NOT SO ROSIE

This is what people mean when they say separate the persona from the personality. American TV celebrity and comedienne Rosie O’ Donnell comes across as a pretty lovable person, both off- and on-screen. But all is not quite what it seems. She has an adopted daughter, Chelsea, who went missing a couple of weeks ago, making Rosie D publicly seek help for her recovery.

Well, it turns out that the daughter had run away of her own volition to seek solace in her biological mother’s arms because Rosie D ‘engages in verbal abuse’ and has alcohol issues. She once even threatened to hit Chelsea with a wine bottle. What a pity! And then these celebs have the cheek to give people advice on television on how to make their lives less miserable.

WHO NOSE?

They don’t call him Mr Perfectionist for nothing. Aamir Khan doesn’t just get into the skin of a character he’s hired to perform, he can also hurt his own skin to do that. Nowadays the actor is busy filming Thugs of Hindostan, a movie in which he has none other than the ‘actor of the millennium’ Amitabh Bachchan as his co-star.

To look the part, Aamir K has got his nose pierced. The tiny shiny stud that he is wearing on his nozzle can be spotted from afar. An insider, however, claims that it is his wife Kiran who has made him undergo the piercing experience after winning a bet against him. Now she can lead him by the nose.

TROPHY HUBBY

Trust the perky Twinkle Khanna. When she starts talking, not even her bestie Karan Johar can out-talk her.

On May 3, her husband Akshay Kumar received his first national award for best actor for the film Rustom. She was cock-a-hoop about it. So much so that she told her friends that she can now call him her trophy husband. We like a punning actor.

TEASER PLEASER

The thing that stands out in the new teaser for the Yasir Nawaz-directed Mehrunisa V Lub U is eminent Indian filmmaker and poet Gulzar’s voiceover that booms throughout the 90-second clip.

The teaser also begins with his name (before anyone else’s) as the lyricist to the songs of the film. The cast of the movie — Danish Taimur, Sana Javed and Javed Sheikh — might not like it. After all, the title of the film isn’t Gulzar Sahib V Lub U.

‘I DYED MY HAIR AND I LIKE IT’

It’s not just our showbiz stars who don’t weigh their words before uttering them (remember Yasir Hussain’s gaffe at a recent awards show?) Glitterati all over the world have their share of loose cannons.

Check this out: pop star Katy Perry was having an Instagram live session when an admirer of hers pointed out to the singer that her new hair colour didn’t suit her and that she preferred her natural black hair. Katy P got upset by the remark and retorted, “Someone says I miss your black hair. Oh really? Do you miss Barack Obama as well? Times change.”

If ever there were a non-sequitur.

SUNNY’S BALL BY BALL

No, I’m not talking about Sunil Gavaskar, although this news item is about cricket. Actress Sunny Leone has given her fans a pleasant surprise by doing some cricket commentary during an IPL match played between Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta’s teams — Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab, respectively.

She was effervescent during her stint as a commentator and entertained her colleagues to the hilt. Opening batsman Virendar Sehwag was particularly impressed by her performance — in the commentary box that is.

DEEPIKA, RANVEER, ACTION

It is not clear whether the dimpled-doll Deepika Padukone and the restless soul Ranveer Singh are still an item. What is clear though is that they’re doing big banner films together.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati is already on the anvil. And last week, Deepika D was seen coming out of big-shot producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s spacious house. A day later, Ranveer S was spotted walking out of the same bungalow.

Surely, Vidhu VC is not trying to patch things up between the A-list couple. Another film might be in the offing but not another affair!

Published in Dawn, ICON, May 14th, 2017