Apnaindia Entertainment

Creative filmmaking in India got a big shot in the arm as the Holy Grail of the global independent cinema movement - Sundance Institute - has walked into the cinema capital with the inaugural of Mumbai Mantra Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab 2012 Sunday.

While the whole world is celebrating Vidya Balan's National Award for the best actress for her role in "The Dirty Picture", the response to Marathi artist Girish Kulkarni winning the prestigious award for the best actor for "Deool" has drawn a blank.

Karan Johar has finalised "Wake Up Sid" fame director Ayan Mukerji to direct his next production venture "Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani", which stars Ranbir Kapoor in the lead role. "Our film 'Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani' starts this month... directed by Ayan Mukherji and stars Ranbir-Deepika (Padukone) and Aditya Roy Kapur and Kalki (Koechlin)," Karan confirmed on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Actor Abhishek Bachchan says his wife Aishwarya Rai is happy playing mother to their three-and-half-month-old daughter and would return to work when she feels like doing so. Meanwhile the actor is keen to work in films inspired by plays by young writers. "As and when she wants to come back, is completely her decision...

Bollywood's evergreen beauty Madhuri Dixit has been riding high on her comeback success as after bagging the right amount of limelight post her return to the glamour industry via a reality show. She rose to the peak of her stardom when she was bestowed with the honor of being immortalized in the form of a wax statue in Madame Tussauds in London.

Bollywood's recently released film `Paan Singh Tomar' that is a biopic of a real life athlete turned dacoit that was played by Irrfan Khan garnered high critical acclaim for its great cinematic excellence. The film got thumbs up for Industry biggies as well as the critics who praised director Tigmanshu Dhulia as well as his protagonist Irrfan Khan for putting up a great show.

Saif Ali Khan has been painting the nation red with his innumerable promotional events for his forthcoming film `Agent Vinod' that will be releasing on 23^rd March. And it was at one such promotional event where he exclaimed that he has outgrown the age to play a lover boy onscreen now.

Bollywood hunk John Abraham changed the luck of one of his trainers. The 38-year-old actor who is currently shooting for Sanjay Gupta's gangster film 'Shootout At Wadala' was unable to deliver perfect action scene for his film with the trainers provided by filmmakers.

Superstar Akshay Kumar who has been known for his suave metropolitan avatar recently revealed that regardless of his start status his heart still lies in his hometown Delhi. Akshay who has spent his growing years in Chandni Chowk, Delhi recently was shooting in the Indian capital where he got nostalgic remembering his childhood days.

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan says he misses being a child as adulthood brings restriction in discovering new aspects of life. "I miss being a baby because sometimes as an adult, one feels one is just repeating trivial maintenance duties instead of discovering new things," the 46-year-old tweeted.

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is thrilled with the story line of "Kahaani" and says that the film's leading lady of the movie Vidya Balan is a true successor of superstar Aamir Khan when it comes to choice of scripts. "'Kahaani' is how a thriller should be shot...the ending is debatable but what an effort," the 39-year-old tweeted.

After being appreciated for her performance in female-centric "Ishqiya", "No One Killed Jessica" and "The Dirty Picture", actress Vidya Balan carries forwards the legacy of hits with "Kahaani", which has reportedly collected Rs.2.95 crore on its opening day.

Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan was shown black flags here by locals, protesting the decision to appoint a Saudi national as the caretaker of the guest houses built by the erstwhile Nawabs of Bhopal for Haj pilgrims to Mecca. Saif, the titular Nawab of Bhopal, was in the city Friday night to see the World Series Hockey game between Bhopal Badshahs and Delhi Wizards and to promote his forthcoming film "Agent Vinod".

It seems Vidya Balan's success with challenging roles like in "The Dirty Picture" and "Kahaani" has tempted other actresses to pick out-of-the-box roles. Kulraj Randhawa happens to be one such example. Kulraj, whose latest film "Chaar Din Ki Chandni" hit theatres this Holi, says she wants to concentrate on taking up challenging roles.

Who says actors and films do not make a difference to the quality of our life? A biopic on the life of athlete-turned-outlaw Paan Singh Tomar has made its makers aware of their social responsibility. They are set to establish a charitable trust to look after retired, out-of-favour athletes and sportpersons. The film's director Tigmanshu Dhulia, lead actor Irrfan Khan and producers UTV Motion Pictures are spearheading the trust, which is being called SOS - Save Our Sportspersons.

He has proved to be a 'khiladi' of both genres - action and comedy. But kicking and boxing in front of the camera is far easier than making the audience laugh, says Bollywood star Akshay Kumar. "Action is easy, it is very easy. Comedy is difficult," Akshay told IANS in a chat on the sets of Neeraj Pandey's "Special Chabbis". After a shot, the 44-year-old relaxed in the balcony of an old-structured house in Connaught Place here.

Vidya Balan, who won the best actress National award for her bold and beautiful performance in "The Dirty Picture", says she has achieved a lot more than she ever expected to in her seven-year Bollywood career. "I am feeling very good. Actually, I am speechless to tell how wonderful and happy I am feeling," the 33-year-old said here at an event.

Bollywood actor Imran Khan, known for his chocolate boy looks, will turn baddie for the sequel of the 2010 film "Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai". He will play a don in parallel lead with Akshay Kumar. The movie was to feature Shahid Kapoor earlier but now Imran has been finalised for it.

Actor John Abarahm believes that the way "Dostana" helped people shed their inhibitions about homosexuality, his maiden home production "Vicky Donor" will give the issue of sperm donation a lot of credibility. "Sperm donation, which is a taboo for a lot of people, is going to be treated with a lot of credibility once this ('Vicky Donor') happens," the 39-year-old said here at the launch of the first look of the film.

"Saubhagyavati Bhava", a TV show which seeks to highlight the plight of women who face domestic abuse, has tied-up with an NGO to encourage men to curb the social evil. The show, which airs on Life OK, has joined hands with Breakthrough, a human rights organisation, which uses the power of popular culture, leadership training and community education to transform public attitudes.