Indian Barbie = Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

She has conquered beauty pageants, married into India’s de facto first family and starred in blockbuster movies in the world’s two largest film industries. Now, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan can add one more notch on her belt — Mattel. The American company known for developing a blonde model doll for young Western girls, Mattel has announced they are creating an Indian version of Barbie modeled after Rai Bachchan.

Once developed, Rai Bachchan will be the first Indian actress to have a Barbie doll modeled after her. The figurine will feature the Bollywood actress’s signature green eyes, as well as a wardrobe from top Indian designers.

Dutt an Odd Political Prisoner

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt has petitioned the Indian Supreme Court to suspend his conviction and jail sentence in order to run for national office, while the political party CBI announced this week it will likely oppose the petition. If Dutt’s petition, which will be heard on March 30th, is successful, he will seek to contest the Lok Sabha (India’s lower house of Parliament).

An actor whose status in Bollywood is similar to Alec Baldwin, Dutt has been in prison for 18 months now.

Dutt, 50, was arrested, convicted and sentenced in connection with a series of blasts through Mumbai in 1993. The famed actor was sentenced to a six-year prison term in July 2007 after he was convicted under the Arms Act by a Mumbai court.

A member of the Samajwadi Party, Dutt wants to run for the Lucknow parliamentary seat. In his petition, Dutt reportedly told the court he was absolved of serious wrongdoing and no cases were filed against him prior to the Mumbai blasts.

Bollywood is Polish

Poland will be immersed with a seven-day, 12-city Indian film festival which began March 30th, with Deepa Metha’s long-awaited Water kicking off “Experience the Real Taste of India” organized by the Indo-Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IPPCI) and Epelpol Entertainment.

According to organizers, at least seven new Bollywood films will make debuts at the Indo-Polish film festival. Also featured will be Aamir Khan’s directorial debut in Taare Zameen Par. Among the 12 cities where the festival will take place include Warsaw, Poznan, Wroclaw, Gdansk, Koszlin, Lodz, Szezcin and Bydogosz.