Mumbai, Sep 17 (IANS) Actor Shekhar Suman, who is gearing up for his debut directorial "Heartless", a tribute to his late son Aayush, says the movie will prove to be a tough challenge for his younger son, actor Adhyayan. "Adhyayan, who was two years old, has witnessed his brother's journey, so he will be reliving his brother's life in the film. This will be the toughest role of his career," Shekhar told IANS. The actor-turned-filmmaker lost his son to congenital heart disease. Aayush was born in 1983 and Shekhar discovered about his disease in late 1990. He lost his son after four years of struggle, on July 22, 1994. "This is one incident which has stayed in my mind for so long. For us Aayush still lives... he is still with us," he added. "Heartless" is Shekhar's tribute to Aayush, in whose name he has also decided to build a hospital called Aayush Memorial Hospital for Paediatric Cardiology. "I have seen (my wife) Alka sacrifice her whole life to see him get better, and we all have, hence, lived thinking perhaps we could have done something more. But we can't change our destiny," he added. Shekhar says "Heartless" will go on floors in Dubai in November and will be released on Mother's Day next year. "The film will be a mother-son relationship, a thriller and also a love story with a positive message. Deepti Naval will play the mother's role," said Shekhar, adding that it will be an engrossing medical thriller. "For me, it's an emotional journey. The film will be written by Nina Arora, the writer of 'Page 3', and the dialogues of the film are written by Niranjan Iyengar." Shekhar will also have a special role in the film.

Mumbai, Sep 17 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Monday kept key interest rates unchanged, disappointing millions of borrowers who were expecting cuts in EMIs, but cut the cash reserve ratio (CRR) that will release Rs.17,000 crore into the economy. The CRR, the proportion of money banks are required to keep with the central bank, is reduced by 0.25 percent (or 25 basis points) to 4.50 percent. The new CRR rate will be effective from the fortnight Sep 22, 2012. The CRR cut will release Rs.17,000 crore liquidity into the economy, the central bank said in the mid-quarter review of the monetary policy. The central bank, however, kept interest rates unchanged saying inflation remained a big concern. It kept the repo rate, the rate at which it lends to commercial banks, unchanged at 8 percent. The reverse repo rate, the rate at which the apex bank borrows money from commercial banks, was also left intact at 7 percent. In the policy review, the RBI said the main focus of monetary policy remains fighting inflation. "As inflationary tendencies have persisted, the primary focus of monetary policy remains the containment of inflation and anchoring of inflation expectations," said RBI Governor D Subbarao. "Containing inflationary pressures and lowering inflation expectations warrant maintaining the momentum of recent policy actions to step up investment, alleviate supply constraints, and improve productivity." Markets and the common people were expecting easing in rates by the central bank especially in view of the unexpected big-ticket reforms announced by the government last week. Equated monthly installments (EMIs) on housing, auto and education loans will remain unchanged. Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the government would take further steps in the next one and half month to bring more fiscal discipline. "I am very confident that between now and Oct 30 since the government is expected to take a number of additional policy measures and also lay out the path of fiscal correction, the response of RBI on Oct 30 will be far more supportive of growth," Chidambaram told reporters while reacting on the RBI policy review. The RBI is scheduled to announce the next policy review Oct 30, 2012. Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the RBI's decision to cut CRR was a step in the right direction. "It's a step in the right direction. I welcome cut in CRR," Ahluwalia said. The policy review, the RBI pointed out that inflation has remained sticky at around 7.5 percent throughout the current financial year so far. "Even as demand pressures moderate, supply constraints and rupee depreciation are imparting pressures on prices, rendering them sticky," the central bank said. India's core inflation, based on wholesale prices, soared to 7.55 percent in August as compared to 6.87 percent in the previous month. The RBI considers 4-5 percent inflation level comfortable. India Inc welcomed the cut in CRR and expressed hope that the central bank would cut rates in the October-end policy review. "Additional liquidity in the system would help the current situation, where availability and cost of credit have been a challenge, particularly for the SMEs," said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Banerjee, however, said industry was expecting a cut in repo and reverse repo rates, in view of the slew of reform measures announced by the government last week. "Demand pressures according to the RBI have eased and therefore, a cut in headline rates is a reasonable expectation," Banerjee said. "We hope that the RBI continues with this stance and we look forward to a rate cut and repo rate cut in RBI's second quarter review of monetary policy next month," said R V Kanoria, president, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Mumbai, Sep 17 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian equities market closed 73 points up in volatile trade Monday. Realty, capital goods and banking stocks were the main gainers. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 18,619.90 points, closed at 18,536.89 points (provisional), 72.62 points or 0.39 percent up from its previous day's close at 18,464.27 points. The Sensex touched a high of 18,715.03 and a low of 18,480.54 points in intra-day trade. The BSE midcap index was up 76.67 points while the smallcap index rose 75.60 points. The wider 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange closed 0.51 percent up at 5,606.15 points. On the sectoral front, the BSE realty index was up 104.53 points while the capital goods index was up 369.42 points and the banking index was up 383.59 points. Jindal Steel was the biggest Sensex gainer closing 5.90 percent higher at Rs.394.20. Other major gainers were SBI, up 5.71 percent at Rs.2,083; ICICI Bank, up 5.17 percent at Rs.1,058.35; Sterlite Inds, up 4.41 percent at Rs.103; BHEL, up 4.35 percent at Rs.213.50; and Larsen and Toubro, up 4.25 percent at Rs.1,550.10. The major Sensex losers were ITC, down 5.52 percent at Rs.253.30; TCS, down 5.25 percent at Rs.1,337.85; Dr Reddys Lab, down 4.29 percent at Rs.1,671; Infosys, down 2.82 percent at Rs.2,558.60; and Hindustan Unilever, down 2.45 percent at Rs.534.

Mumbai, Sep 17 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian equities markets was ruling 138 points up Monday in late afternoon trade. Realty, capital goods and banking stocks were the main gainers. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 18,619.90 points, was trading at 18,601.96 points, 137.69 points or 0.75 percent up from its previous day's close at 18,464.27 points. The Sensex touched a high of 18,715.03 and a low of 18,480.54 points in intra-day trade. The BSE midcap index was up 70.09 points while the smallcap index was 74.06 points high. The wider 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange was also ruling 0.82 percent up at 5,623.65 points. On the sectoral front, the BSE realty index was up 104.88 points while capital goods was up 428.76 points and banking index was up 410.72 points. Jindal Steel was the biggest Sensex gainer and was trading 6.11 percent high at Rs.395. Other major gainers were Tata Motors, up 5.99 percent at Rs.286.50; ICICI Bank, up 5.48 percent at Rs.1,061.50; Larsen and Toubro, up 5.10 percent at Rs.1,562.80; BHEL, up 4.86 percent at Rs.214.55; and SBI, up 4.52 percent at Rs.2,059.55. The major Sensex losers were ITC, down 6.01 percent at Rs.252; TCS, down 4.60 percent at Rs.1,347.05; Dr Reddys Lab, down 3.78 percent at Rs.1,680; Infosys, down 3.16 percent at Rs.2,549.60; and Hindustan Unilever, down 2.35 percent at Rs.534.55. Among other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei closed up 1.83 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed 0.14 percent higher. Shanghai's composite index closed 2.14 percent down. The European markets were trading in red. France's CAC was down 0.47 percent, while Germany's DAX was fell 0.10 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was trading 0.24 percent lower.

Mumbai, Sep 17 (IANS) Bollywood star Salman Khan says if "Ek Tha Tiger" had to cross Rs.200 crore at the box office, it should have achieved the feat by now. "For 'Ek Tha Tiger', if it had to cross Rs.200 crore, it should have crossed long time back. Now slowly if it crosses (the mark), it's not the same thing," Salman told reporters here. "Ek Tha Tiger" released Aug 15, and made Rs.33 crore on its opening day. It is now reportedly close to registering Rs.200 crore. Salman, who has been giving hit films one after another with projects like "Wanted", "Dabangg" and "Bodyguard", says he is not here to set any records. "I'm not setting any records. I am working on something day by day. I am concentrating on 'Dabangg 2' right now. I give my best at that point of time to whatever I am doing. If that comes across correctly, then these things (box office collections) follow," he added. "Dabangg 2" is produced and directed by Arbaaz Khan. Meanwhile, Salman is also geared up to host Colors' reality show "Bigg Boss 6", which will go on air Oct 7.

Mumbai, Sep 17 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian equities markets was ruling 55 points up Monday in afternoon trade after paring early gains. Realty, capital goods and banking stocks were the main gainers. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 18,619.90 points, was trading at 18,519.52 points, 55.25 points or 0.30 percent up from its previous day's close at 18,464.27 points. The Sensex touched a high of 18,715.03 and a low of 18,480.54 points in intra-day trade. The BSE midcap index was up 37.91 points while the smallcap index was 48.21 points high. The wider 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange was also ruling 0.35 percent up at 5,597.40 points. The benchmarks have pared most of the intra-day gains on profit booking after the Reserve Bank of India kept interest rates unchanged. On the sectoral front, the BSE realty index was up 84.38 points while capital goods was up 295.73 points and banking index was up 312.39 points. ICICI Bank was the biggest Sensex gainer and was trading 4.68 percent high at Rs.1,053.40. Other major gainers were Jindal Steel, up 4.11 percent at Rs.387.55; Larsen and Toubro, up 3.70 percent at Rs.1,542; Tata Motors, up 3.66 percent at Rs.280.20; SBI, up 3.33 percent at Rs.2,036.15; and BHEL, up 2.76 percent at Rs.210.25. The major Sensex losers were ITC, down 4.40 percent at Rs.256.30; Dr Reddy's Lab, down 3.63 percent at Rs.1,682.55; TCS, down 3.33 percent at Rs.1,365; Infosys, down 2.20 percent at Rs.2,575; and Wipro, down 2.04 percent at Rs.382.10. Among other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei was up 1.83 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was trading 0.16 percent higher. Shanghai's composite index was down 2.14 percent. The European markets opened lower. France's CAC was down 0.41 percent, while Germany's DAX was fell 0.13 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was trading 0.19 percent lower.

Mumbai, Sep 17 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in a bid to increase liquidity in the system, Monday cut by 0.25 percent the cash reserve ratio (CRR), the proportion of money banks are required to keep with it. The CRR cut will release Rs.17,000 crore liquidity into the economy. This will enable banks to cut lending rates. The central bank in the mid-quarter review of the monetary policy, however, kept interest rates unchanged saying inflation remained a big concern. The CRR is reduced by 0.25 percent (or 25 basis points) to 4.50 percent. The new CRR rate will be effective from the fortnight beginning Sep 22, 2012. The RBI kept the repo rate, the rate at which it lends to commercial banks, unchanged at 8 percent. The reverse repo rate, the rate at which the apex bank borrows money from commercial banks, is also kept unchanged at 7 percent. In the policy review, the RBI said the main focus of monetary policy remains fighting inflation. "As inflationary tendencies have persisted, the primary focus of monetary policy remains the containment of inflation and anchoring of inflation expectations," said RBI Governor D Subbarao. "Containing inflationary pressures and lowering inflation expectations warrant maintaining the momentum of recent policy actions to step up investment, alleviate supply constraints, and improve productivity."

Mumbai, Sep 17 (IANS) Actress Soha Ali Khan, who has been dating actor Kunal Kemmu for a long time now, says she is not ready for marriage yet. "Handsome, rich, loyal, kind and good in sports. Does anyone has these qualities? No one. No, I am not thinking about marriage right now, I am very small (young), I still have to do a lot of things," the 33-year-old said here on the sidelines of the Aamby Valley India Bridal Fashion Week. Soha walked the ramp for fashion designer Vikram Phadnis. She not just wore a bridal dress, but her look was complete with henna and sindoor. While her own wedding may be distant for now, Soha is excited about her brother, actor Saif Ali Khan's forthcoming D-day. "I am very excited. But like I said, it's a very personal matter and bhai (Saif) and Kareena (Kapoor) don't want to talk about it so it would not be right for me to say anything either," she said. Soha was last seen in "Soundtrack" and her forthcoming releases include "Midnight's Children", "Airport" and "Sahib, Biwi aur Gangster 2."

Mumbai, Sep 17 (IANS) Akshay Kumar says his next production "Oh My God", inspired by Gujarati play "Kanji Virrudh Kanji", has not been made with the intention of making money. The project was a result of pure passion for the concept, says the actor. "'Oh My God' is not a film which I made to earn money. It's a film which I loved, enjoyed it because I enjoyed the play and what I learnt from the play, I just wanted to share with the audience and that is why I just made this film," the 45-year-old said here. "So there is no expectation from this film, whatever is going to happen. I'm sure people are going to enjoy because it's not a preachy thing. Paresh Rawal is not a baba, he is just having fun in the film and I am having fun, that's it," he added. The film, releasing Sep 28, is the story of an atheist who incurs huge losses when his antique shop is destroyed by an earthquake. Akshay says the film does not hurt anyone's religious sentiments. "This film has got a 'U' certificate, without cuts. Obviously, the censor board has watched the film very carefully so that it does not hurt anyone's sentiments. This is about a man's belief which we have brought on the screen and it is not like you have to believe or pray in this particular way," Akshay said. "Oh My God" stars Akshay in the role of Lord Krishna.

Mumbai, Sep 17 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Monday cut cash reserve ratio (CRR), the proportion of money banks are required to keep with the central bank, by 0.25 percent, in a bid to boost liquidity in the system. The CRR cut will release Rs.17,000 crore liquidity in the economy. In the mid-quarter review of the monetary policy, the central bank kept other key policy rates unchanged saying inflation remained a big concern.