Priyanka Chopra to get a special trainer for film on Mary Kom

Omung Kumar, who has worked as an art director for films like Saawariya and Yuvraaj, is set to make his Hindi directorial debut with a film based on the life of five-time world boxing champion, Mary Kom. To be produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the makers have roped in none other than Priyanka Chopra to play the boxer. Kumar confirms, "She signed the film last week."

While it has been widely speculated that Chopra will learn the art of boxing from Kom herself, Kumar denies, "That is not true. She will extensively train to learn the art of boxing. We will have a special trainer for that, though it is too early to reveal the name of the trainer. Mary Kom will come in at a later stage to help Priyanka perfect her body language and mannerisms."

Set to go on floors sometime in April or May next year, a small portion of the film will be shot in Manipur, from where Kom hails.

Florence film festival honours Bachchan

Italian auto giant Piaggio has partnered with the 12th edition of River to River Florence Indian Film Festival to take place at Cinema Odeon, Florence, Italy from December 7-11. It is the maiden festival exclusively crafted for films from and about India, formed under the patronage of the Indian Embassy and its Roman counterpart. Commemorating the best of Indian talent, the festival will pay tribute to Amitabh Bachchan, who will address the opening ceremony. River to River celebrates 100 years of Indian cinema. It will present a restored version of the very first Indian film, Raja Harishchandra by Dadasaheb Phalke in collaboration with the National Film Archives of India.

Sharat Saxena's daughter Veera to debut in films

By Geety Sahgal

Veera the 22- year- old daughter of character actor Sharat Saxena who has acted in films like Baghban, Fanaa, Krrish makes her Hindi film debut with Vaasu. Veera has completed her graduation in philosophy from Fergusson College, Shivaji Nagar in Pune is presently shooting for the coming-of-age film which is being directed by debutant Harshvardhan Kulkarni. Veera is playing the parallel lead with Radhika Apte of Shor fame while Gulshan Devaiah who played the eccentric Karan Chaudhary in Shaitan plays the male lead. The film is slated to release next year.

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