• A New Jersey-born Bollywood actress has died at the age of 31 after reported liposuction surgery went wrong. Aarthi Agarwal, 31, died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Atlantic City after respiratory problems, according to her manager. The death on Friday is thought to come roughly a month after the actress received liposuction surgery in the United States.
• It was a night of Bollywood glamour and energy in Malaysia on Sunday at the International Indian Film Academy's (IIFA) annual awards ceremony. India's biggest stars descended on the Malaysian capital for the event -- dubbed Bollywood's Oscars -- dazzling the audience with the colourful musical dance numbers that India's cinema is famous for. Almost 4,000 fans gathered at the Putra Indoor stadium, just south of Kuala Lumpur, to see screen idols like Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Tiger Shroff -- who won the best male debut award -- perform on stage. Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut snapped up the male and female awards for best performance in a leading role for Haider and Queen respectively, while Rajkumar Hirani won best director for PK and Vikas Bahl's film Queen was named best picture.
• Aamir Khan's “PK” has set a new record grossing 100 million yuan (USD 16.70 million) in China, becoming the first Indian film to touch the three figure mark in the largely restrictive Chinese movie market.
• Romanian DJ Edward Maya, is all set to rock Indian music industry with collaborations with Bollywood singers in his upcoming projects. The ‘Stereo Love' hit maker who is currently working on a single with singer Sona Mahapatra for Director Onir's upcoming movie ‘Shab', says Indian culture is something that inspires him and his music. • Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar says the bond between brothers and sisters is not well represented on the big screen in India. “I've always wanted to make a family drama. Drama is my favourite genre. Brother-sister relationship at the core hasn't been well represented on Indian screens. It's always wrapped in rituals ... never what it really is. Nobody else knows you better,” she said.
• Kavita Seth, the versatile Sufi singer, also known for Bollywood songs like Iktara (Wake Up Sid) and Tumhi Ho Bandhu (Cocktail), along with her musical group Karwaan, is all set for their annual Sufi Concert. Titled, Anandotsav, the event is organised to celebrate the birth anniversary of Seth's mentor, guide and husband, late Shri KK Seth. This year's edition will have poems of Mirza Ghalib set into Sufi notes by Seth. “I think the word Sufi is being misused to a great extent in Bollywood. Just by adding words like Maula and Khuda, a song doesn't become Sufi.”
• Rumours are Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif have finally decided to tie the knot by end of 2016. Ranbir told an Indian news agency IANS that since both of them are busy this year, the wedding cannot take place anytime soon. Hence, both have unanimously decided to get hitched end on 2016.
• After the Bombay High Court suspended his five-year jail term in the 2002 hit-and-run case, Salman Khan has resumed filming in Kashmir for ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan'. This verdict seems to have jolted Salman and doesn't want any news related to him to be leaked in the media.
• Priyanka Chopra's first look as a tough cop in Prakash Jha's ‘Gangaajal 2' has been unveiled through snapshots posted on Twitter. Meanwhile, Priyanka is gearing up for the launch of American serial ‘Quantico' where she plays an FBI trainee. — Compiled by Mariam Nihal
