Aishwarya Rai is set to wed Abhishek Bachchan on February 19, it is reliably learnt. Sources close to the Bachchans' family astrologer told rediff.com that the wedding will be held after the release of their new film together, Guru. The astrologers have advised that February 19 is the ideal time for the couple to wed, as Aishwarya's celestial planetary position will become compatible.

Beauty queen-turned actress Sushmita Sen has fired most of her staff after discovering they were stealing from her, a newspaper reported on Tuesday. Sushmita, 31, recently fired eight employees including her driver. She said that her employees had stolen money and brought strangers into her home. "Over the past decade I never questioned any of my staff. People I trusted blindly have let me down," the actress said. "My home was no longer safe for me and my child," she added. Sushmita gave no further details on the incidents that led to the reported mass firing, and police in the city said no charges have been filed. 

Actor Manoj Bajpai has been silently working out ways to develop his native village in Bihar while he spends time there away from the glamour of Bollywood. Bajpai, of "Satya" fame, arrived in West Chaparan district's Belwa village to spend time with his family and friends but has been busy chalking out a development strategy for the backward area. The actor has joined hands with his friend Gayandeo Mani Tripathi, who plans to set up an organisation for rural development. "I decided to work with my friend Tripathi as he is setting up an organisation for development in rural areas, so I suggested that he open it in my village," said Bajpai. He has not disclosed the details of his project and said he would come up with something concrete soon. Bajpai, known for the portrayal of intense roles, said material gains are not everything in life, as they don't satisfy the soul.  "I am in my village to satisfy my inner soul by contributing something to the development of my village," he remarked.  The actor said he had given 13 years to Bollywood and 11 years to theatre, "But I now decided to give some time for self-satisfaction".

She may be known for her figure and good looks, but Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty is still single and spends most evenings at home watching television. "I'm a complete TV addict,'' she told The Times of India. "I'm totally out of the party circuit.'' Amid continuing rumours of marriage, Shetty said, "If the media keeps writing about my marriage, what can I do?''  There must be guys out there who want to date me, but obviously retract after reading all this nonsense.'' Shetty, 31, has acted in more than 40 movies, most of them romances, since her debut in 1993. In a departure from her usual characters, she played an HIV-patient in a 2004 movie "Phir Milenge,'' or "We'll Meet Again,'' India's first mainstream movie dealing with AIDS.

Few picks from 2006::

Lage Raho…Munnabhai:  A magnificent film on principles of Gandhi, could have given him good laugh.  Sanjay, Arshad, Vidya Balan and Boman Irani make this movie must see.

Dhoom 2:  A visual delight, awesome stunts and striking performance, makes this movie a must watch.  Dhoom:2 proved to be a bigger hit than the original, Dhoom. Despite mixed reviews (which included universal praise for Hrithik), the Sanjay Gadhvi film got a phenomenal opening in India as well as abroad.

Omkara: Omkara is a mammoth achievement, a film of poetry and profanity. The dialogues, lewd on the surface and crackling with bawdy charm, can frequently be sourced directly from the 17th century masterwork, Othello

Rang De Basanti: The film smartly shuffled through past and present, going from drinking beer at India Gate to Sukhdev's plans of rebellion.  A powerful message, packaged with genius.

Dor: A different and powerful story from Nagesh Kukunoor of Hyderabad Blues fame leaves and impression. 

Khosla Ka Ghosala: A tremendous cast, a neat-but-twisty plot, superbly written characters and perfect detailing help make director Dipankar Banerjee's brilliant  debut. The story of a middle-class man seeing his hard-earned plot of land usurped by a rogue builder, this isn't merely the film of a common man floundering to get his own back; it's also a magnificent, sarcastic ode to Delhi.

Krrish:  Hrithik’s stunning performance creates a new Bollywood Superhero.

|