Sharman replaces 'Fido Dido' as 7UP brand ambassador

New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Bollywood actor Sharman Joshi has replaced the cartoon character of Fido Dido as the face of PepsiCo's aerated drink 7UP.

Sharman has been signed up for two years, and sources said he has been paid Rs.5 crore for the endorsement deal.

The campaign for the drink, 'Gussa Hatao, Chill Machao', involves two television commercials and will focus on simple issues of anger management.

Sharman said he was excited about the commercials, which will be aired by the end of March.

'I have always enjoyed drinking 7UP, hence I believe this endorsement was meant to be. I am glad to be a part of this interesting and exciting campaign, which delivers a message I personally believe in, as anger leads to nothing but regret,' Sharman said in a press statement.

The actor, who has featured in films like 'Rang De Basanti', 'Golmaal', 'Life...In A Metro', 'Sorry Bhai', '3 Idiots' and 'Toh Baat Pakki', also admits he was quite upbeat about the campaign as he was getting to shoot with his '3 Idiots' director Rajkumar Hirani.

A PepsiCo spokesperson says Sharman has been roped in for his calm attitude.

'Sharman, with his calm, unruffled and extremely affable personality, is a perfect match to highlight the brand's positioning of a cool, refreshing drink,' said Alpana Titus, category marketing director (flavoured carbonated drinks), PepsiCo India Beverages.

Sharman's forthcoming projects include 'Ferrari Ki Sawaari' with Deepika Padukone, produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

Shaan, Sunidhi to give voiceover to 3D animation film

New Delhi, March 15 (IANS) Bollywood's well-known playback singers Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhan will give the voiceover for the lead characters Blu and Jewel, respectively, for the English version of 3D animation movie 'RIO'.

'I wanted to do an animation film for years. 'RIO is such an amazing film that I just had to do it. Even though my character is of a bird, 'Rio' is a beautiful love story,' said Sunidhi in statement.

For Shaan too it was an 'unique and exciting opportunity'. 'I couldn't refuse. The film is super fun and will be enjoyed by people of all ages. I had a great time dubbing and singing for the film,' he added.

The duo will also be lending their melodious voice for some of the Hindi songs to be used in the film's soundtrack.

Fox Star Studio's 'RIO' is said to have splendid visual effects and it will hit theaters in India April 8.

IIFA to hold Raj Kapoor film festival in Toronto

Mumbai, March 4 (IANS) The 12th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) weekend, to be held in Toronto this year, will organise a Raj Kapoor retrospect.

'I have been part of IIFA since 12 years now and for the last four years I have been performing consecutively. But this year is going to be more special to me because Wizcraft and IIFA are having a Raj Kapoor retrospect,' Kareena, grand-daughter of Raj Kapoor, told reporters here Friday.

'It's going to be very special and emotional. I'm very excited about that than anything else because Raj Kapoor was not only my grandfather but a man, who defined Hindi cinema,' she added

The IIFA weekend will be held across the cities of Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga and Markham in the Greater Toronto Area from June 23-25.

Filmmaker Karan Johar, who is also the advisory board member of IIFA, said the retrospect will be held in association with the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

'TIFF is a great platform that has supported Hollywood and world cinema for many years. Recently, its association with Hindi cinema has been tremendous and now it brings the golden era man Raj Kapoor on the surface of the Hollywood industry. It's a great idea which is supported by IIFA,' said Karan.

Apart from this, the three-day show will feature world premiere of a select films, an awards gala, a fashion show and other interactive events.

Dia, Zayed's first production a romantic comedy

Mumbai, Feb 9 (IANS) Bollywood actors Dia Mirza and Zayed Khan, who have launched their production house Born Free Entertainment, annouced Wednesday that their first film is a romantic comedy titled 'Love, Breakups, Zindagi'.

Written and directed by their third partner, Sahil Sangha, it will see Cyrus Sahukar, Tisca Chopra, Satyadeep Misra, Pallavi, Vaibhav Talwar and newcomer Auritra Ghosh and Umang in the lead roles.

'With our first production we have put our money where our mouth is. Above all, 'Love, Breakups, Zindagi' is an entertaining look at today's relationships. But it is also absolutely honest about it. It has characters that will imprint themselves on the hearts and minds of all viewers,' Sangha told reporters here.

Zayed and Dia will also feature in the film.

Talking about their new venture, Dia said: 'We sincerely believe that filmmaking is first and foremost about honesty. You need to be honest to your characters as actors, and you need to be honest to the story as a director. And we believe that we need to be honest to the audiences, delivering exactly what we promise.'

Zayed said that their production house will celebrate all kind of talent from anywhere.

'How often have you had a brilliant idea and thought there was no way you could translate that on to the screen? Well, Born Free Entertainment intends to give talented storytellers the opportunity to do exactly that, no matter what genre, no matter what background they come from.'

The film will go on floors in March and is slated to hit screens August this year. Salim and Sulaiman Merchant will compose the music, while Javed Akhtar will pen the lyrics.

Rahman wins entertainer of the year award

New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS) Oscar winning music maestro A.R. Rahman has won the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year award 2009 in the entertainment category.

'Rahman has redefined contemporary Indian music and is the pride of the entire nation. He is also an idol to millions for making a mark on the global music arena,' Rajdeep Sardesai, editor-in-chief, IBN Network 18, said Thursday.

The other nominees in the category included megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina Kaif, Ranbir Kapoor, Prince Group of Orissa and Colors Entertainment Channel.

Rahman will be given the award Dec 21 at Hotel Taj Palace in the capital. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be the chief guest at the occasion.