Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt has gifted a copy of his book "A Taste of Life: The Last Days of U.G Krishnamurti" to actor Ali Fazal.

Ali features in the newly-released film "Khamoshiyan", produced by Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt under their Vishesh Films banner.

"He gave it to me as a sign of friendship. I share a very unsaid unstated relationship with him. It's not about exchanging books. It's ideologies being bartered," Ali said in a statement.

"I have grown very fond of Bhatt saab. He reminds me of a pleasant time," he added.

"Khamoshiyan" also stars Gurmeet Choudhary and Sapna Pabbi.

"The Lunchbox" actress Nimrat Kaur is ecstatic about having attended the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles and living her "favourite dream" of rubbing shoulders with some of her biggest childhood idols.

"It was like a dream," Nimrat said. "I was standing on the same carpet as Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston and Ethan Hawke. It was as if I had walked into my favourite dream."

Nimrat says she was too shy to speak to anyone, except Ethan Hawke.

"When I saw him on the red carpet, I had to tell him that 'Great Expectations' was one of my favourite films. I blurted it out nervously. He was very nice to me. But to go and speak to Meryl Streep or Julia Roberts was beyond me," she said.

She admits "The Lunchbox" and now her stint on the American series "Homeland" have brought her global recognition.

Call her the female Irrfan Khan, and she says: "That's a very high compliment indeed. To be bracketed with someone who has done Indian cinema proud all over the world is very gratifying. But I'm a long away from achieving that. Yes, 'The Lunchbox' and 'Homeland' have got me some recognition outside India."

In India, now Nimrat will be busy with her first full-fledged mainstream commercial film.

"It's a thriller called 'Air Lift' and I am cast opposite Akshay Kumar. He is an actor known to be supportive of newcomers. The producers (Crouching Tiger) are also progressive and practical. So I don't feel nervous."

On Feb 15 when India plays a cricket match against Pakistan in Adelaide, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan will be doing the commentary alongside stalwarts of the cricket-commentary world Harsh Bhogle and Kapil Dev. "Shamitabh" director R. Balakrishnan is happy.

This is part of an integration between broadcaster Star Sports and the makers of Big B's forthcoming film "Shamitabh".

Talking about the change of pace for India's best-known baritone, filmmaker Balakrishnan aka Balki, said: "Mr. Bachchan's voice is the star of my film 'Shamitabh'. The plot revolves around the baritone."

"I personally feel, and there are millions who will agree with me, that there is nothing that Mr. Bachchan's voice can't do. He has done voiceovers in many feature films and has also lent his voice to documentaries and social causes. The one thing that he hadn't done was cricket commentary."

The idea of getting the 72-year-old thespian was to do something universally appealing, and it works as a double strategy -- it not only serves as a great promotion of "Shamitabh" it also binds India and Pakistan together.

"I think the two voices of Lata Mangeshkar and Amitabh Bachchan unite India and Pakistan better than anything else," he said.

"Shamitabh", releasing Friday, also stars Dhanush and marks the debut of Akshara Haasan in filmdom.

Irrfan Khan and Tisca Chopra starrer Punjabi feature film "Qissa" will release in select Indian theatres, as well as on DVD and Video on Demand (VoD) formats, Feb 20.

Directed by Anup Singh, the film will be shown in select theatres across Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Chennai and Kolkata. The VoD will be available on National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) VoD website, read a statement.

"We are leveraging the digital revolution, to make our diverse portfolio of films in various Indian languages, accessible to a pan-Indian audience and developing a distribution model that goes beyond the traditional release pattern, which is driven by windows between each media platform," Nina Lath Gupta, managing director, NFDC, said in a statement.

"Online and social media, with no traditional television spots or billboards, is primarily driving our marketing strategy, as we believe that the audiences for NFDC's portfolio of films are socially networked and digitally wired. This is the first time that a Punjabi feature film will get such a scale of exposure," she added.

"Qissa" is set in the post-partition era. The first film to be shot under the Indian-German co-production treaty, it is an international co-production between India, Germany, Netherlands and France with funding from the NFDC, the Dutch Film Fund, Eurimage and German funds Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and North Rhine Westphalia (NRW).

The movie also stars Rasika Duggal and Tillotama Shome in key roles.

"Entertainment entertainment and entertainment" -- Bollywood director Milan Luthria uses the popular dialogue from "The Dirty Picture", to describe the three key ingredients of his next film "Baadshaho".

The movie features Ajay Devgn, with whom Luthria has worked with in films like "Kachche Dhaage", "Chori Chori" and "Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai" in the past.

Talking about the movie, Luthria said: "It's an elaborate film and we are making it on a really big scale. Right now I can't talk much about it because there are a lot of questions coming on Twitter and Facebook, asking who is the leading lady of the film, where will the shoot happen and what is the story of the film.

"So, I just want to say it has three things -- entertainment, entertainment and entertainment."

The shooting of the film will start around July or August and it will release next year.

As Anupam Kher's acting school celebrated its 10th anniversary Monday, the Bollywood actor thanked the faculty and students for their support.

Anupam shared on micro-blogging website Twitter: "Our acting school @actorprepares completes 10yrs today. Happy Birthday to all teachers, staff & students. Thank you.:) #10yrsOfActorPrepares (sic)"

Actor Prepares was established in 2005 in Mumbai by the 59-year-old actor and he often takes time off his busy schedule to personally teach aspiring young actors.

Many of Bollywood's actors like Preity Zinta, Deepika Padukone, Gauahar Khan, Ali Zafar, Mugdha Godse and Zarine Khan are products of the institute.

Various actors took to Twitter to wish Anupam, and to praise his contribution to filmdom. Here's what they had to say:

Sonam Kapoor: Congratulations @AnupamPkher uncle on #10yrsOfActorPrepares I'm so glad we have such good institutions in india.

Riteish Deshmukh: Congratulations sir @AnupamPkher -#10yrsofActorPrepares your contribution is immense.

Siddharth: Congratulations to one of my favourite teachers @AnupamPkher for 10 years of his acting school @actorprepares Many more to come Kher saab.

Ranvir Shorey: @AnupamPkher Congratulations on #10yrsOfActorPrepares, Sir! We need more teachers like you.

Actress Radhika Apte says Anurag Kashyap's "Hunterrr" is one project which drew her interest due to its "unapologetic approach".

"When I read the script of 'Hunterrr', I had my mouth open in shock through the time. But I think that was the best part of it," the "Badlapur" actress said in a statement.

"The edginess of the movie brings out some great and not in the face humour. The unapologetic approach of the movie's story is something that really appealed to me and I'm excited to see what people think of it. It's definitely one of those really crazy films one will see," she added.

In "Hunterrr", Radhika is paired with Gulshan Devaiah. Directed by debutant Harshwardhan Kulkarni, the film is likely to hit screens March 20.

Creative minds at Phantom Films have decided to dedicate the film production banner's new film "Hunterrr" to the Hindu god of love -- Lord Kamdev -- with a special opening slide which will be placed at the beginning of the movie.

The quirky surprise has come from Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and Vikas Bahl of Phantom Films.

"Hunterrr" itself is said to be a coming-of-age film which revolves around an unassuming sex addict and his lustful journey through life.

Going with the theme and the storyline, the trio has decided to use a different emblem in the film.

"Mostly films in Bollywood have the logos and images of Lord Ganesh or Shiv in the beginning. But for the first time in Indian cinema, a film will have an emblem of Lord Kamdev in the beginning of the film," said a production source.

Harshavardhan Kulkarni, the director of the film, which stars Radhika Apte and Gulshan Devaiah, is excited about the idea.

Kulkarni said: "'Hunterrr' is a coming-of-age film, where the protagonist goes through a journey before he understands love. For me, Lord Kamdev is an inspiration behind this film. And we have decided to dedicate the film to him."

The team is currently working on a special slide and will soon have it attached in the film.

Actress Kajal Aggarwal, who is busy shooting for Tamil comedy "Maari", says she opted out of Sudhir Mishra's film due to scripting issues, but not over her Telugu film "Temper".

"I had planned to work on both the films simultaneously. I had even worked out my dates accordingly but for some reasons in the script, I opted out of Sudhir Mishra's film. Contrary to rumours, I didn't choose 'Temper' over it," Kajal told IANS.

Kajal was "really looking forward" to work with Mishra.

"He's one of the best filmmakers in the country. It's unfortunate I couldn't be part of his film. I have certain boundaries that I don't like to cross for anyone," she said.

In Bollywood, Kajal has a project with Randeep Hooda up her sleeve and she's expected to soon start working on another project with Sharman Joshi.

Vibhu Puri, the director of the period offering "Hawaizaada", does not deny his guru Sanjay Leela Bhansali's contribution to its visual and emotional design.

"I've studied in that school. The Sanjay Leela Bhansali school of filmmaking. I've learnt whatever I have to learn about filmmaking from him. So it is only natural that I hold his influence in my creativity," said Puri.

The debutant director goes a step further to reveal that the mentor-pupil relationship in "Hawaizaada" is modelled on his own stormy relationship with Bhansali.

"The relationship between Mithun da (Mithun Chakraborty) and Ayushmann (Khurrana) is modelled on my own rapport with Sanjay sir. We'd have heated arguments and I'd storm off threatening to never return.

"There is a sequence where Ayushmann fights and returns to Mithunda after a few hours and Mithunda smirks, 'You are back in just two hours? I thought you'd be back after two days.' That's exactly what Sanjay sir said to me."

Puri is very keen to show his film to his mentor.

"Sanjay sir is shooting for 'Bajirao Mastani', but he has promised to see my film," he said.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who was here for the promotion of his forthcoming film "Shamitabh", says his visit was "fast and furious".

The 72-year-old veteran actor took to his official blog to post his perspective following the film's promotions here Monday.

"Consumed by eternal promotions, running through the 658th - perhaps - interview, saddled in the comfort of repetitive questioning and visits of personal and private meetings. It has been what trips to Delhi have been… fast and furious," he wrote on srbachchan.tumblr.com.

Amitabh also paid a "personal visit" to the Commander in Chief of the Army at the Army House.

"There is a personal visit to the Commander in Chief of the Army and a pleasant moment with him in the Army House -- a destination not too unfamiliar. Many memories of the younger days spent within the precincts with friends and its occupants during those wondrous University and College days and before," he wrote.

At present, the thespian is gearing up for "Shamitabh", which revolves around two individuals, who meet up for a reason, but drift apart due to their ego.

The R. Balakrishnan-directorial, which also features southern superstar Dhanush in a key role and marks debut of Kamal Haasan's daughter, Akshara Haasan. The film will hit theatres Friday.

Music maestro A.R. Rahman is in Paris working with Le Trio Joubran, a trio of musicians from Palestine, for Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s next project.

“Recording in Paris with Le Trio Joubran for Majid Majidi's next,” Rahman tweeted Monday.

The musicians -- three brothers Samir, Wissam and Adnan from Palestine - are popular for making and playing the Oud instrument. Even they took to Twitter to share their excitement of working with the Academy and Grammy Award-winning composer.

“Awesome collaboration with A.R. Rahman for Majid Majidi's next -- with Wissam Joubran, A.R. Rahman, Majid Majidi, Le Trio Joubran and Adnan Joubran in Paris, France,” they tweeted.

Majidi is best known for “Children of Heaven”, which revolves around a brother and sister and their adventures over a lost pair of shoes.

Kolkata's iconic Howrah Bridge, which was commissioned 72 years ago Feb 3, witnessed a unique tribute on its birthday Tuesday with a flash mob act by 50 dancers on a "Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!" (DBB) soundtrack.

"On the occasion of Howrah Bridge's birthday today, 50 dancers did a flash mob at the Howrah Bridge on the film sound track 'Calcutta Kiss' wishing a Happy Birthday to the Bridge early in the morning. The dancers shook a leg on the song from the film," read a statement.

Commissioned in 1943, it was a replacement of the pontoon bridge linking Kolkata and Howrah, over the river Hooghly. It was the fourth longest cantilever suspension bridge in the world at the time.

It stretches for 2,150 feet and rises up to 280 feet from its foundation and ranks as the sixth longest bridge in the world now.

The landmark finds mention in English author Rudyard Kipling's works. Filmmaker Shakti Samanta's cult movie was named after the 26,500 tonne structure that ferries a lakh of vehicles everyday.

It can also be seen on the poster of "Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!".

"The bridge is a very important element in the film and it was also seen in the poster image. And Byomkesh Bakshy being the most iconic character of Calcutta, he wished the bridge a very Happy Birthday.

"The Bridge was constructed on Feb 3, 1943 and was never inaugurated due to security issues as the Japanese were on an aerial attack. 'Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!' is set in the same time zone as the birth of Howrah Bridge and the team was keen to honour the bridge in their way," the statement read further.

Directed by Dibakar Banerjee, "Detective Byomkesh Bakshy" stars Sushant Singh Rajput in the lead role and it is slated to release April 3, 2015.

Actress Geeta Basra, reportedly in a relationship with cricketer Harbhajan Singh, prefers to keep mum about her personal life. She says when she decides to get married, everyone will know.

Asked when she is planning to settle down with Harbhajan, Geeta told IANS: "Whenever it happens, you all will definitely get to know. I don't like to talk about my personal life. Anyway, I get to read 20 stories daily about me marrying Harbhajan, but I'll talk about it only whenever it happens."

Meanwhile, the actress is "super excited" about playing a Punjabi character in her new film "Second Hand Husband".

"It's fun to be part of this film and it's amazing to play a Punjabi woman. The Punjabi touch in this film is great," she added.

Directed by Smeep Kang, "Second Hand Husband" also features Dharmendra and Gippy Grewal.

Filmmaker R. Balakrishnan, popularly known as Balki, says the aim of Indian movies must be to entertain their audiences with good content, rather than constantly trying to vie for the Academy Awards.

Balki, acclaimed for directing movies like “Cheeni Kum” and “Paa”, was present at the Rotary Club of Bombay's WOW District Conference 2015, when he was asked whether he feels his next film “Shamitabh” could make the cut for Oscars.

To that, he said: "I firmly believe that the goal of a film is not whether it reaches the Oscars or not, because I don't think they (the jury at Oscars) understand a lot of things we do. I just believe that our films should be damn good for us.

"Why is our benchmark reaching the Oscars? Why isn't our benchmark that what we think is damn good.”

Citing the example of the 1977 film "Amar Akbar Anthony", he said: "There are fantastic movies ... can you imagine a film that entertained us phenomenally, which is like say 'Amar Akbar Anthony'. I mean why shouldn't it reach the Oscars?

"I would rather not have one Oscar, and instead have five 'Amar Akbar Anthony' movies."

Balki, who has also been part of the ad world, says he's often asked where India stands according to world standards.

His answer is: "We are far away from the world standard. The world cannot understand us. The Oscars need to understand us, we don't have to try to make it to the Oscars."

Balki's next film is “Shamitabh” which is set to hit the screens Friday. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Dhanush and debutante Akshara Haasan in lead roles.

"Baby" filmmaker Neeraj Pandey says his movie "Saat Uchakkey” is delayed as they are waiting for a right window to release it.

"We are not getting a good window for that film. We are looking for a good day. We are waiting for the right opportunity as it's better to be safe than sorry," Pandey said here.

Directed by Sanjeev Sharma and produced by Pandey, "Saat Uchakkey" features Manoj Bajpayee in a prominent role.

Pandey's "Baby", which touches upon terrorism, has evoked a decent response. The filmmaker says that more than any award, if his project turns out to be good, he is content with it.

A day after the Maharashtra government and Mumbai police initiated a probe into allegations of "abusive and filthy" language having been used by Bollywood personalities at an AIB Roast event in Mumbai, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena here Tuesday demanded an apology from all the persons involved in it.

MNS Chitrapat Sena chief Ameya Khopkar said videos of the event -- featuring Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar and actors Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh -- in Mumbai last December have gone viral.

Khopkar, contending that the content of the programme was totally contrary to Indian culture and decency, demanded an "unconditional public apology" from all those involved in, failing which his organisation would not allow their movies to be screened.

Following complaints on the below-the-belt contents of the programme viewed by a 4,000-strong live audience in a city stadium, Education and Culture Minister Vinod Tawde ordered a probe Monday evening.

"The Culture Department officials shall examine the videos' content and if found vulgar, action would be initiated," Tawde said.

"Initial investigations indicate that the show was performed without a proper performance licence. We will register an FIR against them. Such vulgarity is a crime and, based on facts which will emerge, the government will file a case against them," Tawde said.

Similarly, an NGO, Brahman Ekta Seva Sansthan, lodged a complaint with the Saki Naka police expressing umbrage at the programme hosts who used abusive, offensive remarks loaded with sexual overtones during the comedy show.

In a detailed four-page complaint, Sansthan president Akhilesh Tiwari demanded action not only against Johar, Singh and Kapoor but also the show organisers and others.

Clips of the videos, which leaked out, were uploaded and went viral on various social networking sites and YouTube.

Tiwari contended that the the language used in the show was extremely abusive and ruined the fair image of Indian women and culture and also misguided today's youngsters.

The videos showed the crowd -- which included several leading female Bollywood actors like Sonakshi Sinha, Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt besides a fair number of the women audience -- enjoying, cheering, whistling and clapping at the offensive language blatantly mouthed by the trio of Johar, Arjun and Ranveer.

AIB stands for All India Bakchod, which comprises a team of stand-up comedians.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has entertained the masses on the big and small screens. Now, he will connect with his fans via radio to promote his forthcoming film "Shamitabh".

The 72-year-old is set to take the RED FM listeners by surprise as he chats with them over phone. Listeners can tune into "All India Shamitabh Radio" as Amitabh turns a radio jockey Thursday on 93.5 RED FM.

“In an endeavour to bring our listeners closer to the legendary star, we planned this initiative with ‘Shamitabh’ which celebrates Mr. Bachchan’s voice as the voice of the common man. Amitabh Bachchan is like an institution in himself, adored by people across age groups,” Nisha Narayanan, COO, RED FM, said in a statement.

While recording promotional bytes for the radio show, Big B had tweeted: “And doing some rather complicated RJ'ing for Radio Station Red FM 93.5!! Goodness, how do these guys manage it! I am at a loss.”

Also starring Akshara Haasan and Dhanush, “Shamitabh”, directed by R. Balakrishnan, will hit the screens Friday.

Popular art director and filmmaker Nitin Desai's daughter Mansi Desai is assisting Sooraj Barjatya in his upcoming project "Prem Ratan Dhan Payo".

Confirming the news, a source close to Nitin Desai told IANS: "Yes, his daughter is currently assisting Sooraj Barjatya. She is a well-educated girl and has studied abroad ... now she aspires to be a director."

A huge set for "Prem Ratan Dhan Payo" is said to have been created at N.D. Studios in Karjat. The film's cast, including superstar Salman Khan, is set to shoot for the project soon.

On World Cancer Day Wednesday, actress Richa Chadda will meet women who have survived the killer disease. She says it will be an honour.

The actress will be part of an event here to celebrate the undying spirit of the women who have survived cancer.

She will be giving away awards and will give an inspirational speech to further the spirit of the women who defeated the disease.

"I am honoured to get this chance to meet these fearless women. It takes a lot to battle this and I am glad their efforts are being celebrated," Richa said in a statement.

On the work front, she will be seen in the upcoming film "Cabaret".