Hrithik Roshan to unveil Krrish 3's first look on Facebook on Thursday

The film is Bollywood's first to launch its first look motion poster on the social media.

Hrithik Roshan fans will finally have something to look forward to as the makers of Krrish 3, the sequel to Koi Mil Gaya andKrrish, plan to release the film's first motion poster on social media on Thursday.

Krrish 3 is the first film in Bollywood to have planned such an extensive social media launch campaign, with the first day of the launch estimated to reach more than 50 million fans.

Sonakshi Sinha not in Dabangg 3

She reveals that D-3 will be a prequel, so her presence in the film is uncertain.

It’s all very hush-hush and producer-director Arbaaz Khan is keeping it under wraps. But the leading lady of the film lets on in an interview that the third part of theDabangg series will be a prequel. 

Dabangg is a big brand. It smashed many records when it released. Dabangg 2 was bigger than the first part and fans of Chulbul Pandey are eagerly awaiting the third installment of the series. It is now learnt that, in it’s next outing, the film won’t move the story forward but backwards! So naturally it won’t star Sonakshi Sinha as Salman Khan’s onscreen wife. Since the film dates back, it will be before Chulbul met Rajjo and will revolve around inspector Pandey and what made him the person he is. It would be interesting to see what they’ll call the prequel as it can’t be called Dabangg 3.

Talking about being a part of the famous franchise, Sonakshi says, “I don’t know if I will be in Dabangg 3. It all depends on the plot and how they want to take it forward. From what I have heard they want to make a prequel. If that’s the case I may not be in the film and that’s absolutely fine.” The actress says it won’t bother her if she finds herself disconnected from the third part of the film, “I will always be known as the Dabangg girl and that is what matters. If it was a continuation of the story I know for a fact that I would’ve definitely been part of Dabangg 3 but since it’s going back to before Chulbul met Rajjo, I am fine with it.” The film will go on the floors in 2015.

Uttarakhand floods: 10,000 dead? Cong squabbles over body count

Uttarakhand CM insists the death toll is less than 600, but assembly speaker says it could be 15 times higher.

The Uttarakhand Congress is playing politics over the bodies of flood victims in the state.

While Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay Bahuguna has been insisting that the official death toll is under 600 and has also asserted that the precise figure would be known only after the debris is removed, state assembly speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal on Saturday said that more than 10,000 people could have perished in the floods.

“On the basis of inputs that I have been receiving from the locals, I think the death toll could be more than 10,000,” Kunjwal said.

When questioned about the stark contrast with the official figure, he replied, “I’m told that the chief minister has given a death toll figure of 500. Here, I don’t want to create any controversy. I have arrived at this number of 10,000 based on my own assessment and I agree it could prove to be quite different later on.”

Kunjwal’s assessment brings out the difference in perception between the two major factions in the Uttarakhand Congress. Even the BJP has not played as much politics with the somewhat helpless government and exploited the situation to the extent that this other faction in the Congress has.

Bahuguna is the principal politician in the government faction while that led by Harish Rawat is known for its opposition to Bahuguna. Kunjwal is a Rawat loyalist, which explains his suspicion of government figures.

Explaining why he has arrived at this staggering figure of 10,000, the Congress leader from Almora further said that more than 15,000 thousand people were affected in the worst hit Kedarnath area alone. “Three days before the devastating flood, more than 15,000 pilgrims were stuck in the neighbourhood as nobody was allowed to have darshan because of a protest by local residents.” Locals in Kedarnath were protesting against private chopper services that were harming the businesses of thousands of locals.

“Apart from Kedarnath, I’m told that more than 12,000 pilgrims were stranded in all ghats. If I took into account the presence of such a huge number of pilgrims, I can definitely assure that the death figures would have crossed a minimum of 10,000,” Kunjwal explained.

On Saturday, bad weather interrupted the rescue operations in Kedarnath, Kedar valley and Guptkashi.

In Kedarnath, the focus was on cremating the bodies of victims to minimise the chances of an epidemic. The last rites of 34 bodies have been performed so far, and 12 more are likely to be cremated soon.

“Hundreds of decaying bodies are lying under the debris and some have even flown down the Ganga river. We need to remove the debris with utmost urgency, as any delay would result in the spread of an epidemic.” Kunjwal said.

However, the union health ministry has claimed that no epidemic or direct contact diseases have been reported from the affected areas, and a team of doctors is keeping strict vigil at Ground Zero.

Meanwhile, as the rescue operations entered the final stretch, the Indian Air Force on Saturday airlifted about 850 pilgrims from Badrinath and about 20 from Harisal by 26 IAF helicopters. Road network in the state has been badly damaged and about 1,500 people are still stuck in Badrinath.

The state government and other agencies are also trying to ensure supply of relief material to more than 600 villages in Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Uttarkashi districts, which were cut off after the floods.

Top news this week: Facebook could have a Reader, PS4 coming to India this year and many more!

W

e know the world is a very busy place and it's hard to keep track of everything that goes on in the tech world. So here’s a handy recap of the top news stories from this past week.

Facebook could have a Reader in the works too

Google's imminent exit from the RSS reader space might just have sparked other tech giants to fill the void. But we have word about Facebook bringing a similar service for mobile devices.

Nokia Asha 501 goes up for pre-order for Rs 5,199

Nokia Asha 501, a phone that was announced with much fanfare in India has now officially gone up for pre-order for Rs 5,199 on the company’s e-store.

Mid-range Samsung Galaxy Core on pre-order for Rs 15,350

Samsung’s mid-range smartphone Galaxy Core has been spotted on pre-order at a couple of online retailers. It has also made an appearance on the company’s official e-store, where it's said to be shipping from July 1 for Rs 15,350.

Latest iPhone 5S leak reveals dual-LED flash

The new leaks of iPhone 5S suggest a redesigned LED flash arrangement and many more.

Sony announces Xperia Z Ultra phablet, world's first Snapdragon 800-powered device

Sony unveiled its new smartphone, dubbed the Xperia Z Ultra. The phablet has a massive 6.44-inch display, making it the biggest smartphone that the company has made.

Amazon.in now sells smartphones, cameras and accessories

Amazon has enhanced the product offerings on its India marketplace with the launch of three new stores – Mobiles and Accessories, Cameras and Photography and Portable Media Players.

Official Facebook, Flipboard and NFL apps to come to Windows 8

Microsoft revealed the official versions of Facebook, Flipboard and NFL are about to make their way to Windows 8 as well as Windows RT.

Tata Docomo reduces 2G and 3G mobile Internet packs by 90%

Taking a cue from its rivals, Tata Docomo has announced its decision to slash 2G and 3G Internet rates from July 1 by 90 percent – from 10p/KB to 1p/KB.

Google working on Android-based console, new Nexus Q and smartwatch 

Reports suggest that Google is currently working on a game console powered by Android. The company is also planning to launch a new smartwatch based on the OS.

PlayStation 4 coming to India this year

PlayStation India Country Manager Atindrya Bose revealed that Sony is attempting a simultaneous launch of the console in both Europe and India.

Apple iOS 7 beta 2 brings improvements to Reminders, Weather and Siri

The latest beta version for iOS 7 is now available through Apple's over-the-air updating system on iOS devices and is scheduled for release in the later part of the year.

Samsung Galaxy S4 owners can test Android 4.3

Android updates aren't exactly the best kept secrets in the world, and as a result, the highly anticipated 4.3 update has been spotted once more. And this time you can actually use it. The update is available for the Google Play Edition Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505G) and the Snapdragon-powered version of the Galaxy S4 (GT-I9505), and it isn't through official channels. 

You can install the update if you have one of those devices by following these steps. However, be warned that doing so will void your warranty. You will need a rooted device with a custom recovery installed.

It was recently revealed that the Google Play Edition for the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One will not be getting updates from Google. Instead, updates for these devices will be handled by Samsung and HTC respectively. Both the devices have been found to run on different kernels than Nexus devices. 

Now try out Android 4.3 on your Google Play Edition Galaxy S4

The Galaxy S4 runs kernel version 3.4.0, while the HTC One has kernel version 3.4.10. Nexus 4 also has 3.4.0, but it's a different build. It makes sense for Google to not have the same kernel version for the two Google Edition phones. Samsung and HTC would best know their own hardware and can customise the kernel based on it. Since kernel updates will be seeded by Samsung and HTC, the OS updates will also follow from them.

The Google Edition S4 and One went on sale at the US Google Play Store this week. While the S4 is priced at $649 (Rs 39,000 approx), the HTC One with stock Android can be had for $599 (Rs 36,000 appox). Confused about which one to pick? Check out our Catch-22 article.

Nokia Asha 210 with dedicated WhatsApp button now up for pre-orders at Rs. 4,499

Nokia Asha 210 

Nokia Asha 210 is now up for pre-orders with online retailer Flipkart for Rs. 4,499. The phone wasunveiled back in April as the first phone in the world with a dedicated WhatsApp button.

Nokia Asha 210 is a dual-SIM phone that comes with a QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi connectivity and a free WhatsApp subscription for life. It features a 2.4-inches QVGA (240x320 pixels) display, a 2-megapixel camera, 32MB RAM, and 64MB internal storage, expandable by up to 32GB via microSD card.

Asha 210 comes with Nokia Xpress Browser which, according to Nokia, reduces data consumption by up to 90 percent. The phone also features Nokia Nearby, a web app that lets people discover points of interest such as restaurants, shopping and ATM machines close to their location. Other pre-installed apps include YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and of course, WhatsApp. The built-in email client comes with support for popular services such as Gmail.

Nokia Asha 210 comes with Bluetooth and FM radio but no 3G connectivity. The Black, Yellow, and White colour variants are now up for pre-orders on Flipkart, but the Cyan and Magenta are listed as 'Out of Stock' as of writing this post.

Nokia Asha 210 technical specifications

• 2.4-inch QVGA (240x320) display
• 32MB RAM
• 64MB internal storage, expandable up to 32GB
• 2-megapixel rear camera
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, USB, FM radio
• 111.5mm x 60mm x 11.8mm
• 99.5 grams
• 1200mAh battery
• Series 40 Asha

HTC One makes an appearance in 'Glamour Red'

HTC has officially showcased the 'Glamour Red' version of its One smartphone. Apart from this variant, HTC One is already available in two colour options - Black and Silver. There are also news reports suggesting that the Taiwanese smartphone maker is mulling to launch a Blue colour version of its flagship device.

This Glamour Red variant of HTC One will hit the retail shelves starting mid-July. It will be offered initially in UK through Phone4U and will be available in other European countries later. The unlocked price of the HTC One Glamour Red will be approximately £500 in UK.

Just to recap, HTC One features a 4.7-inch screen with 1080p display. It is powered by a 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor along with 2GB of RAM. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, NFC, Infrared and Micro-USB. The smartphone runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) along with a brand new Sense UI.

There has been a lot of buzz around the HTC One camera, as the company has ditched the conventional megapixel in favour of something that the company dubs as the UltraPixel camera. There is a 2.1-megapixel front camera and a 2,300mAh battery.

In India HTC One comes with 32GB of non-expandable storage, though a 64GB variant is available in other markets.

Looks like HTC is trying to imitate Samsung's strategy of launching various colour options and variants of its flagship smartphone. HTC had recently launched a variant of HTC One with stock Android that is now available on Google Play Store in US. HTC is also rumoured to be working on One mini that may debut in August.

                                                        HTC One: First look

HTC One key specifications

• 4.7-inch full-HD display
• 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor
• 2GB RAM
• 32GB internal storage
• UltraPixel camera
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, NFC, Infrared, Micro-USB
• 2,300mAh battery
• Android 4.1
• 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3mm
• 143g

Petrol prices up for 3rd time in June

NEW DELHI: State-run fuel retailers on Friday decided to raise petrol price by Rs 1.82 a litre, excluding state taxes, to pass on the impact of the falling rupee and the fuel's rising price in international trading hubs.

This is the third hike this month and the new prices would be affective intervening from Friday midnight. The actual increase at petrol pumps would be higher due to incremental increase in state levies.

Sources said the retailers are set to raise dieselprice by 40-50 paise a litre early next week in line with the government's January decision to gradually move to market pricing with hikes of small dozes.

The latest increase wipes out the impact of four reductions this year till May. "Since the last price change, the downward slide of rupee has continued and dollar-rupee exchange rate has deteriorated from Rs 57.08 to the greenback to Rs 58.94 during the fortnight," IndianOil Corporation said in a statement.

Besides, international gasoline - trade name for petrol — prices have also increased from $113.84 per barrel to $115.29 a barrel since the last price change, IOC said explaining the need for the latest hike.

The combined impact of depreciating rupee and rising international prices warranted the increase in petrol prices by Rs 1.82 per litre, excluding VAT.

The depreciating rupee has led to widening of losses on diesel and cooking fuel. Oil firms are now losing Rs 8.60 per litre on diesel compared to Rs 6.31 previously. Diesel prices have been hiked on five occasions since January when the government authorized state-owned oil firms to increase prices by up to 50 paisa per litre every month till entire losses on the fuel are wiped out.

Since diesel price was hiked by 50 paisa, excluding VAT, on June 1, the next increase will happen at the month end. Oil firms are losing Rs 30.53 per litre on kerosene sold through public distribution system and Rs 368.50 per 14.2-kg cooking gas cylinder.

"Estimated under-recovery of IOC on sale of these three sensitive products is expected to be around Rs 63,000 crore for the fiscal 2013-14 (industry estimates at around Rs 118,000 crore)," IOC said.

Tata DoCoMo to slash 2G, 3G Internet rates by 90 percent from July 1

Joining the bandwagon of companies slashing mobile Internet tariffs, telecom operator Tata Docomo Tuesday announced a cut in its 2G and 3G mobile Internet rates by a whopping 90 percent from 10 paise to 1 paisa per kilobytes from July 1.

"This (the offer) will increase data penetration across segments and a 90 percent discount will serve as a customer friendly yet clear differentiator for our customers," Tata Docomo's Head of Marketing Gurinder Singh Sandhu said in a statement.

The revised tariffs will be applicable on 2G mobile Internet packs offered by the company on recharging value of Rs. 126 (2GB for 30 days), Rs. 149 (2.5GB for 30 days) and Rs. 249 (3GB for 60 days) and 3G data pack - Rs. 255 (2GB for 30 days), the statement said.

"Once customers exhaust their free 2G or 3G data quantum, they can continue to access high speed mobile Internet by paying only 1 paise per 10 kb instead of the earlier 10 paise per 10 kb data," it added.

Last week, three companies - Vodafone, Airtel and Idea Cellular had slashed mobile Internet rates in select service areas by up to 90 percent.

However, the reduction announced by Tata Docomo will be applicable across 19 service area where it provides GSM technology-based services.

The company would extend this discount to customers even when they are on national roaming on Tata Docomo GSM network.

Upcoming Bollywood Movies In 2013

   List of Upcoming Bollywood Movies In #2013

                                                Dhoom 3

Dhoom 3 (English: Blast 3) is an upcoming Hindi action thriller film, written and directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya and produced by Aditya Chopra. It will be the third installment of the popular Dhoom series. Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra will reprise their roles as Jai Dixit and Ali Khan while Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif  form the antagonist duo. Dhoom 3 will be released on 25 December 2013 in regular 2D and IMAXformats.

Cast 

• Aamir Khan as Jordan
• Abhishek Bachchan as A.C.P Jai Dixit
• Katrina Kaif
• Uday Chopra as Ali
• Jackie Shroff
• Tabrett Bethell

                             Shaadi Ke Side Effects

Shaadi Ke Side Effects is an upcoming Bollywood Romantic comedy film which will be directed by Saket Chaudhary and produced by Pritish Nandy and Rangita Pritish Nandy. It will star Vidya Balan and Farhan Akhtar in leads. It is a sequel to the film Pyaar Ke Side Effects (2006) and it is scheduled to be released in 2013

Cast 

• Vidya Balan as Trisha
• Farhan Akhtar as Sid
• Hariharan
• Vir Das
• Ram Kapoor
• Gautami Kapoor

                               Gori Tere Pyaar Mein

Gori Tere Pyaar Mein (Translation: Oh Fair Skinned Girl, In Your Love) is a 2013 Indian romantic comedy film written and directed by Punit Malhotra. Produced by Karan Johar and Hiroo Yash Johar under the banner of Dharma Productions, the film features Imran Khan, Kareena Kapoorand Shraddha Kapoor in pivotal roles.

Cast 

• Imran Khan
• Kareena Kapoor
• Shraddha Kapoor
• Nizhalgal Ravi
• Esha Gupta in item number

                                   Krrish 3

Krrish 3 is an upcoming Bollywood superhero science fiction film. The film will be produced and directed by Rakesh Roshan. The film will continue the story of Rohit Mehra and his superhero son Krrish, after Koi... Mil Gaya and Krrish, this being the third film of the Krrish film series. Both the earlier films have received blockbuster status at the box office. The film will be released during Diwali 2013 along with its 3D format on November 3, 2013.

Cast 

• Hrithik Roshan as Krishna Mehra (Krrish) and Rohit Mehra
• Priyanka Chopra as Priya Mehra
• Vivek Oberoi as "Kaal" the antagonist ^[5]
• Kangna Ranaut as Kaya
• Arif Zakaria as Nuclear Scientist
• Shaurya Chauhan as the female antagonist
• Archana Puran Singh as Priya Mehra's boss
• Rekha as Sonia Mehra (special appearance)
• Vrajesh Hirjee

                                     Besharam

Besharam is an upcoming Bollywood comedy film directed by Abhinav Kashyap. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Pallavi Sharda and is scheduled to release in October 2013. Filming for Besharam was scheduled to commence on December 10, 2012, with part of it taking place on a film set in Film City, Mumbai.

The film's tagline has been stated as "Na sammaan ka moh, na apmaan ka bhay", translated as "No want for respect, no fear of disrespect"

Cast 

• Ranbir Kapoor as Triple-M
• Pallavi Sharda
• Rishi Kapoor
• Neetu Singh

          Satyagraha – Democracy Under Fire

Satyagraha – Democracy Under Fire is an upcoming Bollywood political thriller film directed by Prakash Jha starring Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai, Amrita rao and Vipin Sharma in the lead roles. Kareena Kapoor will play the role of an international journalist. Current situations inspired Jha to make Satyagraha. The first look of the film was released on September 10, 2012. Satyagraha is slated to release on August 23, 2013. The trailer was released online on May 30,2013 and the trailer was attached with Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.

Cast 

• Amitabh Bachchan

Plays a man who is a firm believer of truth and an inherent believer of society who wants his son to give back to society and the nation all that they have given him. He is like a new age Gandhi.

• Ajay Devgn

He represents shining India and is a brilliant entrepreneur who uses the ways of the world to get what he wants.

• Kareena Kapoor

Is a hard headed TV reporter out on the field and she digs deep and as an opinion. A very strong connect with Ajay but equally when they clash on ideologies they break up and reunite when he comes back to his principles.

• Arjun Rampal

Plays the role of a strong socially committed to become a politician. He studied in the same school of which Amitabh Bachchan was the principal.

• Manoj Bajpai

Plays the character of the wily young politician who uses every means to break the system. He is the real threat to democracy.

• Vipin Sharma as Gauri Shankar, the leader of the opposition.

• Amrita Rao as daughter-in-law of Amitabh's role 
• Anjali Patil
• Indraneil Sengupta