July 15, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): 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. 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 everyday”.

But before that Punit is off on a holiday.

Is the I Hate Luv Storys (IHLS) director joining his leading lady Sonam Kapoor in Edinburgh where she returns to shoot for Mausam after a break to promote IHLS back home?

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 them before I begin to plan my next film. If you want I can send you pictures of me posing before at 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 working 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 shriveling 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 have 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 with the Taliban. No, I am not at all apologetic about what I said.”

–Subhash K.Jha/ Sampurn Wire