Gurinder Chaddha's "Bride and Prejudice" is topping the British and Ireland box office charts in the first few weeks of its run at theatres. While the critics are panning the film vigorously, the public seems to be lapping the visual extravaganza up!

Karishma Kapoor, daughter of Randhir and Babita and grand daughter of the great Raj Kapoor is expecting the next generation of thespians! It is rumored that Kappor and hubby Sanjay Kapur are excited about welcoming a little one into the fold!

Said Karishma “, "I have worked for nearly 15 years. It's time that I do what I like! I'm waiting to be a mother. I want a healthy child immaterial of whether boy or a girl."

A royal snub? Bihari Babu Shatrughan Sinha got a brush off from the Bharatiya Janata Party when they turned down his offer to lead the party in the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar, turning instead to Sushil Modi to deliver them the seat. Modi is considered a hardliner and Shatru a liberal!

The Kannada Matinee idol, Dr. Raj Kumar expressed relief at the news that India’s most wanted Brigand Veerappan was shot dead in an encounter on Monday.  Said the actor ‘: "Now, I can freely go to my native place, Gajanur, in Tamil Nadu from where I was kidnapped."

The mortal remains of Nirupa Roy, the ubiquitous Bollywood Ma were cremated in the Chandanwadi Crematorium recently. Nirupa Roy was 73 and leaves behind her husband and two sons.

Anupam Kher and his wife Kiran are fuming and lashing out very publicly against the Censor Board which unceremoniously kicked Kher out as Chief. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had appealed to the veteran actor to resign but Kher rejected the directive calling it ‘ politically motivated’. Sharmila Tagore is slated to be the new Censor Board Chief. Kher was appointed to the post by the previous BJP-led NDA government.

Gulshan Rai passed away, alone and unattended at Mumbai recently. He was 82. The man behind such colossal Bollywood hits as ‘Johnny Mera Naam’ and ‘Deewar’, Rai had suffered a stroke earlier.

A commemorative stamp honoring the late great actor/ directorGuru Dutt was released at the ITC Grand Maratha Sheraton in Mumbai recently. Present at the function were Waheeda Rehman, Jagdeep, Shakila, Sashikala and Shama - and veteran cameraman V.K. Murthy.

The show was emceed by Ameen Sayani. Attendees included directors Yash Chopra, Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani, actor Jackie Shroff, actress Shashikala, music directors Bhupen Hazarika and Aadesh Shrivastava and lyricist Sameer.

This year's Diwali releases include Veer-Zaara starring Shah Rukh Khan Preity Zinta, directed by Yash Chopra, Shaadi Kar Ke Phas Gaya Yaar which stars Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty, Aitraaz, with stars Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra and Ram Gopal Varma’s Nach with Abhishek Bachchan and Antara Mali.

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