Salman Khan is away in the US undergoing surgery for his nerve problem, but he's got his Eidi from his audiences. The actor's Bodyguard opened to such full houses across the country on Wednesday that tradesmiths peg the initial numbers at 20 per cent more than his biggest blockbuster, Dabangg.

Before the day ended, talk was that the film would net at least Rs 18 crore on the first day. And that's R 3.5 crore more than Dabangg's first day figures.

Deadly combination

Terming this "mind-boggling and earth-shattering, " trade analyst Komal Nahta attributes it to a heady combination of Salman and Eid.

Not to forget, a dearth of releases during Ramzaan. "Only Aakarshan released, but that didn't do well. So audience is hungry for a Bodyguard kind of entertainer. The five-day weekend will generate at least R 60 crore net, and that is a record, " he enthuses.

Indore-based distributor Aditya Choksey is optimistic that the film will break all possible records in most of India. "It's a remake of a proven south Indian film, so the subject has worked in regional cinema. But for the Hindi version, 90 per cent of the audiences will go for Salman, " he says.

"Salman is larger than life, people want entertainment and he delivers. Reports might be mixed, but even Amitabh Bachchan's films got mixed reports. Nonetheless, they went on to become big hits. And that's happening with Salman's films, too, " he further adds.

However, Mumbai distributor Ramesh Sippy of Raksha Entertainment doesn't seem to be in a hurry to dub the film a bigger hit than Dabangg yet. "Since last year, the numbers of theaters have gone up. So Bodyguard has got more screenings.

Add to that the increase in ticket prices and you'll obviously have higher volume. I'd rather wait for the final collections of the first five days to come in to figure out how big a hit it is compared to Dabangg, " he reasons.

Choksey disagrees saying, "As for an increase in number of theaters and shows, and hike in ticket prices, it won't make much of a difference. Opening to about R 18 crore on first day, I won't be surprised if the movie nets about R 85-90 crore till Sunday."

Bodyguard v/s the rest

In the same vein, Nahta too maintains that the mixed reports affect the movie's sustenance after the weekend.

"If Bodyguard manages to achieve in five days what other films can't in 15, then why be bothered about sustenance?" he counters, quickly adding that if it does sustain, it will be an additional bonus. "Even if it doesn't, the producers and distributors are making profits."

Trade experts are unanimous that the opening projection is pretty good for the producers, Reliance Entertainment, which is said to have spent about R 75 crore (including prints and advertising) on the movie.

Bodyguard released with 2000 prints in 2799 screens worldwide.

In an interview, on Dunya TV programme “In Session”, former senior minister Sindh Dr Zulfiqar Mirza said that he had provided evidences against MQM to Director General Inter Services Intelligence, the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. While answering to a question Dr Mirza said that Rehman Malik always stopped Karachi operation. He also confirmed that army is backing current government of Pakistan People’s Party.

The errant iPhone, which went missing in San Francisco's Mission district in late July, sparked a scramble by Apple security to recover the device over the next few days, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

Last year, an iPhone 4 prototype was bought by a gadget blog that paid $5,000 in cash. This year's lost phone seems to have taken a more mundane path: it was taken from a Mexican restaurant and bar and may have been sold on Craigslist for $200. Still unclear are details about the device, what version of the iOS operating system it was running, and what it looks like.

While Apple has not publicly announced any plans for future phones, unconfirmed reports in the last few weeks suggest the launch date for the iPhone 5 is likely to be in early October. Other reports from Taiwan have set the date at September or October. (See CNET's iPhone 5 rumor roundup.)

Apple declined to comment after being contacted this morning. A spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department said the company did not file a police report based on the loss at the bar. Craigslist did not respond to requests for comment.

A day or two after the phone was lost at San Francisco's Cava 22, which describes itself as a "tequila lounge" that also serves lime-marinated shrimp ceviche, Apple representatives contacted San Francisco police, saying the device was priceless and the company was desperate to secure its safe return, the source said.

Cava22, in San Francisco's Mission District, where another unreleased iPhone apparently went missing last month.

Apple electronically traced the phone to a two-floor, single-family home in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood, according to the source.

When San Francisco police and Apple's investigators visited the house, they spoke with a man in his twenties who acknowledged being at Cava 22 on the night the device went missing. But he denied knowing anything about the phone. The man gave police permission to search the house, and they found nothing, the source said. Before leaving the house, the Apple employees offered the man money for the phone no questions asked, the source said, adding that the man continued to deny he had knowledge of the phone.

In an interview this afternoon, Jose Valle told CNET that neither the police nor Apple security ever contacted him. Valle, who owns the bar with his family, said however he does remember a man calling multiple times about a lost iPhone about a month ago. He told the man he would call him back if he ever found the phone.

"I guess I have to make my drinks a little less strong," Valle said.

After last year's embarrassing loss, Apple reportedly has taken extraordinary steps to protect its prototype devices from leaks. Next-generation iPhones are sent to carriers for testing "inside locked and sealed boxes so that the carriers can carry out checks on their network compatibility in their labs," according to the Guardian.

Apple developers have been given new iPhones with an upgraded processor -- the one that is used in the iPad 2 and is expected to appear in the next-generation iPhone. But the device "is virtually identical to the iPhone 4, and there is no way anyone can tell it's not an iPhone 4 based on the phone's exterior," a report at 9to5Mac.com says. Even last year's prototype was enclosed in a case designed to make it look like an iPhone 3GS.

Last year's prototype iPhone went missing when Robert Gray Powell, an Apple computer engineer who was 28 years old at the time, left it in a German beer garden in Redwood City, Calif.

In early August, San Mateo County prosecutors filed misdemeanor criminal charges against two men, Brian Hogan and Sage Wallower, for allegedly selling Powell's iPhone 4 prototype to Gawker Media's Gizmodo blog. An arraignment is scheduled for tomorrow.

Prosecutors obtained a warrant to search the home of Gizmodo editor Jason Chen, and indicated they might prosecute Gizmodo, but eventually decided not to file charges.

Under a California law dating back to 1872, any person who finds lost property and knows who the owner is likely to be--but "appropriates such property to his own use"--is guilty of theft. In addition, a second state law says any person who knowingly receives property that has been obtained illegally can be imprisoned for up to one year.

This is the Golden Palm Tree Resort and Spa, a luxurious Maldivian-style, over-water villa complex, just off the coast of Selangor in Malaysia. It is hard to believe that only a few years ago, this was the humble, sleepy fishing village of Bagan Lalang, in Sepang. It has since been transformed into part of a glittering, 22km-long coastline development, poised to place Malaysia firmly on the world’s luxury property and tourism map.

Sepang Goldcoast was conceptualised as an integrated holiday destination catering to international tourists and travellers, modelled on famous beach havens such as the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia and Miami Beach in the United States.

Sepang is situated in Malaysia’s richest and most developed state, Selangor, which is often referred to as the gateway to Malaysia; Port Klang, the country’s largest port, and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport are both located there.

Surrounding the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, Selangor's strategic location boosts its appeal as the preferred holiday destination for the rising middle class Malaysians and foreign tourists. Sepang Goldcoast is a mere 30-minute drive from the airport and just over an hour from the capital.

Local attractions include the stone-carved Hindu temples in the Batu Caves, the aboriginal communities at Pulau Carey and international sporting events like Formula One and yacht races. But the standout attraction at the moment is the Gold Palm Tree Resort and Spa, which opened last summer.

From the air, close to 400 villas fan out into the ocean in the shape of a giant palm tree, much like the Palm in Dubai -- a grandiose development that has been plagued with problems from its inception. Malaysian Tourism officials are counting on the bold resort development to be the jewel in their tourism crown rather than an international embarrassment.

Rooms start a RM800, a reasonable rate compared to similar over-water villas in destinations like the Maldives. When completed, sometime over the next decade, Sepang Goldcoast will have resorts, amusement parks, a marina, floating market and wildlife habitats. Besides sun worshiping, planned local activities include surfing, canoeing, kayaking canopy walks and yoga.

While a waterfront renaissance is nothing new, Malaysia is now realising the opportunities in drawing investments and creating iconic global attractions like this one. Hopefully Sepang Goldcoast will be an example of how revitalising rivers and waterways along with building tourist infrastructure, can reap economic rewards.

In 1992 Monica traveled to study English Literature in England's Oxford University. It is here that she met with Bollywood film actor-producer, Manoj Kumar.

Shortly thereafter she traveled to Bombay and met with another film producer, Mukesh Duggal, and was reported to have suffered considerable abuse at his hands. Mukesh Duggal was subsequently killed.

It was through Abu Salem's contacts that Monica was able to get some acting roles, beginning with a movie in Telugu.

She did return to her hometown in 1995 and it was during this time that bandits attacked and killed her grandparents, severely injuring her mom. Shakuntala decided to live with her brother, Krishan Chawla in Delhi, and refused to re-locate to Norway. Her husband, her son and his family, as well as nephews, nieces, and sister-in-law, Kanta, re-located to Norway, leaving Kanta's husband, Purshotam, behind to take care of the property in Chabbewal.

Monica married Abu, changed her religion to Islam, her name to Fauzia, acquired two sets of passports from Bhopal and Hyderbad, and both re-located to Lisbon, Portugal in 2001 from their present location in Dubai, UAE.

Monica challenges had only begun for a year later both were arrested by the Portuguese Police, and in November, 2003, she was sentenced to 2 years in prison for possessing forged travel documents.

After her sentence was over, she and Abu were extradited to India to face more criminal charges. In desperation Monica wrote letters to the Indian President and Prime Minister - in vain.

In September 2006 Monica was found guilty by the Special Court of CBI which convicted her and awarded 5-years rigorous imprisonment on the charges of cheating, criminal planning and for using fake passport.

Monica is currently facing charges of Forgery in the fake passport case from Bhopal.

Ironically none of her family in India were aware of her plight until she was arrested in Lisbon.

Although no longer a star, Monica Bedi continues to attract media attention all over India. A lot her fans and well-wishers hope that this young and attractive young woman will overcome her challenges and return to the silver screen

Sanjay Leela Bhansali has once again revived his pet project Bajirao Mastani after announcing it in 2003.

Based on the epic love story of the renowned Maratha general Peshwa Bajirao and his half-Muslim second wife Mastani, the filmmaker's magnum opus hit a roadblock when the then couple Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai his original choice to play the infamous lovers split.

A source says, "Bajirao Mastani is very close to Bhansali's heart. He keeps reviving it every few years. He had started working on it before Saawariya and Guzaarish.

He won't breathe easy till the project sees the light of the day.

He even considered making the film with Salman and Kareena in 2005, but dropped the idea because both actors had signed another film with Priyadarshan.

Bhansali feared that his lead pair would lose exclusivity and charm if they did another film together at the same time."

However, the filmmaker is relentless. He refuses to give up on the project, but making the film now may be an even bigger challenge for him.

For one, he may not be able to rope in Salman given the strained relations between the two of late. Plus, Sallu's schedule is jam-packed and he'd have to wait a minimum of two years to get his dates.

The bigger problem, however, would be finances. Post his two flops, Saawariya and Guzaarish, he may not find it easy to generate the kind of budget he'd need to make a film of this magnitude.

And the best Bajirao-Mastani pair would be...

Madhurjeet Sarghi, Theatre and TV actress: I think Bhansali should go for new faces with an established supporting cast. I strongly feel that love epics work best with newcomers as opposed to stars. In case he has to take a star, then Ranbir Kapoor is very talented.

Shreyas, Advertising professional: Bhansali should make the film with Salman. Without him the film, should not be made. There can be no replacement for Salman.

Sandeep Singhvi, Ad filmmaker: Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor have great chemistry on screen.

Aditi Todi, Tv producer: I can't think of anyone else for an epic love story, but Aishwarya and Hrithik. Aishwarya has this ethereal charm. She was stunning in Jodha Akbar and Umrao Jaan.

Our pick

We think that the tall, dark and handsome Ajay Devgn would fit the role to the T. His intense looks make him a perfect choice for the Maratha warrior.

And Kareena Kapoor will be the ideal choice for Mastani. It will be good to see the pair who shared great chemistry in Omkara playing lovers again.