Vidya Balan is taking the world by storm

Plus: Lohan punches woman in nightclub, Final book of Churchill trilogy coming this fall, Queen Elizabeth honours Duchess of Cornwall, Neil Patrick Harris to host third Tonys and Downton Abbey comes to OSN.

The Bollywood actress Vidya Balan might be going on a world tour. AFP

In another first for the actress who is on a seemingly unstoppable roll, Vidya Balan could take off on a world tour. Riding the wave of successes of films such as Kahaani and The Dirty Picture, Balan might soon get a chance to show her star power to the rest of the world.

The Morani brothers (Mohammad, Karim and Aly) who are renowned for their tours and grand stage shows, have seeded the idea and recently said in an interview that they are thinking of arranging her tour in October. Bollywood actors and actresses haven't shied away from shimmying on a dance floor at weddings or private parties for some extra cash. A world tour, however, will be much more prestigious. Any such tour is carried through only on the power of the star and Balan has reportedly gathered enough clout and popularity to do so. The last time anyone did this was Karisma Kapoor many years ago. Kapoor is scheduled for a comeback to Tinsel Town in Dangerous Ishq.

* Meera Ghopal

Bollywood stars immortalised in stones

It might be many decades too late, but Bollywood finally has one: its very own walk of fame. Set up by the UTV Stars television channel, the Walk of the Stars in Bandra, like the one in Los Angeles, will have the handprints and signatures of Indian actors and actresses. Kareena Kapoor, one of the reigning stars in Bollywood today, inaugurated the project by unveiling a statue of one of India's greatest stars and her grandfather, Raj Kapoor.

However, there is a similar project started by Riteish Deshmukh that will be called the Legends Walk. Though both parties say that it is not a contest, Deshmukh reportedly has bagged some of India's biggest stars - Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra and Salman Khan. Aamir Khan, often touted as the "thinking Khan", has refused to participate in Legends Walk.

* Meera Ghopal

Downton Abbey comes to OSN

The second season of the Emmy award-winning series Downton Abbey will show exclusively on OSN starting on Thursday, April 26, created by Julian Fellowes.

The series chronicles the experience of living through the First World War, beginning with the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and continues until the advent of the 1918 flu pandemic. The series comprises eight episodes in total and will be shown on OSN First HD and OSN First every Thursday at 9pm.

Neil Patrick Harris to host third Tonys

The How I Met Your Mother star Neil Patrick Harris will be back for his third turn hosting the Tony Awards, to be held in New York on June 10. In a statement, the 38-year-old said he was thrilled: "Not only will I be shining a spotlight on the best that Broadway has to offer, but hopefully I'll score some free house seats to a show - or five!"

* AP

Queen Elizabeth honours Duchess of Cornwall

Queen Elizabeth II has appointed the Duchess of Cornwall to the highest female rank in the Royal Victorian Order, Buckingham Palace said on Monday. The announcement that Camilla has been made a Dame Grand Cross comes on the day of her seventh wedding anniversary with Prince Charles, the queen's son. Awards under the Royal Victorian Order, which was founded in 1896 by Queen Victoria, are given by the queen to people who have served her or the monarchy in a personal way. They are bestowed independently of the prime minister's office. Once vilified as the old flame who poisoned Charles's first marriage to Princess Diana, Camilla has become an integral member of the royal family since she married the prince on April 9, 2005 - eight years after Diana's death.

* AP

Final book of Churchill trilogy coming this fall

The third and final volume of the late William Manchester's beloved series on Winston Churchill is coming out this autumn, nearly 25 years after the previous book.

In November, Little, Brown and Company will publish The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965. The new work was started by Manchester and completed by Paul Reid, a former writer for Cox Newspapers. Manchester, who began the Churchill series in the 1980s, was in poor health during his latter years and asked Reid to take over the project. Nicole Dewey, a spokeswoman for Little, Brown, said on Sunday that the first two biographies had sold hundreds of thousands of copies and that the publisher still receives frequent inquiries about the third book.

Manchester died in 2004 at age 82.

* AP

Lohan punches woman in nightclub

Lindsay Lohan seems incapable of staying out of trouble for long, despite recently being released from probation. CNN reported that a woman filed a battery complaint against Lohan on Saturday, accusing the actress of shoving her at a West Hollywood nightclub two nights earlier, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff's official. The woman is saying that Lohan became angry when the woman spoke to one of Lindsay's male friends. The police confirmed they will investigate the matter.