February 19, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Imran Khan proved himself a man of the masses when recently he shot a cola ad with Kalki Koechlin shot by Dibakar Banerjee (Love Sex aur Dhokha).

The ad, a slice-of-life love story about two strangers’ chance encounter on crowded streets of Mumbai shot over 2 days last month, had hordes of fan descending on location. Imran dealt with the situation like a pro, mingling, signing autographs, posing for photographs.

The BEST bus hired for the shoot became his home for two days.

Says Banerjee who’s making his next feature film with Imran, “Seeing the discipline and drive Imran invested into the ad I’m more than convinced I’m ready to work with mainstream actors.”

Banerjee who has so far done three feature films with actors like Abhay Deol, Paresh Rawal and Anupam Kher, is looking to cast Imran Khan and Katrina Kaif.

Apparently Imran was lost to the rest of the world for those two days when the ad was shot.

Says Dibakar, “We shot the ad on a relatively lonely stretch of road in Malad. But the news that Imran was shooting spread and fans would swoop down every hour. Considering the tight schedule Imran would either quickly hide in his vanity van until the fans left or meet them in a very friendly manner.”

The BEST bus had character actors as Imran’s co-passengers and Imran was soon friendly with all of them.

Says the director, “All I can say is Imran won more than a busload of fans in those two days. At the moment I’m busy putting finishing touches to my release Love Sex Aur Dhokha. But right after that I’ll get to work on the Imran project.”

Incidentally Coco Cola wanted either Ranbir Kapoor or Imran Khan to be their new brand ambassador. Ranbir who endorses Pepsi contemplated the move across the firing line and then decided to be loyal to his brand.

Now Coca Cola apparently plans to bring Imran and his uncle Aamir Khan (who is also a Coca Cola ambassador) together for an ad.

-Subhash K Jha/ Sampurn Wire