Akshay Kumar has expressed his gratitude to his fans for the box office success of his film Rowdy Rathore, which premiered last week in cinemas. "I owe a HUGE thank you to my audience! You are the only reason behind the biggest opening weekend of my career! Love Rowdy," Kumar posted on Twitter. The film, directed by Prabhu Deva, is Kumar's widest release so far - it opened on 2,800 screens in India. It also marked the actor's return to a full-fledged action role after seven years. * IANS
Big B to reunite with Balki on big screen
The filmmaker R Balakrishnan, aka Balki, who directed Amitabh Bachchan in 2007's Cheeni Kum and 2009's Paa, confirmed he is working on a new project with the Bollywood megastar. "I am writing a film with Amitji. It will explore one more side of him. He's my dream actor," said Balakrishnan. "I can't talk much about the film right now, but hopefully we will begin production by the end of this year. We're shooting the entire film in India." It was earlier rumoured that Bachchan was not going to accept any movie projects this year, so he could recover after his abdominal surgery in February. * IANS
Habib Faisal: concept makes the film
The writer and director Habib Faisal, who's currently enjoying the success of his new film Ishaqzaade, says that though technology has made filmmaking easier, one cannot ignore the importance of a sound story. "Films are always going to be concept-driven," he said. "Yes, technological advancements have happened, but the key thing is always going to be the concept." His critically acclaimed romantic drama Ishaqzaade stars Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra. * IANS
Prasoon Joshi criticises ignorance of traditional music
The composer and lyricist Prasoon Joshi says he's impressed with the young crop of innovative musicians in India but feels they are ignoring their traditional musical roots. "They like to experiment with their music and are technically well-versed. But they are less aware of the traditional part of the music culture, which is important for them to know," he said. "Youngsters today are in too much hurry." Joshi is conducting music workshops at this weekend's International Indian Film Academy awards in Singapore, where he will also unveil his anthem for the centenary of Indian cinema. * IANS
Washington hosts first South Asian fest
The curtain came down on Sunday on the first DC South Asian Film Festival with the screening of Dev Anand's 1961 film Hum Dono, fully restored in colour. Attended by a host of celebrities from the Indian film industry, the event kicked off last Friday with the red carpet gala of Shyam Benegal's classic Mammo, which was part of a retrospective on the prolific Indian director and screenwriter. Other highlights of the weekend included a series of acting and filmmaking workshops, short films directed by local artists and a screening of the Indian-American filmmaker Manan Singh Katohora's thriller 9 Eleven. Bollywood celebrity attendees included Ketan Mehta, Manisha Koirala, Rajit Kapur and Suneil Anand. * IANS
