As it is, when it came to mentioning how Priyanka Chopra has moved on from her past relationship with Nick Jonas, the media has made no bones about mentioning a certain married superstar. It has been mentioned probably more than three times in several senior journalists’ columns since the birth of the Nick-PC relationship. This Bharati S Pradhan column in Telegraph India is among the examples of outing Shah Rukh Khan as the married man, who was in a relationship with Priyanka for six years.
Telegraph India, July 2018
There was another canny reason to go public with the relationship that she would otherwise have conducted under the radar. When she was all over town with Nick here, it shifted attention from the well-known six-year relationship that had ended in heartbreak. By flying into Mumbai with a young, good-looking boyfriend who was single and an international celebrity too, she looked what she was – an independent, successful woman who had enough men evincing an interest in her. She was no bechari. She could get up, dust off and move on with life, like men traditionally did down the ages.
The day before she flew back to LA, when she glowed happily at Mukesh Ambani’s huge do for his son’s engagement, the bechari syndrome might have kicked in, especially when the man from her recent past was there posing for shutterbugs with wife and son. But PC, with Nick by her side, was the telling visual of a woman who had steamed ahead with a life of her own, a life that was not going to be dictated by heartbeats of the past. It was stirring. For far too long have women crumbled under emotions, leaving it solely to the men to move on unhurt without looking back. She is a game-changer and if she has to bend self-made rules like keeping a relationship classified, let’s root for her. Congratulations, Priyanka, you never cease to surprise us.
Can’t believe it went on for six years! Six freaking years! This makes it after ‘Don 2’ was released, a year after the film’s release. This was after all the brouhaha that happened in public between KJo and PC. After it was made public that Gauri Khan was upset at PC and PC retaliated by saying something like the wives should know how to watch their husbands instead of blaming her or something. KJo got pissed at her comment to the local paper and blasted her on Twitter.
It seems as if their relationship started after PC found herself alone in a corner and Shah Rukh stepped in to be the ultimate hero. During that time, her father was also critically sick, and SRK was the support she needed. Now we also know that it was during that time that rumours of their secret nikah started. There were also rumours that the big diamond ring that PC was wearing then came from SRK. Another rumour was, PC’s dad didn’t have long to live and wanted to see her daughter become a singer and SRK helped made that happen.
Based on the numerous blind items released in the past six years, they weren’t together for the full six years, they have had their time-outs or break-ups. Somewhere in that six years, Shah Rukh stopped wearing his wedding ring, dropped his no-kissing onscreen rule and started spending more time away from his wife. He also spoke less about his wife. We thought ‘Ra. One’ was his mid-life crisis, but as it turned out, it was only a pre-mid-life crisis. The real mid-life crisis came much later on.
Let’s take a look at the past six years in the tabloids and in blind items
Rajeev Masand, July 2011
Starry Starry Night
There has been incessant chatter about the closeness between this male superstar and his A-list co-actress ever since they first acted together in an action film a few years ago. And now, insiders say the couple has rekindled their affair. It’s a messy situation, given that the superstar isn’t single. The actress, meanwhile, has got out of an on-off relationship she was in for a few years, though she has never denied her fondness for the superstar.
During a public function recently, the actress is believed to have waited backstage for the superstar to finish his performance so she could leave with him. It’s also true that the superstar has made sure that she has been cast as the female lead in two new films he’s signed recently. Industrywalas haven’t missed the irony, given that the star has always preferred to ‘mix it up’ and work with different actresses at any given time.
Secure behind the carefully constructed image of a perfect family man, the actor has had fewer romantic link-ups than most of his co-stars. However, his friends justify the affair with the explanation that few men can resist the temptation when an attractive woman practically throws herself at you.
Richa Lakhera, June 2013
There is no excuse for tardiness but not when you are a Bollywood diva prone to throwing fits on the slightest of issues. This smoking hot leggy lass is still recovering from a terrible heartbreak (after being cheated on and dumped by a married superstar with whom she was having a rip-roaring affair). Though talented she has been on a short fuse since the break up and her interest in her work has plummeted, they say its hit rock bottom.
The actress’s director(she is starring in a multi-starrer opposite two male leads) has been fuming over her tardiness and has been lamenting to everyone on how she arrives hours late on the sets. Despite pulling her up several times the actress turns a deaf ear and refuses to listen to the heroes, as she feels she is the biggest star on the set. Matters came to a head when her miffed make-up artist snitched on her claiming she smelled whisky on the actress’s breath.
The director put his foot down and yelled publicly at the actress for her unprofessional behaviour. The shell shocked diva did not expect to be given a rap on her knuckles in front of the unit but the director has made it clear he will not take late comings kindly and she needs to leave her personal problems behind when she reports for work. To everyone’s amusement the director(whose demand to get breath analyzers was shot down by producers) has now appointed a ‘minder’ on the actress whose job it is to, among other things, SMELL HER and make sure the actress is clean(as in not drunk or high!!!) when she lands at the sets.
Mid Day, July 2013
Some things are best kept secret, especially those that happen far away from the public glare. Now, this is about an alleged couple, who apparently seem to be back together after much trial and tribulations
The duo, both actors, had to tear themselves away from each other due to circumstances around them. Forced to spend time away, both the actor and his alleged ladylove mourned their loss and spent miserable moments in private.
Following their split, both looked seemingly distraught at every public appearance. But if rumours are to be believed, the two could be back together and blissfully in love. Apparently it was during their simultaneous shoot schedules in Filmistan that the duo got back together.
A source says, “The actor was at the location to promote his upcoming film at a dance reality show, while the actress was shooting for her next film. She wanted to meet him desperately but as she was in her costume, she couldn’t venture out of her vanity van.”
Not to let the moment go waste, the actor apparently quietly sneaked into his alleged sweetheart’s van to spend some quality time together. Apparently it took just about an hour to make peace and rekindle their romance.
DNA, December 2014
You will be excused for thinking this is a story of two teenagers but in fact involves two top actors of B-Town, who were in a relationship a few years ago. So this is how the story begins. This actor had clicked a sexy picture of his smoking hot ex-girlfriend in a towel. He recently showed the pic to someone or someone happened to see it and this bit of information travelled via the trustworthy industry grapevine and reached the ears of the actress in question.
Needless to say she was livid. She called up her ex and raged. He listened to her quietly because well, he knew he had messed up. But what she said next changed his reaction to her tirade from apologetic to angry. She said to him, If you ever do something of this sort again, you will be banned from the industry, you will have no work left because you know who I am with now. You know who I am talking about. He will make sure you pay.” The actress was hinting at this top married actor that she has been linked to in the last few years. The ex-beau wasn’t going to take this threat lightly and turned around and asked her to name the man she was talking about. He snapped, “Who?” There was silence on the other end. Naturally, she could not name him. He again asked. “Who? Who?” There was no reply. The actress had hung up.
Mumbai Mirror, May 2016
Some things are best kept secret, especially those that happen far away from the public glare. Now, this is about an alleged couple, who apparently seem to be back together after much trial and tribulations
The duo, both actors, had to tear themselves away from each other due to circumstances around them. Forced to spend time away, both the actor and his alleged ladylove mourned their loss and spent miserable moments in private.
Following their split, both looked seemingly distraught at every public appearance. But if rumours are to be believed, the two could be back together and blissfully in love. Apparently it was during their simultaneous shoot schedules in Filmistan that the duo got back together.
A source says, “The actor was at the location to promote his upcoming film at a dance reality show, while the actress was shooting for her next film. She wanted to meet him desperately but as she was in her costume, she couldn’t venture out of her vanity van.”
Not to let the moment go waste, the actor apparently quietly sneaked into his alleged sweetheart’s van to spend some quality time together. Apparently it took just about an hour to make peace and rekindle their romance.
Mumbai Mirror, July 2016
Did they or didn’t they? That’s the question on everyone’s lips, now that the gorgeous actress and her much married beau have been in Mumbai at the same time. So even though rendezvous in London and LA were de rigeur, Mumbai has been a “hands-off“ zone for them thanks to the paparazzi here. But now the two have found another way to meet. Like they did at a big superstar’s home recently, and another big film director’s- they arrived separately and in “ordinary cars“.Their fancy wheels were traded for common sedans and they arrived and left unnoticed.
Rajeev Masand, December 2016
When a certain male star took off to an international destination recently on work-related matters, industrywaalas quickly put two and two together and began tracking the movements of his reported girlfriend, suspecting that a rendezvous may be on the cards. Catty insiders reveal that for a little over a day, both parties literally fell off the map; they were virtually untraceable to their respective staff and camps. Then both showed up on the grid again, separately, in different places.
Their relationship is Bollywood’s worst kept secret even if both sides refuse to acknowledge what they have.
Socialite Nisha Jamvwal, 2012:
Closer to reality, Priyanka Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan allegedly grew close through the filming of Don and it’s sequel and were rumored to be in a relationship. Of late rumors abound about a wedding between this very attractive screen couple abound. Infact, recently when Shah Rukh Khan Sang ‘marry Me’ to Priyanka at a public function while people were charmed and even amused by the Shah’s
gumption and naughtiness, it did raise speculation. And yes rumors of a clandestine wedding are also rife! This is one romance that audiences are very curious about, so much so that when I travel abroad, it seems to be the one question on everyone’s lips, are they or are they not……………?
Rajeev Masand, January 2012
Only days before that, the two stars had been photographed by a paparazzo, allegedly at 3 am, leaving SRK’s Khar office. The photograph went viral, and expectedly the tabloids gleefully declared that they’d finally landed hard evidence of the fact that something was indeed brewing between the two stars.
While that rumour has been doing the rounds for some months now (you won’t believe how many of their friends have hinted there may be some truth to those stories) a source close to one of them explains that the late-night meeting that was photographed was no romantic rendezvous, but a rehearsal for their combined act for the Zee Awards. Apparently other stars rehearsed at the same location earlier that evening, and the directors of the awards show were also present with SRK and PC, but predictably no one bothered to photograph them.
However, a well-placed source points out that the only reason rehearsals took place at SRK’s office, and not at Mannat where he usually prepares for his performances, is because Mrs Gauri Khan doesn’t want SRK’s favourite actress anywhere in her line of sight.
In a really strange turn of events, we found this part in an article related to PC attending Kebab Jo’s birthday party after she was not given an invite. It’s about Katrina Kaif on why she didn’t attend the party and it’s freaking hilarious:
Why did Katrina skip the party? Says a friend, “Katrina loves Karan, and had done the Chikni Chameli song for free. It’s another matter that Karan did not gift her the promised Ferrari or that she is yet to sign on a full-fledged heroine’s role in Dharma Productions. Katrina would have still flown down from Bangkok but when she heard Priyanka was flying straight in from Zurich, Katrina decided not to. It would make her seem like she was vying for space in the Dharma scheme of things.”
This reminds us of the Rekha-Amitabh story. Everyone knew, but refrained from publicly taking his name when mentioning the relationship. Why the difference? Is it because he is a superstar or is it because he is a married man? Compared to Rekha, PC had proof of her relationship and was not afraid to use it. Remember when Priyanka Chopra just dropped the mother of all bombs back then in 2017? Still can’t believe she did that and neither did SRK!
We have been wondering ever since that happened, what truly conspired between them? Did he promise to leave his wife to marry her? Because he himself was advising Aamir Khan not to divorce his wife for Fatty as it will not be good for his image, so what was it with PC?
Or he was truly in love and during that time also, his time in Bollywood was running out. As in, he was running behind Salman Khan and Aamir Khan at the box office and that really did piss him off to an extend. He already had that mess to take care of, so to think that he wanted to marry her does not seem to fit in his environment at that time. Then also came his youngest son, AbRam. Rumour has it, he broke it off with PC only to get back to her later on.
SRK is smart and cunning. We are only saying this based on the loving way he spoke about his wife after the breakup with PC. He knew he had to do damage control. The interview he did with Rajeev Masand to promote ‘Raees’ was the most he spoke about his wife in all these years. From then onwards, you can see he is trying to clean up his image by making more appearances with her and sharing her pictures more. It’s like he wants you to remember that this is the woman he fell in love with when he was nothing, how he married her against all odds, how she is the only one who wants him to be happy and lets him do what he wants and all that. Sad to think that the wife had to go through all this only to get him back after he was done having his fun or whatever it was he was having. At least, have the decency to leave your wife first if you are going to go around proposing to another girl in public or holding her hand in public.
Speaking of proposing to PC in public, what was SRK’s obsession with doing that in public more than once?
Why? A married man doing such a thing is disgusting and embarrassing. Sure, he might have a sense of humour but do you see Kebab Jo laughing? He doesn’t know whether to laugh or to cry while silently pissing himself as he thinks of how the sequel to Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna is happening before him. The thing with Shah Rukh is, he always takes it too far. Even if he was trying to be funny, he took it far. It’s like he thinks he can do it.
We just remembered how when Sussanne Khan filed for divorce from Hrithik Roshan, she was expecting Gauri to do the same. They were planning all along because these two had a business together and thought that perhaps they can just carry on with the business after leaving their husbands. Gauri got cold feet and didn’t go through with the divorce, but Sussanne did. You all remember how every Bolly wife shunned her after the divorce. Gauri thought getting AbRam will bring SRK back to the house. It did, but then…
Back to PC, surely she must have thought she would get that official ring from him. This is the only thing that explains why she got so pissed off and came out with the I-have-your-jacket-you-loser thing! Made her mad enough to get a young boyfriend and bring him back to show him off. Then, got engaged to him in less than 2 months of supposedly dating. It’s like she knew dating Nick and bringing him to Mumbai would make all these journalists talk about her relationship with SRK.
We are not going to deny that we actually started thinking about whether Nick Jonas happens to be the favourite singer of SRK’s kids!
Could it be that SRK has no power any more in the media? Not that high power as he had years ago. Why else would journalists freely talk about his relationship with PC? True that they are not doing it that freely, they are insinuating it for sure. Back then, when there were pictures of SRK and PC coming out of his office at 3 am in a tabloid, SRK called up the editor and blasted him. He said that the actress’ mother called him up and told him what would people think about her daughter’s character?! SRK said this to the editor, but then it made us think why did PC’s mom put him in the spot? As if she was blaming him for people’s perception of her daughters’ cheap character. This is the same woman, who when she was made aware of the affair between her daughter and Khiladi Kumar and her response at that time was something else. It did appear like she was trying to make him take responsibility for something that didn’t happen.
With all that has been going on with PC lately, here’s hoping that she moves on and just be happy. It seems as if since her father passed away, she has been on one rollercoaster after another. She has worked hard and taken care of her whole family, she should take care of herself too. It will be interesting to see how it all works out for her, and how her journey continues from here on.
The reason why this post was created is as an apology to all the readers, who kept asking us to reveal SRK and PC’s names as the OSOP Guesses anytime blind items regarding them came out. We never did back then despite a lot of you wanting us to. So yes, please accept our apologies. This is directed specifically to this non-English-speaking reader, who kept saying the same thing and comparing this to us outing Khiladi Kumar – you know who you are, we did not forget!
By the way, no one is as epic as Khiladi Kumar – He makes it easy to guess!
This married superstar has not changed his Casanova ways. Last year, he was chased by paparazzi when he was busy in a car with his co-actress. This time, he was caught with a foreigner in one of his old cars parked close to his house. The actor did not hide this time, but called those who spotted him. He wanted to know if there was a picture of his with the girl. Had the photograph leaked, wonder what would happen to his newly acquired “loyal husband” tag?