AJ Lee not expected to return to WWE any time soon

AJ Lee not expected to return to WWE any time soon

Don’t expect to see former WWE Diva’s Champion AJ Lee back any time soon.

After more than a month away from WWE, CM Punk announced during his visit to Wrigley Field last weekend that he and Lee were set to marry next month. The likelihood of Lee returning to WWE prior to the engagement is unlikely.

Despite being advertised heavily for the WWE’s current European tour—one of the most important tours of the year for the company—she won’t be joining the rest of the roster.

The 27-year old Lee was last seen on WWE programming April 7, as her 295-day Diva’s title reign came to a screeching halt, as she was abruptly defeated by the debuting Paige. Many expected a re-match to be scheduled for the following Extreme Rules pay-per view, but in Lee’s absence, her bodyguard Tamina instead received the title shot.

Lee’s fiancée CM Punk has had an estranged relationship with World Wrestling Entertainment after walking out on the company in January. It has been speculated that Lee may be finished with WWE altogether. The two have kept quiet publicly, rarely tweeting since their departures, and not talking about the WWE during public appearances.

Modi As Prime Minister

With Modi As Prime Minister, Hope For A New Start For India's Economy

The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies are headed for a thumping majority in the 543-seat Indian parliament and Narendra Modi is India’s new prime minister-designate.

The numbers give Modi the hand to form a strong and stable government, freeing him from the challenge of aligning with capricious regional partners. The clear trends in the results sent the Mumbai Stock Exchange’s Sensex roaring past the 25,000-point mark by 10 a.m. in the morning.

The numbers for Modi and his National Democratic Alliance (NDA) indicate that the Nehru-Gandhi dynastic rule through the Congress Party has been stopped in its tracks. The family-led Congress has reigned for 54 of the 67 years of independent India. Most regional family-run parties too did not perform too well in the nation-wide election.

What Modi can achieve is still a question but the election of a strong, decisive government in Delhi can certainly change the national mood. The atmosphere has been somber recently after quarter-on-quarter of slow growth, rising inflation and increased public borrowing. A new, business-friendly government is virtually a new start for the economy.

Winning a grueling, five-week long, 550-million votes election is only the beginning as Modi will have his task cut out for him – reviving India’s sputtering economy by bringing about financial reform, creating jobs, giving incentives to the private sector and encouraging young entrepreneurs.

In recent quarters India, the so-called emerging markets giant, has been caught in a cycle of rising inflation and flagging growth. Trapped up in the worst post-liberalization economic phase, the country slowed from blazing, double-digit GDR growth rates to half that, around 5%, in recent years.

Retail inflation averaged 10 percent last year, as prices of daily essentials such as onions shot up and pinched India’s millions of poor who survive on less than $2 a day. Industrial production has steadily fallen in the past months. The rupee fell steeply against the dollar last year.

The new government needs no less than a magic wand to wave at the wheezing economy. Modi will have to immediately kick start the reform process in an economy that has been paralysed by an inept leadership and corruption scandals, such as those concerning the auction of 2G telecom spectrum which led to the jailing of the country’s telecom minister.

Modi has appeared in 3D hologram incarnations at election rallies in hundreds of locations across the country, promising ‘vikas’ or development to the masses and pledging to replicate countrywide the Gujarat model of economic growth, progress during his 12-year rule as the chief minister of that western state.

ENTERTAINMENT

Meet Bollywood Star Priyanka Chopra, Guess Clothing's First Indian Spokesmodel   

MAY 13, 2014 – 2:30 PM 

(Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for DIFF)

Priyanka Chopra is a name and face you won’t soon forget. A top Bollywood star who’s appeared in over 40 films, the former Miss World, 31, recently became the newest face for Guess — and the brand’s first-ever spokesmodel from India. Recently we sat down with the multi-talented actress and singer in New York City and discovered that, in addition to being one of the most staggeringly beautiful women we’ve ever met, she’s also the kind of laid-back, cool girl we’d hang out with every day if we could.   

What does it mean to you to be the first Indian Guess Girl? 
I’ve always admired Guess’s iconic black and white ads, not to mention that all of the former Guess Girls are so timelessly beautiful. Being the first brown face for the brand, and having a role in changing the idea of what the girl next door looks like, is so incredibly humbling and makes me so proud.

Your skin is flawless. Can you let us in on a few of your beauty secrets? 
I apply Greek yogurt all over my skin, let it sit, and then rinse it off in the shower. It helps revitalize my skin and keep it soft. I also use coconut oil on my hair. My grandmother taught me that massaging coconut oil into your scalp increases circulation and helps your hair grow. I also change my moisturizer every 6 months. I kill my skin every day with super heavy makeup when I’m shooting, so I try to change moisturizers often because I think it’s important to trick your skin for optimal results. I love SKII products and La Prairie. I also take off my makeup every night before bed no matter how tired I am.

How is beauty different in India compared to the US? Do you find there is more emphasis placed on certain attributes here vs. there? 
I think women want to look and feel beautiful wherever they’re from. In India we use more natural beautifying methods, as well as oils and Ayurvedic products.

Music is also something you’re passionate about. Tell us about your latest single, an EDM version of the Bonnie Raitt classic, “I Can’t Make You Love Me.”
Actually, Bonnie Raitt’s version of “I Can’t Make You Love Me” is one of the reasons I wanted to become a musician. When I was growing up, this song had such an impact on my life and really helped get me through many troubling times. And Bonnie’s vocals are incredible – you can literally feel her raw emotion when you listen to that song. That’s probably the reason why, after seconds of hearing the EDM demo of this song, I knew I had to record it for my album. It was fate…love at first listen!

Your first single, “In My City,” featuring will.i.am, was the theme song for the NFL Network’s 2013 season, but not everyone had a positive reaction to you in America. How did that make you feel?
It was very hurtful when people called me a terrorist, as well as the other racist comments that were made. No one wants to be called names or hated by others because of the way they look…especially because many of these people didn’t know anything about me or where I came from. But with change growing pains should be expected, and I’m just so honored to be pioneering that change to some degree. The best way to silence the haters is to keep achieving.

Thank God He Failed JEE

I hope lots and lots of parents in the country read about how Venkataraman Ramakrishnan who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry this year could not clear either the medical entrance or the JEE – an examination which a late mathematics teacher of mine used to aptly call giant entrance.

The monstrous proportions the examination assumes in the psyche of the average Indian middle class parent – to this day – makes me sometimes wonder why we do not officially start calling it the giant entrance. At least the grind will then come with some humour.

Ramakrishnan’s statement nevertheless will come as a welcome straw to clutch on to for many a hapless eighteen-year-old trying to convince their parents about the futility of wasting time on trying for a medical or engineering seat when pastures greener – to them definitely – beckon.

Like I was 13 years ago, missing classes and getting an earful from my irate HoD almost every alternate week thanks to my parents’ obsession with making me don the white coat and the stethoscope. I failed – thank god for small mercies – but by then I had already ended up in a course, which I was told would help me in my (eventually non-existent) medical studies instead of English that I wanted to pursue. A Radhakrishnan with a Nobel Prize and a JEE failed stamp would have been such a saviour.

I have often wondered about the fixation since then. I mean most of my friends who killed the giant then do not seem to be any better or any worse placed in the world than me. Yet the single-minded pursuit of parents has definitely not ended, going by the advertisements in newspapers and the posters around IIT Delhi and Katwaria Sarai.

No number of 3 Idiots and Munnabhais can possibly change the Indian parent’s fascination with the degrees MBBS and BE and when I look around I actually long for the days when JEE was the only way in.

No I am not against private colleges in principle but simply that back then one at least had the option of not preparing seriously enough for the examination or simply dozing off during it to scuttle all parental conspiracies of harvesting a doctor or an engineer “in the family”. With no private colleges and banks yet to aggressively market educational loans, that was more or less the green signal to do whatever one wanted.

 No such luck now. Pity. May be we could have had a few more Nobles otherwise. Or Pullitzers. Or Magsaysay. Or Booker. The works, you know…

Katrina and I discuss everything under the sun

Katrina and I discuss everything under the sun But Katrina is not in Kabir Khan's next starring Salman Khan. The director explains why. Excerpts from an interview... How is the chemistry between Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif in your next film, Phantom? Amazing! Both enjoyed working with each other and it will show on screen.  Kareena Kapoor visited the sets of Phantom and bonded with Katrina, her arch rival. Were you the mediator? Kareena came twice, during the Beirut and the Punjab schedules. She and Katrina were very comfortable in each other's company. The ‘Two actresses can never be friends’ perception is nothing but a myth.  Few months ago, rumours were rife that Katrina and Ranbir had parted ways. Did it affect her work on the sets? Katrina is a family friend and very close to me. She and I discuss everything under the sun, professional andpersonal. But she is too much of a professional to let her personal problems affect her work. Whatever discussions happened, took place after the work for the day was over.  Katrina and you have done three films together--New York, Ek Tha Tiger and Phantom--back-toback. We presume she is in your next film too, starring Salman Khan? No, she isn't.  Why not? The role doesn’t suit her.  Is it because Salman doesn't want to work with her? In an interview to Mirror (January 10), he said that he prefers to stay away from his exes... No, that is not the reason. He was not dating Katrina when they did Ek Tha Tiger. I think I've answered your question.  With Phantom, you must be under a lot of pressure to repeat the success of Ek Tha Tiger, the film that redefined the numbers game? No. Films should be judged according to their budget. You can’t break records with every film (smiles). Imight feel that pressure when I begin my next film with Salman.  Surely producer Sajid Nadiadwala would want to score a hat-trick with Phantom which follows in the wake of the success of Highway and 2 States? (Laughs) Then that pressure is on Sajid. His directorial debut, Kick, hits the theatres before my Phantom.  Isn't Phantom S. Hussain Zaidi's (journalist and author) idea? Yes, Hussain initiated the thought. He happened to tell me about his next book and asked me if I would be interested in making a film on it. The premise was so exciting that I couldn’t wait for him to complete the book. I suggested that he and I start developing the book and the screenplay simultaneously. The book and the film will release around the same time.  Buzz is, your price as a director has escalated to Rs 12-15 crore... I won’t answer that question with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’. All I'll say is that it’s good that directors are finally getting paid well. I don’t know what I deserve (laughs). Maybe I am getting lesser than my worth, but I am happy. Kabir with Katrina and Saif on the sets of Phantom

BOLLYWOOD TAMASHA WILL CONTINUE…

BOLLYWOOD TAMASHA WILL CONTINUE… Pallavi Sharda refutes rumours that she has quit showbiz after the Besharam debut, is excited about playing a tamasha dancer and a real life murderer

Ranbir Kapoor’s Besharam lady vanished from the spotlight after the film’s debacle but Pallavi Sharda insists that the absence was not intentional. She had already started shooting for Bambai Fairytale and after the release of her debut film, she took off for a schedule in Gujarat. Plus, there was her charity work and first international project. The Indo-Australian actress will play Anu Singh, a law school graduate who was tried for the murder of her boyfriend Joe Cinque. Anu was found guilty of manslaughter after a trial which was chronicled in Helen Garner’s 2004 non-fiction book, Joe Cinque’s Consolation—A True Story of Death, Grief and The Law. “Our backgrounds are pretty similar since I’m an Indo-Australian who also went to law school but I’ve never wanted to kill anyone,” says the actress, who is the only Indian in the cast of the Australian film which is expected to roll this year. Will she meet Anu? “That’s the director’s call. Even Helen didn’t meet her. We are following the book closely. We may even go with the same title,” says Pallavi. Meanwhile, she’s wrapping up Vibhu Puri’s directorial debut which is the biopic of Shivkar Bapuji Talpade who constructed and flew India’s first unmanned airplane in 1895. The original aircraft, named Marutsakha, has been reconstructed for this period film and although Pallavi hasn’t flown in it yet, she describes the experience of sitting in it as “magical”.      “It’ll transport you to another era,” says the actress who is playing a tamasha dancer from the 1890s, more involved in Talpade’s creative experiment than one would expect. “I’m Ayushmann’s (Khuranna) leading lady. It was a challenge to learn a form of dance very different from Besharam’s Bollywood jhatkas."      Prod her on the Besharam experience and unlike her co-stars Ranbir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, who have since spoken out against the film, she surprises you by calling it a "positive experience" despite the bad reviews and dismal box-office performance. “Today people know me because of the film,” she says. “I was cast because the character’s personality and background was quite like mine. My parents are from Delhi and I’m a Punjabi too. But I’ve learnt not to have any expectations.”      Did she re-connect with the Kapoors after the film’s release? “No, I haven’t. They are busy people. But I have fond memories of them. They are a nice, normal family and foodies like me. I caught Ranbir trying to smuggle mishti doi from the Bengali restaurant we’d gone to for lunch,” she laughs.      The film's director Abhinav Kashyap has been working on a script. If he offered her another role would she accept, given the rumours about a brewing romance between them which lead to him allegedly extending her role at the cost of the script?      “It’s entirely up to him. I’d love to work with Abhinav and the team again. Since I wasn’t giving many interviews, some people decided to put out their own content for the media. You just have to read the original script to know that my role wasn’t extended. These rumours were upsetting. He’s a family man and I sob every time I leave my parents in Melbourne. It was my dad who called to tell me that Abhinav and I were being linked but he knew there was nothing to it," she says.      And what about rumours that she was all set to pack up her bags and quit Bollywood after Besharam? “I don’t think of myself as an actress stuck in one place but Mumbai is the home I come back to. Everything I own is in my apartment. I have fought hard to get where I am today. Why would I give it all up?” she asks, adding, “Acting is about being a character and living the moment. It’s far more fun than the acting we do in real life.”

Tiger Shroff and I are different, so there can’t be rumours about us

Tiger Shroff and I are different, so there can’t be rumours about us

 With no filmi background, 24-year-old Kriti Sanon was expectedly overwhelmed when director Sabbir Khan and producer Sajid Nadiadwala signed her for Heropanti within 10 minutes of her first screen test. “After the audition, Sabbir sir casually told me that we had to meet Sajid sir. On the way, he said, ‘Krits, you are going to sign the film’,” recalls Kriti, an electronics and communication engineer. 
    The Delhi girl, who started as a model when she was 20, walked the runway before shifting to Mumbai. She did a few TV commercials and encouraged by the response, started looking at a career in films. It’s then that the Telugu project Nenokkadine came her way. “Actually, I was juggling both as they were being shot simultaneously,” she says. 
    In Heropanti, Kriti plays Dimpy, debutant Tiger Shroff’s love interest. About her co-star, she says, “He is a very simple, shy and sweet boy; someone who is down-to-earth and respects people a lot. Since we were both new, we helped each other. Before the look test, Sabbir sir had told me that Tiger is an introvert, and I should try and make him open up. But I found him to be quite normal. Of the two of us, I am more talkative. We are two different individuals and that’s why we have this buddy bonding, which has become better with time. That’s also why there are no rumours about us.” 
    Kriti confesses she doesn’t have too many friends in the industry. And the actress, who stays alone in the city, says her director has been a great support. “I have troubled Sabbir sir for everything — from the doctor’s number to the furniturewala’s number. Of course, I talk to my family 10 times a day. My mom keeps khabar of everything, so I don’t feel lonely,” she says. With the film nearing release, the youngster says she feels the pressure, but Tiger is facing it even more than she is since he is the star son. “People know him and can relate to him because of Jackie sir. I don’t have that connection with the audience right now. I will be more stressed when it releases, but I think only the performances will matter in the end,” she concludes. 
    Heropanti, produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and presented by UTV Motion Pictures, releases May 23.

Kriti Sanon

WWE Raw: Potential Spoilers, Rumors, News and Preview for May 5

Credit: WWE.com 

Extreme Rules' aftershocks color the May 5 edition of WWERaw.

Bray Wyatt, John Cena, Triple H and Batista all head to the Times Union Center in Albany, New York. NXT transplantAdam Rose is set to join them.

Backstage reports and hints from Alex Giannini's five-point previewon WWE.com inform fans which Extreme Rules rivalries will persist and which Superstars will be on the hunt for new adversaries. A hiatus and an injury will shape the show, as will plans for future matchups.

Maria Menounos will be tweeting about it all, taking over Natalya's Twitter account for the night.

News, Potential Spoilers

Batista's upcoming schedule will affect Monday's Raw and the coming weeks in a big way. 

F4WOnline, via PW Mania, reports, "Even though Extreme Rules is Batista's last advertised appearance for this current run, he will be in Albany for tonight's RAW and could be booked in a segment for his exit with The Shield."

Evolution likely wasn't going to stay together for an extended period, but Batista's reported hiatus rushes things along. It also muddlesWWE's plans for the world title at Payback.

The above report also says that Batista vs. Daniel Bryan at Payback was WWE's original plan, but The Animal turned that match down. He instead opted to take his time off early. 

Kane could be the biggest beneficiary of all this.

According to F4WOnline, via Wrestling Inc, "The plan coming out of Extreme Rules is if they can't convince Batista to work with Bryan at Payback, then they will do Kane vs. Bryan in a Buried Alive Match."

Fans will get a good idea of what scenario to expect for the WWE title at the June pay-per-view with how Monday's Raw plays out. Should the show focus on Kane, expect a rematch between the men who were once Team Hell No.

If Rob Van Dam gets a rematch against either Jack Swagger or Cesaro, it likely won't be on Monday's Raw. Count on Mr. Monday Night to take it easy in Albany.

PWInsider's Mike Johnson writes, "Van Dam has some bruising and swelling to the left side of his face, as well as cut that started near his ear and went down his cheek after his Five Star Frog splash crushed a trash can."

There's no need to rush him into action with so many wrestlers on the roster. Have him do a backstage interview if needed.

The show features a number of Superstars who can pick up the slack by boasting about their Extreme Rules wins or, in one case, try to turn the crowd into Rosebuds.

 

Celebrations, Short-Lived and Otherwise

The Rose party starts on Monday's Raw.

The NXT prospect is set to take his fun-loving act to the main roster. Scouring the talent pool for potential low-level heels to pit him against in his first outing, one finds that Damien Sandow or someone from 3MB are the most likely options.

Of course, Rose may instead choose to just party in his debut and delay the actual wrestling part of the equation.

The show will also offer chances for champions Bad News Barrett and Paige to celebrate. Barrett defeated Big E at Extreme Rules to win the Intercontinental Championship for the fourth time. Paige knocked offTamina Snuka to remain Divas champ.

Giannini writes, "Who will step up next to challenge for the butterfly-emblazoned title?"

Eventually, it will be AJ Lee who does that. Don't count on it happening just yet, though.

Wrestling Observer Newsletter, via Wrestle Zone, reports that AJ is "expected to return to WWE in about 4 to 6 weeks."

WWE may be done with the Tamina vs. Paige story, but it would be wise to keep it going for now. Those two women put on an impressive show at Extreme Rules and could improve upon it with more of a story and more ring time.

The company is hinting that Barrett will be moving on to new challengers rather than face Big E once again. Giannini asks, "Who might step up to knock Barrett off his podium?"

Barrett's momentum is suddenly scorching. He's piled up recent wins against a host of former world champs, from Sheamus to Rob Van Dam. Whoever gets the next crack at the Englishman is likely just going to be his next victim.

Bridge From Extreme Rules to Payback

Although Extreme Rules just ended, count on the build to the next pay-per-view to begin on Monday's Raw.

One marquee feud is set to continue and another is set to evolve. With Batista's reported hiatus, we can't expect The Shield and Evolution to just continue their battle as is.

Expect the spotlight to focus on Triple H. He's been painted as the leader of the reformed group and, with or without Randy Orton, looks to be continuing his pursuit of The Shield. Giannini writes, "Surely The Game isn't yet done with the black-clad trio. Might pay-per-view tensions spill onto Raw?" 

The answer is certainly yes. The only uncertainty is how the next stage of this clash plays out. Will Triple H find new partners or just aim his hatred at Roman Reigns?

Credit: WWE.com

How soon will we see Triple H vs. Roman Reigns?

PWInsider, via Wrestling Inc, noted before Extreme Rules, "The main goal of WWE doing a feud between The Shield and Evolution is to push Roman Reigns as a top player and to get him into a singles match against Triple H."

It's far too early to start truly building toward the reported Reigns vs. Triple H SummerSlam showdown, per F4WOnline, via Wrestle Zone. Still, Monday's Raw will keep this continuing story going, moving from its current six-man incarnation to something new.

Wyatt vs. Cena is far from over as well.

Their Cage match at Extreme Rules ended in odd fashion—a choir boy with the voice of a demon scaring Cena right into Wyatt's arms. That doesn't feel like the final chapter in the least. The Wyatt-Cena series is now 1-1.

Their rubber match will be one of Payback's biggest bouts.

Until then, expect more double talk from Wyatt. Giannini asks, "What new message might Bray Wyatt have on Raw?"

It will be hard to top last week's haunting image, but there will be creepiness abound as WWE gives Wyatt another soapbox to stand on.

Salman Khan Hit-And-Run-Case: Two Witnesses Identify Actor in Court

Bollywood actor Salman Khan has been identified by two witnesses in the 2002 hit-and-run case. The actor is being retried for culpable homicide not amounting to murder in a Mumbai court. If convicted, he could face a jail sentence of upto 10 years.

The actor, dressed in jeans and a striped shirt, is in court accompanied by sisters Alvira and Arpita. On December 5 last year, the court ordered a fresh trial after the charges against the actor were enhanced to culpable homicide not amounting to murder. After several delays, the retrial began on April 29 with the partial deposition of one witness.(Also read: Salman Kicked about Poland as destination for Bollywood producers)

Mr Khan was earlier being tried for the lesser offence of causing death by negligence, which carries a punishment of upto two years in jail.In September 2002, Mr Khan was allegedly driving a Toyota Land Cruiser that ran over a group of people sleeping on the pavement outside a bakery in suburban Bandra. One person was killed and four others were injured in the accident.

The case has gone from court to court with arguments centred around whether Mr Khan was driving the car that day or not. The Mumbai police say they have enough evidence against him.In 1998, Salman Khan spent three days in prison for killing black buck, an endangered species of deer, in Rajasthan. The actor's appeals in separate poaching cases are currently pending in the Rajasthan courts.

The 48-year-old actor has starred in some of Bollywood's highest-earning films in the last five years. He last appeared in January's Jai Ho, co-starring debutante Daisy Shah and was recently shooting for his movie Kick in Poland.with PTI inputs