Sushant Singh Rajput, Sara Ali Khan's 'Kedarnath' to release on December 7

Mansoor is a reserved porter who lives with his widowed mother in a hamlet called Rambara and helps pilgrims make an arduous journey upwards to the temple town

Sushant Singh Rajput and Sara Ali Khan-starrer "Kedarnath" has finally found a release date and the film is set to bow into theatres on December 7.

Set against the backdrop of the mountain tsunami that wrecked the temple town in June 2013 leaving more than a hundred thousand dead, the movie has been directed by Abhishek Kapoor.

The teaser of the film will be launched Tuesday.

"Kedarnath" is the love story of Mansoor, played by Sushant, and Mukku essayed by debutante Sara.

Mansoor is a reserved porter who lives with his widowed mother in a hamlet called Rambara and helps pilgrims make an arduous journey upwards to the temple town. His life changes when he meets the rebellious Mukku.

Abhishek says making the film has been a "personal pilgrimage".

"As a filmmaker, I have always been drawn to challenges beyond entertainment. Pushing boundaries takes you beyond the clutter; that's my comfort zone or as I'd like to term it - 'my sweet spot'," the director said in a statement.

The movie has been produced Ronnie Screwvala's RSVP and Pragya Kapoor's Guy in the Sky Pictures.

Ronnie says the film is a breath of fresh air at a time in Indian cinema where there appears to be a dearth of original and relatable love stories.

"A titanic love story set against one of the biggest natural disasters in India. Abhishek Kapoor has created magic along with the lead pair of Sushant and Sara whom he introduces. I can't wait to bring this epic tale to audiences," he added.

Pragya says shooting the film on undeveloped terrain was as thrilling as it was draining.

"This has made the journey to completion a well-earned reward," she said.

The year 2018 will also see Sara in Rohit Shetty's "Simmba", opposite Ranveer Singh.

Priyanka Chopra's pre-wedding celebrations begin

Priyanka Chopra's friends and family hosted a bridal shower for the Bollywood actress ahead of her wedding with pop singer Nick Jonas here.

Held on Sunday night, Priyanka looked ravishing in an ivory Marchesa dress paired with nude coloured stilettos and a Tiffany & Co. choker. She was seen standing next to silver coloured balloons which read: "Bride".

The photograph was shared by Mimi Cuttrell, who styled Priyanka for the bridal shower and captioned it: "The bride... The brighter version for everyone. "Priyanka Chopra... (Sorry I was too excited when I posted the first picture).

The actress, 36 shared a photograph of herself on her Instagram stories while getting her hair and make-up for the celebration.

She captioned it: "My girls are in town! Any reason to party. Pre-wedding celebrations."

Priyanka and Nick are reportedly getting married at Rajasthan's Mehrangarh Fort in December.

The two got engaged in August in a traditional Roka ceremony at her residence in Mumbai.

'Love Sonia', hate Sonia's journey (Movie Review)

Film: "Love Sonia Movie Review"; Starring: Mrunal Thakur, Riya Sisodiya, Richa Chadha, Freida Pinto, Anupam Kher, Manoj Bajpai, Rajkummar Rao; Director: Tabrez Noorani; Rating:** (2 stars)

This well-intended melodrama about human trafficking and child prostitution has its heart in the right place. Sadly, the social perversity that ought to have galvanised the director into action, seem to finally drag the film down to the very level where the sub-human culture of the flesh trade exists.

There is something fundamentally amiss in a film where a posse of capable actors get together to create a messy tribute to the Bleeding Heart's Club. The narrative seems to be a diehard fan of its own righteousness. Often times, the sexual violence is repugnant not for being excessively graphic (which it is), but because the sadism seems to be disturbingly gratuitous, leading us into believing that in some cases, cinema about sexual violence gets so close to its subject that it loses its dispassion and ends up celebrating rather than abnegating the violence.

"Love Sonia" means well. No doubt about that. Regrettably, so does the guy who randomly shoots down innocent people in a pub as what he thinks to be the solution to ethnic inundation.

At times, the language of violence used in this film is as violent as the situation that it (the language) is meant to condemn. The problem is not so much director Tabrez Noorani's amateurish borderline-hysterical responses to the flesh trade. The bigger problem is the film's inability to differentiate between condemning and unintentionally celebrating sexual violence.

I have seen at least two films in recent times which bled its wailing heart into lives of prostitutes. Nagesh Kukunoor's "Laxmi" was so gruesome it made you flinch. While Jeffrey Brown's "Sold" was so dainty about the raw world of brothel abuse that it ended up looking like a Disney film posing as an Anurag Kashyap shocker.

"Love Sonia" is neither graphic enough to shake us nor sweet enough to qualify as conscientious fluff. It is caught in the middle between brutal and beautiful achieving neither extremity in spite of some terrific camera work by the Polish Lukaz Bielan who seems to understand the need to create an equilibrium between passion and perversity better than the director.

Noorani flounders at crucial moments letting down the victim-protagonists in the film in a similar way that destiny has chosen to do. The story of two sisters in an Indian village, one of whom Preeti (Riya Sisodia) is sold off to ease her debt-ridden farmer-father's (Adil Hussain) burden. (more)

Cute Taimur celebrates Raksha Bandhan with sisters : Pics

Taimur Ali khan Raksha Bandhan Photos

Raksha Bandhan was celebrated with gusto by Bollywood celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Saif Ali Khan, Arjun Kapoor and Kartik Aryan on Sunday.

While megastar Amitabh Bachchan reached out to his 'extended family' to share a message urging people to celebrate love, respect, peace and harmony, a string of other celebrities took to social media to share some of their memorable moments with their siblings. Photographs and messages from the film stars were splashed across Instagram and Twitter.

Priyanka, who recently got engaged to American singer Nick Jonas, posted a photograph with her brother Siddharth, and wrote: "I've got an army of brothers, and this one (Siddharth) happens to be the leader of the pack (by default). Happy Raksha Bandhan!

"It's one of my favourite festivals where the sister ties a sacred thread around the brother's wrist for protection, symbolic of the beautiful bond between siblings. I can't imagine life without having my brothers in my corner... Love you guys!"

Kartik was in Gwalior for the festival, which celebrates the brother-sister bond. He was nostalgic.

"Really miss our bachpan (childhood). Celebrated Raksha Bandhan after such a long time with my sister and my family and in my city. Love you Kittu a lot. You are the apple of our eye. And we are so proud of you," the "Pyaar Ka Punchnama" actor wrote and posted a set of happy family pictures.

Actress Aditi Rao Hydari also shared some photographs with her brothers, and wrote: "From being my props in pictures to always having my back... Thank you broskis! Happy Raksha Bandhan. P.S. I will continue to bully you for as long as I live!"

Deepika's Rakhi message was for her younger sister Anisha, whom she lovingly calls 'Smallie'. The "Padmaavat" star shared their childhood picture, and wrote: "Like always... I promise to love you, protect you and bug you... forever! I love you Smallie."

Sonam Kapoor shared a special photograph with her army of brothers, and wrote: "To my brothers, a very very happy Rakhee... I'm so thankful to have all of you in my life... Love you all a lot! And sorry I'm not there today to tie you rakhi... Your favourite sister, Sonam." (more)

'October' review: Varun Dhawan's nuanced performance will surprise you

Nowhere in the film is there a romance spelt out yet, the underlying love and longing makes it stand apart

Director Shoojt Sircar's "October" is a poignant tale about love and hope, where Shiuli or night Jasmine flowers, which are perfumed and spread their fragrance everywhere and abound in autumn, is cleverly used as a metaphor to denote the ephemeral nature of life.

Danish Walia or Dan (Varun Dhawan), as he is fondly called is a hotel management intern at a five star hotel in Delhi, who is known for his brusque and self-assured ways.

Always dreaming of something big, he dislikes the menial chores assigned to him and is irresponsible and undependable. His friends, who are his colleagues at work, including Shiuli Iyer (Banita Sandhu) and Manjeet, often cover up for him and save him from trouble.

A chance accident which lands Shiuli Iyer in hospital, results in the uncaring and indifferent Dan transform into a new person. His whole life revolves around ensuring that Shiuli recovers and he inadvertently becomes a pillar of strength for her family, especially her mother Prof Iyer (Gitanjali Rao).

Although the pace of the film is painfully slow and a large chunk of it is based in a morbid setting -- a hospital, it is completely devoid of melodrama.

Nowhere in the film is there a romance spelt out yet, the underlying love and longing makes it stand apart.

The film appears unhurried, but does not seem jarring, as it complements the flavour of the narrative.

Writer Juhi Chaturvedi skilfully injects humour through the witty dialogues -- whether about varicose veins or wrongly laundered underwear, mostly mouthed by the brash and tactless Dan, thus never allowing monotony to set in.

Each character is well-etched and fits snugly into the plot, which flows smoothly. Although seemingly predictable, the end brings with it an unexpected twist which sums up the film succinctly.

Varun Dhawan excels as Dan and the metamorphosis of his character without seeming overly emotional or mushy, is well-written and astutely handled by him as an actor.(more)