SRK’s team doing wonders for struggling Vivek

Vivek Oberoi, once hailed as one of the most talented newcomers almost wrecked his career, when Mrs Aishwarya Bachchan entered his life. He did some demeaning pleadings with superstars to straighten out his messy career, but to no avail. But the infamous battle between Shah Rukh and Salman changed his life! How? Well, initially, he tried to appease Salman (the two had fought over Aishwarya) was shooed off. Then Vivek went over to Shah Rukh’s camp and that did wonders.

Vivek Oberoi, now boasts of a prestigious unnamed project by Shah Rukh’s ‘very close friend’ Karan Johar, that also stars Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor. The ‘Omkara’ trio of ‘Langda Tyagi’, ‘Dolly’ and ‘Keso’ would be seen on big screen again. The film is directed by Rensil D’Silva, who had written ‘Rang De Basanti’. Rensil D’Silva is to begin shooting by mid-October.

Vivek Oberoi is playing his cards safe; he is all praises for his co-actors. Talking about Kareena, the actor said, “Kareena comes unprepared to the sets and believes in no rehearsals. Moreover she does not need many re–takes to deliver an amazing performance.”

Recently, Vivek was seen in a party thrown by Shah Rukh and Gauri. According to an eyewitness, “At Gauri’s party at Mannat (to celebrate SRK’s 43rd birthday) Saturday night, most people were shocked to see Vivek Oberoi getting up close and personal with SRK and Gauri. VO’s appearance at the bash is surprising because Gauri’s party was a very intimate one meant only for a select few those very close to the couple’s innermost circle.”

“Though Vivek and SRK have been bonding over the last few months (Vivek had even gone to Kolkata to cheer for Shahrukh’s ‘Knight Riders’ team) especially due to Karan Johar (Vivek acts in his next along with Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan), that still doesn’t explain Vivek’s presence at such an exclusive party! There were very close friends present and Vivek is not doing any ads, film or shows with Shahrukh. Their sudden bonding raised lots of eyebrows at the party as people kept wondering about the connection,” the source added.

Well, we hope that amidst this camps and intrigues, Vivek doesn’t goof up again to end up a loser. Hold on tight to King Khan’s camp!

Shah Rukh and Anushka impress in ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ theatrical trailer

The theatrical trailer of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma, released on Friday, November 14, promises wholesome and fun filled family entertainment in the Yash Raj vein that will appeal to audiences across the board.

The film is helmed and penned by Aditya Chopra. The music is by Salim Sulaiman, lyrics are by Jaideep Sahni and the choreography is by Shiamak Davar and Vaibhavi Merchant.

Yash Raj Films released the first look promo for the film on Sunday, November 2, to coincide with lead star Shah Rukh Khan’s 43rd birthday.

The film focuses on the love between a 40-year-old man played by Shah Rukh Khan and a 16-year-old girl, played by Anushka Sharma, and is believed to have an interesting twist in the climax. Shah Rukh has two looks in the film. In the first half he plays casanova. He falls in love with this girl who is very simple and Shah Rukh adapts the character of a simpleton to woo her. She falls for it but now Shah Rukh has a hard time revealing his true identity.

As part of a unique marketing strategy, YRF has also installed life-sized 6-feet tall lenticular standees at all theatres, which gives the onlooker a unique view of both the looks of Shah Rukh Khan in the film, when viewed from different angles.

(CAT)Common Admission Test in the making

BANGALORE: Around 2.76 lakh candidates across 23 cities are expected to take the Common Admission Test (CAT) on Sunday to gain entry into the seven Indian Institutes of Management (IIM). The test will be conducted between 10 am and 1 pm and 1,784 seats across 7 IIMs at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore, Lucknow, Kozhikode and Shillong are up for grabs.In Bangalore, 26,500 are expected to take the test.

Will CAT change its stripes again? Part of the challenge in gaining entry to the IIMs is how candidates tackle the varying pattern of CAT.Emphasis is given to a flexible strategy, as question papers can dramatically change every year. Here is how the exam has evolved over the years: CAT 1999 & CAT 2000 In 1999, CAT caught everyone by surprise. The four-section paper was turned into a three section one. Prior to 1999, verbal ability and reading comprehension were two seperate sections, which were merged into one section in CAT ‘99.

The two-hour exam had a total of 165 questions. Correct answers were awarded 1 mark, and while wrong answers attracted negative marks, the amount of negative marks was never specified till 2005.CAT 2001, 2002 and 2003 The number of questions went down from 55 questions per section to 50 questions, making it a total of 150 questions to be answered in two hours.

CAT 2004 was a unique for two reasons: differential marks for questions made their appearance. The total number of questions was 123, down from 2003.CAT 2005 Differential marks for questions continued. Each section had 30 questions each. This was also the first year where negative marking was specified — 1/3 of a mark was deducted for every wrong answer.

The total number of questions fell to 90 questions.CAT 2006, 2007 The duration of the test was increased from two hours to two and half hours, while the number of questions came down to 75 — 25 questions per section.A correct answer got you 4 marks, while 1 mark was deducted for every wrong answer.
CAT 2008 Predicting how CAT will turn out this year is tough. Sticking his neck out, Ajay Arora, Director of TIME, a coaching centre for CAT, predicts that the number of questions is unlikely to change.

“For all you know, they might revert to 165 questions.” CAT 2009 The IIMs are currently in discussions on holding the CAT online as early as next year.