By Subhash K Jha

Finally, Vidya Balan has made that move. Three weeks ago Vidya Balan finally moved into her new 4-bedroom place in Khar.

And she just can't get enough of her brand new possession. “It's virtually been built brick by brick by me in the middle of my busy schedules. I wasn't able to give the house time at a stretch. That's why it took time to be put together.”

Now the house-proud actress intends to have a house-warming party, her first get-together since she came into the film industry, and also a good time to celebrate since two of her back-to-back films have been declared hits.

But nothing about Vidya is convention. Not even her house-warming party.

Says the lovely actress, “I think it's imprudent to invite all your friends all at once for one party. This makes the gathering unmanageable, guests who don't know one another get uncomfortable.

So I'm having a series of sit-in dinners in my new house where groups of friends who know one another, can come together for cosy comfortable conversations and food.”

But first, Vidya wants every little detail in her new house to be perfect. “I'm fastidious about cleanliness to the point of being obsessive about my home. If I feel a drawer is messy I will clean it up at 3 in the morning after a hard day's shooting. So before my house-warming parties start I need to make sure everything is in place.”

Vidya admits the home is now her proudest possession. “Shifting into it after the release of Ishqiya is a conscious move. I think after Paa and Ishqiya I've earned myself a place of my own.”

Vidya earlier stayed in a much smaller place in Chembur. The new place has been done up by a friend of her father.

“Nobody that is familiar to the film fraternity. He had done up our earlier place as well.”

Katrina Kaif, who has bagged a nomination at the upcoming 55th Filmfare Awards in best actor category for her role in "New York", says she is happy with the nomination and won't mind if someone else wins the trophy.

"Everyone wants to win, everyone wants to be successful. When you make a movie, you want it to be a hit and successful. When you are nominated of course you want to win. But honestly I am so used to not winning that just the nomination is enough," she said.

"I cannot complain as my awards have been so great from the audiences. I am happy just to be nominated. I would have a great time performing at the show," the actress told reporters at a press conference of 55th Filmfare Awards here Wednesday.

"If I had to choose, apart from myself, I would choose Priyanka or Vidya. 'Kaminey' is one of my favourite films. And I loved Vidya in 'Paa'. But why can't I choose myself?", she adds with a a mischievous grin.

"At the end of the day the jury gives these awards. Everyone's opinion is going to be different. You know more than the performances, for example, the best actress category, I always want the film to win... a film that I am in."

Katrina will perform at the the award function to be held Feb 27 at the Yash Raj Studios and she has teamed up with her favourite choreographer Ganesh Hegde to prepare for her performance.

"We haven't confirmed on which songs I am going to perform. We have only confirmed the choreographer and he is Ganesh Hegde. He is one of my favourites so I think it's going to be a phenomenal act this time.

I am really excited and we are going to start practice this Thursday," said Katrina.

Genelia D'Souza is upset with rumours of her wedding with actor Riteish Deshmukh. The actress says she isn't getting married to anyone for the time being.

"To set the record straight, I am not getting married to anyone. I have always maintained that my personal life is not something I would like to discuss. But this time since it was something that would affect my family, I decided to take a stand, " said Genelia in a statement released here Tuesday.

"My films and my brands are my priority as of now and I'd like to keep it that way. And if I do decide to settle down, you will hear it from me when as and when it happens, " she added.

A tabloid had reported the romance brewed between Genelia and Riteish on the sets of "Tujhe Meri Kasam" (2003) and that they are planning to get married this year.

"It's rather funny that we have to read about the progress in our lives in the press before we even know it ourselves. I wonder how news like that can be put out without any confirmation from the people whose lives are being discussed, " she said.

Genelia is right now looking forward to the release of "Chance Pe Dance". She is paired with Shahid Kapoor in the film, which is releasing Jan 15.

Priyanka Chopra who was touted to be the leading lady of Dostana sequel is now said to have lost the project to her archrival Katrina Kaif. We hear that Piggy Chops will only be seen in the film for a brief period of time and it is Katrina who'll be playing a romantic interest to Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham.

We hear director Tarun Mansukhani is now busy penning an interesting scene where both the actresses will be seen locking horns.

Confirming the news a source told a daily, “It’s a face-off between Katrina and Priyanka. However, it is not a bitchy or dramatic scene, but a comic and light-hearted one.

Priyanka makes her entry when the Desi girl track (Priyanka’s song from ‘Dostana’) starts playing. The boys in the club then start looking at her instead of Katrina. The latter gets upset that the focus has shifted to Priyanka and breaks into a sexy dance with her.

Priyanka’s presence in the film was decided even before Tarun started scripting the film. In fact, she had personally told Tarun that she wanted to be part of the sequel.”

Mansukhani also confirmed Priyanka’s presence in the film but denied having decided on a scene for her.

Talking to a daily, he said, “Yes, Priyanka will surely be part of the film. She’s not just my favourite actress but also a very dear person. She has an important role. However, I am yet to figure out where and how she will appear as I am still in the scripting process.”

By Subhash K Jha

After fobbing off the likes of Aamir Khan who after working with her in 1947 Earth had insisted that she move from Delhi to Mumbai to pursue her acting career, Nandita Das has finally moved to Mumbai, thanks to her marriage to environment entrepreneur Subodh Maskara which was solemnized on January 2.

Now glowing with joy from her residence in Worli (Mumbai) Nandita says, “What I resisted doing for 13 long years has finally been done. I couldn’t imagine shifting to Mumbai for my career. But love did it.”

Husband Subodh Maskara was introduced to Nandita by her friend Shahana Goswami whom Nandita directed last year in Firaq, and Shahana’s boyfriend Milind Soman.

Laughs Nandita, “Milind and Shahana kept urging me to meet Subodh. I kept fobbing them off. I’m the last person to believe in blind dates. But look at destiny. I now completely believe in instant love.

When I was hesitant about meeting him Subodh sent me a lovely e-mail. And I said, why not just have coffee with him? We met. And I immediately knew, this was it. Within five months I knew I wanted to marry him.We became soul-mates seamlessly.”

Nandita married according to Ashram Vidhi rites on January 2 at Subodh’s residence where she now stays permanently. “Only his parents and brother, my parents and my brother were there for the marriage. And of course Shahana and Milind who brought us together. We couldn’t possibly get married without them.”

Interestingly Nandita’s husband had not seen any of her films. “After we began seeing each other I made him see Fire and then my directorial debut Firaq. Before meeting me Subodh knew much less about cinema than I did about his chosen line of work, recycling plastic bottles.”

Last month Nandita took Subodh to the Marrakech Film Festival in Morrocco. “And Subodh saw 18 films in one go. That’s more than he has seen in all his life. He’s more than happy sharing my interests. I’ve never been happier.”

Friends like Paresh Rawal urge Nandita to direct another film. But at the moment she’s content being at her new home in Mumbai playing Mrs Subodh Maskara.

Does she cook for her husband?

Nandita gasps. “Er, that would really be going too far. Even further than my move from Delhi to Mumbai.”

When actresses would want to give a clean miss-goody-two-shoes image, only someone as bold and spunky as Neha Dhupia can admit to being a flirt.

The stunner plays a flirtatious seductress in Percept Pictures Company's ‘Raat Gayi Baat Gayi’ and for this role she didn't have to prepare much, as she is a natural flirt. It came naturally to her and she used the right body language without being over the top. Neha can give gyaan galore on flirting!

As Neha admits, “I am a compulsive flirt and I can flirt with anything. Flirting is fun! Not just that it is also a basic instinct and a part of human nature.”

We wouldn't be surprised if she plays the guru to her friends when it comes to flirting. As one of her friends vouch for her guru gyan on flirting tips on how a girl is a natural magnet, must have the air of confidence and flaunt her best asset.

Yes, that's right, if you have it flaunt it. Begin with exchanging admiring glances. Indulge in light-hearted flirtatious banter, the never ending tips on flirting right.

She says, adding, “All this can do wonders to your self-esteem and brighten your day or evening.”

So, now you know that you can turn to the clean mean flirting queen whether you want tips to flirt for friendship, flirting with intent or something more. Just ask Neha…

Amitabh Bachchan speaks to Subhash K Jha on the success of Paa.

Auro has become a bigger star than Amtabh Bachchan?
Ha ha. There is genuine love being expressed towards him and several have unabashedly desired to take him home !!

Did you expect Auro to have such a far-reaching impact on the nation's psyche? What are some of the most memorable reactions you've had to Auro's character?
No, I never ever imagined that Auro would be picked up, caressed and so warmly embraced. It is miraculous. A description of the reactions would be odious at this moment. I do have them all stored and shall be happy to share them with you at an opportune moment.

There's a feeling of dismay when Auro dies at the end of Paa because people want more of this metaphor of the life- force. How do you plan to take Auro forward?
Yes people want more of Auro, but I think Balki felt his presence was sufficiently enough. How he goes forward is for Balki to decide.

You abhor even a false beard. How did you bear with such elaborate prosthetics day after day?
I bore it with great resolve and fortitude.

So complete is your self-effacement in Auro's makeup that some people are actually saying that's not you, but another actor doing Auro. How do you react to that?
I take that as my greatest compliment and a triumph for the team that worked on my make up. Without them and their contribution Auro would have remained on the drawing board.

The surprises from your repertoire continue to spill out year after year. Auro, you'll agree is a very hard act to follow. What will you do now to satiate your expectant fans?
I shall continue to work to my best. Satiation is most subjective. I do not work with the consideration of those elements in mind. My fans understand that better than anyone else. Even me.

Paa marks the renewal of AB Corp Ltd's production output. What are the other films that ABCL plans to produce?
Please do not keep up this undesired exclamation of the ‘renewal’ of the Company. We were always there and functioning. Maybe you did not follow its activities. Or perhaps there was not much desire in you to do so. At the moment we have not concretised any further project under our banner, but if we were to, we would keep you informed !

As an actor you seem to have reached an unprecedented zenith of self expression. What is that one role you would still like to play?
I have no idea what it would be, all I know is that were someone to come up with a thought I would most certainly want to give it a try. I do hope that there are directors there that will dream up exciting work for me. If they do I shall be more than willing to work along with them.

By Subhash K Jha

John Abraham is deeply affiliated to the idea of Nature preservation. So it comes as no surprise to know that John will now produce a film on tiger preservation to be directed by internationally- renowned Nairobi-born Indian filmmaker Mike Pandey.

The documentary film entitled The Return Of The Tiger will address itself to the alarming and almost complete disappearance of the species.

John says he feels very strongly on the subject. “I decided to produce the film because I truly believe tigers are one of the most magnificent creatures on this planet. And if we don’t take quick and immediate action to preserve them there will be no tigers left.”

Through the film which will be screened in the documentary section of film festivals and at wildlife-preservation summits, John and his director Mike Pandey hope to create a certain amount of global awareness about the urgent need to preserve the tiger.

Says John, "This film is far too important in terms of its message. I decided to produce it after I met Mike Pandey. He’s such a lovely man so committed to capturing the essence of Nature on camera. I just decided to get committed to Mike’s level of commitment.”

By Subhash K Jha

What would’ve been a routine birthday bash for Sameera Reddy on Sunday night turned out to be a very special occasion when Priyadarshan who has just given the actress her first hit since Race in De Dana Dan turned around and said, “You’re in my next film.”

Sameera who has become very close to Priyan and his wife Lizzie and in fact spends all her free time during her frequent visits to Chennai in their house is still reeling in pleasure.

“I couldn’t have got a better birthday gift. Firstly it turned out to be Priyan and Lizzie’s marriage anniversary. So we had my birthday and their anniversary party at Shristi Behl’s residence. All three of us Lizzie, Priyan and I cut a cake.”

The icing on the cake was Priyan’s impulsive offer. “I don’t need to ask him what it is or in which film. I trust him completely. He gave me a role in De Dana Dan that did justice to my presence.This, at a time when I was desperately trying to shed my sexy image.”

Not many people know this. But Sameera has a secret special appearance in the Bihar-based film that Priyan is shooting with Ajay Devgn, Akshaye Khanna and Bipasha Basu.

“How do you know about this?” Sameera demands to know. “So that makes it three film with Priyan. I’m really lucky to have Priyan and his wife as friends. Now when I go to Chennai which is like a second home to me thanks to the work that I do.In fact my latest Tamil hit was mixed in Priyan’s studio in Chennai, so the bond thickens.”

Her prestigious film Nagesh Kukunoor’s Yeh Husla remains stuck.

Says Sameera softly, “That’s because the producers Percept have bungled. They’re in a real financial mess. They owe and almost everyone associated with them quite a lot of money.”

Sameera herself remains solitary in Mumbai. “My sister Meghna is now married to a Greek and settled on the most exotic Greek island. My brother-in-law spoils me silly. They both love me because I convinced our conservative dad about the unlikely marital alliance.”

Specially after her sister’s marriage Sameera really misses a man in her life. “It gets really lonely. And I know I’m looking my best these days. Thanks to yoga I’ve lost oodles of flesh. But what’s the point of looking good when you’ve no one to admire you?”

Age may be just a number. But in Bollywood Sameera knows her time is numbered. “At the party at Shristi Behl’s I just kept staring at Twinkle Khanna. She was glowing. She just keeps getting better with the years.I hope I look as radiant when I reach that age.”

Shah Rukh Khan is ready with the much awaited My Name is Khan. The Bollywood Badshah breezed in Kolkata for the grand finale of ‘Dadagiri Unlimited’, a quiz show hosted by Sourav Ganguly.

TWF correspondent Sreya Basu catches up with the actor on his friendship with Dada and his new film where he is paired opposite Kajol after several years.?

What was the first thing that came to your mind when you saw Sourav as a quizmaster?
It was really a pleasant surprise. I have seen him play cricket, discuss cricket…this is completely a new avatar of Dada (Sourav Ganguly). But I must say, he is really good at it. As I said on stage-Dada ko pakadna mushkil hi nehin, na mumkin hai. (Smiles)

What brings you to the finale of ‘Dadagiri Unlimited’? Friendship with Sourav?
Sourav and my friendship now go beyond Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Indian Premier League (IPL). To me, he is one of the best cricketers in India. I can never say ‘no’ to him.

Is this a kind of ‘favour returning’ gesture…since Sourav has earlier judged your cheerleader hunt ‘Knights & Angels’?
I never thought about it in this way…really. And as far as ‘Knights & Angels’ go, Sourav was not getting cheerleaders for Shah Rukh, but for the entire KKR team.

You have got Sourav back as KKR captain for IPL 3…
I told you…he is the best (in cricket).

KKR started with much energy, but failed to win the first two seasons of IPL. Do you expect to win this time?
I won’t comment on that. But if KKR wins this time, I will come and dance for all of you in Kolkata.

You are back in a Karan Johar film again?
Yes…I am inseparable from Karan’s films (smiles). On a more serious note, My Name Is Khan is a passion project; somehow I wanted to be part of this important film personally and as a production house.

Your company Red Chillies has tied up with Fox for My Name Is Khan. So with the help of Fox, are you trying to push your film to the Oscars?
I have just written to the Oscar people that they should have given me an award 10 years back; now I am losing interest. Jokes apart, our association with Fox is not award-based. But we believe Fox is one of the few people in the world, who can perhaps take our film to the roads of getting awards and recognition, if it is good enough.

For the first time you are playing a person with Asperger syndrome. How much effort Shah Rukh had to put to play the character?
Rizwan Khan is a special character-because he has a definite beginning and ending, and a bit of realism. He is a person with Asperger. While studying the character, I really had to hold Shah Rukh Khan back. I put together all my years of acting skills, before I could step into Rizwan’s shoes.

Already quite a few films have been made on terrorism. How different is your film from the lot?
Karan wrote the story three years back. At that time I felt it was quite an advanced one. This is not a film on terrorism, but on relationships; as are all Karan Johar films.

First it’s the relationship between two persons, then among many people, then, relationships within a basti, within a city and finally, within the world. Within those relationships, we put aspects of western culture, Islam and Asperger syndrome.

Now-a-days controversies are used as a publicity tool for a film. What do you think?
We (Karan and I) have never tried to create euphoria about the film with the help of controversies….no, never. But sometimes there are mistakes, sometimes it’s not a mistake, but an issue.

Even for My Name Is Khan, everyone of us-right from the producers, directors, actors, to lightman, cameraman, spot boys-has been really careful not to show any bias to any community or hurt people’s sentiments while dealing with Asperger. Even then, if there are reasons for controversies, then please help us out.

You are working with Kajol after a long time…
Yeah! Karan and I discussed at least a thousand times, how my pairing with Kajol will be…if it will be another Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge or Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. But in this film, Karan has not shot any romantic songs in Egypt or Switzerland with us. There is romance…but the treatment is not the same.

The title of the film-My Name Is Khan-is being seen as a Shah Rukh Khan statement…
My name is unimportant. My work is much more important than my name.

Salman Khan who has turned script writer with his upcoming dream project Veer says the film has been a stressful experience for him as an actor and writer.

"It was a stressful experience for me. But Veer has shaped up well and I am happy with the final product, " Salman told reporters at the music launch of the film. The period flick, set in 1875, is slated for a theatrical release on January 22, 2010.

Salman, who has further toned his body to suit the role, had first conceived the idea of making a movie on the exploits of a Pindari soldier 20 years ago. Speaking about his new co-star Zarine Khan, Salman said Zarine was a brilliant newcomer as she belongs to the new generation.

Director Anil Sharma disapproved comparisons between Zarine and Katrina Kaif. "It is unfair to compare a newcomer with anybody. By doing this you are belittling the efforts and hard work of a young actor, " he said.

Music composers Sajid-Wajid have given the music in the film while Oscar-winning lyricist Gulzar has penned the songs.

Amrita has taken a vacation almost after 3 years and this time it was a pleasure-cum-business trip.

Amrita was seen letting her hair down at popular hangout spots, Brittos and Mambos, pampering herself to Aryuvedic spa treatments, riding bikes in the marrow by lanes, dancing to live goan music, and enjoying spicy food by the beach in the shacks at Hotel Cidade.

What was most amusing was that many of her fans mistook her sister, Preeta for her due to their uncanny resemblance and asked Preeta for pictures and autographs who maintained a very low profile.

Preeta will be foraying into Tollywood with her first Kannada big banner film next year March but unlike Amrita prefers to stay away from the public glare and is also an entertainment columnist. Amrita visited the famous Mangeshi temple to seek divine blessings before she left for Mumbai.

Our sources saw Amrita mingling with directors Vishal Bharadwaj, Madhur Bhandarkar, Amol Palekar and Gurinder Chaddha during IIFI. Wonder what's cooking? We also spotted Aftaab Shivdasani sharing a hearty laugh with her on the disastrous and unorganized fashion show of which she was the show stopper.

Amrita only received her outfits half an hour before the show and used her personal accessories but preferred to stick to her commitment and still walked inspite of receiving smses from the audience not to come on stage.

Speaking of IIFI Amrita was extremely upset about the IIFI organisation this year, as she had to wait almost for an hour for her room reservations to be sorted out followed by no escort and thereafter meaningless events.

Goa is Amrita's favourite holiday destination in India was wishing Madh or Alibaug were also converted into holiday destinations similar to Goa.

Katrina Kaif’s busy schedule is taking a toll on her. Once again, she has fallen ill because of low hemoglobin count. And her family, friends, well-wishers are starting to get worried now.

Even though she is getting the best treatments done, her health continues to deteriorate. This is because the actress is pushing herself too hard.

On Friday and Saturday, she was attending the sangeet and wedding of Salman Khan’s close friend Krishan Narayan’s daughter. Katrina enjoyed herself at the wedding and simply had a good time.

However, when she woke up on Sunday morning, she couldn’t get out of bed and had to get a series of tests done, which revealed that her hemoglobin count was running low.

Attending the wedding was important for Katrina as she the bride’s father is closely associated with Praful Patel, the politician and is a close friend of Salman.

However, even the numerous tests done on her haven’t been able to determine what exactly is causing her blood to have such an abnormality. She has been advised complete bed rest by the doctors.

All laws of attraction fall short when this ‘Johnny Gaddaar’ shouts ‘Aa Dekhen Zara’ from his ‘Jail’ in ‘New York’. Yet Neil Nitin Mukesh tells India Blooms correspondent Sreya Basu in Kolkata that it is a simple girl he is looking for.

You are four films old now. So how has been your experience in the Hindi film industry so far?
Know what! This is the best time for an actor to enter Bollywood. Filmmakers as well as the audience are now accepting newcomers in films of all genres. I am in the best part of this era. Or else, tell me, where else can a ‘Johnny Gaddaar’ work as a debut film for an actor…a grey character becoming hero! Now-a-days heroes are getting more character-based roles to prove themselves.

But your dad (Nitin Mukesh) was reportedly not happy with your debut film?
(Smiles) True. Since I am Mukesh’s grandson and Nitin Mukesh’s son, my dad was scared a bit with me portraying a grey character in my very first film.

But the day he saw the first screening of the film, he said: ‘I respect you son…you have given me what I couldn’t even give myself.’ That was one of the greatest days of my life. However, at an early age, I had realized that I have a big responsibility…I have two names attached to my name; that’s why I am Neil Nitin Mukesh.

I have to go forward with the burden of all their achievements and goodwill. So I can, in no way, let them down. And thankfully, my parents also have that confidence in me….they know I will never take a wrong decision.

You said you have a ‘burden’ of your grandfather and your dad’s name. But Mukesh’s name surely helped you to get a foot in the industry?
The Mukesh tag really helped me to reach out to people; but after that it’s his and my dad’s reputation that I have to constantly take care of. Or else people will point fingers and say Mukesh’s grandson is like this or like that.

With your latest release ‘Jail’, you somewhat became the first male protagonist of a Madhur Bhandarkar film…
I know. But let me tell you it’s a myth that men are strong…they are not; I can tell you now that I have done ‘Jail’. I was mentally involved with the character of Parag Dixit in the film.

I didn’t bath for 5 days because I felt the moment water will flow down my head I will disconnect with Parag. I was completely cut off from my family and friends for over 40 days. I got myself bashed by my best friends to get myself into the psychology of my character.

Make-up is there to handle appearances but its more about the mental state. Trust me, now I exactly know how a man feels when he is raped…’miserable’ is a small word to describe his state.
Your Full Monty act also grabbed eyeballs…
I was ready to do anything for ‘Jail’. And besides, we didn’t do that scene for publicity…that happens in real jails. Everyone was asking if I was comfortable shooting the scene.

But nobody asked me how relevant and important that scene was for the storyline! By now you know, that scene was the trigger point of all incidents. And I think Indian audience has to get out of this mediocrity.

One of the all time hit films of the world is ‘Titanic’. There is nude scene in that film too. But we remember the film, not for that scene but for the love story.

Most of Madhur’s films are known for grabbing awards for the actors. So are you eyeing some this year?
Award is something that’s an important part of an actor’s life. It’s a moral boost that you have done well and your efforts have been paid. But it’s better not to expect anything …let time decide for me.

Don’t you think men in Bollywood are becoming sex objects with actors like John Abraham, Hrithik Roshan, and now you, of course, showing more skin than the girls?
Men of the Hindi film industry have always been sex objects…in all eras. In fact, Dharamji (Dharmendra) and Amitabh Bachchan are perfect examples of sex objects in Bollywood. But it’s not about how much skin they showed, but their personalities. They were, in fact, are alpha males.

You have sung in ‘Aa Dekhen Zara’ and ‘Jail’. So any plans for more playbacks?
If people like my voice why not! I am extremely passionate about music. I am not a trained singer but I sing with my heart. I also compose; play the piano and the keyboards…so, music is something that I will always be connected with.

How much stardom has changed you?
I know it sounds cliché…but true. I am still the same Neil…simple and grounded; and will remain so.

Do you have a friend in the industry?
Yes there are a few. But my closest friend in the industry is Madhur Bhandarkar. He is my elder brother, my guide.

Do you have a dream role?
I would love to do ‘Catch Me If You Can’.

Is there a dream actor you want to work with?
Amitabh Bachchan…it’s every one’s dream to work with a true star like him.

You are also into endorsements these days…
Yes… I am endorsing Sparx shoes and Morellato watches. There is a third product that is in the pipeline.

Are you brand conscious?
That depends on what I am carrying. I don’t want to be showcased as factory outlets. I prefer Prada and Gucci. Narendra Kumar is the man behind mu looks in all my films…I love him and his designs. I also love Shane and Peacock creations. Generally, I am very happy with a pair of nice blue denims and a white shirt.

What are the two things you can’t do without?
My turquoise rosary beads and watch

Tell us about your diet.
My diet depends on my films. My body keeps fluctuating according to my roles. Like, for ‘New York’, I put on 9 kgs…got 16 inch biceps.

I had to cut that for ‘Jail’ and spot a lean look because, I didn’t want my character to flex muscles inside his cell. Nornally, when I have to put on weight, I eat everything. And when I need to lose weight, I have steamed fish and boiled vegetables. I love to binge on sweets, but only when on holidays.

You have a huge female fan following. What kind of girl are you looking for?
Simple, smart and stylish.

Is she Priyanka Bhatia?
(Smiles)

The newest stud in Bollywood, Ranbir Kapoor, is merely four films old, but he is already being compared to the Badshah of Bollywood, Shahrukh Khan.

Well this comparison comes easy, as Ranbir does romantic scene with as much ease as the suave Shahrukh Khan, who is a veteran in enacting romantic scenes.

When we asked Ranbir about this, he said, “I think comparing me with Shahrukh Khan would be like insulting him. Till now, I have done only 3 films, which are by no ways a parameter to compare me with him.

In my last film ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani’ I have played a romantic character, where in ‘Rocket Singh –Salesman of the year’ there is romance, but on a different level.”

Well however hard Ranbir might try to deny, the fact remains that people like him in romantic roles, as he sure is a charmer! No doubt Ranbir must be happy to be compared with Shahrukh, after all it is SRK who is the benchmark of success in Bollywood these days.

Sreya Basu rides the Bollywood glam bus of 2009 packed with hot happenings, spicy gossips and half-truths.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: Aishwarya made up with Shah Rukh Khan at Karan Johar's birthday party this year. Things went bitter between the two after SRK replaced Ash with Rani Mukherji in 'Chalte Chalte' in 2003.

Abhishek Bachchan: Bachchan Junior faced a real humiliation at Cannes Film Festival, with the international press running only after his wife and L'Oreal ambassador Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

The ignorance reached the limit, when Abhi was sidelined and asked to wait at the end of the Red Carpet while all lenses were only interested in clicking a solo Ash or with the rest of the L'Oreal team. Later this year, he played father to his real life father Amitabh Bachchan in their home production 'Paa'.

Amisha Patel: This year Amisha decided to go for a live-in relationship with beau Kanav Puri.

Amrita Rao: Amrita dropped her 'behenjee' (sister-like) look and also lots of clothes this year. Fashion designer and her old friend Manish did the makeover of the year. The result: we got a sexy, hot avatar of Amrita, completed with plunging necklines, hot pants and perfect make-up.

Asin: The 'Ghajini' girl surely got lucky this year too. If one Khan (Aamir) gave her a successful break in Bollywood, media buzz said the other Khan (Salman) got the Southern siren a new house in Mumbai. As usual, Asin denied the news and said: “I earn enough to look after myself.”

Ayesha Takia: Ayesha's father-in-law and politician Abu Asim Azmi asked her to wear a 'burkha' (traditional Islam outfit) while campaigning for the Maharashtra Assembly Elections this year. As a result, Ayesha and her restauranteur husband Farhan are moving to a new house.

Bipasha Basu: Bips denied to share screen space with Tabu in Rohit Shetty's 'All the Best'. Bipasha convinced Rohit to have only her in the climax; hearing this, Tabu refused to play a second fiddle to someone like Bips.

Celina Jaitley: 'Hot Bod' Celina got into a verbal war with yoga guru Baba Ramdev over homosexuality. While Ramdev claimed he can 'cure' homosexuality and accused Celina (who works on the rights of homosexuals) of 'knowing nothing about Indian tradition', Celina, in turn, said Ramdev has 'no right' to comment on other people's lives and preferences.

Deepika Padukone: Deepika called off her relationship with Ranbir Kapoor. Both the actors are tight-lipped about the reason behind the break up. Early this year, Deepika came under the fury of Kareena 'Size Zero' Kapoor for playing Saif Ali Khan's lady love in his home production 'Love Aaj Kal'. As it is, Bebo was disheartened as Saifu and director Imtiaz Ali cast Deepika in the film instead of her. Adding to the fire, Deepika left out Bebo from the invitee list at a trial of the film.

Esha Deol: Hema Malini's eldest daughter literally vanished from limelight in 2009. When she made a public appearance at the end of the year, there were speculations that she has undergone a plastic surgery.

Jiah Khan: Jiah dropped in as an 'uninvited guest' at Shah Rukh Khan's wife Gauri's party at Mannat. She was reportedly intoxicated and grabbed every one's attention with her loud ways. Gauri asked her to leave.

Kangna Ranaut: Kangna split with Adhyayan Suman after dating him for over a year. “We both decided to part ways…we want to focus on our career before thinking of other things,” Kangna said.

Kareena Kapoor: Saif Ali Khan said Shahid Kapoor got 'Kaminey' because he rejected it; in turn, Shahid slammed him in public. Kareena intervened between her lover and ex-lover and tried to soothe things down, voicing all praise for Shahid.

Bebo, who had earlier said she will never work with her old flame again, changed her tune this year-“Who said I won't work with Shahid again? I liked his performance in Kaminey.”

Lara Dutta: Lara dumped Kelly Dorjee, only to be ditched by Dino Morea. However, she found some solace in swimming with dolphins underwater in the film 'Blue'. The rest of the calm was restored by late night dinners with married tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi.

Malaika Arora Khan: Malaika continued her tiff with brother-in-law Salman's girlfriend Katrina Kaif this year. She skipped Kat's birthday bash and whenever the two came face-to-face, nothing more than a formal greeting was exchanged between them.

Minissha Lamba: Minissha continued with her 'drop-cloth-and-look sexy' mantra post 'Kidnap'. Though the actor claimed it was not a deliberate transformation, she did over 200 photo sessions in 2009 with the same look.

Neetu Chandra: Neetu grabbed eyeballs after her photo session with model Krishika Gupta for a men's magazine. Social activists put up protests against her for allegedly promoting lesbianism.

Neha Dhupia: Neha Dhupia got upset after she was forcibly smooched by global tycoon Richard Branson while she was shooting for a music channel.

Priyanka Chopra: Piggy Chops got humiliated at IIFA Macau this year while collecting her Best Actress trophy for 'Fashion' by none other than Ashutosh Gowariker. Ashu, prompted by Jaya Bachchan, said: “Priyanka I love you. But I don't know how you got the award when Aishwarya is also nominated for 'Jodha Akbar'.”

Sameera Reddy: Sameera picked up fight and eventually got into a scuffle with security guards of Malaysia Prime Minister during shooting of s South Indian film in Malaysia. “I was wearing a dress and a jacket. So they thought I am a Westerner. That's why they misbehaved,” Sameera said.

Sonam Kapoor: Even after being the new face of L'Oreal, Sonam's dream to walk the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival remained a dream with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan making it clear that she is the face of the international line-up, not the Kapoor lass. As a result, while Sonam went back to her 'Aisha' shoots, Ash sashayed the Cannes Red Carpet.

Sushmita Sen: Sush took her young boyfriend-Mudassar Azis-to meet her parents in Kolkata, giving enough hints that the ex-Miss Universe has finally found her soulmate.

But things went sour this year with the 'Dulha Mil Gaya' director pushing her to get married. According to media buzz, Sush has even driven Aziz out of her Mumbai home.

Farah Khan choreographed a circus-themed lingerie fashion show for the brand Triumph and wowed the celebs who called it a "fabulous" event.

"It was a fabulous show. It was as fabulous as everything Farah does, " Vivek Oberoi told reporters after the show here Thursday.

Katrina Kaif said: "It was a grand night. It was lot of fun. It's not that easy to pull off a show like this in India. You have to do it in a way that every one is happy and comfortable and that's exactly what Farah did."

Akshay Kumar, Twinkle Khanna, Riteish Deshmukh, Namrata Shirodkar, Aftab Shivdasani, Chunkey Pandey, Madhoo, Raveena Tandon, Anil Kapoor, Simi Garewal and tennis players Sania Mirza and Leander Paes too attended the show.

This is the second year when Farah choreographed the lingerie fashion show which is organised by Triumph, the global leader in lingerie.

"The theme is circus so it is a good mixture of entertainment and fashion. It is almost 20 minutes of musical spectacular. The stage has been designed as a circus where you would see fire-eaters, clowns and every other thing that you see in a circus along with the models in lingerie, " Farah told reporters before the show.

Kangana Ranaut is one lucky girl. While most Bollywood hotties are spending millions to get the prefect pout by going under the knife, all Ranaut has to do is eat a certain type of prawn. Rubbishing the rumours about her lip surgery she told a leading daily, "Every time I eats it, my lips swell up to an eminently pout-worthy size."

And while all this happens her stunning face remains as radiant as ever. Try and probe her bit further and she says angrily, "Yeah, you will hear that I’ve got my lips, my b**bs, my a**, all plumped up. But all those people who say that, don’t realise what it is to get such a drastic thing done, especially when you are that young, and don’t even have the time for it.”

And after a pause, she had added, “Though, right now, I don’t know how many tucks and surgeries I will need when I’m old.”

The 22-year-old actress says that balancing controversies, heartbreaks and career has not been an easy ride but insists that she has learnt her lessons. She believes single women shouldn’t be allowed to marry, unless they earn enough to sustain a family.

“Women — teens, single, married, mothers — should fight ill-treatment by the opposite sex then and there, to avoid a similar experience again. In metros girls are very independent, conscious and aware. But in the interiors of our country where education is not given importance, they continue to be oppressed,” she says.

Serious talk from someone who insists she’s too young.

“Well, I’m still too young, you see,” she insists. “I’ve never said I didn’t want to be an actor. I wanted to, but knew it’s not a cakewalk. Acting is not MBBS — there are no textbooks, no written tests that you can sit for, excel in and get a degree. In the film industry, there’s no rulebook. In fact, before an exam, one knows what one has missed reading, and should have known, to get the right marks. Here, you don’t even know if you’re going wrong!”

When she became a known face, there were discussions on how ‘small town girls’ have made it big in B-town, probing her background, her home town in Himachal... “Let people say whatever they wish to. It’s a beautiful place,” she explains.

By: Sumesh Vasishth

Star Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Gauhar Khan, Prem Chopra, Shazahn Padamsee, Mukesh Bhatt, D. Santosh, Naveen Kaushik and Manish Choudhari

Music Director: Salim Merchant, Sulaiman Merchant

Story / Dialogue /Lyrics: Jaideep Sahni

Producer: Aditya Chopra

Director: Shimit Amin

SantaBanta Rating: ***1/2

They say, ‘Show class, have pride, and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself.’ And whoever they are, they're often right.

Like any other business, sales and service fundamentals are no rocket science. All it needs is honesty, dedication and integrity. But the blitzkrieg of cold calls and unsolicited offers on your phone everyday show that these virtues haves been mothballed for good. Poor Harpreet Singh Bedi (Ranbir Kapoor) who has ‘just’ passed his college hasn’t learnt these tricks of the trade yet.

His mark sheet is an embarrassment but that never stopped him from dreaming of an exciting and adventurous career in ‘AYS sales’. He is like an honest professional, who lived in every one of us before those unreasonable deadlines, targets and peer pressure got better of us. Soon, his idea of success begins to clash with the ‘professional’ ways of his colleagues, team leader and the boss.

But Harpreet who has inherited nothing but integrity and a modest scooter from his fuddy-duddy grandpa (Prem Chopra) refuses to give in to this chicanery. Instead he forms his very own, at your service 24x7 Rocket Sales Corp. that works from the AYS premises itself.

With his honesty pep talk he also poaches the ‘best’ AYS talent which includes, his sales shark team leader (Naveen Kaushik), perennial lech techie Giri (D. Santosh), hot customer relations manager Koena (Gauhar Khan) and an office boy Chhote Lal (Mukesh Bhatt) better known as ‘cup-plate’.

Together they restore the idea that business is not just about numbers but it’s about people and when people are happy numbers surge anyway.

As the orders start pouring in and sales sky-rocket, AYS begins to feel the heat. What follows is Harpreet’s conquest over the ideas which AYS boss (Manish Choudhari) considers mainstays of any sales business.

Rocket Singh works fantastically due to Jaideep Sahni’s crisp story and dialogues, Shimit Amin’s taut direction and Ranbir’s pristine performance as he plays the desi Jerry Maguire. As for women, it is Gauhar Khan and not Shazahn Padamsee who steals the limelight. Prem Chopra is delight to watch after a long, long time.

Salim-Sulaiman's music & background score is easy on the ears and never hinders the pace of the story. All in all there is no stopping this Rocket Singh and if you like some uncluttered entertainment you know where to board this flight.

Deepika Padukone had got a tattoo done with ex-boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor’s initials, back when they were dating, on the nape of her neck. She probably regrets it, now that they have broken up after two years of dating.

However, she might have regretted getting it done more than before when some reporters asked her some cheeky questions at a recent event.

As Deepika hasn’t spoken about her relationship since she broke up with Ranbir, the journalists caught the opportunity to bombard her with questions about it at the launch of a skin care product.

They first asked her what she would do with the RK tattoo that she had. When she didn’t answer, they asked her if the brand would come out with a cream to erase tattoos.

She didn’t know what to say to that and simply didn’t answer. They then asked her if she was happy after her break-up. She then shot back saying that of course she was happy- didn’t she look happy?

No more questions were asked after that. As soon as everything was done, Deepika sneaked out of the backstage exit and didn’t interact anymore with the media.