Punit
Malhotra
who's
just
helmed
a
hit
for
Karan
Johar's
Dharma
Productions
is
hoping
someone
would
notice
him
and
cast
him
as
a
leading
man
next.
"I
won't
cast
myself
in
my
next
directorial
project.
I
can't
direct
and
act
together.
But
I'd
like
to
act
in
a
film
next.
An
actor
is
what
I
came
here
to
be," says
Punit.
Would
he
be
willing
to
be
cast
in
a
film
written
by
Shobha
De?
Punit
passes.
"I'd
get
spanked
on
the
sets
every
day."
But
before
that,
Punit
is
off
on
a
holiday.
Is
the
I
Hate
Luv
Storys
(IHLS)
director
joining
his
leading
Sonam
Kapoor
in
Edinburgh
where
she
is
shooting
for
Mausam?
The
buzz
about
the
director
seeing
his
leading
lady
just
got
stronger
with
people
close
to
the
two
whispering
that
after
the
film's
success,
the
film's
director
is
off
to
spend
quality
time
with
her
in
Edinburgh.
Though
Punit,
euphoric
with
the
success
of
IHLS,
admits
he's
off
on
a
holiday,
he
completely
denies
he
is
love-bound.
"I
am
not
going
to
Scotland.
I
am
going
to
the
US
for
my
holiday.
I've
lots
of
friends
there,
I
want
to
catch
up
with
before
I
begin
to
plan
my
next
film.
If
you
want,
I
can
send
you
pictures
of
me
posing
at
the
Statue
of
Liberty,"
he
offers.
Apparently,
the
success
party
has
also
been
put
off
until
Punit
returns
from
his
holiday.
The
fact
that
Sonam
too
will
be
back
home
in
a
month
is
just
a
coincidence.
Once
Punit
returns,
he
will
start
work
on
his
next
film.
"It
won't
be
a
rom-com,"
he
promises.
But
yes
it
will
star
his
pals
Imran
Khan
and
Sonam
again.
And
if
you
thought
the
young
filmmaker
would
be
embarrassed
and
apologetic
about
his
run-in
with
columnist
-writer
Shobha
De
who
threatened
to
spank
him
after
watching
IHLS,
you
are
quite
wrong.
In
fact
Punit
says
he
removed
his
shrivelling
retort
to
Shobha's
comment
only
because
his
mother
asked
him
to.
"My
mother
gave
me
hell
about
my
remark
on
Shobha
De.
She
wanted
to
know
how
I
could
talk
someone
my
mother's
age
that
way.
Of
course
I
wouldn't
say
such
a
thing
to
anyone!
I've
been
brought
up
to
respect
my
seniors.
But
if
you
are
going
to
talk
about
spanking
a
28-year
old,
you
better
be
prepared
to
face
the
music."
Punit
says
he
has
no
problems
with
the
bad
reviews
for
his
film.
"It's
a
free
country.
Everyone
is
entitled
to
an
opinion.
And
I
respect
everyone's
opinion.
But
you
can't
spank
me
if
you
didn't
like
my
film.
We
aren't
living
in
the
Taliban.
No,
I
am
not
at
all
apologetic
about
what
I
said."