Director Sajid Khan, who has unveiled a book on Rajinikanth, says he is "truly" one of the biggest fans of the superstar. He also admires Rajinikanth for popularising regional cinema worldwide.

The "Housefull" director unveiled the book titled "The Warrior Within" here on Thursday.

"I am extremely honoured to unveil a book about Rajinikanth. It's a fantastic book. I have read some parts of it, and as an admirer now I am dying to read the whole book," Khan said at the event.

"I am truly one of his biggest fans...Rajinikanth has made regional cinema popular worldwide. He is as good as Jackie Chan. Rajinikanth can be called as Asian superstar," he added.

"The Warrior Within", which follows the life of the superstar, recounts Rajinikanth's voyage into the world of movies.

According to Khan, comparing two great personalities in Indian Cinema like Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth is like "measuring the level of the oceans... which one is deepest and vast".

"I feel this is very unfair to them. Both are living legends and superstars and have an immense fan following. They have got so much love from people," he said.

Khan added that he is a big fan of Rajinikanth and at the same time, he also respects and admires actor Kamal Haasan.

"I think his life can be an interesting subject for a book or movie," said Khan, who will be teaming up with Sajid Nadiadwala soon for his next film.

Actress Sunny Leone says she has seen her forthcoming sex comedy "Mastizaade" and believes that the viewers won't notice any cuts while watching the "crazy, funny and outrageous" film.

"There are few rumours going on that there have been a lot of cuts, all of these things. But I have seen the movie and you're not going to feel that there are any cuts," Sunny said while announcing her new game Sunny Leone Teen Patti.

About the film, she said that it's "crazy, it's funny, it's outrageous".

"It's everything that's going on in your mind, that could be bad or good or funny which happens in this movie. So the makers of the movie did a great job in making sure that you'll be shocked or laughing through the whole film."

The film directed by Milap Zaveri will release on January 29 next year.

"Angry Indian Goddesses" director Pan Nalin claims that he has been getting threatening calls against the content of the film, which also features a lesbian love track. However, he remains undeterred.

"I will not allow (myself) to be terrorised by messages and calls I have been receiving like, 'How dare you blaspheme Hinduism through 'Angry Indian Goddesses? We will make sure you go Charlie Hebdo way!'" or another one goes 'What did you achieve by showing these... non-Sanskari Indian c**ts!' I need not say anything more," Nalin said in a statement.

Nalin is said to have been receiving threatening calls and messages since the release day as some groups found the content inappropriate for certain sections of the society. The lesbian love track, especially, is said to have not gone down very well with some people who consider homosexuality as an offence.

Revolving around a journey of seven girls who set out to discover themselves, the film, released on December 4, has largely received a positive response from a cross-section of people. The film had its share of issues with the censor board, which advised 16 cuts before it could make it to the big screens.

The filmmaker had told IANS earlier that he was "super sad and hurt" with the decision of the censor board to curtail them from showing images of Hindu goddesses and for using certain words like "adivasi", "sarkar" and "Indian figure".

Actor-producer Anil Kapoor, who defies age with his suave style and physically fit frame, says dressing well is an art.

The "24" actor, who credits his mother for teaching him the value of being well-dressed, shared his sentiments in an interview on Colors Infinity's show "Born Stylish" with host and designer Pria Kataaria Puri.

Anil said there was a time when everybody at birthday parties thought that he was from a very rich family as he was always well-dressed, read a statement.

"In fact, there are still an uninformed lot of people who look down upon fashion enthusiasts and people who dress well. Actually, they don't know that it's an art and of course good business," said Anil, whose daughter Sonam Kapoor is also looked up by many as a fashion icon.

Puri also believes that clothes don’t wear you, you wear clothes.

"I agree with Anil Kapoor. Style is not about spending money, but an expression of who you are. My show is an attempt of connecting the masses to fashion through exposing the style journey of their favourite icons," she said.

On his favourite style moment, Anil said: “My walk in film 'Ram Lakhan' was my most spectacular style moment.”

He also shared that compliments are always welcome, but "I am not delusional".

"I know where I stand and believe in ageing gracefully. But no one is immortal.”

Singer-actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who has worked with Yami Gautam twice, says he shares an organic chemistry with the actress.

After making their successful Bollywood acting debut in 2012 with Shoojit Sirkar's "Vicky Donor", the two teamed up again for a romantic music video titled "Yahin hoon Main" this month.

Talking about their chemistry, the actor said: "Yami and I share an organic chemistry. While working on the video, I felt the same kind of vibe between us. The only thing is, I didn't have abs at that time."

"I did my first internship with her dad Mukesh Gautam. We are family friends so, the equation is always natural," he added.

The music of the song, sung by Ayushmann, is by Rochak Kohli and the actor himself.

Would it get better response than his previous hit number "Pani da rang"?

"'Pani da rang' had that weight of the film. Because it went with the story, people accepted it easily. It is far more challenging for a single music video to cut through that," he said.

Actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who also sings and composes songs, considers himself to be a better composer than singer.

"I always feel that I was probably a better composer than a singer," said the actor, who made his Bollywood acting debut in 2012 with Shoojit Sircar's "Vicky Donor".

"Even during 'Pani da rang', when I played the song to Shoojit da (director Shoojit Sircar), I thought that I'd make a purist singer sing it... Sonu ji (Nigam), Sukhwinder ji (Singh) or Rahat ji (Fateh Ali Khan). But an organic voice is perhaps what Shoojit da liked. That's why he launched me as a singer-actor in my first film," he added.

Does he intend to sing all songs in his films?

"That never happens. I'm not that selfish," said the "Dum Laga ke Haisha" actor.

"For 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha', the director had asked me to sing, but I said, 'No, I am Kumar Sanu's fan in the film, how can I sing?'. My character wouldn't have sounded good in his own voice. I think that the actor should be different from the singer and that was a deliberate effort," he explained about not singing in the hit film.

About his inspiration, he shared that there were several influences including Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar.

"I used to listen to a lot of Punjabi songs, Gurdas Mann sahab, a legend of Punjab, we listen to him a lot. These influences do rub off on you," said the actor, who is out with another song "Yahin hoon Main".

"The best part about this era is that we're getting a lot of textured singers so, it's very important to have your own identity, your voice. Though I'm not a trained singer, I am proud about the fact that I have my own voice," he added.

Actor-singer Ayushmann Khurrana, who has carved a niche in the Indian entertainment industry with films like “Vicky Donor” and “Dum Laga Ke Haisha", says that he does not act in films where he has to flaunt six-pack abs.

"I don't do those films where I have to show six-packs. My films are more realistic, and till now I have not signed any kind of abs-showing movie. Actually, most of my movies are content-driven so I don't need to think of it," Ayushmann said here at Hindustan Times No TV Day event on Wednesday.

Although Ayushmann does not believe in six-packs, the actor is conscious about his diet and the importance of fitness.

"Fitness is very important to recognise your body. There are different body types and genetics out there and that depends on metabolism, like I have a fast metabolism. According to that my diet and exercise is different from others," he said.

On the work front, Ayushmann will be seen on the silver screen in Shoojit Sircar's "Agra Ka Daabra", which also stars Taapsee Pannu.

hink before you post "obscene stuff or mean things" to Sunny Leone on Twitter! The actress will hit the block button against your name.

Sunny, an Indo-Canadian former adult film star, who has become popular in Bollywood, tweeted: "I think I might have the largest block list! So happy there's a block button. If you post obscene stuff or say mean things I block! Blah."

This is not the first time a celebrity has warned users about sharing obscene posts or abusing.

Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor, who is vocal about his thoughts on social media platform, has strictly mentioned on his official Twitter profile that “Anti National or abusers will be blocked”.

There are very few handsome actors in India, and the country needs more, feels actress Soha Ali Khan.

At a fashion event, Soha was asked about superstar Salman Khan's 50th birthday.

"I have always loved watching Salman Khan movies. 'Maine Pyar Kiya' was the first movie I saw growing up where I really thought, he is a handsome Indian actor. And even today, many years later, he is just as handsome and I think he is really very unique and special.

"And we need more handsome Indian male actors. There are very few," said Soha, who will next be seen opposite Sunny Deol in "Ghayal Once Again".

Soha's brother Saif is also considered one of the most handsome actors in the country.

Asked about him, Soha said: "He is of course very handsome. My most favourite role of his is Langda Tyagi (in Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Omkara')."

She said Saif teaming up again with Bhardwaj for "Rangoon""is something that is very exciting for all of us".

"Rangoon" also stars Kangana Ranaut and Shahid Kapoor.

After “Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai”, Prachi Desai is working with Emraan Hashmi again in "Azhar". The actress says with the time clock moving ahead shooting with him has only become better, adding that the actor's sense of humour has also graduated to the next level.

"I'm working with him (Emraan) after four years and of course so much have changed in our personal and professional life. We have evolved as a person and as professionals, but when it comes to shooting together it is just the same with the amazing rapport, comfort level and the chemistry we share in fact it has become better.

"His sense of humour has also become more nasty. It has gone better. It is a lot more fun shooting with him," Prachi told IANS.

Prachi will be stepping into the 1990s era with "Azhar", a biopic on former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin (played by Emraan). She will be essaying the role of his first wife Naureen.

Directed by Tony D'Souza, the film will narrate the highs and lows of Azharuddin's life as the captain of the Indian cricket team for most of the 1990s and being tainted by a match-fixing scandal in 2000, and getting banned for life.

Prachi, who was here to inaugurate Shoppers Stop's new store at Janakpuri last week, heaped praise on her co-star as she says Emraan ensures that they both look good together, instead of just focusing on himself.

"I think he is an amazingly professional and phenomenal actor. He makes sure we look good together more than just him looking good on screen, unlike all other actors. And that makes the experience more fulfilling," said Prachi, who took the television route to enter the glamour industry.

She began her career in showbiz with a daily soap "Kasamh Se" and then found a way into Bollywood with Farhan Akhtar-starrer "Rock On!!".

Emraan and Prachi's romantic song "Pee loon" from 2010 film "Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai" continues to rule the hearts of many. And the actress hopes to create something more "romantic" with "Azhar".

"We hope we create something better than that and more different. I know people loved it and want that same magic again. Our fingers are crossed because we have really worked hard on it," she said.

The film, which is jointly produced by Balaji Motion Pictures and MSM Motion Picture, also stars Lara Dutta and Huma Qureshi in pivotal roles and is slated for a worldwide release on May 13, 2016.

Actress Richa Chadda says she will be doing something “different” in upcoming Biopic “Sarbjit”.

After “Mary Kom”, Omung Kumar is working on another biopic based on the life of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian farmer who was convicted of terrorism and spying in Pakistan. The film will see Randeep Hooda playing the title role while Richa will be seen essaying the role of his wife Sukhpreet Kaur.

“I always try and do something very different. I am doing something totally different in Sarbjit. It is very challenging and above all it is a biopic, so it comes with a lot of responsibility” Richa said in an interview here on Thursday.

When asked about the progress of the shoot, the actress said: “We were shooting but with New Year and Christmas, everyone is with their families so we will resume shooting again in January.”

“Sarbjit” is produced by Sandeep Singh, Zeeshan Quadri and Omung and is slated to release on May 20.

Actor Dhanush's project with brother and filmmaker Selvaraghavan, which was scheduled to take off early next year, has now been postponed by a few months.

"It's true that both of them are teaming up after six years. The film was supposed to go on the floors in the first half of 2016, but now has been pushed by a few months," a source close Selvaraghavan told IANS.

Dhanush, according to the source, will only start work on this project after he completes R.S. Durai Senthi Kumar's "Kodi".

"Early next year, Dhanush will start shooting for political thriller 'Kodi', and as soon as he completes shooting for it, he will work with his brother," the source said.

In 2016, Dhanush also has filmmaker Vetri Maaran's Tamil gangster drama "Vada Chennai", and a Hindi film with "Ranjhanaa" director.

Dhanush will be teaming up with Selvaraghavan for the fourth time.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan and actor Riteish Deshmukh have lauded the theatrical trailer of filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma's Kannada directorial debut "Killing Veerappan", which is based on the shooting down of the forest brigand.

Amitabh, who has woked with Varma in films like "Sarkar", "Nishabd" and "Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag" among many, tweeted: "https://youtu.be/Tc04wxTfaPY... the RamGopalVarma with his latest ... Pretty astounding!"

The filmmaker responded to Big B's tweet and quipped that the forthcoming film will help him "pour some water on my 'Aag'".

"@SrBachchan Thank u Sarkar! I think with "Killing Veerappan" I really managed to pour some water on my 'Aag'," Varma wrote.

Riteish also heaped praise on the trailer and said that the promo was "outstanding".

"What an outstanding promo: #KillingVeerappan : @RGVzoomin Sir your casting can't get more real than this," the "Bangistan" actor wrote.

Varma, who has helmed movies like "Satya", "Bhoot", "Daud" and "Phoonk" among many "hopes" that "Killing Veerappan" helps him "come back alive".

"@Riteishd Hey Riteish thanx! I am hoping that the dead Veerappan will make me come back alive," Varma wrote.

A multilingual project, "Killing Veerappan" will also be made in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi.

Actor Shivarajkumar will play the central role of the officer who kills Veerappan.
Sandeep, an aspiring youth from National School of Drama, was selected to play the role of the sandalwood smuggler.

The crime thriller also features actresses Yanga Shetty and Parul Yadav.

Kapil Sharma will infuse a comical element into the upcoming 22nd Annual Star Screen Awards as its host. For the past three years, the event was anchored by superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

Viewers will get to see Kapil stepping into the shoes of the “Dilwale” actor while bringing in his own “fresh” style to increase the entertainment quotient of the event.

“He (Kapil) has been attending meetings and has been going through a lot of scripts of late. The comedian is not leaving anything untouched to make his act as the host one of the most memorable one. In fact, Kapil is trying to re-tune his patent style of comedy and is working on something new and fresh,” said a source.

The 22nd Annual Star Screen Awards, which will honour the best of films and film talent from Bollywood, will take place in the first week of the New Year here. The show will be aired in the last week of January on Star Plus.

Actor Sonu Sood, who is currently in Beijing shooting for his international film "Kung Fu Yoga" along with martial arts movie star Jackie Chan, is training for the film.

The "Dabangg" actor has shared on Twitter a photograph of himself along with two girls doing the "stand split".

He has captioned the image: "When you train with the best in the world #jackiechanstunts #china #Beijing, can't ask for a better New Year's holiday."

Directed by Stanley Tong, the action comedy film also stars "Mr. X" actress Amyra Dastur.

The film has been shot in Dubai, and will be shot in India as well.

Bollywood's 'disco king' Bappi Lahiri has sung a track for director Prakash Jha's upcoming film "Jai Gangaajal".

Jha, who will also be seen playing a police officer in the film, took to Twitter where he shared that the "indomitable" singer has sung the last song for the film.

"Eventually it happened! The indomitable @thebappilahiri sings the last song for 'Jai Gangaajal'! @salim_merchant @Sulaiman," Jha, who has helmed movies like "Satyagraha" and "Raajneeti", tweeted on Tuesday night.

"Jai Gangaajal" stars actress Priyanka Chopra in the lead role.

Priyanka, who was recently seen in filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Bajirao Mastani", will be seen essaying the role of police officer Aabha Mathur in Jha's directorial, slated to release on March 4 next year.

Actor-producer Suriya's third instalment in the "Singam" franchise will finally go on the floors next week in Vishakhapatnam.

The film, which was originally slated to get rolling in December, had to be postponed on the account of floods in Tamil Nadu.

"We're all set to start shooting from the second week of January. Now that most of the work on my other project '24' is almost over, we can totally focus on 'Singam 3'," Suriya told IANS.

To be directed by Hari, the film also features Shruti Haasan and Anushka Shetty in the lead roles.

Suriya is bankrolling the project under his home banner 2D Entertainment.

He currently awaits the release of Tamil thriller "24", which is directed by Vikram Kumar and features Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Nithya Menen in important roles.

After the deportation drama before his performance here, Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan says he believes in letting bygones be bygones, adding that it was a “genuine error”.

The singer, who arrived here from Abu Dhabi to participate in a programme as a part of the New Year's eve celebrations at Taj Falaknuma Palace, was sent back due to a goof up by the airlines.

Pakistani nationals are only allowed to enter the country through Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata but the organisers had booked the maestro to fly from Lahore to Abu Dhabi to Hyderabad and back on Etihad Airways. Hence, the singer was asked to go back.

“'Jo hua woh hua' (whatever happened, happened) and we have to look ahead. It was a genuine error of Etihad Airways and one would expect that an airline of that stature would have known about the entitlements of a Pakistani national before issuing my ticket and then allowing me to board,” Rahat said in a statement.

The "Main jahaan rahoon" and "O re piya" singer added that he came back for the “wonderful audience”, and he would have felt bad if the event would have been called off.

He shared: “It was an important event as the wonderful audience of Hyderabad who I performed to were amazing listeners and if for any reason I could not have performed then it would have been really bad. It took me 29 hours to complete the journey but eventually it all went well”.

But Rahat retorts that the airlines need to be careful to avoid such goof ups. He said: “Airlines need to be responsible with such matters. The authorities at the RGIA did what was right”.

Rahat has had his share of run-in with problems in India. Last year, he was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a case of alleged forex violation. In 2011, he was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence following a day's detention at the airport here for carrying undisclosed foreign currency totalling more than $100,000.

Actor Hrithik Roshan, who believes one should enjoy the "material as well as spiritual" sides of life, is said to have gifted himself a Rolls Royce on his 42nd birthday.

Asked about owning a Rolls Royce, Hrithik, who celebrated his birthday on Sunday, said: "In life, one should enjoy both sides, material as well as spiritual equally. That is the true balance one should try and maintain."

How does he maintain the balance?

After giving a string of hits like "Ghayal", "Ghatak" and "Darr" in the 1990s, actor-filmmaker Sunny Deol says it really bothers him that people who were actors earlier, have now become "commodities" in the Hindi film fraternity.

"The industry and country have changed so fast. But my belief and thoughts didn't change along. I always thought that acting was basically an art where you are performing. You're picking up subjects and cinema was basically a reflection of the society," Sunny said on the show "Yaar Mera Superstar", which airs on Zoom.