Actress Katrina Kaif, who has worked with the best of directors and actors in the industry, chooses her movies after analysing both the director and script, but when it comes to the Yash Chopra banner, she would have agreed to do a film even if she was dressed as a clown.

“It is a combination of the script and the director, when it comes to picking my movies. There have been cases...like in the case of 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan', it was Mr.Yash Chopra's film and I really did not say can I have the script...for me it was a life-long dream to work with him, so I would have done the film even if he was dressing me as a clown,” Katrina told IANS here.

“You have that much trust in certain directors but mostly I think an actor does get a lot of confidence from the director. But I believe most actors go by the story of the film,” she added.

The “Bang Bang” actress believes in looking at a movie from the perspective of the audience.

“I think that if I was the audience, would I like to see this film? I try not to be too self-obsessed or too narcissistic about my choices. I look at the film largely and say that if I was the audience, on a Friday morning would I want to sit and see this film?,” Katrina explained.

Katrina, who has played the role of an ex-RAW agent in "Phantom", shared that she was already trained to look physically agile, thanks to movies like “Dhoom 3” and “Ek tha Tiger”.

“To play such a role you need to be a physically adept person for doing action. Look agile and to look comfortable with a gun, to be able to do decent amount of action and physical combat and for all of which I think I was fortunate to have had already the experience during 'Dhoom 3', 'Ek tha Tiger'," she said.

“I was very comfortable with the action sequences, there was nothing that made me feel that 'I am not upto doing this'. So everything will look very real,” Katrina added about her action-packed role in the film.

Directed by Kabir Khan, “Phantom” is set in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and global terrorism. It will release on August 28.

Actor Hrithik Roshan holds Kunal Kapoor in high regard, saying that the "Rang De Basanti" star is an "inspiration" to him.

"Kunal is one of the best guy I know in the industry. I wish him success and luck. He is an inspiration for me. He is the one guy I know who does not give up. He tries till he can," Hrithik said at the special screening of Kunal's forthcoming film "Kaun Kitney Paani Mein" here.

With his acting skills, Kunal has proved that he is here to stay in the industry for long, but he is not getting that one film, which would strengthen his position. Hrithik, however, thinks that "Kaun..." may just prove to be that film.

"He is a superb actor and I wish he gets that one film that will bring out his talent to the world. I hope this movie (Kaun Kitney Paani Mein) proves to be that movie for him," Hrithik wished for him.

Kunal made his debut in 2005 with M.F. Husain-directed "Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities". After that he did multi-starrer films like "Rang De Basanti", "Laaga Chunari Mein Daag", "Don" and "Aaja Nachle", among others.

"Kaun Kitney Paani Mein" talks about the issue of water crisis in India and also stars Radhika Apte, Gulshan Grover and Saurabh Shukla in key roles.

The film is slated to hit the theatres later this year.

Actor Manoj Bajpayee's film "Aligarh", which is directed by Hansal Mehta, will be premiered at the 20th Busan International Film Festival.

Manoj took to micro-blogging website Twitter where he congratuated his entire cast and crew members for the movie being premiered at the festival, which is to be held in South Korea from October 1 to 10.

"So our film ALIGARH premieres at BUSAN FILM FESTIVAL. congratulations to each and every member of the team.@mehtahansal @RajkummarRao @Apurv," Manoj tweeted.

"Aligarh", which also features Rajkummar Rao, is based on the real life incident of Dr. Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras whose services as professor were terminated because of his sexual orientation.

Dancer-actress Lauren Gottlieb, who has shown her dancing prowess in the "ABCD" franchise, says showing her moves on the fashion runway was "nerve-wracking".

The actress, who walked as the showstopper for the brand Baggit at the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week winter-festive 2015, showed some moves while taking a walk on the runway.

When IANS asked her about the experience, she said: “It is nerve wracking because I don't think its customary to dance on the runway. I tried new things like the way I try on dance floor. It's a great way to show people that its cool, its relatable.”

Baggit showcased the second edition of “Play the Life Game” campaign through the show that celebrated the different roles and moods women have in their lives.

The campaign highlighted the special autumn/winter 2015 collection of bags to complement the multi-faceted woman.

Lauren, who gave hit item numbers in films like “Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!”, “Welcome To Karachi” and is going to be part of upcoming film “Welcome Back”, says that personal style statement is a mix of branded and non-branded products.

“I prefer keeping it mix whether it is high end brand or medium level brand. You can have great suits with cost friendly top, that's what my style is. I love brands,” she said adding that fashion for her is something that “depicts my mood for the day and I think its nice.”

The five-day fashion extravaganza started here on Wednesday and will conclude on Sunday at the Palladium Hotel.

Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who has been lauded for the response he has received for the film "Manjhi - The Mountain Man", says he is feeling "overwhelmed" by the acknowledgement he has got.

"I am overwhelmed and this gives me confidence in doing good work going forward," Nawaz said in a statement.

The "Gangs of Wasseypur" actor was praised by Salman Khan on micro-blogging website Twitter earlier this week, where he mentioned that he hoped the movie becomes a "big hit".

The Nawazuddin-starrer is a biopic on Dashrath Manjhi, a resident of Gehlaur village in Gaya district.

The "Mountain Man" had single-handedly cut through a hill to make a road for his village. Manjhi died in 2007 in his early 80s.

Directed by Ketan Mehta, the biopic also stars Radhika Apte and hit the theatres on Friday.

Director duo Abbas-Mustan, who are launching comedian-anchor Kapil Sharma as an actor in "Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon", have revealed that only the "Comedy Nights With Kapil" star came to their mind for the film.

"No other actor except Kapil Sharma came to our mind for the script of 'Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon'. We never go further with the script till we get the correct actor for it. And we have seen the popularity and know that Kapil only can justify the film's character," Abbas-Mustan told media here.

"We made a movie with new face like Shah Rukh Khan and he became a star and now Kapil Sharma in this one ('Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon'). We have just cast them in the movie, how high they go is their luck. It is not in our hands," added Mustan.

The duo also specified that they didn't want any big name for the film.

"We didn't wanted to go with any big actor or any newcomer. Moreover, everyone wanted to see Kapil in movies," said the duo, who had been to his show but didn't intend to do a movie with him then.

Mustan also said that after "Badshah", "Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon" is a comedy film, which the public will "definitely enjoy".

"I see Badshah as my last full comedy movie, which had some thriller element too. In this movie we have comedy and a good story which public will definitely enjoy and say it's an entertaining film. Start to end it's a family entertainer for all age groups," he said.

"Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon" also stars Arbaaz Khan, Manjari Fadnis, Simran Kaur Mundi and Elli Avram. It will be introducing Sai Lokur.

The film is slated to release on September 25.

After receiving a great response to the film's first look and trailer, the title track of director Zeishan Quadri's "Meeruthiya Gangsters" has been unveiled.

"A memorable blast begins with this dynamic song. All the songs in our film are full of energy but our soundtrack had to be launched with the title track as the lyrics and the visuals perfectly portray the kind of film 'Meeruthiya Gangsters' is," Quadri told IANS.

The song has been rendered by popular singers Zubeen Garg and Dev Negi.

The lyrics of the song have been penned by Kumaar of "Ragini MMS 2", "Roy", "Main Tera Hero" fame among others while Vivek Kar has composed the music.

Shoeb Ahmed of Prateek Entertainment, the film's production company, said: "I'm a big fan of the songs in our film. And the title track is one of my favourites. We've worked very hard with the music composers to come up with the right album to justify our brilliant script."

The music video of the song further highlights the antics of the gang of six members who are involved in criminal activities, alcohol and their camaraderie heightening the energy of the video.

The constant sound of gunshots dominate the title track in the song with the gun battles raising the curiosity in the video launched on digital media.

“Meeruthiya Gangsters” also stars Jaideep Ahlawat and Nushrat Bharucha among others. It releases on September 18.

Neeraj Ghaywan’s “Masaan”, Nagesh Kukunoor’s “Dhanak” along with “Black Horse Memories”, directed by Shahram Alidi will be screened at the 20th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) this year.

All three films, which happen to have the same production company (Drishyam Films), will be shown at the international film festival, under different sections.

"We are happy and proud that after a successful run at Sundance, Berlin and Cannes (film festivals), we are now headed to Busan with three of our films, one of which 'Black Horse Memories', our first international venture is in the competition category," Shiladitya Bora, CEO of Drishyam Films, said in a statement.

"BIFF is doing a great job of showcasing Asian cinema and has become the go-to place for anyone looking for Asian content,” he added.

On the 39th death anniversary of legendary singer Mukesh, his grandson Neil Nitin Mukesh and melody queen Lata Mangeshkar on Thursday remembered the late singer.

Neil said he was remembering his grandfather on the sets of the upcoming film "Prem Ratan Dhan Payo".

"On the sets of 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo'. Remembering my grandfather on his 39th death anniversary ... Clearly 'Jeena yahan marna yahan'," Neil tweeted. The "Johnny Gaddaar" star also tweeted a famous line from the 1970 movie "Mera Naam Joker".

Lata, who collaborated with Mukesh in many songs, tweeted: "Aaj mere Mukesh bhaiya ki 39 vi punyatithi hai. Hamare Detroit mein show ke waqt dil ka daura padne se unka swargwas hua tha. Bohot bhayankar samay tha. Hum sab dukh mein doob gaye the. Is waqt main Unki yaad ko pranam karti hun aur shraddhanjali arpan karti hun. "(Today is Mukesh bhaiya's 39th death anniversary. He passed away following a heart attack during our show in Detroit. That was a terrible time. We all were deeply saddened. Today I am remembering him and paying my respects to him)".

The 85-year-old also shared a link of the song "Jaane kahan gaye woh din" from the film "Mera Naam Joker".

Mukesh Chand Mathur, better known as Mukesh, was famous as being the voice of legendary actor Raj Kapoor.

Actor-comedian Vir Das has made a serious and sincere effort to push social messages, such as scrapping article 377 of the constitution to favour homosexuals, with a cool and funky t-shirt range that’s part of his latest foray into designing. He says these are messages everyone should flaunt with pride.

When IANS asked Vir about the whole idea of coming up with such interesting one-liners and discussing social messages through t-shirts, the “Delhi Belly” actor said: “To incorporate homosexuality messages is to scrap article 377. I think we all, as progressive and open-minded people, feel strongly about it. That’s the message you should wear on chest and wear on body.”

One such message on a t-shirt reads: “Guess the homosexual”. It is followed by icons of similar looking faces, and in the end it reads “exactly”.

Vir showcased his debut collection as a designer on the runway of Lakme Fashion Week Winter-festive 2015 here. He launched the quirky clothing line under his company Weirdass Comedy.

There are also boxer shorts, which Vir has conceptualised himself, and he has even created t-shirts dedicated to Bollywood’s star comedian Govinda.

“I’m a Govinda fan. He is the greatest comedy actor that we ever had in India and also a dramatic actor. If you are a Govinda fan, you should wear such t-shirts,” Vir said.

Standing true to the name ‘Pret-A-Funny’, his show was one of its kind in the history of fashion world for the number of showstoppers that turned up. From Taapsee Pannu, Aditi Rao Hydari, Shazahn Padamsee, Kunal Roy Kapur, Sophie Choudry, Ali Fazal, Cyrus Sahukar and Neil Bhoopalam.

There were several popular faces turning up on the ramp to show the designs of Vir, who says he doesn’t know anything about fashion, but his collection is an attempt to show his personality through clothes.

“I don’t know anything about fashion and I don’t know why I am here. I really like t- shirts and your t-shirts convey a lot about who you are,” he said.

Asked if he plans to participate in other fashion weeks too, Vir said: “If I am invited to a fashion week, then why not? It will be greater, funnier. Everything in life is an opportunity, so we will try hard to come back.”

The price point of the t-shirts vary from Rs.599 to Rs.899, and Vir plans to expand his offerings with sneakers, ties, bow-ties and sunglasses in future.

Actor Milind Soman, who has starred in many Marathi films, on Friday heaped praise on the regional film industry for producing quality cinema under limitations.

"I have done Hindi films, south Indian films and international productions. But I really appreciate the Marathi film industry. I have done a few Marathi films. They make very good films in limited budgets and constrained situations," Soman told the media here.

"I feel very happy as I am a Maharashtrian," the 50-year-old fitness enthusiast said while introducing a brand of innerwear for men.

The "Bheja Fry" actor recently won the title of 'Ironman' after successfully completing a triathlon touted to be one of the world's toughest.

His repertoire of Marathi films include "Samhita", "Gandha" and "Nagrik".

Veteran actress and social activist Shabana Azmi says she had a good meeting with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

"Had a very fulfilling meeting with CM Akhilesh Yadav about development plans for UP and Azamgarh in particular," Shabana, who along with her godchild Namrata Goyal, also runs NGO Mijwan Welfare Society, tweeted on Friday.

The NGO works for the empowerment of villagers in a small village, Mijwan in Azamgarh, UP.

On the film front, she has wrapped up filming "Jazbaa", which also stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Irrfan Khan.

Superstar Salman Khan will unveil the teaser of Akkineni Nagarjuna's son Akhil's debut film "Akhil" on Saturday. Two other popular actors will also release the film's teaser along with Salman.

"When Salman visited Chiranjeevi's 60th birthday bash last week, he was requested to release the teaser by Nagarjuna, and he instantly agreed for the sake of their friendship. The teaser will be unveiled by Salman at 6.30 p.m.," a source from the film's unit told IANS.

The makers have kept the identities of the two other stars under wraps for now.

Directed by V.V. Vinayak, the film marks the debut of Akhil, who is paired with debutante Sayyeshaa.

Produced by actor Nithiin Reddy, "Akhil" has music by Anup Rubens and S.S. Thaman.

Award winning actress Nandita Das is "uncomfortable" with labels such as 'festival films' that create a divide among audiences. She believes people are keen to watch such films, but are not able to access them.

"It doesn't have to be a festival versus audience kind of a film. These regional films while they cut across, while they can be the international thing... finally, a filmmaker who makes it would want all audiences to watch it in their own city, state and all over. This divide is where one is uncomfortable," Das said here.

She was a discussant on the topic 'What is regional cinema, what is national cinema' here on Sunday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Satyajit Ray's "Pather Panchali".

The "Fire" and "Earth" actress said such labels have affected some really good films, which are human stories, but couldn't reach out to a wider audience.

"When you are making an independent film (for the lack of a better word) and then you are also doing the festival thing and not be labelled as that this is a festival film, this is for the classes, this is not for masses (sic).

"Who is going to decide that the man on the street is not ready to watch it? It's I think our arrogance and the class that we belong to, that we think it is for us and they are not ready to watch it," she said.

The "Firaaq" filmmaker, known for her strong performances in numerous south Indian films, said the common man "wants to watch regional films but will never have access to it".

"That's why we keep coming back to the fact there is too much interference and nexus between the producer, distributor, audience and all of these people, and the director is kind of (caught) between them," she said.

Filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee, who has co-produced Kanu Behl's directorial debut "Titli", says it is one of the most "hard-hitting" independent films to be made in the last decade.

"I think it's going to a blow a lot of people away. It is one of the most intriguing, hard-hitting indie films in the last decade," Banerjee told IANS here. However, the director kept mum on the much anticipated "Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!" sequel.

"Titli", produced by Banerjee and presented by Yash Raj Films, will release in India on October 16.

Behl worked with Banerjee on the feature film "Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!" as an assistant director and in 2010, he co-wrote the critically acclaimed "Love Sex aur Dhokha" with Banerjee.

"Titli" received rave reviews when it was first screened at the 2014 Cannes International Film Festival, and has since then travelled to 22 international film festivals, winning awards and opening to immense box office success in France and Germany.

The film stars Ranvir Shorey, Amit Sial and Shashank Arora.

In the badlands of Delhi's dystopic underbelly, Titli, the youngest member of a violent car-jacking brotherhood plots a desperate bid to escape the 'family' business. His struggle to do so is countered at each stage by his indignant brothers, who finally try marrying him off to 'settle' him.

Titli finds an unlikely ally in his new wife. They form a strange, beneficial partnership, only to confront their inability to escape the bindings of their family roots.

"Rock On 2", the much-awaited sequel of the 2008 musical entertainer "Rock On!!", will be distributed globally by Eros International Media Ltd, and its makers are eyeing the "best release" for the movie.

The global film company announced its association with Excel Entertainment for the worldwide release of the ensemble cast film on Monday.

Written and directed by debutant filmmaker Shujaat Saudagar, "Rock On 2" will see Farhan Akhtar, Arjun Rampal, Purab Kohli and Prachi Desai reprising their roles from the original film. Actress Shraddha Kapoor is joining the star cast to play the lead role along with Farhan for the first time.

"With 'Rock On 2', we continue our synergy with Excel Entertainment after our previous successes like 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' and 'Dil Dhadakne Do'. The sequel promises to be another heartwarming story high on content and entertainment," Jyoti Deshpande, Group CEO, Eros International Media Ltd, said in a statement.

Producer Ritesh Sidhwani, Excel Entertainment Pvt Ltd, added: "We are happy to associate with Eros International once again and look forward to our film getting the best release platform through their unparalleled reach and network."

The film will be shot in Shillong, the rock capital of India.

Meanwhile, Eros International has also inked another deal with Excel Entertainment and Dharma Productions for the soon-to-go-on-floor love story "Baar Baar Dekho". Starring Katrina Kaif and Siddharth Malhotra, the film will mark the directorial debut of Nitya Mehra.

"With such creative forces behind the project, audiences can only expect the very best. Through this partnership, we hope to drive together the strategy for creating, marketing and distributing the film on a global platform," Deshpande said of "Baar Baar Dekho".

Karan Johar of Dharma Productions, added: 'Baar Baar Dekho’ is a love-story in the making not just on the screen for Siddharth and Katrina, but at every level of creation, distribution and promotions for all the companies involved."

The film goes on the floors in London on Tuesday. It will be shot across several international locations and will be released in 2016.

"Welcome Back" actors John Abraham and Anil Kapoor are extremely eager to work on holidays and festivals, with John stating that he doesn't believe in holidays.

"It's a very extremist and unfair way of looking at things, but I don't really believe in holidays at all. I think we have too many holidays in this country which is economically a huge loss for the country. So we need to reduce the number of holidays," said John at a press meet here on Raksha Bandhan (Saturday) to a query if they were comfortable on working on such a day.

And if Anil is fond of working on holidays, its partly because of his sister. "I feel somewhere my sister, who's in Delhi, has blessed me, and she sends me her good wishes and she always says 'I want you to keep on working'. That's the best thing she could say. Because I love working and I would love to work on every Raksha Bandhan day and remember my sister."

"For me, working on a holiday and especially festivals is the best thing. I feel I'm blessed that I've been in this profession since many years and I see to it that I work on Holi also," he added.

John and Anil had previously worked together on action drama "Shootout At Wadala".

Bollywood music composer Aadesh Shrivastava, whose cancer relapsed, remains in a critical stage. His brother-in-law and composer Lalit Pandit, from the Jatin-Lalit duo, says doctors are “trying their best to reverse the disease” but the treatment remains ineffective on Shrivastava.

“This is his third relapse. He is in a critical stage now. It's been 42 days since he has been in the hospital. The doctors are trying very hard and their best with a hope to reverse it, but they also say it is very difficult,” Lalit told IANS over phone.

The singer, who earlier battled cancer in 2010, is undergoing treatment in Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital here. Shrivastava, who has composed music for films like “Chalte Chalte”, “Baabul”, “Baghban”, “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...” and “Raajneeti”, is married to actress and playback singer Vijayata Pandit. Lalit also mentioned that the family was depending on injections from the US to help Shrivastava get on the road to recovery, but they have also failed and they can't look for new therapy due to the stage of his illness.

“We were depending on these injections, but they have not worked. And he is beyond that stage where we can start a new therapy. He is in a terminal stage,” said Lalit.

According to reports, Shrivastava had expressed his disappointment in an interview about his friends from the film industry not turning up to meet him while he battled cancer in 2010. But Lalit noted that “everyone that he has worked with has come to meet him” this time.

Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar had also tweeted showing concern over Shrivastava's deteriorating health condition and prayed for his fast recovery.

Filmmaker Imtiaz Alli, who is presenting adman Bauddhayan Mukherji's debut feature "Teenkahon" (Three Stories), says the award-winning Bengali movie reminds him of the cinema of Indian legends Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak.

"It seems as if the era of Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak can come back if more of such films are made... I was very happy to be approached to present it," Ali told the media here.

The film has been showcased in over 30 film festivals across the globe, including the prestigious DC Independent Film Festival, Washington DC, and has bagged over 20 awards.

Set for a September 11 release, "Teenkahon" tries to capture the changing face of morality, the degeneration of values, the increasing pollution of the spoken language and the changing social fabric of Bengal through three stories spread over a hundred years from 1920.

The three stories are structured in the manner of the classical three-act play with each act (read story) exploring one facet of an obsessive relationship outside the purview of marriage.

It stars Rituparna Sengupta, Sabyasachi Chakarborty and Suman Mukherjee in lead roles.

Ali said the film brings out three different worlds through Bengali cinema's "high quality" of production.

"It is very fascinating, very high quality and high calibre of production which Bengali cinema has always been known for. To see traces of it coming back, to see that it can be like that once more was very exhilarating and I see that in 'Teenkahon'," he said.

The "Highway" filmmaker hopes "Teenkahon" inspires other films across India. Though he is inspired by Bengali literature and culture and tries to imbibe as much as he can, Ali ruled out making a Bengali film.

"I don't think I will be able to direct a Bengali film because I don't know the language," he said.

Actor Aakash Dahiya says that his film "Meeruthiya Gangsters" is unnecessarily being tagged as a gangster film despite it actually being an absolute friendship-based film.

"It's being called as gangster film' repeatedly, but this is not a criminal film. It is not a violent film. It's a very likeable film about six friends. It is not just a gangster film, the bond and unity shared between them in a jovial manner forms the core of the film. The pillar on which 'Meeruthiya Gangsters' story rests is friendship," said Aakash.

"The fact of the matter is that we haven't depicted a single murder in the film, there are gunshots and breaking of bottles but that's towards the end of the film. The film is a dark comedy and the intentions of the men are to get educated and work normally but they get defrauded and then start kidnapping people. The kidnapping has been portrayed in a humourous and organic manner," he added.

An interesting fact about the film is that director Zeishan Quadri initially wanted Aakash to help him cast teenage boys for the film since Aakash is a talented casting associate. But some months later, Zeishan was assured that he needed Akash as an actor more.

Aakash says that his character's name in the film is Amit and he is known as Shakuni in the film as he is the one who sparks fire in various situations.

"He'll die for friendship but still gets his friends stuck in various problems. All the slaps that his friends receive in the film are due to him," he said.

The actor also says that he doesn't want to get typecast in a certain mould and wants to challenge himself.

"It has been my attempt to try out something different in all my films and to accept different kinds of films. In 'Chillar Party' my voice was different while in 'D Day' I had a different role. In 'Bobby Jasoos', I portrayed a Hyderabadi character."

"Meeruthiya Gangsters" also features Mukul Dev, Sanjay Mishra, Nushrat Bharucha, Jaideep Ahlawat and is releasing on September 18.