Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 23, 2017)

Alia Bhatt and Priyanka Chopra, colour-coordinated in black, turned heads on Thursday as they stepped into an upscale Thai restaurant in Bandra-Kurla Complex for dinner. The new gal pals spent close to two hours at the fine-dining outpost, chatting through their meal.

A source says, “While exiting, at midnight, PeeCee placed her hand protectively around Alia’s shoulder to shield her from the crowd that had surrounded them for selfies. She had kept her date with Alia despite having been under the weather with fever for the last one week.” Producer Ritesh Sidhwani, along with wife Dolly, was also spotted at the restaurant around the same time, leading to buzz that Alia and PeeCee could be in talks for a film with him.

Alia has also struck up a close friendship with Katrina Kaif over gym sessions and social gatherings. The duo even appeared on a chat show about best friends recently.

On Friday, Priyanka turned up to shoot for the first episode of Karan Johar and Rohit Shetty’s talent hunt show, India’s Next Superstars. Incidentally, Alia had been approached for said episode with Varun Dhawan, but both ‘Students’ had to opt out owing to conflicting schedules. The shoot kicked off at 11.30 am. “My voice is gone but I’ve never sounded this sexy,” PeeCee laughed, resorting to dumb charades. “This suits my condition for now,” she reasoned. After the shoot, the actress flew out to Delhi for an event.

Meanwhile, Alia is prepping to leave for her New Year vacation to Bali with friends next week.