Santosh Sivan says that superstar Suriya's Tamil movie "Anjaan" shouldn't be tagged as a regional film because a large part of the dialogues are in Hindi and the story is set in the city.

Explaining the lingual dichotomy of "Anjaan", the film's cinematographer Sivan said: "It's a Mumbai-based subject and a large part of the dialogues are in Hindi. These haven't been dubbed into Tamil, although it's a Tamil film."

"It is not a regional film. Its characters are Mumbai-based. It's a very different kind of modern gangster film. The characters speak in Hindi. And there is an overlapping voiceover in Tamil for Suriya's core fan base, so that the flavour of Hindi language spoken by the characters is not lost in translation," he added.

Interestingly the cast includes Bollywood actors like Manoj Bajpayee, Vidyut Jamwal, Chetan Hansraj, Rajpal Yadav and Dalip Tahil. Actress Chitrangada Singh also makes a special appearance in the movie that came out Friday.

After finding global visibility with "The Lunchbox", Indian actress Nimrat Kaur has landed a chance to play a Pakistani character in the fourth season of hit American series "Homeland", set in Islamabad. The Punjabi girl, who has roots in Rawalpindi and Lahore, finds the opportunity "very interesting".

Currently in Cape Town for a shooting schedule of the Emmy Award-winning political thriller series, Nimrat says "it is very early on" to comment on her experience.

However, she is loving every bit of it - especially since her role of Tasneem Kureshi, a high-level operative within Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, has been increased from five to nine episodes.

Nimrat said she accepted the role without giving a "second thought".

"It is very interesting (to play a Pakistani character in a US show). India and Pakistan are culturally so similar...I belong to Punjab and there's so much similarity between us. There are food-loving and fun-loving people ...I'd just say it's a country which is a victim of circumstances," she told IANS in a telephonic interaction from Cape Town.

It bears repeating that the subcontinent was one nation till partition in 1947.

The fact that her character belonged to another nation didn't pose a hurdle for Nimrat.

"It was more important to feel the part than to feel where the character came from. It's an interesting character in the overall story of the show's new season," she said.

While for now the "Homeland" team is busy shooting the show, Nimrat hopes she will be able to visit Pakistan at least once in her lifetime.

"I'm dying to go to Pakistan once," she squeaked with excitement, before adding: "My maternal and paternal ancestors come from Rawalpindi and Lahore. It's a strange affinity we have towards people there, and I would love to get a chance of going there.

"It's a dream," added the actress, who is joined by Indian actor Suraj Sharma of "Life Of Pi" fame, "Mad Men" star Mark Moses and Art Malik, known for "True Lies" in the show.

Nimrat, for many, is the girl who entices chocolate lovers via Cadbury advertisements on the Indian small screen.

"Homeland" will air in India on Star World Premiere HD starting Oct 6, along with its telecast in the US. Her character will be introduced in the narrative in the fourth episode.

It may sound strange, but Nimrat had never seen "Homeland" before she saw the pilot episode of the new season.

"I wish I had seen it before! After I saw the pilot episode, I asked for CDs of all the three seasons and saw all of it! I watched it whenever I found time between work," said the actress, who has been going in and out of Cape Town since early July.

Nevertheless, she is yet to soak in its beauty in its entirety.

"It's my first time here (in South Africa). But I have not been travelling here much because it's cold and rainy. Otherwise, it's really nice and beautiful," she said.

Back home in India, questions await as to when she's starring in her next Indian project.

To that, she said: "I am finalising something very soon."

Varun Dhawan considers his father David Dhawan, who directed the young actor in "Main Tera Hero", as his true "hero".

"Happy bday dad u are my #hero. Also, as a gift to my father I shall be shaving of my beard #followthebeard," the "Student Of The Year" actor posted on Twitter on his father's 59th birthday Saturday.

David has, for several years, entertained Bollywood lovers with light hearted movies like "Coolie No. 1", "Hero No. 1" and "Biwi No. 1".

Watching "Singham Returns" had a positive effect on actress Shilpa Shetty as far as respecting the police force is concerned.

"Watchd SINGHAM las night, entertaining &thot provoking. Made me respect r Police force more. Great Job Rohit Shetty & team. Enjoyed the film," Shilpa tweeted Saturday.

The movie, directed by Rohit Shetty, stars Ajay Devgn and Kareena Kapoor. It features Ajay as Bajirao Singham, an unforgiving police inspector on a mission to wipe out corruption.

Actress Nimrat Kaur spent the country's 68th Independence Day in an adventurous way while in Cape Town.

"What do you do when the sun is out and you have a day off? Trek up to the Table Mountain!!! Yayyy...Celebrating Independence Day my way," Nimrat, who is in South Africa to shoot American show "Homeland", tweeted.

Later, she shared a photograph of her view and wrote: "The view from below and hours of trekking later, from the very top! From sea level to the clouds...From 'No I can't' to 'Oh I am' to 'Hey I did'!"

The actress gained popularity via her role in "The Lunchbox".

After sharing a crackling on screen and off screen chemistry on the small screen three years ago in "Kitani Mohabbat Hai", actors and former lovers Kritika Kamra and Karan Kundra will be seen on the tube together again. Now just friends, they're happy to co-host one episode of "MTV Webbed 2".

"MTV Webbed 2" focuses on stories of cyber crime and has Kritika as its permanent host. However, Karan has joined her for one forthcoming episode, about a young girl who comes to Mumbai to work in the media industry and how when she finds love, things tend to go wrong.

"Karan and I, we both have a huge youth following and I am glad we both could team up to urge them to practice safety while accessing the online world," Kritika said in a statement.

Her ex-beau Karan, who has always maintained that they continue to be good friends, says they had been wanting to collaborate on the show for "quite some time".

"But our dates were not matching because I have been busy with Fanaah and then I went to Punjab for promotions. So finally we both had the time to do it. Besides, the episode is about media professionals and it seemed right for both of us to co-host it," said the actor, who currently features on "MTV Fanaah".

"MTV Webbed 2" is a show conceptualized to raise awareness about the safe usage of the internet. It was recently extended to 24 episodes from the initial run of 16 episodes due to its increasing popularity.

Shahid Kapoor says a lot of good things in his career have come his way courtesy filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj who has worked with the actor in "Kaminey" and now in "Haider".

"One works with all kinds of directors. When he (Bhardwaj) wrote the script of 'Haider', he called me and said 'You are very lucky. Whenever I cast you in any film, your role is written really well.' I guess, he is really lucky for me. I have never received this kind of response for myself," the 33-year-old said here Thursday at a college.

The actor's look in the trailer of "Haider" has aroused curiosity among critics and audience alike, and it is being touted to be the most refined performance by Shahid, who is the son of actor par excellence Pankaj Kapur.

Shahid was here along with co-star Shraddha Kapoor and Bhardwaj to promote "Haider" when he spoke about the magic that "Haider" seems to be already spinning for him.

"It happened with 'Kaminey' (in 2009). People reacted to the look and the vibe. Nothing happened for four years and now after five years, it is happening again. A lot of my career is thanks to him (Bhardwaj)," he added.

Meanwhile, even as Shahid was scared to go bald for the film, that too for just one day of shoot, he says he did it because he was passionate about the film.

"It's the most difficult role I have done in my career, I would say. It's definitely a very intense character. I went bald for just one day of shooting.

"But this is that kind of film which you do from your heart and for your heart, and there are others which you do for box office numbers. It was about passion and required me to take my hair off and I went for it," he said.

"Haider" is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" and hits theatres Oct 2.

Actress Bipasha Basu, who will next feature in "Creature 3D", says she is open to offbeat cinema as much as commercial films. In fact, she is keen to do a new Bengali film too.

The actress' last appearance in a Bengali film was the 2009 Rituparno Ghosh directorial "Shob Charitro Kalponik".

"I would want to venture into another Bengali film. I am quite open (to the idea) at this point of time. I am open to trying different things - be it commercial or offbeat," Bipasha told IANS in an interaction here.

"I love films which are going to entertain, which give me a chance to perform and which give me author-driven role," she added.

Thr actress is currently busy promoting "Creature 3D", which is directed by Vikram Bhatt.

Actress Aneri Vajani will be seen making a heroic entry on forthcoming show "Nisha Aur Uske Cousins", which will go on air Star Plus Monday.

She climbed an old fort in Jaipur for her entry to justify her character in the show.

Aneri plays the protagonist Nisha, a tomboy.

"Breaking the usual stereotype of actress' elegant entries, Nisha sure has a lot of surprising elements in her upcoming show," said a source from the show's team.

The show, "Nisha Aur Uske Cousins", explores the bond between cousins.

Targeted at the youth, the show captures the differences of opinion and friction caused by the generation gap between the elders of the family and the youngsters, especially when it comes to topics like careers, relationships, lifestyle and fashion choices.

Its story is based in a joint-family set up in Jaipur, and it will feature a bunch of relatable characters like a shy romantic geeky cousin, a beautiful attention seeking cousin or the cousin who is the natural leader and who everyone looks up to.

"Hotel Beautifool", a movie inspired by Hindi stage production "Baat Baat Mein Bigdey Haalat", will be a little different from the play as the mediums of films and theatre require different visual interpretation, says its director.

The comic caper, starring southern actor Rejith Menon, is gearing up to hit the screens soon.

Director Sameer Iqbal Patel, who has also directed the play, reworked the play's script and orchestrated it with additional characters and visuals to make it gripping as a film.

"Film being more of a visual and sound medium, differs from stage plays. Only 40 per cent of the play has been adapted (for the film) and we have meticulously added a nostalgic production design to give 'Hotel Beautifool' a distinctive brand of a complete entertainer," Patel said in a statement.

The cast will have Johnny Lever along with Alisha Farrer, Imam Siddique, Rohit Khurana, Shanti, Jia Sharma and Brijendra Kala.

It is being co-produced by Mohammed Aslam Sheikh and Madhire Ravinder Reddy.

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri recently offered "Hate Story 2" to the audience and he is now set to direct a musical love story titled "Junoniyat" with Pulkit Samrat and Yami Gautam.

"I am all set to direct my next film which is a musical love story. Please don't slot this film in the rom-com genre. It's a proper love story," Agnihotri told IANS.

"It's a very unusual film which will go on floors by mid of November. Pulkit Samrat and Yami Gautam will play the lead roles in the film," he said.

It will be produced by T-Series.

While he is excited about the love story, there are reports that his other project "Freedom" has been shelved.

When asked, he said: "I can't say it's shelved. The producers have sold the film to someone else. I can't give so much time to a film, so I am making my next one."

Sonam Nair, who made her directorial debut with "Gippi", will now helm a sex comedy under Dharma Productions.

After making "Gippi", a film based on an overweight teenager and her life's problems, Nair is set to direct a sex comedy.

"I am directing a sex comedy which will go on floors by end of this year. It will be produced by Dharma. The film is written and directed by me," Nair told IANS.

When asked how easy or difficult it was to convince Karan Johar of Dharma Productions, she said: "I gave him the script. He said okay, go ahead with it. I am quite excited about the film."

Talking about the cast, she said: "We will have newcomers and some known faces in the film."

Nair also added that her project is not similar to the successful adult comedy "Grand Masti" or Imran Khan-starrer "Delhi Belly".

"It's more like an American film. It's normal but real," she said.

She is a fan of “mind blowing” Bollywood cinema, but at the same time Pakistani actress Fatima Effendi takes pride in saying that TV shows produced in her homeland are not just high on content, but also realistic in approach.

Fatima is currently wowing Indian audiences in the lead role of Khushi in “Kaash Main Teri Beti Na Hoti”, which was one of the inaugural shows of channel Zindagi - Jodey Dilon Ko, a first-of-its-kind initiative that has brought a bouquet of Pakistani shows for the Indian viewers.

“I was expecting the positive response as far as quality of work is concerned and the feedback that I have got from the Indian audience has been overwhelming,” Fatima said when asked about the response to the show.

“Indian films are mindblowing, but TV dramas are elongated and not reality based. So, I was confident that people will like it, but didn't expect this kind of response."

“Our shows are based on reality and they are not just about one section of people. Our shows are about poor, middle-class and elite... everyone,” the actress-fashion designer told IANS from Karachi.

Quite true.

The shows have successfully shattered a lot of myths and misconceptions about our neighbouring nation and Fatima said: “There has been a hate relationship between the two countries, but when I went to the fan site of the show, I was surprised to see the comments and I am glad that people are being expressive.”

“Our cultures are almost same, our food, attires are the same, except for the religion...Media shows a darker side of Pakistan, but we are also normal people and have a normal lifestyle like people in any other country. I am glad people are getting to know Pakistan,” she added.

Recalling a pleasant encounter with Indian fans in Thailand, Fatima said: “When I went to Bangkok to shoot, I met Indians and I established a good relationship with them and they were like, 'Don't you wear burkha?' And I told them it's not like that.”

“Kaash Main Teri Beti Na Hoti” was Fatima's first big break and while shooting for the social drama, she was also pursuing her fashion-designing course.

“I had done telefilms, shows and commercials, but my big break was 'Kaash Main Teri Beti Na Hoti' and after the show, I got married, then had a child and then I was on baby break,” said Fatima, who is married to Kanwar Arsalan, who too features in the show.

“I met my husband on the sets of 'Larkiyan Muhally Ki' and we became friends and then we got married,” said the actress. The couple has a son.

The celebrities Sunday joined Krishna Janamashtami revelries by whishing fans and loved ones and remembering the popular song "Govinda aala re".

They took to Twitter to wish everyone:

Lata Mangeshkar: Namaskar. Aap sab ko Janamashtami ki shubhkamanaayein (sic).

Amitabh Bachchan: Janamashtami ke pavan avsar pe shubhkamanayein... sneh, pyaar, aadar.

Mahesh Bhatt: Happy Janamashtami! Memory of a smash hit song Govinda Aala Re sung by Rafi Saheb and chorus, in the film BLUFF MASTER echoes in my mind!

Anupam Kher: Happy Janmasthami to all. Love, Peace and Happiness Always.:)

Shabana Azmi: Have super memories of Janamashtami from my childhood in Girgaum. Govinda Aala re resonates to this day. Janamashtami mubarak to all.

Madhur Bhandarkar: The Day of Love and Fortune, the day of Birth of Lord Krishna, a Lover, Friend & Divine Guru. HAPPY JANMASHTHAMI.

Shekhar Kapur: In His loving hands, He held all of time still. In one eternal moment. He walked upon this earth. Welcome back. #Krishna.

Madhuri Dixit: Aap sab ko Janamashtami ki shubh kamnayein!!

Shah Rukh Khan says his life may be seen like an open book, but there is part about his personality that no one knows about.

“My life is like an open book, everywhere I go people see my picture, Twitter... everything...I am very happy that people think they know everything about me. But there is a side of me which people do not know about,” said Shah Rukh during a group interview.

Explaining his point, he said: “Business of entertainment is about being aware of what people like...The creativity is a very solo thing, it's very lone and it is done behind the closed doors. My creativity is very lonely, which nobody understands...I don't discuss the process.”

The superstar is right now looking forward to release his next venture - “Happy New Year”, which involves him as an actor and producer.

Directed by Farah Khan and produced by Red Chillies Entertainment, the ensemble heist drama also starring the likes of Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Jackie Shroff and Vivaan Shah, will come out during Diwali.

Actress Priyanka Chopra says she has been idolising Madonna since childhood and loves the pop star's bold personality.

The “Frozen” hitmaker turned 56 on Saturday and the “Krrish 3” star took to Twitter to wish her.

“Happy bday to my childhood idol @Madonna ! #RebelWithoutACause !love the guts u live your life with!! So many memories.. #Secret,” Priyanka tweeted.

Actor Vidyut Jammwal has been in the news for being cast in Marathi version of Hollywood film “17 Again”. But he says the news is false.

It was reported that the Zac Effron and Matthew Perry-starrer 2009 comedy “17 Again” would soon be recreated in Marathi with Vidyut in the cast.

But he took to Facebook to quash the reports.

“Please don't rely on rumours and unverified news stories. I'm NOT doing any Marathi film as of now. If ever something happens, you'll know it from me,” Vidyut said in his post.

Darshan Kumar is a debutante and he is sharing the screen space with none other than Priyanka Chopra as her on-screen husband in his debut movie "Mary Kom". But he is confident to get noticed due to the importance of his character in the biopic.

Directed by Omung Kumar, the film on the Olympic bronze medallist boxer M.C. Mary Kom sees Priyanka in the title role. It is scheduled for a Sep 5 release.

Talking about his visibility in the movie, Darshan Kumar said: "I don't think I will be overshadowed by Priyanka Chopra."

"Whatever Mary Kom has achieved in her life, her husband has a huge contribution in that. Her husband's journey is equally important. I am more than happy to share the screen space with the National Award winning actress Priyanka Chopra," he added.

Darshan, a Delhiite, didn't have any film background, but his passion for acting spurred him on to take the plunge.

He said: "I don't have any filmy connection or any filmy backup. My parents are eagerly waiting to see me on the screen. I have done theatre and learned acting under Naseeruddin Shah's guidance."

What is Rohit Shetty's idea of romantic films? "Chennai Express", says the director and adds that as a filmmaker his priority is to make a film that entertains the masses and recovers money.

When asked why he doesn't make full-fledged romantic film, Shetty said: "When I try to make a romantic film, it turns out to be a 'Chennai Express'."

Released last year, the Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika Padukone-starrer was basically a romantic comedy, but it had the Shetty element in the form of high-octane action scenes, an art that the director has mastered over the years. People accepted it and it became one of the highest grosser of 2013.

"It depends on many aspects. What happens with my films is that it is always a big budget film with a lot of money pumped in. I need to recover that money because I cannot make somebody sell his house because of my film.

"I cannot cheat the audience ever. That makes no sense! This is my audience, I cater to them and I know how to make films for them," he added.

From "Golmaal" franchise to "Singham series, the director has always churned out massy films with core commercial elements infused in it, especially action and drama.

Is box office business your priority?

"When you make a film, you want your money to be recovered ... unlike earlier times when a film doing well was not counted by how much it earned (at the box office), but on the basis of how many days it ran in theatres," he said.

"Now we say the film has earned Rs.100 crore or Rs.150 crore or Rs.200 crore. Business is definitely important because otherwise, you won't survive," added the director who has hit the jackpot once again with his recent release "Singham Returns".

Actress Bipasha Basu says that donning a bikini for a role is okay if you are fit and confident that you would look good in it.

"Wearing a bikini is not a big deal for me. If you are fit, you are going to look good. If it's a glamorous film, it will add to your glamour," said Bipasha in an interview.

The actress was seen in the two-piece in "Dhoom 2" and "Players".

"It is not a big deal for me anymore because the first time when I wore it, I was petrified. During 'Dhoom 2' I was getting into fitness. After that I am very critical about the (bikini) body because I am so much into fitness that I feel you have to look correct and you can't look cheesy.

"I have worn it in 'Players' also in 'Humshakals' they wanted us to wear it... I don't think much about it," she said.

Bipasha is right now gearing up for the release of horror drama "Creature 3D". Directed by Vikram Bhatt, the film is coming out next month.