Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan disapproves of fans who try to seek blessings from any celebrity or ask them to name their children.

The 72-year-old, who greets his fans outside his house every Sunday, said that over the years, he has discovered many unique "modus operandi" of meeting him.

"Many seek blessings from celebrities, names for their children and on. This is disapproved. I am not worthy of blessings nor intelligent enough to give a name. Please do not put me through that ordeal! It would be horrible for a child to live through his entire life saddled with a name that was not his parents' calling," Big B wrote on his blog.

Sharing one incident of meeting a young fan, the "Don" actor feels that people often use their children to get his autograph.

"A little fellow once came to me on a crowded occasion, and asked for my autograph, looking completely puzzled and hassled. He was having problems pronouncing 'autograph'... photograph, auto car, and some other contortions were with effort struggling to form out of his chubby face," Big B said.

"He was precocious and honest. When I asked him his name, he promptly told me that. When I asked him what my name was he said: 'I don't know your name. My Father asked me to come to you, so I have come'!!. hahahaha.. cute," added the megastar.

Actor Irrfan Khan, who has featured in a slew of international projects like “Life of Pi” and “Slumdog Millionaire”, has thanked his foreign audience for leading his latest Bollywood outing “Piku” towards success.

"I would like to really thank my international audience for this incredible response for 'Piku'. I'm overwhelmed by the response our movie has got," Irrfan said in a statement.

While the film has garnered plaudits from all quarters for being an endearing father-daughter tale, the success of “Piku” is evident even internationally with the film registering a total collection Rs. 27.35 crore overseas, read a statement.

Directed by Shoojit Sircar, “Piku” paints the relationship between a father and daughter, played by Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone, in an entertaining way, embedding slice-of-life moments in a beautiful way.

Irrfan shines in his role as a taxi company owner with his intense acting and quirky take on things.

The thing that clicked with the audience is that the movie is for all age groups.

Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty visited a hospital here for a routine check-up and he is now at home, his son Mahaakshay has said.

According to reports, Mithun was admitted to a hospital because of vomitting and fever, raising concerns on Sunday.

Clearing the air about it, Mahaakshay told IANS: "These are just rumours. My dad is absolutely fine and he is at home. He had just gone for a routine check-up on Sunday and he is absolutely fine."

Mithun, 64, who is also a Trinamool Congress MP, was recently questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the multi-crore Saradha chitfund scam.

Bollywood's young guns Sonakshi Sinha, Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt among other stars are using their acting talent to the T for their own Dubsmash videos -- a lip-syncing application, which seems to be the next big thing after 'selfies'.

Dubsmash is an application that allows users to choose an audio recording of well-known quotes, songs and dialogues from a list, and record a video of themselves. Technically, they act in and dub to a pre-recorded audio.

The actors, like many global fans of the app, after recording their videos, share it on social media with their fans and followers.

The latest celebrity, bitten by the Dubsmash bug was actress Alia Bhatt with her friend Akansha. It has been trending as the "cutest Dubsmash video so far".

Alia has lip-synced the dialogue of a grumpy child, who refuses to listen to his mother, played by Alia's friend, asking her to wear a sweater.

The fun factor of the Dubsmash concept also attracted Sonakshi, who has shared three videos of herself so far. In the first one, she enacts a dialogue from her father Shatrughan Sinha's film "Mere Apne".

In the second one, she mouths a quote from Brad Pitt's 1999 film "Fight Club"; and the third video sees her lip-syncing to a dialogue from cartoon "Johnny Bravo".

The effervescent Ranveer, who is known for his 'bindass' attitude, has shared multiple Dubsmash videos on Instagram.

Ranveer, along with Priyanka Chopra was seen dubbing the lines from their forthcoming film "Dil Dhadakne Do".

In the video, they underwent a role reversal of sorts -- the "Band Baaja Baaraat” actor was seen dubbing for the female part, while the "Mary Kom" star dubbed for the male part.

Actress Jacqueline Fernandez too tried on the trend. She, along with her sisters, dubsmashed the popular song "Boom boom boom" by Dutch pop group Vengaboys.

In his Dubsmash video, actor Ali Fazal, who recently ventured into Hollywood with the film "Furious 7”, was seen mouthing the famous dialogue "Teja main hun mark idhar hai (I am Teja, the mark is here)", from the 1994 film "Andaz Apna Apna".

Actress Richa Chadda shared three videos, two of which feature dialogues from her film "Gangs of Wasseypur”, and one has her enacting "I like big b*tts", a song by record producer Sir Mix-a-Lot.

Shruti Haasan also grabbed a chance to do a Dubsmash, and she turned Gabbar of 1975 film "Sholay" for her video.

Hollywood actors Mae Whitman and Robbie Amell's highly anticipated teen comedy film "The DUFF" is all set to hit Indian screens on June 5. With a strong youth population in the subcontinent, the producers saw good business sense to embark on a theatrical release in India.

The film was a great success at the US box office with an opening weekend of over ten million and total collection of over $34 million in US.

Directed by Ari Sandel, the story of "The DUFF" revolves around a high school senior Bianca (Whitman) who instigates a social pecking order revolution after finding out that she has been labelled the DUFF - Designated Ugly Fat Friend - by her prettier, more popular counterparts.

"I have been told that Indian youth are ardent followers of US movies and television. India is known to have a thriving English speaking population and are in sync with western culture. It’s a great place for 'The Duff' to release,” Whitman said in a statement.

Ari Sandel added that India is becoming an “increasingly important territory for Hollywood films”.

Human relationships are greater than politics. That's what actor Swara Bhaskar has learned after two "memorable" visits to what she once thought was "enemy territory" but where, after two visits to Pakistan, she was showered with warmth, hospitality and free 'chai and samosas' for being an Indian.

Her first visit to Pakistan was in 2005 with a friend.
It was, as she describes, "two college girls who just decided to liven up their lives by visiting enemy territory".

"I think that trip taught me that people are always more important than some policies or actions of their government," Swara told IANS, post her second visit last month.

This time, she went there for "work".

"I had gone for some meetings over a potential international film project that would require me to play a Pakistani immigrant, but also it was a chance for me to visit friends I have not met in 10 years as I visited Pakistan in 2005 and made some lasting friendships.

"Both my visits to Pakistan were made beautiful and memorable by the hospitality, warmth and friendship of my hosts, friends and even random strangers I met," she added.

The talented actress, who has featured in Bollywood films like "Tanu Weds Manu" and "Raanjhanaa", recollected how in 2005, on the bus to Lahore, when some of their Pakistani fellow travellers learnt that she and her friend were travelling alone to Pakistan for the first time, they made "three serious offers to stay in their houses".

"In fact, traders in Lahore's iconic Anarkali market fed us samosas and tea and biscuits when they learnt that we were Indian," she said.

After both her visits, she says "the one stereotype of Pakistanis that is true is that they are the best hosts ever and are generous and magnanimous to a fault with their guests".

And she has spoken whole-heartedly about this in a Pakistani TV show, a video of which has gone popular in the online space.

Political relations between India and Pakistan have been more of the "love-hate" kind. Over the years, increased cultural exchanges between them have eased out the tension, which has existed since the sub-continent was partitioned in 1947.

In fact, Swara's family was hesitant to let her go to Pakistan when she discussed her travel plans, but the actress says this "preconceived notion about the country" is a very normal thing.

"Perhaps in the case of India and Pakistan, it is exacerbated by the political hostility between the two countries... But it requires only a little effort and intelligence to try and reach out beyond this image and realise that this can only be a part of the whole picture.

"My own experience was that Pakistan, the place and its people were very different from my imagination of them. I think the internet and social media can play a very positive role in enabling the people of both countries to reach out and connect with each other on a human and more personal level," added Swara, who will soon be seen in "Tanu Weds Manu Returns" on the big screen.

Amitabh Bachchan, who is basking in the success of the father-daughter tale in "Piku", is nostalgic about how “Sharaabi”, which released 31 years ago, delved on the father-son camaraderie.

The 1984 drama revolves around a son played by Amitabh, of an uncaring and ruthless businessman (Pran), who grows up to be an alcoholic and a spoilt brat but with a kind heart.

“It’s 31 years of ‘Sharaabi’ .. goodness feels like just the other day we were on the World Tour of 1983, the very first of its kind for the Industry and having performed in almost 10 cities in US and London, flying to Trinidad & Tobago from NYC, when Prakash Mehra also travelling with me, suggests we should do a film based on a father son relationship where the son is an alcoholic,” Big B wrote on his blog.

The 72-year-old actor also took to his micro-blogging website Twitter account to share his thoughts.

“31 years of 'SHARAABI' .. seems just the other day we were on set for the film ! Story conceived at 35,000 ft over the Atlantic,” he tweeted.

Also reminiscing some other tidbits from the film's shooting, he said that “during the making of 'Sharaabi' a bomb blew up his hand”.

“I went ahead in order not to disturb or cause delay. The hand had been reduced to pulp. It looked like a raw cooked tandoori chicken. Every portion of the hand had melted. But I continued to work”.

There was also a fight sequence, which the actor says was “choreographed” by him.

“Like the fight sequence in the bar when I take on the guys that had stolen my watch and chain etc. That was choreographed by me...Fun times,” he wrote.

Filmmaker Saurabh Varma, who has almost shot the major portions of his film "7 Hours To Go", says it's an investigative thriller of the kind that Bollywood doesn't make anymore.

Varma told IANS: "All my films are different from each other. And as a filmmaker, it's my conscious decision to make different kind of films. While 'Solid Patels' is a comedy film, '7 Hours to Go' is an investigative thriller film."

He calls it a "special film" as "unfortunately, we don't make investigative thrillers anymore".

"It has not been explored much," added the "Mickey Virus" director.

"7 Hours to Go" is touted to be an action-packed ride filled with thrill and suspense.

To be produced by Krian Media, "7 Hours To Go" will feature Sandeepa Dhar in a prominent role.

Meanwhile, Varma is juggling between both his films.

"At the moment I am handling both the films together. I am confident both are of different content," he said.

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan says he was late for a shoot of his upcoming film “Raees” directed by Rahul Dholakia.

The 49-year-old took to micro-blogging website Twitter to share: “Bak 2 Raees shoot. My director Rahul (naam toh suna hoga) must be fuming for delay by more than hour. Will make up by working harder now."

"Raees", an action thriller, will see Shah Rukh playing a gangster. Slated to release on Eid next year, it also features Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Pakistani actress Mahira Khan.

Bollywood's twinkle toes Madhuri Dixit will be seen sharing the stage with comedian Kapil Sharma on the sets of “Comedy Nights with Kapil".

The 48-year-old took to micro-blogging website Twitter to share the news with her fans and well wishers.

“On the sets of #CNWK with @KapilSharmaK9,combining Dance and Laughter!Can't wait to see Kapil dance#DanceWithMadhuri," the “Tezaab” actress, who has been busy promoting the mobile app of her online dance academy, tweeted on Tuesday.

The episode from the Colors channel will air on May 24.

Ayushmann Khurrana, who made a successful Bollywood debut with “Vicky Donor” in 2012, doesn’t want to go on a film-signing spree.

After the success of his "unusual Yash Raj Films' movie without gloss and chiffon saris" titled "Dum Laga Ke Haisha", which followed three duds including Rohan Sippy’s “Nautanki Saala!”, Ayushmann has two more films in hand. And he is okay with that.

“I’ve been always very careful about scripts, but you can’t predict (which one will work). My next two films (‘Agra Ka Daabra’ and untitled Yash Raj Films’ movie) are very important,” Ayushmann, who is reteaming with his "Vicky Donor" team -- producer John Abraham and director Shoojit Sircar -- for "Agra Ka Daabra", told IANS.

“I don’t know which one I’ll be filming first. The shooting is expected to be in winter and it will release next year,” he added.

The father of two, who is also a singer, says he likes to be selective.

“I take it slow. I’ve always been very selective. I am also doing gigs and coming out with a single. I am composing something very fresh. I like to take it easy. Personal life is not a botheration in my film or music career.

"My family is in Chandigarh. I travel a lot,” said the actor, who will also co-host IIFA Rocks, an exclusive music extravaganza, with Parineeti Chopra in June in Kuala Lumpur.

Claiming that a song of upcoming Bollywood movie "Welcome 2 Karachi" promotes liquor consumption and maligns a nursery rhyme, a plea was filed in the Delhiu High Court on Tuesday seeking ban on it.

The PIL filed by NGO Citizens for Better India was mentioned before a division bench of Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, which posted the matter for Wednesday.

The NGO said that the lyrics of song "Lalla Lalla Lori, Daaru Ki Katori" are "highly objectionable".

The Arshad Warsi starrer is set to be released on May 21.

"The petitioner impugns one specific song from the film being propogated as 'Lalla lalla Lori, Daaru Ki Katori', it being highly objectionable as it will have extremely negative effect on the society and especially the children and which promotes consumption of intoxicating drinks which are injurious to health and which is against the scheme of the constitution and specifically against the article 47 of the constitution of India amongst others," said the PIL.

The plea, filed against the central government, the Censor Board, the Delhi government and producers of the films Pooja Entertainment and Films Ltd, also sought direction to ensure the removal of the song from the movie and to stop its immediate advertisements on TV channels.

The plea also sought direction for a "policy regarding the film certification keeping special consideration to its effect on the children and especially when it pertains to maligning nursery rhymes like in the present case. That these kinds of surrogate songs are also liable to banned as the same works as surrogate advertisement for liquor in general which is completely banned as per the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Amendment Act".

Actress Gul Panag, known for being a fitness buff, now wants to inculcate the habit of running among people. She has launched a mobile app 'First Run' that will discipline aspiring runners through various features and running tips.

"Wherever I go, people are eager to know how I remain so fit and want to know my fitness secrets. I tell each of them that I run, that's it. This habit was inculcated in me by my father at the age of 16, who urged me to run. At that age, I had the misconception that only overweight people run and since I was slim, I didn't need to," Gul told IANS

Gul, however, could not say no to her disciplined army father, and since then it has become a habit which she completely enjoys.

"It is a proven fact that there are several advantages of running. When you run, you feel more happy as endorphins are released which make you feel happy. This clears the clutter in the mind and creates a superior mental capacity as well as physical capacity. Running helped me to study better as well as score better marks," she said.

Gul is also a co-founder of this app along with Gaurav Jaiswal, the co-founder of the platform Mobiefit.

"As long we don't have an aunty, mummy or coach forcing us to run, we wouldn't run. 'First Run' is the recipe for people grappling with irregularity and lethargy in running. It presumes that you have never run. And it acts as that coach who will make you a regular runner," Jaiswal said.

The app is dedicated to people who have the eagerness to be fit and run, but fail at their efforts due to lethargy.

The free app aims to discipline aspiring runners to run about 30 minutes through its various features and running tips. It will be a voice-based app with Gul's voice inspiring the users.

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah will step into the shoes of a TV host and take the small screen audience through a roller coaster ride on the fascinating legacy and the glorious history of Indian cricket.

From the dusty fields of colonial India to the sprawling meadows of the Eden Gardens, the “Ishqiya” actor will regale the audience with an exclusive rendezvous on India’s all-time favourite sport - cricket.

Being passionate about cricket since his childhood, there could not have been anyone more appropriate than him to host the show, read a statement.

On the big screen, Naseeruddin had played a cricket coach in "Iqbal".

The show will be launched on The Epic Channel in July.

The winter-festive 2015 edition of Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) will be held at the Palladium Hotel here starting August 26.

Celebrating 15 years of defining fashion in India, LFW Winter-Festive 2015 promises to have the best of India and the world.

“India’s premier fashion event, Lakmé Fashion Week continues to celebrate 15 Years in Fashion in the upcoming exciting edition - LFW WF 2015 - by showcasing the best in Indian fashion with leading designers, bright young talent and grand offsite shows,” read a statement from the organisers.

Planned bi-annually, LFW is jointly organised by cosmetic brand Lakmé and IMG Reliance. It will be a five-day extravaganza.

Actress Radhika Apte, who has found critical acclaim with her performances in films like "Badlapur" and "Hunterrr", will be seen flaunting a new look in “Bombairiya”.

The “Antaheen” actress will be playing the role of Meghna, a public relations executive in the forthcoming film, produced by Michael Ward and directed by debutante Pia Sukanya.

Radhika was recently spotted wearing a white lace sari clubbed with green sneakers for the movie.

"Radhika is a great collaborator. She and Pia decided on a shorter hairstyle to create the character of Meghna. She even introduced us to Clover, a British hair and makeup designer working in Bollywood like me, and they came up with a modern urban look that also conceals a mystery," Ward said in a statement, on the look of the 29-year-old actress.

The look which has been revealed is just one of the multiple get-ups that Radhika is sporting in the film.

"Radhika has three specific looks as Meghna who goes on the roller-coaster ride of her life,” Ward added.

The film also features Akshay Oberoi in the lead.

Horror film "Echoes" will release in Indian theatres on May 29.

Written and directed by Nils Timm, the film tells the story of a young writer who gets horrific sleep-paralysis induced visions. As the visions intensify, she finds herself on the verge of losing her mind or uncovering a life-threatening secret, read a statement.

The film which starrs Steven Brand, Kevin Brewerton, Ivory Dortch, Kate French, Steve Hanks, J.J. Nolan, Caroline Whitney Smith and Billy Wirth in key roles, has won the Best Director Award at Filmquest 2014 and Best Narrative Feature at SaMo Indie 2014.

The film is produced by Ditte Halleskov and Aaron Harvey. The music of the film is by Dre Nitze.

To get into the skin of his character, actor Rajkummar Rao opted to run barefeet deep into a jungle for a scene for his forthcoming film “Hamari Adhuri Kahani”. The stint has left the film's director impressed.

The actor, who is seen sporting a scruffy look in the film, plays an obsessed husband of actress Vidya Balan in the film. His character believes his wife is his property.

In the scene, the "Citylights" actor had to run through the jungle distraught and when he got whiff of the news, he walked up to director Mohit Suri and said that he wants to run barefeet.

Suri advised him against this as he ran the risk of injuring himself. But Rajkummar was adamant. He explained that he is so emotionally distraught in the scene that the character shouldn't even care if he is wearing shoes or whether his feet is getting cut in the process, read a statement.

Rajkummar is said to have not only given a perfect shot, but he even asked Suri if he wants him to do another take.

"I don't have words to describe Rajkummar as an actor. He touches the soul of every character and makes himself into the role. He is simply unbelievable in the film and his dedication is inspiring. One has to see his performance in the film to believe what he has done. I do not want to say any more," Suri said in a statement.

The film, which also stars Emraan Hashmi, is reportedly based on Mahesh Bhatt's life.

Presented by Fox Star Studios and produced by Vishesh Films, “Hamari Adhuri Kahani” releases on June 12.

Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor has managed to get a following of 700,000 fans on Instagram.

The elated actor took to micro-blogging website to share the news along with a photograph.

“700k on Instagram...but why shld twitter not get an upload as well...any excuse to post a new image (sic),” the 29-year-old tweeted on Wednesday.

The “2 States” actor keeps his fans and followers entertained by frequently sharing photographs of himself on the same media portal.

On the big screen, Arjun was last seen in "Tevar" opposite actress Sonakshi Sinha.

Internationally acclaimed filmmaker and actor Shekhar Kapur travelled for three hours in Los Angeles just to watch Amitabh Bachchan starrer “Piku”. He says that it was the “best Hindi film” he has seen in a very long time.

Kapur took to micro-blogging website Twitter on Wednesday to express his thoughts about the film.

"Travelled 3 hours to see #Piku in LA. Totally worth it. Best Hindi film I have seen in a v long time @deepikapadukone @SrBachchan @irrfan_k," the 69-year-old tweeted.

The film tells a tale of a Bengali father and daughter duo.