Shahid Kapoor’s ex and Saif Ali Khan’s present actress Kareena Kapoor, herself, is always desirous of working with the likes of Aamir Khan and Shahrukh. She, certainly, knows that working with the biggest stars lend her credibility and a ‘hit’ tag.
But is she proving to be a barricade between beau Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif, one of the leading actresses of B-town? Saif and Katrina’s pairing though may appear a tad odd (given the age difference) still they had proved their worth in ‘Race’’ which was a runaway hit.

But since then no film maker has been able to rope them together. Is it coz of the animosity that’s brewing between Katrina and Kareena? Certainly, the ladies are not the best of friends and share a healthy rivalry.
So, is it Kareena who has forbidden Saif to work with Katrina or is it Katrina herself who doesn’t desire to work with the beau of her arch adversary? In any case, the loss is to be borne by Saif. Katrina is already ruling the roost and is working opposite the likes of Akshay and Ranbir.
But Saif, despite a credible credential, is not the numero uno. Working with Katrina may have ushered in some serious amount of box office success. But looks like he is in no mood to infuriate his ‘choti begum’!

Rumours were abuzz that it was because of Kareena Kapoor that Bipasha Basu wasn’t signed for the Race sequel. The two actresses don’t share good vibes since the time they did the movie Ajnabee together. And now according to reports, Bipasha has been signed along with Saif Ali Khan to endorse a same brand of mobile.

Though for most of the endorsements, the golden couple of Saif-Kareena emerges as a natural favourite; this handset brand is in awe of Saif-Bipasha’s onscreen hot chemistry seen in ‘Race’. Now it’s learnt that the couple has already been signed as the brand ambassadors and will be seen together for an ad too.

As a source tells a daily, “Their on-screen sizzling chemistry seems to have impressed the brand. Looks like they have moved on, and are now interacting like mature adults.”

We love real jodi Saif-Kareena in Airtel ads; can’t say much about Saif-Bipasha.

Saif Ali Khan, the handsome, suave, sexy hunk of bollywood who has been dating sizzling hot Kareena Kapoor for quite some time now, is mighty upset with a section of media for marrying him off with Bebo one time again.

Saif is equally amused and disturbed by the fact that reports had said that he not only married Kareena Kapoor without the presence of his parents Nawab Ali Khan Pataudi and Sharmila Tagore, but also gifted an expensive seven series new model car. The funny thing is that Saif Ali Khan himself does not know about the car and wedding. This time even a formal engagement was held in the presence of a Moulvi at Chhote Nawab’s pad in Bandra.

Bebo is so sad with all these wedding talks that she has vowed not to marry Saif Ali Khan for the 5 more years. It’s another thing that the lovely couple is head over heels in love with each other and has already planned a European Valentine Day celebration for themselves. Initially, Kareena Kapoor will be going to Paris to shoot a commercial but later will be joined by Saif Ali Khan in some peaceful European location to enjoy Valentine day.

The buzz doing the rounds in the industry is that though Kareena Kapoor has slammed marriage reports and expressed her desire not to marry Saif Ali Khan for next five years, but she is unlikely to hold for that long. This is especially impractical as Saif Ali’s mother Sharmila Tagore has already given her go ahead and wants them to tie the knot as soon as possible.

The main stumbling block seems to be their respective bollywood careers which are not on a high despite of their commanding highest price among actors. Saif and Kareena Kapoor are especially sad about the debacle of their flick ‘Kurbaan’, which had been produced by Karan Johar and had them going a mile extra to pose for hot sequence.

The net result of failure of ‘Kurbaan’ is that their home production ‘Agent Vinod’ looks in jeopardy and its script is being written all over again. The Illuminati Films, which Saif Ali Khan co-owns with Vijan, is not very keen on producing the film after the debacle of ‘Kurbaan’ at the box office.

Though Kareena Kapoor’s prestige was somewhat salvaged after the super success of Aamir Khan’s ‘3 Idiots’ but everybody knows that the movie belonged to Aamir Khan and nobody else. But no such luck with Saif Ali Khan, who has still been waiting for a hit after the super success of AbbasMustan’s ‘Race’ at the box office.

When we heard Saif Ali Khan’s flight had landed at 5.15pm in Dubai, we were sure the interview fixed for 6pm would be pushed back. But our contact person at the Ramee Royal Hotel – where Saif made an appearance at the nightclub – insisted the star would be on schedule. And he was.

Dressed in a simple black T and bandana – this time wrapped around his wrist as a style statement – he finished his conversation with Kareena over the phone, and proceeded to bowl us over with his looks, maturity and super intelligent takes on love and Bollywood. Extracts from a fun one-on-one interview…

Kareena said in an interview that she keeps asking you to marry her…

Since marriage is the culmination of any relationship, people are always rushing us into it. We definitely didn’t get into a relationship without thinking of the future. But apart from just signing on a piece of paper and having children, I don’t think we are missing out on marriage at the moment. So neither is Kareena after me, nor am I after her to get married.

Is it because it will be hard for Kareena to do the balancing act?

She is the kind of woman who can give 100 per cent to her career and 100 per cent to her home. Not many actresses have dedication like her. Her level of dedication can only be equated to that of Aamir and Shah Rukh. I want her to fly and soar to the zenith of success. I am not as big a star as she is. I don’t even know if I will ever reach that level.

A relationship is not about controlling a person. It’s about being there for each other and not being insecure. What will we talk about at the end of the day if we are not working?

Do you ever feel that too much is being said and written with regards to your relationship?

Yes, I do feel that. When we started dating there was too much speculation about our relationship, so at the time it was fine to talk about our commitment to each other. Now it’s time for our work to do the talking.

Right now your colleagues (Aamir and SRK) are bashing each other in the media. Why have you never indulged in such a public display of aggression?

I think we get enough attention anyway, there is no point looking for more with quotable quotes. I would prefer to be boring than make an interview sensational at other people’s expense.

When shall we see you doing a Langda Tyagi again?

I don’t think I will be able to do another role like that [in Omkara] because it’s very taxing to play an evil person. I would prefer something like Race, where my character has shades of grey. Even Ek Hasina Thi is fine. Right now I am looking forward to Imtiaz Ali’s Love Aj Kal with Deepika.

How do you feel when you read that you were angry with Kareena for kissing Sly Stallone on screen?

I feel sad. We are professionals and we have to do every kind of scene. If there is no trust, there is no point in having a relationship. That way I should be more worried about Akshay, since he is the hero, than Stallone. Right?

Dubai drama!

“Last time we were here, Kareena and I went shopping and we were followed around by 1,000 people. I get more attention with Kareena around, but we are used to it by now. We happily continued shopping.”

Saif’s Dubai plans

“People have this perception that Dubai is only about snazzy buildings. But there are such beautiful locales here. While shooting for Race I was bowled over by the desert and Jebel Hafeet was amazing. We plan to shoot here for Agent Vinod directed by Shriram Raghavan, which is an espionage-terrorism film.”

Saif on… bickering
“I would prefer to be boring than make an interview sensational at other people’s expense.”

Saif on… Kareena
“I want Kareena to fly.”