Mumbai:
After grabbing a great response from ‘ FALTU’, Jacky Bhagnani is thrilled about his upcoming flick ‘ Ajab Gazabb Love’. The actor admires his co-star Nidhi Subbaiah for her tremendous performance in the movie. The actor who had done three films with every fresh faces stated that he would love to romance Angelina Jolie.

Jacky stated that, “I would want to romance Angelina Jolie also, but I have just done three films till now and I am happy romacing Nidhi in this film.”

He also added that he is also a fresh face of the B-town and doesn’t mind romancing any actress.

The actor said, “Off-screen rapport is very important with an actress to make the movie look realistic. People want to see real friendship even if it’s a filmy film.”

source: http://www.aajkiakhbar.com / Home> Entertainment . by Abhayank Tiwari / Thursday, August 31st, 2012

For the better part of my teens, I was vegetarian by choice. Not dramatic, under normal circumstances, but since I am a Coorg, it led to many interesting situations. Most often, when we visited relatives, my announcement was met with loud cries of shock and protest, followed by expressions of sorrow and disbelief. An aunt even questioned my suitability for marriage, vegetarian that I was.

My grandmother would ask me, every day of the holidays, out of deep concern and affection, “What shall I make for you?” and exclaim, triumphantly, “Potatoes!” Somehow, the vast number of vegetarian dishes on her extravagant table remained invisible to her. I soon grew accustomed to the sound of an omelette being hastily and violently beaten up in the kitchen, wherever I went, as compensation for all the meat I was going to miss. I could never figure out what all the fuss was about, because we had such a wonderful vegetarian repertoire of the freshest flavours possible, most of it sourced from the kitchen gardens attached to every home.

As it was, there were golden curries of pumpkins, cubed and cooked with tender skin still on (kumbala curry), faintly sweet and garlicky. From the back garden came deliciously fat, creamy double beans (avare), which were curried with ground coconut. Kuru curry was thinner, and ran to the edges of your plate, carrying a lovely contrast between fresh green shells and terracotta coloured local French beans. There were lively, stir-fried greens, like kake thoppe, or chonde keere thoppe.

The leaves were garden fresh, and all it took was an onion and a few green chilies to make a stir-fry, perfect in its simplicity. Tiger striped Mangalore cucumbers were fried soft and velvety, and given a fillip with a little jaggery. And I would wait for the day when a pale, thin curry of ash gourd in curd appeared on the table. Delicate flavours, tender cubes of ash gourd and a mound of rice — it was all the lunch I needed that day. Comfort food meant thoge, a homely blend of vegetables cooked in a thin base of toovar dal.

In season came a parade of delicacies: wild mushrooms, tender bamboo shoots and enticing little mangoes that were made into a hot and sweet curry with a touch of jaggery. A large glass bowl on my grandmother’s table alternated between plain, solid curd and a selection of pachadis, made with cucumbers, the famous Coorg bitter oranges or sweet mangoes. And there was much more. Of course, things have changed. Going vegetarian is popular now, but we still hesitate, doubting ourselves. Take me for instance — my mother-in-law suddenly turned vegetarian; when she came to stay for several months, I rushed out and bought a huge tome on vegetarian cooking and, abandoning this entire legacy, cooked for her from its pages.

The writer is an anthropologist and independent author based in the city, who delves in to food, wine, travel and heritage. She is also behind A Gourmet’s Table In Coorg (http://coorg.com), her blog that explores the fascinating traditions of Coorg cuisine, food lore and special meals.

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Channels> Lifestyle> Dine o mite / by Kaveri Ponnapa, DC / August 03rd, 2012

Mysore, Aug. 9
Kannada film actress Nidhi Subbaiah, hailing from Kodagu and a resident of Mysore, is among the 74 beneficiaries of H-category MUDA sites given to achievers in various fields.

Interestingly, the upcoming actress Nidhi has been allotted the site not for her performance in cinemas but for her achievement in the field of sports.

Before making her entry into the world of cinema, Nidhi had made her mark in international- level as a sports person by winning gold medals at National- level sports meets in sailing while she was studying II PUC in Mysore. She also has the credit of winning three gold medals in a calendar year at the sports meet in sailing events at Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and at Chilka Lake in Orissa.

Besides being a sports person of repute, Nidhi was also a Naval NCC cadet who won the best cadet award in the year 2004 before submitting an application to MUDA for allotment of a site in 2005.

The proud daughter of Bollachanda B. Subbaiah and Jhansi, Nidhi has been allotted a 30×40 site at Lal Bahadur Shastry Nagar under H-category in recognition of her contribution in the field of sports. [Presently, B.B. Subbaiah is the Hon. Secretary of Sree Cauvery Educational Institutions, Kuvempunagar].

Nidhi, who developed a flair for modeling while studying engineering at SJCE in Mysore, took to modeling before making her entry into the celluloid world.

She has featured in as many as eight TV advertisements including the one for the promotion of ‘Fair & Lovely’.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / Home> General News / August 09th, 2012

Sandalwood is now going the Bollywood way. This time, it’s actresses performing in just single songs without being part of the film. Leading actresses are agreeing to do a single song for a film even if they are not acting in it. Bhumika recently did a number in the flick Godfather. Nikita Thukral was in Snehitharu in a similar manner.

Actress Harshika Poonacha who did such a role in Murli meets Meera says, “In one way, it’s like you work for fewer days. Doing such a role, gives the actress more exposure. The song becomes a sensational hit. More often than not, the song is a bigger hit than the movie. Having such songs in a movie is a good thing but should be portrayed well.”

Actresses in the South are not yet comfortable with the idea of being labelled as item girls. Director Kavitha Lankesh says, “An item number kind of song in a film is a very good marketing strategy and adds value to a film and boosts it. The actresses are apprehensive about being called item girls. The actress has to be that much more renowned to rake in the moolah for the producer.” To this, actress Sharmila Mandre adds, “Earlier, when a popular girl was in an item song, she was stereotyped. The heroine would only do films. Such songs prove to be successful overnight and many watch the film simply because of that song.”

But such special performances definitely pay the actresses more than doing a full film. Harshika says, “After shooting for a fewer days, the pay is as good, if not better than signing a full-time film.” But the actresses particularly count on the mileage and the exposure this special performance gives. Harshika, who is open to doing such songs provided she is not tagged an item girl, says, “When an actress does a number like this, she even helps with the promotion of the film. As a heroine, you get better mileage and the song is beautiful. The song eventually gets promoted more than the film.”

These actresses know what they want and insist on not signing a role unless it is a promising song. She says, “Unless the song will be ‘the sensation’ of that time, I don’t want to take up the offer. I was approached in Kannada but I wasn’t convinced.”

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Channels> Showbiz> Sandalwood / by Khushali P. Madhwani, DC / August 07th, 2012