After months of speculation Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan got engaged on January 14th, 2007 . Abhishek’s father and superstar Amitabh Bachchan has confirmed the news. The engagement ceremony took place at Aishwarya’s residence after the couple landed from the premiere of their latest film Guru in Toronto and New York. Among those present at the ceremony, which was a closely guarded ceremony, were Amitabh Bachchan, his wife Jaya Bachchan, their close friend and Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh, the parents of Aishwarya, and industrialist Anil Ambani and his wife Tina Ambani. Rumour mills were abuzz all through the year regarding their affair first and then about their wedding. In November last year, Aishwarya  accompanied by the Bachchans’ emerged from the Sankat Mochan temple sending the media, which had been camping overnight, aflutter. Soon after the temple visit, speculation was rife that Abhishek and Aishwarya had got married much earlier at the Meenakshi temple in Madurai. But now all speculation can be put to rest and the film industry can gear up for the biggest wedding of Bollywood’s first family.

While the Shilpa Shetty controversy is generating heated debate, the actress's mother and her publicist addressed the press in Mumbai on Thursday, January 18.  'In the light of recent events in the show Celebrity Big Brother, we are overwhelmed and touched by the outpour of public support for Shilpa -- not just in India, but from across the globe,' Mrs Sunanda Shetty said in a statement. 'Shilpa is a strong individual who continues to make us proud every day. We thank those who are concerned for her and have complete faith in Channel 4 that they will not allow any mistreatment of Shilpa to take place.' Shilpa's publicist Dale Bhagwagar clarified that the racial insults had not been made to Shilpa's face, and that the actress is not even aware she has been insulted in this way. Reporters asked why Shilpa's family isn't going to the UK and asking Shilpa to quit the show. 'Initially they also felt the same way,' replied Bhagwagar. 'But then they decided that Shilpa is a strong person, and can handle this situation herself.'

Young actress Jiah Khan is making waves even before the release of her debut film "Nishabd". After crooning a song for the film's music video, Jiah, who is a trained dancer, has now turned choreographer for it. While shooting for the video, Jiah's dance movements impressed the choreographer so much that he bade her to do her own thing for a sequence, say witnesses. Jiah obliged with some belly dancing and hip shaking, just like Latin sensation Shakira. The music video is all set to scorch the silver screen soon, according to those who sneaked a peek at the video. The wait to watch Jiah make her moves will be worth it, they add.    

Akshaye Khanna, who plays a commitment-phobic flirt in upcoming romantic comedy "Salaam-e-Ishq", denies his character is true to life.  "I really liked the way the character evolved in the film. I instantly said yes when Nikhil Advani narrated the script to me," said Akshaye.  "It has interesting shades. As far as the inspiration behind this character goes, you can ask Nikhil. I think it resembles a friend of Nikhil's more," he added.Akshaye is paired with Ayesha Takia in the film and trade pundits predict that the couple's onscreen chemistry will charm audiences.

Vinod Khanna (Akashaye’s father), a veteran Indian actor-turned-politician, says playing the occasional villain adds spice to his life. Khanna, a popular action hero in the 1970s and 80s, turned to politics seven years ago and is currently a member of India's parliament, though he still acts. He plays a mafia boss in crime thriller "Risk,'' set for release on Friday, and has completed filming another action movie, "Godfather,'' to be released later this year. "There is more spice in such (negative) characters,'' he told a newspaper. "They even have higher recall value than goody-goody roles.'I am trying to play a variety of roles and not get trapped in the mafia image,'' he said. Khanna has acted in about 120 movies.

Proceedings in the hit-and-run case involving Bollywood star Salman Khan were adjourned to January 31 after a witness failed to appear before the court. Witness Kalim Mohammed Iqbal was absent and is to be cross-examined during the next hearing, Khan's counsel Dipesh Mehta told. Khan is accused of driving a vehicle in an inebriated condition on September 28, 2002, when he lost control and ran over five persons sleeping outside a bakery in suburban Bandra.

I was browsing for bollywood news and found pages about old Indian movies.  Here are links to few of them:
Pundalik (First narrative feature film)
Raja Harishchandra (First full length feature film)
Alam Ara (first Indian full length sound film)

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