Birthday boy

When a bigwig has a birthday party, he makes sure the world hears about it. And when it’s a party to celebrate his 80th birthday, you can be certain that it’s going to be duly extravagant and extraordinary. One hears that real estate major DLF’s head honcho K.P. Singh is having just such a bash to ring in his 80th year. Only, it’s not one bash, but a series of them. Apparently, the celebrations for his 80th birthday, which fell on August 15, are still on. News is that Colombian singer Shakira(in pic) is to be flown in for a special performance. Attended by Bollywood celebs and corporate crorepatis, a three-day musical event will kick off next week. The grand old man of real estate will also release a book he has written. One hears that there’s more merriment lined up. But, alas, it’s being kept under wraps for the moment.

Southern song

Did Lucky Ali never hear the adage “when in Rome do as the Romans do”? Perhaps not. For until now, the singer had the dubious distinction of being a Bangalore boy who had never sung for a Kannada movie. Well, that’s going to change soon. Kannada filmmaker Indrajit Lankesh has finally convinced the singer with the soulful voice to hum a number for his forthcoming film, Dev S/ Muddegowda. Lankesh says that his childhood pal Lucky was always clear that he would sing a song for a Kannada movie only if it were a “fantastic track”. Now surely he didn’t make the same condition for singing in Bollywood movies?

Floor show

Ajay Devgn is not exactly known for his twinkle toes. But the hunky actor, who has made a foray into comedy in recent years, is obviously keen to reinvent his image on all fronts. So Devgn is all set to bring out his inner dancer for Airtel SuperStars, an awards show on Star Plus. This is, in fact, the first time he will be hitting the dance floor on an awards night. And he is taking the task very seriously too. He is supposed to showcase three different regional dance forms, and a little bird told us that he is practising hard to make sure that he gets his steps right on D-Day. Watch it, Hrithik Roshan, you may soon have competition.

Shapely shaper

Acting can help change the world. That’s the message oomphy Kannada actress Ramya is sending out. The reigning queen of Kannada films has been picked by the World Economic Forum — along with tennis player Rohan Bopanna and billiards champ Pankaj Advani — to be part of an elite group called Global Shapers 2011. The idea behind forming Global Shapers is to get young people from various disciplines on board so that they can bring fresh ideas and solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. Good to know that Ramya will soon be worrying her pretty head over challenges like world poverty.

Sikh and tired

Remember Puneet Issar? The actor who once played the evil Duryodhan in the TV serial Maha-bharat will now direct a film about the problems faced by Sikhs post 9/11. Issar, who has also written the script of I Am Singh, apparently researched the subject for four years to collect real instances of discrimination against Sikhs in the paranoid, post 9/11 world. “Sikhs have been living in the US for years. Yet after the 9/11 attack they were beaten up as they were taken for Arabs, Afghans or Muslims. This is what motivated me to make this film,” he says. But won’t his film be somewhat similar to movies like My Name is Khan and New York? Not quite. The latter showed the predicament of Muslims after 9/11, while Issar’s film will dwell on the victimisation of Sikhs. Well, nobody can say 9/11 is a dead issue, right?