As the son of actor Pankaj Kapur and Neelima Azeem, Shahid Kapur, 22, may have acting in his veins like others claim to have. But here's a star brat who has taken the longer route to filmdom. Already a veteran of music videos and ads, he was rejected at the first audition for Ken Ghosh's Ishk Vishk. The reason? "I looked too young." Shahid spent the next year toning up and attending dance and acting classes after which Ghosh finally signed him on as his lead star. Second time lucky?

Huddle to Cuddle

Don't let the Huddle fool you. The Indian team is not as much into male-bonding as it appears. The engagement of Rahul Dravid to Nagpur-based Vijeta Pendharkar was as much a surprise to Dravid's colleagues as to the world. The team was aboard a flight during the World Cup when they read of the alliance in a news report, leading to the loud ribbing of the solemn vice-captain by his teammates. Dravid's backfoot defence was as solid as it is on the field, but the final word came from the adventurously married Sourav Ganguly: "It is time Rahul settled down." Yes, boss.

Age No Bar

Another one returns. After a 17-year gap, Sarika is facing the camera again, this time in a "friendly role" and a dance sequence in the Tamil Punnagai Poovae. Though the buzz is she took to films to tide over the financial crisis after her estrangement with husband Kamal Haasan, she maintains a dignified silence. "I am into films again because it is the natural thing for me to do. I have been acting since the age of four." Though she dispels rumours that she may move to Mumbai after her break-up, Sarika says she plans to act in more movies. "I have been here for 17 years. I belong to this place." Aren't heroines above a certain age meant to play down their years rather than highlight them?

Artist's Artiste

Who is M.F. Husain's muse? Tabu and Madhuri Dixit may instantly come to mind, but Sandhya Shetty has equal claim to being in the Husain camp. Shetty, 26, a dusky Miss India finalist and a model, plays a deaf and dumb south Indian dance teacher in Husain's Meenaxi-A Tale of Two Cities. Tabu's National Award and Husain raving about her talent have not left Shetty in awe of her co-star. "We were both doing our job and I learn by just watching her," she says. Now if only the movie itself is more watchable than Husain's last offering.

-Compiled by Kanika Gahlaut