Item Bahu

Item girl Rakhi Sawant now wants to play a 'bahu' in Ekta's serial

Yes, Ranbir and Sonam are in love

Sorry for breaking this to you girls but Ranbir Kapoor is already taken. We hear that the youngest Kapoor lad is dating none other than his Saawariya co-star Sonam.

Post debut, Sonam has been seen frequently visiting Ranbir's house. She gets along very well with Ranbir's mother, Neetu Singh as well. Ranbir and Sonam often go out together for long drives and dinners.

The two hit it off long back, when they started out as assistants on the sets of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black. Then came Saawariya and their friendship turned into romance on the sets. Before Saawariya hit the theatres, Ranbir was linked up with Om Shanti Om heroine Deepika Padukone.

Talking to a tabloid Neetu Singh acknowledged the Ranbir and Sonam are actully spending a lot of time together.

"Yes, Sonam comes to our place often and they go out together too."

Actually, both Ranbir and Sonam's parents have given their tacit approval to the friendship that shows signs of maturing into a romance. They have, however, cautioned their kids to be discrete and focus as much on their careers.

Ranbir has attracted lot of female attention. Apart from being linked with Deepika Padukone, there have been reports that he was smitten by Nandita Mahtani.

"I don't know which school it is, but a bus from that school comes outside our house every day and a group of four to five girls stand outside our gate saying that they want to meet Ranbir. After much persuasion, they leave for their respective homes," Neetu signs off.

Ranbir currently filming for Yash Raj Films' next, a romantic comedy in which he co-stars opposite four female leads - Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone and Minissha Lamba while Sonam is filming for Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Dilli 6, in which she is paired opposite Abhishek Bachchan.

People will forget Ash and Hrithik: Ashutosh Gowariker

Ashutosh Gowariker opens up on Jodhaa-Akbar...

Is Jodhaa-Akbar the most difficult you've made?
It is. But the process has been so enjoyable I didn't mind the toil. My crew made the process of creation very interesting. Just working hard isn't a virtue. Otherwise I should not make a film. And I definitely shouldn't make a historical.

Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan have very contemporary personalities?
That won't be a problem. The audience will come in and forget everything about Hrithik and Aishwarya. I've no fear of that. The two are brilliant Ultimately the audience will be watching not the stars but the two characters that they play.

Perhaps audiences would want to see Abhishek playing Akbar?
Hrithik-Aishwarya's pairing is incredible. They're extremely charismatic and good-looking. They were a huge success in the contemporary Dhoom 2. That can only help my film, not harm it.

What audiences will see in my film are Jodha and Akbar. At least that's what I've tried to ensure through their looks, body language and behaviour. I wanted to make my historical as believable as I'd like to see it being.

You've paid extreme attention to period details?
Every element big or small, from the texture of the clothes to the sets, décor, dialogues and the protocol, even the incidental sounds of birds and animals, they all had to be just right for me.

I'm tired of filmmakers wondering where those good old days have gone. I wanted to reclaim those days. It took me two years of pre- production before I got into my first shot..

Are you happy with the end-product?
Oh it has been tremendously enriching. So far the Mughal period was part of textbooks. I always wondered about the battles and the durbar intrigue.

The mughal period was known for its lavishness, so much so that studio bosses in Hollywood from the golden period were not called movie czars or movie nawabs. They were called movie moghuls.