Our blog cannot seem to have enough of the gorgeous Kareena Kapoor who is growing from strength to strength as she occupies the No.1 Status with series of big banner films in her kitty.

Kareena is now on course to set the record books on fire as she is to become the ‘only’ actress in the new generation of actresses to share screen space with the 3 biggest ‘Khan’s in the industry..

She has already worked with Salman and Shahrukh and now the actress is set to complete the circle after signing a film opposite Aamir Khan! The film to be directed by ‘Munnabhai’ series director Raju Hirani, will have Aamir-Kareena jodi sizzle on screen.

With a series of films like ‘Tashan‘ with Yashraj, ‘Agent Vinod’ with Saif, ‘Golmaal returns’ with Ajay Devgan, ‘Kambakth Ishq’ with Akshay Kumar, a film with John Abraham and a film with Karan Johar production, Kareena is surely the Number 1 Actress in Bollywood at present.

Holding the tag of being the highest paid actress in Bollywood, Kareena has also dominated the Award Season this year, with Star Screen, Stardust and Filmfare awards placed in her Trophy stand. Good going, Kareena!

A consecutive seventh year of GR8 Women Achievers Awards, held at the ITC Grand Maratha, Mumbai, on 26th Feb, felicitated 25 of top women achievers coming from different fields for the contribution to their respective professions.

This award is quoted to be the most prestigious one, as it covers 25 different categories and the awardees are the masters in their field viz, Literature, Music, Television, Sports, Social Service, Journalism, Film, Business and many more.

This year the event turned out to be a dazzling one with the list of awardees and the guest list as simply outstanding. Many celebrities made the occasion more auspicious where Priety Zinta, Yash Chopra, Hrithik Roshan, Nita Ambani, Ness Wadia, Aruna Irani added much more enthusiasm, and where celebs like Anu Malik, Ness Wadia, Madhur Bhandarkar, Peenaz Masani, Bappi Lahiri, Kashmera- Krushna, Yookta Mukhi, Yash Chopra and many many more shared their opinions differently.

Maharani Gayatri Devi (Life Time Achievement), Anita Ratnam (Dance), Sunidhi Chauhan (Music), Waheeda Rehman (Cinema), Pallavi Shroff (Law), Dr Suman Sahai (Science) turned the list of awardees to be the prestigious one.

Once again absence of Aamir Khan in 53rd film fare award despite his movie ‘Taare Zameen Par’ swept the Best director and Best Picture Award. He in an interview to timesonline told a year back, “Indian film awards lack credibility, that’s why I do not attend them,” when his movie Rang De Basanti was nominated in the Best Foreign Film Category in London at Baftas.

The charges made by Aamir Khan as far as appears to be true as Bollywood has as many as six film award functions promoted by gossip magazines and the winners happens to be the best friends of organizers and events charged to be been as rigged ones.

But there is running some deep undercurrent as co- hoste Shah Rukh Khan’s two nominated movies Chak De! India and Om Shanti Om did not receive the awards and it seems that Filmfare is mending bridges as Aamir don’t like the current editor of the magazine.

Shah Rukh is now in strong frame of mind to act in an Indian Version of ‘Spiderman’ as a gift to his son Aryan who is a big FX and SRK fan.  And for the most movie of the Bollywood to the date Shah Rukh has signed up with the director Anubhav Sinha and two are in the process of writing script for Indian superhero.

As Sinha declined from telling anything more about the movie, however, there is hunt on for 12 year old boy who will co-star with the actor. About Shah Rukh assigning him for the task he said, “I’m surprised at how accessible Shah Rukh is for me. I always thought that he likes to work with directors with whom he has a certain comfort level. Shah Rukh didn’t know me at all, but he’s all for our film together,” Sinha told IANS.

And the most expensive movie of the Bollywood is all set to start before the end of 2008 under Shah Rukh Khan’s home banner Red Chillies.

Emraan Hashmi was the celebrity guest for the reality show ‘Voice Of India’ on Monday, 25 February. While recording, in the middle of the shooting a female member of the audience ran to stage to kiss the serial-kisser on his lips. Whether it was a planned publicity stunt or not is unclear, but the entire turn of events left the judge composer Pritam Chakraborty so upset that he walked out of the show in disgust.

“If the whole thing was planned then all I can say is, the show is digging its own grave,” says the appalled music director Pritam Chakraborty about the bizarre event.

Recalling the embarrassing episode Pritam says, “It was all so sudden and disgusting. Voice Of India is a show about children, and encouraging children’s talent. We can’t have such cheesy behaviour on this show. Also, the Bhatts and Emraan Hashmi were my special guests. I had to make my displeasure very clear. So I did walk out.”

Pritam also added, “Voice Of India has the potential to give us deserving winners. I don’t want it to end up being just another TRP-hungry music show.”

Saif-Kareena relationship has done wonders for both of them. Both are bubbling with energy, both their transformed their image and appearance dramatically and both are soaring high in popularity charts. As for Kareena Kapoor, it seems that all the fashion and film-based magazines just cannot resist from having the newly discovered diva image of her on their covers.

The latest one to cash in on this is the Indian version of Vogue, for whom Kareena has shot some really breath-taking snaps with some of the most desirable dressings to go with the various moods of the shoot!

This interview is yet another affirmation of the fact that Kareena is one person who is the same on and off screen! She is so very sweet enough to confess that she had done films in the past for money or for mere greed. She also speaks about the similarities between ‘Geet’-her character in Jab We Met -and the real-life Kareena. And guess what, she also reveals the secret behind her hour-glass figure.

If you are looking for more on her private life, this Monday Bebo called ex-beau Shahid to wish him on his birthday. Says a source close to Kareena, “Though Shahid and Kareena have parted, they have kept in touch with each other. Kareena remembered his birthday on February 25 this year and called to wish him. When she spoke to him, he was in Goa with close friends, Ahmed Khan and Lovely Singh. Bebo wished him and then they continued to talk for sometime. The conversation flowed very easily, just like in the past, when they used to have long chats.”

After the termination of Priyanka Chopra’s contract as brand ambassador with Spice Group December this year Katrina Kaif will replace her as new advertising Tycoon for the company that operates in number of areas like Spice Telecom, Spice Mobile Phones, Spice BPO’s and other ventures of the group. Katrina would start campaigning for the group from the start of next year. Priyanka is brand ambassador for the group since its launch.

A new trend is now seen on the screen of the Bollywood cinema where all the prominent actors that entered into the arena of Bollywood movies during late eighties and become stars of present time trying their luck in production process of their movies.
The top names who entered into the Mumbai that period like Amir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Suneil Shetty, Ajay Devgan and the recent ones Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan are about to launch their own production companies.  The influx of actors into the production process and interest in creative process has led actors to be producers, directors, writers and entrepreneur (to devise new methods of movie production, to get intellectual property rights for the movie,) the new genre of actors prefers to work with new directors and on new themes.
In an interview to Hindustan Times Salman explained this trend, “There was a time when we ourselves never used to watch our own movies. But actors are now thinking – what to do next, what’s the kind of film I want,” He further added in same interview, “The game has become big … Audiences have changed. They have become impatient.”

On the issue the renowned director Vishal  Bhardwaj expressed his opinion, “ Fees in Bollywood are slowly inching towards Hollywood levels – if a Shah Rukh Khan does a film he will take at least US$6 to US$7 million – in comparison, Johny Depp will charge US$20 million,” Bhardwaj said. “Every actor has his own production house and if you have to cast them, you have to co-produce or work for those production houses.”

Lenovo is cashing in on Bollywood to gain a hold in the Indian market. The marketing team of the company had placed Lenovo monitors in Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), a highly popular TV show. The company also made the right move by appointing Bollywood stars Saif Ali Khan and his sister, Soha Ali Khan, in their ad campaign getting rich dividends from it.

Now, when the whole of Bollywood is abuzz with the newly invented avatars of Saif Ali Khan and her new found love Kareena Kapoor, the computer major Lenovo, which also happens to be the Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Torch Relay and the top sponsor of the Olympic Games, couldn’t have chosen a better timing to bring out their special edition notebooks, along with Saif being their brand ambassador. A true case of ‘Make Hay While The Sun Shines’!

If Shahrukh Khan does not forget those who do him a favour, it goes the same for those who refuse to do him a favour. We all know how attached SRK was to Farah Khan’s project ‘Om Shanti Om’. The famous ‘Deewangi’ song of the film which had galaxy of stars was possible because no one could (read dare) refuse SRK’s request to appear in the song. Well, if you remember, it was Sushmita Sen who was conspicuous by her absence in the song. Although Sush was SRK’s heroine in his last film ‘Main Hoon Na’ also directed by Farah Khan, she excused herself on pretext of being busy. She is now paying the price for refusing the offer it seems.

Recently, she approached Shah Rukh Khan to do a cameo in her ambitious home production ‘Rani Laxmibai’ but she was turned down by him on the grounds of lack of time. According to rumor mill King Khan has not forgotten that she didn’t appear in the title song of his film and hence turned down her call.

Bollywood’s sex kitten Riya Sen is looking for a change of image. The gal will soon be seen playing a village belle in ‘Zor Laga Ke Hayya’ wearing a nine yard saree in the film.

Riya said that she had no qualms about playing a de-glamorised role and had in fact agreed instantly on hearing the script, “I always wanted to play a village belle.” Producer Kartikeya Talreja however said, “Riya was a bit reluctant but when we explained to her how it will be a good change for her, she agreed to do the film.”

‘Zor Laga Ke Haiyya’ deals with issues like redevelopment and environment. Riya plays a construction worker and Mahesh Manjrekar plays a contractor who has the hots for Riya. Mithun Chakraborty is also in the film.

Akshay Kumar had entered Bollywood as an action star. With an advent of time he proved his genius in romance and comedies too. Akshay is at present shooting for Nagesh Kukunoor’s psychological thriller ‘Eight By Ten’ where he plays a man with extraordinary psychic powers.

Last week at a pool in Chembur Akshay shot the climax sequence of the film where tied up in chains, he went underwater. Akshay was all tied up with chains when he went underwater without any breathing apparatus. It was an extremely tough scene for which Akshay took special training in Bangkok.

During the training Akki learned how to swim underwater without oxygen. A part of the training involves taking deep breaths for a minute before taking the plunge into water. Akshay says it is a very difficult stunt that can affect one’s health if not done properly.

About a hundred years ago, the Hungarian-American conjurer and escapologist Houdini puzzled everyone with his remarkable feats. Houdini could extricate himself from ropes, chains and padlocks while in a sealed coffin, suspended in the air or dunked in a sea.

Percept Picture Company’s head honcho, Shailendra Singh, says ‘Eight By Ten’ is the first movie of its kind for Hindi film industry.