Mallika Sherawat is one actress who is known more for her great body and greater talks than her performance. Nevertheless, she has managed to carve her niche in Bollywood and even though she has not been seen on-screen after ‘Welcome’, she is quite busy with plum assignments in her kitty.

One is the international project titled ‘Hisssss’ directed by Jenifer Lynch. New information regarding this film has ceased to come in the media. Another is the rumour that the international brand ‘Playboy‘ (not the magazine, but the perfume) has roped in Madame Mallika for its launch in India, which should happen anytime mid-April.

However it is not clear if she has been considered by the American company for being the brand ambassador of the perfume or whether she has been offered the job of just launching the perfume.

One of the most awaited movies of 2009 is Sajid Nadiadwala’s “Kambakkht Ishq” and the movie is all set to make this summer even hotter with its release as the promotional stills of the film show Kareena Kapoor is a hot black bikini. The audiences will also get a peek into this much awaited Akshay Kumar – Kareena Kapoor starrer during the screenings of Aa Dekhein Zara.

The film’s USP is undoubtedly the exciting chemistry between Hollywood stunt man (Akshay) and a firebrand model (Kareena). Both the protagonists are strong headed people, and both have their own terms of life. Akshay lives by the mantra that “women are only good for one thing” and Kareena can stare down the most arrogant male with her caustic wit and sardonic tongue. Another star attraction is undoubtedly the number of Hollywood stars included in the movie.

Rajasthan Royals had been the winning IPL team for 2008 and its joint owners, Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra, are leaving no stones unturned in making them the champions for this year. To motivate their team, the duo have come up with the costliest theme and team anthem and have spent close to one crore to bring it out. The music video is named Halla Bol and was released after a nice bash at a 5 star hotel few days back.

‘Halla bol’ song video was shot in Jaipur and its surroundings. The music and text for the song is given by Anand Raj Anand, and it is Ken Ghosh who directed the video. Shilpa and party danced to the song choreographed by Ahmed Khan. The song features several young artists including jumbo, chariots and horses. Reports say that the filming of the song took about 3 days. During the shoot, there were thousands of fans, who had gathered to get a glimpse of the sexy star.

Shilpa says, “Since the time we conceptualized this video, we always knew that we would shoot it in Jaipur. The entire video has a feel of historical palaces and royalty attached to it. It felt so good to shoot on our home turf.”

Speaking about the song, Shilpa said, “It (the song) has a strong Bollywood feel to it. But the IPL is an association of cricket and Bollywood. That’s the way it is meant to be.”

Neha Dhupia has not had a Bollywood release in 2009 as yet, but this does not mean that the sexy lady is out of work at present. She is busy with her mini series titled ‘Bollywood Hero’ for the western world. Neha was contacted by Tabrez Noorani, who was a line producer for Slumdog Millionaire, and asked her to play the part of Alima Lakhani. Neha auditioned for the role and got the part.

Bollywood Hero, stars Chris Katta from Saturday Night Live and Julian Sanda. The series is about Chris whose ambition is to be an actor in a Bollywood film. Neha comes into the picture when Chris comes to Mumbai and lands a role in a Bollywood film, where she plays his co-star Alima. Alima, is this famous star when it comes to Hindi films and she is cast opposite this newcomer from the west who has come to India to act in a film.

Neha had auditioned for the role in January and the shoot started only in March. Currently the production process is still on and is scheduled to be completed by the 22nd of April.

The fashion-for-cause event will combine India’s best models, Bollywood stars, national level athletes, socialites and business leaders. And the outfits will be auctioned to raise funds for the victims of 26/11. Where a number of Bollywood biggies were present at the show, many of them sizzled the ramp with their walk.

Tusshar Kapoor & Genelia D’Souza walked the ramp for ace designer Manish Malhotra. Also on the ramp were Naomi Campbell, Deepika Padukone, Arjun, Kunal, Farhan Akhtar and Malaika Arora. Spotted amongst the audience were Bollywood stars Deepika Padukone, Riteish Deshmukh, Anushka Sharma, Narendra Kumar, Asin, Sophie Chaudhary, Sri Devi and Preity Zinta.

Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto is certainly on the highest high these days and guess what, she might just be the highest paid Indian actress in the world soon. If trade estimates are to be believed, Freida is charging Rs 13 to 15 crore for her next Hollywood project. With this, she has left the likes of Kareena Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai far behind in the money race.

Kareena Kapoor, who is currently the style icon of Bollywood, charges about Rs 7crores per film. On the other hand, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was in news recently for having signed a south Indian project opposite Rajinikanth worth Rs 4 crores. The actress usually charges Rs 6 to Rs 7 crores per project. Sexy Katrina Kaif has been slow but steady in rising on her charges and at present gets a package of Rs 6 crores for each film she does.

So, it turns out that one ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ has done that for Freida Pinto what a series of hits couldn’t do for Kareena, Ash or Katrina!

The famous magazine Harper’s Bazaar launched its first edition in India with glamorous Kareena Kapoor on its cover page and undoubtedly the outcome was deadly. Now, the magazine is ready with Harper’s Bazaar India second edition. The cover girl this time is ultra glamorous Deepika Padukone who looks just as ravishing as Kareena if not more.

The exclusive photoshoot was shot at Phuket with famous photographer Atul Kasbekar behind the lens. So does Deepika impress you with this one?

So, it was all done with all glamour and glitter as had been promised. The Fall/Winter 2009 Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) opened with the spectacular “Barbie All Doll’d Up” show that rocked the ramp. It was the winning dress by Nishka Lulla that Bollywood’s glamorous star Katrina Kaif modeled as the show stopper of the day.

Katrina Kaif will be the first Indian celebrity who will be the new face of a Barbie doll which will be created by Mattel Toys India Pvt. Ltd.

Despite a cute face and perfect figure along with a huge hit in ‘Mohabbatein’, Preeti Jhangiani failed to make a space for herself in Bollywood. So, she had moved long back into Kollywood. This time she is all set to create magic on Telugu screen by tapping her feet for a special item number in ‘Tejam’ produced by Rajasekhar on Sun Rays Entertianments banner.

Preeti’s first stint in Telugu filmdom was in ‘Thammudu’ (1999) followed by many inconspicuous roles. Now she is now hoping to create a mark with ‘Tejam’ through this peppy song.

Featuring eight heroes and a heroine, the film completed ninety percent of the talkie and all the songs except the current song. The audio will hit the stands soon, while the movie will be ready for release by the end of April.

There is no denying the fact that Katrina Kaif is the proud owner of one of the prettiest faces and perfect figure of Bollywood. Now, she has been chosen as the new face of Barbie doll and will be the showstopper at a special show dedicated to Barbie Doll at Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai.

Yes, after making an unforgettable style statement at New York’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, Barbie will now walk the ramp at India’s foremost fashion event LFW in a show called Barbie – All Doll’d Up!. The event will showcase real-size, Barbie-inspired looks put together by renowned fashion designers from across the country including Wendell Rodricks, Neeta Lulla, Shantanu & Nikhil, Vikram Phadnis and others. It’s a competition segment where Katrina Kaif will walk the ramp as the showstopper wearing the Barbie dress of the winning designer.

Katrina is is obviously beaming at the honour and says, “Every girl at some point of time in her childhood has played with a Barbie doll,” admitted Katrina, “and so have I. She makes a sweet, fun and lively companion.”

The famous star of UK reality show Big Brother, Jade Goody passed away on 22nd March after suffering from cervical cancer for a year and more. She was 27 years old. Jade came into news during the ‘Big Brother’ show when she made alleged racist remarks against Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty in an episode of the series.

However, soon after the show both patched up their differences and as a good will gesture Jade made an appearance on the Indian version of the show known as ‘Big Boss’. Shilpa recently paid a farewell visit to Jade Goody a week ago. She was, however, was in controversy till his death for selling pictures and interviews to the magazines in bad taste to earn money.

Shilpa Shetty’s ex-publicist Dale Bhagwagar, however, was on different opinion he said “Her aim was to earn as much money as she could in the short span that she was going to live, even if it meant selling her interviews and pictures to the media. This she did to ensure that her two sons lived a comfortable life. Even Britain’s prime minister, James Gordon Brown, praised her for battling the cancer and caring for her children, even while she was in such a bad state.”

Shilpa Shetty expressed her deepest condolences to the grieving family. She is survived by her tow sons Bobby, 5, and Freddie, 4. Her last wish was to baptize and to have her sons christened with her as she said, “I need to be sure that when I’m gone, my kids have a way of being close to me.”

Acclaimed director Deepa Mehta, who is currently busy with the promotion of ‘Videsh’ in India has signed Shriya Saran for her next film ‘Komagata Maru’. The film in which Akshay Kumar is playing the male lead is about the journey of an ill fated ship, which sets out on its voyage from India to Vancover. Shriya will be playing the younger of the only two female passengers who are on board the ship.

Very few people know that Akshay was the first choice of Deepa Mehta for the role which was played by John Abraham in ‘Water’. This was when Deepa was making the movie with Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das. But the film ran into a lot of controversies in Benaras which forced the director to abandon the film then but not give up on it. A few years later, she shot the movie in Sri Lanka with a different cast.

Nevertheless, Akshay and Deepa finally come together with ‘Komagata Maru’, the shooting of which is expected to begin in Septembet this year.  After this, Deepa has her sights set on Salman Rushdie’s Midnight Children.