There are many important events waiting to unravel in 2015. While political bigwigs believe this year will either break or make Namo's image, others feel global elections could have a solid impact on Indian economy. There is a lot of spatial activity too for Mars and Pluto with missions all poised for launch. And the waiting-to-get-married celebrity list is unending. Sunday Pioneer brings you all the important and fun events to look forward to this year
Sequel killers
Buzz is that 2015 well be known as the year of sequels, with as many as 12 being planned for this year. Starting the sequel bandwagon will be Ghayal, a movie that made Sunny Paji a star overnight. Starring Sunny Deol and Meenakshi Seshadri, Ghayal was India’s answer to the Rambo series and Sunny Deol made a great Sylvester Stallone. The film had also done well at the box-office in 1990. A sequel to this film was in the offing for a long time. Sunny Deol fans will be happy to know that the film has finally gone on the floors and is expecting a mid-year release. According to one report, Sunny Deol was spotted shooting for the same at Kala Ghoda in Mumbai. Dressed in an ink blue T-shirt and jeans, he looked quite dapper.
Then there is a sequel to the much touted 2012 release OMG — Oh My God! and director Umesh Shukla has named it simply OMG sequel. This satire on religion has been adapted from the Gujarati play Kanji Virudh Kanji.
The film did extremely well at the box-office, which is probably why the makers are gearing up for the sequel which is slated for a February 15 release. According to a report on bollywoodhungama.com, actors Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar will co-produce the sequel.
Other sequels to look forward to for the upcoming months are Welcome, No Entry, Kick and Houseful.
End of era, thankfully
Come January 16, ardent soap potatoes are all set to get a zor ka jhatka zor se. The serial Uttaran on Colors will, after a staggering 1600 episodes, will finally end. While the serial’s cast is upset that their long running venture is going to meet its death, TV connoisseurs are heaving a sigh of relief. “I cannot believe it is coming to an end. I thought I will be able to catch the episodes of this Iccha-Tapasya drama with my grandchildren,” a happy 39-year-old from Mumbai tweeted as the news of this great happening hit social networking sites. For fans of TVdom, there couldn’t have been a better start to the New Year. Although they have a list of other soap which should meet ‘the end’ this year - most of them incidentally from Colors. Any one listeningIJ
Stripes & frocks
Fashion designer Neeta lulla feels stripes and frock dresses as also power dressing will be the fashion statements for this year. The iconic designer who rose to fame designing Devdas believes that florals and prints will still rule the summer months while velvet and satin are slowly but surely on their way out from the fashion wardrobe.
The ramp will see more realistic power dressing this year with designer labels realising that minimalistic fashion is here to make its presence felt. Accessories like bags and belts will also be talk points in fashion this year. Ask lulla who carries power dressing with aplomb and pat comes the reply — no one else but Sonakshi Sinha!
KATCAllS FOR RANBIR
leaked holiday pictures, Salman addressing Katrina as "Katrina Kapoor", the kaleera in Arpita Khan’s wedding falling on to Katrina’s head and their new love nest in Bandra — this relationship surely isn’t a too well-kept secret. 2015 will come with knotty tidings for Bollywood’s most eligible couple getting married.
2015 Ramleela
Aren’t they too tired of questions about their relationship or how Ranveer Singh ends up on the sets of every Deepika Padukone film, be it Chennai Express or to be released PikuIJ Perhaps, it’s time to put an end to it all and have a new beginning or talk of some officialese.
Anu’s Virat Year
In the glam industry where maintaining relationships is considered difficult amid all the glamour, work commitments and rumour mongering, let’s wait to see whether this cricket-Bollywood pairing makes it to the altar this year.
SplitsvilleIJ
According to a buzz, not all is well with Gauhar Khan and boyfriend KushalTandon who met on the sets of Bigg Boss. The duo had a bitter fight in 2014 and decided to split but they soon made up over coffee and a formal apology by Tandon. However, if sources are to be believed then Khan is not in a mood to forgive Tandon easily.
Kejriwala loveIJ
With Delhi re-elections in February, Arvind Kejriwal has been promising that if elected, he will stay put as Chief Minister for a full five years! Not that many believe in him, seeing his previous track record. The BJP, meanwhile, is all set to capture Delhi now that the Kejriwala love has waned in public memory!
Star Wars & 50 shades
The two most anticipated Hollywood films this year are undoubtedly Fifty Shades of Grey slated for a worldwide release on Valentine’s Day and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the 7th episode in the epic film series pegged on a December 18 outing. The first teaser trailer of Force Awakens was released in November and unconfirmed leaks are flying all over.
Force Awakens is said to be the darkest film to date and Finn, played by John Boyega, is supposed to be the new luke Skywalker.
lATE FAREWEll
In April 2014, David letterman announced he would be retiring as host of The late Show in 2015. That’s expected to happen in August, when his current CBS contract ends. Although the exact date isn’t public, we do know that Stephen Colbert, former host of Colbert Report, will replace letterman.
April storks
The birth of Prince George’s first sibling is expected around April this year. The child will become fourth in line to the throne, only behind his older brother George. The month of April will be a busy one for this Royal Family as there are occasions galore — starting with William and Kate’s fourth wedding anniversary, Queen Elizabeth’s 89th birthday and the coming of the second child — there is a lot waiting to happen in April.
Interestingly if the Queen still reigns on September 10, she’ll surpass Queen Victoria as Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. Now, that’s something to look forward to.
Courtroom Drama
As far as criminal case hearings go, the Indian courts are going to have a busy time, starting with a high profile divorce and custody case to be fought out in March between Karishma and Sanjay Kapoor. Elsewhere, suspended Senator Mike Duffy is scheduled to go on trial for 31 fraud and bribery charges from April 7 to June 19. The case is about his Senate housing and travel expense claims and a rather expensive gift of $90,000 that Prime Minister’s former chief of staff Nigel Wright gave Duffy. The trial could feature a veritable who’s who of Stephen Harper’s inner circle. Duffy’s lawyer hasn’t ruled out calling the Prime Minister himself to testify! Stay hooked to your global channels for more on this case.
Big Bang commitment
Jim Parsons an American actor , who is best known for playing Sheldon Cooper on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, has been in 'boring love' relationship with art director Todd Spiewak for the last 10 years. And there is a strong rumour that the most celebrated gay couple of our times will be making their relationship legal and binding in 2015. Parsons performance in BBT has been often cited as a significant reason for the program's huge success. He has received several awards for his performance, including four Emmy Awards for Outstanding lead Actor in a Comedy Series[5] and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy but he says his real trophy is finding love in Spiewak.
Plutonic Ties
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has successfully awakened from hibernation for a journey to Pluto. The probe will provide a glimpse of the far reaches of our solar system during the first half of 2015. The piano-sized spacecraft will begin distant observations of the dwarf planet on January 15, and continue delivering that data until late July. The closest approach to Pluto is expected on July 14. The mission, launched in 2006, will gather data on Pluto’s geology, topography, surface composition and temperature, as well as details about its large moon Charon.
Global warning
Britain is expected to go the polls on May 7. Conservative and opposition labour parties are running neck-and-neck. The big change in support has been the plunge by the second party in the Government coalition, the liberal Democrats. Most political advocates in India feel the result of this election could have a serious impact on India.
No Slack Here
Slack will singlehandedly be making enterprise start-ups sexy. It is developing workplace communication tools and has recently received a $1 billion valuation — less than a year after launching. “It’s not going to be every single person on the planet using this — it's not going to be Facebook numbers — but it’s an enormous kind of business with tens of millions of people,” Stewart Butterfield, founder of Slack, told journalists while talking about the market opportunity. However, Slack will certainly face some competition getting there:
Just this week, it was reported that Facebook plans to make a similar push into the business space. But the team at Slack is ready to go all the way. Butterfield previously cofounded all by selling off Flickr to Yahoo, a feat he’s not looking to repeat.
Droned Out
Meanwhile, make way in 2015 for an invasion of drones. They’re expected to be all over next month’s Consumer Electronics Show. Yes, Amazon and Google want to use drones to deliver stuff, like pizzas if you please! Hollywood is getting in on the action. But there are still regulations and rules that need to be addressed.
10 ka WindowsIJ
The biggest story surrounding Microsoft in 2015 will involve the eventual rollout of Windows 10, the upcoming version of the company’s venerable operating system. Barring major setbacks, it’s a good bet that Window 10 will reach consumers and businesses in the fall.
Over The Moon
This year, a Japanese beverage maker will becomes the first company to embark on commercial advertising on the lunar surface. In a major publicity stunt, Otsuka Pharmaceutical will deliver a can of its popular soft drink Pocari Sweat on a 236,000 mile trip. This is being done in partnership with Astrobotic Technology, a private space company, using a Falcon 9 rocket supplied by another firm SpaceX. It is no ordinary can, but a specially designed capsule made from titanium which is able to withstand shifts in temperature from minus 170°C at night to 110°C during the day. The drink is in powdered form, intended to be diluted at some future date by water obtained from Moon itself. In addition, the capsule contains disks etched by laser with messages from children all over Asia.