Katrina Kaif celebrated her 28th birthday on Monday but opted not to host a party with her Bollywood colleagues. Instead, the actress spent the day dubbing her forthcoming film, the romantic comedy Ek Tha Tiger, which is directed by Kabir Khan and co-stars Salman Khan. In the afternoon, she went to train for her stunts in the new action film Dhoom 3, which stars another Khan, Aamir. Kaif ended the day with a quiet dinner with her closest non-industry friends. * IANS
Vivek Agnihotri plans Hate Story sequel
The filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has announced plans to produce a sequel to his thriller Hate Story, which came out in April. "Yes, talks are on. But it's in a very initial stage," he said. "We will not be repeating our cast for part two. It will be a fresh cast. I want to experiment with new actors. Let things fall in place, then I can talk about it." Produced by Vikram Bhatt, Hate Story stars Gulshan Devaiya, Paoli Dam and Nikhil Dwivedi. * IANS
Kumar Taurani to launch son's Bollywood career
The producer Kumar Taurani is gearing up to launch the film career of his son Girish. He confirmed that the filmmaker Prabhu Deva will direct the still-untitled project, but clarified rumours that the actress Shruti Haasan has signed on to star as the movie's leading lady. "We have not finalised her. But wait until next week and we'll let you know," said Taurani. "All I can say is that the film will begin shooting in August." The movie is reportedly a romantic musical. * IANS
Aamir Khan's son to assist in new film
Junaid Khan, the 17-year-old son of the Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, is eager to join the Hindi film industry - not as an actor, but as a filmmaker. The junior Khan has reportedly been roped in to assist the director Rajkumar Hirani in his forthcoming film Peekay, starring the senior Khan, Sharman Joshi and Anushka Sharma. Shooting for the movie is set to begin in December, after Khan has finished filming another thriller, Dhoom 3.
Sanjay Dutt signs on to new film
The actor Sanjay Dutt will headline the remake of the 2003 Tamil thriller Saamy, to be directed by KS Ravikumar. Dutt, 52, is said to be "supercharged about the film", in which he will play a cop. Dutt, who was last seen on the big screen in May for the action film Department, is currently filming two other projects: the thriller Zilla Ghaziabad by the director Anand Kumar, and the romance drama Son of Sardaar, which is directed by Ashwni Dhir and stars Ajay Devgn and Sonakshi Sinha.
Karan Johar invited for the Olympics
Britain's national tourism agency has extended a special invitation to the Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar to attend the London Olympics. Last year, Johar was appointed as a goodwill ambassador for the agency's "You're Invited" campaign. He will join more than 500 dignitaries who will have the privilege of watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics from a designated box. The country's prime minister Manmohan Singh also received an invite. "I'm truly humbled and excited. This is an honour," said Johar, 40. "To have a memory of participating in the Olympics, even as a spectator - it will stay with me for a lifetime." To attend the event, Johar said he has postponed scheduled shoots for his forthcoming comedy Student of the Year. * IANS
