''Talk of the town''

For years she has been known as Karisma Kapoor's younger sister who will be a star some day. Now, it seems that day has dawned. Not in the wake of J.P. Dutta's ``Refugee'', which failed to find favour with cinema lovers last year. Not even because Satish Kaushik has registered an unexpected hit in ``Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai''. But simply because Kareena Kapoor has been noticed. She may not have the figure which would be the envy of other girls and seek admiration of the opposite gender but she has her own chemistry which defies the flab around the middle and the famous Kapoor tantrums.

Yes, as Subhash Ghai's ``Yaadein'' kisses the silver screen today, it is a win-win position for Kareena. If the film clicks she can be the uncrowned queen of Bollywood. And if it fails to notch up the numbers at the box office, she has nothing to lose for coming up next is a film each with Bobby Deol and Hrithik Roshan.

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He might not quite look it, but when he gets down to talking, you know he is just as loud, giddy and talkative as his role model. The only trait that Titu Mahajan, or the ``Punjab da Govinda'', as he likes to calls himself, perhaps lacks, is the modesty of his screen hero.

But as 32-year-old Mahajan confesses, he doesn't mind shouting from the rooftop as long as it helps him get into the memory book of people. From being an ardent fan of Rajesh Khanna to a look alike of the ``masses man'' Govinda, it has been a tough journey for this Ludhiana-based businessman.

It started with friends and relative calling him junior Govinda. But when even strangers started addressing him as the ``Virar ka Chokra'', Mahajan decided to try his luck. A couple of ads and serials later, Mahajan now wants to try films.

``I will try my best. I would like to be known as junior Govinda. Creating my own image will take a lot of time. I don't mind being a look alike. But I will not take up mediocre roles. After all, it should suit my personality,'' is how a smiling Mahajan describes his career plans.

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After the stupendous success of ``Lagaan'' and ``Gadar'', Aamir Khan and Sunny Deol are ready to take each other on all over again. While Aamir is eagerly looking forward to the release of ``Dil Chahta Hai'' in which he co-stars with Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna, Sunny Deol has ``Indian'' lined up for him this August.

``I am not in competition with Aamir. He and I have a totally different following'' is how Sunny Deol would like to view the situation. Giving the example of ``Gadar'', he says it was quite different from ``Lagaan''. To which Aamir agrees, saying: ``Both Lagaan and Gadar are period films, but the comparison stops at that.''

Interestingly, Aamir and Sunny have always reaped a good harvest whenever their films have been released together -- whether it was ``Dil'' and ``Ghayal'' or ``Raja Hindustani'' and ``Ghatak''. But then they seem to begin on an unequal footing this time round. While distributors have lapped up ``Dil Chahta Hai'', they are yet to pick up ``Indian''.

While there are fears being expressed in some quarters that ``Indian'' may not be released along with ``Dil Chahta Hai'' on August 10, Aamir and Sunny still will have a release together. The Ajay Devgan -- Madhuri Dixit starrer, ``Yeh Raaste Hai Pyaar Ke'' due for release on the same day has Sunny in a guest appearance.

(By Ziya Us Salam, Lakshmi Balakrishnan and K. Kannan)

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