Grin and bare it, says Shahid Kapoor. The actor — unceremoniously dumped by Kareena Kapoor — seems to have decided that since Kareena won’t see him, others jolly well can. So in his new film Kaminey, young Shahid is all ready to show off a well-sculpted body. He did that earlier in Kismat Konnection, which sank without a trace, taking poor Shahid’s biceps with it. But going by the trailers of the new film — and the sounds of female oohs and aahs accompanying each shot of the shirtless wonder — Shahid has a future ahead of him. As a centrefold.

Some like to collect watches, but Mithun Chakraborty likes his brooches. A particular brooch, worth Rs 1.5 lakh, has lately been the talk of the town. The ornate pin — happily flaunted by the actor in a television dance show — inspired small screen actor Jay Bhanushali to ask him — albeit hesitantly — about his collection of brooches. Mithunda, of course, was thrilled. He not only showed him his collection but even gifted him a brooch. Jay, we are told, is over the moon. But you can, at any time, ‘brooch’ the topic with him.

You don’t often see foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon outside the corridors of power. But when you do, it’s at a book launch. The Penguin Classics Library is going to have a week-long celebration of books in New Delhi starting March 12 — and Menon’s going to be a part of it.The seasoned diplomat will be in a discussion with commentator-writer Ramachandra Guha on what makes a book a classic. Guha is also going to introduce Rabindranath Tagore’s Nationalism at the book fest. The festival, which the organisers describe as an open library, will have a whole range of classics on display and will encourage visitors to browse through them. And the good news is that it’s going to move from city to city this year. You may have to forego Menon though. The secretary will be busy moving from one world capital to another.

She was on screen for barely 15 minutes, but Freida Pinto continues to make the most of her moment of glory. The Slumdog Millionaire actress has made quite a global splash after the film’s spectacular success. She walked the ramp for Dolce and Gabbana at the Milan Fashion Week in Italy and has bagged a role in a Woody Allen film. She’s been on the covers of magazines such as Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair, Maxim, Vogue and Cosmopolitan. And now a little bird tells us that she might be the new face of the international cosmetic giant, Estée Lauder. If that’s true, Freida will be the first Indian to represent the brand, joining the ranks of Gwyneth Paltrow and Elizabeth Hurley. Way to go, Freida!

The pair is back. Not Brangelina, but R. Madhavan and Murli Sharma. They were last seen together in Doordarshan’s Sea Hawks. And now, after a gap of more than a decade, they are back in the horror film, 13 B. Madhavan is the protagonist, and Murli once again plays the role of a cop. “Every time I make up my mind to move beyond a cop’s role, I end up doing it in the next project,” says Murli. “Not that I don’t enjoy such a role, it’s just that I would not like to limit myself.” Murli says he enjoyed his role of “fighting the unseen” in the film — and particularly liked teaming up with Maddy. “With Madhavan I go a long way and it’s super fun being in his company.” Does Vidya Balan know?