Kareena Kapoor who features in the third chapter of Shobhaa De’s book on fashion that is expected to hit the stores by the year-end, insists that it will not probe into her personal life that is already under the media microscope, but will project her as a Bollywood style icon to the youth. “

It will offer information on my daily sense of style and my personal take on some of the characters I played, like Poo (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, 2001), Chameli (Chameli, 2003), Dolly (Omkara, 2006) and Pia (3 Idiots, 2009) whose wardrobes made a fashion statement off-screen too,” says the actor.

What about Pooja from Tashan (2008) given that she triggered off the size zero phenomenon? “Of course size zero will figure, since it sparked off a national debate. That’s one subject associated with me that can never be forgotten,” retorts Kareena, who has written the foreward to her dietician friend, Rujuta Diwekar’s book, Women And The Weight Loss Tamasha.

Admitting that she lost weight for this particular Yashraj production that also brought her and beau Saif Ali Khan together, Kareena reasons, “I think I’m the best person to guide youngsters on how to knock off those not-needed pounds in the right way.”

Kareena hopes to launch her fashion line by the end of 2011. “Simple, ready-to-wear clothes that stand out for their casual chic, the kind that make up my everyday wardrobe. But bringing out a label takes times that’s in short supply this year,” sighs the actor who already has a clutch and a pizza named after her and is the brand ambassador for a Size Zero laptop. “I’m juggling with five big movies with the five Khans, Bodyguard, RA.One, Agent Vinod, Stand By Me and a still-untitled film with Aamir Khan. With these and my ad shoots, 24 hours is not enough,” she says.

Life is hectic for Kareena Kapoor. She doesn’t even have time to meet her family and friends. “I catch up with them on the phone when commuting. It would’ve been nice to spend time with Saif (boyfriend Saif Ali Khan) at Cannes, but I have to shoot for Bodyguard. This year people are fighting for an hour of my time,” admits Kareena, who has three big releases to look forward to this year, starting with Bodyguard this Eid. The Salman Khan-starrer will be followed by the superhero fantasy film RA.One with Shah Rukh Khan that is due to release on October 26.

Her two songs from RA.One Chamak challo… and Shake my booty… have already gained popularity, but she’s quick to point out that, “they’re not item songs. One is desi dhinchak and the other is a sexy, western and groovy track.” And towards the wee end of the year, Kareena’s Bond-Bourne kind of spy thriller with Saif is due.

Agent Vinod was supposed to be a summer release. But according to her, since it’s a big action film, the stunts have taken more time. “I’ll go back to shooting it in July and it should be out by December,” she promises, refuting rumours that the film’s been delayed because she gave her dates to Reema Kagti’s film with Aamir Khan. “They’re canning the action sequences now and don’t need me. The date adjustments were made by Karan (Johar) and Atul (Agnihotri), not Saif. I’d just committed to Karan’s Short Term Shaadi with Imran Khan, when the Aamir film came along in the same week. And these two months were booked for Bodyguard.”

So, what’s it like to a festival girl? “Great!” she beams. “Last Diwali, I had a blockbuster in Golmaal 3 and then, 3 Idiots brought along plenty of Christmas cheer. Hopefully, both Eid and Diwali will be big this year with Salman and Shah Rukh. I don’t mind being No. 100 on any power list as long as I top the film lists with the best banners. And on that count, 2011 is special!”

This year’s top festival Bollywood releases
Eid
Bodyguard: The action movie by Siddique is a remake of his own Malayalam film. It will see Salman Khan playing the role of a bodyguard.

Diwali
Ra.One: The science-fiction superhero film by Anubhav Sinha will feature Shah Rukh Khan and Arjun Rampal as super heroes.

Pre X’mas
Agent Vinod: The action-thriller story of a spy has been produced by Saif Ali Khan and directed by Sriram Raghavan. It also stars Kareena Kapoor.

Christmas
Don 2: This is Farhan Akhtar’s sequel to his 2006 film. Apart from SRK, it stars Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra.

Actor Shah Rukh Khan who has been a decent man on screen and off screen all this while, will now go bold for his superhero flick ‘Ra One’. There’s news that Shah Rukh will do everything and anything necessary to make his movie a rage.

We hear that SRK will kiss on celluloid this time round. And it’s the gorgeous Kareena Kapoor he’ll lock lips with. The actors kiss each other in a song. It’s nothing explicit, but something that can be termed as ‘simple and sweet’ we are told.

It can be remembered that Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor, too, indulged in a romantic lip-to-lip in ’3 Idiots’. “I’ve kissed on screen before, it’s no big deal,” says the Kapoor lass, who always looks forward to working with the Khans. “All four of them – Aamir, Salman, Shah Rukh, Saif – are so amazing that I always look forward to doing movies with them.”

The new trend in Bollywood is ‘girlbonding’ rather than cat fights. Atleast that is what the camaraderie between Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukherjee says on the set of Reema Kagti’s untitled project with Aamir Khan.

Though Rani and Kareena do not have to share screen space in the movie they reportedly share a very cordial relationship off screen. Both the actresses have scenes with Aamir separately. While shooting in Mumbai Rani and Kareena made the most of their time together off the screen.

December 2010 for Kamlesh Koli’s family in Pranpur brought fortune. Bollywood celebrities Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor visited their small house to promote their film 3 Idiots.

A little support has raised hopes for Kamlesh who now visits Mumbai often. Rajeshwari, his daughter, who served dinner to the star duo, now feels safer as she has a pucca house to live in, courtesy Amir Khan. Randeep, another Chanderi sari weaver, and his family thank Aamir and Kareena for introducing them to the world. But sadly, other weavers are not so fortunate.

Most of them no longer weave saris and are looking for other jobs like rolling bidis. An inaccessible banking system, paucity of funds, rising cost of silk and cotton and poor marketing links could not be addressed by Aamir’s visit.
Weavers like Tikaram Koli, who quit sari weaving due to rising silk prices and progressing myopia, find themselves isolated. “I am dependent on my daughters, who roll bidis and arrange funds for my medication and food. I have poor eyesight, I cannot weave saris anymore,” he says. His eldest daughter, Rajeshwari, will become a commerce graduate this year but spends hours rolling bidis. Her two younger sisters also assist her to make ends meet.

A weaver in Pranpur earns about Rs 1,000 for a sari which he weaves for master weavers or a co-operative society. Most of the weavers cannot afford raw materials like silk and cotton.

A weaver needs the finest variety of China-made silk to weave a Chanderi sari. Since Indian silk is not durable and rough, it has no takers in Chanderi or Pranpur. “Indian silk is thick in comparison to China-made silk,” says Tikaram, adding, “I cannot afford China silk at Rs 3,200 per kg as against Rs 1,500 per kg last year.”

On the other hand, weavers like Randeep, Kamlesh and Hukum Koli are planning to churn out more saris after their meeting with Aamir and Kareena.

“Aamir supported me in getting a marketing link in Mumbai. I often visit there and earn more now,” says Kamlesh Koli.

In Pranpur, Chanderi and other nearby towns, the number of looms has dwindled to 4,000. There were 24 weavers’ co-operative societies, of which four are closed and six are under liquidation process.

The Chanderi Bunkar Sahkari Samiti, the first co-operative society in Chanderi established in 1946, has closed due to financial constraints. Subsidy on equipment and interest subsidy on working capital was not of much help to weavers. “Weavers even cannot afford Rs 50 per annum premium for health insurance scheme,” says a government insider.

Central government has recently floated the Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS) for Chanderi and nearby areas like Pranpur, Fatehabad and Ramnagar. However, weavers’ issues are many more. “Who will ensure jobs to our children if they stick to sari weaving? Who will ensure that raw material will feed our looms forever?” asks Ramesh Koli.

Under IIUS, government wants to create infrastructure through private players. Yet, there was no taker for the tender floated some days ago for the purpose. “We have floated a rebid for the project (IIUS) and hope to create necessary infrastructure for weavers of Chanderi,” says IIUS Managing Director Mahesh Gulati.

The scheme may help weavers to a certain degree, if it is implemented in time. A prompt action plan is necessary before this village fades into oblivion.

When news of Shobha De publishing a book on actor Kareena Kapoor came out, many expected it to serve as an interesting insight into the actor’s life. But the moment you broach the topic, Kareena immediately makes it a point to clarify that the pages will have nothing about her personal life. “It is n

ot going to be an autobiography or anything. I wouldn’t want my life to be completely read by everyone. It has nothing to do with my personal life or the way I am,” she asserts.
Clearly averse to the idea of a biography, if she is ever offered one, the actor claims she would not be interested. At least for now, she says. “I’ve not even lived my life completely the way I want to,” says Kareena, adding, “I don’t want it to be merely an interesting read for sure. There’s more to me than just that.”

The book, work on which has just begun, will study the actor as a style icon through her films. It will include tips for those interested in following her fashion route. “It will help the youngsters put things together in terms of fashion,” she adds.

Kareena, who is currently shooting for Reema Kagti’s untitled film opposite Aamir Khan, expresses her disappointment with writing in the media. “Journalism is all about sensationalism in today’s time, it’s not much about writing, and that’s the truth and it’s sad,” says the 30-year-old actor. She, however adds that she’ll make her contribution to the world of good writing with an autobiography in three decades if she feels like it: “Maybe 30 years later, I’ll write my biography.”

The actress has decided to shoot for Aamir’s film rather than finishing Saif’s Agent Vinod, which is running behind schedule

Kareena Kapoor is indeed a professional to the core. She refused to give dates for her beau Saif Ali Khan’s home production, Agent Vinod, as she had already committed all her dates for Reema Kagti’s film, opposite Amir Khan.

The actress is busy until the end of June, although she still has some important action sequences to shoot for Agent Vinod. Thus, forcing the Agent Vinod team to put the film’s shooting on hold.

A source tells us, “Kareena has allotted her dates in April, May and June to Reema Kagti’s film, with Aamir Khan and Rani Mukherji.

Despite the fact that Agent Vinod has been delayed many times over for various reasons and now is in its last stage of production.”

The source further added, “Most of the shooting is over. But there are still songs and sequences that require VFX. And yes, a schedule with Kareena is pending. But she’s busy with another film. So, we’ll just have to wait.”

When one wonders why she didn’t give priority to Agent Vinod over Kagti’s film, Sriram quickly rises to his leading lady’s defense, “She was committed to the other film from some time. But that’s okay.

Saif and I will be busy with other scenes until she becomes free. I also have a couple of visual-effects scenes to put into place.”

Well Bebo you don’t seem to believe in the school of favouritism, poor Saif!

Kareena Kapoor remained glued to her cell phone when not shooting for Reema Kagti’s untitled film along with Aamir Khan. Bebo can’t do without her mobile and she is constantly either messaging or calling people. This picture was taken over the weekend during the shoot at Lower Parel at 4 am. Wonder who she was messaging at that unearthly hour? Exchanging lovey-dovey messages with beau Saif Ali Khan, perhaps?

PSST… Cell phones have been banned on the sets of Kagti’s film as the big names associated with the project (especially Aamir!) don’t want any pictures of the shoot and look to be leaked out. Guess the stars are exception to the rule!

When Kareena Kapoor came to launch a shopping festival in the city for a jewellery brand she endorses, everyone only had one question on their mind. And the actor, who has been very open about her relationship with actor-producer Saif Ali Khan, pre-empted that. “When I decide to get married, everyone will know,” she announced.

But during the course of an exclusive conversation, she did imply that wedding bells are around the corner, adding that she and her beau are very busy this year. “I have Bodyguard, RA.One, a film with Imran Khan and Agent Vinod,” says Kareena, who is currently shooting for Reema Kagti’s film with Aamir Khan.

As for marriage, she seems prepared. “I look forward to getting married. That’s something both Saif and I talk about. We’ve been going strong for three and a half years, and have always aimed to be together. This year we’re both really busy; he’s making Agent Vinod and acting in it. So hopefully after that movie releases, yes, we definitely do want to get married,” she reveals.

When asked whether her taking less work next year and the joke on Koffee With Karan about her marriage in 2012 had any connection, she laughs. “No, but I don’t think marriage can deter this career I’ve graphed for myself.”

Neither does the proud 30-year-old feel that a change in relationship status will affect the roles she is offered. “Today, from what I gather, 30-year-olds want to play 65-year-olds. Despite being 25, you still want to play roles that show you’re old and that you can really act. So what’s the problem if I’m 30, and I can act?” she says.

For now, she’s keen on taking on less projects next year. “I’ve over-worked myself in the last three years. I need a break, else I’ll exhaust myself,” says Kareena, who wants her wedding to be a small intimate affair, and not a big fat Indian function. “A wedding should involve the coming together of two lives. It should be more about me and my partner,” says the actor, who is the ambassador for Gitanjali’s brand, Parineeta. “You want to be known a little bit for your work, especially for Saif and me, who’ve done a body of work that not many actors have been able to achieve. It did get irritating when everything gets associated with a stupid, dumb relationship.”

Apparently one amongst Rani Mukherji or Kareena Kapoor is playing the role of a prostitute in Aamir Khan’s film.

Aamir Khan’s new film being directed by Reema Kagti seems to be making news. The more the makers are trying to maintain secrecy around the project, the more attention it is garnering. Earlier there were reports that Aamir Khan, in all probability, plays a ghost in the film. And now the female leads of the film are making news.

Seemingly one amongst the film’s two leading ladies – Rani Mukherji and Kareena Kapoor is playing the role of a prostitute in the film. Director Reema Kagti wanted to shoot in actual locations of red light area in Mumbai to get a real feel in the film. But if sources are to be believed, the actress wasn’t comfortable in shooting at real locations.

And this despite the fact that both Rani Mukherji and Kareena Kapoor have played the role of a prostitute in their earlier films! Kareena Kapoor won critical acclaim for her role in Chameli while Rani Mukherji has played a prostitute several times in films like Saawariya, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and Mangal Pandey .

Apparently this also led to delay in the shooting schedule until the same sequences were shot at another area in Lower Parel in Mumbai.