Salman, Govinda bond in David Dhawan's ne

Salman Khan, who is scorching the headlines for the blackbuck poaching case in which he is being tried in a Jodhpur court, is playing a love 'guru' doling out advice on courtship matters to Govinda in David Dhawan's "Partner".

David was jubilant and said: "Both Salman and Govinda are my buddies. And they are playing buddies in 'Partner'. Naturally there has to be great bonding between them. I am 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."

Salman's younger brother Sohail Khan is producing the film.

"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 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?" said Dhawan.

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 roles very true to their image, their two leading ladies are unusually cast.

"While I have paired Salman with Lara Dutta (the two have never been together before) Govinda will be seen with Katrina Kaif," said David.

But the stress will clearly be on buddy-buddy talk between the two male co-stars... just like Abhishek Bachchan-Riteish Deshmukh in recent release "Bluffmaster" and Akshay Kumar-Bobby Deol in "Dosti".