Abhishek and Riteish to host Zee Cine

Plus: Akshay Kumar stars in Thuppakki remake; TV show to cover Delhi gang-rape; Romanian film legend Nicolaescu dies; military to discipline Rain.

The actor Abhishek Bachchan will cohost the Zee Cine Awards. AP Photo

Abhishek Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh, who both starred together in 2005's Bluffmaster!, are to host this evening's Zee Cine Awards 2013 ceremony. "The audiences have appreciated Riteish and me together in films – I hope they like our pairing at the Zee Cine Awards," Bachchan, who recently celebrated a decade acting in Bollywood, said in a statement. The event is to be held at the Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai and is expected to be attended by the likes of Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone. – IANS

TV show to cover Delhi gang-rape

As India continues to reel from the horror of the brutal gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old girl in Delhi, the popular TV show Crime Patrol has decided to dedicate an episode to the incident. "We are trying to keep it as factual as possible. We are not sensationalising things. We are doing it with utmost sensitivity and trying to give our point of view and suggestions," said the show's host, Anup Soni. "In the past we have shown episodes featuring rape cases, but this is the case that turned people into rebels. As and when we have shown such cases in the show, our approach has always been to change the mindset of people and this time it is the same, too." – IANS

Kumar stars in Thuppakki remake

After a hectic 2012 that included six films, Akshay Kumar's 2013 has already kicked off professionally with the shooting of the Hindi remake of the Tamil action thriller Thuppakki. The Bollywood star is teaming up again with Sonakshi Sinha, who he appeared alongside in Joker and Rowdy Rathore, while A R Murugadoss is in the director's chair. Murugadoss was also behind the Tamil original, in which an Indian army captain returns from Kashmir to Mumbai and becomes embroiled in a series of terrorist attacks. – IANS

Romanian film legend Nicolaescu dies

Sergiu Nicolaescu, the prolific Romanian filmmaker who helmed more than 60 films in a career spanning five decades, died on Thursday at age 82. The director made his debut in 1962 with the short film Scoicile nu au vorbit niciodata (Shells Have Never Spoken), but just five years later his first feature Dacii, the first in a series of historical epics glorifying Romania's past, earned him numerous plaudits and was entered into the 5th Moscow International Film Festival. His best-known work, 1979's Mihai Viteazul (Michael the Brave), set in the 16th century, has become a Romanian cinema classic. Alongside directing, Nicolaescu was also an actor, starting in more than 30 of his own films, and later a politician, being a member of the Senate between 1990 and 2012, first for the National Salvation Front and then under the colours of the Social Democrat Party. In 2000 he was diagnosed with diverticulitis, a digestive condition. – AFP

Military to discipline Rain

The South Korean pop sensation Rain is set to be disciplined after it emerged that he may have flouted military service rules while dating Kim Tae-Hee, a TV star, according to the defence ministry. The spokesman Kim Min-Seok said that the 30-year-old singer – who is currently halfway through a two-year military service – would appear before a disciplinary committee next week, but is "not expected to land in jail". The issue concerns how Rain – real name Jung Ji-Hoon – and Tae-Hee managed to meet up for dates when most South Korean men on military service are confined to their barracks and given little free time. Photos of the couple have emerged showing Rain, 30, driving a private car in military uniform and not wearing his army beret, both contrary to service guidelines. Some critics have suggested Rain be forced to repeat his military service such as the Gangnam Style star Psy, who was made to serve twice after it emerged he had used the first stint to further his showbiz interest. – AFP