Abhinav Bindra: India's Goldfinger

BEIJING: The final shot from Abhinav Bindra's rifle may not have been heard outside the packed hall in the Beijing Shooting Range Complex on Monday morning. But its bang was loud enough to lift the spirit of a billion-plus Indians back home. No individual gold has mattered so much to so many people in the history of Olympics. It was a medal for Abhinav; it was redemption for India. Never again will anyone be able to point a smug, sardonic finger and say: "No Indian is good enough to win an individual Olympic gold."

Hockey's eight gold medals notwithstanding, the last coming 28 years ago, this is the first time that an Indian has won an individual gold since modern Olympics started in 1896. There is no greater joy than listening to the sound of the national anthem on the world's biggest stage.

The global media looked bemused as grown-up Indians danced like little children, shedding tears of joy. How can they understand?

The joy was also spurred by the improbable nature of the triumph. The script of the men's 10m air rifle final might have been penned by Alfred Hitchcock himself. Bindra, who qualified for the final in the morning with the fourth-best score of 596, looked calm and assured when the call for the first shot came.

The first shot - 10.7. He started with a bang and that set the tone for the 10-shot final. He followed it up with a 10.3. After the third shot, a 10.4, he had moved from No. 3 to No. 2. Then, Bindra slowly ate into the lead of Finland's Henri Hakkinen and went ahead after the seventh shot with 10.6.

Hakkinen caught up with him after the ninth shot, and with one shot to go, the Indian and the Finn were tied at 689.7 points.

There was a hushed silence inside the hall. The suspense was unbearable. It's in such situations that champions show their mettle. And Bindra showed nerves of steel. He fired first, an amazing 10.8 for a total of 700.5. Home favourite and defending champion Zhu Qinan shot a 10.5 and Hakkinen simply withered under pressure, managing only 9.7. Bindra finally smiled, but barely.

He turned back and went up to hug his Swiss coach Gaby Buehlmann, with whom he trained for months in Germany, away from the intrusive home media. After the medals' ceremony, Bindra was mobbed by journalists, several of them from Finland and China.

"How does it feel Mr Bindra?" "Hard to describe it... it's the thrill of my life," he said, still looking calm as a monk. "The final shot was perfect. I just went for it. I was aggressive. It went my way. I'm lucky," he added in a matter-of-fact tone.

Will this not change his life? "My life will go on. I hope it changes the face of Olympic sports in the country," he said.

This is the fifth individual Olympic medal for India. Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav won the first, a bronze in wrestling at the Helsinki Games in 1952. After a long gap, Leander Paes won the tennis bronze in Atlanta Games in 1996. Then, Karnam Malleswari won a weightlifting bronze in 2000 in Sydney and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore raised the bar, winning a silver in Athens in 2004.

Rathore, who was practising for his event that is scheduled for Tuesday, watched it on TV in the players' lounge in the trap section. "My congratulations to Abhinav. He has raised the bar further. I always maintained that this is a world-class shooting team. There will be some hits and some misses."

jannat review

Jannat is the story of a man caught in a quagmire of crime and consumerism as he struggles to find heaven on earth. Arjun is a reckless young man with an obsession for making money at card games. A chance meeting with a girl in a mall, Zoya gives him the reasons he was looking for to move out of his ordinary life. He steps up from playing small-time card games to becoming a bookie. Stuck in a triangle of sorts between the woman he loves and his addiction to make a quick buck, Arjun moves on from being a bookie to a runner for the mafia. He steps into the world of match fixing. Arjun switches on the limelight to bigger, better, faster, more, until his dizzying rise attracts the attention of the police. Arjun has to now choose between the love of his life, Zoya, and this new found success and power. As Arjun struggles to choose between the two, the Don offers the forbidden apple of limitless wealth in exchange of his soul and draws him into his core entourage of money spinners. How far will the horizon of reality stretch as Arjun and Zoya tread a fine, fast-blurring line between right and wrong to find the heaven they have been looking for?

I don't want to be No.1 or No.2: Akshay Kumar (Interview)

Mumbai, Aug 23 (IANS) Akshay Kumar has given the maximum number of hits in the last one year and now the box office collections of his new release "Singh Is Kinng" has cemented his position as the number one star.

"But I don't want that. I'm not a superstar. I'm not saying this for effect. I'm only here to entertain people. I keep telling my wife I don't want to be either No.1 or No.2. I just want to be alive and kicking in the film industry," Akshay told IANS.

Akshay describes "Singh Is Kinng" as an entertainer.

"It is not a great film. It's an entertaining film. That's the kind of cinema I believe in," said Akshay who has dedicated the film to his father and secretary, both whom have died.

"It's my first home production and I've dedicated the film to my late secretary, Mr. Vikas Bali, and to my father. They'd be so proud of 'Singh Is Kinng'."

Do you think "Chandni Chowk To China" will be as big a hit as "Singh Is Kinng"?

"That's a scary thought. And I don't want to think about it."

Excerpts:

Q: Another hit, I guess. Katrina Kaif tells me she just follows you into projects?

A: Thank you very much, Katrina. But please don't trust me blindly. I still have a lot to learn about scripts and cinema. I make a lot of mistakes. I hope when I make a mistake in selecting a script, you (Katrina) are not in that film.

Q: Why a film on Sardarji?

A: When I was younger my dad and I would have endless discussions on movies. One of the things that bothered him was why Sardarjis were ridiculed in our films. My father's concern remained somewhere in my subconscious. That's how "Singh Is Kinng" was born. If I produce any more films, it would be about issues that I've grown up with and believe in. "Singh Is Kinng" is a tribute to my Punjabi community.

Q: Akshay, you're living life king size.

A: Ha ha, you can say that again. But like I keep saying these days the real king is Mr. (Amitabh) Bachchan, and no one else. Some people don't like my saying this. But it's the truth. Whatever I'm today is because of the love and support of my fans. Beyond that I don't want to be the king.

Q: Superstardom is a slippery status.

A: And I don't want it. I'm not a superstar. I'm not saying this for effect. I'm only here to entertain people. I keep telling my wife I don't want to be either No.1 or No.2. I just want to be alive and kicking in the film industry. By the grace of god, this industry has given me immense love and affection. I've got much more than I deserve.

Q: But you've worked hard for it.

A: Yes, it's not easy. When you reach a certain position, it isn't easy to hold on to that position. It's the crab mentality at work. When I'm told "Singh Is Kinng" has got the biggest opening ever, I can only thank my audience, my fans and my community. Also, the media has been very kind to my film and me.

"Singh Is Kinng" is not a great film. It's an entertaining film. That's the kind of cinema I believe in. I come from the grassroots and that's the majority section I want to pay off my debts to. I don't think ordinary people want to pay Rs.150 to watch a film that preaches and sermonises. There's so much stress in real life. I want my films to be stress-busters. "Singh Is Kinng" has a message, but not done in any loud way.

Q: All your recent films have been hits, except "Tashan", which we won't mention.

A: Oh you can mention it. I'm not the least ashamed of "Tashan". I loved my role of Bachchan Pandey. I want to thank Aditya Chopra for giving me that film. Why should I disown a film just because it hasn't done well? If I'm getting the credit for "Singh Is Kinng" then I also want to stand by "Tashan", which may not have done that well. But it got me a lot of appreciation.

Q: Do you feel a whole lot of pressure trying to sustain the box office success that has come your way?

Q: It is a large responsibility on my head and shoulders.

A: Until the day before the release of "Singh Is Kinng" I was so tense I had stopped talking to my wife. I become edgy before every release. But this time it was worse. So many factors are linked to "Singh Is Kinng". It's the first controversial film of my career. Most important of all, it's my first home production. I've dedicated the film to my late secretary, Mr. Vikas Bali, and to my father. They'd be so proud of "Singh Is Kinng".

Q: It was very gracious of you to dedicate your film to your secretary.

A: I did what I felt to be instinctively right. Mr. Bali was not just my secretary. He was a father figure after my father. His wife didn't know about the dedication. She called and got very emotional when she saw the film. Today, Mr Bali's brother looks after my work.

Q: You always told me you'd never get into production. What made you change your mind?

A: There's a time and place for everything. I've been in this film industry for 18 years. When I got the title "Singh Is Kinng", I wanted to make the film in partnership with my friend Vipul Shah. I identify very closely with the North-Indian family values.

There was a time when my parents, sister and I wouldn't miss a single Hindi film. That habit continues. I don't miss a single film even today.

Q: How do you find the time now?

A: I don't know how I do it. But I've to find the opportunity to watch every film. If I miss one, I make a note of in my diary and then catch up with the film later. I had missed "Cash" and "Race". I watched them recently.

Q: Will you be producing more films?

A: If I like a script as much as "Singh Is Kinng" why not? If I don't I won't. It's not as if I've tasted blood and want more.

Q: Now do you think "Chandni Chowk To China" will be as big a hit as "Singh Is Kinng"?

A: That's a scary thought. And I don't want to think about it. That's my autobiographical film. It's the story of my life. I always wanted to put my own journey from Delhi to Bangkok into a film.

Q: Are you taking credit for the story?

A: Not at all! I've no fascination for taking credit for anything apart from acting. Full credit for the story of "Chandni Chowk To China" goes to Sridhar Raghavan. I told him my own story of a waiter from Chandni Chowk, who goes abroad and learns martial arts. Sridhar added about 80 percent of his own ideas to my story.

SRK refuses to shoot for Farah, if BIG B is onboard

Farah Khan owes her success to superstar Shahrukh Khan and will cater to his demands and liking even if he demands a change in script or throwing out another actor.

Farah Khan recently faced some problems for his next flick, Happy New Year, as her main hero SRK refused to shoot the film with Amitabh Bachchan - the other hero of the film. The cold war between AB and SRK has been going on for quite awhile now. So Farah Khan who considers SRK as her best buddy rescripted Amitabh Bachchan’s character finally removing him from the movie

bipasha basu

Bipasha Basu , born on January 7, 1979 is a Bollywood actress and a Supermodel. She is the winner of the Ford Supermodel of the World (contest) and now works in mainstream Bollywood films. Her first name means "Deep, dark desire." She is continually listed as one of Asia's sexiest women, along with fellow stars Mallika Sherawat and Aishwarya Rai.

Bipasha is the second of three daughters in her family. Her family consists of her mother, her father, her elder sister Bidisha, and her younger sister Bijoyeta . She was born in New Delhi. Later her family moved to Kolkata where she won regional beauty contest at a very young age.

In an interview, she said that she had come into modeling and acting "quite by accident".She had planned to learn chartered accountancy or study medicine. She said that she dropped the idea of doing medical studies because she fainted when attempting to dissect rats.As a child she was considered ugly because of her dark skin.

Dino Morea was her long term boy friend(teenage years) untill she found John Abraham. She said in KBC - celebrity episode - that they started to date each other during the shooting of a movie called Aitbar.Basu dated Dino Morea before dumping him for her successful Jism co-star John Abraham. Abraham and Basu are now rumored to be engaged. Even though Basu is a practicing Hindu and Abraham a Christian, both families have accepted the couple. Basu has stated in an interview that though she was raised a Hindu, she believes that "God is everywhere, in every religion". She also stated that all religious groups deserve respect.

This Calcutta based commerce graduate model came into the limelight when she won the Ford's Supermodel of the World Contest and was named Tulips Ms Super Vivacious in the same event at the remarkably young age of 17. Basu was then flown to New York by the Ford Company. She gushed in an interview, "I was spotted by the world famous photographer, Steven Meisel, and featured in Vogue magazine. I was thrilled and soon had plenty of projects coming my way." Bipasha could have had the world at her feet and easily gained acclaim as an international model, but she gave it all up to come back to India, to be with the people she loves. "Yeah, I did a lot of ads, but my heart was not in it. I started missing my family because it was the first time I was away from them. So I happily gave it all up and came down to India", she reminiscesd.

This Bengali bombshell was bold enough to accept an unusual role in her debut film, Abbas Mustan's "Ajnabee", with Bobby Deol, Akshay Kumar & Kareena Kapoor. She played a married woman who goes all out to woo her husband’s married friend.

She was a household name much before she entered films. Besides doing innumerable prestigious ads, Bips, as her friends call her, did the famous video "Tu" for Sonu Nigam's album, Kismat and she also made a guest appearance in Jay Sean's music video Stolen.

Of late, many Indian models have turned from modeling to acting; Bipasha has been one of the most successful model-turned-actresses.Bipasha's debut film "Ajnabee"(2001) was fairly successful and she was soon signed for other movies. She attracted attention with her roles in "Raaz" (2002) and "Jism"(2003).

Jism featured more mature content than had previously been customary in Bollywood; it was a success and Bipasha was afterwards marketed as a sex symbol. In 2005, she had a boundary-pushing role in the successful film "No Entry". She later appeared in the 2006 film "Phir Hera Pheri", which did well at the box office.

Basu was the female lead in "Corporate", she received much acclaim for her performance. Dhoom 2 is her latest release with Yash Raj Films, which was a huge hit overseas and in India.Her role in "Omkara" was also critically acclaimed.She has also appeared in music videos, such as Tu Kab Ye Janegi... for Sonu Nigam’s album, Kismat and in Jay Sean's Stolen.

On July 7, 2007 Bipasha co-hosted the new Seven Wonders of the World event along with two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank and Oscar winner Sir Ben Kingsley in Lisbon, Portugal.

Bipasha claims that she was harassed by organizers of the controversial 2006 India Day Parade in Edison, New Jersey.Organizers are now saying that they will sue Bipasha for breach of contract for not participating in the event and alleging harassment.Actress Nidhi Gill of Bipasha-the Black Beauty sent Basu a legal notice complaining that Basu had made derogatory remarks about the movie when she had never even seen it.

Bipasha Basu , born on January 7, 1979 is a Bollywood actress and a Supermodel. She is the winner of the Ford Supermodel of the World (contest) and now works in mainstream Bollywood films. Her first name means "Deep, dark desire." She is continually listed as one of Asia's sexiest women, along with fellow stars Mallika Sherawat and Aishwarya Rai.

Bipasha is the second of three daughters in her family. Her family consists of her mother, her father, her elder sister Bidisha, and her younger sister Bijoyeta . She was born in New Delhi. Later her family moved to Kolkata where she won regional beauty contest at a very young age.

In an interview, she said that she had come into modeling and acting "quite by accident".She had planned to learn chartered accountancy or study medicine. She said that she dropped the idea of doing medical studies because she fainted when attempting to dissect rats.As a child she was considered ugly because of her dark skin.

Dino Morea was her long term boy friend(teenage years) untill she found John Abraham. She said in KBC - celebrity episode - that they started to date each other during the shooting of a movie called Aitbar.Basu dated Dino Morea before dumping him for her successful Jism co-star John Abraham. Abraham and Basu are now rumored to be engaged. Even though Basu is a practicing Hindu and Abraham a Christian, both families have accepted the couple. Basu has stated in an interview that though she was raised a Hindu, she believes that "God is everywhere, in every religion". She also stated that all religious groups deserve respect.

This Calcutta based commerce graduate model came into the limelight when she won the Ford's Supermodel of the World Contest and was named Tulips Ms Super Vivacious in the same event at the remarkably young age of 17. Basu was then flown to New York by the Ford Company. She gushed in an interview, "I was spotted by the world famous photographer, Steven Meisel, and featured in Vogue magazine. I was thrilled and soon had plenty of projects coming my way." Bipasha could have had the world at her feet and easily gained acclaim as an international model, but she gave it all up to come back to India, to be with the people she loves. "Yeah, I did a lot of ads, but my heart was not in it. I started missing my family because it was the first time I was away from them. So I happily gave it all up and came down to India", she reminiscesd.

This Bengali bombshell was bold enough to accept an unusual role in her debut film, Abbas Mustan's "Ajnabee", with Bobby Deol, Akshay Kumar & Kareena Kapoor. She played a married woman who goes all out to woo her husband’s married friend.

She was a household name much before she entered films. Besides doing innumerable prestigious ads, Bips, as her friends call her, did the famous video "Tu" for Sonu Nigam's album, Kismat and she also made a guest appearance in Jay Sean's music video Stolen.

Of late, many Indian models have turned from modeling to acting; Bipasha has been one of the most successful model-turned-actresses.Bipasha's debut film "Ajnabee"(2001) was fairly successful and she was soon signed for other movies. She attracted attention with her roles in "Raaz" (2002) and "Jism"(2003).

Jism featured more mature content than had previously been customary in Bollywood; it was a success and Bipasha was afterwards marketed as a sex symbol. In 2005, she had a boundary-pushing role in the successful film "No Entry". She later appeared in the 2006 film "Phir Hera Pheri", which did well at the box office.

Basu was the female lead in "Corporate", she received much acclaim for her performance. Dhoom 2 is her latest release with Yash Raj Films, which was a huge hit overseas and in India.Her role in "Omkara" was also critically acclaimed.She has also appeared in music videos, such as Tu Kab Ye Janegi... for Sonu Nigam’s album, Kismat and in Jay Sean's Stolen.

On July 7, 2007 Bipasha co-hosted the new Seven Wonders of the World event along with two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank and Oscar winner Sir Ben Kingsley in Lisbon, Portugal.

Bipasha claims that she was harassed by organizers of the controversial 2006 India Day Parade in Edison, New Jersey.Organizers are now saying that they will sue Bipasha for breach of contract for not participating in the event and alleging harassment.Actress Nidhi Gill of Bipasha-the Black Beauty sent Basu a legal notice complaining that Basu had made derogatory remarks about the movie when she had never even seen it.

Harbajan on his 11 match ban

Five seconds of madness cost Bhajji Rs. 3 croreHarbhajan Singh, who received an 11-match ban from the IPL, has promised to mend his ways. The spinner, bought for Rs.3.4 crore by the Mumbai franchise, will now pocket only Rs.48 lakh, losing Rs.3 crore. "All I want to say us whatever happened and whatever I did was grossly wrong. Sreesanth is like my brother. We have played together and we will play together again," said Harbhajan.