WE TI-IINK SI-IE'S GAUI-IAR-GEOUS

India is predictably livid at the recent Gauhar Khan slap -gate incident. Emotions ran high not only at the assault directed at the model and actor, but equally at the supposed rationale behind it.

The accused, Mohammad Akil Malik admonishing Gauhar for wearing skimpy outfits and dancing to 'cheap' songs despite being a Muslim, hit out at her at the filming of a TV show recently

"No religion or culture gives you the pe rmission of being violent," Gauhar Khan, who regained composure admirably, said afterwards "This is also a (kind of) terror and it has nothing to do with any belief This loser does not represent my beautiful faith, which i n itself means peace:'

Members of the film fraternity as well as others, shocked and outraged, took to social media to lash out at the perpetrator

"Shocked to hear that Gauhar Khan got slapped for alleged indecency Absurdity just touched a new level. Disgusting and highly condemnable;' tweeted director Director Madhur Bhandarkar

"Dearest natural selection, please help us out-evolve morons like the one who slapped Gauhar Khan Sincerely;'tweeted the Bhaag Milkha Bhaag star, Farhan Akhtar.

Actor Rohit Roy was left"speechless': sharing a shot of the story, he captioned it: "Headlines of today! I mean, seriously?? Have I moved to Taliban country?! #speechless''.

Adaa Khan from the TV show Amrit Manthan asked if the man knows that Islam does not give him permission to touch a lady, forget about slapping her, while actor Mohammad Nazim reiterated the common-sense point that you r religion has nothing to do with what you are wearing Meghna Malik or Ammaji of Na Aana Is Des Laado, a show focusing on female infanticide and other atrocities against women, also said that it's less a question of security and more about'a termite -ridden mindset'.

However, Gauhar is not the only celebrity who has been manhandled and harassed

In November 20 13, a stalker of actress Shruti Haasan allegedly tried to strangle her at her Mumbai resi dence. She somehow managed to close the door on him

The sultry actress Bipasha Basu during the promotions of Raaz 3 in 2012 in Ahmedabad, was harassed when a fan tried to pull Bipasha's skirt. She hurt her right hand trying to escape from the chaos

The Dhoom star John Abraham was'bitten' by a fema l e fan during the inauguration of a jewellery store in 2012 in Mangalore She is said to have grabbed his hand and bitten his fingers And Hrith ik Roshan was recently attacked by a fan outside a cinema hall in Juhu, Mumbai. The fan is said to have jumped at him and grabbed his neck

Gauhar Khan blamed the lack of security for the incident

RI P, Deven Verma

Deven Verma, Bollywood's veteran comedian known for spread ing laughter with his endearing performances in films likeAngoor and Khatta Meetha, died on 2 Dec following a heart attack and kidney failure He was 77.

He is survived by his wife Ru pa Ganguly, the younger daughter of the legendary actor Ashok Kumar.

"Incredible actor, comic excellence second to none. Thank you for makin g my childhood so memorable;' actor Riteish Deshmukh tweeted

Apart from a string of actors an d filmmakers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled his death, sayi ng he was "admired by film lovers''.

"RIP Deven Verma How much I love his scene in Andaz Apna Apna: Main betiyon ko chudiyaan pehnaoonga, Aap ma ko.~ Anushka Sharma tweeted

"#RIP DevenVerma. Your straight-faced impeccable comic timing still doesn't have a successor;'filmmaker Karan Johar noted.

Filmmaker B.R. Chopra's discovery, Deven made a transition from theatre to films with the 1961 partition drama Dharmputra. However, the actor known for his light-hearted roles started his stint with comedy with Gumraah, a fi lm that starred Ashok Kumar in the lead role

After that the actor bagged roles in fi lms like Anupama and Khamoshi, but it was his performance in Chari Mera Kaam that won him his first Filmfare Award The actor, known for his jolly nature and rib tickling gigs, won three Filmfare Awards in the best comedian categor y, one of them for Angoor.

In the latter part of his life, Deven turned to character roles with fi l ms l ike Judaai, Oil To Paagal Hai and Kora Kagaz He last featured in Calcutta Mail in 2003

In his long career, the actor also produced and directed movies such as Besharam and Dana Paani

He tried his hands in television too w ith shows such as Gubbare, Zabaan Sambhal Ke and Mam/a Gadbad Hai.

Sonam turns Santa for a cause

Bollywood's style icon Sonam Kapoor has collaborated with Pernia Qureshi's Pop-Up Shop to retail garments from her personal wardrobe on the webs ite

All proceeds from the sale will go towards Smile Foun dation, an NGO that focuses on helping underprivileged children and youth

This partnership will b ring pieces from Son am's uber chic closet along with ensembles from an assortment of high street brands, Indian designers as well as international fashion labels like Roberto Cavalli, Marc Cain, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Halston Heritage, Anita Dongre, Pernia Qureshi, Nishka Lulla, Atsu, Masaba, Disney and more

"I love the outfits that Pernia and I selected from my wardrobe. I have worn these once, most probably and not more than that. It's as good as new and 100 percent of the proceeds wi ll go to the charity. So you're shopping and you don't need to feel guilty about it;' said the Khoobsurat actress

soNAM KAPOOR

Oz d irector Paul Cox loves Bo ll ywood flicks

Frowning on Hollywood production s as "manipulative': l egendar y Austra l ian filmmaker Paul Cox asserts he wou l d watch "silly" and "inn ocent " Bol lywood flicks rather than those made i n "manipulative" Hollywood.

Descr ibed as a humani st filmmaker, Melbourne based Cox, is a "h uge admirer " of India's repertoire of ind epen dent movies but laments the absence of powerful storytelling and thought-provoking content that were the h i ghpoints of ci nema during the days of masters l ike Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen

His most recent venture on organ donation, Force of Destiny (an offshoot of his own experi ence with liver cancer and the subsequent life- saving transp l ant}, shot i n parts of Kerala, was screened at the 20th Ko l kata International Fil m Festival. Cox's memoi r, Ta l es from the Cancer Ward, detailing h is fight with cancer, is t h e basis of the fi l m The fi l mmaker's l ove for India is pretty well reflected in the film wh i ch stars Lord of the Rings fame actor David Wenham, Bollywood actress Shahana Goswami and Nationa l award winner Seema Biswas, as it incorporates Indian classical music and other cu ltural influences.

Shakti Kapoo r for Gui nness

World Reco rd?

Silver screen baddie Shakti Kapoor, tagged as a rea l-li fe villain ever since the casting - couch- controversy sti ng operation, is now being nominated by daughter Shraddha Kapoor for a certificate from Guinness World Records

The Ashiqui 2 actress feels baddie daddy h as done ov er 700 films, which in itself is "unusual" and "w orthy " o f being l auded.

When in the Bigg Boss house, item ga l Shradha Sharma openly made eyes at h im and flirted outrageously with Shakti , he said, "Frankly, I was embarrassed! Woh meri cost pe footage kha rahi thi. But, I will still pray t h at her dreams in l ife come true!"

Crime Master Gago seems to be turning over a new leaf, huh!!

Shra Ddha Kapoor

Sal man's Kat fight

Salman Khan who is known for pulling the leg of his co-stars on the sets of films, stretched it a little too far this time

During l'il sister Arpita's wedding, Salman, who was constantly on stage singing or dancing referred to Katrina Kaif as Katrina Kapoor and commented cheekily on how she had missed the opportunity to be Katrina Khan

"Katrina tum hara gaana bajj raha hai (Chikni chame/i). Please come on stage Mai kya karoon I gave you a chance to become'Katrina Khan: but you chose to be ' Katrina Kapoor'! "

Katrina had made it to the wedding despite the fact that her alleged beau Ranbir Kapoor wasn't invited And though she sportingly went up to the stage and shook a leg with those present, she was seemingly upset with the entire incident. Things reportedly worsened when the video of Salman taking d igs at Katrina went viral.

However, Sallu has reportedly visited Katrina at her residence to apologi se

Salman Khan

and the demure diva accepted the apology w ith a smile. Sallu, you do love controversies, don't you?

Varun Dhawan turns dad

The Saturday Saturday hero, known for his rom-coms, will be playing a father for the first time in his next

The first look of Sriram Raghavan 's Badlapur set the internet abuzz last week as Varun Dhawan, the poster boy of rom-com, slipped into an almost unrecognizable avatar

The actor revealed that many of his peers warned him against doing the thriller, some even said, "You'll be finished''.

Then came words of wisdom from Aamir Khan "The best decisions, as far as fi l ms are concerned, are taken with the heart''. This gave him the impetus to take a drastic pay cut for the project too

The film took Varun away from the mustard fields and coffee shops to a morgue, a prison wh ich housed serial-

WI-IO WORE IT BETTER?

killers, and an ICU w h ich wasn't a fi l m set

"It drained me I had slipped into depression as after a point it no longer felt li ke I was acting in a fi l m. The experience was that terrifying Sri ram really made me suffer Even when the camera was off, he was shooting me It was a reality check of a different kind because till then I had been leading a rather insulated life, both in real life and reel;'Varun admits

The friends he hung out with, on Saturday nights at fancy clubs, were in for a rude shock The film had made Varun quiet and angry and h e was in no mood to party.

Varun sought inspiration from American TV shows like Breaking Bad and Dexter.

And next forVarun is a mixed bag of versatile roles with Remo D ' Souza's ABCD 2, the Hindi remake of The Fault in Our Stars with Deepika Padukone, and also brother Rohit's patriotic film Dhlshoom.

Emraan Hashmi to play Azhar

Serial kisser Emraan Hashmi has been doing some serious roles since the Murder franchise and will play Mohammed Azharuddin in the biopic of the former Indian cricket captain.

The actor revealed t h at the fi l m may have sport as the theme, but it focuses more on the cricketer's life, which is difficult to capture

Talking about the biopic, Emraan said, "The research encompasses speaking to Azhar bhai on anecdotes and moments from his life He has probably led the most exciting life that any sportsperson could have:'

Emraan, who has gone through ups and downs, says his current slate of films wi ll give a push to his caree r.

or Jennifer Hawkins in Toni Maticevski?

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"There is no road map here You do films with honesty and integrity. I don't believe that the box office is the only benchmark for success I am not the guy who will go down the same path which everybody is taking. When you do something different, there are chances that your films may flop;' he said

"My current slate offilms will reinvent me as an actor;' added the Raja Natwarla/ actor Though Ung/I went for a toss, the Azhar-biop i c might bri ng Emraan back to the limelight