Cubicle Bioscope: June 2011

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Hottest New Female Award Goes To...

There are winners. And then there are HOT winners. With 3.43 lakh votes pouring in on itimes.com from all corners of the country, along with our vote, the Times Poll announces the winners of the hottest female and male making their debut this year. The faces enticing you on this page are not chosen because of their acting abilities or for being in the most commercially successful film of the year.

Hotness quotient is all that mattered to us and that is all that we asked you to judge them on. Forget talent for now. Forget the noise their movies did or didn’t make. This is what you said about their oomph factor. From Neha Sharma’s killer lips in Crook to Barbara Mori’s bikini moves in Kites to Shraddha Kapoor’s sweet charm in Teen Patti and Nidhi Subbaiah’s fresh appeal in Pancharangi (Kannada)... here’s what the numbers say about the hot, new female brigade that is catching the fancy of filmmakers and audiences alike. The list follows...

Friday, June 24, 2011

Fortune favors the Bold

Monday, June 13, 2011

Future Aircraft Design by Airbus in 2050

Chennai Rhinos win the inaugural CCL

Yellow fever sweeps CCL - Chennai Rhinos win the inaugural tournament ~ Sarah Salvadore

V FOR VICTORY: CCL champions Chennai Rhinos

Chennai is red hot and how! The Chennai Rhinos bagged the top honours at the first edition of the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL). The final of the muchawaited CCL was all about glitz, glamour and cricket. The frenzy reached a new high as the Karnataka Bulldozers and Chennai Rhinos clashed in an epic encounter at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium. The stadium was chock-ablock with fans who came to see their matinee idols slug it out with one another in a friendly game of cricket. With the IPL fever just subsiding, the match came at the right time and gave the crowds lots to cheer about. The captain of the Karnataka Bulldozers, Sudeep won the toss and decided to put the Chennai Rhinos to bat. Even though wickets fell at regular intervals, team Chennai put up a competitive score of 189/7. Despite having a great batting line-up the team from Karnataka fell short of target by 23 runs. The performance of the Chennai team has been consistent throughout the tournament. The fan support they received at the Uppal stadium was immense.

DHAN TE NAN - The match started with a bang as singer Anushka Manchanda took the stage and regaled the audience with hit numbers, including a Tamil song. During the innings break, the sizzling Shriya Saran made the audience groove along with her as she put up an energetic performance, dancing to popular tunes like Ringa Ringa, Dhinka Chika and Munni Badnaam among others.

CELEB CHEERLEADERS - If the field was teeming with stars competing against one another, stars were lined-up at the dugouts of both the teams, cheering their hearts out. Leading the brigade were veteran actors Mohan Babu and Shatrughan Sinha who came before the match could begin to wish both the teams. Players from the Mumbai Heroes — Sohail Khan, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Ashish Choudhary among others led by skipper Suniel Shetty, came to extend their good wished to both the teams. Dabangg girl Sonakshi Sinha too was present. Sridevi Boney Kapoor and Subhash Ghai enjoyed every moment of the game, while actor Priya Mani was cheering hard for the Karnataka team.

GAME SET - The presentation ceremony was equally exciting. Vishnu from the Chennai Rhinos bagged the man of the match award for his exceptional performance, while actor Dhruv from the Karnataka Bulldozers was adjudged man of the series. Sridevi then handed over the winners trophy Abbas and Sarath Kumar and the runners-up trophy to the skipper of the Karnataka team, Sudeep.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Priyamani at Clebrity Cricket League 1

Friday, June 10, 2011

Back in Action - Sonia Agarwal

SECOND TIME LUCKY?

Tamil actor Sonia Aggarwal seems to making all the right moves in her second innings in the industry ~ P Sangeetha

Sonia Aggarwal is enjoying her comeback in Kollywood to the hilt. The actor, who had bid goodbye to films at the peak of her career, after tying the knot with Tamil director Selvaraghavan (actor Dhanush’s brother) is now back with a bang. Films are back on top of her list of priorities following her divorce from Selva, and the actor has been on a signing spree. Post divorce, her first release, Vaanam, which had an ensemble cast including Simbu, Anushka and Prakash Raj, fetched her rave reviews, bringing Sonia back into the spotlight.

“Even though my role in the film was short, I got a lot of accolades on a micro-blogging site for my performance. I should thank director Krish for considering me for the role,” says Sonia. Her follow up to Vaanam is the forthcoming Tamil flick Maata Pitha Guru, which deals with a social issue. “The film is based on the subject of child abuse. You can call it cerebral cinema. It was a challenging role as I had to portray three avatars in the film — a saint, a woman with negative shades to her character and an investigative television reporter,” says the actor.

Sonia is also testing new waters in Mollywood with a film opposite Mukesh. “I play an innocent, homely woman who handles the pressures of a family delicately. It’s a family entertainer directed by Mohan Kupleri. I always wanted to make a debut in Malayalam and have been waiting for a good offer to come my way. But it didn’t happen for long. So when I got this one, I just couldn’t resist it. It’s a role that I have been looking forward to do,” says Sonia.

The spate of films apart, Sonia has also been turning heads with her new svelte look. “Yes, I have knocked off a few kilos and I’m really feeling confident now. My friends are quite impressed with my new look,” she laughs. With her glam avatar and meaningful projects in her kitty, Sonia is on a roll. “I have moved on from my divorce and I’m very happy now. I’m also cheering for the men in yellow — the Chennai team of the Celebrity Cricket League. I’m loving my comeback,” she signs off.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Priyamani still looking for Mr Right

Priyamani dismisses rumours of her impending marriage plans and talks about her next Kannada film

Priyamani has her hands full. The actor has almost wrapped up the shoot for her two Kannada films — Vishnuvardhana opposite Sudeep and Lakshmi with Shivraj Kumar, and has just signed her next Kannada project, Koko. It was during the shoot of Lakshmi, that filmmaker Adi Narayana, came up with the script of Koko. “I loved the storyline and immediately agreed to do the film,” she says. “Later, Adi briefed me about Chandru, who will be donning the director’s cap for this film. His last film Mylari, had Shivraj Kumar and Sada in the lead, and was widely appreciated by the audience. I am not very familiar with Kitty either, who is the lead actor of the film, but I consider this an opportunity to get to know another person. Kitty’s recent release, Sanju Weds Geetha, is the talk of the town today. So, why not?”

The most exciting part of the new film is the fact that she will be wearing just one costume for most of the film. “I have not done this before and it sounds very interesting,” she says. “Also, I’m really looking forward to working with Chandru.”

Now that the actor has made a name for herself in the southern film industry, she is contemplating her future plans and is hoping to turn director too. “My friends have been asking me to take up film direction. But I still have a long way to go and have enough time ahead to take it up. As of now, I only have acting on my mind. One day, I will definitely take up direction as I have always wanted to work behind the camera.”

Ask her about the rumours about her alleged romance with Telugu actor Sumanth and she says, “Sumanth and I are good friends and my family knows him very well. There’s no romance brewing between us. Love and marriage can wait as I am still looking for Mr Right and haven’t found him yet. Tying the knot is a distant dream.” [Photo Shoot]

Friday, June 3, 2011

To Save the Planet - Japanese Workers Dress Down

Japanese Environment Ministry, encouraging its employees to dress more causally in-order to help reduce the use of air conditioners and reduce electricity consumption following the March 11 disasters. Environment Minister Ryu Matsumoto has announced a souped-up "Super Cool Biz" campaign this year to relieve the pressure on the electricity grid after the March 11 quake-tsunami and ensuing nuclear emergency.

A fashion show organised by the government in a chilly Tokyo on Wednesday to highlight the campaign caused a stir on the Twitter microblogging site, with mixed reactions to the launch.

"Take a salaryman out of a suit, and he still somehow looks like a salaryman," said illustrator mister_tim.

"Japan launches 'Super Cool Biz' to dress down and save energy at work. People complain it's too cold. Put a bloody jacket on, then," university researcher Kanetaka Maki offered.

When the earthquake struck the northeast coast of Japan, the crisis at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant and other power stations triggered a drop in energy output.

Electricity companies have been scheduling power cuts and businesses have been cutting usage by dimming lights and turning off heated toilet seats, as well as installing low-energy bulbs.

Super Cool Biz encourages businesses and government departments to set the dial on air conditioners to 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit).

Employees in the ministry will set an example to corporate Japan by wearing cotton trousers, T-shirts and even loud Aloha shirts.

It is unclear how well the new regime will go down in a country where many are loath to challenge the status quo. In previous years, Cool Biz adherents have taken ties to work in their pockets and sneaked blazers into briefcases.

The prefectural government of disaster-hit Iwate has decided not to go as far as allowing jeans in the office to avoid making visitors feel "uncomfortable", the Kyodo news agency reported.

But the more conservative salarymen will be relieved to hear that the change in sartorial direction does not allow for flip-flops, shorts or vests.

The environment ministry announced results of the first Cool Biz campaign in October 2005, estimating that the campaign resulted in a 460,000-tonne reduction in CO2 emissions, equivalent to the CO2 emitted by about a million households for one month.

But for Wednesday's launch of this year's Cool Biz campaign the streets of downtown Tokyo's Ginza district have been more remarkable for the number of umbrellas and scarves on show than Hawaiian shirts.

The temperature in Tokyo on Wednesday morning was six degrees below the June 1 average of 21.8 Celsius, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency website.

Source-AFP