`It all started for me with Miss India` Shivanna

THE TIMES OF INDIA I SUNDAY I FEBRUARY 28, 2010
BTA
F.
WORLD RAP
It’s a rocking birthday
bash, Oz style
Pg4
‘It all started
for me with
Miss India’
V
BACKBEAT
SIMPLY SOUTH
AB and Nikhil bond
just to rewind
Pg8
Madge backs Jesus Sonu is going places,
to the hilt
quite literally too
Pg6
Pg8
I
Amalanath Benedict Kumar
... says leading actress Priyanka Chopra about how
the title opened doors for her in Bollywood
P
Priyanka
Chopra and
(right) after
being crowned
Miss World in
2000
ANTALOONS Femina Miss India 2010
aspirants, if it’s inspiration you need, a
dose of optimism that the title is open to
everybody, that the crown can make and change
your life, then look no further than Bollywood
hottie Priyanka Chopra. In 2000, by her own
admission, she was a shy and gawky 17-yearold, who posed in a swimsuit in Maldives
and then went on to win the Miss World title
at the Millennium Dome in London. From
there to Bollywood was not even a hop, skip
and jump away, because Bollywood opened its
doors for the dusky beauty who easily showed
that she could act, and how!
Priyanka is today one of the top three heroines
of the industry, after her critically-acclaimed
performances in films like Andaaz (for which
she won the Filmfare Award for Best Female
Debut), Aitraaz (Filmfare for Best Villain),
Don, Krrish, Dostana, Kaminey and Fashion
— which got Priyanka the National Award
and the Filmfare for Best Actress. But
Priyanka has always credited the Miss India
beauty pageant for her successful start.
“Quite obviously, it all started on the Miss
India stage right here in Mumbai,” says the
former beauty queen. “It was and will always
remain a very special moment in my life. Miss
India is one of the foundation stones for
what I am today.
When I won
the title and
subsequently,
the Miss
World 2000
crown, film
offers started to pour in
and I decided
to give acting a
shot.” In the
same breath, she
adds, “So, yes, the Miss
India crown does open some doors, but
you have to make the best of those opportunities. Importantly, winning the crown
also gave me the confidence that the world
was my oyster and I could be whatever I
wanted to be from there on.”
“I believe I am destiny’s child. But nothing
replaces hard work and talent,” advises this
once simple girl, who came from Bareilly.
Naturally, Priyanka’s now excited about the
PFMI 2010’s association with Bollywood filmmakers Madhur Bhandarkar and Vipul
Amrutlal Shah, whereby Miss India participants could get roles in projects by both directors even during the qualifying rounds of the
pageant. “This is a fantastic opportunity for
them. Madhur and Vipul are fine film-makers
and the prospect of working with them will be a
huge opportunity for the girls. It’s also a huge
platform to launch themselves in show business,”she added.
And as Miss India hopefuls have started to
send in their entries for the upcoming pageant,
Priyanka says, “As a Miss India winner, you
become a representative of the country to the
rest of the world and with that comes a lot of
responsibility. No matter where our career or destiny has taken us, all past winners will always be
remembered as a Miss India winner.”
NIMISHA TIWARI
Entries for Pantaloons Femina Miss India 2010
close on March 10, 2010. Upload your profile and
register online on www.apnacircle.com/
feminamissindia2010
MAKE A SPLASH! Actor Chiranjeevi Sarja is happy to get into the Holi mood with actresses Kriti Kharvanda and Ragini Dwivedi. BT wishes its
readers a colourful and riotous festival
Its ovr!
Singer Cheryl Cole decided to end
things with her footballer hubby
Ashley by sending him an SMS.
BT checks out other celebs
who’ve broken up via text
S
URE, a face-to-face break-up is hard to do,
but then, there are several ways to extricate yourself from a relationship that’s
going nowhere, courtesy technology. A phone
call, for some, may be a little to personal for comfort, and an e-mail might necessitate a longer explanation than desired. Perhaps, that’s why the SMS
break-up seems to be becoming a more popular way
of ending relationships. Girls Aloud lead singer
Cheryl Cole, fed up of the reports of husband Ashley
Cole’s philandering, is reported to have texted him
earlier this week with a curt, “Move out, it’s over”.
It’s now said that the couple will split after three
years of marriage. BT does a round-up of other
celebs who’ve ended relationships via text.
a year, with the exception of a two-month break
in between. According to reports, John ended
things with a text that read “That’s it. The End”,
but that was only after a 20-minute conversation
with Jennifer. They patched up, only to split for
good in the next couple of months.
CRISTIANO RONALDO AND NEREIDA GALLARDO
Portuguese football captain Cristiano Ronaldo,
reportedly prompted by
reports that his girlfriend
Nereida Gallardo had a series
of flings with other men,
ended his seven-month relationship with the model over a text.
Nereida was quite upset at the
way Cristiano ended things,
and called the footballer immature and blamed his mother for
the relationship going sour.
BRITNEY SPEARS AND KEVIN FEDERLINE
Getting a break-up text is one thing, but to be caught
reading it on camera is quite another. That’s what
happened when pop singer
Britney Spears sent an SMS
to her then soon-to-be exhusband Kevin Federline
while he was taping for a
reality TV show. The video,
which was posted on
YouTube, showed Kevin
talking about how Britney
was his biggest fan, until he
got the text, after which he
left the sets, only to return
30 minutes later looking visibly upset.
BORIS BECKER AND ALESSANDRA MEYER-WOELDEN
Tennis ace Boris Becker was admittedly taken aback
when he received an SMS from
his 25-year-old fiancée,
Alessandra Meyer-Woelden
breaking off their three-monthlong engagement. “I suddenly
got an SMS from Sandy... saying
this was it, that’s it, it is over. To
make sure how serious she was
she sent me five others saying
the same thing. I was completely
surprised,” said Boris.
JOHN MAYER AND JENNIFER
ANISTON
The Who Says? singer and former
FRIENDS star dated for nearly
Jennifer
Aniston and
John Mayer
Shivanna recreates
Annavru magic
Dr Rajkumar in Bhaktha Kumbara, (clockwise from top
right) Shivrajkumar as Dr Rajkumar in Bhaktha Kumbara,
in Chalisuva Modagalu and Srinivasa Kalyana
T
HE Hat-trick Hero seems
to be getting more experimental with age. The latest is when the actor attempted to
recreate the magic his father, the
late Dr Rajkumar, showcased on
screen. In his under-production
Cheluve Ninna Nodalu, Shivanna
has donned 11 of Annavru’s top
get-ups in some of his hit films.
“It’s part of a 20-second rap portion in the remix of Huttidare...,
which is one of the main tracks
in the film. Several titles of Dr
Raj, including Gaana Gandharva,
Nata Sarvabhauma and Rasikara
Raja, are part of the lyrics. And
with each title, a popular scene
from a popular film of Annavru
will be shown. A split screen will
feature both Shivanna and Dr Raj
NEXT CHANGE
‘After donning all these looks, I now
want to play Bhaktha Kumbara. I
tried my best to carry off the Bhaktha
Prahlada look, complete with the
gadhe, but couldn’t handle it for
more than half an hour. Hats off to
my father for carrying it off with such
panache.’
Shivrajkumar
on either side,” explains director
of the film, Raghuram DP.
“So, if Dr Raj is dressed in a
pair of white trousers and blue
jubba, which became famous
after Hosa Belaku, Shivanna too
will be dressed similarly in that
frame. Then, there’s the Bond getup from Operation Diamond
COMPILED BY ANJALI MUTHANNA
Dr Rajkumar’s
legendary screen
portrayals will be
revamped by none
other than his son
Shivrajkumar
in his upcoming film
Rocket,” he adds. Besides these,
there’ll also be the superhit
Bhaktha Prahlada look. “We
have 11 different get-ups throughout the rap portions and they
include some of his most iconic
looks, the including mythological
and commercial ones,” says
Raghu.
The director, who’s been aiming to shoot his film at the Seven
Wonders of the World, will wrap
up the final bit at the Burj
Khalifa, which has just been
voted the tallest building in the
world. “After finishing this film,
we will get started with the Bond
film,” says Raghu.
MADHU DAITHOTA
madhu.daithota@timesgroup.com
SONRISE:
Shivrajkumar