Shootout at Wadala comes to Dubai

Plus: Jon Stewart meets Egyptian counterpart; Kidman, Lee and Balan join Cannes jury; Nawazuddin Siddiqui preps for Cannes; Will Smith in talks to star in Focus; Sharon Osbourne says no divorce.

Actors from the Bollywood film Shootout at Wadala are coming to Dubai today. The star-studded ensemble of John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Sunny Leone, Manoj Bajpayee, Sonu Sood, Tusshar Kapoor, Sophie Choudry and Mustafa Zahid will be meeting fans at Ibn Battuta Mall's China Court, beside Grand Cinemas, tonight at 6pm. Directed by Sanjay Gupta, the action thriller opens in cinemas on May 2. - The National staff

Jon Stewart meets Egyptian counterpart

Recently listed as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world, following his high-profile brush with the Egyptian legal system, the television satirist Bassem Youssef has appeared as a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a man to whom he is often compared. The two met last year and Stewart recently dedicated a portion of his show to urging the Egyptian government to drop the charges against Youssef. "Bassem is my hero," said Stewart. The interview with Youssef is scheduled to be screened, unedited, on OSN Comedy HD tonight at 10pm, with repeats tomorrow at 1.30am and 4.30pm. - The National staff

Kidman, Lee and Balan join Cannes jury

Nicole Kidman and Ang Lee will join Steven Spielberg next month on the Cannes International Film Festival jury. The other jury members named were the Indian actress Vidya Balan, the Django Unchained actor Christoph Waltz, the Japanese director Naomi Kawase, Lynne Ramsay, the Scottish director of We Need to Talk About Kevin, the French actor and director Daniel Auteuil and the Romanian director Cristian Mungiu. The jury, headed by Spielberg, will award the coveted Palme d'Or to one of the 19 films in competition at the festival, which runs from May 15-26. - AFP

Nawazuddin Siddiqui preps for Cannes

The Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui is off to Cannes for three of his films - Monsoon Shootout, Bombay Talkies and Dabba. "It's a very special feeling for me because three of my films are going to Cannes. It's a very, very proud moment for me and my family. At least now I am confident that I am heading in the right direction and have not taken the wrong track," said the 39-year-old star. Siddiqui is no newcomer to the prestigious French festival; last year he attended Cannes for his work in Gangs of Wasseypur and Miss Lovely. - IANS

Will Smith in talks to star in Focus

Will Smith is in talks to star in Warner Bros's forthcoming drama Focus, which follows the story of an inexperienced female con artist who teams up with a more seasoned pro, reported Variety. Kristen Stewart was linked to the project, which has been written by the Crazy, Stupid, Love directing duo Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, but has now pulled out on grounds that the age difference between her and Smith was too large. - The National staff

Sharon Osbourne says no divorce

Sharon Osbourne says she and husband Ozzy aren't splitting. She told viewers of her show The Talk that she had not been aware of her husband's year-and-a-half-long relapse into prescription drug and alcohol abuse, which he made public in an apologetic Facebook post last week. She says she is "devastated" by their struggles but added that the couple has dealt with worse before. She blinked back tears as she said: "This, too, shall pass." Ozzy Osbourne was a founding member of Black Sabbath, but left the group in 1979. The 64-year-old has since rejoined the band and their new studio album will be out in June. - AP