Bollywood director Aditya Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan are reuniting after eight years for a big-budget period drama. According to a report in Filmfare, the 50-year-old superstar will be seen playing a warrior in the film, which is due for release next year. The report also said that since it is a new genre for Chopra, he is keen to take time to research and learn the ropes. Chopra last directed Khan in the 2008 hit Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Khan has played a warrior once before in Santosh Sivan's 2001 film Asoka, which was a flop. – Sonali Kokra
Ringo Starr pays tribute to Orlando victims
Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, who spreads a message of peace and love every year on his birthday, says he wants the message to hit home even harder this year after the mass shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, at the weekend. Starr said: "I don't understand that mindset that you could decide to injure and kill a lot of innocent people. I'm really not a supporter of wars, either, but you can understand there are two sides having a go at each other. But this is so random." At noon on July 7 – his 76th birthday – Starr wants everyone to take a moment to ask for peace and love. He's been holding the annual event since 2008 and has celebrated in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, Tennessee and Germany, among other places. Starr is on a US tour with his All-Starr band, which will finish on July 2 in Los Angeles. – AP
Santosh Sivan taking a break from films
Acclaimed Indian cinematographer Santosh Sivan, 52, is taking a break after a hectic and long schedule working on Lies We Tell, his fifth Hollywood film. Sivan is also the executive producer of the thriller, which was shot at locations across the United Kingdom. Sivan said he was back from the UK and now "chilling out" in Mumbai. "This film is due for release next year and it's now in its final stages," he added "At the moment, it's a break for me." Sivan's father is also an acclaimed filmmaker, as is his older brother Sangeeth and his younger brother Sanjeev. Sivan said he needs some rest and will wait for a new project to take on. Lies We Tell stars British, Irish and Asian actors, including Gabriel Byrne, Sibylla Dean, Mark Addy, Gina McKee and Jan Uddin. In 2012, Sivan became the first South Asian to be honoured with a membership of the American Society of Cinematographers, which is by invitation only, based on body of work. – IANS
PlayStation’s VR headset to hit shops in October
Sony Interactive Entertainment said its PlayStation virtual reality headset will hit shelves on October 13, costing US$399 (Dh1,465). The arrival of PlayStation VR will come later than expected to provide time to get games ready and build up an ample supply of headsets for launch, according to Sony. At a PlayStation press event at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, Sony Interactive Entertainment worldwide studios chairman Shawn Layden proclaimed a "seminal moment" in virtual reality. He promised more than 50 games for PlayStation VR will be available within months of the launch, among them the latest title in zombie-shooter franchise Resident Evil, one based on the Star Wars franchise, and another on the comic-book hero Batman. Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment announced that Batman: Arkham VR will be released exclusively for PlayStation in October, for the first time ever allowing players to "be the Batman" in virtual reality. – AFP
Hamilton books hit best-seller list
After Broadway hip-hop musical Hamilton won 11 Tony Awards, books related to the smash-hit show – and its subject, Alexander Hamilton, the first US treasury secretary – are also proving popular. The paperback edition of Ron Chernow's 2004 biography of Hamilton, the inspiration for Lin-Manuel Miranda's show, shot to number one on Amazon.com a day after the Tony awards. A book about the show's creation, Hamilton: The Revolution, was third on the bestseller list and the hardcover of Chernow's 800-page book was at number 14. – AP
Actress who voiced Judy Jetson dies
Janet Waldo, who provided the voice for Judy Jetson and many other American TV cartoon characters, has died. The veteran film, TV and radio actress died on Sunday at age 96 at her home in Encino, California. Her daughter, Lucy Lee, said her mother had been battling a brain tumour. A native of Yakima, Washington, Waldo had one of the main roles in futuristic series The Jetsons, which was originally broadcast in the early 1960s. Her other credits included Josie in Josie and the Pussycats and Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law in The Flintstones. Before The Jetsons, Waldo had been an actress for decades, appearing on sitcoms including I Love Lucy and The Andy Griffith Show, plus dozens of movies and radio programs. Waldo's husband, playwright Robert Edwin Lee, died in 1994. – AP
Bill Murray honoured with top comedy prize
Though he long ago transitioned from zany comedy into more poignant and bittersweet roles, Bill Murray has never stopped making people laugh – and now he is being honoured with the United States’ top prize for humour. The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has announced that Murray, 65, will be this year’s recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The award goes to those who have influenced society in the tradition of Samuel Clemens, the writer, satirist and social commentator better known as Mark Twain. “I’m honoured by the award and by its timing,” Murray said. “I believe Mark Twain has rolled over in his grave so much for so long, that this news won’t disturb his peace.” Murray will accept the prize, first awarded in 1998, during a gala at the Kennedy Center in New York on October 23. – AP