Bollywood actor Shetty to take mythological role

Indian actress Shilpa Shetty will play a character from Indian mythology in her next film, her publicist said on Wednesday.

Shetty will star in "Hanuman," a film based on the ancient Sanskrit epic "Ramayana," and will play the part of Sita, who is kidnapped by a vicious demon king triggering a gory battle, said Dale Bhagwagar, her publicist.

Shetty recently hit international headlines for enduring racist abuse on the celebrity version of the Big Brother television show in Britain.

The American actor Keanu Reeves may have been asked to appear in the film, which is being produced by Uru Patel, Bhagwagar said.

Fans miss Sanju’s homecoming

After more than three days of wait and watch, Sanjay Dutt's moment of freedom was almost anti-climatic.

The actor, who was released from Yerwada jail in Pune on Thursday morning after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail on Monday, arrived much earlier than expected, taking fans, media and even the police by surprise.

When the 45-year-old actor arrived at his suburban Bandra residence at 8.30 am, the usual horde of fans was missing, as most of them had expected his arrival only by mid-morning.

Even the police were caught unawares.

"We had called in 25 extra police personnel from nearby Bandra police station, anticipating trouble from the crowd when he arrived. But there was no need because he arrived well before they did," one of the policemen stationed outside Dutt's residence said.

Fans missed the emotional welcome that the actor got from his family. As soon as he got out of the car, Sanjay kissed nephew Siddharth (Priya Dutt's son), and hugged both his sisters, Priya and Namrata.

Brothers-in-law Owen Roncon and Kumar Gaurav were also witness to the emotional homecoming.

Sanjay was in jail since July 31, the day when the special TADA court sentenced him to six years rigorous imprisonment for illegal possession of arms in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

Dutt's sprawling residence in the Imperial Heights building in the posh Bandra neighbourhood of Pali Hill has been jammed with supporters from the film fraternity ever since he got bail on Monday.

Outside the gates, fans too kept a constant vigil, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favourite 'Munnabhai', but when the moment did arrive, there were hardly any fans to witness it.

Only one person, Azam Shaikh, who came all the way from Ujjain, was present when the actor arrived.

"I am from Ujjain and I have been camping here for the past three days. I am from the Sankatmochan temple there. Dutt had come there to pray in the past. I am hoping to meet him," Shaikh said.

Many of Dutt's friends from the film industry, including Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who produced the hit Munnabhai movies, were seen arriving at his residence. Yusuf Nulwala, who accompanied the star from Pune to his residence, however left after a while.

A steady stream of visitors is expected to keep up at the Dutt residence, and even though the family will be aware that this is merely temporary relief for Sanjay, they will be keen to spend every minute with him.

For sisters Priya and Namrata, the fact that their brother will be with them for the festival of Rakhsha Bandhan which celebrates the brother-sister relationship, would surely be a cause of joy.

Double Shah Rukh again in November!

After a hiatus of ten months, August saw Shah Rukh Khan's first release of 2007, CHAKDE! INDIA. It is now clear that the Shimit Amin directed Yash Raj project has been endorsed, both commercially and critically. Just two weeks after CHAKDE! INDIA (to be precise, this Friday), King Khan will again be seen in Sajid Khan's, HEYY BABYY, although in a cameo.

However, fans of Shah Rukh Khan are again set for a double treat in November. They can catch the superstar in Farah Khan's OM SHANTI OM. He will follow it up with a special appearance in Vivek Vaswani's Fardeen Khan-Sushmita Sen starrer, DULHA MIL GAYA. Confused? Well, DULHA MIL GAYA, which was listed for an 'Eid' week release (October 12), has now been postponed to November.

Shipa Shetty all set to play Sita

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty will play a character from Indian mythology in her next film, her publicist said on Wednesday.

Shetty will star in Hanuman, a film based on the ancient epic Ramayana, and will play the part of Sita, who is kidnapped by demon King Ravana triggering a gory battle, said Dale Bhagwagar, her publicist.

Shetty recently hit international headlines for enduring racist abuse on the celebrity version of the Big Brother television show in Britain.

The American actor Keanu Reeves may have been asked to appear in the film, which is being directed by Uru Patel, Bhagwagar said.

500 students welcome to Japan every year: Abe

Japan will welcome 500 Indian students every year to pursue higher studies with a special emphasis on learning and teaching Japanese language.

"I have decided that over the next five years, we will welcome to Japan 500 Indian youth per year, out of which about 100 will be allocated for those studying Japanese or teaching Japanese," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in his address to the joint session of Parliament.

Describing the move as an "investment towards future generations", the visiting premier said it would "deepen the friendship" among the citizens of India and Japan at every possible level.

Top academics from India and Japan yesterday held deliberations and decided to further enhance ties in the field of education, with a thrust on student exchange programmes.

The academic dialogue, the first of its kind, saw participation of Vice Chancellors from 12 leading Japanese universities, accompanying Abe, and their Indian counterparts, including directors of IITs, IIMs and the Indian Institute of Science.

The meeting had agreed to strengthen the relationship between universities and institutions of higher learning, to identify common research interests and to work towards increasing the volume of faculty and student movement between the countries.

Sanjay Dutt in lead, not cameo in DHAMAAL - Ritiesh

"Sanjay Dutt is one of the five lead actors in DHAMAAL", clarifies Ritiesh Deshmukh while refuting gossips around Dutt merely playing a cameo in the film.

"I am surprised when someone says that Sanjay Dutt plays a cameo in the film," he laughs adding, "While MASTI was primarily about three guys Viveik Oberoi, Aftab Shivdasani and me with Ajay Devgan in a cameo, it is completely different in case of DHAMAAL."

"His role in the film is as important as that of Arshad Warsi, Javed Jaffri, Ashish Chaudhary or me", states Ritiesh, "In fact each of us is running after something and is looking at a common destination. How we all run, fall, get up and reach the destination is what forms the crux of this hilarious plot."

CHAKDE! INDIA steadies in the Overseas

While a lot of theories have been postulated about CHAKDE! INDIA having started on a slow note in the Overseas, there are already indications of a turnaround.

In the US, CHAKDE! INDIA, which grossed $351,887, during the first weekend, is rock steady with $246,984 in the second, for a total of $732,426 so far.

Coming to UK, the movie which had grossed $259,871, last weekend, has obtained $161,388 this weekend, and the total gross now stands at $593,805.

The Shah Rukh Khan-Vidya Malavde starrer had a good first weekend in the Australia with Aus $94,870 and has followed it up with an impressive Aus $75,988, for a total gross of Aus $210,133.

It will be interesting to monitor CHAKDE! INDIA's progress, as the overseas audience seems to have warmed up to the movie now.