Holly to Bolly: Salman Khan bowled over by Aishwarya Rai’s look, Sunny Leone to walk in NYFW, and more

Salman Khan bowled over by Aishwarya Rai’s look

Bollywood actor Salman Khan has always refrained from publicly commenting on anything to do with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan due to their bitter breakup in 2001. But it seems the actor is bowled over by Rai Bachchan's look in her upcoming film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. Leading Bollywood webzine, bollywood life.com, quoted a source close to the actor as saying that while Khan maintains he hasn't seen the film's trailer when asked by the media, in reality, he has and said: "She [Aishwarya] is so beautiful!" Khan is currently gearing up to host the 10th season of popular Indian reality TV show, Bigg Boss. His look in the show was revealed by designer and stylist Ashley Rebello on Twitter. In one photo, the actor was seen in a sharp black jacket and trousers, and in another, a grey and black track suit. The promotional photos were shot in an akhada, or a traditional training courtyard for wrestlers. Bigg Boss 10 will begin in October on entertainment channel Colors. – Sonali Kokra

Can Shaun the Sheep take on Kung Fu Panda?

Europe's largely low-key animation film industry needs a helping hand in taking on giants in the United States such as Pixar and DreamWorks, and European Union regulators say they are ready. Speaking at the Venice Film Festival, EU commissioner Günther Oettinger said: "We will launch a dialogue with major European animation studios to identify specific challenges and opportunities, and agree on a joint action plan by the middle of 2017." While animation films are the audiovisual category with the largest European circulation, European animation films such as Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015), struggle to compete with US productions. Between 2010 and 2014, not one European production made it to the top 30 list of animation films in Europe by admission, overshadowed by hits such as Frozen (2013) and Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012). – AFP

Australian author Richard Neville dies

Australian author and social commentator Richard Neville, best known as founder of the 1960s counterculture magazine Oz, has died. He was 74. Neville's wife Julie Clarke Neville said she and their daughters, Lucy and Angelica, were with him when he died. She posted on Facebook: "Our wonderful Richard has gone on to his next adventure." She did not say what he died of, but Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported he had Alzheimer's disease. Born in Sydney in 1941, Neville railed against the era of conservative rule in Australia that lasted from 1949 until 1972. He was editor of the student magazine at the University of New South Wales when he collaborated with Richard Walsh, editor of Sydney University's student newspaper, and artist Martin Sharp to publish Oz. The anti-establishment magazine, first published on April Fool's Day in 1963, mocked hypocrisy in Australian society and took on taboo subjects including racism and censorship. – AP

Sunny Leone to walk in New York Fashion Week

Bollywood actress Sunny Leone will be walking for designer Archana Kochhar at the upcoming New York Fashion Week. Leone, who will open the show on Thursday, tweeted: “So excited! A dream come true...I’m walking New York Fashion Week SS17 for Archana Kochhar Opening Show on the Sep 8 2016.” Kochhar will be showcasing her collection A Tale of Two Travels, influenced by her travels to the Taj Mahal and the village of Banjara. She is also supporting the initiative, Bring Beauty Back, at the fashion week, where acid attack survivor Reshma Banoo Qureshi will walk the runway for her. New York Fashion Week runs through September 15. – IANS

Africa’s first Henri Matisse exhibit debuts

For the first time, Africa is hosting an exhibit devoted to Henri Matisse. The show in Johannesburg features more than 80 works, including a painting that points to how the continent inspired Matisse and his contemporary Pablo Picasso. The exhibit includes one of Matisse’s first drawings as a student and one of his final paintings before his death in 1954. Federico Freschi, dean of art at the University of Johannesburg and co-curator of the show, says, “[Matisse] collected many African art objects, particularly masks and figurines. Matisse also collected a number of African textiles.” Most of the works in the exhibit are loaned by the Matisse Museum in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, the town where the artist grew up. Others come from the Johannesburg Art Gallery, the Matisse Museum in Nice, the Matisse family, and private collections. – AP