Sallu, Govinda team up for Partner

After much turmoil, David Dhawan's Partner 2 is back on track. You heard it. Salman Khan and Govinda will play the leads.

David Dhawan will direct the film and Sohail Khan will produce it. And the most interesting bit is that this news coincides with the huge box-office success of Dabangg.

Partner 2 was supposed to go on floors over a year ago but after Salman Khan's relationship with both Govinda and David Dhawan reportedly went sour, the project was as good as shelved. It is only now that things are beginning to look up.

Not too long ago, it was reported that Salman had developed serious issues with both Govinda and Dhawan. Govinda was miffed that Salman had not lived up to his promise of helping him launch his daughter Narmada. Instead, Salman had gotten busy shooting for Dabangg and was concentrating on promoting Sonakshi Sinha (Mumbai Mirror, August 20)

The revival of Partner 2 clearly implies that Salman has patched up with both Dhawan and Govinda. Does this mean that Narmada will soon make her first Bollywood splash now? We'll wait and watch.

The Salman-Dhawan fallout was widely reported in November 2009. It mentioned that Salman, who was once at the helm of his career because of hits with Dhawan like Coolie No. 1, no longer wanted the director to make Sajid Nadiadwala's film, Sanki.

This was apparently because he was upset with Dhawan for not giving much attention to Partner 2 and instead working on Hook Ya Crook.

But that's an old story now. Hook Ya Crook is stuck in its final stages. And more importantly, Sallu is on a new high with Dabangg having hit a jackpot at the box office. So, the resurrection of Partner 2 is obviously timed superbly well for Salman.

Confirming the story, a source close to Partner 2 says, "Sanjay Chhel is writing this film. I will mount the sets next year."

But what remains to be seen is whether Katrina, who played the female lead in Partner, is re-cast in Partner 2.

When asked about the fallout with Salman, Dhawan told Mumbai Mirror yesterday evening, "Oh, that is all bakwaas. I have just come out from Salman's house. Right now, Salman will be working on Bigg Boss 4. Then, he has Bodyguard. And only after that Partner 2 will start, sometime next year. And yes, Salman and Govinda are both doing the film. The rest of the cast is yet not decided."

What's decided though is that friends who had once turned foe are back together.