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Donning full military regalia and a false beard, and brandishing a replica golden pistol, he swept up the London red carpet standing in a bright orange Lamborghini -- with one wheel clamped and being carried on a tow truck.

Baron Cohen, in character as the freedom-hating North African dictator General Aladeen from the fictional Republic of Wadiya, was also surrounded by glamorous, uniformed female "body guards" in short skirts.

"Now while I am here, I would like to grant political asylum to (Rupert) Murdoch," he declared to reporters and fans along the red carpet. "We also have mobile phone hacking in Wadiya. Everyone who has a phone, we hack off their hands."

On the subject of gay marriage, in the headlines this week after U.S. President Barack Obama publicly supported same-sex marriage, Baron Cohen said:

"I am very happy because yesterday Nicholas Clegg and David Cameron renewed their vows and now they are the world's most famous gay couple."

British Prime Minister Cameron and his coalition partner and deputy Clegg sought to relaunch their joint government this week after big losses at local elections.

Referring to the German leader, Baron Cohen added: "By the way Angela Merkel, you need to look after your appearance. I think Merkel would be more successful if Merkel has a sex change and becomes a woman."

The 40-year-old comic has forged a successful career adopting offensive characters prone to politically incorrect pronouncements designed to amuse and offend.

Internationally he is best known as Borat, the fictitious Kazakh reporter who travels to the United States in "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan".

His other well-known characters are Londoner Ali G and gay Austrian fashion journalist Bruno.

General Aladeen is the despotic ruler of an oil-rich country who is forced to travel to the United States in a last-ditch attempt to prevent a UN-backed coup d'etat.

Early reviews of The Dictator, inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings as well as the nuclear programmes in Iran and North Korea, have been generally positive.

Chris Tookey of the Daily Mail newspaper awarded it five stars out of five, writing: "The Dictator may be the most conventionally structured of Sacha Baron Cohen's films -- it's essentially a romcom -- but to my mind it's the funniest."

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave it four stars, and said the film delivered "an explosion of weapons-grade offensiveness".

The Dictator, directed by Larry Charles, hits U.S. and British cinemas on May 16.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

"The film was ready since 2010. Animation takes time. We took three years to make this film. We were waiting for the perfect summer period and I believe this is the right time for the release," Chaudhuri told IANS.

Produced by UTV Motion Pictures, "Arjun: The Warrior Prince" is an action-based movie.

"I wanted to make an action film with animation. This subject was the perfect one. It is a big martial arts epic, and made on a big scale," said Chaudhuri, who studied animation at the National Institute of Design.

"Strangely, when I started off many years ago in a film of mine, 'Baazigar', I was supposed to be aFormula One racing car driver though I don't think it was a Formula One racing car," the 46-year-old told reporters here Thursday

"It was really difficult and I said that I am going to do the shot myself. I thought it was going really fast but the speed was just 40 to 50 kilometres but it just seemed very fast," he added.

Shah Rukh's last release was "Don 2: The King is Back" and he is currently shooting for Yash Raj Films' untitled film with Katrina Kaif.

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How Anil Kapoor prepares for a character

Actor Anil Kapoor finds it tough to describe his way of preparing for a character and says it's a mix of lot of things.

"I am not one of those who can really express the way I prepare for a character. How I work on my character is very instinctive and very organic. Everybody has a very different way of working on their character," the 52-year-old said here at the launch of author Hussain Zaidi's book "Dongri to Dubai".

"It's research and instinct and how I feel, it's a part of my personality also. It's a mixture of so many things," he added.

Anil is currently shooting for "Shootout at Wadala" where he plays ACP Isaque Bagwan while "Race 2" also has him in the role of a police officer.

His last release "Tezz" saw him as an anti-terrorism officer.

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Sanjay Gupta defends John Abraham

Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta is happy that actor John Abraham's conviction in a 2006 accident case has been quashed by the Bombay high court.

"I think I am very happy with what has happened. There are some things that are still there but I just hope and pray. I don't think John had done anything wrong. It was a natural accident and it was not his fault. So, if the authorities have seen it then I think there is still hope for us," said Gupta.

John's motorcycle had rammed into a bicycle on Carter Road April 8, 2006, injuring two riders. John was released under the Probation of Offenders Act, after being ordered to give a bond of Rs.10,000.

'Katari Veera Sura Sundaraangi', which was publicised as the first full-fledged 3D film in Kannada language, is a socio-fantasy movie. The highlight of the film is Upendra's dialogue delivery, grand visuals and the entertainment quotient.

Watching an opulent 3D film shot on huge sets is a new experience for the viewers.

The second half is not as entertaining as the first half because many sequences are extremely predictable and are borrowed from other successful non-Kannada films. The screenplay is also weak in the second half.

'Katari Veera Sura Sundaraangi' could have won a lot of accolades if the pace of the film had been maintained throughout.

The narrative is too predictable as the story is a mix of sequences seen in successful Telugu films like 'Yamagola', 'Yamadonga' and 'Jagadeka Veerudu'. Barring Upendra's well written dialogues and his enigmatic performance, nothing stays with you.

Down South more than hundred socio mythological films have been based upon the Yamaloka and the Indraloka, but most of these films make fun of Indra's quest for power and Yama's confused administration in hell.

Upendra, a commoner, wants to become a don by hook or by crook. He meets notorious don Muththappa Rai to realise his dream. Despite being advised not to take any hasty decision, Upendra plunges into the underworld and kills a known criminal. The news reaches the dead criminal's younger brother in Dubai and he wants to take revenge.

During a confrontation with the villain, Upendra gets killed after being stabbed in the back.

After his death, Upendra goes to the Yamaloka. Since his good and bad deeds are equal, Yama orders him to spend 15 days in hell and 15 days in heaven every month.

Upendra sees Indra's daughter singing and dancing in Indraloka and falls for her. After seeing her, he is desperate to go to heaven. So he creates a lot of problems for Yama and his assistant Chitragupta.

Finally, a troubled Yama asks Upendra to leave hell and go to heaven.

In heaven, Indraja starts liking Upendra. Then Yama comes to Indraloka and asks Upendra to return to earth.

How Upendra takes revenge and how he outwits Yama form the rest of the story.

Upendra's strengths are in full display in the fun-filled movie. He also excells in delivering a lengthy dialogue, which is the best sequence of the film.

Rebel Star Ambareesh proves his versatility by giving a credible performance as Yama.

Ramya is a little plump for Indraja's role and it seems she didn't do any homework for the role. Veteran artists Doddanna, Sridhar and Ajay have carried off their roles perfectly.

Upendra's effort is well matched by Krishna's brilliant work, cinematographer H.C. Venu and editor Jony Harsha's technical support.

But Hari Krishna's music is inconsistent.

'Katari Veera Sura Sundaraangi' is a well-made entertainer. The 3D format is a treat to watch.

"Me and my brother together used to eat 'aalu parathas' with lots of desi ghee which mom used to made," Mallika said in a statement. Now that the actress has turned vegan, she can't eath aalu parathas.

On the occasion of Mother's Day May 13, she will share all this and more through her voice blog, which will go live Sunday. She also talked about love, mischief, festivals and much more.

Mallika, who started her acting career with "Khwahish", was last seen in "Double Dhamaal". She also featured in international films like "The Myth" and "Politics of Love".

Fans can listen to Mallika narrating her life's interesting moments by dialling 5789 from their mobiles.