Today's entertainment news: Hindu activists disrupt Bigelow film

Plus: Oprah Winfrey to interview Whitney Houston's family; Rolling Stones to release 50th-anniversary book; Engelbert Humperdinck to compete at Eurovision; Kim Kardashian fails to reconcile with ex-boyfriend and Russell Peters shows added.

Hindu activists besiege crew working on the film Zero Dark Thirty in Chandigarh. They objected to the fact that a movie set in Pakistan was being made in the Indian city.

Hindu radicals in India protested on Friday against the shooting of a film by the Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow on the hunt for Osama bin Laden, objecting that the film was portraying Pakistan on Indian soil.

The filmmakers, denied permission to film in Pakistan, converted parts of the Indian city of Chandigarh to look like the Pakistani city of Lahore.

Billboards with Urdu signs were put up on shops in a market in the north-Indian city and autorickshaws were running with Lahore number plates. Burqa-clad women and men dressed in traditional Pakistani clothes roamed the streets.

Protesters shouted slogans and some of them were seen arguing with cast and crew as police tried to intervene. They said the government should have refused permission for the film to be made in ­India.

The film, Zero Dark Thirty, is due for release later this year.

*Reuters

Engelbert Humperdinck to sing at Eurovision

After years of disappointment, Britain is staking its Eurovision hopes on the 75-year-old Engelbert Humperdinck, the square-jawed crooner who famously beat the Beatles to the number one spot in 1967.

The BBC said Humperdinck, whose last hit was more than 40 years ago, had been enlisted to compete in the pan-European talent show usually dominated by eclectic pop acts.

Britain has not won Eurovision since 1997. Even the 2009 decision to call in music impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber was not enough to boost its standing past fifth place. Last year, the British boy band Blue came 11th.

The 57th Eurovision Song Contest will be held on May 22-26 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Humperdinck will be performing in Dubai on Wednesday.

*AP

Oprah Winfrey to interview Whitney Houston’s family

The US chat-show host Oprah Winfrey has landed an interview with Whitney Houston’s daughter and other members of the late singer’s family for a television special that will be broadcast on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Her show, Oprah's Next Chapter, will feature interviews with Houston's only child Bobbi Kristina, 19, her sister-in-law and manager Patricia Houston and her brother Gary. It is due to be broadcast next Sunday in the US.

Winfrey was one of the guests invited to Houston’s funeral in New Jersey last month.

*AP

Rolling Stones to release 50th-anniversary book

There is still no word on a Rolling Stones anniversary tour, but the band will mark its 50th year with a new book.

Hyperion announced on Friday that it would publish The Rolling Stones: 50, an illustrated history featuring rare photographs and commentary from the band. The book is scheduled for a midyear release. The Rolling Stones formed in London in April 1962.

Ex-boyfriend not interested in Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian's former boyfriend, the American football player Reggie Bush, has rejected attempts to patch things up, reported Entertainment Weekly. The two were photographed last month at a Los Angeles cafe, apparently showing affection and starting rumours of a reconciliation.

According to reports by Life & Style magazine, whose latest issue features the cover headline "Kim Kardashian: dumped by the love of her life", Bush is already dating another woman, who bears a resemblance to Kardashian.

“Reggie likes hanging out with Kim, but he’s not into all the publicity,” a friend of Bush told the magazine. “He’s pretty much told her: I don’t love you like that anymore; we’re just friends.”

Russell Peters shows added to meet high demand

After tickets to the UAE shows of the comedian Russell Peters quickly sold out last week, two additional dates have been announced.

In Dubai, Peters is performing on March 19, aside from his originally scheduled March 20 show. Tickets for the added show date went on sale on Friday.

In Abu Dhabi, after tickets to his March 22 show sold out on Friday, another one on March 23 has been confirmed.

Tickets, priced from Dh250 to Dh550, are available at www.ticketingco.com for Dubai and www.thinkflash.ae for Abu Dhabi. The event is for not for people under 18.

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