By Subhash K Jha

Hard to believe, but Zayed Khan kisses for the first time on screen in Subhash Ghai's Yuvraaj. And the lip-locking girl is Amrit Maghera.

Shivers Zayed, "Firstly I've never done intimate scenes like these on screen. I'm a family man with a wife and son. And to watch the scenes with my parents at the premiere gave me the shivers. What would they think?! On top of it all it was our marriage anniversary. What a gift for my wife!"

Fortunately Zayed's wife Malaika was quite 'cool' about her husband's dedication to the craft. So Zayed could exhale.

It took all of the Showman's persuasive powers to convince the young Khan (belonging to an extended family of reputed ladies' men) that a lip-to-lip is very much the order of the day...or shall we say, the odour of the Friday, going by the legion of lip locks we've lately witnessed in our films.

Says the source, "It isn't just a kiss in Yuvraaj. It was a huge smooching spree between Zayed and his co-star Amrit Maghera. Zayed really had to go for the kill. And he was reluctant and unwilling.Zayed protested hard.

He argued he's a married man with a son. And his wife would certainly not like seeing him in a compromising position with his co-star even if it was for the screen. But Subhash Ghai was adamant.

The Showman has never had a kissing scene in his cinema before. He wanted to start good and proper. He insisted Zayed do the needful."

When probed about the screen scorchers Zyed acts ultra-cool. "My lips are sealed, and not just for the kissing—let me tell you very explicitly. But yes, some of the scenes did have me worried. This was my first screen kiss.

And I do have a very laadla beta image among the audience. What would the mothers in the audience think? I wondered! I hadn't even told my wife about the kissing in Yuvraaj. I wanted to surprise her on the premiere night."