From time to time our B-town folks need their ‘escape’. For some of our beauties it could also be a purely ‘retail’ vacation, where all they want to do is sweep everything off the racks at stores. Farhan Akhtar has his quirky escape too.

Bollywood stars on the TV show Lux Dance India Dance are only increasing by the day. After roping in Salman Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, there are a number of others who will be seen on the show including Vidya Balan, Farhan Akhtar, Deepika Padukone, Vivek Oberoi, etc.

The trend of producers and actors coming on TV shows has been on for a while and a lot of them are being seen on Lux Dance India Dance as part of their publicity campaign for their forthcoming blockbusters.

Farhan Akhtar’s character morphs from a loser to a cool dude in Karthik Calling Karthik. Of course, one clichéd way is to bring in a bike to lend him the required coolth. Farhan is a man of many talents, but riding a bike wasn’t one of them. So he set about learning to ride one and even got himself a licence, thus taking no chances with legalities.

The scene was shot only when Farhan was confident on the bike after a month of practice. A source said;In the film, Farhan plays a loser who undergoes a change.

Hrithik Roshan and Farhan Akhtar celebrated their birthdays together at a posh Juhu lounge on Saturday night. Incidentally, while Farhan was already 36 when the party began, Hrithik reached the mark at the stroke of midnight.

Duggu, who arrived looking a bit tired straight after a shoot for Guzaarish, perked up considerably in the company of Sussanne, his family and his Bollywood friends.

Meanwhile Adhuna and Zoya Akhtar grooved to the music while Farhan Akhtar grouped up with Shah Rukh, Gauri, Karan Johar, who were later joined by Abhishek and Aishwarya. Vivek Oberoi was among the guests - he arrived on a bike.

Hotshot filmmaker and super hot actor Farhan Akhtar turns a year older today. He shares his birthday with his filmmaker cousin Farah Khan, and if their hectic schedules permit... the two cousins normally cut a cake together. “We have a Capri9 Club going,’’ says Farhan, who is happy he got a chance to be ‘home’ with his wife Adhuna and two daughters Shakya and Akira on his birthday this year.

Actor-director-singer Farhan Akhtar has developed a passion for motorcycle riding after learning to ride a bike for the first time for his home production Karthik Calling Karthik. He turns 36 in January. Better late than never, we think.

Buzz up!
"Most young people in their teens love riding bikes. I made a promise to mom (Honey Irani) that I wouldn't drive bikes. Her two brothers had been involved in a major car accident and she didn't want me to be involved in one. I never felt the need to drive a bike. Maybe, because I gave mom my word."

What inspired you to seek a career in movies?
I loved watching Mr Bachchan’s and Robert De Niro’s films all through my younger years. I’d be like, “This is the best thing in the world!” and, “Man, I want to be able to do what these guys do.” Through De Niro
I was introduced to Martin Scorsese’s movies. So that’s how it started.

When did you really say, ‘Okay, I’m a good actor and I’m going to act’?
When I started acting, it was just an experiment (referring to The Fakir Of Venice). But it was a great experiment in getting my feet wet. I realised it was possible for me to play a character. Honestly, after that I didn’t go out looking for a role. But when Rock On!! came along, it just felt absolutely right. Given the milieu of the film and its characters, given that it was about music and I would be getting the opportunity to play the guitar (which is something I love), it felt absolutely right.

Farhan Akhtar is smiling to himself as he watches a rough-cut of his next acting assignment Karthik Calling Karthik in the luxury of his own office. The actor says he wanted to release KCK with Deepika Padukone on February 26. “However since there was a slight ambiguity at that point on whether Hrithik Roshan’s Kites would release on the same date, we shifted our release date. Both Duggu and Rakesh Roshan had spoken to me about Kites. If a friend is releasing his film on that date, I would naturally go out of my way to accommodate him.”