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Police in India's information-technology hub of Bangalore resorted to baton charges and teargas Thursday to control violent fans mourning the popular film actor Rajkumar.

Tens of thousands of his fans, many of them women, have gathered since Wednesday night outside the Kantaveera sports stadium, where Rajkumar's body was moved so mourners could pay their last respects, PTI news agency reported.

Police found it impossible to regulate the large crowds, who began to throw stones and beat up officers Thursday. Buses and tires were set on fire, and private vehicles and buildings were attacked across the city. The police used baton charges and fired teargas shells to disperse the emotionally charged crowds outside the stadium.

Rajkumar, 77, known as the John Wayne of Kannada films, suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away Wednesday in Bangalore, capital of southern Karnataka state.

A legendary actor, Rajkumar starred in more than 200 films in a career that began when he was a child. He had retired from acting in the mid-1990s but continued to produce films.

A Swedish appeals court upheld Wednesday a ruling that commercial broadcaster TV4 violated the copyright of the late film director Vilgot Sjoman by interrupting one of his movies with commercials.

Along with fellow director Claes Eriksson, Sjoman launched legal action in 2002 saying the broadcaster had violated their copyright by interrupting their movies with commercials.

Sjoman was annoyed when he saw his 1995 movie about Alfred Nobel -- the inventor of dynamite who funded the Nobel Prizes -- interrupted by commercials.

The Stockholm district court ruled in their favor late 2004, saying the broadcaster should have contacted the director about its plans to broadcast commercials during the movie. That ruling was appealed by TV4.

The appeals court said the commercial breaks "interrupted the continuity and dramaturgy in the films."

The court ruled TV4 should pay Sjoman, who died Sunday aged 81, and Eriksson damages and legal expenses for the two trials -- totalling US$143,000 dollars.

Thousands of young girls auditioned on Tuesday for a chance to star in a new movie franchise that promises to be a dark rival to the Harry Potter films.

Philip Pullman's bestseller His Dark Materials trilogy is being adapted for the screen by New Line Cinema, which also made the Lord of the Rings films.

The first instalment, The Golden Compass, follows a young protagonist Lyra Belacqua who travels to the Arctic Circle to save a friend with the help of a bear and a witch.

Producers are scouring England to find an actress aged nine to 13 who can embody her "loyalty, bravery and mischievous nature."

There may be no Glastonbury Festival this year but fans can get their fix of music, mud and mayhem via the big screen this week.

The documentary film Glastonbury had its premiere in London on Tuesday, aiming to be the closest audiences can get to the festival -- traditionally the highlight of Britain's summer rock and pop scene -- without actually being there.

Producers began work on the movie in 2002 when organizer Michael Eavis, fearing that security concerns could put the event's future in doubt, decided to have a permanent record of the festival put on film.

Camera crews then visited all the festivals between 2002 and 2005.

Glastonbury began on farmer Eavis's land in 1970 and grew from humble beginnings to become one of the biggest annual events of the British music calendar, attracting top bands and more than 100,000 fans each year.

Amongst the acts to feature in the film, which is released across the UK today, are The Velvet Underground, Primal Scream, Coldplay, and Bjork.
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