Priyanka Chopra has shown off her toned body in movies like "Fashion" and "Dostana," and looks like it has really paid off!


The Bollywood beauty has caught the eye of international jeans brand Levis that just signed her as their new ambassador for a reportedly astronomical amount of money!
A special edition of the jeans will be created by designer Tarun Tahiliani and called "Diva." Well, how appropriate!
What do you think of Priyanka Chopra joining Levis ambassadors Akshay Kumar, Shahid Kapoor, Kangna Ranaut and Deepika Padukone? Is she a good fit? Drop us a line! src:www.desihits.com

Mumbai: She is bubbly and giggly, that's all what we've seen and read of "Genelia D'Souza" so far in the dream world of Bollywood. But here she revealed some more facts out of her life.Here, the actress was found saying in an interwiew that she would prefer a life partner for her whom she would be in love with.

I would surely go for a love marriage. I would definitely want someone who would be flared-up. My dream boy should be 'gharelu', 'sanskari' and do whatever I say. My wish should be his command.I like men who listen to their women and not order them and take them for granted just because they are in a relationship. They have to be courteous and respectful.People who've met her and known her say, "On the other side, she's just bright enough. She is a light hearted person and feels something very liberating about her." src:www.samaylive.com


Deepika Padukone is just a few films old in Bollywood but it would not be wrong to tag her as one of the most beautiful, sensuous and successful actress in the industry today. She has hoards of projects in her hand including films from big banners and reputed brands for endorsement. She is a hot favorite among the magazines as their cover girl.
This month FHM portrays Deepika as ‘The Destiny’s child’ on their cover page. Deepika looks stunning and appealing on the cover as well as the photoshoot though she has just a minimal makeup on



The bubbly Aditi of Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na is back after a hiatus of one year.

Yes, we are talking about Genelia D’souza, who is in Studio 18 and Abbas-Mustan’s Life Partner (releasing tomorrow) opposite Fardeen Khan.

The actress plays the character of Sanjana, who believes that change in marital status doesn’t signify a personality make-over. She would rather remain the eternal girl-friend, even after marriage. For Fardeen, love marriage are the way to go. But what has really surprised us was the uncanny resemblance between the two films. Jaane Tu... released on July 4 last year and Life Partner started their promos on July 4;

Jaane Tu... was about friends and their relationships in college, Life Partner is also about friends a
nd a more mature subject, marriage. Jaane Tu... revolved around her love story and so does Life Partner. src:toi

Though Producer Kumar Mangat’s claims that, shoot of ‘All the Best’, in Goa went off smoothly but there was visible tension on the sets between the two ladies Bipasha and Mugdha .
The story goes that Bipasha and Mugdha were constantly insecure about the length of footage being given to the other in a song. Suddenly, Bipasha felt that Mugdha couldn’t dance and began teaching the newcomer a few steps.

“Problems between the two actresses escalated during the second song, which also has them sharing screen space. They refused to speak to each other even when it was absolutely necessary and director Rohit Shetty and choreographer Bosco Caesar found it quite difficult to handle the situation,” said a source from the unit.

The animosity eventually reached a point where the two actresses flatly refused to shoot together.

Mugdha initially refused to talk about the issue. On being probed further she said, “Bipasha and I were cordial with each other.”

Bipasha refuted the news and said, “Ridiculous, everybody was together and having fun while shooting. There were no cold vibes between anybody.”


Undoubtedly Deepika Padukone is hot but she gets into much hotter and sexier avatar in an item number not in Bollywood but down south. Where actresses of the south like Asin Thottumkal, Genelia D'Souza, Shreya Saran and others are shifting their base from South cinema to Bollywood, Deepika is doing just the opposite. She walks down south and is doing a sizzling item number in 'Love 4 Ever', a bilingual film in Telugu and Hindi.


The item number of Deepika is said to be very hot and sexy and it is a major highlight of the film starring two debutantes Randeep and Mrudula in the lead roles. The song goes as “Chakde Mahiya need Duniya.. Haddu dati aadey day and night”

Deepika stepped into acting with Kannada film ‘Aishwarya’ but achieved success with ‘Om Shanti Om’. After the debacle of 'Chandi Chowk To China', she is looking forward to ‘Love Aaj Kal’ opposite Saif Ali Khan.src:bollywoodmantra

LIFE PARTNER (2009) Directed by Rumi Jaffrey Produced by Abbas Mustan Written by Rumi Jaffrey Starring Govinda Genelia D'Souza Prachi Desai Fardeen Khan Tusshar Kapoor Music by Pritam


checkout the video below


Few days back Deepika Padukone made an open declaration that she regretted for making her relationship public and today her claim stood true. She is again in news for all wrong reason and that too because of Ranbir Kapoor.
The new allegation against Deepika is that on the set she spends a lot of time speaking to Ranbir on phone and therefore fails to give her cent percent. Strongly reacting to the accusation, Deepika said that she is not the kind of person who anytime talks to her boyfriend at the loss of her work.

She is truly dedicated to her work and purely professional and the allegation against her is totally baseless. She claimed that even Ranbir’s presence on the set does not distract her.

Deepika added that she is always committed to her work and nothing can come between her and her work.
src:bollywodmantra.com

The new movie ‘Katha’ is currently being made under the banner of Just Yellow Cinema and this has the bubbly beauty Genelia who is pairing up with debutante Arun.

The film is being directed by Srinivas Raga and the producer for this is Gunnam Gangaraju.

tollywood cum tollwood actress genelia

Slated to be a romantic entertainer, recently two songs were shot at Araku Valley and about 50% talkie part has been completed.

The producer said that Genelia will be seen as a teacher in this and there are a total of 4 songs. Two songs would be canned in Hyderabad from the 13th and the film has Prakashraj, Raghubabu, Shafi and others.

Music – S K Balachandran, camera – Andrew, art – Ravinder.src:indiaglitz

The bubbly beauty Genelia could be called as the happiest person in the industry. The lady is a well known face in Tollywood, Kollywood, Bollywood and in the world of advertisements. She is riding on a long wave of success.

The best part is that all this success does not seem to get it into her head and she remains a cool headed bubbly beauty that she has always been.

What does Genelia say about her big time success? She simply says that it is all the mercy of God. She says she is thankful to God for all this success and fame. She also adds that she would always pray for the success and happiness to continue in the years to come.

Now that’s a devout actress we are talking about folks.

src:indiaglitz

Genelia D'Souza ’s mini skirt can create a mini riot. Recently, she was doing a photo shoot when a mob simply went berserk, to just have a closer glimpse of the actress. 
Director Ken Ghosh , along with the whole crew of his tentatively titled film Yahoo was in Bandstand Fort, Bandra, to shoot for the first look of the movie. It was evening time and Shahid Kapur and Genelia were supposed to shoot a cozy scene. Shooting at a popular place generally has many onlookers. 

All was fine but when Genelia stepped out, donning a sensuous mini skirt, the crowd started to increase and in a jiffy people went bananas, making it impossible to control them. Cops finally suggested director Ken Ghosh to stop the shooting. Attempts were made to cover Genelia with a jeans, but all in vain. 

Many even crossed the limits and were standing in danger zone. The whole Bandra fort had people thronging to get a glimpse of Genelia in mini skirt. Chief Creative Officer of UTV Motion pictures has confirmed the news and is quoted as saying, “Yes it was a very scary sight and people were all over the fort.”

A few days back something like this happened with actress Neetu Chandra who was shooting for a photo shoot of a magazine in a lavish hotel of Juhu where a crowd of 80 gathered around the pool to see the skimpily dressed actress striking provocative poses with a female model. The shoot got cancelled because the mob was getting aggressive. Some even started to pass lewd comments. And the situation spun out of control. 
src:apunkachoice.com

Check out the images of genelia @ preesmeet....



genelia photos from dhee



Bollywood dusky beauty Deepika Padukone beats Hollywood star Angelina Jolie in terms of looks. 'The Fast and the Furious' director Rob Cohen acclaimed Deepika more beautiful than Angelina.

"Deepika Padukone is gorgeous and is more beautiful than Angelina Jolie," Cohen said. Cohen the man behind 'The Witches of Eastwick' and 'The Fast and the Furious', 'Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story' indirectly indicated to cast Deepika in his next project as he is highly impressed with Indian beauty.


No sooner Deepika Padukone stepped into Bollywood, she became the hot favorite of the filmmakers and advertisers. She had been the brand ambassador of international brands like Maybelline and Levi's.

She even carries the credit of being the most searched women on net, pushing behind Bollywood hotties like Katrina Kaif, Aishwarya Rai and Kareena Kapoor.
src:bollywoodmantra

Hot and happening Genelia's new romantic thriller Katha, directed by debutant Srinivas Raga with Arun Kumar ofHappy Days fame in the lead role, has completed its first schedule. The second schedule will begin from June 8 in Araku valley and will continue for 20 days.

 Katha in progress







Genelia plays a teacher in Katha, produced by Gunnam Gangaraju under the banner of Just Yellow. "I was very impressed by the script and it's a new genre for me. I am doing the role of a teacher," the actress said. The story takes place in a hill station and a major part of the film will be shot at Araku.

Prakashraj plays a pivotal role in the movie, which has music by S.K. Balachander. The cast includes Raghubabu and Shafi. Cinematography is by Andrew and art is by Ravinder. This film is slated for a Dasara release.src:galatta.com

here’s a new prankster in town, and believe it or not, it’s the quiet and reserved Shahid Kapoor. Lately choreographer Ahmad Khan and director Ken Ghosh have been getting distracted on the sets of their current film. The reason is Shahid’s new found love for photography. Shahid has just bought himself a spanking new camera set up worth a couple of lacs, the D50 from Cannon with some sophisticated lenses and accessories, and he has been on a shooting spree ever since. Lately every day Ken and Ahmad get blinded by flashes thanks to (cameras are not allowed on sets usually), only to realize that its none other than Shahid taking candid shots of theirs without their knowledge, much to the unit’s amusement.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              And not just this, but Shahid has not even been sparing the press. He has been surprising the press photographers by clicking them them before they can click him. Ofcourse, once the press photographers click him, he immediately gets into long discussions with them on the aperture, lenses, shoot speed, angles and more. Needless to say, the camera accompanies him everywhere lately. Now there’s a thought for all those female fans to dwell on. -Sampurn Media src:thaindian.com


Cricket Fever has caught on big time thanks to the on-going IPL frenzy and hence it comes as no surprise to see some Bollywood filmmakers cashing in on the popularity of the sport which is almost a religion in India.

UTV Motion Pictures' forthcoming film Hook Ya Crook is one such film that has cricket as the backdrop. The film, directed by the David Dhawan, has John Abraham, Genelia D'souza, Kay Kay Menon and Shreyas Talpade in lead roles. The film is set in a prison and revolves around a cricket match played among the inmates.


With David at the helm of things, this one promises to be a complete entertainer. Also it would be interesting to see the fresh pairing of John and Genelia for the first time on the big screen. Majority of the film has been shot at Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad. The supporting cast includes talented actors like Pavan Malhotra, Murli Sharma, Krishna and Sharad Kapoor (who would be seen making a comeback of sorts after a really long time).

John who impressed one and all with his football skills in
Dhan Dhana Dhan Goalwill showcase his cricket skills this time in Hook Ya Crook. If the buzz is to be believed, then John's good friend and captain of the Indian Cricket Team M.S. Dhoni is also slated to make a guest appearance in this film. With such an impressive star cast and an interesting premise, Hook Ya Crook is certainly among the most awaited films of this year.src Y!Grp mail

The one obvious analogy for the dynamics of the IPL is the free market economy: It keeps producing new winners and hence renewing itself
As the second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) moves towards draw of stumps, there is a lesson to be learnt that goes beyond the nail-biting finishes, the eye-popping advertising deals, the skin show by cheerleaders and the musings of the fake IPL player.
The four teams that were in the running for the decidedly ugly trophy before Friday night were: Delhi Daredevils, Deccan Chargers, Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Last year’s winners, Rajasthan Royals, were out of the reckoning. And two of the top four teams this year—Deccan and Royal Challengers—did miserably in IPL 2008.
Such a churn is cause for celebration because it is also a sign of dynamism. The one obvious analogy that comes to mind is the free market economy: It keeps producing new winners and hence renewing itself.
The same goes for sport. There was a time when Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy for 15 consecutive years. Such dominance is unthinkable now. This is a new world of competition.livemint.com




It has been merely 8 days that Ken Ghosh has shot with Genelia D'Souza and he is already going gaga over not just her performance but sheer exuberance that she has brought onto the sets.

For his movie which is 'not titled Yahoo', Ken is glad that Genelia came into picture because it is turning out to be a huge value add for the film where the casting of the female lead protagonist has apparently gone through a sea change.

"Let's keep the past aside and talk only about current and future", says Ken in a cautious tone with obvious reference to the 'Genelia replacing Jiah' episode, "What gladdens me most is the fact our decision to rope in Genelia has worked tremendously for the film.

It's all working out so brilliantly now. It has been only eight days of shooting with Genelia and I can stick my neck out and say that it was the best decision that I took for the movie."

When the character of the female lead protagonist was re-written, he was always confident that Genelia would suit the role perfectly and Shahid-Genelia 'jodi' would do quite well. However, once he started canning the shots, it only turned out to be a reaffirmation of sorts.

"It's a different feeling when you see your vision shaping up so very well in flesh and blood. Once the camera started rolling and I saw the results on the monitor, I said to myself - 'This is it'!

Genelia is simply awesome in whatever she has done so far. Yes, I may be sounding all excited but it only reflects the true state of my mind right now", smiles Ken who is obviously ecstatic that his film has started making good progress all over again.

While Mr. Director is indeed happy with the change, how about Shahid Kapoor who has been summoned to shoot for quite a few scenes all over again. "Well, he is ecstatic too.

A hero is always happy when he can have some good chemistry going with a co-star. In such a scenario, a hero will never mind the repeat act", winks Ken who has worked with Shahid in both his directorial ventures so far - Ishq Vishk and Fida.

Meanwhile, he continues to have a hearty laugh over some over zealous media people who are continuing to invent title by dozens for his film.

"I am happy that there is curiosity about the title and the film in general. But I am really amused when a reporter calls me to confirm on a title, I categorically deny that title and still the next day when I pick up a newspaper, I see the same title being put in bold print. It's hilarious", concludes Ken.

Deepika Padukone is the most yahooed woman of all.The actress is the recipient of Yahoo! Search Buzz Award, 2008 leaving behind the likes of Katrina, Kareena or Priyanka.




If Katrina Kaif is considered the most googled celeb, Deepika is the most yahooed one. Her name is the most searched word in the category of entertainment for the year 2008 of Yahoo.

The awards were announced on the basis of the most searched keywords by the users of Yahoo! India for the last year.

Other celebs who have received the awards are Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar for the Most Searched Sports Personality, and surprisingly the Most Searched Indian Film on Yahoo was
Kamal Haasan ’s Tamil film ‘Dasavatharam’.

According to sources, it came as a real surprise for Deepika who has only three movies to her credit, whereas, anyone would have expected someone like Aishwarya Rai or Priyanka
Chopra ,if not Katrina, to top the search.

Deepika is enjoying the moment; this award is another addition to her collection. The actress is quoted as saying, “It all stems from loving what I do being an actor.”

Right now her film Love Aaj Kal is the talk of the town, where she is paired opposite Saif Ali Khan .
src:keralaonline.com

Post the first look unveiling of the film Kites on May 15, 2009, at the Cannes Film Festival, BIG Pictures hosted a grand cocktail reception for the Kites cast, crew and international buyers and distributors. Thereafter Hrithik Roshan , Barbara Mori, Rakesh Roshan along with Prasoon Joshi walked the red carpet to attend a screening of the Hollywood film Bright Star directed by Jane Campion, who is Hrithik's fan. For the evening, Barbara was dressed in a black Roberto Cavalli gown and Hrithik Roshan sported a tuxedo designed by Anaita Shroff Adajania.

Actually this was not the first time for Jr. Roshan’s on the red carpet but in fact his second time. The first time was actually 14 years ago. Hrithik says, “I was here 14 years ago as an assistant to the Film Federation of India – J Om Prakash, who was also my grandfather. I remember walking the red carpet and got a few glimpses of all the stars and felt pretty insignificant at that time”.

Barbara adds, “This is my first time in Cannes. Kites is a beautiful love story and I am so happy to be here with this movie particularly because I feel very proud of it. I am really excited to be in Cannes”.

Kites also stars Kangana Ranaut , Nick Brown and Kabir Bedi in pivotal roles. It is being marketed and distributed worldwide by BIG Pictures. The film is being readied for release in the last quarter of 2009. Two versions of the film are being readied.

In The International markets, Kites will release in the English language version where as in India, the film will be released in the Hindi version, which has been shot simultaneously. BIG Pictures is marketing 18 news films at the Cannes Film Festival over and above its vast catalogue of films.
src:oneindia.in

Aishwarya Rai puts her foot down; refuses to let Sonam Kapoor walk the red carpet at Cannes as the face of the cosmetic giant, which the two endorse
When it comes to Aishwarya Rai, Cannes and controversy go handin-hand . Earlier, it was for her atrocious fashion sense and this year it's the long distance proxy cat-fight with Sonam Kapoor. While Ash is at Cannes year after year in her capacity as the international brand ambassador for a cosmetic giant, Sonam Kapoor was added to the list of ambassadors this year and promised by the company that she would be walking the croisette in the company of the dream team of Aishwarya, Eva Longoria and Michelle Yeoh. "Being on the same platform as Aishwarya, for me, is a big deal in itself," the younger actress had cooed excitedly.

However when Ash, who considers Cannes her turf, found out that she would be sharing limelight with Sonam she was hopping mad. According to sources, her deal with the company is clear: she is the international face while Sonam would represent the Indian face. For a while Ash believed that Sonam was misled about the red carpetturn and that she had spoken out of youthful exuberance. But when she found out otherwise, the diva put her foot down. As a result, the there was furious activity to and fro and anxious moments at the company's office in Mumbai all of Friday .

Faced with Aishwarya's determined stand the company had no option but to inform that she would no longer be walking the red carpet in Cannes during the premiere of Pedro Almodovar's latest film Broken Embraces starring Penelope Cruz, another ambassador for the brand.
Vismay Shama, India head of the brand, refused to throw light on the matter. He said, "We will release an official statement only tomorrow morning. Till then you will have to wait."

Sonam's spokesperson Monica Bhattacharya said, "The brand has promised to issue a statement tomorrow morning and we would like to allow them the privilege of doing so." But sources confirm that the young actress who starred with Abhishek Bachchanin Dilli 6, is crushed at the missed opportunity.
src:timesofindia.com

Deepika Padukone and Asin are both early birds. And, believe it or faint, these two girls from the South have a lot of other things in common.


They’re SMS buddies, and exchange at least half a dozen messages. Deepika, who is one of the few heroines who gets along famously with her female counterparts, is happy that Asin and she have struck up a good friendship. Deepika was over-heard saying to another friend, “The nice part of my friendship with Asin is that we’re both daddy’s girls.’’ Yeah, Asin thinks the world of her businessman father Joseph Thottumkal, and Deepika worships the ground on which her super-dad Prakash Padukone plays badminton. With so much going for them, it is hardly surprising that these two 20-somethings have nice things to say about one another.
src:indiatimes.com

MUMBAI: Spinz Deodorant and Talc from FMCG major CavinKare has appointed actress Genelia D'Souza as its new brand ambassador. D'Souza replaces actress Asin (Ghajini) who endorsed the brand for the last two years.



CavinKare vice president marketing Vineet Trakroo said, "Spinz is the fastest growing brand, which has been making a 45 per cent growth year on year. To grow faster, we felt that there is need for a youth icon who could connect with the youth. We expect our market share to double in the next two years."


"Spinz is a youth brand that caters to the young consumers between 15 to 26 years old who is always bustling with energy, easy-going and high-spirited. We feel Genelia represents a bubbly, young, energetic youth image. She is a good brand fit as has been researched and matches the image of the brand," he added.


CavinKare have also repackaged the Spinz talc with a contemporary design and a pack with a unique and stylish dispensing mechanism. As the brand ambassador, D'Souza will be involved in communicating the brand values of the company through multi-media campaigns and new pack creatives.


D'Souza said, "It is a fantastic feeling endorsing Spinz, a youth fragrance brand. The brand values synergise well with my personality in terms of style, effervescence and hedonism."


Mumbai: Kamal Haasan's daughter Shruti is looking to go full steam in Bollywood and is all set to make her big Bollywood debut as a lead actress this year opposite Imran Khan in Soham Shah's Luck, which also has Sanjay Dutt in a pivotal role. However, she intends to keep her first love that is singing alive. Since shooting for the film is over, this professional singer has packed her bags and has headed straight to Los Angeles to record her first-ever solo English album.
Did you know? Shruti sang her first film song when she was just six years old in her father's movie Thevar Magan. The song was composed by the iconic Ilaiyaraaja. She made her Bollywood singing debut with Chachi 420.

"Los Angeles is like home away from home and I want to record my album right now as I realise that if I delay this now, I will get entangled into lots of work and my dream will take a long time to realise. As soon as I'm back, I will start with full-fledged promotions for my film," she told After Hrs minutes before she boarded a flight to LA.

Reports had earlier suggested that she would be cutting a multi-lingual album with her band in India, but those plans seem to be on hold for now. First, she plans to go solo.
A source close to the artiste says, "She will spend a good two weeks in Los Angeles and record her album before she comes back to India and gets busy promoting her debut movie. She is doing the album with a long time associate called Tim. She wanted to record with him and not her Indian counterparts as he is the person who had spotted her talent first when she was learning music at the Musicians Institute in California."

The insider adds, "Shruti sings blues, hard rock and experimental, and the new album will certainly have all these flavours and much more. She wanted to record an English album for a long time, but English music wasn't a big rage in India then as it is now. So, she thinks this is the ideal time to cut an album as she is hoping it would do good business even in India."

source:DNA

Saif Ali Khan has confessed of feeling more responsible and far more conscious while doing intimate scenes on the sets with girlfriend Kareena Kapoor.

While shooting for Rensil D’Silva’s untitled next, Saif said he was constantly conscious of the fact that it was his girlfriend he was making love to, on screen.He said he did not want to show off their relationship by accentuating the intimacy aspect.

Both Saif and Kareena are now ready to go on a holiday to some mysterious destination, which in all probability, will be somewhere in Italy, said Saif.

Source:xpress4me.com



Sanjay Leela Bhansali has titled his next Hrithik-Aishwarya starrer as Guzaarish. The movie is co-produced by UTV motion pictures.

The film also has an angle of mercy killing, which is expected to be very controversial. The buzz is that it is based on the lines of Hollywood movie The Prestige but has been modified for the Indian palette.
source:xpress4me.com

MUMBAI: Spinz Deodorant and Talc from FMCG major CavinKare has appointed actress Genelia D'Souza as its new brand ambassador. D'Souza replaces actress Asin (Ghajini) who endorsed the brand for the last two years.

CavinKare vice president marketing Vineet Trakroo said, "Spinz is the fastest growing brand, which has been making a 45 per cent growth year on year. To grow faster, we felt that there is need for a youth icon who could connect with the youth. We expect our market share to double in the next two years."

"Spinz is a youth brand that caters to the young consumers between 15 to 26 years old who is always bustling with energy, easy-going and high-spirited. We feel Genelia represents a bubbly, young, energetic youth image. She is a good brand fit as has been researched and matches the image of the brand," he added.

CavinKare have also repackaged the Spinz talc with a contemporary design and a pack with a unique and stylish dispensing mechanism. As the brand ambassador, D'Souza will be involved in communicating the brand values of the company through multi-media campaigns and new pack creatives.

D'Souza said, "It is a fantastic feeling endorsing Spinz, a youth fragrance brand. The brand values synergise well with my personality in terms of style, effervescence and hedonism."

source:businessofcinema.com

Making junior cricket more effectiveBollywood had got it right from time immemorial. They knew the ingredients that a film needed and what people wanted to make a cash collection for themselves. They had their hero, heroine, the villain, the clownish fool, the love affair, the separation, the fights, the thirteen songs and the reunion of the lovers who live happily ever after.

But, here in Sri Lanka talking of cricket it always had to be a ‘minus’ affair where we always discussed about a doomsday future, especially when it came to the feeder points to our national grid.

This has been said before, but to continue with this subject this part of the story has to be included like one of the Bollywood stories. In the good old days when Sri Lankan cricket was purely an amateur affair in spite of the depth of talent available. Under that scenario the status quo remained very effective. There were 2-3 schools that were recognised as good cricket playing schools and 2-3 clubs that formed that nucleus to the national grid, but the passion rolled on and it must be mentioned there was talent in those teams. Selecting a national squad was an easy task whenever the need arose. Just walk down to the fence of your club and look who is available from the guys next door and form your team.Authorities should take a closer look at the present school cricket structure.Things began to change in the late sixties especially when the Sri Lanka schoolboy team comprising the likes of Bandula Warnapura, Duleep Mendis, Roy Dias, Ajith de Silva and Lalith Kaluperuma made a very successful tour of India. That was a huge turning point for the game of cricket in Sri Lanka. The 2-3 school shackle had been broken. For this tour cricketers were chosen from a cross section of schools around the island, and this particular team indeed really formed the nucleus of the team that played Sri Lanka’s inaugural Test in 1982. Nevertheless, even this opening was not sufficient to harness the entire cricketing talent of this country.

However with the 1996 World Cup win the seams broke loose. Interest in school cricket took to the roots of the country and gradually the accent of talent bent towards the outstations and the ‘big city’ input began to wean and at the same time ‘out-of-the-box’ cricketers in the calibre of Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis and along with them some cricketers who had missed the initial bus while playing for schools – like Suranga Lakmal, Isuru Udana, began to make it direct to the national grid from the club circuit.Just to get a glimpse of this scenario and how healthy it is to our system we sought the views of a cricket insider who preferred to remain anonymous, but share his vast knowledge with us. He with his allround experience as a player, selector and coach explained how this machine works and earnestly how it should work.

He put a load of emphasis on coaching mainly during the pre-under fifteen stage. He said “That is the time that they learn to play the game. At that time they are flexible and they have the room in their system to absorb. However by the time you reach the under 15 stage, the model is almost cast and from that point onwards it is very difficult to change your basic approach to the game like how you grip the bat and whether you are side-on or open chest when you bowl.

“There is another very important fact that must be observed. If a batsman has a different grip or is a bit bottom heavy, and is still effective in run scoring you must NOT mess around with that. That is a gifted skill. For instance Sanath Jayasuriya is a bottom heavy player while Aravinda de Silva used to change his grip for various shots that he played. But, both these batsmen have created their own little niche in the history of cricket.”

Then explaining about bowling he mused “If Lasith Malinga attended practices in one of these so called big city schools with a ‘five star’ coach, I am sure he would not have played even under 14 cricket. The coach would have scoffed at his round arm action and would have dismissed him with a canny remark…..”Are you trying to take off the umpires’ ear?” But, it was former Sri Lanka bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake who discovered Malinga off a soft ball course and nurtured him on to bigger deeds. That is because by then he had learned the bigger picture in cricket and knew how to spot talent that works. In short the ten or twelve fast bowlers who are rotating in the higher echelons of Sri Lanka cricket besides Vaas are products of the Rumesh Ratnayake-Champaka Ramanayake combination. Champaka’s exit was a huge loss for Sri Lanka cricket”.

He is also of the view that the talent searches around the island done by private conglomerates are very effective that the net that it has cast goes into every nook and cranny of cricket in the island and adds “Now it is very difficult for the system to miss cricketers like Suranga Lakmal from Debarawewa or Isuru Udana from Balangoda even if they miss a chance to enter a big city school to end their basic careers.”
At the same time he sees a basic flaw in that system that would grow to be a huge draw back if the authorities let it go unheeded. He explained “When we were young we played the game till we were under 20. So when we finished our school careers we were almost mature cricketers.

Now the authorities have cut the age limit to under 19 and it is bad. For instance one does his exams at the age of seventeen. As a result he limits his involvement in cricket at the age of sixteen and for two years he has very little or no cricket at all. Then if it is under 19 he only has one more year of cricket in school and that is not sufficient to make an effective come-back. If it was twenty he has two years and in his last year he really can concentrate in his game and be very effective, I know because I played school cricket till I was twenty and in my last year I scored over nine hundred runs in about ten matches. There were so many others at that time who did that during my time.”

Explaining further he reiterated “The first tournament of the SLC is the under 23 tournament. When you leave school cricket at the age of 19 there is a four year gap and inevitably some talented cricketers go in search of other pastures as result of the time gap. At the age of twenty the impact is far less.”

So these are some of the pros and cons that modern Sri Lankan feeder points face and if they need a Bollywood type finish to our cricket the best thing is go to the roots and take remedial measures.

source:sundaytimes.lk


Genelia who is a star in Andhra Pradesh — “They actually write scripts for me here,’’ she says modestly — has Bollywood backing her every move now. Post Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na, this actress is inundated with movie offers. Speaking from Hyderabad where she is shooting for a Telugu thriller, Genelia is majorly excited about having signed Ken Ghosh’s Yahoo, where she plays a choreographer. “It’s my first film with Shahid Kapoor who is a phenomenal dancer; and I’m nervous as hell at the thought of having to match steps with him,’’ she says.

The Mumbai girl says she did hear that Jiah Khan was earlier to play her role; but adds, “I accepted the role because it is challenging for me as an actor. Also, I share a good rapport with the film corporation who is producing Yahoo.’’ Genelia says that by the end of the year, she will be virtually breathless because she has Boney Kapoor’s It’s My Life, Abbas Mustan’s Life Partners and UTV’s Hook Ya Crook with John Abraham also coming up. “Fortunately for me, each of the roles I’m doing is different from the other,’’ says the actress.

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