The latest youth icon Imran Khan, who is already dating Avantika Malik for six years now, was recently spotted getting overfriendly and intimate with actress Minissha Lamba in Bandra. According to our source, the couple has been seen hanging out together a lot many times post ‘Kidnap’ release. The two were seen giving each other company at a recent Diwali bash too and went for a quiet dinner at Olive’s later that night.

“Imran Khan was driving his much talked about white BMW around with Minissha on Sunday night. Both looked very happy and appeared to be enjoying a great conversation. He would say something and that would send her into a laughing fit. Finally, after a couple of rounds on Carter Road, Imran headed to Olive restaurant and bar to have a quiet dinner with Minissha in the front seat”, the source revealed.

When the two met at the Diwali Mela, Imran reportedly came up and grabbed her from behind. He then gave Minissha a tight hug and as they began to chat, their strong chemistry was much more than visible. At the show, after exchanging friendly gestures, both posed for various pictures together, and as soon as the event got over, they sneaked out quietly in Imran’s car.

Imran seems to be surely moving ahead the personal and professional ladder!

Imran will next be seen in an action role in Soham Shah’s thriller Luck . He has also started preparing for his role in ‘Delhi Belly’.

In “Kidnap”, which released last week, Minissha plays Sanjay Dutt’s 17-year-old estranged daughter who is kidnapped. Before “Kidnap”, she played a dreamy-eyed teenager opposite Ranbir Kapoor in Yash Raj Films’ “Bachna Ae Haseeno”. Minissha made her debut in 2005 with critically acclaimed “Yahaan”. She was praised for portraying the dilemma of a Kashmiri girl torn between her army officer lover and her militant brother. After that, she was seen in a variety of roles in films like “Corporate”, “Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.”, “Shaurya” and “Dus Kahaniyaan”. But her role in “Kidnap” is a first of its kind for her as it gave her an image makeover. “I wasn’t looking for any sort of different image in a film. I only thought about an image change when Sanjay (Gadhvi) offered me ‘Kidnap’. He said, ‘I want you to wear a bikini in the film; the character is very hep, very trendy and very Alicia Silverstone from ‘Clueless’.”I think after three years of being in this industry, establishing myself as a girl next door, having a certain fan base and an audience, I felt it was the right time to try something different and the vehicle for that change came along in ‘Kidnap’,” Minissha explained. Minissha had no qualms getting into skimpy clothes.

Instead, she was confident of the director, who has earlier shot Esha Deol and Bipasha Basu in a bikini in “Dhoom” and “Dhoom 2″ respectively.She said: “I knew that if I’m going to be in a Sanjay Gadhvi film, it’s going to be stylish and slick. Sanjay has a signature style and, therefore, I was happy to adhere to it. I knew it has worked well in the past. So for me, it was as good as letting myself surrender to a person who I could trust.”

When quizzed further if the project that was offered to him was not liked by him and apparently has said no to the film, Imran said, “ I don’t think it is right to talk about projects that are either in development or a project that did not happen. As it stands today I have no commitments after Delhi belly.” So the big question is, has Imran refused the Yashraj banner? Watch this space for more on this…

I had to gym regularly to bulk up my muscles besides an intensive three-week training in parkour for which we got down a trainer from London.” He pauses only to explain, “Parkour is a style of movement that incorporates martial arts and gymnastics. If you’ve seen the film’s promos where I’m jumping from one building to the other… that’s parkour. It’s quite expensive and since they were charging per day, I had to train for six to eight hours everyday. So much so, after the initial few days, I could barely walk.”And perhaps that’s the reason “after this one and Luck, which too is an action film, I’d like to do something that’s lighter and easier. Something that doesn’t require me to do big scary stunts.” But was it easy switching gear from the young cute college boy of JTYJN to this rough and tough kidnapper? “The contrast in films was never a bother. I really liked the idea of stretching myself. I know there’s this convention that you don’t attempt something like this, a grey character, so early in your career. But conventions don’t bind me. I take my own decisions. I believe, if you don’t make a mistake, it’s your own mistake to make.”
And when he says “my own decisions” he means it.

For then, even maamu Aamir Khan has no say in it. “I don’t consult maamu at all. In fact, the film that I’ve just completed Luck, maamu doesn’t even know the story of it. He’s never met its director or producer. He knows nothing about it. He’s busy with his own career and I have my own.”Aamir may be too busy to be by Imran’s side right now while promoting Kidnap but “while on the sets of QSQT and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (JJWS), I remember maamu took personal interest in me. He always made it a point to come on the sets and do my make-up himself,” he recalls fondly.But now when even Imran’s equally busy he has “no time to take up direction immediately,” despite being trained in filmmaking from LA. “Though I definitely will, I have no timeline set for it. Right now I have some very exciting work as an actor which is keeping me very engaged and interested.” Actor he may have become, but even his filmmaking degree doesn’t inspire him to check or give suggestions to his directors. “For me it’s kind of a internship, wherein I can watch these guys direct and try and pick up tips to use when I get on with direction later in life.”

Is he working on picking up some dance tips too? “Mmm, yeah I’m not a great dancer. But I’ve been working on it and have become slaaa..ightly better. Still, I don’t think I’m ever going to be as good as the likes of Hrithik or Shahid. These guys are like – unbelievable!” And yet to have the kind of fan following he’s managed with Jai… “It feels great. More when you see people being genuinely happy because of something you’ve done. But people don’t call me Jai, though they’d still want to come up and tell me how much they enjoyed the film. But there’s no hangover for me as such. I’m almost on my fourth film now.”Besides all this fan following and the subsequent link-ups that may follow “doesn’t scare me or my girlfriend Avantika a bit either. We know how much truth there is to such stories. It’s very obvious what’s made up and what’s genuine. So Avantika is the least affected.”

Well, his success sure prompts us to ask him how has his life changed post JTYJN: “I’m given better service at restaurants, I get tables as soon as I enter, there are a lot of waiters hanging around willing to take my orders. I get invited to a lot of parties. Lots of people want to give me money for various things.” But even as he shares the after effects of his success, he adds with disarming ease, “But I accept nothing.”
No wonder you continue to be such a charmer, Imran!