But, I was rooting for the Kings XI, as I am from Punjab,” he says. “Sometime ago, I had gone to a restaurant and spotted Yuvraj there and in the rush of the moment I went up to him and just hugged him. I conversed with him in Punjabi, introduced myself and also discussed some places in Chandigarh,” says Karan. Another trait of Karan that a lot of people aren’t aware about is that he’s a big-time prankster. He narrates an incident when a played a trick on a new assistant. “She was in charge of the continuity of the shot so I went up to her and asked her if it’s okay to wear a different outfit. She gave me a go ahead.

It was only after the shot was done that I started shouting loudly saying that the continuity was lost and we will have to re-shoot. She was almost on the verge of tears, when I told her that I was only kidding!” Well, the actor has had some embarrassing moments on the sets too. Once while shooting in Andheri, Karan stepped out of the vanity van and fell straight into a manhole! Karan is half-Punjabi, half-Malayalee. And while he insists he isn’t seeing anyone, he reveals his idea of a dream woman.

“Someone who is intelligent, caring and with whom I can have a good conversation. I keep having crushes, but it’s nothing serious. But yes, I do have a big crush on Priyanka Chopra,” he says. And what is the most romantic gesture he has done for a girl he likes? “I flew back from the U.S, where I was studying, to spend Valentine’s day with my girl.”

Such was her popularity abroad that all the shows were houseful and the organisers have booked her for world tours there itself. She has a number of world tours coming up in the future.
Meghna is rockin

The show will be hosted by SRK’s good friend Farah Khan, who is also the co producer on the show. Called Tere Mere Beech Mein, the show will apparently feature Salman as the first guest. He hasn’t shot for it as yet but is expected to do so sometime next month. Two episodes featuring John Abraham and Yuvraj Singh have already been canned. The show is expected to be aired on Star Plus from August onwards.

So, is Salman going over to the enemy’s side? Recently when Salman was asked if SRK would be invited as guest in the second season of his show, Dus Ka Dum, he chose to evade a direct answer and instead said that all would be invited. Well, maybe SRK may soon be seen making an appearance on Dus Ka Dum. All is possible in this topsy turvy world of showbiz, where there are no permanent friends or foes.

The show will be hosted by SRK’s good friend Farah Khan, who is also the co producer on the show. Called Tere Mere Beech Mein, the show will apparently feature Salman as the first guest. He hasn’t shot for it as yet but is expected to do so sometime next month. Two episodes featuring John Abraham and Yuvraj Singh have already been canned. The show is expected to be aired on Star Plus from August onwards.

So, is Salman going over to the enemy’s side? Recently when Salman was asked if SRK would be invited as guest in the second season of his show, Dus Ka Dum, he chose to evade a direct answer and instead said that all would be invited. Well, maybe SRK may soon be seen making an appearance on Dus Ka Dum. All is possible in this topsy turvy world of showbiz, where there are no permanent friends or foes.

The move comes after producers, UTV Motion Pictures, refused to green light a budget of Rs 40 crore for the film, saying the recession would entail a significant budget cut.

Deepa wanted the rest of her cast (most of which were theatre actors) to bond closely, so that when PZ joined them she would feel slightly out-of-place. Talk about getting into the skin of the character. The protagonist of the story is a woman who gets married to a man living in Toronto and moves in with his family there. So, Deepa wanted Preity to portray a natural sense of feeling like an outsiders amongst strangers. Good job, Deepa. Though knowing our all-time bubbly babe… you can guess who felt more alien amongst them all. Not our PZ for sure!

What’s the most special thing that you do for Barbara in the film Kites?
I make her laugh… I can’t divulge anything else as the most special thing I do for her will give away the story.

Are you anxious about Kites which has an international version and an Indian version?
It is a story about an Indian boy and a Spanish girl, so there’s a smattering of Spanish and also English and of course, Hindi. I am very excited about Kites…it’s like my launch film all over again. It is not a very verbose film, so it will be very easy to understand.

Since it is a multilingual film, could it be a stepping-stone to international projects?
Yes, it is an appropriate vehicle to make an international foray. At present there are a lot of opportunities for Indian actors that could be explored but nothing specific that one could talk about at this point.

There have been reports of great on-screen chemistry with Barbara Mori. How did you bring that about because she’s a Mexican actor with different sensibilities and approach to acting…
The sources of chemistry are the script and director. In Jodhaa Akbar and Dhoom:2, a lot was said about the chemistry between Aishwarya and me -the point is that two competent actors can do justice to the chemistry. If it’s there in the script, it will be there.

What are you doing for Suzanne this Valentine? How are you juggling fatherhood with films and stardom?
Actually, I will be shooting, so I hope Suzanne can make it to the sets so that we can spend time together. As for fatherhood, I don’t have to juggle at all—everything has just fallen in place. When there is love, one doesn’t have to make an effort, I guess.

There have been films earlier with female foreign actors, so what’s different about Barbara in the film Kites?
In Kites, Barbara is not just playing a character, she is the protagonist. The story revolves around her.

Which directors would you like to work with in time to come?
It really depends on the script, but apart from that I would love to work with Ashutosh Gowariker again and yes, Anurag Basu too.

Your cameo in Luck By Chance was a departure from the kind of roles that you do.
Yes I am very happy for Zoya and Farhan. I was anxious about doing the film because it wasn’t the usual role that I do, but I am glad that I did it.

Which is your next film?
After Kites, I start shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next.

What’s going to be different in your forthcoming films?
After each film, I want to do something different. Perhaps it is there in my subconscious and therefore it happens every time. So after Jodhaa Akbar I was doing Kites which is very different from all that I have done before and now there will be Mr Bhansali’s film.

“I had originally planned to start a special sports school in memory of my father, but then I put off that idea due to lack of funds. However, determined about starting something sports-related, I chose to get into the IPL.” revealed the dimpled actress,

She further stated, “My father was very interested in sports. In Northern India, he used to organize the Durganand Zinta Football Tournament. He used to sponsor poor children who were interested in sports. After his death, I decided to start a school that pays special attention to sports. It was to be a huge project. But I didn’t have the resources to start it just yet. So I put that dream on hold. And thought to myself, ‘Why not get into the IPL?’. I’d been hearing a lot about it. And that’s how it happened.”

Amrita’s wedding outfit is an exquisite white confection of silk, satin and lace with diamantes and Swarovski crystals. Shakeel has two outfits (a suit and a sherwani designed by Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra who are also designing Amrita’s lehenga. Her mehendi outfit will be designed by Manish Malhotra. In sharp contrast, Ayesha’s wedding to longtime hotelier beau Farhan Azmi is a small,exclusive affair attended by close family members. The wedding will take place in Mumbai. Ayesha is shopping for her trousseu.

Fashion designer Nikhil Mehra who’s designed an elaborate bubblegum pink lehenga for Amrita’s nikaah says, “It’s very exciting to design for star weddings since they have a good budget and it gives us a chance to experiment with our creativity. For Amu we’ve designed something very funky.” Ayesha might not want to “talk about” her wedding yet, but beau Farhan who feels it’s too personal to be spoken about in the media right now, “but we will definitely announce the details soon.” So,will Ayesha continue working after marriage? She’s not taken on new films, we hear! Farhan clears the air, “If she wants to continue working in films after marriage, it will be her call entirely.”

Considering Bollywood has opened up to married actors who are now playing plum roles in films/television (Sonali Bendre, Juhi Chawla, Raveena Tandon, Madhuri Dixit and Mahima Chaudhry) what do our other eligible headturners who are ‘officially single’ feel about marriage? Says actor Hrishitaa Bhatt, dispelling rumours of her marriage which have been floating around for a while, “I’d love to get married, but not now.” Sultry Lara Dutta who’s being linked with actor Dino Morea feels it’s “nice” to have a “special friend who’ll do anything for you,” but one has to be “emotionally and mentally happy before you get married.” Something that actor Kareena Kapoor agrees to: “I’m not getting married for five years.” Even while glam girls, Preity Zinta, Shilpa Shetty, Amisha Patel and Sushmita Sen claim that they have lots of professional highs to reach before they get married, the speculation continues. After all, everyone loves a good ‘fairytale wedding’. Even in Bollywood.

Preity’s father was also known to sponsor poor children who were interested in sports. After the death of her father, Preity wanted to start a big sports school. But lack of funds forced her to put off the project. She is now making it up in a way by joining the Premier League and playing an active role in sponsoring the Kings XI Punjab team.