Upala KBR (DNA; April 18, 2014)

Riteish Deshmukh was part of Housefull and Housefull 2, both directed by his buddy Sajid Khan. The directors of Housefull 3 have changed but Riteish will now be working with the new directors Sajid-Farhad. Strangely, while the names of Akshay and Abhishek coming together were announced with grand fanfare, Riteish’s name, for now, is being kept under wraps. Probably because everyone is worried about Khan’s reaction to the news.

Says an insider, “When Sajid and Farhad narrated the script of H3 to Riteish, he said yes immediately. It’s a hilarious script written by the director duo. Also, he is looking forward to working again with Abhishek, with whom he did Bluffmaster. Besides, he shares a good working relationship with producer Sajid Nadiadwala, so there was no reason for him to turn down this offer.”

Initially, the producer as well as the directors were unsure about approaching Riteish because of his friendship with Khan, with whom he is working on Humshakals as well. They share a great personal and professional rapport. But the actor doesn’t allow personal stuff to get in the way of work. A industry source says, “He had a word with Khan before he signed H3. Sajid too was happy for him and gave his good wishes. Riteish has been a very dear friend of his and both are very clear about one thing — they won’t allow work to get in the way of, and ruin, their close friendship.” So why haven’t we heard the announcement yet?