• Iconic Bollywood movie Sholay has been finally released in cinemas in Pakistan nearly 40 years after it first took India by storm.
• Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut received the Best Actress Award from President Pranab Mukherjee on 3rd May, in New Delhi at the 62nd National Award ceremony. Ranaut won the award for her performance in Queen.
• Amitabh Bachchan is Bollywood's megastar, but he says he wants to choose a different profession in his next birth. At a promotional event of his film Piku, Big B said that he wants to become a journalist in his next life. The reason behind this ambition of his, he says is because he is tired of answering the same questions and he wants to turn the tables by sitting in the interviewer's seat. • Piku, aka Deepika Padukone, made a trip to the capital along with Irrfan Khan and filmmaker Shoojit Sircar. The actress, who remains in the top spot in Bollywood, has been at the receiving end over the Vogue video on women's empowerment titled ‘My Choice,' which featured her along with 99 other young women. Directed by Homi Adjania, it seemed Deepika had become the target of all that was wrong with the three-minute capsule. So, was she surprised at the backlash and what did she think of it? “I was a bit disappointed with the reaction, but I'm someone who will always look at the positive side and tell myself there is a large part of people who understood what I was trying to do. There were certain issues I had with the script itself from the couple of lines that were given to me but I dove into it keeping the larger initiative in mind. I personally do not endorse infidelity of any kind. For me trust marriage and honesty is a very sacred thing. When we talk about empowerment, in my mind it's always equality. I do not feel one is more superior than the other. It's disheartening when we miss the larger issue since I know the intention behind the video.” said the actress.
• I'm here to share love: Atif Aslam recently said about performing in India after his show cancellation in Pune due to opposition from Shiv Sena. “I respect all the promoters (of events) who invite us. But it is the responsibility of organisers. I love my fans and I like being in India. I'm a musician. I make music for everyone. I don't categorise (anyone) into Hindus or Muslims. When it comes to music, there are no boundaries. I'm here to share love. I'm not doing anything wrong. Whatever I earn, I make sure to pay taxes,” Aslam told reporters here prior to his performance. He hasn't released any albums since ‘Meri Kahani' (2008) despite having a “library of 150 songs”. The ‘Tere bin' crooner says the trend has now shifted from albums to singles and music lovers prefer downloading from online platforms to purchasing physical copies from brick-and-mortar stores. “All these years... I've composed my music as well. I have a complete library... a library of 150 songs at the moment. I haven't released them because the business model has completely changed,” Atif, who made his Bollywood singing debut with ‘Woh lamhe' in the 2005 film ‘Zeher' said. “I'm again trying to do independent music now. I'm working on a couple of songs.
• Taking break from Bollywood, Ali Zafar decides to focus on Pakistani films. After building a successful career in Bollywood, singer-actor Ali Zafar has decided to bring his experience back home and work for Lollywood.Speaking to the press, Zafar said “it's time to take Pakistan film industry to an international level. I have done five films here and I feel I should use my experience there. I feel Pakistani film industry needs us.”
• Shah Rukh Khan's final Bollywood barrier: Rs1,000 crores. Shah Rukh believes that the advent of the Hollywood studios in India and their starting production here can help make the Rs1000 crore dream possible. - Compiled by Mariam Nihal
