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Pak buffs prefer Bollywood family fare to skin flicks (Go To Top)

     Karachi: Pakistani movie dealers have said that family movies produced by Bollywood are in more demand with the Pakistani audiences compared to the sex-oriented ones dished out by them. CD and DVD dealers have said that the seemingly adult movies dished out by Bollywood are never in much demand with the public and do not sell as much compared to family films. They say that the last big movie to hit the home theatre was the Amitabh Bachchan-Rani Mukherjee starrer "Black", which received overwhelming response from the public with families and friends all watching it time and again. Compared to this, "Fun", which was released at the same time fizzled out, as the spectators felt, the film ended up redefining nudity and vulgarity rather than the action and masala it claimed to portray, also depicted in the film's posters. "Families don't want to watch movies such as "Fun." A lot of my customers were upset with me for renting them such a movie. They said they had to ask their children to leave the room half way through the movie," the Daily Times quoted Ahsan, a movie retailer as saying, adding that families were very important customers to moviewallas. Movie retailers opine that though the local public is excited to see what Bollywood is up to, and are willing to sacrifice their traditional methods of watching movies with families, but all in all, they do not want too much of nudity in movies.

Marriage was consummated: Lisa Marie Presley (Go To Top)

     London: Elvis's daughter Lisa Marie Presley has said her 20-month marriage to Michael Jackson was not a publicity stunt and stresses that it was consummated. Lisa Marie said Jackson - who is facing trial on child molestation charges - loved her "as much as he was capable of loving someone". "It was a consummated marriage. Yeah, that's all I have to say on it. To me, the marriage was real", Femalefirst quoted her as saying to US chat show host Oprah Winfrey. However, Lisa Marie's mother, Priscilla, who was also a guest on the talk show confessed, she was shocked by the news of her daughter's secret marriage to Jackson because she doubted the pop star's motives. She also said that she was convinced Jackson married her to use Lisa to produce children from the lineage of Elvis. She also admitted to banning the superstar from meeting Lisa Marie when she was just 16. "I was concerned and suspicious of Lisa's marriage to Michael Jackson. I do think there was an agenda. He wanted children and I think he wanted her children. Jackson wanted to meet me for dinner once and he wanted me to bring Lisa - she was only 16 and I thought it was kind of young. He said, 'No, no, no, I want to meet her,' but I stood my ground. I didn't even know this man - only from the television", the report quoted her as saying. In a previous interview with Oprah, Lisa Marie had described her wedding to Jackson saying, "Holy Mother of God. It was insane," before adding that she knew nothing about the child abuse claims against him.

Angelina Jolie voted world's sexiest single mum (Go To Top)

     London: 'Tomb Raider' star Angelina Jolie has topped the poll for the world's Sexiest Single Mum. According to the Sun, the Hollywood beauty who adopted her Cambodian-born son Maddox in 2002, beat Nicole Kidman and Uma Thurman to top the poll for the World's Sexiest single mum, by FHM magazine. While rapper P Diddy topped the list for the world's sexiest single male parent followed by Irish hunk Collin Farell. According to the poll the top five Sexiest Single Mums are: 1. Angelina Jolie 2. Nicole Kidman 3. Uma Thurman 4. Mary Louise Parker 5. Fantasia Barrino Top five Sexiest Single Dads 1. P Diddy 2. Colin Farrell 3. Bruce Willis 4. Tom Cruise 5. Ethan Hawke

Penelope Cruz has conversations with her camel  (Go To Top)

     Washington: Penelope Cruz, who has millions of fans across the world, has become a big fan of the camel she rode while filming her new film 'Sahara'. The Spanish actress started having conversations with the camel, after initially worrying about getting very close to the animal. "I had nightmares about the camel in the beginning because people had told me they were mean and stupid but they're not like that... After training for a long time I really became friends with my camel and I would talk to him and he would answer," Contactmusic.com quoted Cruz as saying. "When we shot the scene, at the end of the day I would ask for extra time for me to go around the desert with my camel to gallop a little longer. I loved it," she said.

Ray Charles' studio to be transformed into museum (Go To Top)

     Washington: The Los Angles studio, where R&B star Ray Charles recorded his last album, is to be transformed into a museum in memory of the late music legend. The three-story, 18,000-square-foot 'Ray Charles Museum' would house a permanent collection of rotating exhibits paying tribute to the legend's original records. It will also feature an educational centre, a cafi, a retail shop, a rooftop garden, a tour bus used by Charles and the working studio-offices of Ray Charles Enterprises. "For Ray, music was his life. He often said music was like blood in his veins, and this museum and centre will be a permanent and highly accessible tribute to the man, his beloved neighbourhood and to the world," E-online quoted Charles' manager Joe Adams as saying. The studio, which was declared a historic landmark by the city of Los Angeles in 2004, is expected to open its doors to visitors in 2007.

Sir Elton John sells management firm for 16 mln pounds (Go To Top)

     London: Sir Elton John has sold his management company Twenty-First Artists to Sanctuary Records. According to The BBC, the deal is worth 16 million dollars. He has also signed a five-year deal to be managed by Sanctuary after parting company with his previous manager. "I feel strongly this will represent the continuation of a very creative period for me. I am very pleased to be involved with Sanctuary as I have been impressed by the approach they take, particularly toward the artist," he was quoted as saying. Sanctuary is one of the world's largest artist management companies, representing stars including Morrissey, Beyonce and the Manic Street Preachers. "The status of Sir Elton John as a respected and hugely successful artist is unassailable and we are obviously very happy to be involved in his career going forward. Executive chairman Andy Taylor was quoted as saying.

All set for IIFA 2005 (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: The voting for the 2005 edition - the 6th International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) began on Wednesday, March 30 at the J W Marriot hotel in Mumbai. Launched four years ago at the Millennium Dome in London, the IIFA Awards have been subsequently held at Sun City in South Africa, the Genting Islands in Malaysia and once again at The Dome@ Northgate in Johannesburg South Africa in 2003 and in Singapore last year. The IIFA Awards gives the entire film industry a chance to vote for nominations. The build up to the glamorous event to be staged in Amsterdam this year began with IIFA Awards brand ambassador, Mr Amitabh Bachchan arriving early to cast his vote for the nominations. Held under strict supervision of auditing company Price Waterhouse Coopers, the voting is open till April 3. The IIFA awards will be held in Amsterdam between April 9 and 11.

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