Huma Qureshi says that as an actress she sometimes overthinks and overanalyses things. However, she feels that she is “growing wiser” with time.

“Time has taught me to be cool. As an actress, sometimes we over-worry and overanalyse conditions. We overthink like this because I think we are attuned to be thinking like that. But I think I'm growing older and wiser with time,” Huma told IANS during a visit to the capital last week.

“I think life has its own way of telling things... Sometimes things that you have not even imagined or thought of will happen automatically without even thinking so much,” she added.

Huma was in the capital to launch Moonlight watch collection by Titan Raga here.

The actress, who received critical acclaim for her roles in films like “Gangs of Wasseypur”, “Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana”, “Dedh Ishqiya” and “Badlapur”, says that being an actress is one tough task, unlike the common perception that people have.

“People usually feel that being an actress is easy and glamorous, but it's not. There is a lot of hard work required. There are times when you have no time left or no personal life left and everyone wants to know everything about you. It's like being actress Huma Qureshi all the time."

Huma is starring in Gurinder Chadha's "Viceroy's House". The film is set in the 1940s and it will also have a love story.

“The film is very important. It's based in 1947 and it's about the partition of India and how it happened. What drew me to this film is the fact that it talks about love. I feel that love is more important than any division that man has created,” she said.

Actor-singer Ayushmann Khurrana says playback singers are an "indispensable" part of Bollywood, and have no danger from the ongoing trend of actors turning into singers.

Actors like Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha and Alia Bhatt have gone behind the mic and crooned for their films.

"To be honest, a purist singer will always remain that. We cannot replace a singer. Of course it is great that actors are lending their voice to their characters, but playback singers like Arijit Singh and Sonu Nigam are indispensable," Ayushmann told IANS over phone.

After exploring realms of reality shows and even hosting shows on small screen, Ayushmann turned to Bollywood in 2012 with "Vicky Donor". He not only made a mark as an actor, but emerged as a singer with popular songs like "Pani da rang", "O heeriye" and "Mitti di khusboo" to his credit.

The "Nautanki Saala!" star asserted that he is passionate about singing and considers himself as a "professional singer".

He said: "I think it is great that everybody is singing. I also love to compose and write my own songs. I'm not a part time singer, but a professional one".

On the film front, Ayushmann, who is busy with upcoming single "Yahin hun main", will team up with his "Dum Laga Ke Haisha" co-star Bhumi Pednekar in "Manmarziyan".

Continuing its 20th year celebrations, “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” (DDLJ) had a special screening at the iconic British Film Institute (BFI) here.

It was screened as part of BFI's "Love: Films To Fall In Love With... Films To Break Your Heart" in partnership with internet service provider Plusnet.

This special screening of DDLJ took place on November 7 at BFI Southbank, said a statement.

The BFI’s 'Love' season is currently celebrating a broad spectrum of romantic films and TV gems from the swooning silent era to the present day and the DDLJ extravaganza was featured alongside a wider curation of Hollywood melodrama, British period drama and European erotic thriller.

Aditya Chopra’s DDLJ, starring superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, was showcased as ”The Brave-hearted Will Take the Bride” and was the only Indian title at the BFI screening.

As part of this screening, a nationwide search for Britain's very own Raj and Simran was also held in conjunction with Asian TV channel B4U and BFI, to uncover a special 'Raj and Simran' jodi with their own unique love story against the odds.

The winning couple, Pahul Ahluwalia and Rahul Sharma of East London, were welcomed onstage and gifted with hampers of DDLJ memorabilia and collector’s item merchandise while they paid homage to the iconic screen looks of the film’s lead stars.

Also Shah Rukh himself regaled the audience and winners with an extraordinarily delightful and charming video message.

Actor Sunil Grover, best known for his role as Gutthi in comedy show “Comedy Nights with Kapil”, feels festivals play the role of rejuvenating one's life and urges everyone to work harder.

“Celebrating a festival rejuvenates. You feel fresh and it breaks the monotony of life. After Diwali, I want to work harder, happily,” Sunil posted on Twitter on Thursday, a day after the auspicious occasion of Diwali.

Sunil has previously appeared in TV shows like “Kya Aap Paanchvi Fail Champu Hain?”, “Comedy Circus” and “Mad In India”.

He has also acted in films like “Ghajini”, “Heropanti” and “Gabbar is Back”.

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta's reality drama “Aligarh”, which is based on the real life incident of doctor Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras, who was suspended from his job as a professor because of his sexual orientation, and stars Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkumar Rao in lead roles, will release in February next year.

Manoj announced the release date of the film, which had its premiere at the 20th Busan International Film festival earlier this year, while talking to a fan on Twitter.

A fan asked the “Gangs of Wasseypur” actor why there was no news about the Indian release of “Aligarh”.

To that, Manoj replied: “It's not released. In February.”

"Aligarh" was also screened at the 17th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in Mumbai last month.

In a country where there is no dearth of star-struck people, Hindi films with a powerful cast tend to easily get the tag of 'highest-grossing movie'. But making it to film festivals is not a cakewalk for them. Kabir Khan, whose this year's directorial "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" tasted stupendous success at the box office as well as fests, says commercially successful movies shouldn't be ignored at such galas.

The Salman Khan-starrer, which unfolds the story of a man on a mission to take a young Pakistani deaf and mute girl back to her country, minted over Rs.600 crore worldwide. After its screening at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival in South Korea last month, it will entertain the attendees of the 46th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa this month.

"When we were making the film, we were not expecting half of what we are getting for 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'...the kind of love and acclaim that we are getting for this film is something truly heart-warming. I am really happy that it was screened at Busan film fest and will be shown now in IFFI," Kabir told IANS over phone from his holiday home in Uttarakhand's Kumaon region, where he is currently holidaying with his family.

"When you are making mainstream cinema especially with superstars, you are not really thinking of festivals. That's because you don't have the time to travel to festivals before the film's release. In the case of 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan', at that point of time, we were not thinking of fests at all. But we are happy that it has been received the way it has and that people are inviting us for festivals," he added.

But not all money-spinning Hindi films get a similar chance to showcase their work at fests, which are attended by filmmakers from across the globe as well as other moviebuffs.

"When you are looking at films, you should definitely try to get good films to fests. But I don't think there should be prejudice against mainstream cinema, especially today, with lines blurring," said the "Phantom" director.

Kabir, who often makes films around terrorism or Indo-Pak ties as a backdrop, says mainstream cinema filmmakers should make films that are "more real and logical" to find a spot in fests. He added: "Mainstream cinema needs to be included in their (fests') programming; otherwise they will be catering to a very small audience."

"Bajrangi Bhaijaan", which is Salman's first release since he was sentenced in May to six years in jail in the infamous 2002 hit-and-run case (the case is currently in appeal), saw the director and the actor teaming up again after the 2012 blockbuster "Ek Tha Tiger". They didn't stick to the action-thriller genre and so the audience got to see Salman, known for doing intense action scenes and romance onscreen, in a different avatar in this year's blockbuster.

"In the movie, he is beaten up and is mostly seen in one set of clothes in the entire second half and it's not a big love story. I think all that in some way made his character very endearing and people reacted positively to the fact that Salman made a lot of effort in portraying a certain character," said the director, who has worked with actors like John Abraham, Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif.

And if everything goes well, the formidable duo (Salman and Kabir) will be joining hands again for another film.

"Mr.X" actress Amyra Dastur, who shot for a music video with singer Sonu Nigam, wants him to come up with more such singles.

"He is a great person and he is so much fun to work with. And I hope he makes more singles," Amyra said about working with popular singer Sonu Nigam on 'Aa Bhi Ja Tu Kahin Se'.

She added: "It was very good. He is one of the most humble people you'll ever meet. He's so kind I actually made him do a Dubsmash. I selected his song for it and he was actually standing behind me while doing it, so it's on Instagram and other places."

When asked if she would croon a few lines from the song, she said: "I promised Sonu sir, I would never do that because his song is so good and I can completely destroy it, so no."

The video has already received a great response on digital mediums with 1.5 million views already generated in under a week. The video brings Sonu back with T-Series after numerous hit albums during the 90s and early 2000s and certain differences recently.

"It's his first single after 14 years, with T-Series. It was exciting and we're going to promote it now," she said.

The song composed by Jeet Gannguli traces the love story of Sonu and Amyra against the backdrop of Amyra's poor health condition.

"It's basically a love story, it's about love lost and hope. It's as if the song was specifically made for Diwali, because it gives hope to people," she added. The song has been directed by 'Ra.One' fame Anubhav Sinha.

Actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who has carved a niche in the Indian entertainment industry with films like “Vicky Donor” and “Dum Laga Ke Haisha”, credits his success to his experience in theatre.

Ayushmann will be seen on family game show “Deal or No Deal”, where he will come to support theatre group Thespo, which has been organising workshops and theatre fests across India.

The “Hawaizaada” actor played the game to donate all the money to the group to support theatre since that’s where he started his career from.

“I’m really glad I could come to support Thespo and theatre in India because whatever I am today I owe it to theatre... That’s where I started my career and have gained all the acting skills," Ayushmann said in a statement.

“Deal or No Deal”, which is aired on &TV, is hosted by actor Ronit Roy.

Actress Shruti Haasan, who plays one of the female leads in the Telugu remake of Malayalam blockbuster "Premam", will be essaying the role of a college lecturer.

"Shruti will be reprising Sai Pallavi's role of a lecturer in the remake. She'll be undergoing special makeover for her role. She has already started prepping for her role," a source from the film's unit told IANS.

To be directed by Chandoo Mondeti, the film is tentatively titled "Majnu", and will feature Naga Chaitanya in the lead.

Anupama Parameswaran, who was part of the original, will reprise her own role in the film.

The shooting of the film will start from the first week of December.

This coming-of-age drama, which traces three stages in the life of its protagonist over a decade, will be produced by S. Radha Krishna.

Tamil superstar Ajith Kumar, who underwent knee surgery at a private hospital here on Thursday, has been advised complete rest for three months.

The surgery was originally planned for November 24 but had to be advanced because Ajith couldn't bear the pain.

"The surgery was performed by Dr. David Rajan at Kumaran hospital on Thursday night. The surgery started around 7.30 pm and went on till 2.30 am on Friday. Post the surgery, Ajith was immediately shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where he's doing fine," a source from the hospital told IANS.

While shooting the climax sequence of his Tamil "Vedalam", which is successfully running in cinemas, Ajith injured his knee.

"He has been advised rest for three months. He may not start working on his next Tamil film until June 2016," the source added.

The source also revealed that Ajith's next film will also be with Siva, the director of his latest release "Vedalam".

"They're most likely to collaborate for the third time. The project was planned while they were working on 'Vedalam', and it's expected to go on floors in the second half of next year," he said.

Well-known Tamil director and producer K.S. Gopalakrishnan breathed his last here on Saturday at a private hospital. He was 86.

"He passed away due to respiratory problems on Saturday night," a family source told IANS.

Known for making films with social and devotional themes, Gopalakrishnan was known for working legendary Tamil stars such as Gemini Ganeshan, Sivaji Ganeshan, K.R. Vijaya and Jayalalithaa among others.

Besides directing, he had also penned several chartbuster songs.

The popular yesteryear Tamil hit "Unnazhagai Kanniyargala from the film "Uttama Puthiran" was penned by him.

As a lyricist, he had worked on Tamil films "Amaradeepam", "Deiva Piravi" and "Padikkadha Pannaiyar".

He was also a popular writer and had written dialogues for the films "Padikkadha Medhai", "Annai" and "Per Sollum Annai".

Some of his directorial films include Deivathin Deivam", "Pesum Deivam", "Chitthi", "Panama Pasama" and "Kurathi Magan" among others.

He is survived by six sons. His funeral will be performed on Sunday.

Actress-politician Hema Malini, who is also a Bharatnatyam dancer, said that today's youngsters are more interested in Bollywood style dancing.

"Time has changed a lot. In these days when everything is moving so fast, our culture, art is getting affected," Hema said at the annual dance event Jaya Smriti held here on Sunday in memory of her late mother, Jaya Chakravarthy.

"Even our youngsters think alike, they want to keep pace with the changing world. They want quick output. Western culture has been influenced by our Bollywood dance and music," she added.

The "Dream Girl" star rued that "only a few are interested in pursuing classical dance forms. The rest are into Bollywood."

"It is very difficult to sustain the interest in classical dance. That is why it is necessary to preserve these classical dance forms which are ours. I want them to watch more classical dance forms," she said.

Jaya Smriti, the brainchild of the "Sholay" actress, is an event held in memory of her late mother Jaya who dedicated her life to promoting young talent and patronising art and culture.

The release date of Pan Nalin's film "Angry Indian Goddesses" (AIG) has been pushed again. It is now slated to release next month.

The movie, which has been lauded at various international film festivals including the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival, was earlier scheduled to release alongside Salman Khan-starrer "Prem Ratan Dhan Payo" on November 12 and then with "Tamasha" on November 27. However, It has now moved to December 4, read a statement.

"We will be releasing AIG on December 4, 2015. We have received fantastic reactions at international film festivals. The film will release internationally in early 2016. But it was always our wish that the Indian audience should discover AIG first," Nalin said.

"Angry Indian Goddesses" follows the stories of seven girls. It narrates the tale of how Frieda, essayed by actress Sarah-Jane Dias, invites her closest girlfriends to Goa to announce her wedding, and it all turns into a wild bachelorette party.

The cast of the movie also includes Sandhya Mridul, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Anushka Manchanda, Amrit Maghera, Rajshri Deshpande and Pavleen Gujral.

Nalin's directorial will be releasing along with Vishal Pandya's erotic thriller "Hate Story 3", which features actors Zareen Khan, Daisy Shah, Sharman Joshi and Karan Singh Grover.

After directing entertainers like "Main Hoon Na", "Om Shanti Om" and "Happy New Year", which were high on glamour and stars, choreographer-director Farah Khan is now planning to make a movie on "girl power". She says it will be more "real" than her past films.

"I'm writing a script which is about two girls. It's literally a 'girl power' movie, but it would be much more real than the movies I have made in the past. It will still be entertaining and fun. It will have humour, but it will have a message too," Farah told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

The 50-year-old choreographer says her friend, superstar Shah Rukh Khan's banner Red Chillies Entertainment will produce the film.

Farah, who is married to editor-filmmaker Shirish Kunder and has a triplet with him, says she wants to "re-invent" herself now.

"I think you have to reinvent yourself at all times. So right now, I want to make this movie and after this I may want to make a 'Happy New Year 2' or 'Main Hoon Na 2'... or something in the zone of those movies. I'm writing a script, and I'm working on a film which is a little more real than the movies I have made," said the filmmaker, whose "Om Shanti Om" will be screened at the 37th Cairo International Film Festival this week.

Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman will attend the Film Bazaar and also the closing ceremony of the forthcoming International Film Festival of India (IFFI) - a prestigious annual extravaganza held annually in Goa.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the government of Goa along with Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) and Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) made the announcement at a review meeting, read a statement.

Information and broadcasting secretary Sunil Arora announced that the music maestro will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony of the 10-day film festival on November 30.

He will also be part of the Film Bazaar, an annually organised market where delegates buy, sell, exhibit and pitch their content. Here, Rahman will be part of the NFDC Knowledge Series sessions. He will be in conversation with documentary filmmaker and writer Nasreen Munni Kabir.

This year, the IFFI will showcase 187 films from 89 countries in World Cinema section along with 26 Feature and 21 Non-Feature films in Indian Panorama section.

At the Film Bazaar, which will be held from November 20 to 24, there will be delegates from 38 countries.

Actress Neha Dhupia says she isn't interested in entering the "Bigg Boss" house.

"I watch 'Bigg Boss' a lot. I am a big Salman Khan fan. He is the reason to watch the show. But I would never get into the house," Neha said.

"People think as we are always in the limelight, so moving around with a camera is easier for us but it makes me very uncomfortable to have a camera on me all the time."

About superstar Salman Khan, who has hosted multiple seasons of the celebrity reality show, Neha said: "I think Salman is absolutely fantastic as a host. The way he talks to the contestants, he justifies the situations perfectly.

"I think he has made the show sensible to watch. In addition to that, his presence brings a huge amount of stardom to the show. 'Bigg Boss' is perfect entertainment."

The actress is now busy shooting for the new season of popular reality TV show "Roadies" and "Supermodel 3".

A former beauty queen, Neha made her debut in 2003 film "Qayamat: City Under Threat".

She rose to fame with her role in "Julie" and then appeared in "Sheesha" in the dual role of twin sisters but it did not do well at the box office.

She then starred in films like "Kyaa Kool Hai Hum" and "Shootout at Lokhandwala", which did well at the box office, and featured in a segment of the anthology film "Dus Kahaniyaan".

To celebrate the line-up of this year's NH7 Weekender, the organisers have released a new music video based on Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman's song "Dhakka laga bukka" from the Mani Ratnam film "Yuva".

Originally composed and sung by Rahman, who is also the headliner of the festival this year, the new rendition of the track features the music virtuoso himself and Karthik on vocals along with Vishal Dadlani, Papon, Samara Chopra (The Ska Vengers), Smiti Malik (Chayan & Smiti), Abhishekh Nailwal and Alisha Pais, read a statement.

Produced and arranged by musician Ranjit Barot, the track also features electronic artist Nucleya and rapper Naezy teaming up with Rodrigo y Gabriela on acoustic guitars, Warren Mendonsa on lead guitar, Niladri Kumar on the zitar, Mohini Dey on bass, Rahul Hariharan and Jai Row Kavi on drums.

The sixth edition of the NH7 Weekender, which began in Shillong and Kolkata in October, presents major global names like Mark Ronson, Flying Lotus, Mogwai, SBTRKT in its upcoming concerts in Delhi (November 28-29), Pune (December 4-6) and Bangalore (December 5-6) along with renowned Indian artists.

Some of the Indian musicians performing at the Weekender are Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Café, Arka, Hriday Gattani, The F16s, Baiju Dharmajan Syndicate, Parikrama, The Raghu Dixit Project, Ankur & The Ghalat Family, Swarathama, Dr. L Subramaniam, Dualist Inquiry and more.

Vocal on the controversy over intolerance, veteran actress Sharmila Tagore asserted she has faith in Bollywood to remain united on the issue.

"I hope not. I sincerely hope not. So far Bollywood has been absolutely together and my hope and conviction is that they won't be divided," she told the media here at the 21st Kolkata International Film Festival in response to a poser on the film industry being divided.

Sharmila recently said the attacks on writers and artistes were against the basic principles of democracy.

A host of filmmakers, including Dibakar Banerjee, have returned awards and honours as a mark of protest against events like the lynching of a Muslim man in Dadri of Uttar Pradesh over beef, the murder of Kannada rationalist scholar M.M. Kalburgi, and the police "raid" on Delhi's Kerala House.

The "Aradhana" and "Chupke Chupke" actress also finds it offensive to label audiences as "educated or uneducated", "Indian or non-Indian" since she feels cinema is inclusive and elicits response from all.

"I think it's an offensive statement and I don't think you need education (to appreciate films). Anybody who has the quality to respond to cinema would. Don't make such distinctions," Sharmila said when asked on the need to acquire a certain degree of literacy to appreciate good films.

On a lighter side, when asked about any alternative career choice, Sharmila said she would have probably gone to Shantiniketan to learn painting.

"I joined films at the age of 13 in Satyajit Ray's 'Apur Sansar'. The decision was made by Manik da (Satyajit Ray)," she said.

On veteran actor Saeed Jaffrey, who passed away recently, Sharmila said he was a "great bilingual actor" and made the film industry richer.

"I can't ever imagine him being glum."

At a time when women are seen in lead roles onscreen, veteran actress Sharmila Tagore on Tuesday said the difference in wages of male and female actors still exists in the Hindi film industry.

Sharmila said the portrayal of women in cinema has changed over the decades and they are increasingly grabbing meaty roles. However, the pay gap still remains.

"There is no parity. Men actors are still getting more and women actors are getting less... So that needs to change. In my time, the difference was much more. In my time, we (women) definitely played a secondary role. Now the perception has changed," Sharmila told the media here at the 21st Kolkata International Film Festival.

Citing examples like "Piku" and Zoya Akhtar's "Dil Dhadakne Do", the "Aradhna" actress said things are changing for women in the film industry.

"Things are changing and it will take time. But we need not despair," she said.

However, Sharmila, the mother of actors Saif Ali Khan and Soha, did mention that some films continue portraying women as secondary characters.

Actor Rahul Bose believes the Indian film industry understands, portrays diversity and divisions of religion and caste don't matter to the craft of filmmaking.

Even though sometimes it slips and is accused of taking "ill-informed political stances" and adopting a "patriarchal mindset", films in general are inclusive.

"The intrinsic belief in diversity that the film industry displays at all levels -- both seen and unseen -- has to do with excellence behind the camera and charisma in front it," Bose said at the 21st Kolkata International Film Festival.

"The film industry has always looked at these two qualities and rewarded it. Your caste, your religion, your gender, the ethnic mix does not matter. In fact, the last 100 years have shown that it does not matter at all," he said.

Bose was delivering the Satyajit Ray Memorial Lecture and discussed "Cinema and its place in civilisation".

Citing examples of Ray and his films, Bose alluded to the "unparalleled density of humanism" that the auteur's films exhibited.

He also likened the link between cinema and society as that of siblings.

"Cinema, as younger siblings do, will hang on to every word and action of the society. It will proclaim judgment of it, decide it can do things better but always derive inspiration from it," he added.