We began the training session talking about goals. The key is to make realistic goals and stick to them. Start off with the goal of working out three times a week. Once you have accomplished that move up to four times, then five times and soon enough you too will be looking like John Abraham or in my case, my new years resolution to sit on the beach in a gold bikini with Abhishek Bachchan on one side and John on the other side.

Next eat right and frequently! Higher protein and lower amounts of fats carbohydrates in every meal. Whatever happened to good old common sense, obviously cupcakes don’t constitute as meals and oatmeal raisin cookies are not healthy just because there’s oatmeal in it.

Mike and John trained in the ‘old school’ style in which every body part is worked upon in isolation. The method is to do a lot of weight-lifting along with cardio exercises. They trained for over two and a half hours a day since it was essential for the role. As for diet, John had a lot of shakes that were high on protein and had lower quantities of carbohydrates and fats. In between, the actor was allowed full meals consisting of egg whites, oatmeal, fish, chicken and vegetables. All their hard work truly paid off!

Mike has been working with John for over three years and also worked with him on the set of Goal in London. Thanks Mike, for making so many girls so happy.

The RACE began in spring leading to Yash Raj’s Tashan. Sexy music , sizzling stars, and of course style! Summer came and went leaving us remembering that pyar dosti hai with Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Along came Bachana Ae Haseeno and then summer ended with the smash hit Singh is King.

As fall Fashion week commenced around the world, Bollywood presented it’s own Fashion in the hit film showcasing the always fashion forward Priyanka Chopra. The leaves fell and winter came. Despite the cold weather we were kept warm by the hotties of Dostana! Then came Yuvvraj with the pretty Katrina Kaif, and now we have the Khans ending the year with Ghajini and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi!

Should old flops be forgotten, and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot and auld lang Saavn! Find all the hit songs from all of 2008’s flops and nots at Saavn.com. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Maine Pyar Kiya launched the long lived career of Salman Khan and introduced Bhagyashree. The doe eyed young stars stole our hearts and taught us to love with their Romeo and Juliet-esqu love story with a much happier ending.

In honor of the momentous day I turned on this film and realized it was very much ahead of it’s time. From parties with fights, animal (pigeon) rights and who could forget the exclusive fashion show on the roof! A must watch classic for those of you who need to remember a much simpler time, where pigeons sent love notes.

By: Reshma Dhawan

Thanks for checking in! Bollywood wishes and Saif Ali Khan dreams!

By: Reshma Dhawan

In the meantime, in honor of Election Week, we’re asking you to cast your votes again, this time for Saavn.com. If you find yourself spending inordinate amounts of time on your favorite website (and mine), you might be interested to know that Mashable’s 2nd Annual Open Web Awards are open for nominations, and Saavn is ready to be in the running!

Check out the widget below and consider nominating Saavn in the “Music” and “Niche and Miscellaneous Social Networks” categories. (Although, let’s be honest, you could nominate Saavn.com in every category - who are we to object?)

Aishwarya Rai enjoys some degree of popularity in the People’s Republic. L’Oreal applies her face liberally:

Madhuri’s as Chandramukhi is used to attract customers to a mustachioed-man’s crepe stand:

Despite the Chinese standard of beauty including pale, “moon-like” skin, obviously-brown people are used in ads too. Unidentified brownie shills for ice cream:

I realize now how smart Warner Brothers is to have made their major foray into Bollywood with a movie called Chandni Chowk to China (formerly titled “Made in China”), bringing together the three largest film industries in the world. As an American, I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that some industry of ours, somewhere, is taking steps to ensure it’s not left in the dust as the world moves on.

Exhibit A: “Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo” from Howrah Bridge

Ah, the good old days!

Anyway, the rest is history. India fought with China over Kashmir, China fought with Russia over imperialism, China bonded with the U.S. over Ping Pong, etc. Other than the odd flash-in-the-pan (Yash Chopra’s Noorie was released theatrically in China in 1979), Bollywood-China relations had reached a wall.

Until now! Ever since Thomas Friedman declared that the world is flat…well, ok, not really since then…but since the shape of the world has changed, China and India are increasing diplomatic ties, and Bollywood has taken notice of its neighbor to the north. Mallika Sherawat got exported to star in Jackie Chan’s Around the World in 80 Days, and Akshay Kumar’s Chandni Chowk to China, partially shot on the mainland, is set for release in January 2009. Watch out world - Bollywood and China are taking over!

Shabana Azmi and Shatrughan Sinha took a trip out to flood-damaged areas of Bihar to bring attention to the plight of the local people, despite their ongoing feud. The glamourous activist and no-nonsense AIDS epidemic-denying former Health Minister make an odd pair, but it’s just dandy when Bollywood stars mix politics with pleasure, isn’t it?

Meanwhile, Ajay Devgan decided to give back to his fans (our favorite cause célèbre, ahem, ahem). While shooting London Dreams in the UK, he’s maintaining an email address for fans to send him queries to which he will respond personally. That’s what we call accountability, Bollywood-style.

Of course, philanthropy begins at home – and there’s no one the stars enjoy giving back to more than themselves. Continuing Bollywood’s tradition of nepotistic goodwill, Vikram Bhatt is taking on Aditya Narayan (son of star crooner Udit), for his next film, a “love-horror” story. Considering how Aditya’s last career ended (the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa challenge host had to drop out of singing and leave the county when his voice cracked), let’s hope the audience’s reaction is more love and less horror.

Bollywood’s favorite charity case, Vivek Oberoi, dropped by Sajid Khan’s new “Superstars” show to continue his abject apologies to the world. The prodigal son has been unsuccessful in his attempts to get back to the top, but Bollywood won’t let him go – seems someone is enjoying the writhe. This time, Sajid gifted the young man a copy of How to Influence People and Win Friends and coaxed Vivek into admitting his mistakes, including an inflated ego. Keep dangling those carrots, Bollywood!

Finally, the man who made Vivek a pariah, Salman Khan, put the kibosh on rumors that the Salman Khan Home for Unemployed Actresses is open for business. Subhash Ghai confirms that Salman and Katrina are starring in his next film, and the couple is presenting a united front. So, to all those pretty girls looking for work in Bollywood – better luck next time!

So Snoop Dogg raps on the title track to the highly anticipated Bollywood movie, Singh is Kinng…wow. We’ve known about this for some time, but we didn’t appreciate the magnitude of buzz this would create. It’s all over the press and I just read a Snoop quote “I’m coming to take over Bollywood” in the business section of the New York Times.

Why did Snoop do it? Why did Bollywood want Snoop?

First, Hip hop innovation — Hip hop artists are always looking to innovate, and Bollywood represents a new frontier of sorts with tremendous talent and an established music industry. In the 90s, many successful Hip hop tracks were about sampling and re-presenting old hits from Diana Ross or Rick James. This release represents the first time two very large and very commercial segments of the global music industry initiated an integrated collaboration (vs. sampling of classical Bollywood songs from the likes of Jay-Z, Truth Hurtz, Erick Sermon, etc.).

Second, Entry point in India and other markets — this is a tremendous opportunity for hip-hop to gain a strong fan base in India. 50cent had a sold show out show in Mumbai. But, in order to gain true mass market acceptance in India, Hip hop has to be presented in an eastern context — symbols representing any aspect of Indian culture, use of Hindi in the song lyrics, etc. mixed in signature Hip hop sounds and lyrics. With Snoop in a turban and several talented Bollywood musicians on the album, Singh is Kinng is the perfect vehicle. In addition to its own markets, Hip hop will travel more deeply into the over 100 different countries that love Bollywood music.

Third, New Markets for Bollywood — The producer of this movie, Vipul Shah, made a brilliant move in green lighting an alliance with Snoop. The core Bollywood fan base will, without a doubt, come out to see this movie. But for years, people have talked about making “crossover” movies and I think such pursuits are bunk. You make a movie for your audience and let the interest come to your production. Furthermore, asking an individual unfamiliar with Bollywood to invest 3 hours of their time to watch a Bollywood movie is an unrealistic expectation. Music, however, requires a much lower investment in time and if a track has an association with a familiar artist such as Snoop, it will attract his or her existing fan base. The appeal of the music will attract many more people out to watch this movie, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Singh is Kinng require more screens in the U.S. and around the world that the studio-distributor originally anticipated.

Full disclosure: we’ve picked up the licensing rights to Singh is King for online and North American mobile. Check it out:

Listen to music from Singh Is Kinng!

Listen to and download Singh Is Kinng ringtones!

Ready to be retired, however, is the now-ubiquitous item song. Much has been written about the craze, but we’re ready to put our collective foot down now that the gimmicky dance sequences are making an appearance in animated films.

Back in the real world, B-town has finally made the foray into musical theater. That’s right, India is about to see its first stage musical, City of Dreams. Of course, the Mumbai theater world is not quite ready to be weaned away from our fillums, so the show features taped appearances by SRK, Deepika, Kareena, and Saif.

Also making an appearance is Priyanka Chopra, who’s been getting mixed messages from boy toy Harman Baweja. While Harry Jr. is taking extra steps to avoid any connection to his uberfamous lady-love (and any comparison to a certain green-eyed hunk), Priyanka absolutely gushes about her young buck’s emotional and expressive eyes.

Nonetheless, the dynamic damsel and her plus-one recently made an appearance on SRK’s new game show, KAPPSTH. (What a mouthful.) You can’t have it both ways, Harman!

Ready to go solo for real is Ritesh. Sorry, Riteish. The lad has moved up the ladder from quintuple-hero films to fab foursomes to toothsome trios, and finally, has arrived at his own holy grail: the two-hero film. Let’s wait and see whether Riteish gets his own vehicle.

It’s a slow time in Bollywood, so we leave you with this gem: Farah Khan’s triplets have been named Anya, Diva, and Czar. We can’t wait for their debut – and we’re sure it’ll involve a triangle of some kind.