Celeb moms- to- be in 2013

"It's true!! Kanye and I are expecting a baby," the Mirror quoted Kardashian as writing on her website. "We feel so blessed and lucky and wish that in addition to both of our families, his mom and my dad could be here to celebrate this special time with us.

 

Priyanka and Vivek are all set to welcome their first baby in February.

Reema Sen who tied the knot last year has announced that she is carrying.

 

Kate Middleton and Prince William will be welcoming their first baby this year too. We hear that Kate has a craving for high carb sweets and clotted cream now.

 

Jessica Simpson who gave birth to baby Maxwell in 2012 shocked many when she announced her pregnancy.

 

Latina sensation Shakira is due early this year. Just a couple of days ago, there was a story doing rounds that she has given birth to a baby.

 

Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan will be welcoming a baby this year

 

Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen are having their second baby this year. The announcement puts an end to the reports that the couple were considering separation.

 

Actors who took Bollywood by storm in 2012

The actor continued to be on the top with two hits - "Ek Tha Tiger" and "Dabangg 2". His portrayal of an Indian spy in "Ek Tha Tiger" and a corrupt yet benevolent cop Chulbul Pandey in "Dabangg 2" was received well by the movie buffs and helped makers earn big bucks at the box-office.

 

After "Rockstar", this Kapoor scion continued to take the legacy forward with "Barfi!". He made people laugh and cry with his heart-warming portrayal of a deaf and mute boy Murphy in the film directed by Anurag Basu. The role required him to showcase different emotions without speaking a word, and the actor excelled in it.

 

Though Aamir's suspense thriller "Talaash" opened to mixed response, his midas touch helped the film earn profits at the box-office, both, in India and in the overseas market. Critics felt script was not impressive, but Aamir's portrayal of a police personnel trying to solve a murder case while mourning his 11-year-old son's death impressed his fans.

 

Critics felt that Shah Rukh has outgrown lover boy roles. In "Jab Tak Hai Jaan", Yash Chopra's last directorial venture, more than his romantic avatar, people loved him as an army personnel. The film opened to mixed response despite the huge buzz around SRK's pairing with Katrina Kaif for the first time.

 

Khiladi Kumar batted as many as five hits. He had six outings this year - "Housefull 2", "Rowdy Rathore", "Joker", "Oh My God" and "Khiladi 786". Except for "Joker", all the Akshay-starrers raked not only earned profit, but some even entered the Rs.100 crore club. From doing hardcore action stunts to tickling the audiences' funny bones or donning the garb of 'god', Akshay happily brought forth different aspects of his personality through different roles and viewers lapped it up. 

 

After "Singham" and "Golmaal 3", Rohit Shetty gave Ajay a distinct style in "Bol Bachchan" - his witty one-liners and Hindi to English translations, took audience on a laughter ride. In "Son of Sardaar", he donned the garb of a sardaar and walked away with accolades, again. Both his films went on to earn over Rs.100 crore at the box-office.

His gripping portrayal of an athlete-turned-gangster won many hearts in the biopic titled "Paan Singh Tomar". The two-year wait proved fruitful as the film not only did well at the box-office but also brought critical acclaim for Irrfan from all over the world. It can be said that no one other than Irrfan could play the role with so much conviction that people could feel the emotions.

The 2012 brought sunshine for Manoj, who was in the oblivion for some time. His power-packed performance as a small town gangster in Anurag Kashyap's successful "Gangs of Wasseypur" wowed both critics and audience alike. He even excelled as freedom fighter Surya Sen in Bedabrata Pain's much talked about "Chittagong" that focused on the Chittagong uprising.

 

He was there, but nobody noticed the talented actor with unconventional looks till "Gangs of Wasseypur" happened. His acting capabilities as gangster Faizal Khan in the film made him a star. Nawaz also proved his mettle as an actor with "Kahaani" and "Talaash".

 

After playing positive roles and doing comedies, Sanjay revived Bollywood's larger than life villain with his role as Kancha Cheena in "Agneepath" remake. He sent shivers down the spine as the ruthless, cold-blooded Kancha Cheena and his dreadful make-up did the trick. Later in the year he took a U-turn and tickled the funny bones of the audiences in "Son Of Sardaar".

Accused of rape, Congress leader thrashed in Assam

Guwahati, Jan 3 (IANS) A Congress leader in Assam's Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts (BTAD) was taken into custody by police Thursday after he allegedly attempted to rape a woman and was beaten up by villagers. He will be formally arrested as soon the case is filed.

The incident took place at Salbari in Chirang district Wednesday night, police said, adding that Bikramsingh Brahma was handed over to police by the woman's husband and the villagers Thursday morning.
"Local people caught hold of Brahma in the house of the victim and handed him over to the police. The villagers also beat up the politician before handing him over. The victim's husband filed a complaint against Brahma, alleging that Brahma had raped his wife," said Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) S.N. Singh.

"Brahma is in police custody now and he would be arrested soon. The police are waiting for the case to be registered," said Singh.

Brahma is the coordinator of the Congress party for the four districts of BTAD -- Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang and Udalguri -- and he had also contested the 2011 Assam assembly polls from Chapaguri constituency on a Congress ticket.

"It seems that Brahma had been taking advantage of the woman for quite sometime by giving her hopes that he would make her beneficiary of various government schemes," the IGP said.

Meanwhile, Congress spokesman Haren Das said that strong disciplinary action will be taken against Brahma if the allegations against him were found to be true.

"Brahma has also been temporarily suspended from the party after the incident," said Das.

A laser documentary to repay a debt

Chicago, Jan 1 (IANS) Indian American Manick Sorcar, who has devised a laser show to pay tribute to two eminent Indians, Swami Vivekananda and magician P.C. Sorcar, says he is only repaying his debt to them.

Manick is the son of the famous magician and combines his day job as a lighting engineer in Denver, Colorado, with a passion for art and laser shows.

The year 2013 is the the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda and the birth centenary of Sorcar's father, which he considers a happy coincidence.

"Swami Vivekananda has been an inspiration all my life, particularly in teaching me to arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached. My father, for whom I did all the lighting and art work backstage for his magic shows, has been the main source of inspiration in mixing art with science. Both men have played an important role in shaping my life of which what I am today," Sorcar told IANS in an interview.

He said he had a great interest in doing a laser documentary on Swami Vivekananda. "My research started in 2005 when I visited the Art Institute in Chicago where Swamiji gave his inspiring speech (at the parliament of the world's religions in September 1893). I was subconsciously looking for his footprint.

"After searching the drawings, I could trace the exact spot where he had exactly stood to give the speech, and I found this discovery thrilling. Last year, when I received an invitation from the Ramakrishna Mission to do a laser documentary on Swami Vivekananda, my dreams came true," Sorcar added.
The two-hour laser programme is divided into two parts. "The first hour is dedicated to Swami Vivekananda. This is preceded by a "laser live" prayer-dance based on a work of Swami Vivekananda. The second half is a laser show celebrating the centenary of my father, with laser applied to his magic," Sorcar said.

He will also display his multi-media artworks on his father. They range from kaleidoscopic watercolours from his school days, acrylic paint, spice and seed-art, to laser art.

"Swamiji" premiered last October 10 at the Grand Theatre of Science City in Kolkata. Sorcar said while he was deeply grateful for the critical acclaim, what touched him was the appreciation from the monks of Ramakrishna Mission.

"Vivekananda taught me no great work can be accomplished with gimmicks or publicity stunts. From my father, I learned stage art. To all that I have mixed my fine art and practical experience and educational background in electrical engineering and lighting. Laser is state-of-the-art in lighting, which I have mixed with live action on stage and tamed the dangerous light-beam to act as a harmless paint brush," Sorcar said.

Sorcar, who has won several awards in the US for his laser art, brought the technology and helped to build a laser animation laboratory for "Laser Lighting for Art and Animation" at Jadavpur University, where it is now studying towards a degree in electrical and illumination engineering.

Jacquelines grooves with Salman and Anil

"The funniest (character is) Anil Kapoor for sure. He is actually the comedic relief in 'Race 2' like he was in 'Race 1.' It's great! The rest of our characters are extremely serious and into betraying, plotting and killing. Then you have Anil Kapoor, who is so funny and his character is also very funny," the 27-year-old said in an interview.

 

Anil plays a private detective in the 2008 film 'Race', and in its sequel, 'Race 2', he takes the character forward. "It's the same character from 'Race', but they have made a few changes. He lightens up the film a lot," she added.

 

Meanwhile, Jacqueline personally also feels more comfortable doing comedy. "I find comedy a lot of fun to do because you are laughing all the time. People are just making a fool of themselves and that's the whole point, because you are trying to make the audience laugh," Jacqueline said.

 

"(With comedy,) There is no seriousness. You don't have to worry so much, you are spontaneous even with your lines. So comedy is really fun to do," she added.

 

'Race 2', releasing Jan 25, 2013, also features John Abraham, Deepika Padukone, Saif Ali Khan and Ameesha Patel.