What is amazing about Sachin is that for 20 years he has been able to maintain a level. There has been no dip in his abilities, his application or his passion for the game. I would say very few people could last this long. I’ve played cricket and believe me, you can’t get out of bed for one week after one gruelling match.I saw him for the first time in 1988 when I was shooting at the Brabourne Stadium and he wasn’t playing for the Indian team yet. The team was practising at the nets and I was chatting with Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar and a few others. At a distance I could see this kid batting. I was surprised to see that he was middling the ball; he looked so small, and so young. I was zapped. I wondered who this little boy was, who was being allowed to practise at the nets with the Indian cricket team.

So I asked Kapil and Vengsarkar, “Who’s he? How come I don’t know?” They told me he was a new guy called Sachin Tendulkar, who was being seriously considered for the Indian team. So I had the good fortune of seeing Sachin play even before he walked into the team.The first time I met him was in 1990 when he came to the sets of Raj Kumar Santoshi’s Andaz Apna Apna. I don’t know how many people will recall this but it was Sachin who gave the clap for the mahurat shot at Mehboob Studios in Bandra. We met briefly and over the years we have been meeting off and on. We have been to each other’s homes.I have shown him all my movies, even Andaz Apna Apna which took three years to make. He came along with members of the Mumbai Ranji team to Bandra’s Gem theatre in the G-7 complex where I had organised a preview for them.Whenever we meet, we talked about both cricket and films.

He saw Ghajini at the test screening in my Khar office.He saw Taare Zameen Par also at the test screening. We stay in touch through SMS and when he plays really well, I promptly send him a text congratulating him — like when he smashed 175 in Hyderabad.What’s so attractive about Sachin’s game is the joy and passion with which he approaches the game. There is a lot of intensity in his game whether he is batting, bowling or fielding. For me, everything he does is perfect. I like to watch him open the innings in the ODIs. It gives me a high.

Expressing indignation over a poster of Karan Johar’s latest production ‘Kurbaan’, where actress Kareena Kapoor is shown flashing her bare back, Shiv Sena workers on Friday tied a saree around one such poster in suburban Juhu.The party also reportedly threatened to stall screenings in cinemas if the scene showing Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan undressed is not removed.

Women Shiv Sena members, led by area Vibhagpramukh Jitendra Janawale, tied a saree around the poster of Kareena, who is shown holding a bare-chested Saif Ali Khan, her real life boyfriend in the image.”How are such obscene posters being allowed by the authorities,” Janawale asked. “Several women and children pass by the posters. What effect will it have on them,” he added.

“We will soon visit Kareena’s residence and present her a saree,” he said.The movie, starring Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Vivek Oberoi, is slated for release later this month. It is directed by Rensil D’Silva and is a romance set against the backdrop of terrorism. It has been shot in Philadelphia, Delhi and Mumbai.

Aamir Khan is famous for experimenting with his looks.He had developed eight-pack abs for Ghajini and then become leaner for the to-bereleased 3 Idiots. But it seems he is not the only one who is willing to take such risks. An increasing number of actors in Bollywood seem to be realising that it helps to get into the skin of the character.The latest example is Ranvir Shorey. Ranvir has gained a lot of weight for his new release, which is aptly titled Fatso.

(Abhishek Bachchan had also turned a fatso for the movie, Guru) “I had to put on more than 15 kilos,” says Ranvir. Fatso is based on five friends. On his role, he elaborates: “I play one of the friends. My character is very awkward and shy because of his weight. His friends love playing tricks on him but he is also adored a lot.” Was it hard putting on so much weight? “The character I play looks fatter. So, even after gaining so much weight, I had to put on a lot of makeup and resort to padding. But the problem is, no padding can be done on the face and the neck and hence, I had to put on around 15 kg,” Ranvir explains.

But the effort has paid off.Fatso was recently showcased at the South Asian International Film Festival in New York and Ranvir’s role was appreciated.The actor says: “The movie has been received well. It was the opening film of the festival, the centre piece.” Ranvir is in a mood to celebrate, but he can’t for obvious reasons. His next role is not that of a fatso.

MAX, the Premium Movies and Special Events Channel bring the Baadshah of Bollywood to your living rooms this November. While SRK has celebrated his birthday earlier this month, MAX handpicks the best of King Khan titles for his fans. Starting 16 November, 8 PM block your seats to get absorbed into myriad shades of the actor’s high octane performances!

Get ready for the treat of the year, as MAX presents a festival of 10 hit films of the undisputed, the charismatic Shahrukh Khan.As part of this film festival MAX will showcase films like Chak De (a story that motivated a compulsive losing Hockey team to emerge as a winner on the world platform), Om Shanti Om (a Farah Khan Bollywood spoof that can only result in spleen aching laugher). The platter remains incomplete if Shah Rukh does not romance.

To cater to fan demands, MAX dresses up the bouquet for the festival with some of SRK’s cult romantic hits like Veer Zaara and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.Be prepared to loose yourself in pure, unadulterated entertainment, SRK style from MAX. Come, be a part of King Khan’s world of love, romance, emotion, comedy, fear, obsession, anger with the inimitable King Khan, only on MAX!

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan seems to have run out of topics to post on his blog. In his latest post Big B said that he had wished Shahrukh Khan on his birthday (November 2) through an SMS but he is still waiting for an acknowledgement. He further wrote wrote that it was pretty strange for Shahrukh not to reply him back.

Amitabh wrote “Nov 2 was Shahrukh’s birthday and I may have been the very early wishers to him, but he still has not acknowledged. Mobile must have crashed with the number of wishes he had continued to receive throughout the day. Maybe I should send him a reminder. Most unlike him. I wished Gauri and him for their anniversary a few days back and they responded. But why not now!??”

The two giants of the Indian cinema who have starred together in movies like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Mohabbatein are always said to be in competition with each other. Both of them have publicly denied this and said that this is a creation of the media. Well we hope Shahrukh acknowledges Big B’s wish better late than never.