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Caught in the act

One may try as much as possible, but the slip inevitably shows -- like it did with Karisma Kapoor recently. The girl makes it a point to never ever to be spotted at public functions with her steady boyfriend Abhishek Bachchan.

Even at the Refugee music launch, when she found herself standing next to Abhishek on the stage, she shuffled her feet uncomfortably for a few seconds and, before you knew it, had moved out his orbit. But then, at Jaanwar's 100 days celebration -- where Abhishek had tagged along with his father -- Karisma was caught off guard!

She and Abhishek left the party separately, at the same time. As her car drove up the hotel driveway and Karisma got in, Bachchan Jr tried to join her discreetly. Unfortunately, the car door jammed and he was left holding it for a good minute in full public view. And an embarrassed Karisma must have been turning beetroot red inside the car.

Sridevi refuses to come back!

Sridevi's fans are in for a major disappointment. The lady has done a volte-face and decided against making a comeback -- she'd rather sit at home and play mamma to baby Jahnvi.

Before her volte face, she had both Subhash Ghai and hubby Boney Kapoor hoping to launch her comeback film. Loosely based on the Hollywood flick, Not Without My Daughter, Sridevi's comeback was certain with this film until she changed her mind at the last minute.

Boney, who was left in the lurch, found himself hunting for a heroine. Luckily, Kajol did not hesitate to sign on once she heard the subject. After which it was not too difficult to get Shah Rukh Khan to sign on the dotted line. The latter, apparently, was having second thoughts about the film when he heard Sridevi was being considered for the heroine's role.

Starry reconciliations

Tis the season for patch-ups. A prominent one is the Suneel Darshan-Juhi Chawla let's kiss and make up story.

When Suneel dropped director Manmohan Singh from his film Ajay and decided to wield the megaphone himself, Juhi walked out of the film. An angry Suneel demanded his signing amount back. Juhi refused to oblige. And a war of words began. Which continued till Janwaar was released.

Success not only made Suneel's heart a lot larger, it also changed Juhi's perspective and vision. Now they have decided to work together. And Juhi is thrilled "to have got the opportunity of working with and as Amitji's daughter."

Wedding bells??

Is Sonu Nigam headed for wedded bliss? Insiders say he's been dating Kavita Paudwal regularly and the duo were planning to getting married. But with Sonu planning a career in acting, that particular decision had to be postponed.

Which makes one wonder -- now that Anuradha Paudwal has sort of rebelled against T-Series by working with Nadeem-Shravan and, in a way teaming up with Tips, was she the one who re-introduced Sonu to them? Was she the one behind Sonu's decision? It could be the doting mother-in-law's concern and care. Is it? Only time will tell!

Still making music

One thought Gulshan Kumar's death also spelled the end of Nadeem-Shravan's career. One assumed no one would dare approach the duo. But Kuku Kohli dared and how the tides have turned.

Though Nadeem is happily perched in London, it hasn't prevented the film-makers from signing the duo. They are actually willing to fly down to London, spend time with Nadeem and have music sittings with him there. Take Kuku or Rahul Rawail for example. Or Suneel Darshan who flew to London to combine a holiday with work and finalise the music composition of his just launched Rishtaa.

The list is growing. And it will not be surprising if Nadeem insists on getting the songs recorded in London. This too can happen.

No buyers for Mahesh, Tabu film

People want good films and meaningful cinema but when film-makers actually come up with good, offbeat ones within the commercial setup, they face a lot of problems.

Tabu and Mahesh Manjrekar, for example, almost completed Astitva without realising there were no buyers for that kind of a film, not when it featured Tabu has the sole heroine.

So, now, both Mahesh and Tabu are using their good offices to find good distributors. And one must admire the guts of actresses like Tabu who are willing to forgo their entire remuneration for the cause of a good film. Tip your hat for the courage and the conviction of the girl!

Pug-nosed sex appeal

Did you know, for instance, know that Mumtaz, in her struggling days, was always mocked for her features, especially her nose? "With a pug nose like yours, you will never ever be a heroine," was the refrain she was constantly faced. But success changed it all; the same pug nose was considered the sexiest feature of her face after she became a successful heroine!

-- The Insider