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Despite giving a power packed performance in Abbas-Mustan’s ‘Race’, Bipasha Basu was ousted from the Race sequel and the mastermind behind the in and out game is learnt to be none other than the man madly in love, Saif Ali Khan. He is desperate to have Kareena Kapoor instead of Bipasha Basu in the Race 2 and therefore convinced the director duo to rope in Kareena.

Overjoyed Saif revealed that the new Race would be much bigger than the earlier one and he even convinced the producer to sign up Abbas-Mustan again. Some changes are made on the script to make way for Kareena.

Confirming Kareena’s presence, Saif said, "Yes, Kareena will be part of Race 2. We're yet to flesh out the details. But Race 2 has to be bigger and larger than Race. Otherwise no point in making it".

Saif has again miffed his actress, first it was Deepika and now Bipasha. If he keeps on discarding his actress to make way for Bebo, we wonder in future he may not be facing hard time in convincing his heroines.

Saif Ali Khan could not contain the joy of Kareena joining him in the sequel to Race and spilled the beans.

Revealing he has convinced producers to rope in Abbas-Mustan again as directors and Bebo instead of Bips for the second inning of Race, Saif said the new Race would be larger than the previous one.

Well this news surely won’t go down well with the Bengali tigress, who has been slyly written-off the new Race.

We hear Saif was so convinced about the Race magic that he went out of the way to convince the producers to hire Abbas-Mustan again as directors; applauding them for doing a wonderful job on a fast-paced thriller like Race.

Saif also shocked Bipasha by writing her off the Race sequel in favor of his girlfriend Kareena Kapoor. Saif is hoping to make Race 2 bigger and better than the original thriller and has sidelined fuming Bipasha in the name of script demand.

This is not the first time Saif has miffed a reputed actress, his current co-star in Love Aaj Kal Deepika Padukone is also left fuming at Saif who goes on raving about Kareena in all his press meets and promotions for the film. This has irked Deepika to such an extent that she is telling media on how she was the original choice for Love Aaj Kal, director Imtiaz Ali and that she was offered the role before Om Shanti Om happened. Not very professional of Chote Nawaab we say, going around B-Town putting-off leading ladies is surely very ungentlemanly.

By the way, looking at the rate at which Chote Nawab is vexing his leading ladies we feel it won’t be long before he is left with no one else but beloved Bebo to work with

Kareena has never been net savvy. But thanks to fans on social-networking sites, she has decided to get on the net. But just for a while.

This week Kareena plans to give her fans on Facebook, a big surprise.

Kareena plans to get on the networking site for about 30 minutes 'to say hello' to her fans. She may even break her resolve not to become a member of the networking site. And who knows, she may even get over her reservations about starting her own website.

"I've been repeatedly told that I've the maximum number of fans and well-wishers on Facebook. I could never find the time to connect with them. More importantly, I was too shy. I can't bring myself to answer over-specific questions on my activities, where I am, what I do, eat, etc," said Bebo.

It was Saif Ali Khan and director Imtiaz Ali who informed Kareena of the massive fan following she has on Facebook and how imperative it was for her to reach out to those trying to reach out through social networking.

If the latest news is to be believed, the infamous Bollywood love triangle involving Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor will be made into a film. It is said that Spectra Multimedia Films is producing a film tentatively titled The Secret Life of Karina based on the lives of Saif, Kareena and Shahid.

The makers of the film claimed that the film would be made on Rs.20 crores budget. It is inspired by the real life love story of Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan, and would be based mostly on the media reports. It will also include the infamous MMS clip showing Shahid and Kareena kissing. Another incident where Kareena snubbed Saif's sister Soha Ali Khan will be there too.

The makers of the film have cleverly twisted the names of the protagonists as Karina, Saifee and Shaheed to avoid controversies. They also revealed that the Saifee's character in the film would be a mix of Salman Khan and Saif's personalities, with traces of Salman's violent love stories with his ex-girlfriends Somi Ali and Aishwarya Rai (now Aishwarya Bachchan).

The cast of the film is yet to be finalised though its makers are ready to start shooting next month. Actress Shradha Sharma was approached for the role but she turned it down. She said that she doesn't want to offend Kareena Kapoor. Moreover, she is uncomfortable with a particular scene where Shaheed has to cut his wrists for the actress.

However, it looks unlikely that the proposed film The Secret Life of Karina will ever see the light of the day, as making plots out of big stars' real life incidents means inviting trouble.

Salman’s spokesperson Alok Mathur said that the production house would get into real trouble if they openly claim that the character is that of Salman. He added that they are using Salman's name to get publicity. Shahid Kapoor’s spokesperson also said that the news hasn't reached Shahid. He added that he would not be bothered by the news, as all they (producers) want is nothing publicity. However, Saif and Kareena were not available for comment.

It may be recalled that Shahid-Kareena were one of the most-talked-about couples in Bollywood at one point of time. They made their affair public from the very start and didn't shy away from showing their affection even in public, which often landed them in trouble. They went on steadily until Saif entered Kareena's life.

What followed was Kareena dumping Shahid, her boyfriend of over four years, for Saif. She fell in love with Saif while shooting for Tashan. Since then, Shahid has been linked with many actresses including Vidya Balan, Amrita Rao and Priyanka Chopra but he has not made any of his relationships public.

Well, Saif-Katrina-Shahid love triangle would surely make a good film, provided the makers of the film get permission from the persons concerned.

Today is Katrina Kaif's birthday. If you are expecting her to have good time with her boyfriend Salman Khan, you are in for a disappointment. She has left him in the cold in Mumbai.
It seems Katrina is determined to spend her 25th birthday with her family in London and doesn't want a repeat of last year's ugly episode. Sources said that Salman proposed a private party for Katrina on her birthday, which would have guest list of her choice. He tried to convince her till the last minute and promised her that nothing ugly would happen this time around. But Katrina turned down his proposal, leaving him disappointed.

It may be recalled that Salman spoilt Katrina's birthday bash last year. He got into a brawl with Shahrukh Khan while the party was on and spoiled the spirit of the celebration. Katrina seems to be in no mood to take another chance, as she has chosen to keep Salman away from her birthday.

The latest move of Katrina has confused many. She said a few days ago that Salman is a great soul. She added that he has been her teacher and guide all these years but she has left him in her Happy [^] moment. The fact is that she is going to an undisclosed location in Italy with her entire family to celebrate her 25th birthday while Salman slogs in Mumbai for his film Wanted Dead and Alive.

Katrina should let us know her real intention when she returns to Bollywood!

Remember Rakhi and her antics in Big Boss 1 ... well, Palak seems to be following in her footsteps in Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao.
She was seen gossiping with co-contestant Fiza over Shweta Tiwari’s image and clothes in Bhojpuri films ... then referred to Chetan Hansraj as a “sandh (bull)” while he was taking a shower.

Later, she was seen arguing with Akashh Segal to save her newfound friend Fiza and broke down immediately after a heated argument to gain some sympathy! Is she the same boisterous Palak one saw on Roadies or is she trying to put on an act and play the sweet little girl.

Whatever it is, she feels that the best way to de-stress is dance by the river side and unwind ... the viewers sure can be in for a surprise soon with Palak choosing to do a Bo Derek in a swim suit from the sea!

Actor Akshay Kumar believes in letting bygones be bygones. His recent Bollywood movie Kambakkht Ishq was responsible in bringing Akshay Kumar and his ex-flame Pooja Batra together once again.
It is believed that it was Pooja Batra who helped Kambakkht Ishq filmmaker Sabbir Khan to get in touch with Hollywood casting agents. That's how the casting of international actors like Sylvester Stallone, Brandon Routh and Denise Richards came about.

Asin is unamused at media reports that have said that she is an avid meat eater.

“Hello,” says the Southern sensation, who is now a Bollywood hottie. “I do eat meat occasionally but on most days I have a simple vegetarian meal. When I’m home in Kerala, I cherish my fish curry and rice. However, to say I can’t do without meat even for a day is an exaggerated fact. I’m not carnivorous.”

Asin also clarifies that she wasn’t approached by PETA to be their ambassador, so reports that said that they changed their mind about her because they discovered her meat eating habits is also false. “Where do such reports come from?” asks Asin. Well, rumours and rejoinders are a part of the celebrity trail, aren’t they?

Although Saif Ali Khan’s first home production, Love Aaj Kal, stars Deepika Padukone opposite Saif, it is Kareena Kapoor who’s constantly been talked about.

Strangely, it’s not because Kareena has anything to do with the film but because she’s not in the film.

This constant reference to a Rebecca-like presence in Love Aaj Kal has irked Deepika. She has apparently been wondering to her friends if Love Aaj Kal should be dedicated to Kareena.

Confirming the news, Deepika said, “This must be the first film in the history of cinema where a leading lady is being talked about so much for not being in the film. No, I’m not annoyed by these never-ending references to Kareena. When people see the film I know they’ll come out talking about me and my performance. Director Imtiaz Ali was very sure he wanted only me in the film.”

To elaborate her point further, Deepika lets out a secret, “Imtiaz was so sure that he wanted me for the part that he had offered me Love Aaj Kal even before my first film, Om Shanti Om, was released. Even before seeing me on screen, he knew that I was right for the role. So there was no question of any other actress being in the film.”

Deepika’s subtext is loud and clear. Imtiaz discovered her potential long before he discovered Kareena for Jab We Met. “I wanted to work with Imtiaz when I saw his first film Socha Na Tha. As this wide-eyed teenager, I remember seeing the film and wondering who the director was. I remember many years ago when I was a model, Imtiaz had offered me a film. At that time I wasn’t ready for an acting career. In fact when I had told him I wasn’t ready to join films, Imtiaz had said, ‘When you’re ready let me know’. He kept his promise. That’s how I got Love Aaj Kal. So now I’m not affected by people talking more about Kareena than me,” she said.

What about her producer-cum-co-star Saif’s on-record wistful yearnings for Kareena’s presence in Love Aaj Kal?

Deepika said, “Considering Saif is in a relationship with Kareena, isn’t it understandable if he wanted Kareena in Love Aaj Kal? They’ve worked together in the past. And I’m sure he wants to work with her in his home production. As for Kareena, if I was in her place I’d feel the same way. Don’t I want to work with Ranbir?”

Katrina Kaif has six sisters - three older and three younger. She also has a brother, a professional skier and rock climber.

The siblings have been brought up by her mother, a Harvard graduate and successful lawyer, who gave it all up to join a charitable organization. However, while the actress insists that her mom did a fine job, she still misses her dad.

Katrina isn’t in touch with her father. She confessed, “When I see friends who have wonderful fathers who are like pillars of support for their families, I say, if only I had that. But instead of complaining, I should be grateful for all the other things I have.”

Asked if she thinks her father could get back in touch now that she’s a star, Katrina told NDTV’s Walk the Talk, “No, he is not that kind of a man. He is very decent and comes from a good family and they went their own ways because of issues which are personal. He is an affluent person, so he is not going to come back because his daughter is now famous.”
Born in Hong Kong, she says, “My parents separated when we were very young. We were raised by my mother who did a wonderful job. She raised us with the belief and inspiration to find yourself in the world. Live your dreams and find what is going to make you live life freely. She made us tough and she wasn’t the kind of mother who told us to go to college and get a degree and become a doctor or a lawyer. She herself had found her fulfillment in things that were off-beat.”

Katrina Kaif has finally proved her acting credentials with New York and is looking forward to impressing everyone with her Hindi-speaking skills in Prakash Jha’s Rajniti. However, one thing has remained the same — the Salman Khan factor.
The two met through his sister at a party. And while Katrina will not go into the details of their relationship, she is willing to tell us what impressed her in her man. She says, “He has been a wonderful person for the last six years I have known him. He has got a great soul and he is very fearless. He is not afraid of anything and he is not an insecure person. A lot of people live their lives with so much insecurity—fear of rejection, of losing things. But he doesn’t fear. And he tries to teach me that.”
She told NDTV’s Walk the Talk, “He has made his own mistakes in life. In case of other people, he has a great quality of being able to negate all the bad things and flaws and see their potential. For me, he has been a great teacher and a great guide. He has seen me grow up in the last six years. For 18 to 24 is a journey, especially for a young girl. At times, he says you are changing. And I say, I am changing because I am growing. He says, ‘Be careful, don’t change into something that is not good’.”
On why she likes to keep the relationship away from prying eyes, she explained, “You will waste a part of your life answering, denying or clarifying things that don’t matter or are just speculations. I am too much of a sensitive person to have this side of my life debated or to enter and participate in these kinds of debates.”

Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan, who has turned producer with his forthcoming film "Love Aaj Kal", says it was Kareena Kapoor who recommended
Saif
Imtiaz Ali as director for his first production venture.
Kareena had worked with Ali in the successful romantic comedy "Jab We Met".

"Kareena highly recommended Imtiaz when I decided to produce a film. At that time 'Jab We Met' hadn't released. So I met him... it was the script and the way he narrated it to me that really impressed me and we decided to make 'Love aaj Kal'," Saif told reporters here.

"I love the way Imtiaz works. He is amazing," he added.

Saif was in the capital Thursday with his co-star Deepika Padukone and Ali to promote the film that is scheduled for July 31 release.

The film also stars yesteryear hit couple Neetu Singh and Rishi Kapoor along with Rahul Khanna and focuses on relationships in two different eras, showing that the experience of being in love remains the same.

Asked why he decided to venture into production, the 38-year-old said: "I decided to turn producer because I wanted to own the work that is done. I wanted to be more creatively involved in a project apart from just acting in it and take the responsibility. Basically, after working in the industry for so many years, I wanted growth."

So did he change in anyway after taking this step?

"Yes, I have become more conscious of small things now after becoming a producer - I became more conscious about small details during shootings like whether an artist is coming on time or not, production plans are working in close coordination with other, et al," Saif said.

The actor, who is co-producing the film with Dinesh Vijan under their banner Illuminati Films, says it is an unconventional move and will appeal to viewers.

" 'Love Aaj Kal' will appeal to people since it has got very genuine dialogues. It has a certain newness and boldness in character. It is unconventional, yet very commercial," he said.

Filmfare was right, I am convinced that Kareena Kapoor is Bollywood’s most powerful actress, and this has got nothing to do with the box-office success or critical failure of Kambakkht Ishq — her new film and the big release of this year.

This is her first film in 2009, but certainly not her last, she has Main Aur Mrs Khanna with Salman Khan, Kurbaan with Saif Ali Khan and 3 Idiots with Aamir Khan all lined up for October-November. In between, she will be shooting for Agent Vinod and Stepmom, 100 days each from September onwards. Nowadays she reads the scripts (“the whole scripts, twice over”) before accepting a film. “Earlier, I used to give in to temptation, greed, often do the film for a friend. Now I only do it for the role. My role has to be the central part ... or no way,” she told me bluntly.

I was watching her do a photo shoot at Mehboob Studios, effortlessly changing one costume after another, altering her look with hair and makeup, pouting at the camera, making sensual love to it with smouldering eyes. I distracted her with a question: what does power mean to Bollywood’s No. 1 actress? She took it straight off the bat, “Power to me is the fact that I can choose which film I’d like to do, what brand I want to endorse, which show I want to be part of, what role I want to essay ... Power doesn’t mean I can make any film a super hit and every show houseful. I’ve put in ten years of blood and sweat, 18 hours of work a day, just to get here. Lots of films I wanted to do, I was not a part of because nobody approached me. But I went to sleep at night knowing it would happen to me. And I made it happen. I don’t have many people to thank for this. So, I would like audiences to recognise me as an actress today. I’m here to sell talent. And my talent is like a temple. I protect it. I worship it. Today I am on the power list, tomorrow I won’t be, but I will continue the effort. I am a courageous girl, I’ve been brave to take decisions. I’m honest — I don’t hide anything, not my relationship, nor the fact that I want to do path-breaking roles like in Omkara, Chameli and Jab We Met. I want to be known for my body of work. Nothing else matters.”

It is true, I think, nothing seems to matter to this girl; certainly not the power, nor box-office success and failure, the critics’ comments, the competition within the industry for her coveted status as the No. 1 actress... nothing matters but her next role. And she’s using her power to fuel the passion within her for films and to demand more challenging and different roles. “My mother, my sister Karisma, told me not to let it go to my head,” she said. “How can I do that? My career and acting are most important to me. The flame is in my blood, the fire is always burning, it comes across in every photo. Can’t you see that?”

I thought I was, at the photo shoot. But you take a look at her on this page and tell me what you see...

Deepika Padukone, at 23, has a sage word of advice for everyone, from her sister Anisha, a golfer, to Saina Nehwal, badminton player and India’slatest female pin-up sportstar. But she doesn’t want to be called ‘wise’ – she’s just 23, after all, she protests! So ‘23 and unwise’ is cool with her, is it? With a flash of her famous dimple, the actress, who’s going to be in Delhi soon, says, “Not unwise also. I like the fact that I’m a little more mature than the average 23-year-old. As long as I don’t sound like a 50-year-old, it’s fine.”

So what is her advice for Saina, who recently clinched a win over the higher-ranked Chinese player Lin Wang in Jakarta? Deepika, who’s played badminton herself, thanks to Prakash Padukone, her father, says, “I watched that game. Saina played brilliantly. I could see the exhaustion on that other girl’s face. Even Saina was tired, but I guess she was a little better than the other girl and she truly deserves it. My father has devoted his life to badminton and Saina’s achievement is his achievement too. My only advice to Saina is not to lose her head over endorsements, film offers and all the media attention. She should remember that all that’s coming to her because of what she is, and she is, first and foremost, a good badminton player,” she says.

She repeats that – that she doesn’t want Saina to get carried away. Does she think that that is the trend with young sports personalities? “Some of them, yes. I won’t take names. But there are people who do get swayed by the sudden overnight attention and somewhere, they forget what their main purpose in life is. Sometimes the money is great, but that should not sway you. I’m doing my endorsements because of what I primarily do, which is films,” she adds.

So her work is going great guns – but what about her personal life? Has she found ‘true love’ in Ranbir Kapoor? “Of course, and that’s why we’re comfortable talking about each other, because we’re sure of what we’ve gotten into. I do not give away too many details because that means being unfair to him and the relationship. But I give the relationship respect by at least accepting and admitting the fact that we’re together. Even that wasn’t a conscious decision, it just felt right. We started seeing each other, people asked us and we said ‘Yes’. We don’t think about what we have to say,” says Deepika.

Despite all that attention, Deepika is pleasantly surprised at the number of people who know her. While she was in Kochi shooting for Karthik Calling Karthik with Farhan Akhtar, she narrates, a large group of students came to their film’s sets. “Many of them didn’t even understand Hindi, but it was nice to know that they made the effort to figure it out. It was humbling to know that they’re aware of my existence. We got a lot of recognition. The people there sang songs from my films and called me Shantipriya (her character in Om Shanti Om) and also sang Farhan’s songs from Rock On!!,” Deepika says.

Doing love scenes with Kareena for Rensil d’Silva’s film was not as easy as Saif would have thought.
How far to go with the comfort level? That was Saif’s dilemma.Though they’ve acted together in J.P Dutta’s LOC and Yashraj Films’ Tashan, Saif Ali Khan had so far not done intimate scenes with his lady love Kareena.

But in Rensil d’Silva’s film which he insists on calling Jehad, Saif finally gets up close and personal with the love of his life. Says Saif, “It’s a love story. A very passionate story with a relevant and disturbing theme. And yes there’re kissing scenes. See, Rensil is shooting a very real and contemporary film. We can’t have flowers touching one another to show intimacy. At the same time we wouldn’t do anything that would make us squirm while watching the film with our parents. Yes, there’re scenes of kissing and intimacy which have been done tastefully and within the limits of decorum.”

Saif says he had to be constantly conscious of the fact that it was the woman he loved he was making love to on screen. “Obviously having her as my co-star made it easier to be intimate. And it would be the easiest thing in the world for me to say I’ve done intimate scenes with other co-stars and doing them with Kareena was the same. But that won’t be true. Having her with me made me feel more responsible. I didn’t want to end showing off my relationship by accentuating the intimacy. So it was a double-edged sword. At the end of the day we’re all actors. But this was different. If we had to do the same scenes with other
co-stars we may not have been as comfortable.Yes. Definitely I was more comfortable sharing intimacy with Kareena on screen than I was with other actors.”

Considering the film belongs more to Saif, is he happy to see Kareena take the backseat? “It’s hard to say whose film it is. It’s her movie as much as mine. Hers is a great role with great dramatic potential.”

Now having completed Rensil’s film Saif and Kareena are off on their mysterious holiday. “We’re flying out of New York this week, stopping over at London, a city we both love for a few days and then we’re in Italy for our holiday. ... Yeah one likes to be a bit private about the holidays. But then in this day age nothing is private. And I’m not Johnny Depp to have stalkers following me to my holiday. I don’t think Indians fans are that obsessive. And if
some Indian fan follows us to Italy he should be applauded for his resilience.”

Meet the newest gal pals in Bollywood — Sonam Kapoor and Amrita Rao.
The two young actresses have apparently bonded really well. In fact, we hear that the two spend a lot of time together, indulging in typically girlie activities like shopping, spa visits, partying and gyming. Recently the two girls went on a shopping spree at a popular designer’s store and literally ransacked the place.

That’s not all. The two will soon be hiring the services of the same fitness instructor. Papa Anil, who’s happy with this new friendship, treated the girls to a dinner at his home. Sonam is keen to act with Amrita and has in fact, asked papa dearest to cast them together, we hear. Dosti ho toh aisi!

Frontal nudity is still a taboo for mainstream actors. But Bollywood is slowly warming up to the trend. Recently, Irrfan Khan came close to baring all for a lovemaking scene in Hissss.
Irrfan said, “I had absolutely no problem when my director Jennifer Lynch said I would have to take off all my clothes for a lovemaking scene with Divya Dutta, who plays my wife. But I suddenly thought that Indian couples make love with their clothes on and I conveyed the same to Jennifer.”

Jennifer, of course, took the news with a heavy dose of incredulity. “She asked me how people can have sex without taking their clothes off. And then, I gave her a demonstration. I told her about my scene with Tabu in The Namesake. That was some violent lovemaking, with our clothes on. Jennifer was fascinated, but unconvinced,” added Irrfan.

Irrfan then thought of a new plan. He reasoned that he plays an orthodox Brahmin whose mother-in-law has a habit of walking into his bedroom unannounced. “Given the circumstances, my character and his wife would hardly be expected to take off their clothes. And that convinced Jennifer,” said Irrfan.

Irrfan and Divya Dutta finally had sex for the camera with their clothes on. Irrfan said laughingly, “The most relieved was Divya. She was waiting with bated breath to see if I could manage to convince Jennifer. Once everything was sorted out, our lovemaking scene lasted for about an hour.”

he Little Godfather, Ekta Kapoor and Sunil Shetty’s fourth co-production is 80 per cent complete, but has come to a premature halt.