Together they have bonded exceedingly well over the years. If 'Love Aaj Kal' was the beginning of a strong professional relationship between Deepika Padukone and Imtiaz Ali, 'Cocktail' - which was written by the latter - was pretty much responsible for the actress to dig her teeth on a career defining role.

However the two could well be seeing themselves on a warring path soon.

"Imtiaz Ali's 'Highway' has been scheduled for release on 13th December for months now. The Randeep Hooda-Alia Bhatt starrer has been making good progress too. However, it would now have an unlikely competition from Deepika's 'Kochadaiiyaan' which is expected to release a day before on Rajinikanth's birthday which falls on the 12th," informs a source.

This has come as a surprise for all since no one had any inkling for this to be happening. There was no release date for the Rajinikanth starrer for so many months but with Eros International announcing the film's arrival, it has put Deepika and Imtiaz in an uncomfortable slot.

"Sajid Nadiadwala, who is producing the film, is sure that the release date stays as is. On the other hand Eros too has its eye set on the same date. Since 'Dhoom 3' is anyways slated for arrival a week later, it is tough for anyone to budge from their stand," the source continues.

One wonders how the conversation could be going between Imtiaz and Deepika, considering the fact that soon after the release of 'Highway', the duo is expected to come together in Sajid Nadiadwala's next which has Ranbir Kapoor in the lead.