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The much-in-the-news Bipasha-John pair is very much together. Though the duo refuses to comment on the relationship, Bipasha Basu confirmed they have come together for a sizzling item song in Anurag Kashyap’s No Smoking.

“I don’t think I want to talk about my personal life any more. What’s happening there is for me to know. But, yes, John and I have come together professionally again after Dhan Dhana Dhan… Goal, this time with an item song in Anurag Kashyap’s No Smoking,” Bipasha told IANS.

But, it wasn’t the presence of John Abraham that made her accept the song. “Certainly not! It was Vishal Bharadwaj, the man who gave me two of my best item numbers – Beedi and Namak in Omkara. He told me about the item song in No Smoking at an awards function in Yorkshire. After what the Omkara numbers did to my stage presence, I promptly said ‘yes’ to Vishal.”

What about the danger of being branded an item girl? “When have I cared about my image?” Bipasha shrugged. “And, besides I’ve full faith in the intelligence of the film industry, also my audiences. By now they know what I’m capable of, and it’s not just items.”

Bipasha is now looking forward to shaking a leg with John. “Though we’ve done songs before, John and I have never done this kind of sizzling number before. Vishal has pulled out all stops in the composition.” Bipasha is sure the number will be a rage. “John and I will have fun dancing to it. I love the tune. Hopefully, it’ll be another number to bring the house down at my stage concerts.”

What is good for the goose is good for the gander. And Bipasha Basu recently proved this when she was caught kissing Manchester United footballer Cristiano Ronaldo at a pub in Lisbon. Reportedly, John Abraham is extremely upset and embarrassed after he saw pictures of Bipasha kissing the 22-year-old star, on the Internet.

Both of them were co-hosts for announcing the New Seven Wonders of the World that took place on last Saturday evening in Cristiano’s home country Portugal.

John has been shooting in Pondicherry for Nagesh Kukunoor’s Aashayein and had been very supportive of Bipasha when there were constant reports of their relationship hitting troubled waters. He even dismissed rumours and announced that both of them are very much together and he has intentions of getting married to her. However, the latest kissing controversy has taken its toll on John and he has gone completely quite after the Bipasha- Cristiano pictures were splashed all over.

A source on the sets of Aashayein at Kailash Beach Resort near Pondicherry says, “John was pretty cool and mingling with everyone on the sets till the day before evening. However, he came to know about this entire episode only after he returned to his room after packup. When John started surfing the Net, he was shocked to see pictures of Bipasha splashed everywhere. Obviously, Bipasha had not informed him about this whole episode. John seemed very upset and what added to his misery was that everyone knew about the episode.”

John was very embarrassed to face anyone from the unit and preferred to be alone after he learnt about the controversy. He spent the whole day in his room.

“Even yesterday he only came out of his make-up room when he was called for the shot. He shot for the film, but it was very clear that he was very embarrassed. It is still very unclear whether he had spoken to Bipasha after this news had come out,” adds the source.

“It was very sad to see an otherwise cheerful and warm John looking completely down and out. It is quite obvious that he is upset and shocked. However, being the professional that he is, he hasn’t thrown any tantrums,” says the source.

It’s not easy for John Abraham to come to terms with the fact that Bipasha Basu may never come back to him, and that he may have to move on in life.

The actor, who’s currently shooting in Pondicherry for Nagesh Kukunoor’s Aashayen, was unaware of the gravity of developments back home and the talk of the serious rift with Bipasha that’s blowing across Mumbai… until very recently.

A close friend of John says that John has realised that it may be too late to make amends. “That’s when it dawned on him that a lot of people have intruded into their relationship. And that some people are definitely trying to create problems between him and Bipasha. He’s now seriously worried because Bipasha is the finest woman he has ever met. And he doesn’t want a split with her. Forget about leaving her, John wouldn’t do anything to hurt her,” he says.

According to John’s friend, these efforts to harm his relationship with Bipasha are deliberate. “Somebody or some people are spreading these rumours for their own gains. And it’s so easy to see who’s been calling up the media to plant stories about Bipasha moving away from John and drifting into another relationship. John hasn’t made any attempt to have his say. So far, he believed his love for Bipasha, and vice versa, was strong enough to withstand these vicious attacks. But he won’t keep quiet for too long,” says the friend. “If these rumours have influenced Bipasha in any way then John will fly back from his shooting to make sure nothing and no one comes between him and his love. He won’t lose Bipasha at any cost,” warns the friend. In fact, the actor is supposed to be joined by Bipasha in Pondicherry very shortly.

John Abraham does have an agent in the US. “Post-Water a lot of people think I fit the Latino-Mexican mould in Bollywood. So let’s see… For now I’m very happy shooting with Arshad and Boman for Goal. Plus I’ve Bipasha with me. So we’re having a ball.”

Unlike the Mallika Sherawats of Bollywood who are searching for an international career through Hollywood projects, John isn’t eager to take the foreign route. “I’d rather do Indian films that go international like Deepa Mehta’s Water. Of course I’d take up a mainstream offer from the US if I get it. But at this point of time I’m not interested in beating my chest and shouting from rooftops about a bit role in some international project. I love working in Hindi films. And I’d never alienate myself from that audience for the sake of some pie in the sky. I’m really excited about doing a commercial cinema in our country. As for that one stray international offer a year, every actor in Bollywood gets it, na?”

While the Indians and phirangs abroad went ga-ga on watching their hot favourite stars perform at a recent world tour, back home the media had a field day. What with news of stars squabbling, throwing tantrums and walking out on each other – the scene was just as hot out here. But well, most of it is hearsay, and the rest a bit exaggerated. In fact, rumours doing the rounds were that the usually chilled out John Abraham was on a tantrum-throwing spree throughout the show. On hearing this, one of the show organisers said, “It’s all rubbish. I was right there and didn’t see John throwing any such tantrums. He’s one of the most professional guys around.” Now that sounds more like the Johnny boy we know.

John Abraham has certainly come a long way from being just an ‘urban’ audience star. The ‘Dhoom’ hunk is immensely popular in small-towns too as was proved in Jaipur on Sunday, where the actor was judging a Castrol organised bike event. “I’ve been to Jaipur before, but I was a struggling model then. Fortunately, things are different now,” he says.

Public adulation aside, John has been dogged by several controversies of late. Sample this: there was a motor-bike accident in Bandra this April, a supposed break-up and subsequent patch-up with girlfriend Bipasha Basu and of course, the recently reported problems with Salman Khan while on the ‘Rock Stars’ tour. “It was all needlessly hyped. Salman and I got along really well,” says Abraham.

Luckily for him, his professional life is rocking. Three films are almost ready for release and he has just signed on two more projects. “I want to choose the right kind of films now. I don’t want to over expose myself.”

While he clearly doesn’t want to burn his fingers with too much work, he’s not averse to reading good scripts. “I want to act in films that I would enjoy as a viewer. The script has to have a conviction in it,” he explains.

After about a month, John Abraham is back home, yet, he seems to be missing home. Strange, isn’t it? Well, actually in spite of being in the city, he’s so busy that he’s home only to crash out on the cosy cushions of his bed. So much so, that his mom is missing him desperately, and is waiting to spend one full day just chatting and catching up with her Johnny boy. And knowing the mamma’s boy that he is, we’re sure he feels the same. Come next week, he plans to take a complete break for a couple of days, and no, this won’t be just another commercial break. It will be time-off from everybody (media, industry and work) and undivided attention only for himself and family. Obviously, Bipasha is included too, what say Johnny boy?

Getting into the skin of the character is second nature to an actor. So even if it means that John Abraham has to do away with his ad-clinching tresses, it has to be done. Recently, John did away with his locks for Ravi Chopra’s Baabul as the role demanded a different look. “I did shoot some portions of the film in which I am clean shaven, have short hair and wear blazers. It’s a very corporate look,” he says. “I’ll resume shooting from June 20 and I guess I’ll have to trim my hair again for the shooting. I am looking forward to work with Rani, Amitji and Hemaji in the film.”

Baabul also stars Salman Khan and the buzz is that the actor decided to walk out of the film post his showdown with John at the Rockstar concert. “We were both busy with our shows when someone informed me about this bit of news doing the rounds,” he says. “I immediately went up to Salman and explained the situation to him. He’s a very easy-going person, and he asked me to ignore the story. We are working together and there s no bad blood between us.”

About the Rockstar concerts, John adds: “I’ve been living out of a suitcase for months now as I’ve been travelling across the globe for my shows. I am happy that I’m back home… but there’s no time to rest!”

On the career front, John will be seen in a couple of good banner films. “I am working with Karan Johar again after Kaal. He will be producing Soham’s next film which I have signed. I am also doing Salaam-E-Ishq with Nikhil Advani and a couple of other projects. I am happy with the kind of work I am getting from Bollywood. I have no complaints,” he says.

Ravi Chopra, the director of Baabul, says, “As far as John is concerned, I have already shot few scenes with him and now once again he’ll have to trim his hair to maintain the continuity of the film. He looks different and in Baabul. I was really shocked when I read that Salman Khan will not be working in my film. I was sure this news was untrue. Salman is a thorough professional, he’d never do something like this. Salman is very much a part of Baabul.”

John Abraham is on a month-long high. “It’s the FIFA, man! Soccer (as he prefers to call it) is my favourite sport. It’s the energy of the game, it just gets to you the minute you watch it and you’re hooked for life.” Not many people know that John was in the Maharashtra state soccer team and even played at the nationals. “But academics beckoned and I had to choose between doing my MBA and kicking a football,” he says, still reminiscing about the days he played in slush in the grounds close to his home.

So who’s he rooting for? “Although the Brazilian team is good, I don’t think they deserve to win. I would rather a European country won. May be England, Italy or Germany.” But his favourite player, he says, is Ronaldinho. “I used to like Zidane too, but he’s old now and losing energy. If you’ve watched his recent matches, I find the trademark Zidane moves missing.”

And all this World Cup talk has him wondering about the state of Indian football. “I think they definitely need to brush up their skills. Come to think of it, it’s not just football but all kinds of sport here that need a lift.” Cricket is being given too much of importance, he feels. “We’ve carried the madness too far. It’s about time we encouraged other games. And instead of sending pot-bellied officials abroad, it would do a lot more good to start sending players.” He also thinks it’s embarrassing that a nation of one billion can’t produce a single good athlete or sportsman.