Morocco's love overwhelms Shah Rukh Khan

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan is no new to witnessing an enormous crowd wherever he goes but a recent visit to Marrakech, Morocco left the actor overwhelmed after seeing the number of people who had gathered to catch a glimpse of him. The 47-year-old attended the 12th Marrakech International Film Festival, where he was bestowed with the Medal of Honor by the Prince of Morocco. More than 50,000 gathered outside the venue as soon as they came to know that SRK would be walking down the red carpet for the film festival. People were standing till wee hours, under heavy security and extreme cold weather just to catch a glimpse of the 'King Khan'. The "Dilwale Dhulania Le Jayenge" star was touched by the sight and left his security at the red carpet just to jump up on the podium and wave at the people present there. The security men didn't realise when SRK left them and stood on the podium to send flying kisses to all. "I went to Marrakech Film Festival because of the people there and their constant love I have got in all these years. I went there to tell them that I love them too and I am blessed to receive their love. "The sight of that crowd at Jemaa el-Fna was very overwhelming. They waited to cheer me on, how could I not spend a little time with them. That's the least I could have done," Shah Rukh said. The crowd sang 'You Are My Chammak Challo' track from "Ra One" in chorus and SRK obliged them with the trademark steps of the song. Source: Screen-India, Image: flickr.com

Read More........ → August 22, 2014

Lonely hearts get lessons in love

Lonely hearts get lessons in love.[File photo]

Ruan Qi, 43, is a professional dating consultant who makes a living teaching men how to woo women. "That pair of pants is much better. Remember, never show up with shorts if it's your first date," says the life coach to his 20-something student Zhang Weidong. Zhang paid 4,980 yuan ($811) for Ruan's three-day course including theory and practical classes to learn how to pick up, and chat up, girls. Zhang, a factory worker from Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, came to Shanghai on the weekend especially for the costly training. "The tuition is as much as one month's salary," says Zhang. "It was painful to spend so much money on this but I think it's worth the money as I'm learning lifelong skills." With only a primary school education, Zhang refers to himself as "diaosi" which refers to a specific group of young men from humble backgrounds who do not have well-paid jobs or good looks. Zhang says he's not good at "dealing with girls". "I'm too shy to talk to any of them and the tricks I learned from the Internet aren't working in reality, things such as telling the girl I can read palms to tell her fortune in order to hold her hands," he says. Ruan says Zhang is typical of his students. "They call themselves ‘diaosi' in a self-deprecating manner to distinguish themselves from young men who are born into decent families — the ‘tall, rich, handsome' wouldn't come to me for help in the first place," says Ruan, a Beijing native who graduated with a degree in psychology from China's top college, Peking University. Ruan says about 95 percent of his students are male and the majority of them are "otaku" (indoors men) with jobs in the IT industry and an average age of 27. Zhang Sanqiang, 27, falls into this category. He was Ruan's student three months ago. Even though Zhang is currently single, he says he got a girlfriend immediately after taking the "pick up girls" class. "There's no course called ‘how to communicate with girls' at school and for those of us whose working environment is packed with men we have no chances to get to know women. Ruan's class is extremely practical. He helped me avoid some silly mistakes like, never buddy up with the girl you like too much and don't invade her private space," says Zhang Sanqiang, who works at an information technology company in Shanghai. Spending his weekdays teaching classes via Internet and weekends traveling between China's biggest cities including Shanghai and Guangzhou, for private classes, Ruan's business is booming. He started teaching his pick-up techniques in Beijing in 2008, after his post on "how to pick up girls" received thousands of replies online. "Guys that couldn't find a girlfriend think what I said works. They tried to approach me via the Internet and they tried to call me — it was only natural to start the private consulting business," says Ruan, adding he works on his own, and has no desire to grow the business. His class has been divided into two parts — theoretical and practical. "I'd bring students to places such as a popular shopping mall or university campus to practice ‘gut'," he says. The idea of "gut practicing" is simple — to get as many numbers as possible from women in the mall or campus. But before that, get some basic knowledge of a woman's way of thinking. Advice from a personal stylist is also necessary. A retired male model from South Korea is working with Ruan as the image consultant in Beijing to help his students. For an extra 1,000 yuan, he can design your hairstyle and take you shopping for two sets of clothes including shoes. Of course, the client has to pay the bill for the clothes. Source: China.org.cn

Read More........ → December 28, 2013

Berlusconi introduces his new First Lady – Francesca, 27

IT SEEMS that Silvio Berlusconi is back in the game in more ways than one. As the perma-tanned 76-year-old embarks on an unlikely bid to become prime minister of Italy for a fourth time, he has a new squeeze in tow who, at 27 years old, is almost 50 years his junior. Rumours that Berlusconi had been dating former TV showgirl Francesca Pascale were confirmed first by one his own MPs, Daniela Santanche, and then, according to The Times, in a "small item on page five of the Berlusconi family's newspaper, Il Giornale". Robert Fox: Don't write off the Demon king, Pascale, who was a pro-Berlusconi councillor in Naples and even founded a group called "Silvio We Will Miss You" when he was ousted from office in 2006, has been linked to Berlusconi since 2010, although they first met in 2004, when she was still a teenager. In 2011 her Smart car was spotted outside Berlusconi's Rome palazzo after his government collapsed. She has also been pictured alongside the former prime minister at AC Milan football matches. He owns the team. The Times also reports that Pascale and Berlusconi were spotted having dinner with his daughter, Marina, on Sunday night. At 46, Marina is old enough to be Pascale's mother. According to The Daily Telegraph, Pascale claims her life revolves around three things - her family, politics, and Signor Berlusconi."[She] is said to be jealous of the other women in his inner circle, including Mara Carfagna, a glamour model whom he appointed equal opportunities minister in his last government.” In the Italian media, Pascale has already been dubbed the country's new 'First Lady', even if her boyfriend is out of power currently. La Repubblica described Pascale as "enterprising" and "careerist" but others have queried her motives. "She, like all the others, was in search of success on TV and is now mysteriously in love with politics," sniffed blogger Elide Messineo. Meanwhile another former Berlusconi squeeze, teenage belly-dancer Karima El Mahroug, better known as Ruby the Heart Stealer, is back in the news after she missed a court date in Milan. Berlusconi is on trial for allegedly paying Roby for sex when she was underage. Her lawyer said she was in Mexico. Source: The Week UK

Read More........ → December 18, 2012