Anurag Basu talks up his new film Barfii

The Bollywood director Anurag Basu is gearing up to release his new film Barfii, which features the actor Ranbir Kapoor as a deaf and mute character, and Priyanka Chopra as an autistic girl. "It's a happy film. When everyone told me I was making a grim film about disabled people, I kept quiet because I know it's a light, joyful film. When it comes out, it will answer everyone's questions." Explaining his character, Kapoor said: "He's happy-go-lucky. We are normal characters. You won't focus on the disabilities. I did have to work a lot for this, learn sign language and all. But it didn't matter because you would like to believe that with every film, you grow. If there is no growth, you reach a saturation point." Barfii, which marks the Bollywood debut of the Telugu actress Ileana D'Cruz, is set to hit Indian cinemas on September 14. * IANS The Amazing Spider-Man opened in 1,000 cinemas in India last week, a new high for any Hollywood film in the country. Rolled out in four languages - English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu - the movie has an India connection in the shape of the actor Irrfan Khan. By comparison, the 2007 film Spider-Man 3 opened in India with 588 prints. "It is our biggest release ever in the country," Sony Pictures India's managing director Kercy Daruwala told The Hollywood Reporter. In India, as well as in Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore, the series reboot has already beaten the opening weekend figures set by The Avengers, currently the year's most profitable film. Farah Khan works out for new role In preparation for her acting debut in the forthcoming comedy Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi, the film director and choreographer Farah Khan told her Twitter followers she's been trying to get back in shape. "Big day for me today! Hitting the gym after almost six months. The treadmill will get tired today," she tweeted on Monday. Immediately after her workout, she posted: "My treadmill survived but my trainer lost his hair!" Khan, best known for having choreographed dance routines in more than 80 Hindi films, has also worked on international projects such as Monsoon Wedding and Perhaps Love. In her debut acting role, she will star opposite the actor Boman Irani. * IANS Kaushik shoots film in less than two hours The Kannada director Arvind Kaushik set a record by finishing an entire movie's shoot in 105 minutes. Produced by Anaji Nagaraj, all the scenes, including two song numbers, for the movie Nam Areiali Innondhina were filmed in Mumbai in one continuous shot. "I thought it would be practical, as long as each shot and frame could be worked out and planned beforehand," said Kaushik. The film stars the Kannada actors Patre Ajith, Ravi Shankar and Chethan Chandra. Kaushik previously produced Shivaraj Kumar's film Sugreeva, which was shot in just 18 hours. From TheNational