It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, so I am going to hit the highlights and mention a fewer smaller stories I found interesting as well, and see if I can cover it all.

Big news: Upcoming films!  In a press conference for Freaky Ali, Arbaaz confirmed that Dabangg 3 is officially happening, probably going on the floors by the end of next year.  Yaaaaaaaay!  I LOVE Dabangg 1, and even Dabangg 2 was better than the average action movie.  Oh, and related to this, Arbaaz also mentioned that Malaika will not be part of Dabangg 3, and they are still officially separated.  Ah, man!  I was hoping the rumors of a patch-up were true.  I kind of like them as a couple, plus Helen being Malaika’s mother-in-law always gave me a little happiness.

Shahrukh’s film with Aanand L Rai is supposed to start as soon as December.  Which means his Imtiaz Ali film with Anushka must be filming super fast!  I think last I heard, that was supposed to start sometime this month, which gives him only 4 months to finish the whole thing, presumably with a break in the middle to help promote Dear Zindagi.  Oh, and he is still playing a dwarf in the Aanand L Rai film.  No heroine cast as of yet.  What the heck is this thing going to be that they can plan filming without a heroine, and there’s a dwarf in it!?

And then there’s Kajol!  She is going to be actively involved in promoting Shivaay with Ajay, which is fine by me!  I love Kajol public appearances and interviews!  And then once that is over, she is confirmed to be starring in his next movie.  Yaaaaaay!   The only thing known about the film so far, is that it is being directed by Rajesh Sethi, a first time director.  Hmm.  Well, maybe he is a natural talent and will be amazing right from the beginning.

Additional news items: Hrithik and Salman are giving money away and Nargis is having it stolen.  Somehow the media got wind that Hrithik donated 5 lakhs to an NRI family in America to help with funeral expenses.  He awkwardly admitted this was true and that he didn’t understand how people wouldn’t want to donate money to people in need.

Salman, meanwhile, promised to give 1 lakh to every Indian athlete who went to the Olympics.  That’s nice of him!  Meanwhile, Yash Raj has announced that they will give 10 lakh to every athlete who wins a gold medal.  Okay, Yash Raj, that’s really generous, and I don’t want to be cynical, but did you already figure out the odds of an athlete from India actually winning a gold medal (3 gold medals in the past 50 years) and realize this is probably going to be an empty gesture?

Oh, and Nargis Fakhri lost 6 lakhs, when her credit card information was stolen, probably by someone in the US.  It’s the Hrithik-Kangana catfisher!  He’s struck again!