The Rock starts the promotion for Moana

Hollywood Superstar Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock kicked off his promotional tour for Moana over the weekend. He walked the red carpet for the world premiere of the film in Los Angeles recently.

Dwayne, who plays the demigod Maui in the movie, was joined by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. He posed for selfies with his fans and flashed his winning smile. The film hits theaters on December 2 in India.

Apart from Moana, The Rock has also been grabbing attention thanks to recent reports that he’s this year’s People‘s magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive.

Bhappida's new Hollywood connection

Bhappi Lahiri has his sights set on Hollywood with the upcoming Hollywood musical film Moana. Lahiri is now back with Shona. Following the tremendous success of Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar’s reprisal of Jungle Jungle Baat Chali Hai and the Hindi localised version of Bare Necessities featuring Vishal Dadlani, Disney is all set to localise its forthcoming film Moana and has collaborated with Lahiri to voice the dialogues and sing for the character of Tamatoa, a giant crab with a fondness for shiny treasures found which he hoards.

Speaking of this collaboration, Lahiri said, “My family and I have been big fans of Disney. From its characters to its music, it has always been iconic. It’s a great pleasure to associate with Moana. I am always looking forward to doing new things. This is the first time I am dubbing for an animated character and I had lot of fun doing that. The character that I play is very similar to my own personality. I am hoping that people will enjoy this avatar of mine and shower their love on me like they have always done. It’s truly a ‘golden’ memory.”

Moana stars Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson. The film releases in India on December 2.

The Skyfall connection in Tum Bin 2

Tum Bin 2, promises something that fans can watch out for. The quintessential romantic sequence that needed the best location threw a challenge at makers to create a perfect romantic aura. Director Anubhav Sinha while doing the recce, drove for several hours from Glasgow to Glencoe in search of a suitable spot in Scotland. Coincidentally, he chose the same spot that was used to film a dramatic sequence for the film Skyfall starring Daniel Craig and Judi Dench. The scene in Tum Bin 2 features Aditya Seal (in pic). The sequence was shot on a bright sunny day with clear skies unlike the one with dreary sky in Skyfall. The popular road is now called the Skyfall road.

Anubhav recollects, it was one of the most memorable experiences of the entire shoot schedule. Tum Bin 2 releases on November 18.

Celebs grace the premiere of Mira Nair's film

After rave reviews globally and critical acclaim, Mira Nair's Queen Of Katwe is all set to release this Friday. A special screening of the film was held for the film fraternity in Mumbai recently. Seen appreciating the film were filmmaker Rahul Dholakia (middle)), actress Nandita Das (top) and cinematographer Baba Azmi (above) among others

The teaser of the latest from the Pirates of the Caribbean series out

The teaser of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man Tell No Tales starring Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario, Geoffrey Rush and Orlando Bloom is out. The film's slated to release in May, 2017.

Here's the link bit.ly/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMenTellNoTales-Teaser

Here's why PC is an international name

Actress Priyanka Chopra is making news globally. Indeed the Quantico actress has come a long way to reaching where she is now. There are two reasons why PC as she is fondly called, is in the news. If she is all set to host the Global Citizen Festival in New York tonight (September 24), she will also be honoured by the InStyle magazine at the second InStyle Awards at Los Angeles on October 24.

The Global Citizen Festival was established to mark the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals that are broadly aimed at ending poverty. The festival’s star-studded lineup includes music icons like Rihanna, Ellie Goulding,Usher, Kendrick Lamar, Selena Gomez, Major Lazer and Metallica among others. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin ,who is the Creative Director of the festival will also be present. Priyanka will also talk about the Global Citizen Festival in India.

Says Priyanka, "There are going to be some amazing performances. I'm co-hosting with Hugh Jackman, Salma Hayek Pinault and Neil Patrick Harris among others. What's more exciting is that I'm going to talk about the Global Citizen Festival India on stage tonight.What's special about this campaign is that it gives people the ability to empower themselves. I think it's important to have a concert like this in the country . The idea is to end extreme poverty by 2030. The initiative will focus on quality education, gender equality and clean water and sanitation among other things. It's tough, but at least people have taken an initiative to advocate to the crowd who will attend the concert.The tickets aren't free; you will actually have to earn them by doing tasks. So, this isn't just a event where celebrities will come and sing. That is just the reward. It's the start of a movement."

The second InStyle Awards will witness Priyanka joining Hollywood stars Nicole Kidman and Tom Ford who will also be honoured for their style statement. To be hosted by the newly-appointed Editor-in-Chief Laura Brown, the intimate dinner will take place at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. Priyanka will be honoured with an award for being the Breakthrough Style Star, while Nicole Kidman will be presented with the Style Icon award. InStyle will profile the winners in its annual Hollywood’s 50 Best Dressed list (November issue), which spotlights the symbiotic relationship between the runway and the red carpet. The event will be brought to life with a custom digital short produced by renowned director Zoe Cassavetes.

Mira in an Indian attire at the LA premiere of her film

Once an Indian, always an Indian. Filmmaker Mira Nair gave glimpses of her love for India at the the Los Angeles premiere of  her directorial venture Queen of Katwe  on Tuesday evening at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. She was dazzled in a slawar kameez at the premiere. Also present was the cast that included David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o and Madina Nalwanga. The film got a very positive response from a packed house.

Queen of Katwe that releases in India on October 7 is based on the vibrant true story of a young girl from the streets of Uganda whose world changes after she develops an interest in chess.

Quantico set to be back in India

Quantico, the TV show that gave international stardom to Priyanka Chopra will return to India this September. It will air on the same day as in USA. India's first truly global superstar, however, continues to remain rooted to the country she hails from and is going all out to announce the second season of her show in India. Sources reveal that apart from featuring in a fun countdown to the premiere of Quantico S2 on Star World, Priyanka Chopra will also record a special byte in Hindi for her Indian fans.

Quantico S2 will air on Star world and Star world HD, every Monday at 9 pm.

Robert and Jane back together in Ritesh's film

After nearly four decades since Robert Redford and Jane Fonda last worked together in The Electric Horseman, following famous films like The Chase and Barefoot in the Park. The screen icons are back together for the new Netflix film Our Souls at Night, directed by Indian director, Ritesh Batra.

The film is an adaptation of Kent Haruf’s novel. Its principal photography kicked off on Monday in Colorado, where the novel is set. Fonda and Redford will star as Addie Moore and Louis Waters, a widow and widower who’ve lived next to each other for years. The pair has almost no relationship, but that all changes when Addie tries to make a connection with her neighbor. Scripted by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (the writers of Fault in our Stars & 500 Days of Summer), the film also stars Bruce Dern, Judy Greer, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Iain Armitage.

"I am thrilled to be working with Jane and Robert, and to bring Kent Haruf's beautiful novel on screen. It was Kent's last work and every bit as poignant as all his novels. I couldn't have been in better company," said Mumbai boy Ritesh Batra, whose first film The Lunchbox was a runaway success not just in India but also across international box offices. His is a story of a self-made, creative mind that has made it to the highest level of film craft on sheer merit.

“I’m looking forward to teaming up with Jane and working with the talented Ritesh Batra,” Redford said in a statement. “Our Souls at Night is an endearing story and I’m happy we get to share it with a broader audience.”

When Mira brought tears to an Oscar winner's eyes

Filmmaker Mira Nair's Disney's Queen of Katwe will hit the theatres in India on October 7 this year and will be premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this month.

The film starring Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o, David Oyelowo and Madina Nalwngi is based on real-life story of a girl from rural Uganda, whose world rapidly changes when she takes to chess.

The script had such an appeal that it moved Lupita to tears. “It was the first time in a while that I had been so enlivened, inspired and challenged by a role I was considering,” she said and added, "I immediately sent an e-mail to my representatives saying, ‘I must do this film.’”

Born to Kenyan parents and raised in Mexico, Lupita won the Oscars in the Best Supporting Actress category for the film 12 Years a Slave directed by Steve McQueen. Audiences will be looking forward to her performance in Mira's film.