Relationships in Bollywood

First they are spotted together, hand in hand, then they vehemently deny there's romance brewing, and finally they tie the knot in either a very private ceremony, or in a mega affair!

Real life romances in Bollywood are a far cry from their on-screen versions, in which, the lovers proclaim their love in the loudest fashion.

Personal questions are always fielded with cliches like 'We're just friends' and most actors dismiss them with a 'no comments'. Some B-town stars refuse to define their relationship, even after years of courtship!

Bollywood Buzz brings you an insight on Relationships in Bollywood:

# Aishwarya Rai Bachchan never acknowledged any of her relationships, till she took marriage vows with Abhishek last year.

# Manoj Bajpai also kept his affair - with long-term girlfriend Neha - under wraps, before marrying her in February 2005, without the media's knowledge.

So, why are celebrity affairs always closeted?

Says Manoj, "I'm an actor, not a public figure. My wife and personal life aren't supposed to entertain the public. Constitutionally, I'm allowed to safeguard my personal life, hence I've never discussed its details. Besides, I've never been the subject of rumours. We get sick of the rumours surrounding us and sometimes it clouds our judgement of co-actors."

Actors become especially guarded about their personal life in case of talk about extra-marital affairs, or even in the initial stage of a budding romance.

# After divorcing first wife Reena, Aamir Khan kept his relationship with Kiran Rao a secret, for a long time, before they finally got married in December 2005.

# Similarly, it took pictures splashed across dailies, and some time, before Saif Ali Khan confirmed his relationship with Kareena Kapoor.

Reports about extra marital affairs, in particular, result in uncomfortable situations at home, say stars.

# Twinkle Khanna - whose hubby Akshay Kumar has been linked with co-stars like Priyanka Chopra, post-marriage - says, "I neither hid my relationship nor flaunted it. We don't react to reports, since, I've seen my parents being written about it and know how to deal with it. People shouldn't take advantage of our silence."

# On again-off again romances like Shahid Kapoor and Vidya Balan's take up column space, and is never acknowledged by either party. It's probably because the lovebirds - mostly on the rebound - aren't sure about the strength of their relationship.

Sometimes, affairs are not acknowledged because of parental pressure!

# Ranbir Kapoor never accepted his affair with Deepika Padukone in the press, because his parents weren't comfortable with it.

The 'home-breaker' tag attached to actresses also makes them clam up. For eg.:

# Preity Zinta being held responsible for the Suchitra-Shekhar Kapur divorce

# Shilpa Shetty dating a married NRI

While nursing a broken heart or dealing with a divorce, they'd rather not be written about, say actors.

# Priyanshu Chatterjee - who divorced model Malini Sharma in 2001 - says, "It's difficult to get over someone, when your break-up is constantly being discussed in the media. That's when celebs avoid the media. In my case, not much was written about my divorce. So it was slightly relaxed. But some reports - surrounding relationships - change the way, you are viewed in your professional life."

Yet a handful of couples have been transparent - about their relationships - right from the word go!

# Arshad Warsi - Maria Goretti

# Arbaaz Khan - Malaika Arora

# Zayed Khan - Malaika Khan

# Hrithik Roshan - Sussane Khan

# Ashish Chaudhary - Samita Bangargi

Reason?

They feel shielding their relationship - from the media - will trigger more speculation, about their personal lives.

Says Samita, "Single status matters a lot to some actors. They want their fans to believe, that they're single. But Ashish and I have been open about our relationships - ever since we started dating eight years ago - because people like you for your work, and not for your relationship status."

On a personal note: I've been in a relationship before, however, that didn't worked out.

And now, I don't care about getting in a relationship anymore (or to marry anyone for that matter!), because of so many reasons, which I would've love to share with you all, however - this being a Bollywood News blog - I would skip my personal blah blah!

Take care, everyone :o)