Brave New Girl

One for all Chitrangda Singh Photo: Fotocorp

Chitrangda Singh, who will shimmy to her first item number in Shirish Kunder’s Joker, is taking the breathless neophyte act a tad too seriously. On the sets of Kaam, Sudhir Mishra’s film on sexual harassment, she apparently assured journalists of the safe environs of Bollywood, where inappropriate passes are unheard of and actors choose projects and co-stars they are truly comfortable with. Thankfully, Singh is willing to champion the cause for us less fortunate with 9-to-5 jobs, who have no choice but to be molested regularly? No honey, that wasn’t a gagreflex but a heave of relief that you’re waging the good war.

Bawdy

Farah tells SRK to Show the goods

Bollywood heroines no longer have dibs on being objectified. For Happy New Year, Farah Khan has asked her recently reappointed 46-year-old muse, Shah Rukh Khan, to sport eight-pack abs. It seems the Khans are opting for skin-show because they are collaborating after a long hiatus. The director felt SRK should “surprise” an audience that might have forgotten Om Shanti Om. We’d be surprised if he did anything apart from giving defensive interviews — feel free to shock us silly with gratuitous scenes of a shirtless SRK being drenched by invisible water-throwing gnomes.

Beyond Borders.

Salman Khan’s sudden inclination towards atonement isn’t just a happy accident. This week, along with beseeching the Pakistani awaam and decision-making blokes to set Sarabjit Singh free, and handling the security arrangements at Esha Deol’s wedding, Khan also buried the hatchet with the man across the Bachchan border: Abhishek Bachchan. The two were seen exchanging an emotional embrace and then several hours of back-slapping jokes while shooting on adjacent sets. Could our eternal man-child finally be growing up? Or will the sapling of this friendship soon be reduced to ash? Stay tuned.

‘It’s a movie, not a mantra’

Shekhar Kapur (Playing coy, after soliciting praise for the 25-year-old Mr India)