It is said, 'There's no smoke without fire'. But Bollywood is replete with stories that prove it otherwise. Recently, Shahid Kapoor's claims of going bald for his forthcoming film turned a damp squib when his 'close cropped' look was revealed. We recap some hypes that did not live up to the headlines...

Fashion fall

When Kangana Ranaut talked about being approached to be the face of international fashionista Paris Hilton's brand of accessories, there was a flurry of congratulatory wishes. However, Paris denied it outright clarifying that she was the face of her own brand. But the issue reached its crescendo when the Hilton heiress was in Mumbai and Kangana tried to reconcile with her at a party. Hilton's cursory handshake and flitting past Kangs sort of sealed the issue.

Western woes

When the dirty dancing pictures of Mallika Sherawat and Antonio Banderas at a Cannes party floated around, tongues wagged. There were wild speculations of the two being more than just good friends which was creating a rift between Banderas and his wife Melanie Griffith. Adding fuel to fire was Mallika, who didn't deny it outright. When Antonio's publicists in Los Angeles were contacted, the response was: `Mallika Sherawat, who?` Tsk Tsk... Need we say more?

Identity crisis

Sneha Ullal's claim to fame was her striking resemblance to Aishwarya Rai. When Ash's ex-beau Salman Khan introduced her in a film-Lucky -- No Time For Love, much ink was spilled about Salman's fixation for the Ash lookalike. But the film bombed and Salman never repeated her in any of his films. Dumped into the ex-files, we guess!

Not a Casting coup

When news broke out that Aditya Chopra had managed to rope in Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha for his next film, it created a frenzy. Everyone, from die-hard romantics, gossip mongers and trade analysts, went into a tizzy and hoped that they would get to see the duo's crackling chemistry once again. The bubble burst when Big B denied any such project, but not before suggesting to the media present, `I am not doing that (film). But if you know anybody at YRF, then suggest my name.` Now, that was another headline!

Marital mess

When Rakhi Sawant turned all coy for the TV show Rakhi Ka Swayamwar, curiosity arose about her ultimate choice for a life partner. The first dampener came when she finalised her groom but refused to get married right away, prefering to getting engaged instead. As speculated, the duo split after a few months and the media went on an overdrive of how it was a set-up and Rakhi had done the show for money while groom to-be Elesh Punjarwal did it for publicity. We guess the knot was too loose.

No laughing matter

Bored of speculations on his professional and personal life, Saif Ali Khan 'joked' about doing a romantic movie with Hollywood beauty Natalie Portman. The actor had his share of fun with the media, fans and friends trying to find out details of his deal. But representatives of the Oscar-winning actress didn't find it funny and decided to threaten the Nawab of Pataudi with a lawsuit. Fortunately, Saif apologised, putting an end to the matter.