With the signing of a film each with Dev Benegal and Rohit Shetty, actress Kareena Kapoor has embarked on a new phase in her career. She says she is now keen to create a balance in the nature of her films.

"As a commercial actress, I've done it all. Now I'd like to balance out the more massy stuff with something more unconventional. I would like to work with Aanand Rai, Sudhir Mishra, Dibakar Banerjee and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and I'm working towards it," Kareena said.

She has signed Benegal's "Bombay Samurai", which also features Farhan Akhtar. And she has taken up Shetty's "Singham 2", Projects with Sudhir Mishra and Aanand Rai are also being discreetly discussed.

Dibakar Banerjee is also likely to cast her.

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap says he will fight till the end against the Censor Board's objection to his refusal to add anti-smoking disclaimers in his upcoming directorial venture "Ugly". And if the need arises, he will even approach the Supreme Court.

Kashyap has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court against the Central Board of Film Certification in the regard, and he is not willing to release his film with such disclaimers.

"What I feel is (that it is) very unfair. It is absolutely mindless and pointless. If the Bombay High Court does not agree to it, I will go to Supreme Court," Kashyap said here in an interview.

Produced by DAR Motion Pictures and Phantom Films, "Ugly", was earlier slated to release Oct 11 this year but then the release was moved forward to next year as the filmmaker was not willing to carry the anti-smoking disclaimer in the smoking scenes in the film.

"I don't want to release "Ugly" with those (anti-smoking) notifications.

"I have to fight till the end. I have my right to expression. I make my films and in this country, being a democracy I think I am going to pitch my fight till the end to see that what comes out of it because somewhere somebody has to stand up and fight against it," he added.

Known for films like "Gangs Of Wasseypur", "Dev D", "Gulaal" and "No Smoking", Kashyap also said that such disclaimers are an insult to anybody who takes his work seriously.

"Warning (disclaimer) is not just distracting, it is a downright insult to anybody who takes his work seriously.

"I take my films very seriously and I feel it is very insulting that there is a key moment going on in my film and suddenly that logo (disclaimer) appears," said the filmmaker.

"Ugly" features Ronit Roy, Girish Kulkarni, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Surveen Chawla, Siddharth Kapoor and Rahul Bhatt in key roles.

Filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia is happy that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has let his film "Miss Lovely", which explores the world of sleazy C-grade Indian movies, release with a few cuts and an 'A' certificate, in the country.

It is indeed an "adult film", says Ahluwalia.

"The story takes place in the dark, lower depths of the industry, so this is not the kind of space that we usually depict in our films. It is a very adult film that explores sexuality and violence and the things that people do to each other when they are struggling to make it in a city," he said in a statement.

"I'm happy that the censor board didn't ban it and, instead, eventually opted to grant it very few cuts," he added.

The film, which has done its share of rounds at film festivals abroad, will hit the screens in India Jan 17.

Ahluwalia was surprised by the excitement that the film generated worldwide. It was even screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

"For the west, Indian cinema is either Satyajit Ray or Bollywood. 'Miss Lovely', on the other hand, is a mix of so many different genres, with a storytelling style and atmosphere that is pretty wild."

"It sometimes moves like a novel with multiple characters and side stories. I didn't expect people to react to it so enthusiastically," he said.

The film features Nawazzuddin Siddiqui in a prominent role.

Actor Ranveer Singh, who used to serve coffee at Starbucks in Indiana in the US before he became an actor, says he used to go out of his way to take care of his looks to impress girls who frequented the cafe.

“I used to keep my hair (points to shoulder) that long, (they used to be) all tanned. I used to look distinctive. There were all these hot Jewish girls who used to take coffee to class every morning and they used to be like "Oh my God! the guy behind the counter is so exotic-looking. He’s like such a dreamboat,” Ranveer said on popular talk show “Koffee With Karan”.

Not only did he take care of his looks, he used to also speak in an Indian accent to catch their attention.

“I used to purposely put on an Indian accent because they used to find it very appealing. I used to talk like Apu from 'The Simpsons',” added Ranveer, whose last film “Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-leela” managed to win many hearts.

The actor will be seen on "Koffee With Karan" Sunday on Star World.

Sajid Nadiadwala's “Phantom” has begun its shooting schedule here. The producer says the film is shaping up well.

The film is set in post 26/11 attacks in Mumbai and global terrorism, where Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif play the role of secret agents.

“The shooting for the Mumbai schedule has begun and we can see the movie progressing as envisioned. Both the actors, Saif (Ali Khan) and Katrina (Kaif), have worked hard for their roles,” Nadiadwala said in a statement.

Shooting for the action thriller began in October in Beirut, Lebanon where the cast and crew were provided extra security due to the political instability in the country.

Directed by Kabir Khan, the film is scheduled for a 2014 release.

Superstar Salman Khan's gesture of promoting action-adventure film “Dhoom 3”, on his show “Bigg Boss-Saath 7” seems to have fetched him a good name.

The actor has been promoting the film on his own, even without the star cast being present on the set.

Filmmaker Kunal Kohli took to Twitter to talk about how this act reflects the true friendship between Salman and Aamir Khan who plays the lead role in "Dhoom 3".

“Never seen a star promote another's film so much, without the other being present. Salman Khan true dosti nibhayi (you are a true friend) to Aamir Khan,” Kohli posted on the micro-blogging site Wednesday.

Set to release Friday, the Yash Raj Films' production also stars Abhishek Bachchan, Katrina Kaif and Uday Chopra.

Switch to a classic look or a funky one by pairing timeless pearl jewellery with casual and formal wear.

Suvankar Sen, senior executive director of Senco Gold Ltd., shares a few rules on how to wear pearls with your outfit to get the look you desire:

- Long back pearl necklace, bracelet and earrings will go well with a golden dress. If your dress has overpowering collar, avoid wearing pearl necklace.

- Look elegant by wearing multiple strands of large pearls with a pant suit. You can mix pearls in different colours together to take the fashion quotient up.

- Light weight pearl necklaces gel with strapless gowns. If you wish to do without the necklace, go ahead with pearl earrings. It will be perfect jewellery to match with your evening gown.

- When worn with a satin skirt, pearl jewellery looks even better. Wear a cardigan in muted hues with it.

Filmmaker Mrinal Sen, who had sustained hip injuries two days ago, was "doing well" after a minor surgery here Wednesday, family sources said.

The 90-year-old Dadasaheb Phalke awardee, who paved the way for parallel cinema in India with landmark films like "Bhuvan Shome", had slipped on the bathroom floor Monday, his wife said.

"He had injured his hip and was operated early morning today (Wednesday) at a private hospital. He is recovering and is doing well," Sen's wife Gita Sen told IANS over phone.

However, Sen's date of discharge is not yet confirmed, she added.

The filmmaker had undergone a surgery due to a similar incident two years ago.

Sen has won awards at several international film festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Venice and Moscow.

His other films include "Ek Din Achanak", "Padatik" and "Mrigayaa".

The small screen is full of ads of fairness creams but tall, dusky and gorgeous model Lisa Haydon says the Indian fashion industry is "open minded" about dusky beauties.

"Fashion is much more open minded to duskier skin, but I do not think they are prejudiced in any way to fair skin either," Lisa told IANS in an interview.

"Designers have always fawned over my skin, especially Tarun Tahiliani. I've definitely felt accepted brown skin and all. But fair girls like Shivani Kapoor were as loved too. I think the fashion world is just more open to all sorts of experimentation," said the 27-year-old.

The modelling industry in the country indeed has been open to dusky skin. Names like Noyonika Chatterjee, Laxmi Rana, Carol Gracias, Bhawna Sharma, Sapna Sharma, Tinu Verghese are a case in point.

Bollywood too, over a period of time, has been accepting of beauties like Sushmita Sen, Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra, Nandita Das, Esha Gupta, Chitrangada Singh, Konkona Sen Sharma and Asin. Lisa was accepted too.

She made her acting debut with the 2010 film "Aisha" and was later seen in "Rascals". Currently, she hosts NDTV Good Times'"Kingfisher Supermodels", which is a hunt for a Kingfisher Calendar Girl.

The show will have its finale Saturday. Lisa believes such a platform does "a lot of favours for a model's career".

"It is because of the way the calendar is marketed, promoted and of course shot by Atul Kasbekar. It's a great way of being introduced to the whole business at once...and they are instantly catapulted onto a stage with girls that are well-established and respected in the industry. It just positions a model really well," said Lisa, who has been a part of the popular annual calendar in the past.

In her modelling career of eight years, Lisa has walked for most big designers in the country. Now she only walks the ramp when a designer "has specifically called for me or the show is going to be extra special".

"I think these days when life is so busy and I'm juggling acting, modelling and my organic skincare line - Naked by Lisa Haydon - that I do only the work that I'm specifically passionate about...and that may be in one of the many fashion weeks, but one must be choosy as well," she added.

On the film front, Lisa is awaiting the release of "Queen", which stars Kangana Ranaut in the lead. The film industry boasts a lot of names who went from the modelling field to the acting arena, but Lisa says the transition isn't "a rule of thumb for everyone".

"I started acting because I was offered films, and I wanted to go to drama school and do the film because I'm the kind of girl that will do everything once. Now of course that door has been opened, I will only pursue a project that is authentic to me," she said.

Crafts from Egypt will be a highlight of the 28th edition of Dastkari Haat Samiti's annual crafts bazaar that starts Jan 1, 2014 at Dilli Haat here.

Marble inlay, bead work, telli work, leather work, papier mache, weaving, block making, natural dyeing, and embroidery are some of the Egyptian crafts that will be on display.

Conceived by craft expert Jaya Jaitly, the 'bazaar' will witness over 160 craftspeople from the villages, towns and cities of various parts of India as well as some Egyptian craftsmen. The latter have been invited to collaborate with Dastkari Haat Samiti to conduct a skill training and exchange workshop at the event, which will conclude Jan 15.

The idea behind the collaboration is to nurture long-term friendships and provide unique inputs to the crafts sector while enhancing economic well-being and diplomatic ties at the ground level, said a statement.

From India, Sadhna group from Rajasthan, Saasha group from West Bengal, Sabala group from Karnataka, Embroidery of Punjab by Nabha Foundation and Embroidery from Artesania from Gujarat, will represent the country's rich craft culture.

Also, National and state-awardees from Bihar, Gujrat, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and others will demonstrate their skills during the event.

To add to the charm of the event, there will be folk musicians from Rajasthan as well as folk dances such as Kalbelia, Langa and Bhavai will be staged as well.

Adult film star and Bollywood actress Sunny Leone has topped the imagery downloads category in an annual survey of mobile attitude of customers.

Airtel Mobitude 2013, the fifth edition of Indian annual survey, reveals that Sunny is the most downloaded actor, both in female and male categories, with a whopping 300 percent more downloads than even superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

"Mobitude captures these trends to bring out the true reflection of the customer's likings and usage habits. The verdict this year has interesting findings of the preferences of more than 194 million customers across the country," Govind Rajan, chief marketing officer, consumer business, Bharti Airtel (India), said in a statement.

In the female category, the "Jackpot" star is followed by Sherlyn Chopra while Priyanka Chopra takes the third spot.

Priyanka’s cousin Parineeti Chopra made it to the fourth place, and Poonam Pandey rounds up the top five in the category.

Among males, Ranbir Kapoor has the maximum imagery download. The second place goes to Shahid Kapoor followed by Ranveer Singh. Shah Rukh takes the fourth place while “Dabangg” star Salman Khan is in the fifth spot.

Bollywood funnyman Govinda make a cameo appearance on comedy show "Naadaaniyaan - Teen Nadaanon Ki Kahaani", where he will also celebrate his 50th birthday.

Govinda will turn a year older Saturday. The show's producers decided to dedicate a special episode to the actor, and Gaurav Sharma, who plays a key role in the show says he was very excited about sharing the frame with a "legend" like Govinda, said a statement.

"Growing up, I was one of his biggest fans. I've seen all of his movies and have learnt all of his moves. I would love to challenge him to a dance-off during his visit," added Gaurav.

"Naadaaniyaan - Teen Nadaanon ki Kahaani", a remake of a popular Pakistani comedy sitcom of the same name, is a situational comedy that revolves around the Verma family - Naman, Chandani and Pushkar, who are based in Delhi.

The show airs on BIG Magic.

Actress Meghna Naidu, best known for her role in "Hawas", will soon enter "Jodha Akbar" as a character named Benazir.

The actress, also remembered for being a part of the video of the remixed version of "Kaliyon ka chaman", is excited to be back on the small screen and says she is happy that her role also has some dancing sequences.

"It feels good to come back and take up a role in one of the top-rated shows running on Indian television at the moment. I have been following 'Jodha Akbar' on and off and I love the grandeur of the sets and the entire look and feel of the show," Meghna said in a statement.

Talking about her role, she said: "The role is one of a temptress...someone who will captivate Akbar's attention through her guile and allure. She will be a part of his harem and will dance her way into his heart. So, I am glad the role entails dancing."

She will start shooting for the show soon.

Her character Benazir will enter the show with a secret agenda and is expected to bring some new twists in the show.

Along with Meghna, even actress Juhi Aslam will enter the show. She will play Zaiyada in the Zee TV show.

Small screen actor Rithvik Dhanjani went down on his knees and poured his heart out to his girlfriend, actress Asha Negi on a public platform.

The couple is currently a participant on the celebrity couple dance reality show "Nach Baliye 6".

According to sources, the actor sang a song for her. The romantic bit was that he had written and composed it himself.

"Nach Baliye 6" airs on Star Plus.

As "Dhoom 3" readies to make its stylised entry at the Indian box office Friday, it seems that it will not just impact audiences visually but financially as well.

If that is not enough, the film is expected to make waves in Pakistan too.

As the film's release draws closer, the IMAX screens have set their prices at Rs.400-600 for the morning shows and Rs.700-900 for the night shows, according to their official website.

For a family of five, watching "Dhoom 3" could thus mean an expenditure of Rs.4,500, sans any coke and popcorn!

The prices might seem extravagant and uneconomical for a middle class family but advance booking status on the website shows that the seats are filling up fast and have even been sold out at places.

This might be the status for IMAX screens but others are keeping the ticket price affordable. The cost of tickets in multiplexes ranges between Rs.300-Rs.400.

The prices in New Delhi seem to be lesser than those in Mumbai and range between Rs.200-Rs.250, with the exception of a few theatres where the prices have gone upto Rs.500.

Smaller cities like Chandigarh and Jaipur fall in the average price range of Rs.150-Rs.400. However, there are also places like the Gaiety Galaxy theatre in Bandra here where you can enjoy Aamir Khan's grey character in the action thriller at reasonable rates.

"All the theatres might have been taking advantage of the release of 'Dhoom 3', but we at Gaiety Galaxy have made it a point to not increase the rate. Our ticket prices remain consistent at Rs.70-Rs.90," said Manoj Desai of Gaiety Galaxy.

Desai added that the weekend is already pre-booked and he is expecting an identical pattern in the following week as well.

Produced under the Yash Raj Films (YRF) banner and directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, the film boasts of a starry cast with Aamir in a new avatar - he will be seen as a gymnast.

Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra will reprise their roles of Jai Dixit and Ali from the last two "Dhoom" movies and Katrina Kaif will enhances the glamour quotient as the female lead in the movie, which will be Bollywood's first film to be released in the IMAX format, a specialised film format.

The 2D film is already being appreciated for the stunts featured in the trailer and especially the bike scenes featuring Aamir.

Trade analyst Amod Mehra predicts that the film will surpass the collections of previous blockbusters.

"Reality check.. Mark my words...'Dhoom 3' will cross Rs.100 crore in the first three days and it will also cross Rs.200 crore in the first seven days," Mehra said in post on Twitter Wednesday.

Raising the bar of pre-release promotions, the makers have also come up with innovative advertisements with tag lines reading - "It's Dhoom day...Are you bunking college today".

Not only is the film expected to flourish in India, it will also see a release in Pakistan.

Veteran actress Waheeda Rehman will be honoured with an Excellence in Screen Acting Award at the 12th edition of Third Eye Asian Film Festival, which she will inaugurate Jan 3.

The festival will open with Vietnamese film “Koan of Spring”, directed by Lou Ma Ho.

It will also have a special Marathi package of six films premiering in India, said a statement.

The highlight of the festival is Kamal Swaroop's "Rangbhoomi", a documentary on the life of Dadasaheb Phalke, called the father of Indian cinema.

The festival will close with the Chinese film “Aftershock”.

Sussanne Roshan Wednesday spoke out against reports that actor Arjun Rampal was a reason behind her split with her husband of 13 years, Hrithik Roshan. She says nobody is to be blamed.

Sussanne couldn't avoid queries related to the recent announcement of her split with Hrithik, at the launch of Bandra 190, a luxury concept retail boutique co-owned by Sussanne, Seema Khan and Maheep Kapoor here Wednesday.

Asked to react to reports on Arjun's involvement, she said: "You can't blame anyone for this. It is sad to blame anyone. We are close-knit friends. It's not right to blame anyone."

She said she cannot pinpoint a reason for parting ways with Hrithik, whom she dated for four years before finally tying the knot Dec 20, 2000.

"There is no reason. Sometimes you have to do this because of a situation," said the mother of two sons - Hrehaan and Hridhaan.

Hrithik announced Sussanne's decision to end their marriage via an official statement Dec 13.

Filmmaker K.S. Ravikumar has denied rumours that his next film will feature superstar Rajinikanth.

"I will soon be starting my next project with Kannada actor Kiccha Sudeep. I'm not doing any new project with Rajini sir," Ravikumar told IANS.

"We started a film, but that had to be shelved after he fell ill. Whatever you are hearing are just rumours and should be treated as the same," he added, setting the record straight.

Ravi and Rajini had collaborated on a Tamil film titled "Rana", which had to be dropped. The two have earlier worked together in Tamil blockbusters "Muthu" and "Padayappa".

Two of the highly anticipated Tamil albums "Jilla" and "Veeram" of superstars Vijay and Ajith Kumar respectively, will have a soft audio launch, according to their makers who have decided not to go for grand release.

The soundtrack of "Veeram" will be released Friday on a radio channel in the presence of its director Siva and composer Devi Sri Prasad.

"Ajith sir usually prefers soft launches over a lavish one, and therefore, he insisted that we have a soft launch for our film. Moreover, we are confident about the music and strongly believe that it will be well received," film's director Siva told IANS.

Ajith usually likes to stay out of limelight and seldom promotes his films.

Vijay's "Jilla" will hit the stores directly Saturday.

"We are extremely busy with the post-production work and since we have already locked the release date, we wanted to ensure everything wrapped up on time. Therefore, we have decided not to have a grand audio launch," the film's director Nesan told IANS.

Vijay's last two releases "Thuppakki" and "Thalaivaa" had grand functions for their audio launch.

Nesan added that what matters finally is the music.

"If the music is good then it will automatically be received well. We don't have to necessarily promote it in the market. I think the music of our film won't disappoint fans," he said.

D. Imman has composed the music for "Jilla".

Both the films are slated to battle it out at the box office next year.

Independent producer Ram Mohan P, who is co-producing upcoming Telugu romantic-drama "Uyyala Jampala" with actor Akkineni Nagarjuna, said that the actor gave him immense respect and freedom to work.

Nagarjuna is also a successful producer and releases films under his home banner Annapurna Studios. He has produced films such as "Prema Katha", "Manmadhudu" and "Bhai".

Talking about the actor-producer, Ram Mohan told IANS: "He gave me the freedom and respect as an independent producer and waited patiently to see the final product. Such faith and trust in this business is truly a rarity and that's what makes Annapurna Studios so special."

He lauds Nagarjuna's ability to spot new talent.

"Nagarjuna's career as a producer is built around spotting new talent and working with them. From Ram Gopal Varma to Lawrence, he has never hesitated to work with newcomers. It was a meeting of similar mind sets that paved way for our collaboration," he added.

Nag, as he is fondly called in the industry, launched ace filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma through his debut outing "Siva" in Telugu.

"Uyyala Jampala", starring debutants Avika Gor and Tarun Raj, is slated to release Dec 25. It's the love story of childhood sweethearts set against a rural backdrop.