Bollywood

Bollywood queen Aishwarya Rai continues to get offers from Hollywood despite getting engaged to Abhishek Bachchan, says her international manager Simone Sheffield. In what might be the last major engagement of the Uttar Pradesh State Assembly before it goes to polls, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav will seek a vote of trust in the State Assembly today, creating a record of a majority government seeking a confidence vote on simultaneous sittings of the House. There are reports of a threat of a boycott by the opposition in the House, adding to the chaos created by 67 Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) members resigning on February 24.

Producer Graham King, whose 'The Departed' won an Oscar for the best film, says India needs to spend more on promoting its cinema globally to up its Academy chances. Clad in a burqa, Bollywood actress Amisha Patel visited the shrine of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer near here. It's just a faint glimmer right now, but promises to grow into an exciting trend.

Women directors seem set to grow into a force to reckon with in the near future. After winning British reality TV show 'Celebrity Big Brother', Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty has really hit the bull's eye. She's now all set to speak on racial discrimination at the Commonwealth Day in London March 12.

Indian movies may not have received government sanction to enter Pakistani theatres but Pakistani passengers of the Samjhauta Express said Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, television serials and coconuts from India were great binders for the two countries. Former prime minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan formally joined hands Saturday to kick off a joint election campaign in Uttar Pradesh calling for Dalit-Muslim unity in the poll-bound state. An off the cuff, humorous remark by actor Hrithik Roshan about his colleagues Aamir Khan and Salman Khan has raised some eyebrows.

But the star maintains that he said it for 'fun' and didn't mean to offend anyone. A special TADA court on Friday admitted the plea for leniency in penalty of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, convicted for possessing illegal weapon in connection with the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case. After playing it safe for years, Bollywood is finally opening up and promoting sensitive films on communal violence and social or political issues.

One can say that it is finally coming of age and embracing reality cinema in a big way! Director Imtiaz Ali is set to direct Shahid Kapur and Kareena Kapoor, one of the most talked about Bollywood duos, in his next romantic flick. The Delhi High Court Friday reserved its verdict on a petition accusing ace Bollywood director Ram Gopal Varma of plagiarism in making his latest film Nishabd, starring megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

A special court on the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings Friday directed the prosecution to file a reply on Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt's application for a special report on his good conduct and character on Feb 28.