Mumbai, May 18: The stunningly beautiful half-German half-Indian international model Evelyn Sharma first became the cynosure of all eyes, when she accompanied her designer friend Rocky S to the Ritesh Deshmukh-Genelia Sangeet ceremony before their wedding.

A far contrast from everyone dressed in traditional Indian outfits, Evelyn walked in wearing bright red jeans! Normally, anyone who’d do that at a Sangeet would risk a lot of frowns. But Evelyn’s poise and charm seemed to have unarmed everyone.

Following praise, she turned showstopper for Rocky, setting the ramp on fire at the Lakme Fashion Week! Some time later, she caught glances from the likes of Kangana Ranaut, Sameera Reddy, Madhur Bhandarkar and host Sohail Khan at the Provogue Royalty Fashion Nights launch.

And now, the latest is that Rocky S has signed the girl up as the face of his campaign Vilasa. Here, Evelyn sports a lot of Indian attires.

Though most foreigners are known to go wrong with ethnic outfits, surprisingly, the newbie is said to have taken to them, like fish to water! Ah, we can hardly wait to see this gal in her upcoming movies now!

Evelyn’s impressive Bollywood line-up includes Manish Tiwary’s Issaq opposite Prateik Babbar, veteran filmmaker Pramod Chakravorty’s grandson Prateek Chakravorty’s debut film From Sydney With Love, and a pivotal role in Ayan Mukerji’s Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani; the Ranbir Kapoor-Deepika Padukone starrer under Karan Johar’s banner Dharma Productions.

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Movie Review: “Department”; Star Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Rana Daggubati, Abhimanyu Singh and Madhu Shalini; Director: Ram Gopal Varma; Verdict: A brutal film.

Shoot at sight. Point blank. In different ways that’s exactly what Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) and his characters do in “Department”.

While his cop heroes Sanjay Dutt, Rana Daggubati and their hazily sketched compatriots (one of whom looks like Deepak Tijori) go on a cleansing rampage against socio-paths, RGV goes on his own trip, shooting characters at angles you’ve never seen them being shot. They don’t always look fetching with their stained teeth and dirty nails showing up in embarrassing close-ups. So, who said life in cinema is about postcard pictures?

Welcome to RGV’s world of muck and mayhem.

The one definite thing that must be said about RGV is that his exploration of the nexus between the law and the underworld is ceaselessly seeking new modes of storytelling.

“Department” is one breathless surge of aggression and violence. Shot with cameras that capture the actors at their quirkiest and most candid, the film is not for those who think cinema is all about style. RGV left his stylish days behind in “Rangeela” and “Company”.

Repeatedly and mercilessly RGV dismantles all conventions of pretty storytelling and aims for the jugular. The camera angles are often much too casual to be considered ‘cinematic’. But breaking rules is a given in RGV’s cinema. He breaks them in “Department” in a noisy rush of agitated images that go well with the edgy fidgety characters.

Not all the characters work. Vijay Raaz as a whiny dhoti-clad gangster and debutant Madhu Malini as a tartish sharp-shooter are a scream. The talented Abhimanyu Singh has a tough time trying to maintain an equilibrium between the two unintentionally comical evil doers. The dialogues these gangsters exchange try so hard to be real they end up being howlers. It’s like eavesdropping on a conversation between two pathologists.

The camera, manned by no official Director Of Photography (and it shows), goes through the character’s legs, into their nostrils, over their armpits…in this film about cops who do their own thing.

“Department” is a brutal film. There’s no room here for emotions. Even when Sanjay Dutt playing a senior cop goes home his wife, played by Laxmi Manchu, speaking in a strangely loud tone, he talks to her in unsentimental tones. There’s more feeling in the two cops, Sanjay and Rana’s buddy-buddy talk, in the line of duty.

There’s a long history in cinema of cops striking a rapport on the beat. Sanjay and Rana are no Danny Glover and Mel Gibson. But then this is no “Lethal Weapon”.

The action here is a strange mix of street aggression and stylized stunts. While scenes of Rana chasing goons through claustrophobic crowded areas of Mumbai are vintage Varma, the climactic fist-to-fist between Rana and Sanjay proves a battle of unequal titans. One of the two actors being just too agile for the other.

What grabs your attention in this oft-told tale of the cops resorting to extra-constitutional means to ‘cleanse’ the city is the frenetic pacing. The characters are constantly on the move.

Even Amitabh Bachchan, while taking sardonic jibes at a ‘system’ that is corroded, is seen restlessly circling Sanjay or Rana, depending on which of the two the wily wizened politicians is provoked into action.

Not surprisingly Amitabh’s netagiri provides the liveliest interludes in the proceedings. He seems to behaving the most fun even when saddled with dialogues that must have sounded far funnier on paper than they do in their delivery. Among the rest of the cast, Rana with his restrained ruggedness stands tall.

What “Department” delivers is yet another RGV product that takes Hindi cinema’s crime genre away from conventional storytelling. There are no punctuations except exclamation marks, no speed-breakers except songs, which are terribly screechy and grating with Nathalia Kaur’s item number hitting rock-bottom, and no way out for these restless law-enforcers than to take the law in their own hands.

The world of “Department” is anarchic, destructive and apocalyptic. The narrative format imposed on the world of gangsterism is freewheeling almost chaotic. Violence and death are written into the DNA of the characters.

“Department” tells a virile story with no patience for sappy humbug. It’s not meant for those who think lovers laughing their way into death, as they did in “Ishaqzaade”, are the last words in ruinous relationships. In “Department”, the characters share a far more intimate bonding with their guns than with their friends

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Department Hindi Movie Review, 6.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating

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Mumbai, May 18: Nargis Fakhri is still a newcomer in the industry, but she is already popular. If you are trying to remember a film in which she has acted, we would add here that she is just one film old. Her popularity is not for her acting in films, but for her affairs with her co-stars. We guess Ms Fakhri has got a new way of getting popular.

First we came to know that Fakhri is having an affair with Ranbir Kapoor, then she was linked with Shahid Kapoor. It was also on news that she went off to Goa with Shasha to make some party arrangements. She also visits Shahid often at odd hours, and calls him frequently. Also during her recent visit to India, Nargis’s mother met with Shahid. But as we know, love stories in Bollywood are not to last for long!

Recently Nargis was spotted cosying up with Sayan Munshi. They were seen having breakfast in a restaurant of Bandra. The onlookers who were present in the eatery had to say, the two had a lot more than just friendship. Sayan and Nargis were extremely comfortable with one another. And a source reveals that after Sayan’s divorce with his wife Piya Rai Choudhary, this was the first time he was seen with another woman in public cosying up.

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Mumbai, May 18: Satyamev Jayete might be the talk of the town and the country, but certain trade reports insist that the show has failed at the advertising level!

One such recent report on Afaqs!, the highly respected trade site for news on the marketing and advertising industries in India, states that much against anticipation, Satyamev Jayate on Star Plus has failed to make it to the Top 10 shows list in the Hindi speaking market (HSM) for the week ended May 12, 2012. Instead, according to TAM’s latest data, the much-touted property – garbed in Aamir Khan glory – has opened with a TVR of 3.02 on Star Plus to occupy the 12th spot in the most-watched show hierarchy.

It adds that from a hardcore buyer and advertiser’s point of view, the show has failed in efficient delivery. “While the expectations were very high at the initial stage, the levels are much lowered now. And, if such a rating trend continues, then the expectations will significantly diminish. Evidently, this also means that advertisers will not be ready to pay such high premium on the property,” the report quotes a top media buyer.

However, it admits that that the show has managed to successfully create a brand of its own and therefore, from Khan’s perspective, the show is a clear ‘hot’ success. It can be noted here, that earlier, Bollywood PR guru Dale Bhagwagar had pointed out that “even if the show doesn’t grow in TRP ratings, it will eventually do a world of good to Brand Aamir Khan.”

The publicist had pointed out that “the actor has connected with urban as well as rural audiences and the show has already been hailed as revolutionary.”

“Of course, the most sensible move would be to drastically cut down on production budgets, so that it becomes more viable for its advertisers,” Dale had said, further stating that Aamir Khan has nevertheless earned a place in history for attempting a bold concept like this in a country mired with corruption, political infighting, scams and frauds.

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Beijing, May 18: A Chinese movie is finding it hard to find an actor, not taller than 5’10″, for performing the role of country’s model citizen Lei Feng, Xinhua news agency reported.

A soldier of the People’s Liberation Army, Lei died in an accident in 1962 at a young age of 22. He turned the national icon a year later after Chairman Mao Zedong asked the country to learn from Lei’s passion of helping others and his devotion for work.

The official publicity campaign has ever since projected a perfect image of Lei as a lofty altruist and Chairman Mao’s good soldier.

The producers of the biopic of Lei Feng are struggling to find a lead star who is around the height of China’s renowned good Samaritan and could justify his personality.

Defining Lei as a figure who was stunted in appearance but tough at heart, and warm- hearted and optimistic, Director Liu Yijun said he hopes to find an actor who may display such a strong contrast in personality.

The producers of the film, however, are trying to rebuild Lei’s image as an ordinary young man instead of a hero from the start.

“That’s why we insist on finding an actor who is not too tall for Lei’s real stature. We don’t want any tall stars. We hope to present a real Lei Feng to the audience,” Liu said.

The production crew started the selection process in April and about 1,500 actors and performance art students have vied for the leading role. But less than 20 were shorter than 175 cm.

None was suitable for the role because of their temperament and other reasons, said Liao Mukai, deputy director in charge of the selection.

The crew may probably consider choosing actors from high school students and other amateurs, but that may also mean risks for the film which is scheduled for shooting in June, said Director Liu Yijun.

The movie to be produced by Xiaoxiang Film Studio based in Changsha, Lei’s hometown in central Hunan province, will focus on his growing up stories including his love experiences, according to the director.

Liu said it’s becoming harder today for directors to find suitable actors for ordinary roles as almost all young actors are too good looking.

IANS

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London, May 18: Singer Jennifer Lopez will reportedly step down from the judging panel of the singing reality show “American Idol” after the current season.

Eonline.com reports that the 42-year-old plans to call it quits after the current season as she is too busy with other projects.

Lopez hinted at her departure at the premiere of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting”, saying, “It’s tough. It’s a balancing act. You put them first and then you have all these other things that you have to do, that you have to give your time to as well, and you have to make sure that they’re ok in the process”.

The singer has judged the show for two seasons.

IANS

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Los Angeles, May 18: Actress Jessica Alba has revealed that she uses double-stick tape to avoid high-heel related injuries.

“I stick every shoes to the bottom of my foot with double-stick tape,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted the 31-year-old as saying.

The actress admitted it was her past experiences that have left her wary.

“Shoes have fallen off, I’ve fallen to the ground. It’s all happened,” she said.

IANS

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Los Angeles, May 18: Rapper 50 Cent has reportedly been hosptialised with a stomach virus.

The 36-year-old tweeted a picture of himself surrounded by cuddly toys, including a giraffe, elephant and a lion, in his bed, saying he wasn’t looking forward to being operated on, reports aceshowbiz.com. “I don’t want to go into surgery,” he wrote.

Appealing to his friend, champion boxer Floyd Mayweather, for support, he tweeted: “@FloydMayweather call my phone why your phone off. (sic)”

IANS

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Los Angeles, May 18: Actress Lindsay Lohan is redecorating her home and she’s televising the makeover on reality TV show “Million Dollar Decorator”.

The 25-year-old was spotted furniture shopping at Beverly Hills’ exclusive Kreiss showroom with interior decorator Kathryn Ireland and a camera crew.

“The show will air in America this coming fall,” an insider told dailystar.co.uk as saying.

IANS

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Los Angeles, May 18: Singer actress Miley Cyrus says she was devastated after a break-up when she was 14 and didn’t think she would ever recover from her sorrow.

“I had my biggest heartbreak when I was 14 even though that sounds crazy, because I was 14, but that’s what love was to me,” contactmusic.com quoted her as saying.

“I was in love with somebody. I was in love with this person that I thought was so perfect and so amazing, so when you get your heart broken that’s all you see.

“I am like, ‘The rest of my life is ruined because he doesn’t love me back. He doesn’t think I’m pretty, then I’m not pretty, he doesn’t think I’m worth his time, I’m not worth anyone’s time,” she added.

However the 19-year-old was confident that the bad phase will pass.

“I think just remember that this shall pass, it’s not the end of the world, you’ve got to keep going. It’s generic but it’s true. It’s a big something to remember. My dad always said it to me, and I never really listened, I would always sweat the small stuff. ‘This too shall pass.’ That’s something that I so needed to remember’,” she said.

IANS

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