Masand: Gossip of the Week | July 26th

A Hug Does Not a Friendship Make

So Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan hugged earlier this week at Congress MLA Baba Siddique's Iftaar party in Mumbai. The two stars, who famously had a falling out after a heated argument at Katrina Kaif's birthday party five years ago, embraced like old friends last Sunday in the presence of dozens of star-struck guests who snapped the moment on their camera phones.

However, Siddique may have planned out the whole affair. Both Salman and Shah Rukh had reportedly been informed that the other was also expected to show up. Shah Rukh, in fact, who had been shooting for a magazine cover at his home just before he arrived at Siddique's gathering, didn't look particularly surprised when Salman tapped him on his shoulder while he was mid-meal at the Iftaar table, and offered him a hug. SRK gracefully reciprocated, and eyewitnesses say he even spent a good 30 minutes chatting with Salman's father, Salim Khan.

Friends of the actors are relieved that the ice has been broken, but they are asking tabloid hacks to not get carried away. Apparently this doesn't necessarily mean Salman and Shah Rukh will go back to wining and dining together like they did in the good ol' days. At best, the two stars have arrived at an uneasy truce and can be counted on to be polite to each other when they cross paths in the future.

Although Bhaag Milkha Bhaag's box-office collections have been steadily growing since its release—not to mention the unanimous praise Farhan Akhtar continues to receive for his committed performance as the celebrated athlete in the film—there's one fellow who's probably not popping champagne. That will be Lootera star Ranveer Singh, who was reportedly pursued for the part by director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra after the release of his smash debut, Band Baaja Baaraat, in 2010.

The story goes that Ranveer and Rakeysh had lengthy conversations about the role and the actor was on the verge of beginning to train as part of his preparation for the project. But he allegedly bowed out of the film when he learnt that he might have a serious shot at landing the lead in Rajkumar Hirani's Peekay.

The 3 Idiots director, who at the time had no firm commitment from Aamir Khan for Peekay, is believed to have spoken to both Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer separately about possibly starring in it. Encouraged by this, Ranveer decided to put all his eggs into Hirani's basket, opting out of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.

Aamir Khan then famously signed up for Peekay, and Ranveer, one hears, went back to Rakeysh to check if Milkha was still available. Alas, for him, the Rang De Basanti director had signed on Farhan only 15 days earlier.

Industrywallahs are surprised that this pretty starlet has landed the female lead opposite an A-lister in a major action movie that is currently in production. She has hardly proved her mettle in the histrionics department, so it is surprising that she would be chosen from among the half-dozen bonafide female stars who were also vying for the coveted job.

An insider with access to the details claims the starlet may have benefitted from the fallout between the film's producer-director and a director who is her former boyfriend. Until recently, she was romantically involved with a successful helmer, but their relationship of a few years reportedly fizzled out soon after the director delivered a big-budget turkey a few months ago.

Her former boyfriend happened to be close friends with the filmmaker behind her new project, but that friendship went out of the window over a recent botched business deal. Now, our source says, the starlet is likely to have been signed on for the film so that the producer-director can get back at his former buddy by suggesting that he has got the starlet on his side. The games people play!