Amitabh Bachchan gets a 007 makeover

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Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has revealed that he is to adopt a suave and stylish, James Bond-inspired look, complete with a bevy of Bond Girl-style beauties, for a magazine photo shoot. The veteran actor revealed the plans in a blog post on Sunday. He admitted that the theme was a little "incongruous", adding, "but what the heck ... Let's face it. It is not too often that a 74-year-old shall get such opportunity ... so indulge!!!". Bachchan, affectionately known as Big B, is one of the most active stars in Bollywood. He has appeared in almost 200 Indian films and made numerous TV appearances during a four-decade career. He has also made inroads in Hollywood, including a role alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in 2013's The Great Gatsby. – IANS / The National

Stars come out for Lady Gaga’s birthday

Lady Gaga celebrated her 30th birthday at the weekend with a party at the exclusive No Name club in Los Angeles, and the guest list for the bash could rival that of the Grammy Awards. Fellow musicians including Taylor Swift, Kylie Minogue, John Legend, Lorde and Lana Del Rey showed up to help the Poker Face singer celebrate. Gaga was accompanied by her fiance, Chicago Fire actor Taylor Kinney, while further Hollywood glamour was in attendance in the form of Almost Famous star Kate Hudson, daughter of Goldie Hawn. – The National

Aquaman and Cyborg chime in on film backlash

The social media frenzy over Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice shows no sign of abating. Memes of "sad Ben Affleck's" response to questions about bad reviews have been doing the rounds since the movie was released last weekend, and now co-stars Jason Momoa and Jason Fisher, who have cameos as future Justice League members Aquaman and Cyborg in the movie, have got in on the act, too. Momoa posted a meme parodying Affleck's speech when Bruce Wayne first meets Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) in the movie: "Critics who can't act or know comics are a bit hypocritical, wouldn't you say? Knowing every time their friend directs a boring movie, write a puff piece about a boring story." Fisher, meanwhile, opted to parody a conversation between Wayne and his butler Alfred (Jeremy Irons): "20 years in journalism ... How many good critics are left? How many stayed that way?" he asks. The critical disdain and online debates don't seem to be hurting the film's box-office receipts. It achieved the sixth-highest domestic opening in US box-office history, shattering records held by big hitters including Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Furious 7. Worldwide, the movie did even better, taking a whopping US$424m (Dh1.5bn) during its opening weekend, the fourth-highest total ever, a DC Comics record, and more than any movie from comic-book rival Marvel has managed. – The National

Paul McCartney joins Pirates of the Caribbean

Former Beatle Paul McCartney is the latest member of rock royalty to sign up for a role in a Pirates of the Caribbean movie, according to Deadline. Rolling Stone Keith Richards has previously appeared in the franchise as the father of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). There's no word on who McCartney will play in Dead Men Tell No Tales, the fifth film in the series, but the report says that the cast and crew – who filmed the movie last summer – will reassemble to shoot a large, additional scene based around the musician's character. In addition to Sparrow, the film also features the return of Orlando Bloom as Will Turner and stars Javier Bardem as the villain, Captain Salazar. It is due for release in May next year. – The National

Athiya Shetty upbeat about women’s roles

Athiya Shetty says it is a great time to be a part of Bollywood, with meaningful roles being written for women who are "making a mark not only on-screen but off-screen as well". Asked whether there was a shortage of meaty roles for women, Athiya, who came to prominence with Salman Khan's production Hero last year, said: "No, I think that is changing. People such as Sonam Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma, Vidya Balan and Deepika Padukone have made this concrete change happen. So, I think it is a great time to be in the Hindi film industry right now because there are roles for women and women are definitely making a mark not only in terms of being on-screen, but off-screen as well." The daughter of actor Suniel Shetty, she also hailed an increasing female presence behind the cameras, saying: "We have Zoya Akhtar, we have so many women who are so talented and I don't feel like there is a dearth anymore." – IANS