Wednesday, January 31, 2007

New Zealand’s Main Rival is Injury ahead of the Upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007

New Zealand is always a favorite team in World Cup Cricket though they have not won any of the championship of world cup cricket. New Zealand is still a strong power in world cricket and will still be regarded as one of the probable champion of the upcoming world cup cricket which is going to be started from the 11th of March in Caribbean region. However, New Zealand has gone through some bad situation in the recent series due to the injury problem of some of the key players like Shane Bond, one of the fastest bowlers of today’s cricket, Daniel Vettori, one of the best left arm spinners of present day’s cricket.

However, with the excellent captaincy of veteran captain Stephen Fleming, the side has the capability to destroy any cricket power in the world. It is also said that though the team has not so many stars, they play as a team rather than depending on individual performance.

It is true that they have reached at the semi-final stages of world cup for number of times but they have not reach to the final stage. Now it will also be a challenge for the balanced team to show their potential at the biggest stage of world cup. Perhaps, this would be the last world cup tournament for their captain Stephen Fleming who has recently been the longest serving captain in the history of world cricket. The side can be inspired to do something special at least to show their homage to their captain.

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Product merchandising a great potential of Bollywood

Bollywood is considered to be the second largest film industry in the world and in terms of film released per year, Bollywood is far ahead than Bollywood. However, when it comes to doing business Hollywood is always far ahead of Bollywood. Product endorsement and movie merchandise is a big business in USA but not in India. The good thing is that the film producers are now understanding the potential of product merchandising. Cinematical reports:

Indian cinema isn't like US cinema ... at least not yet. In 2003, the cinematically prolific India had close to double the feature films of the US -- 877 -vs- 473. Is it a big, sacred cash cow? It might not seem so with movie tickets costing less than half of one US dollar, but last year the industry raked in over a billion dollars -- imagine the profits if they paid what we do! While the sheer size of the industry makes the North America's look teeny, they can't come close to the power of the movie merchandise business -- at least not yet.

Derek Bose, the author of Brand Bollywood: A New Entertainment Order told Reuters that "Bollywood's top producers and studios have woken up to the possibility of earning money other than from the box office which can not remain their only revenue source." Yes, they've woken up and smelled the possibilities. The industry has embraced the idea of media convergence, and are delighting in multi-platform branding. Last year, Krrish, a huge Bollywood sci-fi hit, came out with everything from action dolls to costumes and stationary.

Hollywood is one of the oldest and most reputed film industries in the world. No wonder what Hollywood thinks today the rest of the world thinks tomorrow. However, Indian cinema industry is not negligible any more. Aside from India Hindi movies are very popular in Middle East, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and in many other countries in the world. Along with this there is the increasing number of audience in Europe and America. India movie industry is at its zenith. This is the best time to do business.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Star Screen Awards increases Kareena's confidence

After winning the popular Star Screen Award award Kareena Kapur’s confidence has increased a lot. She says that now she would do only quality movies and good roles. Big projects and big movies do not hold any importance to her. Kareena with his performance in Omkara beat Kajol in this category. This was Kareena’s first people’s choice award and it inspired her to work harder. I am quoting from the report published in Bollywood.com

Kareena has set high standards for herself after winning the best actress STAR Screen award for "Omkara", beating popular choice Kajol in "Fanaa".

The award has inspired Kareena to work harder. "Getting my first popular best actress award at the beginning of the year just elates me. I'm now getting the right scripts like Mani Ratnam's 'Lajjo'. Now, I want to do only good films. It's so easy just to be in big projects and get big money. I don't believe in that. I've to have a central part now," said Kareena.

What about the cameo in "Don"?

"That one song is running in all the night clubs. All the college kids are dancing to it. I've one big hit to dance to."

Kareena says Kajol, who lost the popular award to her, was genuinely happy for her.

"By chance Kajol was sitting right next to me when my name was announced. She was so genuinely pleased for me. Kajol along with my sister Karisma have always been my idols. Both have had their share of awards. Now, it's my turn.

"I've received critics' awards. But this is my first taste of popular awards since 'Refugee'. 'Omkara' has been a great experience for me. People still come to me on flights and the gym to tell me how much they liked me in 'Omkara'."

Everyone who counted were there at the awards to share her.

"Karisma was there and so was my mom and Shahid (Kapur). They were so happy for me. Shahid was nominated for 'Vivah'. But he was so happy when I won. I had gone only to perform. But I came back with an award."

She says she has tasted blood. "I want to win at every awards function this season."

She got to perform with the legendary Helen.

"It was a great moment. Of course, I knew her from before. I'm a filmy kid, remember? Helen aunty has seen me from my childhood. The Moranis (film financiers and owners of event management company Cineyug) suggested I perform with Helen Aunty.

"They suggested I drive onto stage in a sports car with the 'Don' music playing. When the sports car came in I could hear everyone from my own fraternity cheering me.

"It felt good. Then I danced to my version of 'Yeh mera dil' in 'Don'. After that Helen aunty came in to dance to her own version of 'Yeh mera dil' from the old 'Don'."

Kareena is now serious about her career. She said that she does not go anywhere now accept on her boyfriend’s (Shahid Kapoor) birthday.

Kareena started at the age of 19 with J.P Dutta’s Refugee. Now, she is one of the most demanding actresses in Bollywood. She has been very successful in commercial movies. At the same times she appeared in movies like Chameli. 2006 has been good to her. Let’s see how 2007 turns out for Kareena.

Amitabh Bachchan to be the Bollywood Spokesman in Britain

Amitabh Bachchan has been reportd to be the spokesman of Bollywood to UK. Recently, British Finance minister Gordon Brown visited India and that time both Amitabh and Brown meet at the Yash Raj Film. They have talked about the probable co-operation between the film industries of the two countries. Mr. Brown has offered Big B to work in UK and has assured him to give enough facility to the Bollywood movies to be filmed in UK. Indiafm reported:

“Laughs the Big B, "Yes, we did meet at Yashraj Studio. Though this isn't the first time that Chancellor Brown and I met. He has on other occasions asked me to be part of charitable and social global endeavours, and I've gladly done whatever I could."

"I don't know about that. But yes, he did watch Kajra re. After that we had a fairly detailed discussion. Chancellor Brown wants to extend the parameters of our collaboration with Great Britain. He wants to provide further incentives and facilities to our film industry for shooting in England."

What the Big B desists from stating is that Gordon Brown has zeroed in on the actor as Bollywood's primary ambassador to the UK, and is in the process of formulating ambitious plans to further Indian cinema's reach in Britain.

The Big B reiterates, "Yes, there was a closed-door meeting after the screening of Kajra re. I am certainly willing to represent our industry in every way that I can." People at the Gordon Brown event commented on the glow on the Big B's face. "The glow, as you call it, comes from the fact that my son has made such an impact in Guru and that he's getting married."

This will be a win-win situation for both the country as Bollwood will get technological help from Britain and Britain will be known to the huge population of India which will help Britain to generate a huge amount of money.

Gangstar Famed Actress Kangana Ranaut Threatened by Her Sister’s Lover

Actress Kangana Ranaut, actress of Gangstar, has been threatened to her life from her sister Rangoli’s lover Sharma. She has been threatening for the last month through phone call and SMS. Here it is noteworthy that her sister has already been a victim of acid throwing by Sharma and his friend Prem Singh. For the recent threat, Kangana has filed a case in the local police station and Sharma and Prem Singh have been arrested but Sharma has got bail. Zee News reported:

"Deputy Commisisoner of Police V K Choubey said, "a complaint was filed at Versova police station yesterday and we are investigating the matter."

Police here have written a letter to their counterparts in Uttarakhand, informing the latter about the alleged threats to Kangana, who lives in the metropolis.

In Dehra Dun, Senior Superintendent of Police Sanjay Gunjiyal said Avinash Sharma, on whose alleged instructions acid was thrown on Kangana`s sister Rangoli last year, has been "ringing up" the actress on her mobile phone and "threatening to throw acid on her face if he failed to marry Rangoli".

Allegedly acting at the behest of Sharma, his friend Prem Singh posed as a courier boy and threw acid on Rangoli`s face in Dehradun on October 5 last year.

"He (Sharma) also tried to meet Kangana personally," Gossain said. Kangana was not available for comment.

Rangoli is reportedly being treated in a hospital in Mumbai for burns sustained in last year`s attack.

Uttarakhand police had arrested Sharma and Singh and a court in Dehradun granted bail to Sharma on November 13. Gunjiyal said police would oppose Sharma`s bail in the district court.”

It seems very bad that a new but promising actress has been threatened and her sister has been a victim of acid throwing. This is the responsibility of the local government to investigate the incident and punish the accused persons. I hope such unfortunate incident will be taken seriously by the government.

DHOOMIII:Aditya Chopra in action once again

It has been floating around Bollywood for some time. Aditya Chopra, one of the top ranking directors and son of famous director Yash Chopra, is going to direct Dhoom III. Aditya debuted as director with Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, one of the most successful films ever made in Bollywood. Planet Bollywood reports:

Although this is just some healthy speculation, the rumor-mill has it that the man to director Dhoom III is none other than Aditya Chopra. Undoubtedly, one of the most imfluential men in Bollywood, if this hunch turns to reality, Aditya would be waving the director's baton after seven long years! His last directorial venture was 2000's Mohabbatein. Remember ladies and gentlement, this is the same man who debuted with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge, to this day it remains an all-time classic in the hearts of millions of Bollywood lovers. So it's safe to say that the expectations are multiplied in yet the third chapter of this high-flying action packed thriller.

Aditya is planning to cast Khan for the role of villain which was played by Hrithik in DhoomII. Aishwarya is also on his list.So far, Dhoom and DhoomII have been huge success. Aditya was the producer of these two movies. Now, he is going behind the camera. Once again he is going to shout LIGHTS CAMERA AAAND ACTION!!!

Shilpa Sheety to be Millionaire

Shilpa Sheety is now one of the biggest stars in UK as she won the Celebrity Big Brother. It is not only fame but also money coming to her with a great extent. It has been reported that she may get about £ 10 million. Earlier she was racially abused by some of her fellow celebrities in the reality television show which has created much news in both Indian and England. On the other hand, Jade Goody, one of the racist bullies is not going to be ruined after being voted out of the show following the incident of racism. Hellomagazine reported:

The multilingual, 31-year-old from Tamil Nadu is already in talks to star in a BBC comedy by Sanjeev Bhaskar of The Kumars At No 42 fame. Her mum Sunanda reportedly has other plans for her attractive daughter, though, having apparently flown over from India to find Shilpa a suitable husband.

Life isn't quite so peachy for Shilpa's fellow contestant Jade Goody, who first found fame and fortune by appearing in the third Big Brother series. The former dental nurse has been admitted to The Priory clinic suffering from stress. It is understood that seeing boyfriend Jack Tweedy, 19, impersonate her as the housemates recreated the now infamous Oxo cube argument, was the final straw. "She saw a doctor and he advised she needed further treatment," said her spokeswoman.

This is a good time for Shilpa Sheety but it does not mean that she is going to have a good husband following her financial fortune. However, it is yet to see what happen in her personal life as her mother is looking for her husband.

Kaun Banega Crorepati and CROREPATI SPONSORS

Kaun Banega Crorepati has started in full swing and Shah Rukh is becoming better day by day. Since KBC has been a very successful show, many big companies competed for the sponsorship. The total sponsor of the show is worth Rs 100-130 crore. Planet Bollywood reports:

Even before it goes on air ( later this month) , popular TV show Kaun Banega Crorepati , in its third season has raked in close to Rs 100-130 crore .The latest to join the sponsors’ bandwagon for Shah Rukh Khan’s KBC 3 are Pantaloon Retail (Big Bazaar) and Godrej Sara Lee, confirmed Paritosh Joshi, president– ad sales and distribution, Star India.

According to sources, Star has sold ad slots for the show which goes on air from January 22 at an estimated Rs 10-13 crore per sponsor, said sources.

As the show has no title or presenting sponsors, the ten main sponsors will share the same mileage, roughly each sponsor will have 1 to 1.5 minutes visibility for each episode.

Among earlier sponsors there are: Airtel, Hyundai, and Cadbury. The newly added are Nokia, UTI Mutual Fund, Videocon, Godrej Sara Lee, Jyothi Labs, Pantaloon Retail and the UB group. Recently, Lenovo has been added to the sponsorship. It looks like Kaun Banega Crorepati itself is a crorepati.

Grenada Government Eased the Visa Complicacy Releasing Legislation on ICC Crickt World Cup West Indies 2007

Grenada government has recently accepted legislation ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007. This legislation will let visitors travel without facing much hassle for visa problem. This will ease the visa problem in the country. The Grenada parliament has taken the decision. CBC news reported:

Legislators approved of the Pre-clearance (ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007) Act which allows for regional states to pre-clear passengers and goods in Grenada for entry into states staging the cricket matches.
Legal Affairs Minister Elvin Nimrod said the Act could be considered as giving permission for participating member states in the region to engage in a transit arrangement.
He said it allows one country to send 'pre-clearance agents ' to another state to deal with passengers and baggage, destined for that state.
"So if a person comes from Venezuela, (and is) going to Jamaica but has to pass through Grenada, a Jamaica agent could clear them here so that when they get to Jamaica there's no hassle, they just go through."
The parliament also passed the Immigration Bill making it mandatory for the captain of a ship or aircraft to send advanced passenger information to the immigration authorities at the intended port of entry.
Under the law, any vessel, or aircraft failing to comply with the legislations could face a fine of up to US $100,000.
The other piece of legislation passed on Monday is the Customs Bill that also mandates advanced passenger information, as well as cargo.
Any violation of the legislation would result in a US$500,000 fine or the seizure of the vessel.
Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell, did not indicate whether his administration would be seeking to continue using the legislation that forms part of the regional "Sunset Law" after the CWC.”

"If we have to continue it we have to seek the support…of the Opposition and the country as a whole. We can't just do it arbitrarily like this."
But Opposition Leader Tillman Thomas said he doesn't see the need for such legislations going beyond June 30.
"I don't think we're faced with a threat of terrorism in Grenada. I believe that things are fairly safe for the time being in this part of the world; but if it becomes necessary in the future, we may have to look at it," he said.
The Senate will debate the legislation on Tuesday.

This is a good initiative ahead of the world cup cricket tournament as this will help the tournament to attract more fans to the country and will make the tournament successful. I hope, their attempt will work well.

Bermudians Less Interested to Go to Trinidad to Support Their Players Staying in the Stadium during the Cricket World Cup 2007

Bermuda is one of the contestants in the coming world cup cricket 2007. They have got the ticket of world cup cricket for the first time. So, this is very usual to have a huge interest among the Bermudians to watch the team at this biggest stage of cricket. Moreover, the cricket world cup 2007 is going to be held in the Caribbean region. So, it was expected that many Bermudians will come to the Caribbean country Trinidad to watch the performance of their team staying in the stadium. However, the reality is very different as Bermudians are not responding much to go to Trinidad on the occasion of the biggest festival of world cricket, ICC Cricket World Cup. The Royal Gazette reported:

I thought more people would have been behind the team because regardless of the outcome it is a privilege for Bermuda to be there (World Cup),” C Travel’s Pam Maybury told The Royal Gazette yesterday.
“I feel that any sporting team or anybody who is representing Bermuda as far as sports is concerned needs to have some sort of following which helps to make a big difference.”
In an effort to boost numbers, C Travel are offering chartered flights directly to Trinidad and a 14-night World Cup package that includes hotel accommodation – beginning at $210 per night – while game tickets can also be purchased.
Yet business remains slow with the number of people having arranged to travel to Trinidad through C Travel said to be “just over 100”.
Maybury now hopes to see an increase in ticket sales as the cricket spectacle draws nearer.
"Bermudians do tend to move at the last moment. And so we are still hoping things do pick up later,” she said. Bermuda are in a group with former World Cup champions Sri Lanka India as well as Bangladesh in Group B."

Bermuda has been grouped in the Group B where they will meet with two former world cup cricket champions India and Sri Lanka and the other team is Bangladesh. This is true that Bermuda may not be able to make anything special as all the teams of theie group are very strong, but their participation will create a much hymn in their country which will definitely help to develop their cricket standard.

South Africa to Declare World Cup Cricket Squad by February 15

After beating the visiting team Pakistan, South Africa is now very much confidence with the ODI series and Twenty20 series against Pakistan. They have declared their ODI and Twenty20 squad against Pakistan. It is very usual that ahead of the world cup cricket tournament they will go through some experiment to make a balanced squad for the world cup tournament. News24 reported:

"We are confident in our one-day squad and have therefore retained the players that have performed for us over the past two seasons," said national convener of selectors, Haroon Lorgat.

"The final Proteas squad of 15 for the ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 will be made public on February 15," Lorgat said.

Also announced was the Twenty20 squad to play against Pakistan at the Wanderers Stadium on Friday.

Star Proteas Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Makhaya Ntini, Ande Nel, Andrew Hall and Charl Langeveldt will be rested for the encounter.

Herschelle Gibbs is not eligible for selection for the Twenty20 match and the first ODI because he is serving a two-match ICC suspension.

The selectors have included Gulam Bodi, the hard hitting Titans batsman, fellow Titans swing bowler Alfonso Thomas and Diamond Eagles wicket keeping batsman Morne van Wyk in the Pro20 squad.

It has also been reported that the final world cup squad of South Africa for the world cup cricket will be declared by February 15. It is true that though the players are very much confident over their recent performance but they will have some pressure to prove themselves eligible for one of the 15 world cup going cricketer.

A Group of Diplomats Visited the Sabina Park Stadium, the Opening Match Venue of the World Cup Cricket 2007

The opening match of the upcoming world cup cricket 2007 will be held at Sabina Park stadium of Jamaica. So, the stadium has got some extra importance than the other venues. Recently a team of diplomats visited the stadium in order to see the preparations of the stadium ahead of the world cup tournament. The first match of the cricket world cup 2007 will be held between the host West Indies and Pakistan in this venue. The stadium has gone through a refurbishing program. Jamaica Observer reported:

The tour was led by Chris Smith, venue development manager, with assistance from Denzil Wilks, venue manager for Sabina Park; Pauline Nelson, communications manager, Elena Girvan, manager for travel, accommodation and hospitality for Jamaica Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the ICC Cricket World Cup.

The diplomats were exposed to the new North Stand which hosts state-of-the-art players' facilities; broadcasters and press boxes, 70 corporate suites, including the presidential suite; as well as the newly refurbished George Headley Stand.

Sabina Park is one of two venues in Jamaica that will host events of the ICC Cricket World Cup between March and April. The event begins in Jamaica on March 5 with the first of four warm-up Matches and the Opening Ceremony on March 11 at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium. This will be followed on Tuesday, March 13 with the first match of the tournament between West Indies and Pakistan at Sabina Park.

Five other matches will be played at this site after which the tournament leaves Jamaica, but returns on April 24th for a semi-final.

Such visits are needed to accelerate the construction work of the stadium. It is needed to have a good opening ceremony here and a good opening match. A proverb goes that Morning Shows the Day. So, the success of the first match is most important to have a successful world cup cricket.

Host Nations will Generate Good Amount in Future?

World Cup Cricket tournament is an international tournament which is not only related to the excitement and the passion of the game; rather it is more related to the economy of the host nation. A country can make a boom in their economic sector on the occasion as many visitors come to the country during the tournament and the host nation tries to make both instant and long term profit from the tournament. For the coming world cup cricket 2007, it seems that the host nations are going to focus on the long term profit. Let me make the thing clear. As there is a visa problem seen in some of the cricket playing nations and the hard security system, it is claimed that the number of expected fans will be decreased during the tournament. However, the host countries may be beneficial even after the tournament. The Caribbean countries will, for sure, come into lime light throughout the world during the cricket tournament and thus the beauty of this region will be seen on the television screen which will definitely be the advertisement for the region.

Antigua Sun reported:

Now they have heard that the numbers are dwindling and that as many people as previously projected would not be in fact coming to the Caribbean for ICC World Cup 2007.

Some lay blame at the feet of the United States for having placed restrictions on their citizens’ ability to travel back to their homeland unless they had a valid United States passport. Then the problem appeared to have been compounded by the late decision by Caricom to have visa restrictions placed on people from some of the major cricketing countries like Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Indeed, there are several concerns now surrounding the success of the hosting of the tournament by the West Indies. Nevertheless, the tournament must come off, if the region is not to find itself in an internationally embarrassing situation.

So the wheels continue to turn and several people, still very optimistic, continue to push ahead with their various programme, hoping to hear at the last minute that thousands upon thousands will still flock to the region for the tournament. Therefore, they continue to tidy up that extra room, put some more money into their little entrepreneurial programes, which might earn them a good return, and they wait for the tournament to unfold.

During the period of ICC Cricket World Cup their mettle will be tested to the limit and they must be able to keep a very high standard at all times. Just a couple of hostile incidents and we can be guaranteed that there will be people very willing to issue travel advisories against the country, where the incident might have taken place.

This deserves very serious consideration because it has now been recognised that the economic success of the tournament will not lie in the few weeks throughout which the games are played but that period just after and well into the future. The region would have experienced worldwide television coverage never before thought imaginable and certainly of a magnitude regional governments would never hope to accomplish through the limited advertising budgets most of them have.

This is not a bad news that the world cup will have less visitors but this in, on the other hand, is a good news that the Caribbean region will get many visitors in future because of the mass promotional activities during the world cup tournament.

Strong Security to be Taken during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007

A strong security is going to be taken in the Caribbean host nations of coming ICC Cricket World Cup during the tournament. The security going to be taken will restrict the fans from carrying horns, box and many other things which are very common things in a cricket stadium. So, it is now a question that if such restrictions will make the tournament less interested to the fans. The Voice-online reported:

“World Cup security chiefs have stated: “CWC wants this to be the most memorable Cricket World Cup ever and to do so we must safeguard against anything which could compromise the safety and security of persons within the stadiums on match day."

But it is felt that some of the prohibited and restricted items on their hitlist are traditional for fans that will be descending on games; and to confiscate items such as horns would take away from the party.

One disgruntled fan however, who is hoping to go to the World Cup, told The Voice of Sport: “They say to come for the cricket and stay for the party. But it isn’t going to be much of a party at this rate. No horns, no cool box, what’s that all about?”

“We West Indians know how we do when it comes to taking-in our cricket and that involves the banned items. Fans love coming to the West Indies for exactly that and will be a little bit peeved when they can’t express themselves in the way they would have planned.

“You can see it now, they’ll be saying ‘but I thought this was the West Indies, where everyone is relaxed and chilled?’

“They’ll be right too. I can’t remember the last time I saw any drama at a Caribbean cricket match, not off the pitch anyway. People won’t be using their cool boxes to hurt anyone. It’s ridiculous”

ICC CWC 2007 Security Director, John Collymore said: “There will be thousands of people at each match and it is important, especially in such a crowded and festive environment, that we take the necessary precautions to ensure maximum safety.

“This will not in any way detract from the traditional party atmosphere at Caribbean cricket matches. In fact, these measures will certainly enhance it because spectators will appreciate that they are in a secure venue and can feel free to enjoy the event without any fear."

Security is a big issue in today’s world but the authorities should also think about the enjoyment and excitement of cricket. On the other hand, I am sure that the fans will have no complain on anything related to their safety.

Indian Team for World Cup Cricket 2007 to be Declared by February 13

Indian national cricket team selectors will declare the Indian squad for the coming ICC Cricket World Cup Wrest Indies 2007 by the February 13. The selectors will take the ongoing series against West Indies and the coming series against Sri Lanka in to consideration to select the 15-men squad fort the world cup. Jamaica Gleaner reported:

The Indian cricket board hinted yesterday that national selectors could select the 15-man squad for the Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean on February 11 or 12.

Niranjan Shah, the Indian cricket board secretary, said national selectors would decide on a date for the meeting to choose the squad, when they met on Saturday to choose the squad for the four-match one-day international series against Sri Lanka.

"The selectors, who are to meet in Mumbai on February 3 to pick the team for the Sri Lanka series, will decide on the date and the venue [for the meeting to pick the World Cup squad], either Rajkot or Mumbai," Shah was quoted as saying.

This means selectors will use the last match of the current four-match ODI series against the West Indies, along with the first two matches of the Sri Lanka series, to have a last look at players.

It is also expected that the squad selected for the last two ODIs against the Sri Lankans in Goa and Vishakapatnam will be the core of the squad that will travel to the Caribbean for the event that bowls off March 13.

India lead their current four-match ODI series against the West Indies 2-1, with the final game scheduled to be played here on Wednesday.

There is news that Tom Moody has expressed his disinterest to be the next coach of the Australian cricket team. He is now more interested to concentrate on the upcoming world cup cricket. The report said:

Meanwhile Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody has withdrawn from the race to succeed John Buchanan as Australia's next coach, leaving Tim Nielsen as the likely candidate for the job.

Moody, a former Australia Test and one-day international player, was interviewed by Cricket Australia but told them he was not interested in the position.

"I just felt the timing wasn't right," Moody said.

"I had to think long and hard about it but from a personal point of view it wasn't right and I wanted to let Cricket Australia know as soon as possible."

"Sri Lanka is my main focus and this had started to become a bit of a distraction to myself and the team, which is the last thing it needs in the countdown to the World Cup," he said.

"It was a bit unfair on the team and my employers because my focus at the moment has to be on preparing the side for the World Cup."

Buchanan is standing down as Australia coach after this year's World Cup in the Caribbean with Nielsen, head coach at Australia's Centre of Excellence, regarded as the favourite to replace him.

This would be the first world cup for Tom Moody as a coach, so it is better to think about his team Sri Lanka and their performance. On the other hand, I am pretty sure that Indian selectors will go through a hard time with the Indian squad for world cup as cricket is a passion in India.

ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 to be Expensive?

The upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 is now coming into full pace. This world cup is claimed to be the best ever world cup tournament in the cricket world. However, now it is also claimed that this world cup will be more expensive for the fans due to the visa problem. Business Standard reported:

Going by the present state of affairs, it seems that most of Indian fans would be watching World Cup matches on their televisions sets, unlike in the past when Indian supporters could be found thronging the World Cup venues. In 2003, over 20,000 Indians travelled to South Africa for the ICC Cricket World Cup. This time, the number of Indians travelling to the West Indies is not even expected to cross 5,000 (unless many decide to do so at the last moment and their travel agents can find a way to teleport them on to the stands instantly!) “Besides issues like the Indian team’s performance, people are finding the trip very expensive. Adding to the disadvantage is the fact that it’s difficult to get there as well. The travel part is a bit too tedious,” says Shankar Viswanathan, director Sports Services, based in Bangalore. For your information, one would have to shell out at least Rs 2.5 lakh for a week and the cost could go up to Rs 5-6 lakh, depending upon the luxury one seeks. At Rs 2.5 lakh for a week per person, a family of four would be spending Rs 10 lakh. According to Viswanathan, traditionally, the Indian market is known to be a last minute market. Though many Indians might just decide to “pay a visit” at the last moment, a big hindrance would be getting seats on flights to the West Indies and also securing a visa to either the UK or the US (for a stopover) and a Carricom visa. For first time travellers, it might take up to a month to get these visas! Besides visas, getting tickets to the Caribbean might be the other problem for last minute travellers. “Seats out of India to Europe or the US will be difficult to get, and so will be connecting flights from these places, where the whole world will converge to get to the islands,” explains Garg. Match tickets, however, are available in plenty, says Viswanathan. And a lot of corporates are eyeing this as an opportunity to send their staff on an incentive trip to the Caribbean — albeit on a very selective basis. According to estimates, the trip would cost a company at least Rs 3-4 lakh a person (who would be out for at least eight to nine days). “We have got a lot of enquires from corporates. While some are looking at sending 200 people, others are saying 50, but none have finalised their plans,” says Sankalp Garg, head (India marketing and business strategies), FCM Travel Solutions, one of the official travel agents for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007. Then there are others who plan to use this opportunity to take a long vacation in the US and then carry on to the West Indies. These people, of course, have booked well in advance. But not all hope is lost. A hardcore cricket fan reportedly sent out 155 e-mails to various hotels in Barbados to get accommodation, bought March tickets online at the ICC website, and since he is so bent on getting to the Caribbean, he booked a crazy flight route to get the cheapest deal — Mumbai-Bangalore-London-Miami-St Lucia-Barbados. So, there…

It would be very bad if the Caribbean countries get less visitors during the world cup because this tournament will open a good chance for the host nations to make a boom in their economy.

World Cup Cricket 2007: Special Visa from Granada

Granada’s Parliament has decided to offer special visa for the cricket fans in World Cup Cricket 2007. This way many people will get opportunity to visit Granada. It will increase tourism income of Granada.

International Herald Tribune reported:

The special bill was established by the 15-nation Caribbean Community to facilitate travel at border checkpoints in the nine countries hosting play. Grenada will host second-round Super Eight matches.

Grenadian legislators also passed a bill making it mandatory for the captain of a ship or aircraft to send advance passenger information to immigration authorities before arrival on the island. Details will include passenger names, gender, date of birth and nationality.

It is the first time for the Caribbean as a host of the World Cup.

Duncan Fletcher: Assurance from David Morgan

Recently, England did very bad in Australia. England lost both in Test and One day. So, many people are thinking that Duncan Fletcher should go as England coach. But David Morgan, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, has assured him that he can stay until World Cup 2007.

Guardian reported:

David Morgan, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, has given a categorical assurance that Duncan Fletcher will coach England in the World Cup despite the depression hanging over the team in Australia.


Although John Carr, the ECB's director of cricket, will arrive in Australia this week to conduct an "audit" of the disastrous Ashes tour, only a shock Fletcher resignation would prevent him leading England in the Caribbean.


Morgan, a staunch Fletcher loyalist, insisted: "Duncan Fletcher does have my backing and I am certain - I will say this categorically - that he will coach England in the World Cup. Beyond that depends on how Duncan feels, how we go in the World Cup. He has my support and the support of the England team."

What do you think? Should Duncan Fletcher resign or stay?

Traffic signal: A dark comedy on India's urban poor

Madhur Bhandarkar is always interested in revealing the true picture of the society. He represents the normal day to day events in such a way that they become things of great significance. Traffic signal is based on the poor people in India who earns their livelihood by working around traffic signals in Mumbai. According to Madhur, this film is the last installment of his trilogy on Mumbai. The previous two are Page 3 and Corporate. Traffic signal is a dark comedy. The movie contains sixty characters. The central characters are played by Kunal Khemu and Neetu Chandra. Kunal Khemu is a collector who collects money from the street people and gives them to his mafia boss. Neetu is a village girl who comes to the city to earn money. India Glitz reports:

'Traffic Signal' tells that tale of about 60 odd characters who have their world centered on this place. Each of them have their own life and how they make it happen on the road is what the film is all about.

Silsila [Kunal Khemu], one of these 60 characters is a Manager by profession. Well almost! As a 'hafta' collector who is called a Manager and has been assigned the responsibility of collecting money from all those who conducted their 'business' at the signal, he was a young guy with a heart of gold who cared for all those who were a part of his 'signal' family! He too was loved by all and was protected by his mentor Jaffar, who was also the collector of his region.

Together, Silsila and Jaffar were a part of the bigger nexus as they worked for Haji, a mafia don who had his own reporting line to the politicians. An entire process of money movement came into picture as it moved from one channel to second, from second to third, from third to fourth and so on. In the end, there were people even at the top who got their share of moolah collected from the all those who made their livelihood on the traffic signal.

At this signal arrives Rani [Neetu Chandra], a girl of Gujarati origin, who sells embroidery stuff on the pavements. Coming all the way to Mumbai to make good money and return back to her native place, she gets into a little tussle with Silsila as he makes her aware about the bare necessity of sharing her profits as a part of the 'hafta'. Rani is quite naturally upset but as days pass by, she understands the reasons behind these demands and eventually also falls in love with Silsila.

In Bollywood film industry, Madhur Bhandarkar is famous for his realistic film making. Page-3 reveals the aspiring boys and girls who come to Bombay with lots of dreams. Corporate depicts the greed of human nature: How the big companies make money destroying people’s lives. It is very common in countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh where one would see different kinds of people gather and work around a traffic signal in big cities: beggars, food sellers etc. Traffic Signal tells the stories of these poor people. I am hopeful that, like the previous films, this one would also be well accepted by the critics and audience.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Visa to Create Problem during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007

Ahead of the cricekt world cup 2007, some problems have come forward and visa is one of them. During the tournament there will have a heavy rush in the country as many fans will go to the Caribbean region to see the highest competition of the cricket world. It is needed to have that preparation for the world cup to ace such a rush in the host nations. Hardbeatnews reported:

And so it came to pass that most of the general public are prepared, the private sector is all prepared, and we observe by way of all manner of jokes and bemusement, that the stadiums might just barely be ready in time for the opening hour of the games, as hopefully the paint has dried in the tropical sun, and the final few nails are driven home.

I drove right into the frenzy that is the construction zone at the Arnos Vale stadium in St. Vincent a few days ago and from my very simple vantage points, I am sure they will pull it off OK and already the playing field grass looks absolutely amazing and very beautiful.

Similar news from around most of the other construction zones indicate the usual last minute rush expected [and needed] but that the stadiums should be ready in time. So far, so good!

Then, as a hotelier, we got our first email in December, from one of our European agents warning that some of their clients were NOW finding out that they will require visas which are nigh upon impossible to obtain now, at this late stage; hence cancellations are inevitable.

After all, visitors expected to the Caribbean, for cricket or not, are often busy people who have neither the time nor the focus to send passports away to some regional office for up to 2 weeks [yeah, right – try longer than that!] And now must pay a further US$100 per person on top of that!

Since then the stories have hit the media there are those who say relax all is well to those who preach fire and damnation upon our heads. The reality, as usual, is somewhere in between.

No question that this whole “visa thing” is way too late and that’s that. All things considered and after chatting directly with a number of high-level officials and reading about the points of view of all others, I think we now HAVE to do something hard and fast.

Consider the family of 2 parents and 4 kids. Booked, paid for and confirmed tickets and reservations etc.; from some time ago. Plus when they booked their trips, all Caribbean web sites and general info said they do not need visas [normally], and since they don’t usually get the Caribbean daily newspapers and emailed news reports, they arrive in the Caribbean. They have no visas… Now what?

Do we send them back home on the next plane? Sure, why not just shut down the tourism industry right now and forget about it all?

A solution I feel is inbound visas upon arrival! At each major inbound airport, we can set up tables with 12 to 20 persons staffing these tables, processing visas upon arrival. Accept cash, credit cards and travelers checks. We have to do that otherwise what if someone does not have a credit card on them? Now do we send them back?

It is time the Caricom officials wake up and realize that they have no choice but to deal with this pressing issue as the private sector would deal with it, as a sensitive commercial issue and of course security is critical but if we have no tourism industry next year then what?

It is needed to solve these problems and in order to do so, the authority should come up with some effective plan on this regard. I hope the upcoming world cup will be a successful one for the fans.

GPL Has Enough Reserve of Electricity to Meet the Demand during the World Cup Cricket 2007

GPL has got the job for supplying electicity at the time of World Cup Cricekt 2007. Earlier, there was a rumor that the company may have lack of reserve capacity ahead of the biggest tournament of the cricket world. However, recently the company has stated that they have enough reserve to live up to the demand. Stabrokenews reported:

Reserve requirement is a function of the configuration of the grid, the size of individual units and power plants, along with company or regulatory standards. GPL's reserves requirement is premised on the size of the two largest units available. The 11 MW reserve capacity meets this criterion, and of course, this is supported by the historical availability of our generating machines.

GPL is satisfied that the company has taken the necessary measures to adequately meet the projected requirements for CWC 2007.

As world cup is an international competition, it is needed to have adequate reserve of electricity to provide continuous supply of electricity which is very important issue to be assured.

A Four-day Training Program on Chemical Detection and Fire Service Started ahead of the World Cup Cricket West Indies 2007

Ahead of the world cup cricket 2007, a four day training program has been started yesterday on the chemical detection and fire service. All the host nations have sent their representative in the program. Newday reported:

In a release, the National Security Ministry said TT was selected as the venue since it houses the regional operational headquarters from which all regional security procedures will be planned and coordinated for the Cricket World Cup. The programme will train fire officers from the nine regional host nations for the Cricket World Cup and 24 participants will take part in the programme.

This is a good initiative as the issue is related to safety of the people during the world cup cricket. This program will help the participants to act properly during any fire-made situation.

Madam Tussaud Coming to India

Madam Tussauds wax museum is renowned in the world and every year millions of people visit this wax museum of world stars. Now the Tussauds group is going to take such an initiative in Mumbai, Dubai, Hollywood and Washington DC. India PRwire reported:

The group, owned by the Middle Eastern investment firm Dubai international capital, sees overseas expansion as a key source of growth, reports Sheeraz Hasan.

"Last year it opened in Shanghai and is planning other attractions around the world, including in Mumbai and Dubai," reports Sheeraz.

Its attraction in the US capital is scheduled to open this autumn on the site of Woody`s, an old department store. The Hollywood`s branch of Madame Tussauds will follow next year.

It is being built on a Brownfield site next to Grauman`s Chinese theatre, a Los Angeles landmark, and is the first overseas Tussauds to be built from scratch.

While the Hollywood attraction will mainly feature waxworks of film stars such as Cary Grant and Brad Pitt, Washington will have a more political flavour.

One feature will be a replica of the Oval office in the White House.

Tussauds has already made it across the Atlantic, with attractions in New York and Las Vegas, and it is active in Asia, having opened in Hong Kong and Shanghai. It is estimated that 4 million people visit Madame Tussauds wax works every year reports Sheeraz Hasan.

Besides waxworks, the company owns attractions such as Chessington World of Adventures and Alton Towers theme parks, and the London eye. It showed an operating profits of 40.7 million pounds on turnover of 158.4 million pounds for the 10 months to December 2005.

This is good news for the Indian people that they will be able to watch such artistic work of the wax staying in their own country. On the other hand, the authority will also generate a good money from this populated country. So, this is a win-win situation for both India and the Tussaud group.

Celebrity Big Brother Competitor Danielle Loosing Her Popularity after the Racist Row

Another celebrity accused of racism row seen in the reality television show Celebrity Big Brother, Danielle Lloyd is now going through a hard time as her popularity has drastically been reduced and her relationship with her boyfriend has been cut up after she had been voted out of the show. Danielle’s mother Jackie is now feared of the future of her daughter. Her mother rejected the accusation of being racist against her daughter. Entertainmentwise reported:

She tells the News Of The World, “Danielle is at the start of her career and facing ruin because of a TV show that she thought was going to be entertaining and fun.

"Everything's been taken away from her as well. It has destroyed the family. I'm regretting she went in.”

However, whilst Jackie says Danielle “has got a lot of questions to answer when she gets out” she has denied her daughter is a racist.

She claims, “She will be distraught but she's got to take responsibility. She's been stupid and naive and she's guilty of that (but) I know she didn't mean any racial connotations when she told Shilpa to go home.

"Danielle's been brought up amongst family friends of all different races. I swear she isn't racist."

Shilpa agrees, saying on the show, “I let Danielle off because she is so young. They (Jade and Jo) made her look bad. You know what really balances it out for Danielle? Her stupidity. She's so innocent."

This is a bad news for a young star to have been lessened her popularity which will definitely be a negative for Danielle’s career. However, I do not know whether she was racist or not but if she is, then she deserves such treatment from the people.

Review of Mujhse Dosti Karoge

Mujhse Dosti Karogi is film about three friends. Hrithik Roshan, Rani Mukherji, Kareena Kapoor are in this movie. Hrithik plays Raj, Rani plays Puja, and Kareena plays Tina. The story begins with a friendship in three children and their parents. Raj’s (Hrithik) father shifts in London when Raj was child. First, he lived in Shimla with his other two friends. As Raj, Puja, and Tina are friends, in this way their fathers are friends. When Raj has left Shimla he has said Tina that he will send e-mail and requests her to send e-mail as a reply from Puja’s computer, because Tina has no computer. She promised to Raj. After starting life in London Raj sends e-mail everyday, but Tina becomes bore with this. Other hand Puja likes that. She reads his e-mail with enjoy.

She also sends e-mail his regularly with the name of Tina. She thinks if she said everything then Raj would be never send any e-mail. So, it is continuing over fifteen years. One day Raj sends a e-mail that he will come with his family. So Puja convinces Tina that she will say that she has written all this e-mail. Raj comes back India. He never does not know that all e-mail send by Puja. He thinks that all from Tina and she likes Raj. After coming India he wants to express his love for Tina, but unfortunately he dose not can do this. He backs in London again. Puja wants to admit a university of London. So she comes in London.

One time Raj said that her about a church and a tune. Raj listen this tune from a church and he sent that by e-mail. As Puja comes in London to admit in university they have traveled many places. They have also gone in a church. In prayer time Puja has been sang this tune, and then Raj understands all this things. When Raj was in India he always talked about this tune church, his favorite things in front of Tina, but she could not guess any thing; all of these things have confused him, and did him unpleasant.

When he has listened this tune from Puja all is clear for him. He accepts Puja as his lover and fiancée. First Puja cannot accept that but Raj says that he loves her because he loves her who writes e-mail. Then Puja accepts it and they make plan that they say family members about their relation, but when they reached in their home, they have invented that Tina’s father died. Tina does not know anything, which has happened between in Raj and Puja. It harts Puja’s hurt. He says Raj she does not take Tina’s love. She says Raj, that Tina has no parents; she has only loves of Raj. If she takes this it makes her alone. First, Raj does not accept this, but after he agrees and gives a condition for Puja, that Puja will also choose for her.

First, Puja does not accept that, but after she choices a guy and they all get angezment each other. Their marriage also fixed in same day. At the end of the movie, climax has come. Raj’s mother says Tina she has a bangle. It is their old and respectable bangle, which she got from her mother-in-law. She also wants to give this Tina as daughter-in-law. She promises to Tina, she will give it in her marriage day, but Raj has given it Puja, when he has expressed his love for Puja. On marriage day, Tina finds that bangle on Puja’s jewelry box. Then she understands all things. In the last stage of movie we find that Tina cancels her marriage with Raj and explain all matters. It is bad for Tina, but she happy for her friends. Thus, the hero and the heroine meet with each other. The movie is end to show with their marriage ceremony.

Review of Socha Na Tha

For new generation, arrange marriage is a common problem. Many people get some trouble for arrange marriage. Socha Na Tha is that kind movie. In this movie hero also faces same problem. Hero likes a girl and his family finds a girl to marriage with his. He does not say something to his family about that girl and he faces lots of problems in his life. New come actor Abhay Deol plays the role of Viren.

Ayesha Takia plays the role of Aditi. Viren (Abhay Deol) is little restless, clever, naughty, a smart, and a good friend. He likes to enjoy. Aditi is a charming, sweet, and good looking girl. She has no parents. She lives with her uncle and aunty. They are father and mother for her. Her family tries to give marry to her. Four times, boys have come in her house to see her, but everybody decline her.

Story begins to show that hero, Viren has been come in market to date with his girlfriend. He thinks that he proposes her, but he has been failed. He also wants to say his family about his Christian girlfriend whose name is Karen. Viren’s family belongs to Hindu. So he fears and does not say any thing. His father and mother force him to see a girl, which has been choice by his parents. In this situation, the hero meets with heroine, and this girl is Aditi (Ayesha Takia).

In their discussion, they have set that the boy, Viren will reject the girl. They do this, but they become make a good friend of each other. They also have shared everything of their lives to each other. Aditi knows about Viren’s girl friend. Aditi has helped them to meet with each other on Goa. It is impossible for Viren to go to Goa with his girl friend, because she has not permit from her home. Adity has been managed all things. She has also gone with them. In this journey, Viren’s lots of friends have presented there. They have enjoyed this tour very much.

There is a song ‘Aabhi Aabhi Mere’. This song has been picturized when they have enjoyed in Goa. It is a full of masti song. However, according to their plan Viren has reject Aditi. As a result, a misunderstand have created between two families, but Viren and Aditi continue their friendship. When Aditi went to Goa, she has told lie to her family. After coming back from Goa Viren goes Aditi’s college to meet with her, and Aditi’s brother and sister have watched them together. Unfortunately, they have thought that some thing between them. Again another mistake has created in these people. All this things have turned their situation. Aditi’s family has blockaded her at home and tries to give her marry as early as possible.

For Viren, it is too tough to say his family about his Christian girlfriend. His sister-in –law has helped him in this matter. First, his family has not taken this, after they have accepted that. When everything is going perfectly, on that time Viren has understand that he is falling in love with Aditi. He wants to marry with Aditi. He tries to break up his relationship with Karen. For this reason, she goes to Karen’s home and gives some conditions of his family. Conditions are that she will changed her name, she will vegetarian. All of she would do according to Hindu religion. He has done this, which has been made angry to Karen’s father. He has canceled his daughter marriage proposal with Viren. Karen wants to get back all this so she and her father comes Viren’s home. When Viren has watched this, he has escaped from his house. Because he has told about some conditions which have lie.

After escaping from house he goes to Aditi’s home, where some people has come to see Aditi. When Vhiren enters in the room, Aditi and her fiancée have talked to each other. He creates bad situation. Aditi’s parents have insulted him and get out from home by the security guard. Then he feels very bad, he goes Karen’s home and has been taken forgive from Karen’s father. He also wants forgive from his father. After all of these things his family members forgive him, and he joins in his father office. He becomes really unhappy for all things, which have happened with him.

One day when he gives presentation in his office, Aditi enters in that room suddenly. He becomes shocked. Adity is waiting for his outside. After finishing the meeting he meets with Aditi; she says Viren that she has escaped from her engagement ceremony. Viren says that this is not right to escape from home; this is not solution, but nothing happened. He has left his office with Aditi. After all of this one day they have come. Family has accepted them. They have been got married. Viren and Aditi then lead happy lives.

Caribbeans Going to Present the Best Ever Cricket World Cup

World cup cricekt 2007 is now knocking at the door. The host nations of Caribbean region are now all set to be the first destination of the cricekt world. All the local organizing cmittees are now going through a busy schedule ahead of this biggest festival of world cricket. This time the natural beauty of the Caribbean region along with the excitement of cricekt will charm the fans both in and out of the stadiums. Recently, Dr Ernest Hilaire, Chief Executive Officer of Cricket World Cup St Lucia Inc., has said that this world cup is going to be the best comparing the previous tournaments of world cup cricket. Nation News reported:

Speaking to Caribbean-Americans at The Mangoville Bar and Grill in Queens, New York last weekend, Hilaire said a few years ago when the West Indies won the right to host the world's biggest cricket spectacle, many sceptics believed small island nations would never be able to do it. "But we told them. . . we are going to deliver to the world the best Cricket World Cup."

According to Hilaire, "it's not about sitting down in a stadium and clapping for every four and every wicket. It's about liming the night before, feting just before the match, celebrating during the match and, of course, liming and feting after the match. . . . It will be 47 nights of festivals and excitement."

"This is an event that no West Indian should miss; it's an event that no cricket supporter should miss," he said, adding that on display would be some of the finest quality cricket venues in the world.

St Lucia 's director of tourism, Maria Fowell, told the audience her country had a wide variety of accommodations to offer cricket fans.

St Lucia has earned CWC 2007's "Blue Package" which includes six first-round or group-stage matches between Canada, England, Kenya and New Zealand in Group C in March 2007, and the semifinal between the No. 1 and No. 4 teams in April.

The tournament is going to be started from March 11, 2007. I am not preety sure that this tournament would be the best world cup cricket ever but I hope people will have an excellent tournaent with some special things including natural beauty, culture, tradition and life style of Caribbean region.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Indians Celebrating Victory of Shilpa Shetty at Big Brother

Thousands of Indians wished for this moment. They wished and prayed with all their heart that Shilpa Shetty could win Big Brother 2007. Their prayer has come true and Shilpa came out in the top against all the odds.

The news came at night in India and it was too late anyway for celebrating. However, that did not keep the fans away. Some celebrated and today morning many of her fans are celebrating in their own way. The celebration will surely be much bigger when Shilpa returns to India from the UK. I can imagine that a huge crowd will be in the airport to greet her. I am not sure if she will get an official reception from the Indian government or not. She should get one.

NDTV Broadcast on Shilpa Shetty

Shilpa Shetty has created a huge amount of attention in the media but winning Big Brother. To celebrate her victory, one of India’s top Indian Channel NDTV broadcast a special program on Shilpa Shetty and her journey in the Big Brother.

It is a great honor for Shilpa Shetty. IN this special program, NDTV showed footage from Channel 4.

Big News: Shilpa Shetty Wins Big Brother

Shilpa Shetty was never the top Bollywood actress and she is now no longer even a leading actress in Bollywood. However, she has brought a huge honor for Bollywood by winning Big Brother, the celebrity reality show. She has won 100,000 British pounds but more than that she has earned a billion dollar achievement for herself. Yes, you can find reports about her all over the Internet now. I cannot think of any other Indian celebrity who has caught the spotlight in such a way like her.

Shilpa Shetty in Big Brother: She Came, She Suffered and She Won

Yes, Shilpa Shetty has won the celebrity reality show Big Brother UK. Channel 4 announced this in the following way:

Sensational Shilpa has been crowned the winner of Celebrity Big Brother after polling 67% of the final vote.

A window-smashing scream welcomed the news, along with disbelief from the shocked actress. "Are you kidding me?" she bawled, accompanied by the compulsory waterworks.

Unlike earlier sobbing sessions, these were definitely tears of joy. Following her farewell to Jermaine she dashed to the toilet to gain some composure.

Amidst an awesome firework display, she emerged to an adoring crowd and frantically blew kisses. History has been made.

The self-proclaimed 'Angelina Jolie' of Bollywood, Shilpa's stay has been dominated by culinary-related rows and flirtations with a certain A-Team legend.

So, whatever Shilpa got by winning the Big Brother Show, Bollywood got something with her too. Now, many people in UK will start to take note of Bollywood. She had also made her country proud. In all the major newspapers and TV channels and websites of India, you can find this news item. Now, you can find the name of Shilpa Shetty all over the Internet.

Abhishek and Ashwaraya's first public appearance after engagement

Few days ago, Bachchan junior and Aishwarya’s made huge splash in Bollywood. The couple yesterday made their first post engagement public appearance in Lucknow. Bollywood.com reports:

Bollywood's leading pair of Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan Saturday made their first post- engagement public appearance at the popular Vindhyavasni temple in Uttar Pradesh.

The leading stars offered a special pre-nuptial puja at the ancient temple of Goddess Durga at Vindhyachal in Mirzapur district, about 400 km from state capital Lucknow.

"Abhishek applied sindoor on Aishwarya's forehead at the end of the prayer", one of the priests who performed the ceremony told reporters in Vindhyachal.

"Today's prayer was also aimed at ridding Aishwarya of all ills and negative effects including the much-dreaded 'mangali' effect," said the priest.

While Abhishek was dressed in a white kurta-pyjama, Aishwarya also sported a white suit with an olive green chunni.

Actually the couple went their to attend the birthday ceremony of Amar Singh, the secretary of Samajwadi Party. He is also a family friend of the Bachchan’s. In that temple 51 young couples got married. Among others, there were Aishwarya’s parents, Jaya Prada, Anil Ambani and his wife Tina.

ICC Cricket League Division 1 Starts with the Top Six Associat Members Ahead of ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007

Ahead of the coming world cup crick championship, ICC introduced a competition named ICC Cricket League Division 1 where six top teams among the associate members of ICC are taking part and as all the six countries have got the ticket of this upcoming word cup cricket, so it is a tournament of preparing themselves before the facing the world stars. Through this tournament the participating countries will be able to work out the problem and the will be able to perform better in the final competition against the top ten teams of world cricket. Moreover, the importance of this tournament can be increased if you come to know about the information that the top two teams of this tournament will be qualified for the first ICC Twenty20 world cup which is supposed to be held this year. The tournament has opened yesterday in Kenya and the participating teams of the tournament are Kenya, Bermuda, Scotland, Ireland, Canada and Netherlands. Sportsfeatures reported:

Speaking at the opening ceremony in Parklands Sports Club in Nairobi, ICC’s High Performance Manager Richard Done said this event was a great chance for players and coaches to make their final preparations for the CWC in a competitive environment.

“This tournament is an end it itself as it will provide silverware and bragging rights to the top Associate side,” said Mr Done.

“But of far greater importance is the fact that the World Cricket League is a key stepping stone towards the main prize, the ICC Cricket World Cup, for each of these six teams.

“It will provide the perfect platform which the players can build on once they arrive in the Caribbean in a month and, with that platform, they will be well equipped to be competitive.

“That ability to compete at the next level up is crucial to giving the Associate game the credibility it needs to flourish on a long-term basis.

“Only with the credibility that comes from the desire of players to compete at the highest level possible can we hope to make our strong sport even stronger from top to bottom as it is the only way we can encourage fans, sponsors and Full Members to give us the support required,” he added.

Mr Done highlighted the progress that has already been made towards this goal when he said: “As part of our commitment to close the gap between Associates and Full Members we have made sure these teams are now playing much more meaningful cricket than ever before.

“Between the World Cup in 2003 and the end of 2005, there were 11 ODIs involving Associate Members. In 2006 and through to the start of the World Cup, they will have played another 62 ODIs, including 17 against Full Members.

"For the first time, all six countries have had full-time national coaches in place for at least 12 months leading into the World Cup. This is a key factor in improving playing stardards"

The tournament will be very important for the teams as the matches of this tournament will be recorded as the ODI matches by ICC. This is a good initiative to uplift the performance levels of the teams which will make the world cup cricket more competitive. I would like to see these things frequently in future which will indirectly help cricket to spread out cricket in the world.

Richard Blackford Painted Some Picture Expressing the Culture of Cricket in the Caribbean Region

Jamaican artist Richard Blackford has recently created some pictures of cricket field which shows the excitement and the passion of cricket. Ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup he has done this praiseworthy work. In his works, he features the history of the game cricket and the pictures seem to talk in favor of cricket itself which is very much interesting to look at. This is the best way to gather the culture of Caribbean cricket. In a picture it is seen that some people are playing cricket the beach which typically depict the traditional cricket of West Indies. Jamaica Observer reported:

Blackford's drawings ranges from a group of cricket lovers playing "ketchie shoobie" at the public Hellshire Beach, in St Catherine, to a new batsman at the wicket being caught airborne trying to evade a characteristically sharp rising delivery from a West Indies fast bowler.

And then the wonderful sight of a batsman being comprehensively bowled by a fired-up Windies quick to a traditional scene of a crowded Caribbean village inherently involved as they watched a "Curry Goat" match.
It was only two years ago, Blackford said, that the idea of creating Images of the Game came about after the West Indies were awarded the right to host the ICC Cricket World Cup.

"We started out doing just a flat calendar... and the idea started growing on me: 'why don't we put these things together as a collection?' And that was about August last year," Blackford told the Sunday Observer at the launch Thursday at Kingston Cricket Club.
Images of the Game, he said, is not exclusively cricket.

"It (Images of the Game) concentrates on cricket now, because cricket is in vogue now," said Blackford, "and I personally believe it represents... what we all should do in Jamaica. We must try to get behind whatever the country is promoting."

The future success of Blackford's ideology will, however, be dependent on how well his 2007 Souvenir Cricket Calendar does.
But according to George Davis, executive director of marketing firm The Book Merchant Limited, plans have been long in place to maximise sales worldwide.

"It's a two-in-one product, meaning it's a calendar, but also a bit of art. So it shouldn't be hard to sell," said Davis, whose company will be marketing the collector's item.
"I think people are going to go crazy (for the calendar). They haven't seen anything like this from this side of the world. We think it's going to create a lot of excitement.

"We're sending two of our colleagues to other parts of the Caribbean and also to the UK and as far as to India," Davis added.
Fans are in for a treat, as Blackford has been invited by the organisers of this year's World Cup to host exhibitions of his cricket paintings during matches at Sabina Park and the grand final in Barbados.
"... This is a winner, this is a seller, this is vision," said Pat Ramsay, director of Art and Culture at the UTech Centre for the Arts, in delivering the main address in front of members of the cricket fraternity and the diplomatic corps.

"This shows somebody who... has vision and implemented his vision and is able to produce."
Images of the Game Souvenir Cricket Calendar 2007 is being sold at J$1,200 per copy. Interested persons may visit the website, www.imagesofthegame.com, to order framed copies and signed and unsigned prints done on matted paper.

This is a good initiative Richard Blackford taken ahead of the coming world cup tournament as it is a way of presenting the Caribbean culture of cricket. I hope this artistic idea will generate a huge amount for Mr. Blackford.