Srk’s bundle of joy, AbRam.

 

Amidst all the noise that has been going around, the sweetest is the one made by our new-born baby, AbRam.

He was born prematurely by several months but has finally come home.

Gauri and our whole family have been dealing with his health issues for a long time now.

As a family our silence on this subject has been because of the personal nature of emotional strife that we have been going through due to his health.

We wish to make a special mention and thank Dr. Jatin Shah for his expertise and contribution. We also wish to thank all the other doctors, nurses and medical staff who have made his life possible. As trying were the times, we never lost hope that life always brings with it.

Just to put the record straight there was no sex determination for our child. The baby was born much before the speculations of ‘sex determination’ and other ‘issues’ pertaining to the same were being raised in the media by some organisations.

Suffice to say his coming home puts to rest completely false and at times insensitive claims of sex determination and alleged illegalities.

We also apologise to all those other doctors and hospitals who had to face unwanted scrutiny and questioning by some parties.

Our son is a surrogate baby and the entire process is bound by strict confidentiality. We would appeal to all, to allow us to cherish this private moment as a family.

It seems unfortunate that I have to explain/clarify so many aspects for our new-born baby. Wish it were just a simple message of happiness on behalf of the family.

They say a baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on. Post this statement, I hope we all move on too.

 

 

I have been too busy apparently watching the movies  to keep check on sensational Bollywood news, such as this. Shahrukh and Gauri welcoming a surrogate baby.

When did THAT happen? how? is the birth mother related to either of them? did they have to shop for a surrogate? is the baby half Srk’s or half Gauri’s? Where have I been, on Mars?

However that may be, I understand the longing for a baby when you start hitting middle age. Young children keep you young in spirit, mind and physically fit (running after them 24/7) Babies rock. They are symbols of hope, of future, testaments of love, sharing, giving.

Mubarak to Shahrukh and Gauri, welcoming baby joy AbRam after much worries into their home and hearts. At the end of the day all DNA questions are irrelevant. A new life emerged and a boy is going to be loved and cherished in one of India’s most illustrious families. May AbRam grow up healthy and happy! The road ahead of him is already shining in the limelight.

And the kids must be ecstatic too.

 

Jiah Khan’s suicide comes as a warning to all heartbroken lovers.

I am looking at pictures of Suraj Pancholi and want to pull out my every single hair. I want to call out to Jiah and shake her: “Look at him!!! Is this man worth a suicide, when you have everything going for yourself?” The pain she causes her parents, her friends, her nation, all over some loose canon of a boyfriend.

Upsetting.

of course, there must have been an underlying depression, because you just don’t end your life cuz you are blue and things don’t go your way. But even people who are not clinically depressed, can touch rock bottom and have thoughts of suicide. I don’t know how thin the line has to be, for someone to take the actual steps. From time to time we are all depressed, so it’s really something that concerns us all.

My heart broke on several occasions. I spent years crying over some love sorrow nonsense. At the end you look back and realize the futility of it all. What a waste of time and energy!  There is so much to live for, to enjoy There are so many other forms of love that surround us. So even if we got burned, promises were broken or romantic love is unrequited, take a deep breath, shake off your insecurities and look at all the other areas of your life. Make it a point to see the good around you, ESPECIALLY when love sorrow knocked at your door. Life is larger than the notion of romantic love, sentimental love, or whatever love. We need to experience every facet of life, including pain and loss, to live life at its fullest.

It never feels okay to get burned, but we have to accept it and walk through the ring of fire from time to time. It’s not a big deal, afterall, with everything around us and within us in constant evolution.. And here is my tip of the day, throw your love sorrows into a bucket and out of the window. Keep that open until the sun rises. And rising it will.

 

 

Suraj Pancholi arrested in Jiah Khan suicide case

Written by: Gitanjali Roy | June 11, 2013 08:04 IST (New Delhi)

Jiah and Suraj Pancholi reportedly dated for a year

Actress Jiah Khan’s friend Suraj Pancholi has been arrested by Mumbai police in connection with the 25-year-old’s suicide. (Read: In letter, Jiah wrote: If I stay here, I will crave you)

Suraj, son of actors Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, has been charged with abetment of suicide, a non-bailable charge, based on a complaint filed by Jiah’s mother Rabiya Amin Khan, the police said. He is likely to be produced in court today. (Also read: Once Bollywood’s brightest young thing)

The 23 year old Suraj reportedly dated Jiah for nearly a year. He was the last person she spoke to on the phone, police said, before hanging herself in her Mumbai home on June 3.

Suraj and his father Aditya Pancholi were questioned by Mumbai police for three hours on June 4.

Jiah left no suicide note. However, a six-page letter addressed to an unnamed person has been found and handed over to the police by her family.

In the letter, which appears to be written to a former or present boyfriend, Jiah says, “If you’re reading this I might have already left or about to leave. I am broken inside.”

Jiah talks about “kissing goodbye” her film career and claims that a promise of an engagement after a year of dating was broken.

“Your life was about partying and women. Mine was you and my work. If I stay here I will crave you and miss you,” says Jiah, accusing the boyfriend of cheating on her, in the poignant letter. (Also read: Actor Jiah Khan commits suicide in Mumbai home)

Jiah’s mother Rabiya told the press, “The letter does not have a name, so who it is addressed to is something you can only ask Jiah. But because of the incidents in the past and what she told me, all of these things point out to Suraj Pancholi.” She also said that she had urged her daughter to end the relationship.

http://movies.ndtv.com/bollywood/suraj-pancholi-arrested-in-jiah-khan-suicide-case-377781?pfrom=home-latest

Preity’s Ishq got lost in Paris, apparently. Au revoir so soon?

What Happens In Paris Stays In Paris…

Ishq in Paris, kua hua?  It’s easy to get lost in its Parisian charm and not finding your way back to your point of origin.  Happened to me. We all can relate to it. Love makes you stupid. But for once it’s a movie that got lost. We have sent search troops out…. European trained whatsmore!! Nada.

 

Ishq in Paris could not be found.

Now that’s a real shame

 

because we all love Preity Zinta and she hasn’t graced us with her lovely screen presence for A WHILE!!!

While I suspect that her love interest in the film has not been available for  the100,000 reshoots, necessary to save the film.. well, I am a bit mean here because maybe he’s fantastically underrated as an actor, it could be any other reason too.

Financial, couldn’t find a distributor? What could have been going wrong? Maybe we should put Aamir Khan, aka Inspector  Sekhawat, on the case to scare the ghosts out of this project and get it on screen.

Khiladi786’s genius soundtrack

I am going to watch Khiladi this weekend, and I am excited. Not so much because I love bodies flying through the air, car collisions and firecracker-Kung-Fu. Well, I do love Akki, but that’s besides the point.

My autistic and predominantly non-verbal student LOVES Bollywood music, so whenever a new movie comes out I am showing him the trailer and the songs. I show him Stardust magazines with all its glamorous Bollywood stars. When I point and ask him “who is this?” he will identify the star with 100% accuracy. On our frequent walks I may start humming a BW tune and lo and behold he will know one or two lines of the lyrics -without understanding a word. Point in case I was humming after a very long hiatus Chammak Challo and he knew the title and who’s acting in the movie.

Today I was telling him about the upcoming Khiladi and I went on Youtube to show him the trailer and then the songs. I had seen the trailer but I had no idea how many beautiful tunes it had!

From my student’s point of view here are the songs he liked best: (with passionate repeat-listening..)

Hookah Bar

music and lyrics  and vocals by Himesh Reshammiya

in second place came The Lonely Song, credits go again to  Himesh and Yo Yo Honey Singh & Hamsika Iyer
Lyrics by: Shabbir Ahmed

followed by Saari Saari Raat also by the ultra-talented Himeshji, GEE!!

and we liked Long Drive, music Himesh.  sing sing: Mika Singh

for some reason Balmo came last in our favorite countdown:

music Himesh, singers  Shreya Ghoshal and Sreeram

I mean, this movie is a musical treasure chest

and off I go to buy the CD :-)

can’t wait to see these beautiful songs on the big screen!!

– which makes me laugh because before my Bollywood mania days  I DESPISED music and dance in movies. Go figure.  What a turnaround.

Thank you Youtube, Eros Entertainment and T-series for all these great Bollywood video clips

And thanks Bollywood for adding another dimension to my life. With its colors, its music, its stars, it just brings so much joy, not just to me but all the peeps I can share this passion with. Like my wonderful student.

Khiladi holladi holladidum

releases Dec 7th

Action: Akki in his hottest, pheromoniest Khiladi avatar! Get ready!! Looks like fun.

I love Akshay Kumar in action-packed roles. He’s a bit older now but age doesn’t seem to interfere with his sexiness. Whereas I find that Salman Khan and Shahrukh have lost some of their legendary sex-appeal [ but maybe that’s just me],  this little gangster hasn’t.

He’s a bit heavier around the middle but I don’t mind. hey, and that’s the keyword: MIND. Akki sparkles with genuine enthusiasm and it’s somehow contagious. Salman looks a lit bit worn out. Shahrukh turned slightly introvert, Akki seems to enjoy himself. Even in lukewarm or disastrous movies, he is always a breeze of fresh air. so yes, I am looking fwd to the movie.

 

Most of all, however, I’d  like to see him pairing up again with John Abraham! That would be my greatest joy. They make such a power-team! Garam Masala, Desi Boyz… Action/Romance/Comedy: Can you make it a triple play!?

Chakravyuh and its stars

The stars of Chakravyuh: Abhay Deol, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Pajpai, Esha Gupta  and its director, Prakash Jha, who is so hot, he should be starring in his own films!  salt’n pepper hot… but hey! mighty sexy, don’t you think?! :-)

 

Aiyyaa, and I am back in love with Rani Mukherji

This movie is truly pagal. But I loved EVERY MOMENT of it.

The cinematography by Amal Chaudhary is outstanding and makes me want to see his other movies.

The premise is simple enough:  Meenakshi (Rani), a Marathi girl, needs to get married as her family insists, preferibly to a nice Brahmin bouy, an ad is put in the paper. While Meenakshi daydreams through her life, seeing herself as a famous Bollywood actress, her nutty parents are pushing harder to line up candidates. she wants to find a way to become independent financially and goes  looking for work. She lands a job as a librarian at a college, where she and her nose fall head over heel for the withdrawn and taciturn Surya (Prithviraj), an aspiring artist, who seems oblivious to her infatuation.

The music in her head stops every time he stands in front of her without really seeing her (what a wonderful little cinematic touch!). Another great detail: the paintings Surya works on are actually WONDERFUL. Usually I am disappointed when film tries to portray a painter, the art is usually yucky, here its GREAT! you can smell the colors, you are almost drawn into the moment of creation. I LOVED that about this movie. The mania of the true artist, the artist who can’t be contained, shines through.

The colors used for the set, the costumes, the wardrobes, it’s all so beautifully choreographed. This whole movie is a visual feast. Rani Mukherji has never beguiled me more than as the daydreaming somnambulant Meenakshi, who follows the seemingly divine smell of her desired man, regardless of how many foul things are being said about him. She follows him whenever he turns up not finding the courage to talk to him, (one of the mysteries when we fall in love..) even on the verge of being married off.

Unfortunately way too many crazy characters are flooding the film, from her ga(r)ga-ntuan-ly annoying colleague (Anita Date), her mom to gold-toothed and bewheelchaired, hysterically laughing grandma, there is not one character in the movie that makes you take a deep breath of calm. and that’s the biggest downfall of the movie. The nutty characters are floating around without much connection and integration.

But other than that, the cinematography, the music, Rani’s acting and Prithviraj, the Tamilian eye-candy, the surrealism pervading the movie, the sets, choreographies,  the locations are just magnificent.

It’s a film on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but it’s highly “intertaining”. Rollercoaster me anytime again soon, Satish Kundalkar-ji!

 

 

I think I am going to buy the DVD.

 

 

Cast:Rani Mukherjee, Prithviraj, Anita Date, Nirmiti Sawant, Satish Alekar, Subodh Bhave, Ameya Wagh

Director: Satish Kundalkar : nm2590202

Cinematograhpy: Amal Chaudhar:   nm2226885

 

 

 

 

 

Priyanka kicks off NFL with her international singing debut “In My City”

 

Now these are exciting Piggy Chops news! NFL??? Hello! I would say that could easily lead to a red carpet entrance right into the heart of Hollywood. I am surprised that they haven’t discovered Priyanka Chopra yet!! Freida Pinto has made it big with Slumdogs but Priyanka is such a hottie, very hard to miss.  Once offers start bouncing in we will miss her! Bollywood won’t be able to afford her anymore.

I am so happy for her. She looks glam. Radiant. Supersexy. You go, girl!! :-)

 

 

 

Get out the champagne. We got a title: Jab Tak Hai Jaan.

Shahrukh’s and Katrina Kaif’s new movie was christened, or rather hindustanied. I thought it took so long because Yash Chopra is getting up in age and might have lost the notebook where he scribbled  “Find a title to the new movie I wrote and directed, nah, what was his name? Shahrukh. Yeah, Shahrukh and this beautiful girl. wait, her name is on my tongue…”

But no, I was told by my stern critic and blogfrenemy Shahid Shah (who keeps poking needles into my Achilles)  that it’s one of Yash’s old marketing gimmicks and dates back to Veer Zaara. Needless to say, I am glad it wasn’t Alzheimers responsible for the delay.  Now all I need is have someone translate the title…(maybe: Until I find a lover??)

Looking fwd to Jab Tak Hai Jaan.

 

Kashyap’s “Aiyaa” caters to the funny bone

I am delighted to see Rani Mukherjee back in the saddle, especially with my favorite filmmaker Anurag Kashyap.

But where is this movie coming from? it hits us like a comet that went undetected by all radars out there scanning our galaxy.

In the film Rani plays a Marathi Brahmin who falls for a Malayali artist, I guess that makes him Mr. Wrong,  played by Prithviraj.

It’s nice to see Anurag embracing comedy for a change. I thought that’s going to be Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana, with Kunal Kapoor, but that’s not even listed as his film anymore! So now I am very confused. The chicken crossed the road never to be seen again.. Instead we will get “Aiyaa” – not that I am complaining. But of course, I would have loved a  foodie movie from Kashyap. There are only a handful of those, but tons about marriage and mr. wrong. So maybe yes, I am a tad disappointed what concerns the fate of Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana, but I am at the same time looking forward to Aiyaa and Rani Mukherji.

anybody who has a clue about the whereabouts of Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana, please, in the name of all foodie movie lovers, enlighten us…