abhis shilpa during the release of aapka

Abhijeet Sawant got engaged to long-time girlfriend Shilpa on October 7, his birthday. Shilpa stays near his house in Shahu Nagar, Mahim.

HitList visited Shahu Nagar on Tuesday; but even as the engagement seemed common news in the neighbourhood, when we quizzed the parents of the couple, they denied that the Indian Idol winner and Shilpa had exchanged rings.

'Very good friends'

Shilpa's father was aggressive and rude, while her mother would only say, "Shilpa and Abhijeet are very good friends."

Said Shilpa's sister, Sheetal, "We are part of the same group, but there is nothing special between Abhijeet and my sister." Shilpa was unavailable for comment.

Shilpa kaun?

Abhijeet's mother echoed the same sentiment. All she said was, "Abhijeet bahut chhota hai. He is just 25. Why would he get married so soon? We only celebrated his birthday on October 7."

Abhijeet told us over the phone, "There are many Shilpas in the colony and I am not close to any of them."

However, many people from the colony confirmed the engagement had taken place. Said Amit Chauhan, "The engagement was a very private affair. Only very close relatives and friends were invited. It happened at Shilpa's relative's place in Goregaon. The same relatives also have a flat in the block where Shilpa resides, but the other place is bigger."

Next, we spoke to resident Abhishek Nair, who admitted, "Yes, Abhijeet and Shilpa are engaged. To my knowledge, the ceremony took place in Abhijeet's flat.

Shilpa has been in Abhijeet's life much before he became the Indian Idol. In fact, she was the one who coaxed him to enter the contest; she brought the forms and I've even have heard that she was the one who filled them out for him."

Family pressure

Abhijeet was said to be under considerable family pressure to get engaged to Shilpa. Said Abhishek, "After Abhijeet won the Indian Idol contest, colony members used to gossip about whether he would honour the promise he made to Shilpa. Plus, he is quite a personality, while Shilpa is a simple, petite girl. If there was family pressure, it must have been from Abhijeet's mother. The Sawants and Shilpa's parents are family friends."

He proposed to her

Added Abhishek's friend, "Shilpa and Abhijeet often go out in his Honda City. They frequently shop at Shopper's Stop these days.

Marriage is surely on the cards. It was Abhijeet who chased Shilpa; he proposed to her at least ten times before she said yes. As for the engagement, some of us in the colony knew that it was happening that day."

vickey.lalwani@mid-day.com