What is the upside of working 14 hours a day, networking in the evening, waking up groggy in the morning, and then again working 14 hours a day? Why, finding love, of course, as many television stars have done.
The gruelling shooting schedule of popular soaps and the large number of stars working together in more than one serial have led to the glamour world's equivalent of the office romance. The list of those who have discovered happiness under several layers of greasepaint is a long one — Gurdeep Kohli and Arjun Punj; Shweta Kawaatra and Manav Gohil; Poonam and Manish Goel; Rinku and Kiran Karmarkar; Sai Deodhar and Shakti Anand; Gauri Pradhan and Hiten Tejwani; Achint Kaur and Mohan Kapur; Gauri Yadav and Yash Tonk; Shilpa Saklani and Apurva Agnihotri (they did not work together, but common friend Rakshanda Khan played Cupid); and Neeru Bajwa and Amit Sadh. In fact, the love bug has bitten TVdom so hard that people who really are just good friends have a hard time convincing others. Nikhil Arya, who has been to a few parties with his Kesar co-star Nandini, has fielded several queries from the curious about the status of their possible love life, a question that Nikhil laughs off.
No doubt, quite a few relationships will be out of the closet soon. Quite a few have been sealed and stamped at the marriage registrar's. But even after they announce their love to the world — case in point, Arjun Punj talking about Gurdeep Kohli — few go for a live-in relationship. In the world of television, with its long-winding soaps about morals and tradition, marriage, not an affair, is the order of the day.
Arjun, who met Gurdeep on the sets of Sanjivani says, "There are various reasons why two people fall in love but, yes, the fact that they spend long hours with each other, and have probably seen each other in good, bad and ugly moods — helps one decide."
Sai, who met Shakti during Saara Akash, says, "We were the best of buddies to begin with, we still are. It's just that our relationship began as friends, and one fine day, when we both felt we were right for each other, we took the plunge." She agrees with Arjun that being thrown together constantly is not enough to fall in love. "You don't fall for all your-co-stars, do you?"
For Gauri and Hiten Tejwani, it was a case of opposites being attracted to each other. While Hiten talks nineteen to the dozen, Gauri speaks only when spoken to. Yet sparks flew on the sets of Kutumb, a Balaji soap, in which they played Pratham and Gauri, a couple always at loggerheads.
Gauri Yadav played her would-be-husband Yash Tonk's on-screen bhabhi in Kahin Kissi Roz. Once, Gauri met with an accident and it was Yash who sat by her bedside. When her parents arrived in the hospital, they saw Yash and almost immediately approved of the caring future son-in-law.
In the case of Kiran Karmakar, his wife, Rinku, played his sister in Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki. When Rinku expressed her "true feelings" for him, it took some time for Kiran to reciprocate. He resisted Rinku until "one day I saw her chatting with some male friend and felt extremely jealous." With all these relationships settled and steady, the next couple to watch out for is the Mona Singh-Karan Oberoi jodi. Are they or are they not dating? Watch this space.
Itti Si Khushi Sab TV
