Delights Troop

Actress Shruti Haasan, daughter of veteran actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan, says her father has been very inspiring for her. She marvels at her father's dedication and says he has the same enthusiasm that a newcomer has for his work. "He has been an inspiration for me, personally. Just the way I look at him deal with his career, how he works," Shruti said here. "Even at this time, he does so much hard work and has so much dedication. He has the same enthusiasm that a newcomer has for his work and that has been very inspiring for me," added the 27-year-old. Shruti is also impressed with her father's directorial skills and minces no words in praising him for that. "He is a good director. He brings in an actor's point of view very clearly. When you see his film, you know an actor is thinking about how to direct the film," she said. She doesn't rule out acting in a film directed by her father someday. After doing Bollywood films like

Emraan Hashmi is an antithesis of his over-the-top screen image. In real life, he has a wicked sense of humour, for only those who get it. When he debuted in 2003, critics were quick to write him off due to his non-hero looks and his choice of films. It has been a long journey and not a smooth one for him since his ‘Murder’ days. From a mass hero catering to mostly frontbenchers to bankable star super-hit potboilers, he has coursed the long mile. His performance as Jogi Parmar in 'Shanghai' made the critics sit up and take notice of him. With Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Ek Thi Daayan', Emraan's filmi graph has taken a new turn as he stars along with Huma Quereshi, Kalki and Konkona Sen Sharma. In a candid chat, the star tells us about his role and why he wants to get rid of his ‘kisser’ image. Excerpts from the interview: How did ‘Ek Thi Daayan’ happen? I was drawn to the story and the subject, written by Mukul which was adapted by Vishal. It was fascinating be

European leaders meet on Wednesday to discuss tax policy and specifically their concerns over how a number of high-profile international companies have managed to pay next to no tax on their vast sales revenue generated in Europe. Following is a summary of several recent cases and links to the Reuters stories on each one. APPLE INC. An investigation by the U.S. Senate showed this week that the maker of iPads and iPhones had paid just 2 percent tax on income of $74 billion over the past three years, largely by exploiting an unusual loophole in Ireland's tax code. Ireland has said it is not to blame, and Apple has defended its practices, which are legal. But the Senate report has added to the furore surrounding tax avoidance by major companies. GOOGLE INC. Despite generating $18 billion of revenue in Britain from 2006 to 2011, the Internet search giant paid only $16 million in taxes to British authorities. Google says it does not have a sales presence in Britain and the

Cricketer Shanthakumaran Sreesanth has insisted he is innocent of any wrongdoing in the ongoing spot-fixing scandal and is confident of emerging from the "tough period" with his dignity intact. The 30-year-old bowler was one of three players, along with 11 bookmakers, arrested last week on suspicion of spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 competition, the allegations also earning him an immediate suspension from the cricket board. "I am innocent and have done no wrong. I have never indulged in any spot-fixing and I have always played cricket in the spirit of the game," the paceman said in a statement issued late on Tuesday through his lawyer. "As a cricketer, I have learnt to take knocks along with accolades in my stride. I recognise that I am going through a tough period in my life. "I have utmost faith in our judicial process and I am confident that with time, I will be proved innocent and my honour and dignity will be vindicated

In an exclusive interview to Screen's Editor Priyanka Sinha Jha, Katrina Kaif talks about why Salman advice is still the most valuable to her and how is it working with Mr Perfectionist Aamir Khan. Do I think Salman's advice has been important? Yes, it's been invaluable. He's had a very strong basic sense of the working of the film industry, so yes, I think it's been invaluable. But it's quite similar to Anushka Sharma and all other YRF protégés having Adi (Aditya Chopra) advise them I do feel that I have made some safe choices, but I don't regret it because they were necessary at that time. Right or wrong Seated in her plush suburban apartment as she instructs the house-help in crisp, chaste Hindi, Katrina Kaif seems firmly in command of her life. With a row of hits behind her and some impressive projects in the kitty-Dhoom 3 with Aamir Khan, Bang Bang opposite Hrithik Roshan and director Kabir Khan's next with Saif Ali Khan, the statuesque beauty is

One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife entered the lobby of a small hotel in Philadelphia, USA. Trying to get out of the rain, the couple approached the front desk hoping to get some shelter for the night. “Could you possibly give us a room here?” – the husband asked. The clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile, looked at the couple and explained that there were three conventions in town. “All of our rooms are taken,” the clerk said. “But I can’t send a nice couple like you out into the rain at one o’clock in the morning. Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room? It’s not exactly a suite, but it will be good enough to make you folks comfortable for the night.” When the couple declined, the young man pressed on. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll make out just fine,” the clerk told them. So the couple agreed. As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly man said to the clerk, “You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel. Maybe som

And old story tells that one day, a countryman knocked hard on a monastery door. When the monk tending the gates opened up, he was given a magnificent bunch of grapes. - Brother, these are the finest my vineyard has produced. I’ve come to bear them as a gift. - Thank you! I will take them to the Abbot immediately, he’ll be delighted with this offering. - No! I brought them for you. For whenever I knock on the door, it is you opens it. When I needed help because the crop was destroyed by drought, you gave me a piece of bread and a cup of wine every day. The monk held the grapes and spent the entire morning admiring it. And decided to deliver the gift to the Abbot, who had always encouraged him with words of wisdom. The Abbot was very pleased with the grapes, but he recalled that there was a sick brother in the monastery, and thought: “I’ll give him the grapes. Who knows, they may bring some joy to his life.” And that is what he did. But the grapes didn’t stay in the sick

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.” “Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only t

Steve Jobs (1955–2011, 56), founder of Apple Inc, gave this amazing and inspirational speech to Stanford University graduates on June 12, 2005. I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories. The first story is about connecting the dots. I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out? It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they dec

The child and his mother: A curious child asked his mother: “Mommy, why are some of your hairs turning grey?” The mother tried to use this occasion to teach her child: “It is because of you, dear. Every bad action of yours will turn one of my hairs grey!” The child replied innocently: “Now I know why grandmother has only grey hairs on her head.” Wrong email address: A couple going on vacation but his wife was on a business trip so he went to the destination first and his wife would meet him the next day. When he reached his hotel, he decided to send his wife a quick email. Unfortunately, when typing her address, he mistyped a letter and his note was directed instead to an elderly preacher’s wife whose husband had passed away only the day before. When the grieving widow checked her email, she took one look at the monitor, let out a piercing scream, and fell to the floor in a dead faint. At the sound, her family rushed into the room and saw this note on the screen: De

Green Eggs and Ham are a naturally gluten free recipe for breakfast that took a pretty big effort on my part to get developed for the first time. In my opinion the trouble “Sam I Am” had with his Green Eggs and Ham had everything to do with his presentation. When you have to chase someone all over the place and they still will not try them here or there or anywhere – maybe it is time to pay a little attention to the details of what makes a dish appealing! After all, once he finally got the guy to try them, it was a hit! But what an effort – in the dark, in a house, with a mouse, in a box, and even with a fox and still he resisted. I am sure that the lesson from this great story is that one should not make a snap decision about liking something (or maybe even someone) before really trying it, but I took away from it something a little different. I learned that people eat with their eyes first. If something looks appealing, it is a whole lot easier to take that first bite! My own pe

Hot and Spicy Chicken Curry A recipe with chicken cooked in hot and spicy condiments and herbs. Serve with rice or rotis. Add your private note Preparation Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 45 minutes Ingredients Skinless chicken, ½ kg cut into medium sized pieces For Marinade: 1 tbsp lemon juice 2 tsp ginger (adrak) paste 2 tsp garlic (lehsun) paste 5 to 6 green chillies, slit 1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi) springs of curry leaves (kadi patta) salt to taste For Masala Paste: 1 tbsp coriander (dhania) seeds 1/2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf) 2 " piece of cinnamon (dalchini) 5 cardamoms (elaichi) 10 peppercorns 5 cloves (laung / lavang) 1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic (lehsun) 1/2 tsp grated ginger (adrak) 1 tsp oil For Gravy: 2 big sized onions, sliced 3 medium sized tomatoes, chopped 2 medium sized potatoes, diced springs of curry leaves (kadi patta) 1 tbsp oil 1 cup water salt to taste Method Marinade Mix all the ingredients and marinate the chicken pieces in it for 20-30 minutes. Masal