Recently, a female fan from Uzbekistan in Central Asia has sent filmmaker Karan Johar a carpet and a love letter confessing her feelings for him.
We usually hear about actors and actresses receiving fan mail and stalkers making their lives difficult. Katrina Kaif has had a stalker since May this year, a fan from the Middle East landed at Shahid’s shoot a while ago and Minissha Lamba also had stalker trouble.
Karan Johar is the first filmmaker to receive fan mail of this nature. A source close to the production house tells us, ‘On Sunday, Karan received a parcel from Uzbekistan. He was surprised. He saw the carpet with the design of his face and was delighted. It was only when he read the letter in which the lady named Dilbahar had proposed marriage to him was he embarrassed. No female fan has ever proposed marriage to him before.’
The source adds, ‘Karan Johar is one of the most stylish directors and he is as well-known as his films. He is constantly in the limelight promoting his films and for his famous friends and clout in the industry. He has a way with words too and makes utterly romantic movies which are adored by the female community. Also, people in Eastern Europe and Central Asia are very conservative with little contact with the opposite sex. They love Indian movies and Bollywood personalities.'
Karan Johar has a very busy day today and was unavailable for comment. In a past interview he had said he was looking forward to settling down and maybe he should consider the heartfelt proposal.
Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh flaunted six-pack abs, but Shahid Kapoor is doing two better -- he will show off eight-pack abs in his forthcoming film "Chance Pe Dance".
Trainer Abbas Ali said they managed to achieve the new look in a very short time for"Chance Pe Dance", directed by Ken Ghosh. "Shahid had to look cosmetically presentable. After 'Kaminey' we had only two months in hand to change his complete look. It's Shahid's sheer hard work, dedication and consistency that transformed him from what he used to look a couple of years ago to his present look," Abbas told IANS. "His body in 'Chance Pe Dance' is better than all his previous films. Shahid told me that dancers are coming from abroad and he wants to look like god and move like god. I had to change the entire training to bring that look along with flexibility and muscle endurance which was required for his dance performance," he said. Shahid first started working on his body for Vishal Bharadwaj's "Kaminey" as he had to run with horses in a scene.
"Shahid didn't have a muscular body. I was training him only for fitness. Shahid didn't want a picture perfect body in 'Kaminey' because the film shows that he comes from street and doesn't workout in high-tech gym," said Abbas. For "Chance Pe Dance" Shahid needed a sculpted body and practiced five days a week. He also had to work on his diet. "Shahid is a vegetarian and he doesn't even takes egg so first class protein, which is required to build lean muscle, was not there. White carbohydrate was removed from his diet, like white potatoes and pasta. We added brown carbohydrate like brown rice, sweet potato, oats instead. "We didn't go for low carbohydrates because if you go for low carbohydrates your performance level goes down in real life. He has to dance so we couldn't go for low carbohydrates." "Chance Pe Dance", in which Shahid plays a struggling actor opposite Genelia D'Souza, is set for a Jan 15 release.
Bollywood Rock Star Salman Khan and Director David Dhawan might be called as the winning duo, but if the latest reports are to be believed, the two have fallen out completely. Buzz is that Salman Khan is furious with David Dhawan for delaying the sequel of the hit film PARTNER. Salman is yet to get any update from David on that project. On top of that, David directed HOOK YA CROOK with John Abraham leaving his friend Salman Khan's project in the doldrums. Now, Salman Khan is in revenge mood.
Grapevine has it that Salman Khan is using his influence to kick David Dhawan out of a forthcoming film project that will have the star in the lead. Apparently, Salman Khan already conveyed his displeasure with David Dhawan to the producer and is making sure that someone else replaces him soon.
Salman Khan, who is known to harbour grudges for long has best friend Director David Dhawan on the radar this time. Well, let's hope Salman Khan's latest act is not the end of this JODI NO 1.
Bollywood hot actress Sushmita Sen on the cover of Maxim Magazine’s Indian Edition for the month of November 2009. Sushmita Sen who won Miss Universe almost 15 yrs with her presence on Maxim cover page. Sushmita also escaped from wearing bikini in Maxim Magazine. Last month also there was no bikini pose from Amrita Rao and now Sushmita. Guys i don’t think anyone expected this from Maxim, Maxim is known to strips best in the industry just what they done in international issue. Hope we will get someone better with pappy pictures next time. Till then enjoy Sushmita Sen’s Photoshoot for Maxim Magazine.
Deepika Padukone will be seen playing badminton in Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se (KHJJS) along side Abhishek Bachchan. Being a daughter of badminton ace Prakash Padukone, Deepika too is a badminton champion in real life. Guess what? Aashu has cast the right person for his play.
Meanwhile shooting for the film will start in first week of December in Goa.
Slumdog Millionaire not only brought the international fame to Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto or to the kids in the film but also to Loveleen Tandon, who co-directed the film. Previously it was supposed that she only did the right casting for the film, but she also co-directed the film. “That wasn’t the only thing I was doing. Casting is a part of the bigger scene, part of the larger vision,” she clears.
After Slumdog… she kept low profile till now, which is because she was busy with a new script. “Yes, I have literally been hibernating in New Delhi.” But now she is emerging as an individual director. “I have been busy with my film script. That’s a full-time job,” said Loveleen.
She got break from her work only when she was invited by the Queen at the Buckingham Palace. She also made a trip to Mumbai for a play ‘I am an Emotional Creature’ by Eve Ensler and Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwa. At the play she read the epilogue. And where in the director connects her film with the play. “It’s a great co-incidence that Eve’s play is quite similar to my script, the story of a young girl, her desires, emotions and the pressures on her,” said she.
Meanwhile, shooting for her film will start next year. And Loveleen is the one who believes that getting good actors for a film is not difficult as far as your script is good. She adds, “People are always on the lookout for a good script. Whether its actors or producers, nobody says no to a good script.” She received a great applaud for the right casting of Slumdog Millionaire.
With her new film, whether there is pressure on her mind to match the heights of Slumdog…, because comparisons are bound to happen. Well, she doesn’t bother about it as she says, “I’m someone who thrives on pressure. I thrive on tension, crisis, less time and deadlines. It brings out the best in me.”
However one questions that she often have to answer and which makes her uncomfortable is- Whether her film is an international venture? And she answers, “You just make a film. Whether it becomes a hit in a city or a country, two countries or five is beyond you. Crossover, international, mainstream, commercial, art… are just tags.”
Loveleen also has assisted Mira Nair for film Monsoon Wedding and on that note she says, “She lives abroad. She comes from a different space. I live in India. This is my specialty. I can’t relate to the NRI experience. Maybe some day in the future, but at the moment, mine is the Indian experience. It’s unique; there’s a strong element of traditional and modern ethos, perfect material for movie making.”
Well, what’s her count on the controversy rose with Slumdog… that it has depicted only the poverty of India. “Films are stories, they are not documentaries meant to highlight any aspect of society. You can only tell a story and tell it well. If it’s a boy from the slums, you have to tell it from that perspective. You can’t glamourise or glorify it,” adds the talented director.
Those who thought the leggy lass Deepika Padukone is out of sight nowadays or she is avoiding media after her split with Ranbeer Kapoor are wrong. Because reason behind her vanishing act is the new look she got for Kartik Calling Kartik, which she didn’t want to reveal. Deepika has chopped her waist length hair to the shoulders for the film.
In KWC, she co-stars with Farhan Akhtar. She is playing role of an interior designer in the film and the script demands her to be in a particular look. Deepika was first hesitant to do so, but director Vijay Lalwani and Audhuna, the celebrity hairstylist and Farhan’s wife convinced her to go for it. “They thought with my height, I would be able to carry it off well,” said Deepika.
“I last chopped my hair when I was eight,” she added.
Before the hair cut Deepika put a condition in front of the director that she will chop her hair only if he will shave his head bald. “He didn’t do that, but he saw to it that he was present in the salon so that I don’t back off at the last moment,” said the actress with a smile.
Meanwhile people including her parents, who have seen her in new avatar, have liked it. “Everybody says it looks good on me and makes me look younger,” she said.
Talking about her role in the film, she said, “The scriptwriter had a certain image in mind when he wrote my character Shonali. So I had to do justice to the role.”
She is happy with the new haircut and thinks that ‘Change is good’.
Bollywood Super STar Hrithik Roshan's home production 'Kites' has been made with a budget of over Rs 60 crore and this is the most expensive bollywood film in India from the Roshan banner. The film also has Latin beauty Barbara Mori and Kangna Ranaut. The movie has some intimate moments of Hrithik and Barabara and the movie is the much awaited flick.
Superstar Hrithik Roshan and mexican actress and model Barbara Mori will set the screen a fire with their hot scenes in the new movie Kites, rumors say.
The controversy around the kissing scene between Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori during Kites movie shoot has barely subsided, when the next controversy has cropped up. Apparently Papa Roshan, who was none to happy over the Hrithik Roshan – Barbara Mori kiss scene, is even more discomfited over the highly steamy Hrithik – Barbara Mori scenes in Kites.
Rumor has it that the Hrithik Roshan – Barbara Mori sex scenes were so hot, that papa Roshan was asked to leave the sets by Kites director Anurag Basu. Basu felt that Hrithik would be very uncomfortable performing his sex scenes with Barbara Mori, if his father were around.
Apart from that, Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori are said to get on very well off-screen as well, which has panicked Papa Roshan even more. He is said to have flown down Hrithik Roshan’s wife and kids to Las Vegas, where Kites is being shot, to stem any budding relationship between Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori.
Kites which was scheduled to be complete in September 2008, got delayed due to sandstorms in New Mexico where Kites was being shot. Kites will now be completed by mid-October, 2008. Kites stars Hrithik Roshan, Barbara Mori, and Kangana Ranaut in pivotal roles
Mexican beauty Barbara Mori is a telenovela actress with TV Azteca. Barbara Mori is of mixed heritage. Barbara Mori’s father, Yuyi Mori, is of Japanese ancestry while her mother, Rosario Ochoa, is Mexican.
Barbara Mori has acted in many telenovelas, notably Mirada de mujer: El regreso for which she won the TVyNovelas Award. Barbara Mori has also acted in films like Inspiracion, Robots, La mujer de mi hermano, and Pretendiendo. Barbara Mori’s latest release was the 2008 flick Violanchelo. Barbara Mori is also a well-known international model.
Kites has been directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Rakesh Roshan. Anurag Basu has directed movies like Gangster, Life in a Metro, and Murder, all of which have been hits and appreciated by critics as well as audiences.
Kites is a dance-based bilingual movie (English and Hindi). Hrithik is a lovable (?) con artist who has two women on a string, Barbara Mori and Kangana Ranaut. Barbara Mori plays a salsa teacher, while Kangana plays the role of a siren.
Rakesh Roshan has directed most of the movies he has produced. His bumper hits like Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, Krissh 1 and 2, have starred son Hrithik Roshan. This is the second time Rakesh Roshan has handed over he directorial reins to another. The last time he did so, was the 2008 release Krazzy 4, which tanked at the box office and landed him into a legal tangle.
After a royal wedding in Khandala, Shilpa Shetty oops! Shilpa Kundra and hubby Raj Kundra will be holding a grand reception in Mumbai. It will be a star studded night at the Grand Hyatt, Mumbai where all the big names of Bollywood will come to wish the couple. Shilpa and Raj have not left any stone unturned to make this reception grand in what has so far been called 'wedding of the season.'
The guest list includes Amitabh Bachchan and family, SRK and family, the Kapoors, Rekha, Farah Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Karan Johar, the Deols, Sushmita Sen, Salman Khan and the liquor baron Vijay Malya. Shilpa has invited Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne and popstar Jermaine Jackson for her grand reception.
Shahid Kapur's next project "Chance Pe Dance" has a slice of his own life as the film traces the journey of a struggler till he tastes success.
"Yes, there are many scenes in the movie that are similar to my life, but it's not intentional, they have just turned out this way," Shahid said in a press release.
The movie is based on a dancer's life who enters a reality show after being rejected many times. Shahid, who plays the lead in the film, too had to give a lot of screen tests and auditions before he got the lead role in director Ken Ghosh's 2003 movie "Ishq Vishk".
According to a unit source, there's another scene in the film where Shahid's character is left with no option but to buy a second hand car due to his hardships, just like he had to in his own life.
Shahid once played the role of a tree in a school play. This too is reflected in the movie.
Ghosh is directing "Chance Pe Dance", and it also stars Genelia D'Souza. The film is being produced by UTV Motion Pictures and will release on Jan 15 next year.
"My Dad has been the best Dad ever" flashes the headlines on the cover-story about the one and only Superstar and Greek God that Bollywood has ever seen: Hrithik Roshan! It is this same Superstar who looks the look and talks the talk in the latest edition of OK! India.
First things first... the cover of the issue is something that is worth giving your life for... in other words...its worth dying for! Words fall short to describe the look that Hrithik dons on the cover. If that wasn't enough, the inside pages of the issue seem like the unfurling of the dream called 'Hrithik'! Hrithik, in his own words, talks about diverse topics like what it means to be voted as India's Sexiest Dad, his bonding as a father with his sons, personality traits that his sons have inherited from him. Not just that, he also talks about who is a stricter parent: him or Suzanne, the change that fatherhood brought to him, his take on jittery Fridays (and if they exist in his dictionary) etc... etc... etc...
All in all, simply say OK! to Hrithik and his verbal lollies in the latest edition of OK! India.
While the world is abuzz with reports of Madhuri Dixit having been signed on to play Indira Gandhi in Krishna Shah's film on the political icon, the Dhak Dhak woman said she hasn't made up her mind yet.
"Yes, Shah did meet me [at Dixit's residence in Denver, USA], with the script. I read it and I am really impressed with the research he has done. I consider Indira Gandhi my idol, so it would be a privilege to play her.
"But I haven't agreed yet as I need to sort out a lot of other issues. My secretary, Rikku Rakeshnath, is figuring that out." Shah is so keen on casting Dixit that he took a computer imaging of the actress as Indira Gandhi with him when he went to meet her.
Reports of Shah approaching Hollywood stars like Tom Hanks and Tommy Lee Jones for the film are also doing the rounds. The director reportedly plans to approach actor Abhay Deol to play Rajiv Gandhi. Shah himself was unavailable for comment.
Amitabh Bachchan plays Abhishek Bachchan’s 13 year old son Auro in Balki’s Paa affected by a rare abnormality marked by premature aging
Abhishek Bachchan is all praise for real-life dad Amitabh Bachchan who is bound to leave audiences in awe with his performance in Paa. Director Balki who earlier directed Amitabh Bachchan in Cheeni Kum with Tabu got the idea of Paa after researching over the disease Progeria and also a certain day when he saw both father – son bonding, ‘The idea came when I walked into Amitji’s office one day and found Abhishek there in a very mature mould. I was completely fascinated seeing a sombre Abhishek and a playful Amitji who was lounging around. The scene I saw made it seem like Abhishek was the elder and Amitji was the son.’
Balki did intense research on the topic and said, ‘I read extensively about it and learned that there are only 40-odd cases of children across the world who are afflicted with this disease. It matched the concept I had in mind. So in a way I found the concept first and then went looking for a disease to match it. Not the other way around.’ Abhishek spoke of his experience during the shoot saying, ‘Paa was an unique experience, in fact the unique nature of this role was the reason I chose to do the film. The film gave me the opportunity to see how real life role reversal works. When Balki first spoke to me about the film and the concept he had in mind, I told him immediately, ‘I am on!’ It is not every day that you get to play your father’s father. It was great working together and he was a good son!’ Balki signs off saying, ‘The film’s USP is that it will be the only time when you get to see a son playing his dad’s dad and also the one time when you get to see a father playing his son’s son.’
Karisma Kapoor, a self-confessed foodie who is expecting her second child, confesses that she doesn't know how to cook.
"I don't know how to cook. I just know how to eat everything, as I love food. I can only make tea, coffee and omelettes," Karisma told IANS.
The actress has a four-year-old daughter with businessman husband Sanjay Kapur and says she loves good food but she is one of those actresses who has always flaunted a svelte figure.
Asked if she was into dieting, the 35-year-old said: "I am not into exhaustive drastic dieting or anything."
The actress, who took a sabbatical from the big screen after her wedding in 2003, hopes to have a second innings in the film world in future.
"I am hoping to get back to work and reach out to audiences," she said.
A great philosopher once told his beloved, 'I love you not because you are beautiful. You are beautiful, because I love you.' That seems to be most likely the case in the 150th issue of Elle. The magazine and Lara Dutta complement each other so very well, that it's totally impossible to say that who is mirroring whose grace and poise.
Needless to say, the 150th issue is really something to treasure about. In cliche words, one can call it as the 'Collector's Item'. This issue has Lara Dutta, 'The Mistress Of the Universe' (as the magazine calls her), who is shuffling her time between writing, meditating, horse riding, fashion... and yes...Bollywood, the place which will look like a vacuum without her presence! This issue has the gorgeous Lara getting into a nostalgic mode as she says, "As a child, my dream was to wear beautiful clothes with lots of make up and get photographed, which is more of a model thing than an actress". She also goes on to confess that when she was in class 7, she was merely 5 feet 1 inch in height. In just two years, she 'shot' upto a towering 5 feet 8 inches!
All this and mush, mush more....we mean...much, much more...only in this latest edition of Elle...truly an 'Elle-gant' issue by all means!
Shilpa Shetty, who is marrying London-based Raj Kundra on Nov 22, is facing pre-nuptial blues. She admits she is experiencing "mixed feelings" as the D-day draws near.
"To all those who want to know how I am feeling, I just want to say I'm going through a lot of mixed feelings - happiness, excitement, nervousness, just like any bride to be and sadness as well," Shilpa posted on her blog.
The 34-year-old actress is tying the knot with businessman Raj Kundra, whom she has been dating since 2007.
"Honestly it still hasn't sunk in completely, it's a strange emotion, can't describe it. The only consolation is that I'm tying the knot with Raj - a man who lets me be myself and doesn't want me or my life to change and that erases premarital jitters," she said.
"Obviously marriage is a huge step and with it come responsibilities, and since I believe in the institution, so I hope and pray that I can make ours a success."
Shilpa says she has been busy with the wedding preparations for the past two weeks but is also trying hard to fulfill her professional commitments so that she can set out for a one-month honeymoon with Raj after the wedding.
She is currently shooting in Hyderabad for the last schedule of Indo-Chinese project "Desire".
"I'm shooting in Hyderabad, everything had to be done before I'd left for this schedule. In the midst of Odissi rehearsals (can you believe it! ‘cause I am shooting for a song here), (I'm handling) guests list, hotel arrangements, wedding planners, trousseau outfits, the list is never ending.
"There's a lot of work to be done and I will be shooting and dubbing till a week before the wedding. Got to finish all work commitments before I leave for a month after the wedding," she said.
The actress is now only hoping that her younger sister Shamita Shetty, who is a participant on reality show "Bigg Boss 3", comes out to be with her in the "last few days at home".
Shilpa will have a quiet wedding ceremony with close friends and family Nov 22 and has plans for a lavish reception two days later.
Neil Nitin Mukesh is the first mainstream hero to have done a scene of masturbation in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Jail.
Reliving the highly unconventional moments of on-screen realism Neil says, “Frankly if it was some other director I’d have said no. But knowing the way Madhur depicts explicit sexual scenes I said yes.
We shot the masturbation sequence with 450 other actors on the set with me. All the other inmates are asleep when I do it. Now a lot of it has been cropped off. But we still see the character doing it. There’s just a suggestion of it now.”
A portion of the sequence was voluntarily removed from the film before it was presented to the censor board.
Says Neil, “Honestly, after Madhur and I shot the masturbation sequence we found we had gone too far. It was too explicit. It was just not jelling with Indian concepts of aesthetics. So we decided to knock it off quite a bit by mutual consent. We just wondered if the flow of the narration would be hampered.”
That’s not only sexually explicit sequence Neil has participated in for Jail. “In one sequence I go in the night to the bath and see a boy performing oral sex on another. Their pleasure is interrupted by me, and the boy says, ‘You had to come and spoil the fun.’ While we agreed to remove dialogue the scene of oral sex remains.”
Neil’s colleagues say they would gladly do a nude scene for a role. Ranbir Kapoor already has in Saawariya. But auto- eroticism is going too far.
Neil explains, “My nude or masturbation scenes are not for titillation. It’s a very practical need in the script. My character is in Jail without sex for 2 and 1/2 years. What does he do? He naturally seeks pleasure by himself. In the scene that we shot my character fantasizes about his girlfriend and gets his gratification.”
Comparing the moment to the dramatic poignant and memorable sequence in Alan Parker’s 1979 prison drama Midnight Express where the young prison inmate makes his girlfriend undress from across the glass partition dividing prisoners from visitors Neil sighs, “Oh my God! That was a wonderful moment. But we couldn’t show something like this in Jail.
Even the love-making scene with Mugdha Godse has been so aesthetically shot. Like the love making scene between Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic. It became an out-of-the-body experience for the audience.”
Even the censors’ blocking off Neil’s frontal nudity has been taken in the right spirit by the young actor.
“At first I was upset. I realize I am the first Indian actor to show full frontal nudity. But the scene was that of humiliation, not titillation, like the naked parade in Bandit Queen.
Even though I don’t get raped physically Jail is the first Hindi film to show the hero’s emotional rape. We’ve created all the hell inside prison. Audiences will actually see the horror behind the prison walls.”
Shah Rukh Khan, who turned 44 on Nov 2, spent some "quiet time with family and friends" on his birthday, putting behind a year of ups and downs and looking forward to a strong comeback.
With only one of his films - "Billu" - hitting the screens in 2009, the actor has promised his fans more action in the coming two years.
"I am a workaholic, but in the last year I couldn't do much due to my shoulder problem. My team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) didn't do too well and I shot for just one film 'My Name Is Khan'. My injury also pulled me down in terms of my endorsements, but I had time to introspect and spend a quieter time at home with my children," Shah Rukh told reporters at a press conference in Mumbai on Nov 2 (pictured left).
"I feel more energetic and happy now and totally ready for a comeback with many projects in the next two years after this one-year break," he added.
On his birthday, Shah Rukh has chosen to spend "quiet time with his family and friends" instead of partying hard, his spokesperson told IANS over phone from Mumbai.
Shah Rukh was in New Delhi on Nov 1 to kick off the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon and cheer and egg on the runners. It seemed like he is still recovering from an arthroscopic surgery he underwent earlier this year for a nagging pain in his left shoulder.
The Bollywood superstar chose not to run at the marathon but caused quite a hysteria among the runners and watchers by just being present among them.
He said: "Though I could not run this time because of my shoulder and knee injury, I'll try to be fit and run next year. Running is a spiritual experience."
The past year also brought him disappointment when his cricket team KKR did not perform too well in the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament.
Shah Rukh Khan was also in the spotlight when he suffered a two-hour detention at the Newark Airport in the US in August, reportedly over his surname.
Otherwise, 2009 gave the actor many reasons to cheer as he became Dr Shah Rukh Khan when he was presented an honorary doctorate in arts and culture by the Bedfordshire University in London.
He was also bestowed with two honours by the South Korean government - an honorary belt in taekwondo and the title of an honorary ambassador for culture and tourism.
Shah Rukh even purchased a 20 million pound apartment in London.
Now, after spending quality time with his wife Gauri and children Aryan and Suhana, Shah Rukh is looking forward to the release of his various films like "My Name Is Khan", "Happy New Year" and "Don 2".
Among these, his "My Name Is Khan" is the most awaited as it will mark his coming together with actress Kajol for the first time in eight years. The two starred in five films together, including "Baazigar", "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" and "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge", all of which were superhits. "My Name Is Khan" will release on Feb 12, 2010.
It seems like going size zero has finally paid Kareena Kapoor. The actress may have failed to win hearts in Tashan, for which she undertook all the effort, but Japanese electronics giant has signed the Kapoor lass for their latest size zero brand laptop.
The company did research and conducted a poll where Kareena's name came up as the only Asian actress who had dropped a few sizes and had gone to a size zero figure in a short span of time. Hence Bebo is all set to endorse the brand Britney Spears endorses in Hollywood.
Apparently, Kareena is very conscious about all the products she chooses to endorse. She is very clear that she will never endorse food chains like McDonald's or Burger King, known for their beef burgers and the like, while co-actor and boyfriend Saif Ali Khan says he can't think of doing an underwear ad.
"I will not endorse non-vegetarian products like McDonald's or Burger King. I won't endorse alcohol or tobacco. This is the policy I always follow because if I don't relate to such things, I should not advocate them either, " Kareena said at the HT Leadership Summit here Saturday.
"Endorsing a brand is not only fun but it does add to the bank balance. Apart from that endorsing a good brand helps you in connecting with your fans. Given this, I have to be very choosy about my endorsements because they also help a lot in branding, " she added.
Kareena is the face of many leading brands like Kurkure Desi Beats and Vivel soap among others.
Saif, who promotes several brands including Head and Shoulders and Asian Paints, says it is important for him to connect with the brand he endorses.
"For me, brand name is very important. I feel I should represent a brand that I can connect with. This also helps me to reach out to my fans because they can associate with me through that brand. I won't endorse something I don't connect with... like underwear ads. I can do a baniyan (vest) ad, but no chaddis for me.
"It's not the finances always. When a brand approaches us, they do a lot of research before they come to sign us. And when they come to sign, that means you represent something. It also helps visibility, " he added.