I WAS RAISED TO BE FEARLESS: PRIYANKA

IIf there ever was a Bollywood celebrity that put India on the world map – it’s Priyanka Chopra. Her trailblazing journey, which started when she was crowned Miss World nearly two decades ago, saw her conquer hearts in Bollywood and then on the international stage. It’s sheer grit and hard work (with some great PR, we might add) that has taken her where no Indian artist has gone – whether it’s her lead role in the popular American series Quantico or her friendship with the now-royal, Meghan Markle.

It then stands to reason that Priyanka has a lot of stories to tell. The actor has revealed that she’s writing a memoir titled Un nished that will be published next year. “The avour of the book will be honest, funny, spirited, bold, and rebellious, just like me,” she said.

Priyanka clari ed that although she’s a private person, she’s all set to talk about her journey in the hopes of inspiring people – especially women. “I was raised to be fearless when it came to opinions, and I would like to tell my story in the hopes of inspiring people - especially women - to change the conversation, to shatter glass ceilings. Women are always told that they can’t have everything. I want everything, and I believe anyone else can have it too. I’m proof of it.”

The surprise announcement was made recently by leading publisher Penguin Random House India, which also announced the publication of AR Rahman’s authorised biography.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that director Abhijit Panse always had Nawazuddin in mind to play the part. “I knew Nawaz bhai was the right one. And the moment I set my eyes on him when he walked into our meeting room, he was locked in my head,” he said.

Can’t wait to see what Nawaz does with this lm, but one thing is for sure: it’ll be brilliant.

STANDING O OVERSEAS: HITCHKI

It’s never easy to nd a foothold in Bollywood after you’ve been away from the action for a considerable amount of time, especially for actresses. But if you do make a comeback, Rani Mukerji is a stellar example to follow. The actress, who got back to work with her critically acclaimed lm Hitchki this year, plays a woman with Tourette Syndrome who goes on to become a teacher.

It turns out that the Siddharth Malhotra lm got a standing ovation at the Shanghai International Film Festival recently. Malhotra gushed, “What an honour and an overwhelming feeling when your work gets a standing ovation from a foreign audience who simply watches a lm with subtitles and gets moved to tears/laughter.”

How true. It is, after all, only art that can transcend all borders.

FILMS BREAK BARRIERS: RATHORE

Speaking of transcending borders, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore believes that watching movies can break barriers of colour and culture. We are inclined to agree. Take for instance the superb French lm Amelie or even the runaway Telugu hit Arya back home that we thoroughly enjoyed despite having to glue our eyes to the subtitles.

Rathore, while inaugurating the European Union Film Festival in New Delhi, where 24 latest European movies are being screened from 23 European countries, said that watching a lm doesn’t just mean understanding the dialogue – it’s about understanding the emotion behind that dialogue, which is why anyone can enjoy any lm, irrespective of the language.

The festival, which opened with Slovakian movie Little Harbour, will cover 11 cities till August 31.

FAILING AND LEARNING: RANBIR

They say you learn more from the things you fail at than those you succeed at. Apparently that’s true in the case of Ranbir Kapoor, or so the actor says.

In a rare question-answer session on social media recently, someone asked Kapoor how he deals with frustration and failure. To which he replied, “I have only learned from my failures and not from my successes.”

Given that he has had more ops than hits, that’s certainly…but let’s not get snarky. Everyone knows Kapoor has ample talent, perhaps it’s just bad luck?

And how does he celebrate success?

“By wiping the sweat off my forehead and muttering ‘bach gaye’ to myself,” he said, adding that he hoped to entertain people for years to come. We hope so too, Ranbir. We hope so too.

BACK TO BOLLYWOOD: ASHUTOSH RANA

When was the last time you heard of Ashutosh Rana? When was the last time anyone heard of Ashutosh Rana? No idea, right. Now that we think about it, he’s been MIA for quite a while. Turns out, the actor had migrated to the southern lm industry for a while –apparently he found a lot of work there.

But it seems the he went to a party recently where a guest said to him that he had “vanished from the industry”.

“It wasn’t like that. I have been working in the south industry and a lm in Bollywood at regular intervals,” said Ashutosh.

Looks like that hit him hard – and why wouldn’t it? So he decided to make a comeback – and how! Ashutosh has completed shooting for four lms in the past six months.

“I guess that comment hit a nerve and I decided to take up the projects. There is lot of work in the south, but I guess it was time to jump back.”

Welcome back, Ashutosh!

TROLLING TROLLS: MALLIKA

You’d think someone like Mallika Dua would only have fans and not haters, but unfortunately we’re living in times where everyone is looking for a reason to be offended. And the internet makes it oh-so-easy. Mallika says she gets a lot of vitriol but now she doesn’t pay attention to it. In fact, she has gone one step ahead and made a video called Trolled to get back at them.

“You realise that these nameless, shameless idiots’ (trollers) job is to sh*t on people who are doing better than them. Anonymity is an all access pass and the internet is an outlet for their frustrations and insecurities to manifest themselves as hate. So, it’s really like they are trolling themselves and not me,” said the artist.

Trolled brings female artistes on board for three videos, who address the issue of trolling in the form of an originally composed music video. The rst video features Bani J and second one is with Mallika.

THE GOOD FIGHT: ANUPAM KHER

When Deepika Padukone revealed to the world how she had fought depression for a long time while in the industry, she paved the way for many other artists to come out in the open and talk about their ght with the mental health issue. Although not considered as taboo as a few years ago, the topic of depression still remains in the dark. So actor Anupam Kher has decided to pitch in by releasing a video on YouTube where he encourages people to talk about it.

“There is still a taboo associated with depression. People shy away from coming out in the open and discussing it. This even affects not just the victim but their near and dear one’s too,” Anupam said.

The artist said that a heart-to-heart with his father just before he passed away gave him the idea. “A day before my father passed away, he gave me the message of living life to the fullest and that’s what I hope to encourage people to do with this video.”

In the two-minute video, Anupam

WHO WORE IT BETTER?

SHARAM DINIZ OR or DEEPIKA PADUKONE in VICTORIA HAYES?

+ Share your views with us on our Facebook page /IndianLinkAustralia makes some valid points: “Kids up to the age of ve express themselves perfectly – their joys, sorrows, anger. But as we grow up, we learn to mask our emotions, whether it’s the loss of love, companionship, issues with our salary, our body issues, and we perfectly train ourselves to fake them. Why?”

Full props to Anupam for the gesture – and we de nitely recommend watching the video.

WORTH WAITING FOR? YOU DECIE1

If you loved Alia-Bhatt starrer Raazi, chances are that you think its writerlmmaker Meghna Gulzar and Bhavani Iyer are a winning team. The talented duo have already announced their next project, a biopic on Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, the army chief during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.

Iyer says she’s thrilled to be working with Gulzar, whom she calls her creative soulmate.

“It is a delightful and phenomenal subject that promises to push me to every limit of my storytelling boundaries and then some,” said the writer, who’s also written a spy thriller for Nikkhil Advani that is “deeply political and tells a remarkable story of the geo-politics of our subcontinent”.

Can’t wait.

On Twitter This Week

Match the stars to their tweets: Shilpa Shetty, Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Karan Johar

Happy Father’s Day to my main man! To have you as a role model has been my greatest gift and I wish I had words to tell you how much I love you daddy.

Hey Bhagwan. I get a preventive health check done at SRL regularly to know that my body is as healthy on the inside as the outside. Something we all must do. What’s all the fuss about !! And NO, not pregnant.

Thank you audiences in China for your appreciation for ‘Toilet Hero’ delighted to receive so much love

Fathers and sons have so much silence between them! So much love and many a time so much left unsaid! Break that cycle! Give that #jadukijhappi to him today. Welcome to Twitter Ranbir!! Love you!!

MOVIE TICKETS!

Sonam: Silly girls. After a few drinks they think they can walk on water RAJ SANEJA, NSW Congrats, Raj! You win a movie ticket!

Another good one: Sonam: I know who’s gonna make the biggest splash already LEYLA SINGH