MUMBAI INDIA: It’s a departure in every which way for this Bollywood actress on the ascendant. She is playing a deglamorised politician and the Hindi has to be perfect too, but Britain born Katrina Kaif says her role in “Rajneeti” excites her more because she is now comfortable with the language.

Katrina, who has delivered a string of hits playing the urban hip young woman, gets a makeover in Prakash Jha’s “Rajneeti”. Dressed in cotton saris and speaking chaste Hindi, this is a challenging role that she’s looking forward to. But the Hindi is passe now for the actress, whose accented Hindi meant that her many early films had to be dubbed.

“I am excited about the part (in ‘Rajneeti’), but I am not very excited about speaking Hindi because I spoke Hindi in my last 10 films. It’s a great role and a great film and I certainly hope people enjoy it,” Katrina said.

“Rajneeti” is Katrina’s first political thriller and she says she wants to keep her options open by not restricting herself to any particular genre.

“If it’s a good film and I enjoy it and I think the audience will enjoy it then I will do it,” said the actress, who has given the most hits in last two years, including romantic comedies “Namastey London”, “Partner” and “Welcome”.

In “Rajneeti”, she will be seen rubbing shoulders with veterans like Nana Patekar and Naseeruddin Shah along with talented actors Ajay Devgn, Manoj Bajpai, Arjun Rampal and Bollywood’s new sensation Ranbir Kapoor. Produced by Ronnie Screwvala and directed by Prakash Jha, it is releasing June 4.

Katrina reportedly had a tough time dubbing for her last outing, “Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani”, because director Raj Kumar Santoshi was very particular about her Hindi.

The 25-year-old, who was initially dubbed by professional artists and still faces flak for her pronounced British accent despite a successful Bollywood career, isn’t worried about her Hindi accent. In fact, she is thrilled with the way her career has shaped up.

“It’s been a wonderful ride so far and I’ve had wonderful support from a lot of people. The audience has been very supportive and I hope that I keep getting the opportunity and the good work and as long as that’s there, I am happy,” she said.

Apart for her Hindi in “Rajneeti”, the actress has also been in the news for watching actress Madhuri Dixit’s videos to prepare for a dance number in Farah Khan’s directorial venture “Tees Maar Khan”.

“No, I haven’t gone through them (the videos) yet… We have a very high energy, fun Indian song which is kind of an item song and it has some kind of resemblance to the kind of songs that Madhuri was famous for but that’s kind of where it stops,” said Katrina who has once again teamed up with Akshay Kumar in the film.

“Farah is unique as a director and what she gives in her sense of glamour and presentation is something which I am very excited to be part of and I hope that we make a great film,” she added.

Expected to release Dec 24, “Tees Maar Khan” also stars Akshaye Khanna.

Asked about her reported projects like the Hindi version of “The Italian Job” and “Dostana 2″, she said: “At the moment, I am working on ‘Rajneeti’ and Farah Khan’s ‘Tees Maar Khan’… Anything else is yet to be announced.”

The actress has been recently roped in by Lux as the face of their new variant – Purple Lotus & Cream – a soap with claimed anti-ageing properties.

Idol Contestant Disqualified , As per fellow American Idol contestant for the Hollywood Week, Samantha Musa, the response is “Yes”. Samantha musa auditioned for Idol in LA and got a Golden Ticket, but we never saw her on TV.

If you have seen the Wednesday February 17th episode you would have noticed that Chris Golightly was integrated in the group shot at episode’s end, but when the individual dancing montage was showed Golightly was missing and instead we saw Tim Urban shaking his groove thing.

Many of the viewers remember Chris Golightly as the man who has lived in around 25 foster homes from the time when he was 18 months old.

The news of Golightly’s disqualification got confirmed with Ryan Seacrest’s TWEET, Ryan on Wednesday, February 17, soon after the Idol Top 24 were announced Tweeted that, “been determined that Chris Golightly is disqualified from IDOL, he will be replaced by contestant Tim Urban as part of the Top 24?. Though the reason of the disqualification hasn’t been estimated yet, and even Ryan remained shady on it and wrote “must have broken a rule or maybe had previous deal”.

Ricky Stokes News, Alexander Rae “Alec” Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American film and television actor. An actor comfortable in both lead and supporting roles, he has appeared in numerous Hollywood films, from Beetlejuice and The Hunt for Red October in the 1980s to the Martin Scorsese films The Aviator and The Departed in the 2000.

Donnie Simpson Jr Wedding Pictures, Donnie Simpson is a longtime American radio DJ as well as a television and movie personality. He has hosted The Donnie Simpson Morning Show on Washington, D.C. radio station WPGC-FM since March 1993. Simpson is the first urban-format radio personality to have an annual salary over $1 million without being syndicated. He was Billboard’s “1998 Air Personality of the Year”. He is also known by the nickname “Dr. Green Eyes” for his luminous light green eyes.

Simpson began his career at age 15 at Urban Contemporary radio station WJLB in Detroit, Michigan, where he remained for eight years. In 1977 he relocated to Washington, D.C., where he began working at WRC-FM, known as “Disco 93.9? (now WKYS), as morning drive host and program director. He remained with WKYS for 15 years through its format migration from Disco-based Rhythmic Contemporary Hits to Urban Contemporary in the 1980s. In 1981, he was hired as back-up anchor for the George Michael Sports Machine sports show on NBC’s Washington television outlet.

Urban Meyer Press Conference Today: Two sources close to the situation told Florida Today that Urban Meyer has changed his mind and has decided he will return as the Gators’ head coach after taking an indefinite leave of absence.The resignation has become a leave of absence of the indefinite kind. It will start after Florida faces Cincinnati on January 1, 2010 and last as long asMeyer sees fit. He took some time to rethink his choice and realized it wasn’t the one he wanted to make. He didn’t want to hang it up completely. He wanted to recharge and come back in good health.

Offensive coordinator Steve Addazio will be the acting head coach until Meyer feels he is ready to return, according to the sources.

Florida coach Urban Meyer is taking an indefinite leave of absence instead of resigning and expects to be on the sideline leading the Gators when next season opens.

“I do in my gut believe that will happen,” Meyer said Sunday at a Sugar Bowl news conference.

University Of Florida Football, In a stunning announcement made Saturday night, Urban Meyer has resigned as the head football coach at the University of Florida. In a prepared statement released Saturday night, Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley made the shocking announcement, saying Meyer resigned basically because of health reasons.”After consulting with my family, Dr. Machen, Jeremy Foley and my doctors, I believe it is in my best interest to step aside and focus on my health and family,” Meyer said in a prepared statement .  Meyer will coach the team when it plays in the Sugar Bowl on January 1 and he is scheduled to be available to the media on Sunday in New Orleans for a press conference that will take place at 4:30pm eastern time.

AM 850 and Rock 104 will air a special edition of “Sportscene” starting at noon on Sunday to take calls and gauge the reaction of Gator Nation to Meyer’s sudden departure.

Florida now has to go out and find a head coach when most programs have already hired new head coaches and have started recruiting. Meyer coached at Florida for five seasons.

A media report labeled diabetes as a lifestyle disease. Rightly so, but it doesn’t imply that poor and underserved communities are not at risk of diabetes. In fact, the World Diabetes Day (WDD) was created by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization in 1991, to draw attention of the world community towards escalating incidences of diabetes amongst the rich and poor, old and young alike. WDD is celebrated world wide on 14th November, on the birth anniversary of Fredrerick Banting, co-discoverer of insulin.

“Diabetes is affecting all classes of our society, be it rich or poor, high caste or low caste, urban or rural residents. So it is no longer the disease of the rich alone,” said Dr Ambady Ramachandran, Director, India Diabetes Research Foundation (IDRF), Chennai, Tamil Nadu. In a recent study conducted by IDRF in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, prevalence rates of diabetes were found to at par in rural and urban areas, dispelling the misconception that diabetes is only affecting the rich living in urban areas.

Dr Ramachandran further said that “Diabetes exerts a life-long financial burden for treatment. It is not only the cost of medicines but the recurring costs of ongoing home monitoring, laboratory investigations and hospitalizations also add to the financial burden. Also, the changing prevalence of disease patterns is likely to increase the burden of chronic diseases like diabetes in developing countries such as India.”

According to Diabetes Atlas published by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), there were an estimated 40.9 million people with diabetes in India in 2007 which is about 16.7% of the global number of people living with diabetes. This number is predicted to rise to almost 70 million people by the year 2025. The countries with the largest number of people with diabetes will be India, China and USA by 2025. It is estimated that every fifth person with diabetes will be an Indian. The economic burden on India due to such a high incidence of diabetes is amongst the highest in the world.

India is, therefore, often referred to as the ‘diabetes capital of the world’. Several studies have revealed that the prevalence of diabetes is increasing in rural areas too. However, there are no diagnostic tests available at Primary Health Centres for diabetes or diabetes-related complications. Dr Viswanathan Mohan, Director, Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Chennai, Tamil Nadu said that “there is an urgent need to establish diagnostic centres for diabetes at every ante-natal clinic (ANC) especially in rural areas to detect and reduce the burden of diabetes at an early stage in children and adolescents”.

Comparatively, the urban adolescents are more prone to type-2 diabetes than those residing in the rural areas. These urban adolescents have a higher intake of refined cereals as well as high fat and calorie-dense foods. Moreover, they are less likely to engage in regular physical activities. These factors lead to an increased incidence of obesity and consequently a higher risk for the onset of type-2 diabetes at an early age. Overall, patients with young-onset type-2 diabetes are only found in urban areas, and more so in affluent households. On the other hand, type-1 diabetes can occur equally in urban or rural areas. India is a land of famines, floods, local conflicts, large population and a high illiteracy rate. All these factors, coupled with uncertain economic conditions, are likely to impede the diabetes’ prevention and awareness programmes.

It may be pertinent to mention here that the theme for World Diabetes Day 2008, (www.worlddiabetesday.org) as envisaged by IDF is ‘Diabetes In Children and Adolescents’, keeping in mind the increasing incidence of diabetes in youth. This is a matter of grave concern and needs to be tackled. No child should die of diabetes.

Dr Sharad Pendsey ,an expert on diabetes, runs a charitable trust – Diabetes Research Education And Management Trust (DREAM Trust, www.dreamtrust.org) operational in New Delhi/ Noida region which provides free insulin, syringes, blood glucose monitoring strips and complete health care to the poor children with Type-1 diabetes. Dr Pendsey said that “children should be routinely screened for diabetes at diagnostic centres and appropriate follow- up action should be taken , as agreed upon by the primary healthcare providers and the diabetes experts”. Dr Pendsey emphasized on the role of boosting up primary prevention strategies to limit or delay the onset of diabetes which will prove cost-effective as well.

Without primary prevention strategies at the public health level, the number of undiagnosed and uncared for people with diabetes will increase, as also the number of complications arising out of this disease, thus requiring a higher technological input. This in turn will limit access to health care for a large numbers of patients.

Amit Dwivedi

(The author is a Special Correspondent to Citizen News Service (CNS). Email: amit@citizen-news.org)

Carlos Dunlap Arrested, Carlos Dunlap has officially become the 25th Gator arrested during the mandate of the Florida Urban Meyer as head coach at the University of Florida.

According to Police Department spokesman Lt. Keith Kameg Gainesville, Florida Gators from defensive end Carlos Dunlap was arrested this morning on suspicion of DUI.

Dunlap, 20, was arrested at 3:25 am at a traffic light along 34th Street, which runs directly along the west side of campus. According to police, was booked into jail at 5:52

Kameg said officers responded to a complaint of reckless driving and found Dunlap Chrysler stopped at a traffic light near the 200 block of W. 34th Street. Officers found Dunlap coach stopped at a green light.

“I Approach The vehicle and the suspect was found slumped over the driver’s seat,” said Kameg. “It seemed to be asleep. Car windows were cracked as I tried to wake him. They talked to him, and only opened his eyes for a few seconds and then sleep again.”

Kameg said officers were able to unlock the car and turn off the power switch and Dunlap agents reported that “I had trouble listening to instructions.” He was given a sobriety test and did “bad” according Kameg. He refused to take a breathalyzer at the scene, Kameg said.

Carlos Dunlap is the Florida Gators highly decorated, All-SEC defensive end who was recently named MVP of the 2009 season BCS Championship Game. The pound junior 6-foot-6, 290 currently leads the Gators in sacks and is widely Regarded by most analysts as a potential NFL first-round prospect if I decide to leave Florida after his stint as a junior.

Prior to the arrest Dunlap, Florida starting cornerback, Janoris Jenkins, was arrested in late May and charged with fighting and resisting arrest without violence. Urban Meyer had released a statement after the incident.

“This group of players we have now are by and large group quite well. They are 18 to 22 years and, like most young people who are trying to find their way,” Meyer said in a statement.

“It’s a permanent part of our program to mentor and guide our players and is not an exact process. Although we have been very successful with the majority, who are by no means perfect. We were disappointed when we encountered some problems along the way but we will continue to educate and teach our players. ”

This latest arrest comes just days before the Gators are scheduled to take on Alabama in the championship game of the SEC. The Sports Department and Florida coach Urban Meyer has yet to issue a statement about this latest arrest or talking about its impact on The Game.

Dil Chahta Hai , is a 2001 Hindi film starring Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni and Dimple Kapadia. The first film written and directed by Farhan Akhtar, it is set in modern-day urban Mumbai and focuses on a major period of transition in the lives of three young friends.

The film was critically acclaimed, winning that year’s National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. It was also a commercial success, though it performed better in the urban areas of the country compared to the rural areas, which was attributed by critics to the city-oriented lifestyle depicted in the movie in which all the characters are, without exception, from rich or upper-middle-class families.

Cast :-

* Aamir Khan as Akash
* Saif Ali Khan as Sameer
* Akshaye Khanna as Siddharth “Sid” Sinha
* Preity Zinta as Shalini
* Sonali Kulkarni as Pooja
* Dimple Kapadia as Tara Jaiswal
* Ayub Khan as Rohit
* Suhasini Mulay as Sid’s Mother
* Rajat Kapoor as Mahesh
* Samantha Treymane as Deepa
* Suchitra Pillai as Priya

Watch Online Dil Chahta Hai