Ever looked at those picture perfect fashion models walking on the runway and wondered how they do it? Well, actor Shah Rukh Khan has the answer.

“I was told the secret was to suck your cheeks in, pout your lips and look really angry, when you walk the ramp,” Khan told a wildly cheering audience after he walked the ramp for Manish Malhotra at Mumbai’s Lakme Fashion Week.

Looking dapper in a black-and-gold jacket and cheered on by celebrities Arjun Rampal, Preity Zinta, Kajol and Karan Johar, Khan was clearly the show-stopper on Monday night.

Khan’s tongue-in-cheek humour was also in full form, because he thanked Malhotra for being the first fashion designer ever “to design a sling” — referring to the matching gold-and-black sling he wore for the show.

Doctors have advised the 43-year-old actor to keep his arm in a sling for at least six weeks after he underwent shoulder surgery last month.

Of course, Khan wasn’t the only Bollywood attraction at the fashion week.

Earlier on Monday, Akshay Kumar walked the ramp for designer Tarun Tahiliani and asked wife Twinkle, seated in the front row, to unbutton the fly of his jeans.

Bollywood stars sure are getting bold on the ramp.

Hey, did you know Saif and Kareena had a fight? And that Shah Rukh intervened? And an apologetic sms was sent?

OK, so this didn’t happen in real life. It’s the storyline of a new television ad starring the trio for mobile operator Airtel.

Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor have appeared together in ads before but this is the first one revolving around their real-life relationship.Bollywood stars have appeared in ads for years, but it’s only recently that they have started referring to their status as boyfriend and girlfriend in ads. Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone did it, so have John Abraham and Bipasha Basu — and now Saif and Kareena.

But not all these ads work. “If you try too hard to leverage a relationship, it falls flat. The Ranbir- Deepika one, or even the John and Bipasha ads have fallen into this trap,” says adman Prahlad Kakkar.

“The latest Airtel ad works because it keeps it light and doesn’t try too hard.”

But these ads are not for everyone. A lot of Bollywood stars shy away from starring in ads with their significant other. We have never seen Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan in the same ad, nor Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan, or even Hema Malini and Dharmendra.

But Saif seems to have no qualms doing it. He has been seen in ads with former girlfriend Rosa Catalano, sister Soha Ali Khan and now Kareena. And pulled off each of them.

Kakkar says the ads work because of their novelty factor and because viewers get a rare glimpse into the life of a celebrity.

“As long as an ad touches a chord, it’s a success, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t matter how many celebrities you have used,” he says.

I agree. In fact, I can’t wait for the next such ad to come out, and I hope it’s with Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai. Anyone listening?

A perfect Saturday afternoon beckoned me. An early lunch was had, the house was quiet and the prospect of dropping off into an uninterrupted sleep was enough to make me smile.

One phone call changed all that. Amitabh Bachchan is on his way to the hospital, a source said and he is sick. The first thing that registered in my mind was “I hope he is ok” and then the journalistic instinct kicked in.

Frantic calls to his office, the hospital and his doctor followed. Details became clearer, the situation calmed down a bit and everyone heaved a collective sigh of relief. Many of us couldn’t help but go back in time to 2005 when Bachchan was recuperating in the same hospital. The focus on him then was immense.

There were hourly updates on news channels, reporters stationed outside the hospital 24×7 and thousands thronged to Lilavati Hospital, as if their presence might have made a difference. Prayer meetings were held and the entire film industry held its breath.

I’ve been told it was the same when Bachchan met with an accident on the sets of his film “Coolie” in 1982. I was three years old then and don’t remember the incident so I only have the 2005 illness to go by.

It hasn’t been as bad this time around but I do know of fellow reporters who have kept vigil outside Lilavati Hospital since Saturday. Television channels and newspapers have been full of news, filmographies, reactions from fan clubs and detailed discussions with doctors on intestinal diseases.

Over the weekend, we have been subjected to all kinds of details about the sickness — how Jaya Bachchan kept vigil by her husband’s bed all night, TV channels replaying the shot from “Coolie” where Bachchan got injured and discussions with astrologers on the actor‘s future.

It is understandable that being the icon that he is, any news of Bachchan will be followed by the media almost obsessively. This morning a casual discussion in office also turned to the same topic.

“I feel really bad for the guy. If I were sick, I wouldn’t want an army of cameras and photographers grappling to get my picture,” said a colleague.

Monday’s edition of the Mumbai Mirror voiced similar sentiments.

“The attention given to Bachchan by our media both in normal times and when he falls sick is disproportionate to his importance,” reader V M Swaraj said in a letter to the paper.

This is a difficult one to answer, I think. As media, we have to cover this news, it is important. But shouldn’t we also be drawing the line somewhere? And if so, where should that line be?

What do you think?