Kareena Kapoor's hair - and film - make news

Kareena Kapoor's new hair colour is brown all over and silky in texture. Her film Kyon Ki has hit turbulent waters with the National Human Rights Commission hearing complaints about the unfair portrayal of mentally ill people in the film. Salman Khan, who is paired for the first time with Kareena in this film, plays a schizophrenic in the film and is chained and confined to a cell by his doctor played by Om Puri.

Kareena Kapoor has been in hibernation for some time now. But with her new film Kyon Ki making different kinds of waves, she is back on the pages of film magazines and tabloids. First, she has set a new trend in hair colour by dyeing her hair in a rich brown. She says that glints and highlights as well as blond streaks are now passé. A more natural brown colour, which is even and without any highlights, is the preferred trend of the coming fashion season. She is also growing her rich tresses waist length for her coming films. "Brown is my own hair colour," says Kareena, "It suits me because I am fair. Both Karishma and I fortunately have healthy hair thanks to our mother Babita!" To promote this trend, Kareena has endorsed a well-known brand of hair colour. She recently attended a launch celebration for the hair colour with boyfriend Shahid Kapoor.

But Kareena's season of return to films with a bang has been spoilt with leading psychiatrists approaching the National Human Rights Commission to complain about her latest film Kyon Ki and its objectionable content. "The film is derogatory to in its portrayal of mentally ill patients," say psychiatrists, "Certain portions of the film have to be deleted because they violate human rights. Doctors in the film say in their dialogues that schizophrenics are murderers and rapists! The doctors in Kyon Ki believe in drugging and confining patients to asylums!" Scriptwriter Sanjay Chhel justifies his lines. But the NHRC will probably determine the issue. They say that 1 per cent of Indians suffer from mental diseases and doctors and counselors have been fighting stereotypes shown in films and media to help cure their patients. "We want to change social attitudes towards such patients but if films endorse the public misconceptions, how can we work?" they ask.