Photo of surya jyothika and their daughter Diya

Celebrities never cease to amaze us ordinary folks. It's not only them but their entire family tree which fascinates us. The world went crazy over the wedding pictures of Surya and Jyotika. It was but obvious that the craze continued with their offspring too. So, now we have the photos of surya's and jyothika's daughter taking the online world by storm. Maybe, these were released in competition to the photos of ajith and shalini's daugher , Anoushka ??


Diya celebrated her first birthday with mom and dad and it looked to be a Surya/Jyotika/Sivakumar family affair.

Photo of ajith, shalini and their baby Anoushka

Look at the people around them. Look at where they are "all" staring. Why are we so obsessed with celebrities ?

Salman Khan to go to jail

Wow, what is happening to the Indian Judiciary? Is it finally waking up after 60 years of Independence?

First, it was Sanjay Dutt who was sent to jail and now it is the "superstar" Salman Khan who is going to jail. A Jodhpur court rejected Salman Khan's appeal against the jail term given to him by a lower court. This was for "allegedly" poaching a Chinkara, an endangered species in 1998. He is also "allegedly" involved in another poaching case. He is also "allegedly" involved in the hit-and-run case killing one person in September 2002.

Govinda was on NDTV defending his "partner" Salman khan and he used the usual quotes used by bollywood under such circumstances - "He is a good human being", "he is being targeted". He also went to extent of making a quote "Nothing fails like success" and said that Salman's conviction was not good for India. When the reporter mentioned all the incidents where Salman broke the law, Govinda was quick to reply that all were "alleged" circumstances and that he was convinced that Salman had nothing wrong. Shame on you Govinda!

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Sanjay Dutt sent to 6 years in Jail

and i hope that he stays in for his entire term. We have had enough of the movie industry behaving like a cartel and making a mockery out of the Indian judicial system. Sanjay Dutt may be a Munna Bhai helping the poor in the movies, but he is a criminal in real-life and criminals ought to be where they ought to be, in the jail.

Even the media is portraying these people as heroes in real life with NDTV conducting a "Sanjay Dutt speaks his heart out" interview with the sole aim of pulling the public in his favour. Bollywood comes up in arms whenever a member of their fraternity is pulled up by the law. I am sure that each of them does this in the hope that the rest would support them similarly if they were to break the law in future.

A classic example is that of Salman Khan. How on earth can this guy be roaming around free acting in movies and fooling around ? He is a murderer, he kills endangered animals, threatens people and still he goes scot free.I hope that he goes to jail too!

Update: NDTV has been showing Bollywood's reactions to Sanjay Dutt's arrest over the weekend. It is unfortunate that Amitabh Bachchan, supposedly the icon of the Indian movie industry speaks against Sanjay's arrest saying that Sanjay is a nice person, a role model, has kids etc and he should be pardoned. It is not good if a person representing India on such a global scale makes comment hinting that Bollywood is above the law.

Hats off to Rakhi Savant on the same issue. She said.

"I am happy that that law of the land has taken its course. I am not celebrating Sanjay's imprisonment. But, it doesn't matter if it is Sanjay Dutt or any other common man, the law should take its course"

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The unknown past of a celebrity

This video uncovers it all...

I originally had the flash playing in this post, but few complained that it was too obnoxious a sound to be playing continuously whenever this page is opened.

So, I am linking to the swf file. Right-Click and then Save-as on your PC and then view it in a browser window.

Click here to download the swf file.

Intro of Rajini in Sivaji

There has been much talk about Rajini's intro in the movie Sivaji. Unlike his usual dramatic entrances in his movies, his intro in Sivaji seems to be very ordinary, which I am sure will give rajini fans something to discuss about.

If you are searching for youtube videos of Sivaji or online versions of Sivaji, i guess that you shouldn't be able to find many. I heard that people who upload camera prints of movies onto the internet have had an informal agreement with the producers of Sivaji that no Sivaji torrents (if that is a correct phrase, for i have never downloaded a movie off the net) would be uploaded within the first week of the release.

I got the link to the video of the intro scene by email. It seems that this was taken with a mobile camera in one of the theatres in US. The quality is surprisingly excellent. Enjoy the intro and hope this prompts you to go to the theatre and watch the rest of the movie even if that means you have to wait until July. I am going to India in October and I am sure that the movie would be running in theatres until then. I want to watch the original Sivaji in the theatres and not one of a crappy quality on a computer.

Watch the intro of Rajini in the movie Sivaji here. (a 27 MB download for a 75 sec video)

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Superstar Rajini's Sivaji is a super-hit

So says the media, even before the movie has been released. The ticket sales for Sivaji opened on June 10th and within half a day, all the seats for the first week had been sold out. No, we are not talking about seats in one theatre, but in 18 theatres, more than 10,000 for a single show. Rumours say that the earliest date for which you can get a ticket now is sometime around mid-July! With such numbers, no wonder that Sivaji has been declared a hit. By the way, if you want to book tickets for Sivaji online, go here.

Every day, new photos of Rajini from Sivaji are being released adding to the excitement of his loyal fans. I am surprised that Chennai Central, a die-hard fan of Chennai and everything associated with it has nothing to say about Sivaji on his blog. Thennavan, where are you ? I am sure that you would have more inside-information on Sivaji...

Read shankar's complete interview here. See more photos of Rajini in Sivaji here.

Take the poll below to let the world know your opinion whether Rajini's Sivaji will be a superhit!

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More pictures from Rajini's Sivaji and director Shankar's interview

Director Shankar's interview to SUN TV is probably (IMHO) the most detailed interview he has ever given. He talks about Sivaji, Rajini, his career and whatever his fan might want to know about him (ok, depended on what was asked of him!). Check out the complete transcript of Shankar's interview here.

Also, i have uploaded some more stills and photos from the movie Sivaji showing Rajini in various outfits. Enjoy!

Do you feel that Sivaji will be a superhit? Take the poll to let the world know!

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Rajini in the movie Sivaji - pictures, photos, news and the story

Everyone is talking about Rajini's new movie, Sivaji - The Boss (or is it Shivaji?). I was just getting too many emails about this new movie that i couldn't resist creating a post on the movie. So, i went forth a created an exclusive page on the the movie Sivaji. This page would have all the latest pictures from the movie, news about the movie and (according the the email i got), the story of the movie!

I am sure that you would be looking forward to see the movie, but until then, enjoy the stills from Sivaji, the trailer of Sivaji and lots more on the Rajini in Sivaji page. A small sample below!

Do you feel that Sivaji will be a superhit? Take the poll to let the world know!

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Shooting of the movie Boomerang in Cyprus

First of all, why would someone come to Cyprus and shoot a movie? Unless they wanted to commit financial suicide, of course. So, i was surprised when i heard that 90 people had come over from India for a month-long for the movie Boomerang, based on the famous movie Charlie's Angels. A similar movie, Three Roses, made in Tamil based on Charlie's Angels was a miserable flop. It seems that this movie is a 50-50 venture between a Cypriot Producer and an Indian one. Lets hope that this movie turns out to be good, as it would serve as an easy reference for me to show someone about Cyprus. This move doesn't have a hero and stars Amrita Arora, Kim Sharma (ex-girlfriend of Yuvraj) and leher (a relatively new face). Btw, it didn't surprise any of us that Yuvraj had dumped Kim Sharma, judging by the way she was throwing her weight around on the sets(as informed by friends!).

Amrita Arora had given an interview to Mid-day on her return from Cyprus. I have taken some sections from her interview. Have a good laugh!!!

• "Amrita says she went to Cyprus in Greece to shoot for Boomerang". I wonder what the Cypriot producer will feel after seeing this. According to Amrita, Cyprus is in Greece! Amazing geography!


• "The Cyprians are family-oriented people like us". Just because we are Indians, Cypriots don't become Cyprians!

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UPDATE : Yesterday (June 6th), i received polite comments/emails from the producer of this movie threatening me with legal action if i didn't remove the photos, as the dress the heroines wore were made from his money and they were copyrighted with him. So, i have removed all the original photos. I have erased from my memory that i ever went to watch the shooting. and what i have written below are just accounts of the shooting which i heard from friends. None of the images in this post are photos taken during the shooting. But, to replace the original images, i went back to alassa park few days later, took some snaps and then used some images of bikes and dune buggys from the Internet and then merged them using photoshop to convey the message. I had also taken a photo of Kim Sharma from the Internet, cut out the face and then superimposed it on one such photo. I hope that she was wearing her own lipstick. I don't want another producer threatening me for owning that lipstick!

I am preparing a replacement post so that i don't infringe on any copyrights. Visit this page again in a few days to see the updated post!

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50,000 hits in 3 days

Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai got married. Yes, many say that they look good together as a couple. Many from the bollywood fraternity are happy for them, while many like some of the khans are not so happy. But, one thing is for sure. I am extremely happy that they got married. Their marriage is the best thing to happen for this blog in its life of 1.5 years.

Around 6 months back, Surya and Jyothika got married and this blog got a new lease of life because of that. Now, Ash and Abhishek get married and things go through the roof for my site. Now, I am convinced, beyond doubt, that entertainment, bollywood, kollywood sells. Someone said, "Only sex and Shah Rukh Khan sell". Nope, you are wrong. Even though Shah Rukh Khan was out of the picture at this wedding, the "sales" were amazing.

My website usually receives around a 1000 hits per day. If it crossed 1000 in a day, I feel extremely happy. Imagine the situation then, when it touched 33000 hits on April 20, the day that Abhishek and Aishwarya got married!

This week, my web counters, sitemeter and statcounter must have been working overtime to track the hits! I am close to 60,000 hits for this week.

And to the few (can be counted with the fingers on one hand) regular visitors to my blog, this doesn't mean that my website shall become an entertainment blog and cater to news items like the divorce of Saif Ali khan, the romancing of Salman Khan and Kaif and the like. True to the title of my site, i shall ramble upon whatever interesting things i encounter upon and also on the regular stuff like photography and puzzles (A new "hunt" is to be released very soon).

Thanks again to Aishwarya and Abhishek for getting married and thanks to all the millions eager to find out details on their marriage!

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The Richard Gere Shilpa Shetty Kiss

Ok, it was not just one kiss but many kisses. But, does it really matter? It seems to, at least for some insane fans and some equally insane Shiv Sainiks. All you shiv sainiks and bajrang dal, go to hell! These are people with absolutely nothing at the top. They are die-hard fans of Shilpa Shetty and so, they have the right to feel that each and every one of them owns Shilpa and no one else can touch her!

How can Richard Gere kiss Shilpa Shetty in public and do something detrimental to our Indian culture? The actress can smooch her way to success in movies, but that's ok. Those are movies and not real life. But, the same gang of lunatics go up in arms if a movie like fire is made. Cmon, that is also a movie!

Let me give you a piece of advice. Don't burn effigies of Shilpa or Richard Gere. Burn yourself, attempt self-immolation. At least India would have few lesser lunatics around!

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Karthi in Paruthiveeran is a hit

So say the reviews. I watched it at a friend's place last week. When Ameer was here, he had requested us to watch Paruthiveeran in the theatres. Sorry Ameer, i couldn't. By the time i make the annual pilgrimage to India, this movie might not be running in the theatres.

The movie has been a declared a big hit by the media with anantha vikatan giving a score of 46. Compare this to the score anandha vikatan has give to other movies in the past.

• Nayagan – 60
• 16 Vayathinilae – 58
• Salanagai Oli – 56
• Autograph > 50
• Enagaeyo Ketta Kural > 50

Going by the list above, Ameer has almost ended up within the biggies. His previous movie Raam was also appreciated by the critics and masses alike and also won two awards at the Cyprus International Festival held last year here.

I didn't like the movie as a whole. I am not a big fan of too much melodrama and tragedy and personally prefer lighter themes with interspersed comedy. Would i watch this movie again, i probably won't. The sequence in the middle, the song with the eunuchs, what was that ? It looked like that the script for the next scene was not yet ready and something had to be shot with all the available people on that day. It was a mess. A long, "something-like-a-song", it looked to be never-ending. This is probably the nth time we are seeing a movie where two families related by a marriage in the previous generation split up and their children try to hook up.

But, there were many positives in the movie. The screenplay was excellent. Kudos to Ameer for that. The characters were well-chosen. I particularly liked the one playing the relative of Priya Mani's dad, the guy with the coarse voice. The sections shot with the kids were amazing and i liked the change of colour for those scenes in the past.

Karthi was amazing for his first movie. He looked like he was acting in his hundredth movie. He handled all kinds of emotions with ease. Priya Mani too was very good. In fact, she had to handle a lot more of crying and shouting and she did that very well. The choice of each and every person to play a character seemed to perfectly match the requirement.

Here are some pictures where were taken when Ameer and Karthi were here in Cyprus. Enjoy!

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Rajini and Karunanidhi, the Chief Minister

Caught at the wedding of Prabhu's son.

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Surya Jyotika at Prabu's son's wedding

Since the appetite for the wedding pictures of Surya and Jyotika doesn't seem to go down (The two pages on their wedding photos here and here continue to get the highest hits, of course after the one with the aishwarya and abhishek photos ), i am adding few more pictures of them at Prabhu's son's wedding.

Well, they look as grand as they would have, as their own wedding. Enjoy!

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Shilpa Shetty wins Big Brother

after the issues of racism against her and thus opened up a new avenue for Indian penetration. Why do indians keep getting involved in things happening around the world? Big, Brother, until now, was serving as a good voyeuristic distraction for teens (Go to youtube and search for Big Brother videos, you will know) and guess what, we indians came in and are going to culturally moralise the show. No more streakers, no more in-house affairs , only talks about Indian Culture and values inside the house!

The next edition of Big Brother is rumoured to bring in many actors from Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Baa Bahoo Aur Baby. Guess what, they are also going to add a pooja room inside the Big Brother house, so that the inmates can do their daily venerations to God. Of course, along with all these aunties, they are also going to put one Englishman and one American lady so that Indian Culture can be shared with them and then they can be thrown out in the name of being racist and unadaptable to other cultures.

Check out the poster of Big Brother 5, coming soon !

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Racism against Shilpa Shetty in Big Brother

So says the media, so say the thousands of people who have written in to voice their opinions. I have only seen a few clips which were again and again shown on NDTV, Sky and Star News.But, i have my own opinions as to whether what happened could be called racism. Even if it were racist, it is after-all happening in a reality show, pretty much like a movie. Would someone complain if a movie had racist dialogues or had scenes of racism. It is a show which is supposed to have its melodrama to attract an audience.In fact, the producers of Big Brother would the ones most pleased with whats happening right now, because its drawing in audience, big time!Just because the people in the house don't speak rehearsed dialogues doesn't mean that they don't qualify for all the liberties awarded to movies. If there are sections offended by the show, let it be given a suitable rating.Ok, Shilpa Shetty was called "The Indian" and the "paki" by other housemates, but is it something new for Indians?Wherever we go, we are the target of racist attacks. Other way to look at is that whoever makes these racist comments are doing so, because he has an inferiority complex looking at the growth/success of a "browner" kind and hurling abuses are the only way to quench his anger.

Well, at the end of the day, Shilpa Shetty for one reason or the other is responsible for the massive increase in viewership of Big Brother and I am sure that they will try their best to keep her in and kick the rest out!

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Abhishek Bachchan Aishwarya Rai Wedding pictures

Well, that's what people have already started searching for on google and landing on my page because of the posts on Surya Jyotika wedding pictures and the one on Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan in Varanasi.

Googlers, the fancy names for people searching on google always follow a streamlined approach to searching on the internet. This is the first time that i have found people searching for something ahead in time. C'mon people, they have just had their engagement. Give them some time. But not too much i guess, lest it go in the same direction as the case of Karisma Kapoor!

But, most googlers aren't this type. Take the example of Surya's and Jyotika's wedding. First, when news of their link-up started going around, people were searching for "Surya Jyotika romance". When their wedding finally happened, of course people were searching for all possible combinations of the keywords "surya, jyotika, wedding,marriage". Few weeks back, one person came to my site searching for "Surya Jyotika baby shower". How very systematic in the approach to searching!

Well, for those looking for Aishwarya's engagement pictures... (i apologise to the readers from countries where flickr is blocked. I had to move the pictures from my hosting provider to flickr because of the huge traffic this page was getting resulting in increasing my bandwidth!)

Some pictures from today's wedding ...

Got some pictures today from Abhishek's and Aishwarya's trip to Tirumala (Tirupati).

Also, if you want know about my experience at a Good Indian Wedding, check out my post here.

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Update 1: If you want to many more photos of abhishek and aishwarya as a couple and also the photo of their rumoured-to-be new house, check out my latest post at this link.
Update 2: Today is their wedding! Leave a comment with your wishes to the couple and also leave your blog link. I shall create a separate post with all the wishes and will also place a link to your blog against your wishes. Convey your wishes and also get a free link!

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More pictures of Surya Jyotika Wedding

After being linked from Chennai Central through one his Blogger Round-up posts, i have been getting lot of hits for my original post on the Surya Jyotika wedding in Chennai. Also have a look below at the top twenty search queries which have brought people to my site (Click to enlarge). All the twenty of them are combinations of surya, jyotika and the word wedding!

So, to please the appetite of all the people browsing for their wedding pictures, I have posted more (Courtesy: More email forwards). Enjoy! Btw, these pictures also contain lot of other celebrities:
The lady in the second picture (to the left) is Surya's sister. The third one has Prabhu and his wife. The 4th one has Sarath+kumar , his wife Radhika. The 5th one has actor Prasanth. The next one has our dear Amma, Jayalalithaa. Next, the superstar Rajinikanth. The last one has Kamalahasan (his usual dashing self) and the guy next to kamal is Karthi (Surya's brother), soon to debut in Paruthiveeran. You can see some more pictures of Surya and Jyotika at the wedding of Prabhu's son Vikram here.

Filed under: Movies