Film Detective Byomkesh Bakshy approved for India with minimal cuts

Plus: Joni Mitchell fans sending good vibes to hospitalised singer; Boyhood actress Patricia Arquette planning memoir; Lauren Bacall’s treasures fetch millions at auction; My films are commercial, but different: Akshay Kumar; Milla Jovovich welcomes second daughter; Jeremy Renner, estranged wife, settle custody dispute; and Avril Lavigne feared she was dying from Lyme disease.

Sushant Singh Rajput in Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!. Courtesy Yash Raj Films

Dibakar Banerjee has no reason to be miffed with India's Central Board Of Film Certification, after having his film Detective Byomkesh Bakshy approved for viewing.

“Almost nothing was cut,” says Banerjee. “Just a couple of fights...we were asked to reduce the length of those fights. I happily did that. I had absolutely no problems with the kissing or any of the other important scenes.”

Known for films including Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! and Shanghai, Banerjee says he has almost never had any problem with the censor board.

"Not even in a politically volatile film like Shanghai. Only once have I had a quibble with the censor board. It was for Love Sex Aur Dhokha, where they knocked off a reference to a caste situation. That apart, the CBFC has always been fair to me."

“I know it is fashionable to criticise the censor board. But sorry I don’t have any horror story of my own.” – Ians

Cynthia Lennon, first wife of John Lennon, dies of cancer

Cynthia Lennon, the first wife of former Beatles guitarist John Lennon, died of cancer Wednesday at her home in Mallorca, Spain. She was 75.

Her death was announced on the website and Twitter account of her son, Julian Lennon, who posted a moving video tribute to his late mother with a song he had written in her honor.

Paul McCartney took to his blog upon hearing the news, writing: “She was a lovely lady who I’ve known since our early days together in Liverpool.”

Cynthia and John Lennon met at art school in Liverpool in 1957 and married shortly before the Beatles shot to worldwide fame. Julian was their only child together.

The couple split in 1968 after John Lennon started his much publicised relationship with the Japanese artist Yoko Ono. The divorce prompted Paul McCartney to pen the Beatles' classic Hey Jude to help Julian cope with his parents' separation, changing the name Julian to Jude in the song.

– AP

Joni Mitchell fans sending good vibes to hospitalised singer

Joni Mitchell’s famous fans are voicing their support and worry for the folk song icon while she is hospitalized in Los Angeles.

The Harry Potter star Emma Watson said Wednesday on Twitter that she hasn't "been able to concentrate" since hearing about the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's sickness.

Kiss lead singer Paul Stanley tweeted a recent picture of himself and Mitchell, telling his followers to send her love and prayers.

Kevin Bacon, Boy George and Tori Amos were also among the well-wishers.

According to her Twitter account and website, Mitchell was found unconscious in her home Tuesday night and taken by ambulance to a hospital. She was later in intensive care and undergoing tests.

There was no further word on her condition Wednesday. – AP

Boyhood actress Patricia Arquette planning memoir

The Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette has lot more to say off screen than her Oscar acceptance speech.

The actress cited in February for her performance in Boyhood has a deal with Random House for a memoir about her "unconventional family", single parenthood and life in Hollywood, the publisher announced Wednesday. The book is currently untitled and a release date has not been set.

Arquette, who turns 46 next week, is the granddaughter of character actor and Hollywood Squares celebrity Cliff Arquette (aka "Charlie Weaver") and the daughter of actor Lewis Arquette. She has been married twice, including to fellow actor Nicholas Cage, and has two children. Her films include True Romance and Bringing Out the Dead, while she spent seven years on television starring as a psychic Medium. – AP

Lauren Bacall’s treasures fetch millions at auction

Hollywood screen icon Lauren Bacall’s carefully collected personal mementos fetched US$3.64 million (Dh13.4m) on the auction block, according to Bonhams.

There were hundreds of items up for grabs at the two-day sale, including housewares, furniture, fine art, jewelry and clothing, and all of them sold, the auction house said.

Bacall, one of Hollywood’s great golden age actresses, died in August aged 89 in her nine-room home overlooking New York’s Central Park.

American White Pelican, a hand-colored etching by naturalist John James Audubon, fetched $173,000, three times more than was expected.

Items from the Humphrey Bogart years, before he died from cancer in 1957, included his black granite games table and a pair of silver candelabras from the couple’s marital home in Los Angeles.

The proceeds will go to her three children. – AFP

My films are commercial, but different: Akshay Kumar

Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, who will next be seen in Gabbar Is Back, says his films have always been commercial and his choices of films has always been different.

"My films are commercial. I don't give any speech (on social issues) in my films. As an actor, I have always chosen different subjects like 'OMG: Oh My God!' was on religion, Baby was on terrorism, and Gabbar Is Back, which is on corruption. I feel it's up to the audience how to take it," Akshay said here.

Gabbar Is Back is directed by popular southern actor Krish and produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Viacom18 Motion Pictures. Featuring Shruti Haasan, the film is slated to release on May 1, 2015.

Akshay has been cast as a vigilante, a righteous man and an enemy of the corrupt in the film. – Ians

Milla Jovovich welcomes second daughter

The American actress Milla Jovovich gave birth Wednesday in Los Angeles to her second daughter Dashiel Edon, with British director and producer Paul W S Anderson.

“Milla Jovovich delivered her second daughter Dashiel Edon early this morning. Both Mama and Baby are doing great,” said a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian-born actress.

“Milla, her husband Paul and big sister Ever are overjoyed to welcome Dashiel into the their family and are all spending some quality bonding time together.”

Jovovich, 39, was born in Kiev and started modeling at nine. She became a favorite of top photographers including Richard Avedon and Herb Ritts.

She has fronted international campaigns for Chanel, Christian Dior, L’Oreal among others and appeared in films as an action hero, as well as playing Joan of Arc. – AFP

Jeremy Renner, estranged wife, settle custody dispute

The Oscar-nominated actor Jeremy Renner will share joint custody of his 2-year-old daughter with his estranged wife as part of a custody agreement between the pair.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Whitaker approved the settlement, which calls for Renner to pay his wife US$13,000 (Dh47,751) a month in child support.

Sonni Pacheco, a model, filed for divorce from Renner in early December, less than a year after the pair had a secret wedding. Both sides had each raised issues with the other’s parenting of their daughter.

Renner, who has received Academy Award acting nominations for his role in The Hurt Locker and The Town, stars in in the upcoming film Avengers: Age of Ultron. – AP

Avril Lavigne feared she was dying from Lyme disease

Rocker Avril Lavigne has revealed that she was bedridden for five months after contracting Lyme disease.

The 30-year-old Canadian guitarist and singer confirmed social media exchanges about her illness and said she was feeling better after a prolonged absence from public view fueled rumors about her condition.

"I felt like I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk and I couldn't move," the 30-year-old Canadian singer Lavigne told People magazine. "I thought I was dying."

Lavigne was diagnosed late last year with Lyme disease, which is generally spread by bites from ticks.

Lavigne said she was “80 per cent” better and had been receiving care from her mother in Ontario as well as her husband Chad Kroeger, frontman for the band Nickelback.

Lavigne, who became a global sensation while still a teenager with her 2002 debut album Let Go, released her last album in 2013. She has written a song for the Special Olympics in July in Los Angeles. – AFP