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                    Monday
 

                    She's giving those ones to the camera. Her sea-blue eyes in big tide with the
                    love fever, her bodyline in perfect coordination. Her lips sync with the
                    romantic ditty in the background.

                    A shoot's on the people-packed roads of the Lokhandwala complex. Cat
                    calls and wolf whistles chisel the air. The rowdy crowd's grabbing a spot of
                    free entertainment, their eyes glued to Karisma Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan
                    going through the prance-`n'-pirouette paces.

                    For the crew of Kundan Shah's Loveria it's showbusiness as usual though.
                    Despite the manic mob, Karisma's only catering to the demands of the
                    camera lens.

                    The Morani brothers, her Raja Hindustani producers, are waiting, cell
                    phones and date diaries in hand. In between shots, they initiate a discussion
                    on their new project with their heroine.

                    Excitedly Lolo says, "I've signed the next project of the Moranis opposite
                    Shah Rukh Khan. It's being directed by David Dhawan. I'm looking forward
                    to working with Shah Rukh again, I enjoyed doing Dil To Pagal Hai with
                    him and Madhuri. I feel my role was interesting, it had a twist at the end.
                    The role may not have been lengthy but my presence was felt throughout the
                    film. I had some very good scenes. That's all I can say. That it's up to others
                    to tell me how I've done."

                    Cut then to the hot topic of the day. Her so-called engagement to Abhishek
                    Bachchan. "I thought only gossip mags carried fabricated stories. Rumours.
                    All baseless rumours. I don't want to say anything more on the topic."

                    In so many ways, Karisma has become the icon for the teenypoppers. Every
                    second girl on the street appears to be dressed like her. "It's a very humbling
                    experience, very overwhelming," she says. "The other day, my aunt was
                    telling me how she overheard her teenage daughter and her friends talking
                    about my clothes, my shoes, my make-up... I love being loved by the young
                    generation. But that also means the additional responsibility of always
                    behaving correctly in public."

 
                    Wednesday
 

                    Lunch hour at the Convent Villa. She's dressed unfussily in a lavender
                    salwar kameez, for her role of an introvert in Silsila Hai Pyar Ka being
                    directed by Shravani Deodhar.

                    Lolo may be a livewire... but alternately she can be reserved, preferring to
                    hang out at home instead of partying till dawn. Babita confirms that "Lolo is
                    happiest when she's working. She is not really interested in a social life.
                    Unlike Bebo, who loves socialising."

                    Lolo can be wary, yes. She hesitates before talking her heart out. Not even
                    to clear up the controversies surrounding her. "Yes, I don't trust easily. Deep
                    down, I'm scared of getting hurt. God knows, I've been hurt often enough. I
                    guess I'm always testing a person till he wins my confidence. I expect
                    complete loyalty from my friends. Because I give mine in return. These
                    days, I'm not sure whether people are friendly with me because they
                    genuinely like me or because I'm a successful actress. And that can be quite
                    scary."

                                               The conversation returns to Dil To
                                               Pagal Hai. "I was so nervous working
                                               with Madhuri Dixit," she states, "You
                                               know that dance competition between
                                               us, I thought I'd never be able to
                                               survive that scene."

                                               "I told Lolo if you can even imbibe ten
                                               per cent of what Madhuri does, you'll
                                               be made for life," Mom Babita chimes
                                               in. Karisma may not wear her ambition
                                               on her sleeve, but it's there for all to
                                               see. "Yes, I want to be the best," she
                                               says frankly. "For the next five to
                                               seven years, I want to just concentrate
                                               on my career. I'll give it my best shot
                                               and then I'll retire gracefully. I'll
                                               probably get married to a guy of my
                    parents' choice. I've understood that I can't possibly do two things at a time.
                    Either I can be an actress or a housewife."

                    Babita assents, "You have to be single-minded to be successful in any
                    career. Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit are the prime examples of how pure
                    dedication can take you places. Lolo has a long way to go yet."

                    Then with maternal pride mum adds, "Lolo has always been sincere to her
                    profession. She's worked very hard to reach where she has today, which just
                    goes to show that hard-work never goes unrewarded."

                    Thursday
 

                    10.45 am. The shoot's on for Silsila Hai Pyar Ka at the Filmistan studio.
                    Lolo hurries out of her room. And her mood's cloudy. Reason: a magazine
                    has taken potshots at Babita and her once again. "It's really disgusting how
                    some magazines function," Lolo seethes.

                    "Isn't it funny that that they write vicious stuff about me month after month
                    and yet put me on their covers to sell their rags? Another editor sits on my
                    sets for seven hours in the hope that I'll shoot for them. If I'm so bad why
                    write about me? Stop writing, na. But the fact is that they need me to sell. I
                    don't need them."

                    Words flow at rapid fire speed. Then perceiving the funny side of things, she
                    bursts out laughing. "You know my biggest victory was when this magazine,
                    which has always been horrid to me, went out of its way to buy my
                    photographs from a non-film magazine and put me on the cover. Guess, I've
                    had the last laugh, haven't I?"

                    At Filmistan, she settles down in the make-up room till she's summoned on
                    the sets. When asked about her mother's reported showdown with Salman
                    Khan in London, she frowns, "I didn't even meet Salman in London. So
                    where is the question of a showdown between him and my mother? By the
                    way, just to set the record straight, let me tell you that Salman happens to be
                    my best friend."

                    How did Karisma reacte to Manisha Koirala's comments about her in print?
                    Shrugging stoically, she says, "The in thing these days is to bitch about
                    Karisma Kapoor. In any case, Manisha Koirala seems to bitch about every
                    heroine. Be it Madhuri, Aishwarya or me! She even bitched about Kajol's
                    performance in Gupt. Why can't she just accept the plain fact that Kajol
                    was much better than her in Gupt? I think Manisha's problem is that she
                    thinks that she is the be-all and end-all in
                    the industry. I'm afraid she's sadly mistaken. When she bitches about me, it
                    only goes to show that she's insecure about me. If she isn't, why doesn't she
                    shut up about me once and for all?"

                    Her torrent of words is surprising. "I've realised that the more successful
                    you are, the more others will bitch about you," Lolo continues. "When other
                    heroines talk nicely about you, then it's a signal that you're not happening,
                    that you aren't a threat. If the likes of Manisha are bitching about me, it's
                    only because I'm a threat to her. Otherwise why would she waste her
                    precious breath?"

                  
                Friday
 

                    Same venue, same film. She's checking out her outfit... an ultra-glam,
                    shimmering creation that matches the shade of her contact lenses. "I might
                    be playing a seedhi saadi ladki in the first-half but in the film's second half,
                    I turn extremely glamorous. "

                    What's all this about the controversies surrounding the schedules of
                    London? "The best person to answer your questions on London," she tells
                    me tersely, is Sunny (Deol). All I know is that contrary to rumours, the film
                    will definitely be made. And Sunny will direct its Hindi version."

                    She clarifies that she didn't have any problems with Sunny over her boarding
                    and lodging arrangements in London. "Bobby himself has clarified that we
                    were given individual apartments. So there was no absolutely reason for
                    complaint," she says firmly.

                    It's being whispered that she has slashed her price by half for Priyan's
                    Raftar opposite Akshay Kumar and Sanjay Dutt because she didn't want to
                    lose out on yet another prestigious project.

                    "Why is everyone asking me this question?" she asks. "Why is my price
                    given so much importance in the industry? Why should it matter to anyone
                    how much I charge or whether I do a film for free? It's entirely my decision.
                    No one has the right to ask me about it because it's none of their business."

                    Lolo can be quite non-nonsense... which is why maybe some claim that she
                    has an attitude. She retorts, "Look, just because I mind my own business and
                    I do my own thing, I'm told that I have an attitude. Like it or not, that's the
                    way I'm. I'm proud about something, it's the fact that I'm a professional."

                    If that's the case, why has she raised the hackles of some of her heroes?
                    Didn't she have a panga with Govinda recently? She even refused to do
                    Biwi No.1? She blames such stories on "vested interests" who want to break
                    up the hit team. "But my friendship with Chi Chi is "very strong, she
                    emphasies." If I didn't accept Biwi No.1 rightaway, it was only because it
                    wasn't directly offered to me. Anyway, I'm doing the film now. So what's
                    the problem?"

                    She concludes with "All those who claim that I'm unpopular with some of my
                    heroes don't know what they're talking about. Let me tell you that I'm the
                    only actress who's working with all the top actors like Shah Rukh, Govinda,
                    Salman Khan, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt and
                    Chandrachur Singh. Tell me, why would anyone want to work with me if I
                    was so unpopular? So there."