Get on a direct hotline to celebs as they talk about their day and get candid online, says Smrity Sharma

There were days when the media would write whatever they pleased about Bollywood celebrities leaving the numerous fans shocked and wondering with no way of finding out the real story. There were days when a news article would sketch a certain image of a celebrity and the actor or actress could only squirm while reading the newspapers. But not any more! With more and more celebs getting tech savvier and hopping onto the social networking bandwagon, it's now the 'in' thing to directly interact with fans.

Take, for instance, the case of social networking site Twitter. It's a hot favourite with the Bollywood tribe and is getting bigger by the day with the likes of Priyanka Chopra, Abhishek Bachchan, Shahid Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan posting regular updates about themselves. What makes this celeb-janta interaction unique is that the celebrities are not using the platform for just film promotions. In fact, more than talking about their films, celebs indulge in giving info on what they are doing on a daily, minute-to-minute basis.

It was never this good for fans, who now get the chance to get ru-ba-ru with their favourite star, discover the real side of his/her personality and also witness his camaraderie with fellow filmwallahs. Here's a glimpse into the real personalities of the stars who for once are refraining from holding a false cover and being themselves.
Abhishek Bachchan: From his daily work routine and the music he loves to listen in his car to pulling his dear friend and fellow twitterwasi Riteish Deshmukh's leg, Abhishek's tweets are one of the most interesting reads. He lives up to his cool dude image. Recently, when a tabloid carried news about Riteish marrying Genelia, Abhishek started harassing Riteish by saying, "You're getting marmarried? Mubarak! Who's the lucky girl? You know I'm going to rag you about this all day." And that he did.

But Riteish was quick to reply. He said, "Hum bhi aapke kisi article ke liye rukenge, mera din bhi aayegaa." The two share a great bond which is visible by their tweets to each other.

But amidst all this fun, there have been instances when AB junior had to face criticism from his fellow tweeters. Like recently a follower tweeted to Abhi, "It's really lame to praise your own family, in media. You should let people praise him (Amitabh)!"
Bachchan declared to all, "It's my twitter page, so I have the freedom to write whatever I want and praise whoever I want. Don't like it? Don't read it!"

Riteish Deshmukh: The dude didn't take time in putting his marriage rumours to rest. Just a few hours after a tabloid carrying a news item about him getting married to Genelia hit the newsstands, Riteish tweeted, "There is no truth to the article suggesting that I am getting married. Actually, not a single line printed in that article is true. The statements by 'THE SOURCE' lack credibility and truth."

Riteish is one guy who is inviting his fans into his world with open arms. And not only this, the dude doesn't even mind expressing his excitement about Rann.

Priyanka Chopra: From her jet lags due to hopping between Mumbai and New York City to her hectic schedule promoting Pyaar Impossible, Priyanka keeps her fans updated on every move she makes. She comes across as a good listener — the agony aunt type, who has just the right advice to perk up someone's day.
No wonder then, when Piggy Chops was down and low after her nana's death, she had loads of tweets from her fans, condoling her. Just as Priyanka posted on her page, "Lost my nana this morning. I'm so far away from home ... feeling a bit lost," tweets started flowing in. Priyanka thanked all saying, "Thank you so much for your condolences. They meant a lot to me and my family."

Mallika Sherawat: She's declared that she is gone global and living up to her image every bit. Sexy, naughty, bitchy are just the apt words that describe her style of tweeting. She's a sex diva and each letter that she tweets in, oozes out sensuality. With lots of fans asking her for tips on being sexy, the oomphalicious babe has just one reply —"Start with feeling sexy, the rest falls into place."

Preity Zinta: Cheeky, upfront, intelligent... that's Preity Zinta for you. The actress who has always been candid about her personal and professional life plays herself on the social networking site too. She may have been out of action for some time but her tweets portray her as the confident Zinta girl who is set to be back with a bang. One look at her tweets and it will be clear that Preity is working real hard on her body with regular visits to the gym. She also assures her fans of increased action in the times to come, "You will see me doing lot of movies this year! Please be patient and wait for announcements."

Shah Rukh Khan: His tweets are as distinct as his user name on the site — 'iamsrk'. SRK is a man who doesn't mind poking fun at himself. He says he follows the maxim, " Angels can fly cos they take themselves lightly...go out today...and laugh even if it is at urself." And this is quite obvious from his tweet that says, "Dance rehearsals with my two left feet. Photo shoot with my 2 expressions — dimple on the left cheek and the right."
SRK's quick-witted and humorous in real life and when it comes to his tweets, it's a rarity to read one and not smile. Take, for instance, this one, "Love conquers all things...except poverty and toothache. I think even snoring is a problem love can't conquer." Or then this, "Diets are confusing nowadays. First it was count calories... didn't lose weight just learnt to add in hundreds. Then the low fat fad followed. Low fat yogurt. Ok. Low fat cheese... but low fat butter and then low fat celery? How low can you go!"

Vivek Oberoi: He is a real charmer and knows just the right ways to make someone feel special. Vivek has been very regular on twitter updating about all that he is doing and posting pictures of all the places he has been going to. He addresses his followers with their first names. He calls the male followers 'buddy' and female followers 'rajkumari' and 'princess'. Vivek comes across as a very friendly guy.

Shahid Kapoor: His movie and promotions are giving him just enough time to post simple good mornings and good nights! When he does manage time to talk, he doesn't fail to remind his followers of his Kaminey act by using words like 'awefum' and 'favere'. He even spells Yashraj as Yafraj, visa as vifa and embassy as embaffy. Fuper Fhahid, isn't he?

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