Akshay Kumar is amazed at the suggestion that he made a huge packet for the film on martial arts that he’s showing on the entertainment channel this evening with which he’s had a long association. “What packet,” the action superstar asked indignantly from Satara where he is shooting, “I didn’t do this commercially, I made no packet — why do people say that? In fact, it’s pay back time to martial arts for me.” And, it is true. He’s credited his huge success in Bollywood entirely to his parents and his early upbringing on the fighting arts and sports. “Martial arts is not about kicking ass only,” Akshay said, “it’s basically about developing self-confidence, mental balance, discipline and respect. I’m not saying do Karate only... you can do anything, take up Judo, follow Aikido, learn Jeet Kune Do, it’s all a good thing, I’m just trying to promote the martial arts as a way of life."

To this end, Akshay recently held a national-level tournament in Mumbai to which he invited martial artists from all across the country. “They came at my expense, I was their host, and the tournament threw up such surprises,” revealed the actor. “Age does not matter in the martial arts, there were fighters from the age of six to 66, all actively participating. One eight-year-old boy who was deaf and dumb and is an orange belt, went on to win the silver medal.” It is this tournament that he has filmed and is showing on TV this evening in his promotion on martial arts. The fighting star has also been trying to convince the Indian government to make martial arts compulsory in schools as it is in China and Singapore. “Between the first standard and tenth, school students must compulsorily do two years of martial arts in these nations,” revealed Akshay. He also hopes children taking up the martial arts will inculcate in them a love for outdoor sports. “What is this nonsense about being addicted to indoor activity like computer games,” Akshay asked irritatedly. “Come outdoors, get a life."

ctic one’s life is.”

Abhay Deol is currently one of Bollywood’s hottest properties. The actor who has been on a roll since Anurag Kashyap’s Dev D and Dibakar Banerjee’s Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye got those rave reviews, is once again in news courtesy Dev Benegal’s The Road Movie, a film that has taken the international film festival circuit before it comes to Indian shores. As the leading man of the film, Abhay has been jet-hopping from Toronto to Venice, New Delhi to Doha. On a day when he can actually catch his breath for a few minutes, the actor says, “I’ve bought myself a new office in Mumbai. My banner is all set to roll with our first production in the month of January 2010. My director Navdeep Singh and I are just finalising details before we go on set.” He has an achiever. In the first leg of his journey, the young actor has gone from struggling actor to being the toast of the international film circuit; and in the second leg he has gone from being Bollywood hottie to independent film producer. Yup, in about a year, life has thrown up a myriad of opportunities for this contemporary thinking actor. But there has also been his share of controversy. Reports said he was unhappy with the treatment meted out to him on the sets of Sonam Kapoor’s home production Aisha. It is conjectured that Abhay was cooling his heels on the sets of the film in Delhi because things were haphazard. However Abhay refuses to be drawn into a controversy. Says he, “My producer should be clearing the air on any controversy surrounding Aisha. As a professional actor I will never talk about what happened on set. I hold Sonam (co-star and part producer) in highest regard. And, there is no ego issue with her.”Abhay is also expected to start work with Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s banner and he is said to be in talks with producer Krishna Shah for the film on Indira Gandhi. Of course, the actor’s silent on these films too. “My producers will make the announcements as and when they have to,” he says. “All I can say is that I’m exhilarated with the work I’m doing.” 

When Karisma Kapur attended an event to promote a products range recently, one couldn’t help but notice the glow on the mom-to-be’s face. And this time, she was in the mood to talk about everything, be it motherhood, endorsements or Kareena’s oh-so-talked about size zero, except, of course, the controversies surrounding Bebo and Sunjay, her husband. “Motherhood has become a celebration and I am enjoying the experience. You might see me in a movie after a few months. But right now, I’m waiting for my own production,” she smiled, as she pointed to her baby bump. And till that happens, she is fine with the kind of work that she is being offered, including endorsements. “I am happy that times have changed and there are several opportunities for women now,” she said.

And when she made a point about endorsing products that are healthy, the next question that popped up, naturally, was Kareena’s size zero. “It’s very important to have a healthy lifestyle. You might be very lean but if you are unhealthy and weak, it’s not good. Both Kareena and I are very particular about our health. While Kareena is a vegetarian, I do eat non-veg,” she said. When asked to comment on the Shiv Sena’s objection against Kareena’s backless shot in Kurbaan’s poster and the notice issued against Sunjay regarding the illegal occupation of a house, she announced, “No personal questions, please.” So, controversies do annoy her? “They are a part of life. They come and go. I try to look at the positive side of life and make each moment a happy one,” she said.

Never mind that his production house Dharma Productions has just delivered a big hit in "Wake Up Sid". Director-producer Karan Johar says he has matured over the years and box office collections are no longer the only driving factor for him. "Frankly, I am over and above box office today. With age and some dose of maturity coming in, I truly believe that I have grown as a filmmaker and hence I am not just looking at crores out there," Karan , 37, told IANS in an interview. Karan has half a dozen films lined up for release in the months to come. After "Wake Up Sid", debutant Rensil D'Souza's "Kurbaan" is next. He is also speeding up Tarun Mansukhani's animation flick "Koochie Koochie Hota Hai" and "Dostana 2". Siddharth Malhotra's "Stepmom" remake is already on floors while debutant director Punit Malhotra's "I Hate Love Stories" is in pre-production stage. Newcomer Karan Malhotra has been entrusted with directing an "Agneepath" remake. Karan's own directorial venture "My Name Is Khan" would be releasing in early 2010. With so many projects in the pipeline, is it really easy for him not to think about box office collections? "I guess numbers just get lost after a point in time while the quality of a product is remembered. I have learnt that the remembrance a film gets is far more important than what you end up gaining in the first weekend. "A living example is 'Wake Up Sid'. Yes, it opened well but what is even more heartening is that it is still being loved and watched weeks after its release. That excites me," said Karan.

His claim comes with enough validation here. After the mega Diwali weekend that saw "Blue", "All The Best" and "Main Aurr Mrs. Khanna" fighting for screen space, "Wake Up Sid" was kept on hold. The Ranbir Kapoor-Konkona Sen Sharma-starrer did have two bountiful weeks. Karan is happy to be following the mantra of making quality films without worrying much about the cash register. No wonder many first-time filmmakers working with him are happy to be in an environment that challenges and motivates them to make something worth remembering. "I never ask my directors to give me a film that would fetch me Rs.80, 100 or 120 crore. Once you do that, you only end up putting pressure on the poor guy. Instead, I want them to focus entirely on the subject in front of them and leave the box office in the hands of audiences. "This is what Ayan Mukerji did with 'Wake Up Sid' and look at how he has passed with flying colours, both critically and commercially," said Karan with a tone of appreciation. 

Had Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor still been a couple, Kareena would have surely starred opposite him in his father Pankaj Kapur’s directorial debut, Mausam.

After all, Pankaj had written the script of Mausam keeping Kareena in mind. This, of course, was when Kareena and Shahid’s relationship was going strong. The former lovers last starred together in Jab We Met. After the Shahid-Kareena break-up, Mausam got delayed to some extent since Pankaj Kapur had to drop his plan of casting Kareena and started considering other options for the lead actress. Also, Pankaj couldn’t get a producer for a long time before Religare Vistaar Entertainment came into the picture.

A source said, “Things are fine now but they can’t go back to Kareena saying that they want her to do the film. They are feeling quite awkward about asking her to star opposite Shahid and hence they have decided to launch a nationwide hunt to look for a girl who will be suitable for the film.” When asked about him earlier wanting Kareena in his film, Pankaj said, “Who told you this? I am still writing the script. How can I think of casting actors before I have completed my script? I will further talk when we are ready to roll."

Producer Sheetal Talwar said, “Well, Shahid and Kareena look fabulous together on screen. But we are now having a nationwide hunt for the lead actress for Mausam."

Kareena had no idea about this till we contacted her to ask what she has to say about Pankaj Kapur writing a script keeping in mind her and Shahid’s jodi. Clear about not mixing her personal and professional life, Kareena said, “If they have a good script and a good role and ask me to do it, I see no reason why I shouldn’t.” Now that Kareena has no problem starring opposite Shahid, we wonder if his father will drop his plans of a nationwide hunt for the lead actress and make the next call to Kareena. Mausam is an out-and-out romantic film to be shot in five countries- UK, Spain, Italy, Austria and India. It is expected to start in January 2010. 

After Rang De Basanti, Aamir Khan and Rakeysh Mehra have teamed up again, this time for a short film for the Ministry of Tourism to encourage foreign tourists to see India as the haven that it used to be before the spate of sexual crimes against women tourists came to light. Rakeysh shot with Aamir two weeks ago in Mumbai. Last year too, Aamir and Rakeysh had done a short film, to propagate tourism which was well-received. And that, Aamir thought, was the end of it till the tourism industry recently expressed the need to have powerful faces, names and images to counter the drubbing that the image of India as a paradise for tourists has taken. When Rakeysh was approached again by the tourism ministry, he again approached Aamir, who agreed to do it. Rakeysh says, "Aamir has become a brand ambassador for tourism in our country. He saw the importance of his face and voice to call tourists back with the entire Atithee Devo Bhava (guest is God) campaign. We needed Aamir to give strength to our image as a hospitable country." 

This time, Rakeysh will be shooting two more short films for the tourism department. "Promoting tourism is in a way, also promoting our film industry because any cultural exchange helps cinema. All of us love taking care of guests and Aamir's face and personality are very inviting for tourists," he adds.

 It’s one of the strangest jodis of our times, but there it is... Oscar winner A R Rahman and Bollywood’s leading contender for the No 1 slot, Katrina Kaif, in a music album collaboration. Lest you think the gorgeous actress is going to be singing for the music maestro, let us tell you, this is an album of nursery rhymes, and Katrina will be in the music videos. Rahman, actually, wasn’t going to touch any Indian project after Slumdog Millionaire and the Oscars. The music for Blue, he had agreed to do long ago. But Rahman had secretly been working on this non-filmi album of songs for children. It will contain all the nursery rhymes we have heard while growing up but done with a Rahman twist to make them modern and more empathetic to youngsters. There will also be fresh and original songs composed by students of his music institute in Chennai.

Katrina, who has a special bonding with children, is going to be doing at least three music videos in which she will interact with the children and lip sync the songs. “I love working with kids. So it’d be a special treat hopefully for the kids as well,” said the actress. The director of this project, Apurv Nagpal, said, “It’s the same concept as what Rahman did for Vande Mataram. Until he re-interpreted the song, we all sang it in one way only. Now when I think of Vande Mataram, it’s the way Rahman did it. That’s what we aim to do in our album. 

A near stampede resulted outside Hrithik Roshan’s building Palazzio, Juhu late on Sunday night when Hrithik threw a party to celebrate his wife Sussanne’s birthday. The who’s who of Bollywood attended the do and a throng of fans stood outside the gate to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars. Guests at the party included Shah Rukh-Gauri Khan, Saif-Kareena, Katrina Kaif, Karan Johar, Parmeshwar Godrej, Tusshar Kapoor, Arjun Rampal-Mehr Jesia, Chunky-Bhavna Pandey, Shilpa Shetty-Raj Kundra, Zayed Khan, Kajal Anand, Neelam, Kunal Kapoor, Vicky-Gayatri Oberoi, Sonali-Goldie Behl and Farah Ali Khan,amongst others. Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza came in together, as did Dino Morea and his now on-now off girlfriend, designer Nandita Mahtani. While Gauri Khan was having a great time dancing, Shah Rukh, who came in an hour after her, was in a rather sober mood. Parmeshwar Godrej was in high spirits and was one of the last guests to leave the party. Hrithik looked dapper, as usual, in a black shirt and blue jeans, while Sussanne complemented his attire with an elegant black dress.

Incidentally, Hrithik’s favourite co-star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan did not attend the party. A source close to the Roshans said, “Abhishek was busy shooting, hence Aishwarya decided not to come.” Hrithik’s good friend Priyanka Chopra was also absent. The actress’s official spokesperson said, “Priyanka could not attend Hrithik’s party because she wasn’t feeling too well due to food poisoning.” Unlike most parties where Ameesha is usually accompanied by her boyfriend Kanav Puri, this time she came alone and looked quite lost. A rather plump looking Katrina Kaif managed to raise quite a few eyebrows by hobnobbing with boyfriend Salman Khan’s arch rival Shah Rukh Khan. A close friend of Salman said, “Never before have we seen Katrina get along so well with Shah Rukh. Has she broken up with Salman?” When we asked why Hrithik’s sister Sunaina did not attend the party, the source said, “Sunaina is a loner.” Since Shilpa got engaged to Raj on Saturday night, everybody wanted to have a look at her huge ring. “Shilpa proudly showed it to almost everybody who was around. She was the centre of attraction all evening,” added the source. The revelry ended on an unpleasant note when an irate neighbour complained about the loud music reverberating from the building’s 10th floor where the party was on in full swing. A few cops reached the venue but failed to take stock of the situation. They had to call senior police inspector Sawant who asked Hrithik to mellow down. Priyanka could not attend Hrithik’s party because she wasn’t feeling too well due to food poisoning