Oscar Winner AR Rahman's will get close Rs 5.5 cr for Common Wealth theme song

For all those who had forgotten Ripley's Believe It Or Not, here's how money is being spent for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. A. R. Rahman, revered for his soul - stirring music and recently bestowed the Padma Vibhushan by the government, will be paid close to Rs 5.5 crore by the Games' Organising Committee ( OC) for composing the opening ceremony theme song.

Sources confirmed that Rahman would also be associated with promotional events relating to the October 3 - 14 sporting extravaganza to be held in the Capital.

Hectic parleys have been going on between Rahman's agents and OC officials for quite some time now. Sources said the initial demand from the music guru was close to Rs 15 crore.

Considering that all this money is basically what the common man pays as income tax, it was decided that about Rs 5 crore was an agreeable figure.

Not just this, the income tax payable on the sum will be picked up by the OC. The committee will also foot Rahman's "hotel and travel to New Delhi" bills.

All this was recently cleared by the OC's executive committee which met in New Delhi.

Bharat Bala, a man associated with the opening and closing ceremonies as creative director, is getting Rs 25 lakh per month as salary. His taxes are taken care of and Bala also gets paid "ou t- of - pocket allowance". At a time when the cost of hosting the Games has touched the sky, a sum of Rs 200 crore has been budgeted just for the opening and closing ceremonies.

Despite demands that every rupee spent should be accounted for, insiders say people are spending money on events not directly related to the Games.

"How come there is no patriotism involved now? It's baffling how the OC is going to pay Rs 5 crore to Rahman," a committee insider said.

Another supported hiring the services of Rahman.

"He is such a well - known figure and has won all kinds of international awards. What is wrong if he is being paid for it," the insider said.

But the point is that when athletes in India are struggling to get money and facilities to hire the best coaches in the business, funds being wasted on the cultural extravaganza are hard to justify.

According to the budget provided by the government for the Games, ministries and departments get Rs 8,343 crore and the Delhi government Rs 2,800 crore.

There are other expenditures which seem high. For the conduct of the Games, the OC gets Rs 1,620 crore. For the "Overlays", it gets Rs 687 crore.

Another item which catches the eye on the official website is the expenditure of Rs 87.25 crore on timing scoring result ( TSR) and Games time sports equipment.

With the OC now coming under RTI purvey, questions are bound to be asked on how the taxpayers' money is going to be spent.

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Katrina's Kaif's Bangkok trip proved a lot more relaxing

Katrina's Kaif's Bangkok trip proved a lot more relaxing than she'd ever imagined.

The saucy stunner was filming a beauty commercial and a Chinese make up ariste was at hand to slap on the panstick.

What's better, the able woman, flown all the way from Hong Kong was also a super acupressure specialist.

So, after she'd done with the hectic filming, Ms. Make up artiste displayed her kool skills… and Kat's aches and pains were a thing of the past! Hire her pronto, Kat!

No more make up for Katrina Kaif

Fans may not get to see their favorite star Katrina Kaif with heavy make up from now on.

According to the actress, heavy make up and constant exposure to arc lights have done enough damage to her skin and hence she decided to do away with her make up kit.

The actress added that she will either not don make up or would go for some simple light make up.

Katrina, hates to sit hours together to get on her make up, it was revealed. Fans will get to see the actress with the very barest make up on in her films from now.

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Katrina and Ranbir night dance

After a brief lull about their relationship status, Katrina Kaif and Ranbir link up rumours are back in full swing. Though the love birds avoid being seen together in public but once they are away from the prying eyes gossip-mongers, they often meet to enjoy each other's company.

Recently, they were seen getting up, close and personal at a private party organised by Ranbir's good pal Arjun Rampal. And as soon as they got into the groove, Kapoor along with Kat, simply burned the dance floor there.

Not just that, Ranbir even pulled the eccentric Nana and the usually reserved Manoj to the floor.

Though the entire cast of the film accompanied the couple, sources state that the two had eyes only for each other.

According to a source, “While Katrina and Ranbir had visited Arjun’s nightclub the last time they were in Delhi for Rohit Bal’s fashion show, they were eager to return. The two danced till late hours. And even though the others, especially Nana, were reluctant to go, Arjun pulled him along. Nana later on danced like there’s no tomorrow!”

“Everyone danced till morning. We had a blast. While shooting for Raajneeti, we used to constantly joke, poke fun at each other and at ourselves while doing those heavy-duty scenes on camera,” confirmed Arjun Rampal.

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Disappointed Shah Rukh Khan

Shah Rukh Khan says he is feeling "awful" after the poor performance of his Indian Premier League team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) that has been knocked out of the tournament. He has taken the blame for its poor show and makes an unconditional apology to all his supporters and well-wishers.

The actor poured his heart out on his Twitter page after the team was out of the semi-finals following its defeat by Chennai Super Kings Tuesday.

"I completely take the blame for not putting up a good enough show...so much love for kkr & I couldnt reciprocate," Shah Rukh posted on his Twitter.

"Will call all & thank them for trying, even if it wasn't good enuff. All are a good bunch. All of them. Sometimes our best not good enuff.

"Final thanx to Kolkata audience. You make us proud...couldn't do the same...& can't make any promises for future either, have lost the right.

"I am not sad. Just feel awful for Kolkata & all of this, most wonderful city & my sponsors... Nokia & xxx drink. No promises anymore," he added.

An upset Shah Rukh sought the support of his family and friends to get over his sadness. He further wrote: "My kids gave me a hug for the first time in 3 years when we lost. They have overcome the sadness of defeats better than me. Time to learn.

Just disappointed. can't do anymore for kkr. Sorry can't sound fakely uppity about next season & thanx for support tweets.

"Many friends at home..so will be with them. Will try & get over this loss too..like in the last 2 yrs. All supporters try the same.

"Substance leads to style & glamour. Supporters of kkr we can say goodbye to ipl now. Better than last year is not good enuff.

"Bye all. I am off now to deal with disappointments in the way I know best. You find your poison. love you all. Unconditional apologies to all," he added.

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Jiah's khan wearing two piece bikini for a song sequence

Joginder Tuteja, Bollywood Trade News Network. After tantalizing audience in NISHABD and GHAJINI, Jiah Khan has gone a step ahead in HOUSEFULL by wearing a two piece bikini for a song sequence.

Since the film also has Deepika Padukone and Lara Dutta turning on the glam avatar while being seen in a bikini, one can well expect a healthy competition between the trio, right?

"No, I am sure that was not the case here", immediately negates Jiah, "There was never any competition whatsoever around who would turn out looking better than the other. See, no one is immature out here, least of all someone like Deepika or Lara.

They are here for long and everyone understands that people are just playing their roles. Also, the most wonderful thing is that all of us look so different. You may say that I am being diplomatic but if you ask me then if at all there was someone who was feeling nervous, it was me."

And pray, why was that so?

"That's because compared to Deepika and Lara, I am the real short one", laughs Jiah, "While both of them were super confident, I was worried if I would look really proper. See, Lara has been a Miss Universe and has been a professional in the glamour world for long.

She is pretty mature about things like these. As for Deepika, she has been a model and worn bikini in the past. Both these females boast of such huge confidence which is remarkable.

This is the reason why there was no competition at all. How could I even think that I would be competing with them?"

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