by Subhash K Jha

Putting an end to all speculation about his legal status and his alleged inability to attend court because of his visit abroad for a hair transplant (as reported on Star News) Salman Khan reported for the first day's shooting of David Dhawan's brand new film Partner being produced by Salman's brother Sohail.

And Salman's partner in the parody is none other than Govinda. Wonder of wonders...Govinda too arrived on the dot at 8 a.m just like Salman!

David was jubilant, "Both Salman and Govinda are my buddies. And they're playing buddies in Partner. Naturally there has to be a great bonding between them. I'm happy to say Salman and Govinda are like brothers. No ego hassles at all...They both arrived at Mehboob studios in Bandra on the dot in the morning for the shoot. That's quite an achievement."

Neither star is particularly known for punctuality.

"I guess it has to do with their faith in this project, and in me...Let's not forget, Salman's brother Sohail is known to be a fab producer....I promise you this this movie won't just give Govinda a new image it will also present Salman like never before. He plays a super-cool stud, a love guru giving out advice on courtship matters to the innocent and inexperienced Govinda who plays a common man. Don't you think the two are perfectly cast?"

David agrees he has lost some precious giggly ground with his last risible release Shaadi No 1. "I need to return with a big bang. I feel Partner will do the trick for me."

While Salman and Govinda play very much true to their image, their two leading ladies are unusually cast. "While I've paired Salman with Lara Dutt (the two have never been together before) Govinda will be seen with Katrina Kaif," informs David.

But the stress will clearly be on buddy-buddy baatein between the two male co-stars—Govinda and Salman...just like Abhishek -Riteish in this week's release Bluff Master and Akshay Kumar – Bobby Deol in next week's Dosti.