The first look at Hrithik Roshan's much-anticipated period film, Mohenjo Daro, has been released. The Bollywood actor teased fans with a motion poster for the epic adventure-romance drama directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The poster features the ancient city of Mohenjo-daro in the era of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Hrithik tweeted on Tuesday: "Often the greatest of men have the smallest of beginnings. His name..? Only the truly vulnerable can be truly powerful!! Are u ready?" A few hours later, he shared the poster with the caption: "Manifestation of love and power." Co-written, co-produced and directed by Gowariker, the film is due for release in August. – The National
Dhawan ready to go solo
Varun Dhawan is ready to fly solo after sharing the big screen with John Abraham in Rohit Dhwan's action adventure film Dishoom, which was partly filmed in AbuDhabi with the help of twofour54. Entertainment website Bollywoodhungama.com quoted a source close to Dhawan as saying that after movies including Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and ABCD2, Dhawan, 29, was confident of carrying off a film as the sole lead. Another factor that led to this decision was his disappointment in Dilwale. It was reported in April that Dhawan was unhappy with the final edit of the film, from which a lot of his scenes were cut. In other news from Dishoom, its trailer, which was released on June 1, has crossed the 10-million views mark. Abraham celebrated this milestone by tweeting a specially created poster thanking viewers for their overwhelming support. – Sonali Kokra
Padukone teams up with footballer
Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, who is set to make her Hollywood debut in January alongside Vin Diesel in xXx3: The Return Of Xander Cage, will share screen time with footballer Neymar Jr in the movie, the third in the xXx franchise. Diesel made the announcement on Instagram, after the Brazilian and FC Barcelona striker completed his first day's filming. The film will be Neymar Jr's Hollywood debut. The footballer also posted about the film on his Instagram account, saying that he was excited to be a part of the movie. www.instagram.com/p/BGNXM68GPiM/?taken-by=vindiesel www.instagram.com/p/BGNETAiRtnt/?taken-by=neymarjr – Sonali Kokra
Anger over Udta Punjab censorship
Bollywood film Udta Punjab has been mired in controversy ever since the Examining Committee of the Central Board of Film Certification demanded 40 cuts due to its depiction of the drug problem in Punjab and its use of expletives. A screening was held for the Censor Board's Revising Committee on and it recommended that the word Punjab be dropped from the title and all references of the state removed. On Monday, Times Now reported that the censor board had demanded 89 cuts, which the makers have refused to make. Bollywood stars and filmmakers came out strongly in support of the film, which was directed by Abhishek Chaubey, condemning the the political pressure that has led to the demands. Karan Johar, Shekhar Gupta, Mahesh Bhatt, Arjun Kapoor, Farhan Akhtar, Ram Gopal Varma, Soha Ali Khan, Nikhil Advani and many others tweeted in support of the right to free speech and creative expression. Johar wrote: "Udta Punjab speaks of the reality of our times... Censoring reality amounts to delusion. The fraternity has to stand by what's right." Bhatt also took to social media, directing his comments at Pahlaj Nihalani, head of the Central Board of Film Certification, as he wrote: "Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance. Is Pahlaj Nihalani listening?" – Sonali Kokra
Franzioni faces backlash over Rumi film
Oscar-winning screenwriter, David Franzioni, of Gladiator fame, is facing a backlash over his announcement of a biopic about the life of the 13th-century Persian poet, Rumi. Franzioni's suggestion that he would like to cast Leonardo DiCaprio as Rumi and Robert Downey Jr as his spiritual mentor Shams of Tabriz led to a storm of criticism on Twitter over what is being considered another case of Hollywood "whitewashing". The hashtag #RumiWasntWhite quickly spread across Twitter, with many users pointing out that the poet was born in present-day Afghanistan and emphasising the lack of cultural diversity in Hollywood and the problem with casting white actors to play characters of other races. – Sonali Kokra
Christo unveils latest work on Italian Lake
Residents of a rural area of northern Italy will be able walk on water for the next 16 days, thanks to a giant installation created by the artist Christo. Known for his large-scale works – such as wrapping the Reichstag in Berlin and the Pont Neuf in Paris, which he completed with his late wife Jeanne-Claude – this is the artist's 23rd large installation. It is set up in Lake Iseo in northern Italy. Since November, Christo and his team have been overseeing the assembly and anchoring of 220,000 floating poly-ethylene cubes to create a three-kilometre undulating runway connecting the mainland with a pair of islands. The Floating Piers is expected to attract half a million visitors during the longest days of the year to northern Italy's least-known big lake. – AP
Banksy gifts painting to schoolkids
Street artist Banksy, whose works of art have sold for more than US$1 million, (Dh3.67m) surprised primary schoolchildren in his native Bristol in south-west England by painting a mural on the side of one of their classrooms during half-term. The 14ft piece, showing a child with a stick chasing a burning tyre, was discovered at Bridge Farm Primary in Bristol on Monday. The school’s site manager Jason Brady found the artwork, which has been confirmed as genuine, with a letter in an envelope entitled “Dear Caretaker”. The letter stated that the pupils at the school had written him a letter and named a house after him, so the artist gifted them a picture. He added: “If you don’t like it feel free to add stuff, I’m sure the teachers won’t mind.Remember – its always easier to get forgiveness than permission. Much love, Banksy.” – The National
