Summer Scorcher

The battle of the blues is hotting up. Bipasha Basu was earlier snapped up by jeans brand Levi's for its sexy slim fits. Now it is the turn of boyfriend John Abraham to sign up with a denim brand as well. He is the latest face, or should we say the hot-bod, spearheading the new Wrangler campaign. So is there competition brewing between the two now that they are endorsing rival brands? Laughs Bipasha, "It is fun to compete sometimes. Now John and I are competing as brands." As billboards of the two hotties send temperatures soaring across cities, we hope the denim sales will see a corresponding rise.

Masala Mix

Just when you thought they were abandoning controversy for some quiet, middle-aged brats Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan scripted a new testosterone tale. After their drunken brawl at a Mumbai nightclub Dutt abused two couples trying to click them on phone-camera. Political intrigue set in when an NCP corporator chided him for behaviour unbecoming of a Congress minister's son. The irony? There is no love lost between Dutt senior and NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

Rebel With a Cause

Her new book says it all-Standing Alone in Mecca: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam. This is just what Asra Q. Nomani, 39, the Mumbai-born former Wall Street Journal correspondent is doing in real life. Nomani set off Rushdie-like protest-and-death-threat waves in her US hometown when she dared to pray in the main area of a mosque. "The machinery for fundamentalism in Islam has to be dismantled," she says. Next up is having "a woman pandit". Inshallah.

Casting Count

You may remember her from the washing powder and scooters ads on TV. Now Vidya Balan is set to make a dream debut in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Parineeta opposite Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt. Director Pradeep Sarkar spotted her in a Bajaj ad but waited three years-as she went through music videos and more ads-before casting her as the lead. " "She is the quintessential India woman. Not only is she a good actress, I am convinced that no one can play Parineeta better than her," he says," he says. Famous last words?

-Compiled by Kanika Gahlaut

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