If there’s one thing that sends shivers down actress Vidya Balan’s (pictured left) spine, it’s a cat.

“If there is a cat on the sets, Vidya drives the whole unit crazy. She sees to it that it is chased out. Until then, she remains petrified,” a unit member said.

Though the actress is scared of all cats big and small, it saddens her if someone hurls stones at them.

“She can’t bear to see stones being hurled to get rid of the cat. ‘Why don’t you just shoo it away’, Vidya tells us often,” the source added.

It is good to have a woman supporter … especially for the girls on the reality show “Indian Idol”.

Sonali Bendre, one of the four judges on the show, has been offering her support to the girl contestants and is always urging them on. She is particularly vocal in her support for Shini Kalvint, the only married girl on the show. Perhaps, her own marital status helps her see Shini’s position in a different light.

Sonali’s protective instinct will soon be seen in an episode in which she’ll get up and walk to Tullika and put her arms around the sobbing contestant.

It will be a particularly trying evening for Tullika when first her best friend Mohit is in the danger zone and then later her friend Priyanka says she has switched loyalties to others.

Comforting words from Sonali and a warm hug from Priyanka and all gets well with Tullika’s world.

Catch this episode of Indian Idol this Friday, December 12, at 9.00pm on Sony Entertainment Television.

Sonali Bendre, who has been missing from the big screen for quite a while, says her filmmaker husband Goldie Behl wants her to return to the silver screen and says this is the right time for her to venture into movies.

“Goldie thinks that I should be acting now… he thinks the kind off cinema that is being made today is what I used to do when I was active in Bollywood. Playing loud characters was never my forte… my forte has always been enacting quite and real roles which is happening in the industry now,” Sonali said.

“He keeps telling me, ‘You know, I think you are making a mistake. You should be doing movies now, lot of interesting things are happening and you fit right in them’. Even my mother-in-law keeps telling me the same thing,” she added.

But Sonali makes it clear that movies are not on her cards right now.

“Well I agree the roles and the kind of scripts that are being made today are my type, but I have my own opinion. I follow my thinking and don’t get swayed so easily. I don’t think I’m ready for films because it takes a lot of commitment. I’m not ready for that kind of commitment,” Sonali said.

The 35-year-old, who worked in films like ‘Major Saab’, ‘Sarfarosh’, ‘Zakhm’, ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’ and ‘Humara Dil Aapke Pass Hai’, bid adieu to movies after tying the knot with Behl in 2002.

And any plans to get into production?

“I’m married in a film family and we have our own production house. So it’s not that I have to go out and then get into production. I’m already into it. But other than that I think production requires certain amount of mindset and training, which I lack.

“I’m not trained like them. I do have an aesthetic sense of what I like or what I don’t like. Definitely I can give my opinion on it, but beyond that the day-to-day running has to be left to the professionals,” she added.

The actress is set to grace the small screen once again as the judge of second season of Colors’ reality show ‘India’s Got Talent’. Director Sajid Khan and actress Kirron Kher will join her in the judges’ panel.

“Indian Idol 4” contestant Shini Kalvint (pictured left) went home last night (December 20) a tad heartbroken but convinced that the Indian viewers do not vote for girls and more so for married ones.

Highly talented, passionate about her singing and determined to win the title, Shini came from small town Gwalior with stars in her eyes. Right from the days of the auditions, she was one of the top contenders for the title.

After watching all the performances, the judges believed that the girls had an edge over the boys this season of Indian Idol. But unfortunately the voting pattern has undone that belief. Week after week Indian Idol is losing a very talented female contestant.

Shini and Bhavya, once eliminated, were brought back by the judges through the Wild Card entry. But luck ran out for Shini last night. Bhavya on the other hand had a narrow escape this time but who knows what the coming weeks hold for her and the other girls on the show.

The reality show’s judge Sonali Bendre who has rooted for the girls this season simply because their talent far outshone that of the boys, was completely devastated by the results and could not hold back her tears as she bid Shini goodbye.

Will the viewers vote for the best or simply continue with the bias of region and gender? One wonders. But if the same trend continues, music reality shows may sadly become a farcical process.

Hoping better sense prevails and the viewers vote even for those who turn out an excellent performance and not vote only to save a floundering contestant. May the best contestant go to the top!

She used to be softspoken, bright and studious, but model Anushka Sharma also has what it takes to reach the top in showbiz, say people in Bangalore as she makes her dream debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in “Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi”.

While her mentor and fashion guru Prasad Bidappa says Bangalore girl Anushka was always a good learner and he had an inkling that she would do well in the glamour and entertainment industry, her friends say she has always “stood out in the crowd”.

“Anushka showed her zeal in learning things fast. She started walking the ramp perfectly just after a few days of guidance. She was agile and had a perfect body language. She was a good learner and worked hard to reach the top. It did not surprise me when she got such a good opportunity in Bollywood,” Bidappa, who also groomed Deepika Padukone, told IANS.

Well-known designer Wendell Rodricks spotted Anushka at an event in Bangalore and saw her potential. He brought her to Mumbai and made her the showstopper in his Les Vamps show at the Lakme India Fashion Week.

After making a mark as a model, Anushka did big assignments for products like Fiat Palio and Silk and Shine products.

A trained bharatanatyam dancer, Anushka is playing a dancer who gets married to a nerd in “Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi”.

Former model and Kannada actress Andrita Ray says Anushka’s entry into filmdom brings hope for others who are trying to make it big in filmdom.

“Certainly this was the most encouraging news for many models in the city who are trying for a foot hold in the film industry,” said Andrita, who forayed into the Kannada film industry with director Mahesh Babu’s “Meravanige”.

Andrita remembers Anushka as a softspoken girl.

“More than me, some of my best known friends who describe her as one girl who could be noticed even in a big crowd.

“Though I did not have too many interactions with her, I was very happy to see her getting such a big break. And what makes it more exciting is the fact that she was chosen after more than a hundred girls were interviewed,” said Andrita.

Some of Anushka’s friends who studied in Mount Carmel College with her say they were not at all surprised that she chose a film career.

“Working in films was her first ambition,” said a friend.

One of her teachers on request of anonymity said she was surprised when she saw Anushka’s photograph in a newspaper with Shah Rukh. “She was very studious and I thought she would complete her post graduation in economics,” said the teacher.

Katrina Kaif has been declared as the most searched name on the internet according to a latest survey by Google’s 2008 India zeitgeist lists. She is one of the only two humans on the list of fast rising searched terms and follows You Tube and Orkut, both owned by Google.

Katrina has also been judged as the sexiest Asian woman by Eastern Eye, a leading U K publication.

Katrina got the highest number of votes for the Sexiest Asian Woman in the world title.

Last year it was Bipasha Basu who topped the poll. Katrina beat Bipasha by a considerable number of votes.

Besides Katrina and Bipasha, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan stood seventh on the list. New entrants to the ’sexiest list’ included Pakistani actress Mehwish Hayat, Miss India Universe Simran Kaur Mundi, former Miss Sri Lanka Jacqueline Fernandez and south Indian actress Asin.

Apart from this, Katrina has about 50,000 to 1 lakh downloads on the internet every month.

In fact, Value Added Service companies are now keen to tie up with Katrina to get exclusive copyright of her images. The deal will fetch Kaif 20-30% royalty on every image that is down loaded by a netzien. The more the number of downloads the fatter the royalty.

“This is a new concept and not many Bollywood personalities are aware of this arrangement. But this idea is catching up with the stars in a big way,” said a source.

Kishen Kumar and Bhushan Kumar have denied all the rumours about the split in the family and have come out clear in the media that they are one and will always continue to make films under the T-Series banner together.

Bhushan Kumar said that there is no chance of any split in the family and all the members of the family are involved in filmmaking. He said T-Series’ upcoming movie “Paris” will remain under the same banner. He also added that Tanya Kumar, who has initiated this project, will be the producer of the film along with himself and Kishen and she will get due credit for her work.

Kishen Kumar gave the final verdict when he said, “We are together and rocking.”

T-Series’ upcoming movies include “Kajraare”, “8 by10 Tasveer” and “Paris”.

Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker’s magnum opus “Jodhaa Akbar” has been nominated in the Best Foreign Film category for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards.

“’Jodhaa Akbar’ is a masterpiece in its own way. The film has already won various awards and winning BAFTA will be another feather in our cap. We are very hopeful with the movie,” said Girish Johar, associate vice-president of UTV Motion Pictures that co-produced the film with Gowariker.

Starring Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai in the lead, the film won the audience award as the Best Foreign Film at the 32nd Sao Paulo International Film Festival and the Best Film Grand Prix and Best Actor award for Hrithik at the Film Festival of Muslim Cinema Golden Minbar in Kazan, Russia, this year.

Sunday, December 14, 2008 was one of the scariest days in Bipasha Basu’s life.

While shooting for an action scene in Mumbai, a pebble flew deep into her ear. While it didn’t pierce the eardrum, till the time medical help could be sought, she lived in fear of the pebble damaging her hearing.

She had to be rushed to Lilavati Hospital and boyfriend John Abraham got an ENT doctor friend of his to attend to her. The doctor finally sucked the pebble out.
But Bips’ misery didn’t end with that.

On the way home, she got stuck in the lift of her apartment block, along with her parents and sister.

It again took some time before they were rescued.
“It was the most ridiculous and scary day of my life,” says Bipasha.

Kareena Kapor has made a New Year resolution – she won’t be dancing at weddings any more, no matter how much money is offered to her for the same.

In the past, Kareena has performed at many big weddings around the world for exorbitant sums of money but now she feels that her dancing at weddings will embarrass her family as it’s something that’s not looked at with respect.

“Being a youth icon, I do not want to set any wrong examples,” adds Kareena.

Another reason, of course, is beau Saif. Being from the royal family of Pataudi, having his girlfriend dance at weddings is also not something that he likes.