narendra Modi

Hyderabad : Union minister and Congress leader K. Chiranjeevi has found fault with his brother Pawan Kalyan for meeting BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.Chiranjeevi told reporters in Visakhapatnam on Saturday that Pawan should not have met Modi as he is facing allegations of involvement in post-Godhra massacre."I believe my brother is secular but his meeting with a key leader of communal BJP surprised me," said Chiranjeevi, a former superstar."I doubt whether my brother has knowledge of the allegations Modi is facing over his role in the post-Godhra massacre," said the actor-turned-politician.He pointed out that while BJP president Rajnath Singh and other leaders called Muslims and gave a clarification, Modi has neither given an explanation nor apologised."If my brother had met Modi after seeking an explanation from him, maybe I would have accepted it," said Chiranjeevi, who is heading the Congress campaign committee in residuary Andhra Pradesh.Pawan, a popular Telugu actor, who floated Jana Sena last week, met Modi in Ahmedabad on Friday and declared his support to his candidature for the post of prime minister.The youngest brother of Chiranjeevi described Modi as the right man for the top post and claimed that he declared his support on behalf of Telugu-speaking people of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.While launching his political party, Pawan had given a call for 'Congress hatao, desh bachao' (Remove Congress, save the nation).Chiranjeevi has already stated that he would treat his brother like any other political rival.

South superstar Nagarjuna meets Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Southern star Nagarjuna met Narendra Modi in Gandhinagar today amid speculation that he might join the BJP.After the meeting, Nagarjuna, 54, said that he was "inspired by Modiji and he will be the next PM." The actor also said that he wanted to meet the leader who will lead the country in 2014. He, however, remained non-committal on whether he was joining the BJP.He is the second film star from the south to meet the BJP's prime ministerial candidate after Pawan Kalyan, the brother of actor and union minister K Chiranjeevi.The meetings signal the BJP's intent to win as many friends and allies as possible ahead of the national election which is just about two weeks away.Both Nagarjuna and Pawan Kalyan are from Andhra Pradesh.Sources say Nagarjuna, 54, wants the BJP to field his wife Amala, a former actor, as a candidate. The Telugu actor had reportedly met BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu earlier.His compatriot Pawan Kalyan, a popular Telugu actor who floated the Jana Sena earlier this month, met Mr Modi in Ahmedabad on Friday and said he supported him for the prime minister's post.The youngest brother of Chiranjeevi had described Mr Modi as the right man for the top job and declared his support "on behalf of Telugu-speaking people of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Woman software engineer killed in Andhra Pradesh, allegedly by parents

Hyderabad: The parents of a woman software engineer have been arrested in Andhra Pradesh after she was found killed, two days after she married a man from another community.The 26-year-old woman was found strangled at her parents' home in Guntur, 266 kms from the capital of Hyderabad, on Sunday.P Deepthi, had fallen in love with a colleague at the IT firm where she had been working since 2001."Her parents took them to their native place in Guntur, telling the newly-wed couple that they had accepted the marriage and the couple only needed to perform some rituals at Guntur," said an unnamed police officer quoted by the Press Trust of India.At Guntur, the parents allegedly took Deepthi away while her new husband and his friends were asked to stay at a small guest house."Kiran Kumar tried to call his wife on her cellphone this morning, and as there was no response, he alerted police who broke open the door of the house to find the woman lying dead on the bed," said the police officer who spoke to the Press Trust of India.

Arvind Kejriwal will ask Varanasi today if he should take on Narendra Modi

Varanasi: Arvind Kejriwal, chief of the Aam Aadmi Party, arrived by train in Varanasi this morning and will, at a rally, ask the people whether he should take on Narendra Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate there.On his way to the temple town in Uttar Pradesh, Mr Kejriwal told NDTV, "It's not just about challenging (Narendra) Modi. There are two main political parties that lead the NDA and UPA. One is ruled by Modi and the other by Rahul (Gandhi). People in this country don't vote for a person, they become angry and vote against a person. Sometimes they make the NDA lose, sometimes they make the UPA lose. I am saying this time let us defeat both parties." (Watch video)The BJP's decision to have Mr Modi run for the Lok Sabha from Varanasi is designed to enthuse voters in India's largest state to support the party. Mr Modi, who has never contested a national election, will also be contesting from a second seat - Vadodara in his home state Gujarat.Soon after the BJP announced Mr Modi's candidacy from Varanasi, Mr Kejriwal 45, had said at a rally, "I am going to Varanasi. We will ask people there whether I should contest against Modi. If they say yes, then I am ready to contest."Like Mr Modi, Mr Kejriwal has never contested a national election. But while Mr Modi is a veteran of many state elections, Mr Kejriwal contested his first in December last year, earning the sobriquet of giant-killer by defeating Delhi's chief minister Sheila Dikshit by a massive margin.Earlier this month, Mr Kejriwal had conducted a controversial tour of Gujarat; he said he wanted to audit the development that the BJP routinely invokes to illustrate Mr Modi's competence in his four terms as chief minister. Unsurprisingly, Mr Kejriwal said the claims didn't check out and that the super-state that Mr Modi claims to have created exists only for the wealthy and industrialists. The Congress has not named its Varanasi candidate yet but has promised to give Mr Modi a tough fight.  

Jet fell into ocean with all lost, Premier says

Pearce Air Force Base, Australia: A British satellite company has solved one crucial aspect of the mystery surrounding the Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared on March 8, using a complex mathematical process to determine that it ended its journey in the middle of the southern Indian Ocean.Guided by a principle of physics called the Doppler effect, the company, Inmarsat, analyzed tiny shifts in the frequency of the plane's signals to infer the plane's flight path and likely final location. The method had never before been used to investigate an air disaster, officials said.The first definitive news of the fate of the Boeing 777 jet brought heartbreak to the families of those on board as Malaysia's prime minister, Najib Razak, announced on Monday that no one is believed to have survived the flight."This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites," a somber Razak said. "It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, Flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean."Najib appeared eager to bring some finality to the families of the passengers, who had complained for more than two weeks about the incomplete and sometimes contradictory information they were getting. Two-thirds of the plane's passengers were Chinese citizens, and the flight was bound for Beijing when it took off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, after midnight on March 8.But many furious Chinese relatives and friends of passengers refused to believe it, wailing with anguish and screaming that the Malaysians were lying and hiding what they knew."The Malaysian government is not telling the truth," said one woman among the relatives of passengers who gathered at the Lido Hotel in Beijing to wait for news of the flight. "All governments are corrupt. The Malaysian government is hiding something."The announcement did little to solve the deeper mystery of the plane's disappearance, shedding no light on why someone with detailed knowledge of the plane's navigation and flight systems diverted it radically from its course. Investigators said they have looked into the background of the 239 people on board, including the two pilots and the crew, and have so far found no answers to that central question.However long expected, the news that the jet was lost came as a body blow, dashing the hopes that many had clung to with increasing desperation that somehow the plane had been hijacked and taken to some obscure spot where the passengers could still be alive.A few people in the hotel ballroom in Beijing collapsed and were put on wheeled stretchers and taken to the parking lot, which was full of police cars and ambulances. Inside the hotel, police officers in navy-blue uniforms stood guard every few feet and blocked scores of jostling journalists from entering the ballroom. Several women emerged sobbing so hard that knots of friends and family had to help them walk to the elevators."We demand the truth," said a young woman in a red ski jacket. "The Chinese government should step up and find out the truth for us. Nobody cares about us. Nobody cares about the lives of our family."Li Chengpeng, a popular Chinese social critic, gave voice to the deep skepticism held by many Chinese of the official announcement. He posted a message for the 7 million followers of his microblog, calling Najib's news conference staged theater. "Just now, they were not actually publicizing the truth but were merely giving a show of publicizing the truth," he wrote. "It looks like there are traces of rehearsal. Politicians are shameless! The Malaysian prime minister based his announcement on a new analysis of satellite signal data that ruled out any chance that the plane had flown north, toward land, from its last known position on March 8. It had to have flown south, the analysis found, and by the time of the last recorded signal, it would have been nearly out of fuel over a rough, deep ocean, more than a thousand miles from anywhere it could have landed safely.The search focused more tightly on that area on Monday after an Australian military search plane spotted several floating objects that could be debris from the plane, and ships raced to investigate. On Tuesday, officials said, search flights were called off because of bad weather.One of the assumptions in the analysis was that for the final few hours of the plane's flight at least, it was cruising at a fairly constant speed and direction, suggesting that it was being flown by the autopilot system. Experts said it was certainly possible for that to happen.A former Boeing instructor pilot, who spoke on the condition that he not be identified, said, "'Heading select mode' is dumb," referring to one way the plane's autopilot could be set. "It doesn't know anything except, 'maintain this heading.'"The instructor, who has trained Boeing pilots at airlines around the world, said that in that mode, the plane would probably fly on steadily until one engine's fuel supply was exhausted, but that after that, the plane would probably soon become destabilized and crash without a skilled human pilot at the controls.The plane took off with ample fuel to fly to Beijing, more than 2,500 miles from Kuala Lumpur, with a margin of safety. Based on that, Malaysian officials have estimated that it could have stayed in the air until about a half-hour after the last satellite signal was recorded.The floating objects were spotted Monday about 1,500 miles southwest of Perth, Australia, by the crew of a P-3 Orion surveillance plane from the Royal Australian Air Force. An Australian naval survey ship, the Success, was directed to try to find and recover the objects, the Australian authorities said. A Chinese military aircraft also reported a possible sighting of floating objects in the search area, but that sighting was at a different location and was much more tentative.The search for the aircraft's fuselage, and other bulky parts of the jet that probably sank to the bottom of the ocean, is likely to be focused within a limited distance from the suspected flight path. But the search for floating debris is likely to be widespread.Erik van Sebille, an oceanographer at the University of New South Wales who studies and has conducted experiments on the flow of water around Australia, said the conditions of the southern Indian Ocean are "extremely hostile," with large waves, swirling currents and winds that are among the strongest on the planet. Currents in the southern Indian Ocean could scatter floating debris, he said."The whole ocean down there is like a pinball machine," van Sebille said. "It is difficult to track or predict where water goes, or do what is really important now, which is to backtrack where water came from."Finding the plane's flight recorders, or black boxes, will be crucial to determining what may have caused the plane's disappearance. The devices are designed to transmit signals to help searchers locate them, but searchers have only about two weeks left to find them before the devices' batteries run out.The U.S. Pacific Command said Monday that it would move a Towed Pinger Locator System, capable of locating a black box to a depth of 20,000 feet, into the region. "This movement is simply a prudent effort to pre-position equipment and trained personnel closer to the search area, so that if debris is found, we will be able to respond as quickly as possible, since the battery life of the black box's pinger is limited," Cmdr. Chris Budde, a 7th Fleet operations officer, said in an email statement.

In Barmer, it's BJP vs veteran Jaswant Singh. He will run as independent

Jaswant Singh, take note. When the BJP candidate files his nomination tomorrow in Barmer, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje will accompany him, said sources.Mr Singh, 76, lobbied unsuccessfully with his party for the Barmer constituency. The Rajasthan chief minister allegedly played a key role in ensuring it was allocated instead to Colonel Sona Ram Choudhary, who joined the BJP just days ago after quitting the Congress. (Op-ed: Jaswant Singh, BJP's odd one out)Mr Singh has filed his nomination as an independent candidate from Barmer. His rebellion is likely to impact his son, Manavendra Singh, who represents the BJP in the state legislature. On Saturday, Mr Singh broke down as he discussed his party's failure to back him. (BJP will suffer because of internal differences, says Jaswant Singh)Speaking to NDTV yesterday, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley made it clear that the party's decision is final. "I hope Jaswant Singh sees reason, and retracts his decision to contest. If the party tells you to work for the party, must learn to accept that. Lakhs of people work for the party without aspiring for a position," he said.  (Leaders should learn to accept 'no': Jaitley)Mr Singh represented Darjeeling in Parliament. He wanted to contest from Barmer because he was born in a village here. (Colouring the electoral landscape: defectors and dissenters)Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje argued that as a Jat,  Colonel Sona Ram Choudhary could be a big draw in Barmer, where Jats are the dominant community. Mr Singh is a Rajput.  Ms Raje also reportedly hopes that fielding the Colonel will help the BJP get Jat support in adjoining constituencies. The Chief Minister's stock in the party is high ever since she handed the BJP a clean sweep of Rajasthan in state elections four months ago.