Band Baaja Brush-off

Groggy-eyed passengers at the domestic airport in Mumbai were temporarily entertained last Saturday morning when they saw Band Baaja Baraat star Ranveer Singh run up and down the departure terminal trying desperately to make it in time for his flight to Goa. Alas, the check-in counters had closed and the actor was forced to search for the next available flight.

Ranveer, it appears, has decided to hole himself up in Goa for about a week so he can focus on reading a bunch of scripts he is currently considering. Reportedly, the break is also aimed at preparing for his next film, another romantic comedy from Yash Raj Films titled Ladies vs Ricky Bahl (the plot of which sounds suspiciously similar to that Hollywood chick-flick John Tucker Must Die). This film, which reunites Singh with his BBB director Maneesh Sharma and leading lady Anushka Sharma, is the quickest project put together by the YRF banner, which, encouraged by the success of BBB, has decided to bring all the main players back and release the new film exactly one year later on the same weekend as BBB’s release.

Bitchy Bollywood insiders are saying Ranveer reminds them much of Vivek Oberoi in his early days: talented and promising, but very opinionated and full of himself. Those who know him claim he’s anything but. Having struggled hard to land his dream break, his friends insist that he values the popularity he has earned, and is in no mood to sign films he’s not convinced of—even with big filmmakers, and however promising they may seem on paper. As a result, he’s believed to have said ‘no’ to some major names who’re still fuming from the brush-off.

Shah Rukh Khan, whose Ra.One was shifted from a summer 2011 release to a Diwali release because post-production was unlikely to be completed in time, is reportedly working round the clock now to ensure that the film doesn’t miss its October deadline as well. The problem, one hears, isn’t just the ticking clock, but also fast escalating production costs.

Bollywood insiders estimate that the film’s budget is likely to touch a whopping Rs 120 crore by the time it’s finally ready. The film’s financiers Eros International, who hadn’t anticipated such high numbers, are allegedly chewing their nails nervously, but Shah Rukh is believed to have promised to bear half the ‘over-budget costs’ himself.

The star has reportedly confessed to friends that over the next two months he intends to take every paid gig he can land. The first of those is that tacky game show he’s been hosting on a television channel. Add to that, all the Bollywood awards shows he’s been emceeing and performing at recently. Earlier this week, he also hosted a quiz show at a management institute in Delhi. There will be weddings to dance at, and newer brands to endorse too. Every crore counts—that’s the actor’s current mantra.

Meanwhile, even if Ra.One does miss its Diwali release date, the makers of Shah Rukh’s next—Don 2—are determined not to budge from their Christmas release. Which only means the budget of Ra.One will continue to escalate, and that the film won’t arrive on screens anytime before February 2012. But the actor doesn’t even want to consider that option. Currently he’s overworking his team so that they can take their bow on schedule this Diwali.

Unconfirmed but reliable sources say a young heartthrob male star was recently arrested at Mumbai’s Bandra Reclamation with drugs on him. Reacting to a tip-off, the police allegedly found the actor alone in his fancy car and discovered a substantial quantity of drugs when they searched his car. The A-lister was promptly taken to the closest police station, where he made a call to his friend, a prominent Bandra builder, who showed up within minutes.

As the story goes, the builder put down Rs 50 lakh in cash and quashed the case completely. No record of the incident exists anymore.