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t’s well-known that Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif share a genuinely warm bond. Their social media posts often show them girl-crushing over each other. But it seems Alia’s admiration for Katrina goes back several years.

Alia says there was a time when she dreamt of being showstopper on fashion designer Manish Malhotra’s shows. This was way before Alia made it big with her rst lm, Karan Johar’s 2012 directorial Student of the Year.

“The rst time I came out in public before Student of the Year released, was for Manish’s couture show in Delhi when Katrina was walking,” Alia told reporters recently. “As I sat in the audience, I looked at Katrina and thought, wow, one day, I want to be that person walking on the ramp.”

She was talking after closing Malhotra’s India Couture Week show in Delhi recently.

She has been walking for him since 2014.This time round, she returned to the fashion gala donning a long train dress that was decorated with oral designs. She completed the bridal look with a bun under a veil and red lips.

“It does feel fantastic to walk for Manish. He is like family. He is so amazing and inspiring,” Alia said.

If she upped the beauty quotient, her Gully Boy co-star Ranveer Singh took the energy level to a great height when he hit the ramp in black and grey pants with layered kurta and a jacket.

Malhotra was also all praise for the young actors.

“Karan and I think Alia is family. Every step she takes, we are always proud, like older brothers,” the designer gushed.

Dare we use the dreaded N-word here? Nah, he’s just being sweet!

Akshay Kumar is on a mission to spread awareness about the importance of building toilets and putting an end to defecation in the open - a message he is giving out with his forthcoming lm Toilet: Ek Prem Katha. He says it is very important for everyone, especially women, to have basic facilities of a safe and clean toilet.

He hopes the lm changes people’s mindset about this “taboo topic in Indian society.”

“Talks on toilet are still taboo in India. I had to say a line in the lm which is, ‘Ab biwi ghar aaye na aaye, sundaas to laakar hi chhodunga is gaon mein,’ (whether my wife comes home or not, I will not rest before bringing a toilet in the village). There was some discussion whether I should say it or not. But I think it is necessary... I mean who does not go to the toilet?”

However, he is hopeful that things will change.

“Our youth is very strong minded. They understand the necessity of (the underlying issue). Awareness has been created. See, it is also about the mindset. Some places I have visited, I have heard people saying, ‘We don’t do it (defecate) in the same house where we cook food.’ But how can they openly defecate on the eld, from where the food is coming? Government is doing its part (by sanctioning public toilets), the people should also take a step.”

Whether it is Airlift, Rustom, Jolly LLB 2 and even Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Akshay is acting in stories that project realism.

Asked if that is a strategy, the National Award-winning actor said, “I think being a successful actor, by the grace of God, if my association gives the lm better mileage and if the story intrigues me, I do it. Statistics tell us that one child dies every ve minutes in our country because of open defecation. Do you understand the intensity of the issue? That apart, if there’s any story that is interesting, I do it.”

Taking one more step forward, the makers of Toilet: Ek Prem Katha have created a co-branded social initiative ‘2 For Toilet’ with CleanMate, a brand of toilet cleaner liquid and home cleaning products by Future Consumer Limited. The initiative aims at raising funds that will be used to improve sanitation facilities across the country.

Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, directed by Shree Narayan Singh, deals with the need for sanitisation in India and is based on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat campaign. It features Bhumi Pednekar and Anupam Kher and is releasing on 11 August.

Madhur Bhandarkar’s latest controversial drama Indu Sarkar has registered earnings of over Rs 4 crore at the box of ce in its opening weekend and has received mixed reviews from critics. But the lmmaker says his spirit is neither dampened by the collections nor by the feedback.

He calls Indu Sarkar a “niche project made on a budget of Rs 6.5 crore to Rs 7 crore.”

While the audience and critics have praised lead actress Kirti Kulhari, some critics have called the lm “a watered-down, bloodless version” of the Emergency period, a propaganda movie which offers “half-baked” politics.

Asked about the mixed reviews, Bhandarkar said, “The collection is decent and quite good considering the budget of the lm. I am very happy with the response.”

While appreciating how small budget lms like Indu Sarkar and Lipstick Under My Burkha are pushing boundaries at the box of ce, Bhandarkar said, “I am very happy for Lipstick.... It has done very well at the box of ce. I am very happy that these kind of movies are being appreciated by multiplex audiences and youngsters.”

If you like catching 40 winks while at work, you’re in famous company.

Amitabh Bachchan, who is currently shooting for his upcoming lm 102 Not Out, says sleeping on a lm’s set is a gifted moment in the script for an actor.

“Sleep - that mechanism that has been a constant in us all, like taking in air to breathe and survive. And the opportunity of catching up with its loss, on set, is a gifted moment in the script, rare but so welcome,” Amitabh wrote on his blog recently.

Amitabh also shared a photograph of himself from a lm’s set, where he was seen taking a nap. The 74-year-old actor is seen wearing a white kurta pyjama, socks and a monkey cap in the image.

“One actually goes to sleep, while the lighting and the action and the scene is being conducted. Such a delight. And my sleep was genuine, they actually had to come and wake me up to tell me that it was over,” he added.

Amitabh will also be seen in Thugs of Hindostan, which also stars Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif and “Dangal” fame Fatima Sana Sheikh.

With such a packed schedule even at his age, ek nap toh banta hai!

Farhan Akhtar plays a musician in the upcoming Lucknow Central. Hmm, you say, that sounds like a jail? You would be right. He’s a muso who gets sent to jail, where he ends up forming a band, and then escaping. The recently released trailer looks intense, gritty and intriguing. Produced by Nikhil Advani and directed by Ranjit Tiwari, the lm is set to hit the theatres on 15 September.

Vidya Balan’s next is Tumhari Sulu, about which we know nothing as of yet, but that the up-for-anything Vidya does a Sridevi in it. The talented actress revealed recently that she pays a tribute to Sridevi in the lm, with the song Hawa Hawai Ayushmann Khurrana’s next, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan dwells upon issues like erectile dysfunction and premarital sex. Well, we do expect Ayushmann to take up unusual topics, don’t we, Vicky Donor Dum Laga Ke Haisha… “These are quirky subjects. These lms show a mirror to the society,” he said recently. “I think I am meant for unconventional lms, which is why I will be sceptical if choosing any conventional lms. I think