The actor Arjun Rampal announced he begins shooting this week for his next project, the action thriller D-Day, directed by Nikhil Advani. "It's still the tentative title. I play an agent in it," said Rampal, who has grown a beard for the role. "I'm giving it all for the movie, which will have some high-octane Hollywood-style action." Rampal revealed that the film has tapped Tom Struthers, an American choreographer who directed the action scenes in Blood Diamond, Inception and The Dark Knight, to coordinate the stunts in D-Day. Rampal is also gearing up for the release of his new film Chakravyuh, a political thriller directed by Prakash Jha and co-starring Abhay Deol and Esha Gupta. It is scheduled to release in Indian cinemas on October 24. * IANS
Varma excited for Sridevi comeback
As the actress Sridevi makes her comeback to Bollywood via the new drama English Vinglish, it's not only her fans who are eagerly waiting for the movie, but also the filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma. "Can't wait. For first time in 20 years, ever since I became a director, I am going to stand in a line and buy a ticket, just to see Sridevi," Varma posted on Twitter. One of the biggest Indian stars in the 1980s and 1990s, Sridevi bid adieu to Bollywood after marrying the producer Boney Kapoor in 1996. Her last release was the 1997 hit Judaai. In English Vinglish, the 49-year-old actress plays a housewife struggling to learn the English language. The film opens in the UAE on Thursday. * IANS
Shah Rukh Khan to release new film track
Shah Rukh Khan has announced the first track from his anticipated new film Jab Tak Hai Jaan will release this week. "It's titled Challa. Looking forward to it, haven't heard it or seen the video since we finished shooting," he posted on Twitter. Directed by Yash Chopra, the film features the Bollywood superstar playing the role of an army officer. The movie also features Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma and is slated to release November 13. * IANS
Varun Dhawan eyes edgier roles
The newcomer Varun Dhawan is making his Bollywood debut in the romantic comedy Student of the Year, but admits he relates more with darker-themed movies. "I would like to do darker, edgier and realistic films. It's an art to do romantic films also, but given a chance I would love to do something different and not what everyone is doing," said Varun, 24, the son of the comedian David Dhawan. In Student of the Year, the filmmaker Karan Johar has tapped Dhawan and two other newcomers, Alia Bhatt and Siddharth Malhotra, for the lead roles. The film is slated to release next month. * IANS
Spain sends silent Snow White for Oscars
Spain has selected the silent, black-and-white movie Blancanieves (Snow White) by Pablo Berger as its entry for Best Foreign Language Film at next year's Oscars. Based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, it stars the popular Spanish actresses Maribel Verdu, Angela Molina and Macarena Garcia. The US film academy will select finalists for the Oscar next January with the awards announced a month later. * AP
