Bollywood’s Latest Bromance

It’s hard to tell what Varun Dhawan and John Abraham could possibly have in common: a shared passion for fitness, perhaps? Whatever the case, the two actors appear to be the latest BFFs in Bollywood—a fact that became quite evident just from the goofy manner in which they posed together for shutterbugs who’d gathered outside a party Varun threw to celebrate ABCD 2’s success recently. “They were all hands,” one actress says cheekily, referring to pictures in which Varun literally piggybacked on John’s broad shoulders for the overjoyed lensmen. The actors, who’re currently shooting Dishoom in Morocco, have been posting photographs from the set on Instagram, and even their leading lady Jacqueline Fernandez has jokingly revealed that there’s no room for her in their bromance.

Turns out that John, who’d been directed by Varun’s brother Rohit in Desi Boyz previously (and who is again directing Dishoom), took an instant liking to Rohit’s “chilled out” younger brother, and reportedly offered to star alongside him in the new film even while the script was being written. According to sources in the unit, John has taken it upon himself to supervise Varun’s fitness training in their hotel gym after pack-up every evening. And Jacqueline often joins them too.

The Devgn-SRK Détente

Ajay Devgn wants you to know that he made Drishyam for all those fans and critics who’ve been grumbling that the two-time National Award- winning actor has switched his priorities from creativity to commerce. Ajay told me earlier this week that he enjoys making blockbuster movies like Golmaal and Singham, but was riveted the moment he picked up the script of Drishyam. He revealed that he intentionally didn’t watch the Malayalam original starring Mohanlal, “because I didn’t want to be influenced or inspired by Mohanlal’s performance in any way”.

Ajay added that the film is a departure from the kind of movies he’s been making lately—“the ones you guys love to hate,” he said mischievously—and that he embraced the opportunity to play a Regular Joe in a film whose script was its “real hero”.

Later this year he’ll slip into the director’s chair again for Shivaay. The film’s plot—reportedly centered on a man who must rescue a young girl from a human trafficking racket—sounds suspiciously similar to the first Taken film starring Liam Neeson, but Ajay wouldn’t confirm or deny this. He said he was looking forward to return to direction again after his 2008 debut U Me Aur Hum. The usually forthcoming star remained unusually silent when I asked him to clarify the one rumour that’s fast doing the rounds online: does he indeed make a cameo in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Dilwale, in which his wife Kajol is acting too? Is that what he was doing in Bulgaria when he was photographed chatting with SRK over a meal? Has Rohit Shetty been able to pull off that coup—has he united the long-time rivals? All I got was a naughty smile. Make what you will of it.

A Case of Post Sign-Up Dissonance

A popular actor, still recovering from a string of back-to-back flops, recently signed up to make a movie with a “serious” director who had once given him one of his career-defining roles. The director has managed to assemble an enviable ensemble of stars for the new film, including Bollywood’s current ‘it’ girl, and another red-hot-right-now male star who swept all the awards for an intense performance last year.

It’s a coup of sorts landing both male stars, and the project is being watched closely as a potential box office firecracker by Bollywood insiders. But rumour has it that the older male star was having second thoughts about the movie. He reportedly discussed the same with the director while he was holidaying in London with his actress wife recently, but was reassured that he was making the right decision. The famously moody star is known to change his mind frequently and go back on professional commitments. Some are saying his discomfort about this particular project may have nothing to do with the script; it may be purely personal.

For now, it seems the issues have been resolved, and the filmmaker is likely to go into production shortly. But it’s fair to say that there is some amount of anxiety among the makers about the actor’s reputation for dilly-dallying. Like them, we can only wait and watch.

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Rajeev Masand

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