Filmfare 2008 Awards

The Filmfare Awards ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The Filmfare awards were first introduced in 1954, the same year as the National Film Awards and referred to as the Clare Awards after the magazine’s editor. A dual voting system was developed in 1956. Under this system, “in contrast to the National Film Awards, which are decided by a panel appointed by Indian Government, the Filmfare Awards are voted for by both the public and a committee of experts.”

Filmfare 2008 Awards:

Winners
Best Actor
Shahrukh Khan - Chak De India
Best Actress
Kareena Kapoor - Jab We Met
Best Film
Taare Zameen Par
Best Director
Aamir Khan - Taare Zameen Par
Critics’ Award For Best Actor
Darsheel Safary - Taare Zameen Par
Critics’ Award For Best Actress
Tabu - Cheeni Kum
Critics’ Award For Best Film
Shimit Amin - Chak De India
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male)
Irrfan Khan - Life in a… Metro
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female)
Konkana Sen Sharma - Life in a… Metro
Best Lyrics
Prasoon Joshi - (Maa - Taare Zameen Par)
Best Playback Singer (Male)
Shaan - (Jab Se Tere Naina - Saawariya)
Best Playback Singer (Female)
Shreya Ghosal - (Barso Re - Guru)
Best Music Director
A. R. Rahman - Guru
Best Story
Amol Gupte - Taare Zameen Par
Best Screenplay
Anurag Basu - Life in a… Metro
Best Dialogue
Imtiaz Ali - Jab We Met
R. D. Burman Award
Monty Sharma (Saawariya)
Lifetime Achievement Award
Rishi Kapoor
Power Awards
Yash Chopra & Aditya Chopra
Best Debut (Male)
Ranbir Kapoor - Saawariya
Best Debut (Female)
Deepika Padukone - Om Shanti Om
Best Special Effects
Red Chillies Entertainment - Om Shanti Om
Sony Head N Shoulders Fresh Face of the Year Award
Deepika Padukone
Best Background Score
A. R. Rahman - Guru
Best Editing
Amitabh Shukla - Chak De India
Best Choreography
Saroj Khan (Barso Re Megha Re - Guru)
Best Action
Rob Miller - Chak De India
Best Art Direction
Samir Chanda - Guru
Best Sound
Leslie Fernandes - Johnny Gaddaar
Best Cinematography
Sudhip Chatterjee
Best Costumes
Sujata Sharma - Gandhi My Father

Abhishek joins Aishwarya in Mumbai for Valentine's Day and 'Jodhaa Akbar' premiere

Abhishek Bachchan took off from the shoot of Dilli 6 in Jaipur, Wednesday, February 13, to be with his wife Aishwarya Rai in Mumbai for Valentine's day and the premiere of her long awaited film Jodhaa Akbar.

Not just Abhishek, the entire Bachchan clan is expected to turn up at the premiere of Ashutosh Gowarikar's spin on Mughal history and love after marriage. 'Father of the family,' Amitabh Bachchan too is flying to Mumbai from the freezing environs of Shimla today to attend the event, not to mention warm his vitals!

Quite a romantic this Abhishek. It's nearly a year since he married Aishwarya but he hasn't stopped professing his love for her.

While in Delhi recently at a golfing event as brand ambassador for Omega watches he was asked by the media whether he prefers to see Aishwarya in the role of Jodhaa or as a detective in Pink Panther?

"I like Aishwarya the best in the role of my wife," he quipped.

Aishwarya too is equally effusive when expressing her love for husband.

Asked what is the one thing she loved most about him she said, "He's all rolled into one — a fabulous actor, a great husband and an excellent friend. I love him. He is the best in everything he does or is."

Valentines Day for Singles

Do you feel like a stranger in the world of couples that surround you on February 14? Is it a 'Single Awareness Day' for you? Are you going through a range of emotions from sadness, to revulsion or anger? Do not get disheartened, for you have a reason to smile. Don't let couples have all the fun. It's your day too.

Celebrate the day by planning an activity that is momentous and enjoyable at the same time. Give yourself a special treat for being a free bird without any compulsions and restrictions. Though alone celebrate the day of love with great fervor.

Pamper Yourself
First, make a list of available single friends who can spend the whole day with you. Call them up when the list is ready. Ask them whether they are available on Valentine's Day. Plan for a day out, may be a resort far away from the city where you do not find any couples or go to any tourist spots.
You can even plan meeting available singles through online dating sites, single groups or volunteer activities.
If you are a person who doesn't like to hang around with friends but love to stay alone, then lock yourself inside the room and switch off the TV so that you will not watch your favourite TV shows that has Valentine's Day theme episodes. Get yourself a treat with good food, body massage, rented movie CDs and loads of adventure books. Or, go to spa or head to toe beauty treatment.
Pamper yourself with a bouquet of flowers, cards and candy. Order it and send it yourself at home or office at work (preferably office). Have the card addressed as, " From your secret admirer... I, Me, Myself".
Pamper Others
A survey says that a growing number of singles are very happy with their status and the freedom that brings. So, think positive. Do not sulk within yourself. Valentine's Day is not just for couples. It is festival of love; celebrate it with anyone you love or anyone who has made a difference in your lives with their affection and support.
Pamper people who don't have a sweetheart. It is happiness shared twice when you make someone else happy with your small gestures. Send a homemade Valentine card to someone who has really inspired you or your favorite relative or friend you haven't met for a while. Make a Valentine basket and send it to a family that has gone through a difficult time last year and sign it from your guardian angel.
If you have lost your love on this Valentines Day then stretch forth your loving hand to the inmates who are always in need of love and affection. Spend your day in an orphanage or an old age home. Visit hospitals and give roses to sick people. Experience a special bliss on Valentines Day.

Do not hate Valentines Day, as it is not just the day for lovers as I said earlier. It is a day of love. So, celebrate it with great fervor. Happy Valentines Day!

The History of Valentine's Day

Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial -- which probably occurred around 270 A.D -- others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.

The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February -- Valentine's Day -- should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap".

Fatima Bhutto Picture

Fatima Bhutto, the daughter of Benazir's brother Murtaza, is intelligent, opinionated and feisty. A political writer, Fatima has penned two books and writes a hard-hitting newspaper column. A close lieutenant to her more politically ambitious mother, Fatima is a politician in training.

But speaking to The Guardian, Fatima says she has no political ambitions and is unlikely to overshadow Bilawal, her now famous cousin, anytime soon.

Since the death of her father Murtaza in a police shootout under still disputed circumstances in 1996, Fatima and her Lebanese stepmother Ghinwa have held Benazir, who was prime minister at the time, 'morally responsible' for his death.

Speaking to The Guardian in October 2007, days before Benazir's return to Pakistan, the pair was somber at the prospect of her aunt's imminent return. "If she didn't sign the death warrant, then who had the power to cover it up? She did," alleges Fatima, speaking about her father's death.

Murtaza faced several serious allegations in Pakistan, but notwithstanding that his daughter admired him. "He was a wonderful father. We had so much fun," she said.

In 1996, when Murtaza, who used to travel with armed bodyguards, was killed in a gunfight with the police, who were trying to arrest him. His death rocked Pakistan and Benazir's government fell six weeks later.

"The comparisons are largely cosmetic. In terms of political ideology, what we read, how we think, we are very different. I don't think that I'm anything like her," says Fatima when compared to her aunt.

Benazir, however, clearly loved her niece, which is evident in her autobiography Daughter of the East, which has several warm references. Fatima, though, maintains that she tried to split the family apart. She belittled Ghinwa, Fatima's stepmother, as a 'Lebanese belly dancer', and soon after Murtaza's death, convinced Fatima's biological mother, Fauzia, to seek parental custody.

"It was just vulgar and crude. I was in biology class in ninth grade, when the principal came and said, 'There's a woman here who claims to be your mother'." Fatima recalled in horror.

"It sounds like a soap opera but unfortunately it was very real. It felt very orchestrated and designed to humiliate," she said.

"As someone who cares about this country, I'm upset by what's happening. The fact that she's my aunt is just a footnote. In this country, politics has become entertainment. It's become sleaze, quick and tawdry, because we don't want to talk about things that really matter," Fatima told the paper.

In the wake of Benazir's death, Fatima wrote a bittersweet farewell to her aunt for The News, Pakistan. 'My aunt and I had a complicated relationship. That is the sad truth. In death, perhaps there is a moment to call for calm, to say 'enough'. We cannot, and will not, take this madness any more,' she wrote.

"My first thought was that it was just too familiar. It felt like we had been through this too many times before," she said. "When I heard that she had been shot in the neck, I thought of my father. The bullet that killed him was also fired into his neck, though at point blank range. It seems like every 10 years, we bury a Bhutto killed violently and way before their time," she added.

Benazir's death, however, has not changed her mind about her father's death. "Her government never adequately explained its role. But now that she's gone, we'll remember her differently," she says.

"I don't believe in birthright politics," she says, adding, "I don't think, nor have I ever thought, that my name qualifies me for anything. I am political through my writing. I have no interest in parliamentary politics for now. I'm too young. There's a lot to learn"

Via : rediff

Windows XP Virus Removal: Protecting Your Computer From Viruses

Viruses are the worst enemies of your computer. If you are one of those people who constantly work online, your computer is at risk of being attacked by those viruses floating around the web. The worst part about the new types of viruses these days is that they do not just destroy your files; they also steal your files. There are certain types of viruses that go through your computer’s hard drive and steal important information. However, the good news is that virus infections can be prevented with a good anti virus software. If you are using Microsoft Windows, you need to install Windows XP virus removal on your computer to ward off these annoying viruses. Yes, installing Windows XP virus removal software is not a one hundred percent guarantee that a deadly virus will not attack your system, but installing Windows XP virus removal software can protect your computer to a very large degree.

Getting Started

Before you install an anti virus software program, you need to make sure that your computer is not infected with any type of viruses. According to experts, an anti virus software will not function well if you install it on a computer that is already infected. Since some types of viruses mimic your other files, the anti virus software may not be able to detect these viruses. To make sure that your computer is free from viruses, use another computer that has a good anti virus software to scan the systems of your computer. You can do this by networking the two computers.

When scanning your computer for viruses, turn off your Internet connection. Note that your computer is more prone to virus intrusions if you are online, so make sure that you turn off your Internet connection while you scan your computer. Once you are sure that your computer is free from any forms of viruses, you may now install your anti virus software.

Installing Your Windows XP Virus Removal Software

Installing Windows XP virus removal software is not really difficult. Anti virus programs are menu driven so all you have to do is follow the menu and you will be home free in just a few minutes. Don’t worry; the program is very user friendly so even if you have not really installed a program on your computer before, you will not have many problems getting this one right.

After installing the anti virus software, reboot your computer to complete the installation process.

Nominees for 53rd Annual Filmfare Awards

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE (MALE)
Abhishek Bachchan (Guru)
Akshay Kumar (Namastey London)
Darsheel Safary (Taare Zameen Par)
Shahrukh Khan (Chak De! India)
Shahrukh Khan (Om Shanti Om)
Shahid Kapoor (Jab We Met)

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE (FEMALE)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Guru)
Deepika Padukone (Om Shanti Om)
Kareena Kapoor (Jab We Met)
Madhuri Dixit (Aaja Nachle)
Rani Mukerji (Laaga Chunari Mein Daag)
Vidya Balan (Bhool Bhulaiyaa)

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (MALE)
Aamir Khan (Taare Zameen Par)
Anil Kapoor (Welcome)
Irrfan Khan (Life in a… Metro)
Mithun Chakraborty (Guru)
Shreyas Talpade (Om Shanti Om)

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (FEMALE)
Konkona Sen Sharma (Life in a… Metro)
Konkona Sen Sharma (Laaga Chunari Mein Daag)
Rani Mukerji (Saawariya)
Shilpa Shukla (Chak De! India)
Tisca Chopra (Taare Zameen Par)

BEST MUSIC
A R Rahman (Guru)
Monty Sharma (Saawariya)
Pritam (Jab We Met)
Pritam (Life in a… Metro)
Vishal-Shekhar (Om Shanti Om)

BEST LYRICS
Gulzar…Tere Nina (Guru)
Javed Akhtar…Main Agar Kahoon (Om Shanti Om)
Prasoon Joshi…Maa (Taare Zameen Par)
Sameer…Jab Se Tere Naina (Saawariya)
Vishal Dadlani…Aankhon Mein Teri (Om Shanti Om)

BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (MALE)
A R Rahman …Tere Bina (Guru)
K K…Aankhon Mein Teri (Om Shanti Om)
Shaan…Jab Se Tere Naina (Saawariya)
Sonu Nigam…Main Agar Kahoon (Om Shanti Om)
Sukhawinder Singh…Chak De (Chak De! India)

BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (FEMALE)
Alisha Chinai…It’s Rocking (Kay Love Story Hai)
Shreya Ghosal …Barso Re (Guru)
Shreya Ghosal …Yeh Ishq Hai (Jab We Met)
Sunidhi Chauhan …Sajanaji Vari Vari (Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd.)
Sunidhi Chauhan …Aaja Nachle (Aaja Nachle)