Fanie de Villiers offers help to struggling Mitchell Johnson
Sydney, Nov 20 (IANS) Former South African swing bowler Fanie de Villiers is ready to help out-of-form Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson.
Johnson has hardly troubled the South African batsmen in the ongoing Test series in South Africa. He ended up with match figures of 1-144 in the second Test and is in danger of being axed for the upcoming series against New Zealand and India.
In a bid to recapture his form, Johnson shortened his run-up midway through the second Test in Johannesburg but that too proved futile as the Proteas played him with ease.
De Villiers, now a renowned bowling analyst, has kept a keen eye on the South Africa and Australia series and believes the Queenslander can bounce back from his recent slump in form with right mentoring.
"I would like to help him, I was a swing bowler for 19 years ... guys like myself and (Pakistani pace legend) Wasim Akram used to spend hours and hours analysing swing bowling," de Villiers was quoted saying by the Courier Mail.
"I can give him good advice. I really hope Mitchell gives me a ring. If he rings me, I can tell him what he needs to do. He needs to change.
"He needs to understand the way you run in, the way you bowl, how to use angles, and I don't think he understands it," he added.
2011/10/9 11:08:17 Britain has warned the poverty-stricken African countries over the persecution of homosexuals as this will lead to their aid being slashed, the Daily Mail reported.
International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell has already cut aid to Malawi by 19 million pounds after two gay men were sentenced to 14 years hard labour under the country's rigidly imposed ban on homosexuality.
The British government described their jailing as "shocking and disturbing". The two men were later freed, but Malawi's defiant President Bingu wa Mutharika went ahead with new anti-lesbian laws, prompting a sharp rebuke from Mitchell.
Mitchell has warned the country's leaders to scrap plans to introduce the draconian new anti-lesbian laws.
Mitchell has also threatened to impose further aid "fines" against Uganda and Ghana for hardline anti-gay and lesbian measures.
The policy was disclosed after Prime Minister David Cameron defended his decision to legalise gay weddings when he addressed last week's Conservative Party conference. (IANS)
'Honeyboy' Edwards, Delta bluesman, outlasts them all
2008/5/11 2:42:34
With his 93rd birthday a month away, David "Honeyboy" Edwards admits it's getting hard to walk long distances.
Fortunately for the man believed to be the oldest surviving Delta bluesman, fans and admirers never let him walk more than a few feet at a time. Every few steps, someone wants to shake his hand, offer a gift or share news of common friends.
"It's like this everywhere we go," Edwards' manager, Michael Frank, said during the Robert Johnson Blues Foundation ceremony Friday to honor the Shaw native. "He can't walk through a crowded room."
Edwards has a legacy that almost no living musician can match, and as the last Delta bluesman still standing he has found himself in demand. In the past year alone, he has released a new album, won Grammy and Handy Awards, appeared in "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," and done interviews for three documentaries due out in 2009 and 2010.
With all the activity, though, Edwards finds he is often tired these days. He was in Tunica on Thursday for the Blues Music Awards, in Jackson on Friday, and in Crystal Springs on Saturday to play a festival on a bill that included Pinetop Perkins, one of the few musicians who can claim to have known Edwards when he was a young man.
Edwards, who turns 93 on June 28, will get a day to rest when he returns to Chicago, and then it's off to Europe for 10 dates. He still plays about 70 gigs a year and the calls keep coming.
Even among the footloose group of blues musicians who gained fame in the 1930s and '40s, Edwards was known for his far-ranging travels.
"When I was young, I was everywhere," Edwards said.
Edwards learned the guitar growing up in Shaw, started playing professionally at age 17 in Memphis and by the 1950s had played with almost every bluesman of note — Tommy Johnson, Charlie Patton, Big Joe Williams, Sonny Boy Williamson I, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters — across the decades.
Edwards was honored by the Johnson foundation along with the late Ike Zinnerman, who is believed to be the teacher who helped Johnson become the envy of his fellow bluesmen and a touchstone for a generation of rock 'n' roll musicians.
Though much time has passed, little about Edwards' style has changed. His latest album, "Roamin' and Ramblin'," offers the kind of music Edwards would have played as he traveled first the Delta, then the region.
"Blues ain't never going anywhere," Edwards said. "It can get slow, but it ain't going nowhere. You play a lowdown dirty shame slow and lonesome, my mama dead, my papa across the sea I ain't dead but I'm just supposed to be blues. You can take that same blues, make it uptempo, a shuffle blues, that's what rock 'n' roll did with it. So blues ain't going nowhere. Ain't goin' nowhere."
She is hot. She is sexy. She is ready to expose. She also has got some talent in acting. Still she is struggling to make a mark in Tollywood. She is the hot beauty Poonam Kaur.
Poonam has been around for quite a while but she is no reduced to playing side heroine characters or those of the heroine's friend. She has now come up with a new photo shoot showing her at her sexiest best. Hope she gets some good offers at least now.
2011/11/18 19:49:47 Dubai, Nov 18 (IANS) Indian batting great Rahul Dravid moved four places to eighth in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings for Test batsmen released Friday while teammate V.V.S. Laxman gained five places to the 13th spot following their centuries in the second Test against West Indies that ended in Kolkata Thursday.
Dravid scored 119 and Laxman hit 176 as the home team cruised to an innings victory over the West Indies at the historic Eden Gardens.
Another stalwart of world cricket, West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul (37), slipped in the other direction following his side's defeat. The Guyanese left-hander lost four places to settle for 10th.
Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara retained the top spot.
Pragyan Ojha is the main mover in the bowlers' rankings as the left-arm slow bowler gained six places to 26th position, the highest ranking of his career to date.
The 25-year-old took six wickets in the second Test, helping to give India an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
South Africa's Dale Steyn continues to be the top-ranked bowler.
Rankings:
Batsmen: 1 Kumar Sangakkara SL 2 Jacques Kallis SA 3 Alastair Cook Eng 4 Ian Bell Eng 5 Sachin Tendulkar Ind 6 Graeme Smith SA 7 Hashim Amla SA 8 Rahul Dravid Ind 9 Jonathan Trott Eng 10 Shivnarine Chanderpaul WI
Bowlers: 1 Dale Steyn SA 2 James Anderson Eng 3 Morne Morkel SA 4 Graeme Swann Eng 5 Stuart Broad Eng 6 Zaheer Khan Ind 7 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 8 Daniel Vettori NZ 9 Mitchell Johnson Aus 10 Shane Watson Aus
2011/2/20 4:09:12 Manchu Manoj might be struggling for break in his film career, but being from Manchu family, he never needs to look around for offers. His sister Manchu Lakshmi is producing a movie ‘Vu Kodathara Vulliki Padathara’ for him in which Deeksha Seth will pair with him. This film will go to sets shortly. Recently, Manoj has signed one more film with producer DS.Rao. It will be directed by Anil Krishna (Kalyanaram’s Asadhyudu fame). The full details of this movie will be announced soon.
It was a walk down memory lane. Recollecting his association with the legends and paying tributes to his masters, Johnson, the king of melodies, spoke on his career at length.
Come 2008 and Johnson will be entering his 30th year as music director. After spending 32 long years in Chennai, he gets ready to come back to Kerala. Back from a break, forced by health reasons, he wants be again in the thick of things. His next movie will see him touching the 300-mark.
"I felt really weak and did only two major films `Yathrakkarude Sradhakku' and `Photographer' during that time. Ranjan Pramod was keen that I should compose music for `Photographer.' Though I was reluctant initially, I did a good job. I really enjoyed the work, but sadly the film didn't do well."
The three songs, `Enthe Kannanu,' `Pulchadi' and `Kadalolam,' however, went on to become big hits and were praised for its charm and freshness. And he promises more.
The rise of Johnson, from a violinist with the `Voice of Trichur' to one of the best the Malayalam film music has ever seen, has been mercurial, and the credit must go to Devarajan who spotted the talent in him and took him along.
His master's disciple
The disciple of Devarajan treaded his master's footsteps. He made his debut with `Aaravom' (1978) and later came the association with directors like the late Padamarjan and Bharathan, and also with filmmakers like T.V. Chandran, Mohan, Sathyan Anthikkad, Sibi Malayil, Kamal among others. And we were gifted with songs such as `Adi vaa kattae... ' (`Koodevide'), `Gopike... ' (`Kattathe Kilikkoodu'), `Devanganangal... ' (`Njan Gandharvan'), `Thane Poovitta... ' (`Sasneham'), `Kanner Poovinte ... ' (`Kireedom'), `Madhuram Jeevamrutha... ' (`Chenkole'), `Pathirapullunarnnu... ' (`Ee Puzhayum Kadannu'), `Sooryamsu' (`Pakshe') to mention only a few.
And then there are his background scores, which he never overplayed, but have only gelled well with the tone of the movies. One such serene touch in `Ponthan Mada' won him a National award. Johnson won the National Award twice and the Kerala State Award on five occasions.
"The movies of the late `80s and the `90s were more realistic. Everyone had doubts about `Doore Doore Sagaram... ' (`Varavelpu'), since it came almost at the fag end with just two characters on screen. But I had the confidence, and the song made an impact."
A blessing
It's his self-confidence that keeps him going and on his composing he says: "I believe it's a divine blessing. I get a spark. A final shape is given to it after hearing the story. For me, whether it's songs or background score, everything is a spontaneous process."
"I work hard, make all the needed corrections and then present it before others. I can't rework on my product, which according to me is final. If you ask me why, the answer is: that's me," says the musician. He gives due credit to the lyricists and singers for his hits and showers praise on S. Janaki. When it comes to fast numbers, isn't he a little reserved? "I'm particular that the music should not disturb the lyrics and the total mood and meaning. For me that's a priority."
Calling himself a third-generation artist - the first being Devarajan, Baburaj, Dakshinamoorthy and others, and the second consisting of Syam, A.T. Ummer and others - Johnson feels that the transition from one generation to other had been rather smooth. "Our generation had to concentrate on the orchestration part a bit more than our predecessors, but that was the need of the hour."
Talking about the current generation of composers, Johnson is deeply sad and extremely angry at some `unhealthy' trends. "A few newcomers are neglecting the great musicians of the past and our living legends like Dakshinamoorthy with their imposing ways and ambitious methods. They try to act smart at times. Those trends should be nipped in the bud."
2008/5/24 2:21:40 Kalabhavan Mani, a mimicry artist-turned-film actor as well as strong villain, has proved his acting capabilities in many movies like Vasantiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum, for the performance of which he won a Special Jury Award in 1999. With his unique performance as an entertaining villain (Gemini and Teja), Kalabhavan Mani has managed to establish himself firmly in Tamil and Telugu. But what about his popularity as a hero?
In the beginning of his career, after the moderate success of his Ben Johnson and a few other films in that genre, Kalabhavan Mani wanted to make it big as an action hero in Malayalam. But sadly, Mani lacked the star charisma of a Mammootty or Mohanlal to make his character convincing on screen. His choice of films and style of delivering loud dialogues have not gone down well with viewers. Added to the people's feelings, his style of acting is that of a mimicry act.
And it is a fact that the actor is now struggling to establish himself as an action hero in Malayalam. Many of his recent movies, including Kerala Police directed by Chandrashekharan, and Swarnam by debutant director Venugopan, did not succeed in the box-office.
So it seems that Kerala audiences have almost rejected Kalabhavan Mani as an action hero as predicted by film critics and film pundits.
2011/1/9 23:14:22 Deccan Chargers (Hyderabad)Dale Steyan($1.2Million); Cameron White($1.1Million); Kumar Sangakkara($700,000); Kevin Peterson($650,000); JP Duminy($300,000); Shikhar Dhawan($300,000); Ishant Sharma($450,000); Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra($300,000); Dan Christian($900,000); MS Gony($290,000); Chris Lynn($20,000); Juan Theron($85,000); Michael Lumb($80,000).
Kolkata Knight Riders (Kolkata) Gautam Gambhir ($2.4Million); Yusuf Pathan($2.1Million); Jacques Kallis ($1.1Million); Brad Haddin($325,000); Shakib Al Hasan ($425,000); Brett Lee ($400,000);Eoin Morgan ($350,000); Manoj Tiwari($475,000); Lakshmi pathy Balaji($ 500,000); Jaidev Unadkat($250,000); Ryan Ten Doeschate($150,000); James Pattinson($100,000).
Royal Challengers (Bangalore) Virat Kohil-Retained; Tilakratne Dilshan($650,000); Zaheer Khan($900,000); AB de Villiers($ 1.1Million); Daniel Vettori($550,000); Saurabh Tiwari( $1.6Million); Dirk Nannes ($650,000); Cheteshwar Pujara($700,000); Charl Langeveldt($140,000); Luke Pomersbach($50,000); Abhimanyu Mithun($260,000); Johan Van der Wath($50,000); Rilee Rossouw($ 20,000); Nuwan Pradeep($20,000); Mohammad Kaif ($130,000); Jonathan Vandiar($20,000).
Mumbai Indians (Mumbai) Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh, Keiron Pollard, Lasith Malinga-Retained; Rohit Sharma($2Million); Andrew Symonds ($850,000); David Jacobs($190,000); James Frankilin($100,000); Munaf Patel($700,000); Clint McKay($ 110,000); Moises Henriques($50,000); Aiden Bizzard($20,000)
Sahara Pune warriors (Pune) Yuvraj Singh($18.8Million); Graeme Smith($500,000); Robin Uthappa($2.1Million); Angelo Mathews($950,000); Tim Paine($270,000);Asish Nehra($850,000); Callum Ferguson($300,000); Wayne Parnell($160,000); Mitchell Marsh($290,000); Jerome Taylor($100,000/Rs); Murali Kartik($400,000).
Kalabhavan Mani, a mimicry artist-turned-film actor as well as strong villain, has proved his acting capabilities in many movies like Vasantiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum, for the performance of which he won a Special Jury Award in 1999. With his unique performance as an entertaining villain (Gemini and Teja), Kalabhavan Mani has managed to establish himself firmly in Tamil and Telugu. But what about his popularity as a hero?
In the beginning of his career, after the moderate success of his Ben Johnson and a few other films in that genre, Kalabhavan Mani wanted to make it big as an action hero in Malayalam. But sadly, Mani lacked the star charisma of a Mammootty or Mohanlal to make his character convincing on screen. His choice of films and style of delivering loud dialogues have not gone down well with viewers. Added to the people's feelings, his style of acting is that of a mimicry act.
And it is a fact that the actor is now struggling to establish himself as an action hero in Malayalam. Many of his recent movies, including Kerala Police directed by Chandrashekharan, and Swarnam by debutant director Venugopan, did not succeed in the box-office.
So it seems that Kerala audiences have almost rejected Kalabhavan Mani as an action hero as predicted by film critics and film pundits.
The exacting ways of showbiz took a toll on singer Sonu Nigam's health recently. The singer had to perform in Bangalore even while he was running high fever he insisted on performing. Once on stage, Sonu collapsed after performing for almost two hours despite his discomfort. The function was organised by the Bhagwan Mahavir Jain Hospital, to celebrate the launch of its new high-tech wing.
Eager fans who had collected at Palace Grounds, Bangalore to watch Sonu belt out anthems witnessed a different scene altogether. "He was suffering from fever, running a temperature of 102 degree Celsius. He had a sore throat but he kept rehearsing. He had just flown in from the US and hadn't taken a break. The event organisers offered to postpone the show but he asked them not to do anything of the sort as he didn't want them to undergo losses," confirms his business manager, Ben Johnson.
Sonu pumped energy into his performance until the very end. When his audience asked for him to sing 'Bijuria' in the end, he joked with the cheering crowd saying that he was beginning to feel giddy and that he should be taken to a hospital, just in case. Ben Johnson says, "Yet he danced with a lot of vigour. His discomfort was very apparent. Just before he finished the song, he began to feel nauseous and made a quick exit. He collapsed on the steps."
His bodyguards lifted him up and took him to a hospital. Sonu is recuperating at home currently.
2011/4/23 11:57:10 Kerala beauty Asin said that, she is very much upset with the gossips in the media about her getting film offers one after the other recommended by Salman Khan.
She said “Yes. I am getting plenty of offers in Bollywood. It is not because Salman or some other person has recommends me to the film producers. I am getting the offers only because the directors and producers like my performance and glamour. If, I don’t have talent in me, no one will come to me offering film chance come how big actor recommends me. Media should try to know the facts before it write some thing about somebody. It is not fair to defame somebody like me merely to entertain their readers.”
Ankitha is getting day by day. The reason is not far to seek. The girl has not found any offers coming her way for some time. She was so desperate at one time that she even went on an exposing spree in films. Still offers continued to elude her.
She however covered her lack of offers with a twist. She says that as she has worked with some of the (or all?) the leading heroes in the industry the producers are now wary of casting her. The reason she may charge a bomb. Ankitha says that she is ready to work with anyone, even newcomers, and she will also not charge heavily. Are the producers listening?
Ajith's Kreedom is struggling to maintain its place at the Box Office, despite the reports coming in favouring the success of the movie. It is struggling to find a place at the Top 5 movies list. Though it had a good opening, the same wasn’t sustained and the movie’s success has fallen.
In many areas, fans of Thala Ajith have expressed their anger with movie saying that it was too slow and has very boring songs. After taking all of this into consideration, the producers and the director have decided to remove one of the songs from the film and edit the film so as to make it a more interesting watch. It has also been learnt that in some areas, the theatre owners themselves edited the movie a bit.
2012/4/1 7:36:40 Ranvir Shorey the actor of bollywood, known for his power packed performances in ‘Khosla Ka Ghosla’ and ‘Mithya’, says he is still struggling to get good work in the industry at 40. Ranvir Shorey loves his work, but the actor finds it tough to leave his baby boy home.
"Nowadays the toughest thing going to work is leaving my little son behind. Should try gluing him to my arm. Maybe no one will notice," Ranvir posted on Twitter.
The actor, who is married to Konkona Sensharma, became a father in 2011. Their son, named Haroon, turned one March 15.Shorey made his debut in Bollywood with ‘Ek Chhotisi Love Story’ in 2002 and starred in acclaimed films like ‘Traffic Signal’ and ‘Bheja Fry’. But the actor says he is yet to get a chance to prove himself.
"Even at 40, I am still a struggling actor. In our industry star kids are given opportunities. There is no dearth of films for them. I have done films like ‘Ugly Aur Pagli’ and ‘Mithya’ for which I was appreciated. But here am I finding it difficult even to get my films released. I am not getting a chance to prove myself," Shorey told reporters.Shorey is currently shooting for Anant Mahadevan`s next film ‘Gour Hari Dastaan’ based on the real-life story of a freedom fighter, Gaur Hari Das, in which he plays a journalist.
This year he will also be seen in Yashraj Films` Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif starrer ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ which will be released on Eid. He has also done a cameo in the film adaptation of Salman Rushdie`s 1981 novel `Midnight`s Children`.
2012/4/30 9:06:45 Kolkata gain a marginal 45 runs victory against Bengalore at their home ground Iden previous night.Before the match starting both team were stand at 9 points. KKR were menacing with the bat, clobbered the Royal Challengers to all corners. They were led by Gambhir who scored a brilliant 93. Kohli, Dilshan and AB de Villiers failed with the bat and 191 looked taller than Mount Everest. Gayle gave some entertainment to the packed crowd towards the end, he now holds the Orange Cap. Kolkata move to the 2nd spot in the points table with 11 points. Stay tuned for the presentation. Chris Gayle of RCB said,"We are disappointed. 191 was tough and we didn't start well. We have a long way to go, hopefully we shall pick ourselves up. The new ball was coming onto the bat nicely but in the middle overs the ball was stopping and coming. Their spinners were brilliant. I wanted to hit Billy (says jokingly), no offence but glad it didn't hit the umpire. We have two home games now, hopefully we can win both",.
2011/2/3 11:18:04 The ill fated young hero of Tollywood Nitin, who is struggling for a break since a long time, straight away got two offers at a time one from Tollywood and the other from a business house. Right now, he is acting in a film ‘Ishq’ directed by Vikram kumar and produced by Vikram Goud under Sreshta Media Pvt Ltd banner. Music will score by Aravind Shankar. A new heroiene will pair with him in this film.
His other offer comes from a business house asking him to promote their product ‘Fair and Lovely MAX Fairness for Men’ as their Brand ambassador. Nitin said he is excited to sign his first commercial Ad in his career and he is eagerly waiting to act in it.
2008/3/26 3:24:07 The sexy yoga teacher from Bangalore is slowly losing out on offers. Anushka shot to fame overnight with her tall and well maintained sexy structure. She also did not have any inhibitions in exposing on screen. Her bold attitude coupled with the Tollywood’s preference for fresh new imports gave Anushka a dream start in Tollywood.
Anushka’s role in Ravi Teja’s hit film Vikramarkudu brought her a lot of recognition and she later on went to sign some big films long top stars. She also sizzled well in Gopichand’s Lakshyam. But after that her roles in films like Swagatham and Nagarjuna’s Don did not go don well with the audience. She is now not getting any new offers.
So Anushka has now decided to cut her remuneration by half. But even then, she is not getting too many offers. If the same situation prevails for some more time, then she may have to consider going back to her original profession of teaching yoga soon.
Banu aka Muktha is thrilled at establishing a career simultaneously in Tamil and Malayalam. With handful of offers in both the south Indian languages, Banu is confident that she would live up to all reputations.
Her maiden venture in Tamil Thamirabarani opposite Vishal has turned a big hit and she is getting enough offers coming her way. Also in Malayalam, the young actress has enough offers in her kitty. Says the actress, “I am fortunate that directors keep faith in my acting credentials and give me meaty roles”. “The film industry is very competitive. One has to be doubly careful. One wrong step will dampen the prospects”, she says.
2011/6/29 7:41:32 Director Puri Jagannath’s brother Sai Ram Shankar has been desperately trying for a good film that offers him a break in his flop-career. From his debut film ‘143’ to his last one ‘Bumper Offer’ all the movies turns box office duds. His bad luck even frightens his brother Puri Jagannath to make a film with him. Hence, Sai Ram Shankar despite having a god father in the industry is still struggling to establish himself as a successful star.
He has taken a long interval before doing another movie after his Bumper Offer, perhaps to understand what went wrong with his career. Recently, he got a replacement chance in film ‘Pantam’ directed by Chandrashekar Kanuri. At first, Sundeep Krishna (Sneha Geetam fame) has signed this movie to play the lead role. But, since his dates clash with his other films, he drops from this ‘Pantam’ movie and thus Sai Ram Shankar bagged this movie. New girl Siddika is pairing with him in this movie. This film may go to sets before August month.
"I would rather quit than turn into a glam doll to survive in this industry," says Kavya Madhavan.
She's made her comeback in Tamil with Sadhu Miranda. But she is picky about her choice of films in Tamil.
"After Sadhu Miranda, I was flooded with offers in Tamil. However I am giving great thought to the offers here. If I am asked to do glamour roles, I would rather quit acting than accept those offers."
She is busy with three Malayalam movies opposite Mammootty and Mohanlal.
Britain has warned the poverty-stricken African countries over the persecution of homosexuals as this will lead to their aid being slashed, the Daily Mail reported.
Manchu Manoj might be struggling for break in his film career, but being from Manchu family, he never needs to look around for offers. His sister Manchu Lakshmi is producing a movie ‘Vu Kodathara Vulliki Padathara’ for him in which Deeksha Seth will pair with him. This film will go to sets shortly.
Director Puri Jagannath’s brother Sai Ram Shankar has been desperately trying for a good film that offers him a break in his flop-career. From his debut film ‘143’ to his last one ‘Bumper Offer’ all the movies turns box office duds. His bad luck even frightens his brother Puri Jagannath to make a film with him. Hence, Sai Ram Shankar despite having a god father in the industry is still struggling to establish himself as a successful star. 
