In one of the most unpredictable years, the 85th Academy Awards saw some surprising wins and losses.
	Steven Spielberg, who was strongly tipped to win the best director trophy for his civil-war drama 'Lincoln', lost the trophy to Ang Lee for his 'Life of Pi', which managed four wins out of its 11 nods.
	'Lincoln' was leading the race with 12 nominations but bagged only two awards by the end. The film's lead actor Daniel Day-Lewis won the Best Actor trophy and the other gong was taken away by the production design team.
	Lee's win as the Best Director came as a big surprise as he beat veterans like Spielberg, Michael Haneke, Benh Zeitlin and David O Russell.
	Russell's 'Silver Linings Playbook' too had a poor run by managing just one trophy for Lawrence in its eight categories.
	Four major contenders - Tom Hooper, Kathryn Bigelow, Ben Affleck and Quentin Tarantino - were not even nominated for the best director tag, despite their movies (Les Miserables, Zero Dark Thirty, Argo and ...

Hits and misses at Oscars

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Ben Affleck's Iran hostage drama 'Argo' rode to victory by taking home the Best Picture Oscar, the highest honour at the 85th Academy Awards while 'Life of Pi' helmer Ang Lee pulled off a surprise best director win over Steven Spielberg for his India-set drama.
	Making an unprecedented appearance from White House through a video link, First Lady Michelle Obama helped actor Jack Nicholson present the final prize.
	"I want to acknowledge the other great films that have as much right to be up here as we do and many of them who did not even get nominated this year," Affleck, 40, said as he sped through his speech.
	Played out against the backdrop of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, 'Argo' spins the real account of a joint Hollywood-CIA mission to pull out six American diplomats from Tehran while posing as a fake movie crew.
	Taiwan's Lee upset front-runner Spielberg to win his second Best Director Oscar for visually stunning 3D survival tale of an shipwrecked Indian boy lost in the ocean ...

'Argo' wins Best Film, Ang Lee Best Director Oscar for 'Pi'

Actress Esha Gupta believes that dancing is a liberating form of exercise.
	The 'Raaz 3' star does not like following a strict work out regime despite being a fitness enthusiast.
	She prefers to keep herself fit via dance. She dances approximately two hours a day, as a part of her daily exercise.
 	"Dance keeps me more energetic and flexible. I prefer it more than going to a gym on a daily basis. I am using dance to be healthy and maintain myself," she said.
	Esha is also keen to learn various forms of dances.

Esha dances to stay fit

Actress Christina Applegate has married for the second time after tying the knot with fiance Martyn LeNoble in a private ceremony.
	The 'Anchorman 2' star and the musician, who have a two-year-old daughter together, tied the knot in a private ceremony in LA, reported People magazine.
	No further details about the nuptials have been revealed yet.
	Applegate, 41, began dating 43-year-old LeNoble in 2008, soon after splitting from first husband Johnathon Schaech.
	They got engaged on Valentine's Day 2010 and welcomed their daughter, Sadie, into the world the following January.

Christina Applegate marries again

'Snow White And The Huntsman' star Charlize Theron, who shaved her long blonde locks for her role in 'Mad Max: Fury Road', says her new bald look is the most freeing thing she has ever done.
	The South African actress said she had no regrets about chopping off her hair, reported Contactmusic.
	"It's the most freeing thing. I highly recommend it. I think every woman should do it. I had two huge garbage bags full of hair products. It's so freeing," she said.
	The 37-year-old  also said that it has taken a long time for her hair to grow back.
	"This is three months old. It was so short.

Charlize Theron loves shaved head

Socialite Paris Hilton was reportedly turned away from a posh members-only bash in the Hollywood Hills.
	The 32-year-old hotel heiress was not on the guest list and was left red faced when she was denied entry to the bash, reported Hollywood Life.
	"Paris turned up late and was refused entry as she wasn't on the guest list. There were much bigger stars and VIPs inside. It's as simple as that at events like these," a source said.
	Hilton, who is known for her partying antics, recently spent her 31st birthday in hospital after her boyfriend River Viiperi injured his leg in a skiing accident.

Paris Hilton denied entry at party

Actress Mila Kunis says her acting career has come full circle after she played a witch in an elementary school production of 'The Wizard Of Oz'.
	The 29-year-old, portrayed Glinda the Good Witch in a classroom recreation of the 1939 fantasy epic when she was a young girl, reported Daily Star.
	"The first book that I read, that was like a full-length book in English, was Return to Oz. And the first movie that I remember seeing was Wizard of Oz.
	"Then get this, I realised while doing this press (for this movie), that I was in the Wizard of Oz play in fourth grade and just completely forgot about it. So somewhere there is footage of me being the understudy to Glinda the Good Witch."
	The actress will be seen in Sam Raimi's new Hollywood movie 'Oz the Great and Powerful', where she will star alongside Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz as Theodora, one of the three witches.

Thankful to my witch role in 'Wizard Of Oz': Mila Kunis

Rapper Kanye West says the music industry is not fair towards black artists.
	The 35-year-old 'Stronger' hitmaker said white singers have an unfair advantage when it comes to award shows as they are almost always likely to win, reported Sun online.
	"Taylor Swift beat Beyonce at the Grammys? Beyonce be dancing in heels... We need the music business to be evened out and fair. I've never won a Grammy against a white artist... We can create a human utopia if we try," he said.
	West, who is expecting his first child with girlfriend Kim Kardashian, gave the 20-minute rant during his London concert.

Kanye West wants fairer music industry

At a time when Hindi films like 'Lagaan' and 'Barfi!' have vied for Hollywood's top honour, the Academy awards, Bollywood actor Sunny Deol says he does not believe in them.
	"As Indians, our aim should be to entertain audience here," Deol says.
	"I don't think we Indians need to go to the Oscars. What is the need for Indians to go to Oscars... Aren't we happy over here. I don't understand Oscars," Sunny told reporters here during the press conference of his film 'I Love New Year'.
	"I think we have to entertain our audience here first. We have over 130 crore people to entertain here," said the actor, who has won the national award twice for his performances in films like 'Ghayal' (1991) and 'Damini' (1994).
	"I was surprised when I won national awards," he said.
	For Sunny it is the love of audience that matters the most. "The love, affection of the audience and their acceptance of actors are the real awards for me. I feel these days everything is manipulated - like people asking to ..

Indians don't need to go to Oscars: Sunny Deol

Actor Adil Hussain, who played a small part in visually appealing 3D drama 'Life Of Pi', is happy that Ang Lee has won the Best Director Oscar for the movie.
	The 49-year-old, who plays Pi's father in the film, said though he just had a small role, it is an honour to be a part of the project.
	"I am very happy, although I am just a small fragment of the film it feels good that it has been appreciated. Ang is an adorable person in real life and a fantastic director. When I meet him next I just want to hug him," said Adil.
	Lee's 'Life Of Pi' won a total of four Oscars in the Visual Effects, Music (Original Score) and Cinematography category.
	The film about an Indian boy adrift in the ocean for months with a Bengal tiger was primarily shot in Pondicherry and Munnar in India.
	The movie also stars debutante Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan and Tabu in lead roles.

Adil Hussain happy for Ang Lee's Oscar win

Actress Soumya Seth who will be seen in new daily soap 'Khoobsurat', feels the television medium has wider reach than films.
	Soumya, known for her performance in 'Navya' where she played the lead, will be essaying the role of a girl smitten by a radio jockey, alongside Rohit Khurrana of 'Uttaran' fame. The show will be aired on Sony.
	"I feel TV actors have larger and bigger audience than films. Films are also big but the reach of TV is more wider. People do not watch all films that are released everyday. As far as TV is concerned, the shows come daily for half and hour and there is a repeat telecast as well," Soumya told PTI.
	The actress, who feels thrilled over attracting a large number of eyeballs as a television star, believes that the medium cannot essentially be a ticket to Bollywood.
	"I want to stay here on TV. I think it is the best platform to reach to audience and also learning place for actors. I don't think TV is a stepping stone for actors to enter bollywood," she ...

Television medium has larger audience than films: Soumya Seth

'Twilight' star Kristen Stewart appeared nervous as she limped her way to the microphone while presenting the Oscar for best production design with 'Harry Potter' star Daniel Radcliffe.
	The 22-year-old actress, who was hardly out of the headlines last year after a well-documented cheating scandal, limped on-stage and muttered her lines.
	Stewart appeared distant and even failed to come in on-time to introduce the nominees, leaving Radcliffe looking pretty uncomfortable.
	The actress had to walk the red carpet on crutches, thanks to a very unfortunate injury last week.
	"Stewart cut the ball of her foot, quite severely, on glass two days ago," her makeup artist told People.
	The 'Snow White and The Huntsman' star looked stunning in a Reem Acra pale blush gown, with pleated tulle inserts and translucent details. She teamed it up with a Fred Leighton necklace.

Kristen Stewart limps at Oscars

Singer Norah Jones, the multiple Grammy winning daughter of late sitar legend Ravi Shankar, gave her maiden performance at the 85th Academy Awards.
	The 33-year-old performed the jazzy, blues-oriented Oscar nominated song 'Everybody Needs a Best Friend' from "Ted", which has been co-written by Seth MacFarlane, who was also the host for the evening.
	Film and music were closely linked at this year's ceremony.
	Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson commanded the stage for 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going' from "Dreamgirls," granting her a major standing ovation from the crowd.
	Amanda Seyfried, Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman were among the stars who sang 'One Day More' from "Les Miserables."
	James Bond made its way into the action too, with Shirley Bassey singing the title song to the 1960s James Bond film, "Goldfinger."
	British singer Adele also took the stage to perform 'Skyfall' from the latest Bond flick, which later went on to win the best original song Oscar.
	Barbra Streisand took ...

Norah Jones gives maiden Oscar performance

Singer-actress Barbra Streisand paid a moving tribute to her late friend and Oscar winning music composer Marvin Hamlisch at the 85th Academy Awards.
	Following the In Memoriam montage, which remembered all those who recently passed away, the 70-year-old Grammy and Oscar winner took to the stage dressed in a black and gold gown and sang 'The Way We Were'.
	"Marvin Hamlisch was a composer of extraordinary depth and versatility. He was also a very kind and generous friend who could always make me laugh," Streisand said.
	"Over the years, we shared many adventures together. Marvin left us way too soon, but I'll always have those wonderful, wonderful memories."
	The title track to Streisand's 1973 romantic drama with Robert Redford won Hamlisch an Oscar as Best Original Song. The film also won the late composer an Oscar for Best Original Score and Streisand was nominated as Best Actress for the movie.
	Hamlisch, who died in August last year, also won a Grammy for 'The Way We Were' tune, ..

Barbra Streisand's tribute to late composer Marvin Hamlisch

Quentin Tarantino's 'Django Unchained' won the original screenplay Oscar while Ben Affleck's Iranian hostage thriller 'Argo' took adapted screenplay honours at the 85th Academy Awards.
	'Argo', which is screenwriter Chris Terrio's dramatisation of the rescue of six US diplomats from Tehran during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, had won numerous writing prizes leading up to the Oscars, including the Golden Globe and awards from the Writers Guild and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
	'Django Unchained', like Tarantino's previous film 'Inglourious Basterds', was crafted as a revenge-themed genre film. Where 'Basterds' tackled the Holocaust, 'Django' examined America's past with slavery in the guise of the story of a freed slave partnering with a bounty hunter to rescue his wife from the clutches of a brutal plantation owner.
	The film has been a huge commercial hit, grossing more than USD 360 million worldwide.
	"It's such an honour to get up this year because both in the original 

'Django Unchained', 'Argo' take screenplay honours

The economic slowdown being witnessed in the country has left artists of contemporary art affected forcing them to take up side jobs to make ends meet.
	Contemporary artists witnessed a boom in the 2000-2007, but thereafter as the market shrank many of their work remained unsold, National Award winner Aditya Basak said.
	Indian painters had started making their presence felt world-wide after commercial galleries came up in the 1980s, but the good days lasted till mid-2000, Basak, based in Kolkata, said.
	Basak had won several awards including National Award in 1986 and West Bengal state Academy award in 1987. He has held more than 76 solo exhibitions in India and France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, USA and Singapore since 1957.
	He, alongwith a host of renowned painters from across the country, was here to take part in a four-day 'Art in Industry Camp-2013' organised by Tata Steel at the Centre for Excellence last week.
	Around 20 painters, some of them internationally known, took ...

Economic slump affects artist community too

Ben Affleck's Iranian hostage drama 'Argo' won the Best Picture Oscar while Ang Lee pulled off a big surprise by taking home the Best Director trophy for 'Life of Pi', the story of a shipwrecked Indian boy, at the 85th Academy Awards here.
	British actor Daniel Day-Lewis, 55, scored a historic third Best Actor Oscar for his turn as the 16th US President Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's civil-war set drama 'Lincoln'.
	He has become the first actor to win the most number of Best Actor Oscars. His previous Oscars were for 'My Left Foot' in 1989 and 'There Will Be Blood' in 2007.
	22-year-old Jennifer Lawrence emerged a winner for 'Silver Linings Playbook' in a tight best actress race by tripping strong contenders like Jessica Chastain, Emmanuelle Riva, Naomi Watts and Quvenzhane Wallis.
	'Argo' saw off tough competition from eight other films --including 'Lincoln', 'Life of Pi', 'Amour', 'Django Unchained' and 'Zero Dark Thirty'-- to walk away with the top award.
	'Argo' was ...

'Argo' best film, Ang Lee best director for 'Pi' at Oscars

Ben Affleck's Iran hostage thriller 'Argo' rode to victory at the 85th Academy Awards as it took home the coveted best picture trophy despite the actor-director not being nominated in the best helmer category.
	From the White House in Washington DC, First Lady Michelle Obama joined actor Jack Nicholson here at Dolby Theatre to help present the final prize.
	The film was the bookies' favourite going into the event, having already been named best film at the Baftas and best drama at the Golden Globes.
	Affleck sped through his acceptance speech, and his voice cracked while he thanked his wife Jennifer Garner.
	"Thank You. Steven Spielberg is a genius, a talent among us. I want to acknowledge the other great films that have as much right to be up here as we do and many of them who did not even get nominated this year.
	"I want to thank my brother, mom, dad. I want to thank my friends in Iran. I thank my wife. I was here 15 years ago, I had no idea what I was doing and I never thought I ..

Ben Affleck's 'Argo' wins best picture

Hollywood's leading ladies chanelled old world glamour at the red carpet of the 85th Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre as strapless silhouettes, wavy tresses and pale hued gowns were the big trend on the 2013 Oscar red carpet.
	Jessica Chastain, who was one of the first actresses to arrive, looked elegant and ethereal in her sequined Armani Prive nude gown which showed off her slim figure as she made a grand entrance, with her fiery hair in soft waves.
	"It's a very 'Happy birthday, Mr President' dress," she joked referring to Marilyn Monroe's dress.
	Chastain's fellow redhead and Oscar nominee Amy Adams was equally striking on the red carpet in a powder blue gown by Oscar de la Renta as she posed with fiance Darren Le Gallo.
	The evening's best actress winner Jennifer Lawrence stuck to her favourite designer Dior, wearing one of their Haute Couture gowns.
	This was her most dramatic look so far. The 'Silver Linings Playbook' star's off-white strapless gown with a full-tiered skirt and .

Old Hollywood glamour rules Oscar red carpet

Vishesh Bhatt, the son of filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt, says he never set out to make his debut behind the camera with sequels.
	'Murder' (2004) erotic thriller film was directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Mahesh Bhatt. The film starring Emraan Hashmi, Mallika Sherawat and Ashmit Patel managed to become a hit at the box office.	Then it was Mohit Suri who helmed 'Murder 2' (2011), with Emraan and Jacqueline Fernandez in the lead, which again did well.
	With 'Murder 3' (released on February 15 this year) Vishesh made his directorial debut which starred Randeep Hooda, Aditi Rao Hydari and Pakistani actress Sara Loren.
	"I never wanted to start my journey as a director with sequels. I believe in innovation. And I brought that (innovation) in my story. It is just that the makers felt that the title of the film should be kept 'Murder 3'. I did not think that my first film will be a sequel or will be 'Murder 3'. It was not easy to make a film," Vishesh told PTI.
	"I did not deliberately set ...

Never wanted to start my journey with sequels: Vishesh Bhatt

The story of a high-spirited Scottish princess in 'Brave' charmed the Academy voters to win the coveted golden statuette in the best animated feature film category while the love story of a young office worker won the best animated short film Oscar.
	Directed by Mark Andrews, 'Brave' defeated veteran Hollywood filmmaker Tim Burton's 'Frankenweenie', Sam Fell and Chris Butler's 'ParaNorman', Peter Lord's 'The Pirates! Band of Misfits' and Rich Moore's 'Wreck-It Ralph'.
	The movie follows the story of Merida, a high-spirited Scottish princess who resists her mother's efforts to transform her into a more ladylike young woman.
	Faced with an arranged marriage she doesn't want, Merida runs away into the forest, where she encounters a witch who teaches her a dangerous spell.
	This is the second Academy Award nomination for Andrews as he was previously nominated for 'One Man Band' in 2005.
	On the other hand 'Paperman', is about a young man working in an office who desperately tries to ...

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