Vidya Balan for Kim Kardashian

In an interesting piece of development Vidya Balan the awesome actress was mistaken for Kim Kardashian. Kim is a noted American personality who was much celebrated for her sex appeal in her hey days.

As a celebrity guest for the Fashion week organized by Wills India, Vidya found herself complimented by an Australian. The Australian who was unaware of the actress’s identity found striking resemblance between Vidya and the noted socialite Kim. He enquired if she happened to be Kim. The man incidentally confessed to the charming actress about his sexual orientation. In spite, of having a homosexual bias he found her ‘hot’ enough to be candidly complemented. The suavely charming actress could barely manage a smile to the epithet to which she is pretty unaccustomed.

It is said that beauty lies in the eyes of beholder. So it is not for us to justify why and how the Aussie could attribute the given tag. It is pointless to debate as to the common features co relating Kim and Vidya.

It is undeniable that the actress who is well known for her soothingly peaceful charm is all set for making her mark in the global arena. We already got a taste of it when she hit off wonderfully with Hugh Jackman.

Kashmir – hot place on tourism map

 

It seems that Kashmir is nowadays a prime destination on the tourism map as it’s not just the Bollywood stars but international cricketers too are air-dashing to the Valley to enjoy the snow laden slopes. If it was Ranbir Kapoor last month seen shooting in the famous tourist resort Pahalgam, the Oscar winning Music Director AR Rahman has too chosen the serene but chilly environs of the ski-resort in south Kashmir for composing his number for the movie Rockstar in which Kapoor is playing the lead role.

In Gulmarg the atmosphere was no less electrifying. Famous cricketer turned coach Jhonty Rhodes arrived on a week-long visit to the resort in north Kashmir to test his snow boarding skills and enjoy winter sports. “He (AR Rahman) is on 2-day visit to Valley. He visited Pahalgam early during the day for composition of his song. And later returned to Srinagar where he is putting up in a houseboat in Nigeen Lake,” sources said.

Talking to media persons at Pahalgam, Rahman was reported as saying, “Kashmir is a paradise and a boon to Bollywood." On his arrival, Rhodes, the former South African cricketer, on Sunday drove to the Royal Springs Golf Course in the city. Sources said he relished Kashmiri Wazwan, particularly Kababs and later drove uphill to Parimahal where he stayed for sometime.

“Before leaving for Gulmarg yesterday he had an interaction with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah,” sources said. Jhonty is on week-long visit to enjoy snow-boarding and other winter sports in the slopes of Gulmarg. “They (Rahman and Rhodes) are global figures. Their presence in Kashmir is good news and will definitely send good signals and attract more and more tourists to the valley,” said Director Tourism, Farooq Ahmad Shah.

The celebrities, he said, have come to Kashmir on their own. “But the department will be extending all the assistance and facilities for making their stay comfortable,” Shah said.  While Bollywood celebrities have been frequently visiting the Valley--once a favourite destination for film shooting--the international cricketers have too started to choose Kashmir as a holidaying destination. Last year Rhodes’ former team-mate and the present coach of Indian cricket team, Gary Kristen, had also visited Gulmarg.

Shilpa Too Hot For World Kannada Meet

Following close on the heels of the recent displeasure expressed by writers over Infosys chief N R Narayana Murthy inaugurating the Viswa Kannada Sammelana (World Kannada Meet), another noted personality faces their ire for a very different reason. Writers preferred Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as special invitee and perfect representative of Kannada pride outside the state, as opposed to Shilpa Shetty, because they think that the latter is known for her skimpy dressing sense.

Shilpa has acted in Kannada films including Preethsod Thappa and Auto Shankar. But, the writers were not happy with her because of her steamy scenes and she exposing her navel while draped in a sari. They added that while she was a celebrity outside the state, she could not be seen as the pride of the state. Deepika Padukone was also short listed along with Aishwarya and Shilpa as these glam dolls of Hindi filmdom are from the Tulu speaking part of Karnataka. But, since she was currently out of India and since the orthodox writers did not favour Shilpa, former Miss World Aishwarya was a clear winner.

However, organisers sought to decline that skimpy dress sense was the criteria saying that Aishwarya was always the proffered choice. A source from the organising committee requesting anonymity said "We prefer Shilpa to other Bollywood stars since she has acted in Kannada movies and connects well with the Kannada audience. But some writers are not comfortable with the idea and plans have been changed just to avoid controversy."

"Shilpa Shetty was in the list, but we could not include everyone because of the space and time limit. Also, security was another major concern and we decided that Aishwarya would be the only invitee among all the film stars," said Prabhakara Kore, working president of the meet. "I hope she will speak Kannada when she greets the audience," Prabhakara added. Tara, Kannada film actress and a member of the BJP, was irked. She said, "It is ridiculous to reject anyone for their onscreen dressing. We have to be mature enough to see an actor beyond their onscreen roles. If we say Shilpa was seen in revealing clothes, then Aishwarya is no exception as she has been seen in steamy scenes as well."

"Shilpa or Deepika are a better choice since both have acted in Kannada movies unlike Aishwarya, who has none to her credit," she said. She also added that while people have heard Shilpa and Deepika speaking Kannada, no one she knew could vouch for Aishwarya.  I M Vittalmurthy, special officer of the meet, said, "Not that we have ignored other achievers by inviting Aishwarya alone. We have selected her as a representative of all of them."