GUESS WHO ?

(Find the answer under Caption Contest) not forgiven his son, although he has been told it was all in jest. Actresses Bipasha Basu and Katrina Kaif were also outraged by the act. Said Neil, “Bipasha rushed to me and said if it was an act then it was really scary. Katrina stormed up to me after the show and told me to apologize to Shah Rukh, at once.” Guess the well-behaved Neil showed Bollywood his mischievous side for once, but the trauma will take a while to go away. Poor Neil!

Juhi Chawla, the still-vivacious diva of yesteryears is hoping that Lady Luck smiles on her team, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the third edition of the Indian Premier League.

“The team management is working very hard both on and off the field and we are confident of doing well. We just need luck,” said Juhi, who co-owns the team. She regretted not being present during the last IPL matches, but admitted, “I could not hold my tears when I saw my team losing even after playing well. With a bit of luck we could have won those matches last season.”

She now intends to attend every KKK match and with Sourav Ganguly back as the skipper, Juhi hopes the local favourite would add zing to the side.

“We are proud of Dada. He has the captain’s luck and he is a fighting cricketer and hope he brings that dash to the team,” Juhi said.

KKR boys will now be seen sporting new purple jerseys. “Going with the luck factor we have changed the black colour of our jerseys to purple and hope that gives us a purple patch,” she said.

So will the colour purple make a difference? Let’s wait and see….

Bipasha Basu and Rocky S have known each other for over a decade and the designer says she looks perfect in a sari, contrary to the popular view that only western outfits suit her. And he went all the way to Kolkata to buy saris for the actress to wear in a forthcoming film.

“People feel that she looks good only in western outfits. That’s not true. She is a very simple girl who looks good in everything. Personally, I feel she looks perfect in a sari because she is a very traditional girl and a sari reflects that trait,” said Rocky in an interview. The actress walked the ramp for him recently in a stunning yellow and beige sari. Rocky is also working with Bipasha in director Priyadarshan’s untitled movie in which the actress plays a middle-class Bengali woman.

“You will see Bipasha in big bindis and beautiful saris. I had to go all the way to Kolkata to purchase saris for her,” he said. “Bipasha is a Bengali girl and she has sharp Bengali features...So my task wasn’t difficult and I didn’t have to do much. But I can tell you one thing that the audience will love her in the movie and this look. She is looking simply beautiful,” Rocky said. He has also designed for the actress in upcoming movie Lamhaa in which she plays a Kashmiri girl. Well, when it comes to beautiful Bips, we have to agree with Rocky…she looks gorgeous in everything!

Acclaimed Bollywood actress Kajol who is married to actor Ajay Devgan for 11 years now, was voted the favourite ‘ (daughter-in law) in a poll conducted by matrimonial site shaadi.com. As part of the International Women’s Day celebrations, shaadi.com conducted a poll in which 250,000 women participated.

In the poll, 43.08 percent women said

Kajol was their favourite Bollywood daughter-in-law. Besides Kajol, others vying for the position were Aishwarya Rai, Gauri Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Malaika Arora, Twinkle Khanna and Kiran Rao.

“The women’s day poll is part of the constant research that shaadi.com conducts in its attempt to gauge the preferences of its members. The results show that today the women are looking to be more independent and are willing to adopt stronger roles in their life. They believe in themselves and aspire to emulate top achievers in their field,” said Gourav Rakshit, business head, shaadi. com.

A good description of Kajol, don’t you think? Wonder if her mum-in-law agrees….

The young protagonist of his film Thanks Maa is a Salman Khan fan and the movie has several posters of the actor as well. Now director Irfan Kamal is very keen that Salman watch his film as he is so important to the theme. “In fact Salman plays a very important role in the film... Shams Patel’s character is a big fan and we see posters of Salman’s films like Tere Naam and Saawariya throughout the film. Considering how important Salman is to the theme, I badly wanted to show my film to him. But he is too busy,” said Irfan ruefully.

The director struggled for more than three years to put together his story of a street kid’s search for an infant’s mother. And his young lead actor won the best child artist National Award for his performance in Thanks Maa

“When I wrote Thanks Maa, the first person I narrated it to was Salman. He was very excited about the film then. I don’t know what happened after that. Salman’s father Salim Khan Saab has seen the film. But not Salman,” the director said. Shams, the lead actor, is a fan of the star in real life and he too wants Salman to watch his film.

“I play Salman’s fan in the film and I’m his biggest fan in real life. I really want him to watch the film,” said Shams. Considering Irfan is the son of legendary choreographer the 1960s and ‘70s dance to his tunes, the least he expected was the bigwigs of the industry to take note of the film. Trying not to sound bitter Irfan said, “I’ve knocked on every A-lister’s door in our industry. Let alone help my small film in reaching out to the audience no-one has even agreed to see my film except Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar and David Dhawan. But it’s ok. I’m not bitter. Of course my father was a very important part of this film industry. But why should I be granted any favours because of my father? I want my film to be judged on its own merits. But for that to happen people have to watch the film,” he added. So get off your high horse, Sallu, and give the flick a break. After all, you’re still the star by proxy.

Akshay Kumar surely knows how to balance his personal and professional life - he used his free time while shooting for new movie Patiala House playing cricket with son Aarav.

“Whenever he had any free time during his shoots he would play cricket and often Aarav would participate in the game. And Aarav would always beat Akshay,” said a source. An expert at martial arts and French sport Parkour, Akshay has also started training Aarav in these.

“Aarav can even climb walls like a pro and can do the somersaults even though he’s just nine years old... In fact, he’s getting better by the day even in martial arts,” added the source.

Directed by Nikhil Advani, Patiala House also stars Anushka Sharma and Rishi Kapoor. Sounds like Aarav’s a real chip off the old Akshay!

Actress-anchor Mandira Bedi’s waist is shrinking by the day and she is looking her fittest ever, but she says she is now ready to “experience the joys of motherhood”.

“Koshish jaari hai (attempts are on),” Mandira, who tied the knot with filmmaker Raj Kaushal in 1999, quipped on being asked about when she is planning to go the family way. “I am totally ready to experience the joys of motherhood and I am mentally geared up for it. In my head, I am ready for it. The sooner it happens, the better,” added the 37-year-old. However, the actress admits that handling a child and managing her professional life simultaneously would not be easy for her as she doesn’t have her family in Mumbai. “It (managing a child) will become a little difficult for me as I don’t have a lot of family support in Mumbai. My parents live in Delhi and my in-laws stay in the US,” she said.

These days, Mandira’s busy with a lot of different projects. “I am doing a lot of theatre. I am involved with two plays - one of them will be staged for the 151st time soon and the other has had three shows,” she said. “Also the cricket season is here, so I am doing corporate shows and I will be associated with the IPL (Indian Premier League) in a way I haven’t been before. I can’t reveal much about it. But yes, IPL will be taking up the next month and a half of my life,” said Mandira.

As for her absence from the Bollywood scene, she said, “Filmmakers don’t know what to do with me. With my short hair, they don’t know whether to cast me as a man or woman. No, jokes apart, they either offer me item numbers or sister’s roles or a lead with some inconspicuous banner - none of which is what I want to do. So I am just waiting and keeping myself busy.”

Well, good luck with your baby making, Mandira, and you can bet a baby will keep you busy, indeed!

Kangana Ranaut and Karan Johar?

Last issue Caption Contest winning entry

What is the chitchat between Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra?

Salman: Hmm nice legs… Priyanka (through clenched teeth and fake smile): Shut up and finish this act so I can go home.

Supriya Menon Supriya wins one free ticket to new Hindi film Teen Patti.

Some other good ones

Salman: Kya mujhse shaadi karogi ?

Priyanka: Better start a hunt for my Duplicate !

Nitin Dang

Salman: Hey Priyanka, this is only professional. Because Katrina is shooting overseas and I have been invited to a strictly couples only party, I am taking you along. After the party, we go our separate ways.

Raj Saneja