Housefull director makes fun of Deepika

While filming a promotion gimmick for Housefull on a Hindi channel, director Sajid Khan made fun of Deepika Padukone and it didn't go down well with the actress.

Dippy heard about it later. She wasn't present during the filming of the episode. It was supposed to be an April Fool episode and the film's cast was expected to mock each other, but Khan chose to mock Ms Padukone more than the others.

Interestingly, Sajid's fondness for his two Housefull leading ladies Lara Dutta and Jiah Khan over Deepika Padukone has been a subject of speculation in the past.

Ha, ha... hee, hee
Says our source, "Jiah Khan (stuck in London) and Deepika (in Bangalore for the IPL) couldn't be there for the show. Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal, Riteish Deshmukh, Lara Dutta and even Jacqueline Fernandez (who has just done the song Apni Toh Jaise Taise) feature in the episode."

"Everyone was poking fun at each other. But Deepika soon became the butt of most jokes with several coming from Sajid. When Lara passed a remark about Dippy, the director said, 'Don't bitch about her or she won't promote my film.' When the question was raised about which of the girls looked best in a bikini, all of them said Jiah or Lara and Padukone was sidelined," reveals the source.

Jokin' about it
Adds the source, "The Housefull gang called Deepika 'diplomatic' and 'goody-goody'. At one point, when the heroes ragged Sajid about being harsh with Dippy during a shoot, the director shot back that he had to, as he didn't want to waste excessive film on her re-takes.

He made jokes about how long it took her to give a perfect shot. And while the cast present on the show made their retorts when made the butt of jokes, the OSO girl couldn't even defend herself."

Sajid Khan says, "It was an April Fool special. Everyone was told about it. We were all having fun and doing masti. I told Deepika on the phone about it."

Was the Bangalore babe aware they had made fun of her? He gets defensive, "No, we hadn't discussed anything before the show. It was all impromptu. Nobody in the unit dislikes Deepika. I think she's one of the best actresses I have worked with. She finished her dubbing in record time. When you see the film, you will find her a revelation."

The Other Side
The ever-diplomatic Deepika says, "I have missed several promotional activities as I have been shooting for Lafangey Parindey and attending IPL matches. I knew the team was doing a show, but I wasn't aware about its exact nature. I can't comment on it as I don't know what was said but if they did make fun of me I am cool with it. I know all of them to be pranksters and they must not have meant what they said. It shouldn't be blown out of proportion."