Indian artist M.F. Husain's undying passion for art was also manifest in a long love affair with cinema. From painting billboards to designing movie invitations to making films, he had a colourful tryst with Bollywood.
Husain, who died in London Thursday, came to Mumbai in 1935 in search of a career in art and ended up painting movie posters to earn livelihood. That was his first brush with cinema and the fascination was to last 75 years.

"He probably made the billboard for K.L. Saigal's (1935) 'Devdas'. After that he associated himself with New Talkies and then took off independently," K. Bikram Singh, who has written a book on the painter titled "Maqbool Fida Husain", told IANS.

"His experience in billboard-making art reflected in his later paintings. He used broad strokes and strong colours, usually used in hoarding paintings," he added.

Mumbai-based film historian S.M.M. Ausaja said, "MF designed invites for several movies. He designed it for 'Heena' and and his own films 'Gaja Gamini' and 'Meenaxi' and also the wedding invite of Juhi Babbar (the daughter of actor politician Raj Babbar and actress Nadira)."

After climbing the high ladder of the art world, Husain decided to show his creativity on silver screen and wielded the megaphone for his first film in 1967 for "Through the Eyes of a Painter".

Known for his cubist and abstract depiction of figures and animals in Indian art, he filmed the 15-minute long movie in Rajasthan which has shots of a goat, a hawk flying into the blue seas and women bathing.

His maiden work, sans dialogues, impressed the international film critics when screened at the Berlin Film Festival, walked away with a Golden Bear.

But it took him 33 years to make his next, a feature film titled "Gaja Gamini" featuring Bollwyood's dancing diva Madhuri Dixit who inspired him with her performance in the 1994 musical blockbuster "Hum Aapke Hain Koun".

Just like millions of Indians, Husain fell for her charm, not only watching "Hum Aapke...." 67 times but also making a series of paintings depicting the actress in various moods and roping her in to play the lead role in his film "Gaja Gamini".

The film projected the aesthetics of feminine beauty in different time periods. From the script, to production, Husain was involved in every aspect of the movie.

Unfortunately Husain, who co-scripted the film with Kamna Chandra, couldn't turn it into a commercial success.

Another Bollywood actress who caught his attention was Tabu and he made "Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities" with her in 2004.

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap said: "The kind of work and the kind of films that he has made, only he could make them. He made them all by himself and funded them also, so nobody had the audacity to question his conviction."

Husain's fascination for Bollywood divas continued. When the film "Vivah" was released in 2006, he instantly liked lead actress Amrita Rao, portrayed as a demure small time girl, and decided to paint her. It was big moment for Amrita.

Later it was Vidya Balan who struck a chord with her sensuous portrayal of a rural woman in "Ishqiya". Husain expressed a desire to make film with the talented actress - but this wish will now remain unfulfilled.

He also expressed a desire to bring the vivacity of actress Anushka Sharma on canvas after watching her spirited performance in "Band Baaja Baraat".

Poster and Bollywood memorabilia collector Siddharth Tagore remembers attending Husain's exhibition dedicated to Oscar winning filmmaker Satyajit Ray and his movies.

"The exhibition featured Husain's works inspired by Ray and his movies. It was a
legacy of his movie years in Mumbai - the love for good and meaningful cinema," Tagore, also the owner of Art Konsult Gallery in the capital, told IANS.

At the time of his death, his autobiography was being made into a movie tentatively titled "The Making of the Painter" starring Shreyas Talpade as the young Husain.

"I am honoured to have known Husain saab since childhood. Very few people know that his father used to sell small earthen lamps in front of the Pandharpur temple in Maharashtra. He would have been a happier person had he been in India during his last days," said Nadira.

Talking about the Husain painting in her living room, she said: "The painting is a depiction of images of a couple a pigeon and a lion. Looking at the painting now gives mixed feeling.

"A happy feeling of being fortunate of such a great artist putting down his work on our wall and sad because we will no longer be able to interact with him."

The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) has announced that IIFA Rocks, to be held in Toronto later this month, to be presented by Grey Goose will feature performances by Bollywood bombshell Mallika Sherawat and the stunning Dia Mirza.
This will be Mallika Sherawat’s maiden performance at the Videocon d2h IIFA, Weekend. Her upcoming film Double Dhamaal, is being premiered at IIFA Toronto and she will perform to the hit song 'Jalebi' from the movie. Dia Mirza will perform on the IIFA stage again, having last performed at IIFA at Bangkok in 2008.

IIFA Rocks presented by Grey Goose will also announce the 12th Floriana IIFA Technical Award winners and see several musical performances, an official statement of IIFA here today said.

The magical trio, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, will perform live as top supermodels from around the world sashay down the ramp in couture from India and Canada. It will also feature spectacular performances by top stars and international music artists.

The Videocon IIFA Weekend in Toronto would be held between June 23 and 25, which will culminate with the very extravagant Floriana IIFA Awards 2011. The Gitanjali Group, the Associate Sponsor of the IIFA Weekend, will be showcasing their jewellery at IIFA Rocks.

Actress Sonam Kapoor turned 26 Thursday. Her younger sister Rhea ordered her favourite chocolate cake to celebrate the occassion, while her friends from filmdom and the fashion industry sent their best wishes.
The celebs took to micro-blogging site Twitter to wish the actress.

Rhea tweeted: "Gearing up for @sonamakapoor's birthday. This means ordering the most indulgent chocolate cake ever and then convincing her that its 'diet' (sic)."

To which, Sonam added: Sitting with my family is the most special thing ever! Thank you @RheaKapoor @moh_m arjun, shehlu @anshulakapoor and kunal.. And mom! Love u."

Maheep Kapoor, who is married to Sonam's uncle Sanjay: Happy birthday to my stunning niece @sonamakapoor.

Neil Nitin Mukesh wished her singing the birthday, "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you dear sonam, happy birthday to you".

Celina Jaitly: Happy birthday@sonamakapoor big hug.

Madhur Bhandarkar: Many happy returns to @sonamakapoor God bless.

Designer Manish Malhotra posted: Wishing you a very happy birthday.

Designer Nachiket Barve: Wishing @sonamakapoor a sparkling birthday! Hope its super fun and the year ahead even better! Xx.

Sonam, eldest daughter of actor Anil Kapoor and designer Sunita Kapoor, made her acting debut alongside Ranbir Kapoor in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Saawariya" in 2007. After that, she featured in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's "Delhi-6" with Abhishek Bachchan and later teamed up with Abhay Deol for the romantic comedy "Aisha", which was produced by her sister Rhea.

In 2010, she also appeared in Punit Malhotra's "I Hate Luv Storys" opposite Imran Khan.

Kapoor's forthcoming releases include "Mausam" with Shahid Kapoor and multi-starrer "Players" that stars Bobby Deol, Bipasha Basu, Abhishek, Neil, Omi Vaidya and Sikander Kher.

Hot Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty turns 36 on Wednesday.

The gorgeous actress had made her debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in 'Baazigar' in 1993 but her career never reached the height till she gained fame after participating in the British celebrity reality show Big Brother in 2007.

Shetty was crowned the winner of the show after a racism controversy which involved her and fellow contestants Jade Goody, Jo O'Mearaand Danielle Lloyd.

She has charmed her audience not only by her electrifying figure but also her acting skills in films like 'Phir Milenge', 'Life in a Metro', ‘Dhadkan’.

The B-town diva also gained popularity via her item numbers in films like ‘Shool’, ‘Kushi’, ‘Dostana’.

Shetty, who co-owns the Indian Premiere League (IPL) team Rajasthan Royals, had a sad encounter in the cricketing field in 2011 as her team could not qualify to the semi-final stage of the cash-rich cricket league.

She married to businessman Raj Kundra in 2009.

It was rumored that Shetty and Kundra were expecting their first child, but the actress brushed off the reports.

"Sick and tired of all the congratulatory msgs and calls,so for the last time "I AM NOT PREGNANT".all this is so annoying..grrrrrrrrr," she posted on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Shetty, who released a DVD on yoga a couple of years back, runs a spa called Iosis in Mumbai with her friend Kiran Bawa.

Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor turns 26 on Thursday.
Sonam is planning to spend a quiet birthday this time in her house with her family, she told to a Mumbai daily on her birthday plans.

Sonam had a poor start to the year with her last released movie, 'Thank You', bombing at the box office.

The bubbly actress drew the attention of her fans with her gorgeous looks and at the same time with good acting skills in films like ‘Delhi 6’ and’ I Hate Luv Stories’.

She will be seen entertaining her fans in the upcoming films like ‘Mausam’ and ‘Players’.

Earlier this year, Sonam joined the list of Indian representatives at Cannes as she walked down the red carpet there.

She represented cosmetics brand L'Oréal, the brand she endorses in India at the 64th Cannes Film Festival.

Bollywood actress Celina Jaitley has pledged to support the "Plant a Tree" initiative to create awareness and educate society on the importance of a green nation.
The initiative is taken by diamond brand, Diya Diamond, for which the 29-year-old actress is the brand ambassador.

The former Miss India, who is also an active gay rights activist, feels the tree plantation initiative has the power to become an agent of change in support of sustainable and equitable development.

"The activity is the perfect platform to create awareness about our environmental issues and a step in the right direction. I hope everybody joins us and takes a pledge to give back to nature and become proactively environmentally friendly," said Celina who has worked in movies like "Golmaal Returns" and "Hello darling".

Actress Katrina Kaif tops the Sexiest Women 2011 list of men's lifestyle magazine FHM, edging out Deepika Padukone who won the title last year. Katrina had won the title in 2008 and 2009 too.
The FHM 100 Sexiest Women list is based on online and SMS voting and saw a whopping 35,000 responses this year.

"We'd love to say 2011 was a close contest, only Sheila made sure it was far from. A feat that becomes even more significant because no woman in the world across all 28 editions of FHM has ever won the Sexiest Woman in the World title three times in the last 17 years that we've been making the list. Her average is higher than Sachin Tendulkar's and she replaces Deepika Padukone who won the crown in 2010," said Kabeer Sharma, executive editor FHM India, in a statement.

Katrina seems to be the toast of the season -- she was the only Bollywood actress to feature on the India Today's Elite Power list and is also the most Google-searched Indian celebrity.

After Minissha Lamba and Bipasha Basu, actor Mallika Sherawat brother Vikram Lamba was detained at the Mumbai airport on Tuesday for carrying foreign currency beyond permissible limit.
Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Sameer Wankhede, and his team detained Vikram at Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport after he boarded off an Emirates flight from London.

Vikram was reportedly carrying branded goods and foreign currencies worth approximately Rs 6 lakhs.

He has been booked under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) is being questioned by Customs officials.

On May 26, actor Bipasha Basu was detained at Mumbai airport for not declaring jewellery she was carrying.

She had arrived from London on a British Airways flight.

She had to pay Rs 10,000 as tax for the gold and other jewellery she was carrying and let off.

Earlier, actor Minissha Lamba was detained for several hours by custom officials at the same airport while she was returning from the Cannes festival for jewellery not declared.