Barfi! is India's official entry to the Oscars

Plus, Uday Chopra injured but continues to work on Dhoom 3; Slovenia is the new destination for Bollywood shoots.

Anurag Kashyap's Barfi!, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Ileana D'Cruz, is India's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. Courtesy UTV Motion Pictures

Barfi! is India's official entry to the Oscars

Anurag Basu's Barfi!, a tale about love between a deaf-mute boy and an autistic girl, has been chosen as India's official entry for the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. "We are honoured. It gives us great satisfaction that a film we have nurtured from its inception has met with so much love from audiences and critics worldwide," said Siddharth Roy Kapur, the producer, in a statement. The film's lead actress Priyanka Chopra said: "This film was a labour of love for all of us and to see it receive such success is gratifying. This has been the toughest role of my life and to see everyone loving it is a dream come true." Only three Bollywood films have made it to the nomination stage of the Oscars: Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957), Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay (1988) and Ashutosh Gowariker's Lagaan (2001).

Ravi Babu goes from thriller to comedy

The actor and director Ravi Babu premiered his latest film, the thriller Avunu, on Friday, and says he's already busy working on his next project, which happens to be lighthearted entertainment. "Avunu was a horror film. This next one will be entirely different - it's something for the whole family, a comedy. I have to sit down and work on the script now," said Babu. Avunu is his third consecutive thriller after Anasuya (2007) and Amaravathi (2009). * IANS

Uday Chopra injured but continues shoot

The actor Uday Chopra injured his foot last week on the set of his new film Dhoom 3: Back in Action. "I fractured my foot trying to do a stunt. I guess I should leave the stunts to the stunt men," Chopra told reporters on the sets. "There are eight more weeks of shooting to go and the film cannot be delayed because of this minor injury. Painkillers were invented for this very reason," he added, laughing. Dhoom 3 is directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya and stars Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif and Abhishek Bachchan. It will be released in India early next year. * IANS

Film introduces Slovenia to Bollywood

The Swiss Alps, the Scottish Highlands, British castles and Spanish beaches – these breathtaking European destinations have long fascinated Indian filmmakers. Now it's Slovenia, a tiny land nestled in central Europe with a population of a little more than two million, and the first film to introduce the country to Indian cinema is the Telugu film Nayak. The filmmaker VV Vinayak, along with the lead actors Ram Charan and Kajal Agrawal, last week shot song sequences in Slovenia's locales. The stunning environs of the Postojna caves, the medieval coastal town of Piran and the alpine resort town of Bled were the backdrops for the actors's dance moves. "I am very pleased that India has finally discovered Slovenia. It's time for Indian cinema to showcase the country," said Janez Fajfar, the mayor of Bled. * IANS