SONU NIGAM: ROADSIDE USTAAD

The latest hit newsmaker is definitelySonu Nigam, Bollywood's golden-voiced boy, who sanghissongson Mumbai streets completely unrecognised.

Itwas only months agowe read about Richard Gere going unrecognised bythe crowds in NewYorkone morning. No one gave a second glance as hesat around like a homeless person, all scruffy, atAstor Place.

Thistime around, in Bollywood's version, the high-profile personalitydid managetoget attention, but onlyforthe sheertalent hewas displaying. No one recognised him forwho he really was.

Sonu sangformore than three hours on theside ofsome of Mumbai's busiest streets. He was in disguise, dressed as an old man and in shoddy clothes, but with a pairof dark glassesprotecting his eyes as he played on an old harmonium. Passers-bystoppedtoenjoy his music, even ifbriefy,someevenwalkingupto have a quick chat ortotell him he had a beautiful voice.

The experiencewas caughton video, asix-minute film goingviral, collecting 3.3 million views on YouTube in lessthan a week.Alongwith sending a message across offinding happiness with the present, the video is also a marketing featureforSonu's newsingle 'Crazy Di/', launched this month.

About people's reactions, Sonu said later, "People didn't recognise myvoice. Theyliked myvoice, and itwasgood that I could actually attractthem simply through mysinging."

He admitted thoughthat he dreaded beingcaughtout, as he didn't have his usual entourage ofbodyguards and managers beside him.

Karl Katgara, creative directorat Culture Machine's Being Indian platform which launched thevideo, said ofthe intentbehind the exercise: "Theidea wasto inspire people totake a moment outoftheir busylives and appreciate the beauty ofmusic. To do this, who betterthan Sonu Nigam, one ofthe mostsought after singers in the country, and the most recognisable voice."

Sonu,forhis part, said, "We had no idea that people would like itso much and makeitso huge. What learning canwegive others,we ourselves learned a lot."

Continue to inspire us, Sonu!

Trolls Have Field Day Over Tanmay Bhat Video

And sostand-up comicTanmay Bhat continuestobe inthe news.

Atfirst he raised ire with his spoofof SachinTendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar. The controversial Snapchatvideo used the app's face-swap featuretoliberally ridiculethetwo icons.

And nowa reportbyThe New York Times ontheentireepisode hasthe trollsbreathingfireyet again.

ThereportdescribesIndian icon Lata Mangeshkaras a "so-called playback singer", and seemstohavegarnered the ireofTwitterusers,who perhaps misconstrued the meaningof"socalled".

A description ofthevideo in The New YorkTimes report reads: "Playback singers record vocalsforsong-anddancenumbers,towhich actors and actresses lipsync."

Despitethe explanation,the "so-called playback singer" phrase didn'tgodown toowell with some people, whotookto Twittertoslam the newspaper asthey took it as an insulttothe 86-year-old, whostarted hercareerin 1943 atthe age of 13 and has been regalingmusic loverswith hermellifuousvoiceoverthe decades.

In reaction tothetrolling, Ellen Barry, SouthAsia bureau chieffor The New YorkTimes, explained in a tweet: "A note on 'so-called': UsedherefornonIndian readers unfamiliarwiththe term 'playbacksinger'. In noway a commentary."

Even the article's co-writerSuhasini Raj clarified quotingthedictionary: "'Socalled: used to introduce a newword or phrasethat is notyetknownby many people'."

Meanwhile, weleave ittothecerebral film-maker Hansal Mehattophave the lastword on the Bhatvideo: AIB is usuallyfunny, sharp and clever.The #TanmayBhat video is none ofthose. Question is, does a bad joke deserve punishment and/orabuse?

FARHAN, SHAHID TO RETURN AS RAJU AUR PAPPU AT IIFA STAGE Actors Shahid Kapoor and Farhan Akhtarwill return asthe hostsfor17th editionofthe NEXA International Indian Film Academy (IIFA)Awards in Madrid, Spain.Theywill beintheir'Raju and Pappu' avataron stage.

IIFA Weekend and Awards will take place June 23-26.

Farhansayshe can't waittosharethe stagewithShahid, withwhom he shares a greatrapport and has hostedthe 13th aswell as 15th IIFAAwards in Singapore and Tampa Bay respectively.

Shahid had previously admitted that he had the mostfun hostingthe 13th edition of IIFAAwards in 2012 with the Wazirstar.

BOLLYWOOD FUNNY-MAN

RAZAK KHAN NO MORE

Razak Khan, who played comic roles in around a 100 movies in the past 25 years, passed awayfollowinga heart attack.

Tall,thin and lanky, with a hippiestyle haircut, Razak Khan wasfirstseen in Roop KiRani, Charon Ka Raja in 1993, and later appeared in comicrolesin many movies.

More than his real name, hisscreen characternames- Lucky Chikna, Keshav, Manikchand, Fainku, Babu Bisleri, Popatwala -became his trademarkas he enacted memorable comicscenes besidessomeofthe biggestactors.

Among his notable roleswere in movies likeKyaaKool HainHumseries, don Kabira'ssidekick in Baadshah, Raja Hindustani, Hello Brother, Hera Pheri, Phir Hera Pheri, Bhagam Bhaag, Ankhiyon Se Gali Mare, Pyaar Kiya To DamaKya, Loha and lshq

LOOKING

Forward

TO National Award winningfilmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj's upcoming period drama Rangoon will release in February nextyear. Thefilm, whichstarsShahid Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut and SaifAli Khan, isset inthe1940samidstthe turmoil of India'sindependencestruggle and will feature some epic historic references.

Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur's OKJaanu (directed by Shaad Ali and produced by KaranJohar) revolves around the lives oftwo young lovers and depictsthe issueoflive-in relationships. This remakeoftheTamil super hit OK Kanmani (helmed by Mani Ratnam, and featuring DulquerSalmaan and Nithya Menon in the lead) is slated to release on 13 January nextyear.The on-again off-againleadpair are expected to revive theirAshiqui2 magic.

After his 2002 film Everybody Says I'm Fine!, actor Rahul Bose has returned to direction with Poorna, a biopic about Malavath Pooma, a tribal girl from Telangana. Pooma created history on 25 May 2014, by becomingthe youngestgirl in theworld toscale Mount Everest. Aditi lnamdar, a girl hailingfrom Telangana, was chosen to playthe role offemale lead after Rahul auditioned

109 girls. Rahul plays the role of her father. Swara Bhaskarwillbe seen in a neverbefore avatar in her upcoming film AnaarkaliAaraah-waali.The gentle actor will transform herselfinto a foulmouthed, feisty andfiery orchestra party singer from the volatile town of Aaraah in Bihar. The film speaks of her travails as an artist in an openlymasculine and feudal world.

Andanotherkapoor Son

Harshvardhan Kapoor, Anil Kapoor's son,makeshis Bollywood debut with RakeyshOmprakash Mehra's Mirzya in October this year.Inspired by the legend of Mirza-Sahiban, the film is pegged to be an epic action-romance that plays out in contemporary times. It will have heightened drama and action-packed sequences in the visually rich terrain of Rajasthan, juxtaposed withf ashes of the fantastical universe of the folklore set inthebleakness of Ladakh.Thefilm also introduces Saiyami Kheralong with AnujChaudhary.

Actor-producer Anil Kapoor is all set to see his little boy on the bigscreen. "It is an extremely special year for me as my son is making his debutt he said recently. "There is a lot that I have from my own experiences to share with him." He also shared that his son is a quick learner. "It is surprising that he already hassuch a deep understanding of things. He is a quick learnerwho is enthusiastically waiting to explore this world. I hope thatmy advice comes handy to him in his journey."

Safetymeasures For Our Stuntmen

We all know Akshay Kumarspends a fairbit of his time working on charitable ventures and onfringe issuesrelated to the industry. This time round, the action star hastakenup the cause of safetyfor stuntmen.

"Safety is not great here in Bollywood," he said. "We'vefinally got ambulances and medical personnel on set now, not onlyforstuntmenbut also for all cast and crew. However, it's surprising that there is no insurance in place forstuntman yet in our industry.It's something we've got to act on."

Someone had to do it. Akshay, we hope you see this through.

Abollywoodtheme Park In Dubai

Bollywood Parks Dubai, a frst-of-itskind theme park showcasing the true blue Bollywood experience laced with drama, action, music and dance, is poised to give tourism in Dubai a big boost when it opens its doors in October this year.

It will host of a melange of cinematic rides inspired by Hindi movies like Zindagi NaMilegi Dobara and Don,

WHO WORE IT BETTER?

NAOMIE HARRIS or KANGANA RANAUT in BURBERRY PRORSUM?

+ Shareyourviews with us on our Facebook page /lndianLinkAustra/ia thrilling attractions and live Broadwaystyle shows.

Located half an hour away from downtown Dubai, just before the DubaiAbu Dhabi border in the United Arab Emirates, Bollywood Parks, spread over 1.7 million sq ft, is a part of the mega $2.7 billion Dubai Parks and Resorts project, an attempt to add to the tourism portfolio of the city.

The theme park's area is spread across five zones: Bollywood Boulevard, which houses Rock On!, a restaurant with a live band; Mumbai Chowk, which will have a 3D immersive tunnel ride called Don The Chase inspired by Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Don: The Chase Begins; and Rustic Ravines, featuring entertainment options around Lagaan, Sholay and Dabangg.

There is also a "Bollywood Film Studios featuring Hall of Heroes", where visitors can get a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes of a Hindi movie production. This will also house Ra.One Unleased, a virtual 4D multi-sensory ride; as well as Krrish Hero's Flight, a f ying theatre experience recreated from the movie Krrish.

A key attraction of Bollywood Parks is its majestic Royal Plaza, which the team describes as the "Disney castle of our theme park".This houses an 850-seater Rajmahal Theatre that will be home to a Broadway-style Bollywood-themed musical.

The October launch maysee a plethora of Hindi cine stars, but no names can be confirmed yet, officials said.

Whattweetybird Told Us This Week

Matchthe stars to the following tweets

Amitabh Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor Salman Khan,Tanmay Bhat

DekhnaJaroor. #SultanTrailerOnSONY

Dear @thetanmay, being your friend I know whatyou sayand do is never to offend, but to make people laugh

Please pay me @Snapchat

Meeting the Press the entire day almost and admired their questioning on cinema andTE3N

What's JAYA BACHCHAN thinking here? ?

Send inyourresponsesto win@indianlink.com.au and win asurprise prize

What's the chitchat here between newlyweds BIPASHA BASU and KARAN SINGH GROVER?

Cuddle for the cameras ??

Sunita Singh Sharma Strathfield North, NSW

Sunitawinsaticketto the film Sarbjit