Sign-a-star-a-day Yashraj get Bebo

India's most successful filmmaking banner is undergoing a casting upheaval of sorts. Yashraj Films is picking up top stars from Bollywood and signing them for lucrative film deals.

Yashraj's latest acquisition is Kareena Kapoor, the spunky seductress who was unofficially ostracised from the banner after she asked for a hefty sum to do Kal Ho Na Ho with Yashraj's blue-eyed boy Shah Rukh Khan.

Kareena, who has been on a massive fence-mending spree, has off-late not only done a guest appearance with Shah Rukh in Don, she has also been invited into SRK's favourite banner.

In April 2007 Kareena will start shooting for Yashraj Films' new project.

Revealing details, a source says, "It's a love triangle featuring Kareena with Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan, to be directed by Victor who wrote Dhoom and Dhoom 2."

He adds, "Kareena has never played a character like this before. It's her hottest and sexiest avatar to date."What made Yashraj approach the banner's unapproachable star? Says the source, "Yashraj wants to sign all the big stars. With Kareena there was never any real problem. In fact at the very beginning of her career Yash Chopra was supposed to direct her in a heroine-oriented film. That project fell through. Then she worked with them in Mujhse Dosti Karoge where she was originally supposed to play a tomboy. The role grew into an ultra-glamorous one. Now after many years Kareena has been approached by Aditya Chopra because there's a paucity of glamorous actresses. Sure they've Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta and Aishwarya Rai. But how many films can these do, considering Yashraj plans to produce 5-6 top-notch films every year?"

Interestingly, two years ago Aishwarya too was similarly isolated from the Yashraj banner. She was almost finalised for Veer-Zara and then given the go-by. It was the item song Kajra re in Bunty Aur Babli that brought her back into the Yashraj camp.

Says the source, "Kareena luckily had the dates in the first half of 2007 because Mani Rathnam's Lajjo with Aamir Khan was shifted to the latter part of the year."

Kareena is under an oath of secrecy. "At the moment I can only say one thing: 2007, here I come."