Actors Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt Friday unveiled the trailer of the film "2 States", based on Chetan Bhagat's bestseller "2 States: The Story Of My Marriage".

The film's plot revolves around a Punjabi boy, who falls in love with a Tamil girl. The regional and cultural clash that it leads to is what forms the rest of the story.

The trailer, which was launched at an event here, captures some fun as well as intense moments of the movie. Both the lead actors are upbeat about the movie, which is directed by Abhishek Varman and co-produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions and Sajid Nadiadwala's Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment.

"It's a dream come true for me to be part of this film. I'm grateful to Karan Johar, Sajid Nadiadwala and Chetan Bhagat to have cast me in '2 States'," Arjun told reporters at the event.

Alia, who is riding high on the success of "Highway", said: "I was reading '2 States' while I was shooting for 'Student Of The Year'. I never thought a film will be made on this and I really liked the character of Ananya in the book. She is damn cool and I am happy to do this film."

The movie will release April 18.

Farhan Akhtar-starrer "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" has won nine nods in the technical categories of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) annual extravaganza, it was announced here Friday.

Running laps ahead of the pack, the Milkha Singh biographical has bagged best cinematography (Binod Pradhan), best screenplay (Prasoon Joshi), best dialogue (Prasoon Joshi), best editing (P.S. Bharti), best sound design (Nakul Kamte), best sound mixing (Pranav Shukla), best background score (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy), best costume designing (Dolly Ahluwalia) and best make-up (Vikram Gaikwad).

The popular awards will be announced during the April 23-26 event at Tampa Bay, Florida.

Superhero film "Krrish 3" has claimed two well-deserved awards - best action (Sham Kaushal and Tony Ching Siu Tung) and best special effects - visuals (Keitan Yadav and Haresh Hingorani - Red Chillies VFX).

Rohit Shetty's blockbuster "Chennai Express" has won best song recording (Vinod Verma for "Lungi dance") and has shared the best sound mixing (Anup Dev) award with "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag".

The production design gong is for Wasiq Khan for his work in "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela", while Remo D'Souza has won the best choreography for "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani".

The IIFA Magic of the Movies and Technical Awards are set to take place April 25. This year's Videocon d2h IIFA Weekend celebrations are making their US debut.

The technical award winners and the popular award nominations are derived from the IIFA Voting Weekend earlier this month.

The voting procedure is closely monitored by KPMG, the event's auditors.

Megastar Shah Rukh Khan and actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar were honoured at the 6th Mirchi Music Awards here.

The event, organised by Radio Mirchi, was held Thursday.

Shah Rukh, known for his romantic numbers such as "Tujhe dekha to ye jaana sanam" ("Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge"), "Humko hami se chura lo" ("Mohabbatein") and "Are re are ye kya hua" ("Dil To Pagal Hai"), bagged the Reliance Digital Presents Mirchi face of romantic songs award.

"Extremely touched by all singers coming together to do this for me. It’s given me 10 years of energy to go on stronger and harder. Thanks Mirchi,” he tweeted Thursday night.

Farhan, who missed the function, was given Royal Stag Make it Large award.

Among the music categories, “Aashiqui 2” won maximum number of awards. It bagged as many as seven of them including song of the year - jury for “Tum hi ho”, album of the year- jury and Royal Stag Listeners Choice Album of the year.

Some of the performers included Arijit Singh, Mika Singh, Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani.

Filmmaker Karan Johar has shot down rumours of "Ram-leela" pair Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone playing the lead roles in his "Shuddhi".

Karan Malhotra will wield the megaphone for "Shuddhi" to be produced by Karan.

When asked whether he has finalised Deepika and Ranveer for "Shuddhi", Karan said: "No."

Earlier, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor were finalised for "Shuddhi", but recently the former made an announcement that he is not doing the film.

First she played a glam girl in "Student of The Year", then donned the casual look in "Highway" and now in "2 States" Alia Bhatt says she will sport the Indian fusion look.

"My clothes in the film has been designed by Manish Malhotra, so I didn't have to think about it. Manish gets Indian fusion look so well," Alia told reporters at "2 States" trailer launch.

"The film moves to different cities, it has different looks, so we have played a lot with the look. Her look is simple yet modern," she added.

Alia is playing a Tamil girl in "2 States", a big screen adaptation of Chetan Bhagat's bestseller of the same name. Directed by Abhishek Varman, it features Arjun Kapoor as the male lead.

When asked whether her character will be compared to Deepika Padukone's in "Chennai Express", she said: "It's not the same at all. She is a modern girl and she speaks in Tamil only with her parents."

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan is keen to work with internationally acclaimed composer A.R. Rahman and he is awaiting for an opportunity to collaborate with the Oscar winner.

Rahman launched his new album "Raunaq" Thursday and Salman, who graced the occasion, asked Rahman: "When will you work for us?"

When asked about Salman's desire, Rahman said: "Then he has to do movies which I like."

Does that mean you don't like Salman's films?

"No, no. I like his stuff, they are so energetic and nice," Rahman said.

"We worked together in 'Yuvvraaj' and its music has been a hit. I think life is a cycle... hopefully, we will do something extraordinary," he added.

Rahman's compositions in his latest release "Highway" are being appreciated.

National Award winning Marathi feature film "Dhag", directed by Shivaji Lotan Patil, will hit theatres March 7, DAR Film Distributors (DFD) announced Friday.

Produced by Vishal Pandit Gaware, "Dhag" stars Hansraj Jagtap, Usha Jadhav, Upendra Limaye, Nagesh Bhosala, Suhani Deshpande and Neha Dakhinkar in leading roles.

The movie is credited for winning, among others, three National Awards and four Maharashtra State Awards.

“We are confident that 'Dhag' would have as good an impact on audiences and the box office as it has done with critics across the board,” Murli Chhatwani, head - Distribution and Syndication, DAR Film Distributors, said in a statement.

"Dhag" is the story of Krishna, his mother and their seemingly ambitious aspirations for Krishna, against the backdrop of their socio-economic standing.

Raised by a father who cremated people for a living, Krishna’s mother always wanted him to pave a path for himself that takes him away from the sorrows and hardship of his legacy. While his father’s untimely death opens the gates of opportunity for young Krishna, the plight of his widowed helpless mother reels him back to his origins.

"Dhag" captures the moments, trials and tribulations of young Krishna along the journey.

Gaware, the film's producer, says Marathi cinema is at a very crucial juncture, "where filmmakers are exploring new subjects and the audience is eager for fresh content".

There isn't enough food for everyone in the country and now actress Yami Gautam endorses ‘Food for Soul’ campaign, which aims at feeding the underprivileged.

Initiated by online food ordering platform Foodpanda along with non-profit organisation Uday Foundation, the campaign encourages patrons to generously feed the lesser privileged.

Foodpanda patrons can log on to the website and make a donation to a listed food item like foodgrains, pulses, vegetable oil and biscuits. The portal will then forward the proceedings to the charitable institution, thus reaching out to many children.

"The Food for Soul campaign sensitises us towards the fact that there are many who are not even fortunate enough to get a basic square meal a day. Through this campaign, Foodpanda.in reminds us to share the joy we feel on eating great food with the less privileged,” Yami said in a statement.

The campaign backs Uday Foundation’s project Santushti, which runs a free food van to serve wholesome food to families of the underprivileged patients in ICUs of government hospitals. The van also feeds children who come from distant places to Delhi hospitals for prolonged treatment.

Filmmaker-choreographer Farah Khan has turned out to be a kitchen person! Diamonds and pearls might be the weakness of many, but this mother of triplets enjoys shopping for fish and pressure cookers.

“Some women like jewellery shopping. I guess fish shopping is my thing. And oh ya pressure cookers,” Farah posted on Twitter Friday.

On the work front, she is tied up with shooting of “Happy New Year” starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani and Sonu Sood.

Actor Manoj Bajpayee is pumped about his first visit to Agra. He might be travelling to the city for work, but he is looking forward to tasting delicacies of the city and seeing Taj Mahal.

“Mathura schedule is over. Unit shifting base to Agra. What’s the famous food of Agra? Never been to Agra. Will see Taj for the first time,” he tweeted Friday.

Directed by debutant director Amit Sharma, he is shooting for "Tevar", which also features Arjun Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha.

Soundarya Rajnikanth, who has directed her father and superstar Rajinikanth in forthcoming Tamil period-drama "Kochadaiiyaan", Friday said the latter was not at ease while shooting romantic scenes with his co-star Deepika Padukone.

"I guess it was because I was around and calling action and cut, dad felt very awkward to shoot some romantic scenes," said Soundarya who would love to direct her father again.

"God willing if I get an opportunity, I would love to direct dad again. I feel blessed to have directed him. I would be really happy to work with him again," Soundarya told reporters here announcing the film's partnership with Karbonn Mobiles.

Karbonn Mobiles in association with "Kochadaiiyaan" announced Karbonn Kochadaiiyaan Signature Phone Series, which will be loaded with movie content, reality apps, songs and videos.

The handsets will feature Rajinikanth's signature on the back cover.

"Kochadaiiyaan", which has been in the making for nearly two years, is touted to be the first Indian film to be made using motion-capture technology.

Soundarya said her father was very professional on the sets.

"As a father he's very caring and protective, but as an actor he's highly professional. I felt it throughout the film's shooting and it was very evident in most scenes," she said.

While it was reported that the film will hit the screens April, Soundarya reiterated that she will confirm the release date soon.

"Due to the technical process involved in the making of the film, we missed earlier release dates. The audio launch will take place March 9 and I will soon confirm the release date as well," she said.

Also starring Jackie Shroff, Aadi Pinisetty, Shobana and R. Sarath Kumar, "Kochadaiiyaan" has music by double Oscar-winning composer A.R Rahman.

It is jointly produced by Eros International and Mediaone Global Entertainment.

Movie: “Vallinam”; Cast: Nakul, Mrudhula Basker, Atul Kulkarni, Anupama Kumar, Aadi Pinisetty, Jayaprakash, Y.G Mahendran and Krishna Kulasekaran; Director: Arivazhagan;

Rating: ***

In India, the fate of a sport lies in the hands of those with power and political influence. Only those who are privileged get to represent the country in a respective sport while the rest have to struggle entire lifetime to even get an opportunity.

Director Arivazhagan's second directorial "Vallinam", which while addressing the aforementioned points, also highlights the discrimination between sports and sportsmen and shows how a certain sport like cricket has been glorified.

Although it might not be as powerfully engaging as Bollywood movie "Chak De! India", the film has the spirit to celebrate sportsmanship.

An unfortunate accident during an inter-collegiate basketball tournament forces Krishna (Nakul) to quit playing the game for good and relocate to another city. From Trichy, he moves to Chennai, hoping to forget the incident and start life afresh.

But call it destiny or fate; he's forced to play again, but this time to stop his college management from destroying their basketball court to make way for the extension of the cricket ground for the upcoming national level cricket championship, to be hosted by the college.

You can find inspiration from films such as "Lagaan", "Chak De! India" and several sports-based dramas of the recent past in "Vallinam", but it manages to maintain some originality in the execution. It might not be a great film, but considering the fact that we don't have many sports-based films in Tamil, this is a great effort.

Even with a jagged screenplay that only gains momentum in the second half, the film manage keeps you hooked for the most part of the running time.

You root for the film when you realize that the actors took the effort to get trained in basketball, portraying the commitment with which they have prepared. Some of the best moments of the film unfold in the court, in between the game and when the ball spins in slow motion on the rim of the basket.

The tension that's accentuated through these moments is testimonial to the fact that the film has succeeded in entertaining the audience. But what's worrisome is whether the film will be embraced by all, irrespective of the fact that it has a college campus as backdrop and it's quite natural to assume it's made for college students.

"Vallinam" never tries to convince us that basketball is a better game than cricket. It reminds us that cricket is not the only sport that deserves to be celebrated in a country where we have other equally popular sports as well. In this process, it gets little preachy at regular intervals with dialogues that are purposely written for commercial reasons, but it is understandable from the point of a view of catering to the masses.

Nakul gives his career’s best performance. He proves that a hero can step out of the commercial zone and take up roles that can still be liked by audience. Debutant Mrudhula will shine with proper guidance while the rest of the cast members are good in their respective roles.

For a change, Thaman's music doesn't make you cringe in your seats. His background score syncs well with the second half, while Bhaskaran's celluloid captures the best shots during the basketball games.

Overall, "Vallinam" attempts to blur the line that divides one sport from another in our country.

Celebrated fashion designer Manish Malhotra believes that innovative silhouettes with an essence of local craftsmanship, culture and a touch of modernity can work wonders for the globalisation of Indian crafts.

"What works for our Indian crafts is the mix of craftsmanship, culture and a touch of modernity that does not just mean the westernisation of Indian silhouettes but about a thought that leads to several unusual and innovative silhouettes like the sari jacket, lehenga anarkali, long kurtas with palazzos," Malhotra, one of the country's leading designers, told IANS in an email interview from Mumbai.

The 48-year-old has time and again gone out of his way to revive heirloom crafts like chikankari, phulkari and Kashmiri embroidery via his creations. His work is a hit among Indian celebrities, who proudly flaunt them on national and international platforms.

Since he believes that "no other country has a deep sense of culture, artistic value and rich history as India has", he says, "as a designer, it is my prerogative to preserve my heritage and create designs that reflect our contemporary India".

"My aim is to reinvent these crafts with a new thought and bring them into the limelight. Like I always say, a floor length anarkali can look as glamorous and modern as a cocktail gown. And thankfully, a lot of influencers are now taking pride in wearing who we are," he said.

What also makes him glad is how men in the country have embraced colour in their wardrobes over the years.

"I have always loved colours and it has always reflected in all my collections. I think it's been a while that men have accepted unusual colours, especially in western wear," he said.

"For example - a pink shirt was suddenly a staple in everybody's wardrobe and still continues to be. But I think in Indian wear, a lot of change and demand for colours has been noticed in recent times," added Malhotra, who ventured into mainstream designing in 1998.

He noted that gradually, "everybody is ditching the classic black bandhgala for a deep blue bandhgala".

In fact, his latest collection comprises pink churidars, salmon pink bandi jackets, colour blocking shirts and traditional kurtas in summer colours for men.

"It's a refreshing change," said the suave designer, who looks fit as a fiddle.

For women, his collection's unique highlights are "a lot of sheer, lace, metallic, exquisite floral and unusual pastels".

The use of lace and sheer fabric can be tricky for most body types. Isn't it?

"Well, it depends on how you play around with sheer fabrics," he said.

"For example, an element of transparency mixed with textured fabrics works better for some body types as opposed to a complete sheer fabric garments," explained Malhotra, who hopes to surprise his patrons and fashionistas with his new upcoming collection, which will open the forthcoming Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) in Mumbai March 12.

The creative talent, who has dressed the likes of Kajol, Karisma Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukerji, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, is also busy with Bollywood projects.

"Right now, there is 'Happy New Year' where we are styling Deepika Padukone. Then there is 'Detective Byomkesh Bakshi' by Dibakar Banerjee.

"I always try to push my creative capability with everything I do, this time I am trying to push the envelope a little more for my LFW collection," he said.

Actor-filmmaker Aamir Khan, who is geared up for the new season of his social issues-related TV show "Satyamev Jayate", says he wants to continue to take the right advantages of being a celebrity, who is so loved by his fans.

"If a celebrity does some work, there is more attention. But the audience is very sharp, they understand everything. Whatever goodwill I have earned over the years, I'll (always) take the right advantage of it. I hope many more celebrities do it...the more the better," Aamir told IANS.

The actor is tight-lipped about the topics that he will touch upon in the second season of "Satyamev Jayate", which goes on air Sunday with a simulcast in six languages across STAR Plus, STAR World, STAR Pravah, STAR Vijay, Asianet, STAR Utsav and Doordarshan. There will also be a deferred telecast on ETV Telegu.

Asked if he will raise the issue of a 23-year-old woman who was gang-raped in a moving bus by five men and a minor in the capital, Aaamir said: "We don't discuss our topics. So I can't talk about it.

"All I can say is that all our topics are very important and all the topics are such that which you will feel that this is important and timely and it is important to think about this."

Actress Sonam Kapoor's daring bikini shot in "Bewakoofiyaan" may have raised some eyebrows, but her father Anil Kapoor was unfazed. In fact, he said it would get the film a "good opening".

"He knew about that (the bikini shot)! My dad is an artist and he is very open-minded...actually he was the one who encouraged me to become an actress. He didn't say anything, he just said the film will get a good opening," Sonam said at a press conference for the film's promotion here Friday.

The tall actress, who was once on the heavier side on the weighing scale, says she didn't have to go through much stress and strain to look fit enough for a bikini scene.

"I didn't have to work hard because I am playing a regular girl in the film. I have a tendency to put on weight but my routine was the same for this film. You will not see me as a movie star in this movie as I am playing a regular girl," she said.

While there has been a lot of talk on whether Sonam has been able to pull off the two-piece garment, she says she always knew about the scene and she was comfortable with it.

"When I signed the film, it was my idea. I was briefed that there is a pool there and I have to wear swimsuit. I said my body is lean, and it is thin on the waist...so let's just show that. If you see the shot...unlike the shots in films like 'Dhoom' or 'Race', cameras are not panned on the body.

"It's a normal shot where I am wearing a swimsuit and jump into the pool," she added.

Directed by Nupur Asthana, "Bewakoofiyaan" also features Ayushmann Khurrana.

Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal’s TV show “The Story of the Making of the Constitution of India - Samvidhaan” will depict the difference between the way debates were conducted in the parliament post Independence, and the way they take place now. He says “it is something to learn from”.

"Samvidhaan" is a series which will sketch the making of the Indian constitution.

"This comparative study about then and now has been shown in the show. The manner in which we conducted our debates then and the manner in which we conduct our debates today are two different things," the 79-year-old said here Friday at a press meet.

Recently, the Indian parliament saw a low with the pepper spray episode. Benegal says this is the best time to bring his TV show.

"You will see that the way the debates that happened then and that happen today are completely different. It is something we can learn from. That's why I think this was the correct time to do it," Benegal said.

"Samvidhaan" stars actors like Sachin Khedekar, Divya Dutta, Ila Arun and Rajeshwari Sachdev. The 10-part mini series will be telecast on Rajya Sabha TV starting Sunday.

In 2 States Arjun Kapoor's look is similar to his director Abhishek Varman. Be it the hairstyle, spectacles, outfits or the design and patterns, the styling for the character Krish Malhotra has been inspired by Abhishek Varman in real life.

Would be fair to say Arjun is a director's actor, wouldn't it?

The hottest sensation of B-town Varun Dhawan is going all out for his forthcoming film ‘Main Tera Hero’

The actor is busy promoting ‘Main Tera Hero’ and is also shooting for his 3rd film Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya’ which is directed by Karan Johar.

But what we hear is that the actor had to take a day off from Karan Johar’s film so that he could promote his forthcoming film in India’s Got Talent show.

A source close to the team confirmed, ‘ Varun is simultaneously shooting for Karan Sir’s film and also promoting Main Tera Hero. But when he heard that he can go to promote his film in the semi final’s of India’s Got Talent, Varun dint want to miss the opportunity, so he took a day off from Karan Johar’s Film to be a part of IGT which also has Karan Johar as one of the judges.

It would be great to see Varun Dhawan and the mentor Karan Johar together on screen for the reality show.

Well, with all this we must say what a multi tasker Varun Dhawan is!!

Directed by David Dhawan and produced by Balaji Motion Pictures, Main Tera Hero is all set to hit the screens on 4th April 2014, starring Varun Dhawan, Ileana D’cruz and Nargis Fakhri in the lead roles.

Viacom 18 Motion Pictures & Phantom Films’ Queen directed by Vikas Bahl,includes a remixed rendition of Asha Bhosle’s Hungama Ho Gaya, a number that predominately stood out in the 70’s .And giving it a quirky twist,the makers decided to picturize the song in a local club in Amsterdam called NL.

If sources are to be believed,the song created a riot of sorts with the Dutch crew taking to the dance floor post the song’s shoot.It was the very first time a Hindi/Bollywood song was played in the club and the local dancers and international crew had a ball as they were introduced to the iconic number.

Hungama Ho Gaya was met with such an unprecedented response that Club NL at Amsterdam hosted its first ever Bollywood Party, after the crew shot there.If that wasn't all , the inhouse DJ belted out his own mix for it, which is being used in the end credits of the film.

Confirming the news says director Vikas Bahl, “We did not anticipate the kind of craze the song would garner….The locals went absolutely crazy , dancing to the track all night long.It was a moment when India shook Amsterdam”.

Viacom 18 Motion Pictures & Phantom Films’ Queen directed by Vikas Bahl is scheduled to release 7th March.

Rickshaw wallahs in Mumbai are sure to be excited as Sunny Leone will be in their midst tomorrow morning.

She will be in Andheri flagging off the rickshaws that will carry special 'Ragini MMS-2' branding. "'Ragini ka naya MMS dekha kya?', 'Ragini yahaan baithi thi', 'Do mein zyaada mazaa hai' are among the messages that have been plastered across 7000 rickshaws in Mumbai and Delhi. Needless to mention, these will ply across the cities, further accentuating the film's visibility.

"We had done this during Ragini MMS back in 2011 and the feedback had been overwhelming. Scores of others aped us subsequently. Sunny enjoys unprecedented popularity among the masses and the Ragini franchise reaches out to the lowest common denominator," says Tanuj Garg, CEO - Balaji Motion Pictures.