Smooth Saif

Some say it’s love, others merely snigger. But then what does an older man do to keep up with a young girlfriend? Speculation is rife over whether or not Saif Ali Khan has gone in for some botox shots to get rid of those fine lines on his face. But all that, of course, is in the realm of conjecture — and Saif fans can’t be bothered with gossip that the face job was done while he was shooting for his film Love Aaj Kal in London. What is obvious, however, is that the Chhote Nawab is looking rather good these days, especially in the posters for the new film. In fact, he looks almost as young as the beauteous Kareena. Some still say it’s love.

Kids’ stuff

Glasses and prominent teeth are not what you’d expect on an anchor. But then Afsha Musani is different — she is all of six. Afsha is the co-anchor of Zee TV’s Hero Honda Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs — and it seems audiences can’t have enough of her. People have been talking about the show, which she anchors with 10-year-old Dhairya Sorecha, who has acted in films such as Babul. Afsha’s lisp, we are told, is the flavour of the season. And this is straight out of the mouths of babes.

I can icon

Somewhere, Indian students are being beaten up. Elsewhere, their icon is being felicitated. As Indian students Down Under tackle racial trouble, Canadian educational institutions are trying to woo Indians — and their moolah — to their shores. And how else, but by raising a toast to an enduring youth icon — Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy. Murthy was one of seven people awarded an honorary doctorate recently at the spring convocation ceremony at Montreal’s Concordia University. The university called Murthy a “notoriously self-effacing man, who is a strong believer in the distribution of wealth.” That should impress aspiring Canada-bound students — especially since studying abroad is all about distributing wealth.

Hot and het up

Payal Rohatgi is a bit miffed. Apparently, the actress has had enough of people calling her a sex symbol. There’s more to her than bare flesh, she believes, and has been seriously working on an image makeover. After Big Boss season II, she is looking forward to playing a television reporter in a film. And for that, she has gathered CDs of the November Mumbai terror attack for a first hand account of how journalists work. “I am studying the body language of journalists and their work,” says the actress. So don’t call her a sex bomb. She’d rather talk about bomb disposal.

Old is gold

The musician is dead; long live the musician. Madan Mohan is being resurrected by his son Sanjeev Kohli and Yash Raj Music. The legendary composer, who died in 1975, left behind some music that had never been released. A few of his soulful and unused tunes figured in the 2004 film Veer Zaara. And now several other unheard songs will feature in an album called Tere Bagair. The album has 15 songs recorded by Madan Mohan in the voices of Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar for films that were never released. To mark the maestro’s 85th birthday in June, the family also launched a website on the life and work of Madan Mohan. “Over the years I have tried my best to keep his music alive. I will personally update the website in a bid to share rare pictures, audio and videos along with some anecdotes with his fans,” says Sanjeev. That’s called a musical tribute.