Haven't kept track of my 1,000th film: Brahmanandam

hennai, Feb 2 (IANS) Popular Telugu comedian Brahmanandam believes he has crossed the rare milestone of acting in 1,000 feature films, but isn't sure which film in particular marks that feat in his career.


 "Till the beginning of last year, I kept track of my films. I remember till 997th film, but after that I got so busy with multiple projects; I'm not sure which one released as my 1,000th film," Brahmanadam told IANS.

 Although it's a rare feat, he doesn't make a big deal out of it.

 "It's just a number for me. I'm happy I've been entertaining audiences for so many years and I hope to continue for many more," said the 59-year old.

 With a bundle of films in his kitty, Brahmanadam is busier than most actors in the industry.

 "I've been thinking of slowing down, but offers keep pouring and I can'r refuse. Directors come to me with the mindset that my presence will guarantee (success). I don't know if it does but I don't like to disappoint them," he added.

Clarke draws Ponting parallels for Smith

Brisbane, Feb 2 (IANS) Michael Clarke has said he feels sympathy for Steven Smith as media speculation swirls around the leadership of the Australian cricket team while the injured skipper continues his recovery.


 Following Smith's elevation to the Australian vice-captaincy and successful stint at the helm during the Border-Gavaskar Test series against India while Clarke recuperated from hamstring surgery, the skipper can see parallels to the scenario four years ago involving Ricky Ponting.

 Ponting relinquished Australia's Test and ODI captaincy in March 2011 following Australia's quarter-final exit at the World Cup.

 After 77 Tests and 228 One-Day Internationals as skipper, he handed over to Clarke, made himself available for selection as a batsman and played a further 16 Tests and ODIs.

 Clarke first captained Australia in a Test match as a stand-in for an injured Ponting in the final match of the 2010-11 Ashes series in Sydney.

 Asked by a Brisbane radio station if he would be prepared to emulate Ponting and play under Smith's leadership, Clarke was unequivocal: "Most definitely I would."

 "I feel for Smiddy (Smith), because I sat in his shoes when a lot of the media were trying to call for Ricky Ponting to retire," Clarke told Triple M Brisbane.

 "It's certainly not personal between Smiddy and I, we've been friends for a long time and will continue to be. The people that sit above both him and I will make their decisions."

 "Whatever they feel is the best eleven players, they'll pick that eleven. Whoever they feel is the best captain for the team, then they'll pick that. If my time is over as a player - or as a captain - then, you know, the game moves on," Clarke said.

 "I still think I have a lot to offer the team, I still feel like I can perform and help us have success, but that's out of my hands. The most important thing for me is to get fit and healthy."

 Clarke is in the Queensland capital to continue his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Centre, and added that reports of a rift with Cricket Australia (CA) officials were "news to me".

 "I'd like to know where it's coming from," Clarke added. "I haven't been around the team. For the last seven weeks or so I've been away from the group. I feel like my relationship with Cricket Australia, certainly with my teammates, is exceptional."

Nimrat was thrilled to share red carpet with idols

Mumbai, Feb 2 (IANS) "The Lunchbox" actress Nimrat Kaur is ecstatic about having attended the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles and living her "favourite dream" of rubbing shoulders with some of her biggest childhood idols.



 "It was like a dream," Nimrat said. "I was standing on the same carpet as Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston and Ethan Hawke. It was as if I had walked into my favourite dream."

 Nimrat says she was too shy to speak to anyone, except Ethan Hawke.

 "When I saw him on the red carpet, I had to tell him that 'Great Expectations' was one of my favourite films. I blurted it out nervously. He was very nice to me. But to go and speak to Meryl Streep or Julia Roberts was beyond me," she said.

 She admits "The Lunchbox" and now her stint on the American series "Homeland" have brought her global recognition.

 Call her the female Irrfan Khan, and she says: "That's a very high compliment indeed. To be bracketed with someone who has done Indian cinema proud all over the world is very gratifying. But I'm a long away from achieving that. Yes, 'The Lunchbox' and 'Homeland' have got me some recognition outside India."

 In India, now Nimrat will be busy with her first full-fledged mainstream commercial film.

 "It's a thriller called 'Air Lift' and I am cast opposite Akshay Kumar. He is an actor known to be supportive of newcomers. The producers (Crouching Tiger) are also progressive and practical. So I don't feel nervous."

Seoul renews call for dialogue with North Korea

Seoul, Feb 2 (IANS) South Korea Monday renewed call for resuming dialogue with North Korea after its offer to hold talks in January failed to bear positive result.


 If North Korea really has a will to resolve pending issues and improve inter-Korean relations, it should come to the dialogue table, Xinhua quoted South Korea's Unification Ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol as saying.

 The renewed appeal came after Seoul's proposal for talks failed, with no response coming from Pyongyang until January-end.

 Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae December-end proposed to hold ministerial-level talks with North Korean counterparts in January to discuss all issues of mutual concern irrespective of the form of dialogue.

 South Korea wants discussions on having a reunion event for Korean families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, hoping the event could be held around the Lunar New Year holiday falling in mid-February, 2015.

 Pyongyang, however, has remained unresponsive about the dialogue offer, saying that if South Korea lifts sanctions against the country, it will respond to call for the reunion event.

'Power Ranger' star arrested for murder

Los Angeles, Feb 2 (IANS) Actor Ricardo Medina Junior, who played Red Ranger in TV series "Power Rangers Wild Force", was taken into police custody on murder charges.


 The arrest was made Saturday afternoon in Palmdale here.

 Medina Junior reportedly got involved in an altercation with his roommate named Joshua Sutter. He decided to retreat to his bedroom with his girlfriend, but Sutter forced his way into the room. The 37-year-old star retaliated and stabbed Sutter with a sword in the abdomen, reports aceshowbiz.com.

 The actor, who is the son of Brazilian boxer Ricardo Medina, called 911 and waited for policemen to arrive. He was ultimately arrested and booked for murder, while Sutter was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.

 According to tmz.com, Medina Junior's bail is set at $1 million.

Imran Khan to meet poll panel chief Monday

Islamabad, Feb 2 (IANS) Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan is scheduled to meet Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan Monday to discuss the alleged rigging of the 2013 general election.


 According to an official announcement by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), this will be the first meeting between the PTI leader and Justice Raza Khan after the latter's appointment as the CEC in December 2014, Dawn online reported.

 A PTI official said that Imran Khan would raise the issue of alleged rigging in the general election, with particular reference to four constituencies.

 One of these constituencies is from where Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq defeated Imran Khan.

 The meeting is taking place two days after an election tribunal in Lahore turned down Imran Khan's plea for action against an inquiry commission that inspected the records of the constituency.

 The PTI chief had sought a re-inspection of records of certain polling stations in the constituency.

 Disposing of the application, tribunal's member Kazim Ali Malik said that at this stage it was premature for the PTI leader to seek re-inspection. The tribunal has set Feb 7 as the next date for hearing.

Existing drug could treat cerebral malaria effectively

New York, Feb 2 (IANS) A drug already approved for treating other diseases may be useful as a treatment for cerebral malaria, research has found.


 What is more, the researchers also discovered that reducing food intake during the first two days of infection could protect against the disease.

 In animal model, treating mice with the drug rapamycin protected them against the neurological complications of cerebral malaria.

 As rapamycin is already approved for use in humans by US Food and Drug Administration, trials in humans for cerebral malaria treatment with this drug may be possible, said the researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

 Cerebral malaria - a severe form of the disease - is the most serious consequence of infection by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, resulting in seizures, coma, and death.

 "The real importance of this work is the identification of unexpected molecular pathways underlying cerebral malaria that we can now target with existing drugs," said senior author James Mitchell, associate professor of genetics and complex diseases.

 The researchers found that leptin - a hormone secreted from fat tissue with roles in suppressing appetite, but also in activating adaptive immune and inflammatory responses - is increased upon infection in a mouse model of cerebral malaria.

 This hormone also turns out to be a major bad actor in promoting neurological symptoms and death due to cerebral malaria.

 Reducing leptin using a variety of means, either genetically, pharmacologically, or nutritionally by reducing food intake during the first two days of infection, protected against cerebral malaria, the findings showed.

 The researchers also found that leptin acted primarily on cytotoxic T cells by turning on the well-studied mTOR protein, for which pharmacologic inhibitors are readily available.

 The study appeared online in the journal Nature Communications.