Aguilera to duet with Whitney Houston hologram

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  Evan Agostini / Invision / AP

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  Courtesy Cartoon Network

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  Neilson Barnard / Getty Images / AFP

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  AFP PHOTO / AFP PHOTO / STR

Singer Christina Aguilera will reportedly sing with a Whitney Houston hologram on the singing reality show The Voice. According to etonline.com, a hologram of Houston will appear on an upcoming episode of the show for a special duet, though it is unclear when the episode will air. Aguilera, who sits on the judging panel alongside Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Pharrell Williams, said: "I am sworn to secrecy. I can't say anything, but I'm very excited about the finale. Very exciting things happening". Aguilera sparked rumours she would be paying tribute to Houston, who was found dead in her hotel room in February 2012, on the talent competition after photographs and videos surfaced on social media last week of her glammed up and singing with the hologram. The Voice" finale will be aired on May 24 on NBC- IANS

Priyanka Chopra tops most desirable women list

Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra's popularity seems to show no signs of diminishing. This year alone, she's won the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, dined at the White House, presented at the Oscars, won a People's Choice Award and made it to the cover of Time Magazine after being named in its 100 Most Influential People of 2015 list. Mow she's topped the list of Times Of India's 50 Most Desirable Women of 2015, beating Deepika Padukone and Sunny Leone, in second and third places, respectively. Reacting to the news, Chopra, 33, said, "I am very flattered and I am still trying to figure out the reason (for winning the award). I am just a girl who is simply doing her job." - Sonali Kokra

Indian cricket players concerned about Azhar portrayal

The filmmakers of Azhar, out in UAE cinemas on May 12, have intermittently been threatened by lawsuits from several former Indian cricketers, fearing their portrayal in the movie based on the life of former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin. Among those who are uncomfortable about the film is Sangeeta Bijlani, Azharuddin's second wife. Bijlani, who separated from Azharuddin in 2010, is worried that she will be portrayed in a poor light and might be perceived as a home-breaker by the audience and, according to a report in BollywoodLife.com, has called Azharuddin several times in the last few days to discuss her concerns. Since the makers have been extremely guarded about information regarding the film, Bijlani has decided to wait until she sees the film to make up her mind about the lawsuit. - Sonali Kokra

Bilal to receive red carpet Cannes screening

Animated feature Bilal, from Dubai's Barajoun Entertainment, lines up alongside a number of UAE-produced shorts when it receives a red carpet gala screening at Cannes' Cinema Olympia on Saturday evening as part of the annual film festival's Animation Day. The movie features big name stars including Ian McShane (Lovejoy, Pirates of the Caribbean) and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Game of Thrones, Suicide Squad) and tells the true story of Bilal Ibn Rabah, an African slave who escaped his chains to become a great warrior and leader in 7th century Arabia. The film received its world premiere at Dubai International Film Festival in December, and is expected to have a worldwide cinema release later this year. - The National

Big B wants your help in promoting his next film

Amitabh Bachchan's upcoming film, Te3n has adopted an crowd sourcing marketing technique to create a buzz around the film. The 73-year-old Bachchan recently tweeted requested his 21 million Twitter followers to send in ideas to promote the thriller. "Send me ideas of how to promote TE3N and we shall incorporate. poster designs, publicity etc.," he tweeted, generating enthusiastic responses and quick Photoshop jobs from fans. The film, also starring Vidya Balan and Nawazzudin Siddiqui in lead roles, is slated for a June release. — Sonali Kokra

Turner launches Hindi Cartoon Network

Turner Broadcast, the parent company of The Cartoon Network, has launched its fourth kids' channel in the region, Cartoon Network Hindi. The new channel will include a line-up of popular Cartoon Network originals from Ben 10 and PPG to The Amazing World of Gumball and Adventure Time all dubbed in Hindi, in addition to other popular Indian produced cartoon series that are also airing on Turner Channels in India. The new channel lines up alongside Turner's three existing kids' channels in the region, and also makes it the first broadcaster to offer kids' programming in three languages through Cartoon Network Hindi, Arabi and English, as well as the Boomerang Channel in English — The National

The Exorcist and Lethal Weapon to join Fox’s TV schedule

Fox has greenlit two new TV serial adaptations of movie hits to join it's 2016/17 schedule. Lethal Weapon, starring Damon Wayans Sr, and The Exorcist with Geena Davis will screen on the network later this year. Wayans will play Roger Murtaugh, the part filled by Danny Glover in the 1987 Lethal Weapon and its sequels. Clayne Crawford stars as Martin Riggs, who was played by Mel Gibson in the buddy cop movies. Meanwhile, The Exorcist will revisit the 1973 movie's tale of a family coping with demonic possession. Besides the Oscar-winning Davis (The Accidental Tourist, Thelma and Louise) the cast includes Alfonso Herrera and Ben Daniels. Fox's announcement jumped the gun on next week's traditional annual new-season presentations to advertisers in New York City — AP

Nargis Fakhri unaffected by criticism

Actress Nargis Fakhri, who drew flak for her performance in director Imtiaz Ali’s 2011 musical romantic drama Rockstar, says she is not affected by critics anymore. “Now whatever people say it doesn’t affect me that way because after Rockstar it was so dramatic. Now I have a better understanding (of films) so now I don’t care. But I am so proud of that film,” she said. However, Nargis admitted that the negative reviews for her debut did initially affect her. “After Rockstar it was tough because all the reviews came out were so negative that it was very traumatising. I never wanted to be an actress ... I didn’t even ask for this ... It was horrible and so dramatic,” she recalled. Rock star also featured actor Ranbir Kapoor in the lead role. Nargis is now gearing up for the release of Azhar, out in UAE cinemas on May 12, where she will be seen portraying former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin’s second wife Sangeeta Bijlani’s role. — IANS

Twinkle Khanna apologises to Art of Living founder for a bad joke

Bollywood actress Twinkle Khanna, popularly known as MrsFunnybones on Twitter, may have unintentionally caused trouble for husband Akshay Kumar's upcoming comedy Housefull 3. On May 7, Khanna, also a popular columnist, made a joke about Art Of Living founder, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Nobel Prize comments, tweeting, "Sri Sri got his Nobel foot and half his beard stuck in his mouth in a yogic pose the BabaRamdev perfected a while ago #HolyMenandHairyTales." Predictably, the foundation was not amused. Responding to Khanna, Art of Living Foundation's international director, Darshak Hathi, tweeted, "Million f followers r going 2 boycott #Housefull3 4 hurting the sentiments by inappropriate and ill intended comments f @mrsfunnybones on Sri Sri." Although Khanna later deleted her joke and apologised for hurting people's sentiments, Hathi dismissed it as a ploy to avoid the boycott of Housefull 3. While many Art of Living followers expressed anger over Khanna's jokes, many fans supported her, saying that she should have held her stance and not deleted her joke. Since the controversy, Hathi, too, has deleted his tweets calling for a boycott of the film. — Sonali Kokra