Star-studded birthday bash for Salman Khan

Plus: Star Wars sets another box-office record; Miss Universe has kind words for runner-up; wheelchair stint a challenge for Amitabh; and singer William Guest dies at 74.

Bollywood actor Salman Khan performs at AIBA Awards in May in Dubai. Ravindranath K / The National

Salman Khan, who turned 50 yesterday, had a huge birthday bash at his farmhouse in Panvel, on the outskirts of Mumbai, on Saturday night. Celebrity guests included Subhash Ghai, Urvashi Dholakia, Karisma Kapoor, Malaika Arora Khan, Amrita Arora, Sophie Choudhary, Ritesh Deshmukh, Genelia D’Souza, Sania Mirza and Neelam. There was another reason for the big extravaganza: Khan was recently acquitted of all charges by the Bombay High Court in the high-profile 2002 hit-and-run case. – IANS

Star Wars sets another box-office record

The latest Star Wars film has smashed yet another box-office record, raking in US$49.3 million (Dh181m) on Christmas Day in North America – the highest ever for the holiday season. Star Wars: The Force Awakens easily bested the previous Christmas Day record of $24.6m set by Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey, Jr, which opened on December 25, 2009. So far, The Force Awakens has taken in $890.3m worldwide, with $440.4m in the United States alone. The film has received mostly glowing reviews, and is being credited with breathing new life into the franchise launched by creator George Lucas in 1977. It has already set a number of other box-office records – highest-grossing domestic opening night, biggest domestic single-day sales and biggest global opening weekend. As far as all-time box-office sales, two films by James Cameron hold the record: Avatar ($2.79 billion) and Titanic ($2.19bn). It is expected that Star Wars might unseat both. – AFP

Miss Universe has kind words for runner-up

Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, 26, from the Philippines took to Instagram to show appreciation for the title and to send kind words to runner-up Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez, People reports. Wurtzbach's social media post came one week after Miss Universe host Steve Harvey incorrectly announced that Miss Colombia had won the title, when, in fact, Miss Philippines had won. Wurtzbach's social media message started with her showing appreciation. She wrote: "Words can't describe how grateful I am for this. It was quite a journey getting here with 3 attempts at winning Miss Philippines. Now, I finally got the best Christmas gift ever – and not just for me, for my country." She also used the message to reach out to Miss Colombia: "To Ariadna, you are an amazing woman and we are now bonded together forever by a unique experience," Wurtzbach wrote. "In the last 3 weeks we were together, I saw how strong and beautiful you are inside and out. You represented your country with honour and I know how proud everyone must be of you. Fate has a plan for you, and I'm excited to see what's ahead." She also urged fans to stop arguing over the controversy. – The National staff

Wheelchair stint a challenge for amitabh

Amitabh Bachchan, who will be seen in a wheelchair in his next film Wazir, due to be released on January 7 in the UAE, says it was physically more challenging than his other roles. "I think every role is challenging but physically perhaps a little more because you do not have feet to express yourself but two wheels of the chair," said the 73-year-old superstar. To hide his feet, the team opted for visual effects. "I am not very conversant with visual effects," said the star. "They used to ask me to wear black socks and draw marks on them. My feet used to be tied. I did not think it was really cumbersome. They went through 40 to 50 wheelchairs to find the ideal one." Wazir, directed by Bijoy Nambiar, also features Farhan Akhtar and Neil Nitin Mukesh. – IANS

singer William Guest dies at 74

William Guest, who was a member of Gladys Knight and the Pips, has died. He was 74. Guest's sister-in-law, Dhyana Ziegler, said the American R&B/soul singer died on Thursday in Detroit of congestive heart failure. Guest performed throughout the lifespan of the Grammy-winning group from 1953 to 1989. He performed background vocals on hits such as I Heard It Through the Grapevine and Midnight Train to Georgia. "My heart is broken, but I know his legacy will live on," said Guest's daughter, Monique Guest. – AP