Farah with Rahul: Emotionally yoursKirsten Dunst: Roles galore

n She?s only 22 years old, but quite a screen veteran. Kirsten Dunst has appeared in 70 commercials and wowed viewers in over 40 films. The New Jersey-born girl had her first screen kiss with Brad Pitt, as a 12-year-old in Interview With The Vampire. In fact, not only did she make a mark in the film on audiences and critics, but Tom Cruise later described her as ?mature?.

She?s no ordinary gal, is this LA resident of Swedish-German descent. The blonde beauty turned down the role of Angela, in American Beauty, later played by Mena Suvari, not because she?s a prude, but the little lady has principles she?s not ready to compromise.

Kirsten has played many a myriad role in her career, from the headstrong sexually rebellious Lux Lisbon in Sophia Coppola?s The Virgin Suicides, to damsel in distress Mary Jane Watson in the Spider-Man films, which shot her to international stardom.

Jumanji, Little Women, Get Over It, Bring It On, Wimbledon, Mona Lisa Smile, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? she?s been busy.

Her upcoming projects are just as eclectic. Elizabethtown, co-starring Orlando Bloom, is a romantic drama. Mary Antoinette, based on Antonia Fraser?s biography, will see her team up with Coppola again, with Kirsten playing the French queen. In 2007, she?s back spinning webs with Toby Maguire in the third edition of Spider-Man.

On the small screen, catch her in Levity, on STAR World this month, a moving emotional drama about a convict who seeks redemption for killing a teenage girl during a bank robbery. Twenty years later, he?s out of prison and doing community service with a priest.

Co-starring Billy Bob Thornton, Morgan Freeman and Holly Hunter, it?s a heart-warming tale of justice.

n After directing Fida, Ken Ghosh is back to where he belongs. The small screen, that is. Ghosh has conceptualised a fast-paced fun-filled serial on all those youths who dream of making it big in Bollywood and the people who help them shape up to survive the ruthless world of showbiz.

Apart from a bunch of fresh faces, ADA: Acting and Dance Academy features Nirmal Pandey and Deepshikha as two failed aspirants who now form the faculty of the school.

?It?s not based on any particular acting school but on all those aspiring youths who enroll in the acting schools. This (the serial) isn?t anything new for me, as I have been a TV producer for long,? says Ghosh, planning his next feature film.

But beneath the students? struggle to learn the tricks of the trade, ADA also tracks the equations between their relationships, ambitions and heartbreaks.

To be directed by Partha Mitra, each episode will be spiced up with a lot of music, including film tracks. A new song sequence will be shot every four episodes. ADA airs on SaharaOne from January 17 at 9 pm.

n The twists and turns in Indian Idol had even the three judges shocked last week as one of the favourites, Rahul Saxena, was ousted from the contest. Farah Khan shed tears, Sonu Nigam had his head between his hands and Anu Malik could just exclaim in utter disbelief.

Rahul has always been a favourite with not only the judges but also the other contestants. When the last three candidates were left ? Abhijeet Sawant, Ravinder Ravi and Rahul Saxena ? Farah made it very clear that if Rahul was voted out, she would definitely cry. And that?s what happened.

With all the contestants and judges shaken up, Rahul sang his goodbye song in tears, with everyone giving him a standing ovation.

Arguably the most emotional episode of Indian Idol till date, also resulted in some pleasantly shocking announcements. An emotionally charged Farah who is working on the music of her new film Happy New Year along with Anu Malik declared that Rahul Saxena will be a playback singer for the film.

That?s the magic of this talent hunt show. So even though Rahul couldn?t win the coveted tag of Indian Idol, he does get a platform from where he can only soar higher.

During the Calcutta launch of the show, Farah had also declared that Usha Uthup will sing a song for her next film. With so many promises to keep, Happy New Year better be a musical.

As for Indian Idol, well, after Zayed Khan it will be the turn of Juhi Chawla to be the new celebrity judge this week.

n Two voices from Calcutta have made it to the zonal rounds of Samsung [V] Super Singer, the nationwide quest ?to seek the voice which will become the country?s next singing sensation?.

Mala K. and Kaushiki Gupta have reached the zonal level after matching vocal prowess with more than 100 others in the city-level first round. The journey to stardom gets closer with the announcement of the West-zone Zonal rounds in Mumbai.

It?s a turning point for many like Nandkishore who journeyed by train from Jharkhand. Look out for Mala who was accompanied by her husband to the contest. For Pinky, it?s about fulfilling her oath of becoming a singer. Enjoy a musical feast at the west-zone finals on Thursday, at 9 pm, where the finalists from Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Calcutta and Indore battle it out in the classical, Bollywood, and pop categories with Adnan Sami in the judge?s seat. ?Did you make it to the next round?? Neither Calcuttan is speaking.