After being noticed for her glamorous role as Kamini in Farhan Akhtar’s ‘Don’, followed by the item number ‘It’s rocking’ (’Kya Love Story Hai’), Kareena Kapoor has refrained from using much greasepaint in Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Jab We Met’.

Imtiaz reasons, “The film is a travel story. It covers the journey of two strangers played by Shahid Kapur and Kareena. Have you ever seen people wearing heavy makeup whilst travelling? In fact, people don’t like applying any makeup, due to the hassles involved in travel. Hence, Kareena is sporting a non-glam look for most part of the film.”

What if her fans miss the glam quotient? “Kareena is one of the few heroines who looks good without makeup. I’ve got a good feedback from the promos, which is a positive sign,” answers Imtiaz adding, “Yes, there are few scenes in the film that require a hint of makeup. But neither the film nor its characters have a dolled-up treatment. ‘Jab We Met’ required a natural texture regarding the actors as well as the locations.”

Imtiaz, who has also written the film’s dialogues, script and the screenplay, says, “Even for Shahid, it is a makeover-from a boy, he graduates to a man in this film. Even off-screen he is level-headed and mature. I wanted to bring this side of his personality on screen.

Imtiaz further reveals, “Kareena and Shahid were excited about the fact that they were getting to do something different and were willing to experiment.”

On being questioned if he was disappointed about the alleged Shahid-Kareena split getting the film into limelight for the wrong reasons, Imtiaz says, “On a personal note I am not pleased to hear this since they both are my friends. But I don’t think that such stories affect a film’s box office running in a positive or negative manner.”

Known to prepare painstakingly for roles, Kareena doesn’t shy from doing what it takes to deliver her performances. Obviously, she’s going the whole hog to ensure that this plum role, too, falls in her lap. After Asoka, Kareena hasn’t had a chance to act opposite SRK. The buzz is that she really wants to act opposite SRK. Our source reveals, “Ever since Kareena heard that SRK was the leading man of Robot, she immediately made up her mind to do that film too. The actor visited SRK’s Bandra home, Mannat, and in the presence of Gauri Khan, said that she should be considered for the female lead in Shankar’s Robot.”

Kareena has always openly admitted that she is an ardent SRK fan. In fact, earlier, she went out of her way to accommodate Asoka in her schedule to be part of the SRK project. The source said, “She was last paired with SRK in Asoka. They were then seen in Karan Johar’s Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham but they weren’t opposite each other. Since then, she wanted to work with SRK. Shankar’s Robot, she felt, was a good opportunity to work with SRK once again.”

For those unfamiliar with Shankar’s Robot, the director had originally planned the film with Kamal Hassan in the lead. However, the role finally went to Shah Rukh. Although Shankar has chosen to remain secretive about the story of the film, but insiders have it that the film is a science fiction. “It is a futuristic and stylish movie,” our source says.

Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan continue to be an item. The duo was out and about in the suburbs on Saturday evening. After a long discussion, they walked in together (almost hand-in-hand) at the VIP lounge of a popular Chinese restaurant. Like most celebrity couples, they seemed to be extremely comfortable with each other, say onlookers.

A guest present at the restaurant says, “They were behaving like a couple. They were lost in some discussion and were completely oblivious about their surroundings and onlookers.”

Once at their table, the duo who was accompanied by friends Dino Morea and Amrita Arora, sat very close to each other.

Kareena and Saif also indulged in some serious PDA. Saif kept hugging her throughout the evening, and they left together. A restaurant staff informs, Kareena and Saif were spotted together at a suburban restaurant over the weekend. Saif kept hugging and complimenting her all evening “Kareena seemed to be distressed and Saif was consoling her. He was often complimenting and hugging her. Their friends also took care to give them the much-needed privacy.” Kareena and Saif, were dressed in casual tees and denims, and were engaged in a conversation with the occasional remark, ‘Yeah, you are right!’ meant for the rest seated with them at the table. Kareena and Saif got along well on the sets of Tashan and ever since they have spending a lot of time with each other. However, Kareena is maintaining a stoic silence over her relationship with Shahid Kapur who is currently filming in Toronto. A source close to Kareena says, “Kareena and Saif are extremely fond of each other and the duo are spending a lot of time with together. She has also been vocal about Saif’s good nature to a few of us.”