There is only so much drama a man can take, especially if that man is Bollywood filmmaker Subhash Ghai.

After trying is hand at directing two critically slammed Hindi drama films, such as Yuvvraaj and Black and White, Ghai is not switching back to the genre that made him a household name – comedy.

“My next film will be an entertaining, lighthearted comedy,” Ghai, 65, confessed in an interview with the press. “It is still in the scripting stages, which will take about six more months to complete.”

While he has been absent from the director’s chair in Yuvvraaj, which is marketed as a “musical extravaganza” starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, Ghai thinks he can get back to some of his lighter films that made him a go-to director in the 1980s and 1990s, such as Hero, Pardes and Taal.

The return to the director’s chair may actually be indirect pressure from financiers, as his affiliation with Mukta Arts (which produced the just-released Right Yaa Wrong) may cause him to wear more hats than merely the producer one he is currently content with wearing.

“My production house, Mukta Arts, is a private, limited company, and we have some commitments toward our investors,” Ghai noted to reporters about his prospects of directing new films. “So we need to keep producing movies, even though I might direct very few. I am kind of multi-tasking these days. I am director, producer, businessman, and teacher all at the same time.”

Still, the veteran filmmaker said he is not above expanding his repertoire beyond producing films, especially since the current climate in Bollywood allows for more diversity and experimentation.

“Bollywood is churning out more variety than ever these days. My company is producing all kinds of films, like Aitraaz, Iqbal and Kisna,” Ghai candidly said in his chat with the press, adding that the films he just listed are less dramatic and better produced to keep up with the times.

In other signs of Ghai trying to keep pace with what Bollywood fans seek in their films, the filmmaker said he is less concerned about attaching big names to his script and more in tune with having quality actors molding to what the script and story call for. The filmmaker proclaimed this, despite working with the likes of Shah Rukh Khan (in Pardes) and Hrithik Roshan (in Yaadein).

“I work with actors who follow the script instead of wanting the script to follow them. I don’t work with stars,” the acclaimed filmmaker frankly and emphatically stated. “Shah Rukh was not such a big star when I worked with him. I am producing a new film called Paschim Express, which is being made entirely by graduates from my (film) school.”

Indeed, Ghai’s bigger picture is to ambitiously be one step ahead of what fans of Hindi film seek in their favorite movies, whether it is comedy, drama, or any other genre. And that is no laughing matter.

Before Bachchan was known as the Godfather of Bollywood, it was Guru Dutt who was hailed as the film industry’s most iconic actor and the leading face of Hindi cinema.

It is that period of Hindi cinema the 34th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) announced it aims to rekindle, as Dutt will be honored with a special tribute to the award-winning actor known as the “Bollywood Guru.”

The festival itself will reportedly run from March 21st through April 6th and will showcase some of Dutt’s greatest films, including Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959, with Waheeda Rehman), Mr. & Mrs. 55 (1955, with Madhubala), Sahib Bibi aur Gulam (1962, with Meena Kumari and Waheeda Rahman), and Pyaasa (1957, with Mala Sinha and Waheeda Rehman).

Sahib Bibi aur Gulam was directed by Abrar Alvi, yet the rest were all directed by Dutt, who is a multiple Filmfare Award-winner.

Screening over 240 titles from over 50 countries in 11 major cultural venues across the territory, organizers of the Hong Kong Film Fest claim to be one of Asia’s most reputable platforms for filmmakers, film professionals and film-goers from all over the world to launch new works and experience outstanding films. It announced its tag-line as “Uniting the World through Film.”

Wilfred Wong and Ann Hui are Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively, of Board of Directors of HKIFF Society, it was announced.

Two Indian-themed short films, including one produced by a United States-based filmmaker, have been selected to screen at the upcoming Green Lifestyle Film Festival, which opens on March 19th in Westwood, California.

Dr. Gaurav Chabra’s 35-minute film The Green Warriors of Chandi’s Fortress and Charles Annengberg Weingarten’s nine-minute production of Fighting for India’s Wildlife will both screen this weekend to promote environmentally friendly lifestyles in India.

Both films were selected in December 2009, when the final lineup was formally announced by organizers due to symbiotic connection between the respective content of each production and the mission of the Green-themed cinematic showcase.

“At the heart of the GLFF are the filmmakers who strive to make a difference in the world. We enjoy celebrating our participating filmmakers at the GLFF and thank them for dedicating their talents, income and energy to examining what sustainability really means,” a media representative told the press in a statement.

“Their films explore topics such as how we birth our young, how we raise children, the construction and design of our homes, illness, our movement around the Earth and how this is reflected in how we feed ourselves, how we treat each other and the impact of our consumerist behavior on the planet.”

In keeping consistent with the theme of the festival, both Chabra and Weingartens’ films focus on a battle between mainstream population growth and preserving the planet’s last few remaining pristine locations.

The Green Warriors of Chandi’s Fortress, for example, focuses on a group of people leading an environmental campaign to prevent the building of an exclusive V.I.P. club in the Punjab city of Chandigarh. Presented as a David versus Goliath, Chabra’s film aims to demonstrate that even the smallest of groups can have the most powerful of voices if they are dedicated to a noble cause, such as preventing urban growth in the name of preserving natural reserves.

Meanwhile, Weingarten’s Fighting for India’s Wildlife is a nine-minute film aimed at informing audiences how endangered animals can be protected in the subcontinent, where “conservation and anti-poaching laws are not properly enforced, and land developers and mining companies are posed at the edge of many of the country’s last great nature sanctuaries.”

The GLFF runs from March 19th through 21st, and all films will be screened at the James Bridges Theater at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

In addition to films, there are also free-to-the-public outdoor events including various entertainment acts, live food demos and booths.

Australian writer/actor/producer Joanne Ros and Mad TV actress Debra Wilson Skelton were announced as the festival’s celebrity hosts. Other celebrity guests expected to attend include Norwegian Playboy Playmate Lillian Muller and pop-sensation Maxso.

The ten-minute short, Metamorphosis, will open the festival on March 20th, with The Green Warriors of Chandi’s Fortress screening at 8:45 a.m. on Saturday, and Fighting for India’s Wildlife plays later that day at 3:15 p.m.

For more information about the complete schedule, visit the festival’s website.

After all, anyone who watched (or will watch) Kavi, a story of young boy dealing with modern-day slavery in a small Indian village, was (or will be) emotionally touched by the film’s tough-to-swallow message.

Still, Kavi has come a long way from the depths of filmmaker Gregg Helvey’s mind. In what started as an eye-opening experience for a young graduate film student at the University of Southern California soon meandered its way to the acclaimed Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and on to the Student Oscars before finally landing in the halls of Kodak Theater on March 7th as an Academy Award nominee.

No doubt, Kavi has become quite the phenomenon, and the brain trust both in front of and behind the camera are thrilled at just how far the project has come along.

Not only is Kavi among the first selections of Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles to also be nominated for an Oscar, but it also made waves at several other film festivals before claiming victory as Best Short Narrative at last year’s Student Oscars at USC.

Still, despite the film’s positively upward journey, Helvey acknowledged Kavi has a greater purpose.

“The Oscar nomination is a dream-come-true. However, there’s more to Kavi than just a film,” he humbly stated. “It’s important to me that this issue of modern-day slavery gets recognition. This is a pivotal time to raise more awareness about modern-day slavery, and I hope this Oscar nomination does just that. Modern-day slavery is a worldwide issue. My hope is that people can use Kavi to raise awareness that turns into action.”

One of the producers who helped Helvey make his vision of fighting modern-day slavery through film a reality echoed similar sentiments.

“This movie was always about taking a stand against slave labor. It was put together as a student film and as a charity to protest modern-day slavery,” India-based producer Guneet Monga told Buzzine in an exclusive interview. “We think those times are gone, but it’s not true. The film really moves you a lot, and because of the Oscars, there is (finally) an audience for this film. Ministries in India are taking greater interest in the film.”

Monga also opined that, despite the film’s subject matter, Kavi is just as meaningful as Slumdog Millionaire in raising awareness of the sad realities still existing in today’s world while also positively representing what India is all about.

In many ways, Monga said, the involvement of films like Slumdog Millionaire and Kavi at the Academy Awards in consecutive years draws international attention to India. As a result, not only will such attention help rid some of the country’s biggest vices, such as child labor at brick kilns, but it will also open up doors and provide opportunities to various filmmakers and film crews based in the world’s second-most populous nation.

“(Kavi was a) moment of great pride for the country,” Monga said of the film’s Oscar nomination. “Air India provided us (complimentary) tickets to fly to the U.S., and the Immigration Department (expeditiously) provided a passport to (the film’s lead actor) Sagar Salunke. Slumdog was (also) huge in bringing India to the world. It does bring attention to India and says we have world-class technicians.”

It was those very technicians who worked together with Monga, Helvey, Salunke and (fellow producer) Haresh Amin to bring Kavi to the screen and raise awareness of the brutal conditions that still exist in today’s world.

The cast, crew and production team did not stop at the four corners of the movie screen in bringing Kavi’s message to the western world. Monga added, upon her arrival at Kodak Theater’s red carpet on Oscar Sunday, that everyone attending on behalf of the film spent about an hour chatting with the press and promoting their collective stories while visibly wearing blue ribbons to protest modern-day slavery.

Even more, Monga added that 30 percent of all DVD sales will be redirected to non-governmental organizations dedicated to fighting slave and child labor.

Both Monga and Helvey look forward to extending Kavi from a 19-minute short to a full-length feature, furthering their collective causes along the way.

“Kavi is a springboard for a full-length feature that explores how slavery is not just in India but in most countries, and even in our backyards. Within this film, I portray hope in the situation by showing how Indians are helping each other to combat this issue,” Buzzine previously quoted Helvey as saying. “I hope to generate the same kind of support for the feature-length version based on the short so I can reach an even wider audience with this message and play a small role in giving a voice to the voiceless.”

While Kavi did not walk away with an Oscar statuette, and a feature-length film may still be a long way away, Helvey, Monga, Amin and the 16-year-old Mumbai student Salunke have already done quite well in giving a “voice to the voiceless.”

If they needed proof, all they have to do is look back at what they have already accomplished: Student Oscar Gold Medal winner, Audience Award at IFFLA, and the Heartland Film Fest’s Jimmy Stewart Memorial Crystal Heart Award, among others.

Kavi may not have won at the 82nd Academy Awards, but it is slowly becoming a winner in the hearts of the people who matter.

In what is turning into a broken record, Hindi film star Amitabh Bachchan has, yet again, earned another Lifetime Achievement Award to place upon his mantle. This time, it is the Hong Kong International Film Festival who is recognizing Big B’s contributions to Indian cinema, with the acclaimed actor planning on accepting the honor at the event’s Asian Film Awards, it was announced on March 14th.

Bachchan, 67, will reportedly accept the honor in person at a ceremony in Hong Kong on March 22nd.

According to the festival’s director, Shaw Soo Wei, Bachchan has been one of the world’s most influential actors due to his “tremendous talent, rigorous work ethic and an uncanny ability to reinvent himself.”

Also being honored at the Hong Kong Film Fest will be Chinese director Zhang Yimou, who is being recognized for his outstanding contributions to Asian cinema, organizers announced.

Prior to the Hong Kong event, Bachchan has been the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient at least six times since 2009, including honors at the Tehran Film Festival, Muscat International Film Festival, Dubai International Film Festival, Apsara Awards, 11th Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI) and Gentleman Quarterly’s “Men of the Year” Awards.

A career that started in 1969 with Khwaja Ahmad Abbas’s Saat Hindustani, Bachchan has established himself as one of India’s elite entertainers, starring in cult classics and major blockbusters such as Sholay, Deewar, Hera Pheri, Don, Mohabbatein, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Black.

In all, Bachchan has starred in more than 100 films in his career and has also claimed three National Film Awards and several Best Actor trophies.

The 67-year-old Bollywood star was also a Member of Parliament between 1984 and 1987 but returned to entertainment in the 1990s as a film producer.

Filmmaker Rohan Sippy will join forces with Fox Star Studios, Amitabh Bachchan and Rana Daggubati to bring Dum Maro Dum to life, it was announced on March 15th.

Both sides of the project announced the film will be a co-production between Fox Star and the director’s production company, Rohan Sippy Productions. Rohan’s father, Ramesh Sippy, will also reportedly be involved as a producer.

“It is our passion and endeavor to tap into local feature films that are entertaining and appeal to local audiences,” Fox’s head of international production Sanford Panitch told the press. “We are quite selective about the films and filmmakers that we partner with, and we are extremely proud of our association with Rohan and Abhishek, which further reflects our ongoing commitment to partner with the best talent in the local market.”

Daggubati will be making his Bollywood debut in the film, according to reports; his film debut was in Tollywood’s Leader, which hit the screens in southern India in February.

A thriller set in Goa’s bustling drug industry, Dum Maro Dum reportedly delves into the dual lifestyles in one of India’s most desirable destinations, as it balances steady tourism and a dark crime underbelly.

Rohan Sippy and Bachchan will reportedly be working together on a production for the third time; both previously joined forces with Kuch Naa Kaho and Bluffmaster.

Other names associated with the film included cast members Bipasha Basu, Prateik Babbar and Aditya Panscholi, while Pritham was apparently approached to score the production, it was announced.

“It’s an amazing script that we are all very excited about. It’s going to be a film to watch out for in 2010,” Fox Star Studios India’s CEO Vijay Singh told reporters.

Among the major American studios, such as Sony, Warner Bros. and Walt Disney, expanding into Indian cinematic markets, Fox has experienced the greatest measure of success with South Asian content. Since 2008, Fox has been attached to Slumdog Millionaire and My Name Is Khan — both box office successes.

Sony entered the Bollywood market with Saarwariya, while Warner Bros. spearheaded Chandni Chowk to China and Walt Disney produced the first Hindi 3D animation flick in Roadside Romeo. All three films performed poorly at the box office and were not well-received by critics, according to news reports.

However, Disney has done rather well delving into the television market, and had recently announced plans to enter into India’s Telugu regional film industry known as Tollywood.

Between March 12th and 14th, blue13 Dance Company was merely “Mischievous.”

After the envelope-pushing Bollywood Tech dance troupe heated up audiences at Santa Monica’s Highways Performance Space with a sultry Valentine’s weekend performance that was too hot to handle for a few audience members, blue13 returned to its favorite stage for a third consecutive year, this time with three consecutive nights of Hindi film-themed dances.

Joining blue13 on stage in the toned-down yet still racy waist, arm, belly and neck gesticulations was Las Vegas’s premiere progressive step troupe, Molodi.

Together, the collaborative weekend performance challenged norms of what constitutes “acceptable” Bollywood-style dance while concurrently satirizing the very same film industry with flirtatiously sultry and visually tasty rhythmic body movements.

In its most recent dance tale entitled Mischief, blue13 presented the ultimate love triangle, a man forced to decide his impregnated devotee on one hand, and his vibrantly beautiful honey on the other.

For almost two hours, the troupe’s dancers painted a vivid picture of a conflicted battle between man and women, all in the name of love, with lead male dancer Arun Mathai playing the two-women-loving package-bearing Homo Sapien and his two “interests” portrayed by the stunningly beautiful Kory Keith and Rashi Birla.

Among the most memorable numbers were a pair of duets, the first being with Mathai and Birla during the second part of the second act, followed by a reenactment by Birla and Keith to the famed joint number to Devdas’ “Dhola Re.”

Also adding flavor to Mischief was Molodi, whose pair of stomp-themed performances brought in an urban element rarely found in Hindi film-themed productions, what with the five-person crew breaking norms from the stereotypical Bollywood-hip-hop union.

Of course, the show’s finale in the closing act of “All Better Now!” brought a happy ending to the twisted-and-turned love story with a colorful dance number that brought the audience energetically to its feet and probably made a class full of Bollywood film choreographers proud.

With Achinta S. McDaniel artistically leading the blue13 troupe, Mischief featured 11 acts collectively choreographed by Mathai, Birla, Keith, Jimmy Arguello, Rohit Bal and McDaniel herself.

Florida Road poster (Courtesy: Surendra Prakash)

The train heading from Bollywood to Hollywood is picking up steam and gaining ground, and Hindi film star Priyanshu Chatterjee has his bags packed, ticket stamped and is ready to be on the forefront of redefining global cinema.

While the ultimate stop is Destination: Unknown, Priyanshu believes the sky is the limit in terms of Indian actors working with their artistic counterparts to make a difference to audiences around the world.

As the Bollywood actor extends beyond the friendly confines of India and seeks to expand his career into Europe, Africa and, ultimately, the United States, Priyanshu told Buzzine in an exclusive interview at the International Family Film Festival on the Raleigh Studios lot that his chosen profession is all about cultural exchange and helping all of us understand each other better.

“An actor, like a musician, is an artist who, if well-trained and with an element of experience, can fit in any film anywhere in the world,” the tall Chatterjee said as he smiled down upon this relatively short writer. “What we can do is learn about other cultures, learn their language, learn the way they live and, in a way, live another life – which is what we are paid to do anyway.”

Such is a learning process the veteran and artistic thespian believes can only be corroborated by constantly pushing oneself to his or her limit – and Priyanshu believes the only way to expand beyond one’s capacity is to think outside the box and take on projects beyond their comfort zone.

Or, simply put, Priyanshu believes actors must promote more international collaborations and seek to constantly diversify their resume with more projects beyond the borders of one’s motherland.

“When you are working with an actor who you have already worked with, you pretty much know the range, the limitation. You become complacent,” the 37-year-old former model pondered. “Working with (an international cast) triggers a motor in your head. You are always on your toes because you do not know what is coming next. We are working toward the betterment of the film. It’s a fantastic exchange and it should happen.”

Still, while the actor who earned his big acting break with his 2001 debut in Tum Bin promoted fostering international growth of cinema and increased exchange of actors from every corner of the Earth, Priyanshu also said actors should always maintain his or her cultural roots.

To that end, he told Buzzine his latest film, Brad Glass’s Florida Road, in which he stars in a supporting role, is indicative of how an actor can balance international collaboration while staying true to his or her culture.

“The film essentially talks about this Indian family living in Durban for the past 30 years and what they have done for the local community there. It has a lot of messages about family,” Priyanshu, who most recently starred opposite Amitabh Bachchan in the 2008 film Bhootnath, humbly told Buzzine. “It is about NRIs living outside of the country, and how Indians have a very beautiful way of merging in (to their adopted homeland) and helping out the other communities as well as prospering themselves.”

Priyanshu Chatterjee (Courtesy: Surendra Prakash)

It is in that context of families and the impact of NRIs in their adopted homelands that Priyanshu believes Florida Road – and ideally his own film career – epitomizes the ability of film to promote a balance between global integration and personal identification.

“Some are working very hard to keep (their culture) alive and to keep that gene going, not forgetting who we truly are (and) not allow(ing) this new place to take over our roots,” the actor who hailed from a middle-class family emphatically stated to Buzzine. “This film, bringing together people from different parts of the world, speaks on that. We were in an alien land. It becomes like a fine piece of machinery which absolutely clicked in the right rhythm.”

Accordingly, the thespian, who was the first person in his family to seek professional success in the arts, also said that by pushing himself to seek opportunities outside of India not only increases the qualitative values of cinematic projects and actors’ resumes, it also allows them to be regularly connected to the world on a simpler, more humanistic level.

“As an actor, this (working on Florida Road) helps me see the world in a better way and in a bigger way than I have ever imagined.”

While Priyanshu was tickled in informing Buzzine about how much working on Florida Road has opened his eyes, the Delhi University-educated actor now hopes his visualized imagination of a bigger and better world of global cooperation and cultural maintenance through cinema continues to become more of a reality with each passing day.

An essayist, poet, critic and translator, Karandikar was regularly hailed by his peers as one of greatest contributors to Marathi literature.

Survived by his two sons and a daughter, Karandikar reportedly passed at the Guru Nanak Hospital in the Mumbai suburb of Bandra East.

His body will remain at the Karandikar residence in the same suburb through Monday evening, where connoisseurs of his work can pay their last respects before final rites are performed.

“As per his will, his body will be donated to Sir J.J. Hospital later,” his son, Uday Karandikar, announced.

Known by his fans and throughout artistic circles simply as “Vinda,” the British-educated writer was bestowed with India’s highest literary honor in 2003, when he was honored by president APJ Abdul Kalam with the 39th Jnanpith Award; the award was reportedly physically given to him three years later by President Kalam.

“His life is an example of extraordinary achievement realized through ceaseless search for aesthetic perfection,” Kalam publicly proclaimed when bestowing the literary honor upon Karandikar.

Only two other Marathi writers have ever earned the prestigious Jnanpith Award — Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar in 1974 and Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar (also known a Kusumagraj) in 1987.

Among the other awards Karandikar reportedly won include the Keshavsut Prize, the Soviet Land Nehru Literary Award, the Kabir Samman, and the Senior Fellowship of the Sahitya Akademi.

Born to a poor farming family in a small coastal village in Maharashtra in 1918, Karandikar become one of the most prolific Indian writers by translating some of the greatest Western works into Marathi, including many of Aristotle’s poetic pieces.

In 1975, he both authored original works and translated many of his own poems into English, compiling them into one piece entitled Vinda’s Poems.

Authoring many thought-provoking works, Karandikar’s wide-ranging literary marvels influenced music, children’s literature, religion and spirituality.

He was also known as an experimental poet, with his famous collections of works in SwedGanga (1949), MrudaGandha (1945), Dhrupad (1959), and Jatak (1968) demonstrating his ability to write in varied styles and compositions such as song, free sonnet, and ghazal.

Other great works by Karandikar include his collection of short essays in Sparshaachi Palav (1958) and Akashacha Arth (1965), as well as his analytical critiques of Marathi literature in Parampara Ani Navata (1967).

In terms of his works for children, Karandikar was more prose-oriented, with his collections for younger audiences straying from the proverbial nursery-rhyme formula.

Living through 11 decades and witnessing India transform from an agrarian land under British rule to the world’s largest democracy and burgeoning global power, Karandikar will be remembered as one of South Asia’s greatest literary figures.

His wife passed away last year.

Go ahead. Call it a comeback.

After spending 20 months off the big screen, how else can one label a return to acting but a comeback? The only thing is Manisha Koirala is reportedly taking up acting gigs in the unlikeliest of places – Mollywood and Kollywood.

An award-winning Bollywood actress, Koirala has been cast in two southern Indian films, the thespian confirmed to the press over the weekend.

The producers of the Malayalam film Electra! have reportedly approached the Nepali-born Koirala to star in the flick as the mother of one of the story’s lead characters. Meanwhile, Kollywood also appeared to be knocking on Koraila’s door, as it was announced to the press she was offered another maternal role in the Tamil film Mappillai.

While news reports indicate Koirala’s casting in Electra! has yet to be finalized, her potential creative partnership with Mollywood director Shyamaprasad would allow the actress to expand her resume to now include Malayalam-language films.

“I’m really happy to do a Shyamaprasad film in which I have a very crucial and meaty role,” the Nepali-Indian actress told an India-based publication.

Electra! is based upon a Greek play and is expected to also star Prakash Raj and begin filming in April, it was announced.

In addition to starring in films in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Nepali languages, Koirala’s last screen appearance before this month was in a Bengali film, the July 2008 release of Khela.

However, after starring in Khela, Koirala did not appear in a released film through the final half of 2008 and all of 2009.

On March 2nd, her nearly two-year hiatus came to an end when the Hindi film Ek Second … Jo Zindagi Badal De released in theaters and featured Koirala as the leading actress opposite Jackie Shroff.

Koirala was also reportedly attached to another Bollywood film, I Am, which has an announced cast including Juhi Chowla, Rahul Bose, Arjun Mathur and others. The film’s release date has not yet been announced.

The Filmfare-winning actress was also attached to another Hindi film, with news reports indicating Koirala will star in the Tinu Varma movie The Weekend.

However, according to the Internet Movie Database, the only film Koirala has been credited with since her 2008 appearance in Khela is My Friend Pinto, which the popular reference website indicated is set for a 2011 release.

After making quite the name for herself in Bollywood during the late 1990s and early 2000s, Koirala slowly disappeared from the cinematic map. Appearing in a full slate of movies in 2005, Koraila was credited in just two films in 2006 and 2007 before trying to jump-start her acting career again with four starring roles and a special appearance in 2008.

Known for starring in dramatic or socially conscious films, Koirala has won several Best Actress awards throughout her career, including her most recent honor at the 2004 Bengal Film Journalists’ Association Awards for her leading role in the film Escape from Taliban.

She was also nominated at the 1999 Filmfare Awards for Best Actress after starring in Dil Se that year opposite Shah Rukh Khan; the film epitomized Koirala’s dramatic-role capacity early on, as she played a Moslem terrorist conflicted by her love for a Hindu man.

The 39-year-old actress made her big screen debut in the 1989 Nepali film Pheri Betaula.

Sometimes it is best for actors to avoid taking themselves seriously, as not all awards are worth boasting about.

Over the weekend, some of the biggest names in both Bollywood and Hollywood were mockingly honored with an Indian Razzy.

In Bollywood’s answer to the Hollywood Razzies for jokingly disgracing the year’s worst films, Kareena Kapoor, Harman Baweja and Dil Bole Hadippa! were all recognized as Hindi cinema’s most distasteful at last weekend’s second annual Golden Kela Awards.

Also being “recognized” were Hollywood stars Sylvester Stallone and Denise Richards.

Kapoor was named Worst Actress for her leading role in the box-office flop and critically slammed Kambakkht Ishq, while Baweja claimed the Worst Actor role for his headlining character in What’s Your Rashee?, which also starred Priyanka Chopra.

Joining Kapoor in those nabbing a Golden Kela award from Kambakkht Ishq were Stallone and Richards, both of whom were given the Have You Gone Nuts award (“Baawra Ho Gaya Hai Ke”) for their respective cameos in the film, which also starred Akshay Kumar.

Kambakkht Ishq was also named Worst Film.

Meanwhile, Dil Bole Hadippa! was mockingly named “Most Original Story.” A story of a village girl pretending to be a man in order to play her favorite sport, Dil Bole Hadippa! was basically Bollywood’s version of the Hollywood film She’s The Man.

Starring Rani Mukherjee and Shahid Kapoor, the Dil Bole Hadippa! co-stars were also named Worst Pair.

Deepika Padukone was not spared either, as she was named Worst Supporting Actor (Female) for her role in Chandni Chowk To China, while Ranvir Shorey nabbed the male version of the same award for the same film.

The Worst Director award went to Ashutosh Gowariker for his film What’s Your Rashee?, which was placed in the Guinness Book of World Records for Chopra’s portrayal of 12 different characters, the most ever by any thespian.

Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar won the Please Stop, It’s Enough (“Bas Kijiye Bahut Ho Gaya”) award, the “honor” asking him to cease his career as a filmmaker.

The event’s chief guest was comic Cyrus Broacha, who was honored with the eponymous Cyrus Broacha Memorial Award.

Jackky Bhagnani was named Worst Male Newcomer for his role in Kal Kissne Dekha, while Shruti Hassan cheekily won the female version of the same award for her role in Luck.

Mickey Mouse appears to be content with being in his experimental mode in India.

After foraying into Bollywood in 2008 with the first-ever animated 3-D film Roadside Romeo, Walt Disney Studios has announced, on March 12th, it has green-lit its debut project in Tollywood, India’s top-producing film industry.

The yet-to-be-named film is expected to be directed by Prakash Rao Kavelamudi, who made his directorial debut with A Belly Full of Dreams and won a National Award (Telugu category) for that film.

“As we work to build a family entertainment brand in India, we plan to provide Indian audiences with an unparalleled roster of locally relevant stories and engaging characters, and will continue to tap into the local creative ecosystem to develop content that resonates with Indian kids and families,” Walt Disney Co. India managing director Mahesh Samat told the press.

While the film has yet to be titled, Disney representatives in India told the press the production is a fantasy-adventure geared specifically for south Indian audiences, and tells the tale of a young girl and her personal mission to save and protect her land from the wrath of an evil queen.

Child actor Harshita, south Indian actor Siddarth, singer-songwriter-actor Shruti Hassan and Lakshmi Manchu have been associated with the film as the potential cast, Disney indicated in its announcement this week.

The story also reportedly features the lead character possessing special healing powers; she is also apparently guarded by a blind swordsman.

It was also reported the film is tentatively scheduled for a January release, Disney announced.

According to the studio, the director’s father, K. Raghavendra Rao, will come on board as the film’s producer — the 26th time he is associated with a project in that capacity. Rao has also directed 108 films in his career.

While it will mark Disney’s first reported project in an Indian regional film industry, the studio has produced two Indian films in Bollywood, the country’s mainstream source of cinema. The previous two films were Roadside Romeo and Zokkomon (reportedly scheduled for a May release).

Disney is not the only American-based production house reportedly seeking to foray into India’s burgeoning regional cinema industry. Among the other Hollywood firms publicly announcing interest beyond Bollywood include Fox, Sony and Warner Brothers.

This week’s announcement by Disney to extend into Tollywood was coupled with another announcement that the home of Mickey Mouse plans to increase its efforts in establishing itself as a leading producer and distributor of Bollywood and regional content.

To that end, Disney announced its plans to release as many as 14 family friendly films for Indian audiences, beginning with its upcoming Tollywood project.

It seems as if Bollywood is infatuated with slasher films and challenged men, as each week this year, a new release in Hindi cinema has featured either a horrific plot or a leading man living a uniquely situated life with an unusual mental diagnosis.

This week is no different, as Hide and Seek is the latest film released attempting to feature tense horror and psychologically different characters.

In Hide and Seek, our psychosomatic issue of the day stems from a man committed to an asylum after a series of good times gone badly.

It was Christmas Day, and a celebratory party that started innocently enough went haywire after doses of alcohol and drugs led Om (Purab Kholi) to be admitted into an asylum for 12 years after being accused and convicted of rape and murder.

After he is released, Om is now the victim, with him and five of his friends captured, drugged and subsequently locked inside an empty mall by an evil culprit, all in the name of a game of hide-and-seek and finishing off what they all started at that fateful Christmas party more than a decade earlier.

Simply put, Hide and Seek features quite the elementary school plot with not-so-compelling drama, less-than-interesting dialogue and far-from-award-winning acting. Then again, Hide and Seek is a horror movie that is geared toward a niche audience no different from the critically panned yet financially successful B- and C-grade slasher films found halfway around the world in Hollywood.

To that effect, Hide and Seek is not a film Buzzine Bollywood can recommend except to fans of the gory horror genre who always take pleasure in films such as this one hitting the silver screens.

Still, even for those folks, Hide and Seek will not be the most memorable of films. While blood-and-guts always reign supreme over quality dialogue and story for horror buffs, Hide and Seek seems to be missing elements of blood-curling terror that is found in films such as Saw, Paranormal Activity or The Blair Witch Project.

End of the day, Hide and Seek is not that bad either. By horror film standards, it is about average — similar in style, pacing and terror as Hollywood’s I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Also starring Arjan Bajwa, Hide and Seek is just your everyday horror flick attempting to cater to a film-base that has not quite developed a taste for appreciating such B-rated films.

Hide and Seek is now playing in theaters across India.