Director Imtiaz Ali is not affected by the mixed response that his latest film "Highway" is fetching in theatres. In fact, he believes it just shows that his film is making people think.

"I had to make this film and I made it, and put in my best. Mixed reactions mean that people are thinking," the 42-year-old said here Saturday at a PVR Cinemas hall.

Sounding nonchalant, the director said: "I have no problem with it. It's good that there are mixed reactions. At least there are opinions. It is actually dangerous when people just say, 'It's good'," he added.

Imtiaz has co-produced "Highway" with Sajid Nadiadwala. The road movie stars Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda in lead roles.

Actress Neha Sharma says the going gets tougher in Bollywood when you're an "outsider".

"As an outsider (from a non-film background), survival in Bollywood is difficult as networking is very important...Many get work because of recommendations, but still there are auditions for actors," Neha said here.

The actress started her Bollywood career with "Crook" in 2010, and has since starred in films like "Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum", "Jayantabhai Ki Luv Story" and "Yamla Pagla Deewana".

Neha is now gearing up for the release of "Youngistaan", in which she shares screen space with Jackky Bhagnani.

She says she is happy with her career graph "as I am not from the industry. I am still an auditioning actor and I am very satisfied at the moment."

Actress Yami Gautam says she can relate to her character in her forthcoming film "Total Siyapaa" because she has experienced the same situations in real life.

A cross-border love story, Yami is seen as Punjabi girl Asha who falls in love with a Pakistani, Aman, played Pakistani singer-actor Ali Zafar.

"I think in terms of situations and gravity of the problems, I am little closer to Asha," Yami said Sunday here while promoting her film.

She says there are days when you think "today everything will be perfect" as "I have planned everything. I will get the guy to meet my mom, will do this and that... will have everything under my control, but eventually everything happens just opposite."

"So, I have had these situations and I know how it feels at that time," added the actress who bowed in Bollywood with "Vicky Donor".

However, she feels unlike her, Asha is over-confident.

"Asha is a bit over-confident. You would have seen in the teaser that how cleverly she tells only half-truth to her mom that he is a Muslim. But she keeps the other part of the story hidden," Yami said.

Directed by E. Niwas and written by Neeraj Pandey, "Total Siyapaa" also features Kirron Kher and Anupam Kher. It is slated to release March 7.

Actor Jackky Bhagnani is playing a politician in "Youngistaan", but his role is not modeled on Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.

"I am interested in politics and I have always kept a tab on it. You may find the similarity in the looks, but I am not portraying Rahul Gandhi in the film," Jackky told IANS.

Directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal, the film also featuring late actor Farooque Sheikh and Neha Sharma will hit the screens March 28.

Recalling his shooting experience with Farooque, who will be seen in a prominent role in "Youngistaan", Jackky said: "Farooque Sheikhji is playing my kind of father. It is a triangle love story between me, Neha and Farooque sir's character."

Farooque Sheikh died of a sudden cardiac arrest in Dubai in December last year. He was 65.

"For Farooque sir's character, he was our first choice because looking at him you realise, he is the most clean person...he's so experienced, but he would hardly talk about himself."

Aamir Khan was earlier supposed to visit Dashrath Manjhi's village Gehlaur in Gaya, Bihar on 22nd February. However, he has decided to go on 25th February to give ample time got the administration to make arrangements.

Aamir wanted to kick start Satyamev Jayate 2 from the very spot where Dashrath Manjhi broke a mountain by himself and made a way.

Well wishers of Aamir asked him not to visit Bihar as they were worried about his security. However, Aamir is confident that there will be no security hassles. He believes that Bihar's administration and law & order is very well organized.

Whether you are a film buff, movie critic or a fashion fan, everyone is awaiting the Oscars with bated breath. Each year, as the Academy Awards inches closer, there is a major spike in search traffic related to the event.

Viewers and users search for their favourite celebrities, most stylish look etc.

Google has analysed the top category nominees and trends, based on the top searches on the search engine.

Following is the worldwide Google search trends on Oscars as released by the search engine in a statement:

Best movie: Directed by Martin Scorsese, "The Wolf of Wall Street" released a few weeks ahead of the New Year has gained much interest from viewers across the world and has topped the search charts in this category.

Best actor: Winner of the Golden Globe Award for best actor and Academy Award nominee American actor-producer Leonardo DiCaprio is the most popular nominee in the race for best actor.

Best actress: Academy Award Winner Sandra Bullock is leading the race in the best actress category, although Meryl Streep could well be a dark horse for this year's Academy Award.

Actor in supporting role: Jared Leto from the "Dallas Buyers Club", directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, is the most searched Oscar nominee.

Actress in supporting role: If Google search trends are something to go by, Jennifer Lawrence for "American Hustle" could well be honoured with the Academy Award for actress in supporting role.

Foreign language film: Winner of the Golden Globe Award, 2013 Italian film "The Great Beauty" (Italian: "La Grande Bellezza"), directed by Paolo Sorrentino, seems to be the favourite nominee for best foreign language film.

India and Canada Monday signed an audio-visual co-production agreement which will enable film producers of both countries to utilise a platform for collaboration on various facets of film making.

The agreement is expected to deepen the engagement between the critical sectors of the film industries of both countries.

Information and Broadcasting Secretary Bimal Julka and High Commissioner of Canada to India Stewart Beck inked the agreement in the capital, an official release said here.

The deal is expected to benefit producers from both the countries in pooling their creative, artistic, technical, financial and marketing resources for co-production.

It will also lead to exchange of art and culture between the two. It will also create goodwill and better understanding among the people of India and Canada, thereby boosting cultural ties between the two countries, the release said.

Actor Randeep Hooda, a huge fan of Naseeruddin Shah, says his latest film "Highway" will remain incomplete until the veteran actor watches it.

"For me, 'Highway' is incomplete till Naseeruddin sir watches it. I am eagerly waiting for his review. I want him to see the film and sit down with me and discuss about it," Randeep told IANS.

"He has been receiving a lot of calls from the many people praising my work. So he is very happy about it," added the actor, who has worked with Naseeruddin on the theatre platform too.

Randeep had earlier organised a special screening of "Highway" for Naseeruddin, but the latter could not make it.

"Unfortunately, he couldn't make it for the screening. Nonetheless, he will soon watch the film," he said.

"Highway" has opened to mixed reactions, but Randeep is confident that the movie will pick up on word of mouth.

"When we made this film, we were certain that this film was not a huge opener kind of a film. The film has received mixed reactions and I hope the film will pick up over word of mouth. So far the reviews have been favourable for me and for the film," the 37-year-old said.

Directed by Imtiaz Ali, "Highway" which released Feb 21, features Alia Bhatt as the female lead.

Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar, who worked out hard to get a perfect six-pack abs for his 2013 entertainer "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag", says his two daughters were not so impressed with his beefed up physique.

"Honestly, I don't think they (my children) were so impressed by my six-pack abs. I think what they found very entertaining was the running," Farhan told IANS.

Recently, Farhan took part in racing events at his daughters' school, and he took the lead in all. His daughters Shakya and Akira were proud.

"They really saw the effects of it when I ran in the apparent race. That was truly an exciting moment for them. unfortunately, all the others were left far behind. So for them it was a nice moment of victory," said Farhan, who is married to celebrity hairstylist Adhuna Akhtar.

Currently, Farhan is busy promoting his forthcoming film "Shaadi Ke Side Effects".

He said: "This is a very relatable film about marriage and relationships. I hope everyone likes it."

Directed by Saket Chaudhary, the film also features Vidya Balan.

Actor Anupam Kher, who will be seen in multiple films this year, has already picked his favourite. He says Yash Raj Films'"Daawat-e-Ishq" is one of the best.

"Now that 'Daawat-e-Ishq' shooting is almost coming to an end, I can proudly say that it is one of the best films of 2014," the seasoned actor tweeted Tuesday.

Apart from "Daawat-e-Ishq", Anupam will be seen in movies like "Total Siyappa", "O Teri" and "Gangs Of Ghosts" this year.

Milap Zaveri, who wrote Indra Kumar's sex comedy "Grand Masti", is looking forward to the release of David Dhawan’s “Main Tera Hero” as he feels it reflects that he is also capable of writing humorous yet clean punchlines.

“Really excited about ‘Main Tera Hero’ releasing on April 4! Hoping it will show that I can write non-vulgar funny punchlines too,” he tweeted Tuesday.

He has also been roped in by filmmaker Sanjay Gupta to direct a clean comedy movie titled "Ooh La La".

Actress Preity Zinta, who has watched "Highway", believes Alia Bhatt, who played her younger version in 1999 film "Sangharsh", will go a long way in filmdom.

"I still remember seeing Alia as a little cutie on the sets of 'Sangharsh' playing mini me. This one will be the brightest star forever," Preity posted on Twitter.

About "Highway", Preity said: “Must watch ‘Highway’ for Randeep Hooda’s and Alia Bhatt’s spectacular performances! Definitely Imtiaz's best and most honest film. Don't miss it folks.”

Veteran actress Kirron Kher hopes that "Tere Bin Laden 2" does work wonders for her son Sikander, who has so far failed to make a mark in Bollywood.

Sikander is Kirron's son with her first husband Gautam Berry. She is now married to actor Anupam Kher.

When asked if the couple plans to relaunch Sikander, Kirron said: "We don't have any plans as such. Waqt se pehle aur kismat se zyada kisiko kuch nahi milta (before time and more than destiny, nobody gets anything)."

"Now he is doing 'Tere Bin Laden 2'. Let us see how it works. The makers are very happy with his work and so is Sikander. Let's hope this film works for him," Kirron told reporters here.

Sikander made his Bollywood debut with "Woodstock Villa" in 2008. He was later seen in "Summer 2007", "Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey", "Players" and "Aurangzeb".

Meanwhile, Kirron is busy promoting her forthcoming film "Total Siyappa" in which she will be seen sharing screen space with her husband Anupam.

"Anupam is very easy going person and he likes to live and let live. He doesn't get into my space and neither does he like it if someone gets into his space.

"We were very comfortable working with each other in this film. Anupam has a guest appearance in it," she said.

Directed by E. Niwas, "Total Siyappa" also features Ali Zafar and Yami Gautam.

Shatrughan Sinha's children - daughter Sonakshi and sons Luv and Kush - have worked together to create an ad film. Luv has produced it, Kush has directed it and Sonakshi features in the commercial.

Shot for a real estate brand, the commercial, which is currently on air, is produced by Shotgun Movies.

Kush, who has assisted the likes of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Abhinav Kashyap, always had an inclination towards directing ads.

"Our team developed the ad completely in-house, from the initial conceptualization to execution and delivery, while keeping the client involved in the process on a creative level. Sonakshi's fans have liked the ad a lot," Kush said in a statement.

He assisted Bhansali on "Saawariya", and worked with Kashyap on "Besharam" and "Dabanng".

A Mumbai sessions court has fixed March 26 as the date for the fresh trial of Bollywood actor Salman Khan in the hit-and-run case here Tuesday.

The ruling came at a hearing of the case Tuesday when the prosecution submitted a list of 17 witnesses who will be examined and cross-examined again.

Last year, July 24, the sessions court framed charges against Salman for the more serious charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which entails a 10-year prison term.

Earlier, the 48-year-old actor was tried for the less stringent charge of rash and negligent driving, which attracts a two-year sentence.

Later, in November 2013 Salman moved the sessions court seeking a fresh trial in the case since the magistrate's court had not given him an opportunity to cross-examine witnesses in the context of the new charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Salman was previously charged and tried by a Bandra magistrate's court under the Indian Penal Code Section 304(A) (rash and negligent driving).

After nearly 10 years, the magistrate had held that a case under IPC 304 (2) was made out against Salman and sent the case to a sessions court for trial, which he challenged.

Besides IPC Section 304(2), Salman also faces charges of causing death by negligence, causing hurt by an act, causing grievous hurt and damage or mischief to property, and charges under the Motor Vehicles Act and the Bombay Prohibition Act.

On Sep 28, 2002, an allegedly inebriated Salman Khan, while driving his Toyota Land Cruiser SUV, ran over some pavement dwellers near a bakery in Bandra (West). While one person was killed, four others were injured in the incident.

The original trial started in September 2005 in the Bandra magistrate court. Nearly four years after the accident, on Oct 6, 2006, the magistrate's court had framed 10 charges against the actor.

Indian actress Lilette Dubey is helping her "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2" co-star Richard Gere develop a taste for Rajasthani dishes, and he is said to be trying them with fervour.

Gere, who has visited India several times as a goodwill ambassador for AIDS campaigns and for his Buddhist activities, is in Udaipur to shoot for the Hollywood film.

"Richard loves the local cuisine. But he is wary of the spices and mirchi (chilli). Lilette and her two daughters Neha and Ira helped him pick the dishes with the minimum masala. The three ladies have also taken Gere sightseeing in Udaipur," said a source from the unit.

The cast of the sequel, directed by John Madden, comprises a distinguished bouquet of British and Indian troupers both old and young, including Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith, Dev Patel, Tina Desae and Lilette.

Gere is eager to learn more about Bollywood.

He is even said to have asked for a Bollywood-styled romantic song to be incorporated in the screen romance with Lilette.

"It makes sense to have a romantic number filmed on them. Lilette plays a very attractive middle-aged Indian who runs a run-down hotel where Gere descends as a guest. Romance blossoms between the two. They are now thinking of incorporating an old romantic Hindi song to accentuate their togetherness," the source said.

Lilette is all praise for her co-star.

"My scenes with Richard are coming out well. He's warm and friendly with everyone, including my daughters. When my girls came to visit me here in Udaipur, Richard was so charming," she said.

Bollywood actors Sonakshi Sinha and Imran Khan have lent their voices for the dubbed Hindi version of "Rio 2", the sequel to 2011's hit animation flick "Rio".

Sonakshi and Imran will feature as macaws Jewel and Blu. The characters in the English version were voiced by Anne Hathaway and Jesse Eisenberg.

"I love watching animation films, so when they approached me to lend my voice to the sequel of one of the most loved animations - 'Rio', I didn't have to think twice. It's a completely new experience for me and I'm very excited. It's a treat not only for the kids, but families as well," Sonakshi said in a statement.

The movie is an adventure comedy set in the Brazilian city of Rio De Janeiro. The movie will feature the return of Blu, Jewel and their three kids who leave their domesticated life for a journey to Amazon rainforest.

"Rio 2" in 3D releases in India April 11 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telegu.

If you're a die-hard fan of Ranveer Singh, here's your chance to not just meet the young actor, but also shake leg a with him during the upcoming International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and Awards in Tampa Bay, Florida, in April.

Tata Motors, in association with IIFA Thursday announced a 'Zest for Stardom' contest, a platform to endorse their recently unveiled product, Tata Zest. This will give an opportunity to fans around the globe to share the IIFA stage with the "Band Baaja Baaraat" actor.

"We believe that the 'Zest for Stardom' contest will give fans of Indian cinema the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to shake a leg with their stars and live their dream on the IIFA stage," Sabbas Joseph, director - Wizcraft International and IIFA, said in a statement.

To enter the contest, users can send their one-minute dance performance video recorded on "Tune maari entriyaan" and "Jashn-e-Ishqa", songs from Ranveer's latest movie "Gunday", at connect@tatamotors.com.

The top ten short listed videos will be announced March 6 and the forum will be open for votes. These shortlisted videos can be viewed in the gallery of the Zest for Stardom Facebook application.

The user who gets the highest number of votes will win the chance to perform with Ranveer at the IIFA Awards, to be held April 23-26.

Singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan is on Cloud Nine as "Mujhse hogi shurvaat" by I Paid a Bribe and the Shankar Mahadevan Academy has been nominated in the best activist anthem category of Honesty Oscars 2014.

A few days before the 86th Academy Awards, campaigning and advocacy organisation ONE and Accountability Lab started unveiling the nominations for Honesty Oscars 2014, an award that honours not Hollywood films, but the creative work of activists and organisations that fight global corruption.

The awards will be handed over to those who get maximum number of votes and the winners will be announced on the night of the Oscars, March 2.

So far, three categories of Honesty Oscars have been unveiled - best visual effects, best activist in a leading role and the best activist anthem to honour original songs that have truly inspired audiences to learn about the fight against global corruption and join the movement, too.

"Our song has been nominated for the Honesty Oscar Awards! Please go to the link and vote...," Mahadevan tweeted Thursday.

The song is by the singer’s online music academy and ipaidabribe.com - a Bangalore based non-profit organisation Janaagraha's initiative to tackle corruption by harnessing the collective energy of citizens.

“Mujhse hogi shurvaat” has been sung by Mahadevan, Sukriti Kakar, Prakriti Kakar and Chetan Naik. The almost four minutes-long song has been co-composed by Soumil and Siddharth.

It is up against Liberia’s “Pot Boiling Remix” by Xpolay featuring Romeo Lee, JD Donzo, Luckay Buckay, Takun J, and Bentman tha Don; “Sheria” by Kenya’s Sarabi Band featuring Juliani; “El soor” by Egypt’s Youssra El Hawary and “Down by the riverside” by Dr and Da Green Soljas from Cameroon.

Bollywood celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Madhuri Dixit and Bipasha Basu are celebrating Mahashivratri Thursday and wish happiness to everyone.

Here’s what the Bollywood stars tweeted:

Priyanka Chopra: Om Namah Shivaya. May this auspicious day of Mahashivratri give the world some sense of tolerance and love. Why has everyone become so judgemental?

Madhur Bhandarkar: May Lord Shiva shower his blessings on you and your family. May happiness, peace surround you with his eternal love and strength. Om Namah Shivaya.

Sridevi: Wishing all of you a very happy and pious Mahashivratri.

Madhuri Dixit: Happy Mahashivratri!

Bipasha Basu: Om Namah Shivaya. Happy Mahashivaratri to all.

Aanand L. Rai: Har Har Mahadev! Om Namah Shivaya.

Manoj Bajpayee: Wishing all of you a truck full of happiness on Mahashivratri! Har Har Mahadev!

Shruti Haasan: Om Namah Shivaya!

Aftab Shivdasani: Heres wishing everyone a very happy and blessed Mahashivratri. Om Namah Shivaya.

Sophie Choudry: Happy Mahashivratri! May we be blessed with positivity and strength to battle all the negativity that comes our way! Har Har Mahadev!

Isha Koppikar: May Lord Shiva shower his benign blessings on you and your family! May happiness and peace surround you with his eternal love and strength!

Tanishaa Mukerji: Happy Mahashivratri! Har Har Mahadev!

Ameesha Patel: Wishing everyone a happy Mahashivratri.

Vishal Malhotra: This Mahashivratri please donate milk to the poor or needy. A very happy and peaceful Mahashivratri to all.