Indian-American to study Bollywood music’s effect on Mumbai youth

August 15th, 2009 MUMBAI - Eminent personalities from Bollywood extended their greetings on the occasion of India's 63rd Independence Day. Actors and singers from exhibited with spirit and patriotism on the occasion.

August 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was detained for two hours at a US airport after American immigration officials spotted the 'Khan' in his name, his aide said. Shah Rukh was on its way to Chicago to attend a function to mark India's Independence Day when the incident took place at Newark airport.

August 12th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid) (PML-Q) leader, Bushra Rehman has blamed Bollywood for spoiling the youth in the country. Speaking in the National Assembly, Rehman said cable operators and certain television channels are telecasting Indian movies which is affecting the culture of the country adversely.

August 7th, 2009 MUMBAI - For the first time, a Bollywood producer has been forced to pay for plagiarizing a Hollywood hit. Twentieth Century Fox has taken the Mumbai-based BR Films to court; alleging that the latter's forthcoming film "Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai" (This Guy is Fearless) is an illegal remake of the 1992 Hollywood flick "My Cousin Vinny".

July 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Smokeless tobacco products, as used in Europe and North America, do not seem to increase cancer risk, according to the latest research. A comprehensive analysis has shown that snuff as used in Scandinavia has no discernible effect on the risk of various cancers.

July 25th, 2009 MUMBAI - Abhijeet Sawant, the winner of the first edition of the TV show "Indian Idol", joined Shiv Sena Saturday with a mandate to attract the youth to the party fold. "I am a born Maharashtrian so it is natural that I join the Shiv Sena," he said at a special function in Sena Bhavan where he officially became a Shiv Sainik Saturday evening in the presence of party executive president Uddhav Thackeray.

July 16th, 2009 MUMBAI - Yet another foreign director has set his sights on Mumbai's slums. After Danny Boyle's dark and passionate look at the city in "Slumdog Millionaire", it is American director Paul Schrader's turn to make a film here.

July 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Movie characters who smoke while playing good or bad guys do influence teens to follow their example, says the latest research. "Previous studies have confirmed a link between smoking in movies and the initiation of smoking by adolescents, and we wanted to dig deeper into the data to see if the type of character who is smoking matters," said Susanne Tanski, study co-author and professor at Dartmouth Medical School.

June 29th, 2009 MUMBAI - Bollywood actress and gay rights activist Celina Jaitley has said on Monday that Bollywood industry is in favour of the amendment of the controversial Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which terms homosexuality as a criminal offence. Jaitley also said that many people from Bollywood and elsewhere in the country would come out openly if the Union Government repeals the Section 377 of IPC.

June 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Bollywood choreographer-director Farah Khan, a judge on television reality show "Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega", has promised a group of contesting 15 girls and boys a chance to be part of one of her films. "I have promised a group of very talented young girls and boys who performed 'b-boying' (a type of break dance) that I will give them a chance in my film whenever I am working on something where I can use their talent," Farah told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

June 5th, 2009 MUMBAI - Bollywood actor Zayed Khan said that he was looking forward to the 10th anniversary of the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) which he was sure will be an extravagant event. Addressing the media, he said, "Considering its going to be 10th anniversary, I think its going to be very grand.

May 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An American study suggests that smoking bans do not trigger job losses in bars and restaurants. Conducted in Minnesota, the study has shown that exempting bars from community smoking bans does not have any effect on the preservation of bar employment.

May 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An ongoing study suggests that a daily exercise programme may help reduce levels of several known risk factors for cardiovascular disease among school children as young as 11. Started four years ago in the German city of Leipzig, the study has already shown that kids assigned to daily exercise lessons reduced their overall prevalence of obesity, improved their exercise capacity, increased their levels of HDL-cholesterol, and reduced their systolic blood pressure.

May 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study may allay fears that Facebook use is related to lower college academic grades. Last month, an unpublished study suggested that using the popular social networking site could lead to diminished grades.

May 3rd, 2009 Actress Lakshmi Rai who made a name for herself with her performance in Dhaam Dhoom has shifted her base to Mumbai. Considering the increasing offers from Bollywood, the actress has now bought a house in the suburbs of Mumbai, Malad.