Masand: Gossip of the Week | April 1

Roll First, Romance Second

When Yash Raj Films announced some months ago that Band Baaja Baaraat and Shuddh Desi Romance director Maneesh Sharma would direct Shah Rukh Khan in a new film titled Fan, both the industry and the media expected Maneesh's go-to-leading lady (and rumoured love interest) Parineeti Chopra to be paired opposite SRK. When that announcement didn't come even weeks later, there was speculation that perhaps Maneesh had been promised a bigger female star by his producers, YRF. Some snarky filmwalas even hinted that Maneesh and Parineeti had had a falling out.

But turns out, there is no room for Parineeti Chopra in the movie at all. Or for any other heroine either. The actress has reportedly told friends that the reason she isn't in Maneesh's new movie is that SRK's character has no romantic interest in the story.

Currently filming Shaad Ali's Kill Dil with Ranveer Singh and Govinda, and having wrapped principal photography on Habib Faisal's Daawat-e-Ishq opposite Aditya Roy Kapoor, Parineeti doesn't exactly have a choc-a-bloc date diary. But, sources close to her reveal, that's because she's now in search of a solid dramatic part that she can sink her teeth into. The actress wants something she'll really have to flex her acting chops for, and is no mood to play second fiddle to a male co-star. Tired of being referred to as "the next Rani Mukherjee", she now wants a film that can justify her bankability.

Coming off positive reviews for Lootera, and big box-office for both Ram-Leela and Gunday, Ranveer Singh is currently being touted as the only real competition to fellow young 'un Ranbir Kapoor. And you have to hand it to the 29-year-old star: he knows exactly how to stay in the news. He's apparently turned down several offers to endorse leading brands, insisting he doesn't want to "overexpose" himself. Yet the one endorsement he has said yes' to is a leading condom brand. In typical cheeky fashion, Ranveer has announced: "I've been saving my brand virginity for the right one. And now, finally, I'm popping my cherry with the world's leading brand in Sexual Wellbeing"Durex!"

The ad will be shot at a closed soundstage in Mumbai's Film City this weekend, and will be helmed by advertising filmmaker Karan Kapadia. Insiders tell me it won't be a steamy shoot, and that the concept is "more meta", involving Ranveer turning up at a film studio and participating in a "music video-like scenario". Female models are currently being auditioned for the ad at Kapadia's Juhu office. Ranveer himself reportedly insisted that his Ram-Leela cinematographer Ravi Varman"who has some experience shooting the star without his shirt on"be hired to film the ad.

A leading female star appears to have irked the staff of a popular fashion magazine last week. The diva, who has been travelling extensively on her film and music assignments, had reportedly committed to shoot for the cover of the magazine's anniversary issue, but threw the team into a tailspin when she did show up on the appointed day.

Despite repeated email confirmations from her manager that the actress would give the magazine roughly half a shift to shoot a bunch of costume changes for the cover and the accompanying feature on her, the leading lady left the team high and dry after shooting only one change. She was very professional when she arrived, quickly got into hair and make-up, then posed and pouted for the camera dutifully, before heading back into the van and changing back into her own clothes, ready to leave.

When the editorial bigshots urged her manager to convince the actress to give them a little more time for a few more changes, they were told the actress had a busy day ahead. "Besides, we've realised that these magazine shoots don't really help. In the amount of time we allocate to one shoot, she could be making Rs 3 crore," the manager is believed to have told the horrified editor of the fashion glossy, who now had a cover shot, but not even a second change for inner-page pictures.

In all, the actress didn't spend more than 20 minutes posing for the cover shots.