Splits Villa

The tabloids are saying Katrina Kaif has finally moved out of the apartment she’d been sharing with Ranbir Kapoor before they broke up, and has moved back into the flat she’d been living in before they decided to bunk together.

Splitting up is messy. And doubly so if the couple in question are high-profile movie stars. When Ranbir and Katrina ended their relationship some months ago, they had to be aware that the process of moving on was going to be awkward and more public than they’d have liked.

Ranbir famously moved out first, and immediately it was made to look like he’d walked out on Kat, leaving her all alone in the apartment they were meant to share. Insiders, however, reveal that the couple had discussed and mutually agreed on what their course of action was going to be. His family home at Pali Hill is currently undergoing renovation, and the actor had the option to move in with his parents at their Hill Road duplex, but it reportedly felt too cramped. The flat he’d recently purchased wasn’t ready yet (it will be finished in October when he is expected to move in), leaving with him no choice but to move to his grandmother Krishna Raj Kapoor’s bungalow in Chembur.

Meanwhile, according to those in the know, Katrina moved out only now because she’d given up her old flat and the landlord had further leased it out already. She wasn’t keen on finding a new place, so she stayed back until the old flat had been cleared out for her to move into again.

Bhai’s Got Her Back

While on Katrina Kaif, the Baar Baar Dekho actress is now confirmed to star opposite her ex Salman Khan in a sequel to Ek Tha Tiger. That 2012 romantic film, in which both actors played undercover spies, was directed by Kabir Khan, but the sequel (titled, believe it or not, Tiger Zinda Hai) will be helmed by Sultan director Ali Abbas Zafar, who was formerly an assistant to Kabir.

Industry insiders are saying this is Salman’s way of reaching out to Katrina and reassuring her that he will always be there for her. A well-placed source, close to both actors, decodes the scenario: “Right now she’s going through a rough patch both personally and professionally. A film opposite Salman Khan puts her back in the reckoning as far as her career is concerned. It’s also a fairly clear message to Ranbir Kapoor that Bhai has her back. Don’t think she’s got no one in her corner.”

Faithfully Yours

He’s Bollywood’s numero uno heartthrob currently; his popularity with the fairer sex virtually unprecedented and cutting across age and caste and creed and shape. No wonder the makers of a new film, in which he only makes a glorified cameo, have decided against exploiting him in their promotions in the fear of promising fans more than they can deliver.

The actor acquired something of a party boy reputation recently after word got around that he likes his drink. He can down a couple of pegs every night, but those who know him insist that he’s no slobbering drunk. He likes going out too, and prefers an evening out over a night in, but refreshingly— and unlike your typical Bollywood movie star—his colleagues insist that his list of vices does not include a roving eye. Despite the overwhelming attention he routinely receives from actresses and female fans alike, this A-lister is believed to be a fully committed married man.

With a second baby on the way, and a wife who isn’t breathing down his neck like many star wives tend to do, the actor may well be the ideal Bollywood husband. Eyewitnesses swear they’ve seen at least two top female actresses sidle up to him at private parties, but the good-looking young man with the bedroom eyes has studiously avoided taking the bait.

About The Author

Rajeev Masand

•