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NOTTINGHAM: We’re done with the public shows of unity. Done with the mystery over Virender Sehwag’s injury. Done with the slanging match with the
media.

It’s time for MS Dhoni’s Team India to forget the mystery and melodrama of the past few days and focus on the Super Eights of the World Twenty20.

India face West Indies at Lord’s on Friday, England at Lord’s again on Sunday and South Africa at Trent Bridge on Tuesday.

They are three tough and dangerous sides and one wrong move here or a game where the team is not switched on will see Dhoni lose the trophy.

The team, too, will shed the aura that has surrounded them since September 24, 2007, the day they were crowned T20 World Champions.

After two warm-up games against tough opposition, India have had two outings against Bangladesh and Ireland. But that should not lull the champs into believing that the same will happen again in the Super 8s.

We witnessed the kind of carnage that West Indies captain Chris Gayle and opening partner Andre Fletcher inflicted on the Aussies.

We saw how efficiently South Africa defended a low target against New Zealand and much to the delight of the home fans, one also got a display of spunk and attitude from England when they embarrassed Pakistan.

India must win at least two of the three games they are scheduled to play in the Super 8s to progress to the semifinals.

Virender Sehwag’s departure will no doubt hurt as he has the quality and reputation which makes rival teams over-analyse his strengths.

Sehwag has that uncanny ability to put opposition teams on the backfoot even before a ball is bowled but India won’t have that luxury now.

In a strange way, though, that might also prove to be a blessing in disguise as there is no uncertainty surrounding his availability.

He is out of the tournament and Rohit Sharma, who has batted magnificently as an opener, will stay put in that slot.

If left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan can recover to full fitness, Indian worries over the pace bowling department (they have been poor especially in the death overs), will ease.

India’s record as defending champions isn’t great. They have defended only one crown with success. The Dilip Vengsarkar-led side had won the Asia Cup in 1988 in Dhaka and Mohd Azharuddin won the event in 1991 in Calcutta. Apart from that every attempt at a title defence has ended in heartbreak.

The tag of title favourites sits very uncomfortably on every Indian team. They were favourites in the 1987 World Cup in India and Pakistan and lost in the semis to England in Mumbai.

Again in 1996, they were out and out favourites but their campaign again ended in the semis in shambolic fashion at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta. In 1999, in England, they were the most hyped team as India had Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly all in peak form. However, they lost in the Super Six and skipper Mohd Azharuddin lost the captaincy for good.

This time again, India are the favourites and rightly so. After all, the core of the team that won in South Africa two years ago is the same. Ask Dhoni about it and he will let you know about his nausea for the F-word. Time and again he has reminded that, "In T20, there are no favourites. We don’t want to look too much into the future. We want to focus on the present."

Call them boring, politically correct answers, or a smart move to deflect the attention and pressure. He knows there’s a lot of hype surrounding the world champions and there’s plenty of money riding on them too. Everyone’s talking about India, even their most fierce rivals, the Aussies.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting, after exiting from the tournament, put India as joint favourites along with South Africa and Sri Lanka to win the title. "I’ll be very surprised if one of these teams don’t win it," he said.

Indian fans won’t be surprised if Dhoni’s boys don’t win. They will be very very angry and will lay the blame on all the off-the-field nonsense for the team’s failure.

And doesn’t the captain half know that?

On this very day, some years ago, a small baby girl was born in a popular filmy family. Some 20 odd years later, this girl grew into a stunning beauty. Needless to say she followed her illustrious father’s footsteps and decided to make acting her vocation. With her very first film Saawariya, she made people sit up and take notice of her good looks and incredible acting talent. Yes Ladies and Gentlemen, we are talking about the vivacious Sonam Kapoor.

Sonam celebrates her birthday today and we at BollywoodNews and Hotklix give all you people out there a chance to extend your heartfelt wishes to one of tinsel town’s youngest and most promising newcomers. Click on the comments section below and type in your special birthday wish for Sonam Kapoor.

After mesmerising the world with his Oscar-winning composition in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, music maestro A R Rahman is now looking forward to his first Hollywood project, which he describes as his "true foray" into the American film industry. Rahman, who was conferred an honorary doctorate by the Aligarh Muslim University here today, said he is all set to compose music for actor-director Peter Billingsley’s romantic comedy "Couples Retreat".

The film has no Indian connection, but its music will have a complete ‘Rahman feel’, he said. "It is my first Hollywood film, which has nothing Indian about it.

In that sense it is my first true foray into Hollywood," said 43-year-old Rahman, arguably India’s best-known composer today. "It will release this year and it will have my feel," he said, refusing to divulge much.

Expected to release towards the end of this year, Couples Retreat is a production of Universal Studios, and is a story of four Midwestern couples who embark on a holiday to a tropical island resort. At the AMU, Rahman said for him the unprecedented recognition he received in the West in the wake of his Oscar glory, was a long-overdue recognition for Indian music.

Bollywood is divided over Australia following a spate of attacks on Indian students there. While many filmmakers say they will avoid Australia to shoot, some find the country still attractive.

Kalpana Lajmi: It is indeed extremely unfortunate. But I don’t hold the the entire Australian nation responsible. If my film requires an Australian backdrop, I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot there.

Anees Bazmi: Being a true Indian and a human being, I condemn these acts of violence. My conscience won’t permit me to shoot in Australia.

Sajid Nadiadwala: No I won’t shoot in Australia. And why only Australia? I won’t have any relations with any country that disrespects Indians.

Ken Ghosh: I definitely won’t shoot in Australia. These attacks are very surprising. I always found them (Australians) to be very friendly.

Subhash Ghai: Certainly (I won’t shoot there) until Australia gives full respect and protection to Indian students.

Sujoy Ghosh: Yup I’d shoot. And maybe carry a couple of hockey sticks to beat those racists.

Siddharth Anand: My entire film ‘Salaam Namastey’ and ‘Ta Ra Rum Pum’ were shot in Australia. I strongly condemn what’s happening there. As of now I’d still like to believe Australia is a very friendly nation. The people there have been very warm and hospitable. But something drastic has to be done to stop these attacks. Until then I’d definitely be in two minds about shooting in Australia.

Pritish Nandy: Yes I’d shoot in Australia. Just as I would shoot in Goa despite the murder of Scarlett Keeling and other foreign tourists. We shoot in locations that suit the script. We can’t take patriotism to such absurd lengths.

Satish Kaushik: Shoot in Australia? Not at all. Why should we celebrate the beauty of a country when the heart of certain people in that country is not beautiful? They should learn from us. Atithi devo bhava.

Kabir Khan: It’s very important to make a distinction between prejudices practiced by a government and racist attacks by some disgruntled lunatics. However to show our disapproval of the attacks, it’d better not to shoot in Australia at the moment.

Ravi Chopra: No, definitely not. If our kids are not welcome, I don’t want to be any part of Australia.

Jagmohan Mundhra: Even though I think most Australians are not racists, the frequency of attacks on Indian students is a matter of concern. As a mark of protest I won’t shoot in Australia until the government takes a firm stand against racial violence and sets an example by giving severe punishments to the perpetrators of these attacks.

Tarun Mansukhani: No, considering the inaction by the Australian government against racial abuse, I wouldn’t shoot in Australia. I don’t think we should consider any joint venture with Australia until we get the same protection provided to their citizens. Indian students in Australia are a source of revenue for the Australian government. In exchange, the least we expect them to do is safeguard our lives.

Sajid Khan: I feel an entire nation can’t be tarred because of a handful of extremists. We’ll only make these elements stronger by being scared. At the same time we want to see Australia take action against hate attacks. Until then I won’t shoot in Australia to show my solidarity with Indians who are attacked anywhere in the world.

Vipul Shah: Shoot in Australia? Not at all. I’m shocked by their hatred. That their so-called progressive culture can be so bigoted is unbelievable. Australia must know we are united in fighting those who attack one of us. We’ll make them change their attitude.

Zoya Akhtar: I won’t visit Australia till the government takes drastic steps to stop the violence.

Vikram Bhatt: I’m deeply angered. In fact, I was planning a film in Australia, no more.

Kunal Kohli: (Amitabh) Bachchan’s refusal to accept the doctorate should be the starting point for us all to take similar action. I definitely will not shoot in Australia till the attacks are stopped and definite laws are implemented to prevent such attacks.

Madhu Mantena: I’ve been encouraging friends abroad to shoot in Mumbai after 26/11. By the same yardstick we can’t give up Australia because of a few demented individuals.

Abbas-Mustan: It would be a risk for the entire cast to shoot in Australia given the present circumstances.

Bunty Walia: Nope. A country that doesn’t look after my countrymen will never figure in my work and leisure scheme

Priyadarshan: No I wouldn’t shoot in Australia even if my script required.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali: What is happening to our children in Australia is unforgivable and goes beyond the interests of art and culture. I wouldn’t want to shoot in Australia until they sort this matter out. And why go to a hostile country when our country is so beautiful?

Madhur Bhandarkar: First ensure the safety of our boys, then we’ll see about shooting in Australia. What guarantee is there for anyone’s life in a country where a handful of people are terrorizing foreigners? Given the circumstances I don’t want to risk my cast and crew’s life in Australia.

Aparna Sen: No I wouldn’t shoot in Australia. What’s happening there is deplorable.

Kareena, Saif and Rani at the wedding of their yoga teachers, Payal Gidwani and Manish Tiwari.