Masand's column this week: No Fuss Superstars

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who just completed the first schedule of her new film Jazbaa (she hates the term comeback film'), has found an ally in Irrfan Khan. The Life of Pi star, who appears in the film with the actress, has revealed that he was impressed by her lack of starry tantrums. It is no secret that Irrfan was hesitant about working with Ash initially, concerned that she might bring her superstar baggage to the set. Reportedly, it took much convincing on the part of director Sanjay Gupta (and a sizeable paycheck) to change his mind eventually.

Irrfan even went so far as to compare Aishwarya to his A Mighty Heart co-star Angelina Jolie, who he felt was "stronger and more heroic than the role required her to be". He explained that Jolie's strong off-screen personality came in the way of her portraying the character's vulnerability. It's a mistake that he insists Aishwarya is taking care not to make: "She's playing the part intelligently, and not burdening the film with her image."

Look Who's All Media Savvy !

Alia Bhatt knows how to handle pesky journalists, and she does it without rubbing them the wrong way. At a music event last week, the actress was accosted by a gaggle of TV reporters who quizzed her about a date she reportedly went on recently with her Student of the Year co-star Sidharth Malhotra. It wasn't something she could deny because photographers had snapped the stars leaving a restaurant. In fact, Sidharth himself grabbed a lensman's camera and took pictures of Alia for the bemused photographer that evening.

When questioned about the incident, Alia didn't evade the subject, and said to the reporters that she was happy to respond "because you guys know I love you so much". She said she often hangs out with her friends and that's all she was doing that evening. When one reporter asked her why Sidharth snatched a camera out of a photographer's hand and proceeded to take her pictures, Alia laughed and explained that he was only "helping out". She said, "We felt they'd taken enough pictures, and when they wouldn't stop clicking, Sid said: Okay, you want more? I'll take the pictures for you.'"

The reply may not have been terribly persuasive, but the reporters had got their bite from the horse's mouth, and Alia had managed to get out of a potentially uncomfortable scenario with grace. It's hardly any surprise that the 22-year-old is the media's darling... much like her half-sister Pooja Bhatt used to be many moons ago.

No Designer Gown, No Award Show

Understandably, the organisers of a prominent Bollywood awards show, held annually at different locations across the globe, would be bursting with stories of star tantrums, overseas hookups, and general bad behaviour by film folk. They tend to keep the stories to themselves"after all, the same stars are invited each year for the big show"but occasionally, a shocker or two will slip. Like this one about a curvaceous actress and the stunt she reportedly pulled in the UK some years ago. The lady in question (now married and not working very frequently), who was always more popular for her item songs than her performances in films, landed in London for the show and almost immediately began complaining that her bags had been misplaced by the airline. She made it clear that she could not attend the show that evening because she didn't have a dress. She'd especially picked out a designer gown, but now it was lost with her bags.

The organisers, who'd paid for the actress, her mother, and her entourage to travel for the event, felt pushed against the wall, and naturally couldn't afford for her to skip the show. They volunteered to pay for a new dress that she could wear that evening. The actress is believed to have asked for 1,000 (close to Rs 1 lakh) to buy a new gown, and had a hotel car take her and her mum to the big designer stores at Knightsbridge once the cash was handed over to her. Now here's where the story gets interesting. Less than ten minutes after she'd left, the organisers got a call from their team at the airport that had been working towards locating the actress' bags. Thank the lord, her bags had been found! The organisers immediately called the actress to give her the news. "Too late, I bought the dress already," the actress replied coolly.

There was no question whatsoever that the car could've pulled into Central London that quickly, so the organisers knew they were being taken for a ride. But the cash was out of their hands, and there was no way it was coming back. They just had to grin and bear it.