STARS BEHAVING BADLY

We regularly hear of celebrities misbehaving in public. Now comedian-actor Kapil Sharma, thesimple guy who started small, has recently joined this club.

Kapil'smid-airstoush withSunil Grover, his loyal lieutenant, made headlines in India for days.

Of course he took to social media to first deny the whole thing and then to say it wasbut a littlematter ("itna to cha/ta hai"), and then to openly groveland profess undying love.

Really, Kapil?

Of course Grover would havenone of it and gave thestar a piece of his own mind, andjust as publicly.

Seems like he has no intention to support Kapil's desperate attempt to cover up his brat-like behaviour. But his "no-press" rule, and that of his colleagues who also protested silently, definitely raised their stature in the eyes of all.

Sourcessay Kapil's change of heart came from the intervention of his channel Sony TV's top brass, who would not like to see ratings drop if Grover quits. Others say fans turned on Kapil for his bad behaviour.

Perhaps both are true. But one thing's for sure - yup, Kapil Sharma is the industry's newest brat.

#HITBACK

Girls should fight back if harassed, say actors Taapsee Pannu and Akshay Kumar, stars of the upcoming Naam Shabana.

"In our country, I believe, girlsshould not have to learn martial arts or selfdefence becauseI feel they should be free to walk anywhere, anytime, anyplace,"Akshay said recently. "But unfortunately, because of some (bad elements), they have to learn selfdefence."

Akshay Kumar runs a school in Mumbai for women's self-defence and wants to launch another in Delhi soon.

His colleagueTaapsee felt it is important for girls to be unapologetic about how they dress and the lifestyle they lead.

Associated with #HitBack, Culture Machine's latest video in the Unblushedseries,Taapsee is known for playing powerful characters in films likeBaby and Pink. Women should take responsibility for their own safety and learn the act of self-defence, Taapsee has said on many occasions.

Her character inBaby resulted in its spin-off Naam Shabana, produced by Pandey and directed by Shivam Nair and releasing on March 31.

As a promotionalstep for the film, an action spy-thriller,Akshay andTaapsee have also released on social media a video teachingself-defence techniques to girls.

WEIGHTY ISSUES: RANBIR KAPOOR

Bollywood heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor, who is reprisingSanjay Dutt in a Hindi biopic on the controversial actor's life, looks heavier than usual these days.

The as yet untitled film, being directed by Rajkumar Hirani, is said to portray seven different phases of troubled actor Sanjay Dutt's life, starting from when he was all of 22.

The proverbial silver spoon, a stellar launch to a film career, then family tragedy, drugs, broken relationships galore, and ultimately jail - there must be some of these aspects from Sanjay's life that poor little rich boy Ranbir can himself identify with?

"It has been an inspiring journey for me to be playing Sanjay Dutt for the silver screen. I have never put on so much weight before and now plan to reduce some weight for the next phase of shooting," Ranbir said at a recent press conference.

Weight is a congenital problem in your family, Ranbir, so we know where you're headed in your middle age but the real weighty issue we want clarification on, is what the hell where you doing in that distressing video conversation with Mahira Khan?!

Superhero Of A Different Kind

Superman, Batman Pad Man. Yup, sanitary pad man.

Akshay Kumar's new film, called Pad Man, isproduced by his glamorous writer wife Twinkle Khanna,

It is based on the real life story of Arunachalam Muruganantham, an entrepreneur who found a way to make cheap, affordablesanitary napkins for women in his village. He scored much media attention the world over for turning women s lives around in rural India.

Hisstory isone of the many real-life stories that forms Twinkle's acclaimed second book, The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad.

Twinklesaysshe is proud of being associated with a movie that brings the spotlight on a "shamed"subject like menstruation.

The shoot of the film got underway this month in Indore. The movie stars Akshay Kumar in the lead role, with Radhika Apte featuring as his wife.It is being directed by R. Balakrishnan, better known as R. Balki.

Mr Muruganantham was himself present to see the film kick off.

PREMATURE BABY? DON'T LOSE HEART: KJO

Filmmaker KaranJohar,whose surrogate children Roohi and Yash were born almost 10 weeks before full term, saysthosewho have premature babies must not get discouraged. Hesays with right kind of care, they canbenurtured towardsnormal growth.

Karan recently become a father of twins viasurrogacy.The children have been under the care of Bhupendra Avasthi, Director, Surya Mother & Child Hospital, and Karan says they are "both on their way to a happy and healthy childhood".

Now assomeonewith a voice, he wants to reach out to people about the virtues ofneonatalintensive care for premature children.

Karan said, "Millions of preemies are born every year but babies are resilient. With theright kind ofcare, they standjust as good a chance ofsurvival as anyone else."

Karan revealed his children were born

"worryingly underweight".

"My heart sank... Knowing that there were comp ications with my babies' birth owing to how soon it was, I was terrifed. All I wanted to do was holdthem and protect them but theyneededto be in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). It was painfulto see how tiny they were."

Thefilmmaker, known for his family dramas, has thankedthe legal and medicalteams for being h s "strength and spine" duringthe process.

Karan's post has come in support ofSurya Hospital's #SavePreemies campaign

A celebrity's effort to highlight an issue can make a difference, says Avasthi.

"India needs many more NICU units for its 'preemies' where they cansurvive the first few days, weeks or months of life until they are strong enough to make it on their own," he added.

ALIA BHATT: STUPID, OR SMART?

Alia Bhatt says she would rather be stupid than pretend to be smart and intelligent

Social media had a field day when

Alia famously drew a blank when asked to name the President of India on a TV show not so long ago.

"A lot of energy is consumed in pretending to the world that you know it all," the 24-year-old said recently.

"If you preserve this energy, you can use it to learn True knowledge in acquired by being on the threshold of ignorance."

The Udta Punjab actor says it would bother her if there are no jokes at her expense.

"When the jokes on me stop coming, I'll be upset. If I am crossing your mind at any point of the day, I am relevant. So why I should be upset? My father says one day, the flowers will stop coming and you'll be upset. I say one day, the jokes will stop coming, and then I'll be upset," she said.

Hmm. Smart.

ON HAPPY MARRIAGES: KJO

Filmmaker Karan Johar says he would be shocked and surprised if he comes across a "happy marriage" in the film industry.

"A happy marriage in the industry would really jolt me. I'd be like, 'You're a dinosaur get out of here' " he says. Besides being a successful director, producer and writer the 44-year-old is the son of acclaimed late producer Yash Johar He is known to be the ultimate insider to the industry

For him to make a comment like this, it really makes you wonder about all those seemingly happily married couples in Bollywood.

WHO WORE IT � BETTER?

MALAIKA ARORA

KHAN or GIULIANA

RANCIC in AZZO AND OSTA

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WORTH WAITING FOR: VIDYA BALAN'S BEGUM

JAAN

The more we hear about forthcoming period drama Begum Jaan, the more we want to see it

Costumes are bound to be interesting one would guess. Designer Rick Roy has revealed that National

Award winning actor Vidya Balan donned un-ironed outfits, to bring authenticity to her role as brother owner

"Vidya had 40 changes (outfits) for thefilm None of the clothes she wore were ironed It was her idea to dip wash the clothes and skip the ironing part This ensured her clothes looked worn and added to the authenticity

Nobody's clothes were ironed in the film," Roy said recently

"They were dyed in vegetable dyes, so that gives that muted, earthy shade," he added

The film is a story of survival set against the backdrop of the country's Partition in 1947 It is a Hindi adaptation of National Award winner Srijit Mukherji's critically-acclaimed

Bengali outing Rajkahini.

What Tweety Bird Told Us This Week

Match the following stars to the tweets below:

Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar, Akshay Kumar Anushka Sharma Bhoot hoon! Apni superpowers use karke Mannat mein ghus toh gayi! Pata hai wahan kya hua? #ShashiWasThere

Thank you for all the crazy love we have got this season for our stimulating cups of koffee!!!

Actors go for roles with possibility

Instead an actor should choose the impossible & give it his/her best even if it means to fail trying it

Embarking on a new journey, this time with the Mrs. First day of @ mrsfunnybones' #Padman directed by R. Balki, need ur love & luck as always

What's the chitchat between PRIYANKA CHOPRA and JIMMY FALLON?

Send in your responsesto win@indianlink.com.au and win a movie pass

What's the chitchat between KARAN JOHAR and ALIA BHATT?

KARAN: This one's my pretend child, but I've now gottwo real ones back home!

SHALEEN GILHOTRA Cromer NSW

Shaleen wins a ticketto Hindi film Badrinath Ki Dulhania