Sanjay Gupta finds Mumbai a hard place to work

Plus: Priyanka and Shahid to perform at IIFAs, Rishi and Ranbir Kapoor get ready for awards, doctors ask Aamir Khan to apologise, and Arjun Kapoor says your surname doesn't matter.

The director and producer Sanjay Gupta. AFP

The filmmaker Sanjay Gupta has dropped his plans to build a film studio in Mumbai. Instead, he feels Gujarat has better prospects. "Gujarat is the place where Bollywood will eventually be shooting," he said. Gupta's forthcoming crime film Shootout at Wadala, set in Mumbai, has faced production delays due to problems in securing permission to shoot outdoors. "To shoot in any location in Mumbai, we have to get permission from five different government bodies. The Mumbai authorities feel filmmakers are a security threat. It's become a struggle." * IANS

Priyanka and Shahid to perform at IIFA

To promote Teri Meri Kahaani, Priyanka Chopra and Shahid Kapoor will perform special numbers at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, held in Singapore from Thursday to Saturday. Chopra will recreate song-and-dance numbers of the veteran actress Rekha, who will be honoured with a special award for her achievements in Indian cinema. "I'm doing an act which will be a tribute to Rekha, who I love and adore," Chopra said. Kapoor, meanwhile, will be performing songs from Teri Meri Kahaani, due for release on June 22. * IANS

Rishi and Ranbir Kapoor turn out at IIFA

Other Bollywood stars to take the IIFA stage this weekend include the father-son duo of Rishi and Ranbir Kapoor. The elder Kapoor took Bollywood by storm in the 1980s, while his son is currently one of the industry's most popular leading men. The two have yet to be seen together on the big screen, but have made a TV ad. Ranbir says he rarely performs at award functions, but agreed when he found out that the filmmaker and dancer Prabhu Deva was choreographing this year's IIFA. "He's the best dancer in the world. That convinced me," he said. * IANS

Apologise, doctors tell Aamir Khan

A group of 21 medical institutions has asked the Bollywood actor Aamir Khan to apologise for accusing doctors of malpractice in his TV programme Satyamev Jayate. This week Khan looked at corruption and poor ethics in medicine. "It's sad that doctors should be made the object of such shameless, unilateral scrutiny," said Himanshu Mehta of the medical group Medscape India. "Aamir Khan is my favourite actor and should stick to making films," said the Medscape India president Sunita Dube. "Where is he when we give free treatment to the needy?" * IANS

Arjun Kapoor: popular surname doesn't matter

Arjun Kapoor, who received critical acclaim for his recent film Ishaqzaade, says being the son of the respected filmmaker Boney Kapoor made him want to prove his worth in the industry. "My surname doesn't matter. You are as good as what you do in front of the camera. Nothing else matters," he said. "The audience is very intelligent. They gauge if they want to see you or not." He cites the breakout star Ranveer Singh as an example. "Somebody like him came out of nowhere. It just shows the audience appreciates good work." * IANS