Jacqueline is all set to show her kicks and moves for her upcoming movie "Kick". She has been training herself with Hula Hoop for her stunt sequences in the film.
Jacqueline said, “I just bought myself a hula hoop for some cardio workout but I can only do like a few seconds at a time…its a lot harder than I thought it would be. I alternate between weight training at the gym, yoga and some fun cardio occasionally.”

After making her debut in critically acclaimed Lakshmi, Monali Thakur is all set for her first award function performance at prestigious IFFA awards. She will be seen performing some of her famous songs like ‘Sawaar Loon’, ‘Tune maari entriya’ and ‘Anjaana Anjaani’. 15th IFFA awards will take place this year from 23rd April to 6th May. Monali Thakur will travel on 21st April to Florida.

Film: "2 States"; Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Ronit Roy, Amrita Singh, Revathi, Shiv Subramaniam; Directed by Abhishek Varman; Rating: ****

Magically, "2 States" ends with a beautifully staged wedding where the film's culture-crossed couple finally get their wish.

Sigh of relief? Not quite. This is a film you don't want to end. It's a story....but wait, it doesn't seem like a story!! Not in the sense of 'Once upon a time when Boy Met Girl'. You know exactly where our twosome, the gorgeous Ananya and the diffident Krish are going...But you get so sucked into their journey, their courtship, conflicts, tiffs and buts, that you feel after a point that you aren't watching them in a film. They are people we know. And love.

Some come, fall in love.

These are people whom you'll carry home and keep in some corner of your heart. Not just (gorgeous) Ananya (who incidentally is played by the very gorgeous Alia Bhatt) and her other-half Krish, but also their parents, specially Krish's father a man so misunderstood all his life he fears being recognized for some deeply-concealed goodness in his heart that comes out towards the end of this film (that you wish would never end).

Indian marriages, they say, are the marriage of two families. Sure enough, when the shy repressed Punjabi Krish meets the spunky spirited beer-guzzling, chicken-chewing Ananya, there is hell to pay from both sides.

The thing about cultural stereotyping is that it very often does exist in exactly the forms that we see them exist in films and books. Chetan Bhagat's lively novel from which this film is adapted, harps on the stereotypes in a way where we don't see the characters as "types" but as individuals who conform to a type. This delectable game of slotting the individual is best illustrated by Krish's loud-brassy Punjabi mom who behaves likes a cross between Kirron Kher and what Vidya Balan in Rajkumar Gupta's "Ghanchakkar" would have been had she grown older and had a son.

Oh yes, Revathi as Ananya's graceful Tamil mother is also outstanding, though Amrita's performance would easily shout her down in the Who Is The Better Mother contest.

Amrita Singh's true-to-type Punjabi housewife's character (you know the kind who has given herself the liberty to say the most insulting things to people who are not like her) gradually melts down in the narrative as her dark secret shame - "a drunken abusive husband" - comes out in the open.

Ronit Roy, that fine actor is no stranger to playing the abusive father. It's amazing how empathetic he makes the discernibly brutish character in "Udaan" and now this film without taking the character's arc through the filmy range from villainy to repentance. Thanks to Roy's dignified damned Dad's act, "2 States" is as much a father-son story as a girl-boy thing.

Not every sequence works here. I found Revathi's singing performance (arranged by Krish) a little too syrupy and Alia's anti-dowry speech at a brassy Punjabi wedding a little too contrived.

Minor slip-ups.

Most of the time cultural differences are articulately pinned down in the film. Debutant director Abhishek Varman knows how to tell a story embedding individual scenes with a distinctive personality without straining for effect. The narrative traverses a number of cities - Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai - searching out enchanting pockets of storytelling for the couple to grow into.

This is a film that never forgets to surprise even when going about the task of telling a story that can only end one way. Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt ensure that their mutual participation in the rites of courtship, copulation, conflict and reconciliation yields a harvest of hefty scenes. Their performances display a natural flair for understatement underlined by a deep understanding of the language of commercial cinema. And yes, they look so made for each other, their compatibility is almost karmic.

Two world, two cultures, two families, one love story...."2 States" re-defines and rejuvenates the love-marriage space.Simple and yet striking, gorgeous and graceful, this is a film where we come away hankering to know what happens to the couple after the film is over.

The film is put together with the stress on lightness of tone. From the clothes that Ananya and Krish wear to the spaces they inhabit... you won't find them fuelling a filmy flamboyance into the narrative. Binod Pradhan's cinematography is the opposite of epic. And that's the truth which these urban characters represent.

And yes, Alia dressed as a bride looks like a doll. In a way the honesty that her face never ceases to express symbolizes what this film strives to do. "2 States" creates a world where characters don't shout to be heard. They just belong to a world where being proper, politically or otherwise, is not always a pre-condition

Not even in his wildest dreams did cinematographer-turned-director Mahesh Limaye imagine that his first feature film "Yellow" would create such a impact. The movie has been named for the Special Jury and Special Mention honours for the National Film Awards.

Limaye is completely taken aback by the force of his film's impact.

"Right now I am still coming to terms with what the film has achieved. It will take me a very long time to come out of the 'Yellow' impact," he said.

"Yellow", co-produced by Riteish Deshmukh, is a little film with a big heart about a specially-abled child.

Speaking about the wide impact of "Yellow", Limaye said: "We knew we were making a sincere emotional film about a specially-abled child and her relationship with her mother. The emotional strength was there inherent in the story. All I had to ensure was that I told the story as sincerely as I could."

Limaye says he's somewhat stunned by the film's impact.

"Though it's a film in the Marathi language, it's being watched by non-Marathi audiences. That, to me, is the film's greatest achievement. If we can make audiences watch a film in a language they don't speak or understand, we have achieved what art is supposed to do."

"Gauri's story could not remain region-restricted. Her saga is the ultimate triumph-of-spirit saga. We were sure it would have an emotional impact on the audience. We never knew it would reach so far."

Limaye, who has done the cinematography of many of Madhur Bhandarkar's films, including "Corporate", "Traffic Signal", "Fashion" and "Heroine", says his directorial debut was purely providential.

"Although I've observed and worked with specially-abled children, I never thought I'd make my feature film debut with a film on a specially-abled child," he said.

The director, who has suddenly come into renown gives all credit to producers Riteish Deshmukh and Uttung Hitendra Thakur for making "Yellow" happen.

"They believed in Gauri Gadgil and her story of how she overcame her disability to become an Olympian swimming champ. When I was asked to direct this amazing story, I felt a huge sense of responsibility. It was as though I was being told by invisible powers to put forward a story that would inspire generations."

"Throughout the making of the film I felt the same power guiding me. In that sense, 'Yellow' just happened on its own. I am just a tool," he said.

The subject required four months of intense research. Directing a specially-abled actor in the lead role was not easy either.

Limaye says his long experience as an ad filmmaker really helped him to get a grip on the situation.

"When you direct an ad you learn to tell a story quickly before the lights fade and the actors lose their concentration. In my 20 years of experience as an ad maker, I've frequently worked with kids. They are to be handled with great patience and sensitivity."

"I guess those 20 years of experience in making ads prepared me for this big challenge that was 'Yellow'."

Now he wants to make a love story next.

"It doesn't matter which language the characters speak, as long as they speak the language of the heart."

Film: "Dekh Tamasha Dekh"; Cast: Vinay Jain, Satish Kaushik and Tanvi Azmi; Director: Feroz Abbas Khan; Rating: ****

Routinely, we love to sweep the truth about Hindu-Muslim relations under the carpet. Or simply sugar-coat it to make the actual volume of mutual distrust and animosity palatable to a nation steeped in escapism and self-delusion.

"Dekh Tamasha Dekh" (DTD), directed by theatre legend Feroz Abbas Khan (of "Tumhari Amrita" fame) is a jolting wake-up call for a nation swept into a slumberous silence by the status quo. Put simply, we don't want to face the reality about the friction that simmers just under the surface among the two communities.

DTD is perhaps the first Hindi film which ventures into the vista of vitriolic without the fear of offending the more refined sections of the audience who may not be comfortable watching the vanguards and trouble-makers of the two communities addressing each other with the harshest of epithets.

This is not a film about niceties. The director doesn't allow the narrative to nibble daintily at corrosive socio-political matters. Rather, the narrative chews industriously on the political issues. By using the twin missiles of satire and irony, he brings into a play a kind of pinned-down provocativeness into the plot whereby the characters become real and representational simultaneously.

Miraculously, the film is both a parable and a topical comment on communal relations. This is a film that takes burning headlines and converts them into slices of incriminating illustration on man and the beast within. The smell of authenticity pervades the destiny of the political-driven nefariously motivated characters.

This is literary cinema. The characters and their situations unfold like chapters from an epic novel. This is Govind Nihalani's "Tamas" without the recognisable punctuation marks. The director authors the characters' destiny in scenes that are written like chapters. Amazingly, the context of the scenes are explained to the audience without the crutches of a voice-over.

Take that lengthy but hilarious sequence where the newspaper editor Mutha Seth (Satish Kaushik, slimy and Machiavellian as can be) summons the newspaper editor and treats him like a pet dog - literally barking orders to both the canine and the editor at the same time. Elsewhere, a wife (Tanvi Azmi, eloquence personified) grieve for her dead husband while women of the neighbourhood join in to while away their time while waiting for the taps to supply water.

A mother-daughter sequence towards the end featuring the lyrical Tanvi Azmi and her on-screen daughter (Apoorva Arora) reminds us that political cinema need not be dry and emotionless. As the characters shed their humanism, the plot gathers a sense of tragic redemption that we sense waiting around the corner.

It's the kingdom of the quirky and the tragic. Khan portrays a world that is both bizarre and poignant.

Images of violence and retribution coalesce in Khan's world, which is replete with stark visuals of the town-people bickering bitterly over a non-issue that's been blown out of all proportions by trouble-makers.

DTD is a work of many contradictory forces pulling and tugging at the plot as it stretches out in a saga of valour and vitality, caprice and cowardice. Remarkably, the narrative makes no use of extraneous artificial sounds to create a heightened drama.

The natural sounds that pervade the soundtrack add to an eerie sense of a world of fearsome anxieties. Indeed, sound designer Baylon Fonseca is one of the heroes of this film. Sreekar Prasad edits the material to retain the rawness of mood without sacrificing the smoothness of narration. Hemant Chaturvedi's cinematography sweeps across the town prowling to peep into homes and hearts that are a flame with an anxious identity crisis.

Rarely does cinema take us so deep into the socio-political dynamics of communal disharmony. Honest to the core, brutal, ironical and disturbing, the director's world of Hindu-Muslim strife is cluttered with a compelling tension that erupts into welters of well-aimed social comment.

What we come away with is a film committed to mirroring the murk and mirth of organized religion and a disorganized system of governance which plays a game of appeasement with religious communities, setting off one group of people against another.

Stark, real, disturbing, ironical, funny and gripping, "Dekh Tamasha Dekh" is the film Govind Nihalani would have made if only he had the freedom to call a spade a spade. Not all the truth of Khan's cinema is palatable or even fully intelligible. But there is little here that doesn't provide food for thought.

This is a film that addresses itself to ideas and thoughts buried away from human consideration. We don't want to consider to what depth human nature can fall if pushed against a dirty wall. To record the dirt on the wall and the blood on the floor with such clarity and honesty is not within the creative powers of every filmmaker.

This is an important treatise of our times, and it should not be missed by any Indian.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan's latest film "Bhoothnath Returns", a fun-filled film which also highlights the importance of voting, was screened for President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan auditorium here.

After the screening Thursday, Amitabh, Parth, director Nitesh Tiwari and the producers were felicitated by the president. He was seen complimenting the team. Parth, who looked nervous on stage contrary to his role in "Bhoothnath Returns", also sought Mukherjee's blessings.

"We weren't expecting the president to see it, but he is here," said Amitabh, who wanted the special screening to be organised as he believes the film is "pertinent" to the current situation in India. The country went to polls April 7.

The 71-year-old star, dressed in black ensemble with high-shine buttons, took to the stage before the screening and thanked the President for giving him the opportunity to present the movie.

The sequel to 2008 film "Bhoothnath", "Bhoothnath Returns", released April 11, presents the ghost, played by Amitabh, entering the kingdom of ghosts and how he is mocked at by fellow ghosts for not being able to scare people.

He is later sent back to earth as a ghost. Once he reaches Mumbai's slum area - Dharavi, he meets a child called Akhrot, essayed by Parth Bhalerao. How the child persuades the ghost to contest election forms the rest of the story.

The auditorium was full of excited faces of children accompanied by their parents. The elders also seemed happy to catch the film.

“I don’t know what’s more exciting - seeing Amitabh Bachchan in person or watching his new film at Rashtrapati Bhavan,” said one of the young attendees.

The movie left many moved.

“It is a very good film. I laughed at their jokes and cried during the emotional scenes and it has social message too,” said one of the viewers.

The film has been appreciated by critics and moviegoers and has already minted Rs.30.14 crore in India.

Later Big B shared his experience on his official blog srbachchan.tumblr.com.

“The President of India Pranab Mukherjee has just been shown our film ‘Bhoothnath Returns’ at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, and I am delighted to say he enjoyed it immensely."

"He applauded after the film was over, as did the entire select invitees and said it was such an apt and beautifully constructed film, keeping in mind the current election scenario in the country,” he posted.

“What a huge privilege and an honour for the President to have taken time out from his busy schedule to oblige us with his august presence."

"His words of encouragement for the entire cast and crew, and his generosity in presenting us with a special memento goes a long way in the appreciation of the film, and in his own kindness,” he added.

Rajeev Khandelwal says the team of "Samrat & Co" has already thought of a possibility of a sequel to the film, and the actor has expressed a keen interest to be part of it.

"When we were working on this film, we thought there can be a sequel to this film. I am keen on doing the sequel of 'Samrat & Co' which is certainly on cards, but let's see how this film works at the box office," Rajeev told IANS.

There were also reports that a sequel of his 2013 film "Table No. 21" is in the works. But Rajeev says if at all it is being made, he would not be part of it.

"I don't know about the sequel, but I will not be part of the project as I don't like to repeat myself. I think Paresh Rawal can be in the sequel because his characterc was such in the film so it makes sense, but I will not be part of it," he added.

Indian singer Sanam Puri, who has given hits like “Ishq bulava” and “Dhat teri ki”, appreciates Pakistani music for its quality and says his band is trying to achieve the same quality.

"The music they (Pakistani musicians) are making right now is lot more open and straight forward and easy to connect. The production is lot better than India right now. So, we are trying as a band to bring that quality and more to India," Puri, who has sung the promotional song of Hollywood film "The Amazing Spider-Man 2", told IANS.

India has welcomed music from across the border with open arms and Pakistani artists like Atif Aslam, Ali Zafar and Strings have hit the right notes in our country.

Puri, who joined the music industry in 2009 and launched SANAM group, says that music from the neighbouring country is popular here because of its quality.

"Music in Pakistan is very good. We need to do a lot more here,” said Puri.

He says there are a few good Indian composers too. But since everyone wants things to be done quickly, it affects the quality.

“When you are composing a song, it needs time and you need to understand the song and then record it. These days everything is happening in a hurry...I think we can do better,” said the Kirori Mal college dropout, who came up with “Main hoon” for the superhero film in a short time.

“I was sitting at home and working on random songs. I got a call from Sony music saying they need a song for ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ urgently. I asked how urgently. They said a day or two and I said okay. I gave them the song in the morning itself,” he said.

After Sony Music and Sony Pictures heard the song, they gave the green signal and then he recorded the track.

He says the song is not soft or fast paced and that it has an anthem feel to it.

“It is very uplifting. It says you should never feel down and can do anything,” said Puri, who has recorded a song with singer-composer-actor Himesh Reshammiya and singer Shaad Ali too.

Puri's band also includes his brother Samar Puri as well as Venky S. and Keshav Dhanraj.

Vivek Oberoi shot in “48 to 50 degrees” in Rajasthan for Sher, but now the action thriller's release has been blocked by "legal" issues. The actor says it is "very disappointing" to see your hard work going down the drain.

Directed by Soham Shah, "Sher" also features Huma Qureshi.

"It's very disturbing. I have worked very hard for 'Sher'," Vivek told IANS.

"I have shot for the film in 48-50 degrees temperature in the month of May and June in Rajasthan. We have finished almost 80 percent of the film and after so much of hard work if the film doesn't release, obviously it is not easy to take it. It is very disappointing," he added.

When asked the reason behind "Sher" not being released, he said: "The film is stuck very badly. All I know is it's stuck because of some legal fights."

"But I must say the film has a wonderful story," added the 37-year-old whose last hit was "Krrish 3", in which he played a villain.

"Sher" disappointment notwithstanding, he has something to cheer himself with. The actor has given the voice over for the Hindi version of "Spiderman 2".

He said: "I have given voice over for Electro and it was a great experience. I enjoyed being part of the project."

The makers of "Titli" - director Kanu Behl and co-producer Dibakar Banerjee - are confident that the "difficult and exciting" journey of bringing "Titli" to life will bear fruit for them when it is screened at the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival next month.

The movie, about the badlands of Delhi's dystopic underbelly, will be in competition as part of the Un Certain Regard section of the 67th Cannes film gala, to be held May 14-25.

Talking about the film, Behl said "'Titli' is a film about family, roots and the ghosts within our most intimate relationships. It's an extremely personal film. The journey to the core of the film has been a difficult and exciting one and I'm looking forward to it going out into the world."

"Titli" revolves around the volatile relationship between two brothers - one of whom runs away from home to escape his oppressive family but turns to a life of crime.

Ranvir Shorey, Amit Sial and newcomer Shashank Arora feature in the movie.

The film is jointly backed by Yash Raj Films (YRF) and Banerjee. The filmmaker says he holds the success of "Titli" at Cannes as the way forward for Indian cinema.

"A hot new talent, one of India's biggest studios and an independent production house pooled their strengths to present a honest to the core, intense, rooted, yet universal Indian narrative which is not Bollywood but simply world cinema from India," he said of the project.

"This is a proud moment for me and all of us at Dibakar Banerjee Productions and YRF. Kanu Behl's smashing debut will make India proud," he added.

Nigeria, one of Africa's largest nations and its most populous, is keen to collaborate with the over $2-billion Indian film industry to promote better understanding between the two countries and provide competition to Hollywood.

"I am just excited at the prospect of a future collaboration between a Nigerian filmmaker and one from India," Femi Adeniye, a Lagos-based Nigerian film producer, told IANS on phone.

"Indian filmmakers have the know-how and the experience and that can combine to be a threat to the Hollywood industry," added the filmmaker.

Recently, Abuja hosted the first Indian Film Festival and screend a number of Hindi movies including "Lagaan", "Pardes", "Chak De! India", "Stanley Ka Dabba", "Jodhaa-Akbar", "Sholay", "Devdas", "Dhoom 2" and "3 Idiots".

Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria A.R. Ghanashayan sees a vast scope for mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries in filmmaking by virtue of complementing comparative advantages and experiences.

He believes the hosting of the film festival in Nigeria would lead to a reciprocal Nigerian Film Festival in New Delhi.

India is currently Nigeria's second largest trading partner. With a population of 168 million and considerable revenue from oil exports, Nigeria is the largest trading partner of India in Africa.

Bilateral annual trade turnover was over $17.3 billion in 2011-12, registering a growth of 34 percent. Last financial year, Indian exports showed a further increase of 1.33 percent even though bilateral trade fell to $16.8 billion.

Nigeria is also the largest market in Africa for Indian exports with a large number of Indian companies operating in the country and some of them making substantial investments.

India is one of the largest film producing nations in the world and Indian films have also been a part of the country's history and are very popular in Kano, Kaduna and other northern States, and local channels regularly telecast Indian films.

Nigeria's First Lady, Lady Patience Faka Jonathan, who attended the film fest, opined that the two countries have a shared relationship and similarities in an enterprising film culture.

She feels the film industry provides an avenue for growth for the two countries and says: "Just like Nigeria with a population of over 160 million people, India is equally blessed with a huge population of over 1.2 billion people. We can therefore imagine what this translates into economic terms.

"There is the possibility of stakeholders in the film industry from Bollywood and Nollywood (Nigeria's film industry) engaging in partnerships or exchange programmes that will yield mutual benefits and promote better understanding between our two countries."

A further boost to relationship between the two countries in films is likely to increase trade between the countries. Some of film producers are already looking at collaboration between Nigerian and Indian film makers.

Kanu Behl's "Titli", which has been chosen for screening at the Un Certain Regard section of the 67th Cannes International Film Festival, is one of the "strongest" films capable of putting Indian cinema on the global map, says producer Guneet Monga.

"I am delighted with the news. Kanu has made 'Titli' into one of the strongest films out of India that will truly put India on the global map. I am glad to be a small part of a truly amazing journey for this outstanding film," Monga told IANS.

Backed by Yash Raj Films (YRF) and produced by Dibakar Banerjee, "Titli" revolves around the volatile relationship between two brothers - one of whom runs away from home to escape his oppressive family but turns to a life of crime. The film stars Ranvir Shorey, Amit Sial and newcomer Shashank Arora.

Earlier this year, YRF had announced that it had roped in Monga to help in the international sales, promotion and festival strategies for the movie.

Monga, who has been associated with films like "Monsoon Shootout", "Gangs Of Wasseypur", "Peddlers" and "The Lunchbox", which have been to the Cannes movie gala, is happy with the journey that "Titli" has undertaken.

"I am especially happy that an independent producer like Dibakar and a global giant like YRF have come together on a film like this - it's a fantastic way forward for Indian cinema in the global scene," she added.

Husband and wife often fulfil complimentary roles. Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar says that his wife Adhuna supports him and gives him strength and confidence to finish his work with ease.

In an interview on TV show "Yeh Hai Meri Kahani", the "Shaadi Ke Side Effects" star talked about his wife's role in his life, said a statement.

"Adhuna has a great influence on me. She gives me strength and confidence to accomplish my work without any worries. Her inputs have always been of importance in all my films, all our popular looks from films like 'Dil Chahta Hai’, ‘Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara’, ‘Rock On!!’ were created by her,” said Farhan on Adhuna, a star hair-stylist.

“So, her influence and contribution on my work is there for everyone to see… and as a person she is exceedingly supportive. She knows how much my work means to me and I know she will always be by my side. It is her support that gives me strength and motivation to work harder,” he added.

The episode will be aired on UTV Stars Saturday.

Filmmaker Karan Johar is absolutely in love with his house newly designed by actor-producer Riteish Deshmukh, an architect by qualification.

“Riteish has designed my home. Will always be grateful to him for making my new home so beautiful! Love you Rits,” Karan tweeted.

The “Grand Masti” actor, who has produced Marathi films “Yellow” and “Balak Palak” has an architectural degree from Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies in Mumbai.

He had earlier designed the office premises of superstar Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan's film production banner Red Chillies Entertainment.

Months of toil and turmoil for "Mary Kom" have been "harder than the hardest for Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, who plays the title role in the biopic on Olympic medal-winning boxer M.C. Mary Kom.

"Last two days of 'Mary Kom' shoot...It's been harder than the hardest. Kudos to the crew for keeping it together. All good things come to an end," Priyanka posted on her Twitter page Friday.

The National award-winning actress has earlier said that every day of shooting the movie has been inspirational. But she has pushed her boundaries to sink her teeth into the role and in fact, also spent a lot of time with the sports icon to get her act right for the film.

Directed by Omung Kumar, the movie is slated to release on Gandhi Jayanti Oct 2.

Hema Malini, who is busy campaigning as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Mathura Lok Sabha constituency, says she feels "wonderful" to have the support of her family members.

"(My daughters) Esha and Ahana have arrived and are ready to leave for their campaign in Baldeo. It is wonderful to see my entire family rally round me - daughters, sons-in-law, brothers and bhabhis (sisters-in-law) are all here to give me moral support," the 65-year-old posted on her Twitter page.

The actress, who featured in movies like "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Sholay" and "Baghban", was recently miffed over reports that her family was not by her side in her political journey.

Theatre legend Feroz Abbas Khan's directorial venture "Dekh Tamasha Dekh" is a brutal chronicle of the communal divide between Hindus and Muslims that stares in our face. He says it was essential for him to express a concern for the times "we're living in".

Excerpts from the interview.

Q: "Dekh Tamasha Dekh" throws the simmering discontent between the two communities out in the open?

A: Yes, I think it makes the private the public. It started in our cinema with matters pertaining to sex and sexuality coming out in the open. But a confrontation of communalism in the public was so far hidden from cinematic view. The mindset of public communal violence begins in the privacy of homes. The tenor of discussion in these private discussions suggests that a genocide on a small scale is perfectly okay if it brings about any economic growth. Now that's kind of mindset where people sit in their drawingrooms and discuss violence. But they don't really go out and wash their hands in the bloodshed. They let other people do it for them. The minds behind those acts of violence stay out of sight.

The thinking class doesn't understand the long-term repercussions of their secretly sanctioned violence. To me (Bharatiya Janata Party's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi) Modi, non-Modi, VHP (Vishva Hindu Parishad) is not important. All these leaders are to me, manifestations of a dangerous mindset where the logic is, sacrificing 4,000-5,000 lives is ok, as it puts a community in its place and is also good for economic growth. Such rabid mindset doesn't realise what dangerous effects their action would have on society. It is this violent mindset generating out of the drawing rooms that troubles me.

Q: So you're fundamentally opposed to fundamentalism?

A: Ha ha. You can say that. I can understand the minority communinity's feeling of persecution. But that doesn't make their vitriolic any less insane than the majority community's vitriolic. You can't say, 'My bakwas is better than your bakwas'. After watching my film, people are shocked by what they see.

Q: Was there no trepidation that this film would stir up a hornet's nest?

A: The responses in the most communally volatile places like Varanasi, Lucknow and Kanpur - hotbeds of communal tension - they all felt that the language of truth is undiluted. It comes across without prejudice and with no baggage.

I didn't make this film to generate melodrama by creating a filmy conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist. I made this film with no agenda except to tell the truth. It is neither for or against any community. I think I've been responsible in putting across the truth. Sure, the language that the two communities use to address one another is harsh. But nothing compared with the language our politicians use on television.

Q: Your film certainly doesn't flinch from confronting the demons of communalism?

A: For me, it was essential to go out there and express a concern for the times we're living in. The idea of communal identity being bigger than humanity is absurd and dangerous. Communalism is like a damaged ATM card from which something harmful will always come out. The next stage of the nation's development cannot happen without a character development. For the younger generation ever response is based on an instant emotional stimulus.

Q: So is the situation completely hopeless for the younger generations?

A: Young people in the smaller towns are connected with a sense of history. I've travelled to places like Patna and Kanpur with the film. The youth that I encounter in these towns is not the same people I meet where I stay in South Mumbai. In the larger cities, the youth is fed on alternate reality based on cricket and Bollywood. And that's a fine option to exercise. However to believe that alternate reality is the only reality worthy of inhabiting is a frightening thought. If you make diversion the focus of your life reality would one day be knocking on your door. Even the intelligentsia is shown to be quite helpless in my film. It's all very fine to be an intellectual. But what good is your ideology when you are beaten by a mob on the streets? Thinkers are becoming redundant. We're creating a sharply polarized society consisting of generations that are wither extraordinarily brilliant or a mass of morons.

Q: Your film comes during Lok Sabha elections. What do you have to say about the looming reality of a BJP government?

A: I've immense faith in the check, balances and sanity of the country. I think the people who will vote for Narendra Modi will actually be protesting against the complete failure of the Congress government. I am optimistic about the basic decency of the people of the country. However it is very important to be warned that this decency can easily be manipulated for small political gains. Political desperation leads to all kinds of bizarre alliances and compromises....like Mrs Sonia Gandhi meeting the Shahi Imam.

Q: How did you convince the censor board to let go the volatile content and the strong dialogues?

A: It was cleared nine months ago when Pankaja Thakur was still the CEO of the Censor Board Of Film Certification. She was very rational in her approach. The entire censor board loved the film. One lady actually felt children should be allowed to watch the film. But the film had go to the Revising Committee. After a very long discussion they decided I only had to cut 40 seconds of the Maulana's rabid speech.

Q: Would your future films continue to display the same level of social commitment?

A: I've told what I had to tell. I had to get it out of my system. My health was getting affected because of all these ideas were bottled up against me... It's out of my system. My next film is a pure love story. Luckily I got a fabulous cast.

Model-actress Dipannita Sharma, who will be next seen in horror movie “Pizza 3D”, says that the genre is evolving.

“The horror films genre has a lot of potential in India and is evolving substantially. I am very happy to be a part of one such film ‘Pizza 3D’, which is very promising parcelled with the right pulse, different from the regular horror,” she said in a statement.

A Hindi remake of Tamil hit "Pizza", the film has been co-produced by Siddharth Roy Kapoor and Bejoy Nambiar, while Akshay Akkineni has directed it.

In the past, the actress featured in movies like “Jodi Breakers” and “Ladies vs Ricky Bahl”

A Special Screening of Bhoothnath Return was kept at Rashtrapati Bhavan yesterday for The President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee. Post the screening The President felicitated and encouraged the entire cast and crew of the movie.

Present at the special screening were the team of Bhoothnath Returns, megastar Amitabh Bachchan child actor Parth Bhalerao, Director Nitesh Tiwari, Producer Bhushan Kumar (T-Series), Producer Renu Chopra, Abhay Chopra, Kapil Chopra (BR Studios) , Ajay Kapoor (T series)and Vinod Bhanushali (Tseries).

Sonam Kapoor's sweet tooth for dessert is known to all. While shooting a scene for 'Dolly Ki Doli' the actress treated the entire unit to cupcakes.

A certain scene in the film required Sonam to gorge on cupcakes and she loved them so much that she inquired with the production team about the cakes and ordered over a 100 cupcakes for everyone on the sets!

A source attached to the film said, “Sonam is known for being a darling on the sets. Whenever she has a sweet craving, she makes sure that the entire set gets to eat with her, which is one of the reasons she is a favorite with the unit members. Not only this, she is also known for surprising people close to her with gifts and other such sweet gestures."

Now, how sweet is that!