From Bareilly to Boston to Bollywood - Priyanka Chopra's success story is testimony to how, if small town girls from middle-class families are given the freedom to choose their life's course, they can do wonders. A positive change in people's attitude towards the girl child is something that the country truly deserves, she says.

She owes it all to her parents, who let her live the life she wanted.

"I am very fortunate... Not every girl child is as lucky as me," Priyanka, who endorses the empowerment of the girl child in the country, told IANS here.

"I come from a very small town and from a middle-class family. I don't come from an affluent background, I don't come from somewhere where my life was about pubs and discotheques. Despite that, my parents gave me an opportunity to be whoever I wanted to be, they educated me, they gave me values and they gave me a great life by always going out of the way," said the 31-year-old.

"They (several girls) don't even have the ability to have a say or have a choice in their lives, or in what their future will be. And that is something that deserves a change in this country," added the actress-singer, who is now the face of NDTV-Vedanta's Our Girls Our Pride campaign.

Priyanka, who was born in Jamshedpur, has voiced concerns for child rights and, also specifically, for the girl child, for as long as one can remember.

Recalling how her parents sensitised her to the issue since her childhood itself, she said: "My mother is a gynaecologist, my father was a surgeon... so as a kid, I remember how every few weeks we used to take the ambulance and go to the villages with doctors and a few nurses when we used to stay in Bareilly (in Uttar Pradesh, where she spent some parts of her formative years).

"I was eight or nine years old then. My mom did IVF and fertility for women, and I always saw her providing women who couldn't have kids with children - whether boys or girls.

"Children were an important part of my upbringing. So when I became Miss World, I got really involved with the Miss World Foundation and I started associating with a lot of NGOs and people who would help with the cause," she added.

Has she witnessed a change?

"I have," said the Unicef Goodwill Ambassador, with utmost promptness.

After pausing a moment, she said: "We are a huge nation of many types of people. To bring about a change in a nation, which has so many different kinds of thoughts, religions, and cultures... it will be hard. As Indians, we need to accept that.

"But as human beings, we also need to accept that we are in a world where the child sex ratio in India stands at 840 girls per 1,000 boys (as per 2011 census). It's ridiculous. I think it will take time for the kind of change we're looking for. Of course, it will take time, but I'm not delusional and say we are going to eradicate all ill practices. That's not going to happen."

"But, yes, I see momentum and that is positive," added Priyanka, making her statements even more powerful with her striking red power suit.

The lady in red said she wanted to "perk up" her look with the attire after a hectic flight from Los Angeles following a month's stay in the US. She was there busy promoting her international projects - the animated movie "Planes", in which she has given voiceover to an Asian character, and her second English single, "Exotic".

Careerwise she is on a roll - awaiting the release of big ticket films like "Zanjeer" and "Krrish 3". "Planes" is set for an Aug 23 release in India.

With some pats and some brickbats for her new projects, the multi-faceted National Award-winning star just believes people should "stop judging" others - be it for their work or philanthropy.

"People just need to see others for what they are. They need to stop thinking that there's an agenda behind everything," she said.

It's been four years since Telugu actor Chiranjeevi appeared on the silver screen. But the love and craze for the megastar, who turns 58 Thursday, remains unshaken in the hearts of millions of his fans.

He was last seen in the 2009 Telugu film "Magadheera" in a cameo alongside his son Ram Charan Teja.

A year earlier, he had entered state politics launching the Praja Rajyam Party which emerged as the third largest in the 2009 state assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh. PRP later merged with the Indian National Congress. Presently, Chiranjeevi is union minister of state with independent charge for Tourism.

IANS finds out why he is considered a superstar even when he has been away from the arclights all this while.

Telugu actor Harshavardhan Rane believes Chiranjeevi has reached the tipping point of stardom where he need not worry about saving it.

"As a legend, he has reached a point where he need not worry about his star status. He will always be loved by people because his image as a star has personally touched millions. I believe, once a legend is always a legend," Harshavardhan told IANS.

Chiru, as he is fondly called by his fans, made his cinematic debut in 1979 Telugu drama "Punadhirallu". He went on to act in several memorable films such as "Manavoori Pandavalu", "Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari" and "Rudraveena".

He has starred in 149 films so far and has also worked in Tamil, Kannada and Hindi industries in a career spanning over three decades.

An ardent fan of Chiranjeevi, actor Sundeep Kishan says the former is an inspiration for the new generation of actors.

"I think the megastar tag has nothing to do with Chiranjeevi as an actor, but it's for the person he is. It's for inspiring an entire generation of actors. It really doesn't matter if he has stopped acting because as a person he is always a megastar," he said.

For actor Naveen Chandra, Chiru has been an idol since childhood. Naveen says he took lessons from some of the actor's films to prepare for his roles in his upcoming films.

"In my upcoming Tamil film 'Sivappu', I play a construction worker. I watched Chiranjeevi's 'Swayam Krushi', in which he plays a cobbler, to understand the dedication with which he played the role. I also saw his 'Vijetha', a sports-based film to take lessons for another film I'm working on," he said.

While Chiranjeevi played anti-hero roles in the first few years of his career, it was with 1983-released Telugu film "Khaidi" that he earned the action hero tag -- and eventually rose to stardom.

By mid-1990s, Chiranjeevi graduated to a mass hero with cult following. Some of his best films during that decade include "Gang Leader", "Gharana Mogudu", "Kondaveeti Donga" and "Mutha Mestri".

However, films such as "Aapad Bandhavadu", "Shubalekha" and "Chantabbai" brought to fore the versatility of Chiru as an actor.

Veteran director K. Vishwanath says Chiranjeevi is one of the finest actors he worked with.

"He has always been typecast for a mass or commercial hero, which he is, but he is also one of the finest actors I have worked with. He has never restricted himself to any one type of role and that's what makes him a star in my view," he said.

"If he played a cobbler in one film, he played a rickshaw puller in the other. He evolved to the status of a mass hero because he touched millions with such roles, which not many would be interested in doing," he added.

By early 2000, Chiranjeevi had evolved as megastar. Films such as "Indra", "Tagore", "Shankar Dada MBBS" and "Jai Chiranjeeva" are proof of his stardom.

For Chiru's millions of fans, it will be a dream come true to watch him face the camera one more time to mark his 150th film.

"I wish he continues to act. I still remember how back in college I used fight to get tickets for his film on release day. I don't mind doing that one more time. I'm sure all his fans won't mind doing that either, provided he acts again," said Naveen Chandra.

Chiranjeevi, currently busy with his political career as union tourism minister, is likely to make a comeback soon.

Actor Aftab Shivdasani is hopeful that his forthcoming adult comedy "Grand Masti" does well, and he believes it could open doors for movies of the genre in Bollywood.

"It's in a different space and genre - the adult genre. Not many films are made in that space. I think people want these kind of films. If it manages to entertain them and the audiences like it, then the sky is the limit... you never know what will happen," the 35-year-old said here Tuesday at the re-launch of a branch of Gold' Gym.

Aftab is even surprised with the response to the uncensored trailer of "Grand Masti".

"I'm quite overwhelmed. I am happy with the way the uncensored promo of the film was received by the audience and I am shocked to see how excited people are about the promo," he said.

Directed by Indra Kumar, "Grand Masti" is a sequel to the 2004-hit "Masti" and sees Aftab, Vivek Oberoi and Riteish Deshmukh reprising their roles.

"Grand Masti" also features Sonalee Kulkarni, Maryam Zakaria, Manjari Phadnis, Bruna Abdullah, Kainaat Arora and Karishma Tanna.

It is slated to release Sep 13.

He has tasted both success and failure and Prateik, currently busy with producer Shailesh Singh's psychological thriller "Rum Pum Posh", believes in giving his best to his craft without worrying about box office numbers.

"I believe in working hard and giving my best shot. My films do well at the box office or no, that's not in my hands. I always take criticism in a positive way and try to give my best," Prateik, best known for films like "Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na" (2008) and "Dhobi Ghat" (2011), told IANS.

His previous films like "My Friend Pinto" (2011) and "Ekk Deewana Tha" (2012) were not a big success and his last release, director Manish Tiwary's "Issaq", a modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's play "Romeo And Juliet", got a lukewarm response at the box office.

But the 26-year-old is happy with his career.

"I am satisfied with my work, but I just don't want to get typecast ever. I do films that connect with me. It's been a learning and exciting journey. My motto is to make people happy with the films I do," he said.

Prateik, son of actor-politician Raj Babbar and late actress Smita Patil, also said that being a star kid definitely helps in the industry.

"It helps to start, to step forward. But then it's all about proving you at every point of time. If you don't do well, nobody will give you work, your fans won't accept you and then your parents will also be of no help," he said.

Talking about his dad, he said: "I share a friendly relationship with my father. I can discuss anything with him. He guides and supports me, tells me to respect people in the industry and the opportunities that come my way," he added.

As far as fitness is concerned, Prateik said: "I do like having a good body. I work out and follow a strict diet, which includes green vegetables and white meats. Also, I keep changing my fitness regime according to my roles in different films," he ended.

Establishing the time and era of the Sri Lankan civil war for "Madras Cafe" was the most challenging part of making the forthcoming movie for director Shoojit Sircar.

"Since the film is based on a serious subject like terrorism and civil war, the main challenge was to create that genre and time. It's not an action-packed combo with a Rambo-like character, but it's based on what has happened in the past," Sircar told IANS.

He has admitted to using real bullets in sync sound to make it a realistic action film. Sircar also recently said that when the audience will enter the theatre, he will "transport you to a civil war" with the film.

The movie is said to have been in plans for seven years, and Sircar said he started working on it only four years back.

"Lot of hard work and research work has been put into the film. We read books, surfed the Internet and met people," he added.

Sircar, who dealt with the subject of insurgency in the 2005 film "Yahaan", said the movie is not shot in Sri Lanka, as reported. It was widely shot in India, as well as in some foreign locations.

"Shooting with an entire team was a learning experience. But creating the right canvas was difficult. There were few action-stunt scenes for which we had hired experts. But, we mainly created computer graphics," said Sircar.

"Madras Cafe" is Sircar’s second project with actor-producer John Abraham after the latter's debut production venture “Vicky Donor”. In the new movie, which releases Friday, John plays an investigation officer. "Rockstar" actress Nargis Fakhri plays a war correspondent.

Asked about his experience of working with John for the second time, he said: “It’s always smooth working with John. Our partnership is clear and healthy. He does his job well."

"He is undoubtedly a brilliant actor, and it didn't take him long to fit into the character of an investigation officer," added the director.

Sircar, who is also a successful ad filmmaker, is also all praises for Nargis, and he feels “Madras Cafe” will relaunch her.

“She plays a challenging role of a foreign journalist. It was difficult for her to adapt to that accent. She wasn't comfortable initially, but she worked hard on her accent, speech and dialogues. Also, she spent few days with journalists to fit into the character. For her, it was difficult considering she is new in the industry, but she gave her hundred percent.”

The filmmaker, who often experiments with the subjects of his movies, believes that the audience here is evolving, and opening up to films of varied genres and international standards.

He said: “It’s the best time in Indian cinema! The audience is evolving. Also, we are trying to meet the international standards and viewers are ready to accept it. They are open to watching more films based on varied genres.“

For actor Prateik, six-pack abs is a way of life and he follows Hollywood action legends Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger to stay fit.

"Six-pack is a way of life for me, like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The gym was their home. They are my favourite musclemen and I follow their style and techniques," the 26-year-old said here Tuesday at the relaunch of a branch of Gold Gym.

In Bollywood, it is superstar Salman Khan he idolises.

"Salman Khan. He started the trend here," Prateik said when asked who he looks up to in the Hindi film industry for fitness.

Prateik, who was last seen in "Issaq", which did not do too well at the box office, is currently looking forward to his next - "Rum Pum Posshh".

Actor John Abraham feels Hollywood movie "JOBS", which releases along with his political thriller "Madras Cafe" Friday, will be a great project.

Directed by Joshua Michael Stern, "JOBS" is a biopic on late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and actor Ashton Kutcher will be seen playing the lead role.

"I am really excited about that film. I didn’t know earlier that it was releasing along with 'Madras Cafe'. Ashton Kutcher is playing the main lead and I think it will be a great film," John said in a statement.

It's time for Yami Gautam to sit back and relish her mentor, director Shoojit Sircar's forthcoming political thriller "Madras Cafe".

Yami, who made her Bollywood debut with Sircar's 2012 movie "Vicky Donor", is all in praise of the director and hopes the audience will love "Madras Cafe", when it hits theatres Friday.

"The promo of 'Madras Cafe' is looking very good and I am looking forward to see the movie. Shoojit sir is one of the finest directors with whom I got the opportunity to work with. I hope the audience will love the movie," Yami said in a statement.

"Madras Cafe" is co-produced by John Abraham and Viacom Motion Pictures. It stars John as an undercover army officer and Nargis Fakhri as a journalist.

Meanwhile Yami will be seen in forthcoming film "Aman Ki Asha" and has also been roped in for Prabhudheva's next opposite Ajay Devgn.

"Rockstar" actress Nargis Fakhri likes to rock. She is also very particular about her fitness and diet.

The 33-year-old's says that her fitness regime includes "healthier food, plenty of water and getting at least eight to 10 hours of sleep. Also, I like to mix up yoga and zumba."

"I enjoy being active so, I also opt for long walks, biking or tennis. Sometimes I take a spin class at a local gym. I need variety,” added Nargis.

Ali Fazal, who played a serious character in "Fukrey", enjoyed shooting for his next release "Baat Ban Gayi" more.

"I just did 'Fukrey', which was a very serious role that too in a fun film... was very frustrating for me to play a restrained character in 'Fukrey'. But here it was all fun," Ali said here in an interview.

He plays a double role in "Ban Ban Gayi". Directed by Shuja Ali, it is set for an Aug 30 release.

"One is a don based in Mumbai, who hails from Bihar. The other one is a novelist based in Singapore," said Fazal.

"Fukrey", which came out June 13, received a good response at the box-office.

Indo-Canadian adult actress Sunny Leone, who entered the showbiz industry here with reality show "Bigg Boss", has reportedly been approached for the sixth season of celebrity dance reality show "Nach Baliye".

"Sunny Leone has been approached for the show. But it is not confirmed whether she will be a part of it or not," a source close to the show told IANS.

Other celebrities, who have been approached for the show, include chef Kunal Kapoor who is currently busy with "Junior Masterchef", Ripu Handa, winner of "Masterchef India", former cricketer Sourav Ganguly and television actor Shabbir Ahluwalia.

"Nach Baliye 5" ended early this year and Jay Bhanushali and his wife Mahii Vij won the show.

Sunny was also seen in the movie "Jism 2".

Actor Prateik, looking forward to his next film "Rum Pum Posshh", has revealed that Neil Nitin Mukesh wouldn't be part of the film.

"Next up is 'Rum Pum Posshh'. It's a psychological thriller and I play a writer," the 26-year-old said here Tuesday at the re-launch of a branch of Gold Gym.

When asked how is Neil as a co-star in "Rum Pum Posshh", Prateik said: "He was (in the film), but he is no longer in the film."

Prateik is happy with the response to his last film "Issaq", but feels it could have done better.

"I wish it could have done a little better, but I am happy, and satisfied. As a character, I was happy with what the director gave me," he said.

Directed by Manish Tiwary, "Issaq" was an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play "Romeo & Juliet" and marked the debut of actress Amyra Dastur.

The film received critical appreciation but did not do too well at the box office.

They did "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna" in 2006 and, after a gap of seven years, Abhishek Bachchan has got a chance to work with Shah Rukh Khan again in "Happy New Year". He says SRK took "too much time" to work with him again.

"Happy New Year" is being directed by choreographer-director Farah Khan, who had directed SRK in "Main Hoon Na" and "Om Shanti Om".

"I am very excited to work with Farah. Farah is a dear friend and I am very excited to be part of 'Happy New Year' and I love Shah Rukh," said Abhishek here.

"I worked with him in 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna' and I think he is taking too much time to do another film with me. It is going to be a lot of fun," he added.

While the male leads of the film are in place, Farah has yet to finalise the female leads.

Abhishek will be flying to Dubai in September for a schedule of "Happy New Year".

Singer Javed Ali says there is no dearth nowadays of good music that lingers on in one's mind, but this does not enjoy a long shelf life because too many songs are being released within a very short period.

"It's not that today's music is bad, it's also good. The thing is that a lot of music is released and by the time one song makes its place in the people's mind, another song comes," Javed said here Tuesday at the launch of album "Ab Lagan Lagi" by singer Kuljeet Singh.

"A good song, be it Sufi or romantic, stays in your heart for a long time. Good songs are made today also, but sometimes due to time constraints or the demand of a story, they do not get made in a good manner," he said.

Javed's "Tum tak" from "Raanjhanaa" was a super hit recently.

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who shares screen space with Aamir Khan in "PK", praises his co-star saying that despite being so experienced, he starts from scratch.

"I didn't have too many scenes with Aamir. I had few conversations with him. He is very inspiring. Whatever projects he starts with, he starts it from scratch. He is still so inquisitive about small things. He is still so passionate when he has nothing to prove," said Sushant, who started his film career with "Kai Po Che!" and will next be seen in "Shuddh Desi Romance".

Aamir praised his work in his debut film too.

"He just said that he liked me in 'Kai Po Che!" and it's very overwhelming," added the young actor.

Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, "PK" also features Sanjay Dutt.

Sushant, who is dating his co-star Ankita Lokhande, plans to get married by the end of the year. They both featured in the TV show "Pavitra Rishta".

He said: "I do believe in marriage. By the end of this year or by next year I will get married. I am 27, I can get married anytime."

Debutant director Ahishor Solomon, who is debuting as director with "John Day", says he is thankful to the Bhatts for mentoring him and exposing him to the process of filmmaking.

"I am very thankful to Pooja Bhatt and Mahesh Bhatt, who gave me wide exposure to the process of filmmaking. I have assisted them in films, including 'Jism', 'Paap' and 'Rog'. I was involved with the projects right from the beginning. I do consider them as my mentor," Solomon told IANS.

He is a first-timer, but he succeeded in roping in a seasoned actor like Naseeruddin Shan to play the title role in "JOhn Day". Solomon says the script did the trick.

"I didn't have to convince him. He is one actor who reads the script before meeting the people. He liked the script, which I had sent to him and then he said 'yes' to the film," said Solomon

The cast also features Randeep Hooda and Shernaz Patel, among others.

"As far as Randeep is concerned, I wanted to cast him right from the beginning. One fine day I went to watch 'Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai' (which starred Randeep) and the idea to cast him struck me," he added.

Actor Gulshan Grover, who will be seen in a double role in Shuja Ali's "Baat Ban Gayi", reveals that film's budget posed a big problem for him as he had to shoot for both the characters on the same day.

"The budget of the film is very low. It's a small film, so I had to switch to double roles immediately. When you are doing both the characters together, you have to change within five minutes," Gulshan said in an interview.

"But it's not just related to changing of clothes, you have to change your character and acting as well. It was a big problem that it was a low budget film.

Gulshan plays a professor and a gay choreographer in "Baat Ban Gayi".

"As an actor it was challenging. I play heroine's brother who is a professor and is searching for groom for his sister. The other character is of a gay choreographer," he added.

Slated to release Aug 30, "Baat Ban Gayi" also features Ali Fazal in double role.

Debutant director Atlee Kumar has extended a personal invitation to superstar Rajinikanth to attend the audio launch of his upcoming Tamil romantic-comedy "Raja Rani", scheduled to take place here Friday.

The news was confirmed on the film's official Twitter handle.

The director visited Rajinikanth at his residence and invited him.

"Raja Rani" features Arya, Jai, Nayanthara, Nazriya Nizam and Sathyaraj in the lead roles. G.V. Prakash Kumar has composed the music for the film, jointly produced by A.R. Murugadoss and Fox Star Studios.

Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra says his production venture "Pehle Aap Janab", all set to go on floors this year, will be a tribute to his home town.

The film was earlier titled "Mehrunissa", but now it has been renamed "Pehle Aap Janab".

"The film is set in Lucknow and I want to shoot the major portions there. Besides, a set will also be created. I come from Lucknow and the film will be a tribute to the city of Lucknow," Mishra, who is co-producing the film with Shahnaab Alam, told IANS.

He added: "It's a very funny place where people even abuse with a lot of respect. Who says it is a city of nawabs, it's a city of professionals."

Sudhir says the script has been sent to Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor.

"We have sent the script to Amitabh Bachcgan and Rishi Kapoor. It wil be a comedy and it will be very funny. It's about two people who don't talk to each other."

Nikhil Advani, who was co-producing it earlier, recently walked out of the project. But his exit has not affected the film at all.

Alam said that "the film will go on floors this year".

"We are working on the logistics. Once we get a clear picture, we will be in a better position to talk," he added.

"Pehle Aap Janab" features Chitrangada Singh in the lead role.

Manoj Bajpayee's character in "Satyagraha" has shades of grey and humour as well and he says that the presence of the two different elements convinced him to take up the role.

"When you get something challenging, you just go ahead and pick up the challenge. The two elements of hatred and laughter compelled me to do the film," Manoj told IANS.

It was not easy for the actor to emote both the shades.

"It's a unique combination, but it was a tough combination to crack. It was quite a lot of hard work as well as a lot fun on the set," he said and added: "It was very different from what I have done till now. This character is cunning and clever."

Manoj, who has been seen in films like "Gangs Of Wasseypur", "Pinjar", "Veer-Zaara", and "Raajneeti", has been applauded for acting abilities over the years.

Directed by Prakash Jha, "Satyagraha" also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, and Amrita Rao among others and it coming out Aug 30.