Race to Repentance

Deepika Padukone, whose image took something of a beating lately after she allegedly walked out of Race 2 despite having shot a substantial chunk of the film and without so much as seeking the permission of the film’s producer, Ramesh Taurani, has now reportedly adjusted her dates and will complete the film. Turns out it was Deepika’s good friend Karan Johar who intervened and resolved the differences between the actress and the producer. Despite blasting each other in the press and calling each other names, the doe-eyed actress and veteran producer have arrived at a truce.

There’s also some talk that Deepika’s Race 2 co-stars, Saif Ali Khan and John Abraham, were upset over the way she was holding the film ransom. In fact, John reportedly gave her a cold shoulder when they met at a wedding recently. Deepika’s side, meanwhile, has blamed Saif for delaying the film and then leaving her to re-adjust her diary accordingly.

The actress, who’s just got back from Los Angeles, was apparently one of four Indian leading ladies who were invited to audition for a major American film. Sonam Kapoor was another actress who reportedly got the call, but didn’t bother to make the trek to LA. In the end, it appears the studio opted for a Latino leading lady, leaving Deepika’s and the other Bollywood actresses’ Hollywood dreams incomplete.

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Jodi Breakers

When Akshay Kumar turned up solo at the Stardust Awards recently, and at the wedding ceremony of his Desi Boyz director Rohit Dhawan the same week, tongues began wagging that there was trouble in his marriage. Twinkle Khanna, who devotedly attends public events with her husband, was conspicuous by her absence at both places, and it didn’t take long for industry wives to sniff something amiss there.

Internet gossip sites and tabloids picked up the story immediately, but neither Akshay nor Twinkle offered any comment, fuelling the rumours further.

On Sunday, however, the couple made the perfect family portrait as they dined at JW Marriott hotel in Mumbai with their son Aarav. The actor spotted a group of film hacks at the coffee shop, and apparently made it a point to go up and say ‘hello’, drawing their attention to the fact that he was there with his wife, and insisting that all was well between them.

A source close to Twinkle reveals that the only reason she’s skipped a few public events lately is because she’s been tending to her father, who’s reportedly unwell.

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Who’s the Loser Here?

Some boys are complete cads. This out-of-work actor, and son of a prominent Bollywood producer, shamelessly showed off a bunch of private text messages he’d received from a smoking hot actress to his male friends at a wedding they were attending in Goa recently.

According to the young C-lister, the actress, who happens to be married (although there have been incessant rumours that her marriage, to a Bollywood outsider, has been on the rocks for some time now), has been sending him a string of suggestive and risqué SMSes. While rehearsing for the sangeet party during the weekend wedding of his childhood friend (also a young director) in Goa, the actor reportedly yanked out his cell phone and shared the messages with his buddies, including a current heartthrob star.

The indiscreet actor is believed to have told his friends that he’s aware the female star has no particular interest in him (let’s face it, he’s no Adonis, far from it actually), and that she’s more than likely wooing him because she’s heard that his producer papa is offering big bucks to any heroine willing to star opposite his worthless son.

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