Holly to Bolly: Hillary Clinton makes surprise appearance at Tribeca, trailer for Magalir Mattum released, and more

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  Subhash Sharma for The National

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  Universal Pictures via AP

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  Andy Kropa / Invision / AP

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  Ravindranath K / The National

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Hillary Clinton makes surprise appearance at Tribeca Film Festival

Hillary Clinton, who until recently had avoided the spotlight after her election defeat in November, made a surprise appearance at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival as a panellist to discuss illegal elephant poaching.

The discussion followed the premiere of Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow's virtual reality documentary The Protectors: Walk in the Rangers' Shoes.

“We’ve got to bust this market,” Clinton said of the global ivory trade.

Clinton said she first began focusing on the “horrific slaughter” of elephants when she was secretary of state and later helped launch an anti-poaching initiative at her family’s non-profit Clinton Global Initiative. — Reuters

Huma Qureshi would like to play herself

She has portrayed various characters on screen in films like Gangs of Wasseypur, Ek Thi Daayan, Dedh Ishqiya and Jolly LLB 2, but actress Huma Qureshi says she is waiting for a movie that mirrors her own personality.

“There are times, when actors do resemble the characters they portray on screen, but I don’t think I have played myself in front of the camera.” she says “I have always portrayed a character. Though I would love to play myself. I think I am very interesting. I need to definitely play myself,”

The actress added that acting is most rewarding when the audience believe her portrayals.

“When people feel you are that character in real life, then at least as actors we feel that we have done our job nicely.” - IANS

The Fate of the Furious tops the box office

Universal's film The Fate of the Furious is racing to defend its title at the top of the box office, while a number of new releases including The Promise and Unforgettable are being left in the dust.

Universal's eighth instalment in the Fast and Furious franchise proved to be a global box office titan when it opened last weekend to a record-shattering $532.5 million (Dh1.9 billion). This time around looks to tell mostly the same story, while domestic grosses slipped 61 per cent from its first to second weekend, the movie is still easily topping the box office with $38.7 million from 4,329 locations.

A bankable, diverse cast including Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel and Charlize Theron is leading the film, directed by F. Gary Gray. — Reuters

Burt Reynolds makes rare public appearance at Tribeca Film Festival

Robert De Niro helped Burt Reynolds onto the red carpet for the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of his new movie Dog Years in New York. It was a rare appearance for the 81-year-old actor, who at times struggled to walk.

Reynolds was given a chair on the red carpet, so that he could speak to a limited number of press outlets about the film. He was overjoyed at the turnout.

“Great to see Mr De Niro, who I love, and ... you know, all the people that I know,” Reynolds said. “It’s very sweet.”

In the film, which is still shopping for distribution, Reynolds portrays an ageing movie star who realises his best days are behind him. — AP

Shraddha Kapoor ages for upcoming movie role

Actress Shraddha Kapoor has revealed a glimpse of an aged version of herself from the film Haseena: The Queen of Mumbai in which she plays underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's sister Haseena Parkar.

“Younger and older. Thank you Apoorva Lakhia (director) for giving me the opportunity to play this character and for holding my hand throughout.” Kapoor captioned a photo that she posted on Twitter.

Shraddha’s brother Siddhanth Kapoor will play the notorious gangster Dawood Ibrahim in the biopic.

Rumour has it that Sonakshi Sinha was initially chosen to play the role of Haseena but the actress reportedly walked away due to scheduling clashes. — IANS

Trailer for Magalir Mattum released ahead of May debut

The trailer of the much-anticipated Tamil drama Magalir Mattum has finally been released in India in the run-up to the film's May debut.

The movie features Jyothika in the lead role, while Saranya, Urvashi, Nassar and Livingston play pivotal roles. Produced by Suriya the venture began production in July 2016. It has been directed by National Film Award-winning filmmaker Bramma.

The movie’s trailer hints to a story of self-exploration for three women and Jyotika plays a post-modernistic documentary filmmaker.

“There are a lot of things about women that need to be spoken about.” says Bramma, “Women-centric subjects, in general, still remain unexplored and my film is an attempt to fill the vacuum. While it’s not an out-and-out women’s film but it does feature them in very strong characters.” - IANS