Mission Dhoom – Rajeev Masand’s Gossip Column

When Katrina Kaif leaves for Chicago to shoot for Dhoom 3 next week, she’ll join Uday Chopra, Aamir Khan and Abhishek Bachchan, who would have kicked off the new schedule by the time she gets there after completing an exhaustive promotional tour for Ek Tha Tiger with Salman Khan.

Sources reveal that Dhoom 3 writer-director Vijay Krishna Acharya (or Viktor as he’s fondly addressed in Bollywood) filmed the climax of his highly anticipated thriller with the principal cast during the first schedule that he completed recently at YRF Studio in Mumbai. From what we hear, the producers want to keep the climax such a closely guarded secret that only a bare-bones crew was permitted on the set.

Apparently, the assistants working on the film were kept in the dark till the very end and never given a complete copy of the script; missing were the crucial pages containing the twist ending. Even actors are believed to have signed non-disclosure agreements that legally restrict them from revealing details about the script to anyone.

Furthermore, there is some talk that the climax was shot using high-end digital cameras, and not the typical film cameras that require footage to be sent to a laboratory for a digital transfer before it can be edited on an Avid. The filmmakers seem to be taking all necessary precautions to ensure the footage of the climax stays with them till it’s absolutely necessary for it to be reconverted into film before the movie’s release next year.

Hardly surprising then that no one associated with the film is willing to shed any light on these stories. It’s hard not to be a little cynical though, and wonder if these rumours aren’t originating from the PR department of Yash Raj Films itself to burnish the legend of this much anticipated film. Think about it; it’s not entirely impossible, you know.

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Heroine Wars

The drama surrounding Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ram Leela doesn’t seem to end. First Kareena Kapoor walked out of the film saying they couldn’t resolve “contractual differences”. Then Bhansali reportedly started negotiations with Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone before the Guzaarish director finally leaned in Deepika’s favour.

Last week, at a cast and crew party of Wake Up Sid director Ayan Mukherjee’s under-production Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Deepika was all smiles, graciously accepting the wishes of friends for having finally signed the dotted line. But now stories are emerging that Kareena Kapoor may end up doing the film after all.

Expectedly, there are two versions doing the rounds. Kareena’s camp has been saying that Bhansali may have signed Deepika for the film but he never stopped wooing Kareena to return to the project, given that he’d conceived the film with her in mind. Meanwhile, the filmmaker’s side insists Kareena had a change of heart when she heard that Bhansali had begun speaking to other actresses the moment she left the film. Did she really think he was going to shelve the film if she walked out?

Either way, neither Kareena nor Bhansali is saying anything currently. Good choice. Make up your minds for sure before you issue any statements.

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When ‘Good Friends’ Break up

Every time they were linked, she insisted the stories were fabricated—that he’s been a close friend of the family, that her parents have known him for years, that they were nothing more than just ‘good friends’. Yet the rumours didn’t stop—that she was spotted dropping in at his home well past midnight, that she’d camped out with him at a studio once it was too late to drive back home, that his girlfriend at the time was becoming insecure about their closeness. According to the industry grapevine, the actress is no longer infatuated with her older co-star, who for his part literally breaks into a rash at the mention of her name. Notorious for his kiss-and-tell habits, the actor has revealed to friends that the heroine’s mother was fully aware of their fling and often sent home-cooked meals for him when her daughter came visiting. He has also said that the actress’ brother, on more than one occasion, was asked to keep watch under his building for nosey family members or friends, when the actress was ‘spending time’ with him at his home. The actor has said he won’t sign any new films with her once they wrap the one movie they’re currently shooting together.

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