Shahid’s Dating Problem

Shahid’s Dating Problem • The Reluctant Reader • A Cricketer and a Flopster

Their film together may be a love story, but Shahid Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor share anything but warm vibes. The young stars of Mausam got off to a rocky start during the film’s first shooting schedule in Scotland last year, and now two months away from the film’s release, they still can’t see eye to eye.

Shahid has blamed his irritation towards Sonam on her alleged unprofessionalism. But sources say there’s more to it than it appears. The actress is apparently miffed with Shahid ever since he allegedly planted stories in the tabloids suggesting they were seeing each other. In an unrelated incident, two days after he’d sent her flowers and gifts when she was unwell, newspapers had full details of Shahid’s ‘romantic gesture’, and this time the actress was convinced it was Shahid himself who was responsible for the leak. She’s even believed to have confronted him over the matter.

It’s not the first time Shahid’s been accused of leaking details of his relationships to the papers. Tennis star Sania Mirza told a well-known female filmmaker recently that she hasn’t forgiven the actor for giving out details of their dates to the press. Before she was married, Sania and Shahid went out a few times, and the sports-star had reportedly noticed that the tabloids always had the scoop the following day.

Even Deepika Padukone was advised not to be swayed by his friendly overtures after stories of their reported ‘closeness’ began showing up on the gossip pages. The actress is believed to have figured it out when a tabloid ran a story last year that she was the ‘chosen one’ among the ladies who’d been invited to attend a birthday party that We Are Family director Siddharth Malhotra was throwing for his buddy Shahid. It was true, she had been invited. But if she hadn’t told anyone, who planted the story? Deepika ended up not attending!

When Mira Nair asked Irrfan Khan to read Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist, the actor obediently picked up the book and proceeded to fall in love with it. Then his Namesake director informed him he couldn’t have the lead, because the character needed to be younger. Shattered, Irrfan decided he was never going to set himself up for disappointment again. So when Ang Lee, the acclaimed director of Sense And Sensibility, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain shortlisted him to play the older version of the protagonist in his adaptation of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, Irrfan refused to read the book. He insisted he wouldn’t get emotionally attached to the character until he was sure it was his. On his second meeting with the Taiwanese filmmaker, Irrfan repeated his stand when Lee asked if he’d finally read the book. Amused, the filmmaker didn’t press. Weeks later he called Irrfan to give him the part, and now urged him to get hold of a copy. Irrfan did. And found himself overwhelmed and completely excited by the role.

The actor was equally enthusiastic about starring in Deepa Mehta’s cinematic take on Midnight’s Children, but couldn’t accommodate the film into his schedule, which was now more or less taken over by the new Spiderman movie that he’d committed to star in as a villain. He’s told friends that his greatest regret about losing Midnight’s Children is missing an opportunity to interact with Salman Rushdie.

A Casanova cricketer and a flop Bollywood actress have been spotted together often enough to set tongues wagging. He’s a flamboyant bachelor who throws wild parties at his Bandra apartment. She’s a once-promising star who made a splashy debut opposite a leading star-son, then faded away equally soon. Gossip-mongers first noticed her at his private bash to celebrate India’s World Cup victory. The host seemed unusually friendly with her; she even tweeted a harmless picture of them together.

His friends think he can do way better. And he has. He’s dated a stunning Bollwood beauty in the past, and a popular ramp-walker recently. The actress was involved in at least two long-term relationships. With a married Bollywood director not so long ago, and with a Delhi businessman more recently.

Neither of their friends seems to know what’s up exactly. Except that the two seem to like spending time with each other. The stirrings of a serious romance, or just a quick fling? Nobody can tell… just yet.

Irrfan KhanShahid KapoorSonam Kapoor