'Salman never did anything for me' Katrina currently basking in the positive reviews for her portrayal of the British Asian Punjabi girl in Namastey London has an extra reason to be happy. On the sets of her new film Race Katrina has found a chess partner. "Thank God, Saif is an avid chess player like me. Whe- never the camera is switched off we play chess. Over here in India nobody plays chess. Earlier I persuaded my sister. I had to virtually bribe people to play chess with me," says the London-born girl who has found the perfect part of Londoner in Namastey London so early in her career. "When Vipul offered me the role I wasn't very sure I could pull it off. Once I was on he gave me the freedom to interpret the character how I wanted. That really helped me to come to grips with my character's language and personality. And then to hear some reviewer in Mumbai comment that I pronounce 'yatch' wrongly. Hello! This is probably some guy who has spent his life in Mumbai. I lived in London and know how to speak like young Indians out there. I've a good mind to dash off a letter to him." In fact one of Katrina's chief attractions in doing Namaste London was that she had the chance to finally dub her own lines. "But you won't believe this, I finally wanted to chicken out of dubbing my own lines. I lost nerve. I had this lengthy 45-minute discussion with Vipul convincing him why I couldn't dub. He heard me out quietly. I think secretly he had decided I'd do the dubbing. I finally relented. But I made the sound recordist's life miserable. He finally told me to get out of the recording studio and return only during my next film. Thankfully it's turned out well now." She sighs and gets dreamy. "I hope Namastey London works. I'm tired of waiting for my films to work. I know I'm only three films old and my first film Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya was quite a success. But I still haven't been able make a place for myself." She's unnecessarily grateful to Akshay Kumar for agreeing to do Namastey London with her. "Not too many actors in his position would want to do a female-oriented subject. But Akshay had absolutely no qualms. I like that." Surprisingly Katrina had more off-camera fun with Akshay shooting their other film Humko Deewana Kar Gaya. "People are talking about the compatibility visible between us in Namastey… but it was the other film where we really had all the fun. In Namastey… Vipul and I had more fun. This time with Akshay was equally enjoyable but a far more serious business. Off-camera we were discussing scenes, getting our stance right, and so on." Katrina and her director Vipul have now established a gratifying comfort zone between them. "Before the film released I'd ask him the same question twenty times. I guess I was just nervous. Vipul would patiently answer the first few times and then cut me short saying, 'The answer isn't going to change, no matter how many times you ask me.' Next, Katrina has just signed on the dotted line for Subhash Ghai's new directorial venture Main Yuvraj where she's paired with beau Salman. People would presume Katrina bagged the role through Salman's recommendation. "To think Salman got me Subhash Ghai's film is ridiculous especially when I have Namastey London to my credit now. Actually I met Subhashji long before. He had offered me a film. I think it was Kisna. He asked Vipul Shah to show him my work in Namastey London before finalising me for Main Yuvraj. That's how I think he decided on casting me," says Katrina. Trying to curb her annoyance about the allegation that Salman is responsible for her professional progress, Katrina says, "Do people think Subhashji is the kind of filmmaker who would listen to others before signing an actor? He would only sign an actor who suits the role and has always gone by what is right for his film." Katrina will also be seen in Anil Sharma's Apne. "Though my co-star in the film is Bobby Deol I'm completely captivated by Sunny Deol. He's the hero I've watched in my growing years. Whenever he's on the sets I'm totally tongue-tied." Pakistani singer Asad Ali Khan dies Islamabad : Pakistan's semi-classical singer Asad Amanat Ali Khan, son of Ustad Amanat Ali Khan, died of heart attack in London. Khan, who was given the presidents award for Pride of Performance on March 23, breathed his last yesterday. His great-grandfather, Ustad Ali Bux Khan, was the founder of the Patiala Gharana of Indian classical music. His grandfather, Akhtar Hussain, was a prominent musician of his time who added to his repute by coaching two of his sons, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan and Fateh Ali Khan, into becoming a formidable singing duo. Khan owed much of his early recognition to his late father's famous numbers. Other than music and the family name, Asad inherited from his father a passion to act in films. But the affair was cut short after an unsuccessful attempt, 'Dawn' reported. Court clears release of Kamal Hassan's film 'Dasvatharam' Chennai : The Madras High Court today cleared the decks for the release of the Tamil film "Dasavatharam", which stars matinee idol Kamal Hassan. Dismissing an application to stay the film's shooting and release filed by Senthilkumar, who claimed the movie was based on a script written by him and not by the actor, Justice V Ramasubramanian said he had read the story adopted by both parties. "A reading of them gives an unmistakeable impression that they have no commonality at all," he said, adding the disclosure made by respondents about the story adopted by them had cleared the air of suspicion. Noting that Senthilkumar had come to the court on a total misapprehension that his story had been copied by the actor and the film's producer Oscar Films Private Ltd, the judge said the applicant had no proof to show that his story had been copied. He pointed out that on January 20, the High Court had granted an interim injunction restraining the respondents from screening the film despite Senthilkumar not producing any proof to show that the movie's story film was a replication of his work. The judge dismissed the application and vacated the interim order. Contending that he had conceived a story titled "Ardhanari" in which the hero played 10 different roles, Senthilkumar claimed he had sent a copy of the scripy to Kamal Hassan in July 2005. Bollywood starlet to usher in Nepal new year Kathmandu : Less than a week after Nepal's newly crowned beauty queen Sitashma Chand advocated veering away from tradition for a good cause, an entertainment agency has decided to follow her advice and plans to usher in the new year with Bollywood starlet Udita Goswami. Instead of the customary worship in temples, Suryakala Films is promoting a date with Udita, better known for her display of skin than acting talents, on Nepali New Year Saturday. The Kathmandu-based organisation, which also holds an annual supermodel contest in September, is bringing in the little known actress of flops like "Paap" for two shows to usher in Nepali year 2064 with a bang. On New Year's Eve, which falls on Friday, Udita will entertain party poppers at the upmarket Yak and Yeti hotel at a bash complete with drinks and dinner priced at Nepali Rs.2,499 for single arrivals and Rs. 4,499 for couples. The other attractions at the party are the bhangra-dancing Meet brother duo and Jaswant Singh, star of the Great Indian Laughter Challenge Show on Indian TV's Star One channel. On Saturday, the party spills over from the five-star hotel to a public venue in a not so hip part of the capital, Gyaneshwor. "There's a craze for Udita among Nepali viewers," Palden Sherpa, manager at Suryakala, told IANS. "Also, we wanted to focus on entertainment." For some time, it had been a rising trend in Nepal to bring over Bollywood's latest "item girls" to add fizz to parties and business. Usually held at the five star hotels or casinos to promote business, the visitors have included Shefali, Mahek Chahal and Jia Chopra, former Miss World Priyanka Chopra's younger sister. Last year, Bollywood diva Urmila Matondkar had come to Kathmandu to inaugurate the newest casino in town, Casino Shangri-la. The trend drooped from 2005 following a coup by King Gyanendra and the subsequent political turmoil. While the situation is stable now with the fall of the royal regime and the Maoist rebels joining the government, the entertainment industry is yet to release the breath it's been holding since last week when Nepal's premier beauty pageant came under fire. The Miss Nepal 2007, the kingdom's oldest and best known beauty contest, ran into trouble Saturday when the women's wing of the Maoists and feminist as well as rights groups tried to stop it on the ground it degraded women. The Maoist women also urged their MP and present Information and Communications Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara to stop the state-run Nepal Television channel from broadcasting the programme live. Mahara said he and his party opposed such contests in principal, but he would not stop the show or the telecast due to "practical considerations". The "practical considerations" included a contract signed between Dabur Nepal, the main sponsor of the pageant, and the state-run channel. Alarmed by the confrontation, Nepal's fashion and entertainment industry is watching the new government keenly to see if there are any new bans. "Our plan is to give continuity to our supermodel contest," Sherpa said. "Till now, there is no ban on that. "Still, we are watching closely to see if the government comes out with any new law and we will decide accordingly." Indian Australian girl acts in Punjabi flick Sydney : An Indian Australian girl who won the Miss World Punjaban title in Australia last year is all set to be seen in a Punjabi film - something she had dreamt of since childhood. Japji, the 20-year-old Sikh girl, had migrated to Australia in 1996 with her parents. She recently returned home to Sydney after a three-month stint in India, having completed work on the film. "The offer came through Jan 16 this year, a day after my birthday," Japji said. "I couldn't have asked for a better present!" The newly turned actress is pursuing her graduation in Applied Science in Sydney. She will be seen in the Punjabi film "Mitti Wajan Mardi" starring popular Punjabi actor Harbhajan Mann and directed by Manmohan Singh, according to Indian Link, an ethnic Indian newspaper. Japji gave all credit to her parents. "Even though we've been in Australia since 1996, they inculcated traditional and cultural values in me and the blissful environment at home further enhanced it." Japji said her father has been the pillar of strength in her life. "He let me dream my dreams and in turn made sure that I got the guidance and leverage I needed to make them a reality. I admire my father for him being self made, steadfast in approach and above all, hard working," the budding actress said. 'Warrior' director teams up with Irrfan again Mumbai : This could be the biggest casting coup for a Bollywood actor in the West since Om Puri signed on Roland Joffe's "City of Joy". Irrfan Khan, who did the incredible "Warrior" with the Britain-based Gujarati director Asif Kapadia, is all set to do his next film "True North". "It's a film called 'True North' set in Norway. I've never read a script like this. Though I'm not the central character as I was in Asif's 'Warrior', the story of two women and their relationship fascinated me. I'm very excited about being part of this film. Asif's cinematic language is incredible," Irrfan told IANS. So is Irrfan's bonding with Kapadia. "Yes, he does seem to like my acting abilities. In fact, after 'Warrior' he shot a film called 'The Return' without me in Texas while I was shooting Mira Nair's 'The Namesake' in the US. He wanted me in 'The Return', but the studio wanted an American actor. He wanted to make 'True North' right after 'Warrior'. But we got busy with other things." The actor, who impressed as a Bengali NRI in "The Namesake", agrees he has never been able to equal his performance in "Warrior". "I've never been presented in that way. Asif's films are shot in strange and tough places. After the harsh desert of Rajasthan in 'Warrior', Asif is going into freezing snowy country in Norway for 'True North'. A friend of mine, who came back from Norway, says you can't move your hand even in your woollen gloves." The young director's talent impresses Irrfan. "So young and so talented. He had offers galore after 'Warrior'. He chose from his heart. Very frankly, when he chose me for 'Warrior' he confessed he wouldn't have cast me if he had seen my work on television." Bollywood is still confused about Irrfan. "That's the story of my life. Something good should come out of these confusions. 'Warrior' should've gone much further. But Miramax, who decided to market it, suppressed it because Asif didn't agree to direct a film for Miramax." Dino rediscovers pleasures of male bonding Mumbai : Dino Morea is looking for lifelong commitment - and until that happens he is happy bonding with his male friends. "No girls and no late nights! What I'm looking for is permanency in my relationship. Until that happens, I'm going to keep company with my male friends," Dino told IANS. "I love spending time with my family and friends, and yeah, I've re-discovered the pleasures of male bonding, thanks to Vikram Bhatt's 'Life Mein Kabhi Kabhie' where I was constantly with Sammir Dattani and Aftab Shivdasani. Instead of being cooped up in my van after every shot, we'd all sit together and fool around, talk about life and love and food and cars." Dino's bonding with Sammir has been specially rewarding. "For him as much as for me, I hope. I found him to be a well brought-up, intelligent and sensitive boy. And we found we had a lot in common. Sammir's family is partly in the restaurant business. So am I. We've promised to visit each other's eateries very soon." Dino has experienced none of the backbiting and rivalry that Bollywood is famous for. "I've always got along well with all my co-stars, specially male. During 'Plan', I had a whale of a time with Sanjay Dutt, Sanjay Suri and Rohit Roy. And 'Aap Ki Khatir' was a ball in England, thanks to Suniel Shetty and Akshaye Khanna. Come to think of it, it's female co-stars who sometimes give me grief by changing colours. And I don't mean their lipstick."