New show highlights Indian, Pakistani talent

Plus, Delhi Belly remake trailer released; Bajpai, Siddiqui reunite in new film; Haneke's Love to compete at Oscars.

New show highlights Indian, Pakistani talent

A new reality show featuring the best of Indian and Pakistani young music talent has debuted this week. Sur-Kshetra is now available to UAE viewers on the Colors satellite channel. The show has two teams of aspiring singers from both nations battling it out each week until a winner is determined. The Indian side will be mentored by the Hindi music director and singer Himesh Reshammiya while the Pakistani team will be headed by the pop star Atif Aslam. Both teams will be at the mercy of a musical all-star panel consisting of singers Asha Bhosle (India), Abida Parveen (Pakistan) and Runa Laila (Bangladesh). Hosting the action is the Bollywood actress Ayesha Takia who will be joined by a parade of celebrity guests including the Indian composer Ismail Darbar and the Pakistani singer and model Hadiqa Kiani. "Music knows no boundaries; it speaks its own language," said the producer Gajendra Singh. "With Sur-Kshetra, our aim is to unify audiences from across the world while showcasing singing talent led by mentors Himesh Reshammiya and Atif Aslam." Sur-Kshetra airs every Saturday and Sunday at 7.30pm. - Saeed Saeed

Delhi Belly remake trailer released

The trailer of the award-winning director R Kannan's anticipated comedy Settai, a remake of last year's Bollywood hit Delhi Belly, was released this week and has already received close to 1 million hits. Scheduled to be released in December in India, the film stars the Southern actors Arya, Premgi Amaren and Hansika Motwani, playing the roles originally played by Bollywood's Imran Khan, Vir Das and Kunal Roy Kapur. "Comedy always works well with Indian audiences, so we're confident Settai will be a success," said the film's producer Dhananjayan Govind. - IANS

Bajpai, Siddiqui reunite in new film

After playing rebels in the recent award-winning crime thriller Gangs of Wasseypur, Manoj Bajpai and Nawazuddin Siddiqui will be seen as revolutionaries in the new film Chittagong, co-produced by their Wasseypur director Anurag Kashyap and directed by Bedabrata Pain. The movie is set against the backdrop of 1930s British-occupied India, where a group of teenage students, led by their teacher, dare to take on the British military. The film is scheduled to be released on October 12. It also features Raj Kumar Yadav and Kashyap in prominent roles. - IANS

Haneke's Love to compete at Oscars

Austria will send Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or-winning film Love to compete for next year's best foreign-language picture Oscar, the Austrian Film Commission has announced. The heart-wrenching tale of a man and his dying wife won Haneke his second Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival in May, after he had already received the award in 2009 for his Oscar-nominated The White Ribbon. In recent years, Haneke, 70, has established himself as one of the most important film directors in Europe with films such as The Piano Teacher, Cache and Funny Games. The Oscar nominations will be announced in Los Angeles on January 15 and the awards will be handed out at a ceremony on February 24. - AFP