Rani Mukerji stretches it

Rani (left) with Payal Gidwani at her daily morning yoga session

Mumbai: Wonder how Rani Mukerji got to shed all those kilos before stepping in front of the camera for her film Dil Bole Hadippa? Regular yoga sessions and a carefully manipulated weight training programme seem to have done the trick.

Sources say that it took Rani over a year to knock off about 10 kilos that was making her look a little bloated in front of the camera. Rani had hired a team of experts to get into her new slim avatar which included fitness instructor Satyajit Churasia and yoga teacher Payal Gidwani.

Satyajit Chaurasia is the celebrity trainer who was the brain and hands behind Aamir Khan's six-pack figure in Ghajini.

Says Satyajit, "Rani has been working out (with me) for a long time now. But it was in April last year that she decided to tone up and lose the flab. Thus, we devised a combination of cardio and weight training for Rani. She walks on the treadmill for 45 minutes and does weight training for 30 minutes for five days a week."

But that was not all, there were some rigorous sessions of workout as well. "Rani also did as many as 300 to 500 stomach crunches everyday. And the session would end with stretching exercises. Rani is a very diligent person. The progress might be slow but due to her extra care about her exercising regime, she lost a lot of inches around her waist."

As for Payal Gidwani, she has been previously famous for Kareena's controversial size zero look for the film Tashan.

She reveals, "When I initially started teaching yoga to Rani, it was tough. She had no stamina and there were problems with her nerves, so she would often get cramps. Thus, I conjured up a two hour regime for her that included 45 minutes of walking and one hour 15 minutes of yoga. Slowly, her body began to showresults and we stuck to our schedule. There was no need tointroduce power yoga as the desired results were visible. Rani now enjoys yoga a lot."

Workout regime:
Treadmill: 45 minutes
Weight training: 30 mins (5 days/week)
Stomach Crunches: 300-500
Walking: 45 minutes
Yoga: 75 minutes

Rani Mukerji stretches it

Rani (left) with Payal Gidwani at her daily morning yoga session

Mumbai: Wonder how Rani Mukerji got to shed all those kilos before stepping in front of the camera for her film Dil Bole Hadippa? Regular yoga sessions and a carefully manipulated weight training programme seem to have done the trick.

Sources say that it took Rani over a year to knock off about 10 kilos that was making her look a little bloated in front of the camera. Rani had hired a team of experts to get into her new slim avatar which included fitness instructor Satyajit Churasia and yoga teacher Payal Gidwani.

Satyajit Chaurasia is the celebrity trainer who was the brain and hands behind Aamir Khan's six-pack figure in Ghajini.

Says Satyajit, "Rani has been working out (with me) for a long time now. But it was in April last year that she decided to tone up and lose the flab. Thus, we devised a combination of cardio and weight training for Rani. She walks on the treadmill for 45 minutes and does weight training for 30 minutes for five days a week."

But that was not all, there were some rigorous sessions of workout as well. "Rani also did as many as 300 to 500 stomach crunches everyday. And the session would end with stretching exercises. Rani is a very diligent person. The progress might be slow but due to her extra care about her exercising regime, she lost a lot of inches around her waist."

As for Payal Gidwani, she has been previously famous for Kareena's controversial size zero look for the film Tashan.

She reveals, "When I initially started teaching yoga to Rani, it was tough. She had no stamina and there were problems with her nerves, so she would often get cramps. Thus, I conjured up a two hour regime for her that included 45 minutes of walking and one hour 15 minutes of yoga. Slowly, her body began to showresults and we stuck to our schedule. There was no need tointroduce power yoga as the desired results were visible. Rani now enjoys yoga a lot."

Workout regime:
Treadmill: 45 minutes
Weight training: 30 mins (5 days/week)
Stomach Crunches: 300-500
Walking: 45 minutes
Yoga: 75 minutes

MJ to rest among the stars

Forest Lawn, which opened in 1906, is also home to exact replicas of some of Michelangelo's greatest works, including David, La Pieta and Moses. -- PHOTO: AP

LOS ANGELES - TWO months after his death, Michael Jackson is to buried on Thursday in a private sunset ceremony that will see the 'King of Pop' laid to rest alongside a galaxy of Hollywood stars.

The tragic pop music icon, whose mysterious June 25 death was ruled a homicide by city officials last week, will be interred in an elaborate mausoleum at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the suburb of Glendale.

Only close family and friends of Jackson will be in attendance for the event, in stark contrast to the star-studded public memorial held at Los Angeles's Staples Center in July attended by 20,000 mourners.

Several streets surrounding the entrance to the cemetery in Glendale will be closed in an effort to keep fans at bay, police said.

Jackson is to be interred at a 7.00pm (0200 GMT on Friday) ceremony inside the cemetery's massive Great Mausoleum, an elaborate neo-classical building inspired by Genoa's famous Campo Santo.

Jackson's gold-plated casket is to be placed in a private section of the mausoleum that is also home to the final resting places of famous names from Hollywood's golden age such as Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Carole Lombard.

Forest Lawn, which opened in 1906, is also home to exact replicas of some of Michelangelo's greatest works, including David, La Pieta and Moses. The cemetery also boasts a stunning recreation of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper in stained glass.

Other entertainment icons buried at Forest Lawn include Humphrey Bogart, Lon Chaney, Nat King Cole, Walt Disney, Errol Flynn and Jimmy Stewart.

Although open to the public, the Forest Lawn Memorial Park is renowned for its strict privacy rules, and unlike many other Hollywood cemeteries does not provide maps of famous grave sites. -- AFP

MJ to rest among the stars

Forest Lawn, which opened in 1906, is also home to exact replicas of some of Michelangelo's greatest works, including David, La Pieta and Moses. -- PHOTO: AP

LOS ANGELES - TWO months after his death, Michael Jackson is to buried on Thursday in a private sunset ceremony that will see the 'King of Pop' laid to rest alongside a galaxy of Hollywood stars.

The tragic pop music icon, whose mysterious June 25 death was ruled a homicide by city officials last week, will be interred in an elaborate mausoleum at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the suburb of Glendale.

Only close family and friends of Jackson will be in attendance for the event, in stark contrast to the star-studded public memorial held at Los Angeles's Staples Center in July attended by 20,000 mourners.

Several streets surrounding the entrance to the cemetery in Glendale will be closed in an effort to keep fans at bay, police said.

Jackson is to be interred at a 7.00pm (0200 GMT on Friday) ceremony inside the cemetery's massive Great Mausoleum, an elaborate neo-classical building inspired by Genoa's famous Campo Santo.

Jackson's gold-plated casket is to be placed in a private section of the mausoleum that is also home to the final resting places of famous names from Hollywood's golden age such as Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Carole Lombard.

Forest Lawn, which opened in 1906, is also home to exact replicas of some of Michelangelo's greatest works, including David, La Pieta and Moses. The cemetery also boasts a stunning recreation of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper in stained glass.

Other entertainment icons buried at Forest Lawn include Humphrey Bogart, Lon Chaney, Nat King Cole, Walt Disney, Errol Flynn and Jimmy Stewart.

Although open to the public, the Forest Lawn Memorial Park is renowned for its strict privacy rules, and unlike many other Hollywood cemeteries does not provide maps of famous grave sites. -- AFP

Madonna tours holy sites

US singer Madonna (centre), arrives to visit the Western Wall tunnels, Judaism's holiest site, as the Western Wall is seen in the background, in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, August 30, 2009. -- PHOTO: AP

JERUSALEM - THE Material Girl has opened a visit to the Holy Land with a spiritual touch.

Madonna headed to Jerusalem's Old City late on Sunday where she toured an ancient tunnel near the Western Wall - the holiest site where Jews can pray.

The 50-year-old pop star arrived in a black Mercedes van and was escorted into the tunnel by police.

She made no comment to reporters and was whisked away about a half hour later.

Madonna isn't Jewish, but she's a follower of Jewish mysticism and has even taken the Hebrew name Esther.

She arrived early on Sunday for a pair of concerts this week. It will be her first performance in Israel since 1993, though she came on private pilgrimages in 2004 and 2007.

Madonna is also set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday. -- AP

Madonna tours holy sites

US singer Madonna (centre), arrives to visit the Western Wall tunnels, Judaism's holiest site, as the Western Wall is seen in the background, in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, August 30, 2009. -- PHOTO: AP

JERUSALEM - THE Material Girl has opened a visit to the Holy Land with a spiritual touch.

Madonna headed to Jerusalem's Old City late on Sunday where she toured an ancient tunnel near the Western Wall - the holiest site where Jews can pray.

The 50-year-old pop star arrived in a black Mercedes van and was escorted into the tunnel by police.

She made no comment to reporters and was whisked away about a half hour later.

Madonna isn't Jewish, but she's a follower of Jewish mysticism and has even taken the Hebrew name Esther.

She arrived early on Sunday for a pair of concerts this week. It will be her first performance in Israel since 1993, though she came on private pilgrimages in 2004 and 2007.

Madonna is also set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday. -- AP

Leon Lai also married

Married in Las Vegas last March: Leon Lai, 42, and Gaile, 29. -- PHOTO: APPLE DAILY

HONG KONG - ANDY Lau has got hitched. So has Miriam Yeung. And so has Leon Lai.

The secret Las Vegas marriages of two Heavenly Kings and a pop princess have come to light in one weekend, after the death of the father of Lau's companion, Carol Choo, sparked queries about the star's marital status.

Lau has confirmed his marriage on his website and said he tied the knot with Choo in June last year so that the couple, who are childless, would qualify for fertility treatment in Hong Kong.

Hours after the report about his marriage to Choo, 43, he posted an apology to his fans on his Andy World Club site. The star, who had always said his fans would hear from him first if ever he married, told them he was 'ashamed' that he had not kept his word.

Lai, 42, registered his marriage with model Gaile Lai, 29, in the casino resort city on March 9 last year, said reports yesterday. According to a record on a public information website in Clark County, Nevada, they used the names Leon Lai Ming and Lai Gia.

This was right before rumours started spreading about their hush-hush wedding in the Maldives on March 15 last year, said Apple Daily. It would mean they had travelled to the Indian Ocean for their honeymoon, after saying 'I do' in Las Vegas, although they denied the rumours at the time, added the report.

Lai's romance with Gaile has been his most public one, even before the couple married. He met her in 2000, when he was still linked to actress Shu Qi, and dated her openly from 2005.

They bonded over red wine, said The Sun. After their marriage, he spent HK$60 million (S$11 million) on a luxury home, said Apple Daily. He also bought her a Maserati sports car with a personalised number plate, 'GIA'.

The revelation of Lai's marriage came after his boss, impresario Peter Lam of East Asia production company, practically handed the story to reporters. Apple Daily was the first to report last Saturday that Lau and Yeung - who are also managed by Lam - had tied the knot with their partners in Las Vegas.

Yeung, 35, and her boyfriend, Gary Ting, 30, were found to have married this month. He is in public relations.