Actress Rani Mukerji is overwhelmed with the response to her film "Mardaani". She says the film about women's empowerment has succeeded in raising awareness as was intended to.

"I am very, very happy. There has been an overwhelming response," the 36-year-old said here Saturday at the inauguration of defense workshops for municipal schoolgirls.

"Across the globe people have given it a standing ovation, they are clapping. I think it has hit the right chord with everyone irrespective of the gender.

"The fact that we have tried to raise an awareness has been conquered. As team 'Mardaani' I am very grateful and hoping that in the coming days we would get to hear many more things," she added.

Directed by Pradeep Sarkar, "Mardaani" stars Rani as police officer Shivaji Roy, who fights the girl trafficking mafia.

"Happy Ending", starring Saif Ali Khan and Ileana D'Cruz, is slated to hit the screens Nov 28.

A romantic comedy, the film promises to "break the rules while playing by the rules".

The film is a roller coaster ride, a satire and an observation of the modern Indian man and woman, said a statement.

The movie revolves around romance and comedy, with a take on love, relationships, marriage, friendships, plagiarism and happy endings.

Directed by duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K., "Happy Ending" also stars Govinda, Kalki Koechlin and Ranvir Shorey in key roles.

She became the butt of all jokes following her appearance on Karan Johar's chat show, but now actress Alia Bhatt has taken a potshot at herself via an entertaining video titled "Alia Bhatt - Genius of the Year", which is gaining popularity on online social media.

"So after the 'Alia Bhatt Jokes' thing...I decided to FIX my BRAIN! Check this out http://youtu.be/pfHxl46KyZM," the sporting Alia posted on Twitter Monday morning.

A brief description of the YouTube video, uploaded by comedy collective All India Bakchod (AIB), reads: "What did Alia Bhatt do after the internet turned her into the butt of all jokes? A documentary crew found out..."

The video features Alia herself, with appearances by her father and filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, as well as friends and colleagues like Karan Johar, Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra.

It begins with a message that reads - "In 2014, a documentary crew follows Alia Bhatt in the aftermath of her 'Koffee With Karan' debacle".

The video, featuring Alia as herself, is a funny fictional take on what the 21-year-old went through after her general knowledge, rather the lack of it, was known to the world when she called "Prithviraj Chauhan" as the country's President on Karan's show.

In the video, she is seen talking about how "hurt" she was when instead of searching for "Alia Bhatt hot pics" on Google, people started looking for "Alia Bhatt jokes".

She then visits a 'Dumb Belle Mental Gym', which offers her to take her from "Dolce & Gabbana to 'Smart like Shabana (Azmi)'". At the 'gym', she reads newspapers and her diet is "three portions of newspapers in the morning" and she is instructed to "skip Page 3". She is made to brush up her knowledge via music, and she lands on "Koffee With Karan" again and stuns host Karan with her answers.

The video's end is to watch out for!

Directed by Shakun Batra, "Alia Bhatt - Genius of the Year" is being loved by celebrities like Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan as much as by the actress' fans.

"BRAVO @aliaa08 this is superb! And it’s also @karanjohar ‘s best performance ever," tweeted Abhishek, while Hrithik posted: "Fell down laughing! Talent wth a twist, @aliaa08 u are sensational."

Praising it, Farhan Akhtar said: "Now this is funny.. Hahahaha.. Love it. Full points to @aliaa08 @shakunbatra @karanjohar".

Hansal Mehta called the video "disarmingly cute", and her "Student Of The Year" co-star Sidharth Malhotra tweeted: "Hahaa brilliant @aliaa08 so endearing n sporting n kudos to you".

US-based film director Param Gill, whose Hollywood project "Last Supper" and Bollywood venture "DOA: Death Of Amar" won multiple honours at the recently concluded San Francisco Global Movie Fest, finds awards motivating.

Gill was awarded $100,000 as the winner of the best director (world cinema) title for "Last Supper", which was also bagged the best of fest (world cinema) title.

The dramedy (drama-comedy) also helped Eddie Griffin and Najarra Townsend win the best actor and actress respectively, and Ludmil Kazakov was feted with the best editor award.

For "DOA: Death Of Amar", his first Bollywood film starring Rajeev Khandelwal and Zarine Khan, Gill got the audience choice award. The film also got the best score honour for Thomas Andrew Gallegos at the 22nd edition of the fest, which was held Aug 15-17.

"It's very promising to get so many honours at one platform, and it's also a unique situation that a Hollywood and Bollywood film by the same filmmaker are being appreciated individually," Gill told IANS over phone from San Francisco.

With the prize money, he hopes to do what he knows best - "make more movies".

A qualified dentist, Gill has been living in the US for the past 14 years, when he came to the country as a student "penniless". Since then, it has been an "interesting transition from being a dentist to a filmmaker", he said.

His first movie was "Rocking Meera" in 2009 and then he made "Hotel Hollywood".

"Last Supper" is his third film, and he describes it as an emotional dramedy, while "DOA: Death Of Amar", he says, is a "Hollywood-style thriller and suspense film".

Indian filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker has roped in Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning international costume designer April Ferry to put her creative forces together for his mega project "Mohenjo Daro". She is thrilled.

Ferry will design costumes for the lead actors Hrithik Roshan and Pooja Hegde as well as for the entire cast of the film, a love story set during the Indus Valley Civilzation.

"I am really thrilled to be working with Ashutosh Gowariker. When I first heard about this film, I really hoped that it wouldn't clash with my work back there and I am glad it didn't," Ferry said in a statement.

"This film excites me because there is very little known about that period and so it gives me a lot of creative space to create costumes for an era which is so ancient," she added.

Ferry, who has earlier designed costumes for Hollywood films such as "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines", "Elysium" and "Surrogates", had received an Academy Award nomination for her work for "Maverick" and she won the Outstanding Costume for a Series Emmy for "Rome".

Gowariker, who is himself an Oscar nominated filmmaker, said: "I feel extremely proud to be working with Ms. April Ferry. I have been a great admirer of her work, especially with regards to her keen eye for detail, and I'm now delighted that she will design the costumes for 'Mohenjo Daro'."

Jointly produced by Disney India's Studio business and Ashutosh Gowariker Production Pvt. Ltd. (AGPPL), "Mohenjo Daro" will go on floors in October 2014. Its first schedule will take place in South Africa.

Actor Aamir Khan, who is known to raise social issues via his TV show "Satyamev Jayate", has praised his former co-star Rani Mukerji's work in her latest movie "Mardaani", about child trafficking.

"Saw 'Mardaani' yesterday (Sunday)! Must watch, it can happen to anyone! Rani is superb. And so is the new actor who plays the villain, Tahir Raj Bhasin," Aamir, who starred with Rani in "Ghulam", posted on Twitter Monday.

In "Mardaani", which released Aug 22, Rani is seen as a police officer on a mission against girls' trafficking.

Meanwhile, Aamir is busy promoting his film "PK" these days.

Known for making mostly right picks in the Hindi film industry, actor Rajkummar Rao believes in the power of "choices".

"Your talent lies in your choices and your choices make your career," he tweeted to his almost 19,000 followers on Twitter.

The actor, who started his career with "Love Sex aur Dhokha" in 2010, has already won a National Award and has been appreciated for his work in movies like "Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2", "Kai Po Che", "Shaitan", "Shahid", "Queen" and "Citylights".

Actor Kunal Kemmu, who had been contemplating getting a tattoo for a long time, has finally got himself inked with an image of Lord Shiva.

"So after years of procrastination I finally got inked traditional Buddhist style with a bamboo," Kunal tweeted with the link of his Instagram page where he has shared the photograph of his newly-acquired tattoo Monday.

The actor, who recently got engaged to Soha Ali Khan, has got the tattoo done on his leg.

The 14th edition of the Open Frame Film Festival and Forum will commence here Tuesday.

The festival, which will open with specialised Documentary Appreciation Workshops, will present films with themes ranging from deep personal explorations to social commentaries on the world we inhabit.

On till Sep 2, the event is organised by Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT) in collaboration with India International Centre, New Delhi, Doordarshan and External Publicity and Public Diplomacy Division, Ministry of External Affairs.

The festival will showcase films produced by PSBT over the last year and some earlier ones directed by independent filmmakers, read a statement.

The films will be like a kaleidoscope. It will bring the story of Indian handicrafts, the moments and triumphs of peoples' movements, struggles for the right to live and the right to die, the history of films and filmmaking in India, the plight of urban and rural environments and much more.

After bagging four National Awards this year, Bengali film "Jaatishwar" is set to compete with eight other films for India's official entry at the Oscars.

The Srijit Mukherji-directed film, with Bengali superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee in the lead, clinched awards for make-up (Vikram Gaikwad), music (Kabir Suman), singer (Rupankar Bagchi) and costume (Sabarni Das) at the 61st edition of the coveted honours this year.

Prosenjit told IANS, "Yes, the film is in race with eight other films for the official Indian entry to the Oscars."

Srijit announced the big news on his official Facebook page Monday.

He wrote, "Jaatishwar in the race to be the Indian entry at the Oscars, along with eight other films. Congratulations and all the best to the team!."

Prosenjit tweeted to thank the team.

"Thnks n proud dat d hrdwrk of team #Jaatishwar has bn paid n it is being selected for Oscar (sic)," he wrote.

Actor-filmmaker Dia Mirza Monday unveiled “B for Braille”, a musical short film that aims at promoting Braille literacy in the country, and called it a “benevolent initiative”.

An initiative of White Print, India's first English Lifestyle Magazine in Braille, the film revolves around a 10-year-old visually impaired boy who is intrigued by a book that he accidentally finds leading to a profound connection that he develops with his father's storytelling.

His earnest connection with books and the stories in them drives his parents in pursuit of a way to teach their child how to read. The innocent joy and happiness on their son's face when his little fingers touch the raised dots, makes them realise the value it would add to his future life.

Praising the effort, Dia said that “B for Braille” is a “benevolent initiative”.

“We tend to ignore the issues that don't concern us directly, but it is important that we introspect and take the more humane step. Reading is something the sighted take for granted while it opens a whole new world for the visually impaired community,” Dia said at the film's screening at the Light Box Theatre here.

“It's time we strongly address the lack of awareness that exists, not only promote the beautiful art of reading but help elevate literacy levels. I am extremely proud to be associated with the cause and spread the message of Braille literacy to every part of India,” she added.

Upasana Makati, founder and publisher, White Print, said that the ratio of visually impaired and the literate visually impaired is skewed.

“There is an urgent need to educate and empower, to reach out to smaller towns and villages and generate awareness regarding the Braille script.

"Beautiful music, powerful lyrics and some emotional visuals captured in the film can be the best medium to spread the word. 'B for Braille' is our way of taking a step towards making a difference," said Makati.

Veteran fashion designer Ritu Kumar, who works with local weavers and artisans across the country regularly, says that by using handloom fabrics unconventionally, people in the design fraternity can give a new lease of life to the craftsmen.

At a talk here at The Lodhi here Monday evening, she took a group of "textile-mad" people through a presentation about the costumes and textiles worn by royals in ancient, medieval and modern India.

When a woman spoke of how her young daughter only prefers figure-hugging saris over a Benarasi or Patola weave, Ritu Kumar said: "We have to make sure to use their (weavers') handloom fabrics in an unconventional way."

She said "figure-hugging saris" have been part of the country's fashion scene since time immemorial - pointing out to some images of the court clothing worn by royalty in ancient India. The photographs are part of her 1999 book "Costumes and Textile of Royal India".

Ritu said that eeven layering, which is a rampant trend on today's fashion ramps, "have a long history".

Taking the audience on a journey of the evolution of court costumes as she "conjectures", she spoke fondly of intricate craftsmanship, overwhelming yards of handwoven fabrics and the man hours it must have taken to shape up most ensembles.

Having been in the fashion industry for over four decades, Ritu says the basics of local craftsmen in the country are very strong, and the techniques aren't easy to learn either.

Hence, she is all for aiding them with the right remuneration, providing them conducive working conditions and in pioneering a concerted collective voice to fight for their rights.

India and Vietnam could see a welcome jump to the poor tourist figures to each other's countries with direct flights set to take off from November even as this pretty Southeast Asian country plans to tap Bollywood to shoot films and host its glitzy awards functions here.

Officials of Vietnam's tourism ministry who met visiting Indian journalists agreed that the main hindrance to India-Vietnam tourism was the lack of direct flights. Most flights to Hanoi have to go via Hong Kong, with a waiting period of several hours.

According to Hoang Thi Diep, vice chairperson Vietnam National Administration of Tourism of the tourism ministry, Indians comprised only 10,000 of Vietnam's 7.5 million tourists in 2013.

"The lack of direct flights between India and Vietnam has hampered growth in tourism," she said, expressing hope that with direct flights from New Delhi and Mumbai to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh from November the figures would go up substantially.

Jet Airways and Vietnam Airlines have inked an agreement for the direct flights, which will include a two-hour stopover at Bangkok.

Chinese comprise a major chunk of tourists to Vietnam, with 1.4 million Chinese nationals visiting the country last year.

Hoang Thi Diep said their tourism ministry has also met Indian Ambassador Preeti Saran to discuss the possibility of inviting the Indian film industry to Vietnam.

"We could explore the possibility of Bollywood hosting awards functions in Vietnam or even shooting their films," she said.

If the negotiations with Bollywood show promise then the Vietnamese government could also explore the possibility of giving tax concessions to the Indian film industry, she suggested.

Buddhism is the main religion in Vietnam, which has thousands of beautiful Buddhist pagodas spread across the country. Both countries could also focus on the Buddhist tourism circuit, the Vietnamese officials suggested.

India has its own Buddhist tourism circuit, which traverses the major Buddhist centres of Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, Sarnath among others.

India is also examining to see if the direct flights between India and Vietnam could touch Bodh Gaya, said an official.

Hoang Thi Diep said that her department supports the proposal of visa exemption for Indians. "We support the idea of visa exemption. It is for the two governments to work out the modalities."

In addition to direct flights, the visa exemption would also help to attract more tourists from India, she said.

"There is a huge potential for tourism cooperation between the two countries," the official added.

It's time for the three "ageing superstars" of Malayalam cinema to make way for fresh faces. With influx of youngsters, growing popularity of Tamil films and the expansion of digital platforms, the heydays of the trio of Mammootty, Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi seem to be over.

The three amongst themselves have more than 800 films and six National Awards for the best actor. At 62, Mammootty is the eldest among the three. Gopi, once the angry young man of Malayalam cinema, is 55, while Mohanlal, popularly called Lal, is the youngest at 54.

Ace comedian and character artiste Jagadish, who rubbed shoulders with them in several films, feels it is time to see things in the right perspective.

"When the trio was going great guns, the only competition that they had was amongst themselves. But in the past one decade things have changed drastically, and today, not only are they pitted against more than a dozen youngsters, the audience has now accepted Tamil films, which offer a rich variety," Jagadish told IANS.

"Also, there are numerous options for entertainment available in the form of cell phones, social media and what not," he added.

When the three actors started their career in 1980, it took them a decade to establish themselves as the reigning stars by dethroning legends like Prem Nazir and thespian Madhu.

In fact, the trio were seen as a perfect replacement for macho Jayan, who was killed while attempting a dare devil stunt on board a helicopter.

The 1990s and the following decade can be summed up as the glorious period for them and later their experience and versatility helped them to stay ahead of the curve.

Every rise has its fall. Starting 2010, the trio too faced disappointments when their films started bombing.

In the past few years Mammootty had 29 releases and barring a few, none really shook the box office. Lal had 22 releases, and Gopi, who was busy with TV assignments, had 19, but all the films met with the same fate.

The failures indicate that their names do not have the power to pull the crowd at the theatres any more.

Dileep, who was never rated as a superstar but played a glorious innings in the industry, continues to hold on to where he has been since the turn of the century.

He takes inspiration from Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who is still going strong despite being 71. He said that he has survived this long because "he reinvented himself and takes roles that suit his age."

"We have to accept certain things in life and that is, one can't be always on the top. Today even in politics, where age is not a criterion, this does not happen," he said.

Another film personality, who wants to be anonymous, admits that the trio are "gifted actors", but added: "As the saying goes, 'There is a time and place for everything' and one should be wise enough to understand it."

Award winning filmmaker Majid Gulistan says stardom is like an illusion.

"Films are in itself an illusion and the stars ride on that. Even in Hollywood, the concept of star system has changed and nowhere except in the Malayalam film industry could these superstars have had such a long run. They should consider themselves hugely fortunate.

"When the concept of star system goes, new ideas and thoughts gain significance and it would be based on the theory of survival of the fittest in all respects," said Gulistan.

Actor Kay Kay Menon, who teamed up with Emraan Hashmi for the first time in forthcoming con film "Raja Natwarlal", marvels over his co-star's dedication and professionalism.

Emraan will be seen as the conman who is out to take revenge from bad guy Kay Kay in the Kunal Deshmukh's directorial venture.

"Emraan is a very cool person. He never takes tension and he comes prepared with all his scenes on the set. He works very professionally," Kay Kay said here in an interview.

"All the scenes that we did together, I enjoyed a lot. I loved the fact that there is a person who works with such dedication," added the actor who has proved his mettle in much appreciated celluloid offerings like “Hazaaron Khwaishein Ais”, “Life in a Metro” and “Black Friday” .

Slated for a Friday release, it also features Paresh Rawal and Pakistani actress Humaima Malick.

Box office calculations indicate Bollywood made a decent start with the young kids on the block such as Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt. But the onus is on superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan to turn an average year into a blockbuster in the last quarter, say trade analysts.

With close to 120 releases till mid- August, the box office has garnered over Rs.1,400 crore ($230 million) so far. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh extols the young brigade's achievements, saying they have done a "tremendous job" this year.

"They have put their best foot forward - be it Tiger Shroff in 'Heropanti', Varun Dhawan in 'Main Tera Hero', 'Alia Bhatt' in 'Highway' or Arjun Kapoor in '2 States'.

"This was something unexpected and they have proved their talent with their films," Adarsh told IANS.

Manoj Desai, executive director of G7 multiplex and Maratha Mandir, also admitted the newcomers' good performances have "come as a surprise to all ofus".

"Be it 'Heropanti', '2 States', 'Highway' or 'City Lights' - these films have not just recovered their money but also made a huge profit," he said.

"Heropanti" collected around Rs.51 crore, "2 States" entered the Rs.100 crore club with a Rs.102 crore collection, "Gunday" minted Rs.80 crore, "Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania" raked in Rs.75.5 crore and unusual road movie "Highway" took home close to Rs.30 crore.

This is not to forget Sidharth Malhotra's "Ek Villain", which has done an amazing business at the box office. "It managed to garner close to Rs.98 crore", said Rajesh Thadani.

Even some small-budget films did fair business.

"Queen" and "Raginni MMS 2" were big earners.

"'Queen' managed to do really well as the film had strong content and managed to collect around Rs.57 crore," Thadani said.

For the first six months, the youngsters set the ball rolling; then entered Salman Khan and 'kicked' a storm with his action-romantic drama "Kick", the biggest money spinner of 2014 so far.

Lauding Sajid Nadiadwala's directorial debut, Thadani said: "'Kick' was a money spinner, which collected close to Rs.211 crore. It's outstanding. 'Kick' is the biggest film of 2014 so far."

In between, Akshay Kumar too contributed with "Holiday - A Soldier Is Never Off Duty", but his "Entertainment" didn't turn out to be entertaining enough to make big bucks.

And recently, Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty set box-office milestones rolling with "Singham Returns", which earned Rs.100.68 crore in the first five days of its release and it's still counting.

"'Entertainment' barely collected close Rs.41 crore," said Thadani.

Despite satisfactory performances by young actors, overall collections have not been overwhelming.

"Business has been poor and there has been a slowdown because of three reasons - general election, the Indian Premier League and examinations," said Adarsh.

According to Thadani, "It has been a decent year, but it could have been even better. If we compare it to the last year, the collection has been almost the same."

Three films - "2 States", "Jai Ho" and "Holiday" - entered the Rs.100 crore club - but trade expert Manoj Desai insists that so far, it "has been an average year".

"If we look at the records of the last year, it was way better than this year. I hope the remaining part of the year will make up," he said.

Consequently, distributors are pinning hope on SRK's "Happy New Year", Aamir's "PK" and "Bang Bang", which has Hrithik Roshan.

If Adarsh's expertise is anything to go by, there is a lot of "expectations from 'Happy New Year' and 'PK' and, as always, the second half will belong to them."

Apart from the two Khan biggies, there is an interesting line up for "Finding Fanny", "Mary Kom", "Khoobsurat", "Haider", "Welcome Back", "Action Jackson" and "Happy Ending".

Thandani said: "We hope few films will hit the Rs.100 crore club, but with films like 'Happy New Year', the expectations are higher. We are hoping for Rs.200 crore with these films."

Congress president Sonia Gandhi Tuesday condoled the death of renowned British actor and director Richard Attenborough.

In a letter to Sheila Sim, widow of the 90-year-old actor-director who directed the Oscar winning biopic "Gandhi" in 1982, Gandhi described Attenborough as a "true friend of India".

"I am grieved to learn of the passing away of Lord Richard Attenborough. During his long career as an actor, producer and director, he lit up the stage and screen with his inimitable brilliance. But his finest hour was as the director of 'Gandhi', a film that took the story of modern India's greatest man to all over the world," Gandhi said.

She added: "I join thousands of Indians in mourning the loss of a true friend of India and a great actor and director."

Actress and theatre personality Rohini Hattangadi played Kasturba in the late Richard Attenborough's "Gandhi" and says that working in the multiple Oscar winning film was a revelation for her. She said that the British film director gave a bound script to everyone and followed it religiously.

Attenborough died at the age of 90 Sunday.

"I still remember vividly how I got Kasturba's role in 'Gandhi'. At that time I was doing Marathi theatre when casting agent Dolly Thakore contacted me to meet Sir Richard," said Rohini.

"He was going from Delhi to London via Mumbai. Luckily, I was in Mumbai that day. I met him for an hour. We spoke about theatre and then he left. I later got to know he had so many other actresses for Kasturba's role. So I didn't really bank on getting the role. But the very next day Dolly called to say I had to leave for London for shooting immediately," she added.

It wasn't easy for Rohini to pack her bags and hop on the plane, but thankfully things fell in place.

"I was booked for the coming weeks for my play. I didn't even have a passport. So how was I supposed to leave for London all of a sudden? But Dolly said she'd help me with all the travel details. In eight days, I got a temporary passport and the producer of my play was very accommodating. Everything just fell into place..."

"Gandhi" was Rohini's first international film.

"Shooting for 'Gandhi' was a revelation for me. We were all given scripts and then we were asked to do our homework. I searched for books on Kasturba, but I found only two books, that's all. So I had to rely on my own skills.

"At the same time Sir Richard did not allow us to deviate from the script. He was very clear on how he wanted my English pronunciation. He didn't want me to put on an accent. At the same time, he didn't want any Maharashtrian or Marathi pronunciation in my speech. Since I had gone to a Marathi language school, I had to take elocution classes as preparation for my part as Kasturba.

"Sir Richard also made me and Ben Kingsley learn to spin the charkha. We spent two-and-a-half months learning both," she said.

Released in 1982, the biographical film brought the life of Gandhi on celluloid and the appreciation that the film garnered across the world was phenomenal. It won eight Oscars out of its eleven nominations.

"Did I expect the film to have such an impact? Frankly, when I was doing the part, I was too young to understand the importance of it. It was just a role for me. And it all happened so suddenly.

"Sir Richard would often allow me to interpret certain scenes in my own way. He gave me a lot of freedom because he said I understood the culture better than he did.

"I remember one sequence where a man comes visiting Gandhiji in Champaran. I was supposed to be in the background. The question was, what was I supposed to do? I suggested I could be making rotis in the background. So a chulha, tawaa, and all the ingredients were arranged. The scene came out so well. The importance of what I had done occurred to me much later," she said.

Remembering the film's release, Rohini said: "After release we were suddenly thrown into this situation of tremendous impact. I found myself travelling all over the world with the film for the premieres. The impact was immense. In 15 days we did six premieres."

The success of "Gandhi" opened doors for Rohini.

"After 'Gandhi', Bollywood offered me mothers' roles. I played mother to heroes older to me like Amitabh Bachchan and Mithun Chakraborty. When I came into the movies, I was 27 years. I had the choice of playing the mother or sister. I chose mother," said the actress who was seen in films like "Saaransh" and "Agneepath".

Musician Harpreet is embarking upon a crowdfunding campaign to complete and launch his debut album "Ajab Ishq…maati da”, an ode to the diversity, heritage and rich Indian culture.

Composed and sung by Harpreet, the alubum, a bouquet of eight songs, brings forth a range of different genres of music. It has contemporary Hindi lyrics, mystical poetry by Sufi saints and more.

Capital-based Harpreet, who has performe at various music and lit fests, is halfway through the album. The songs have been composed and recorded, but he needs approximately Rs.5,00,000 to complete the remaining work like production, mixing and mastering of the songs, read a statement.

He has started crowdfunding campaign on Songdew.com, a music networking platfrom. People can contribute as small amount as Rs.500 to Rs.50,000 and there will be gifts and surprises for contributors.

In fact, to release the first song from the album, he used Songdew.com.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has reportedly got threats from a gangster, but a source close to the actor-producer denied the news saying "it is untrue".

Media reports said that Shah Rukh and his residence Mannat here got tight security from the Mumbai police after gangster Ravi Pujari tried to get in touch with him Monday afternoon. However, a source close to the movie icon, says otherwise.

"Shah Rukh has not got any such calls. We wonder why such rumours are being spread," the source told IANS.

Following rounds of firing that took place at Kareem Morani of Morani Brothers' residence, who are close to SRK, security around the actor is said to have been upped.

When contacted, a police official told IANS: "He has been given police protection for a long time now. So why is there so much of talk about it?"

Shah Rukh, who has worked with the Morani Brothers on his Temptations Reloaded tour, is currently awaiting the release of "Happy New Year".