India in talks with Sri Lanka over prisoner exchange: Tharoor

October 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Bollywood, writing or politics? Author Chetan Bhagat, whose new book 2 States: The Story of My Marriage was released Friday, says "he is 90 per cent entertainer and 10 percent reformer". His book - an autobiographical tale about an inter-caste love marriage - was launched by Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor.

September 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - IBM India has signed a three-year IT services agreement with Morelia, Mexico-based multiplex operator Cinepolis. "The deal, inked in August 2009, will involve IBM deploying, managing and supporting a scalable IT infrastructure essential for Cinepolis India rollout plans," IBM said in a statement.

September 24th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - The Indian Music Industry (IMI), an association of 142 music companies, Thursday launched Music Mobile Exchange (MMX), a mobile licensing scheme, to curb music piracy on mobile chip in Punjab. Under this initiative, mobile stores and outlets offering mobile music services can operate legitimately by opting for an MMX licence from rights holders and sell music without violating the Copyright Act.

September 20th, 2009 NEW YORK - The production of Hollywood movie Indian Summer has reportedly been put on hold and the reason is said to be the portrayal of the relationship between Jawaharlal Nehru, Indias first prime minister, and Lady Edwina Mountbatten, wife of the last British viceroy of India. According to reports, India government officials have asked to scrutinise the script to review how the Nehru-Edwina affair will be played out.

September 11th, 2009 A jail prisoner escaped from the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail while the shooting of Parole was going on there. The prisoner, who was imprisoned for arson, managed to slip out without anyone noticing.

September 10th, 2009 LONDON - American rock band Guns N' Roses is planning a tour of India in November. The heavy rockers, fronted by Axl Rose, have signed on to perform at the Palace Grounds in Bangalore Nov 7, reported contactmusic.com.

September 4th, 2009 CHENNAI - Sri Lanka-born Indian Niranjan, who is doctor by profession, is making hit Tamil movie "Kasi", which starred Vikram, in Sinhalese and says the film's success in four south Indian languages inspired him to take it to Sri Lankan audiences as well. "The movie was based on a Malayalam film titled 'Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum', which was remade in Tamil by the same director Vinayan.

July 16th, 2009 MUMBAI - Even before her first film "Aladin" releases this Diwali, debutant actress Jacqueline Fernandez has caught the fancy of prominent directors like Siddharth Anand and Tarun Mansukhani, who are seriously considering signing the former Miss Sri Lanka for their future projects. "Yes, Jacqueline indeed has great potential, something that I could make out the moment I saw a couple of songs that she has done in the film.

July 11th, 2009 LONDON - Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan pitched for greater harmony among South Asian people as he accepted an honorary doctorate from a British university, saying governments were best left to their own agendas. We belong to - I know it's a bit of a clich but - one world.

June 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - With a growing middle class, a large English-speaking population, a boom in multiplexes and a cinema-obsessed popular culture, India is a natural destination for Hollywood studios, say US and Indian business leaders. Pointing to the worldwide success of "Slumdog Millionaire" and the release of latest James Bond film, "Quantum of Solace," in India a full week before its American opening, they suggest intensification of Hollywood-Bollywood connections.

June 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - With a growing middle class, a large English-speaking populace, a booming number of multiplexes and a cinema-obsessed popular culture, India is a natural destination for Hollywood studios, say US and Indian business leaders. Pointing to the worldwide success of "Slumdog Millionaire" and the release of latest James Bond film, "Quantum of Solace," in India a full week before its American opening, they suggest a fostering of Hollywood-Bollywood connections.

June 17th, 2009 PANAJI - Bollywood filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt feels that steady, subtle infiltration of Indian cinema into Pakistani households is one of the reasons which has kept both countries from an all out war. Speaking in Panaji Wednesday to announce the launch of the South Asian Film Festival (SAFF) being held here June 26-29, Bhatt said that the medium of storytelling automatically dissolved political boundaries.

June 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - He is one mutant you have loved, idolised and followed and grown up reading comics based on him. You've waited to catch a glimpse of the fictional hero in the X-Men series and now you can watch a free screening of the adamantium-clawed mutant Wolverine's upcoming movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

May 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Aishwarya Rai is all set to dazzle audiences with her dance moves at the 10th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards night in Macau, China, next month - her second such appearance at the glamorous event. She had enthralled audiences by dancing to hit song "Kajra re" at Amsterdam in 2005.

May 24th, 2009 CANNES - Indian movie buffs could soon have a slew of British films to choose from at multiplexes in their neighbourhoods. The UK Film Council has drawn up an ambitious plan to digitally distribute British-made films, both contemporary and classic, across major Indian cities.