MUMBAI: It‘s safe to say that without the arrival of Farhan Akhtar, Bollywood wouldn‘t have the slick face it now presents, drawing admiration from all corners of the globe. It took Dil Chahta Hai to add contemporary nuances to the language of Indian cinema, making the young filmmaker hot property almost overnight.

Considering Farhan is one of the industry‘s youngest producers, directors and writers, his has been a rather interesting journey. It is a tale that began early, given the family he comes from. For those who love what he does with the camera, here‘s your chance to get to know the super creative filmmaker a little better. Catch him in a disarmingly honest chat with host Kabir Bedi, on Director‘s Cut this Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 8:00 pm, only on Zoom - India‘s premier glamour and entertainment channel.

That the enthusiastic director speaks passionately about filmmaking is obvious. What makes this show a must-see, however, are the childhood memories he shares, along with a few secrets. He speaks about the moral support he received from his mother and wife Audhuna during tougher times. He recalls the smell of his father‘s study - where he discussed scripts and came up with some groundbreaking ideas. And yes, there‘s also a confession: As a child, he told tall tales, and took the help of ‘Javed Saab‘ to write a few school skits!

Sharing his varied experiences of Bollywood, Farhan also speaks about his inspirations. He says he firmly believes an actor‘s talent is the most important factor for success in the industry. He also tackles a few twisted questions thrown by Kabir Bedi, ranging from alleged tiffs with Amitabh Bachchan to a few other controversies.

Don‘t miss the rendezvous - Kabir Bedi and Farhan Akhtar - on Director‘s Cut this Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 8:00 pm. Only on Zoom!

MUMBAI: Amul Star Voice of India Chhote Ustaad is going from strength to strength. Never has a Chhote Ustaad episode had as much fun in any of its prior episodes as the one coming up on February 1, 2008. Great singing matched by scintillating performances, arguing judges , a soulful performance by Ila Arun and then a grand climax in true Indian style with more song, dance, fun and laughter with Bhojpuri Superstar Manoj Tiwari singing Holi songs like Rang Barse and Ang se ang lagana on the onset of Faagun.

For the first time in Chhote Ustaad, contestants sang songs based on folk music from various regions. If the boys sang brilliantly then the girls outdid them with ease.

Anvesha set the mood for the evening with Morni Baga Mein naache from Lamhe which brought back cherished memories of Ila Arun and Lata Di singing this track for Sridevi. Vyom Kapoor looked every bit his on screen counterpart when he sang the Ghana na Ghan from Lagaan. Sonia gave a dumdaar performance with Dumadum Mast kalandar.

When Aishwarya, looking like a million bucks, sang Nimbooda nimbooda? Ila Arun aptly described it in Hindi as "baat nimbu ki khattas ki lekin gaane mein bahut mithaas thi" .Prakriti‘s rendition of dayya re dayya re..bichuwa had audiences groove in excitement; while the usually perfect Areeb Khan failed to mesmerize the judges. What will be his fate? Will he stand a chance in Chhote Ustaad against tough competitors like Aishwarya, Anvesha, Sonia, Vyom and Prakriti? Will he or wont he make the cut?

The verdict will be out Friday, February 1 at 10 pm on Chhote Ustaad only on Star Plus.

MUMBAI: Spice up your evenings with more laughter!!! Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM, India‘s hottest Radio station is all set to electrify the airwaves this winter with the new evening reverse drive time show ‘Sunset Samosa‘ with RJ Naved, Monday to Saturday, 5 - 9 pm. The show will have all new fun filled, crazy and exciting elements like ‘Yeh Karke Dikhao Sabse Ghatia Prize Paao‘; Unbreakable News; Don‘t call me Aunty; Mirchi Murga; Qawali; Angrez Chale Gaye and more, to add on extra dose of laughter and happiness for the listeners.

Go berserk is the new mantra at Radio Mirchi as RJ Naved indulges everyone with heavy doses of laughter. Well, he claims that "You got to be completely the serious types if you don‘t tune into his show Sunset Samosa and join his gag club‘. The show not only has a crazy RJ but also is amazingly whacky. To begin with in ‘Yeh Karke Dikhao Sabse Ghatia Prize Paao‘, RJ Naved sets out to challenge Delhities to do the most stupid and impossible dares over the phone. The best caller gets the Sabse Ghatia Prize like a single shoelace, an empty bottle, etc. And beware; these dares could be as ridiculous as dancing on the phone.

Every ordinary action will have unequal and opposite reaction when RJ Naved will turn every usual news into a breaking news. Every sneeze, every lost cat and every aunty gaining weight will make headlines on Radio Mirchi on the Unbreakable News section.

RJ Naved being a complete prankster will flirt with a caller in the garb of a 30-35 year old married aunty in ‘Don‘t call me Aunty‘. Similarly in Mirchi Murga Naved fools around with the listeners as he plays brainless pranks on them by impersonating someone. While one becomes a Murga others get to have a good laugh at his expense.

Listeners could also enjoy the Mirchi Qawali, a mindless qawali with a typical underlay of Music and of course Angrez Chale Gaye a spoof on weird pronunciation and grammatically incorrect English that is bound to give them a tummy ache from the bouts of laughter!

‘Sunset Samosa‘ will not just be a radio show but will soon become a phenomenon with its funny content and crazy elements. The jokes, funny antics, pranks, gags, etc is what Delhiites are on the look out for and Radio Mirchi as always endeavors to fulfill their wishes by trying to keep them always Khush.

So, all you Delhiites tune in to the all new ‘Sunset Samosa‘ from Monday to Saturday, 5 ? 9 pm only on Radio Mirchi 98.3FM, Its hot.

MUMBAI: Hindi film industry descended at the MMRDA grounds, Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai and graced the Max Stardust Awards ceremony with their esteemed presence. The program was not restricted to just the handing over and receiving of awards but provided entertainment galore, including song and dance performances by leading stars like Kareena Kapoor, Lara Dutta, Saif Ali Khan, Govinda and Neha Dhupia.

Kunal Kohli and Neha Dhupia were the hosts for this special evening.

The glorious award ceremony, witnessed Lara Dutta perform on chartbusters such as Move your body from Johnny Gaddar, Deewangi from OSO among others while beautiful Kareena Kapoor enthralled the audience with Nagada and Its rocking form Jab we met and Kya Love Story Hai. Saif Ali Khan performed on medley of hits from OSO, Salaam-e-Ishq, Hey Baby and Race - his upcoming movie. Govinda entertained the audience with his numbers from the movie Partner and Bhagam Bhaag. Neha Dhupia apart from her co-hosting the award ceremony moved danced on popular songs like Namak Ishq Ka, Saiya re, Mayya Mayya, Kiya Kiya and Naughty Naughty.

Among the people who attended the event were the whose who of the tinsel town. Aadesh Shrivastav, Bappi Lahri, Alka Yagnik, Shreya Saran, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Bipasha Basu, Dharmendra, Rishi Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Suresh Oberoi, Irfan Khan, Gul Panag, Celina Jaitley, Dino Moreo, Madhur Bhandarkar, Raveena Tandon, and a host of others. The event had extravagant sets coupled with lasers, special effects, lighting and acoustics to create a magnificent audio and visual impact.

MUMBAI: Union Minister of Finance Mr. P. Chidambaram has praised the efforts of the country‘s fastest growing consumer and business channel, CNBC Awaaz, for its investor education series ‘Pehla Kadam‘.

After the hugely successful opening round of India‘s first organized investor education initiative, CNBC Awaaz is all set to roll out the second part of its Pehla Kadam series. Partnered by NDSL and NSE and sponsored by Reliance Money, Pehla Kadam series aims to answer to all new investor queries. While the first installment of this series dealt with market fundamentals, Pehla Kadam this time around will essentially focus on the next level of understanding of investment vitalities and volatilities.

Lauding the series as a right step in the right direction at the right time, Mr. Chidambaram has said, ""In metros, tier 1 and tier 2 towns, there is a great deal of interest in the capital market and investment opportunities. What I have gathered is your programme Pehla Kadam had profound impact on that class of people. I wish you more success. I wish you will expand your reach to other parts of the country".

With the Indian economy looking brighter than ever before and Indian stock markets witnessing an unprecedented tug of war between the bulls and the bears, it becomes imperative for new investors to learn the intricacies of the market place. Mr. Vivek Law, Network 18‘s leading anchor and CNBC Awaaz - Consumer Affairs Editor, explained that Pehla Kadam aimed to enable investors to make intelligent and informed decisions and eventually maximize returns and minimize risks on their investments.

"In its first series, Pehla Kadam, brought the equity markets closer to people who had stayed away from it. These people had deprived themselves of an opportunity to participate in the great India growth story. Due to the simple classroom approach Pehla Kadam followed, its viewership was higher than even the biggest general Hindi news channel show. In its second series, Pehla Kadam goes beyond equities, and explains to our viewers everything they wanted to know but could not ask, about money. From need of financial planning, to investing in mutual funds, ULIPs, gold and even property," Mr. Law said.