Happy birthday, Lataji!

Arun, 24, is from Kolkata. He's a bartender. Vidya, 8, studies in an English medium school. Her father is a chaiwala. Purvika, 9, has big, bright eyes. Her father works in a beer bar.All of them are united by one cause alone: To become actors and join the film industry.

'If you can do new things everyday, your mind will be challenged.'

Pankaj Tripathi speaks to Rediff.com about his amazing journey from a village in Gopalganj in Bihar, which had no electricity, to Bollywood's blinding lights.

Are you ready for Mowgli?

It was a warm family affair, where Padmini Kolhapure and Ravi Kishan launched the careers of their respective children.

Sen, Meheli, 1976- author

Bollywoods 'King Khan Shah Rukh Khan will be bringing the life of King Mufasa alive with his voice in the Hindi version of Jon Favreaus re-imagination of Disneys classic "The Lion King". It shows how Hollywood franchises are adding a Bollywood twist to get it going in India.

'Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan now act in only about one film each year, and made money through advertisements and television.' 'This meant that many people, even if they had the money to spend on a movie and wanted to go, often had nothing available for them to watch.'

Sukanya Verma shares her exciting filmi week with us!

'Bollywood's 'no prisoners taken' honesty comes as a big surprise.' 'I cannot think of a single judge, politician, sportsperson or bureaucrat being so forthright in their opinion of their contemporaries,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

Bollywood doesn't care for the fading star, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

'The Muslim identity of the family appears incidental to the subject of the film...''The self-sacrificing, suffering mother film could have belonged to any religion.''The abusive father, who prefers his son to his daughter, could have followed any religion.''That the Muslim household is remarkably free from religious symbolism is also the strength of the film,' feels Mohammad Asim Siddiqui.

Will Nana Patekar's role be deleted from Housefull 4? Will Subhash Kapoor lose the Jolly LLB franchise? Is Anu Malik's career in limbo?

'In the new Bollywood, where success can translate, like a chain reaction, into gains in related fields, mere appearance on the screen is no longer a guarantor of fame,' says Vikram Johri.

'Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota is exactly why Hindi cinema needs more film-makers who know a South Indian language,' notes J Jagannath.

Indian films, and Raj Kapoor in particular, have a special place in Iranian cinephilia or cinemadoosti, Ranjita Ganesan discovers on a visit to Iran.

'In the early years of this century, barely 10 years after liberalisation, drinking Coke was still cool,' notes Uttaran Das Gupta.

'You will be remembered for a long, long, time,' notes Sudhir Bisht.

Sreehari Nair reviews Ayyappanum Koshiyum.

Bollywood directors are now queuing up for the rights of certified hits in Telugu, some of them 10-15 years old.

Ram Pothineni plays a double role in the thriller Red.

Lockdown life has forced everybody to stay indoors. But Bollywood celebrities are health conscious as ever ensuring they receive their daily dose of Vitamin D.

Bollywood stars, clearly missing their summer holidays, have been posting throwback pix from vacations past.

Sukanya Verma quizzes you to find out just how much you know.

What are the stars thinkking about?

Not directly connected to the stars, who have their own security, they are part of the unregulated work force that keeps the engines running smoothly in the showbiz industry.

Showbiz folk are doing their best to keep their spirits high in these trying times, posting revealing thoughts on Instapix.