Swami Nithyananda bowled over by daily soap Devon Ke Dev… Mahadev

The Life OK channel wouldn’t have ever expected this in their wildest dreams! In a big surprise coming their way, spiritual leader Paramahamsa Nithyananda, popularly known as Swami Nithyananda, showered praises on the mythological daily soap, Devon Ke Dev… Mahadev, this week.

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In his discourse titled Inner Awakening at the lush green hill station of Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu, he told his devotees that the daily soap, which revolves around the life of Lord Shiva; the most powerful God within the Hindu culture, is one of the best things to have happened to the Vedic tradition in recent times.

“Bringing a mythological story to life is not a joke. If I put all my intelligence, philosophical strength, understanding and abilities, to try and make a serial on Shiva, it will not be better than Devon Ke Dev… Mahadev,” said Swami Nithyananda, recommending it to everyone.

“There are a lot of subtle points it portrays; like what happens when Devi assumes a human body, concepts of incarnation, why tapas (tapasya) is needed, and lots of such aspects, which the programme is presenting beautifully,” he said.

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Praising the show’s production values, set designs and costumes, the Swami remarked that the makers, writers and actors are doing an “amazing job,” bringing the story of Shiva alive with beautiful visuals and concepts which can be understood by the common man.

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“This correct depiction and representation of facts is a true service to the Vedic tradition,” said the Paramahamsa, who has recently been anointed the 293rd pontiff of the Madurai Adheenam; the oldest Saivite mutt established more than 1,500 years ago in South India.

Sambhavna Seth turns Basanti for five Gabbars!

If Gabbar Singh was alive today, he would have gone into a full-on tizzy.

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An upcoming slick-flick Qayamat Hi Qayamat has not one, not two, but FIVE villains doing a rehash of Gabbar Singh — Bollywood’s greatest villain ever. And just like Sholay, giving them company, is the nimble-footed Basanti… oops, we mean, the spunky Sambhavna Seth.

But the girl rues the absence of an Amitabh Bachchan or Dharmendra! “The film is surefire fun, but I’d have been happier with a dialogue like ‘Tera naam kya hai Sambhavna?’ from the action men,” she laughs.

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In a way, Sambhavna is not new to Basanti. She won the dance reality show Dancing Queen some time ago, which was judged by none other than Hema Malini. In fact, Sam (as she is fondly called), also did a Gabbar-Basanti skit for it, after which a visibly ‘upset’ Hema Malini walked out of the set in a huff!

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Sam was shocked and saddened as she otherwise found the yesteryears superstar very loving and affable. It was only when the episode was aired, she realized that Hemaji had actually pulled a fast one on her.

Poonam Dhillon, Amar Upadhyay release Bhavikk Sangghvi’s new book on numbers!

Renowned astro-numerologist Bhavikk Sangghvi who has correctly predicted various aspects about the lives of some of the biggest Bollywood stars including Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan, released his second numerology book titled Sankhya Shastra, at the Crossword Book Store, Juhu, Mumbai, amid much fanfare this week.

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Bhavikk and his fiancée Dr. Rinku Aher played great hosts, receiving guests at the event emceed by Umesh Pherwani. Although the date of the book launch was Friday the 13th which is considered unlucky by popular belief, Bhavikk broke the myth with his event emerging a grand success.

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While celebrities like Poonam Dhillon, Amar Upadhyay and Apara Mehta were the chief guests, the launch was attended by many other known names like Sandip Soparrkar, Parvez Damania, Amita Nangia, Dr. Suhas Awchat, A.D. Singh, Delnaaz Paul, Meghna Malik, Vandana Vadhera, Pitobash, Viren Shah, Vahbbiz Dorabjee, Sonalli Sehgall, Sammeer and Palak Sheth.

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Most of them spoke highly of the preciseness of Bhavikk’s predictions and praised the young gun’s down-to-earth nature.

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The new book written in Gujarati, describes the science of numbers and their importance in our lives. It goes on to explain how their correct use can make a difference to our personalities and fortunes.

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For the record, Sankhya Shastra supersedes Bhavikk’s first book Numerology Rocks, which was released a few months ago by Mithun Chakraborty. The astro-numerologist is now hoping that this one too rocks the market as much as the first.

Rozlyn Khan glitters at Mr and Miss Perfect beauty pageant!

Bollywood’s new scandal princess Rozlyn Khan, who shot to fame recently with her nude breast-cancer awareness pictures and strip-tease sessions for her cricket heroes, indulged in a high of a different kind.

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In a stark contrast from her bold and dare-bare image, Rozlyn attended the Mr & Miss Perfect 2012 contest in Delhi as a guest of honour this week.

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And though she shimmered in a stunning black backless gown, that’s all we saw of her skin-show this time. Instead, Rozlyn impressed one and all with her inspiring and motivating words for the contestants.

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What’s more! She also got to crown the winner, the Miss Perfect at the event, while Mr Perfect was awarded by Chirag S. Bagaria, manager, marketing and operations at Gitanjali Gems and Jewellery Limited.

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What can we say, but that this girl manages to continue to amaze us, even when she seems not to try at all! Chic indeed!

Bollywood newbie Evelyn Sharma is the new fashionista!

We’ve seen an ‘event’ful week with promotional jigs for Bol Bachchan, Cocktail and Barfi along with restaurant and magazine launches. But while known names like Priyanka Chopra, Nargis Fakhri, Sophie Choudry, Ileana D’Cruz, Jiah Khan, Shriya Saran and Shazahn Padamsee vied for attention, one name that shined naturally bright was Bollywood newbie Evelyn Sharma.

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No wonder, fashion hotspace Style Me India has chosen this half-Indian half-German model-turned-actress among ‘the best dressed celebs’ who sashayed at parties last week.

A thoughtful choice indeed; considering Evelyn not only turned heads at various fashion and corporate events, but also shared the stage with the ladies man Akshay Kumar at the music launch of her debut film From Sydney With Love (FSWL).

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Shaking up the fashion world off late, Evelyn stole the show when she wore a stunning pink dress with an adorable hairdo at the Blackberry Prosche event, followed by a gorgeous black KhushiZ gown at the FSWL music launch; fabulously matching up to Akshay Kumar’s black suit.

To add to this, the beauty was spotted rocking the fashionista styles with a very graphic Nishhk (Nishka Lulla) skirt, paired with a sexy ruffled blouse at the Nokia App Tasting event in Tote.

And as if all this hi-glam show wasn’t enough, the stunner blew more minds away at the launch event of the Ellipsis restaurant hosted by designer Arjun Khanna. Donning a simple FCUK red dress with cherry red lips, Evelyn turned out to be one of the few to dare the 1920s theme of the party!

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Apart from a funky role in FSWL directed by veteran filmmaker Pramod Chakravorty’s grandson Prateek Chakravorty, Evelyn Sharma plays a very spiritual girl opposite Prateik Babbar in Issaq, a glamorous dream girl in T-Series’ next tentatively titled Class of 2013, and a sexy ditz in Ayan Mukerji’s Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani; the Ranbir Kapoor-Deepika Padukone starrer under Karan Johar’s banner Dharma Productions.

Pakodas and chutney with Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan!

Movie promotions in Bollywood are reaching new levels every year. Another glaring example of this is the latest strategy being adopted by Rathi Group of Cinemas, which owns a chain of single-screen cinema halls across central India.

For the release of Rohit Shetty’s Bol Bachchan this week, featuring Ajay Devgn, Abhishek Bachchan, Asin, Prachi Desai and a special title track featuring Amitabh Bachchan, the group’s director Akshaye Rathi has come up with a unique promotional concept.

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The film features Ajay Devgn as a pehalwaan (strongman) from Rajasthan. Bringing in novelty to promotions at the onset of monsoons, Rathi has called in Rajasthani chefs who would be preparing moong dal ke pakode with pudina chutneymirchi ke bade (a delicacy from Jodhpur) and kullad ki adrak waali chai.

“These will be served to the audience during the run of the film,” informs the group’s publicist Dale Bhagwagar. “Serving these dishes which are enjoyed most during the rains, could make the movie going experience more enjoyable,” he adds.

ToI article on Bollywood PR and the games people play…

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/nri/contributors/contributions/sabah-hadi/Bollywood-PRs-A-devious-lot/articleshow/11446925.cms

Amar Upadhyay breaks down on Bigg Boss!

The otherwise ‘smart player’ of the Bigg Boss House, Amar Upadhyay, broke down last evening on the show.

 

Since day one, Amar has been strong in the House, but when Akashdeep Sky Saigal asked him about his mother, his eyes went moist.

 

During the conversation, Amar told the inmates how he was once shooting for a film in Manali, when his mother called and he couldn’t speak to her.

 

Later, when he returned her call, the director called him for another shot, and he couldn’t speak to her again. After a while, in the midnight, a family member called him and conveyed a bad news. Amar rushed out from Manali, but it was too late. By the time he reached home, his mother had passed away.

 

We thought nothing could make Amar sad or cry on Bigg Boss. But as the actor went back in time, he was full of tears.

 

The Secret Room is being missed in Bigg Boss 5!

Throughout the entire season of Bigg Boss 5, if one has missed anything it’s the trademark ‘Secret Room’, where a participant is kept in alienation, with a special privilege to watch others in action inside the House.

 

Though Season 5 is nearing its finale, celebrity publicist and Bigg Boss specialist Dale Bhagwagar, says its not too late to introduce the ‘Secret Room’ even it is for two-three days. “This could escalate the drama manifold and give the privileged contestant in the room an insight about who is his/her real friend and who is not,” ideates Dale.

 

The Bollywood publicist, who has earlier handled the media for maximum number of controversial celebrities on reality shows including Shilpa Shetty (Big Brother), Ashmit Patel, Rakhi Sawant, Kashmera Shah, Sherlyn Chopra, Diana Hayden (Bigg Boss), has also spoken to contestants Juhi Parmar, Shakti Kapoor and Mahek Chahal before the show rolled this year, and is officially handling Amar Upadhyay during Season 5, and Pooja Misrra for a specific period after she completed her second innings on the reality show.

 

Asked who could be the best bet for getting into the Secret Room at this final stage, Dale says, “It could be anyone from Akashdeep Sky Saigal to Juhi Parmar to Siddharth Sid Bhardwaj. Its obvious, that the other Housemates will gossip about any contestant who goes, least realizing that he/she can come back and beat the daylights out of them just before the finale.”

 

About the Secret Room:

The Secret Room is a special room near the Bigg Boss House. There are times when Bigg Boss directs a Housemate to this room, while other Housemates are given the impression that the person has been evicted or has left the House for good. The Housemate kept in isolation, is given access to past episodes of the show as well as the privilege to secretly watch what is going on in the House. Equipped with all this knowledge, when the Housemate re-enters the main House, all hell breaks lose.

 

Is Sunny Leone scaring off Bollywood actors and producers already?

After being evicted from Bigg Boss, pornstar Sunny Leone targeted contestant Amar Upadhyay, alleging that he kissed her hand and picked her up against her wishes, while carrying out fun tasks assigned to Housemates on the reality show.

In an interview to a prominent newspaper, the pornstar fromCanadamounted a scathing attack on the Indian actor and claimed, “It’s the first time in my entire career that I’ve had to tell a man (Amar) more than once not to be a certain way. That’s why I didn’t exactly know how to handle the situation as it was coming, other than talking to him as an adult. In my real life, no one comes near me or no one even tries to get fresh or do anything – it just doesn’t happen.”

Amar Upadhyay’s publicist Dale Bhagwagar clarified that the actor’s ‘acts’ of kissing Leone on her hand or picking her up during a rain dance on the show, “were strictly part of the ‘entertainment tasks’ given to the Housemates on Bigg Boss.”

Replying to Sunny’s bizarre claims, he said, “Sunny Leone a respected pornstar! She should be careful before uttering such words against a family man and an actor who has been admired and adored on Indian television for his role of the righteous Mihir Virani in Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, which even propelled him as a superstar on television with a huge fan following.”

“Sunny is planning to enter Bollywood. Showing such disrespect for a family man and massacring the reputation of an Indian actor even before she officially signs her first Bollywood movie, could reflect badly on her and scare off most reputed Indian actors and producers,” the publicist pointed out.

Indeed, Sunny seems to have committed professional hara-kiri.Indiais a country of great morality and culture and this frivolous accusation could make her career in Bollywood an uphill task now.

It can be noted here that Bigg Boss co-host Sanjay Dutt, who had rightfully come to Amar’s support during one of the elimination rounds earlier, was said to be planning to work with Sunny. But the rumours have been denied. Quoting a source, a prominent newspaper clarified, “Sanju wouldn’t be comfortable working with Leone and has no interest in signing her on whatsoever.”

The other Bigg Boss co-host Salman Khan, who was said to be considering Sunny for a film, hasn’t announced anything; while Mahesh Bhatt is yet to officially sign her for Jism 2, a movie he discussed with her on entering the Bigg Boss House as a guest last month.

Porn star Sunny Leone’s website ‘Indianised’ after stint on Bigg Boss

The Indianisation of Sunny Leone 

 

Currently lodged in Bigg Boss, international porn star Sunny Leone has a new trick up her sleeve for her official website. This week, the site saw a bit of a revamp and a ‘new look’ with a special banner having sentences added in Hindi on the home page.

 

Obviously, the porn sensation, who plans to make a big splash in the Indian market, is aiming to spruce up her brand and image and make it slightly India-compatible, while retaining its core porn-USPs, before she makes her Bollywood debut after Bigg Boss.

 

“Sunny Leone is in the business of exposure and awareness. Entertainment and hype are her tools and ammunition,” remarks celebrity publicist Dale Bhagwagar; a specialist with Bigg Boss, having handled the media for the maximum number of controversial celebrities on reality shows including Shilpa Shetty (during Big Brother), Rakhi Sawant, Kashmera Shah, Ashmit Patel, Sherlyn Chopra, Pooja Misrra and Amar Upadhyay (Bigg Boss).

 

“Make no mistake!Indiais a huge and lucrative market for Brand Sunny Leone. Though Sunny is based out ofCanada, we should not forget that she is born Karen Malhotra and has Indian origins. With her appearance and demure behaviour on India’s biggest reality show Bigg Boss, she is obviously trying to sanitize and Indianize her porn star brand and image,” the Bollywood PR expert points out.

“The new Indianized look of her international website with Hindi lines added on the new improved homepage, is just a step further in that direction,” he adds.

 

Sunny has already expressed her intentions of entering Bollywood. Dale even asserts that his sources tell him that apart from Mahesh Bhatt, who discussed his forthcoming film Jism 2 with Sunny on Bigg Boss, even Salman Khan is planning a film with her.

 

“So whether the conservatives like it our not, the time has come to accept Sunny Leone as part of our entertainment industry. In fact, from a PR point of view, further resistance from Indian audiences will only translate into more power to her existence in the Indian entertainment industry,” Dale analyses.

 

Colors faces ‘pornographic’ heat for Sunny Leone on Bigg Boss!

India’s biggest reality show Bigg Boss is in controversy once again! The Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC), an independent body set up by the Indian Broadcasters Foundation (IBF) to promote self-regulation by Indian television media, has stated that the Indo-Canadian pornstar Sunny Leone has promoted her pornography business through Bigg Boss.

With just two weeks remaining for the grand finale of the show; taking up 19 complaints pertaining to Sunny Leone, BCCC is reported to have put Colors, one of IBF members, on notice for allowing cross-promotion of sexually explicit content by Sunny Leone, who, in turn, is making money out of her presence on Bigg Boss.

It has been reported in The Tribune that in a meeting yesterday, BCCC directed Colors to stop all cross-promotion of Leone’s pornographic sites and videos by December 26.

Wajahat Habibullah, chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities and a member of BCCC, said, “We all agreed that Sunny Leone has been using Bigg Boss on Colors to promote pornography which is classified as criminal activity in India. It may not be criminal in the United States where she comes from, but here, it happens to be so. Therefore, she can’t be allowed to use our television to promote her business. Colors has agreed to comply and report back on steps taken.”

Sunny’s interactions with Bigg Boss hosts Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt and Housemates including Juhi Parmar, Siddharth Sid Bhardwaj, Akashdeep Sky Saigal, Amar Upadhyay and guest Andrew Symonds have been widely speculated and discussed on the show.

“Sunny has been constantly playing mischief with Amar Upadhyay on Bigg Boss, falsely alleging that the family man has been ‘touchy-feely’ with her,” remarked Dale Bhagwagar, publicist for the television star, most famous for his role as the righteous Mihir Virani in the epic daily soap Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.

A public relations specialist with Bigg Boss; Dale has earlier handled the media for the maximum number of celebrities on reality shows including Shilpa Shetty (during Big Brother), Rakhi Sawant, Kashmera Shah, Ashmit Patel, Sherlyn Chopra, Diana Hayden (Bigg Boss). He pointed out that “Brand Sunny Leone has enhanced itself multiple times since her appearance on Bigg Boss.”

Dale added that “her stint inside the Bigg Boss house has helped Sunny top Google charts with millions looking her up on the internet from India and abroad.”

“According to data collected from Google Trends, Sunny Leone’s search results are reported to be five times more than current teen sensation Katrina Kaif, twice as many as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and nine times more than the vivacious Kareena Kapoor. That says a lot for Sunny’s rising brand and popularity,” said the Bollywood PR.

Meanwhile, BCCC is reported to have said that anyone is free to appear on any show, but no one has the right to promote their business through it, especially so when the business happens to be illegal.

It was noted that Sunny Leone’s video postings, procured from Bigg Boss 5, are being cross-promoted on a blog authored by the pornstar. The report further states that Sunny’s Twitter account, having 86,000 followers, mentions that mobile applications of her hard porn products are available via email.

More about Sunny Leone on Bigg Boss:

 

Born Karen Malhotra, Sunny, who entered Bigg Boss as a Wild Card Entry on November 21, became an instant sensation, creating ripples across the country, and garnering attention and protests from people shocked with a pornstar’s presence on Indian national television.

 

A few days later, acclaimed Indian filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt went into the Bigg Boss House and offered her a lead role in his next film Jism 2, creating great hype all over again. Her seducing pole dance on the show too, attracted great eyeballs and was expected to have boosted the TRP’s.

 

Not revealing her true identity to the Housemates for long, Sunny, whose Hindi accent is also famous on the show, finally relented when firebrand Pooja Misrra (who had re-entered the House as a guest entry after being in the outside world and knowing about her pornstar status) coaxed her to come out with the truth.