Friday’s big release: SS Rajamouli’s ‘Baahubali’

SS Rajamoulis’s ambitious project, ‘Baahubali’ is finally releasing this Friday. Starring south actors Prabhas and Rana Daggubati in lead roles, the film is said to be the most expensive Indian film ever made with major attention to effects, promising to be a cinematic visual delight.

Compared to the likes of Hollywood film, ‘300’, Baahubali tells the tale of two brothers at war over a kingdom. While Prabhas plays the titular character Baahubali, Rana portrays the role of Bhallaladeva. Actresses Tammannaah and Anushka Shetty are also part of the film.

The trailer gave us a glimpse of beautiful larger than life imagery, a lush green world and misty waterfalls. The kingdom looked stunning with its age-old architecture and somewhat rich majestic divinity that radiates from its holy temples.

‘Baahubali’ is sure to be a treat for action lovers as well. The trailer revealed gory wars on a bloodstained battlefield, with swords and axes flying in every direction.

There is already a lot of buzz around the movie and people have been seen making a beeline outside theatres to get hold of their tickets.

Rana Daggubati is clearly excited about the film’s release. “To me this film is very special because as a child I grew up on stories from Amar Chitra Katha and I was always a movie lover. Every time I watch a big Hollywood war film, I would think that we have so many stories to tell and why aren’t we telling them. And there’s nothing more exciting than this,” said the actor in an interview.

Tamannaah Bhatia, on the other hand denies jitters about the film’s performance, even though she has invested a considerable amount of time doing ‘Baahubali’. When asked if she was taking a gamble investing so much time in one mega project, the actress replied, “I wouldn’t say it was a risk at all because for people who follow SS Rajamouli’s work will know that he makes the most likable films and they are relate-able to everybody. Most of the times, his films don’t require a language because they are universal in content. It was a new experience, because nobody has ever attempted to make a war film in India before. But, Rajamouli had spent one year doing pre-production from the weapons, the armour and the set – everything was pre-designed. It took them a year to sketch it, prepare it and execute it.”

Nifty seen opening higher, may reclaim 8,350

Domestic stocks are likely to open on a positive note, tracking firm cues from Asian markets. The SGX Nifty futures on Singapore Exchange were trading firm at 8,362 in early trades, signaling a modest gap-up opening in Nifty here.

All eyes will be on IT stocks after IT major TCS reported its quarterly numbers post market hours of Thursday. IT stocks constitute a significant weightage in benchmarks Sensex and Nifty.

The market could take support from the overnight rise in the US stocks. The S&P 500 index had settled 0.19 per cent higher overnight, following strong gains of up to 3.5 per cent seen in European indices such as DAX, CAC 40 and FSE100 amid revived hopes of Greece eventually securing the bailout in the emergency meeting of EU leaders coming Sunday.
In the latest development on Greece crisis, European Council President Donald Tusk, who will chair the emergency summit, joined growing international calls for Athens to be granted some form of debt relief as part of any new loan deal if Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras finally delivers convincing reforms, Reuters reported.

The Greek government will seek a parliamentary vote today to endorse immediate reform commitments it is offering euro zone creditors in a race to avert bankruptcy and a possible Grexit.

Meanwhile, Chinese stocks continued to rise for the second session. Asian markets including Hang Seng, Nikkei and Kospi were up between 0.10 per cent and 1.50 per cent. Chinese stocks were up 4 per cent.

Wimbledon 2015: Sharapova beats Vandeweghe to reach semis

 Former champion Maria Sharapova withstood some heavy hitting from American Coco Vandeweghe to reach her fifth Wimbledon semi-final.

Fourth seed Sharapova was under pressure after losing the second set but recovered to beat the world number 47 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 on Centre Court.

The Russian, 28, goes on to face Serena Williams or Victoria Azarenka in Friday's semi-finals.

"You have to give everything," said 2004 champion Sharapova.

"You are playing in a Wimbledon quarter-final. It's been a while since I have been in a semi at Wimbledon. I was pleased to win today and it gives me a lot of confidence."
Tracy Austin, two-time US Open champion

"Coco performed very well today. Big things expected from Coco in the future with a result like this. Sharapova loves the challenge of a situation like this. She loves to be able to problem solve and always seems to be able to figure it out."

Sharapova found it hard going against Vandeweghe, who impressed in her first Grand Slam quarter-final as she hit 32 winners and dominated many of the baseline exchanges.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova was tested from the outset and survived a seven-minute opening game that included four break points.

The Russian proved the more clinical, however, breaking twice in three games to take control of the first set and again to love early in the second.

After working her way to within sight of victory, Sharapova dropped serve to love and a fired-up Vandeweghe dominated the tie-break to set up a decider.

Again, Sharapova's experience showed as she broke three times in the final set, attacking the Vandeweghe first serve with more success to close it out after two hours and 46 minutes.

"I was pretty dominant in the first set and the beginning of the second but things slipped away after that and I had to regroup," said Sharapova, who is through to her first Wimbledon semi-final since 2011.

Xiaomi unveils ‘Enhanced’ version of Redmi 2

Xiaomi has unveiled a new version of its low-end Redmi 2 smartphone in Singapore. Named Xiaomi Redmi 2 Enhanced, this smartphone comes with 2GB of RAM and 16GB internal storage, twice that of the original model.

The Enhanced variant shares all other hardware and software features with its sibling.

According to Xiaomi Singapore's Facebook page, Redmi 2 Enhanced will cost SGD179, compared to the SGD149 price tag of the standard variant.

There is no official word from Xiaomi India on the launch of Redmi 2 Enhanced in the country yet. If launched in India, this smartphone is expected to cost around Rs 7,000.

Xiaomi India recently gave a Rs 1,000 price cut to Redmi 2 smartphone, bringing its price down to Rs 5,999. The phone is also available under a special exchange offer on Flipkart for as low as Rs 3,999.

The Redmi 2 Enhanced version is better equipped to Lenovo's recently-launched A6000 Plus as well as the new Coolpad Dazen 1.

Shahid Kapoor's Wedding: Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask

This year's big fat Bollywood wedding is almost upon us. Actor Shahid Kapoor, 34, will marry Delhi girl Mira Rajput, 21, on July 7 and here's everything we know about the shaadi so far.

The bride and groom:
Much has been made of the 13-year gap between Shahid and Mira, who just graduated from Delhi's Lady Shri Ram college. They are believed to have met through the religious group Radha Soami Satsang, of which both families are members. Shahid's mother Neelima Azim described Mira as "sweet and extremely affectionate" in an interview to mid-day in May.

The wedding venue:
The wedding, with rituals in traditional Punjabi style, will be held at the Trident Hotel in Gurgaon, contrary to early reports that a destination wedding was planned in Greece. The hotel has been prepping for the nuptials some days and Shahid's family were spotted arriving at the Trident on Sunday. Those photographed included his father Pankaj Kapur, step-mother Supriya Pathak, and step-siblings Sanaah and Ruhaan.

The card:
Designed by Ravish Kapoor of Delhi, the turquoise and cream invite followed Shahid's brief of 'elegant yet simple' and included hand-crafted tea - Pankaj Kapur is a tea connoisseur - and honey. Shahid personally picked everything - the colours, the gifts, the peacock logo. Some 500 guests have been invited, Mr Kapoor told PTI.

The guest list:
It's going to be an intimate affair. Some 500 guests have been invited, Mr Kapoor told PTI. These are believed to include just close family, very few friends and some members of the Radha Soami Satsang. Mira is believed to have told several friends not on the list that they were asked to keep the wedding small.

Pre and post-wedding celebrations:
A mehendi and a sangeet will reportedly be held at the Trident on Monday. According to a report in mid-day, the sangeet playlist includes several of Shahid's hits - Mauja Hi Mauja, Sari Ke Fall Sa and Tu Mere Agal Bagal Hain. A reception will reportedly be held in Mumbai on July 12, for which there will be a separate invite - also designed by Ravish Kapoor - sent out.

The menu:

The wedding feast is apparently going to consist of vegetarian fare, in keeping with the Radha Soami principles. Guests at the reception, however, will be able to load their plates with non-vegetarian delicacies. Among other goodies, these personalized chocolate bars have been created for the shaadi by Delhi-based bakery Smitten: