Abhishek Bachchan: I can’t emulate my father’s stardom

Plus: Nirvana, Kiss and Peter Gabriel headed to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; American Hustle and Slave top Critics’ Choice nods; Shah Rukh Khan signs on to Fan; country singer Ray Price dead at 87; Jay Sean welcomes baby girl; and Fast & Furious stars among top earners of 2013.

Abhishek Bachchan and his father Amitabh. AFP

The Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan says he will never be able to achieve the stardom of his superstar father, Amitabh, so he prefers to chart his own course. "He is the biggest, was, is and is ever going to be. So don't aspire to be that because it is not going to happen. Aspire to be your own man and achieve your own goals," the 37-year-old star told the Press Trust of India. He added that even big stars such as his father can't guarantee a hit movie. "If the film is not good – even if you have Mr Amitabh Bachchan in it – it will not work. The fact is, if the story is not good, nobody can save your film." – The National staff

Nirvana, Kiss, Peter Gabriel headed to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Nirvana, Kiss and Peter Gabriel will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year. Hall and Oates, Linda Ronstadt and Cat Stevens also will be inducted on April 10 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after their first release. – AP

American Hustle and Slave top Critics’ Choice nods

American Hustle and 12 Years a Slave, which both screened at the recent Dubai International Film Festival, topped the Critics' Choice nominations ­announced yesterday, confirming their front-runner status in Hollywood's annual awards season. Each film won 13 nods. Both were nominated for Best Film, along with Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gravity, Her, Inside Llewyn Davis, Nebraska, Saving Mr Banks and The Wolf of Wall Street. The awards will be presented on January 16, four days after the Golden Globes and the same day nominees are announced for the Oscars, which conclude Tinseltown's awards season on March 2. – AFP

Shah Rukh Khan signs on to Fan

Shah Rukh Khan, who has millions of followers around the world, is all set to play one in his forthcoming film Fan, directed by Maneesh Sharma and produced by Yash Raj Films. The actor said the role is a tribute to his admirers. "Most of the characters I do are the ones I create. For the first time I am going to play what has created me. I will be in my next a 'FAN'," he posted on Twitter. "'FAN is a family film. It's the family all of you have become for me … the one I didn't have." The film is scheduled to begin shooting in May. – IANS

Country singer Ray Price dead at 87

The influential country crooner Ray Price died yesterday at his Texas home, having long outlasted most of his country music contemporaries and the prognosis doctors gave him when they discovered his pancreatic cancer in 2011. He was 87. "Besides one of the greatest voices that ever sang a note, Ray's career spanned over 65 years in a business where 25 years would be amazing," said Ray Benson of the country music group Asleep at the Wheel. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum historian Michael McCall said Price "was one of his generation's most important musical innovators", popularising the bedrock 4/4 shuffle beat. – AP

Jay Sean welcomes baby girl

The R&B crooner Jay Sean and his wife Thara Natalie welcomed a baby girl on Friday, he announced on Instagram on Monday. "Meet our lil baby girl, Ayva Loveen Kaur Jhooti," wrote Sean, 32. "It was the most incredible moment of my life seeing her enter this world. Wifey had a music playlist for her delivery, a mixture of different artists and some of her favourite songs (including mine)." – The National staff

Fast & Furious stars are 2013’s top-grossing actors

Dwayne Johnson took the No 1 spot in the Forbes list of top-grossing actors in 2013, while his Fast & Furious co-stars Vin Diesel and the late Paul Walker made the top six. The Iron Man 3 star Robert Downey Jr placed second, while Steve Carell ranked third on the list thanks to the success of the animated film Despicable Me 2. – Reuters