Milan Luthria invites Vidya and Emraan to his place to break the ice over a Parsi dinner

Milan Luthria wants to make sure his The Dirty Picture lead actors Vidya Balan and Emraan Hashmi share a palpable on-screen chemistry. To that end, he has invited the two to his Colaba home for a typically Parsi dinner. The Parsi connection? Milan's wife, Lianne.

The director feels a home-cooked meal will break the ice.

"Vidya and Emraan have not been formally introduced beyond a cordial hello. However, both are keen to work with each other. I thought my home would be a comfortable place for them to meet.

Both know my wife well and so asked for Parsi food. My mother-in-law cooks superb Parsi food. She will make prawn patio, lamb chops and dal among other dishes. I plan to invite them home this weekend."

Milan says, "Vidya plays an actress while Emi a filmmaker. Their relation is extremely volatile and they are at loggerheads. They are on opposite sides morally and can't stand each other yet gravitate towards each other.

I felt that to be able to portray such intensity on screen both needed to interact with each other in advance so as not to appear awkward on screen."

Luthria adds that the invite is more an exception than the rule.

"My home is my fortress of privacy and I don't entertain filmi types. Ajay (Devgn) and John (Abraham) are the only other stars who have come home. I thought Emi and Vidya would prefer to meet here rather than at a five-star coffee shop."