Abir Goswami dies of heart attack

Plus: Abir Goswami dies of heart attack; Helani says musicians should do charity concerts; Bollywood bachelor Karan Johar keen to adopt baby.

Abir Goswami

The actor Abir Goswami, who most recently starred in the popular Indian television programmes Kkusum and Pyaar Ka Dard Hai, died in Mumbai on Friday due to cardiac arrest. He was 37. The actress Sayantani Ghosh, who was to work with Goswami in a Bengali film titled Sakkhat, said she had spoken to him over the phone at 1.15pm on Friday. "We were planning to go for a movie together, and around 3pm, I got a call about his death. He was quite healthy and that's what is more disturbing. It's truly shocking," she said. The actress Smita Singh, who worked with Goswami in Kkusum, said he was in a fitness centre when he suffered a heart attack. "He was working out in the gym and suddenly got a cardiac arrest," said Singh. "I am really shocked at the news." A day before his death, Goswami had taken to Twitter to mourn the sudden demise of the filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh, who at the age of 49 also suffered a cardiac arrest. - IANS

Najwa Karam talks surgery and show

Najwa Karam is against plastic surgery but doesn't mind collagen and Botox procedures. Speaking from the Mawazine Festival, the Lebanese singer and Arabs Got Talent judge said women have every right to feel good about themselves. "There is nothing wrong about wanting to look and feel beautiful," she said. "I am in favour of avoiding plastic surgery. But maintaining [looks] through Botox or collagen is not a problem for me. If you try too look like someone else, that is a mistake. You can improve your image but don't change it." Karam said she looks forward to returning to Arabs Got Talent after Ramadan. "It is all very exciting," she said. "Each episode and contestant has its own story. I am happy to be back again." - The National staff

Helani: give back with charity concerts

Assi Helani urges fellow performers to undertake charity concerts. As well as being a mentor on The Voice, the Lebanese pop star is also an ambassador for the United Nations World Food Programme. He said the Arab world needs a bigger contribution from its music stars. "It is a sad time now, what is happening in Lebanon and Syria," Helani said at the Mawazine Festival. "But the Arab people are strong and will bounce back. Until then, we performers need to stand together and give back with concerts that will help raise funds for orphans and the sick." - The National staff

Karan Johar keen to adopt baby

The Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar, who is not married, says he wants to adopt a baby. Johar said in an interview with the Hindustan Times that adopting a child is "on top of my mind at present". The 41-year-old filmmaker said he had the full support of his mother, Hiroo Johar, with whom he lives. He said he was confident that he and his mum would bring up the child wonderfully. "Tell me, who does not want to have a family to extend himself or herself?" asked Johar, whose father is the late Bollywood producer Yash Johar. Karan Johar is known for directing and producing some of Bollywood's highest-grossing films, starting with his directorial debut hit Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Something Happens) in 1998. - AP