Sooraj B and SLB have a common muse in Salman Khan

After Hrs was the first to tell you that Salman Khan will be working with filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali later this year. And we were able to confidently tell you so because the actor had himself confirmed the news to us during the course of his media interactions for Race 3. Of course, he was clear that he would only start the film once he had finished Bharat and Dabangg 3.

Yesterday on the occasion of SLB's 56th birthday, the filmmaker's team confirmed the news to a segment of the media. A source said, "With this announcement, Sanjay returns to his original muse, Salman. The auteur has always maintained that the Dabangg Khan is one of his eternal favourites, having worked with him in Khamoshi: The Musical (1996), Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Saawariya (2007). It is also known that Bajirao Mastani (2015) was planned with Salman at one point, but things didn't play out that way because of a temporary estrangement between them.

Anyway, now things have come full circle and the Race 3 star is excited to collaborate with SLB once again. He told us, "Sanjay and I have been talking about a film. The script is being readied. I am looking forward to our association.

SOORAJ, TOO, WANTS SALMAN

During a recent interaction with Sooraj Barjatya, who produced Hum Chaar, the soft-spoken filmmaker confessed he had a mature love story for the actor-producer. "It deals with a couple that has been married for 32-odd years, he had hinted.

Sooraj, who is currently grieving the loss of his father, producer Rajkumar Barjatya, had told us earlier that he was to start his film soon. "I had spoken to Salman also, he said. However, he put his own movie on hold as his son Avnish was readying his script. "This will be the launch for him. So, I told Salman that once this script is locked, I will start working on our film. That's why thoda delay. But, it's also after 30 years that we have another director from our family. So, it's a big moment for me, for us, he added.

The filmmaker had also told us how the leading man of his directorial debut has quietly stood by him through the years. "Both of us are the eldest in our respective kins. So, we feel the same way about family. The only difference is he goes to sleep when I wake up, he had joked.