He could've made a living out of his passion for acting in his native Mumbai, provided "nepotism" in the Indian film industry hadn't driven him away. Lavrenti Lopes, who is originally from Goa but who now works in Hollywood, says showbiz back home is tougher for an "outsider" like him.

Born and raised in Mumbai, Lopes, whose parents are from Goa, shifted base to New York in 2007 to pursue his dreams. There, life took a dramatic turn for him and he landed roles in "Afghan Hound", "Love, Lies and Seeta" and "Desperate Endeavors".

The alumnus of the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute is now set to feature as a solo lead in English language film "The Mad Ones" this year.

"Growing up, I watched an equal amount of Indian movies as Hollywood movies. There's a lot of nepotism in the Indian industry and since I don't come from a film family, I didn't really know the way to get in or the dos and don'ts of the Indian film industry," Lopes told IANS in an email interaction from New York.

"When it comes to the industry in the US, it's very much based on merit. If you were to compare the number of actors in India that come from film families versus America, you'd know what I'm talking about," added the 27-year-old.

It may hold true - be it Bollywood or the film industry down South, a majority of reigning stars have a film lineage and what many rue as "godfathers".

But keeping that aside, Lopes is a "big fan of Indian movies".

"As an actor, I'm also an artist and there's a certain new brand of Indian cinema that has developed in recent years that is very commendable because it's not afraid to break the mould.

"I think Aamir Khan, Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi have been championing this brand of cinema for years through their work, which is why I look up to them," he said.

Lopes briefly followed his career choice in Mumbai as part of the theatre circuit before he flew abroad. His move was also influenced by the dearth of a "a good education system for performing arts in India".

"Education in India is very cheap...Unfortunately, India doesn't have a good education system for performance arts," said the young actor, who was burdened by the cost of his course in New York when he first came here.

There were also work visa hassles apart from the burdens that go with being an actor. But they only made him stronger and more resilient.

"I think these obstacles make you appreciate every accomplishment, no matter how small or big," said Lopes, whose first project was "subHysteria", a Venezuelan feature film.

The decision to shift to New York, he said, was "impulsive", but he treated it like a "learning ground" where when he started actively pursuing work, "it was only obvious to move to Hollywood".

His next project, "The Mad Ones", is a story about three 20-year-old people trying to find meaning in their work and life in the digital age. He plays an Indian named Nitin.

With established Indian actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan now finding space in Hollywood films, Lopes agreed that "there are definitely a lot more opportunities for Indian actors today than even five years ago".

"Years ago, it used to be that the only time you saw an Indian was if there was a cab driver in the scene. That has changed significantly. And part of it is a societal change; and the art, albeit delayed, reflects that.

"Today it is perfectly common to see an inter-racial couple in real life and the art is slowly catching on. It's also great to have more Indians part of the creation process. The director of 'The Mad Ones', Aniruddh Pandit is an Indian-American. And we need more people like him to stir a different thinking," Lopez concluded.

Actress Juhi Chawla will soon be seen in "Gulaab Gang" with Madhuri Dixit and is happy that the film's promo has created curiosity among the public.

"I am happy that the promo has created a curiosity among the public because today every week there are so many films coming out that it is not easy for a film to make a place in the crowd," the 46-year-old said here Tuesday at the grand finale of Indian Princess beauty contest.

"But this promo has created a definite interest and I am happy and grateful about that. Our film is also as interesting as the promo looks. Please come and watch it," she added.

Directed by Soumik Sen, "Gulaab Gang" hits theatres March 7.

Ever since I started covering the Hindi film industry, I have heard artists complaining how tough it's for "outsiders" to succeed in showbiz and what a cakewalk it is for star kids. Contrary to popular belief, however, star kids too have to slog it out to win star status - and it's a journey where only a few succeed.

The success to failure ratio of youngsters from film families just goes to prove that the legacy edge is nothing more than a myth.

Consider some of the actors who came riding on the shoulders of their family names: Abhishek Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Uday Chopra, Tanisha Mukherjee, Esha Deol, Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan, Puru Raj Kumar, Riya and Reema Sen, Twinkle and Rinkie Khanna, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Shahid Kapoor, to name a few.

Only a handful like Hrithik (son of actor-filmmaker Rakesh Roshan), Kareena (daughter of Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and granddaughter of the legendary Raj Kapoor), Ranbir (son of actors Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh) and Farhan (son of writer and poet Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani) have sparkled on the film firmament and attained star status.
The rest have bitten the dust despite the often persistent backing of their illustrious families.

Take, for instance, Uday Chopra, the son of Yash Chopra, a filmmaker with a magic wand who founded the prestigious Yash Raj Films (YRF) banner and created several blockbusters and catapulted the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan to superstardom.

But the master craftsman couldn't write the same success saga for his son with his production ventures "Neal 'n' Nikki" or "Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai".

Even in YRF's successful franchise "Dhoom", lead actors like John Abraham, Hrithik Roshan and Aamir Khan were seen eclipsing Uday.

This is strange, considering YRF is the banner that successfully launched rank outsiders like Ranveer Singh, Parineeti Chopra and Anushka Sharma - three stars who are currently making waves in filmdom.

It won't be wrong to say that Abhishek too met the same fate as Uday. Even at 71, Amitabh sets standards for all and sundry, but son Abhishek, who proved his mettle in highly appreciated films like "Yuva" and "Guru", is yet to enter the same league.

Yes, star kids enjoy an advantage as they have easier access. But getting an easy entry into the industry and becoming a box office favourite are two different things - the first clearly does not guarantee the second. Ultimately, audiences embrace talent.

Also, one cannot forget that filmmaking is a business and filmmakers invest in those who have viewer acceptance. This applies across the film industry.

Interestingly, our most popular and loved stars are from outside the industry - be it superstars Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar, or reigning queens like Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra.

This does not, however, deter star kids from trying their hands at a profession their parents made their names in.

Here are a few more who have tried their luck in the recent past: National Award winning actor and Disco King Mithun Chakraborty's son Mimoh; producer Harry Baweja's son Harman; Raj Babbar and Smita Patil's son Prateik, and Kirron-Anupam Kher's son Sikander.

The list also features Sonam Kapoor, daughter of actor-producer Anil Kapoor; Shruti Haasan, daughter of southern superstar Kamal Haasan and actress Sarika; Shekhar Suman's son Adhyayan; and producer Vashu Bhagnani's son Jackky.

Then, there is director Ayan Mukerji (of the critically acclaimed "Wake up Sid" and the blockbuster "Yeh Jawani Jai Deewani"), grandson of Indian cinema pioneer Sashadar Mukherjee and the son of actor Deb Mukherjee.

Of this lot, barring Sonam and Shruti, who have had some success, and Ayan, most others have fallen by the wayside.

Right now all eyes are on Mahesh Bhatt and Soni Razdan's daughter Alia, David Dhawan's son Varun and Boney Kapoor's son Arjun, who have made dramatic starts to their careers.

Clearly, kids from film families will continue to try their luck in an industry that is in constant search of the next big star.

Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor was thrilled to work with an international crew, who have shot ads with the likes of Eva Mendes and Eva Longoria, as part of an ad campaign for ice cream brand Magnum.

The actress shot her first ad Sunday.

To ensure international standards, the entire team was flown into Mumbai from New York for the ad.

To ensure that Kareena looked her international best, young designer Tanya Ghavri -- who has been working sartorial miracles on Sonam Kapoor and Ilena d’Cruz -- was roped in to do her look for the ad.

Taking a break from the very stylish ad-shoot, Kareena said: “It’s amazing to work with international brands and teams. Yes, I am shooting an ad with the crew that did the ads for Eva Mendes and Eva Longoria. Their style of working is very different from our own very talented ad-makers.”

About not having her favourite designer Manish Malhotra on board, Kareena says: “Manish is family. There is no question of replacing him. I just wanted to try another stylist for this ad. We all need to work with different people, experience new strains of creativity. Or we stagnate. And to me stagnation is death.”

Talking about her Bollywood projects, the actress who has now washed her hands of Karan Johar’s "Shuddhi", is getting ready to shoot Dev Benegal’s "Bombay Samurai" in May.

The film also features Farhan Akhtar and they both go into intense training to look fighting fit for Benegal’s film.

Kareena will again be seen shedding kilos after her very popular weight loss for film "Tashan" in 2008.

“Not Size zero, God forbid! But I need to look leaner specially since my co-star is one of most sinewy guys in our cinema,” laughs Kareena.

A bouquet of more than 20 films offering fresh insights into lives of people with disabilities is being screened here as part of the festival of International Short Films on differently-Abled that began Tuesday.

"The Way We Live - Mark II/Indian Edition" has been brought to the city by Goethe Institut, Max Mueller Bhavan, Kolkata, in collaboration with Nandan West Bengal Film Centre.

According to a statement issued by the institute, the event has been curated by Gregor Kern, authority on disability cinema, from Germany and noted Indian theatre actor and psychiatrist Mohan Agashe.

Kern is the former director of the film fest.

"Viewing a good film is a non-invasive tool of learning, particularly about inclusive society," said Agashe.

Films that have been showcased in the Munich chapter of the festival are part of the three-day screening here.

Following the special showing, Agashe and Kern are scheduled to spearhead discussions on issues pertaining to the differently-abled.

Post the Kolkata leg, the show will travel to Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram and Bangalore.

Hollywood film “Pompeii”, which will soon hit Indian theatres, will feature famous punchlines from Indian epic tale "Mahabharata" in its Hindi dubbed version.

The movie, distributed by PVR Pictures, is set for a Feb 21 release in India.

Both "Mahabharata" and “Pompeii” depict story of power, dignity, greed and emotions. Even two shlokas from the Indian manuscript will be used in the credit roll of the movie giving an impact to the audience.

"'Mahabharata' without a doubt is India's most widely known written piece of work. Every person recognises it and has great relevance with it. Given the plot of ‘Pompeii’, we felt bringing in an Indian connect through adapting some famous quotes, dialogues from Mahabharata would strike an instant connect,” Kamal Gaichandani, president, PVR Pictures, said in a statement.

The movie features Kit Harington and Keifer Sutherland.

Former Disney UTV managing director Ronnie Screwvala, who will be a part of the jury for the 2014 Rolex Awards for Enterprise, says it is a "privilage" for him to part of the distinguished body.

He will be joined by other distinguished jury members from other parts of the world.

"The Rolex Awards for Enterprise is an Institution and it's going to be a privilege to be on the jury along with colleagues from around the world. This year is extra special as the highest number of applicants from around the Globe are from India - true telling of our entrepreneurial calling," Screwvala said in a statement.

The jury will meet in April to select the five young laureates, who will be honoured at a ceremony later in the year in London. The names of the winners will be announced in June.

Some of the greatest minds from across the globe in fields that range from protecting the earth's bio-diversity to developing leading-edge technologies and exploring new worlds are part of the jury.

Rolex Awards for Enterprise ceremony was last held in New Delhi in 2012.

Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut marked her presence at the recently concluded London Fashion Week Autumn-Winter 14.

Dressed in powder blue ensemble by Burberry, she attended the Burberry Prorsum Womenswear Autumn-Winter 2014 Show held at Kensington Gardens in London on Monday, said a statement.

The British luxury fashion brand’s new collection consisted of trench coats, ponchos, equestrian topcoats and more in fabrics like hand-painted leather, suede, shearling, Scottish-woven wool cashmere and crêpe silk.

Other popular faces who attended the show as guests included actor Bradley Cooper, One Direction singer Harry Styles, actor Daniel Brühl and actress Felicity Jones.

Karan Johar's "Shuddhi", which has recently been in the news for its change of cast, will be releasing Dec 25 next year.

The filmmaker took to Twitter to announce the news.

"'Shuddhi' will release on Friday the 25th of December, 2015... the lead cast will be announced shortly," Karan posted on the microblogging website Wednesday.

Actor Hrithik Roshan recently pulled out of the film, which will be directed by Karan Malhotra.

The film was initially supposed to star Hrithik along with Kareena Kapoor.

For Farah Khan, her kids come before her work commitments. As she was leaving for work, one of her kids fell sick, and the filmmaker stayed back to take care of her child.

The 48-year-old, who is married to director-producer Shirish Kunder, is mother of triplets -- daughters Anya and Diva, and son Czar.

"Every mothers dilemma...When you'r rushing for work and your child decides to throw up...Work can wait," Farah tweeted Wednesday.

Farah is currently shooting for her musical "Happy New Year", which features Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Boman Irani, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood and Vivaan Shah.

Actor Arshad Warsi says his upcoming movie "The legend of Michael Mishra" completed major shooting in just 40 days and its only songs that they have to shoot for.

"By the way we have managed to finish the entire talkie portion of 'The legend of Michael Mishra' in 40 days, only left with songs...That's amazing," Arshad posted on microblogging website Twitter Wednesday.

"The legend of Michael Mishra", a comedy movie, is directed by Manish Jha. It also features Boman Irani, Aditi Rao Hydari and Kayoze Irani.

Actress Mandira Bedi admits she works out like a beast, but she should not eat like one. She says she will now restrain herself from eating excessively.

"I work out like a beast. I should learn not to eat like one. Zipping it today onwards," the 41-year-old tweeted Wednesday.

She was last seen on the small screen in Anil Kapoor's TV production "24".

A two-day conference and film festival will be held in the Australian city of Newcastle to celebrate and explore the Mumbai-based Indian film industry.

Organised by the University of Newcastle, the Bollywood 101 Film Festival will be opened by the consul general of India in Sydney, Arun Kumar Goel, on Feb 20.

The fest will include film screenings and presentations from film producers, while the Bollywood and its other conference at the University of Newcastle will take place Feb 21.

The fest will host a variety of speakers, including Indian-Australian filmmaker Anupam Sharma.

Filmmaker Vikrant Kishore and Susan Kerrigan, from the university, are the conference convenors.

“Bollywood has successfully transcended the confines of India, urging scholars to discuss its global histories,” Kishore said in a statement.

Australian High Commissioner Patrick Suckling welcomed this initiative, saying that during recent trips to Mumbai and Hyderabad he had been struck by the keen interest of Indian filmmakers in filming in Australia, which is the country partner at the annual Mumbai film conference, FICCI Frames 2014.

“In meetings with senior representatives of the film industry, there was unanimous enthusiasm for doing more with Australia, whether by using Australia’s world famous locations or cooperating in post-production, including high-end technology such as animation, sound-effects and computer graphics,” said Suckling.

After doing comedy in his theatre days, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui is excited to try comedy for the first time with his film "Ghoomketu".

"'Ghoomketu' is an out-and-out comedy film and I am doing such a film for the first time. However, I did a lot of comedy during my theatre days," the 39-year-old said here Wednesday at the Top Gear awards.

"The star cast of the film is very good, Anurag Kashyap, Swanand Kirkire my batchmate and Raghubir Yadav," he added.

Besides "Ghoomketu," Nawazuddin has six to seven films lined up for the year.

"Besides 'Ghoomketu' there is 'Mountain Man', Ketan Mehta's 'Monsoon shootout' and 'Liar's Dice' which was at the Sundance festival this time. Another film is 'Haramkhor'," said Nawazuddin.

He was recently seen in "Miss Lovely" and "The Lunchbox."

Actress Shilpa Shetty is so much impressed with Harman Baweja's performance as gangster Vicky Kartoos in "Dishkiyaoon" that she sees the film as Harman's first film and feels the actor has not been tapped to his true potential as an actor.

"For me 'Dishkiyaaoon' is Harman's first film, really. After this film, you are surely going to like him," Shilpa said here Wednesday at the launch of a song from the film.

"I really feel that he has not been tapped of his true potential. He is a very hard working boy. He has worked really hard over his character of Vicky Kartoos in the film," she added.

Harman made his acting debut in 2008 with "Love Story 2050". Later, he was seen in the films "Victory", "What's Your Raashee?" and recently in "Gori Tere Pyaar Mein", where he did a cameo.

However, now Shilpa feels the audience would not only love the film but also Harman, who has done a fantastic work in the film.

"He (Harman Baweja) deserves to get your (audience) love. I hope this film becomes a hit and I wish he gets all the love from the audience," Shilpa said.

Slated to release March 28, "Dishkiyaoon" is an action thriller. Directed by debutant Sanamjit Singh Talwar, the film also features actor Sunny Deol and newcomer Ayesha Khanna.

Singer-actress Monica Dogra will soon be seen playing the role of a woman who is responsible for creating a love triangle between a couple in a short film titled "Severing Ties".

Directed by a Britain-based filmmaker Ahmed Roy, Gulshan Devaiah and Kalki Koechlin portray the roles of husband and wife in the film.

"I am so happy I did this project. I feel like I made genuine and real friends in an industry where friends are hard to come by," Monica said in a statement.

The film is set in a modern day scenario and focuses on issues of moral judgement between what is right and wrong and what happens when everything in one's life appears to be neither black nor white.

The "Dhobi Ghat" actress will also feature in an untitled project with actor Vivaan Shah and another project titled "Fireflies" with actor Rahul Khanna.

Alia Bhatt already seems to be getting experimental - after playing a fashion-conscious and arrogant young girl in her debut film "Student Of The Year" she will now be seen as a deglamourised character in "Highway". She says she won't do something as bizarre as going bald for a movie, but she's game to being bold.

Her father, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, is known to have produced several bold movies like "Murder", "Jism""Raaz" and "Kalyug" and Alia doesn't find it tough to take up bold roles.

So what if she started her career with a typical Karan Johar film? The actress said: "I would love to do a film like 'Murder'."

"As far as my limitations are concerned, I would never shave my head for any role and so far as bold scenes are concerned, I have no issues at all," the 20-year-old told IANS in an interview here.

Her connect with her father goes beyond her appreciation for his body of work. She keeps her personal life private, but admits she turns to him for advice regarding her professional decisions.

"I don't discuss my personal life with my father, but I discuss my work with him a lot. We have become closer since I have become an actor. My mother (Soni Razdan) tries to ask everything, but I keep things to myself," she said.

As a person, she believes she is like her father.

"I have his will power. I am like him and I value my audience," she said.

Alia is also very sensitive and protective of what people say of her family members.

"I don't like it when people go on about my family. Because of me, they bring in my father and sister (Pooja Bhatt) and I don't like it. Write as much as you want to about my clothes...I don't care, but I am very protective about my family.

"It affects me a lot and that's the only thing that goes down badly. Still, I have a very strong person inside me," said the petite actress, who wonders if the people who write stories about her repeating her clothes, ever repeat their clothes or not!"

Nevertheless, her focus is now on the Friday release of Imtiaz Ali's "Highway".

While she made her debut with newcomers Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra, it was a new ballgame to work with an experienced actor like Randeep Hooda in "Highway". She admitted she was apprehensive.

"Initially, I was a little apprehensive about it but when you start shooting, you forget the person in you and get more involved with the character.

"There were times when I would take lesser takes than Randeep or at times more, but I don't feel it's right to think that if someone is taking a long time for a scene, he or she is not a good actor.

"I think it's not the take that matters, you must hit the emotions at the right time. If I take eight takes for those emotions, then also it means the same to me," she added.

Alia is confident that "Highway" will get a good opening and she credits this to its director.

"This film is not about the opening. It is about the word-of-mouth. I think the opening will not be because of me, it will be (because of) Imtiaz. He is a brand name and people have loved his films.

"And the love for a particular film lasts more than the box office," Alia concluded.

Actress Madhuri Dixit, who speaks about women empowerment and fights for justice in her forthcoming film "Gulaab Gang", also plans to educate women in India.

"Yes, we have plans, but we have not started yet...I am looking forward to do that. I will tell you when I will be doing that, but no sense in talking about it now. But some sort of education I have started already with my online dance academy," Madhuri told IANS.

At present, she is pumped up about her role in "Gulaab Gang" in which she will be seen as Rajjo, who wants to correct the wrongdoings in the society.

"She is a crusader in this film and she believes that women should be educated. Men have to be educated to respect a woman. A lot of time because of illiteracy or not being educated, they look at a woman like an object because that's how they have grown up with and the thinking has to change from within," said the 46-year-old.

The Soumik Sen directorial also features Juhi Chawla.

Actress Udita Goswami, who is married to director Mohit Suri for more than a year now, is content with being a housewife.

Udita dated Mohit for nine years before they tied the knot in January last year.

"I am enjoying being housewife, honestly. I know I am gaining weight, doing all of that but I have not had the pleasure of doing this ever before so I am enjoying it," the actress told the reporters here Wednesday on the sidelines of a dance event.

Last seen in "Dairy of a Butterfly" in 2012, Udita made her debut with "Paap" in 2003.

A new book on the late Bengali cinema icon Suchitra Sen offers a peep into the life of the elusive actress through rare photographs, replica of posters and insights offered by renowned filmmakers.

Titled 'Mahanayika' (great actress), the 500-page book was released Wednesday and has write-ups on Sen by director Ritwik Ghatak, Ajay Kar and Asit Sen, among others.

It also carries an article by Sen's biographer and friend Gopal Krishna Roy.

"Besides photographs and posters, there is a collection of news clippings reporting her death," Roy, who was present at the launch, told IANS.

The 82-year-old actress died at a nursing home here Jan 17 following a massive cardiac arrest.