Gallery: Spicy Curves and Buxom Babes

Sonam feels I push her hard: Anil Kapoor

Anil Kapoor is a happy father. "Sonam couldn't have worked in more capable hands. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a genius. I haven't had the opportunity to work with him. But my daughter worked with him in her first film.

I wonder if she knows how lucky she is. Fortunately whether at home or on the sets she's surrounded by passionate workaholics. Today's kids need to be more focused.

Sonam feels I push her too hard. I was taken by surprise when Sonam said she wanted to be an actress."

Anil has a full year ahead. Apart from his daughter's debut he's turned producer. While his first production Mahatma Versus Gandhi was released earlier this year Anil moves forward bang-on with his second production."

Shortcut is a remake of a Malayalam film which my friend Anees Bazmi is directing for me. Akshaye Khanna (whom I really like ) and Arshad Warsi will play the lead.

I'll only be putting in a cameo appearance. It's impossible for me to manage acting and production at the same time."

Talk veers to Anil's blue-eyed boy Akshaye Khanna. "Why just Akshaye? I also think Hrithik and Abhishek are damn good.

But yes, Akshaye is the best thing about Salaam-e-Ishq, and I'm not saying that only because he's in my two productions. As for me, I really like my track with Juhi Chawla.

In our heydays we just did three films together. Juhi and I should've done a lot more films together. We're really compatible."

him that he was equally enthusiastic about Mallika Sherawat in his last release Darna Zaroorai Hai, and Anil screams, " Arrey yaar, tu marwayega.

Please don't compare Juhi with Mallika. But yes I was really impressed by Mallika's performance in Murder. She has a lot of spirit."

Spirited comedy is what Anil hopes to achieve with friend Anees Bazmi in Welcome. "We had a laugh riot in No Entry. We hope to achieve the same degree of humour in Welcome.

I thoroughly enjoy working with directors like Nikhil Advani and Anees who are so full of innovative ideas. But I'm also having a ball working with Subhash Ghai again in Black & White. I've done five films with him. Still, this one feels like the first.

I like people who can match my level of enthusiasm. Subhashji is one such person. Black & White is a very intimate and compact story.

We're all having a ball. It's meant to be a small film. But knowing Subhashji it will become big by the time it's released."

Anil plays 'white', meaning the good guy. The bad guy is played by an NSD graduate named Anurag.

"He has immense intensity …Speaking of which, Abhishek was fab in Guru… I like the way he has worked on his physique in Guru to transform into character.

When I tried something like that in Viraasat years ago, people sniggered that I was growing a moustache and my hair because I had no work."

Says Anil, "I just work and focus on nothing else. I'm now reaping the harvest of the work that I've done. I always concentrated on playing characters rather than being a star. Over the years I've tried not to dilute my vision.

I still have a lot to do. I love to work with newer directors like G.J Philips in My Wife's Murder and Nikhil Advani in Salaam-e-Ishq.

They give me an incentive to match up their energy. The last few years have been great. God has given me everything…well, almost. "

Priyanka Chopra and that F-word!

Priyanka is caught up in the F-word these days. No, don't get us wrong. It's Madhur Bhandarkar's latest film Fashion which is keeping her busy all the time.

As she says herself, "I have been so busy these days that I have found no time to introspect. Fashion is the only movie right now that I am going to be taking a lot of stress over."

2007 has been a cold year for this former Miss World but Priyanka is eagerly looking forward to 2008 in which she will feature in as many as half dozen films.

“This year I had a sort of sabbatical year and this year just two releases. But 2008 will be my busiest calendar as I would be acting in six films. I have acted in about 20 films in my four-year-old cinema career so far and 2008 will be the busiest,” says Priyanka.

Her new releases coming out in the next one year include: God Tussi Great Ho with Salman Khan and Amitabh Bachchan , Love Story 2050 with Harman Baweja , Drona with Abhishek Bachchan , Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion , another film called Chamki Chameli and a yet-to-be-named film with John Abraham as co-star.

Priyanka also tells that there were some calls from the Hollywood to act in English films, but she first preferred to 'master' acting in Indian films.

But coming back to on-screen fashion travails, it is her off-screen fashion issues that are in the news.

At a recent polo event in the city, Priyanka apparently refused to wear a Rohit Bal gown that was provided by the organisers. Priyanka, however, dismisses it as a mix of mere speculation and a lot of gossip. “Not at all! I have absolutely no issue there. In fact, I love Rohit’s work.

That day when I came for the event, I had a choice of outfits from various designers. A lot of them did not fit me because I had not done trials in Mumbai before coming for the event. And so, whatever fit me, I wore it for the event. I couldn’t have managed the fitting here in Delhi because we were running late. We were really tight on time,” she says.

''Shah Rukh didn't suit the role'' - Aziz Mirza

Though considerable time has elapsed since Aziz Mirza made his last film Chalte Chalte, nothing seems to have changed in his life. He first-and-foremost remains a thinking individual with working-class leanings, a filmmaker later.

"But my new film, for which we've found no suitable title as yet, is set in a foreign city. I have made a conscious decision to move out of Mumbai this time. Ever since I last made a film, the process of globalization has been accelerated. I want to see how it affects my protagonist. But yes I'll continue to be taken up with the problems of the have-nots."

There's much speculation in the movie mart about how Aziz and his protégé Shah Rukh have drifted apart. Aziz is genuinely surprised. "Not at all. Juhi and Shah Rukh are like my own children. How can I move away from them? The only reason why Shah Rukh is not in my new film is because this role required a young boy, just out of college. In fact, the minute Juhi heard the role she said she could see a younger Shah Rukh in it. That how Shahid Kapoor came in."

Aziz saab lapses into a flashback mode about Shah Rukh. "It's wrong to say that I helped his career. Everyone has their own destiny. Shah Rukh became an overnight star with Deewana. I remember they had shot half the film with another actor. Shah Rukh came into the project only at the tail stage. If that isn’t destiny, then what is? I've done four films with Shah Rukh. One doesn't have to continue working constantly with the ones whom one loves. Some relationships go beyond the profession. Shah Rukh is certainly one of them."

Ever since his wife Nirmala's death, Aziz Mirza has been in a state of seclusion. "Not really. It always takes me time to make my next film. Writing a film isn't an easy process. After Chalte Chalte, I had to do a film that I was comfortable with," says the soft-spoken director

Photo Feature: Complan Kids Turned Hero and Heroine

That's the old Complan Ad that used to appear on TV screens about 15 years ago. Now those kids have turned a hero and heroine. Yes, they are Shahid Kapoor and Ayesha Takia! Is that not interesting!

Katrina Kaif: 'I enjoy doing South films'

Katrina is the new flavour of the season. “Finally the appreciation is pouring in,” she smiles. But there’s something more she wants to do. Ask her about it, and Kat says, “I enjoy doing South films. You know why? Because they give dance steps which are liberated and filmi and I can dance freely to those numbers. But somehow, I’m getting the same old numbers in B-town. I’m dying to do real jataks and mataks.” That’s the dancing queen for you!