Real-life love in Bollywood is going through tumultuous times with a string of break-ups. PRAKRITI ROY talks of some of the biggest and most shocking relationship issues, even as fans continue to hope that none of their favourite stars get separated
India is a nation where, amid so many other supposedly bigger problems, the turbulence that occurs in our beloved Bollywood takes centrestage in the news circuit and on the minds of people. Whether it’s a scandal, an illness or a crime where someone from Bollywood is involved, everyone loves to get into the nitty-gritty of it.
But nothing makes news (or a Twitter trend) like a break-up in tinsel town does. Over the past few years, especially this year, break-ups in Bollywood have surged like a wave. The bad news has been coming one after the other with some very shocking divorce or separation of some of the most loved couples in the film industry.
Each couple reacted differently to the breaking news about them, and so did the people. When Shahid Kapur and Kareena Kapoor went their separate ways despite sizzling together in Jab We Met, the media just could not get enough of it and the fans probably went into a withdrawal symptom. With their film releasing just after the break-up, amid rumours of Kareena dating Saif Ali Khan, the great chemistry between the two on-screen made the news unbelievable. Everything took a long time to cool off and now Begum Kareena and Mira’s husband are both happily married separately!
The break-up of John Abraham and Bipasha Basu was also a shocker for fans. The two had done a great number of movies together, often displaying their love off-screen as well in their almost decade long live-in relationship. When rumours of their separation broke out, John was accused of cheating on Bipasha with Priya Runchal, now his wife. However, insiders say the separation had happened long before John started seeing Priya. It would suffice to say that the break-up was not at all amicable and the two do not acknowledge each other now. While John is married to Priya, Bipasha is with beau Karan Singh Grover (who is allegedly on girl No 4).
These break-ups were still bearable for fans. The ultimate blow came when Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone parted ways some years back. Thejodi was always very open about their relationship with Deepika still sporting a tattoo with his initials RK. As expected, the break-up was also very much a public affair after that. People were disappointed that the two would not appear in films together. But setting an example for every otherfilmy couple that broke-up, the epicjodi of Ranbir and Deepika made it to the screen again to give us one of the best romances in recent years Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani. They did Tamasha together in 2015 but as far as that movie goes, there was more chemistry between them during the film’s promotions than in the movie itself.
Talk has it that this is what led to Ranbir’s recent break-up with Katrina Kaif. The news gained ground when Ranbir moved out of Katrina’s apartment and moved in with his parents. Katrina, maintaining customary silence over her private life, refused to confirm or deny the rift, just as she had never even admitted to the relationship in the first place. However, if latest reports are to be believed, Katrina’s friend and ex-boyfriend Salman Khan has jumped smack into the middle of this mess and to state that he had told Katrina years back that one day she would regret leaving him for Ranbir.
Patch-up rumours between Ranbir and Katrina are already doing the rounds, but in case it doesn’t work out, the filming of Anurag Basu’s Jagga Jasoos (starring this couple) hangs in the balance.
Keeping in sync with the current times, following each other on social media and liking/retweeting each other’s posts has become a symbol of love. So, when cricketer Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma unfollowed each other on Twitter and Instagram, it got everyone talking about how there must be trouble in the relationship. The two have reportedly called it quits but speculation is still fever pitch about their relationship status.
Since the two have always supported each other publicly, promoting movies and braving the wags controversy, the rumour that Virat asked Anushka to back out of Sultan with Salman Khan is not entirely believable. As per other sources, Anushka’s refusal to Virat’s marriage proposal was what ended the relationship.
Then there is this Bollywood genie of divorces getting bigger and bigger. The divorce of Hrithik Roshan from his long-time sweetheart and wife Suzanne shocked everyone. Their marriage had been threatened once long before their divorce when there were rumours of him having an affair with his Kites Spanish co-star Barbara Mori. More recently, Farhan Akhtar and wife of 15 years, Adhuna announced their separation. Unlike other couples in Bollywood, they did not really shy away from the media but requested to be left alone in this troubled time.
Apparently, ‘power couple’ Malaika Arora Khan and Arbaaz Khan were also on the verge of getting a divorce. But this news was rubbished by the two.
Kalki Koechlin and Anurag Basu got divorced quietly. Their divorce was quite an amicable one with Kalki saying that she won’t mind working with him again and him stating he stating that the biggest loss of his life has been the loss of his marriage to Kalki.
Even Ranvir Shorey and Konkana Sen Sharma continue to be colleagues even after their divorce with ex-spouse currently working in Konkana’s directorial debut.
Getting into the details of break-ups in Bollywood is not a new phenomenon. The obsession has existed ever since Raj Kapoor and Nargis emerged as the ultimate on-screen romanticjodi and reportedly, off-screen too. The couple did about 16 films and looked absolutely perfect together. However, showman Raj was already married to Krishna, and Nargis married Sunil Dutt.
Raj and Krishna were not the only couple who survived the “affairs” rumours. A lot of actors have been associated with their co-stars and been engaged in extra-marital affairs.
A case in point is the immense speculation on the alleged Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha relationship. However, Big B and wife Jaya managed to sail through the turmoil in their personal lives and are still going strong. The marital bliss of Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna was also threatened by continuous public speculation on Akki and Priyanka Chopra but the storm blew over and the marriage of thekhiladi and Mrs Funnybones survives.
Marriages and relationships in Bollywood have always been vulnerable, probably because of the constant public glare that they have to live in. But lately, break-ups have increased. Now, the reason behind this wave can’t really be known, but ardent fans can only hope that all will be better in Bollywood soon.