Choreographer-filmmaker Farah Khan is nervous about her brother and director Sajid Khan’s forthcoming film "Humshakals", but going by the trailer she is positive that it will be a good comedy.

“#Humshakals releasng 2mrow n I'm more nervousthan my brother I think! Lekin trailer itna funny hain toh film kitni hogi,” Farah, who is busy with her upcoming film “Happy New Year”, posted on Twitter Thursday.

“Humshakals”, starring Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh and Ram Kapoor, will hit the screens Friday.

Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra is not pleased about the entertainment tax and other kinds of tax imposed on movies.

“Wht is this colonial entertainment tax imposed on cinema. On top this tax, tht tax, service tax! Scrap them all. Tax d film tht makes money!,” Sudhir posted on Twitter.

He is known for making films like “Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi” and “Inkaar”.

Actress Ali Bhatt has been a busy bee, thanks to “Highway” and “2 States”. Before her next one “Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania” releases, she is escaping to the mountains with her mother Soni Razdan.

“Off to the mountainssss for 3 days !!! @Soni_Razdan my sweet escape here I come wohoooo ;),” Alia tweeted.

She has been promoting the music of her forthcoming film, which also stars Varun Dhawan.

Actor-producer Riteish Deshmukh has begun countdown to his new films set to release in June and July.

“HUMSHAKALS , EK VILLAIN & LAI BHAARI - 3 films in 4 weeks - time starts now,” he tweeted.

The multi-starrer “Humshakals” will release Friday, “Ek Villain” is slated for June 27 release and his Marathi movie “Lai Bhaari” will come out July 11.

Four child actors who featured in Amole Gupte's "Hawaa Hawaai" will receive financial aid for education courtesy a long-term private life insurance solutions provider.

HDFC Life has extended its association with the Hindi film by sponsoring the education of the four underpriveleged children.

"We were very keen to ensure that the four children featured in the movie receive quality education and any other vocational or co-curricular training required to help them build a sound foundation," Sanjay Tripathy, senior executive vice president and head (Marketing, Products, Digital and E-Commerce), HDFC Life, said in a statement.

They have tied up with Aseema Charitable Trust, a Mumbai-based NGO working for the rights of underprivileged children, to sponsor the school education of Salman Chhote Khan, Ashfaque Khan, Maaman Memon and Thirupathi Kushnapelli.

For three of the children, who are studying in municipal schools, the sponsorship would include all educational material, complete school uniform, participation in co-curricular activities such as art, sports and computers; extra classes and remedial help within and outside school hours; counseling if required; and a nutritious meal in school every day.

For the fourth student studying in another school, this would include school fees, expenses for uniform and educational material and any tuition or after school support required.

The makers of the film are proud of the partnership.

Gupte said: "I thank HDFC Life for sparing a thought for their well being by supporting their education at Santacruz Municipal School and St. Elias High."

Starring Partho Gupte and Saqib Saleem in the lead roles, the film narrates the story of a child whose family cannot afford to send him to school, but he aspires to pursue his passion for skating. In the end, he joins a school with his underprivileged friends and fulfills his dream as well.

Technology has eased the predicament of actors who enjoy delivering a scene in one take, says megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who says there's "immense satisfaction" in living a scene in "one stroke".

The 71-year-old shared some photographs from the set of "Yudh", which marks his debut in the fiction space on TV, and pondered over how technology has turned out to be a boon to those in his field.

"It is quite challenging to be in character and do an entire scene comprising several pages of dialogue, movement, introduction of other characters, camera movements, covering large areas of space on set.

"But at the end of it there is immense satisfaction of having lived that scene in one stroke... unlike at other times when we would have to do a few lines and cut for different angles and positioning of artists," Big B posted on his blog srbachchan.tumblr.com.

He says that the "benefit of three cameras running at a time, and the benefit of digital photography" has made it possible to place cameras at "vantage points, covering all the angles, thereby allowing the artist to perform all in one go than to play stop and keep playing again and again for the rest of the scene".

This, he believes, gives an artist the "joy of having continuity of thought and performance, and speed in completing a given scene in a shorter period of time".

"These changes in technology have given us, as artists, the benefit of the act. It could be taking a little more time to prepare for the shot, but when it is ready there is huge satisfaction in its accomplishment, for, it all gets over in one take," added the actor, who has dedicated over four decades of his life to showbiz.

He said the challenge in shooting a scene with a break is the "effort required to get back to the same mood again and again after a break, is at times not just enough but also at times hampering the final output".

Directed by Ribhu Dasgupta, "Yudh" is likely to go on air in July on Sony. It also stars Sarika and Kay Kay Menon.

At last, they've moved beyond cricket! From Amitabh Bachchan and Suneil Shetty to John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan, Bollywood stars are lending their star power to games like football, shooting and kabaddi to give these neglected sports much needed patronage.

They are either promoting a game they love or buying franchises in different sporting leagues or even bringing leagues to the country. The ways are many, but the aim is one - to popularise a sporting culture.

For John, it's football, football everywhere.

The actor-producer, who has been roped in as the India brand ambassador of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, recently bought the Guwahati franchise of the Indian Super League (ISL). His home production "1911" will see him reprise late Indian footballer Sibdas Bhaduri on the big screen.

He says these are great times when celebrities are getting together to promote sports.

"It's a great time. I think any kind of eyeballs for a sport is a welcome change. We're very happy that people are promoting sport - be it kabaddi, football, badminton or hockey, golf and boxing. I wish to promote so much more," John told IANS.

The ISL also has teams owned by Ranbir Kapoor and Salman Khan. While Ranbir and Bimal Parekh, a chartered accountant, who manages celebrities like Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif, have the Mumbai franchise, Salman has teamed up with Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan of the Wadhawan Group to get the Pune team in the eight-team inaugural professional football league.

An avid football fan, Ranbir had earlier said: "As a partner in the Indian Super League, I am looking forward to translating my passion into contributing to the growth of the sport."

While megastar Amitabh Bachchan is himself soaking in the joys of watching the FIFA World Cup matches, he has decided to aid the training of two women shooters - Ayonika Paul and Pooja Ghatkar.

His son Abhishek Bachchan, in fact, has gone ahead and acquired the Jaipur franchise of Pro-Kabaddi, a professional kabaddi league. His team is called Jaipur Pink Panthers, while the Mumbai franchise has been purchased by founder and former CEO of UTV Group Ronnie Screwvala.

Then, superstar rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh, who started Global Fighting Championship (GFC), a boxing league in Dubai, has plans to bring the event to India.

"Just as I have broken the monopoly of film music as being synonymous with popular music in our country, I want to prove that cricket is not the only glamorous sport," Honey Singh was recently quoted as saying.

Bollywood's very own 'khiladi' Akshay Kumar hosts an annual Akshay Kumar Kudo Tournament, a karate championship; while in cricket, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has names like Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Shilpa Shetty and Preity Zinta associated with it.

Sports enthusiast Suniel Shetty has in the past promoted hockey and he continues to encourage people to back different games.

Just recently, he said: "I believe if football, hockey and cricket...all the sports are given a boost, then it can create an alternate career option for children."

Sanjay Dutt promoted boxing and, together with businessman Raj Kundra, had launched the Super Fight League in 2012.

It's a promising start to a phase where Bollywood and sports - two of the most loved fields - have come together for the promotion of games.

Director Rajkumar Santoshi, who is working on the sequel of "Andaz Apna Apna", says both Salman Khan and Aamir Khan are ready to work in the second instalment, and that he will repeat them if the they produce the movie.

Released in 1994 "Andaz Apna Apna" didn't fare well at the box office. But over the years it's funny one-liners, entertaining drama and melodious songs have turned it into an all-time favourite comedy.

When asked about casting Salman and Aamir in "Andaz Apna Apna" sequel, he said: "It is not possible to repeat them in the sequel. It was a different scenario at that time but today they are big stars of the industry."

However, he is ready to rope in Salman and Aamir if they will produce the film.

"Although they both (Salman and Aamir) keep saying that they will love to do the film, so once I am ready with the script, I will discuss with them. I will be able to cast them in the sequel if they both will produce the film as it would not be possible to sign the two big stars to do the film," he said.

"They want the script should be good and full of comedy so the ball is in my court now and I have to get the script ready for them," he added while speaking at the first-look launch of "Chaarfutiya Chhokare".

However, he is working on the script with Salman-Aamir as well as young actors in mind.

"I am working on the script considering the two point of views. I am working on the characters keeping the age factor of Salman and Aamir and also youngsters. Let's see what comes as the end product," Santoshi said.

Superstar Salman Khan compared his "Kick" co-star Jacqueline Fernandez with yesteryear's glamorous actress Zeenat Aman. The Sri Lankan beauty says it was the "biggest compliment" but confesses being under "tremendous pressure" too.

"Now I am under tremendous pressure because he compared me to Zeenat Aman. I told him not to do it, not say that again," the 28-year-old said here Wednesday at the launch of 'The Great Indian Wedding Book."

However, she is flattered with the compliment.

"But that was the biggest compliment I have ever received in my life," Jacqueline said.

If reports are to be believed, for the first time Jacqueline, who has done about half-a-dozen Hindi movies including "Race 2" and "Murder 2", has dubbed for her character in "Kick".

"Dubbing for the film was very tough. Actually Salman was the one who gave this idea and I think it's been amazing," Jacqueline said.

"Kick", which marks producer Sajid Nadiadwala's directorial debut, also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

It will release this Eid.

Model and actress Lisa Haydon, who was appreciated for her work in "Queen", has been roped in to endorse Myntra.com. She hopes her association yields more customers for the e-commerce platform.

Calling the brand "vibrant" and one that "provides the latest and most sophisticated fashion trends for shoppers online", Lisa is excited about her latest association with Myntra.com.

"I'm looking forward to endorsing the brand now, starting with their latest 'Live For Likes' campaign, that aims at bringing alive the first ever virtual engagement game for shoppers," Lisa said in a statement.

As part of the deal, she will endorse Myntra’s range of apparel and accessories, and she will be part of Myntra’s marketing campaign, ‘Live for Likes’, an initiative to engage with today’s social media savvy generation and encourage them to shop on the website.

Lisa will start by being the face of a dedicated microsite launched to pique the interest of online shoppers, and bring alive the brand’s philosophy of ‘Live for Likes’.

The microsite, which will go live later this week, will host a series of initiatives including a virtual game that will feature Lisa as the main character and will also showcase some stylish looks and selections.

"It is a highly enthralling game and I am sure people will get addicted to it over the next couple of weeks," Lisa said.

The dusky beauty has been roped in for being an "ideal blend of simplicity, style and sophistication", said Vikas Ahuja, chief marketing officer, Myntra.

Lisa had earlier been part of Myntra’s ‘Hottest December Ever’ campaign, which comprised of a peppy, youthful and vivacious TV commercial featuring her.

The e-commerce platform has previously collaborated with popular celebrities like Ranveer Singh for their private label - Roadster, Hrithik Roshan for the exclusive HRX collection and Chitrangada Singh to represent the company’s engaging initiative, Fashion Icon of the Month.

The much-awaited Hollywood movie "Transformers: Age of Extinction" will have a special showcase at the forthcoming Ladakh International Film Festival (LIFF) in Leh in the Jammu and Kashmir region, simultaneously with its worldwide release June 27.

Distributed by Viacom18 Motion Pictures in India, the film will have a green carpet showcase at the third edition of the movie gala touted as the highest altitude film festival in the world.

“We are thrilled to celebrate 'Transformers: Age of Extinction' as a special green carpet showcase on the same day that the film is releasing worldwide. The film will be screened at the open air theatre at Druk White Lotus School, made famous by Aamir Khan’s movie ‘3 Idiots’, which has a capacity of 20,000 people," Melwyn Williams, founder and festival director, Maruti Suzuki LIFF, said in a statement.

"Ladakh has a small group of indigenous filmmakers, who will hugely benefit from the technical brilliance of easily the finest sci-fi series of recent times," he added.

Directed by Michael Bay and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the latest "Transformers" movie stars Mark Wahlberg and is fourth in the series of the famed franchise.

Fashion Design Council of India's (FDCI) six-day India Couture Week (ICW) will be held at the Taj Palace Hotel here from July 15. The event will showcase collections of designers like Rohit Bal, Manish Malhotra and Manish Arora.

The participating designers also include Anamika Khanna, Anju Modi, Gaurav Gupta, Monisha Jaising, Rina Dhaka, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Varun Bahl.

"After the roaring success of the past events, we at the FDCI are delighted to present an extravagant couture week. Our event is synonymous with luxury and we have the finest participation from Indian fashion fraternity," Sunil Sethi, president FDCI, said in a statement.

“We are proud to associate with Shree Raj Mahal Jewellers whose exclusive designer jewellery collection will be seen on the ICW runway, and Logix Group who will be coming up with a mall which will have a dedicated space for the fashion designers,” he added.

Praveen Goel; CEO, Shree Raj Mahal Jewellers, will launch their collection of bridal jewellery, Svara (Gold) and Sondaraya (Diamond), at the ICWeek runway on the last day of the event. The pieces will also be exhibited at the venue during the event.

As part of the Gen Next programme of Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW), fashion designer Anita Dongre will mentor six young talents, who will get the opportunity to present their creations at the upcoming Lakmé Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2014.

This is the 18th batch of the programme. The six young designers - Anuj Bhutani, Arunima Majhi, Dhruv Kapoor, Kristy De Cunha, Neha Agarwal and Surbhi Shekhar - were chosen by the LFW Advisory board.

The winners will be mentored by Dongre.

“I am looking forward to mentoring for the second time this year, the young designers are full of unique ideas, enthusiasm and an unrelenting zest to succeed. It feels great to be back to make a contribution towards nurturing budding talent,” Dongre, LFW Gen Next mentor, said in a statement.

The fashion week will be held from Aug 20 to Aug 24 here.

Now popular designers like Masaba Gupta, Swapnil Shinde, Rahul Mishra, Nitin Bal Chauhan, Archana Rao, Aneeth Arora were given their first break at Lakmé Fashion Week.

If you're too confused about what to wear on the first day of college, just clear your puzzled mind by choosing to wear something simple yet stylish in a comfortable fabric like cotton.

Cotton Council International (CCI) has come up with five college fashion tips to help youngsters get their style right:

* Classic blue jeans never grow old and are a must have in your wardrobe. The easiest way to wear them is to pair them up with your cotton kurtis, t-shirts or tank tops. Pick floral cotton knee-length kurtis to go with a dark blue or black denim. For the first few days of enjoying the summer trips with classmates, pair your worn-out denim or knee length cotton shorts with pop coloured tank tops or plain white t-shirt.

* To help beat the summer heat, opt for flowy skirts. Whether they are above the knee or below, skirts are in trend this season as they are easy to handle. Body-hugging tops tucked inside the skirt is a comfortable yet stylish way to attend the first day at college.

* After Deepika Padukone sported them in "Cocktail", palazzo pants are in vogue. These loosely-fit pants can be worn in any shade and print. However, be careful when mix-matching and wearing busy prints as you don’t want to commit a fashion faux pas on day one.

* Crop tops is something that is trending amongst teenagers. Whether you’re one with the perfect abs and don’t mind showing it off or someone who is a little conservative -- remember to experiment. You can wear your crop tops over a long tight-fitted tank top. This way you don’t have to show off your navel and can stay in sync with the trend.

* Besides clothes, it’s equally important to pay attention to accessories. You don’t want to be known as the Plain Jane of your college. Make sure to maintain a balance between not too less and not too much. Go for silver anklets, stone-studded neckpieces, floral or bright coloured cotton scarves which can also be used as funky headgear to get that chic look. What will add on to your personality is getting your hair right. Keeping it poker straight is passe. Go for those curls, waves, French buns and fish braids.

Above all, a smile on your face and confidence to carry yourself well will just make you look perfect in whatever you wear. Let yourself loose!

Actress Bipasha Basu, a fitness enthusiast, is doing her bit to motivate people around her to look after their health and be fit.

The actress, in fact, has almost turned into a personal trainer for her family and close friends.

A source close to her said: “Bipasha’s hairstylist was so impressed by her love and dedication towards fitness that she took up exercise and lost a lot of weight. Now, Bipasha is encouraging her family and friends to get fit.

"She calls her mother every morning to remind her to go for a jog. She even coaxes her sister to visit the gym. She also motivates her friends to take up a disciplined fitness routine."

Bipasha, who will soon be seen in "Humshakals", feels that there are more than just physical benefits to working out.

“I coax my mother and sister, so that they can have a positive mental outlook besides staying fit. Working out results in relaxation," said the dusky Bengali beauty, who has even released fitness DVDs.

“My philosophy in life is, ‘love yourself’. Exercise is like an investment; it not only helps you look good and stay healthy, but also improves your efficiency," she added

A doting father, Shah Rukh Khan became nostalgic Thursday when he took to his Twitter page to share an old photograph featuring himself with his eldest son Aryan in his arms.

"There was a time I could hold this bundle of innocence in my arms...now it towers over me. Time & sons move so fast," King Khan posted on Twitter.

The actor is also father to daughter Suhana with Gauri, and they also raise AbRam, whom they had via surrogacy.

Singer Sukhwinder Singh has recorded "Fateh" for Hemant R. Pradeep's “Rab Mujhe Pyaar Ho Gaya”.

The romantic track is picturised on the lead pair Soouryansh and Sanvi.

The movie, inspired by the legendary folk story of Mirza and Saiba, is about a young couple (Sunny and Seerat) in Punjab who fall in love in college but face opposition from parents.

“The music has been provided by Meet Brothers, lyrics are by Kumaar and choreography by Remo D’souza. It is a young love story with fantastic music and a twist in the form of Sunny’s memories of his past life,” Pradeep said in a statement.

Co-produced by Maaltee Films Entertainment and Mridul Films Pvt. Ltd., it is scheduled to release in December.

While most of the Bollywood celebrities are silent over Bollywood actress Preity Zinta's allegation of molestation against her former beau and business partner Ness Wadia, director Rajkumar Santoshi has extended full support to the actress over the issue.

Santoshi, who co-scripted Preity starrer "Dil Hai Tumhara", said: "I don't know what the truth is, but I know Preity very well. She is very hard working and sincere. She is very courageous, and outspoken."

At the trailer launch of "Chaarfutiya Chhokare" here, Santoshi said: "If the allegation has been made by Preity against Ness Wadia, then I will definitely appreciate her decision and stand by her in her decision."

"Just as it is wrong to commit a crime, it is equally wrong not to speak up. I appreciate her decision to file a complaint against that concerned person and I am with her," he added.

Preity lodged a written complaint against Wadia with the Marine Drive police station Friday, last week. She accused Wadia of grabbing her hand and abusing her during a cricket match in Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai May 30.

Actress Preity Zinta's allegation of molestation against her former beau and business partner Ness Wadia has not got much reaction from the film fraternity, but a few like director Tanuja Chandra feels it's better to wait for the legal process to move forward and "avoid playing judge and jury ourselves", while Moon Moon Sen feels "it is entirely their business".

Chandra, who directed Preity in author-backed film "Sangharsh", said: "I imagine she must have thought a great deal about it and hasn't done this on an impulse. Like all women in the country she has every right to approach authorities if she feels her individual space has been violated. We must wait for the legal process to move forward and avoid playing judge and jury ourselves."

The outspoken Pooja Bedi decided to sit on the fence.

She said: "Neither Ness nor Preity come across as a liar. Both are such lovely people. So it is just very unfortunate that it's all turning out the way it is. Having said this I feel it is for the courts to pass a verdict, not us."

Neetu Chandra feels the matter is personal. However, she also feels Preity is not the kind to raise a hue and cry unnecessarily.

"As far as I know her, she is a no-nonsense person and leads her life with dignity. A break-up is never pleasant. Both the partners have to be very careful about preserving each other's self-respect in public after the break-up, for the sake of what they shared in the past."grabbing her hand and abusing her during a cricket match in Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai May 30.

Though she admires Preity's spirit, actress-parliamentarian Moon Moon Sen feels the two should sit and talk it out.

Preity lodged a written complaint against Wadia with the Marine Drive police station Friday, last week. She accused Wadia of
"Maybe there's a history of abuse and now it has erupted in a public place to embarrass both of them. Surely the two can sit down and sort it out. No matter how we look at it, it is entirely their business."

Movie guru Shailendra Singh finds the incident unfortunate.

"It's unfortunate that a girlfriend-boyfriend fight has national importance. There are far more serious matters awaiting the nation's attention."

HDFC Life, India’s leading long term private life insurance solutions provider, has extended its association with Hindi Film ‘Hawaa Hawaai,’ by sponsoring the education of the 4 children featured in the movie, who come from financially challenged backgrounds.

The makers are proud of this partnership as the boys are precious and have developed to become great actors. They have been with Amole for many years, and he has looked after them and nurtured their talents.

Announcing this sponsorship, Mr. Sanjay Tripathy, Senior Executive Vice President and Head, Marketing, Products, Digital & E-Commerce, HDFC Life said, "As a brand, we have always propagated ‘Independence and Self respect’ or ‘Sar Utha Ke Jiyo,’ as a way of life. In line with our brand philosophy, we were very keen to ensure that the 4 children featured in the movie receive quality education and any other vocational or co-curricular training required to help them build a sound foundation. We, in association with Aseema Charitable Trust, a Mumbai based NGO working for the rights of underprivileged children, are sponsoring the school education of the 4 financially challenged children featured in the movie."

For the three children studying in Municipal schools, the sponsorship would include all educational material, complete school uniform, participation in co-curricular activities such as Art, Sports, Computers, etc., extra classes and remedial help within and outside school hours, counseling if required, a nutritious meal in school every day. For the 4th student studying in another school, this would include school fees, expenses for uniform and educational material and any tuition or after school support required, Mr Tripathy added.

Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios, India says, "Hawaa Hawaai is a very special film for us. Amole Gupte's magical film touched the hearts of the people of the country and we are thankful to all our partners specially HDFC Life for believing in Amole's dream as we did and supporting it with the way they have. It's a very special relationship that we shall continue to cherish."
Amole Gupte added, "On behalf of Salman Chhote Khan, Ashfaque Khan, Maaman Memon and Thirupathi Kushnapelli, I thank HDFC Life for sparing a thought for their well being by supporting their education at Santacruz Municipal School and St. Elias High."