Bollywood condemns Mumbai terrorist blasts

Figures from the Bollywood film industry have spoken out in condemnation against the latest terror attacks to hit Mumbai.A wide number of Hindi film celebrities have taken to social network sites to condemn the series of three blasts which took place on Wednesday.

Amitabh Bachchan wrote on his blog: "Bomb blasts in Mumbai .. !! God ! I hope people are safe (sic)."

Priyanka Chopra posted to her 1.2 million Twitter followers: "Terrible news about the blasts. A request - please do not cause panic by tweeting/ spreading rumours / unconfirmed news."

Madhur Bhandarkar posted: "Resilience of Mumbai again put to test because of the blasts. Heart aches for the victims. Condemn such cowardly acts of terror."

Actor Tusshar Kapoor used Twitter to express his anger at the latest attack on India's entertainment capital: "Completely resent what has happened in our city, high time these cowards are hanged and don't just languish in our jails."

Ranvir Shorey, urging restraint to the people of Mumbai, wrote: "We've been here before, #Mumbai. Let not these murderers win, by reacting without any chaos. Let's get back with more calm and efficiency."

The blasts occurred in three areas of the city, in the Opera House district, at the Zaveri bazaar and in Dadar.

Actor Shah Rukh Khan was earlier caught up in a controversy surrounding the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai.

YouTube launches Bollywood film channel

YouTube has announced that it will start screening Bollywood films free to Indian viewers.

The newly-launched YouTube Box Office channel will offer high-definition, recently-released films within India.

Anand Gauri, from content partner Yash Raj Productions, announced: "Apart from offering tremendous reach, evolved digital platforms like YouTube also enable the monetization aspect through advertising revenues in an unobtrusive manner, while offering a great online viewing experience to the users.

"We are sure this project will throw up interesting insights and consumption patterns of the digital-friendly audience."

Anushka Sharma and Ranvir Singh hit Band Baaja Baaraat will launch the service later this month.

Chandan Arora's 2010 release Striker became the first Bollywood film to simultaneously release in theatres and on YouTube.