Alia Bhatt gets grounded

Alia Bhatt's first film 'Student of the Year' had her tread on familiar ground. The teen romance was tailor-made for the 20-year-old debutante, who looked at ease in her trendy togs. A far cry from Highway, in which director-writer Imtiaz Ali has literally plucked the hothouse bloom from her designer universe and flung her on the dirt track. 

The film stars Alia with Randeep Hooda and the gruelling 42-day first schedule started on March 1. The team has been on the road since then, exploring the country from Delhi and Gurgaon to Faridabad, Jaipur, Bikaner, Faridkot and parts of Punjab, before heading to Himachal Pradesh, where they are stationed right now. Incidentally, the crew is predominantly male, and Alia has just two other girls for company as she takes public transport, shoots at real locations, and gets a taste of the 'other India'.

A source close to Alia told TOI, "The crew has been extremely protective of the girls, especially Alia, who was in for a bit of a culture shock at the kind of things she witnessed first-hand." Added her friend, "It has been a rough and exhausting schedule, but Alia is all wide-eyed at the world that has been opening up for her." Time to grow up?

Indian-American hotelier Vikram Chatwal, arrested for possession of drugs, released on bond

New York: Indian-American hotelier Vikram Chatwal, arrested earlier this week at a Florida airport for allegedly carrying drugs, has been released on bond.

According to the TMZ website, the city-based millionaire hotel owner was arrested on April 2 at the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials found drugs hidden in Mr Chatwal's luggage as he was about to board the flight.

A spokeswoman at the Broward Sheriff's Office in Florida told PTI that Mr Chatwal was released on April 3 on a bond of about USD 56,000 (around Rs. 31 lakh).

When contacted by PTI to comment on the arrest, the Sant Chatwal-led Hampshire Hotels and Resorts said the company has "no comment on the issue at this time."

According to the police report, 41-year-old Mr Chatwal has been charged with one count of trafficking of drugs and seven counts of possession of cocaine, heroin and other drugs.

The report said Mr Chatwal was stopped by TSA's Behaviour Detection Officers at the Florida airport and a search of his carry-on bag revealed several different types of loose white pills that appeared to be controlled substances.

The officials also found a small piece of white plastic wrap in Mr Chatwal's jacket pocket that contained a white powder substance, which turned out to be cocaine, the report claimed.

Mr Chatwal was then placed under arrest and searched by officials who found that he had hidden a bag in his pants that contained quantities of drugs including heroin and marijuana.

He also possessed several pills, including sedatives, for which he did not have any prescription, the report claimed.

"He provided a statement to narcotics detectives wherein he admitted possessing and purchasing the controlled substances illegally," Officer Carmen Hunsinger said in the police report.

Mr Chatwal, who has acted in a few Indian movies, owns the Dream Downtown Hotel in New York, a popular venue for celebrity events. He has previously been admitted twice to rehabilitation facilities for alcohol addiction.