Katrina Kaif’s sister Isabelle who makes her acting debut in Jean-François Pouliot’s “Dr. Cabbie”, a film about an Indian doctor moonlighting as a taxi driver in the US, is said to have given up plans of pursuing a Bollywood career.

“While Katrina has no interest in a film career outside Bollywood, her sister Isabelle who was supposed to join Katrina in Bollywood has decided against it,” said a source close to the family.

“It was felt by Katrina that the two sisters with similar personalities in the same entertainment industry can never work for the younger sister. Katrina doesn’t want Isabelle to end up being the poor man’s Katrina. The two sisters will pursue their acting careers in mutually exclusive domains,” the source added.

Hence, the family has collectively decided that Isabelle would pursue an international career vis-a-vis a career in Bollywood.

“Isabelle took on ‘Dr. Cabbie’ as a starter because it was not really an Indian film but a Canadian project. Although the title role is played by Vinay Virmani and Isabelle is not cast opposite him, she loved the script and wanted to be part of it.

“Also her co-star is Kunal Nayyar, who is a major diaspora actor abroad.”

However, the source adds that Isabelle had to audition for her part in “Dr. Cabbie” like any newcomer.

Isabelle’s co-star Vinay Virmani from “Dr. Cabbie” is all praise for her. “Isabelle is very good in the film. She has all the star qualities of Katrina, plus the advantage of being in no hurry to become a star,” he said.

Filmmaker Guddu Dhanoa, who directed the 2000 Bollywood film “Bichhoo”, is set to make a sequel to the movie, and he will bring back Bobby Deol to play the lead in it.

Dhanoa told IANS: "It is true that Bobby Deol has agreed to play the lead in ‘Bichhoo 2’. It's a very special film for me.”

The director is credited with films like “Elaan”, “Ziddi” and “Aflatoon”, and currently he wants to remain tight-lipped about his new project at hand.

“At this point of time I can't reveal anything about my subject. We are still scripting and finalising the dates of our actors, so I can’t say when the film will start rolling. We are also busy finalising the leading lady for the film," he added.

The original “Bichhoo” starred Rani Mukerji as the female lead.

Winner of beauty pageant Miss India UK 2012 Deana Uppal, who is the recently evicted contestant from stunt-based reality show "Khatron Ke Khiladi", had her eyes set on Bollywood since her childhood.

"I have been coming back and forth to India for sometime now. My parents were born in Punjab, so I feel India is home to me. I have always loved Bollywood since a young age, so I decided to work here as I enjoy the industry here more than Britain," Deana told IANS.

The actress, who made a special appearance in "Revolver Rani", is working hard on her Hindi diction. She has a few films on her plate now too - the 24-year-old will be seen in Yogesh Mishra's directorial debut "Life Non Veg", starring alongside Siddharth Bhardwaj of "Spitsvilla" fame.

"I am currently working hard on my Hindi and will continue to work in films this year and just take as they come. I have always been interested working in the film industry here. I feel more at home in India and I find Bollywood movies beautiful and exciting," she said.

Item songs are not the centre of attention for Deana, but if offered, she will happily accept them.

"I will be shooting an item song next week. Item songs are not my main focus but I feel if the song and production team is good enough, then there isn’t any problem doing one,” she said.

Talking about her experience on "Khatron Ke Khiladi 5", the model-turned-actress said it was glorious, but facing insects on the show helped her overcome her fear of the creatures partly.

"I had an amazing experience. I got to do things I never would have been able to experience without being on the show. A biggest fear of mine has always been insects. On the show, I stayed inside a plastic bag with cockroaches and other horrible insects for eleven minutes.

"I feel proud for overcoming that fear the most," said Deana, who went to Cape Town for the shooting of the celebrity show, hosted by filmmaker Rohit Shetty.

Due to their physical strength, boys on the show were Deana's major competitors and she feels contestant and dancer Salman Yusuff Khan has a fair chance of winning.

"I always found that boys had an advantage in this show because of their physical strength. I'm sure all the boys will be left in the final. Salman has a good chance of winning," said the actress, who lasted for only eight episodes of the show since her wildcard entry, but managed to make friends during her short stint.

"I befriended Teejay Sidhu, Debina Bonnerjee, Gauhar Khan and Ajaz Khan on the show. Ranvir Shorey wasn't welcoming to me and was quite rude, but he apologised to me in the end, so all was fine," she said.

Deana was also a part of Britain's reality TV show "Big Brother" 2013.

Director Siddharth Anand is ensuring tight security during the Abu Dhabi schedule of "Bang Bang". He has not just called for close to 30 security personnel on the set, but has also requested crew members to deposit their mobile phones at a counter before coming for the shoot.

A source close to the development said: "It is very difficult to control information during outdoor shoots. Siddharth is currently filming some of the most crucial scenes from the film in Abu Dhabi. Some of these scenes are part of the thrill in 'Bang Bang' and thus, Siddharth had no option but to ramp up security."

The source further said that the almost security personnel are maintaining "strict vigil for people with mobile phones".

"No mobile phones are allowed on set. A counter has been created where the crew are depositing their phones and taking it back after the day's shoot."

Slated for release Oct 2, the movie features Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif in the lead.

Filmmaker Amole Gupte's latest release "Hawaa Hawaai" has garnered positive response from the audience, and now a sequel to the movie is likely to roll in 2015.

"I have a few ideas for the sequel. I'm happy with the positive response that 'Hawaa Hawaai' has got. People have loved the movie as well as boys, who are truly phenomenal in the film," Amole said.

The movie features Saqib Salim and Amole's son Partho in the lead.

A source aware of the developments told IANS: "The (sequel to the) film is expected to go on floors only next year as Amole is busy with 'Singham 2'. Post 'Singham 2' (in which he is acting), he will put his mind to writing the film.

"The film will have a similar casting like 'Hawaa Hawaai' with Amole hand-picking the best kids to do the job."

Shoojit Sircar's next film "Piku", which already has a formidable cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan Khan and Deepika Padukone, just got more interesting. It now stars Bengali star Jisshu Sengupta in the romantic lead opposite Deepika.

Jisshu, who made his Bollywood debut opposite Ileana D'Cruz in a guest appearance in Anurag Basu's "Barfi!" would next be seen in Pradeep Sarkar's Hindi film "Mardaani", in which he plays husband to Rani Mukerji's character.

Sircar is said to have been keen to cast Jisshu opposite Deepika as the role suited him to perfection. However, the fact that Jisshu was being launched as a leading man by Yash Raj Films (YRF) put a question mark on Jisshu's presence in "Piku".

Jisshu showed Shoojit his Bengali film "Jaatishwar". Only then was Sircar convinced.

The excited actor said: "It's a big break with a director I really admire and with actors I really love. It has been my dream to work with Mr. Bachchan from the time I decided I wanted to be an actor."

"Irrfan-ji is another actor I truly admire. As for Deepika, isn't she everyone's favourite dream girl these days?"

"Piku" would take Jisshu to Mumbai in August.

Didn't you feel like having your own set of six pack abs when Shah Rukh Khan flaunted his in "Om Shanti Om" or when Aamir Khan exhibited his eight pack in "Ghajini"? But celebrity trainer Shivoham, who has trained the likes of John Abraham and Ranveer Singh, says getting influenced to beef up like the stars can have negative effects in real life.

Bollywood stars get involved in strenuous workouts for their film roles and the requirement to play different characters makes them mould their body every now and then - something which is not possible for ordinary folks, said the CrossFit trainer, who was in the city for a six-day boot camp.

"Bollywood stars are also average people, but they do their training according to the role they play and it affects the body," Shivoham told IANS on the sidelines of his camp at The Park hotel here.

"Commoners do get influenced from Bollywood, but they need to understand that what celebs do is their profession and they get training 24X7. They are paid to look a certain level; so they do it in whatever way possible.

"But an average person needs to give it a good thought and actually do what can become part of the lifestyle, rather than gaining a particular body for just two or three months," he said.

Among the big screen stars, Shivoham, who has a gym in the country's entertainment capital, has also trained Aamir, Abhishek Bachchan and Kangana Ranaut.

Talking about female actors and their once-upon-a-time fantasy for the size zero body frame, the Mumbai-based trainer said it should be a no-no for anyone as it can have long-lasting side effects.

"Not only female celebrities, but women in general want to lose weight. They are fascinated with the concept of size zero, which according to me is waste. It is necessary to be healthy and fit," he said.

Shivoham is on a mission to popularise the concept of CrossFit, which he plans to take to several cities of the country.

Explaining the rationale behind it, he said: "CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

"Our programme delivers a fitness that is by design: broad, general and inclusive."

During the camp here, Shivoham made sure that every individual who was part of it went back with a smile.

"In the boot camp, we go through fundamental movements like the squats, overhead press, deadlifts, cleans and many other movements. It's a combo of weights, freehand and a lot of cardio.

"It's a very different kind of fitness experience and so not many people know about it," he said, adding that "word of mouth publicity" is essential for the brand of fitness he propagates.

Shivoham, who himself is well-built, believes fitness is a very relative term in India.

"Fitness is practised definitely way higher in other parts of the world. India is definitely getting aware of it, but it will take time," he said.

fter tasting success last year with back-to back hits "Grand Masti" and "Krrish 3", actor Vivek Oberoi is being cautious in choosing scripts.

Vivek's career graph was on a downfall post 2007 release "Shootout At Lokhandwala", but the two films of 2013 gave him a new lease of life in the Hindi film industry.

"I am being very careful in choosing the scripts now. I am looking at roles that I can enjoy and at the same time, are good for my career," he said.

"I have reached a good position with god's grace and now I hope to maintain it and move ahead. So, I will be choosing films keeping all this in mind," the actor told reporters here on the sidelines of a special screening of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2".

The film's screening was organised by Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA) for kids battling cancer.

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has graced the cover of a special edition of Forbes Middle East, and he is in Dubai to launch it.

The magazine has rated him the first in its 'Top Indian Leaders in Arab World' list, said a statement.

“Forbes Middle-East made me feel special with their special edition cover story on my work in entertainment. Off to Dubai for the launch. Thank you all,” the co-owner of Indian Premier League franchise and Red Chillies Entertainments, posted on Twitter Tuesday.

The event will include a glamorous gala dinner and awards ceremony Tuesday in the Godolphin Ballroom, Jumeirah Emirates Towers.

"Raees", starring superstar Shah Rukh Khan and actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar, will go on floors in November, confirms producer Ritesh Sidhwani.

"All those asking 'Raees' begins filming on Nov 1 with Shah Rukh Khan and Farhan Akhtar," Sidhwani posted on Twitter.

Following the tweet, Shah Rukh, whose birthday falls Nov 2, requested the producer to give him a day off to celebrate his day.

"Ritesh you will give me a day off on my birthday na and not be a tough producer please," SRK posted on the microblogging site.

Sidhwani will also start working on his other project "Dil Dhadakne Do" soon.

"Just finished a Havan for 'Dil Dhadakne Do' and 'Bangistan', a ritual Farhan Akhtar and me have been maintaining from 'Dil Chahta Hai'. 'Dil Dhadakne Do' voyage begins this Saturday (May 17), will be posting lots of exciting stuff during this Journey, and we are releasing on June 5, 2015," Sidhwani tweeted Monday.

"Dil Dhadakne Do" stars Anil Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar, Anushka Sharma with Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra.

Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, who has crooned with international singers in the past, is out with a new song titled "I can't make you love me" and the track makes actor Hrithik Roshan put on his dancing shoes.

"Have you heard 'I can't make you love me' yet? This one makes you want to dance! Well done Priyanka Chopra super stuff," the actor, who has worked with Priyanka in "Krrish" and "Krrish 3", tweeted.

The song is a unique cover of the Bonnie Raitt's 1991 song. Priyanka's version released in April and made it to the third spot on Itunes India in less than 24 hours.

Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt-starrer "2 States" has joined the Rs.100-crore club.

Said to have been made on a budget of approximately Rs.45 crore, "2 States" released in over 2,000 screens in India April 18.

“‘2 States’ hits a ton. Crosses Rs.100 crore mark. Rs.102.13 crore nett. Super Hit,” trade analyst Taran Adarsh posted on Twitter Monday.

Co-produced by Karan Johar and Sajid Nadiadwala, distributed by UTV Motion Pictures, and directed by Abhishek Varman, the movie is based on a bestseller by author Chetan Bhagat.

The movie is about two states, different cultures and families and one love story.

"2 States", based on Bhagat's book "2 States - The Story Of My Marriage", also stars Ronit Roy, Amrita Singh and Revathy.

Celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhudheva, Riteish Deshmukh and Sonakshi Sinha also praised the film.

Two official mobile games inspired by the forthcoming Rajinikanth-starrer "Kochadaiiyaan" have crossed one million downloads on mobile applications.

The games, titled "Kochadaiiyaan The Legend: Kingdom Run" and "Kochadaiiyaan The Legend: Reign of Arrows", are developed by Vroovy, a joint venture between digital media company Hungama and game service company Gameshastra.

They were made available across iOS, Android and Windows platforms mid-March.

"With the blockbuster film slated to release this month, we have witnessed an upswing in the number of mobile game downloads. We are delighted that the anticipation and reach among the masses has helped us surpass the one million downloads mark across appstores," Neeraj Roy, managing director and CEO, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., said in a statement.

"Kochadaiiyaan", directed by Rajinikanth's daughter Soundarya R. Ashwin, is slated to release May 23. It is touted to be the country's first 3D animated photo-realistic motion capture film.

Hindi entertainer "Mastram", about a porn writer from the country's northern region, managed to collect over Rs.3 crore in three days of its release despite being made on a budget of merely Rs.75 lakh.

Released May 9, the movie had a weekend collection of Rs.3.45 crore, said a source.

The "Mastram" trailer, which released Feb 14, had garnered over 16 lakh hits on the video sharing website YouTube in two months itself.

Directed by debutant Akhilesh Jaiswal, popular as the screenwriter for Anurag Kashyap's 2012 release "Gangs of Wasseypur", the movie is a production by Bohra Bros.

It features Kapil Dubey, Rahul Bagga and newcomer Tara Alisha Berry.

The information and broadcasting ministry will launch a first-of-its-kind resource guide at the 67th Cannes International Film Festival, aiming to position India as a prime filming destination.

The guide has catalogued information on film policies and movies for sales and distribution.

The guide has exhaustive descriptions of the policy initiatives of the ministry, its affiliated bodies; details of all India's co-production agreements; all Indian films at Cannes and visiting Indian delegates; key database pertaining to the sector and the winners of this year's National Film Awards, read a statement.

It is expected to act as a catalyst in view of the branding of the India Pavilion, which aims to bring about substantial interest from the international community in exploiting India's filmmaking potential.

The Cannes film gala is scheduled to be held May 14-25.

The India Pavilion will showcase Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural and regional diversity, with a motive to forge an increasing number of international partnerships in the realm of distribution, production, filming in India, script development and technology, and promoting film sales and syndication.

The initiatives undertaken to promote co-production between stakeholders, viability of the Single Window Clearance mechanism and the possibility of enhanced cooperation within the domain of film archiving in the backdrop of the National Film Heritage Mission, will be focus areas for interaction with foreign producers and organizations associated with the film industry.
There will also be a discussion and felicitation of "Titli", Indi’'s official selection at the festival along with the cast and crew, including director "Kanu Behl".

The ministry will also organize interactive sessions with Indian and international film industry stakeholders at the India Pavilion, where trailers of recent Indian films and brochures and other literature of Indian film companies, will also be showcased.

Filmmaker Amole Gupte's "Hawaa Hawaai" has won the box office battle by collecting nearly Rs.5 crore in four days. It is closely followed by "Mastram", about a porn writer.

"Hawaa Hawaai" released May 9 alongside small fries like "Koyelaanchal", "Yeh Hai Bakrapur", "Manjunath" and "Mastram".

With Saqib Salim and Amole's son Partho in the lead, "Hawaa Hawaai" was reportedly made at a budget of Rs.15 crore and hit approximately 750 screens in the country.

"'Hawaa Hawaai' has collected close to Rs.5 crore. It will go steady at the box office, but we are not expecting it to make a major jump in coming days," Rajesh Thadani of Multimedia Combines, told IANS.

The movie has also won hearts of celebrities like Karan Johar, Juhi Chawla and Mahesh Bhatt, who tweeted positive reviews about the film.

Going by the positive response, Amole is said to be working on its sequel that is likely to roll in 2015.

Other releases "Yeh Hai Bakrapur" and "Manjunath" couldn't impress the audiences much.

"Both the movies have earned less than Rs.50 lakh each. 'Koyelaanchal' did relatively better. It collected around Rs.1.5 crore in four days," he said.

"Mastram" is said to have made Rs.3.45 crore in its opening weekend.

Actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan, who is also chairman of FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee-South, will lead the Indian delegation to the 67th Cannes International Film Festival, which begins Wednesday.

Apex business chamber in India - the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), for the first time this year, is co-ordinating on behalf of the ministry of information and broadcasting for the India Pavilion at the gala.

Kamal will lead the official Indian delegation to Cannes and inaugurate the pavilion along with luminaries such as Arun K. Singh, Indian Ambassador to France; Bimal Julka, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; Jerome Paillard, executive director, Marche du Film (the Cannes Film Market); and actor-producer Uday Chopra.

The India Pavilion will showcase Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural and regional diversity, with the aim of forging an increasing number of international partnerships in the realms of distribution, production, filming in India, script development and technology, and promoting film sales and syndication.

"Indian films - including south Indian ones - have been selected and honoured at the Cannes Film Festival for many years now. I'm happy to be part of the official Indian delegation, which will allow me the chance to speak to the world film community about the Indian film industry today.

"As chairman of the FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee - South, I am delighted to have this opportunity to also speak about the development of the southern industry, which has been a special focus of mine for the last five years," Kamal said in a statement.
The Cannes film gala will conclude May 25.

Akshay Kumar and Taapsee Pannu will soon be seen in 'Baby'. An Action thriller directed by Neeraj Pandey. Shooting has started in Katmandu. This will be the second time when Akshay and Neeraj will be working together after ‘Special 26’ in 2013.

The film is set to hit theatres worldwide on Jan 23rd, 2015.

Bhushan Kumar says, “I am extremely happy to joined hands with Friday Filmworks and Crouching Tiger for Neeraj’s next film that is now titled BABY. At T-Series, we have believed in backing genre-breaking content and films that connect with today’s audiences. We have always loved and respected Neeraj’s work and I look forward to him and Akshay creating magic for their fans yet again”.

He is the son of Bollywood's once reigning star Jackie Shroff. His daredevilry is the talk of the town. But young and raring to go Tiger Shroff says that the fact that he's a "star kid" made him work twice as hard as any newcomer.

His debut film "Heropanti", for which he invested two years of labour and passion to achieve an enviable body frame and a natural fluidity in action scenes, hits the screens May 23.

Initially, Tiger was skeptical of stepping into the Hindi film industry, fearing he would be compared to his father. But good preparation and confidence have helped him through.

In conversation with IANS, the 24-year-old said: "Comparison with my father is one of the reasons why I was skeptical to get into Bollywood."

But obviously, he knew, the expectations from him would be high.

"It might be easier for us to get the first film, but the expectation is twice as much because our father had made it big. But people don't know the amount of hard work that goes into it. A star kid has to work twice as hard to surpass the expectations," he said.

Citing an example, Tiger noted how the current day and age are different from when his father was in his prime.

"I think the actors nowadays make a lot more preparations. There is a different kind of expectation and rule book that actors now follow.

"Earlier, actors used to be more carefree and do four to five films. I remember my father used to do three shifts a day, and now we focus on one film and give everything to that film.

"An actor's journey of one film is much longer than what it was back then."

Nevertheless, Tiger has no qualms when he says that he is not sure if he will ever be able to be as successful as his father Jackie, who was amongst B-Town's most sought-after stars of the 1980s and early 1990s thanks to films like "Karma", "Ram Lakhan", "Parinda" and "Khalnayak".

"He is such a cool personality, such a big personality and I am the total opposite. I am too shy and my dad is 'bindass'! We are poles apart. I don't open up in public unlike my father," he said.

Tiger, who says that his dad doesn't interfere in his career, adds that it is Jackie's goodwill that has "got me a lot of respect".

"I worked too hard for two years and tried not to take advantage of my father's name. I wanted to make my own identity and make him feel proud," said the young athletic actor, who also has a strong spiritual inclination.

Acting was not always on his mind.

"I have always been into sports. I had never thought of coming into Bollywood. I was crazy about dance...I was lost academically. I never paid attention in the class and I didn't have any qualification unfortunately.

"I was also getting a lot of offers and I thought I wanted to do a film which allows me to explore my skills and luckily, 'Heropanti' came my way," he said.

Directed by Sabbir Khan, "Heropanti" also marks the debut of Kriti Sanon.

Union workers resumed work Wednesday morning after observing a day's strike Tuesday at Filmcity here due to issues between Allied Mazdoor Union and Balaji Telefilms.

The workers protested as there was a fight between Allied Mazdoor Union and Balaji Telefilms over working hours. The workers reportedly said that Balaji Telefilms makes them work for 15 to 16 hours a day, which is “unethical”.

"Ideally, each worker is not supposed to work for more than 12 hours but a few producers make us work for 16 to 18 hours. Balaji is one such production house which makes us work for 18 hours which is unethical. So, we all workers decided to protest yesterday (Tuesday),” union leader Gangeshwar Shrivastav told IANS.

"But later, there was a meeting with the Filmcity's managing director and he said we will have a meeting on May 20 with the producers and will speak about the issue and get it sorted. And if it doesn't get sorted we will go on strike from June 5 again. Not just Filmcity, our workers who were shooting in Mehboob Studio also came here to Filmcity to join the protest,” he added.

An official from Filmcity confirmed that shooting resumed from Wednesday morning.

"Yesterday (Tuesday) all the shootings were cancelled because the workers went on strike, but now the issue has been resolved and the shooting began today (Wednesday) morning,” said an official from Filmcity.

The studios have been booked for many serials and films, as well as around 10 projects. These include Karan Johar’s “Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania”, Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika Padukone starrer “Happy New Year”, and Kapil Sharma's “Comedy Nights With Kapil”.

Since shooting was not underway, SRK and Karan's films were not affected but Kapil's show got delayed because of the strike.