If there's one-upmanship in the industry, there are also incidents when an actor is known to favour or promote close friends and select contemporaries. Buzz is that Salman Khan is keen that Siddique (director of Bodyguard) cast Aamir Khan in his next Hindi film after his hugely successful Bollywood debut.

A well-placed source in the industry tells us that after Bodyguard became a big hit last year, South-based director Siddique was keen to make another movie with the actor. Also, he got veteran producer Shyam Bajaj, who produced Bandhan with Salman to back it.

"But after hearing the idea, Salman felt that it was more suited for Aamir. Besides, he also conceded that he's currently tied up with prior commitments like Ek Tha Tiger and Dabangg 2. So even if he wished to, he can't commit to it. He's even believed to have said that he would talk to Aamir if Siddique wanted him to," recalls our source.

When contacted, Siddique maintained that he's still working on his next script. "Only after I complete the writing part can I figure out which actors can be considered for the cast. So it's too early to talk about the casting," he said. About the film... Speaking about the kind of film he was going to make next, the director says, "It's an action-romance with some humour and also a thriller element. That's all I can say at this point."