The Superstar Groom

By the time you read this, Shahid Kapoor will be well and truly married. The actor’s wedding celebrations began in the Capital on Monday, when he joined his bride-to-be, Mira Rajput, in a sangeet ceremony where the pair reportedly danced to musical hits from… well, his own movies. For those curious to know if Shahid’s exes were invited to the shaadi, turns out they weren’t. Kareena Kapoor went on record to clarify that a wedding card hadn’t landed up in the post, and that she was “very happy” for him. Priyanka Chopra is busy shooting in Bhopal, but sources close to Shahid say it’s unlikely that she was invited either. In the days leading up to D-Day, it was revealed that Shahid would be blessed by three mothers—his own, actress Neelima Azeem; Supriya Pathak, the wife of his father Pankaj Kapoor; and actress Vandana Sajnani, wife of Rajesh Khattar, ex-husband of Neelima.

There has been some talk that Shahid will not rush off on a honeymoon immediately as he’s committed to begin shooting the new season of the dance-reality show Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, on which he will be a judge. Soon after, he’s expected to go into Vishal Bhardwaj’s Rangoon in which he’s paired with Saif Ali Khan and Kangana Ranaut. Hopefully his new missus likes the taste of ‘set ka khaana’, as it appears her husband’s going to be spending a lot of time shooting in the months right after their marriage.

Professional Woes

There’s been a lot of speculation over what Hrithik Roshan will do next… on the professional front, that is. The recently divorced star threw himself into work even as his personal life continues to be extensively discussed and dissected following his split with Sussanne Roshan. Following the embarrassment that was Bang Bang! last year, Hrithik jumped straight into Ashutosh Gowariker’s period romance Mohenjo Daro, but had an empty slate thereon. It appears now that the actor may have signed his next.

Bollywood insiders are saying Hrithik will work with Tashan and Dhoom 3 director Vijay Krishna Acharya (aka Victor) on his next film. Shooting is likely to commence later this year. Little is known about the movie so far except that it will be produced by Yash Raj Films.

Earlier this week the actor was in Turkey, filming a music video with Sonam Kapoor for the evergreen Dheere Dheere Se track from the 1990 musical smash Aashiqui. T-Series honcho Bhushan Kumar, whose father Gulshan Kumar had produced that film with the Bhatts, is reportedly planning to release an album of his late father’s favourite tracks and hence roped in Hrithik and Sonam to feature in this video that he’ll use to promote the album. On the personal front, rumour has it that the actor’s inner circle of friends has taken it upon themselves to find him a suitable partner. Although recently linked to Kangana Ranaut and even Deepika Padukone, his friends say Hrithik is currently single but looking forward to mingle.

Mother Protective

This actress appears besotted by her actor-boyfriend although neither has publicly confirmed their relationship yet. Not that they need to. They regularly take holidays together and post photographs all over the place, they hang out with her group of close friends, and now they’ve featured in a steamy brand campaign together.

It’s all very well. Except that the actress’ mother doesn’t think too much of her new squeeze. Sources close to the family say that Mom has been disapproving of her daughter’s muscle- man amour pretty much from the moment that it became clear the actress had feelings for him. Referring to him as a ‘player’ (and that’s one of the printable words one can cite here), the actress’ mama has reportedly discouraged her daughter from getting into any sort of serious relationship with the fella.

Members of the actress’ staff insist that her mother’s concerns come from a good place. She watched her daughter come out of a long- term relationship singed and emotionally wounded, and doesn’t want to see her hurt again. Her new boyfriend’s own relationship history is a mess, and Mom doesn’t want her daughter to be just another notch on his bedpost.

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Rajeev Masand

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