Insider gossip from Karan Johar's party

Karan Johar’s 37th birthday party at Hotel Four Seasons in Mumbai on May 25 is being called the bash of the year.

More A-listers were spotted here than one could keep tabs of, but some details have made there way out of the venue. Obviously, an insider has been doing the talking...

Guest list
Shah Rukh-Gauri, Abhishek-Aishwarya, Hrithik-Sussanne, Saif-Kareena, Karisma, Ranbir-Deepika, Imran-Avantika, Arjun Rampal-Mehr, Shahid Kapur, Rani, Farhan Akhtar, Tusshar, Sonam Kapoor, Vidya Balan, Vivek Oberoi, Lara Dutta, Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia and many more.

Notably missing
Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra, John Abraham and Karan’s good friend Kajol. Some were away from Mumbai, while others were down with flu.

Dress code
Karan asked men to be in formal suits. Most guests obliged, though a few like Hrithik went casual. Most women were in tiny dresses. Like on most occasions, birthday boy Karan wore black.

Highlights
* Karan dragged Abhishek to Shah Rukh and the two ended up chatting for sometime, with Ash looking on. So is it the end of Khan-Bachchan cold war?

* Kareena and Ash were seen chatting and dancing. Pleasant surprise considering after Abhishek and Karisma’s engagement broke, Kareena had put a ban on all things Abhi.

* Riteish and Genelia came separately; Shahid and Vidya were seen leaving together.

* Shahid and Kareena made no effort to chat, while Ash made an effort and avoided Vivek Oberoi.

* Hrithik, Abhishek, Arjun and Farhan climbed on the bar counter and danced.

* The party ended in the wee hours of May 26.

Our regret
It was unfortunate that Karan, while being a gracious host to his colleagues, extended no hospitality to the media which had turned up to cover the event. Angry with the ill treatment, most photographers banned the party and you missed seeing the photos.

Tamasha and Hungama at Karan's Birthday Bash

If the film industry were the United Nations, Karan Johar would be the Secretary-General. A self-confessed people person who loves nothing better than to bring warring factors together and to get everyone to kiss and make up, he has become, at the young age of 37, a sort of father figure to the entire acting fraternity. (Much like his father Yash Johar was, to the previous generation.)

Not surprising then that at his birthday party on Monday night (Tuesday morning actually, considering it wound up only at 4.30am), lots of drama happened. Given that one-half of the industry studiously avoids the second half because of real and perceived grievances while many sit in the lap of most, the party was not without its dramatic and memorable ones.Saif Ali Khan was dressed the most nattily in waistcoat and muffler. Hrithik Roshan came in casuals.

Among the directors who attended were Farhan Akhtar, Nikhil Advani, Rensil D'Silva and Kunal Kohli. Shah Rukh Khan was formally dressed, while youngsters Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan wore jackets.

Though Salman Khan didn't attend, his brothers did. Karisma Kapoor accompanied Saif and Kareena.

Aamir Khan sent a bouquet.Not surprisingly, the sushi was a big hit. After all, these are some of the fittest people in this country.

Aishwarya Rai married into the Bachchan-Kapoor feud that started when the Abhishek Bachchan-Karisma Kapoor engagement was called off, giving wing to many a nasty rumour fuelled by the fact that Abhishek and Kareena didn't work together again. But with Kareena wishing wistfully that Abhishek would find some room in his heart for her and Aishwarya wishing to let bygones be bygones, it was wonderful to see the two lovely ladies catch up at the party and then spend the night dancing away.

Abhishek, meanwhile, was whisked away to the corner by Karan, where Shah Rukh was seated, thus also ending the Bachchan-SRK cold war.

While all the bonhomie (above) was happening, Vidya Balan and Shahid Kapur were reconnecting. Though they came separately, they left together.

Some people went to great lengths(literally) to avoid former friends. When Vivek Oberoi arrived, Aishwarya moved to another corner.

On the other hand, when Shahid arrived, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena were cool.

What's happening in Bollywood Town!

We know what King Khan is doing this summer plus stars lend support to the cause of cancer and 99 has reasons to celebrate!

What is King Khan up to?
Shah Rukh Khan is off to work again, leaving wife Gauri home with the kids during their vacation.
The star is leaving for the United States on June 3, to shoot for My Name Is Khan. He had planned an extended vacation with family but it will be interrupted by the shoot.
Sources close to him said that he had wanted to take the family along but this was not possible, though it might happen later.
My Name Is Khan is being made by Karan Johar and also stars Kajol, a regular with SRK and KJo. SRK hasn’t gone to London this year with his family, as he does usually. His summer was spent in South Africa, at the IPL.
And what is SRK doing next week?
If the director of Kal Kissne Dekha, Vivek Sharma, is to be believed, the star will promote his movie, which stars Jackky Bhagnani and Vaishali Desai.
Kareena Kapoor has done stage shows with Jackky to boost the movie, but Sharma said that while SRK would not do stage shows, he would do his bit. "When I met him last week he said I will ask audiences to go to the single screens and watch the movie," Sharma said, referring to the limited release the film is likely to get because of the strike against multiplexes.

In Aid of CPAA: Aftab Shivdasani, Bakhtiyaar Irani, Raima Sen and Arjan Bajwa pledge their support to the Cancer Patients Aid Associations.

Naughty Boys: Sohail Khan with his sons at the same event. The boys are having a gala time.

The Long and Short of It: Pretty Raima Sen looks nice and simple in her Anarkali outfit while Neetu Chandra keeps it short with an electric blue number with shocking pink flats. We prefer Raima’s traditional outfit versus Neetu’s I-am-trying-hard-to-look-hot number.

Celebration Time: The cast of 99 including Vinod Khanna, Amit Mistry and Cyrus Broacha celebrate the success of the film with the directors and producer. This is the first 99 event that Vinod has attended and it’s probably because it was in South Mumbai.

Gauri designs for Arjun Rampal!

Guess who’s designing one part of the restaurant-cum-lounge that Arjun Rampal
and Mehr Jessia are opening in Delhi coming July?

Bollywood style icon and Shah Rukh Khan’s wife, Gauri Khan. Arjun told BT about his well-kept secret, “Gauri and Nandita Mahtani will design one of the tables, Tarun Tahiliani and Rohit Bal will do one each, and the fourth will be done by me. Mehr will be in charge of the entire club, but the idea of having these four specific designer tables by popular celebrities is to give the club an added advantage.’’

The party place is expected to be visited by the biggest names in Bollywood including Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar and Farhan Akhtar. And its novelty, in keeping with international club culture, is that four specific tables will be designed by four renowned designers. Arjun, who would not reveal more, added that everybody was working on their corner. Gauri’s table is likely to include designer crockery or glassware especially designed/sourced by her superstar husband.

In Pics: Hrithik, SRK arrive at Feroz Khan's prayer meet‎

Backpacking Butler floors Bollywoood

Hollywood star Gerard Butler stormed Bollywood in a bunch of parties over the weekend.

The biggest of the lot was the bash thrown by Shah Rukh Khan and wife Gauri for the '300' star on Saturday.

Butler was the last guest to leave SRK’s home Mannat at 6 am the next day.

The actor and his friends loved the swish set of Mumbai, and those who have met Butler can’t stop gushing about how down-to-earth, funny and intelligent he is.

A guest who met him over the weekend gushed over the hunk saying he was "8 on 10 in sense of humour and 9 on 10 on intelligence."

Given the fact that he's pretty much 10 on 10 in the looks department, he's pretty much set in life.

Although Butler has been in the country before, this is his first time in Mumbai. He is on a back-packing trip with four of his friends and he has already been to the South (Cochin) and North (Rajasthan). The gang will now head to Hrishikesh, and then return to Mumbai to board their flight back to Mumbai. The actor has been spotted dining at places like Indigo and the Thai Pavilion.

Saturday night's bash was actually hosted by Gauri along with socialite Kaajal Anand.

The list of invitees was very select. Arjun Rampal and his wife Mehr Jesia, who live just down the road from SRK. Farhan Akhtar and wife Adhuna (who also live within walking distance), Karan Johar, Dino Morea, Sajid Khan, Ashustosh Gowariker, Seema (Sohail) Khan, Malaika Arora Khan and Amrita Arora.

Aamir Khan’s nephew Imran Khan with his girlfriend Avantika were also present.

The hosts met Butler least year in Dubai at the launch of Atlantis, The Palm, and stayed in touch. At the time the actor mentioned planning a back-packing trip to India with his friends.

Gauri and Kaajal exchanged numbers with the actor and asked him to call when he landed in Mumbai.

The actor who is currently single is irritated with rumours linking him with actress Priyanka Chopra. He has met Mallika Sherawat on more than one occasion in LA, but has not called on her yet.

Shah Rukh votes ‘to give a chance to better people’

Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh flew down especially from South Africa to cast his vote and said "we should vote and give a chance to better people".

"When I endorse everything from candy to soft drinks, this is something I have to support," Shah Rukh on Thursday (April 30) told reporters outside the polling station in Mumbai.

"I had to make it a point to come and vote," said Shah Rukh who was in South Africa for the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches.

He said the voters should choose the best-qualified candidates and be patient for change.

"People expect politicians to solve problems immediately. But it's not that easy. It takes time. That's why we should vote and give a chance to better people," he said on the day Mumbai and the adjacent district of Thane went to the polls, in the third and final round of balloting in Maharashtra.

Shah Rukh, who owns the Kolkata Knight Riders team in the IPL, is reportedly unhappy with the performance of team and is believed to have said that he would not return to South Africa till the team started winning.