Priyanka Chopra plans to make digital debut

Plus: More awards glory for The Big Short, actress Kalpana dead at 50, and comic-politician to take to the stage once more.

Priyanka Chopra will appear in It’s My City, “India’s first ever mobi-series”, about four young women trying to make it in Mumbai. Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

The National with wires

Priyanka Chopra is making her debut in digital entertainment. The 33-year-old Bollywood actress will appear in It's My City, "India's first ever mobi-series", about four young women trying to make it in Mumbai.

It is available exclusively on NexGTv, the subscription-driven video-­entertainment mobile app. Chopra will play the girls’ “landlady and unofficial guardian”. The project is co-produced by her Purple Pebble Pictures company.

"There is a huge parallel that can be drawn to my own reality, of a young girl coming to Mumbai to make her dreams come true," Chopra told The Times of India.

In My City is also the title of Chopra's 2012 single featuring American rapper and producer will-i-am. – The National staff

More awards glory for The Big Short

The Big Short has won top honours at the Producers Guild of America (PGA) awards ceremony.

The satirical comedy – which closed the Dubai International Film Festival last month – is set in the run-up to the 2008 global financial meltdown and boasts an all-star cast including Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt.

The film beat a number of highly-touted rivals for best movie at Saturday's ceremony, including The Revenant, Spotlight and The Martian.

The PGA has an impressive track record of giving its top honour to films that go on to earn the best picture honours at the Oscars, including last year's Birdman.

The group also rewarded the documentary Amy, about troubled soul singer Amy Winehouse, who died in 2011. Pixar's Inside Out won the award for best animated feature. The Oscars ceremony is on February 28. – AFP

Actress Kalpana dead at 50

Malayalam film star Kalpana died yesterday, said director Sibi Malayil.

The actress was found unconscious in a hotel in Hyderabad, India, and taken to hospital where the doctors declared her dead.

It is thought she suffered a cardiac arrest. The 50-year-old actress had appeared in more than 300 films and was in Hyderabad for a private function.

She had won the National Award for the Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Thanichalla Njan. – IANS

Comic-politician to take to the stage once more

Italian comic Beppe Grillo is returning to the stage with a new show next month, but will continue his involvement in politics with the anti-­establishment 5-Star Movement that he founded.

Grillo, 67, told Corriere della Sera on Sunday that the show will address how he came to launch a political movement and explore ideas for the future. He will perform four shows in Milan, beginning on February 2, before moving on to Rome.

Grillo says his return to the stage was not intended to distance himself from the movement, he was only “taking a step to the side”.

The 5-Star Movement was the third-largest force in Italy’s last national election.– AP