SRK to inaugurate the 42nd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa

Shah Rukh Khan will be inaugurating the 42nd International Film Festival of India to be held at the pristine locales of Goa from the 23rd of November to the 3rd of December. The ten day festival will be spread across cultural locales like Kala Academy, Rabindra Bhawan and others and will bring the best of creative geniuses and celebrated auteur to a common platform which is aimed at making the festival the best in world. While the opening ceremony brings in the King of Bollywood, the closing ceremony will have the Southern Superstar Suriya best known for his super hit movies like Perazhagan, Vaaranam Aayiram and Kaakha Kaakha adding spice to the proceedings. The film festival will also see international celebrities like eminent French filmmaker Luc Besson and International actress Michelle Yeoh.

The festival which is termed as the 'festival of change' seeks to bring in vast changes into the concept of the festival and is a 'work of transition' in the words of Festival Director, Shri Shankar Mohan. A step towards the global acceptability of the festival is to bring in the biggest name in Bollywood today, Shah Rukh Khan who will flag off the ten day global cultural fiesta. The opening celebrations will also include the screening of the Portuguese film The Consul of Bordeaux directed by Francisco Manso and Joao Correa.

A.R. Rahman to receive Lifetime Achievement Award at DIFF

Music maestro A.R.Rahman will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award at the 8th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). Winner of two Academy Awards and two Grammy Awards, the 45 year old virtuoso is the first musician to receive a Lifetime Achievement award at DIFF. 'The Mozart of Madras' is also the youngest recipient of the award. Rahman will receive the award during DIFF to be held from December 7 to 14.

Rahman will also kick off his world tour with a concert in Dubai on December 9; the concert is supported by the Festival.

This year DIFF will also present the Lifetime Achievement Award to veteran Egyptian actor Gamil Rateb.

Shakal Pe Mat Ja

There are times when fatigue sets in while watching the usual masala films that have precious little to offer in terms of content. The customary item songs, the much explored panoramic locales of Europe, the familiar dialogue and drama catering to the NRIs… how one longs for something fresh to come out in cineplexes that would pep you up again.

2011 has been a landmark year for Bollywood. Besides the success ratio which has shot upwards, the material churned out by dream merchants has been much better when compared to previous years. Irrespective of how these films fare, you cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that there has been a genuine effort to give the audience something fresh. 

Salman Khan to work with Subhash Ghai

With Wanted, Dabangg, Ready and Bodyguard all becoming mega hits Salman Khan has become one of the most sought after actors today. With his next film Ek Tha Tiger already in production and Dabangg 2 in process Salman is all set for exciting times ahead.

Though he may have a line-up of films in the pipeline, Bollywood Hungama has learnt that Salman has agreed to star in Subhash Ghai's next film in 2012.

The buzz is that Salman will be doing Ghai's film in October next year. There are also talks that A.R.Rahman would be composing music for this project. Ghai and Salman had worked together earlier in Yuvvraaj in 2008 but the film unfortunately bombed at the B.O.

Amitabh Bachchan in Ashutosh Gowariker's next

Ashutosh Gowariker first directed Aishwarya in Jodhaa Akbar, which eventually won the actress a plethora of awards, then he went on to work with Abhishek Bachchan in Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey which unfortunately couldn't click at the B.O.. Now, we learn that the maverick filmmaker is all set to work with the third member of the Bachchan family, the legendary Amitabh Bachchan in his next film.