New York, Mar 5 (ANI): After facing much criticism for returning a bust of Winston Churchill, US President Barack Obama is giving some British mementos a prominent place in and near the Oval Office.
According to Politico, Obama, in a ten-minute phone call on March 4, gave his regards to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for dropping off the gifts on Tuesday when he visited the White House.
An official release said that the surprisingly detailed readout on the call said Obama has put a penholder taken from the HMS Gannet on his Oval Office desk, known as the ‘Resolute Desk’.
The statement also said a first-edition biography of Churchill, the legendary World War II British premier, has been placed in the President’s private study just outside the Oval office.
The British press was highly offended by the return of Churchill’s bust, which sat in the Oval Office for nearly seven years before being returned.
They believe that Obama does not value US-Britain relations as highly as President Bush did.
Obama, however, has dismissed the notion, and called it ‘ridiculous’.
He has, since then, been over cautious in demonstrating his friendliness and appreciation for Brown.(ANI)
Washington, Feb 19 (ANI): An unauthorized biography of Sarah Palin, written by a People magazine Assistant Editor, has been criticized by Alaska Governor’s spokeswoman, who said that it can’t be trusted.
The newly released ‘Trailblazer: An Intimate Biography of Sarah Palin’, written by Lorenzo Benet, contains an intriguing claim that runs counter to previously published reports about how Palin ended up as GOP presidential nominee John McCain’s running mate, reports Politico.com.
The book states that Palin learned that she was on the vice-presidential shortlist at a February 2008 governors’ meeting in Washington – six months earlier than recounted in a statement released in August by the McCain campaign.
An advance copy of the book states, “She had spent the previous few weeks increasing her national profile. She had traveled to Washington, D.C., for the National Governors’ Conference, where she met privately with John McCain and learned she was on the short list as a running mate,” However, Benet’s account has been disputed by Palin, whose camp is accusing the author of writing ‘fantasies’ and practicing ‘bad journalism.
In a statement, Palin spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton said there was no movement on the vice presidential selection until August, a story corroborated by accounts from within the McCain campaign.
According to several sources familiar with the February meeting, it marked the first time Palin met McCain in person.
“The author has his facts wrong on this one. Nothing happened on the VP selection until August. Getting such an important fact wrong casts doubts on whatever else might be in the book.
And attributing his conjecture to the governor is bad journalism. The governor did not authorize this book and is not responsible for whatever fantasies the author might conjure up,” Politico.com quoted Stapleton, as saying.
Benet said that his account of the exchange between Palin and McCain was not based on information provided by the governor. It’s my belief that was when she knew she was in the game. I can’t say whether that’s what she was told or if that’s what she wanted,” Benet said.
Benet added that the line was ‘based off my own sourcing’ and that ‘it’s my own gut instinct; she didn’t tell me that.’ (ANI)
Is Mahendra Singh Dhoni falling in Love? Not sure but he has a friend in her life and her name is Sakshi Singh Rawat. She is third year student of Hotel Management at IHM, Aurangabad.
Sakshi Singh Rawat recently finished her training at the front office at Taj Bengal, met MS Dhoni at the post-party of Race at Bipasha Basu’s house. Saksh She as a guest of John Abraham’s, a mutual friend.
The blogs are abuzz with quotes from people who have spotted the couple together. One entry says, “I saw Sakshi Singh Rawat hanging around with MS Dhoni on November 19 as it was her 21st birthday.” The entry further goes on to say that “the two are getting married after 2010.” and “all their friends know about it.”
In an interview with a TV channel, Sakshi’s elder sister, Abhilasha Bisht, a senior officer with the Uttaranchal Police confirmed that Dhoni is “great friends” with their family but added Sakshi’s marriage is a long way off since she is currently studying.
Veteran comedian Nagesh, who carved a niche for himself in the Tamil film industry both in humourous and character roles, died in Chennai on Saturday after a brief illness, family sources said.
Born as Gundu Rao to a Kannada Brahmin family in 1933, Nagesh was the most sought after actor in the MGR-Sivaji era of Tamil cinema in the 1960s and mid-seventies, and was a regular feature in the movies of these late superstars.
Nagesh, who was suffering from prolonged illness, breathed his last at his residence.
A 1000-film veteran, Nagesh was known for his timing and intonation that had the audience in splits. Even in serious movies, his roles were well-appreciated.
Nagesh has played some memorable characters. His role in Thiruvilaiyadal as Dharumi, a poet struggling to make ends meet and who gets a tete-a-tete with Lord Shiva, and as aspiring director Chellappa in Kadhalikaa Neramillai, are still remembered by Tamil movie-goers.
The actor also proved his mettle with serious roles in films like Ethirneechal and Neerkumizhi, besides playing the villain in Kamal Hassan starrer Apporva Sagotharagal, dubbed in Hindi as Appu Raja.
Nagesh is survived by his wife and three sons. One of his sons, Anand Babu, is also an actor.
Famous Tamil film director K Balachander was responsible for Nagesh coming into movies from theatre.
Nagesh’s first film was Server Sundaram in 1964, which was a blockbuster. Nagesh also acted in films starring screen-legends MGR and ‘Sivaji’ Ganesan, holding his own against these superstars.
A recipient of several awards, including the state-conferred Kalaimamani, Nagesh acted in films of other languages including Telugu. Starting his career in drama troupes, Nagesh went on to play many roles and was paired opposite comedienne Manorama in several films. He was also a good dancer.
The actor’s serious roles in films like Ethirneechal, where he played a bright but poor student dependent on others for a livelihood and that of a cancer patient in Neerkumizhi were well-received by audience and critics alike.
Nagesh has starred with three generations of actors. Beginning with MGR and Sivaji, he acted with Rajnikanth and Kamal Hassan and later went on to share screen space with current heartthrobs Vijay and Ajit Kumar.
C.K. Nagesh, born Gunddu Rao (September 27, 1933 – January 31, 2009), was a veteran Indian comedian actor in Kollywood. His films include Neer Kumizhi, Yarukkaga Azhuthan” and Edhir Neechal.
Nagesh
Born Gunddu Rao – September 27, 1933(1933-09-27) India
Died January 31, 2009 (aged 75) Chennai
Early life
Born as Gunddu Rao in a Brahmin community, Nagesh was born to Kannada speaking Brahmin Madhwa parents. He walked out of his house telling his parents that he would be back only after establishing himself in some career. In Chennai, he stayed in a one-room bed-sit at West Mambalam (then a remote area) with lyricist Vaali and veteran actor Srikanth. He found a small time job in the Indian Railways, but he was not satisfied.
Early in his life, he saw a Tamil play Kamba Ramayanam enacted by his colleagues, and felt that he could do a good job. He persuaded the secretary of the Railways cultural association to give him the role of a man suffering from stomach pain. MGR, then chief guest, seeing this play, in his speech praised Nagesh for his performance. From then onwards, Nagesh played small roles in various drama troupes.
MGR at the inauguration of Theatre Nagesh
Film career
Producer Balaji who spotted Nagesh and gave him his first role in films. The most memorable performance of Nagesh out of the 1000 odd films he has acted in,[citation needed] is his role in Thiruvilayaadal in which he speaks a soliloquy. In this movie,he played a poet who had fallen into bad times. When Sivaji who played Lord Siva in the film saw it he asked the director to retain it in full without a cut.
MGR with Actors Nagesh & S.A.Ashokan
Directors such as C.V. Sridhar and Balachander were those who brought out the acting talents of Nagesh. The movie Server Sundaram portrayed Nagesh in the role of a restaurant waiter who later becomes a successful movie actor in a case of life imitating art and art imitating life. He plaed the villainous comic pimp in Thillana Moganambal starring Sivaji and Padmini. In Apoorva Raagangal he plays a drunkard who talks to his shadow and then finishes his dialogue by saying Cheers and throwing the cup on the wall. In the theaters where the film was shown the audience imitated him and threw cups on the wall of the lobby during interval.
His professional connection with Kamal Hassan is of great relevance. He was one of the four bad guys in Apoorva Sagodharargal (1989), where Kamal played three characters. In Michael Madhana Kamarajan (1990), where Kamal played four characters, Nagesh showed his funny side in his style. Later he played a dead man in Magalir Mattum (1993) produced by Kamal Hassan.
MGR with Actors Nagesh & S.A.Ashokan
Personal life
Nagesh was a self-taught man who believed that an actor could learn from watching life and its characters. He would often sit in his car on busy roadsides and watch the people on the streets to grasp the mannerisms of people that he would later re-enact on screen.
On the personal front Nagesh was one of the few comedians to have acted with both MGR and Sivaji and invested his money in real estate. Later on, he had a fallout with MGR and it led to his removal from many films. Nagesh theatre owned by him in Chennai was on the verge of getting seized for non-payment of dues but he met MGR and was bailed out. Though financially he was saved, his career had stalled and he moved on to character roles.
He died on 31 January, 2009 at the age of 75 due to diabetes and a heart ailment while he was admitted in Balaji Hospital. He is survived by three sons, including actor Anand Babu.
MGR with Nagesh (June 27, 1984)
Partial Filmography
Nagesh is credited to have acted in more than 1000 movies in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. A partial list of his films is given below:
