The script of Bollywood romances

A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognised, rightly observed American comedian Fred Allen. While our Bollywood celebs are not all that particular about dark glasses, most of them hide their personal lives from the prying eyes of the paparazzi with obsessive zeal. Unlike the West, where most actresses are pretty open about who they're dating, our Bollywood hotties prefer to keep their ‘single' tag intact, perhaps in the fear of harming their careers.

One such hottie is Priyanka Chopra, whose Love Story 2050 is ready to bring to the screens her love story 2004, with debuting actor Harman Baweja. Though the love story has been on for quite some time, Priyanka has stayed mum on their relationship, even as stories keep cropping up about their romance.

Witnesses claimed they saw Priyanka outside Harman's house; sources said the two were ready to tie the knot and a couple of emotional fights were also duly reported by the media. When probed about the nature of the relationship she has with Harman, Priyanka uses the oft-abused line of ‘we're just friends', spoofed well in Om Shanti Om.

"His sister and I are great friends. I'm doing a movie for his father Harry Baweja. And yes we do talk," is all she had offered earlier. But insiders claim otherwise. Whatever the case, the truth, as always, will pop out eventually.

Yet another case of ‘friends' is Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan. Kat's not ready to let the love out of the bag, even though she's made public appearances with Sallu miyan and was even photographed distraught when he was jailed. We've even heard that the sound of wedding bells is getting louder. Though Salman is pretty eager to tie the knot with the London belle, she's just tasted professional success and isn't biting the bait.

"My relationship with Salman is too personal to talk about," she told a Mumbai tabloid. Being the hot-headed man that he is, Salman is rumoured to have roughed Katrina up a couple of times but she's denied such incidents.

This is pretty much what Salman Khan's ex-girlfriend Aishwarya Rai also did, till she couldn't take it anymore. After breaking up with the bad boy of Bollywood, Ash admitted she was in a relationship with him and he had physically abused her.

"There were times when Salman got physical with me, luckily without leaving any marks and I would go to work as if nothing had happened," she said once to a leading daily. Ash also stayed mum on her relationship with Vivek Oberoi, though he went to town about her and even washed dirty linen in public about Salman threatening him. However, Ash had been more forthcoming about her relationship with her now-husband Abhishek Bachchan, and even hinted that a marriage was on the cards before she actually tied the knot with him.

Not all actresses, however, have been shrinking violets when talk zoomed towards their love lives. One refreshing breath of fresh air is Bipasha Basu. The lady has always been candid about her men, be it Dino Morea or John Abraham. Despite link-ups with Saif Ali Khan, Abhishek Bachchan and others, Bips has been in a long relationship with John and has admitted that they are headed for the altar sometime soon. "I'd like to marry John this year," she confirmed.

Another leading lady who has never believed in keeping her love life under wraps is Kareena Kapoor. The Bollywood princess was pretty public about her relationship with Shahid Kapur and now, is the same with Saif Ali Khan. Saif and Kareena admitted at a fashion event that they were very much together and since then, have been very open about their relationship. "We are in love and marriage is on the cards, but not immediately," she sms-es back to us.

Then there's Preity Zinta; the outspoken actress who didn't mind confirming she received threats from the underworld, has been seeing Bombay Dyeing heir Ness Wadia for quite some time and made several public appearances with him. The two lovebirds often hold hands and get cosy in public, much like Lara Dutta and her now-ex Kelly Dorjee.

Lara was not only open about her relationship with the model, but also her pain after their break-up. She confessed to a leading daily that she still loved Kelly and did not rule out a reunion.

Love without indiscretion is no love at all. Kat and Priyanka, are you listening?