MUMBAI: 94.3 MY FM, the Bhaskar Group radio station, completed 100 days of fun and music in the city of Ahmedabad on 28 October, 2007.

MUMBAI: Humanitarian and actor, Richard Gere was born on August 31, 1949, in Philadelphia. The second of five children, Richard started early as a musician, playing a number of instruments in high school and writing music for high school productions. He left college after two years to pursue acting, landing a lead role in the London production of the rock musical "Grease" in 1973.

Onscreen, he had a few roles, and gained recognition in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977). Off-screen, he spent the year 1978 meeting Tibetans when he traveled to Nepal, where he spoke to many monks and lamas and was first influenced by Buddhism. Returning to the US, on Broadway he portrayed a concentration-camp prisoner in "Bent," for which he received the 1980 Theatre World Award. Back in Hollywood, he played the title role in American Gigolo (1980), thus establishing himself as a major star; this status was reaffirmed by An Officer and a Gentleman (1982).

In 1990 Richard teamed up with Julia Roberts to star in the blockbuster Pretty Woman (1990); his cool reserve was the perfect complement to Julia‘s bubbling enthusiasm. The film captured the nation‘s heart, and had fans clamoring for a sequel. They got their wish with Runaway Bride (1999), which was a runaway success.

On May 27, 2000, he received a Man of Conscience award from India‘s film industry, or "Bollywood." The honor cited his efforts to promote Tibet‘s freedom from Chinese rule. In October of 2000, he accepted a humanitarian award named for former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt for his work with Tibet.

Some intresting Trivia about Richard Gere:

In April 2007, an arrest warrant was issued in India for Richard‘s arrest, after he kissed actress Shilpa Shetty at an AIDS awareness event in New Delhi. By Indian law, the display was classed as an obscene act in a public place. The punishment for such a crime is imprisonment for three months, or a fine or both. Richard apologised for the on stage antics, a day after the arrest warrant was issued.

In March/April 2007, Richard auctioned himself off for the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, a human rights organisation founded in 1968. The organisation aims to continue the legacy of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated. People can bid to have lunch with Richard in New York. As at March 21st, 2007, the current bid was $US13,500.

Richard and his wife Carey Lowell currently live in Greenwich Village with their son and her daughter from a previous marriage.

Richard was also married to supermodel Cindy Crawford;After countless rumors of their marriage being a sham and a cover-up for the both of them being homosexuals, both Richard and Cindy Crawford took out a full page ad in the London Times announcing that they were heterosexual, monogamous and in love.

Richard can play the piano, bass, guitar, and trumpet. So perhaps it‘s only apt that he shares his birthday with teenage rock impresario Debbie Gibson. (Their age difference is 21 years).

He was the first man ever to appear on the cover of Vogue magazine.

He trained for five months for the tap dance scene in the 2002 film Chicago.

He actually composed and performed the piano solo in the 1991 film, Pretty Woman.

For many years, Richard has been both a practicing Buddhist and a vegetarian

In 1973, Richard played Danny Zuko in the London production of Grease.

He got his lead roles in American Gigolo, An Officer and a Gentlemen and Chicago after they all were turned down by John Travolta.

He fired his press agent after American Gigolo came out because he let People magazine have pictures of him without a shirt on after being told not to sell them.

Richard is the co-founder of Tibet House which is an organization that is dedicated to the preservation of Tibetan culture.

He received a Golden Globe nomination in 1981 for his work in American Gigolo.

In 2003, he won his first Golden Globe portraying Billy Flynn in the movie musical Chicago.

So set your date with the dshing actor as he shares his expeiences as an actor and talks about his passions, work and life on Inside the Actors Studio this Sunday November 4, at 7:00 pm only on PIX.

MUMBAI: On the festive occasion of Diwali, Arzoo.com, India‘s leading travel portal, today announced a special offer where customers can avail guaranteed 10% discount on domestic airfare bookings on Go Air, Spicejet, Indigo, & Indian for travel anywhere within India.Similarly customers can also avail guaranteed 7% discount on International airline bookings to US, Europe and Gulf.

Commenting on this special offer, Mr. Sameer Patil, Head-Marketing of Arzoo.com said, "Diwali is one of the most Grand festival of India and therefore we have announced this special offer to provide 10% discount on 4 domestic airlines to our customers to celebrate, rejoice & travel more by taking benefit of this special offer". This offer is valid for bookings done via any bank credit card or even by paying cash on delivery between 2nd Nov to 15th November, 2007 for travel on any date till 31st March 08.

MUMBAI: Man the decks and hoist the sails! Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man‘s Chest, the No.1 film in 2006, is about to make its TV premiere on STAR MOVIES! The swashbuckling romp sets sail on Star Movies on 14 October at 9pm (HKT)!

Ranked as the third highest-grossing movie in Hollywood history, Dead Man‘s Chest reunites the stars and director from the original Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Johnny Depp (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) returns to his Oscar-nominated role as the shifty Captain Jack Sparrow and this time squares off against the tentacle-faced pirate, Davy Jones (Bill Nighy). Also returning for more high-seas adventure are British beauty Keira Knightley (Pride and Prejudice) and Hollywood heartthrob Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings).

Picking up where the original left off, sweethearts Will Turner (Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) are about to tie the knot. However, their wedding is disrupted by Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), a representative of the East India Trading Company, who arrests Will for helping Captain Sparrow escape from custody. Although the penalty is death, Beckett is willing to make a deal: Find Captain Sparrow, retrieve his mysterious compass and the young lovers will earn a full pardon. Meanwhile, Sparrow is on the run from squid-like sea captain Davy Jones (Nighy) to whom he owes a blood debt.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man‘s Chest had a worldwide box-office gross of US$1.1bil worldwide and broke records for the biggest opening weekend in history (US$135.6mil). On its first day of release in the US, the film raked in US$55.8mil.

As well as finding treasure at the box office, Pirates also earned a hearty ‘Yo-ho-ho‘ from critics. Rolling Stone‘s film reviewer Peter Travers raved that, "The second Pirates does more than improve on the original, it pumps out the bilge and offers a fresh start? You won‘t find hotter action, wilder thrills or loopier laughs this summer." Likewise, LA Times critic Carina Chocano described the film as "fun and high-spirited? clever, energetic and beautifully designed."

While critics and audiences alike were happy to get on board again, the cast members were just as thrilled to return to the high seas. Knightley, in particular, was keen to lock lips with two of Hollywood‘s most desirable leading men. "I get both of them!" she says. "My girlfriends were really, really angry. I think I‘m hated completely! They were very gentlemanly. Both had Altoids before we started kissing, which is always nice, the sign of a very nice man."

So weigh anchor, gather your crew and mark the calendars for the TV premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man‘s Chest on 14 October at 9pm only on Star Movies!

MUMBAI: Ever wondered had India & Pakistan stayed one, what it‘s Cricket team would look like? To find answers to this million-dollar question, CNN-IBN presents an exciting weekend special ‘The Dream Team: Indo-Pak Cricket Special‘ on Saturday, November 3 at 8 pm (with a repeat on 4 November at 12 pm). The half-hour show reveals the findings of a Cricketnext.com poll that had people voting for their top 11 players from both India and Pakistan to create the ultimate Cricket ‘Dream Team‘!

A Cricket match between India and Pakistan is played as much passion on the field as off-it. Therefore when Cricket fever is reaching an all-time high with the upcoming Indo-Pak series, one can‘t help but think that what if the two were to come together - who all would make it to the team? ‘The Dream Team: Indo-Pak Cricket Special‘ on CNN-IBN would have Cricket experts discussing the peoples choice of the definitive sub-continental team and provide explanations as to why they might have been picked. Don‘t miss this enthralling Indo-Pak Cricket special that will have you hoping the two countries were one again, even if it were just for Cricket!

"India and Pakistan always make for great Cricket. So having a poll and a subsequent show that attempts to find the ultimate dream team from amongst the two seemed like a perfect programming choice. I am sure Cricket fans from both sides of the border will be eager to learn the results." Said, Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN & IBN 7.

MUMBAI: The outstanding works of filmmakers across more than 70 nations in the Asia Pacific region are celebrated in two new documentaries produced in association with CNN International that are to air on the international news network in November. The two hour-long programs include interviews with some of the most respected names in contemporary film.

While the first documentary ?Scene By Scene? Films Of Asia Pacific? looks at the people behind the films, the second, ?Scene BY Scene? Best Films Of Asia Pacific? includes the inaugural Asia Pacific Screen Awards Ceremony on Australia?s Gold Coast.

The documentaries feature luminaries from the region including Hong Kong?s John Woo on the set of his new film The Battle of Red Cliff, Egyptian screen idol Omar Sharif, Chinese director Chen Kaige, Indonesia?s foremost director Garin Nugroho, Indian superstar and APSA International Jury President Shabana Azmi, co-founder of Japan?s legendary anime house Studio Ghibli Mamuro Oshii and director of the Korean blockbuster ?The Host?, Bong Joon-Ho.

The interviews in the Scene By Scene programs are intercut with footage from film studios, film festivals and film sets spanning Cairo, Istanbul, Ho Chi Minh City, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, New Zealand, Bhutan and Beijing.

Exclusive access is granted to the set of The Battle of Red Cliff, the biggest and most expensive Asian movie ever made, to see the construction of the elaborate Tang dynasty fort and medieval Chinese battleships. Another highlight comes from ?The Roof of the World?, the mystic Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. The production team visited Bhutan at the invitation of the eminent filmmaker Khyentse Norbu, the third incarnation of a revered Buddhist lama whose film The Cup premiered at Cannes.

?From high in the Himalayan mountains, the two Scene By Scene documentaries weave their way through the sub continent, Central Asia and the Middle East, then on to North and South East Asia and Australasia. These will be a landmark moment for Asia Pacific film and a wonderful opportunity for our viewers to see the extraordinary talent in the region,? said CNN Executive Producer of the ?Scene By Scene? documentaries, David Lindsay.

?The programs are shaping up as compelling television, reflecting issues of cultural, social and political diversity, and they will showcase the region?s films and filmmakers to an unparalleled global audience,? said Des Power, Chairman of APSA.

?Scene By Scene? Films Of Asia Pacific? airs on CNN International:

India: Saturday, November 10 at 1130 & 1930 and Sunday, November 11 at 1130

?Scene BY Scene? Best Films Of Asia Pacific? airs on CNN International:

India: Saturday, November 17 at 1130 & 1930 and Sunday, November 18 at 1130