Akon With SRK, Big B Lifetime Achievement, Sonam Kapoor Saves The Birds

-- Shah Rukh Khan is working with American R&B singer/songwriter Akon in the upcoming superhero fantasy, "Ra.One." A grand-scale adventure is directed by Anubhav Sinha, featuring Kareena Kapoor as SRK's leading lady with composer duo Vishal-Shekhar heading up the soundtrack. The Grammy-nominated Akon hit the charts with singles such as Smack that (featuring Eminem) and I wanna love you, to name a few. After a warm welcome from SRK and company, Akon enthusiastically stated, "For 'Ra.One', I will be composing and singing a song. I will also appear in it. I want to give Shah Rukh different versions of the same song to choose from."

-- Amitabh Bachchan will receive a lifetime achievement award at the sixth edition of the Muscat International Film Festival starting March 13. "In a few days it will be Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman and the International Film Festival, where there shall be decoration for a Lifetime of Achievement." the 67-year-old posted on his blog bigb.bigadda.com. About 72 films from 20 countries are expected to be screened at the festival.

-- Actress Sonam Kapoor has urged Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil to ban the manufacture of glass-coated strings (manja), used for flying kites, in the entire state as many birds die after getting entangled in them.. She has made the request on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India after the Mumbai police banned the use of glass-coated 'manja' for flying kites within the city because of injuries and fatalities to both birds and humans. The 'manja' used in kite-flying competitions is gummed and coated with powdered and finely crushed glass, making it lethal for birds who become entangled in the strings.