Sonakshi tries Kathakali during 'Dabangg 2' shoot

Mumbai, Nov 24 (IANS) After matching tough dance steps with ace choreographer Prabhudheva in "Oh My God!", actress Sonakshi Sinha recently challenged herself with some Kathakali steps on the set of "Dabangg 2".

The 25−year−old tried some steps of the classical dance form while shooting for the song "Dagabaaz re" from the movie.

"There is a sequence in the song where there are Kathakali dancers and when Sonakshi came to know about this, she got really excited! She is an actor who loves learning new things and, in fact, has even learnt some Kathakali and requested the dancers to teach her a few more steps," said a source.

Arbaaz Khan is making his directorial debut with "Dabangg 2", which stars his big brother Salman in the lead role. Sonakshi plays his wife.

The film, also starring Prakash Raj, is slated to release Dec 21.

Mumbai terror attacks: Ajmal Kasab hanged, Pakistan reacts cautiously

New Delhi: Even as news of 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab's hanging sparked reactions across India, the reaction in Pakistan - the land of Kasab's birth - was muted. Indian government admitted it had had trouble getting a response from Pakistan.

Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid said, "We had trouble even giving the note to Pakistan and had to fax."

In the only official statement Pakistan's Foreign office, said it had received and acknowledged India's intimation of Kasab's impending execution on Tuesday, adding, Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestation and is willing to cooperate with all countries to eliminate the scourge.

Pakistan's stony silence on Kasab is nothing new. For the past four years Islamabad has rejected all Kasab's requests for consular visits and had refused to accept the bodies of the other nine Mumbai attackers and Kasab's family has mysteriously disappeared from their Faridkot village.

The larger impact of Kasab's execution may be felt on the 26/11 trial itself as pressure on Pakistan builds to complete 26/11 trial of six handlers and to track the masterminds. This also ends debate on access to Kasab by Pakistan investigators and Pakistan may toughen stand on India's please for clemency for terror convict Sarabjeet Singh.

For now India hopes the message that has gone out not just to Pakistan, but to the world that there is little tolerance for terrorism here while establishing that even the most ruthless terrorists are given due process of law.

Indian Bond Girl Deepika launches RACE 2 trailer digitally

Deepika has introduced a new trend by being the first actor to launch the assets of her upcoming film digitally. She has released all the key assets from this action-packed sequel of RACE on twitter, the latest one being the theatrical trailer.


With 2.5 million twitter followers, Deepika is well versed with the digital space and is very popular among the youth.

Deepika launched the trailer of the RACE 2 after a weeklong countdown that generated quite a steer in the digital platforms. Deepika has released the first look of all the actors featuring in the film including her own poster.

Deepika looks absolutely stunning in her RACE 2 poster as she poses against the sunlit backdrop of Istanbul. Deepika has also been tagged as the 'Indian Bond girl' after her look in RACE 2 was unveiled.

Sources reveal that the twists and turns and the style quotient of RACE 2 is a notch higher which is very well evident in the trailer itself. Deepika will be seen doing hi-octane stunts in the film without a body double. Her director from the film, Abbas also stated that, "Deepika will easily be one of the hottest action babes in Bollywood"

Produced by Tips, the action thriller RACE 2, starring Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham, Deepika Padukone, Jacqueline Fernandez, Anil Kapoor and Ameesha Patel is scheduled to release 25th January, 2013.

Phone romance goes sour as 'boyfriend' turns out 67-yr-old

Kannur (Kerala): This was one 'love affair' that did not have a happy ending.
After professing love over a year over mobile phone, a 23-year-old engineering post-graduate had the shock of her life on seeing at their first meeting that her 'sweetheart' was a 67-year-old man.

The woman from Thiruvanathapuram had come the other day in search of the man she adored but broke down and fainted when she met him for the first time at the Kuthuparamaba police station, near here, police said.

Police said the woman had waited at the bus-stand for the man for long but he did not turn up. On seeing her roaming about, some local people informed police and she was brought to the station, police said.
On questioning her, police came to know about her quest and obtained the mobile phone number of the person she had been looking for eagerly.

They contacted the 'lover' and asked him to come to the police station immediately. When the " boyfriend" finally turned up, she was shocked to find a grey-haired man, police said.

The man, however, told police that he was speaking to her just for fun and had no other intention.
Police later contacted her parents and sent her back home.

Champions Trophy 2013: India vs Pakistan match sold out

Dubai: The first lot of tickets for the Champions Trophy India vs Pakistan clash at Edgbaston, England, June 15 next year was sold out in just three hours after windows opened.

The tickets went on sale Monday, and the 15-match tournament's first match was a complete sell-out eight months in advance, said an International Cricket Council (ICC) press release.

The 2013 edition of the Champions Trophy will be the last, the previous having been held in 2009 in South Africa.

Air Kerala will take off on April 14

Air Kerala, the state government's airline, would be launched April 14, 2013, to coincide with Vishu, new year's day in the Malayalam calendar, says Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

'It (Air Kerala) will be airborne April 14. The only question is whether the first flight will be an international or domestic one. Next month, we will be applying to the director general of civil aviation with the preliminary capital of Rs. 100 crore, which we will raise by then,' Chandy, who is convalescing after a leg injury, told IANS during an exclusive chat.

The chief minister explained that under the rules, an airline can only fly international routes after completing five years of domestic service; there is also a stipulation about the number of aircraft that an airline operating internationally should have.

'But Air India Express was given a relaxation in rules when it started international operations. They said it was because it was a subsidiary of Air India. So, when the state government put up the application, we also sought similar exemption. Moreover, at the moment, we are given to understand that one foreign airline is allowed to fly in here, without observing these stipulations,' Chandy said.

Chandy first took up the project in 2004. After he stepped down in 2006, the project lay in cold storage, during the tenure of the Left government.

On returning as chief minister last May, one of the first decisions Chandy took was to revive this project. He has received support from Malayalee businessmen in the Middle East.

'We have, in principle, decided to float shares of Rs.10,000 each and we were surprised when our own Malayalee businessmen there (in the Middle East) who employ thousands of employees agreed to take shares in their employees' names. Each of them employ more than 20,000 employees, so the issue of raising money of Rs.500 crore is not at all a problem. We are confident our dream will soon take flight,' Chandy said.

Chandy has drawn out a schedule, and fixed April 14 as the target date for launch of the new airline.
And if Air Kerala is unable to fly international, it will at least take to domestic skies.

With Air India having opened a brand new hangar facility in the Thiruvananthapuram airport, Air Kerala, on entering into a contract with Air India and paying the maintenance charges, can use the hangar here, the chief minister said.

Air Kerala will also have access to the engineering department of Air India, so it will not need to recruit engineers, he added.

Air India was given the land for setting up the hangar free of cost by the Kerala government. What this means, though, is that Air Kerala can only lease B 737-800 aircraft; these are what the hangar here is equipped to service.

Clash against India a mini grand final: Michael Hussey

Colombo: Australia's veteran batsman Mike Hussey feels that Friday's Super Eights clash with India would be a mini-grand final in the World Twenty20.

Australia, who are yet to lift a World Twenty20 title, face a tall order in the Super Eights stage. First they take on India and then South Africa and Pakistan.

"The pressure and tension are only going to rise as we get closer to that India match because it's a huge game," Hussey was quoted as saying by the Australian media Wednesday.

Hussey feels a win can help Australia stake their claim for a place in the semi-final.

"If we can win that first one in the Super Eights, it does give you that confidence and that little buffer that you know you just need one out of the last two to get through. It's pretty much an early grand final really in the context of the tournament," he said.