Actor Nandish Sandhu, who will be entering stunt-based reality show “Khatron Ke Khiladi - Darr Ka Blockbuster Returns” as a wild card entry, says his rebellious streak prompted him to take up the show.

“Personally I have always been a little rebel. The show challenges you at every step with tasks which seem to be impossible to do. Hence, this factor made me say 'yes' to the show,” the actor told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

“I have always believed in breaking my comfort zone as I feel if we keep on doing the same thing again and again, then we won't be able to learn something new,” he added.

The actor will join the contestants of the Colors show, which is being shot in Cape Town, South Africa soon.

The actor also insists that the stunts are not so easy to perform as they seem to be on screen.

“It is very easy to comment that the stunt could have been finished a little faster. But it's not easy to perform in front of the camera. You don’t have any retakes.

“There is pressure with so many people watching you, fear, anxiety and a lot of other factors come into play. But despite all that you have to stay calm and do it,” the actor said.

Nandish says his worst fear is “not being able to do something and heights”.

“I’m hoping that they don't come in between while I am doing stunts,” the actor said.

Nandish is known for his guy-next-door image courtesy his TV shows like “Uttaran” and “Beintehaa”. He says he is not entering the show to break his image.

“I don't think like that. I don't feel that I need to change my image or do something so that people get to know the other side of me. If that was the question, I would have done so many things in the past,” Nandish said.

His entry in the show is the talking point as his wife and actress Rashami Desai is also in the show. Rumours are rife that the couple has separated owing to some differences; however, Nandish has always maintained a dignified silence.

His entry is bound to raise questions about his personal life, but Nandish says “there's no point in running away from something”.

“It's perfectly fine. There is no point in running away from something. Let there be questions. It is not compulsory for me to answer all of them. If I feel that I need to talk about something I will do it. As far as my personal life is concerned I don't think I need to discuss it with the world,” he said.

“She is a part of me and I look forward to meet her in South Africa,” Nandish added.

Classical arts are not only links with the past, but the foundation for current cultural thought and future artistic excellence, President Pranab Mukherjee said Saturday.

"Performing arts like dance, drama, music, which have been an integral part of our Indian identity and culture, need to be patronised for achieving greater cultural synthesis," the president said at the golden jubilee celebrations of the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya here.

He said new communication technology has been introduced to popularise classical music and dance forms across India.

"By the turn of the 20th century, classical music and dance in India witnessed a host of changes and re-inventions. The introduction of gramophone, radio and later on, cinema, served to popularise these classical music and dance forms across India," he said.

The president said that since India was one of the oldest and culturally rich civilizations in the world, it was natural that performing arts have been an integral part of Indian identity and culture.

"Traditionally, these arts found patronage and flourished under enlightened rulers, who themselves, at times, were great exponents of music and dance. This system of royal patronage, however, broke down during the colonial period," he said.

Mukherjee said state funding of the performing arts was instituted by the government post independence for setting up national academies for documenting and disseminating the knowledge of such art forms.

"The setting up these institutions is a continuation of these tradition wherein the state funds and promotes various forms and aspects of Indian art, music, dance, drama and culture-inherent in this is the realisation that our classical arts are our links with the past and, thus, both the foundation for our current thought and the platform of our future action," he said.

On the Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, he said the institution has been living up to its vision of popularisation and dissemination of Odisha's art and culture.

Lyricist Santosh Anand, popular for writing songs for films like "Shor" and "Kranti", feels helpless and laments the slow pace of probe into his son's suicide in October.

Santosh Anand was here to receive a lifetime achievement award by NGO Aradhana.

Talking to media Saturday evening, he said his son "was not a coward, but intelligent and bright".

"Unfortunately, he did not share his frustration and sorrows with me," he added.

Santosh Anand has now demanded a CBI inquiry to get to the truth of the case.

Santosh Anand's son Sankalp and his wife, who had reached a railway track in a car, had flung themselves before a train before people in Kosi area could prevent them.

Police said Sankalp worked in a government department. He and his wife lived in Rohini in Delhi. A suicide note was recovered from the abandoned car.

At least 3,000 people were killed on the night of Dec 2-3, 1984, after poisonous gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal. The incident has inspired quite a few filmmakers and as the disaster is marching towards its 30th anniversary, we list the movies made on one of the world's worst industrial disasters on the big screen:

"Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain": Directed by Ravi Kumar, the film will release in India Dec 5. It had released Nov 7 in one theatre in New York and the film was sold out on the opening night. It also opened in Los Angles Nov 14 plus additional US cities throughout the month. Hollywood star Martin Sheen, Mischa Barton, Indian American actor Kal Penn and Bollywood actors Raajpal Yadav and Tannishtha Chatterjee feature in the film, which focusses on the events leading up to the industrial disaster as it intersects with the life of rickshaw puller Dilip (played by Raajpal), who gets a job at the Union Carbide plant.

"Bhopal Express": The 1999 film directed by Mahesh Mathai, is a powerful drama about a newlywed couple whose lives are changed during the lethal gas tragedy in Bhopal. The movie has an impressive line of actors like Kay Kay Menon, Naseeruddin Shah, Nethra Raghuraman and Zeenat Aman.

"One Night in Bhopal": Far from fiction, the film tells the story of the tragedy through the eyes of those who experienced it. The 2004 BBC documentary shows the sequence of events that led to the disaster and horror and terror in the early hours of Dec 3, 1984.

"Bhopali": If the filmmakers took inspiration from the events leading to the tragedy, there were those who focussed on the lives of victims too. Van Maximilian Carlson is one such director who, through his documentary "Bhopali", presented the story of the survivors of the industrial disaster. It shows their suffering and their fight for justice against Union Carbide, the American corporation responsible for the catastrophe. The 2011 film is a modern portrait of shattered lives in the community surrounding the abandoned Union Carbide factory.

"Sambhavna": Four years back, Joseph Malone had made a documentary about the disaster that still haunts many even today. It also shows Dow Chemical's responsibilities to the people of Bhopal. It also focussed on the Sambhavna Clinic, which provides free healthcare to victims of the incident and to those who were affected by water contamination, caused by the fact that the site of the disaster has still not been cleaned up.

"The Yes Men Fix The World": The political documentary was co-directed, co-written and co-produced by Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno. The duo even starred in the 2009 film, dedicated to the ongoing struggle of the people of Bhopal. Also co-directed by Kurt Engfehr, critics described it as "outrageously entertaining", "almost too good to be a film" and "comedic vigilante justice".

An innovative marketing strategy is needed to take independent films to the audience, feels debutant filmmaker Amit Masurkar, who awaits the release of his forthcoming indie comedy "Sulemani Keeda".

"The reason why it's difficult for a film like 'Sulemani Keeda' to release is because marketing and distribution teams have a set pattern to promote films. And when you get a film like 'Sulemani Keeda', they don't know how to promote it because it needs to be innovatively marketed," Masurkar told IANS.

"In that case, they have to change their style of functioning but big studios are resistant to change. You need a very dynamic marketing company for releasing and distributing films like ours," he added.

He also said that for the change to happen, films like "Sulemani Keeda" have to commercially do well.

But hasn't the success of "The Lunchbox" and "Ship of Theseus" helped?

"It has, but to be honest, distributors go by figures. I'm sure it (success) has helped us creatively. For example, I was in Europe last year at a film festival, and everybody there spoke about a Bollywood film they saw. When I asked them, they said it was 'The Lunchbox', which has done phenomenal business overseas," he said.

"'Ship of Theseus', on the other hand, pushed the envelope subject-wise. The very fact that there was an audience for these films and they were actually talking about it on social media proved that there's market for different content, regardless of what traditional distributors and studio marketing people feel. But indie films have to tapped in a new way," he added.

"Sulemani Keeda", which releases in Indian cinemas Dec 5, is about two writers who want to make it big in Bollywood.

Masurkar, who has worked as a writer on "Murder 3", says the film is "based on the journey of this generation of scriptwriters I'm growing up with".

"If you go to the area in Mumbai where this film is shot, you'll find so many coffee shops with people discussing about films. I really liked this idea of people with so many stories."

"My film is about them, about their dreams and their journey. Lot of incidents and characters in my film are based on so many people I've heard about in this industry," he said.

He also clarified that his film is not a tribute to aspiring writers.

"It's just a story about friendship. It could've been set in any industry, but the only reason I've set it against the backdrop of film industry is because I'm familiar with it. And I was aware that nobody had made a film on writers, so I made it," he added.

Sparkling with quirky comedy, "Sulemani Keeda", according to Masurkar, has been made "the exact way we wanted to make it".

"I've always wanted to be a director and I felt I could write a couple of successful stories to earn my break, but I spent about five years of my life writing scripts that never got made. That's when I decided that I should make something in shoestring budget that doesn't need any studio backing," he said.

Masurkar, who has also dabbled in "The Great Indian Comedy Show", says it's "extremely tough to write and direct comedy".

"When you are writing comedy, you're always unsure whether it's really funny for everyone or just for the writer. And there's always this temptation of writing something just because it's funny. This is something I completely avoided in my film," he added.

Starring Naveen Kasturia, Mayank Tewari and Aditi Vasudev, "Sulemani Keeda" is that rare indie with two songs.

"The songs actually helped us enhance what we were trying to say in a particular scene. They have been used to push the story forward, unlike the way Indian films use them," he said.

Model Manasvi Mamgai is set to make her Bollywood debut with the film "Action Jackson" and she says initially she wasn't comfortable off-camera.

Asked if it was difficult to make her acting debut with a star like Ajay Devgn, she told reporters: "At first, I was very intimidated, not on-camera but off-camera. The film's shooting had begun in India while most of my scenes were to be shot abroad at a later stage.

"So I asked the producer to let me come on the sets and get to know everybody. They made me very comfortable. (Director) Prabhudheva sir is like an icon, especially for dancing. And Ajay sir is a sweetheart he gave me lot of technical tips. My main focus was on expressions. He taught me how to look at the camera and be aware of the angles too," she added.

"Action Jackson" also features Sonakshi Sinha and Yami Gautam. And Manasvi got along well with them too.

"Sonakshi is a fun girl. Yami belongs to Chandigarh so, we bonded very well. All three of us have equal roles. No one is overshadowing anybody. So, no cat fights on the sets," said the former beauty queen.

Russian movie "Leviathon", directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, won the best film award, while Marathi film "Ek Hazarachi Note" won two awards at the 45th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) which concluded in Goa Sunday.

The awards for best actor and best actress were tied, while the best director award was presented to Nadav Lapid for his Israeli film "The Kindergarten Teacher".

The best actress award was shared by Cuban actress Alina Rodrigues for her role in the film "Conducta" (Behaviour) and Sarit Larry for her part in Israeli film "The Kindergarten Teacher".

The best actor award was shared by Russian actor Alexel Serbriakov for "Leviathon" and Dulal Sarkar for his role in Bengali film "Chhotoder Chhobi".

Set in rural Maharashtra, Shridhar Sathe's film "Ek Hazarachi Note" won the Special Jury Prize as well as the Centenary award.

The Lifetime Achievement award went to master filmmaker from Hong Kong Wong Kar-wai, whose film "The Grandmaster" was also the festival's closing movie.

Veteran Bollywood actress Jaya Bachchan will be one of the key participants at the fourth edition of Kolkata Literary Meet (KaLaM) here, beginning Jan 23 next year.

The organisers had earlier confirmed the presence of noted author Ruskin Bond and Daman Singh, daughter of former prime minister Manmohan Singh at the gala event, a confluence of literature, culture and cinema.

"The sessions have not been scheduled yet but she (Jaya) will be coming," an organiser told IANS Monday.

The literary meet will run from Jan 23-27, 2015. Last year, poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar and actor Naseeruddin Shah had highlighted intersecting threads of theatre, cinema and literature at the meet, while Indian cinema veterans Sharmila Tagore and Soumitra Chatterjee paid rich tributes to master storyteller Satyajit Ray.

In the next edition, children's much-loved author Bond will inaugurate the festival as its guest of honour.

Singh, author of "Strictly Personal", that traces the journey of the former prime minister and his wife Gursharan Kaur's life from the 1930s to 2004, will participate in a segment dedicated to memoirs.

The other names include American writer Joanna Rakoff, historian Rudrangshu Mukherjee and music composer Shantanu Moitra.

Other highlights are a section on new writing in English, in addition to poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar's translation of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's works.

Actor Nandoo, who was last seen in Ram Gopal Varma-directed Telugu thriller "Ice Cream 2", says working with the filmmaker gives him a high as he's like a "drug".

"Ram Gopal Varma is like a drug. You get easily addicted to him. Most of us fear taking drugs, but we know it gives us a high. You may fear working with him, but once you start, he's like the alcohol you can't refuse at night," Nandoo told IANS.

Nandoo says he's looking forward to collaborate with the auteur once again.

"I've signed another film with RGV. This time I play the solo lead, and the film is not going to be in his usual genres such as thriller and horror. It's going to be something very different," he said.

It was Nandoo's deceiving face and eyes that caught RGV's attention.

"It's funny when he told me what he really liked in me. He said I have good eyes and added that I have a face wherein the devil can be easily hidden. He liked that contrast in my face," he added.

Nandoo, who has starred in films such as "100% Love" and "Autonagar Surya", says his role in recent Telugu independent film "Paathshala" helped him win hearts of audiences and critics alike.

"I think 'Paathshala' won critical acclaim from all quarters. Every critic and college-goer who watched the film had something nice to say about my role. I wouldn't say it gave me fan base, but I definitely feel it helped me grow as an actor," he said.

He says he would love to work in romantic-comedy.

"After 'Paathshala', I feel I'm really good with comedy. I want to do more films in that genre. I would love to do a rom-com a la 'Hum Tum'," he added.

Nandoo currently has Telugu films "Close Friends" and "Superstar Kidnap" ready for release, while he's busy shooting for another yet-untitled film in the language.

Actress Preeti Jhangiani, who is busy promoting her forthcoming film "Kaash Tum Hote", has saluted the brave Rohtak sisters who took on their molesters in a bus, saying that girls need to become 'mardaani'.

"There's no point in organising candle marches after sad incidents (of rape and molestation). Act when you witness one such sordid act of assault," Preeti said here Monday evening.

Preeti said it was time girls became "mardaani" and asserted their rights and identity in a positive manner.

The "Mohabbatein" actress was here to promote her new film.

Actress Maheshwari Ayyapan, who launched her fashion label 'Mahe Ayyapan' here Monday, says it was actress Sridevi's encouragement that motivated her to chase her fashion dreams.

Maheshwari is Sridevi's cousin and has starred in southern films such as "Ullasam" and "Gulabi".

"Sridevi has been endorsing most of my designs. She really liked them and asked to go ahead and start my own fashion label. It was her encouragement that motivated me to take this big leap," Maheshwari told IANS.

"I've also designed for quite a few times. She even wore my designs for some events and advertisements as well," she said.

'Mahe Ayyapan' will feature evening wear designs in the price range of Rs.7,000 to Rs. 40,000.

Director Milan Luthria, known for helming films like "Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai" and "The Dirty Picture", is keen to work with Jacqueline Fernandez, "one of the most interesting upcoming actresses".

Last seen with Salman Khan in Sajid Nadiadwala's directorial debut "Kick", the former Sri Lankan beauty queen has worked with directors like Sajid Khan, Mohit Suri, Abbas-Mastan since her debut in Bollywood with Sujoy Ghosh's 2009 fantasy drama "Aladin".

"She is one of the most interesting upcoming actresses," said Luthria praising the actress whose debut film had bombed at the box office.

"Even during the premiere of 'Kick', I had said that it's a new beginning for her. I would be more than happy if we work together in one or more films," said Luthria and added that people have now forgotten about "the hiccups" in Jacqueline's career.

"She is doing good films now. I am also getting ready with my film, so if there will be something good (where I can cast her), I will be very happy," he added.

The 29-year-old actress is currently busy shooting for "Roy" that also features Ranbir Kapoor.

Known for making intense social dramas, filmmaker Sudhir Mishra is now planning to make a sports-based film and says he would focus on the casting couch in sports.

"I am making a sports based film in February. But I can't reveal the subject of the film," said Mishra, who is currently shooting for "Aur Devdas", in a group interview.

The "Dharavi" and "Chameli" fame director added: "I will be talking about corruption in sports and the pressure on female athletes.

"We talk about casting couch in the film industry, but we don't talk about the casting couch over there (sports). I am dealing with all of that in my sports based film."

In the recent past, various types of sports based films like "Paan Singh Tomar", "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag", and "Mary Kom" were presented to the audience who lapped it up.

However, Mishra finds that sports based films are not yet in focus in the country.

"Sports have its own platform and films have its own. There are hardly any sports films made in India, but now things are changing."

Mishra last directed "Inkaar" and the film about sexual harassment at the work place did average business at the box office.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday condoled the death of veteran actor and filmmaker Deven Verma, saying he was "admired by film lovers".

“Modi expressed grief on the passing away of noted actor Deven Verma. PM described him as a popular actor, admired by film lovers,” the Prime Minister's Office said in a tweet.

Known for memorable performances in films like "Angoor" and "Khatta Meetha", the comedian died in Pune early Tuesday following a heart attack and kidney failure.

He is survived by his wife Rupa Ganguly, the younger daughter of legendary actor Ashok Kumar.

The actor, who became popular because of his comic timing, breathed his last in the city of his birth from where he graduated in and sociology before joining the film industry.

He also ventured into television and was seen in "Gubbare".

In his long career, he produced and directed movies such as "Besharam".

Rajat Kapoor-starrer "X", helmed by 11 directors, is set to have its India premiere at the prestigious International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) on Dec 14.

In Nov, the film had its world premiere at the South Asian International Film Festival in New York.

“The ‘X’ team rocked it in New York. But India is a different ball game... We hope to really shake things up with our experimental project,” producer Manish Mundra said in a statement.

Also starring Huma Qureshi, Swara Bhaskar and Radhika Apte, the film is jointly directed by Qaushiq Mukherjee, Suparn Verma, Sandeep Mohan, Sudhish Kamath, Raja Sen, Anu Menon, Abhinav Shiv Tiwari, Hemant Gaba, Nalan Kumarasamy, Pratim D. Gupta and Rajshree Ojha.

“X” revolves around K (Rajat), a filmmaker with a midlife crisis. He meets a mysterious young girl (Aditi Chengappa) who reminds him of his first girlfriend at first, and subsequently, of every woman in his life.

The film is also about all the women who have shaped his life. It is about his triumphs and failings, and the power of memories.

The first edition of three-day Japan Film Festival India (JFFI) 2014 is all set to start here from Dec 12. It will showcase 10 Japanese films along with a variety of cultural activities and programmes.

Contributing to build up an ever-lasting relationship between India and Japan through art and culture, the endeavour by K. House Inc., the restaurant giant of Japan with a growing market presence in India, has been supported by the government of Japan.

Takeshi Kogahara, chairman of K. House Inc., said in a statement: “India and Japan share close resemblance in terms of rich culture, food, clothing, art or social practices. Cinema depicts all dimensions of a nation's culture and to enhance the bonding between these two prolific nations, we have conceptualised the Japan Film Festival India."

“The festival is an effort to share Japanese art and culture with Asia's most youthful nation, India, and reach out to the masses, inviting them all for exploring business opportunities and tourism. Through our endeavour of JFFI, we would like to open up opportunities for greater film exchange and co-production opportunities between India and Japan,” added Kogahara.

Bollywood filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, who also attended the fest’s announcement event here Tuesday, believes that cinema is the glue that “binds diverse cultures together”.

“The Japanese Film Festival will open up a new chapter in the Indo-Japanese story,” added Bhatt, who has given break to many Pakistani musicians like Atif Aslam and Mustafa Zahid in Bollywood.

Japanese movies like “Always Sunset on 3rd Street” and “Tiger Bunny” will be screened at the fest.

Fantasy saga “Seventh Son” will release across Indian theatres in January next year.

Directed by Sergei Bodrov, the fantasy epic brings together stars like Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, Ben Barnes and Kit Herrington. Distributed by Universal Pictures India, the movie will release across Indian theatres Jan 23, 2015, read a statement.

Based on the novel “The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch”, “Seventh Son” follows the story of a supernatural champion named Master Gregory (Bridges) who defeated Mother Malkin (Moore), a witch.

Now, she has escaped imprisonment and thirsts for vengeance. She summons her followers and prepares to unleash her wrath on humanity. Only Gregory stands in her way.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has paid an ode to "friend" and late filmmaker Deven Verma.

Verma died at the age of 77 in Pune early Tuesday following a heart attack and kidney failure.

"Deven Verma ... friend, co artist, producer and one that brought smiles on the faces of millions ... no more! Prayers & condolences," Amitabh tweeted Wednesday.

“Deven Verma ... shall never be able to repeat our patent greeting: 'this floor is made of cement concrete’! RIP,” he added.

The duo worked in films like “Kabhi Kabhie” and “Silsila”. Verma also directed Big B in “Besharam”, which released in late 1970s.

Amitabh is currently “out on the highways of Gujarat” for Shoojit Sircar’s upcoming directorial “Piku”.

The Madras High Court bench here Wednesday dismissed the writ petition filed by aspiring filmmaker K.R. Ravi Rathinam, who had claimed that the makers of superstar Rajinikanth-starrer "Lingaa" have stolen his story.

Dismissing the case, Justice M. Venugopal advised the petitioner to initiate civil or criminal proceedings instead of filing a writ petition since this was a private dispute.

Directed by K.S. Ravi Kumar, "Lingaa" is slated for release Dec 12 on the occasion of Rajinikanth's 63rd birthday.

Last month, the petitioner had approached the court alleging that the script he had penned for a film titled "Mullai Vanam 999" was stolen by the makers of "Lingaa". He had lodged a writ petition against superstar Rajinikanth, director K.S. Ravi Kumar and writer S. Ponkumaran.

In his counter affidavit, Rajinikanth explained that the script as well as screenplay for "Lingaa" was penned by Ponkumaran, and the story was subsequently registered with South Indian Film Writers' Association.

Actor Ali Fazal got his first break in Bollywood through theatre. Now the actor is all set to make a comeback on stage, but for the last time.

Ali started his career as a theatre artist with a play titled "A Guy Thing", written and directed by American writer Michael Puzzo. The play will celebrate its silver jubilee here Thursday, and Ali will reprise the role of Lino for the last time.

Ali debuted on the big screen with a small role in Rajkumar Hirani's “3 Idiots”, and went on to do “Fukrey” and “Bobby Jasoos”, in which he played actress Vidya Balan's love interest. The actor will also be seen in the action packed “Furious 7”.

"I started my career as a theatre artist and this play is very special to me as Raju Hirani spotted me while performing this play.

"In short, 'A Guy Thing' got me my first film. I am glad the play is ending on such a happy note and I am here to witness it and be a part of it,”, the actor said in a statement.

The play also features actor Neil Bhoopalam.

A string of Bollywood celebrities are expected to come for Ali's last stage performance including Vidya, Dia Mirza, Mahesh Bhatt, Pooja Bhatt and Richa Chadha.