Slapgate saga

SHIRISH KUNDER-FARAH

KHAN

Naturally, the press aren’t ready to let the story rest, particularly as Bollywood’s last most exciting event was the birth of the Bachchan beti. And let’s face it, of late Bollywood’s become milder and milder, with hardly any masala to keep its fans happy. Live-ins are no longer hot news, who’s dating whom has become boring, so now that ‘slapgate’ has come on the scene, would you blame them if they milk it for all that its worth? Rumours have also been doing the rounds that SRK and wife Gauri are going through a rough patch, with a shadow of Priyanka Chopra in the backdrop.

While the Farah Khan camp displayed signs of increasing hysteria when the story broke, SRK however, is mum about what happened, simply saying that the reportage had affected his 14-year-old son and 11-and-a-half year old daughter. “Lots of things are being said about my life on news channels but they are not the whole truth. This is embarrassing at times,” confessed SRK recently. “It becomes embarrassing as a father, as a brother or as elder son of the family, to explain about what is being stated,” he added, somewhat sheepishly.

Breaking news on the story is that the protagonists patched up after the event with Shirish, Farah, Sajid and producer Nadiadwala meeting Shah Rukh at his home. Naturally, after the patch up, Shirish has been crowing that their friendship has become stronger than ever. However, public opinion is strongly with SRK, perhaps because he has turned out to be, after all, human enough to be provoked, as any of us. Guess if we want to know the truth, we’ll have to wait for the next Farah Khan blockbuster!

Netas-Abhinetas at riteishGenelia wedding

Bollywood buzzed as actors Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza tied the knot in a lavish traditional Maharashtrianstyle ceremony, attended by the crème de la crème of the industry and politics. It wasn’t surprising as the couple are popular in Bollywood, and Riteish happens to be the younger son of former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. Genelia, who belongs to a Mangalorean Catholic family, looked ravishing in a red-golden Nav-vari (nine

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, along with his wife, and Minister for Public Works and Tourism Chhagan Bhujbal too attended.

In respect for the bride’s religious beliefs, Riteish and Genelia married for the second time in a Catholic wedding ceremony held in the Bandra Church in Mumbai. Genelia looked ravishingly ethnic in a white gown, Riteish wore a formal black suit and a bow tie, and was accompanied by good buddy filmmaker Karan Johar, who stood in as his best man. It was a relatively low-key affair, but the reception that followed at the Grand Hyatt was a mega affair with the best of Bollywood and politics gathering to wish the happy couple.

Riteish and Genelia first met while shooting for their debut film Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2003, and have been a couple for ages, but only disclosed their relationship last year.

Post-marriage, they have a new release coming up titled, Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya. Here’s wishing the happy couple a joyous life together.

Imran: A man of many talents!

First it was acting, then photography and now Imran Khan’s taking a stab at journalism, offering the scribes tips, the most memorable being that a good interview should be like a good conversation instead of being an “exam sheet”.

“Most journalists have an exam sheet which comprises - what is your favourite colour, your favourite holiday destination, what you like to do in your free time. This is not an interview, this is a questionnaire. I feel to make a good interview, be it print, radio or TV, it has to be a conversation. Fifty percent of the job is yours, half the job is mine. That is how you make a good interview,” said the somewhat smug 29-year-old actor recently.

Imran also revealed that if the opportunity came his way, he would love to interview actor Salman Khan who, according to him, rarely opens up. The hunky and talented actor is also a mean photographer, displaying shots he took of co-star Kareena Kapoor during the shoot of Ek Main Aur Ek Tu. With the help of on-set photographer Amin Ahuja, Imran made quite an impact with his shots. Kareena was completely flattered looking at her pictures saying, “I think it’s the first time ever one of my co-stars has clicked beautiful pictures of me. So, thank you Imran!”

The pair will be seen on screen soon in Ek Main aur Ek Tu, also starring Boman Irani, Ram Kapoor and Ratna Pathak Shah.

So what’s next on Imran’s agenda? Keep watching this space…

Vidya: Smart about her love life!

Some actors wear their love lives on their sleeves, making no bones about who they are dating. And there are others who vehemently deny seeing their love interests, often hiding behind the clichéd guise of ‘good friends’. In Vidya Balan, Bollywood seems to have stumbled upon a third category which is somewhere in between. While we’re all for the adage pyar kiya toh darna kya and give a thumbs-up to actors who are open about their love lives, one must admit that there’s a certain grace and dignity in Vidya’s unique approach of handling her relationship in the public eye.

At the ceremony of the recently concluded Zee Cine Awards 2012 in Macau, Vidya, who has been on a welldeserved winning spree at all awards shows this year, clinched a trophy. During her acceptance speech, after thanking everyone else, she spoke of the two new connections in her life that have proved to be her good luck charms. She thanked her young niece and nephew whose very presence in her life has brought the awards pouring in. Then she went on to thank that “special someone in her life who makes every day worth living” - clearly a reference to beau Siddharth Roy Kapoor without actually spelling out his name. So Vidya is in a slot of her own - a breed of actors who believe in acknowledging the existence of a love life without the compulsion of shouting out the partner’s name from rooftops. Smart!

Milkha will be the master

He’s a legend in his own right, so when athlete Milkha Singh advises Farhan Akhtar on recreating his life on screen, the young actor had better be paying attention. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s most ambitious project Bhaag Milkha Bhaag starring Farhan, is set to go to the floors soon, and Milkha Singh will be the key consultant to the project. The Olympian sprinter will be present on the location when special scenes of his life

“Milkha Singh wants Rakeysh Mehra’s film to portray him as realistically as possible. He has told the team he will make himself available throughout the making of the film,” said a source close

And that’s not all. Milkha will also participate in a series of events being organised until the film is released. Farhan and Milkha are due to also make a public appearance together at a huge promotional event in

“The idea is to let the real and reel Milkha get to know each other really well. Sure, they’ve met. But so far their interaction was limited. They now need to know one another closely,” said

“Milkha is expected to spend large part of this year away from Punjab in Mumbai with Farhan, director Rakeysh Mehra and the Bhaag Milkha Bhaag team,” the source added.

Well, let’s hope Farhan can keep up with the running.

Kareena lauds maestro Aamir

Kareena Kapoor, who has worked in umpteen movies and is the acknowledged queen of Bollywood is astonishingly impressed with none other than Aamir khan. Although the versatile actor has earlier worked with Aamir, she will now be seen with his nephew Imran Khan in Ek Main Aur Ek and she feels Aamir is the maestro of the film industry.

“Aamir’s body of work is unbelievable. He is the maestro of the industry and Imran is just starting out. Working with Imran is a lot of fun. I think he is a marvellous actor and I hope we get to work together in the future too,” the 31-year-old actress said, and judging by her success, she should know!

Kareena is ready with her next two films Ek Main Aur EK Tu and Agent Vinod in which she stars with longtime boyfriend Saif Ali Khan.

“Right now, Ek Main Aur Ek Tu is in the priority. Agent Vinod is like an

I’ve got my Hollywood break!!! I’m playing Shrek in the new Shrek movie.

Krutika Ambalal (Crows Nest NSW)

Some other good ones:

Sanju: “Manyata, please tell the kids it’s only me, there’s no need to get scared. Oh alright, I’ll come home with a wig!” Jaspreet Kaur

Sanju (looking at himself in mirror): Aaayi laa, Mamu !! Meri to watt lag gayi! Sunil Kumar

Sanju: Saala comedy karte karte yeh bhool gaya hoon ke khalnayak ka role kaise kare. Manivel Sahayam action thriller and you know... let Saif do the talking, he’s been out for the media for a while. You enjoy him for a while and may be I will step in before the film releases,” she said to reporters recently.

Wonder what Saif thinks of his bossy bride-to-be?