Select Press Releases of the PR agency
Reports suggest that Bollywood firebrand Neetu Chandra will soon lock horns with Pakistani actress and comedian Veena Malik in the coming season of India’s leading reality show ‘Bigg Boss’. Neetu is said to have been offered an astronomical amount to appear on the show.
The news comes as a shocker, especially after the cricket match-fixing controversy, wherein Veena Malik unceremoniously dragged Neetu Chandra’s name, stating that the Bollywood actress had direct links with her ex-boyfriend and Pakistani bowler Mohammad Asif as well as with the ‘spot-fixing’ scandal.
Now, the battle lines seem to be drawn. Veena Malik has already been reported to feature in ‘Bigg Boss’. If Neetu indeed joins her in the reality show, there could be major catfights, news spills and more shocking drama about the humongous cricket scandal which has already rocked the world.
When asked about her appearance in ‘Bigg Boss’, Neetu’s publicist Dale Bhagwagar said, “I have also been hearing the buzz, but am yet to confirm with Neetu. I haven’t spoken to her, as I’m aware that she is in rehearsals today and her phone would be on silent mode. I’m not sure if Neetu would agree to be in ‘Bigg Boss’ even if the monies are huge.”
Wouldn’t the reality show be a good opportunity for Neetu to confront Veena Malik and her allegations head on, and clear her name from the match fixing scandal? “Veena Malik is a good comedian. She is a good actress. But I doubt if Neetu Chandra needs a reality show to defend herself. If I know her well, she’d rather keep her grace, poise and dignity intact, than spend her time and energies on Veena Malik’s baseless allegations,” said the PR specialist.
Meanwhile, after being in national and international headlines from over a week, Neetu Chandra has suddenly emerged the new sought-after Bollywood actress. Her demand for feature films, stage shows and events has grown manifold. As a trendsetting filmmaker commented, “Neetu has always been a good actress. She has had critical acclaim and two of her movies have won National Awards too. But after hitting the headlines with this international controversy, she is now a popular star in demand. The issue has actually pushed her celebrity status a few notches higher. Neetu Chandra’s equity has shot up at least by ten times now.”
This week, a Karachi (Pakistan) bureau report from a reputed Indian news agency, claimed that Bollywood actress Neetu Chandra was interrogated by the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) of the International Cricket Council (ICC) for having links with Pakistani bowler Mohammad Asif, who is at the centre of a ‘spot-fixing’ scandal that has rocked world cricket.
At a Press Conference held in Mumbai today, Neetu Chandra’s publicist Dale Bhagwagar has denied she was interrogated and reiterated that the actress has nothing to do with either Mohammad Asif or match fixing. “The reports about Neetu being interrogated by Anti-Corruption and Security Unit of ICC are incorrect and baseless,” said Bhagwagar.
“Neither does Neetu know Mohammad Asif, nor has she been to Indian Premier League (IPL) parties or events, as reported. Her name is unnecessarily being dragged in the match-fixing debate with unfounded allegations,” said the celebrity publicist.
The controversy began with a section of the media discussing a “leaked” document, which it claimed, was prepared by the Interpol and Scotland Yard for the Pakistan Cricket Board. Apparently, this document contains various phone numbers of people who interacted with Mohammad Asif in 2009.
The media reports stated that in this document, the only mobile number from Mumbai, belonged to actress Neetu Chandra, and insinuated that she could be involved in the infamous match-fixing scandal. It further claimed that according to the document, the actress had made two phone calls and exchanged SMS’s with the controversial cricketer, discussing sensitive cricket issues and deals.
“Neetu is flummoxed about how her cell number has featured on such a scandalous list. She believes, this could be a conspiracy,” added the PR specialist.
When asked about the cricketer’s ex-girlfriend Veena Malik dragging Neetu’s name in the match-fixing controversy through her interviews, claiming that “a Bollywood actress used to call Asif,” Bhagwagar said, “Without any concrete evidence, Ms Malik is going on and on, talking about how she thinks Neetu Chandra is involved with Mohammad Asif. She is probably doing this for publicity, as we’ve heard that she herself has Bollywood dreams. If that is the case, then this is a cheap way to bag mileage, as in the process, Ms Malik is maligning the name and reputation of an established and critically acclaimed actress.”
Bollywood actress Neetu Chandra today denied having any links with Pakistani bowler Mohammad Asif, who is at the centre of a ‘spot-fixing’ scandal that has rocked world cricket.
The controversy began with most Indian television channels discussing a “leaked” document, which they claimed, was prepared by the Interpol and Scotland Yard for the Pakistan Cricket Board. Apparently, this document contains various phone numbers of people who interacted with Mohammad Asif in 2009.
The TV reports stated that in this document, the only mobile number from Mumbai, belonged of actress Neetu Chandra, and insinuated that she could be involved in the infamous match-fixing scandal. They further claimed that according to the document, the actress had made two phone calls and exchanged SMS’s with the controversial cricketer, discussing sensitive cricket issues and deals.
But Neetu Chandra’s publicist Dale Bhagwagar vehemently denied all the allegations. “Personally, Neetu does not know Mohammad Asif or any Pakistani cricketer for that matter. Her name is being unceremoniously dragged in the match-fixing debate with baseless allegations,” said the celebrity publicist.
“Neetu didn’t even know how Asif looked like. Within minutes of this controversy breaking out, I met her and showed her his picture from the internet on my BlackBerry. Neetu glanced at it and almost jumped from her chair, joking, ‘Oh, he’s too dark’. She also doesn’t know or understand how her cell number has featured on such a scandalous list. If it indeed has, it could well be a conspiracy,” added the PR specialist.
Owing to her active association with sports, recently, Neetu also became one of the few privileged Bollywood celebrities to have the honour of running with the Commonwealth Games torch (popularly known as the Queen’s Baton) in her hometown Patna. Apart from being a regular basketball player, the actress is a Black Belt 2nd Dan in Taekwondo, having participated in various martial arts tournaments at a district, national, as well as international level. Though Bhagwagar revealed, she is not a cricket fan.
This year, Neetu has an impressive line-up of films like Anees Bazmee’s ‘No Problem’ (with Sunil Shetty, Akshaye Khanna and Sushmita Sen), Gary Grewal’s ‘Khusar Prasad Ka Bhoot’ (with Paresh Rawal and Randeep Hooda), Barnali Shukla’s ‘Kuch Love Jaisa’ (with Rahul Bose) amongst two other mega-budget ventures opposite superstars of the South.
The PR Orientation Programme (PROP) workshop, powered by Bollywood PR specialist Dale Bhagwagar entered its third week, in the company of the gorgeous ‘Jannat’ heroine, Sonal Chauhan.
Simply yet glamorously decked up in fluffy orange sandals, faded blue jeans and a saffron kurta with the words “Jai Siya Ram” and imprints of Lord Hanuman on it, the mesmerizing actress dropped in at the office of Dale Bhagwagar Media Group at Oshiwara, Mumbai, where PROP is being held.
In her first ever interaction of its kind, Sonal, who was specially invited as a celebrity guest speaker for PROP, gave the workshop participants insights about her experiences in the entertainment industry. She spent time at the workshop, made friends with the participants, discussed about their aims, ambitions and future plans, and praised Dale Bhagwagar to the skies, for conducting such a media training workshop, specially designed for people genuinely interested to make a successful career and name in the entertainment industry and media professions such as marketing, PR, journalism, acting, filmmaking, event management, advertising etc.
“This is a unique workshop, firstly because of its exclusivity and limited number of participants,” said the actress. “Moreover, when you have a publicist like Dale Bhagwagar teaching you tricks and tactics in public relations, there is no doubt, you will score loads of brownie points in the process called life. Dale is one of the best PR’s our industry has to offer. What better than to learn about media maneuvers from the PR guru himself,” she told the participants, as the public relations professional thanked Sonal for her glowing comments.
Sonal was bombarded with questions by the workshop participants, about the entertainment industry and its functioning. But she patiently answered them all with a cool candid appeal and sparkling poise. She narrated several incidents, including how she won the Miss World Tourism title in Malaysia, and how the entire Mahesh Bhatt camp, showed immense faith and confidence in her as they launched her in ‘Jannat’, the famous film on cricket match fixing with Emraan Hashmi opposite Sonal.
She also spoke about her forthcoming film directed by the legendary painter MF Husain’s son Owais Husain. Tentatively titled ‘Pehla Sitara’, the film stars Sonal with another talented actor Anurag Sinha, who won critical acclaim for his debut performance in Subhash Ghai’s ‘Black & White’. Nearing completion, the movie is a love story, set in the backdrop of Punjab. It is expected to do the rounds of international film festivals, before being released in India and abroad.
Sonal was to interact with PROP participants for an hour, but the discussions were so charged and happening, she ended up spending almost three hours with them. Of course, all of the members loved every minute of it. Just as she left, Sonal invited the participants to join her on Facebook and keep in touch with her for any further queries. For the participants, that was the icing on the cake, as if jannat had come down to them.
Meanwhile, enrollments for the next session of the PR Orientation Programme have begun and one can visit http://www.propworkshop.com for details. The forthcoming workshop will be of two-week duration from November 15 to November 26, 2010.
It seems Meghna Naidu’s cyber trauma might finally come to an end, filmi style.
Two months ago, the actress had approached the Cyber Cell at the Crime Branch with a complaint about a hacker who breached her Gmail account and conducted various obscene chats, impersonating her.
The Bollywood actress was escorted to the Cyber Cell by her ex-publicist Dale Bhagwagar, who had caught the hacker’s bluff, when the impersonator chatted with him from her account. The PR specialist even managed to track down two IP (internet protocol) addresses of the hacker which were given to the Police.
Apparently, the Cyber Crime Investigation Cell has managed to trace one of the IP addresses to a location in Pune. The Police are now waiting for Meghna to file a formal FIR for further action.
Neetu Chandra seems to have become a favourite with fashion designers nowadays. While ace designer Rocky S roped her in as the showstopper for his fashion show in Delhi this week, the very next day Neetu was again the showstopper for topline fashion designer Neeta Lulla’s fashion show in Chandigarh.
The actress has become a good choice for most designers, simply because she has lost a lot of weight and has been glowing with radiance in her latest lean avatar. Moreover, she takes to stage without needing rehearsals, as if like fish to water.
“Being a ramp showstopper gives me a different kind of high and confidence,” says Neetu. “Most of the time, I get piercing looks or raised eyebrows, followed by a lot of instant attention, love, affection and warmth from the audience. It feels as if I got a thousand jadu ki jhappis all together. It’s ecstatic and I love all of it.”
Romp on, Neetu. Romp on.
If you thought Neetu Chandra was talented, think again! The actress is almost giving talent a new meaning, by being a master of all she surveys.
As if being a Black Belt 2nd Dan; a basketball player; a kathak dancer; a harmonium, flute, as well as tanpura player, was not enough, the multi-faceted Bollywood actress from Bihar, has now gone a step ahead and is learning Tamil.
The story goes that a superhit director from the South approached Neetu two weeks ago to act in his film. Since he wasn’t comfortable talking in English or Hindi and his film was in Tamil, he wanted her to work on the language and become fluent in it. “That’s the time I instinctively decided to learn Tamil,” says Neetu. “I hired a tutor next day who now coaches me in the language for about two hours every day. He talks to me in Tamil and I write down the words in English and Hindi and then, reply in Tamil,” she says.
Ah, as we said earlier; some people can go to any extent to master everything they survey. Three cheers to Neetu Chandra and her determination.
Master chef Max Orlati, fashion designer Salim Asgarally, choreographer and columnist Nisha Harale, actor and model Adam Bedi, film producer Akash Thakkar, social activist Nitin Pore, artiste Bina Aziz, commercial artiste and writer Madhuri Iyer, waste management expert Stewart Klevan, PR specialist Dale Bhagwagar, and writer, filmmaker and social activist Vinta Nanda, have brought together their skills to form an NGO by the name of ‘The Village Project India’.
Even as the oil spill threatens to destroy the business of Mumbai’s fishermen community, the team of The Village Project India, along with Shiv Sena corporator Vilas Chavdi, have joined hands to educate and inform the Khar Danda Fishermen’s Urban Village about the need to save their environment.
The NGO will support the Khar Danda Fishermen’s Village Association in cleaning up one of the most beautiful sea fronts and jetties in the heart of the city of Mumbai. The NGO has also invited more like-minded people to come forward and be a part of an eclectic core committee, for this social cause.
“With a population roughly over 25,000 people, the Khar Danda village consists of the original inhabitants of Mumbai – the Kolis – who have watched a mindless metropolis grow around them without anyone having given a thought to what would become of one of the city’s most spectacular beaches – the Khar Danda beach,” said the project’s spokesperson Dale Bhagwagar, also a member of the NGO’s core team.
“With a problem of access to the beach because of narrow lanes leading to it, Mumbaikar’s never noticed that the precious property was being vandalized by plastic and other waste which has collected over the years to form a filth which only a massive operation can clear now. The Village Project, with the help of the inhabitants as well as the political outfits in the area, plans to take up this humongous task,” informed Bhagwagar.
Their plan is to have the dirt removed, which could take a minimum of three months of sustained effort, and then to provide the village with a system by which maintenance operations can be carried out regularly.
To make the program sustainable, The Village Project plans to support the inhabitants of the Khar Danda village through their own association, to commercialize large parts of the sea fronts, by organizing special contests, competitions, sea food festivals, sponsored fashion shows, music gigs, open-air programs for theater and other events of arts, as well as, help build some enterprise.
Chef Max Orlati and designer Salim Asgarally as well as the other members of the core group will bring their expertise to supervise training programs for the villagers to help them create an economy as well as income generating businesses in the area.
The Village Project also plans to tie up with other NGO’s to educate the children of the village, so they grow to be responsible towards their environment. The NGO is also in discussions with the Khar Danda Fishermen’s Village Association to run programs for women as well as the thousands of fishermen of the village.
Beginning with a pre-Independence Day programme, on August 13, 2010, ‘The Village Project India’ is holding a painting competition between fifty children who have shown a talent for art in the Municipal School Compound at the Khar Danda Fishermen’s Village.
The subject given to the children (who belong to different communities) is ‘Ganesha’. The colors are sponsored by Camlin and drinking water and snacks by Parle Agro Industries. Awards will be given to the top three paintings, with the competition judged by fashion designer Salim Asgarally, artiste Bina Aziz and actor and model Adam Bedi.
The event will be compered by choreographer and well known MC Nisha Harale Bedi. Trophies will be presented by Shiv Sena corporator Mr Vilas Chavdi, and head of the Khar Danda Fishermen’s Village Association, Mr Bhaichand.
The finest artistes will be selected for a two-day art workshop to be held by some of the best known artistes of Mumbai in the forthcoming vacation, also organized by The Village Project.
The best painting will also be used for a design on T-shirts which would be created by fashion designer Salim Asgarally for the organizers and workers of the Khar Danda Ganpati Mandal, who will be wearing them throughout the ten-day upcoming Ganesh festival, from the Ganesh sthapana (statue establishment) to the visarjan (immersion) at the village.
A month-and-a-half after her daughter Viveka Babajee’s demise, her mother Mrs Dayawanti Babajee, recently left for her abode in Mauritius, informed the family’s spokesperson Dale Bhagwagar.
“Mrs Babajee left with a heavy heart. The police investigations are still on and she will wait for the police to inform her about further developments in the case,” said Bhagwagar.
Meanwhile, the latest development in the case is a statement submitted by Jonaid Bin Tajuddin Mohammed, who hails from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“Jonaid, who considered Viveka his sister, had a few pointers to make about the case. Since these were pertaining to discussions which he had with Viveka regarding her ex-boyfriend Gautam Vora, and a couple of new facts relating to the case, the family requested him to file the details with Khar Police Station in Mumbai. His office has informed us by email that he has duly filed these details through his lawyer here,” informed Bhagwagar.
The spokesperson reiterated the family’s stance, saying, “the Babajee family requests Gautam Vora to immediately approach the Police and come out with all the truth about Viveka. Without further delay, they also want him to confess to the Police about what exactly happened in the last meeting on the fateful night before the incident, because it seems to them that there is much more than what meets the eye. The Babajee family wants Gautam Vora to come up with the truth and nothing but the truth, about the death of Viveka Babajee.”
Neetu Chandra hates to travel in rains because she thinks rains make her feel dull. The only thing she likes about the rain is to dance in it, when she’s on her house balcony.
Yes, whenever it pours, she’s out there on her 14th floor Lokhandwala apartment balcony, letting go of inhibitions and dancing like crazy. Luckily for Neetu, right in front of her building, is a land expanse of mangroves, spanning at least 5 kms, so no one can spot her carefree moves even with binoculars.
“All that greenery heightens the dancing pleasure,” the girl quips with a naughty smile. So now we know the secret behind her happiness in the otherwise dull cloudy whether.
