Clearing the Decks

Saif Ali Khan hosted a party at his Bandra home last weekend that was attended by the likes of Ritesh Deshmukh, filmmaker Sajid Khan, Saif’s recently married sister Soha Ali Khan and others. Friends have said there was no real occasion for the celebrations, other than the fact that Saif hadn’t seen his friends for a while now. The actor, who in the past few months has made headlines only for the wrong reasons, is believed to be looking forward to going back to work after a string of back-to-back box-office duds.

He appears to have mended ways with his Humshakals director, whom he practically hauled over the coals after the film’s abysmal reception from critics and fans last year. Saif famously declared that he had made a mistake by signing Sajid’s comedy and that he hadn’t enjoyed a single day of working on that film. Saif’s wife Kareena Kapoor, meanwhile, when asked recently to comment on rumours that her husband may be stripped of the Padma Shri that had been bestowed on him some years ago, coolly replied that if that were the case, “I’m sure Saif would be okay to return it”. An RTI application last year had revealed that the Government was examining a demand for taking back the honour in the wake of a Mumbai court framing charges against him for allegedly beating up a ‘South African businessman and another male guest at a restaurant in 2012.’

Shahid’s Non-Filmi Choices

So Shahid Kapoor will tie the knot “sometime towards the end of the year”, the actor revealed after a tabloid story blew the lid on his alleged ‘secret engagement’ to Delhi student Mira Rajput. “I’m not engaged,” he clarified when he was asked the question at an event last week, but didn’t deny that they are in a relationship. “She’s a normal girl and I’m a normal guy, and we should treat it as something that’s normal and regular,” he added.

Little is known about the young lady who will be Shahid’s bride, apart from the fact that she’s roughly 13 years younger than the actor, and that they were set up by their families, both of whom are followers of the spiritual organisation, Radha Soami Satsang Beas. We can safely assume that Ms Rajput is a vegetarian like Shahid, which rules out any possibility of her walking into his home chewing on a chicken sandwich.

You may remember that there were rumours a few years ago that Shahid went into a rage when his then girlfriend Priyanka Chopra once entered his Yari Road flat inadvertently still munching an unfinished non-veg sandwich. He was also famously instrumental in another one of his exes, Kareena Kapoor, turning vegetarian when they were dating many moons ago.

Those who know Shahid well, but were still caught unaware by the marriage news, insist that he was always inclined towards finding a wife from beyond the film fraternity. “He’s conservative and old-fashioned in that way,” a producer friend of the actor explains. “That’s probably why his relationships with actresses never worked out beyond a point.” It’s purely coincidental that the actor’s next release will be Shandaar, a romantic comedy set around a destination wedding. Shahid wrapped the film some months ago, and vehemently brushed off gossip that his co-star Alia Bhatt and he had become ‘an item’ during the film’s long outdoor schedule in the UK.

The Lady Can Hold Her Liquor

A fairly well-known producer’s actress wife is the subject of Chinese whispers in Bollywood these days, and it has something to do with her—ahem—reported weakness for alcohol, say industry insiders. Unit members who worked on a big-budget film that she recently completed have been saying that the actress easily downed 8-10 beers in a single afternoon and this was a common occurrence during an overseas schedule. The preferred sport at cast- and-crew get-togethers post-packup involved placing bets on how many drinks the actress would consume before calling it a night.

To be fair, there were no reports of shoots being affected because of this ‘problem’. What it did likely result in was the actress’ rapid weight gain, although those who’ve spotted her recently insist she has shed all the extra kilos. Having smoothly moved from television to the big screen, the actress has a reputation of being a competent artiste, but solid roles have eluded her lately. She will, however, have another major release (apart from this one) in the months ahead.

Kareena KapoorMira RajputPriyanka ChopraSaif Ali KhanShahid Kapoor