Composer Nadeem Saifi, SRK emotional, IIFA Nominated films, Alia bhatt Highway, whats App & facebook

How WhatsApp buyout will help Facebook in India

NEW DELHI: Its $19 billion buyout of WhatsApp will help Facebook expand footprint in emerging markets of Latin America and Asia, especially India, where the mobile instant messaging app is very popular.

Founded in 2009 by Ukrainian Jan Koum and American Brian Acton, Mountain View (California)-headquartered WhatsApp is a Silicon Valley start-up with over 450 million monthly users.

It allows users to exchange text, pictures and videos using smartphones. The app is very popular among youth across Europe, Latin America, parts of Asia including India, where Facebook is beefing up its presence.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said messaging is a "very competitive space" and WhatsApp is a "clear global leader".

"It (WhatsApp) is in Europe, Latin America, India... Its kind of a clear leader," he told analysts on a concall.

The focus will be on simplicity, speed and reliability and "something that does not clutter the app with features and over time, people will pay for that", he added.

"WhatsApp has built a leading and rapidly growing real time mobile messaging service, with over 450 million people using the service each month, messaging volume approaching the entire global telecom SMS volume and continued strong growth, currently adding more than 1 million new registered users per day," Facebook said.

Facebook CFO David Ebersman said the focus is now on growing the platform over the next five years.

"Considering that messaging in the number one activity on smartphones and the direct messaging business is about $100 billion globally for telecom carriers, our focus is on the next 5 years," he added.

On the acquisition and monetisation, Zuckerberg said: "Our explicit strategy for the next several years is to focus on growing and connecting everyone in the world.

"WhatsApp has a strong presence internationally...but it's a fragmented market with many competitors. Outpacing them right now is critical. Once we get to be a service with 1 billion, 2 billion, 3 billion people, there are many clear ways that we can monetise," he said.

Koum, who expects the smartphone userbase globally to touch 5 billion in the next few years, said the alliance with Facebook will give WhatsApp "the flexibility to grow and expand, while giving me, Brian, and the rest of our team more time to focus on building a communications service that's as fast, affordable and personal as possible."

WhatsApp is the biggest acquisition till date for the Menlo Park-headquartered firm. In 2012, it had acquired picture-sharing app Instagram for about $1 billion. Last year, its $3 billion-bid to acquire photo sharing app Snapchat got turned down.

Facebook, which expects to close the deal his year, will pay WhatsApp $4 billion in cash, $12 billion in stocks and another $3 billion in restricted stock that vests over several years.




Alia Bhatt Organises Special Screening of 'Highway' for Family, Friends 

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Actress Alia Bhatt hosted a special screening of her much-awaited upcoming film "Highway" at PVR, Mumbai. The screening was attended by Alia's family and friends.
Among those seen at the event were Alia's parents Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan, uncle Mukesh Bhatt, actress Shazahn Padamsee, producer Bhushan Kumar, as well as the film's director Imtiaz Ali. Alia's stepsister actress Pooja Bhatt was also present at the screening.
"Highway" is Alia's second film after her debut hit - the Karan Johar directorial "Student of the Year" (2012).
"Highway" is understood to be a story about a kidnapped young city girl, who finds her freedom in the journey with her kidnapper. The music of the film was composed by AR Rahman.
Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, the film is all set to release on Friday.

Nominations for IIFA Awards 2014

                            

Best Film
Aditya Chopra - Dhoom 3
Karan Johar - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Kishore Lulla & Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Goliyon Ki Rasleela-Ramleela
Rakesh Roshan - Krrish 3
Ronnie Screwvala & Siddharth Roy Kapoor - Kai Po Che
Ronnie Screwvala,Siddharth Roy Kapoor, Gauri Khan & Karim Morani - Chennai Express
Viacom 18 Motion Pictures & Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Best Director
Abhishek Kapoor - Kai Po Che
Rakesh Roshan - Krrish 3
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Rohit Shetty - Chennai Express
Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Goliyon Ki Rasleela- Ramleela

Performance in a Leading Role (Male)
Farhan Akhtar - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Hrithik Roshan - Krrish 3
Ranbir Kapoor - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Ranveer Singh - Goliyon Ki Rasleela-Ramleela
Shahrukh Khan - Chennai Express
Sushant Singh Rajput - Kai Po Che

Perfomance in a Leading Role (Female)
Deepika Padukone - Chennai Express
Deepika Padukone - Goliyon Ki Rasleela- Ramleela
Deepika Padukone - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Nimrat Kaur - The Lunchbox
Shraddha Kapoor - Aashiqui 2
Sonakshi Sinha – Lootera

Performance in a Supporting Role (Male)
Aditya Roy Kapoor - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Anupam Kher - Special 26
Nawazuddin Siddiqui - The Lunchbox
Pawan Malhotra - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Saurabh Shukla - Jolly LLB

Performance in a Supporting Role (Female)
Divya Dutta - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Kalki Koechlin - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Kangana Ranaut - Krrish 3
Richa Chadda - Goliyon Ki Rasleela-Ramleela
Shruti Hassan - D Day
Swara Bhaskar – Raanjhanaa

Performance in a Comic Role
Arshad Warsi - Jolly LLB
Riteish Deshmukh - Grand Masti
Varun Sharma – Fukrey

Performance in a Negative Role
Rishi Kapoor - D-Day
Rishi Kapoor – Aurangzeb
Supriya Pathak - Goliyon Ki Rasleela- Ramleela
Vivek Oberoi - Krrish 3

Music Direction
Mithoon, Ankit Tiwari,Jeet Ganguly - Aashiqui 2
Pritam - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Shankaar - Ehsaan – Loy - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Best Story
Prasoon Joshi - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Pubali Chaudhuri, Abhishek Kapoor & Chetan Bhagat - Kai Po Che
Ritesh Batra - The Lunchbox

Lyrics
Mithoon - Tum Hi Ho - Aashiqui 2
Prasoon Joshi - O Rangrez - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Sandeep Nath - Sunn Raha Hai - Aashiqui 2

Playback Singer (Male)
Ankit Tiwari - Sunn Rahai Hai - Aashiqui 2
Arijit Singh - Tum Hi Ho - Aashiqui 2
Siddharth Mahadevan – Zinda - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Playback Singer (Female)
Bhoomi Trivedi - Ram Chahe Leela - Goliyon Ki Rasleela – Ramleela
Monali Thakur - Sawaar Loon – Lootera
Shreya Ghoshal - Sunn Raha Hai - Aashiqui 2
Shreya Ghoshal - O Rangrez - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Shah Rukh Khan gets emotional after watching documentary made on Kolkata Knight Riders

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan got nostalgic and teary-eyed on February 20 while seeing the raw footage of a documentary film made on his IPL team - Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) - and felt that winning does matter a lot.

SRK's Red Chillies Entertainment had bought the IPL team in 2008 in partnership with actor Juhi Chawla and her businessman husband Jay Mehta.

The documentary Living with KKR will air from February 24-27 on Discovery channel.

The film will trace the graph of the team, which initially failed to impress with its performance in the first four seasons. It was only in 2012 that KKR managed to bounce back and became champions of the cash-rich T20 league beating Chennai Super Kings.

"It looks very nice. I got emotional. It made me cry. I want to thank my team KKR and everyone associated with it. It is not a PR or marketing tool. We had a great learning experience. I am glad we made interesting journey for people, youngsters to look at us," Shah Rukh said here. "I think winning does matter. It does make a Difference. It makes you feel stronger. If you win then a documentary will be made on you. So I would say one must go and win," he said remembering how his team has grown over the years.

SRK says the learning lesson throughout their entire journey was to stick to your goals and dreams, working hard. The documentary will have the voiceover of SRK. He will talk about the journey, his love for Kolkata, equation with Sourav Ganguly, the first captain of the team, other players, and how the team emerged a winner after a shaky start.

"It is tough to make films than this. I want to make my team more strong and passionate. I did feel sad when we lost nine matches in a row but I never showed my anger or scolded n the players or anyone. As I did feel that the players too were disappointed not winning the match. They did not lose any match purposely," SRK said.

However, SRK did reveal that KKR co-owner Juhi is superstitious about the team.

"It was she who felt the black color T-shirt was not doing good to the team and hence we changed the color. But when our team used to bat first, I used to leave late from the hotel thinking if we lose wickets early it is difficult to smile and cheer in front of people," he said.

"On the day of our final match the one that we won I did pray for every ball. I told my daughter I will make sure we win not by playing but praying," SRK added.

Kolkata Knight Riders is the first IPL team to have a documentary film made on them. King Khan is happy with the current team that they are having for this season

Composer Nadeem Saifi wants to come back to India to see parents

Bollywood composer Nadeem Saifi, living in self-exile in Britain since he was accused of involvement in music tycoon Gulshan Kumar's murder in 2000, wants to return to India to see his parents.
One half of the successful Nadeem-Shravan duo, Saifi was implicated 16 years ago in the killing of Kumar, the boss of his record label T-Series, but has claimed his innocence ever since.
In 2002, a British judge ruled the case against him had not been proved but his arrest warrant has never been withdrawn in India. "I don't want to die without getting justice," Saifi told BBC's Asian Network.
The musician broke down in tears as he spoke to the radio station, saying: "I don't want my parents to die without hearing that I was innocent. "My parents are lying ill in their beds, I so much want to see them. I deserve this justice, it's high time now." Saifi was on holiday in the UK in 1997 when Kumar was shot dead by assailants outside a temple in suburban Mumbai. He soon became a prime suspect in the murder.
At the request of Mumbai police, the Indian government sought Saifi's extradition but the musician's legal team maintained the police's evidence was flawed. After an extended legal battle, he successfully avoided extradition. A British High Court ruled that "the accusation of murder and conspiracy made against this applicant is not made in good faith and in the interests of justice".
The verdict was later upheld by the House of Lords when the Indian government appealed.
Saifi must appear in an Indian court for his warrant to be cancelled but fears he will not get a fair hearing. He has suggested his implication in the murder case was part of a larger conspiracy. "It was just an act of jealousy from certain people who thought, 'Let's nail this good-looking hunk of a guy,'" he told BBC.
Saifi is now planning a musical comeback and reportedly working in Dubai on some projects but is yet to confirm a release date for his new material.