Acrimonious fallouts between directors and actors are not unheard of in Bollywood. In the push and pull, friends can become foes. And then, circumstances change or common need becomes a bridge and an olive branch is extended. And all’s well that ends well.

Just a couple of months ago, there was a major fallout between director-producer Sanjay Gupta and actress Neha Dhupia. Neha had starred in Shootout At Lokhandwala, but could not participate in the film’s promotion because of other commitments. Sanjay had made his displeasure known and sworn never to work with Neha again.

But recent events indicate that the troubled waters have not run too deep. The meeting ground? The contract to do Dus Kahaniyan together. This Sanjay film is a compilation of 10 short films directed by 10 different directors. Sanjay’s own short is titled Strangers in the Night and it stars Neha along with Mahesh Manjrekar.

The fact that Sanjay chose Neha for his own segment indicated his (former) fondness for her. Recently, when the twosome had no choice but to get together to shoot a promotional video for Dus Kahaniyan, the old camaraderie kicked in and the warring director and actress made up (without kissing, we are told).

Sanjay, who is presently shooting for his film Alibaug in Goa confirms the truce between Neha and him: “There was a misunderstanding between Neha and me; but we have sorted it out now. I spoke to her while shooting for the promotional video for Dus Kahaniyan’s Strangers in the Night. Neha is a wonderful person and a terrific actress.”

And will he eat his words of never working with Neha again? “We will definitely be working together in future,” laughs Sanjay.

And what does Neha have to say about the patch-up? “Yes, we are back and we are fine. Thank god everything has been sorted out between Sanjay Gupta and me. We have just shot a promotional video for Dus Kahaniyan.

On being asked what led to the fallout, the actress sighs, “It was just a communication gap. In this industry, we don’t have direct conversation with people. As a result, the wrong message was passed on between us. He wanted a certain date and I had confirmed that date to somebody else six months ago; so I couldn’t be there. He thought it was very unprofessional on my part but I thought I was being professional because I’d committed to someone else!”

So will she work with him in future? “I’m sure he is going to call me for some film or the other. In fact, I was in Goa on a three-day holiday as I wanted to get away from Mumbai, and suddenly Sanjay Gupta landed up there with his crew. All his actors told me, ‘There is nothing private about your holiday anymore (laughs)’. So that was crazy. We met and we were fine.”

So who was she holidaying with in Goa? Neha didn’t say a word; she just smiled.