Celebrity Gossip: August 2011

Biel, Timberlake together again?

Eid Mubarak, says Kim Kardashian

Mansoor's 'Bol' mirror to patriarchal Pakistan

New Delhi: Shoaib Mansoor's next film 'Bol' has already been acclaimed in Pakistan. Shoiab Mansoor, the brain behind some immensely successful television shows in Pakistan, is known for the brave comments he makes via his stories.A well known face in Pakistan's popular culture circuit, Mansoor is everything from writer to music composer to director.He decided to be a film director with critically appreciated 'Khuda Kay Liye', in 2007.Later, it was released in India too. KKL brought forth the issue of fundamentalism and the argument of its religious legitimacy to the forefront. The intense debate that takes place in the court room in between a maulana, played by none other than Naseeruddin Shah, and a militia leader, broke many myths about the Pakistani society and its leanings. Full of secularist approach, this debate was the director's take on the matter of hardcore faith following.The other very important factor about the film is its female protagonist, who denies obeying by the extreme rules of a patriarchal society. Not only this, the breeding of extremist ideology and the true explanation of Islamic rules were also the constituents of the film.Shoaib Mansoor portrayed the confused life of Pakistani youths in a very convincing manner. The film was hard hitting and full of captivating arguments about trivial but vital issues.Not many of the Pakistani filmmakers are known world wide, but Shoaib Mansoor, popularly known as ShoMan, is making his presence felt.Mansoor's latest venture 'Bol' has already crashed all box office records in Pakistan, and going by the enthusiasm it has generated in multiplex going crowd in India, it seems that the business prospects are bright for the film.Bol, again has a female protagonist who fights for the rights of a girl child. The film exposes the paradoxes prevailing in an orthodox patriarchal society, where people are still not free from the clutches of class and caste problems.Popular singer Atif Aslam is making silver screen debut with Bol, but the film belongs to the character of Zainub, played by Humaima Malik, who never forgives the father for killing her hermaphrodite, a person with the reproductive organs of both male and female, brother.The family is under severe financial pressure, but the father refuses to understand the situation due to high brow attitude. The false sense of class pride eventually takes a batter from all sides but the man does not recognize it, in fact he becomes more brutal and starts doing all sorts of misbehaves with the family members.The emotional saga ends with Zainub's hanging but leaves a lot of burning questions to be answered by the society.Mansoor's strength as a director lies in the transformation of characters from one shade to another in a fluid manner. The transition seems completely natural on the screen but it remains with the audience for a long period. Many times the audience gets confused that which part of the character they should believe. Mansoor shows different facets of any character in the same breath, leaving the viewer wondering about their own ideologies.Solution to a major cultural problem, which was terrorism, backed by strong religious arguments was the prime plot in Khuda Kay Liye. This time again, Mansoor seems to have an impartial look at another social evil of Pakistan.

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Wildly Popular to Get London Homecoming?

Beyonce's pregnancy reveal breaks Twitter record: Why do we care so much?

Miranda launches anti-suicide drive

Celina Jaitley marries partner Peter Haag in Austria

Katrina Kaif's winning formula

2011 MTV Video Music Awards: The Show, The Winners

With another year's show come and gone, the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards offered up plenty of action while honoring the best in the music business.The big winners at the Nokia Theatre LA Live show on Sunday night (August 28) included Katy Perry as Video of the Year honoree for "Firework" while Lady Gaga nabbed Best Female Video for "Born This Way" and Justin Bieber's "U Smile" took home the Moonman for Best Male Video.Meanwhile, Britney Spears and the late Amy Winehouse received special tributes while performers included show opener Lady GaGa, as well as Beyonce Knowles, Bruno Mars, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Jay-Z with Kanye West, and Adele.The complete list of winners from the 2011 MTV VMAs is as follows:

VIDEO OF THE YEARAdele, "Rolling in the Deep"WINNER: Katy Perry, "Firework"Beastie Boys, "Make Some Noise"Tyler, The Creator, "Yonkers"Bruno Mars, "Grenade"BEST FEMALE VIDEOAdele, "Rolling in the Deep"Beyonce, "Run the World (Girls)"Katy Perry, "Firework"Nicki Minaj, "Super Bass"WINNER: Lady Gaga, "Born This Way"BEST MALE VIDEOCee Lo Green, "F--k You"Eminem feat. Rihanna, "Love the Way You Lie"Bruno Mars, "Grenade"Kanye West feat. Rihanna & Kid Cudi, "All of the Lights"WINNER: Justin Bieber, "U Smile"BEST POP VIDEOAdele, "Rolling in the Deep"Bruno Mars, "Grenade"Pitbull featuring Ne-Yo, Nayer & Afrojack, "Give Me Everything"Katy Perry, "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)"WINNER: Britney Spears, "Till The World Ends"

BEST ROCK VIDEOMumford & Sons, "The Cave"Cage The Elephant, "Shake Me Down"Foster The People, "Pumped Up Kicks"WINNER: Foo Fighters, "Walk"The Black Keys, "Howlin' For You"BEST HIP HOP VIDEOLil Wayne feat. Cory Gunz, "6'7'"Kanye West feat. Rihanna & Kid Cudi, "All of the Lights"WINNER: Nicki Minaj, "Super Bass"Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes, "Look at Me Now"Lupe Fiasco, "The Show Goes On"BEST NEW ARTISTFoster the PeopleWiz KhalifaWINNER: Tyler, the CreatorBig Sean feat. Chris BrownKreayshawnBEST COLLABORATIONPitbull featuring Ne-Yo, Nayer & Afrojack, "Give Me Everything"Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes, "Look at Me Now"Kanye West featuring Rihanna and Kid Cudi, "All of the Lights"WINNER: Katy Perry Featuring Kanye West, "E.T."Nicki Minaj featuring Drake, "Moment 4 Life"

BEST ART DIRECTIONWINNER: Adele, "Rolling In The Deep"Katy Perry featuring Kanye West,"E.T."Lady Gaga, "Judas"Kanye West featuring Dwele, "Power"Death Cab For Cutie, "You Are a Tourist"BEST CHOREOGRAPHYWINNER: Beyoncé, "Run the World (Girls)"Britney Spears, "Till the World Ends"Lady Gaga, "Judas"Bruno Mars, "The Lazy Song"LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett & Goon, "Rock Party Rock Anthem"BEST CINEMATOGRAPHYWINNER: Adele, "Rolling in the Deep"30 Seconds to Mars, "Hurricane"Eminem featuring Rihanna, "Love the Way You Lie"Katy Perry, "Teenage Dream"Beyoncé, "Run the World (Girls)"

BEST EDITINGKaty Perry featuring Kanye West, "E.T."30 Seconds to Mars, "Hurricane"WINNER: Adele, "Rolling in the Deep"Manchester Orchestra, "Simple Math"Kanye West Featuring Rihanna and Kid Cudi, "All of the Lights"BEST SPECIAL EFFECTSWINNER: Katy Perry featuring Kanye West, "E.T."Linkin Park, "Waiting For the End"Manchester Orchestra, "Simple Math"Kanye West featuring Dwele, "Power"Chromeo, "Don't Turn the Lights On"BEST VIDEO WITH A MESSAGEWINNER: Lady Gaga, "Born This Way"Eminem (featuring Rihanna), "Love the Way You Lie"Katy Perry,"Firework"Pink, "Fuckin' Perfect"Rise Against, "Make It Stop (September's Children)"Taylor Swift, "Mean"Credit :Hollywood Gossip

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Jada stole JLo’s hubby?

MTV video awards honor Britney Spears, Katy Perry

Pop star Lady Gaga opened the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday dressed in drag and singing her "You and I" while Britney Spears and Katy Perry took awards, but it may be Beyonce who stole the show. The R&B singer whose hits include "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" appeared visibly pregnant as she showed up on the red carpet outside the show, posing for photographers and outlining a baby bump with her hands under her long gown.Beyonce, who is married to rapper Jay-Z, avoided reporters waiting to ask whether she is pregnant. For years, her fans and the media have speculated whether and when the pair might have a baby.Lady Gaga, who showed up last year at the MTV video awards in a dress made of raw meat, did an about face this year, opening the program in a man's dark suit and T-shirt as her male alter ego, Joe Calderon who gave the audience a lecture in just who Gaga is -- high heels, wild hair and crazy costumes."When she gets on stage, she holds nothing back," Calderon said.Lady Gaga then launched into a version of "You and I," backed by a group of dancers and legendary rock guitarist Brian May of Queen. She danced on her piano and spewed beer from a bottle into the air in celebration.The MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) annually give out honors for the top music videos and performances to singers and bands, and each year, audiences can count on at least one surprise.Beyonce's picture-perfect baby news will likely be this year's unexpected event.But awards are the focus of the night and the first winner was Spears for best pop music video "Till the World Ends."The pop star took the stage and seemed surprised, saying she hadn't expected to win and thanking her family and fans.Along with Spears, Foo Fighters picked up an early honor for best rock video with "Walk," and Nicki Minaj picked up the "Moonman" winner's statuette for her "Super Bass." Katy Perry and Kanye West were named best collaboration with "E.T."Another major award still to come is best new artist, and Tyler, The Creator figures prominently in that race, too, alongside Wiz Khalifa with "Black and Yellow," Kreayshawn for "Gucci Gucci," Foster the People with "Pumped Up Kicks," and Big Sean (featuring Chris Brown) for "My Last."British singer Adele with her chart-topping song "Rolling in the Deep" is vying for the top award, video of the year, against Katy Perry ("Firework"), Bruno Mars ("Grenade"), the Beastie Boys ("Make Some Noise") and Tyler, The Creator ("Yonkers").Early performances included a duet by Jay-Z and Kanye West, singing a song from their new album, "Watch the Throne."Other singers still to come include Lil Wayne, and there will be special tributes to Britney Spears and late soul singer Amy Winehouse. (Reuters)

David Beckham 'hires armed guard to protect family'

Salman Khan to be treated for nerve disorder

Vidya's strip tease in

Stallone and Schwarzenegger in film stand off

Rihanna spends over 3000 a day on booze!

Charlize reveals adoption plans

'James Bond' Shoot stuck in India

Salman is suffering from trigeminal neuralgia and aneurysm

Shabri (Movie Review)

Life can be tougher that we can ever imagine in certain alleys and corners of this city. Hundreds of people go through endless struggles just to make ends meet. So a story about a woman stuck in such a situation resorting to murder to avenge the injustice done to her family should ideally hit a nerve. But, alas, Shabri is far from the gripping film it had the potential to be.Shabri (Eesha Koppikar) runs a flour mill, and has a drunkard father, a self-sacrificing mother and a wayward brother Bandya for family. She is angry at her circumstances and with her brother Bandya, who tries making fast money through seedy matka operations.The breaking point in Shabri's life comes when her brother Bandya gets into trouble with the cops and eventually dies after being tortured in police custody. Seething with anger and unable to bear this family tragedy, she kills a cop. Murad (Raj Arjun), a local matka operator who holds a torch for Shabri, tries helping her escape the law and the clutches of the local don. He, in turn, gets murdered and she vows revenge yet again. A movie with all the ingredients for a powerful storyline you would think. But wait. You want to show me reality? Then show it to me with the real colours of life. When Shabri fights with her brother for stealing her chappals, show me the blue of that Hawai chappal. When Shabari lovingly reminds her mother that she need not work so hard making aam ka achar, show me the green of that raw mango. If the whole canvas of the movie is painted in such a depressingly, dull brown colour, through which most people look ugly, you are forced to feel depressed. And no one likes being under that kind of pressure. That eerie background music does not help its cause either.There are a few brilliant scenes in the film, which actually tempt you to get involved, but unfortunately the film lacks consistency. Koppikar as the tormented but gritty Shabri makes a good attempt. But her desperate effort to look plain and ugly shows. She is made to look dark with inconsistent make up, but her eyebrows are perfectly plucked at all times. Pradeep Singh Rawat as the main villain is menacing, but his character, like that of the cop (Zakir Hussain), is ambiguous. Husain, however, makes the best of what is offered to him.There are many questions that raise their ugly (no pun intended) heads here. Like how does Shabri turn out to be a pro shooter? And soon after getting out of the jail, how does she still possess a gun? What is the point of a cop hanging around her, asking her inane questions? And many, many more Credit: Mid-Day.com

'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark'

It's the thing you don't see that's always the scariest part of a horror movie. And it's those places you can't see as a kid -- underneath the bed, inside the closet, up in the attic -- where the horrible child-eating monsters are always waiting to get you.Put those things together, and you've got "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark," a goosebump-y haunted-house flick where the floorboards and the mattresses and the big old furnace in the basement really are hiding something deadly.A remake of a fairly-effective TV movie from 1973 -- the monsters were cheap, but the suspense was smartly ratcheted -- the new "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" was directed by first-timer Troy Nixey, although you'd be forgiven for thinking it's a new movie from Guillermo del Toro, whose name gets the most prominent placement on the posters and in the advertising.Even if del Toro didn't yell "Action!" and "Cut!" the movie bears his imprint, from his fascination with scary stories told from a child's point-of-view ("The Devil's Backbone") to the elegantly grotesque creatures (which bear more than a resemblance to the creepy-crawlies from "Pan's Labyrinth").The child in question this time around is Sally (Bailee Madison), an unhappy young girl being shuttled from her unstable mother to go and live with her father Alex (Guy Pearce), who's in the process of restoring a gorgeous old mansion with the help of his girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes).Kim does her best to get close to Sally, particularly since the work-obsessed Alex doesn't pay much attention to her, but Sally resists. And while exploring one day, Sally finds a sealed-off room that Alex opens up over the warnings of Harris (Jack Thompson), the house's longtime caretaker.And you can pretty much imagine what happens from there -- beasties get loose, Sally hears and eventually sees them, no one believes her. But Nixey (working from a script by Del Toro and Matthew Robbins) cranks up the suspense with each appearance of the creatures; as "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" progresses, we learn more and more about just what these terrifying imps have in mind, and why we should grip our armrest when we see them make off with a pair of scissors.Strong performances anchor the film. In movies like "Bridge to Terabithia" and "Brothers," and even in the ludicrous "Just Go With It," Madison has proven herself to be an expert at tween gravitas, and she nails Sally's fear and hopelessness throughout.Even Holmes gets the pitch of the film just right, juggling her initial skepticism about monsters in the house with having stepmom duties suddenly thrown at her. If Pearce registers less than his two co-stars, it's because the character he's playing is so inert that he can't avoid slipping into the background.If there's one big flaw with "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark," it's that in 2011, there's only so long that we can watch movie characters face the perils of a haunted house without thinking,"GET OUT ALREADY!"Long after it should be thoroughly obvious to even the most hardened skeptic that something very unnatural is going on in that old mansion, Alex insists that they stick around, and there aren't enough plot demands to make his stubbornness ring true.(As clunky as "The Haunting in Connecticut" was, at least the script made it clear that the family couldn't afford to move.)But if you're a fan of Guillermo del Toro's baroque brand of horror -- there's a disturbing mural here that would fit perfectly into almost any of the Mexican filmmaker's movies -- you'll find plenty of fun scares and popcorn-box-twisting tension. (Reuters)

Atif’s music goes global

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie selling Californian mansion

Liz Taylor named most photogenic celebrity ever

Matt Damon: 'I'm not running for president'

Actress Margot Kidder arrested during White House protest

Angelina Jolie visits anti-landmine charity in Scotland

Shahid Kapoor plays three characters

Amy had no illegal substances in her system when she died !

'One Day' feels like it lasts years and years

Vague approximation of a guy meets sketchy notion of an intelligent woman, and then they spend two decades circling each other for no apparent reason. It's not exactly "boy meets girl," but that's the best that the new romance "One Day," based on a best-selling novel that I have not read, has to offer.

Author David Nicholls may have made these characters more substantial on the page, but in the big-screen adaptation (which he wrote), the leads are so lightweight and barely-there that a stiffbreeze in the projection booth could make them disappear entirely.And since the whole movie is about the two of them and whether or not they ever get together, that's kind of a problem.On July 15, 1988, Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Dexter (Jim Sturgess) hook up at the end of a drunken night celebrating their graduation from college. (Sorry, university: They're supposed to be from the UK, although if you didn't get that from Hathaway's vague accent, you're not alone.)What's supposed to be a booty call gets terribly awkward -- she puts Tracy Chapman's "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution" on as mood music, he gets dressed to leave while she's prepping in the bathroom -- and then leads to what will become a lifelong friendship.And so, we check in with these two every July 15 and observe the passage of time and the ups and downs of their lives.Emma spins her wheels waiting tables at a Mexican restaurant and dating an untalented would-be stand-up comic (Rafe Spall), while Dex becomes a D-bag television personality and all-around shallow jerk. (One of the laziest tropes in contemporary fiction is to make one of your characters become famous, and "One Day" does it twice, as Emma eventually blossoms into a successful author of young-adult fiction, complete with Audrey Hepburn-esque makeover.)Along the way, characters die, relationships begin and fall apart, but Emma and Dex somehow stay close and keep their unrequited love burning between them. But why, exactly?"One Day" never bothers to spell out for us just who these people are, what they want, or why they do what they do. So it's next to impossible to get revved up about their feelings for each other, except for the fact that Emma and Dex are the principal characters, and they're being played by attractive, charismatic performers.Nicholls' wafer-thin screenplay eventually beats down both Hathaway and Sturgess, who try desperately to give this couple something approximating depth.And the whole same-time-next-year business -- which must have worked on the page, since the novel was huge with the book-club set -- winds up feeling gimmicky and pointless.Jumping through the turn of the 21st century was no doubt lots of fun for the hair and wardrobe department -- Hathaway spends the first chunk of the film being frumped up with unflattering glasses and outfits, but Sturgess goes from posh preppy to '90s fashion victim, sporting an array of looks you'd prayed would never return.(If only any of Sturgess' lines had been as interesting as his hairdos.)The music supervisor had a bit of a lark as well, throwing in Clinton-era jams from the likes of Fatboy Slim and Del Amitri, with some Robbie Williams karaoke thrown in once the film makes it to the 2000s.But there's only so much fun to be had with "Jurassic Park" references, denim vests, and "Sowing the Seeds of Love."Rather than tell a story that would organically elicit certain emotions, it feels like Nicholls and director Lone Scherfig ("An Education") want us to yearn wistfully here and tear up there, and then they set out to create moments that would hit those marks. So we're left with a plot that feels forced (and subsequently predictable) being acted out by ciphers.Patricia Clarkson, as Dex's mother, shines brightest among the cast, even though she's saddled with a thankless role that's all wise advice and the stoic avoidance of tears in a time of crisis. She's taken the pudding cup the movie gives her and somehow transforms it into chocolate mousse.The people behind "One Day" no doubt thought that the passing of the years within the story would be a potent reminder of how life slips right by us, but the more likely response is along the lines of, "Ugh, it's only 2008? Is this movie ever going to be over?" (Reuters). Celebrities Pictures Galleries

Advertisement