There are many USPs and firsts that the said academy will boast of. The most prominent of them all is the fact that, its for the first time that prolific singer-sisters Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle will be imparting their musical knowledge to the students of the academy.

The academy also boasts of having on board many talented names like Raju Naushad (Naushad's son), Andalib Majrooh Sultanpuri (Majrooh Sultanpuri's son), Ruhan Mahendra Kapoor (Mahendra Kapoor's son) and Firdaus Shahid Rafi (Rafi's grandson) in it. Bollywood Hungama wishes Shahid Rafi all the very best for the launch of Rafi Academy (less)

So finally I got together with some people and decided to launch this academy," Shahid Rafi told IANS. Apart from Shahid Rafi and his wife Firdaus Shahid Rafi, the academy will have people belonging to the families of legends from the Indian music industry like Raju Naushad (Naushad's son), Andalib Majrooh Sultanpuri (Majrooh Sultanpuri's son) and Ruhan Mahendra Kapoor (Mahendra Kapoor's son) as part of the academy's governing body.

Manek Premchand, Raashid Zaffar, Qamaal Mustafa Sikander, Kaka JP, Javed Shakeel Badayuni, Shirish Kulkarni will be the other members. "Dad is a legend and I want his name to be remembered as long as music is part of our lives.

"I thought this is a good day for the launch while we all remember him and what better venue than Mumbai since this is the place where dad had his memorable journey of music," he added. Apart from providing courses for singers, the academy will display exclusive pictures, videos and musical instruments of the great singer (less)

Producer Bunty Walia (also from Sanawar) is a common contact of the politician and the actor. And it was Bunty’s Lamha, a film based on Kashmir, that took Sanju to Srinagar on two occasions.

“When we were wrapping up a 20-day schedule in Srinagar in January 2009, Omar was in office,’’ says Sanjay. And the actor, who is smitten by Kashmir, was happy to be spending time with the first family of J&K.

A fortnight ago, Sanju and Omar had a cuppa in New Delhi and on April 24, just before Omar went into a fund-raising activity, Sanju and he bonded over some photographs taken by the star. As it turns out, Sanjay is indeed a first rate photographer.

His camera (said to cost around Rs 20 lakhs) with its 600 zoom lens has captured Kashmir like never before. With child-like pleasure, Sanju displayed his till now virgin collection of photographs taken in the valley.

And each picture speaks a thousand words. Whether it is half widows of Dardpura, the army bunker at Pari Mahal, the Dal Lake captured with the char chinar in the centre, the Hazratbal Mosque or cherubic Kashmiri kids — each photograph displays a rare quality.

Says Omar, “I saw a few photos shot by Sanjay in the coffee table Lamha book. Even those I thought were very unique.

I haven’t seen this current lot that he has presented me. But I may have to make place for some of these on my wall.

’’ The chief minister who is happy that Bollywood film units have started to shoot in Kashmir again, adds, “We’re happy that Bollywood has started to patronise Kashmir. We are not keen to overplay the entire ‘come shoot in Kashmir bit’ — but yes, we would like those producers who are keen to shoot in our state to please come over.

Kashmir is not new to Bollywood. Before they discovered Jungfrau, Switzerland, Mauritius and those other exotic foreign locations, Srinagar was always first on their list.

We would like to make that possible again.’’ Sanju, who has been to Kashmir for innumerable film shoots and who truly believes that it is aptly describe by the Persian poet Firdaus as heaven on earth, is also batting for J&K.

“If I can, I would encourage all my producers to shoot here,’’ says Munnabhai, who wants to spread the message of love in India’s most prized territory. Check out Sanjay Dutt’s homepage (less)

They also recorded their protest with the media for intruding into their life. “The media needs masala (spice), but it must behave in a way that our personal life does not get affected,” Sania said.

Shoaib added, “Besides being a husband, I have to play the role of a security guard.” Shoaib said he was happy to see the celebrations in Pakistan following his marriage but called on the media to reduce the hype associated with the event.

Asked by a TV news channel why she had not been seen smiling in public, Sania replied, “I cannot smile if I am stuck in a crowd and people are falling on me. The media reports that I had tears in my eyes when my mother fell after a crowd jostled us in Lahore are not correct.

Actually, I got worried as my mother got hurt, and a normal person feels so in such a situation..

. I am very happy and have no problem in smiling.

If I keep smiling all the time, people will think I am mad,” she said. Angered by allegations that he had sold invitations to the walima, Shoaib said, “This is rubbish.

Those alleging should get their mental status examined.” He clarified that he had received many lucrative offers to give coverage rights for the marriage but decided not to do so.

“We thought it was a happy occasion and we should not accept such an offer.” Agencies Walima wale din.

..

. For the much-awaited walima, Shoaib was wearing a black formal suit while Sania looked gorgeous in a shimmering bluish-silver outfit.

Amongst the high profile guests at the walima were Punjab governor Salman Taseer, Firdaus Ashiq Awam, federal minister of population and welfare, Gilani’s son, Qadir and famous faces from Pak glitterati. The guestlist was of about 700 people – the who’s who of Pakistan.

The Crystal Ballroom at the Pearl Continental Hotel in Lahore was done up beautifully, complete with a red carpet for the guests at the entrance. The couple’s family members and close friends also attended the ceremony along with the diplomats and cricketers.

The function started at 7 pm, the menu had only one dish – Biryani and chicken. Said Ahsan, GM of the hotel, “The venue looked like a dream.

We had worked very hard to make it look so glam. Tight security arrangements were in place.

” Piyali Dasgupta (less)

I used to often go for the recoding of my song, which was sung by Mohammad Rafi, only because I used to like telling him how I would perform on this song on screen so that he can sing it that way. Even he liked my involvement," Shammi told reporters at launch of Mohammad Rafi Music Academy at Novotel Hotel here.

Rafi died July 31, 1980 of a heart attack. "When I got to know about his demise, I was in tears.

The person who actually came to me to give the news said that Shammiji, you have lost your voice," he added. Music composers Pyarelal of music director duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Kalyanji of Kalyanji-Anandji duo, Ravinder Jain, Udit Narayan, Bappi Lahiri, Adnan Sami, actor Dara Singh, Jagdeep Jackie Shroff and Rakesh Roshan were present in the occasion among others.

Actor Rishi Kapoor, who was also present on the occasion, said: "From the time of Shammi and Shashi uncle, I also had the good fortune to have him sing for me in films from 'Laila Majnu', 'Amar Akbar Antony' to 'Katilon Ke Katil'. I would like to quote (director) Manmohan Desai's line for Mohammad Rafi: 'If God had a voice, it would be Rafi's voice'.

" Mohammad Rafi Music Academy is opened by Rafi's son Shahid Rafi and his wife Firdaus Shahid Rafi. Representatives of families of legends from the Indian music industry like Raju Naushad (composer Naushad's son), Andalib Majrooh Sultanpuri (lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri's son) and Ruhan Mahendra Kapoor (singers Mahendra Kapoor's son) are on the academy's governing body.

"I am very happy to see that such an academy has been formed in his (Rafi's) name. There should be many academies made like this.

If they need any help from me, I am always there to support them in whichever way possible," Pyarelal told (less)