MUMBAI INDIA: It’s a departure in every which way for this Bollywood actress on the ascendant. She is playing a deglamorised politician and the Hindi has to be perfect too, but Britain born Katrina Kaif says her role in “Rajneeti” excites her more because she is now comfortable with the language.

Katrina, who has delivered a string of hits playing the urban hip young woman, gets a makeover in Prakash Jha’s “Rajneeti”. Dressed in cotton saris and speaking chaste Hindi, this is a challenging role that she’s looking forward to. But the Hindi is passe now for the actress, whose accented Hindi meant that her many early films had to be dubbed.

“I am excited about the part (in ‘Rajneeti’), but I am not very excited about speaking Hindi because I spoke Hindi in my last 10 films. It’s a great role and a great film and I certainly hope people enjoy it,” Katrina said.

“Rajneeti” is Katrina’s first political thriller and she says she wants to keep her options open by not restricting herself to any particular genre.

“If it’s a good film and I enjoy it and I think the audience will enjoy it then I will do it,” said the actress, who has given the most hits in last two years, including romantic comedies “Namastey London”, “Partner” and “Welcome”.

In “Rajneeti”, she will be seen rubbing shoulders with veterans like Nana Patekar and Naseeruddin Shah along with talented actors Ajay Devgn, Manoj Bajpai, Arjun Rampal and Bollywood’s new sensation Ranbir Kapoor. Produced by Ronnie Screwvala and directed by Prakash Jha, it is releasing June 4.

Katrina reportedly had a tough time dubbing for her last outing, “Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani”, because director Raj Kumar Santoshi was very particular about her Hindi.

The 25-year-old, who was initially dubbed by professional artists and still faces flak for her pronounced British accent despite a successful Bollywood career, isn’t worried about her Hindi accent. In fact, she is thrilled with the way her career has shaped up.

“It’s been a wonderful ride so far and I’ve had wonderful support from a lot of people. The audience has been very supportive and I hope that I keep getting the opportunity and the good work and as long as that’s there, I am happy,” she said.

Apart for her Hindi in “Rajneeti”, the actress has also been in the news for watching actress Madhuri Dixit’s videos to prepare for a dance number in Farah Khan’s directorial venture “Tees Maar Khan”.

“No, I haven’t gone through them (the videos) yet… We have a very high energy, fun Indian song which is kind of an item song and it has some kind of resemblance to the kind of songs that Madhuri was famous for but that’s kind of where it stops,” said Katrina who has once again teamed up with Akshay Kumar in the film.

“Farah is unique as a director and what she gives in her sense of glamour and presentation is something which I am very excited to be part of and I hope that we make a great film,” she added.

Expected to release Dec 24, “Tees Maar Khan” also stars Akshaye Khanna.

Asked about her reported projects like the Hindi version of “The Italian Job” and “Dostana 2″, she said: “At the moment, I am working on ‘Rajneeti’ and Farah Khan’s ‘Tees Maar Khan’… Anything else is yet to be announced.”

The actress has been recently roped in by Lux as the face of their new variant – Purple Lotus & Cream – a soap with claimed anti-ageing properties.

MUMBAI India: The 55th Idea Filmfare Awards 2009 is all set to happen at Yash Raj studios in Mumbai on 27th Feb 2010 and who better than the gorgeous Katrina Kaif to announce the grant event!

Looking supremely sexy in a body hugging knee length purple dress, Katrina Kaif proved to be rather witty in her replies to the press.

Unlike other Bollywood actresses who choose to be diplomatic, Katrina even openly confessed how Priyanka Chopra and Vidya Balan deserve the Filmfare Best Actress award for Kaminey and Pa respectively, inspite of them being Kats competitors in the same category. Katrina has won a Best Actress nomination for her performance in New York.

Katrina even light-heartedly apologized to a member of the press for not able to speak in fluent Hindi said, “Mujhe Maaf Kijiye, main koshish kar rahi hoon”. Speaking on awards, Katrina said, “I always get nominated but never win! Its great that the audience likes my work and that is my reward but I’d also like to win awards. They make you feel proud of your work, your film.”

In spite of being in the Hindi film industry for over 20 years, Salman too hasn’t won a Filmfare award. “Filmfare should start a special category for people who have not won a Filmfare like Salman and me” laughed Katrina.

The actress will also be performing at the 55th Idea Filmfare awards 2009, an act which will be choreographed by Ganesh Hegde.

The hosts of the show have been kept under wraps.

Speaking on the occasion, Tarun Rai, CEO, Worldwide Media Private Limited, said, “I am really amazed that we have been doing this for 55 long years. Earlier, we had three categories and handful of films. Today, we have 111 films vying for 37 categories.”

MUMBAI: Katrina Kaif has found a new love these days. No, it’s not about any man in her life but about a cub that Katrina want.

Ever since the actress came to know that a cub has been rescued in a village in Bhopal and named after her, the actress has shown a keen interest in adopting the rescued cub. The officials of the wild department of the area said they have even received a call from Katrina’s assistant who wanted to know the complete procedure of adopting the cub.

The cub has been named Catreena after the villagers felt that it was beautiful and silky like Katrina Kaif.

‘Avatar’ Breaks $2bn Record, James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ topped the domestic box office for the seventh straight week, earning another $30 million.
The total domestic gross is now $594 million, just $6 million short of the domestic record held by Cameron’s ‘Titanic’. Avatar has already surpassed Titanic to become the highest grossing movie of all times. And now has also become the only movie ever to break the $2 billion mark. The film now stands at $2.04 billion and counting continued. According to film pundits, the sci-fi flick may set a record of $2.23billion in a fortnight. Elsewhere this weekend, Mel Gibson’s “Edge of Darkness” brought in $17.1 million in second place to open at the high end of expectations. Disney’s romantic comedy “When in Rome,” starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel, debuted roughly as expected with $12.1 million in third place.

Taylor Swift won the biggest Grammy of the night, album of the year for her CD “Fearless.” Swift also won best country album. She won four Grammys overall.
Beyonce had won a pair of Grammys over Swift, winning the best female pop vocal performance award as well as song of the year.
Beyonce is married to hip-hop star Jay-Z. The singer won six Grammys all told.
Lady Gaga, whose performance opened the show, won two Grammys presented in the pre-telecast. Her single “Poker Face” beat out songs by the Black Eyed Peas, Madonna and Britney Spears in the best dance recording category. Her CD “The Fame” also won a Grammy for best electronic/dance.

Mumbai: They might act hostile in each other’s presence but when it comes to clearing the air about their alleged break-up, Salman and his love Katrina leave no stone unturned. Salman in a care-a-damn mood avowed that Katrina was still his ladylove. Speaking on a chat show the actor, for the first time, accepted that he was ‘dating Katrina’.

A guest on Koel Purie’s chat show, the actor not only talked openly about Katrina but also his ex-lover Aishwarya and arch rival Shah Rukh Khan.

Confirming the story, a source said, “Salman wasn’t ready for the interview, but Koel grilled him on his set at the Mehboob Studio. She asked him all sorts of questions, some of which were controversial. But Salman answered each one of them in monosyllables.”

And, when the actor was asked whether he was dating Katrina, he replied with a loud ‘Yes!’

However, when he was questioned about ex-girlfriend Ash, he started talking in riddles. “Salman was asked if he would ever work with her, and he replied with a No! It was evident he didn’t want to revisit that chapter of his life, “adds the source.

As for SRK, the actor said, “Their lives were going in opposite directions and that they would never be friends again.”

Here’s a transcript of the chat show:

Koel: Will we ever see you and SRK in a movie?

Salman: It’s not that we are husband and wife, you know… I’m not married to him. He’s an actor, I’m an actor, if there’s a film on the level of Karan and Arjun – definitely.

Koel: Recently you were both seen at Aamir’s premiere together. Was it awkward?

Salman: No, not awkward. Maybe for him; not for me.

Koel: SRK says you are two parallel people running at different speeds (that’s why the two will never meet). Do you buy into that?

Salman: No. We’re two different people, running in two different directions altogether.

Public: When can I expect another film pairing Ash and you, like the hit Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam?

Salman: I don’t think ever

Public: Who do you prefer: Katrina or Ash?

Salman: Definitely Katrina. Ash is married to Abhishek Bachchan, she’s very happy and I… definitely Katrina.

Koel: Firstly, are you still with Kat?

Salman: Ya ya… ya ya.

Public: Are you still in love with Ash?

Salman: No, buddy.

Public: Who’s the greatest Khan?

Salman: Yusuf Khan.

MUMBAI: After the super success of Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, they have become the hottest onscreen pair in Bollywood today. And now, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif are ready for an encore. They will star in Imtiaz Ali’s next, his long-in-the-pipeline project Rock Star.

The film has passed through the hands of many potential rock stars. Imtiaz first offered it to John Abraham. Excited as hell, John had begun to prepare for the part and even started to learn the guitar in 2008.

Then, Imtiaz found an option – Saif Ali Khan seemed perfect for Rock Star because he was almost one in real life. If he played the role, he didn’t even need to start learning the guitar. However, Saif and Imtiaz did Love Aaj Kal instead. During the making of the film, Rishi Kapoor, who also starred in it, was so impressed by Imtiaz that he swore he would make the director work with his son Ranbir.

Says a source, “Imtiaz and Ranbir met many times in the past few months and discussed several projects. But it was Rock Star that Ranbir liked the best.”

We hear Ranbir will be learning to play the guitar for the part as soon as he finishes with Siddharth Anand’s Anjaana Anjaani. Ranbir was heard telling a friend, “Who wouldn’t be excited about playing rock star? It’s a dream role.” To add to the magic, Ranbir’s co-star in Rock Star is Katrina Kaif – a combo every filmmaker in Bollywood wants to get together.

Attempts are on to sign Katrina for the only other film Ranbir has signed for 2010, which is being directed by Anurag Basu. However it’s the Imtiaz Ali project that Katrina has apparently said yes to so far.

And contrary to perception that AR Rahman is doing the music, it’s apparently the tried and tested Pritam

Chakraborty. “After Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal, who wants to break the Imtiaz Ali-Pritam team?” wonders a source close to the project. “Ranbir will go all out to prepare for his part as a rock star. He wants to look every inch the part. That includes the sinewy muscled physique and expertise with the guitar strings.”

Katrina Kaif Tops Most Desirable Women List, It was the toughest cat-fight ever. No clawing over men, movies or more moolah, yet, this was the most sexed-up Katrina Kaif ‘war-of-the-beauty-brigade’ we’ve ever witnessed. One stunning beauty against another. One irresistible diva, against a divine earthy beauty. One seductress against another sex-bomb.

Whether it is Katrina’s sweet sexuality and the line-up of gorgeous men trying to woo and win her; or Kareena’s continuing size-zero phenomenon along with the super sexy Khans teaming up with her. Priyanka’s high glam-quotient (read: her micro minis can’t get any ‘hauter’) and the numerous avatars she portrays on-screen or Bipasha’s sheer sizzle, with or without Johnny boy. And, of course, Deepika’s sensational love (aaj kal, we mean) —whatever are the reasons, this is what makes these gals so desirable. Yet, only one of ‘em wins the cat-race – of beauty, sensuality and desirability. On the ‘most-vaunted’ hot list of the year – the ‘ZOOM 50 Most Desirable People’ of the year. Yeah, let us put our hands together, as ZOOM declares Katrina Kaif the winner of its annual list, which every hottie in B-town desires to be on.

Priyanka Chopra, who won the ‘desirable’ title last year thanks to her gold swimsuit and her Fashion act, is now at No. 3. Kareena ranks No. 2 in the ‘D’ race this year, and the Bong beauty Bipasha ranks fourth, followed by Deepika, Lara Dutta and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Katrina’s gorgeous smile, her super successful Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and De Dana Dan, her stunning cameo in Blue; her sexy micro-skirts and her cool tees, her immense popularity globally among the trendset, and her fashionably seductive cat-walk even, for Salman, won her all the eye-balls in town. Adding the new ‘desirable’ title to her long list of accolades, Katrina says, “Wow! That does feel so amazing. And it feels especially good when you are voted by the people – your fans and the media – themselves. After all, ZOOM is the doyen of glamour and their word is the last word. It’s been a good year professionally and now this. I have been winning the ‘Most Searched For on Internet’, and ‘Most Popular’ polls, but to be the ‘Most Desired Woman in India’ – it’s kinda cool. I guess I’ll have to jump on the ZOOM couch again. I’m so excited.”

The ‘ZOOM – 50 Most Desirable’ poll is decided by an in-house jury, SMS polling, online voting and general popularity that year of the celebrity – based on Desirability Quotient for THAT calendar year. Watch this space for more on this much desired list. This is hot enough to scorch any man’s wildest imagination. It can’t get hotter than this, can it?

Top 10 Desirable Women
1 Katrina Kaif
2 Kareena Kapoor
3 Priyanka Chopra
4 Bipasha Basu
5 Deepika Padukone
6 Lara Dutta
7 Aishwarya Rai
8 Malaika Arora Khan
9 Mallika Sherawat
10 Shilpa Shetty

Katrina Kaif Love With Pattinson, Twilight star Robert Pattinson has swept our own Bollywood beauty Katrina Kaif completely off her feet. And if all goes well she’ll be meeting Pattinson during her annual holiday with her family in London next week.

The minute Katrina’s eyes fell on Pattinson she got hooked to the Twilight quartet. “I went and bought all the four books Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. I couldn’t put them down. I’ve been racing through the adventures of the hottest vampire Edward Cullen for the last one week. I finished reading three of the Twilight books in less than four days. Now I’m into the fourth. I just can’t get enough of him.”

And now Katrina wants to meet the real Edward Cullen. “You don’t understand. This is like an obsession for me. I can’t get Robert Pattinson out of my head. I see the love of my life in every object that moves or doesn’t move. I’ve never felt this way about any man before.”

Now a meeting between Bollywood’s blistering babe and Hollywood’s blood-thirsty heart-throb is discreetly being arranged. Though Katrina is not talking about it, her representatives are in touch with Robert Pattinson’s agent. It’s been made known to the global superstar that Bollywood’s eminently desirable Katrina Kaif would probably die of longing if the meeting doesn’t happen.

Says the besotted actress, “Obviously, I can’t stand under his window to get his attention. So yes, the meeting has to be more formal. He says he’s single. But I don’t believe him. That’s what they all say.”

Did Bollywood Beauty Lara Dutta Date Tiger Woods? An old rumour dating back to June 2001, is raising its head again and is likely to bring unwanted attention to Bollywood hottie Lara Dutta who is already under media glare for her new relationship with tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi.

The story goes that way back in 2001, a year after India had two beauty pageant winners in Lara Dutta at the Miss Universe and Priyanka Chopra at Miss World, Golf Ace Tiger Woods was dating one of them. The rumour was that our Lara Dutta, who was reportedly dating New York Yankees baseballer Derek Jeter, had also caught the eye of the greatest golfer in the world.

A US newspaper, in a story on Tiger, had the champion golfer denying he was dating “Miss Universe Lara Dutta of India — or trying to steal her from New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.” The Woods Foundation people, in fact, dismissed the story as being “Nothing more than gossip, probably put out by Dutta’s camp.” And Lara came back to India and fame in Bollywood.

But now that skeletons are tumbling out of Tiger’s woodwork, the gossip that he may have actually dated one of our Indian beauty queens is again gaining momentum. Suddenly Tiger’s denials that were taken very seriously eight years ago are now being re-examined. After all, he has turned out to be quite a champ off the greens. And has swung his club around in every direction!