Filmmakers have a strange influence on their protégés. Sanjay Leela Bhansali had expressed his displeasure when he heard that Ranbir Kapoor whom he was launching in Saawariya was getting close to Deepika Padukone. Trouble was that Deepika was making her debut in Om Shanti Om, which was being released on the same day as Saawariya.

Likewise, it was SLB who encouraged Deepika and Ranveer Singh to get to know one another better when he was making Ram-Leela. What followed was those movie and dinner dates between Ram and Leela. As we said earlier, filmmakers strongly control the behaviour patterns of their actors on and off the set.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra seems to be following suit. One hears that he has asked the actors of his under production film Mirziya - Harshvardhan Kapoor and Saiyami Kher to keep their distance from one another after pack-up. According to a source, “Both these debutants, who are working on a romantic venture, have been asked to strictly stay away from each other after pack-up because the filmmaker wants them to retain their freshness. He feels that familiarity off the set may just take away the element of magic and wants them to keep that mystical quality alive all through the filming.“

While Rakeysh Mehra remained unavailable for comment, a unit hand confirmed, “Though it is an outdoor shoot and the stars are staying in the same hotel, Harsh and Saiyami do not meet for a meal or even sit together for a chat.“