When love's no secret: Film stars no longer afraid to acknowledge their relationships

There was a time when stars shied away and remain tight-lipped when asked about their rumoured relationships. But times are changing. Gen Next seems to be in no mood to hold back their relationship status. Actors like Anushka Sharma, Shruti Haasan, Ileana D'Cruz, Samantha, Vijay Deverakon-da amongst others are unfazed about being seen with their partners.

Shruti Haasan and her boyfriend, London-based actor Michael Corsale have made several public appearances together. The duo also hosted a Christmas dinner for their friends and posted pictures of the same. Shruti’s parents, Kamal Haasan and Sarika, have been introduced to Michael too — there are pictures of them partying together as well.

Ileana D'Cruz is another actress who has never shied away from admitting that she’s in a serious relationship. Although she has never spoken publicly about her Australian boyfriend, photographer Andrew Kneebone, she has been actively putting up photos of their vacations together on social media. In fact, she took their relationship to the next level by calling him ‘hubby’ recently!

Anushka Sharma, though she refused to talk about Virat Kholi when they were dating, was often spotted in public with him thereby making it clear that her private life is not something she’d discuss, but at the same time will not deny.
In earlier times, people only whispered about actors and their relationships. Till they got married, they would not be open about it.

Actress Nagma explains that in earlier times, they hardly had time to socialise and did not have any platform to express themselves.

“There was no time to socialise, nor was there a platform like the social media to clarify about one’s private life — unlike today. Earlier, there were apprehensions that if an actress was spotted with a guy, she would be linked up with him. But today, an actress can be friends with many men too, and it doesn’t necessarily translate into a relationship,” she explains.

Arjun Reddy star Vijay Deverakonda says that today’s generation wears their attitude and doesn’t feel the need to hide anything. “The world has progressed so much. Being outspoken comes to me naturally — be it talking about myself or my love life. I think it’s about how confidently you carry yourself. Success definitely helps. Also, people are very smart today and can easily identify whether you are telling the truth or lying,” he says.

Rana Daggubati was linked to many actresses but none seemed to be serious relationships. Elaborating on the same, Rana says, “What people think of me is their problem, not mine. They have speculated several things, cooked up stories... I really don’t care. If asked what my relationship status is, I will be honest,” says Rana.

Samantha, now married to Naga Chaitanya says that she had dropped enough hints about Naga Chaitanya (her husband now) when they were dating and spotted together several times. “In several of my earlier interviews after Ye Maaya Chesave, I had dropped subtle hints, but nobody noticed (she laughs). In fact, I described Chay as my ‘first love’ too. We took our own time and were mature enough to understand our relationship. By the time people spotted us, we had already decided to walk down the aisle,” she shares.