Masand: Gossip of the Week| April 21

New Beginnings with Old Friends

Harman Baweja (remember him?), who hasn't had a release since 2009's colossal dud What's Your Raashee?, was spotted partying in Vancouver recently during a Bollywood awards ceremony. The actor, who has dated Priyanka Chopra and Shamita Shetty and is now reportedly seeing Bipasha Basu, was noticed chatting up pretty locals and happily posing for pictures with star-struck fans. Bipasha was in London while her beau made the most of his Canadian vacation.

Since her break-up with John Abraham two years ago, Bipasha has admitted that she's been dating frequently, and actors like Shahid Kapoor, Harman and Hollywood's Josh Hartnett are some of the men she has been linked to. It is also a well-known fact that Bipasha has renewed her friendship with exes Milind Soman and Dino Morea, who her friends say she was categorically asked to "stay far away from" while she was with John.

Speaking of Dino Morea, he is believed to have signed up for—wait for it—a theatre acting course in Delhi. Too little too late? Dino has apparently told friends that he is taking a three-month break from "the scene" to "recharge my batteries". He successfully transitioned last year into a producer with Jism 2, on which he had Pooja Bhatt as his partner. Could it be that he is now planning to relaunch himself in front of the camera? Shudder.

Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif no longer seem to be trying to hide the fact that they are a couple. After an on-off relationship two years ago that they hotly denied at the time, the stars finally appear comfortable with the knowledge that all eyes will stay firmly on them when they are in public. In Vancouver, they were spotted shopping together and didn't flinch when fans requested photographs with them.

Ironically, the couple don't have a movie together. They shared terrific chemistry in Rajkumar Santoshi's madcap comedy Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani and had some intense scenes together in Raajneeti, but haven't been paired up since.

Katrina allegedly turned down Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani so she could do Dhoom 3 with Aamir Khan instead, and it is no secret that she left Barfi! (making way for Ileana D'Cruz) once she learnt that Priyanka Chopra had the meatier part. Now, with Ranbir committed to doing Imtiaz Ali's next, industry watchers suspect Katrina could well be cast in that film. But those in the know insist that the Rockstar director has other plans.

It's been a while since he delivered a hit at the box-office, but he is still regarded as one of Bollywood's most prominent filmmakers, with a reputation for directing large-scale weepies. Known to be a hard taskmaster with his cast and crew, he is famous for screaming at assistants, and there are the occasional stories of physical abuse too.

But friends and family insist it is all for the sake of his art: "He can't suffer fools. Nothing is more important to him than the shot." In the good ol' days, few assistants lasted longer than a week, sometimes two, on his sets. Most who fled left sobbing after a bitter dressing-down. Those who lasted usually joked that they could work anywhere and with anyone after the intense experience they had been through.

Although the filmmaker in question has reportedly mellowed with age, there are still enough stories of his tyrannical ways. The stars of his latest film, both working with him for the first time, have already had a taste of his famous temper, but they insist he cools off just as quickly. While shooting in Jaipur recently, the actors discovered that he's got a Dr Jekyll-Mr Hyde thing going. "He'd bark and yell at them on the sets during the day, then take them out to fancy dinners after pack-up," a source reveals. "You can't hate such a guy. You just try not to get in his way."