Pharrell to open MTV EMAs show

Plus: Pharrell to open MTV EMAs show; Irrfan Khan and Kangana Ranaut may star in Akhtar movie; crowds honour John Lennon; singers sue Paris clothing retailer.

Singer Pharrell Williams. Youssef Boudlal / Reuters

Pharrell Williams will be the opening performer at this month's MTV European Music Awards ceremony in Milan. The singer, songwriter, producer and fashion designer is also in the running for the best male vocalist award, along with Ed Sheeran, Jason Derulo, Kanye West and Justin Bieber. Taylor Swift leads the female nominees with nine nods, including for best female vocalist where she is up against Ellie Goulding, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna in that category. Sheeran and actress Ruby Rose will host the awards, which will be broadcast from the Mediolanum Forum in Milan on October 25. – AP

UAE to host National Day film competition

Aspiring filmmakers have a chance to make their mark in the local industry through a competition launched by Image Nation Abu Dhabi in the run-up to the 44th National Day. The nationwide contest, #WhyILoveUAE, encourages residents to use their video cameras or smartphones to create short films of up to a minute in length that capture their personal experiences of living and working in the UAE. The best films will be screened on National Day, December 2, at Vox cinemas across the country, and the overall winners will receive a film course scholarship at the New York Film Academy. The judges include Emirati actor Mansoor Al Feeli (Zinzana), directors Nawaf Al Janahi (Sea Shadow), Khaled Al Mahmoud (Sabeel) and Nujoom Al Ghanem (Red, Blue, Yellow), and the contest is supported by twofour54. The closing date is November 23. Visit www.whyiloveuae.com for more details and to upload entries. – The National staff

Khan and Ranaut could star in Akhtar movie

Irrfan Khan and Kangana Ranaut are reportedly in talks to star in Ketan Mehta's Ae Mohabbat, a Bollywood film about the life of renowned ghazal and thumri singer Begum Akhtar. Shri Anup Jalota Productions and Ae Mohabbat Productions on Tuesday announced the movie about the classical musician, who was honoured after her death in 1974 with a Padmabhushan, India's third-highest civilian award. Oscar winner A R Rahman signed on to compose the music for the film. Rita Ganguly, who wrote Akhtar's biography, says she doesn't view the film as a biopic, more like a commercial movie for the masses. It is due to be released next year. – IANS

Crowds honour John Lennon

Thousands of people joined Yoko Ono in New York's Central Park on Tuesday to try to set a world record for the largest group of human bodies forming a peace sign. The record attempt, in honour of Ono's husband, John Lennon, didn't succeed, but the crowd celebrated the upcoming birthday of the late Beatle, who would have been 75 on Friday. A Guinness World Records representative said over 2,000 people took part, but more than 5,000 were needed for a record. That did not dampen the spirits on a warm, sunny day that brought together people ranging from ageing hippies to children not yet born when Lennon was shot and killed in 1980 at his apartment building on Manhattan's west side, close to Central Park. Ono, 82, said: "This is the best present to John". – AP

Singers sue Paris clothing retailer

Beyoncé, Jay Z, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Rihanna have teamed up to sue a clothing retailer in Paris they say has been "brazenly" selling shirts, hats, backpacks, and other items featuring their likenesses without permission. The complaint, filed on Tuesday in New York, accuses ElevenParis of ignoring the singers' warnings to stop selling the items in stores, including one in Manhattan's Soho district, and on its internet. – Reuters

Psy to release first album since Gangnam Style

South Korean singer Psy, whose video Gangnam Style went viral on YouTube and has a record number of hits on the website, will release his first studio album in five years before the end of the year, his management agency has announced. The 37-year-old rapper is "in the final stage" of his new album, according to YG Entertainment chief Yang Hyun-seok, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported. – The National Staff

Ranveer Singh to star in Chopra comeback film

Ranveer Singh will play the lead role in Aditya Chopra's directorial comeback movie Befikre. It will be the director's first film in seven years. Singh's casting was announced in a three-minute online video, in which the actor, who had a moustache and wore a hat, black-framed spectacles and a sweatshirt, discusses the upcoming filmand his career. – IANS

007 exhibition in Mexico

More than 400 items showcasing iconic British movie spy James Bond are going on show at an exhibition in Mexico. Titled Designing 007: 50 years of Bond Style, the exhibition at Mexico City's Carso Plaza will feature screenplays, draft scripts, sketches, firearms, photographs, audio and video fragments and wardrobe items and exclusive original pieces. The exhibits cover the 24 films featuring the much-loved spy, created by novelist Ian Fleming in 1952. The collection, an initiative of London's Barbican Centre, was inaugurated in 2012 and has toured many cities, including Toronto, Shanghai, Melbourne, Moscow, Rotterdam and Madrid. For the exhibition, guest curators Bronwyn Cosgrave and Lindy Hemming worked closely with exhibition designer Ab Rogers to recreate a space, which would narrate the story of the iconic spy. Fashion historian Cosgrave and Oscar-winning costume designer Hemming, dug into the archives of EON Productions, producer of all the official Bond films, and obtained permission to choose material that would help recreate the ambience of Bond movies as accurately as possible. The character of agent 007 has captivated the world ever since actor Sean Connery first introduced himself as "Bond, James Bond" in the 1962 film, Dr. No. The exhibition will be open from October 23 until January 10, ahead of the November release of the new Bond movie, Spectre. – IANS