Student militia threatened family members of Janbaz Khan, an Afghani money-lender in Calcutta, if the shooting of the film, Escape from Afghanistan starring Manisha Koirala, was not stopped.

The film, to be released in English and Hindi, is being shot in Ladakh, directed by Ujjal Chatterjee.

Janbaz Khan, said that he was being pressurised to divorce his Bengali wife, Sushmita Bandopadhay.

Sushmita has penned Kabuliwalar Bangali Bou (Wife of an Afghan money-lender), Ak Barna Mithye Noi (Not a Single word is Untrue) and Afghan, Taliban O Ami (Afghan, Taliban and I).

She doesn't know if the film is based her autobiographical accounts.

Malaika in Kaante

Malaika Arora has stepped into Lisa Ray's shoes after the latter opted out of Sanjay Gupta's Kaante. Incidentally, Lisa had replaced Raveena Tandon when Ravs decided that the film wasn't her cup of tea.

Arora, known for her item numbers, plays a night club dancer in a big hotel in Los Angeles and is actor Sunil Shetty's onscreen love interest.

Asoka's going to Paris

After its tour of Tokyo and Venice, Asoka now has moved on to Paris.

A special screening of the film has been organised for His Holiness The Dalai Lama in the French capital, on October 13.

SRK had specially met the Dalai Lama to seek his blessings for his venture. It was then that the Dalai Lama expressed his desire to see the finished product, based on the life of the greatest preacher of Buddhism, Emperor Asoka.

V Shantaram film festival

November 18 marks the birth centenary year of the legendary filmmaker V Shantaram. To celebrate the occasion, a film festival showcasing 14 Marathi classics by will be aired on ETV Marathi from October 6 to November 18.

The list of films includes Manus, Amar Bhoopali, Chandrasena, Sant Tukaram, Dharmatma, Gopi Krishna, Shejari, Jhunj, Sinhagad and Pinzra.

The month-long festival is a retrospective of the Indian filmmaker who was credited with making the first colour film Sairandhri in 1935 and for being the first to use the Technicolor process in India for the superhit Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje.

Compiled by Vivek Fernandes
Design: Imran Shaikh