Not Fair: How Neil and Katrina Kaif look so gora

Neil Nitin Mukesh and Katrina Kaif looked so gora together on screen in Kabir Khan’s New York that one of them had to tone down the fairness-quotient. And naturally, the chosen one was Neil. He had to use tanned makeup in the film. Laughs Neil, “All three of us Katrina, John and I are light complexioned. John had a nice dark tan during the shooting in Philadelphia. But it was a fight between me and Katrina on who was looking fairer. She used to accuse me of looking more fairer than her.” Eventually Neil had to settle for a tan to tone down his ‘fairness’. And not just in New York. He also had to tan himself in Aa Dekhe Zara for totally opposite reasons. Bipasha being dusky, Neil had to tone down his fair skin to match his co-star’s complexion. “In fact I’ve become used to tanning my skin by now, for one reason or another,” laughs Neil. About Aa Dekhe Zara Neil is excited for more reasons than one. “It’s a film about seeing the future through the camera. We haven’t gone into the futuristic space at all. It breaks the myth about super-hero films. All super-heroes save the world. My character in Aa Dekha Zara is only interested in saving himself.” As for his successful singing father Nitin Mukesh was scared Neil would let down not so much the legendary grandfather Mukesh as the equally-illustrious Kishore Kumar’s legacy. Says Neil, “I’ve chosen to make my singing debut with a Kishore Kumar rather than my grandfather’s number which is fine by my family. We are all Kishore Kumar fans in my family. It would’ve been one thing to take one of my grandfather’s songs and turn it around. Ghar ki baat and all that. But this was a very special responsibility, to carry another legendary singer’s legacy forward. Glad I managed it.”

Why no one raised any eyebrows when Ranbir showed his bum

Bipasha brought in her birthday at an unknown destination. She was surprisingly quiet and reluctant to talk. "It's been fantastic year for me. Personally and professionally. Family is great. Boyfriend is great. Everything is fine. I couldn't have asked for anything more this year. I'm actually surprised the year went so well. I even got time to watch my niece and nephew grow. Yes, I've spent one more beautiful year productively.." Suggest that she needs to have children of her own, Bipasha baulks, "No no I don't have the patience for kids. I can't bear to have my 7-year old nephew around for more than two hours. He's a talkative brat. My 1-year niece is an a item number. She dances superbly to the worst songs. So yes another actress coming up in my film. And she's the first light-eyed fair-skinned Basu girl in the family." What pleases her was the success John had achieved.And the label of the 'sexiest' for her man pleases her even more. "There has to be one person who's the sexiest every year. In 2007 Eastern Eye voted me the sexiest. In 2008 it's John. If they didn't vote him the sexiest they'd look really foolish. I mean John is the hottest. No one is going to look hotter than him for a long time. And I'm not saying that because I'm in a relationship with him." Ask her how she felt about John letting it all hang out in Dostana, and Bipasha chuckles, "Ranbir Kapoor showed his bum (in Saawariya). How come no one raised any eyebrows? It was not so drastic with John. He has a fantastic body. If a woman on a beach is appreciated why not a man on the beach? If you are comfortable with your body and you can carry it off with grace like John did, why not? I'm proud of what John has achieved. I've been with him from the time we shot Aetbaar and Jism. We started dating on Aetbaar." Bipasha says she was really proud of her bikini shot in Dhoom 2. "At no point did I look cheesy. There was no heaving thrusting. It was just a healthy shot of a woman on the beach. Incidentally I came out of the water in Jism wearing a thick white dress. Such was the impact that people think I wore a bikini."

It was Bipasha's worst day ever

Last Sunday was one of Bipasha's worst days ever. On Sunday afternoon Bipasha gave all her dear ones a scare when a flying pebble lodged itself straight inside her ear, almost tearing her eardrums. Shuddering at the bizarre turns and twists of the day Bipasha says, "We were doing a heavyduty action scene when this gravel went right inside my ear. I had to be taken to Leelavati where it had to be sucked out. " On the surface this doesn't sound serious. "But it wasn't on the surface. It went right in. And I couldn't move because there was the danger that it would go in deeper and pierce the eardrums. First I tried to shake it out. Then when that didn't work I decided to let a doctor do the needful." Sunday being an off day no doctors were available. "The producer and director tried everything. We finally headed towards Leelavati. It was John who got an old ENT specialist-friend of his to check me out. The sweet doctor was at another hospital. But he drove down to Leelavati and at 4.30 pm he finally put me out of my misery." But it was good 3 hours of trauma for Bipasha. "Who would think such a thing would happen? Normally during an action scene you protect your knees, head, etc. But ear? It went straight in with a thud. I wasn't moving I was so petrified the gravel would go deeper into my ear. My parents were petrified. The minute the doctor said it could be taken out I was okay. It was the most bizarre thing that ever happened to me." That wasn't the end of Bipasha's Sunday trauma. "It was virtually double jeopardy for me on Sunday. After getting my ear rectified when my parents, sister and I returned home we got stuck in the lift while going up to my apartment. And my sister is claustrophobic. So I had to pretend to be calm for her sake until we were rescued." Bipasha has marked Sunday 14 December as the most terrifying day of her life. " It was the most ridiculous and scary day of my life. And that too on a Sunday when I should've been relaxing. Instead I was doing impossible flips and rollovers ….until God decided to put a pebble in my sand…or should I say sound?"