Bipasha Basu in Siddharth P. Malhotra's next

Bollywood's bongshell Bipasha Basu who is currently busy shooting for the comic caper Humshakals, might be seen next in Siddharth P. Malhotra's production.

After directing We Are Family, Siddharth P. Malhotra will be venturing into production and has even roped in Partho Mitra to direct the movie. Though the newly turned producer has maintained silence over the details of the film, he claimed that Bipasha has shown interest in the project. 

On the other hand, Bipasha is busy stretching her wings beyond Bollywood and has released her own accessories line The Trunk Label as well as fitness DVDs.

Hero Sooraj and his heroine Athiya leave for Himachal

The crew of Nikhil Advani's Hero left for Manali, Himachal Pradesh, on Thursday to shoot some heavy-duty action sequences with Sooraj Pancholi and a couple of romantic duets with Sooraj and his co-star Athiya Shetty.

The romantic songs to be filmed on the debutant couple would be completely original tunes composed by Sachin- Jigar. 

Says a source, "Initially Nikhil planned to use a remixed version the original romantic duet from Subhash GhaiHero-'Tu mera janu hai tu mera dilbar hai'. But with music the company Saregama charging through the roof for the original songs, Nikhil Advani has opted to get fresh songs recorded." 

The new romantic duet that would be shot in Himachal took some time to be composed. 

"Nikhil Advani's films have always boasted of outstanding songs and music. He asked Sachin-Jigar to compose a romantic duet to rival Laxmikant- Pyarelal's 'Tu mera janu hai' and 'Pyar karne wale' from the original Hero." 

The director also plans to shoot intense action sequences in Himachal. 

Says the source, "Sooraj will do bare-backed action scenes shot at a very high altitude. The idea is to make the action sequences top-notch since the word is that Jackie Shroff's son Tiger in his debut filmHero-Panti has done some of the finest stunts ever in a Hindi film. Sooraj's forte is drama and emotions. Stunts don't come as naturally to him as they do to Tiger. Sooraj has been practicing hard to master the stunts. The Hero team has devised some intricate action scenes for Sooraj in the rugged rocky Himalayan terrain."

John Abraham to be the face of Fever Voice Of Change

John Abraham, who has always been at the forefront to help anyone in whatever way possible, has indeed made him a darling of millions in real life. In addition to that, he also supports a lot of social causes, without making much noise about it. 

One such cause to which he has now been associated with is called 'Fever Voice Of Change', which is an initiative by Fever 104 FM in order to bring about a transformation in our society, as its the call of the hour. Talking about this, he said that his mother does a lot of charity work; mostly in the direction of helping the cancer patients and that he lends his full support to her. Talking about John, Harshad Jain of Fever said that John is an ultimate youth icon and that they couldn't have found a more responsible partner.

Shankar Mahadevan's anti-corruption anthem nominated for Honesty Oscar

Shankar Mahadevan's track 'Mujhse Hogi Shuruaat', which has been produced by his online music academy, has now been nominated in the 'Best Activist Anthem' category of the 2014 Honesty Oscars.

The campaigning and advocacy organization ONE and Accountability Lab unveiled the nominations for 'Honesty Oscars 2014'. These awards are given to the creative work of activists and organizations that fight global corruption and will be given to those getting maximum number of votes. The names of the winners will be announced on March 2, also known as the night of the Oscars.

Sarah-Jane to turn singer

Sarah-Jane Dias, who will be seen this year in films like O Teri, Happy New Year and Angry Indian Goddesses, is taking western singing lessons these days for a reason. Sources close to the actress suggest that she will be lending her voice for a few tracks in her untitled upcoming film.

When contacted, Sarah did confirm about the vocal training but refused to give any information about the film or its title. Sources also confirm that since a month she has been taking vigorous training in both singing and contemporary dance and was recently spotted at Ashley Lobo's dance school.

Sonakshi, Imran lend voice for Rio 2

In what's a first for Hollywood and Bollywood, Rio 2, the sequel to 2011's hit animation flick, Rio will see two of Bollywood's leading actors feature as the main voices for the dubbed Hindi version.

Sonakshi Sinha and Imran Khan will feature as the lovable and memorable macaws Jewel and Blu respectively, for Rio 2. The English version of the movie will see the voices of Anne Hathaway and Jesse Eisenberg again which will be dubbed in Hindi by Sonakshi Sinha and Imran Khan. 

Though in the past B-town actors have lent their voices on a small scale, this is the first time such a huge Bollywood association has taken place for a Hollywood franchise. 

Rio 2 which is one of the most anticipated Hollywood movie in India, is an adventure comedy set in the Brazilian city of Rio De Janeiro. The movie will feature the return of Blu, Jewel and their three kids who leave their domesticated life for a journey to Amazon rainforest. 

Talking about dubbing for the film Sonakshi says, "I love watching animation films, so when they approached me to lend my voice to the sequel of one of the most loved animations - Rio... I didn't have to think twice! It's a completely new experience for me and I'm very excited! It's a treat not only for the kids, but families as well!" 

Rio 2 in 3D releases on April 11, 2014 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu

"Alia is my true inheritor" - Shabana Azmi

Immediately after seeing her performance in Imtiaz Ali'sHighway Shabana Azmi rushed to the Bhatts' residence to congratulate the parents and their daughter for the extraordinary performance.

The 5-times National award winning actress, acknowledged by many cineastes as among India's finest talent ever, sees Alia as the true inheritor of her talent. Interestingly Alia's father Mahesh Bhatt has compared Alia's performance in Highway to Shabana's sterling career-defining performance in Arth.

Shabana who won a National award for her performance in Arth, agrees with Mahesh Bhatt's assessment. 

Opines Shabana, "Javed and I went straight to Alia's house after watching Highway. We were both profoundly moved by her performance. I am so very proud of her." 

Shabana takes no offence to Alia's father comparing his 2-film old daughter to the high-priestess of histrionics. "Mahesh doesn't say this lightly and he doesn't say it because Alia is his daughter. He compares Alia's performance to mine because he genuinely believes that the girl has achieved an exceptional level of performing prowess so early in her career. And Mahesh is right." 

Shabana feels Alia has got where Shabana did in Arth in no time at all. "Alia's achievement is all the more laudable because I did Arth after 9 years of facing the camera. Alia has done it in her second film. That's amazing! Alia took me completely by surprise. She possesses both vulnerability and insouciance." 

In fact Alia's protective step-sister Pooja Bhatt is planning a film with her baby-sister. 

Says Pooja, "If Student Of The Year launched Alia as a young star, Highway has launched her as an actor. I am so soooo proud of her and I shall remain ever-grateful to Imtiaz."