Rising star

Newbie actor Dulquer Salmaan, the son of Malayalam superstar Mammooty, is all set to take the South by storm. At a press meet on the release of his latest Tamil film, Mani Ratnam's O Kadhal Kanmani, Salmaan, who has worked in Malayalam films like Ustad Hotel and Bangalore Days, was the cynosure of all eyes. Though Ratnam's film is about live-in relationships, Salmaan made it clear that he was a firm believer in the institution of marriage. "Have you seen my wife? She's beautiful and gets along with my friends," he says happily, when asked why he got married so young. Having done his MBA from Purdue University in the US and an acting course with Barry John, Salmaan, who says his father is "cool" and "doesn't interfere with his choices", seems poised to go places. A chip off the old block, what?

Brothers Siddiqui

Blood will tell. While older brother Nawazuddin Siddiqui has earned plaudits for his powerful portrayals in Bollywood, younger brother Shams Siddiqui is about to make his mark at Cannes. A short film by Siddiqui the younger, called Miyan Kal Aana, will be screened in the Short Film Catalog at the forthcoming Cannes Film Festival. The movie, which is about an Islamic legal concept called nikah halala, wherein a couple cannot remarry once they divorce each other three times, has been produced by older brother Nawaz. Now this seems to be shaping up as an exciting combo - like the yesteryear duo of Vijay Anand-Dev Anand, the Siddiqui brothers could also develop into a powerful director-actor band of brothers.

Bard's birthday

It's William Shakespeare's 450th birth anniversary on April 23, and you can head for an event called Talking Shakespeare: The Bard and the City, to be held in Calcutta. The programme, presented by arts personality Sujoy Prosad Chatterjee ( in pic), actors Biplab Dasgupta and Bobby Chakraborty, will include interactions with the audience on the Bard's relevance and how Calcutta looks at his works today. Also on the cards are dramatised readings from Othello, The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet and so on. That should be enough to get Shakespeare buffs excited.

Cover girl

Sooraj Barjatiya is miffed with Sonam Kapoor. Reason: Kapoor has posed semi-nude for the cover photograph of a magazine. Barjatiya feels it was a bad move since her character in the upcoming movie Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (directed, needless to say, by Barjatiya) is that of a demure woman. In the picture, however,Kapoor looks like the hot gal that she is - she wears a white jacket without a shirt, and er, the jacket is left unbuttoned. No wonder it's left Barjatiya fuming.

Vanishing act

Where is Anushka Sharma these days? She played hookey during the promotions for her upcoming film Bombay Velvet. One also hears that the launch of the film's song Mohabbat buri bimari got delayed because she was busy cheering her beau, cricketer Virat Kohli, during the Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders match recently. Again, she went missing from the trailer launch of Zoya Akhtar's Dil Dhadakne Do, which also stars Priyanka Chopra and Ranveer Singh. Gone into hiding, Ms Sharma? Or merely sulking because the nasties held you responsible for Kohli's poor showing at the World Cup semi-final match in Australia last month?