Soha and Siddarth split up?

According to industry buzz, Siddarth and girl friend Soha Ali Khan have again had a major fight with Sid walking out of Soha's apartment.

Common friends reveal that the actor had moved in with Soha after buying her new pad in Bandra. In fact, whenever he's in town, he stays at Soha's place. According to sources it all began with a small argument.

Soha felt that Siddarth wasn't giving her enough time and attention. Since Siddarth refused to go public about their relationship, Soha is feeling stifled.

Siddarth is extremely moody and they often have fights. Soha loves to party and is an extrovert while Siddarth is a loner.

So this time, the fight got out of hand and Siddarth decided to move out. Siddarth shifted out a day before Saif's birthday party at Four Seasons.

Though both Siddarth and Soha came to the party together, he was very uncomfortable about getting his pictures clicked together with Soha and hid his face when the photogs tried to click them together.

Soha and Siddarth have had lot of fights in the past, but they haven't yet called it quits!

I hate being called Yashraj girl: Rani Mukherji

The insinuation that Rani is a resident Yashraj heroine has the talented actress fuming.

A source close to Rani says it takes the actress all her willpower to stop herself from bursting a blood vessel when she's referred to as the ghar ki heroine at Yashraj.

"What exactly do people mean by this?" says a source very close to Rani. "Agreed Rani has done comparatively more films with the Yashraj banner.

But that's because any heroine in Bollywood would be foolish to turn down an author-backed heroine-centric part like Laga Chunri Mein Daag. And so what if the film didn't work? She's very proud of the film and rates it among her best films."

Continues the source, "In fact Rani makes it a point to remind people that lately she did Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna, Ravi Chopra's Baghban and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya. None of these is a Yashraj film."

In fact if rumours are to be believed, Rani is on the verge of signing a couple of films that are far removed from the Yashraj banner.

"One of course is Sanjay Leela Bhansali's historical Bajirao Mastani which is far from shelved. Sanjay plans to make the film in the near future. And while the rest of the cast may change Rani as Bajirao's wife remains in place. There are other films that Rani is seriously considering, " says the source.

Says the source, "Some time ago Rani said no to Mira Nair's Namesake for emotional reasons. The excuse was dates. But Rani had her own reasons for foregoing a role that has changed Tabu's career internationally.

Today Rani is in a space were she realizes being hard-headed and business-like is what Bollywood is all about. She certainly doesn't want to be branded a Yashraj heroine."

Whispers that she acts like a hostess at Yashraj Studios are strongly denied by people close to the organization. "This is all in people's minds. Rani is at home in every production house.

Have you seen her with Karan Johar or Sanjay Bhansali? She's totally relaxed in their homes, has long chats with their mom and even goes into their kitchen at will."

At the moment Rani is in intense preparation for her cricket film with new director Anurag Singh.

Says the source, "It's being said she's agreed to work with a new director because of the banner. But hello? Rani has worked with Kunal Kohli and Shaad Ali.

Even Karan Johar was a debutant when Rani did Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.As for working with only Yashraj Kunal Kohli's Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic is entirely Kunal's production. Yashraj have only lent their name."

I have no marraige plans with John: Bipasha Basu

When I meet her for this interview at Yashraj Studios, Bipasha Basu tells me that she is more than happy with the fact that since the time that she had made her debut in Bollywood with Abbas-Mustan's Ajnabee, she has made rapid strides as an actress in the last eight years and carved for herself a niche in the industry.

"It has been a learning process for me from Ajnabee till my latest release- Bachna Ae Haseena. I have learnt everything on the job slowly and steadily unlike then new comers today who come prepared even with their first film."

Bipasha confesses that she has matured with time and become more responsible, as an actress. "I am glad I could live to see a film of mine celebrating its golden jubilee like my second film after Ajnabee- Raaz did.

I am not bragging about it but genuinely I feel sad that today it is not possible for any actor, including John Abraham to celebrate the jubilee of his or her film, since a stage has come when a film has got to recover its cost in the first three days of its release with films having become a big business with the mushrooming of the multiplexes."

Bipasha admits that she enjoyed working with Ranbir Kapoor in Bachna Ae Haseena.

"I had a fabulous time playing the character of the Shiamak Davar dancer Radhika in Bachna Ae Haseena" Bipasha recalls the fact that while doing a dance number for the film, she even had a tear in her meniscus but continued to perform after a physiotherapist was brought to the sets and kept on stand by to attend to her.

According to her, the choreographer Ahmed Khan manipulated the steps in such a way that the weight was there only on the left leg and the best thing was that when she saw the film, it looked like she was not at all in pain when executing her steps.

Bipasha is angry when you ask her how comfortable is it to be pitted with a young guys like Ranbir Kapoor in Bachna Ae Haseena and Neil Mukesh in Freeze, who are younger than her.

"Why is an actress who has not even touched 30 labelled as a senior actress just because she is cast opposite new actors like Ranbir and Neil, who are younger to me just by two to three years?

Aishwarya Rai has married Abhishek Bachchan who is three years younger to her but has it in any way changed their relationship"?

Bipasha feels that it is unfair that there is an anti lobby for a woman when she is cast opposite a younger actor even though she does not sport wrinkles.

"Why is it that no one has any objection when an actor like Nana Patekar or for that matter Anil Kapoor is cast opposite actresses who are half their age? There was no hue and cry raised when Akshay Khanna was teamed in Dil Chahta Hai opposite Dimple who is senior to him by 25 years

. It is indeed high time that women are given a break."

Bipasha feels that she has not been given her due as an actor though she had given an award winning performance in Corporate because of limitations.

"There are many reasons why I am not offered good films. I do not belong to any particular camp like some other actresses. It is well known fact that I have a boy friend who I do not hide in my closet.

All said and done, we should not forget the fact that it is a hero oriented film industry and I cannot ask for more than what I being offered."

Bipasha is now getting opportunities to prove her mettle as an actress. Among the films that she has up her sleeves are Freeze directed by Jehangir Surti and Pankh directed by Sudipto Gupta.

While Freeze in which she has been teamed opposite Neil Mukesh is a romantic thriller, Pankh is a psychological thriller which deals with the psyche of a young boy who has to play a girl child because of his mum's pressure.

I play this interesting imaginary character of a woman who guides him through his turmoil."

Bipasha is frank enough to admit that she could identify a lot with the character of Radhika which she had essayed in Bachna Ae Haseena, because Radhika is a contemporary young independent young woman like Bipasha is.

"Your first love can end in marriage if you are lucky. Also you can fall in love any number of times till you end up meeting your ideal soul mate. It is all a question of your luck."

Bipasha does not mind admitting that love is her top priority in life even though she is a career woman. "What would you do in life if you are busy 24/7 with only your work and have no one to share your life?

However, in case you want to know when I am planning top plunge into marriage with John, let me confess that as of now there are no marriage plans for us though we do not hide the fact that we are seeing each other and are in love.

What I like the best about John and myself is that both of us do not carry the baggage of being stars. We are like-minded soul mates who do not like to hide behind sunglasses."

Gisele Bundchen, the new face of Max Factor

The World’s Top-Earning Supermodel Gisele Bundchen will front the new ad campaign from cosmetics giant Max Factor for its 100th anniversary in 2009. The Brazilian model will become their latest face, replacing Carmen Electra, who had been three-year run with the company, as the latest face of Max. Giselle’s ColorGenius Face Collection campaign debuts in style magazines this October.

Aashayein Movie Preview

Cast: John Abraham, Sonal Sehgal, Girish Karnad, Farida Jalal
Directed by: Nagesh Kukunoor

Aashayein is the story of an angry, confused, compulsive gambler who discovers new meanings of fortune and life through a dramatic turn of events.

At a party celebrating his big gambling win, Rahul proposes to his girlfriend Nafisa. But within minutes of announcing his engagement to her, Rahul collapses on the floor. Aashayein

After a medical diagnosis, Rahul discovers that he has only a few months left to live. The movie is a moving tale of Rahul's journey from darkness to light. It is a journey about love, hate, life, death and hope.

Sonal Sehgal plays Nafisa, a doting and loving girlfriend who wishes and hopes that love will conquer all her troubles. Other characters touching Rahul's life include Sister Grace (Prateeksha Lonkar), who dedicates her life to the happiness of her patients in the hospice.

There is also Parthasarthy (Girish Karnad), a fun-loving but stubborn character wishing to be reunited with his family, while the intelligent, virtuous and loving Madhu (Farida Jalal) wants to lead a normal life and not be ostracised while in the hospice.

Also present is 10-year-old comic book lover Govinda (Ashwin Chitale), who dreams of everyone's life being just like a comic book.

How Rahul gets influenced by these characters in the hospice and how he makes the most of his limited time is what Aashayein is about. This moving saga is directed by Nagesh Kukunoor of Iqbal (2005) and Bombay to Bangkok (2008) fame.

I will kill Gauri Khan: Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan made a shocking statement quite recently. She declared her love for Shah Rukh Khan and even went on to state that for him, she would be even willing to kill Gauri Khan.

However, it is quite obvious that she said so in light humor as all this chit-chat happened on the 'Sajid Superstars' show! We bring some exclusive tidbits on what to expect from the show

- On being asked about her crush, Vidya Balan didn't bat an eyelid as she only mentioned one name - Shah Rukh Khan! When warned by Sajid Khan that Gauri Khan could well be watching the show, she confessed that for getting the man of her dreams, she would even be willing to kill Gauri Khan!

- She did mention her disappointment though for missing out on being even nominated for Bhool Bhulaiyaa. Though she gave her heart, body and soul for the role of a woman possessed and saw some critical and commercial acclaim for the film, she was left perplexed when award functions ignored her completely. In fact one of her scenes from the film even made it to the best scenes selected by Sajid Khan.

- Her worst scene was an embarrassment for her though as a sequence from her tele-serial 'Hum Paanch', which was aired years back on TV. No wonder, she was red faced all through the duration as the scene played.

- There was some more fun in store as she was asked to choose her favorite between designers Manish Malhotra and Aki Narula. For the uninitiated, there is no love lost between Vidya and the two designers, hence the query holds on quite some relevance.

- She also mentioned about how uncomfortable she was about the thought of enacting a love making scene with Sanjay Dutt for Parineeta. In fact a few weeks back, even Sanjay Dutt had mentioned that it was quite strange to shoot for the scene since director Pradeep Sarkar insisted in dozens of retakes before the scene was finally canned!

- However, Vidya admits that Sanjay Dutt made it all comfortable for her and in the end she didn't have any hesitation to continue with the shoot. Just like the major part of the industry which loves Sanju baba, even Vidya couldn't help singing praises for her co-stars whom she truly believes has a heart of gold.

- Sajid however didn't have a heart to listen to what Vidya had to say, especially when she opened her mouth to sing a song. The moment she started singing 'Pal Pal' from Lage Raho Munnabhai, Sajid went off to sleep!

- Things perked up further though when other celebrities started placing their questions to her. One such question came from Ritiesh Deshmukh, her co-star in Heyy Babyy, who asked her to clarify the legend behind her being called 'Nagin Chachi' by quite a few members of the film fraternity. Keep guessing the reason before Vidya spills the beans in the show!

- While she was all fun in making her dancing entry into the show with the song 'Dholna' [Heyy Babyy], things turned a little serious as she was asked to reveal some bitter truths. In a round of controversial questions which followed, she was asked about her role in the Shahid-Kareena break-up. In addition, she was also grilled about her involvement with John Abraham.

She did come up with smart answers for two of the biggest controversies of her personal life ever since she entered celluloid. To know about what did she have to say about her 'affairs' with John and Shahid, tune in to Sajid's Superstars at 8:00 PM (note the revised timings), Saturday on the newly launched channel COLORS!

Pakistan captain denies affair with Sayali Bhagat

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has denied reports of his making secret trips across the border to keep alive his affair with former Miss India and Bollywood actress Sayali Bhagat.

Shoaib however admitted that Sayali was a "close and dear friend" whom he met at a promotional event during the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year.

"Sayali is a close and dear friend and that's about it," Shoaib told.

Media reports from across the border linked Malik with Sayali, the Bollywood beauty who made her film debut by starring opposite Emraan Hashmi in The Train.

Malik has been frequently travelling to India this year and in fact has been spending most of his off season there. When asked whether his relationship was the reason behind the trips, Malik said: "I've a contract with Reebok in India and have to go there once in a while for promotional activities. My friendship with Sayali has nothing to do with it."

While Malik tried to play down his affair with the former Miss India, Pakistani media has been flashing news on their romance.

According to reports they met at a store opening in Delhi last year and since then, kept in touch via email and occasional phone calls.

Talking to a leading daily Sayali said, "We need more time because we are just getting to know each other. Our religion is not an issue, I am more concerned about the distance between us.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but I believe when you want something from the heart — the whole universe conspires to get it for you.” she added. But Malik is more focused on his team's next international assignment, the proposed three-nation tournament in South Africa involving Sri Lanka and the hosts next month.

"The postponement of the Champions Trophy was a big blow for us. But we have to leave it behind and get ready for the next assignment."

Malik hoped his players will be ready for the challenge in South Africa.

The triangular event is being planned at the request Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) which is trying to compensate for the postponement of the Champions Trophy which was supposed to take place here Sep 12-28.

There have been reports that Malik is likely to lose his captaincy following the resignation of PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf, who elevated the experienced all-rounder to the important position after the World Cup debacle last year.

Malik has been criticised for being a 'weak' captain in recent times and it is expected that he could lose the captaincy to either vice-captain Misbah-ul-Haq or senior batsman Younis Khan.

But Malik said that he is not under any pressure.

"It's an honour to lead Pakistan and I am doing it to the best of my ability," he said.