Hindustani violin concert in Dubai

Plus: science stars make their bow; Diesel realises dream fantasy role; Deepika Padukone denies diva behaviour; and Grateful Dead star reveals cancer battle.

Vin Diesel. Evan Agostini / Invision / AP
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There's a treat in store for fans of classical Indian music, with violin virtuosos Ragini and Nandini Shankar set to perform in Dubai. The sisters, from Mumbai, will perform a Hindustani violin concert at the Indian Consulate Auditorium on November 7. The musical style will be "jugalbandi", which translates as "entwined twins" and features a duet of two solo violins. Accompanying the siblings on stage with be Indian tabla artist Aditya Kalyanpur. Entry to the concert is free – tickets will be assigned following registration at korpxl@gmail.com. The show starts at 7.30pm, doors open at 7pm. For more information, call 050 4295293. – The National staff

Science stars make their bow

Hassan Albalawi from Saudi Arabia and Nadim Rifai from Palestine made it through the first round of eliminations in Qatar's "edutainment-reality" show, Stars of Science. Geared towards encouraging innovation in young Arabs, the show features engineering projects from contestants between the ages of 18 and 30, which are scrutinised by a panel of experts. The next episode is on Friday, October 23 at 8pm on MBC4. The winners in the show's live final will share a US$600,000 (Dh2.2m) prize. – The National staff.

Diesel realises dream role

Ahead of the release of his next film, The Last Witch Hunter, action hero Vin Diesel revealed that fantasy is a movie genre he's long hoped to be involved with. "For many, many, many years, I have been looking for something in the fantasy space," he said. "But I had never done anything in the fantasy space. The idea of doing an action-fantasy film was always appealing to me." In his new film, Diesel, who is best known for his hardman roles in with films such as XXX, A Man Apart and the Fast and Furious series, plays Klauder, an 800-year-old witch-hunter. The film is out in the UAE on Thursday, October 22. – IANS

Padukone denies diva behaviour

Indian actress Deepika Padukone has denied that she asked Shah Rukh Khan to change the release date of his film Diwale to avoid a clash with the debut of her historical love story, Bajirao Mastani. Both films are due for release in December. "I have a very personal equation with Shah Rukh" she said "I would never do something like that. When you are working on a film like Bajirao Mastani, you have very little time or head space for even getting involved in something like that." Bajirao Mastani is a period drama starring Ranveer Singh as 18th-century general, Peshwa Bajirao I. His love interest, Mastani, is played by Padukone, and Priyanka Chopra portrays Kashibai, his first wife. – IANS

Grateful Dead star reveals cancer battle

Rock musician Phil Lesh, a founding member of the band Grateful Dead, has revealed that he has non-aggressive bladder cancer. Lesh, who now plays with the band Phil Lesh & Friends, said on the website of his San Rafael, California-based music venue Terrapin Crossroads, said the diagnosis was made early this month and he has received treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona."I am very fortunate to have the pathology reports show that the tumours are all non-aggressive, and that there is no indication that they have spread," Lesh said. – Reuters