The Evergreen Dev Anand Passes Away

MUMBAI: Dev Anand and his flamboyant image will always be penned in the history of Indian Cinama with golden ink. An enigma in himself Dev Anand swayed millions of fans all over the globe. The evergreen star however passed away owing to a cardiac arrest last night.

The superstar who was of 88 years by age was in London for what sources are claiming to be a routine medical check up. It is known however that Dev Anand was not doing well for the last few days. Son Sunil was with dad when the legendry actor passed away.

Known for his then quite different style of dressing, his trademark puffed up hair and a sloping walk style Dev Anand’s killer smile swayed millions of heart every moment. The star sure brought upon a new era in the Indian Film Indutry. Movies like like “Guide”, “Paying Guest”, “Baazi”, “Jewel Thief “, “CID”, “Johny Mera Naam”, “Amir Garib”, “Warrant”, “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” and “Des Pardes” will always be huge favourites of the Indian masses.

The best virtue of the versatile star was his never give up attitude. Even when contemporaries like Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kapoor gave up playing the leading actors in their respective movies Dev Anand continued wooing young beautiful ladies of Bollywood. The romance he infused seems to have nothing at par till date. Movies like “Johnny Mera Naam”, “Des Pardes”, “Hare Rama Hare Krishna” speak for themselves.

His debut in Indian cinemas came with “Hum Ek Hain” in the year 1946. The first film might not have done that well but when “Ziddi” hit the theatres in 1947 Dev Anand had already amassed a huge fan following.

The multi-faceted star was honoured with many awards down the years for his dedication to the Indian Film Industry. A ‘Padma Bhushan’ in 2001 and the ‘Dada Saheb Phalke Award’ in 2002 Dev Anand were the highest honours to the Bollywood evergreen star.

His film production enterprise ‘Navketan International Films’ was established in 1949 and since then has established over 35 movies. Dev Anand’s acting in “Kala Paani” and “Guide” also earned him two Filmfare awards. “Guide” also went on to win Filmfare awards for five other categories which included the “Best Film” and “Best Director”. The biggest honour to the film however came when it was sent to the Oscars for India’s nomination to the best foreign film.

Dev Anand was also honoured with the Filmfare “Lifetime Achievement Award” in 1993 and the Screen “Lifetime Achievement Award” in 1996. As the news of his passing away leaked condolences from all over the globe started pouring in. Be it the Indian Prime Minister or the Film Industry veterans everyone had something to say about the mega star. He will definitely be missed as someone who has none to match up to his skill even today. RIP Dev Anand.

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Veena Malik's nude photo causes fury in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani actress who posed in the nude for an Indian magazine with the initials of Pakistan's feared and powerful intelligence agency on her arm has triggered fury across this conservative nation.

Veena Malik's photo on the website of FHM India, in advance of its publication in the magazine's December issue, has been lighting up social network website Facebook and Twitter since earlier this week.

Many here anticipate a backlash, as nationalists and Islamists regularly stage rallies against anything they deem an insult to Islam or to the national honor. India and Pakistan have fought three wars, and the Inter-Services Intelligence agency or ISI has been accused of sponsoring terrorist attacks inside India.

Malik has broken Pakistani religious and national taboos in the past. She is a target for conservative ire and a heroine to some Pakistani liberals.

Conservative cleric Maulana Abdul Qawi declared on Aaj TV on Saturday that her latest venture into controversy was a "shame for all Muslims." Farzana Naz, interviewed by the same channel on the streets of Lahore, said that the actress had "bowed all us women in shame."

Twitter commentator Umair Javed however called on Pakistanis to "make copies of the picture and bury it in your backyard. This way, our grandkids will know there were some amongst us who lived free!"

Asked by reporters whether Pakistan would "pursue the matter" legally, the country's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Saturday, "First, let us see whether it is real or fake."

Malik for her part says that the photo at the root of the current uproar was published in violation of her agreement with FHM India. In an interview with Pakistani Geo television broadcast Saturday, Malik acknowledged having been photographed for a "bold but not nude shot." She said the editor of the magazine had promised that he would cover most of the photo with the ISI initials.

Malik said that the photo was intended to poke fun at the Indian fear of Pakistani spies: "Whatever happens (in India), people say ISI is behind that."

Malik said she would "probably" take a legal action against the magazine for violating terms and condition.

Magazine editor Kabeer Sharma said Malik did all with her full consent.

"We have all the record(s)," he told the Pakistani television station. "Veena was very excited about that ISI idea."

Malik does most of her work in India. The entertainment sector there is booming, while Pakistan's is moribund. Her ties to Pakistan's archrival have landed her in controversy in the past.

During a much-publicized talk show appearance early this year, she lashed out her nemesis Abdul Qawi, who criticized her for having a scripted love affair with an Indian actor on an Indian reality show.

"What is your problem with me?" an angry Malik demanded of the scholar, who had accused her of insulting Islam.

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Hritik Roshan Now The Sexiest Asian Man

MUMBAI: Hritik Roshan fans get another reason to rejoice. The versatile actor has just been named the sexiest Asian man of the year, 2011. A survey conducted by Eastern Eye Weekly recently disclosed there results crowning the Bollywood heartthrob with the sexiest Asian tag.

The 37 year old actor beat off tough competition when he topped the list of 50 other immensely popular celebrities. Eastern Eye Weekly also declared that Hritik has won by the biggest margin ever. Ranbir Kapoor who owned the crown till last year has only made it to the sixth position this time.

You might find it interesting to note that Hritik had finished third last year but somehow with an increasing fan base he seems to have no competition this year. Fans from all over the globe comprising different age groups voted full heartedly using social networking sites like Twitter to their advantage.

The ‘Greek God’ of Bollywood has been riding high on success after his last release ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ topped the box-office. This year also saw the megastars wax statue being added to the Madame Tussauds museum in London.

Have you seen the ‘Agneepath’ remake promos yet? If not it is high time you took a glance. It is definitely something no Hritik fan will want to miss out on. The Bollywood star indeed does justice to his ‘Greek God’ image in the movie. His judging ‘Just Dance’ a highly popular dance reality show only seems to have added wings to the popularity of this superstar. Hritik also recently signed a sequel to his hit superhero flick ‘Krrish’.

Want to know more about the list of sexiest men. Well we got all here right for you. It rather came as a surprise when Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor was names as the runners up in the race for the sexiest Asian man. Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan followed closely in the third and fourth places respectively.

“Hrithik is a worthy winner and a leading man with global appeal. This year there was a massive gap between Hrithik and the rest of the competitors. He is the perfect ambassador for India and someone who could take on anyone in Hollywood in terms of looks, talent and likability,” quoted Asjad Nazir, Eastern Eye showbiz editor.

Cricketer Virat Kohli’s appearance in the number 18 slot of the list did indeed raise few eyebrows. Other celebrities included Abhishek Bachchan at 17, Prateik Babbar at 20, Ajay Devgn at 29 and Farhan Akhtar at 34.

Singer and now actor Ali Zafar again emerged as the highest placed Pakistani claiming the number 5 slot. British star Jay Sean ended up at 9 and international boxing champion Amir Khan at 10.

Others worth mention in the list are John Abraham (7), Akshay Kumar (9), Arjun Rampal (11), actor Imran Khan (12), Saif Ali Khan (13), Atif Aslam (16), Riz Ahmed (21), Siddhartha Mallya (31), Mahendra Dhoni (33), Aamir Khan (35), Zaheer Khan (39) and hip hop star Shizzio (46).

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