Friday, March 30, 2012

Salman congratulates Sachin, takes a dig at Shah Rukh

There is no end to Salman-Shah Rukh war. At Mukesh Ambani's bash in Sachin Tendulkar's honour, Salman left everyone in splits when he was called on stage to congratulate the cricketer for his 100th ton.

The Dabangg Khan in his trademark style said: "Sachin ka record todna mushkil hi nahi namumkin hai. Aur yeh Don nahi main bol raha hu." 

He went on to clarify that his dad Salim Khan had written the dialogues for Amitabh Bachchan starrer: "Bol bhi sakta hu kyunki mere father ne likhi hai picture (original Don). Rights toh legallyunhi ke paas hai, Amitji ne ki hai yeh picture, itna toh haq banta hai."

Once upon a time in the 1990s, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan called each other brothers. But now the rivalry between the two is out in open. While Salman says 'SRK and I can never be friends,' SRK thinks 'Salman and I don't talk which is absolutely right.'

Things apparently got ugly at Katrina Kaif's birthday bash in 2008. It is believed that SRK made inappropriate comments about Salman's ex-flame Aishwarya Rai Bachchan which annoyed him.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/HTEditImages/Images/srk-salman-big.jpg

King Khan in an interview had said that Salman got angry because he turned down cameo in Main Aur Mrs Khanna (while Salman agreed to do a guest appearance in Om Shanti Om). Salman in turn had said he never offered him the film, adding, "Shah Rukh was like my brother. He used to call me sir, sir during his struggling days."

In 2011, on Koffee With Karan, SRK publicly apologised to the actor saying: "If Salman is angry with me, it is 100% my fault." However, Salman retorted saying SRK's apology was for TRPs.

The two have worked together in Karan Arjun, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Har Dil jo Pyaar Karega, Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam and Om Shanti Om.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Actress Samantha is Mahesh Babu's fan

Actress Samantha Prabhu who starred opposite Mahesh Babu in "Dookudu" has once again paired up opposite the Prince for multi-starrer "Seetamma Vaaikitlo Sirimalle Chettu" ("SVSC").The film's shooting is currently in full swing and the actress reunited with her "Dookudu" star on the sets of "SVSC" today. The actress was touched by how unaffected Mahesh Babu was post the success of "Dookudu" and "Businessman" - two of the biggest blockbusters T-town has seen in recent times.

Voicing her appreciation for Mahesh Babu, she said that she was fan of her "SVSC" co-star. The actress posted, "Shooting fr svsc....first day with mahesh...no number of successes and no amt of praise nd adulation can change him..really am a fan", on a micro-blogging site this morning.

One has to wait and watch if all that affection for Mahesh Babu reflects on the big screen in the multi-starrer flick that also stars Venkatesh.

Rajinikanth website really runs without Internet


Kolkata: It may sound like another Rajinikanth joke, but a new website dedicated to the superstar runs 'without an Internet connection'! Visitors to www.allaboutrajni.com are greeted with a warning that "He is no ordinary man, this is no ordinary website. It runs on Rajini Power" and are advised to switch off their Internet connection to enter the website.
Only when the web is disconnected, one is allowed to explore the site.
Netizens can trace the story of the legend from the beginning, read inside scoops from his films and get a glimpse of behind-the-scenes action, while browsing through famous Rajini jokes about impossible feats only he can achieve.
Rajinikanth website really runs without Internet
"The unbelievable spectacle of running a website without the Internet is a tribute to Rajinikant's larger than life image," claimed Webchutney's creative director Gurbaksh Singh, who developed the site for Desimartini.com.
With a heady mix of foot-tapping music, vibrant splash of colours, quirky quotes and illustrations, and icons in true Rajni style and lingo, the unique website reflects Rajini's signature style.
Singh told PTI that the website is based on a complex algorithm running in the back-end that keeps an eye on the propagation of data packets between two terminals.
Magic kicks in soon as the Internet speed is down to zero, which is the basic premise on which the site and the concept have been constructed.
The humour element on the website is accentuated by the error message in typical Rajini style that appears if a visitor attempts to re-connect the Internet.
"Aiyyo! That was unexpected. To keep browsing, switch off your Internet," reads the message.
"The website has received a phenomenal response and has gone viral with several thousand hits and counting, along with innumerable shares and mentions across the web, especially on popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter," Singh said.
"After a few iterations and testing, we cracked the code required to build the world's first website that runs without the Internet - a website that runs offline - which is as awesome and unbelievable as miracles and stunts associated or performed by Rajni himself," he said.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Celina Jaitly blessed with twins

Former beauty queen turned actor Celina Jaitly, who was expected to deliver in March, has given birth to twin boys today. Husband Peter Haag tweeted: "I am so happy to inform you that Celina and myself have been blessed happy healthy twin boys, Winston and Viraaj. I am over the moon!"
"Yes our angels from  heaven are here and we are very happy. Celina and the boys are doing very well healthwise too. We just want everyone to bless our handsome boys," Haag informed in a press note.

The couple, who is based in Dubai, will be visiting Mumbai very soon. Celina married hotelier Peter Haag in 2011.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/Popup/2012/3/celina-jaitley-peter-haag.jpg

She was on a maternity leave and will next be seen in Will You Marry Me? "Maternity break...its difficult to dance n seduce the hero whilst pregnant with twins," she had earlier tweeted.

After Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Lara Dutta, Celina is the latest one to join the celebrity mom's brigade. Next in line is actor and IPL team owner Shilpa Shetty. 

Movie Review: The Hunger Games

The Jennifer Lawrence-Liam Hemsworth starrer The Hunger Games is all set to hit the theatres in India. Here
The Jennifer Lawrence-Liam Hemsworth starrer The Hunger Games 


The Hunger Games
Direction: Gary Ross
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson
Rating: ****
The past decade has witnessed the rise of tweenagers as a significant audience contributing to the success of The Lord  of the Rings, Harry Poter and Twilight series.

Adapted from the first of three wildly-popular young-adult novels by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games taps into themes — courage in the face of adversity; struggle against oppressive regimes — with strong appeal for older viewers as well.

Cannily maintaining our involvement throughout its two hours and 20 minutes runtime, the post-apocalyptic thriller has us root for the resourceful young heroine in her fight for survival.

The fatherless girl (Lawrence) hunts and barters for food for her mother and fragile younger sister. Living in abject poverty in the coal-mining district of a dystopian nation, she clings to the one chance of hope by volunteering for the titular winner-take-all competition.

Every year, children from the ages of 12 to 18 are pitted against each other in an elaborately-controlled arena until there’s only one of them left standing. The fight-to-the-death conflict is broadcast live on television.

The Roman satirist Juvenal’s formulation, nearly two millennia ago, that bread and spectacle are all it takes to appease the populace, still resonates. The popularity of reality TV shows suggests that we haven’t come far from the ancient Coliseum era.

Aided by the sumptuous photography by Clint Eastwood’s regular collaborator, Tom Stern, as well as dazzling production values, director Ross (Seabiscuit) delivers large-scale excitement.

The first hour or so is especially splendid. Once the games kick off, the narrative does tend to lose momentum. The courtship with a fellow fighter (Hutcherson) is more cloying than convincing. On the other hand, the brief encounter with a pint-sized African-American girl packs an emotional punch.

Oscar-nominated Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone, 2010) brings heartbreaking soul to her character’s transformation from underdog to a symbol of revolt. Woody Harrelson as the alcoholic mentor and Elizabeth Banks as an outlandish escort are in fine fettle.

While the hideously coiffured Stanley Tucci provides some comic relief in the role of the talk-show host, old-timer Donald Sutherland is understatedly menacing as the president.

Boney Kapoor's ex-wife passes away


 

Boney Kapoor's ex-wife Mona who was battling with cancer, passed away on Sunday. She was keeping unwell from the last five months and was admitted to Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai two weeks ago. 


Mona, 47,  has two children-son Arjun and daughter Anshala- from Boney Kapoor. Arjun is set for his Bollywood debut Ishaqzaade.

Bollywood celebs have taken to Twitter to pay condolence. 

Agent Vinod's new item girl


 

At 19, she featured in a Pepsi commercial with cricketing legends like Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar. But soon, Malika Haydon moved to Sydney, Australia for further studies and gradually ended up working in the accounts section of an Australian company. But seven years later,  At 19, she featured in a Pepsi commercial with cricketing legends like Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar. But soon, Malika Haydon moved to Sydney, Australia for further studies and gradually ended up working in the accounts section of an Australian company. But seven years later, the 27-year old is back home to explore a new territory.

Malika make her Bollywood debut with an item number titled I’ll Do The Talking in Saif Ali Khan’s Agent Vinod. For the uninitiated, her younger sibling Lisa has already featured in a couple of films such as Aisha (2010) and Rascals (2011). But Agent Vinod makers say they haven’t roped in Malika because she is “someone’s sister.”

“For us, freshness was an important factor. And since no one has seen Malika around much, it worked for us. And let me clarify, we haven’t signed her just because she is Lisa’s sister. She simply fit the profile we were looking for. And she has done a fantastic job,” says the film’s co-producer and Saif’s business partner, Dinesh Vijan, adding that the song was shot at a club in Russia.



“The pre-requisites that an Agent Vinod girl should be stunning and absolutely gorgeous weren’t enough for the track. The idea was to have a mainstay who could really hold it together and drive the song. We searched, short-listed and it wasn’t really rocket science when we found Malika,” he says.

Besides the item number, Malika will also feature in the 2012 edition of the Kingfisher Calendar. In the past, the half-Indian, half-Australian model has worked with designers like Tarun Tahiliani and Rohit Bal, besides doing fashion shows for hairdressers Toni & Guy and Brazilian designer Jatali.

According to Vijan, there’s also a storyline attached to the song. “For the time being, let it be suspense. Agent Vinod has a lot of characters. And all of them have very unique looks. So, when it came to choosing a girl for the dance number, Malika impressed us due to the same factor – uniqueness. Her USP is that she has an international face but carries an Indian attitude too,” he says 

Agent Vinod 1977: Movie Review And Old Hindi Mp3 Songs

Agent Vinod was directed by Deepak Bahry in the year 1977.

Star Cast:
The movie stars Mahendra Sandhu and Asha Sachdev in lead roles. Other star cast includes Jagdeep, Iftekhar, Helen, Rehana Sultan, Bhagwan, Leena Das, Nazir Hussain, Pinchoo Kapoor, Ravindra Kapoor, Geeta Khanna, Viju Khote, Asha Potdar, Sharat Saxena, Shobhana Shah, K N Singh, Sunder and Jay Shree T.

Movie Review:
The old hindi bollywood movie is counted among the famous action thriller cum crime drama movies, of older decades.As the name suggests " Agent Vinod ", the movie stars Vinod as a crime investigating officer who solves the most critical cases easily.Movie revolves around an investigative agency which investigates the case of kidnapping of a scientist. The story of the movie fouses on the life of a young police inspector Vinod ( Mahendra Sandhu ), he was roped in as the a detective by the police investigative branch. He was called Agent Vinod, who was very talented and smart in solving very complicated cases. One day a top research scientist Ajay Saxena ( Nazir Hussain ) was kidnapped by an antisocial organization which would force him to develop weapons to be used against the country.The whole police department was worried about this and hence they roped in Agent Vinod to investigate the matter. He was specially directed by Chief of Secret Services ( K.N. Singh ) to search for the secret information that would reveal the location of the kidnappers and their plans. He started his investigation from scraps and went ahead clue by clue. He came across a young lady Anju Saxena ( Asha Sachdeva ) who also came for his help as she was also searching for the kidnappers of her father Madanlal ( Iftekar ). Another person who helped them was Chandu aka self proclaimed James Bond ( Jagdeep ). Will the find the kidnappers in time? This makes the story interesting. The movie became popular and won many nominations and awards.Overall, the movie is good and worth watching.

Music And Singers:
Music is awesome. It is given by Ram Lakshman. And songs are sung in beautiful voices of Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar.  

Here are the mp3 songs of the movie:
To listen the songs of  Agent Vinod 1977,
online just click on the link.

Mysore’s tryst with Agent Vinod is old


Name a movie produced under the banner of Rajshri and you can find it has been screened in Lido talkies. It includes Agent Vinod and Maine Pyar Kiya among others, writes Sreekantswamy B
The Lido theatre on Bangalore-Nilgiri road in Mysore. DH photo by Prashanth H GA  biopic on ‘Father of the nation’ Mahatma Gandhiji titled ‘Gandhi’ in English was a runaway hit when it was released in theatres. Lido talkies in the city has the credit of screening the flick for 20 weeks, a record when it comes to the movies made on living legends.

M V Veerendra Kumar who had already tasted success in Olympia and Shalimar theatres in the city, was the brain behind Lido. It was also the same entrepreneur who founded Lido in Bangalore too.The then Governor Mohan Lal Sukhadia had dedicated the facility to the cinegoers on May 27, 1974. It was also something unique among the other theatres in the State for having balcony and pseudo balcony. It still remains the pride of the theatre to be the only screen to offer both types of balcony, M V Ajit Kumar the managing partner told City Herald.

When compared to other theatres, where only balcony forms the upper class, here it’s split into two. The only difference is the fare- for balcony it’s Rs 70 and pseudo it’s Rs 50 now. The experience of watching the movie from both the class is almost the same.

When Saif Ali Khan’s much awaited release of the year –Agent Vinod is already making waves, this talkies has the credit of screening a movie by the same name with different starcast. Tora Tora Tora, an American Japanese war film dramatizing the Japanese attack on pearl harbour is another prominent movie. Cleopatra is another Hollywood movie. 
Chota Chetan a 3D was screened wayback in 1980’s.

First movie

Not to forget, Dr Rajkumar’s all time hit ‘Sampaththige Savaal’ was the first movie screened in the theatre to mark its beginning. In those days, there was a norm that theatres should screen Kannada films only for inaugural run. It ran for 100 days. Says Ajit Kumar both the lead actors- Raj and Manuela had visited the theatre at a programme organised to celebrate the successful run.

Similarly angry youngman of bollywood Amitabh Bachchan’s – Lawaaris, Sharaabi, Naseeb among others, Anil Kapoor’s Tezaab, Aamir Khan’s Dil, Sanjay Kapoor’s Raja have been successfully screened here. Of the recent hits, Hum Saath Saath Hain (HSSH) from the stable of Sooraj Barjathya of Rajshri productions is also screened.
Mention must be made of the bond of Rajshri and the lido. All the movies produced under the banner from- Satyajeet starrer ‘Agent Vinod to Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaaye, Maine Pyar Kiya to HSSH have been screened here. However, till Maine Pyar Kiya Hindi films were screened in morning show here and also successfully.

Claims Ajit Kumar- the leading actors of HSSH- Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Karishma Kapoor and also Sooraj Barjathya had visited the theatre for special screening of the  movie. 

However, their visit was kept a secret to avoid troubles they may encounter. Of the very recent hits- Upendra’s comeback movie both as actor and director- Super went on to complete 100 days run. S Narayan’s ‘Cheluvina Chittara’, Puneeth Rajkumar’s ‘Arasu’ are among other notable movies shown here

Friday, March 23, 2012

Agent Vinod: Movie Review

 

Sriram Raghavan’s Saif-Kareena starrer is brilliant in bits, and incredibly asinine in others. Saif and Kareena's performance doesn't impress much, there was little that the supporting cast could do to save the day, feel critics.

Critics feel the film is brilliant in parts, but fails to impress  in entirety. "Agent Vinod is Sriram Raghavan’s ode to the spy genre, his continued love affair with ‘70’s Hindi cinema, and a genuine attempt at entertaining in a sensible manner. But it just doesn’t work. It’s not campy enough to be fun, not intelligent enough to be taken seriously, and not entertaining enough to override the first two points. It has flashes of brilliance, yes. Raghavan had the right idea, it seems, and a great choice for the lead role in Saif Ali Khan. But somewhere, there seemes to have been a slip between the script and the film," feels Aniruddha Guha, DNA.

What went wrong
Concurs Raja Sen, Rediff, "If only Agent Vinod were a video game. It has all the hallmarks of a classic: from explosive wall-to-wall action to various levels of globetrotting mayhem, from challenging moments of hand-to-hand combat and clue-hunting to an eclectic slew of fascinating side characters, from a helluva background score to, quite vitally, the fact that it doesn't end where it should and instead keeps giving the protagonist more to do."


Saif Ali Khan in a still from Agent Vinod


"So yes, as a game it'd be sensational, and tremendous fun. As a film, on the other hand, Agent Vinod must be termed a disappointment, a slick and well-produced throwback to the spy thriller that feels both overlong and under-conceived. Sure, it's glossy and gun-filled and looks shiny enough to be from Hollywood, and while that might be Farhan Akhtar's wet dream, one expects both a sense of humour and, most critically, actual cleverness from Sriram Raghavan. Coming from the man who made the marvelous Johnny Gaddaar, Agent Vinod is too depressingly generic to be celebrated," he adds.

But it's chic and uber-cool
Taran Adarsh however feels that Agent Vinod is a chic James Bond kind of a Hindi film. "Sriram Raghavan bestowed Saif with an absolute switch in Ek Hasina Thi. An unblemished look, an unsullied representation. It showcased the aptitude that the actor possesses, which, unfortunately, wasn't tapped in his earlier movies. With Agent Vinod, Sriram and Saif embark upon a spanking new journey, sorry mission, to come up with a spy film. A chic James Bond kind of a Hindi film."

"Back in 1977, a film on a secret agent called Agent Vinod, starring Mahendra Sandhu, proved a surprise hit. Three-and-a-half decades later, Sriram attempts a motion picture of the corresponding sort, retains the title, but goes in for a new plotline all in all. Besides, of course, the new Agent Vinod is uber-cool, vastly stylized and has been filmed at panoramic locales across the globe. Also, it's a well packaged secret agent movie," adds Adarsh.

Stereotype characters?
"Despite miraculous leaps in production values, spy thrillers in Bollywood end up looking like Chinese equivalents of western products. And here, the characters are even stereotyped to the extent of detectives wearing trench coats and moles being obvious, shifty-eyed and literally uncomfortable in their own skin. So let’s just say foreign locales, weapons to annihilate the world, designer suits and not-so-excruciating interrogations don’t cumulatively justify ‘Agent Vinod’ as a thrilling movie-watching experience," writes Kunal Guha, Yahoo.



Agent Vinod, revolutionary?
"Agent Vinod sets out to revolutionise filmmaking in India. It draws inspiration from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, the Mission Impossible series, Raj Comic’s Nagraj and Lee Falk & Sy Barry's Phantom stories. The first 40 minutes of the film are intriguing and simultaneously confusing. It is bifurcated into sub-plots, which add adventure to the story. But, the flip side is that some sequences look completely illogical. Like, why would Agent Vinod trust Ruby after being ditched almost twice, is quite amusing! Also, a scene where Ruby recklessly enters the danger zone alone, when she is aware that the enemy is inside and ultimately gets shot in the process, is another one where logic goes for a toss. Like James Bond, Agent Vinod gets away easily, each time he confronts his enemies or vice-versa," writes dailybhaskar.com

"Beyond some sporadic moments, the film lacks any underlying tone of humour, despite the potential. That makes the proceedings somewhat dry. The dialogues are plain functional. Pooja Ladha Surti's editing is smart and sassy and the long runtime doesn't hurt much. The action is slick but doesn't stand out. CK Muraleedharan's cinematography is competent. The background score which derives from James Bond signature tune and RD Burman numbers works well," writes Gaurav Malani, TOI.

Slow pace
"Unwanted scenes (between the lead pair) and unwarranted songs add to the film’s already lazily unfurling narrative. For a thriller that talks of nuclear explosions and a plot that zips from one country to another, the film moves at a staggeringly sluggish pace, and is only intermittently gripping," writes Guha.

Saif Ali Khan at a promotion event in Delhi


Script
"An ambitious script, set in various countries, Agent Vinod is by far the most credible secret agent movie made in Bollywood. This hi-octane thriller has style and substance, both!" feels Adarsh.

"Sriram Raghavan and Arijit Biswas’s story is noting out of the ordinary when you compare to other films of the same genre. Of course, Bollywood has seen very few spy films of late, at least not any memorable ones, but that doesn’t imply that the audience will accept a below-average story. However, it is the screenplay, also by the same writers, is where Agent Vinod really falters. While the writer-director Sriram Raghavan has made sure that the scenes are slickly shot and executed but at times, they hardly make any sense. Although this does gives a feeling of anticipation, the audience soon realizes that there is nothing earth-shattering that is going to be revealed in the plot," writes Mrigank Dhaniwala, Koimoi.com.

Direction
"Sriram himself is the vital USP of this endeavor. His method of exemplifying the anecdote is way too varied from the prototypes. Drifting away completely from the Bond movies of swanky cars and cool babes, this one is more about electrifying thrills along with a lot of wit and intelligence and a garnishing of the desi tadka. The nuggets of the quirky humor injected in the plot work incredibly well," says Adarsh.

But Raja Sen differs with Adarsh. "Agent Vinod wants to be funny, and while there is the occasional burst of wit, it's exhaustingly rare. Sriram Raghavan is, first and foremost, a film fanboy, and sure this film has references sprinkled through it? the greatest salutes being to the 1978 Don, with a mention of that immortal character's dislike of a person's shoes, and with inconveniently dead Iftekhaars who are the only ones aware of a protagonist's true allegiance?"




Dhaniwala has a unique perspective. "Director Sriram Raghavan makes a film that sometimes looks like a spoof, sometimes a serious nail-biting spy drama and at other times, is exposed as a half-baked film. His composition of many scenes and action sequences might be unusual and therefore, interesting, but that by itself, means little as the script fails to excite the viewer enough."

"He makes the time honoured mistake of succumbing to the considerable charms of his lead pair and makes it mawkish. So mawkish that it induces sniggers. Which is a pity because he'd been doing fine till then, ticking along nicely, taking Vinod from planes, trains, beaten up Army jeeps, to sailboats, to motorbikes, even to a helicopter," writes Kaveree Bamzai, India Today.

Performances
After facing a ban in Pakistan and a plagiarism row, Saif-Kareena 
Saif Ali Khan

"After playing a straightforward simpleton in Aarakshan, Saif returns as a spy in Agent Vinod. Saif has a distinct style of dialogue delivery that gels well with the character here. Saif is effectual and charming all through. It's a flawless performance and it's an absolute delight watching Saif get into the groove so magnificently," says Adarsh.

"When the lead cast of the film fails you, it’s like the tail-enders are put to task. But with Saif and Kareena both believing that expressions are injurious to health, there was little that the supporting cast could do to save the day," says Guha.
Kareena Kapoor
Saif-Kareena in a still from Agent Vinod
Kareena Kapoor
"Kareena has a pivotal part to play and the fact of the matter is that only a commanding actress could've pulled this role off with elan, flamboyance and vulnerability. The fact that she is superlatively talented only gets reiterated with this awe-inspiring and elaborate act," feels Adarsh.
Agent Vinod Wallpaper
Conclusion
"On the whole, Agent Vinod is a hi-octane espionage thriller with a heart. It is not just brawny and dynamic, but witty and crazy too. Ultra slick and stylish, this desi Bond movie adheres to the formula and succeeds in meeting the humungous expectations. Agent Vinod has all the potential to develop into a triumphant franchise!" Writes Adarsh.

"Sriram Raghavan’s Agent Vinod is brilliant in bits, and incredibly asinine in others. It’s probably the most inconsistently good film I’ve watched lately, and a massive letdown. Which is a pity. It could have made for a rare, looked-forward-to franchise," concludes Guha.

Pakistan bans 'Agent Vinod'

Reacting to the ban on his upcoming film 'Agent Vinod' in Pakistan,
actor Saif Ali Khan, who is also the co-producer of the film, says that
it was unfortunate that the film was not being allowed in Pakistan and
that the monetary loss was a secondary problem.

Whitney Houston cause of death was drowning, coroner says

 
LOS ANGELES - Drugs took many things from Whitney Houston — her pristine voice, clean image and her career — andc's officials revealed Thursday that cocaine also played a role in the Grammy winner's death in the bathtub of a luxury hotel nearly six weeks ago.
Houston drowned accidentally at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 11, and autopsy results revealed heart disease and her recent and chronic cocaine use were contributing factors.
The results ended weeks of speculation about what killed the singer-actress at age 48 on the eve of the Grammy Awards and a planned comeback. Instead, Houston now joins the long list of entertainers who have died early with drugs at least partly to blame.
Coroner's officials did not reveal how much cocaine was found in Houston's system, but said there were signs of recent and chronic use. It was unclear whether she suffered a heart attack before drowning, Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said.
"We are saddened to learn of the toxicology results, although we are glad to now have closure," Patricia Houston, the singer's sister-in-law and manager, said in a statement.
Houston's death the night before the Grammys altered the awards ceremony and brought back immediate memories of the singer in her better days, belting out hits and starring in the feature films such as "The Bodyguard" and "Waiting to Exhale." Years later, Houston's drug use had robbed her of her ability to hit high notes and left her once clean image tarnished.
"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy," Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 television interview with then-husband Bobby Brown by her side.
In 2009, after she had divorced Brown, she told Oprah Winfrey that her cocaine and marijuana use took over her life. Both drugs were found in Houston's system after she died, though the marijuana and several other prescription drugs played no role in her death, coroner's officials said.
"I had so much money and so much access to what I wanted," Houston told Winfrey. "I didn't think about the singing part anymore. I was looking for my young womanhood."
Houston's planned comeback after that interview didn't pan out, but she was taking another shot this year with her appearance in a remake of the film "Sparkle."
She stars as the mother of a family of girls who form a singing group and struggle with fame and addiction. She also sang for the film, delivering a soulful rendition of the gospel hymn "His Eye is on the Sparrow."
It is unclear what impact, if any, the autopsy results will have on the film, although untimely death has not been an impediment to the posthumous releases of other actors and entertainers. Heath Ledger's performance in "The Dark Knight" helped propel the film to blockbuster status and earned the actor a posthumous Oscar. He died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in January 2008, months before the film's release.
More recently, Amy Winehouse's duet "Body and Soul" with Tony Bennett earned them a Grammy Award, months after the singer died unexpectedly in London. An inquest determined she died from an accidental alcohol overdose.
A spokesman for Sony Pictures did not return an email message Thursday seeking comment on whether Houston's autopsy results would alter marketing of "Sparkle."
It will be a couple weeks before the exact amount of cocaine in Houston's system is released, officials said.
The drug has been known to cause damage to the heart and could have cause Houston's death, said Dr. Michael Fishbein, professor of pathology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He had no role in the investigation.
He said a likely scenario was that Houston's cocaine use interfered with the normal function of her heart.
"There's no reason to drown in a bathtub unless you're incapacitated," Fishbein said.
Houston's friend and collaborators said after her death that they didn't believe she was still abusing drugs, and she described as being a complete professional on the "Sparkle" set.
Houston, a sensation from her first, eponymous album in 1985, was one of the world's best-selling artists from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, turning out such hits as "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," ''How Will I Know," ''The Greatest Love of All" and "I Will Always Love You."
She was buried last month in a New Jersey cemetery next to her father after an emotional four-hour funeral service that was attended by friends, family and superstars such as Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson and Roberta Flack