A few days ago, Katrina Kaif made her debut appearance at Shashi Kapoor's customary Christmas lunch. The actress surprised everyone by even posing for the shutterbugs with beau Ranbir Kapoor, putting their breakup rumours to rest. On the other hand, keeping with the tradition, while the whole Kapoor khandaan showed up with gusto, Neetu Kapoor was conspicuous by her absence. Since she has rarely missed the do over the years, one wondered what kept her away this time around.

Certain sections of the media were quick to speculate about how perhaps Katrina's presence could have been the reason. In the past, Neetu had supposedly cropped out Katrina's image from a family picture that she had posted online. It led people to believe that the two may not be on great terms. However, a look at Neetu's account on a photo-sharing site, pretty much clears the air. On this Christmas, the doting grandmom was out celebrating Xmas with her granddaughter Samara and daughter Riddhima Kapoor Sahni at a suburban five-star hotel.

When contacted, not the one to mince words, Neetu stated, “This year, Samara wanted to see Santa Claus, so we took her to a hotel, but by the time we got done, the lunch was over at Shashi uncle's place! We sacrificed our lunch for my granddaughter.“

We guess it puts this rumour to rest for now.

Katrina Kaif made her debut appear ance along side beau Ranbir Kapoor at the annual Christmas lunch hosted by Shashi Kapoor at his Bandra residence on Friday.

Kareena Kapoor, who attended Mass with mum Babita, sister Karisma and besties Amrita Arora Ladak and Malika Arora Khan, arrived at the do with hubby Saif Ali Khan, while Karisma was accompanied by kids Kiaan Raj and Samaira. Randhir Kapoor escorted mum Krishna Raj. The late Shammi Kapoor's wife Neela Devi, other Kapoor siblings Reema Jain and Rajiv Reema's son Armaan Jain and Kunal Kapoor were also spotted. While Ranbir-Kat, who've been notoriously wary of being clicked in public, alone or otherwise, obliged shutterbugs with countless poses, Rishi Kapoor's entry with presents and a loud 'Ho ho ho... Merry Christmas' had everyone in splits. Meanwhile, Neetu Singh, who marked Christmas eve with selfies with daughter Riddhima Kapoor Saini and granddaughter Samara, had their fan moment with Khoobsurat actor Fawad Khan, who was in Mumbai wrapping up his second Bollywood film.

“The celebrations began at noon and stretched to dinnertime, over countless rounds of food and drinks,“ a photographer at the venue informed Mirror.

Katrina, who celebrates Christmas in London with her family every year, made an exception this time. Buzz is, the couple is taking off for a secluded island to ring in the New Year. Corsica calling, perhaps?
---------------------
Katrina Kaif turns up for Christmas brunch hosted by beau Ranbir Kapoor’s family; couple to ring in New Year together
Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; December 26, 2015)

Putting an end to speculations about trouble in their paradise, Ranbir Kapoor walked into his family’s customary Christmas brunch with girlfriend Katrina Kaif in tow. For a while, there had been rumours about their relationship hitting a rocky patch, specially post the actor’s last outing, Tamasha opposite ex flame Deepika Padukone.

A source close to the couple says, “This is one occasion when all members of the Kapoor khaandaan get together and the fact that Ranbir brought Katrina over makes it clear that everything is fine between them. Which couple does not face problems and challenges in their relationship? It was merely a phase and they are very much together and happy.”

This year, the actress skipped her annual visit to London where she celebrates the festival with her family. Ranbir flew back to Mumbai earlier this week, after wrapping up the London schedule of Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil with Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. “They will be flying out of the country to usher in the New Year. However, it won’t be New York, their favourite holiday destination, this time round; they are headed to an island where they can spend quality time with each other,” adds the source.

We asked Katrina via text message about her New Year plans, but she remained unavailable for comment. Her spokesperson confirmed that she is indeed flying out to an undisclosed location with Ranbir.

Yesterday, the Kapoor khandaan gathered for their annual Christmas lunch at veteran actor Shashi Kapoor's Juhu residence. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner, who has been ailing for a while now, has also suffered a slight memory loss. In fact, there have been instances of him not recognising colleagues and even kith and kin.

However, it was touching to learn from one member of the Kapoor clan that when he is playing host to them on Christmas, Shashi still manages to recognise some of them and even has brief conversations. The family member said, “Shashi uncle lapses into long silences while talking. Yet, meeting him is so worth it because whenever he chats with us, his eyes light up, even if it is for a fleeting moment.“