Actor Arshad Warsi hopes that his latest release "Guddu Rangeela" fetches so much appreciation that he is able to demand a higher remuneration for his future projects.

At the launch of a new multiplex here, he quipped: "The movie ('Guddu Rangeela') was released in Dubai. It has been getting great reviews and praises. It is been hailed as 'cult movie. I just hope something like this happens in India, It would be super fun.

"I swear it, I'd increase my remuneration...it's been while since it has been raised," added the actor, whose last outing "Welcome To Karachi" failed to create much magic.

Directed by Subhash Kapoor, "Guddu Rangeela" also stars Amit Sadh and Aditi Rao Hydari.

Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor has amassed one million fans on photo-sharing website Instagram, and he treated his fans to a topless image of himself on reaching the milestone.

The 30-year-old actor, who made his debut in tinsel town with the 2012 film "Ishaqzaade", captioned the image: "Changed the look for the insta 1 million selfie...the beard is off...thank u for the love."

Arjun is active on social media platforms to stay connected with his fans and well-wishers.

The "Gunday" actor was last seen in the 2015 film "Tevar" starring opposite Sonakshi Sinha. He will start shooting for R. Balki's upcoming romantic film starring opposite actress Kareena Kapoor Khan at the end of July.

Singer-actor Palash Sen, a doctor by qualification, will next be seen in "Aisa Yeh Jahaan". The "Filhaal" actor says he found the movie sensible to do.

"I'm always open to good, sensible and sensitive subjects. (For a long time) I never got offer which was sensible enough for me to do. But with this film, I found it. Even the music is something which I can do as per my choice. There was no compulsion of giving jazzy item numbers. I had a freedom of giving music which I believe in," Palash said here.

The frontman of band Euphoria, Palash has also composed the film's music.

The movie's story revolves around the issue of people coming from different parts of India to Mumbai and what difficulties they face. It also talks about nature and environment.

Directed by Biswajeet Bora and produced by Kholie entertainment, the film also stars Ira Dubey, Abhilasha Sinha, Kinshuk Sen, Sunit Bora and "Indian Idol Junior" 2013 winner Anjana Padmanabhan.

"Bajrangi Bhaijaan" director Kabir Khan on Friday termed "Jolly LLB" his my favourite movie at the special screening of its maker and National Award recipient Subhash Kapoor's latest outing "Guddu Rangeela".

"Very excited for 'Guddu Rangeela'... I love Subhash's films and I love Arshad's work. 'Jolly LLB' is my favorite film," he said.

Kabir Khan is currently busy promoting his Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor-starrer.

"Salman Khan is a superstar... he is huge star of this country, and his movies release on Eid, which is very exciting. 'Ek tha Tiger' released on Eid and it created an amazing buzz, so this year also we are seeing the same buzz," he said.

Apart from "Bajrangi Bhaijaan", he has one more project in pipeline "Phantom", which stars Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif. There were rumours about movie being delayed but now he has confirmed the release date as August 28.

Filmmaker Prabhudeva is all set to produce a yet-untitled Tamil actioner featuring actors Jayam Ravi and Vijay Sethupathi. The film will be directed by Lakshman of recent hit "Romeo Juliet" fame.

"Prabhudeva will produce the film. Jayam Ravi is already on board while talks are still going on with Vijay Sethupathi, who is keen to join the project," a source told IANS.

The source added that Prabhudeva expressed interest to work with Lakshman after he was impressed with his "Romeo Juliet".

"Ravi and Lakshman had recently organised a special screening of 'Romeo Juliet' for Prabhudeva, who enjoyed the film and had also planned to remake it. Meanwhile, Lakshman narrated a new script, which Prabhudeva liked and agreed to produce it," the source said.

The rest of the cast will be finalised soon.

Superstar Rajinikanth rejected an offer to star in the Tamil remake of Malayalam blockbuster “Drishyam” because he feared two particular scenes in the film would not have gone down too well with his fans.

According to a source, “Drishyam” director Jeethu Joseph also agreed with Rajinikanth.

“Rajinikanth sir really liked the story when he heard it. Jeethu felt he could add a different dimension to the film with his presence. But Rajini sir had issues with two scenes,” a source told IANS.

“The first scene is when the lead characters get brutally beaten up by the police. And, the second scene is the climax sequence. Rajini sir was unsure if his fans will like seeing him getting beaten up. Jeethu too felt the same when it was discussed with him,” the source added.

Jeethu had apparently told Rajinikanth that he will meet him again with a fresh script.

The remake was eventually made with Kamal Haasan, and is currently running in cinemas as “Papanasam”.

Lack of resources and advanced technology in northeast India notwithstanding, National Award-winning filmmaker Manju Borah has been able to survive in the film industry for almost two decades. She credits it to her choice of themes, which are deeply rooted in the region.

"Northeast is diverse and has a rich culture. I know that movies don't have geographical boundaries, but if I don't make films from this part of the country, I don't think I will get attention.

"I am surviving in the industry because I make northeastern films. I pick up stories from our society and that is why people find them interesting," Borah told IANS from Guwahati.

Her first feature film "Baibhab - A scam in verse" (1999) was honoured with Special Jury Award at the 47th National Films Festival 2000.
Citing the example of her last film "Ko: Yad - A Silent Way" (a Mising language film), she said: "So many people appreciated it as I presented the Brahmaputra river well in the film... that is eye-catching. I don't think that my film was a great piece of work, but because of the theme and location, I got noticed."

This time, she has managed to draw the attention of people of Montreal with "Dau Huduni Methai" (Song of The Horned Owl). It will be screened at the prestigious Montreal World Film Festival, which will begin from August.

"In the film, I have exposed the Bodo land...their lifestyle and tradition. That's why I am getting the attention. Otherwise, technically we are not that advanced and there are budget issues. So, these (stories and location) are our assets," said Borah.

"The film will be screened in the Focus on World Cinema section. It won't be competing, but I thought getting this opportunity itself is a prestigious thing," added the filmmaker.

But filming it wasn't a cakewalk for her.

"We shot in the Meghalaya-Assam border for about 22 days. Unfortunately, the region is affected with insurgency. One of the Army officers warned me not to work there. I told him that I am a cultural activist too and that the boys are our own boys; so I don't think they will create a problem in my work.

"I refused to take security with me...In the last two days of shooting, things got very bad. There were encounters. I had to quickly finish my work. The location is very beautiful. It was the harvesting time.

"So, it was golden in colour and the hills looked beautiful. People were so nice and friendly. But it's the socio-political situations that are causing problems there," said the filmmaker, who likes to work with fresh talent.

As much as she loves presenting stories of her homeland, she wants a change in the way films are distributed in the region.

"Hindi films get priority here...Maybe, that is the taste of the new generation or maybe it's the whole design of distributors. Maybe, they prefer Hindi films so that they can earn more money because regional films' viewership is very less.

"In the northeast, viewers are not purely Assamese or Manipuri...it is a complex pattern of inhabitants and we speak many languages. So ultimately for a regional film, it is difficult to get a good number of viewers.

"The screening timings are also very odd. So, there is no scope to recover the cost. Since my last film, I have decided not to release my films in theatres here (in Assam)," said Borah, who is content with sending her films to fests or for private screening or television.

What about Bollywood?

"I am afraid of the big artists who throw tantrums. If a good production company approaches me, I will work in Mumbai too," she said.

The satirical film "Kaun Kitney Paani Mein" will bring the curtains down on the sixth edition of the Jagran Film Festival at the Siri Fort Auditorium on Sunday.

Produced by the international NGO - One Drop Foundation, the movie is a satire on water crisis, caste and the power equation when water, the most important resource, vanishes and how the oppressed become the oppressors, said a statement.

Set in the rain-shadow areas of Orissa, the film travels between two villages fighting over a water reservoir, since a couple of decades. It aims at raising awareness about the impending water crisis and sanitation in India's rural areas.

The 2015 edition of Jagran Film Festival will traverse from Delhi to the Indian hinterlands of Kanpur, Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, Dehradun, Hisar, Ludhiana, Patna, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Raipur, Indore and Bhopal before culminating in Mumbai.

In close collaboration with festival partners such as Whistling Woods International (WWI), Film Federation of India (FFI) and Motion Picture Dist. Association (India) Pvt. Ltd. (MPDA), the 2015 edition is all set to surpass its own benchmarks of presenting over 16 cinema appreciation workshops, 400 screenings in 17 cities in 2014.

The festival started on July 1 with the screening of award winning and internationally lauded "Masaan" is the directorial debut of Neeraj Ghaywan.

Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani will arrive here next week to personally oversee the probe after the alleged leak of the censor copy of blockbuster Malayalam film "Premam", ace director Priyadarshan said on Saturday.

The development comes after Priyadarshan, who has been accused of the leak, approached Nihalani.

Speaking to IANS over telephone from Chennai, Priyadarshan said that his name is being unnecessarily dragged into it by vested interests because sound mixing of the film was done in his studio.

"I spoke to Nihalani and he has promised that he himself will be arriving in the capital city and will oversee the probe. The CBFC will have to do this because the leaked copies of the last month's released film carries the watermark of the CBFC," said Priyadarshan, adding the present trend of piracy, if not checked , will sound the death knell of the film industry.

"Premam", now being touted as a film which is going to break all collection records, had hit a rough patch very soon after its release, forcing its producer Anwar Rasheed quitting his membership from all the Malayalam film-based organisations.

The film stars Nivin Pauly, billed as the rising star of the Malayalam film industry, through a string of hugely-popular films like "Banglore Days", "Oru Vadekan Selfie", "Ivide" to name a few.

State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala also got involved, instructing the Kerala Police Anti-Piracy Cell to ensure those responsible are traced and punished. Following this, police have already arrested seven people who were found to have circulated the leaked copy of the new film. Police have also decided to summon more people associated with the Malayalam film industry for questioning.

Menwhile, ace superstar Mammootty on Saturday batted the beleaguered producer Rasheed and his entire film team.

"Stop Piracy! You don't want us to steal ideas, don't steal our films! Give every film it's due ! I support Anwar and Team Premam. Good luck to Nivin and Alphonse and everyone from Premam", he posted on his Facebook page.

Rasheed, within the span of a decade, has turned out to be a most successful director and also a producer with popular hit films like "Rajamanikam", "Ustad Hotel" (both which he directed) and " Bangalore Days" and "Premam" as producer.

There is no decision yet about "Comedy Nights with Kapil" going of the air and all such talk is a "lot of rumours", says Upasana Singh who plays the character of "Buaji" in the popular TV programme.

"There is nothing fixed yet," she said at the 'Iftar" party of upcoming movie "Chalk N Duster".

Upasana however confirmed Kapil has health issues.

"Yes, Kapil is not feeling good, he has hurt his back badly, so it is possible that he might take a break for little while,” she said.

Kapil announced on Twitter that he was taking a break on Twitter and ever since gossip is buzzing that the programme might go off-air.

"We have dates for the whole month's shooting, so I really don’t think it will go off air and above all it’s such a hit show, it won’t go off air. We will know more details in three-four days but the show going off-air hasn’t been discussed yet," said Upasana, who is currently working in Juhi Chawla and Shabana Azmi starrer “Chalk N Duster” directed by Jayant Gilatar.

The film highlights the hardships of the teachers, not only in their day to day lives, but also in the system and society.

The team of actor Ajith Kumar's next Tamil film, which is tentatively titled "Thala 56", will soon leave to Italy for a two-week schedule, after the plans to shoot these portions in Dubai were called off.

"The team was supposed to shoot in Dubai, and had even finalised locations. However, they have been refused permission due to the ongoing month-long Ramzan celebrations. Hence, they're shifting to Italy," a source from the film's unit told IANS.

Ajith, Shruti Haasan and some key members of the crew will head to Italy.

"It's a two-week schedule in Italy. Some important scenes and a song are expected to be shot there," the source added.

Directed by Siva, the film also features Lakshmi Menon and Kabir Duhan Singh in important roles.

The makers of actor-producer Dhanush's next as yet untitled Tamil project have erected a massive railway station set here to shoot some important sequences. The film revolves around a character's journey in a train from here to Delhi.

"Since most of the shooting will take place inside a train and in and around railway stations, the team has built a station set with a train. The regular shooting has started and Dhanush is expected to join soon," a source from the film' unit told IANS.

Being directed by Prabhu Solomon, the film features Dhanush as a pantry worker in a train.

"The story is about the events that take place inside Duronto Express. The team is currently planning to shoot action sequences in the train under the supervision of international stuntman Roger Yuan, who has worked in films such as 'Batman Begins' and 'Skyfall'," the source said.

The film also features Keerthy Suresh.

Meanwhile, Dhanush's forthcoming Tamil film "Maari" is slated to release on April 17.

Superstars Rajinikanth and Vikram are most likely to join hands for the highly anticipated sequel to filmmaker S. Shankar's blockbuster "Enthiran". The pre-production work on the project is already underway.

"Rajinikanth sir is already on board. Vikram is quite excited about the project, but he's yet to sign on the dotted line," a source told IANS.

Since Vikram already has two projects in his kitty, he's taking time to take a call.

"For the next six months, he'll be busy shooting for two yet-untitled Tamil projects. With such a busy schedule, he's concerned how he's going to take out time for 'Enthiran 2'. Hence, the delay in signing the project," the source said.

Vikram has been reportedly offered the role of the antagonist in the film.

"It's not sure what role he'll be playing. It's one of the important characters, but it can't be said certainly whether he's playing the baddie," the source added.

The pre-production work started a few months ago on the project, which is going to be directed by Shankar.

Rajinikanth will start shooting for his next film with director Pa. Ranjith from August and as soon he completes it, he will take a short break and start work on "Enthiran 2".

Actor Gautham Kurup, known for his work in southern films such as "Thuppakki", "Kandahar" and "Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe", is making his Bollywood debut in the upcoming dark comedy "Bhanwarey".

"I'm trying my hands at comedy for the first time in my career. I'm playing something quite contrary to what I've done so far. We've already completed the first schedule and currently shooting the second in Delhi," Gautham told IANS.

He said the film is an opportunity to showcase his acting ability.

Being directed and produced by Shaurya Singh, the film mostly features newcomers such as Karan Thakur, Jashan Singh Kohli, Priyanka Shukla, Govind Pandey and Manoj Bakshi.

"I'm enjoying working with a team of newcomers. I still have about 10 to 12 days of shooting left. The film's shooting should be completed by July and if all goes as planned, we are planning to release it in November," he said.

Asked about the experience of working in the comedy genre, Gautham said: "Comedy is all about perfect timing. If the timing goes wrong, the joke won't work. As a baddie, you can even showcase over-the-top performance and people won't mind, but as a comedian you have to be very subtle".

The ongoing probe into the alleged leak of the censor copy of the hit Malayalam film "Premam" is going in the right direction, said the Kerala Police chief.

Director General of Police T.P. Senkumar told reporters here on Sunday that the anti-piracy cell of Kerala Police is doing its job to get to the bottom of the truth.

"There are lots of technical aspects to be probed in this case and hence it might take time, but nevertheless, we expect to crack the case," said Senkumar.

"Premam" hit a rough patch very soon after its release in the last week of May, forcing its producer Anwar Rasheed to quit his membership from all the Malayalam film-based organisations.

The issue sent shockwaves in the Malayalam film industry after it was found that the leaked copy freely carried the watermark of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

The film, according to those in the know of things, was racing towards becoming the all-time biggest grosser by crossing Rs.30 crore mark in a month's time but suffered a setback with the leaked copies making rounds and pulling the audiences back from theatres.

The film stars Nivin Pauly, billed as the rising star of the Malayalam film industry, who starred in a string of hugely-popular movies like "Bangalore Days", "Oru Vadekan Selfie", "Ivide" to name a few.

"It is now doubtful if the film will complete 50 days in the theatres. Let this not happen to any other film," said Pauly while speaking at a function.

CBFC chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani is expected to arrive in Thiruvananthapuram in the coming days to personally oversee the probe.

Akshat Verma, known for penning the black comedy “Delhi Belly”, got offended by a person on the set of his upcoming film “Bombairiya”, in which he will play the role of a director named Arif Hussain.

During an outdoor shooting, Akshat got offended by a T-shirt worn by a person named Gopi Ahuja, who refused to change it as he got it as a gift.

The T-shirt featured Homer Simpson who some people think bears a resemblance to Akshat.

However, Pia Sukanya, who is directing the film, lost her cool and gave an impromptu exercise to Akshat and the person to sit together and sort out the issue, which finally cooled both of them down.

“I'll admit. It was actually me playing a joke on Akshat by choosing the Homer Simpson T-Shirt. He seemed to take it in good sport at first, then he kind of lost it and started pushing people around," Sukanya said in a statement.

"Maybe it was the heat affecting all of us that day, or maybe he was method acting in which case he was too good. One thing I've discovered though, is there are no friends on film sets,” Sukanya added.

The film is expected to finish the second schedule by September.

Music composer Pritam Chakraborty, who is making his Bollywood comeback through Salman Khan-starrer "Bajrangi Bhaijaan", says keeping the star cast aside, it's the music of a film that draws the audience to theatres.

"I think once the music (of a film) is a hit, more than half the battle is won for a filmmaker. Music is definitely very important in the success of the film. Apart from the star cast, in Bollywood, music is what draws people to the theatre in the first place. Music sums up the impression of the film to a great extent," Chakraborty told IANS.

Talking about his comeback after 2014 film "Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty" through Kabir Khan's forthcoming drama "Bajrangi Bhaijaan", he said the film is special to him and he hopes to live up to fans' expectations. The film, also starring Kareena Kapoor and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, will hit the screens on July 17.

"'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' is special for more than one reason. First and foremost is the fact that it's my first film... after my year-long break."

"Equally important is the fact that people have tremendous expectations from a Salman Khan movie... as we have delivered many hits in the past. So living up to those expectations is something I wanted to do with 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'," said the composer, who has given music in Salman's films like "Ready" and "Bodyguard".

The 44-year-old composer doesn't think while making music, he just goes with the flow and feels his music.

He said: "When working in my studio, these are not factors I think of, in there, I only have music in my mind and I go with the flow. I don't think there, I only feel my music."

Chakraborty believes that competition in the music industry is what keeps everyone "on their toes" and eventually, this helps in the production of the finest music.

"The biggest change has been the gradual evolution of music that has expanded to incorporate many more genres and styles. Also, new talent has many more platforms to showcase their skills, which is good as it increases competition too and keeps everyone on their toes. One can't be complacent and needs to innovate constantly to keep up," he said.

Apart from "Bajrangi Bhaijaan", Chakraborty is giving music in Anurag Basu's upcoming comedy-drama "Jagga Jasoos", Karan Johar's "Aye Dil Hai Mushkil" and Rohit Shetty's "Dilwale", which reunites superstar Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol on the big screen.

After his songs like "Dhup chik hori se" and "Tamanche pe disco" created waves in Bollywood, rapper Raftaar has now put on his dancing shoes for the reality show "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Reloaded" and says dancing has made him a complete artist.

"I am a lyricist, producer, composer, singer, rapper and now a dancer. That makes me a complete artist and I want to be a complete artist in entertainment," Raftaar, whose real name is Dilin Nair, told IANS.

Raftaar says that being a musician has helped him understand dance better, but the only problem he faces is being technical.

"I haven't faced any difficulties as of now because when you are a musician you have that experience of beats and rhythms, so it's naturally inside me. The only problem which comes in is being technical with dance. You have to point your feet, flex your feet, chest has to be up, hand has to be on the parallel level," he said.

The 26-year-old, who has made the title track of the show along with Manj Musik, says that he feels he can overcome it with the help of his dance partner Sneha Kapoor.

"I think I will overcome that because my choreographer, Sneha Kapoor, is well experienced and she is the salsa queen of India," Raftaar said.

The "Gal mitro" rapper says that Latin dance style excites him as it's different from hip-hop, which comes naturally to him.

"Hip-hop is easy for me and natural for me to do. But what excites me more is doing Latin dance style, because hip-hop and Latin are opposite of each other. The dance form is very classy and that is one part of me I want to explore," he said.

Rapper Raftaar, who has given hits like "Swag mera desi hai" and "Dhup chik hori se", says the lyrics of rap songs should be more about story-telling and not just parties and alcohol.

"Our (rap) culture needs to expand. It has to be more about story-telling. It needs to be about conveying a message as well and not just roaming around with girls and having alcohol in clubs," Raftaar told IANS.

The 26-year-old, who has rapped about global warming and climate change, feels that not many people are interested in these kind of songs.

"I have a song called 'Mother nature' which has been viewed 2.5 lakh times on YouTube. Why? Because the target audience who have watched it are my fans. Not many people were interested in 'Mother nature' because that kind of songs would not be played in clubs," he added.

The "Yeh hai thappad" rapper, whose real name is Dilin Nair, says the only difference between the rap culture in India and the international culture is that internationally the videos are bigger and the audience is more understanding.

When asked how he came up with his stage name Raftaar, he said: "I am my own parent when it comes to rapping. I do impromptu stuff and being a rapper, you have to be good at improvising like you give me a word and I have to rhyme it quickly and then make sense out of the rhyme... so that is why Raftaar."

After producing Hindi films like "Dehradun Diary" and "Trip To Bhangarh", Anita Nandwani and Yatin Nandwani have now entered into regional cinema with Marathi film "Krupasindhu" which is a "socio-religious family drama".

"After producing two Hindi films, we were eager to make a film on Swami Samarth... we chose the script and then approached Lekha Trailokya for directing the film. Our film is a family drama with social and religious issues forming its storyline," Yatin Nandwani told IANS.

Trailokya, who has earlier made many documentaries and directed many TV shows, feels that that god is everywhere but people are unable to see him and this is the message she wants to highlight through the film.

"The film is a combination of social, emotional, religious and family values. Every aspect of human concern is present in this film. I feel film-making is a team effort and the team has ensured that this film is made beautiful," Trailokya told IANS.

The crucial character of Swamiji in the film is being essayed by renowned actor Praful Samant, while Milind Gawli and Sheetal Pathak play the husband and wife and Mahek their daughter.

The film is tentatively releasing around November this year. It is releasing under the banner of Swami Samartha Creations in association with Ashwagandha Pvt Ltd.