Gossipmongers expect fireworks, but the sparks may fizzle out long before Karan Johar’s birthday celebrations even kick off later tonight with the possible absence of two of its most controversial guests – Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra.
A few days prior, the stage was set for a perfect Bollywood masala potboiler as preparations were in full swing for Johar’s 40th birthday bash at Taj Land’s End in Mumbai.
With ace designer Manish Malhotra directing the party, the who’s who of tinsel town had confirmed their presence on its starry guest list, including all the Khans (Shah Rukh, Salman, Aamir), the Bachchans, the Kapoors, the Chopras and many more A-listers in the lead.
But no film can be successful without a story and in Johar’s birthday bash, the sub-plots were enough to garner a record breaking opening at the box office; or so everyone had hoped.
However, the first one to throw a monkey wrench into the proceedings was none other than Salman Khan himself, who was expected to create some controversy at Johar’s party considering he was under the same roof as archenemy Shah Rukh Khan.
For those who recall, a few years ago the duo fell out in a very public spat at Katrina Kaif’s birthday celebrations; pundits were expecting round two tonight, with insiders already laying bets on who would emerge the winner in a possible face-off.
However, now that Salman is off to Bangkok with Katrina in tow for the shoot of “Ek Tha Tiger”, many are disappointed that the party tonight will be a damp squib even before it starts.
Even as Shah Rukh can breathe a sigh of relief, wife Gauri might just being doing the same – or rather Priyanka Chopra in this case – considering there’s no love lost between the two ladies, say insiders.
In the recent months, Shah Rukh’s close proximity with Priyanka set money tongues wagging and has supposedly caused a rift between the once happily married couple.
The cold war had risen so much so, that close friend Hrithik Roshan came out to publicly support Gauri, while it is said that Arjun Rampal’s wife Mehr had a showdown with Shah Rukh over the affair.
Finally, a spat with Johar had Priyanka uninvited from his birthday party, until stories of a patch up and a delayed invite following.
However, not one to forgive so easily, it is being rumoured that Priyanka will stay out of the celebrations just on principle, possibly extending her stay in the US for her brother’s graduation.
All shall be revealed tonight when the revelry kicks off.
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