Ronit Roy (currently the highest paid actor on TV) had to be put on the mat, in jest of course. What happened, Ronit? You can't take care of Aamir Khan and his family? Wife Kiran Rao says she fears for her son's safety.

Everybody who knows about the security agency that Ronit Roy owns and runs also knows that it is this star-cum-businessman who has looked after Aamir's security since the days of Lagaan .

"Ma'am, I stopped looking after his security one year ago," replied Ronit. Ah, no wonder Aamir's running scared.

Jokes apart, a bit of digging and something interesting came up.

All the Khans, Kapoors and Kumars of the film industry envy Salman Khan not only for his stardom and box office figures but also because he has Shera. Like Shashi Kapoor in Deewaar who was one up on Amitabh Bachchan when he said, "Mere paas Maa hai ", Salman Khan could flaunt his bodyguard and tell all, "Mere paas Shera hai".

Now every big actor wants his own Shera. Aamir, who is shrewd, gave it a thought and then did what he could - he simply took on the employee Ronit had provided him, a bodyguard named Vijay Kumar. Vijay became Aamir's own Shera.

But Shera remains legendary. Remember how Salman generously lent Esha Deol the services of Shera for the VIP enclosure at her wedding reception? After protecting Salman for so long, Shera could sniff out who was to be allowed into the celebrity enclosure and how to keep the rest out. But Shera's methods could sometimes be vastly amusing.

Earlier this year, Salman had to catch an Indigo flight to Mumbai after a promotional event of Bajrangi Bhaijaan . The actor thought he was seriously slumming because he was promoting a multi-crore film but was travelling by a budget airline. However, it was soon a case of "never fear, Shera is here". Once the star (along with Kareena and others) climbed aboard and took over the first few rows, Shera stood up. The passengers were clearly excited that Salman was in their midst and there was every chance of a stampede towards him which could've upset the aircraft balance, apart from being a security risk for the celebrities.

So Shera stood somewhere around the fifth row and faced the rest of the plane. Nobody could get past him. But it also meant nobody could use the washroom. Even those who genuinely needed to use it couldn't go anywhere near it with Shera blocking the aisle. Right through the flight, all the passengers had to use the facilities at the back of the aircraft while Salman and company turned the plane into their own little private carrier.

Talking of celebrities, when you have I&B minister Arun Jaitley, minister of state Rajyavardhan Rathore, defence minister Manohar Parikkar, Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar, Anil Kapoor as chief guest, Shekhar Kapur as chairperson of the International Jury, maestro Ilaiyaraja as the recipient of the Centenary Award, Sonakshi Sinha on stage and Dev Patel in the audience, who do you give the credit to? The rising star in the present government is former actress Vani Tripathi, BJP spokesperson. It was evident at the 46th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa where she was the real star of the show. Whether it was Arun Jaitley who delivered a statesman's speech or the well spoken Shekhar Kapur or the "evergreen" Anil Kapoor (who's taken over Dev Anand's mantle), everybody mentioned or thanked Vani Tripathi in their speeches, indicating that she was the power behind the massive, celebrity-studded IFFI. It was clear that she was slated for bigger responsibilities in the ruling party.

By the way, the star-struck media missed a vital political moment on stage - Arun Jaitley and Sonakshi Sinha released a book on the legends of the Indian silver screen. Anybody who knows anything about BJP politics would have an inkling of the icicles between the honorable minister and his party colleague Shatrughan Sinha. But while daughter Sonakshi was asked to do the honours with Jaitley, the father who was flying into Goa for a wedding didn't receive an invitation to any part of IFFI. The BJP rebel promptly tweeted against IFFI functioning under the I&B ministry and asked for it to be "outsourced"!

More on Goa. The band should've been playing Those were the days, my friend on Tuesday evening at a very stylish, pre-wedding cocktail party in Goa. Sitting around an elegantly done-up table were Shatrughan Sinha and ex-flame Reena Roy (still to turn svelte despite a bariatric surgery). It was a party hosted by common friend Sujata Bindra from Delhi whose daughter was getting married the next morning at a gurdwara in Goa. But SS and RR were not a cosy twosome - there were other friends too at the same table.

Bharathi S. Pradhan is a senior journalist and author