Awards-shy Aamir Khan finally agrees to..

The award has an interesting history. Fifteen years ago, Maruthi Rao decided to produce a film for his son, Gollapudi Sri- nivas, who had dreamed of directing.

Unfortunately, Srinivas died in an accident before realising his dream. Rao mourned his death for four years, after which he decided to honour his son's memory by recognising first- time directors. As a result, the foundation was born.

Kamal, who acts as an adviser to the foundation, describes it as a "revered award", and Khan agreed to accept it because Bollywood has been recognised for the first time in the award's 11-year history.

Akki, who previously hosted the martial arts show Seven Deadly Arts for National Geographic, replaces Muk- ul Dev, the anchor of the first season.

Good friend Apoorva Lakia was with him at the time, and the pair became involved in a tussle with their hosts. Asked about it afterwards, both feigned ignorance.

Oberoi has just been signed by Karan Jo- har for a love-triangle movie alongside Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, to be direct- ed by newcomer Rensil D'Souza.

News from Miami is that Abhishek is so homesick that he has insisted that his family join him to celebrate two special occasions, his mother Jaya's birthday and his wedding anniversary on April 20.

Days after lambasting Bachchan in the Sena's Saamna publication, saying he should take his cue from south star Rajni- kanth and be true to the state in which he earned his living, Thackeray described him as a "superstar of the entire country, not just of one state".

Whether Thackeray was being sarcastic is uncertain, but he professed to hold the Big B in high regard.

It was supposed to be the former lovebirds' first release. Now they've started dubbing for it, so it may still see the light of day.

Neighbouring Karnataka state did not want the project to go ahead because it would use water from the Cauvery River, long under dispute between it and Tamil Nadu.

In protest, some cinemas in Karnataka screening Tamil films were burned down. Tamil Nadu responded by halting the screening of Kannada-language films.

The Kodambakkam movie industry decided to take an unequivocal stand, saying it was a political issue and that the entertainment industry should not be made a target.

But calling for a one-day strike and asking all artists to be present to show solidarity was a bit tricky, since many who have made a home in Tamil Nadu have their roots in Karnataka.

Rajnikanth and Arjun head a long list of actors, actresses, writers, directors and technicians who hail from Karnataka, and many producers and directors work in both states.

Rajnikanth was the only leading artist who refused to join an industry protest against the Cauvery issue a few years ago, and he was not expected to show his support this time. But when he arrived, he received a thunderous welcome.

He took the mike and lashed out at the way the Karnataka government had handled the issue. He said the public were too intelligent to be blinded by its rhetoric.

Although Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi has since tried to defuse the situation, Rajnikanth's comments have drawn a fiery response from across the border.

Vatal Nagaraj of the Akhila Karnataka Gadi Horata Samithi said Rajnikanth would not be allowed to enter Karnataka, nor would his films be screened in the state unless he apologised for his "insult to Karna- taka and Kannadigas".

A day later, Rajnikanth issued a statement lashing out at Nagaraj. He said he had not insulted the people of Karnataka and would never do so. His comments were directed at a small group of troublemakers who had a purely political agenda.

"There are a lot of politicians and leaders in Karnataka whom I greatly respect," he said.

"If they ask me to apologise, I will readily do so. Who are these people who are asking me to apologise? Do they represent the views of 55 million Kannadigas?"

His principled stand has won him new respect, but it could prove costly to his film career and to the Kodambakkam industry as a whole.

The Karnataka distributor of Yaaradi Nee Mohini has returned the film, resulting in a massive loss to producer Kasthurieraja and in box-office takings.

Nagaraj has also pledged to stop Rajni- kanth's new movie, Kuselan, from being released in July, as well as big releases like Kamalhassan's Dhasaavadharam, Vik- ram's Kandhasamy, Vijay's Kuruvi and Ajithkumar's Yegan.

Of the others who spoke at the protest, many took a diplomatic approach, like Kamalhassan, who called on everyone to be calm and foster unity. But the crowd was roused by the fiery words of Mansoor Ali Khan and T Rajender, who called for a more militant approach and an eye-for-an- eye policy.

It was written and is being directed by KV Anand, the cinematographer who made his directorial debut in Kanaa Kanndain.