THEY’RE a mutual admiration society, Kareena Kapoor and Karan Johar. Both go on and on about how wonderful it was working together on Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Yet, we learn that Kareena won’t be starring in Johar’s next production starring Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan, which will be directed by Nikhil Advani. Although Kareena had been announced right from the start as the leading lady of this love story, Johar has now revealed that Preity Zinta will replace his Poo because Kareena was charging too high a fee for the film. Insiders say Kareena simply wasn’t impressed with the story, and quoted a fat fee because she didn’t want to break Johar’s heart with harsh criticism about the script which he’s himself written.Dutt’s Called a Casting CoupWHAT is it about Preity Zinta, really? While she was still dating Marc Robinson, there were all these rumours about a fling with Sanjay Dutt, which she hotly denied. Now, even as there’s all this gossip about her ‘friendship’ with model Parveen Dabbas, there’s more buzz about her in the form of rumours linking her to Aamir Khan. The dimpled actress has denied the information as baseless and untrue, but admits she’s great pals with her much-married Dil Chahta Hai co-star. The Bollywood grapevine, shockingly, has gone into overdrive as far as Preity and Aamir are concerned, going so far as declaring that the two are set to tie the knot shortly.Parallel Track in Search of SuccessTHERE is some talk about Govinda having met up with filmmaker Gulzar recently. The actor admits there is a plan between the two to work together soon. Incidentally, this is not the first time Chi Chi has contemplated working with a director from the parallel film circuit. He was in talks with Shyam Benegal some years ago, and who can forget that political satire he was committed to doing for Kalpana Lajmi? While the idea of Govinda doing something radically serious seems shocking, one can’t help thinking it just might do him some good after all. His films with old favourites like David Dhawan and Harmesh Malhotra have been bombing all over the place, and if the actor doesn’t reinvent himself real quick, there’s a likelihood he’ll go extinct. Not a bad thought, did we hear someone say?!Almost Famous in BollywoodJackie Shroff: ‘‘Every individual has the right to do whatever he desires. If they have the time to act, then what’s wrong in it? No harm in a neta performing as an abhineta.’’ Parmeet Sethi: ‘‘If they’ve committed themselves to serving the public, they should concentrate on that. They have received enough love from the public as actors, and now’s the time for them to give back. They shouldn’t be thinking about their personal gains at this point.’’ Sushma Reddy: ‘‘I believe in multi-tasking. If they have the time to concentrate on both areas, then there’s no harm in it. But their acting jobs should not come in the way of their political commitments. And they should certainly not end up misusing power.’’ Hrishitaa Bhatt: ‘‘To each his own. Personally, I know that acting requires a lot of time, but if they have enough time after their political careers, then what’s wrong in doing both things?’’
