LOVE KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES
The list of Bollywood divas finding love overseas is growing, and how!
Actor Ileana D’Cruz recently made headlines when her Instagram post hinted that she has married her beau, Australian photographer Andrew Kneebone. “It’s pretty much there for the world to see” is all that Ileana said when asked if she’s married.
With this, the actor is now the latest Bollywood diva to get hitched after finding love overseas. Past examples include Preity Zinta, who married Los Angeles-based marketing professional Gene Goodenough in 2016, Radhika Apte, who tied the knot with British musician Benedict Taylor in 2012, and Celina Jaitly, who married Austrian hotelier Peter Haag in 2011.
THE LIST IS LONG
Take the criterion of marriage out of the equation, and there are many other instances of Bollywood beauties dating a man from another part of the world. Nargis Fakhri and American director Matt Alonzo, Amy Jackson and British businessman George Panayiotou, Shruti Haasan and London-based actor Michael Corsale... the list is long! Even Kangana Ranaut admitted to dating an English doctor, Nicholas Lafferty, for a year, but they broke up in 2012.
NO BIG DEAL, REALLY!
These India-international relationships aren’t restricted to celebrities, especially in the digital age of social media and when people love to travel around the world. But a celeb’s life is always in the limelight!
“Most accomplished people in our country are global names as well. We play equals with the rest of the world. With the ease of connection now, we are open to the idea of living anywhere in the world,” says relationship expert Kamal Khurana, adding that it’s more about who you click with, as we all meet new people everyday.
Like how, Shruti met Michael in London via a common friend while she was recording a track. Amy and George met in 2015 through mutual friends in London, and Celina was in Dubai for a store launch when she first met Peter through a family friend at a close get together. Radhika met Benedict in 2011 when she went to Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London to learn contemporary dance. She met the world famous musician there and the two got married the next year.
A SECRET AFFAIR
Another reason for such pairings is that it’s easier to
keep the relationship hidden. Most actors anyway remain tight-lipped about their personal lives, even when their candid pictures with their rumoured partners surface on social media. “Actresses today are perhaps more professional and they don’t mix work and their personal life,” says Bollywood critic Omar Qureshi.
“Actors want people to focus on their work. And the unnecessary rumours and speculation can spoil that ,” adds Khurana.