End of the warThis was something no one saw coming. It’s been about five years since Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan had that massive row during Katrina Kaif’s birthday party and then decided that they would ignore the existence of the other. Then followed all the difficulties that come with two of the biggest superstars in India not wanting to be anywhere in the other’s vicinity. Events, shootings and parties of those who knew both of them had to be intricately arranged so that there was no chance of Salman running into Shah Rukh. There were two camps of industry people who would not work with the opposing Khan. Friends of Shah Rukh like Karan Johar could never get Salman in their movies. Farah Khan found herself in the odd situation of being a Shah Rukh acolyte while her husband Sirish Kunder was with Salman. Eventually it led to Shah Rukh giving her the cold shoulder. Shah Rukh and Salman had even earlier had their tiffs but that had always been papered over because Salman’s brothers maintained good relations with Shah Rukh. But this time it seemed as if the wall between the two was well and truly permanent. Not so, as it turned out. A local politician’s Iftar party saw both of them together in the same place. While they ignored each other, the politician took Salman and went to Shah Rukh. The latter got up and had hugged his sworn enemy. Shah Rukh later tweeted about how relieved he was at finally turning the page. Even if chances are they will never be friends again many Bollywood actors and technicians will be heaving a sigh of relief. They will now at least be free to offer their services to both of them. Director’s big cutSoon after Barfi! released to universal acclaim, it began to be noticed that many of the humour scenes in it were direct lifts from old English flicks. It created a huge controversy and it was thought that the director Anurag Basu’s career would be affected in some measure by the accusations of plagiarism. Well, it has been affected but not in the way you would think. Apparently Bollywood loves success more than originality and Basu finds himself one of the most sought after directors in tinsel town post Barfi! He has got Ranbir Kapoor to star in two of his upcoming films which more or less assures them to be superhits. But what is astonishing is that Basu was recently signed by a production house belonging to a music label T Series and is being offered about $2mn, which is the kind of price only big stars command. Even top heroines don’t get that much. Basu is also getting some cut from the profits. There is a not so nice moral to the story in this. If you can make a good movie in India which appeals to both the masses and critics, notwithstanding plagiarism, rewards will come your way.The drift of the ’30sSome things we will never know. Till just a few months ago, everyone who was following Bollywood had written the end of Shah Rukh Khan’s marriage with Gauri Khan. The culprit was Priyanka Chopra who it was said was having a really serious relationship with Shah Rukh. It was rumoured that they were going to move in together. Gauri’s friends, other star wives, had ostracised Priyanka. Even Karan Johar had made acerbic comments about her on Twitter. Then suddenly the world woke up to Shah Rukh and Gauri having one more baby through surrogacy. Couples who are going to split don’t exactly make an addition to the family. There was no clearer signal about the Shah Rukh, Priyanka affair being a thing of the past. Priyanka, meanwhile, continues to do offbeat deglamourised roles. Barfi! was one movie in which she went against the grain and she is soon going to act in a biopic on the boxer Mary Kom. She is also trying to reinvent herself as a pop singer. The reason she has to do all this is because she has just turned 31, an age that in Bollywood is at stepping distance from retirement for heroines. Another bit of gossip also came about from Priyanka’s front. Apparently, now that the Shah Rukh door is closed, Priyanka might just have found harbour once again with old boyfriend Shahid Kapoor. She was seen at a party in his home. As rumours go, this is pretty much without substance at the moment. But if true, that is definitely a come down, given that Shahid’s career is going nowhere. In fact, he is not even rated nowadays among the future of Bollywood, with that mantle being firmly with stars like Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan. A sound affairThe one couple who have more or less decided that it’s time to throw the ‘we are just friends’ line into the dustbin are Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. They are being seen just about everywhere from India to, er, Spain. Recently, in what is probably a harbinger of the paparazzi culture in Bollywood, Katrina and Ranbir were photographed in a beach in Ibiza, Spain. Katrina was wearing a two piece bikini and Ranbir was also in beach wear. Not that they were in any intimate pose but their togetherness in such a faraway land is telling. And after that when Ranbir went to Sri Lanka to shoot for a film, there was Katrina in tow. A news report revealed that she was also in the same hotel. Ranbir was seeing Katrina a couple of years earlier too but then, in keeping his reputation of flitting from woman to woman, they had separated. This time, however, it seems there is a more firm foundation to the relationship. Perhaps he has matured with time and realised the many salubrious benefits of a deeper connection. In any case, he certainly is the hottest property in town and for Katrina a partner of the same standing as her former boyfriend, Salman. Send your feedback to bollywood.eye@gmail.com