Priyanka Chopra, Salman Khan new 5 am buddies!

Guess who we spotted leaving Sallu's home at the break of dawn

On Sunday night Kabir Khan, the director of Ek Tha Tiger, threw a party at his terrace apartment to celebrate his daughter's birthday and also his film's mega-success. From Katrina Kaif to the film's crew everyone was present save the Tiger. He was in his lair having his own little private party.

We spotted actress Priyanka Chopra's white S-class Mercedes parked outside Salman Khan's Galaxy Apartments, Bandra, a little before midnight. The star, who sported stylishly cut long hair and wore loose pants teamed with a spaghetti blouse, finally came out of Sallu's ground-floor apartment with him in tow at 4.47 am. The two lingered at the building's gate saying goodbye before he escorted her back to the car.

The actress whose proximity to Shah Rukh Khan had been the big buzz in town until recently, has been befriending Salman's sister Arpita for some time. After Karan Johar's 40th birthday party on May 24, Priyanka and Arpita had a little after party at the latter's home. Arpita then tweeted a picture of her and Priyanka together with the message, 'People can be friends without benefits!'

But clearly there can be unintended benefits - friendship with the country's biggest star for one. Following his amicable split with Katrina Kaif, Sallu is at present fancy free. Priyanka has, in all these years, never admitted to the presence of a significant other.

Sallu, who last worked with Priyanka in the 2007 film Salaam-e-ishq, is set to start work on Sajid Nadiadwalla's Kick. The hunt is on for a heroine opposite him. Priyanka, whose Barfi! is to release later this year, has wrapped up work on Zanjeer and Krrish 3. She has no other film lined up.

The famous falling out between Shah Rukh and Salman in 2008, when they nearly came to blows, had sharply divided the film industry. The unspoken motto of each camp was 'either you're with us or against us', leaving several mutual friends of the two in an awkward spot.

Earlier this year, Salman's ex-girlfriend Katrina started shooting her first-ever film with Shah Rukh, and given the budding proximity between Salman and Priyanka, who knows this winter could bring a thaw in Bollywood.