When Lara came late and left early

Arrey Lara, yeh theek nahi. Now, now, we are not complaining or anything, just making a point.

For the uninitiated, here’s what happened. Hua yeh ki, Lara Dutta was the guest of honour at a recent do in the city and the actress walked in – fashionably late (during the last sequence of a three-sequence ramp show)

Post-show, she was invited on to the stage and the shutterbugs went clickety-click. ‘Lara left dekhna, Lara right dekhna, Lara camera mein dekho, Lara chin up!’ Lara did it all, she even did a little jig for a photo-op. Next, the floor was open for a Q&A session, but the lady simply thanked all and left.

Arey, yeh kya hua? Zip-zap she went backstage and zoom she was driven out of the hotel. Some said, she was in a bad mood, must have fought with Dino, some called it starry tantrums... Later, a little birdie told us that some byte-seekers had barged into her room (the hotel staff had apparently given away her room number) and that upset her. Oh, ho! But aise mood nahi kharab karte, Lara! Cheer up, lady!

Priyanka, Gerard bond in Jaipur!

Hollywood actor Gerard Butler is hot property – he’s been linked to not just Jennifer Aniston, but also Priyanka Chopra. But Piggy Chops has always maintained that they’re “just friends”.

They’re such good friends, apparently, that Butler is in India, not just to ‘discover the country’, but also to catch up with Priyanka. Gerard came to India on Tuesday morning and immediately left for Jaipur, where Priyanka is shooting for Ashutosh Gowarikar’s What’s Your Rashee?. He went to the sets of the film in hotel Shiv Vilas in the afternoon. Priyanka introduced him to the cast and crew. He had a long chat with Gowarikar about Indian movies and his projects in Hollywood. He also spoke to Hurman Baweja, and they both hit it off well.

“He’s a very down-to-earth person and curious about India,” says a source from the unit of the film. The actor, who’s booked in his own name, tried tying a safa, intrigued by the colourful dupattas that were being used in the shoot. “After Priyanka finished work, Gerard, she and some members of the unit set off for a sight-seeing session around the city in a bus,” says a source.

Gerard, who will stay in India for a few days, will go to Udaipur and spend a day in Jodhpur as well, after staying in Jaipur for two days. He will then go to Agra to see the Taj, after which he’ll proceed to Goa and a couple of places down south, if time permits.