Lahore (Online): Larki Punjaban (Punjabi Girl) is the story of a Sikh girl from India’s north who falls in love with a Pakistani from over the border - directly against the tradition of demonising each other’s country in film.

Traditionally, Pakistanis do often turn up in Bollywood films - and Indians in Lollywood ones - but as the bad guys.

It’s a straightforward, run-of-the-mill eastern musical - with a bit of romance and drama thrown in,” South Asian film expert Neehar Bushan told.

“If you were to compare it with any other film made in India or Pakistan, I don’t think the storyline is any different.

Film-maker Ram Gopal Varma is back with Company, a movie that tackles the seedy side of Bollywood, the underworld of gangsters.

It’s a time to kill for Hindi cinema this season. From actor-turned-director Chekravarthy’s underworld drama Durga, Vipul Shah’s suave look at gangsterism in Ankhein and Hansal Mehta’s forthcoming Chhal, filmmakers seem to have unleashed a virtual gang-war on screen.

And now there is Ram Gopal Varma’s Company, which chronicles the story of two underworld dons who become bitter enemies. Though Varma denies the film’s proximity to real life, the industry is abuzz with rumours that the film is inspired by the restless relationship between Mumbai’s underworld dons Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan.

[ TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

MUMBAI: Devdas, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Rs 50-crore magnum opus about the unrequited love of an alcoholic may not have won an Oscar nomination, but it swept the 48th Manikchand Filmfare awards 2002 ceremony on Friday night.

It won 11 awards, including best film, director (Sanjay Leela Bhansali), actor (Shah Rukh Khan), actress (Aishwarya Rai) and best actress in a supporting role (Madhuri Dixit).

“Everyone asked me why I put in so much money into the story of a loser, but it turned out to be a winner,” said Bhansali.