We are just two months into 2102, but Bollywood is fast becoming a hotspot for brawls starring actors in their downtime.
The imprints of Shah Rukh Khan's slap had barely faded from filmmaker Shirish Kunder's face, and Saif Ali Khan has now jumped into the ring.
Last week, the Agent Vinod star allegedly punched a fellow diner when he and his friends were asked to lower their voices at a swanky Japanese restaurant in Mumbai. Clearly, signing up for anger-management classes was not their NY resolution.
tabloid! gets down and dirty as we give you a round-up of all the fights, Twitter wars and ego tussles that have dominated our lives in the last two months.
Saif Ali Khan vs Iqbal Sharma
When: February 22, around 1am
Where: At Wasabi restaurant at the Taj Palace. Saif Ali Khan was dining with his girlfriend Kareena Kapoor and friends Amrita Arora, Shakeel Ladakh and Malaika Arora.
He's considered a class act, but Khan's actions of punching a fellow diner on the nose and participating in a brawl is a blow to that image. Apparently, the Agent Vinod star told Iqbal Sharma — a South African businessman of Indian origin — to head to a library if he was looking for "quiet and peace". Obviously Sharma's request to lower their voices did not sit well with the Bollywood blueblood. Though he was arrested and released on bail by the Mumbai police on Wednesday night, the actor has registered a counter complaint saying that he was provoked, hit first and acted in self-defence.
Status: The issue is yet to be resolved.
Shah Rukh Khan vs Shirish Kunder
When: January 30, around 4.15am
Where: At Mumbai nightclub Aurus, where a star-studded bash to celebrate Agneepath's success was hosted by Sanjay Dutt.
What happened: Who knew a tweet could do so much damage. When choreographer-turned-director Shirish Kunder (Farah Khan's husband) posted a nasty tweet, "I just heard a Rs150 crore [Dh111,390 million] firework fizzle", just after Khan's pet project Ra.One's release in October, he had no clue that he would be slapped four times for it a few months later.
According to eyewitnesses at the party, Kunder stalked Khan relentlessly, muttered annoying provocative comments in his ears and even followed him to the loo. Though not many knew what really transpired between the two, Khan pinning down Kunder, pulling his long hair and slapping him four times are some of the details that were documented.
However, the brawl did not end in police intervention. The next day, Kunder, his wife Farah Khan and family resolved the "little misunderstanding" by having a heart-to-heart chat with King Khan at his residence Mannat in Mumbai.
There was another conspiracy theory doing the rounds: the host of the party, Dutt, who had stepped in to break up the warring duo, pitched in because Kunder allegedly sent lewd messages to his wife, Manyata.
Status: Temporary truce called with Kunder's wife Farah saying Khan was family and that fights are natural among those who love each other.
Deepika Padukone vs Ramesh Tourani
When: February, second week
What: Race 2 producer Tourani filed a complaint with CINTAA (Cine & TV Artistes Association) against Padukone, who abandoned his project after shooting for it for six days. Insults like "unprofessional" and "unethical" were used with gay abandon by the filmmaker. Though Padukone (who walked out citing date problems) refused to comment on the issue, Tourani flexed his muscles by rallying support from Race 2 co-stars John Abraham and Saif Ali Khan. Apparently, Padukone was given the cold shoulder when she attended a wedding recently to which the Race 2 cast was also invited.
"I've registered a complaint against Deepika and I'll make sure that justice is done. Strict action should be taken against her for being so unprofessional and unethical so that no one repeats such an act," Tourani said in Mumbai.
However, the two are trying to resolve the issue. A five-point clause put forward by Padukone is being discussed. Insiders also claim that Padukone wants to be consulted before the producers release Race 2 so that she can set aside time for promotions.
Status: Currently in discussions to reach an amicable decision.
Priyanka Chopra vs Gauri Khan
When: Ever since rumours about Shah Rukh Khan-Chopra link-ups surfaced in December.
What: The weapons used in this scenario were stony glances and a collective cold shoulder.
In this case, there were no violent outbursts, heated words exchanged over Twitter or public statements made. But tabloid! was witness to the glacial treatment meted to Chopra by Gauri at the recent Zee Cine Awards in Macau in January. We were backstage at the rehearsals witnessing the chill-inducing episode orchestrated by Gauri.
First she landed backstage unannounced to watch the rehearsals between her husband and Chopra — the chief anchors of the Zee Cine Awards ceremony. She sat in the front row watching the rehearsals like a hawk and even the effusive handshake extended by Chopra as she saw Gauri speak to choreographer Shiamak Davar was blithely ignored. Some also claim that Gauri garnered support from her influential friends including Suzanne Roshan and Mehr Jessie Rampal by giving them a directive to ignore Chopra collectively.
Rumour has it that Chopra was not invited to the party thrown by Karan Johar to celebrate the success of Agneepath, since he was unhappy with the rumours about the link-ups with his best buddy, Khan.
Status: Khan and Chopra don't miss an opportunity to praise each other, while the industry maintains a stony silence.
Ayesha Takia vs Siddharth Mallya
When: February 7
What: Virtual violence as they indulge in a Twitter war over employee misconduct.
The Wanted actress played the protective elder sister to the hilt as she ranted on Twitter about how her sister was treated badly by a Kingfisher Airlines staff member at Delhi airport. The alleged misdemeanour by airline staff did not go down well with her as she tweeted: "The worst airline, Kingfisher!!!shockingly baddddddddddd airport staff behavior at Delhi airport with my sister. We are going to take serious action against this and go to court with it, let the law handle it, so that this does not happen to any girl again."
Mallya — the son of Vijay Mallya, chairman of Kingfisher Airlines — responded with a cocky tweet. "Been getting tweets about Ayesha Takia & KFA. Not too sure who she is, an actor of some sorts?? But it seems something has upset her."
Takia attacked Mallya directly with a volley of tweets including: "Well any indian citizen can stand up for their rites if treated badly,and I don't have to be anyone u know sidharth mallya!!!!!!!!!!!!"
It took a peace-offering — again on Twitter — from Mallya's father to put a lid on the exchange.
Status: Closed.
