Mallika’s new year didn’t start in a good mood.  The actress walked out of a show  in five star hotel 10 minutes after it began, while she was to perform for 45 minutes.  The problem began when she realized the show was being aired live on television.  Mallika had not give permission for live coverage of the show.  The skimpy  or skinny dress Mallika wore has made few watchers angry to the extent that a social activist has filed a complaint against Mallika.  It is learnt that all the channels were broadcasting Mallika’s dance on new year’s eve.

 At 61, Dirk Benedict might still hold the charisma to impress the ladies, but the actor's chances are dim if he's planning to woo Indian bombshell Shilpa Shetty, as older men don't fall on the Bollywood star's list of suitors. The former A-Team star, known as The Face, has admitted he feels a little something when he's near the sexy actress, as he said in the Diary Room: "Although I can't pronounce her name, which is a hindrance, I've been flirting with her; I have to stop doing that." Dirk also asked: "And you'll give me Shilpa's phone number?" However, while the veteran TV star was wondering how to approach the Indian beauty, Shipa showed him a ray of hope by describing him in the Celebrity Big Brother house as "very sexy". She let the confession slip while chatting to Cleo Rocos, but it seems that the 30-year age gap will stand in the way of true love as Shilpa just can't see beyond the grey hairs, reports Contactmusic. "He's sexy and old," Shilpa explained, to which a disbelieving Cleo called her "full-on fussy". Meanwhile Animal activists in Britain are urging voters to back Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty to become the next winner of celebrity show Big Brother. Shetty is taking part in the Celebrity Big Brother reality TV circus and has to contend with the antics of Jade Goody and her clan. The 31-year-old Indian beauty, who supported the drive to raise awareness of the cruelty towards circus animals, has starred in a campaign for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to highlight their plight.

Popular singer Sonu Nigam is undoubtedly creating waves amongst his audiences not just in India but abroad as well. For quite sometime Sonu has been performing live all over the world at an increased rate due to a huge demand.  What surprises his closed ones that in spite of the fatigue of singing for many days, when he comes on stage and performs, it almost seems like he is possessed.

Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan joined thousands of devotees who walked more than 20 kilometres (12 miles) barefoot to a Mumbai temple to pray before Lord Ganesh, a temple official said on Wednesday. Newspapers carried pictures showing Bachchan and his son Abhishek walking from his house in suburban Juhu to the Siddhivinayak temple in central Mumbai on early Tuesday. They were joined at the temple by Bachchan's wife Jaya after which the family lined up with hundreds of thousands of devotees to seek the blessings of Ganesh, the Hindu god of good fortune and knowledge. Subhash Mayekar, chairman of the temple trust, said Bachchan and his family regularly visited the temple to offer prayers.

Though the film has some uncanny resemblances to the life of the industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani, Mani insists the plot in his latest film Guru is rooted to a cinematic reality. "Hopefully it'll have some connect with real life," he says amidst hectic sessions of background music with A.R Rahman. Why did Mani cast Abhishek in a role that required a huge historical and chronological journey?  Mani can't seem to get enough of his Yuva lead. "Abhishek was the first choice for Guru and I am very happy about his work. I think he is growing remarkably as an actor. If you shift me back to the start and ask me who you will cast as Guru I will go back to Abhishek." This is also the second time that Mani has worked with Aishwarya Rai. "I was quite happy with what Ash did in Irruvar. I thought she was quite remarkable, given that it was her first film and in a language (Tamil) that she did not know. In Guru she was speaking Hindi, so it must have been much easier on her.

A court today disposed of a case involving actor Nana Patekar and industrialist Utkarsh Morarka after both of them said they had no interest in pursuing it.  Morarka and Patekar had filed complaints against each other in Mumbai and Pune respectively on May 13, 2005, alleging that the other had attempted to kill him.

Talented singer Shankar Mahadevan has recorded a song for Raj Thackeray at the Swaranjali Studio in Andheri for his election campaign. In collaboration with Shaan and Kunal Ganjawala, the song outlines the election tunes and calls for change in guard for Mumbai. Well-known Marathi music director duo Atul-Ajay composed the music and Wagshish Saraswat penned down the lyrics.

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