10,500,000 firecrackers - new world record


According to this video, at the 2006 Fireworks Convention in Appleton, Wisconsin, two world records were broken as regards firecrackers. In this 3 minute video clip you can see the entire event. They were the most firecrackers lit in one mega-string (approximately 10,500,000 firecrackers) and the most firecrackers in one super string (a vertical string of crackers).

Katy Perry and Russell Brand married in Hindu ceremony in India

Katy Perry 1
American singer Katy Perry, 26, and her comedian fiancé Russell Brand, 35, have married in a Hindu marriage ceremony under heavy security arrangements in Ranthambhore National Park, India's leading tiger park. The couple exchanged their marriage vows on Saturday surrounded by a small group of friends and family, in the Hindu marriage rituals conducted by a Hindu priest at the luxury tented camp Aman-i-Khas. Perry’s parents Mary and Keith Hudson, and Brand’s mother Barbara Brand were present.

There was tight security with private security guards stationed at the resort and other nearby hotels where guests and the couple are staying for the six-day wedding celebration.

Perry and Brand began their wedding by worshipping a statue of Lord Ganesha, the Hindu God, as practiced by Hindus before the start of any new venture, and the pair walked to a specially designed mandap, as usual in Hindu weddings, and sat on ornate thrones as a Hindu priest performed the ceremonial rituals.

As is usual in most Indian marriages, the couple walked around a sacred fire seven times reciting Sanskrit mantras and tying a special wedding scarf together to symbolize their life partnership. Brand stooped low to touch Perry’s parents' feet requesting permission to marry Perry.

According to reports, about 40 guests of the couple have been staying since Wednesday at the camp, where tents cost £600 a night, and the neighboring £300 a night Sher Bagh resort.

The celebrity guests, who attended the wedding, included comedian David Baddiel and his wife Morwenn Banks, and on the invitation list were rapper P Diddy, Jonathan Ross, David Williams and pop star Rihanna.

A spokesperson said that though the couple had a Hindu wedding and sat patiently through an hour-long havan, “The very private and spiritual ceremony, attended by the couple’s closest family and friends, was performed by a Christian minister and long time friend of the Hudson (Perry) family.”

Mallika Sherawat's journey to Hisss


Mallika Sherawat's film Hisss, directed American director Jennifer Lynch, also featuring Irrfan Khan, Jeff Doucette and Divya Dutta, will hit the theatres next week in India. The film will be released in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu this week and in Malayalam the next week. But its international version is postponed for release and may not reach theatres in USA and other countries before January next year, as the Hollywood version is not yet ready for release.

Hisss was to have a grand release across US theatres on October 22, along with the desi version, but news reports say, according to producer Govind Menon, “…we are building up the film a bit”. According to Menon, the international version with subtitles will also release in Malaysia, Australia, UK, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa the same week in Phase 1, and in Phase 2, Hisss will have a theatrical release in Hollywood.

Alina Kabaeva: Russian politician and gymnast


Alina Kabaeva (born Alina Maratovna Kabayeva on May 12, 1983) is Russia's most successful rhythmic gymnast to date. She is also one of the most decorated gymnasts in the history of rhythmic gymnastics with two Olympic medals, 18 world championship medals and 25 European championship medals. She is the current State Duma deputy from the Party of United Russia since 2007.

In 1998, at age 15, Kabaeva won the European Championships in Portugal, and in 1999 Kabaeva became European Champion for the second consecutive time and won the World title in Osaka, Japan. Kabaeva won a total of 5 all-around titles at the European Championships and another World title in 2003 in Budapest, Hungary.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Kabaeva was expected to win gold, but due to an error she had to be contended with the bronze medal with the score of 39.466 (Rope 9.925, Hoop 9.641, Ball 9.950, Ribbon 9.950).

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Kabayeva took home the gold medal in the individual all-around event for rhythmic gymnastics with a score of 108.400 (Hoop 26.800, Ball 27.350, Clubs 27.150, Ribbon 27.100).

In October 2004, Kabaeva announced retirement, but in June 2005, the Russian head coach Irina Viner announced her possible comeback to gymnastics. So, Kabaeva took part in an Italy-Russia friendly competition in Genoa in September 2005. On March 5, 2006, she won the Gazprom Moscow Grand Prix, with the fellow Russians Vera Sessina and Olga Kapranova winning the second and third places.

Since 2005 Alina Kabaeva has been a member of the Public Chamber of Russia. Since 2007, Kabayeva has been a member of the Russian Parliament, the State Duma, representing the pro-Kremlin United Russia Party.

Alina Kabaeva: Russia's most successful rhythmic gymnast

Russian Rhythmic Gymnast and member of Russian Parliament Alina Kabaeva
Alina Kabaeva, originally uploaded by Ballerina109.

Mallika Sherawat's Hisss - Preview

Mallika Sherawat Hiss Thrill movie

Hisss, aka ‘Nagin: The Snake Woman’, directed by Jennifer Lynch with Mallika Sherawat playing the lead role as Naagin, is slated for release on October 22, 2010 in India. Sherawat, who now lives in the United States, has been in India to promote the film. At the Cannes Film Festival, Mallika Sherawat promoted the film by posing with a giant African Rock Python (22 feet/ 6.7 meters long) python on the red carpet.

The film Hisss, produced by Govind Menon, Vikram Singh, Ratan Jain and William Sees Keenan, also features Irrfan Khan, Jeff Doucette and Divya Dutta. The film is edited by American film editor Tony Ciccone, and special effects designer Robert Kurtzman developed the look of the Snake Woman for Sherawat.

Mallika Sherawat makes her musical debut on the film's soundtrack alongside Julian Lennon, and Shruti Haasan sings and appears in a promotional video with music by Dave Kushner for the film.

The film was simultaneously shot in Hindi and English, and it will be released with other versions in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. A substantial part of the film was shot in the jungles of Kerala State in India, and the tribal leader of Thalikakal in Kerala, Mooppan Raghavan and several members of his tribe were recruited as extras for the film. The film was also shot in locations in Mumbai, Chennai, Madh Island, a near-shore island of Mumbai.

The story is about the curse of a Naagin, a shape-transforming Cobra Goddess, half-woman and half-snake, and if humans desecrate or violates it, they are doomed to suffer the curses of the snake woman with death and infertility.

The story depends on the civilizations that flourished in the Indus Valley, where the inhabitants sculpted the image of the shape-shifting snakes that were said to inhabit a mysterious temple far away deep within the jungles in the legendary spice forests of the Malabar Coast. And according to Hisss, from here the legend travelled across India, and the Far East along the silk route. In 2008, an American man George, packing high tech gear and evil intentions, traveled into this forbidden forest, here he captures a male cobra of the size of large python when he is at his weakest while mating. But George does not realize horror and destruction awaiting him.

Hisss: Mallika Sherawat's best on-screen kiss


Mallika Sherawat's best on-screen kiss has been with a snake, the most out-spoken actress tells NDTV's Anupama Chopra in this video about her soon to be released movie ‘Hisss’. Chopra asks to Mallika about her transition from a Bollywood actress to a slimy slithering snake in Hisss, an Indo-American film produced around the very popular Indian myth of the Nagin.

Nicky Hilton with a Balenciaga handbag

Nicky Hilton posing with a Balenciaga handbag

Photo: Nicky Hilton posing with a Balenciaga handbag

Balenciaga Le Dix Motorcycle city handbag, purse and leather belt

Photo: Balenciaga Le Dix Motorcycle city handbag with matching purse and leather belt

Balenciaga, a fashion house founded by Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga in 1918, is known for their uncompromising standards, and is now owned by Gucci, a subsidiary of PPR, the French multinational company.

It is said that Jacqueline Kennedy upset President John F. Kennedy by buying Balenciaga's expensive creations; because he feared that the American public might think the purchases were too lavish, and hence Jackie’s haute couture bills were discreetly paid by her father-in-law, Joseph Kennedy.

Now Balenciaga is the favourite of many Hollywood celebrities, for instance, they designed the dresses worn by Jennifer Connelly and Nicole Kidman to the 2006 Academy Awards, and the wedding gown Kidman wore for her recent marriage to Keith Urban. Another celebrity, singer Kylie Minogue, also wore a Balenciaga dress for her ‘Slow’ and ‘Red Blooded Woman’ music videos and for her concert tour.

Currently the brand Balenciaga is most famous for its line of motorcycle-inspired handbags, with their retail outlets in New York, Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, and another one in Las Vegas inside Caesers Palace, selling only accessories. In recent times the Balenciaga line also included jodhpurs, fitted blazers, beaded embellished scarves and other multicultural mixes.

The Fate of Aerostat Balloon costing Rs 38 crore - CWG Delhi 2010


क्या होगा 38 करोड़ के इस गुब्बारे का? दिल्ली की खुराफात नीतिन के साथ शो में कॉमनवेल्थ खेलों के लिए बनाए गए 38 करोड़ के गुब्बारे के बारे में नीतिन ने लोगों की राय ली और उनसे पूछा कि खेलों के बाद गुब्बारे का क्या होगा?

The NDTV reporter Nitin met the people of Delhi at random to find their reactions on the the fate of Aerostat Helium Balloon costing Rs 38 crore, and brings their views in this video clip. Some of the views were as funny as, 'burst it, use the material to stitch underwear, petticoat, curtains, etc. Watch and enjoy!

Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy to perform final song in CWG closing ceremony


The popular trio of music composers Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy give a sneak peek of CWG 2010 closing ceremony, as they are to perform the final song of the XIX Commonwealth Games currently being held at Delhi, India. The popular TV channel NDTV spoke to them and present their views and expectations about it in this video clip

Meet the Discus Divas of India: CWG Delhi 2010


Indian women Krishna Poonia, Harwant Kaur and Seema Antil swept all the three medals, Gold, silver and bronze medal respectively in the Women's Discus Throw event, giving India its first clean sweep of all the THREE medals in the Commonwealth Games Delhi, 2010. The winning trio of spoke to NDTV after winning the medals. Watch them and hear what they say about their spectacular performances.

Bollywood legends salute Rajinikanth - Enthiran


This short video report from NDTV says the entire Bollywood's biggest and brightest stars and legends flocked to catch the Robot special screening in Mumbai. Rajinikanth himself invited them and he was personally present. The celebrities and legends included the entire Bachchan clan, veteran film maker and legendary actor Dev Anand, and many others.

Now, as director Shankar is being hailed as ‘India's James Cameron’, the flick has sent some strong shockwaves up the spines of some producers and superstars of Bollywood. Meanwhile there are reports that ‘Robotmania’ has gripped the whole range of big-budget filmmakers of Bollywood and most of them are now seriously considering incorporating Robotronics and animatronics in their future productions and even in films under production.

While Shah Rukh Khan is reported to introduce the latest technologies on special effects in his films, reports say Krrish 2 has been delayed, and Hrithik Roshan told a scribe, “Krrish 2 is definitely not shelved,” while Papa Roshan told the media, "I might start work on 'Krrish', wait for the announcement."

On the box office front Enthiran has re-written history by overtaking the first week collections of Bollywood's highest first-week grosser 'Dabangg' (Rs 82 crore), by netting a first week collection of Rs 117 crore.

Lady Gaga, 7th Most Powerful Woman in Forbes List

Lady Gaga wears her controversial meat dress, as she arrives in the Press Room after winning eight 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
Was3395530, originally uploaded by lauralowend.

Photo: Lady Gaga wears her controversial meat dress, as she arrives in the Press Room after winning eight 2010 MTV Video Music Awards including "Video of the Year" at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on September 12, 2010.

Lady Gaga is ranked seventh in 2010 World's 100 Most Powerful Women list published by Forbes. She is topped by Michelle Obama (#1), Irene Rosenfeld (#2), Oprah Winfrey (#3), Angela Merkel (#4), Hillary Clinton (#5), and Indra Nooyi (#6). Gail Kelly (#8), Beyonce Knowles (#9), and Ellen DeGeneres (#10) complete the top ten.

According to Forbes, the power women candidates were classified into four groups: politics, business, media and lifestyle (entertainment, sports and fashion). Then they ranked the women in each group, and then group against group.

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall in India

Photo: HRH The Duchess of Cornwall met with the staff at the British High Commission and Department for International Development (DFID) in New Delhi on Monday, 4 October 2010.

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall are in India from 2 to 5 October 2010.

The 63-year-old Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall is the second wife of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales.

On 4 July 1973, Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles, at the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks in London and the couple had two children, Tom and Laura. Andrew Parker Bowles initiated divorce proceedings against Camilla following the admission by Prince Charles that he had been in a long-term extra-marital affair with Mrs. Parker Bowles, and the divorce was finalized on 3 March 1995.

The relationship between Camilla and Prince Charles began when they met at a polo match in 1970. The engagement of Camilla and Prince Charles was announced on 10 February 2005. After the wedding, the couple travelled to the Prince's country home in Scotland, Birkhall, and carried out their first public duties as a couple during their honeymoon.

After becoming Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla automatically acquired rank as the second highest female in the United Kingdom Order of Precedence, after the Queen. Initially, the Duchess of Cornwall's royal duties involved accompanying the Prince of Wales on his official obligations.

Based on her marriage status and other considerations, Camilla has been referred to as Miss Camilla Rosemary Shand (17 July 1947 to 4 July 1973), Mrs. Andrew Parker Bowles (4 July 1973 to 3 March 1995), Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles (3 March 1995 to 9 April 2005), and from 9 April 2005 as Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall (in Scotland from 9 April 2005: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Rothesay).

Because the title 'Princess of Wales' remains strongly associated with the late Princes Diana, the Princess of Wales, Camilla is referred to with the feminine form of her husband's subsidiary title, Duke of Cornwall.

CWG Delhi 2010: Aerostat, the giant helium balloon

The huge helium filled aerostat balloon was a major attraction at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games 2010 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. As at seven in the evening, spell-binding fireworks lit up the sky heralding the opening ceremony, the aerostat lifted up from the centre of the stadium with huge puppets hanging from the balloon that remained suspended above the main stage at a height of 25 meters above the ground.

During the entire ceremony that lasted over three hours, revolving images of the action on the ground was projected on the helium balloon while the special light effects continuously change its colors. The lights were programmed to bounce off mirrors on the aerostat while sound effects of the magnitude of 500,000 watts was used to make it more spectacular and spell-binding, to the amazement of over 60,000 spectators.

The aerostat, manufactured by Per Lindstrandt and designed by Merk Fsher, is the biggest helium balloon in the world used for the first time for an event like this. The balloon is of the diameter 40 meters x 80 meters x 12 meters approximately and is reported to cost Indian Rs 70 crore (earlier NDTV reported its lease as Rs 40 crores).

Source: Krishna, Scene India

CWG Delhi 2010: Opening Ceremony Visuals


With one of the grandest ever opening ceremonies on Sunday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, India showcased to the world the spirit of the games, Indian culture and tradition, music, rhythms, dance, colors, diversity of its culture and lifestyles, and above all its technological advancements.

The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, the representative of the Queen, inaugurated the opening ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games by reading out the message from the Queen and declaring the games open in the presence of 60,000 spectators, participants and officials from 71 countries and territories, heads of states and other dignitaries from various countries. Prince Charles, said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I have much pleasure in declaring the nineteenth Commonwealth Games open."

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, present for on the occasion of opening ceremony of Delhi 2010 the along with his wife Gursharan Kaur, graced the occasion with a brief speech, "From all our countrymen, I convey my warm greetings to each member of this august gathering of Commonwealth sporting fraternity… I invite all our guests who have come from every corner of the world to enjoy our hospitality, to enjoy games, to enjoy the incredible sites and sounds of India. Millions of people are waiting eagerly to watch this great sporting spectacle unfold."

The games commenced when the President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil announced, "Let the Games begin," after her brief speech declaring the games open.

The opening ceremony of the 11-day sporting extravaganza, Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010, was marked by a grand cultural extravaganza, dance, music and fireworks; a magnificent opening ceremony showcasing a glimpse of India's great heritage and tradition through light, music and dance show.

Source: by Krishna, Scene India

Rajinikanth fans in Mumbai celebrate Enthiran release


In this video Rajinikanth fans celebrate the release of Robot (Endhiran) in Mumbai and say that he is like God. Watch it for yourself. Similar reports have come in from almost all major centers in India and abroad, including Malaysia, where the film had a phenomenal opening. The box office in UK and USA recorded the highest opening for an Indian film ever.

The Enthiran Fever Grips Rajini Fans

And finally waiting for Enthiran is over for Rajinikanth fans who flocked to theaters in thousands right from the early morning. The most important question being quoted as making the rounds in Chennai is who has got a ticket for Enthiran and who has not!

Enthiran (Robot in Hindi and Robo in Telugu), reported to be the costliest ever film in Asia, was opened to a global release on Friday at 3,000 screens across the world, making it the first Indian film to have been launched globally on such a scale.

Enthiran has many more firsts to its credit: It is the first time that Rajnikanth has paired with Aishwarya Rai, the first time Kalanidhi Maran has produced a film, though the Sun TV chief has been buying and distributing films. And Enthiran is the first Indian film to blend the latest in Hollywood film production technology with an Indian film.

The Hong Kong martial arts choreographer and film director Yuen Woo-ping, the stunt coordinator for Enthiran, makes his entry into Indian cinema with this Rajnikanth film. Yuen Woo-ping has been action choreographer/ stunt advisor for successful films such as The Matrix (1999), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2003), Kung Fu Hustle (2004), House of Fury (2005), Fearless (2006) and The Forbidden Kingdom (2008).

The animatronics in Enthiran is taken care of by Stan Winston Studios, founded by Stanley Winston (1946 - 2008), who was best known for his work in the Terminator series, the Jurassic Park series, Aliens, the Predator series, Iron Man and Edward Scissorhands. Films such as Terminator Salvation (2009) and James Cameron’s Avatar (2009) were also given animatronics by Stan Winston Studios.

Industrial Light & Magic that took care of the visual and special effects of Enthiran is an Academy Award-winning motion picture visual effects company founded by George Lucas, when he discovered that the special effects department at 20th Century Fox was shut down after he was given the green light for his production of the movie Star Wars. Industrial Light & Magic has been behind the special effects of recent films such as Confessions of a Shopaholic, Star Trek, Terminator Salvation, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Surrogates and Avatar all released in 2009, and Iron Man 2 and The Last Airbender released in 2010.

News reports say that Rajni fans were queuing up for the first-day-first-show tickets from 5 AM in the morning, and tickets costing between Rs 80 and Rs120 were being sold in black markets for anything between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000.

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