Bhansali & SRK's hide-and-seek

While the actor and his Devdas director famously don't see eye to eye on many things, there have been murmurs of a potential collaboration between the two.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali may have stumbled upon a hit pairing with Ranveer Singh but persistent murmurs suggest that the filmmaker has been keen on reuniting with his Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam hero, Salman Khan, for a while now.

And while his equation with the leading man of his other magnum opus, Shah Rukh Khan who featured in and as Devdas, has only soured over the years, with the duo facingoff at the box office recently with their respective Christmas releases, Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani, they have however managed to remain cordial with each other in public. "I'm a filmmaker, he's the biggest star, loved by millions. There's no comparison. Shah Rukh made Devdas for me and I made it for him. He's special to me and I think I am special for him. We are and will always be good friends. We are both here for the love of making movies," Bhansali had told Mirror (January 15), after it was clear that his film had sent the Rohit Shetty comedyaction-drama to the cleaners. On his part, SRK had maintained that Bajirao Mastani leading lady Deepika Padukone was his lucky charm and it was not good that the two films had clashed.

On Tuesday night, the colleagues-turned-foes-turned-friendsout-of-political-correctness bumped into each other at a musical awards ceremony. Bhansali was seated with his mother, Leela, in the front row and was at the receiving end of a bear hug from the King Khan who had just arrived. SRK touched the Bhansali matriarch's feet and was met with blessings and a hug. "Shah Rukh patiently waited for Bhansali and sat next to him. The two immediately got talking about movies," an actor who was present at the do informed Mirror.

Bhansali, who turned 53 on February 24, was supposed to announce his next big project for 2016 on his birthday but SRK had other plans. "SRK has been eager to work with Bhansali and even requested him to direct a film which could be co-produced by them," the source adds. After the Mirchi Music Awards, the duo headed out for a late dinner at Bhansali's residence and chatted for hours.

While speculations have been rife that Bhansali's golden couple, Ranveer and Deepika Padukone, will be roped in for a third project with the filmmaker, Bhansali is playing his cards too close to his chest. We wouldn't hold our breaths if we were SRK.