Vidya Balan receives the Padma Shri Award

Bollywood sensation Vidya Balan has a sure-fire ‘kismat konnection’ indeed. Not only has her portrayal of strong female protagonists in films like The Dirty Picture and Kahaani won her multiple awards, but also, recently, made her the recipient of the Padma Shri from the Government of India.
What is the republic’s fourth highest civilian award, was presented to the actor, who was unsurprisingly overwhelmed. Vidya, 36, whose films have won both commercial and critical acclaim for films, such as Paa, Ishqiya and No One Killed Jessica, said that it felt unreal to have received such a prestigious award, reports the Hindustan Times.
“I was shooting for Bobby Jasoos (in Mumbai) and there was a little celebration on the set,” she said. She shared that at home, she had a small celebration with her family, which “got really emotional when the news came in”. “Everyone is feeling very happy and proud. As for me, I’m just feeling grateful,” she said.
The national award-winning actor said that she never imagined receiving a Padma Shri. “With a film award, there is a nomination process, so you know there’s a possibility. Here, there was nothing of the sort. It was a wonderful surprise,” said Vidya.
The thrilled actor revealed how the news was broken to her. “They called Siddharth [her husband] because they didn’t know how to get in touch with me. When he called me, I didn’t take the call as I was busy shooting. Later in the day, when I saw his calls, I called back and he was ecstatic,” said Vidya, brimming with joy.
“For the first few seconds, I couldn’t make sense of what he was saying. But he sounded so happy that it dawned on me that it’s for real.”
The B-town bombshell, who has often been a victim of caustic remarks over her weight, has remained undeterred and embraced her curves like no other contemporary of hers.
From the film fraternity, actor Paresh Rawal has been selected as the other Padma Shri awardee this year.
A round of applause for both these distinguished actors!
Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2014.

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Salman and Mithoon get into verbal spat at award show

At a recently held award function there was a war of words between Salman Khan and singer-composer Mithoon Sharma, reported Times of India; an altercation which was witnessed by hundreds, including Bollywood’s A-list. The actor, who was hosting The Star Guild Awards, interrupted Mithoon’s acceptance speech to point to a piece of paper stuck to his backside.

This did not go down well with Mithoon who was onstage to accept an award for the song Tum hi ho meri aashiqui from Aashiqui 2. He shot back saying that this was bound to happen thanks to the dull evening and Salman’s long speeches. Salman flew into a rage and ordered Mithoon out, saying, “Chal jaa. Nikal yahan se (get off the stage).” Then Mithun fired the salvo, “Sir, main aap se nahin darta(Sir, I’m not scared of you).”
An eyewitness said, “Salman’s prank backfired totally. He looked very flustered. This was the last thing he expected. Nobody challenges Salman Khan like that in public. Seeing that the situation was snowballing into an ugly incident, Salman went up to Mithoon and hugged him lightly.”
Salman did not want to blow the incident out of proportion and therefore, he put aside his ego and pacified the situation.
Despite the spat, Mithoon looked calm and Salman too continued hosting the show as if nothing had happened. When contacted, Mithoon said, “I didn’t tell Salman that he was boring us with his speeches. I cannot say that to any senior actor like Salman.”
However, Mithoon did not deny that Salman did direct him to leave the stage or that he retorted by saying that he is not scared of the star. He said, “My award was announced very late and everyone was very tired by then. That was in good humour. And I didn’t feel offended.”
As the release date of Jai Ho draws closer, Salman Khan is registering his presence everywhere. Reality television shows are even changing the themes of their episodes to match his superstar persona. And special performances are designed for him. The actor doesn’t in the least hesitate to sing and dance to the songs of his upcoming film on these shows.
The superstar, who’s having a film release after over a year, is visiting various cities across India to promote his upcoming movie. He also visited his hometown Indore, where the nurse who had helped during his birth came to meet him. This incident also brought Salman in the limelight and now we are all anxiously waiting for his upcoming movie.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2014.

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Golden Globes 2014: five surpises from the awards

The Golden Globes certainly shook up the awards season. For a start, the film that was going to win all the awards (12 Years A Slave), didn't win all the awards.

Then there was flooding outside the ceremony when a sprinkler system went wrong, and a few bad attempts at red carpet camouflage from some of the female stars.

Throw in Jacqueline Bisset's barmy acceptance speech and Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie's awkward teleprompter silences...

And, in the words of Tina Fey, you get the "beautiful mess of a Golden Globes that we hoped it would be".

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