The family of late legendary filmmaker K. Balachander has announced the formation of the K. Balachander Foundation trust in his memory with a series of activities already planned.

"Firstly, we intend to provide financial aid in the form of scholarships to deserving children of the film employees. To institute a K. Balachander award for creative excellence for students of visual communications and propose to conduct an annual event on his birthday July 9 every year and give away awards in the field of theatre, cinema and television in which he was a colossus," read a statement from the family.

Balachander's wife Rajam will be the leading the trust, while his daughter Pushpa, son Prasanna, daughter-in-law Geetha and son-in-law Kandaswamy along with filmmaker Vasanth Sai, are other members.

"We also propose to create a digital archive of all of his works and set up a permanent exhibition of his awards and photographs for the benefit of the members of the film industry and public. We are instituting an award for creative excellence in the name of his first son B. Kailasam, who is known as a pioneer in the field of television content creation," the statement read further.

A book on interesting facts relating to the life and work of K. Balachander which is being written by filmmaker Vasanth is in offing.

Director J. Vadivel says forthcoming Tamil thriller "Kallappadam", a story about how first-timers try and make a film, is a tribute to native art form 'Koothu', which is almost forgotten.

"It's about the struggle of a bunch of friends who set out to make their first film. Through this story, we are highlighting the almost forgotten art form Koothu and our film is a tribute to it," Vadivel told IANS.

"Since this is my first film, I wanted to do something different. I chose 'Koothu' as the theme of my film because I strongly feel it has lost its prominence since the inception of cinema. We've tried to focus on the art form and it has been treated commercially," he said.

The tribute has been paid through a song and Vadivel feels it will strike a chord with the audience.

Vadivel plays himself in the film, while his cinematographer Santhosh, music composer K and editor Gaugin reprise their own roles.

"We decided to play our respective roles. To make the film they desire, these characters are forced to do something out of the sheer need," he said.

"A parallel story about the downfall of a successful actress also runs with the main story. Lakshmi Priyaa has played this role. To get back in the league, she's forced to do something bad. What happens when these two parallely running stories cross paths (forms the rest of the story)," he added.

Vadivel says although the actions of Lakshmi's character in the film may appear bad, but she isn't essaying a negative role.

"Lakshmi is forced to react to the situation she gets in the film," said Vadivel, and added that the story was inspired by events that happened around him.

"This is not about the struggle in the industry to make my first film. It's about how cinema has taken over other art forms like koothu. Villages that used to give preference to koothu performances now favour cinema numbers," he said.

Heaping praise on his team, Vadivel said everybody had multiple roles to play in the film.

"All the lead actors had multiple roles to play. Santhosh for instance had to ensure everything is captured perfectly behind the camera and then come before it to act. Gaugin would let us know where to edit a shot and K would tell us about the suitable score for a scene. All this would happen while shooting, mostly on the spot," he said.

He says the performances of the actors will be very realistic as nobody tried to act.

"Kallappadam", which is produced by Anand Ponniraivan, will release in cinemas on Friday. It's being distributed by Vadivel's mentor filmmaker Mysskin.

Filmmaker Harshavardhan Kulkarni says that when he was casting the protagonist's role for "Hunterrr", he wanted "today's Amol Palekar", which he ultimately found in Gulshan Devaiah.

Kulkarni told IANS: "I had approached many people for the role. I was looking for today's Amol Palekar for 'Hunterrr'. When I met Gulshan, he seemed interesting. I gave him the script and he said, 'Should I play Mandar's role like how Amol Palekar used to act?'. I told him you have got the script right."

Gulshan has sported a shabby look for the role.

The director says that the subject of "Hunterrr", which is about a sex addict, had been on his mind for long time. But the idea was not to make it into a sleazy film.

"When I wrote it, I shared it with many people, and the response was good. I have maintained a thin line...it's neither too sleazy, nor too arty."

Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar welcomed his wife and star hair-stylist Adhuna on micro-blogging site Twitter.

“Please welcome @AdhunaAkhtar to Twitter...on her personal account, finally,” tweeted Farhan, who has always maintained that Adhuna has been his support system.

Adhuna also took to social media platform to thank her family and friends for a “warm welcome”.

“Thank you to all for the warm welcome,” she shared.

The couple have two daughters together.

Actor Gulshan Devaiah considers film reviews important, but he doesn't believe in taking them too seriously -- whether they are positive or negative.

"Every review matters to me. I used to read reviews. It feels good when your work is appreciated by the critics, but one should not take it too seriously," Gulshan said here.

His next film is "Hunterrr", in which he plays a sex addict.

Actress Vishakha Singh, who was noticed for her role in the hit film "Fukrey", rues how new artistes in the film industry are sometimes expected to work for free. She says her demand is just a "reasonable amount".

She claims she has been offered many movies since "Fukrey", but she didn't take them as they were not exciting enough.

"After 'Fukrey', I got offers for about 40-50 films, but sometimes the story didn't excite me, sometimes the director's vision didn't match, sometimes the roles didn't excite me," the 28-year-old said here in an interview.

Talking about pay scale, she said: "I think there should be a reasonable amount for an artist, no matter the artist is a star or not. Just because the artist is new, so many times people expect the artist to work for free, which is something I don't believe in. That's why I refused films but I don't regret."

Vishakha has also been seen in "Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey", but she has no Hindi film in her kitty as of now. She has been busy doing films down south.

Moved by the news of gang rape of a septuagenarian nun in West Bengal's Nadia district, Oscar-winning filmmaker Freida Lee Mock on Monday said such "vicious" attacks on women were "unacceptable" and "horrible".

The sister superior of the Convent of Jesus and Mary High School in Ranaghat - some 80 km from here - was gang-raped by bandits in the early hours of Saturday, sending shock waves across the country and even beyond.

"It is horrible. A vicious attack like this is unacceptable," Mock told the media here.

Mock's repertoire includes Oscar winner "Maya Lin: A Strong Vision", a feature film about the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and Oscar-nominated films like "Rose Kennedy: A Life to Remember" and "SING!", on one of the best American children's choruses.

"While we talk about gender equality, it is crucial to discuss women's safety in workplaces, be it anywhere, be it any profession," Mock said.

Mock's newest documentary film, "Anita - Speaking Truth to Power", chronicles the life and times of Anita Hill, the American attorney who in 1991 accused US Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, her supervisor at the US Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, of sexual harassment.

Echoing Mock, writer and founder-editor of the site 'Women and Hollywood', Melissa Silverstein said perpetrators of the gang rape should be brought to justice.

"This is an abominable incident. The perpetrators should be brought to justice. It seems that we still live in a world where we don't have freedom and justice and safeguards over our own bodies whether we are 17 or 72. We are all moved by this," Silverstein said.

The writer batted for ensuring safety of women of every age.

"It shouldn't matter whether a woman is 17 or 72. It should matter whether any woman is assaulted," the editor stressed.

They were here as part of the fifth edition of "Our Voice, Our Journey", a series of events to explore the lives of dynamic women and the difference they have made to their communities, organised by the American Center in collaboration with Ananta Aspen Center.

The Supreme Court Monday directed the Cine Costume Make-up Artists and Hair Dressers Association (CCMAA) to give its membership to make-up artists Charu Khurana, warning any disregard of its order would attract contempt proceedings against all office bearers.

Asking the CCMAA to accept the two cheques being given by Khurana, a bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Prafulla C. Pant told the association: "You can't discriminate between men and women. Time has come you must accept things in entirety."

The court's order came as Khurana told the court that she had gone to Mumbai twice but the association was neither accepting her cheques nor giving her the certificate of membership.

The court was told that it had by its earlier order it had reduced the membership fee from Rs. 15,000 to Rs.5000 but now had increased it to Rs.1 lakh.

"Do you want to go Tihar (Jail in Delhi)?" the court asked the counsel for the CCMAA while directing that they would hand over a certificate of membership to Khurana or her representative when approached along with the order of the court.

As it asked that the two cheques given by Khurana be handed over to the CCMAA president, who was present in the court, the court said that any failure to give her the certificate would attract contempt of court against office bearers of the association.

The apex court November 10, 2014, had struck down the provision that prohibited women make-up artists and hairdressers from becoming the members of professional association, thus prohibiting them from becoming make-up artists and hairdressers in the film industry.

The court had also struck down the provision of the association that mandated a person to be a resident of Maharashtra for five years to entitle him/her to become a member.

The court's verdict had come on Khurana's petition challenging these two clauses of the association as being discriminatory to women.

Under the provisions, a woman make-up artist and hair-dresser couldn't be a member of the association and thus could not work as such in the industry.

Hollywood's "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" collected an estimated $8.1 million in its opening weekend in the US, but Indian actress Tina Desai, who features in it, says the experience of working for such a film is far more important to her than its box office performance.

Tina, who plays Sunaina - an ambitious and independent girl working at and managing the affairs of the Marigold Hotel in the film - made her acting debut with "Yeh Faasley". She rose to popularity after "Table No. 21", in which she co-starred with Paresh Rawal and Rajeev Khandelwal.

All of 28, she says she has had an "eventful and great learning experience" while paving her way through Bollywood.

"In terms of box office success, 'Table No. 21' was the most impactful, but the other films have helped me grow personally, and for me, the experience of working on a film is far more important than just the business," Tina told IANS in an interview.

"Most of what I've learnt is too personal or controversial to share, but nevertheless, experiences have helped me understand things better and have been necessary for what my journey in future will be," she added.

For her role in the "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" (2011), which is the first film of the franchise, Tina went through three auditions - once for the casting director and twice for John Madden, the director.

"I was the only newcomer in the entire cast list; so John showed tremendous faith in me by giving me the part, but auditioned me for all my scenes in the movie. He had a thorough look at my entire work profile before casting me. The second film happened automatically though," she said.

The sequel releases in Indian theatres on Friday.

Having worked with famed international stars like Judi Dench and Richard Gere in the "Marigold Hotel" franchise, Tina says the experience was "eye-opening" for her.

Talking about her experience with the stars, Tina said: "It was very eye-opening, because when you watch someone from a different culture perform, it can be very refreshing to watch him deliver dialogues; have a body language and performing styles that are not what I'm used to as an Indian.

"It helped me think more out-of-the-box. Also, to watch such senior actors be part of the process irrespective of the challenges one can face on a shoot, without any complaint, showed great discipline...It's something I intend on being throughout my entire career."

"The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" also features Maggie Smith, Dev Patel, Bill Nighy and Lillete Dubey in pivotal roles.

Asked if she felt nervous working with such accomplished actors, Tina said: "Yes. I prepared and rehearsed tons before shoot began... Also, all the actors are so re-assuring and motivate you after every shot. They never make you feel small or new, or anything but special. That energy brings out the best in everybody."

How about the difference between Bollywood and Hollywood?

"There is no significant difference in each industry. What does make it different is the culture, which makes a relationship different. Major differences in projects happen due to budget, director's styles and genre of script, not industry," she said.

Tina, who considers Helena Bonham Carter her idol because of "her range, uniqueness and relaxed attitude", says the biggest challenge in her career has been the fact that she's not being affected by praise.

"The biggest challenge is to not be affected by praise because a lot of it is not from the heart. Being true to yourself about your strengths and weaknesses, when everyone out there has a strong opinion and wants to give advice, is another challenge.

"Listening to your instincts, while being the easiest, can also be the hardest thing to do," she said.

Tina will be next seen in "Sense8", a Netflix series due to release on June 5, followed by "Dussehra", a political thriller which is in post-production as of now.

Debutante Shira Gaarg finds it no big deal if an actress starts her career in a mother's role. She says she didn't mind playing the mother of a five-year old in upcoming Tamil thriller "Baby".

"I think it doesn't matter anymore if you start your career by playing a mother's role. Going by the current trend, nobody is going to say that 'Because you played a mother in your first film, you're only fit for such roles'. I don't think it will stop offers from coming," Shira told IANS.

"The reason I took up the mother's role is because it was screaming out lot of scope for performance. In fact, I can proudly say my role is much stronger than any other person's in the film. It gave me ample space to perform," she said.

Talking more about the role, Shira said "rarely do newcomers get such roles".

"I was really pleased with the confidence the director had in me. I'm not sure if it was his instinct or something special that he saw in me but I'm really thankful to the scope he gave me in my first film," said Shira, who is a corporate trainer by profession, and is paired with actor Manoj Bharathi in the movie.

It was through a photographer friend that she landed an opportunity to work in "Baby".

"I have a lot of photographer friends. And one such friend keeps getting calls from directors who are on the lookout for newcomers. He introduced me to the film's director Suresh. We discussed the film and everything else subsequently fell in place," she said.

Director D. Suresh is the former associate of filmmaker Balaji Shaktivel.

The film, which went on floors towards the end of 2013, was completed last year. It's currently in its post-production phase.

It was predominantly shot in Bangalore, while some portions were filmed in Sholingur.

Shira has already been approached for a project each in Tamil and Telugu, but she's yet to sign on the dotted line.

Actress Saiyami Kher's long wait is finally coming to an end as her much-delayed Telugu debut project "Rey" is finally releasing. Although slightly disappointed about the delay, she says all good things take time.

YVS Chowdhary-directed "Rey", which was originally scheduled for release early last year, will now release on March 27 in cinemas.

"I should admit I'm disappointed with the delay but I strongly believe that it takes time for all good things to happen. It's definitely worth the wait and I'm lucky to have been part of 'Rey'," Saiyami told IANS.

Saiyami was roped in after the director was impressed with her Kingfisher calendar photo-shoot.

In the movie, Saiyami's role is an integral part of the story. She plays a goal-focused character called Amrita, who travels from India to the US to take part in a talent competition.

"The best part about my role is I don't just come and dance in a few songs and disappear. This is what attracted me to the project. Whatever films I do, I want to contribute to them through my performance, and not just merely be part of the cast," she said.

Saiyami describes "Rey" as a dance-based film and admits it was challenging to match steps with her co-star Sai Dharam Tej.

"Sai is an exceptional dancer. I had to work extremely hard to keep up with him. But I was lucky to have worked with choreographer such as Raju Sundaram, Brinda, Prem Rakshit, Johnny and Shekar. It was an ensemble of dancers on the sets," she said.

"I thoroughly enjoyed dancing, especially with Raju master because he's so fun to work with. On the other hand, Brinda master was extremely encouraging," said Saiyami.

Despite the delay, Saiyami says she doesn't feel nervous about the release.

"I'm quite excited to be honest. In acting, you can never say you've done your best because there's always scope for improvement based on the film's feedback post release. I'm just eagerly looking forward to the audience's response," she added.

Shot predominantly in places such as the US, the West Indies, Bangkok and Hyderabad,A"Rey" also features Shraddha Das, Shubra Aiyappa, Tanikella Bharani, Brahmanandam, Jayaprakash Reddy and M.S. Narayana in important roles.

Since her completion of "Rey", Saiyami went on to sign filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's "Mirziya".

"We've already started shooting, but I'm not allowed to talk about it," said Saiyami, who spent most of last year taking workshops in preparation for her role in the movie.

"It was these workshops that kept me occupied while I was patiently waiting for the release of aRey'," she added.

Filmmaker Mysskin, who is distributing forthcoming Tamil thriller "Kallappadam", was involved in the project right from the scripting stage, says the film's director J. Vadivel, who is proud to be his protege.

"Mysskin didn't decide to release my film because I was his associate. He was involved right from the scripting stage all the way till the end. I've discussed about the film with him at regular intervals while working on the movie," Vadivel told IANS.

A tribute to ancient art form 'Koothu', "Kallappadam" releases in cinemas on Friday.

"Everything that I learnt from Mysskin helped me make this movie. I'll always be proud to be his assistant. I left a career in journalism to assist him and right from the first day on the sets of his film 'Nandalala', he guided and shaped my career," he said.

Vadivel even made Mysskin write and pen a song in his film, which features K, Gaugin, Santosh and Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli in the lead roles.

"Mysskin told us that his films won't have songs anymore. Hence, I wanted to make this song as a tribute to his music and writing. This whole song sequence comes as a shooting spot scene in the film. We wanted it to be like a shooting spot from Mysskin's film," he said.

"My producer Anand was impressed with this idea. We requested Mysskin to pen this song and also thought it will be nice if he could lend his voice. With all his goodwill, he crooned the song for us," he added.

Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan was disheartened after a teenager complained that he didn't greet her on her birthday, saying the actor's claims of being in touch with fans was false.

The 72-year-old makes it a point to wish his fans, or as he prefers to call his Extended Family, on their special days. But when he missed one fan's birthday, he faced her outburst.

“Amita has been upset that I did not wish her on the 15th... my apologies... She has (said) on Twitter that I ... am false in my expressions of greeting.

“Well...what can I say… no one that I follow shall ever be deleted from my list...if others wish to leave, I am no one to stop them...

"I never forced anyone to come on board, I shall never force anyone to leave... this platform is most sacred to me, and shall ever remain so,” he posted on his official blog.

The versatile actor, with over 40 years in the film world, also mentioned that his dedication to the social media would continue.

“What I have received from it and from all that come here, cannot be described in words... it has been magical...

"You may all decide to leave me and this platform, BUT…I will not... I shall continue to write, even if there is NO ONE to respond or read it,” the actor said.

Big B, who unveiled a bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi here last week, noted that he picks all his events after scrutinising ways to stay updated because he finds joy through the union.

“My first concern is whether, where I travel or move, has connectivity or not. I challenge all offices to provide me those facilities or else I refrain from going there or accepting invitation. ALL BECAUSE I AM UNABLE TO CONNECT TO MY (Extended Family),” he posted.

Meanwhile, after garnering appreciation for his role in “Shamitabh”, the actor will be seen in “Piku” and “Wazir” this year.

Popular Tamil star Ajith Kumar underwent septoplasty and functional endoscopic sinus surgery on Tuesday at a private hospital here.

In a statement, his publicist said the surgery was performed by an ENT specialist on Tuesday morning, and that Ajith is recovering well.

Septoplasty is a surgical procedure to correct a deviated nasal septum wherein one's nasal septum is straightened and repositioned in the middle of the nose. Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is a surgical treatment of sinusitis and nasal polyps, including bacterial, fungal, recurrent acute, and chronic sinus.

The actor, who was recently blessed with a son, is expected is start working on his next yet-untitled Tamil project with Siva soon.

Ajith's last release "Yennai Arindhaal" has turned out to be a successful venture. Talks are on to resume work on a sequel.

Celebrity chef Kunal Kapur is sad about losing out on an opportunity to judge "MasterChef India 4" due to his work commitments, but is keen to be part of the next season of the cooking-based reality TV show.

“I would have loved to be a part of this season but due to prior commitments for another show in the US, I couldn't judge this season. I feel really sad about it, but hopefully I should be part of 'MasterChef India 5',” Kapur said in a statement.

The chef, who has judged the previous seasons of the show, will appear in the ongoing season of the Star Plus show in its Dubai special week. Playing a prank, he entered the show disguised as a sheikh.

“It is amazing to come back to this amazing platform of 'MasterChef India 4', especially in Dubai! I think with every passing of 'MasterChef India', the contestants have carefully watched the show and have evolved and learnt from all the past seasons. It is always good to come back to a show where the contestants are ready for a challenge,” he said.

Kapur also noted that the show has boosted the trend of cooking at home in India.

“What I am really proud of is that with every passing season, the power of home-cooking in Indian households is just going stronger with 'MasterChef',” he said.

The Dubai special week of the show will go on air next week and Kapur will be seen in two episodes.

The Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2015, beginning here on Wednesday, will mark the completion of 15 years of the bi-annual event. To celebrate the milestone, a heady mix of upcoming and veteran talent is ready to create a benchmark of diversity and creativity in fashion at the five-day gala.

"Our commitment to the business of fashion has made us the platform of choice for established Indian designers from all over the world. We will present five stunning offsite shows this season, including India's first Instagram show with a stellar line-up of top Indian designers," Saket Dhankar, Head-Fashion at IMG Reliance told IANS.

As many as 83 designers and 15 sponsors will participate in Summer/Resort 2015 edition of LFW. The names include those like Raghavendra Rathore, Tarun Tahiliani and Wendell Rodricks, Kiran Uttam Gosh, Krishna Mehta, Manish Malhotra, Suneet Verma, and Shivan & Narresh.

Apart from such big names, 16 models are set to debut at the fashion event along with 39 new and upcoming designers, who will showcase their creations in the Emerging category at the Jabong Stage, one of the show areas at the event.

What is unique about this season are the four offsite shows of some of the prominent names in the fashion world. While Anamika Khanna will present her Sculpt line at the grand finale show at the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Sabyasachi Mukherjeee will open the season with an offsite show as well at Richardson & Cruddas.

Talking about the grand finale designer, Purnima Lamba, head of Innovation at Lakmé said: “On this special occasion of Lakmé Fashion Week’s 15th anniversary, Lakmé is proud to showcase ‘Sculpt’ - our fashion forecast for 2015. Anamika’s craftsmanship lends itself seamlessly to bringing alive this cutting-edge trend forecast at the grand finale.”

Another offsite show will see designs by Bollywood's beloved designer Manish Malhotra. His show, titled The Blue Fashion Runway Show, will be sponsored by WEvolve. It will launch the organisation's global campaign to empowers young men and women to challenge norms that lead to gender-based violence. The best runway faces, popular celebrities and leading personalities from will unite on this global cause while celebrating the promise of a better future.

“We at LFW believe that fashion has a larger role to play in society and for our country. Over the years, Lakmé Fashion Week has always taken the lead in standing up for social causes, from The Mai Mumbai Show in 2009 to the Blue Runway Fashion show the coming season. Being a global fashion platform, we take immense pride in lending a voice to such social causes,” added Dhankar.

The business aspect will also be buzzing.

While buyers will range from those in India, Middle-East and Europe, Dhankar says this time, they have expanded the "database by reaching out to an even larger set of buyers from IMG's global network, including Berlin Fashion Week and Sydney Fashion Week and are approaching new e-commerce retailers".

"These are some initiatives we have taken to meet our long-term objective of democratizing Indian fashion," Dhankar said.

An increase in interest from boutique owners in tier-II cities like Nagpur, Surat, Goa and Ahmedabad, has also been witnessed.

LFW will also mark the debut of a fast growing European fashion house Tom Tailor in the Indian commercial market. It is coming in partnership with Jabong this season at Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2015. They will present an urban-chic collection.

Another international brand, Miss Bennett will present its summer-resort collection at the fashion gala.

Adding more spark to the gala will be the glamorous Gauri Khan, wife of superstar Shah Rukh Khan, showcasing a special Satya Paul summer-resort collection.

Continuing the trend of supporting of Indian textile, known designer Raghavendra Rathore will showcase his regal collection to close Indian Textile Day, a unique property pays tribute to the rich heritage of Indian hand-woven luxury every season.

Designers like Anavila Misra, Deepika Govind, Ghosh, Soumitra Mondal, and Shruti Sancheti among others will present India’s indigenous textiles in varied silhouettes.

Bollywood celebrities like Ramesh Sippy and Aamir Khan discussed film censorship and certification related issues when they met Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.

Rathore, who met the celebrities on Monday, said the meeting was not to displace Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chairman Pahlaj Nihalani, who has been reportedly facing the ire of the film fraternity for 'creating a hostile environment'.

"The discussion was on the issues, ideas and suggestions... and the film industry members came up with wonderful suggestions which we will take forward. The meeting was not on individuals," Rathore said.

"Sholay" director Sippy, who attended the meeting, said: "It happened because some of the film industry people were insecure and angry over censor board for creating a hostile environment and making it impossible for them to work.

"But minister sahab (Rathore) has assured that everything will be set right as it is (censor board) a Certification Board and not the Censor Board and therefore, films will be viewed on the certificate basis."

Rathore is hopeful that "things will get better".

"The government is very clear. It wants scenes and dialogues in context to the script and the film. I am sure CBFC will look at it from that point of view as well," he said.

Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra shared that there is "no ban on any cuss word".

"Let it be clear. It has been removed or clarified rather," he explained.

Aamir was also happy with the meeting.

"Minister sahab listened to all our worries and insecurities and the entire industry is hopeful and we are happy with the kind of response he gave us. He has assured that all our concerns, especially regarding certification of films, will be taken care of and appropriate steps will be taken," said the "Dhoom:3" star.

Actress Radhika Apte, who will be seen in a film about a sex addict, feels that having an appetite for sex is as normal and healthy as it is for food. Only, it is made out to be a "big thing" in India, she says.

“I think in our country in general, to have an appetite for sex is considered a big thing. But having an appetite for sex and food is equally normal and healthy," Radhika, whose forthcoming film "Hunterrr" releases on Friday, told IANS during a visit here.

In the film, her co-actor Gulshan Devaiah will be seen playing the role of Mandar Pokshe, a man obsessed with sex.

Radhika feels that the society looks at a "bigger sex appetite" as a "bad thing".

"I think to have a bigger sex appetite is not a bad thing at all...and anyway, bigger and smaller compared to who, is another question," she said, adding that since so little is spoken of sex openly in India, one doesn't really know that "the other person who says something, goes home and has sex how many times".

Talking about Gulshan's character, Radhika said that he's not someone who forces anyone or passes sleazy comments or jokes. "He is just someone who likes to be with different women and have mutual consensual sex."

The actress says that the posters and trailer of "Hunterrr" may suggest it as an adult comedy, but it is genuinely a simple love story.

Asked if she is comfortable doing intimate scenes on the screen, the actress promptly said: "I am very comfortable doing intimate scenes. For an actor, scenes having intimacy or performing any kind of scenes, is a part of the job."

"It depends on the context of the film, who is directing it, why is the scene necessary and all other things. You cannot generalise it. It is just my perspective. It just depends what'd the context (of the scene)."

"Hunterrr" is directed by Harshavardhan Kulkarni.

Ankit Tiwari collaborating with Vishesh Films for Emraan Hashmi’s romantic thriller, Mr. X!
Vishesh Films is known for its music and when they are collaborating with melody king, Ankit Tiwari the magic only doubles. What more, the singer will be lending his voice to none other than Vishesh Film’s blue-eyed boy, Emraan Hashmi.

“Everyone is looking forward to one hitting the marquee, each of the contributors as associated with nothing but excellence in their respective fields of expertise, ‘Tu Joh Hain’ is an amalgamation of the best!” quipped our source who is close to Vishesh Films.
Given Ankit Tiwari’s music and singing has been on an upward swing ever since Aashiqui2 , and gone only higher with films like Ek Villian PK, ROY and more, this song promises to be a treat for all his fans who love the way his voice emotes romance.

Marathi actress Sai Tamhankar, who will be seen in a Hindi film "Hunterrr", says she has no limitations as an actress.

Sai told IANS: "As an actress, I'm not against anything and I believe in reality. I don't have any do's and don'ts as an actress. If a character demands something, it is my job to do that.

"If I'm comfortable in a sari, I've to be comfortable in a bikini as well. It is my job."

Sai is known for her performance in Marathi films like "Pune 52" and "Duniyaadaari".