Harry Potter blamed for India's owl crisis

MUMBAI: Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has blamed fans of Harry Potter for the demise of wild owls in the country as children seek to emulate the boy wizard by taking the birds as pets. The hit books and films, which are popular in India, feature a snowy owl called Hedwig who is a feathered sidekick for the Potter character and used to deliver mail. "Following Harry Potter, there seems to be a strange fascination even among the urban middle classes for presenting their children with owls," Ramesh said Wednesday, according to comments reported by the BBC. His remarks came as wildlife group Traffic presented a report called "Imperilled Custodians of the Night" which warned about the declining owl population in India. Researchers found that a growing number of owls were being trapped, traded or killed in black magic rituals. Traffic called for tougher measures to protect the bird ahead of Diwali, one of the biggest Hindu festivals, which starts on Friday. It said owls were sometimes sacrificed on auspicious occasions. AGENCIES

Mera Bhi Dil Chata Hian Bike Chalane Ka...Monkey Runing Bike - My Voice_ My perspective

Hollywood hit makers head to India

MUMBAI: India is experiencing a surge in interest as a location for foreign film-makers amid hopes that the presence of overseas productions will boost the home-grown industry. The information and broadcasting ministry said that it has cleared 11 projects this year and has nine more in various stages of approval while in 2009 24 films were given the green light. "We have given permission for more than 100 movies in the last three to four years," said D.P. Reddy, the joint secretary (films) at the department. "It's primarily because we have a lot of good locales where shooting can take place and we have the technical competence. The services are pretty competitive. It makes a lot of sense to come," he told AFP. India has been an enticing location for foreign film-makers for almost as long as cinema has existed. In the 1920s, the German director Franz Osten made a series of black-and-white silent films inspired by India's many religions and rich history. Richard Attenborough's epic "Gandhi" (1982) was largely shot in India and brought the country to a worldwide audience. More recently, major films such as the James Bond thriller "Octopussy" (1983), "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004) and "A Mighty Heart" (2007) have all used Indian locations. This year's "Eat Pray Love", starring Julia Roberts, was the first high-profile film since "Slumdog Millionaire" to come to India on location. Some film industry watchers have attributed the surge in interest in India to the runaway success of "Slumdog" at the 2009 Oscars. But Reddy said India was already attracting interest even before the British-made film came out. The official said that film-makers were coming from all over the world, with recent permission given to studios behind the latest film in the "Mission: Impossible" franchise and the big screen adaptation of the novel "Life of Pi". Other films in the pipeline include "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" starring British actress Judy Dench and directed by John Madden, whose previous credits include "Shakespeare in Love" and "Captain Corelli's Mandolin". Meenakshi Shedde, a Mumbai-based film critic and film festival consultant, said India's age-old combination of spirituality and sexuality, its people, their attitudes and exotic landscapes remained a fascination for film-makers. But she also said it was part of a wider trend for Hollywood to try to capture new audiences, as Western markets reach saturation point. "It's just a straight-forward business proposition... they're trying to tap the Indian market," she said. Analysts accept that India's potential is huge. Last year, some three billion cinema tickets were sold in India, compared with 1.5 billion in the United States, according to a Crisil media and entertainment report last September. In 2009, nearly 60 Hollywood films were released, earning a combined revenue of 85.5 million dollars, consultants KPMG said. Dubbing into local languages is becoming more accepted, although the revenue potential for Hollywood films is lower than in developed countries because of cheap ticket prices, they added. "The last 12 months have seen a dramatic growth of Hollywood in India" with US films' share of theatrical revenues now at about 10 percent, said Vijay Singh, chief executive of Fox Star Studios. New audiences are also being exposed to Hollywood films through the burgeoning satellite television sector, which show both the original English and dubbed versions, he added. Shedde said Hollywood may have a more difficult time penetrating the Indian market, even with the inclusion of familiar locations, actors and themes. "Most national cinemas are destroyed by Hollywood," she said. "But in India, after all the Tom Cruises and Steven Spielbergs, dubbing into at least three to four languages and with all their marketing clout, they still have less than 10 percent of our market." A foreign presence could be beneficial, including for the home-grown industry, which last year saw overall revenues slump by 14 percent to 89.3 billion rupees (two billion dollars). "It should force Bollywood to raise the ante and strengthen their storytelling," said Singh. "It (foreign filmmaking in India) is going to help," added Reddy. "I think the trend will continue with the success of some of these films. That will give a fillip to the industry.

Brand, Perry wed in Rajasthan

NEW DELHI: British comedian Russell Brand and pop singer Katy Perry were married in a closely guarded traditional Hindu ceremony at an exclusive hotel resort in Rajasthan, police and local media said. While the festivities commenced on the grounds of the Amaan-i-Khas resort in the deeply wooded Ranthambore National Park, a tiger reserve some 100 kilometres south of the fort city of Jaipur, the world's media strained to catch a glimpse. As the sounds of traditional Rajasthani music drifted from the dozen specially erected tents across the moonlit resort, over 80 international journalists, including 15 British photographers, jostled for space with their telephoto lenses at the gates of the complex, more than 150 metres away. Private security guards, black screens and a mobile phone ban have ensured a veil of the highest security has shrouded the wedding from unwanted eyes after exclusive publicity rights were sold to a London magazine. "The wedding rituals began around 7 p.m. (1330 GMT) and have now completed," Kajod Mal, a local police officer, said by telephone from Kotwali town, close to the wedding venue. "We sent some of our men there for security." Brand, who has been seen with henna patterns on his hands, arrived on a decorated horse for the wedding, flanked by camels and elephants, Indian news agency reported. Other reports said Barbadian pop star Rihanna played the maid of honour as a priest chanted Hindu hymns around a sacred fire. As the sun set through the early evening, the guests, who are staying at two nearby resorts, arrived in cars with blacked-out windows. British singer-songwriter Noel Gallagher was also reported to be attending the ceremony, as well as Brand's close friend television presenter Jonathan Ross. The couple, who landed in Mumbai on Thursday, reportedly chose the resort for their wedding after Brand proposed to Perry at the same location last December. Perry wore an Indian bridal nose ring as she passed through the airport. On Friday, a witness said four photographers were attacked by a member of Brand's security detail while trying to take pictures of the groom-to-be on a safari trip. One of the actor's bodyguards smashed camera equipment and injured one of the photographers before taking the keys to their vehicle, leaving them stranded in the tiger reserve.

Hrithik, SRK bond in Berlin

BERLIN: The Hrithik Roshan- Shah Rukh Khan bond gets stronger each day. One hears that Duggu may be travelling to Berlin to catch up with his good friend SRK at the month end. Duggu is very much at home with the Don2 unit who are stationed in Berlin, since he is also working with Farhan Akhtar and company in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. From the looks of it, SRK's bash in Berlin may turn out to be a very special affair, what with Karan Johar, Farhan Akhtar, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Hrithik Roshan and others joining in the revelry.

Shahrukh Khans look in Don 2?

MUMBAI: Though Superstar Shahrukh Khan's upcoming film Don 2, the sequel of Don- The Chase Begins, is being kept under wraps and nothing much is known about the film, we have stumbled upon few pics supposed to be SRK's DON 2 look. Just few days back Shahrukh had tweeted that he is in Berlin to shoot for DON 2 to be directed by Farhan Akhtar. We wonder if these pics are straight from Berlin, where the shooting is currently on.

Celine Dion gives birth to twin boys

NEW YORK – Celine Dion has given birth to twin boys, finally realizing her dream of being a mother again after a long struggle to become pregnant.
A statement released by St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., said that the 42-year-old superstar singer delivered the boys Saturday afternoon. One boy weighed 5 pounds, 10 ounces, while the other weighed 5 pounds, 4 ounces. No names have been announced.
Dion and her husband-manager, Rene Angelil, are already the parents of one son, 9-year-old Rene Charles. But Dion had long wanted to have more children, and, like with her first child, she had difficulty becoming pregnant. She has spoken openly about her struggles, undergoing several rounds of in-vitro fertilization.
Last year, after information leaked that she was pregnant, she confirmed the news, only to learn that the in vitro procedure was not successful. She had to issue a reversal weeks later.
In an interview earlier this year, Dion said she hoped that by publicly sharing her struggle, she could help others.
"If I help people through my voice, through my interviews, through what I go through, I do not want to change that at all," she said. "I think it's making a difference."
The boys came a month early. Dion was due to deliver next month, but earlier this week, it was announced that she was hospitalized as a precaution to make sure she was near her doctors as she prepared to give birth.