Jab Tak Hain Jaan: Bollywood's extra-marital love affairs refuse to die

Published Monday, November 19, 2012

By Khushi Chadda

The Indian film industry has a penchant for recycling plots, especially those that involve your typical love triangle – be it boy meets girl, then another girl, or the genders switch around.

What few realise, though, that a lot of the times these stories have drawn inspiration from real-life tall tales that are embodied on reel-life.

The whispered tales, the hushed up rumours are all part and parcel of an industry that is often scrutinised under a microscope while standing under a spotlight.

Lata Mangeshkar, who became the latest victim in a marital love triangle, which saw late musician Bhupen Hazarika and his wife standing at the other two corners of this geometric equation, are certainly not the first, nor the last to have their names dragged through such messy affairs [pardon the pun.

Emirates 24|7 flashes back to some other scandalous stories that kept Bollywood’s gossip mongers in business through the decades.

Arbaaz-Malaika Arora Khan and Arjun Kapoor

Say what?

It was a scandal fit for a potboiler, when stories started to circulate amongst the first wives club of Bollywood that a certain Mrs Khan was caught canoodling with Boney Kapoor’s son, Arjun Kapoor.

Sure, we didn’t buy that tall tale considering Kapoor was earlier dating Salman Khan’s baby sister, Arpita Khan. But the rumours refused to die down, fuelled further when the actor was being launched in his first film “Ishqzaade” and Salman refused to vouch for him or support him any one in the beginning despite being good friends with Boney.

Finally, the drama unfolded one late night, when calls burned up the Bollywood hotline and finally reached out to Arbaaz to zip over to Arjun’s home on the double.

Why, you ask?

Well, surely we weren’t there for a front row view, but blogs and tweets involving those who were suggested that a slightly tipsy Mrs Khan was already there on the scene demanding that Arjun take her back.

It appeared that the Kapoor boy had distanced himself from Madam Malaika for the sake of his budding career and she saw red.

Arbaaz finally rode into the rescue and took his wife home. Fact or fiction? Who knows, but it certainly makes for a deliciously scandalous story.

Shah Rukh-Gauri Khan-Priyanka Chopra

We love a good old love triangle. And we love it more when there’s a fourth person involved.

Earlier this year, tinseltown’s was buzzing overtime with rumours of King Khan secretly dating Priyanka Chopra.

The question in everyone’s mind when SRK openly planted a kiss on Piggy Chops at the Just Dance finale was, ‘is it true?’

What added fuel to this fire was a report on what allegedly took place at a party in Mannat, King Khan's home.

Apparently, Mehr Jessia, wife of SRK's best bud Arjun Rampal, took it upon herself to admonish the actor for his 'inappropriate' behaviour. At this party that was also attended by Priyanka Chopra, Mehr took SRK aside and told him that it wasn't fair to the Missus as he's invited his leading lady home.

And that was that! King Khan unleashed his temper and told Mehr to mind her business. She also received a mouthful from hubby dearest for playing nosey parker.

It's all just hearsay. But it's definitely beeped into vision on our scandal radar.

Needless to say, what followed next was wife Gauri’s best friend Karan Johar jumping into the melee by exchanging a war of tweets with little Ms Chopra for the world to see.

The latter two took a few months to cool off and finally buried the hatchet, but every once in a while Khan and Chopra have exchanged their fondness for each other in very public statements. Could someone please explain what that is about?

Amitabh-Jaya Bachchan and Rekha

Ask any a Bollywood fan, and the true blue lot will swear by the on-screen chemistry Rekha and Amitabh shared in films, while insiders still narrate stories of the duo even today.

While the rumours have never been confirmed, many whisper still of a torrid love affair between the duo, with Jaya helplessly looking on.

The movie "Silsila" which depicted this real-life saga on to reel-life still goes down in history as a realistic slice of cinema that captured the Rekha-Amitabh romance at its peak.

But like the movie, Amitabh is said to have returned to his wife and Rekha has remained forever single after a string of failed marriages.

Needless to say, this is one story that will continue to haunt generations.

Akshay Kumar-Twinkle Khanna and Priyanka Chopra

Before there was King Khan, there was a certain Mr Kumar whose name was whispered alongside Priyanka.

The duo first starred together in 2003's ‘Andaaz’. And while the sizzling on-screen chemistry had the couple come together in three other films, their alleged off-screen affair created furore.

The much-married Kumar and Chopra denied the claims, despite the latter’s personal secretary leaking her personal phone records to the media that showed late night calls to Kumar.

Such was the scandal and gossip that followed that the duo hasn't worked together since 2005's ‘Waqt’.

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