Word of mouth

The Kapoor kiss katha -- is it just smooch ado about nothing? A kiss for those who get this question right. The Kapoor kiss conundrum -- paparazzi pinnacle or smooch ado about nothing? Liplocks may be ergonomically designed to leave most recipients speechless, but in this case, everyone's' crying themselves hoarse about if, when, how and why THAT kiss came about. * Just a kiss, yaar! Over the last 48 hours, news channels went into slobbering overdrive, running clips of the alleged tongue tango between Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor -- a veritable circus recalling the tizzy over the Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson show-all tapes circulating the world over earlier. It-girl Ramona Narang queries: "What is the big deal about kissing? Aren't celebs human beings who can get carried away at times? Don't people normally do so?" Model Fleur Xavier says that the drama reflects the mindset of society. "In Hollywood, a shot of two celebrities kissing is not a big deal but out here it becomes an issue," says Xavier. "It is fine to kiss in public, it is just that people here are not used to it. There will come a time when all this will be accepted," she adds. Actress Manisha Koirala however, feels that the fuss over the tinkering tastebuds is justified. "Everyone will discuss the issue because it could be indicative of how things are going on in society. Any woman in Kareena's place would feel humiliated, so why target an actress?" she says. * Conspiracy theory? Kiss-n-tell kathas have always piqued public interest in private peccadillos, with Rebecca's Loos talk about Becks, Faria Ahlam's oohing and aahing over Sven Goran Erickson and Britney Spears mashing mouth with Madonna. Except that this was more word-of-mouth, what with Kareena reportedly claiming she never kissed him there, much like the true blue virtuous Hindi film heroine we all know. Comes as no surprise, us having grown up on Bollywood's bashful flowers touching heads, where in the recent past Censor Board dictats scared off lips that dared to meet each other on screen. But there's more to this week's drama, filmi ishtyle. Whispers of doctored images, morphing faces, publicity stunts for Shahid's forthcoming movie are doing the rounds faster than you can go mwah-mwah. * Kiss-ne kya dekha... Experts in philematology (the science of kissing, for those who are in the dark) say that pheromones and motoneurons drive you toward the feel-good act of smooching, even when the flash isn't working. But private canoodlings in public have always whetted the junta's curiosity. Event director Marc Robinson on his part says he's watching the hullabaloo with amusement. 'They make life all the more entertaining! I am all for it, one looks forward to reading the papers!" (With inputs from Nikita Doval and Jyoti Sharma)