SYDNEY  - If you rushed to the Internet to book one of airline Virgin Blue’s “no chair fares” for half price as advertised in Australian newspapers on Tuesday there was one message on their Web site — April Fools!

Various companies and media organizations got into the swing of April 1 when pranks are allowed until noon with a range of hoaxes designed more to amuse than trick people.

Britain’s Independent newspaper reported that foul-mouthed TV chef Gordon Ramsay was banning swearing in all his restaurants after Sydney authorities refused an application for him to set up an eatery on the grounds of “decency.”

And competitor the Daily Telegraph featured a story based on BBC footage of a colony of penguins that flies thousands of miles to the rainforests of South America to bask in the sun (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/page/item/epeng001.shtml?src=ip_potpw).

Google Australia announced that it was to launch a new feature “enabling you to search for content on the Internet before it is created” so you could get tomorrow’s news today including share prices and sports results.

“This is awesome. I can now check the questions ahead of time and impress my girlfriend by knowing all the answers to ‘Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?’,” said Wazza from Queensland on Google’s site (http://www.google.com.au/intl/en/gday/index.html).

Virgin Blue, Australia’s second-largest airline, put an advert in newspapers across Australia that read: “Stand Up and Be Discounted,” offering half price fares if passengers would stand for a flight with a complimentary calf massage for flights of over two hours.

“We’ve had over 1,000 click-throughs onto the Web site we set up (http://www.virginblue.com.au/nochairfare) and people had a very good humor about it. We like to have a bit of fun,” said Virgin Blue spokeswoman Leonie Vandeven.

SOME PRANKS BACKFIRE

April Fools’ Day dates back centuries but its origins remain unclear.

The Museum of Hoaxes, a Web site set up by self-described “hoaxpert” Alex Boese in 1997, said references began to appear in the late Middle Ages.

But Boese said the most widespread theory about its origin dates back to late 16th century, when France switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar meaning the start of the year moved from late March to January 1.

Those who continued to celebrate the New Year during the week that fell between March 25 and April 1 had various jokes played on them — but Boese said there was no evidence to back this.

He does, however, list the top 100 April Fools’ Day hoaxes, which is headed by the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest. This dates back to 1957 when the BBC news show Panorama announced Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop due to a mild winter with footage of Swiss peasants pulling spaghetti strands from trees.

But not all April Fools hoaxes work out.

The worst hoax, according to Boese, was in 1998 when a newspaper owned by Saddam Hussein’s son Uday informed readers that U.S. President Bill Clinton had decided to lift sanctions against Iraq. It admitted later that it was just joking.

Boese said April Fools’ Day has never been a widely celebrated tradition but he believed pranks were becoming more common with the Internet offering fertile ground.

“Also advertisers have come to realize that a funny prank can generate lots of good publicity,” he said in an e-mail.

As for hoaxes that back-fired this year?

Police in the Australian state of Queensland are considering charging a woman who rang paramedics just after midnight claiming her baby had stopped breathing after falling off a bed. Two ambulances rushed to her house to find it was a hoax.

“This was a particularly insidious hoax call,” said a statement from the emergency services department.

WASHINGTON - People with diabetes have the same risk of a heart attack or stroke as patients who have survived one heart attack already, researchers reported on Monday.

Diabetics have more than 2.4 times the normal risk of dying from cardiovascular disease — about the same as those who have had a heart attack, the five-year Danish study of more than 3 million people found.

“The increased risk was observed in people at all ages with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes who were receiving insulin or other drugs to reduce levels of sugar in the blood,” said Dr. Tina Ken Schramm, who led the study at the Gentofte Hospital in Hellerup, Denmark.

“When people with diabetes do have heart attacks, they are twice as likely to die as non-diabetics.”

They found that men with diabetes were 2.32 more likely than normal to have a heart attack, stroke or die from heart disease, compared to 2.48 times the risk for men who had survived a heart attack.

Schramm’s team was able to use national registries that cover virtually every patient in Denmark, and picked out all patients with diabetes receiving glucose-lowering medication.

Writing in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, Schramm suggested that all people with diabetes taking glucose-lowering drugs should ask their doctors about taking other drugs to protect their hearts.

“We’ve talked about ‘the lower, the better’ for cholesterol and blood pressure to reduce the risk of heart attack,” Schramm said in a statement.

“Now I think we should be saying ‘the sooner, the better’ for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases in diabetics.”

IIT’S FORMULA CAR: The car was unveiled by India’s very own Formula 1 champ, Narain Karthikeyan.

Mumbai: The people working in air filters and dampers and accelerator pedals are no ordinary mechanics and the car that they are working on is no ordinary car.

A couple of IIT Bombay students decided in June last year to enter an international competition called Formula SAE — short for Society of Automotive Engineers — to build a race car.

IIT Faculty Advisor, Professor Amarnath says, “It was great how these students got together and started working on something that they had no idea about.”

The 30 students who eventually got together for the project — armed with textbooks, a supportive faculty and some helpful advice from automobile manufacturers — have come a long way, to the point that the tightening of a screw here and the testing of a pedal there is all that is left to do.

The spirited youngsters will be the only Indians participating in this prestigious international competition to be held in Detroit — the Mecca of the international automobile industry.

The 11 budding engineers who will represent IIT Bombay at the competition are ecstatic.

Formula SAE partcipant, Shyam says, “We aim to compete with the best in the world and experience some great engineering.”

And finally the moment they had all been waiting for is here. The official unveiling of IIT Bombay’s Formula racing car — and who better to do it than India’s own F1 champion, Narain Karthikeyan?

Narain Karthikeyan says, “In the last few years, the sport has been getting more popular and this will give it more exposure.”

And with Narain’s best wishes, this vehicle is truly revved up to win the race.

WASHINGTON - Bystanders who see someone suddenly collapse should quickly give the person chest compressions even if they are not trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the American Heart Association said on Monday.

The association urged people not to stand idly by because they do not think they know how to administer CPR while an adult stricken with sudden cardiac arrest is dying in front of them.

In recommendations published in its journal Circulation, the group emphasized “hands-only” CPR — a simple procedure that bystanders can perform without worrying about doing the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation part of CPR.

“The thing that’s killing people is inaction,” said Dr. Michael Sayre of Ohio State University, who headed the association’s team that drafted the new recommendations.

Sayre said people not trained in CPR should do two things when they encounter an adult who has suddenly collapsed: first, call emergency services; and second, begin pushing “hard and fast” in the center of the person’s chest.

This is necessary to maintain vital blood flow, according to experts. Chest compressions should continue until emergency medical services responders arrive, Sayre said.

“Today in the United States, less than a third of victims of sudden cardiac arrest get any form of CPR. Anything that would increase that is bound to save lives,” Sayre said in a telephone interview.

“We want the general public to know that even if they’ve never been trained, they can help victims of sudden cardiac arrest.”

In the minutes after an adult collapses, hands-only CPR — without mouth-to-mouth rescue efforts — is equivalent to conventional CPR in its life-saving value, Sayre said.

All too often, no one at the scene does anything to help the victim of sudden cardiac arrest — often because there is no one trained in CPR and other people are scared that they will do something to make the victim’s condition worse.

But considering the person’s condition, Sayre said, “You can’t make them any worse.”

The heart association said that about 310,000 adults in the United States die annually from sudden cardiac arrest that takes place away from a hospital setting. It said that CPR administered by a bystander can double or triple a person’s chance of surviving.

About 94 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching a hospital, the group said. Up to 80 percent of sudden cardiac arrests occur at home, it added. Brain death begins four to six minutes after a person suffers sudden cardiac arrest if no CPR or defibrillation is given.

“Hands-only” CPR is not advised for babies and children or for adults whose cardiac arrest is due to respiratory causes such as a drowning scenario or drug overdose, the group said.

The new recommendations update the group’s 2005 advice that had asked bystanders to do chest compressions only if they were unable or unwilling to provide mouth-to-mouth efforts.

Conventional CPR is still an crucial skill to know and medical personnel should still perform it, the group said.

HIDE AND SEEK: Sanjay Dutt and Manyata filed for an exemption citing that they were not in town.

New Delhi: Actor Sanjay Dutt and Manyata were to appear before a local court on Tuesday to prove their marriage is legal, however the couple filed for an exemption citing that they were not in town.

The judge has now asked them to be present on the next hearing date, which is April 15.

The couple was responding to a court notice following Manyata’s first husband Meraj-ur-Rehman’s claim that he is still married to her.

The court while admitting the case had observed that Manyata’s marriage with Sanjay was illegal and invalid.

Sanjay and Manyata’s marriage was also registered in Goa. But it was cancelled after the marriage registrar discovered that Manyata had submitted a fake residential certificate.

Rehman claims Manyata was still married to him and the qazi (clerk), who annulled their wedding was false. Rehman is currently in the Arthur Road prison after he was arrested for sending obscene messages to actresses and models.

Mehraj’s lawyer also requested the court to not allow the couple to travel abroad.

Mehraj told the judge that he had received a threat inside the lock-up that if he speaks against Manyata, his parents in Hyderabad would be harmed.

LOVING IT! McDonald’s auctioned its first burger in the Chennai outlet and donated the proceeds to an NGO.

Chennai: A vegetable burger, that is ordinarily priced at Rs 42, was sold for a Rs 4,00,000 at McDonald’s first Chennai outlet on Tuesday.

Kick-starting its first outlet at Ascendas IT Park, McDonald’s auctioned its first burger and donated the proceeds to the Banyan, a city-based NGO.

The successful bidder was the Managing Director of Saravana Bhavan Holdings LLC, Shiva Kumaar PR.

“The opening of the restaurant in Chennai is in line with our expansion plans in southern India,” Managing Director of Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd, Amit Jatia said.

The Mumbai-based Hardcastle, which is operating in southern and western parts of India, is a 50:50 joint venture between McDonald’s and the Jatia family.

The company has set up 56 McDonald’s outlets in the two regions and has plans to increase the numbers.

“We will be opening around 30 restaurants in these two regions in two years time with each outlet involving around Rs 30 million outlay excluding lease rental,” Jatia added.

In the south, the company is looking at Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad for expansion apart from other towns like Coimbatore.

Declining to give the average amount per bill Jatia added, “The average turnaround time per table is around 30 minutes. We serve around 4,000 to 6,000 customers per day.”

According to him, part of McDonald’s success in India is attributed to its ability to build an efficient supply chain and respect for Indian customs and culture.

“We source fresh lettuce from Pune, Delhi, Nainital and Ooty, Cheese from Dynamix Dairies, Maharashtra, fresh buns from Bector Foods and others,” he added.

Each outlet has just three days stock of food articles and there are no central commissaries.

HELSINKI - A continuing mobile phone boom in emerging markets in Asia and Africa mostly offset a drop in demand for expensive models caused by global market turmoil, a survey showed on Monday.

Handset makers sold 283 million phones in January to March, up 10 percent from a year ago, but down around 15 percent from the fourth quarter, which is usually boosted by Christmas holiday sales, according to a Reuters poll.

“On a global basis it should be a good, normal quarter,” said JP Morgan analyst Ehud Gelblum.

In the last three years the phone market fell between 9 and 16 percent in the first quarter from the previous quarter, according to Strategy Analytics.

The world’s fourth-largest mobile phone vendor, Sony Ericsson , whose forte is its strongly branded and relatively expensive Walkman music and Cybershot camera phones, warned on first-quarter profits earlier this month.

That followed a warning by chipmaker Texas Instruments of weaker demand for chips for high-end 3G phones, raising fears that the global economic slowdown was starting to crimp the handset industry.

“The volume in the high end of the market could be somewhat thinner, but this will not be dramatically visible in the overall market volume,” said Jari Honko, analyst with eQ Bank in Helsinki.

In a Reuters poll, conducted with Inquiry Financial Intelligence, 18 analysts’ estimates for first-quarter handset shipments varied from 270 million to 306 million reflecting uncertainties over market growth in Western Europe and China.

Research firm Reuters Insight said it expected first-half sales in China to be flat year-on-year due to soaring food costs, the snow storms that hit the critical Chinese New Year retail period in February, and subdued operator campaigns ahead of an expected sector restructuring by the government.

In Europe, cellphone market growth slowed to 3 percent last year, according to the world’s top handset maker, Nokia , and several analysts said Western European consumers could delay upgrading their phones due to economic worries.

“The macroeconomic situation is starting to have impact, but we saw this already before the credit crunch,” said CCS Insight analyst Geoff Blaber. “Most of those markets are heavily saturated.”

Global market volumes grew 16 percent in 2007, helped by booming emerging markets sales and also the introduction of Apple’s iPhone, which boosted consumers’ appetite for more advanced cellphones in developed markets.

KOREANS, NOKIA TO WIN

Struggling U.S. phone maker Motorola , which has now decided to spin off its handset division, is expected to continue losing market share to aggressive competition from Korean vendors LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics as well as to Nokia.

“We expect Samsung, LG and Nokia to outperform, while Sony Ericsson and Motorola will underperform,” said Neil Mawston, an analyst at Strategy Analytics.

Kim Ik-sang, an analyst at CJ Investment & Securities, said: “I think LG’s strategy to prioritise and focus on hit models is working. Samsung is also benefiting from rivals’ difficulties but not as much as LG.”

Nokia is continuing to benefit from its dominant position on emerging markets and in making cheap models. Motorola, which in 2006 claimed more than 20 percent of the market, saw its share halve last year and is expected to lose further ground as long as uncertainties over the future of its handset business continue.

“The mobile phone industry could see a radical change in the competition landscape due to Motorola’s restructuring,” Samsung Electronics Chief Executive Yun Jong-yong said at a shareholder meeting last week.

LG Electronics told Reuters it has seen balanced growth in North America, Europe and Asia.

“The uptrend should continue with the introduction of new phones and several hit models, but we are closely watching changes in the market conditions,” the company said.

SAN FRANCISCO  - Google Inc said on Monday it is taking the next step to make its Web-based software useful in the real world of spotty Internet access by allowing users to edit word processing documents offline.

The world’s top Internet company said it will begin over the next several weeks to allow users of its Google Docs word processing application to edit documents without an active Web connection, on planes, trains and other disconnected spots.

The offline feature of Google Docs temporarily stores documents changes on a user’s local computer. Once reconnected to the Internet, any changes the user made will automatically be synchronized and stored on Google-hosted computers.

“This is still early days. We’re working to make more Web applications and functions work where connections are unavailable,” Google said in a statement.

These include the ability to edit spreadsheets and viewing or editing presentations, among other applications Google now offers online, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company said.

Offline editing is a free feature using a technology known as Google Gears that the company introduced around 15 months ago to application developers to build offline features into their own programs.

The technology already works within Google’s news feed reader, Google Reader, and applications from independent Web developers such as task-management service “Remember the Milk,” from an Australian-based company of the same name. Grenon

ONE GOAL: Bhaichung Bhutia says he is expressing “solidarity with Tibetan friends”.

New Delhi: India football captian Bhaichung Bhutia’s decision to not participate in the Olympic torch relay has sparked a flurry of reactions.

One of India’s greatest athletes, Olympian Milkha Singh has asked Bhutia to rethink his decision.

“I read Bhutia’s statement in papers. He is a renowned player but I feel politics should not be mixed with sport. In my view, sportsmen should stay away from politics. I am participating in the torch relay and Bhutia should also rethink his decision. The Central Government must take up the Tibet issue and resolve it so that our teams can participate in the Olympics,” he said.

Former Delhi police commissioner Kiran Bedi – who will be one of the torchbearers – too said there were “other ways of expressing solidarity with a cause”. She said Olympics torch should not be made an issue.

Bhaichung reacted to the remarks and told that his decision was “personal”.

“Decision not to carry Olympic torch is entirely personal, not political. I am not doing this on behalf of any organisation or group. I’m not even asking others to join me. Not carrying the Olympic torch was an obvious decision for me as I am against the violence and oppression in Tibet,” he said.

SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft Corp sees no reason to increase its bid for Yahoo Inc, two months after it made a $44.6 billion offer to buy the Internet company, people familiar with Microsoft’s plans said on Monday.

“Why would Microsoft bid against themselves? The company sees no reason to bid against itself,” one of the people said.

The people requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak on behalf of the company.

A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment.

Microsoft and Yahoo executives have met once to discuss a potential merger since Microsoft made its $31-a-share for Yahoo on Jan. 31, other sources told Reuters earlier.

Although some technology blogs have speculated that Microsoft is planning to raise its bid, one person familiar with the company’s plans said Microsoft does not feel the need to pay more because no viable strategic alternatives have emerged.

Since Microsoft’s offer, Yahoo has held talks with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Time Warner Inc’s AOL division, sources told Reuters earlier.

Microsoft also feels comfortable biding its time because a recent roadshow by top Yahoo executives, intended to shore up support among U.S. institutional investors and prove the bid was too low, was “underwhelming,” one of these people said.

Yahoo rejected Microsoft’s offer, currently valued at about $42 billion, in February, saying it “substantially undervalues” the company.

Shares of Yahoo closed Monday’s session down 0.2 percent at $28.93 on the Nasdaq, while Microsoft shares closed up 1.6 percent at $28.38.

Mumbai, (IANS) Composer-singer-actor Himesh Reshammiya, who debuted as a crooner with “Aashiq Banaya Aapne”

in 2005, has recorded 75 songs in just a record time.

“I’ve already released 50 songs. I intend to use the 25 songs I’ve in my music bank for the four films ‘Karzzzz’,

‘Kajraare’, ‘A Love Iiisshtory’ and ‘Mudh Mudh Ke Na Dekh’ that I’m starring in,” he said.

In his forthcoming films he wants to introduce at least one new singer. Reshammiya feels he owes it to the industry.

“I think I must give new talent to the music industry because even I was a newcomer once. And fresh, untried talent

always works since my music usually caters to younger audiences. They are always on the look out for fresh

unconventional voices.”

For “Mudh Mudh Ke Na Dekh”, which is a love triangle, Reshammiya intends to introduce new singing talent for the

two leading ladies, Niharika Singh and Jennifer Kotwal.

“I came across some mind blowing female voices while I was judging ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’. I’ll be using these for ‘Mudh

Mudh Ke Na Dekh’.”

Reshammiya intends to introduce four new singers in these four films

Film and Television Producers’ Guild of India (FTPGI) honoured veteran Bollywood filmmaker Yash

Chopra with its top award for “outstanding contribution to Indian Cinema”.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan received the best actor award for his performance in the Yash Raj Films’ super

hit film “Chak De! India”.

Kareena Kapoor walked away with the best actress trophy for her comic portrayal of a young Sikh girl in “Jab We Met”

at a glittering presentation ceremony at the MMRDA Ground in the Bandra-Kurla Complex in northwest Mumbai

Sunday.

FTPGI hosts its own award ceremony to honour Indian artistes as well as creative and technical personalities from the

film industry every year.

The trophies are known as “Apsara” awards.

While “Chak De! India” was chosen the best movie of 2007, its director Shimit Amin bagged the trophy for the best

director.

A Pakistani television channel, ARY Gold, also honoured actor Hrithik Roshan as the Best Male Style Icon of the year

at the ceremony.

The star, however, could not make it to the ceremony. His father, filmmaker Rakesh Roshan, received the trophy on his

behalf. Katrina Kaif bagged the Best Female Style Icon ARY Gold trophy.

Akshay Kumar, who churned out the maximum number of hits last year, was adjudged the “Entertainer of the Year” by

the FTPGI jury.

NDTV Imagine honoured Deepika Pudokone and Ranbir Kapoor as the year’s best new faces, respectively.

Salman Khan and Govinda received the hit pair NDTV Imagine trophy for their breezy performances in producer Sohail

Khan’s hit movie last year, “Partner”.

Salman Khan, Bipasha Basu, Kareena and Riteish Deshmukh performed on the stage and livened up the well-attended

awards presentation ceremony put together by Wizcraft.

AHMEDABAD - South Africa have found a chink in Virender Sehwag’s armour which they hope to exploit during the second test against India starting on Thursday.

Opener Sehwag struck the fastest recorded triple century in the opening test of the three-match series in Chennai which ended in a draw on Sunday.

South Africa coach Mickey Arthur said his team had noticed a weakness while analysing the video replays of the Indian opener’s innings.

“When we had a look at it, the first pull shot that Viru played was at 312,” Arthur told a news conference on Tuesday.

“We think we can target him with short balls into the body. We think he cuts very, very well.

“Third man then becomes an attacking option for use and we’ll target him with such short balls into the body early on and see how he manages with that.”

Sehwag, 29, hit his career’s second triple century in the match, lashing 42 boundaries and five sixes in his innings of 319 that came in just 304 balls.

DRAINING CONDITIONS

While the pitch was benign in Chennai and the conditions draining, especially for the speed merchants, Arthur said it was a lot more bearable in Ahmedabad.

“It is a lot like Johannesburg,” Arthur said of the weather in Ahmedabad, adding that the conditions would suit his pacemen.

“We have the quicks who can get it up at 140 kmph. So (we can try to) cramp him (Sehwag) up, get him into playing the pull shot,” Arthur said.

India are faced with several fitness issues with batsman Sachin Tendulkar ruled out of the game because of a groin injury.

A final decision on the fitness of captain Anil Kumble will be taken on Wednesday, while left-arm seamer Rudra Pratap Singh went wicketless and looked well below his best on his return from injury.

It is unclear if young fast bowler Ishant Sharma, out of action with a foot injury since returning from Australia, will recover in time to play.

Arthur felt Tendulkar’s absence could prove to be a big blow for the hosts.

“You lose a guy like that, it takes a huge chunk out of the team. It will be interesting to see what India will come up with: whether they stick to the plan of playing six batsmen or whether they decide to play five batsmen, (wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra) Dhoni at six and five bowlers.”

Making his love interest clear, “Saawariya” star Ranbir Kapoor blew a kiss straight from the ramp to

actress Deepika Padukone.

Attired in a black and beige “sherwani” or Indian-style coat with intricate ethnic motifs at the hemline and sequin work

at the collars, the star walked the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) ramp for designer Arjun Khanna here late Saturday.

The sherwani was tastefully teamed with beige churidar and red scarf to give a dramatic effect, the actor’s face and hair

were painted golden.

“Before I came here I didn’t know that my face would be painted golden. Only when I reached the venue and sat on a

chair (backstage) to get the make-up done, I got to know about it. But I enjoyed the whole experience,” Ranbir told

IANS after the show.

He refused to comment on his romantic link-up with Deepika. Starting with his signature dance step from the title song

of “Saawariya”, Ranbir descended on the runway.

And then he spotted Deepika sitting next to his mother Neetu Singh. Cutting short his catwalk, he blew a flying kiss

towards her. Deepika blushed and hid her face behind her cascade of hair.

While Deepika sported a light grey tube top with abstract prints matched with slim fit dark blue jeans, yesteryear actress

Neetu Singh was decked in white trousers and a kurta top with white, red and blue geometric prints and Swarovski work

at the neckline.

“There couldn’t have a better confession of love than this. Ranbir made it clear at the LFW that Deepika is his love

interest,” said Rashmi Singh, who attended the show.

Unlike his contemporaries, Ranbir did not take expert advice from his ladylove, who was a model by profession. “No I

did not take any tips from Deepika before walking the ramp. I had never walked the ramp before. It was the first time for

me but I was quite confident. It proved to be an excellent experience,” Ranbir said.

“Moreover, the Indian fashion industry is growing very fast and if I can contribute a little to it, it would be great,” he

added.

When asked how fashion conscious he is, Ranbir said: “I am not fashionable at all. My knowledge about fashion is only

through Arjun. Fashion for me is being comfortable.”

After the show, Deepika left the venue with Neetu in the same car.

The five-day fashion extravaganza at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) would end on April 2.

Fifty-seven designers, established and new, including the likes of Narendra Kumar, Kiran Uttam Ghosh, Neeta Lulla,

Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Wendell Rodricks will show their collections.

Hyderabad, (IANS) Veteran film actress Waheeda Rehman has been chosen for the NTR National Film Award for her

contribution to the film industry.

The award named after popular Telugu actor and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N.T. Rama Rao, popularly

known as 00 and a citation.

A three-member award committee comprising K.B. Tilak, Jayasudha and Suryanarayana Monday announced Waheeda

Rehman’s name for the award.

Born in Hyderabad May 14, 1936, she started her career with Telugu film “Jaisimha” in 1955, followed by “Rojulu

Maraayi”.

She later moved to Hindi film industry and became very popular. She acted in Hindi films like “Pyassa”, “Kagaz Ke

Phool”, “Chaudavin Ka Chand”, “Sahib Bibi Aur Gulam”, “Guide” and “Neel Kamal”.

She won the Filmfare best actress awards twice for her performances in “Guide” and “Neel Kamal” and received the

lifetime achievement award in 1994.

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Minister for Information and Public Relation Anam Ramnarayan Reddy

congratulated Waheeda for being chosen for the NTR award.

The NTR award was instituted in 1996 and its recipients so far include veteran actors like Akkineni Nageswara Rao,

Shivaji Ganeshan, Dilip Kumar, Raj Kumar and melody queen Lata Mangeshkar. The state government had

discontinued the award in 2002. After a gap of four years, the awards were announced last year.

NTR, a popular Telugu film actor, had joined politics by launching Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in early 1980s. He came

to power within nine months of floating the party. He died in 1996.