Yes, we’ve split: Dino Morea

Dino Morea, driving to Pune on the slick expressway, is a man on high speed. He���s always been a friends and family kind a guy, was the first to tote a six-pack before Bollywood made a shoo-sha of them and has maintained a fitness regime of everything from football to basketball to jogging even today.
He���s in the process of fulfilling one of his many dreams ��� building a treehouse, and is mourning the loss of one of the dearest members of his family ��� Sir Sly ��� even as he launches restaurants for his brother Nicolo across the country and steers little brother Santino into his film career ���He is currently assisting Karan in My Name is Khan, and I���m waiting for him to come run the production company I���ve started for him.���
Though the middle brother, Dino has always seemed the hub around which his borthers' lives set into place.���My brothers and I, we���re a team. We���ve always supported each other. My oldest brother Nicolo is the restaurauteur, so I support him in that though we are essentially in business together. From the flagship Crepe Station at Bandra, we now have 10, but we���re heading towards 100 across the country. But it���s his thing, I���m just the face,��� he says. The duo is also launching a new pub and bar at Bandra called The Elbow Room. As for little brother, Dino quips, ���Ha ha, sure I���m protective of him but it���s also selfish ��� I put him through film school, so now I get to say you come work for me... Just kidding. We do sporadic ads now but I want to find interesting scripts, new young directors and when Santino has done his training and learned, he will come and handle it all.���
Though he candidly confesses his film career is slagging (with only Acid Factory releasing and a cameo in Pyaar Impossible despite all his Bollywood friendships) and that he���s made many mistakes. ���I���m in no rush to go sign up films that would be a mistake like the many mistakes of my past,��� he shrugs. Instead, Dino���s got himself excited about the new merchandising company ���Cool Maal��� along with Pidilite heir Malay Parekh that has signed up Yuvraj Singh and skipper MS Dhoni ��� recently declared the biggest sports brand in the world by Forbes India. ���We have the rights to these guys for the next couple of years. While all over the world sports merchandising is a huge business, it doesn���t really exist in India.��� The company will retail a range of everything from mouse pads, coffee mugs, tees, school bags and kits, ���all the fun stuff��� Dino says, ���We���re even getting them caricatured. And we may even get into the home furnishing space so you never know what you���ll get...���
No matter how fast he is going, Dino sounds measured, calmer, and very in control of life���s plans, despite an underlying newfound heaviness to his voice. ���Sir Sly (his recently deceased dog) was only three years old. He caught a tick fever and it went to his brain and despite our best efforts he slipped away in three days. I now have Patch (the Dalmation who Crepe Station Bandra regulars will recognise as the lounging giant on the floor) and Slidey ���a stray that my parents had adopted and christened in Bangalore.���
This past year has also not been very kind to him on the personal front ��� with heavy speculation about girlfriend Lara Dutta and the loss of best bud of several years Kelly Dorjee. He doesn���t spell it out but he sounds hurt at the mention of a confessional by Kelly in a leading society rag, and says ���Ya well... I guess he did what he had to do. I don���t want to comment on that. All I can say yes I was dating someone for a while, but we have split and gone our separate ways. I am now definitely single.���
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