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From what we hear, Kareena Kapoor is very eager to be part of Shankar’s Shah Rukh Khan starrer, Robot. So much so that the actor paid a personal visit to SRK to convince him that she is just right for the role.

Known to prepare painstakingly for roles, Kareena doesn’t shy from doing what it takes to deliver her performances. Obviously, she’s going the whole hog to ensure that this plum role, too, falls in her lap. After Asoka, Kareena hasn’t had a chance to act opposite SRK. The buzz is that she really wants to act opposite SRK. Our source reveals, “Ever since Kareena heard that SRK was the leading man of Robot, she immediately made up her mind to do that film too. The actor visited SRK’s Bandra home, Mannat, and in the presence of Gauri Khan, said that she should be considered for the female lead in Shankar’s Robot.”

Kareena has always openly admitted that she is an ardent SRK fan. In fact, earlier, she went out of her way to accommodate Asoka in her schedule to be part of the SRK project. The source said, “She was last paired with SRK in Asoka. They were then seen in Karan Johar’s Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham but they weren’t opposite each other. Since then, she wanted to work with SRK. Shankar’s Robot, she felt, was a good opportunity to work with SRK once again.”

For those unfamiliar with Shankar’s Robot, the director had originally planned the film with Kamal Hassan in the lead. However, the role finally went to Shah Rukh. Although Shankar has chosen to remain secretive about the story of the film, but insiders have it that the film is a science fiction. “It is a futuristic and stylish movie,” our source says.

Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan continue to be an item. The duo was out and about in the suburbs on Saturday evening. After a long discussion, they walked in together (almost hand-in-hand) at the VIP lounge of a popular Chinese restaurant. Like most celebrity couples, they seemed to be extremely comfortable with each other, say onlookers.

A guest present at the restaurant says, “They were behaving like a couple. They were lost in some discussion and were completely oblivious about their surroundings and onlookers.”

Once at their table, the duo who was accompanied by friends Dino Morea and Amrita Arora, sat very close to each other.

Kareena and Saif also indulged in some serious PDA. Saif kept hugging her throughout the evening, and they left together. A restaurant staff informs, Kareena and Saif were spotted together at a suburban restaurant over the weekend. Saif kept hugging and complimenting her all evening “Kareena seemed to be distressed and Saif was consoling her. He was often complimenting and hugging her. Their friends also took care to give them the much-needed privacy.” Kareena and Saif, were dressed in casual tees and denims, and were engaged in a conversation with the occasional remark, ‘Yeah, you are right!’ meant for the rest seated with them at the table. Kareena and Saif got along well on the sets of Tashan and ever since they have spending a lot of time with each other. However, Kareena is maintaining a stoic silence over her relationship with Shahid Kapur who is currently filming in Toronto. A source close to Kareena says, “Kareena and Saif are extremely fond of each other and the duo are spending a lot of time with together. She has also been vocal about Saif’s good nature to a few of us.”

After being noticed for her glamorous role as Kamini in Farhan Akhtar’s ‘Don’, followed by the item number ‘It’s rocking’ (‘Kya Love Story Hai’), Kareena Kapoor has refrained from using much greasepaint in Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Jab We Met’.

Imtiaz reasons, “The film is a travel story. It covers the journey of two strangers played by Shahid Kapur and Kareena. Have you ever seen people wearing heavy makeup whilst travelling? In fact, people don’t like applying any makeup, due to the hassles involved in travel. Hence, Kareena is sporting a non-glam look for most part of the film.”

What if her fans miss the glam quotient? “Kareena is one of the few heroines who looks good without makeup. I’ve got a good feedback from the promos, which is a positive sign,” answers Imtiaz adding, “Yes, there are few scenes in the film that require a hint of makeup. But neither the film nor its characters have a dolled-up treatment. ‘Jab We Met’ required a natural texture regarding the actors as well as the locations.”

Imtiaz, who has also written the film’s dialogues, script and the screenplay, says, “Even for Shahid, it is a makeover-from a boy, he graduates to a man in this film. Even off-screen he is level-headed and mature. I wanted to bring this side of his personality on screen.”

Imtiaz further reveals, “Kareena and Shahid were excited about the fact that they were getting to do something different and were willing to experiment.”

On being questioned if he was disappointed about the alleged Shahid-Kareena split getting the film into limelight for the wrong reasons, Imtiaz says, “On a personal note I am not pleased to hear this since they both are my friends. But I don’t think that such stories affect a film’s box office running in a positive or negative manner.”

The ways of Bollywood are unusual, but unchanging. There may be more to the Kareena-Shahid break-up than meets the eye. News of their split just before their film, Jab We Met releases seems more than a co-incidence. Controversies are raked up at convenience and are killed as quickly. It has happened before in the industry, make-ups and breakups reported just before the release of a film.

Earlier, Shahid-Kareena have acted together in films like Fida, 36, Chinatown and Chup Chup Ke – all box-office duds. Although the couple is said to have a fantastic chemistry, as a screen pair they have been unable to set the cash registers ringing. Kareena has been missing from the scene for a long time, and Shahid needs a hit reasonably urgently to boost his career. Filmi pundits say that the reports of the split could very much be a ploy to make Jab We Met a box-office draw.

More so, because Shahid’s closest aide in Bollywood, Ahmed Khan maintains, “Shahid and Bebo are very much together. It’s just that they are away from each other, working on individual projects. Apparently, Shahid has asked Bebo and his family not to speak to the media at this point. He will address the issue when he returns from Toronto.” Apparently the couple still talk to each other every day.

Besides, soon after their split was reported in the media, Kareena did send messages to her friends saying that the news was complete hogwash.

Our source says, “While at Jodhpur, shooting for an ad film, Kareena spoke on the phone with Shahid all night long.” This is strange considering the highlypublicised break-up.

When we spoke with Neelima Azim, she seemed quite unperturbed by all the reports of her son’s break-up with Kareena. “I have been in touch with Shahid, but we haven’t discussed anything about it. I feel it’s too personal a matter and he’s mature enough to handle his life and love affair. I don’t want to be dragged into any controversies, though I must say it is rather unfortunate. That too, when his film is just about to release. He has worked very hard on it, I hope the film works on its merit,” says Neelima.

When asked about Kareena, and Neelima’s alleged animosity towards her, Neelima says, “What can I say here? The media just blows things out of proportion.”

A film with Aamir Khan has been on Kareena Kapoor’s wishlist for a long time. The actress is keen to add a film with Aamir to her repertoire, and sources say that she is now desperate to bag a role opposite the actor. Given her keenness, it seems that Kareena is doing all that she can to do an item song in Aamir’s
Ghajini.

Unfortunately, although Kareena has been offered this role, the deal will be sealed only after Aamir returns from South Africa. The finicky actor’s approval, it seems, is a must if Kareena has to be taken aboard Ghajini.

Kareena, on her part, is trying to reshuffle her dates to accommodate Ghajini. Her shooting schedule is quite packed and it is quite a task for her to insert Ghajini into her already bursting date calendar.

Our source says, “The makers of Ghajini wanted to cast someone special for this item song and approached Kareena for the song. Kareena, who has never worked with Aamir before and is a huge fan of his, immediately showed her willingness to do the song. Even earlier, she was supposed to do Mr and Mrs Kapoor with Aamir but the film was shelved. Now that she’s finally been offered a role with Aamir, the problem is that her dates are already committed to Yash Raj Films’ Tashan. However, Kareena has even volunteered to adjust her dates. But right now, Aamir is in South Africa shooting for a couple of songs for the same film and the filmmakers are waiting for him to come back and give the green signal.”

When contacted Madhu Varma, the producer of the film, said that nothing has been finalised.

Controversy and Kareena Kapoor seem to be made for each other! If there isn’t talk of her off-screen pangaas with her co-stars – mainly of the female variety, there is news of her turning down plum offers on a mere whim. But the latest rumour dogging her, is her rather alarming weight loss, prompting speculation of her having an eating disorder. So what is up with the Kapoor kudi? BT gets Kareena to say it like she always does… direct dil se!

Your weight-loss and toned body is the current talk of the town…
I worked very hard for the past 10 months to get that body, eating healthy and working out rigorously. But now, I want to gain some weight, I’ve come down to 48 kgs and I’m not enjoying it anymore! I did it just for my role in Tashan, and once the shooting is over, I am going to start binging again! But getting compliments from my male co-stars felt very nice.

Post Don, you have kept a relatively low profile. Why?
I want my work to speak for me, not gossipy snippets about some show I did somewhere in the world! I want people to wonder what I am upto, workwise, and then let my movies do the talking.

Now that you are an established name in the industry, are you getting choosy about roles?
I have always maintained that my role be pivotal in the film, irrespective of whether there’s a mammoth cast or not. Or else, I would rather sit at home or go to Europe for a holiday! Omkara had a huge cast, but my role was significant. Even in Golmaal Returns my character is the main twist in the film.

Since you have patched up with Karan Johar, will you work with him again?
In fact, right after this shoot (Kareena was speaking in the middle of a shoot from Jaisalmer), I’m going to shoot an ad-film with Karan. He is more like an elder brother, and professionally, I think we are better as actor and director. I am 100 per cent sure we will work together again; in fact, it might be as soon as next year.

Would you do an item number again?
I did It’s Rocking and it completely rocked. I have no regrets about doing item numbers, but my parents feel I should focus on my films. So now I’ll just do good work for three years before I settle down.

Settle down? So is marriage on the cards in three years?
I have not thought about marriage, per se. One needs to be sure of a lot of things before taking the plunge. But for the next three years, I’m going to concentrate on my work, then, I’ll figure out when I should tie the knot.

Are awards important to you?
I do not believe actors when they say winning awards are not important to them. I will not lie, I sign films to win awards. It is a different high, it gives you confidence.

You have survived a list of flops before becoming a name to reckon with. What spurred you on?
It has been an up and down journey, but an awesome one. I learned something even from a crappy film I did. I will be honest; there was a time when I did films just for the money. But my biggest reward is that I got to work with directors like J P Dutta, Vishal Bhardwaj, Mani Ratnam and now, Yashraj. The fact that they chose to work with me gives me a bigger high than a boxoffice success. I took the criticism with a pinch of salt and had fun on my sevenyear Bollywood journey.

Actress Kareena Kapoor is the latest entrant on the Golmaal wagon. The lady will play the female lead in this supposed to be laugh riot, and sequel of Golmaal, titled Golmaal Returns. Producer Dhillin Mehta confirms, “Yes, we have roped in Kareena for the sequel of Golmaal, which will be directed by Rohit Shetty.” To be shot in Dubai in a 40-day schedule, the producers are keen to make some more maal with the sequel as well.

Many may say that their on-screen chemistry remains unparalleled to what the couple shares off screen, but Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor won’t give up. The duo will continue to act together in films they find interesting, and Imtiaz Ali’s next movie is one such example. Starring Kareena and Shahid, the music for which is rendered by Pritam. Imtiaz tells us, “It’s yet to be titled. There are a lot of brainstorming sessions going on. The film tells a story of two strangers who meet on a train and fall in love.” Interesting, we say! “We’ve shot mainly in the North – in Manali, Kulu, Rajasthan,” informs Ali, “We leave for a Jaipur schedule tomorrow.” No, wonder Shahid and Kareena have found love all over again in these beautiful locales. Good going, guys!

Before Yaadein, Kareena called me as she wanted to lose weight in a short span for the movie. She’s always been a typical Punjabi girl. The Kapoor family is known for their love for food and she typifies it. In her career so far, she hasn’t had a perfect-10 body but has managed to be one of the most attractive actresses thanks to her complexion, figure and attitude. She does not need to acquire an absolutely appropriate body fat ratio; she looks hot even without that. Yes, I certainly feel that lately, she’s been looking anorexic. Excessive dieting leads to bone degeneration. When one becomes obsessed with achieving a perfect figure and works out endlessly it leads to a destruction of the body.

Kareena looks like she has gone flat. She may have done it for a particular role she is playing. Sometimes fitness trainers also give a lot of wrong nutrients. Going vegetarian is a healthy way. If she is starving, it’s not good for her. In the process, the body loses a lot of nutrients, and ill-health sets in.

My point is that why should one overdo the diet and exercise and end up looking anorexic. In this industry there’s a lot of insecurity. One is forced to match up with the rest. Competition often makes actors resolve to desperate measures.

I trained Preity Zinta in 45 days for Salaam Namaste but it was not a hardcore, brutal training. To achieve and maintain a great body, you need discipline most of all. You cannot change your genetics, body design ever. Fitness and health should be part of everyone’s time tables.

Steroids, supplements, synthetic ingestions, fat-burning products wreak havoc with one’s nervous system, digestive system and hormonal system. This reflects in the attitude, thought process and behavior pattern.

Bollywood stars should take a cue from Hollywood personalities, who make health and not fitness their priority. Human beings should not look as they were manufactured on assembly lines. An obsession for perfection leads to paranoia.