"Respect has to come from within and cannot be enforced.. It's downright talibanistic to beat up people for not standing for national anthem," Varma posted on Twitter on Wednesday.
Popular Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali will perform at two places in Kerala, a senior Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader said on Wednesday.
Superstar Rajinikanth has extended his support to the rain-affected victims of Tamil Nadu by donating Rs.10 lakh to the Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund.
Director Sanjay Gupta has confirmed that for his next project, he is collaborating with Hrithik Roshan and Rakesh Roshan, but said the "lead actress" for the film is not yet finalised.
Despite border skirmishes, cross-border shelling and gunpowder-laced neighbourly acrimony, Bollywood films continue to provide a lifeline to Pakistan's film industry, says a leading filmmaker from across the border, Jamshed Mahmood Raza.
Indian cinema's wordsmith Gulzar, who has touched many with his lyrics and films, says movies on differently abled people should be separately honoured at the National Awards to encourge more filmmakers to tell stories of the special.