Kajol, Tabu, Irrfan Khan were named for the Padma Shri

Talented Bollywood actress Kajol, and versatile actors Tabu and Irrfan Khan were named for the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour on the eve of Republic Day Tuesday.

Daughter of veteran actress Tanuja and late Bengali filmmaker Shomu Mukherjee, Kajol made her Bollywood debut with not so successful movie Bekhudi in 1992 at the age of 17.

But the 35-year-old tasted commercial success with her second outing Baazigar where she shared the screen with Shah Rukh Khan for the first time and after that there was no looking back for the actress. She gave hit after hit like Karan Arjun, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and most recently My Name Is Khan. Kajol is married to Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn and they have two children.

Tabu, one of the most talented actresses in Hindi film industry, debuted in Bollywood with commercial movie Vijaypath, but it was offbeat films like Maachis and Chandni Bar that brought her accolades and awards.

Irrfan Khan has also been conferred with Padma Shri. With his unconventional and powerful performances in Salaam Bombay, Maqbool, Life... In A Metro and The Namesake, the actor has carved a niche for himself in filmdom.

Kajol enjoys reprieve from pictures

Bollywood actress Kajol has proved herself as a multitasking professional woman, who knows well how to balance her professional life as well as personal life. Kajol took a good break from films when she gave birth to her daughter Nysa in 2003.

She returned with some notable movies like Fanaa, My Name Is Khan, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, We Are Family after taking proper care of daughter till she turned three. After the birth of her second baby son Yug who is just three months old, the doting mother has got busy with him and is devoting all her time to him.

The adoring mother says that her babies are the most important priority in her life now. So, she wants to take a break from films until her son turns 3 years old. The 35 year old actress is finding it very tough to promote her film Toonpur Ka Super hero because it takes her away from her kids.

The actress says that she took up this film because it targets today’s kids, who are very smart and exposed to the outside world. She informs that they could not yet show the film to Nysa and are planning to show the full movie once the final print comes out. Nysa has watched some parts of the movie and seems to have liked it.

Well, Toonpur Ka Super hero seems to be a gift from Kajol and Ajay Devgn to their kids. We hope to see Kajol back on screen soon but at the same time we understand her motherly instinct. So, the fans of Kajol would definitely wait for next three years to see her magical performance once again.

Kajol Perform with her mother

For the first time ever Kajol and her mother Tanuja are going to act together. Tanuja plays Kajol's reel life mom in the film Toonpur Ka Superhero directed by Kireet Khurana.

Though Tanuja is doing a cameo in the film, it will be interesting to see the mother-daughter duo on screen. Talking about how he managed to get Ajay Devgn, Kajol and Tanuja in the film, Kireet says, "It's been a casting coup for us with Ajay-Kajol and Tanuja mirroring their respective real life relationship. It's just the way we had planned and visualised it at the script level. After Ajay's instantaneous 'yes' after reading the script, we wanted Kajol to act alongside him. I was told that Kajol is discerning about choosing the scripts which was perfectly understandable for an actor of her calibre.

So, the apprehension whether she would agree to do the role lingered when we narrated the script to her. Pleasantly surprising us, Kajol's response was also spontaneous. Emboldened further, we decided to complete the 'family' in reel life as well and approached Tanuja for the cameo role of Kajol's mom. Tanuja was all too happy to be on board, too.

I think it's the unique live action and animation combination genre, which helped in securing the dream cast we wanted." About the camaraderie between the mother and daughter on sets, he adds, "Tanuja and Kajol share a great mom-daughter rapport. I remember they would always be chatty on the sets and happy to be together like long-lost friends."

I'm eager to be close to Kajol: Tanishaa

Tanishaa wants to spend more time with her sister Kajol. It's one of the reasons she's doing up her late dad's Santa Cruz house. PS: She eventually plans to move in there Tanishaa has been redoing her late father Shomu Mukherji's abode at Santa Cruz. For the past few months, Kajol's sister has been dealing with an army of masons and contractors to make the house liveable.

"Hopefully, the work will be done in a few weeks. Though my mom (Tanuja) and I stay in south Mumbai, I'm looking at spending more time here now, " she said. There's also an added reason for her to be in Santa Cruz -- the proximity to Kajol, who stays in Juhu. "I'm eager to be close to her. When the new bundle of joy arrives, I can be there for her. Commuting to and from south Mumbai is time consuming."

Ajay Devgn's sister-in-law is ensuring that all the work is completed before the new addition enters their family. "My cousin, an interior decorator, is handling the renovation. Kajol's also taking an interest." Grotto Villa at Santa Cruz was home to Shomu Mukherji and his brothers Deb and Joy before they moved on to set up their own homes. Says Tanishaa.

"There are a lot of memories attached to the place. My dad was proud of his house and loved to collect stuff for the home. Thought most of it is old and bulky, I'm trying to make it look contemporary." Tanishaa adds, "After dad passed away in 2008, it was lying closed. I used to drop in sometimes whenever I was at this end of town. It was convenient to hold meetings as the industry folk are all at this end of the town." Redoing the house has also been an emotional connect with her dad. "I've got over the loss and the heartbreak. I feel close to him staying in his home."

Aishwarya, Katrina, Kareena or Kajol- Who is the best rain-drenched actress?

If you are a Bollywood buff, you must have watched in awe and amazement, when the sizzling ladies of B-town have stepped out in the rain. So, let’s have a quick recap of the most scintillating rain songs of the current breed of actresses:

1. Aishwarya Rai- In ‘Guru’, she wore a simple sari but those wet looks of hers doubled her beauty as we watched enthralled and captivated watching her play in the waters like a teenager girl gone crazy in enthusiasm.

2. Katrina Kaif- Her film ‘De Dana Dan’ made headlines for.

That orange sari that she draped her delicious body with in the rain, as we helplessly watched an Akshay Kumar caressing her naked back. And, he got paid for doing that. Huh! Some people have got all the luck.

3. Kareena Kapoor- In my opinion. She has never looked as girlish and sweet as she looked with Aamir Khan in ‘3 Idiots’ swinging in the downpour to a ‘Zoobi Doobi’ song taking us back to our very own childhood days.

4. Kajol- One of the most romantic scenes. In Bollywood is that rain dance in ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ when a drenched Kajol dances to the tunes of Shahrukh Khan as the ‘King of Romance’ runs his fingers across her shoulders in his trademark style.

Dear folks, who is your favourite rain drenched actress?

Kajol joins husband Ajay on his film set

Bollywood star Kajol who had spent the past month on a whirlwind world tour to promote her film.

My Name is Khan has flown to Tamil Nadu to spend some quality time with husband Ajay Devgn.

Kajol took along along daughter Nysa to the sets of Devgn's film Garam Hawa, which is being directed by Priyadarshan.

"Finally I have an Atithi on my sets. After a hectic promotion tour, Kajol has joined me at Karaikudi with Nysa.

This feels like home," Devgn's who is shooting for the film with Akshaye Khanna.

Kajol toured the US, UK and Europe with Shah Rukh and Karan Johar and attended the Abu Dhabi and the Berlin premieres of the movie.

Ajay's film Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? with Konkana Sen Sharma and Paresh Rawal is ready for release.

which will be followed by Prakash Jha's Rajniti and his own home production Toonpur Ka Superhero.

Kajol is currently shooting for a Karan Johar production which is an adaption of Stepmom with Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal.

Shahrukh Khan - Kajol goes Ga Ga over King Khan

The three K’s i.e. Kajol, King Khan and Karan Johar have been strongly promoting their movie “My Name Is Khan”.

The black beauty of B-Town who was looking extremely gorgeous and eye candy.

In a red and black sari addressed media during the promotion of her movie.

She now goes Ga Ga over Shahrukh her favorite co-star in Bollywood.

The bubbly actress earlier said that Shahrukh is a bad habit and now.

She speaks about her comfort level with King, Ooo! It’s always great to work with Shahrukh. She even added that Karan, Sharukh and herself have given some big hits to the industry and she is desperately looking forward for the movie to hit the screen this January.

They have a spark, a unique one which makes them special even today. The ever young couple has always blasted the screen off with their evergreen romance on screen. It’s always very pleasant to see Kajol and Shahrukh romancing on screen.

The golden couple of Bollywood Industry will be pairing after 8 long years after a great success of Karan Arjun, DDLG, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gum and believe me the crowd is just dying to see the magic happening on screen.

.They even claimed during the promotion that after seeing My Name Is Khan, the crowd will forget about their previous romantic flicks because My Name Is Khan is uniquely different with some unmatched romantic scenes. We just have to wait for the release of the film. Here’s wishing the whole unit all the very best for the film.

My Name Is Khan to be screened at Berlin Film Festival

Bollywood film My Name Is Khan, starring legendary screen pair Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, will be screened at the 60th annual Berlin International Film Festival in February.

The festival, one of the oldest and most prestigious in the world, will run from February 11-21 and will feature the premiere of the Martin Scorsese film, Shutter Island, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

My Name Is Khan will release on February 12th in India and more than 40 other countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Australia.

It will reportedly be the widest international release of a Bollywood film ever. The highly awaited picture reunites Khan and Kajol, who haven’t appeared in a film together since Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham in 2001.

The story focuses on racial profiling of Muslims in the U.S. Khan plays a man with Asperger syndrome a form of autism who’s wrongly suspected of being a terrorist. Kajol plays his wife. The film was shot in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Mumbai.

It was directed by famous filmmaker Karan Johar and produced by his company, Dharma Productions. In the past, Khan and Johar have collaborated on some of India’s most internationally successful films, including Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006).

My Name Is Khan was reportedly sold to Fox Star Studios last July for a record Rs. 100 crore ($21 million) the highest price ever paid by a distributor for a Bollywood film. Under the deal, Fox Star Studios a joint venture between American film studio 20th Century Fox and India’s Star Group acquired the worldwide marketing and distribution rights to the film.

It will be released in North America by Fox Searchlight Pictures, a division of 20th Century Fox, which has previously distributed many notable films about Indians, such as Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Water (2005), The Namesake (2006), and Slumdog Millionaire (2008).

In a case of life imitating art, Khan, who is Muslim, was detained and questioned by immigration officials last August at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey while he was en route to an Indian independence celebration in Chicago. The incident made headlines worldwide and outraged many Indians.