Foe'dder for the frat pack

It’s not uncommon to see famed celebrity friendships fall apart. Yet, it is dealing with the aftermath that gets quite tricky for many, as things often go a little haywire when it comes to keeping their interactions, if any, free of drama. Mukesh Ambani’s Ganesh Chatuthri celebration saw the cream of Bollywood in attendance as they joined in the celebration. Interestingly, Shah Rukh Khan who attended the event by himself timed his exit perfectly as Priyanka Chopra arrived at the party. The rumour mills had been abuzz again since Priyanka stated in a recent interview that her brown leather jacket, which she is often spotted wearing, belonged to an ex-boyfriend. Fans immediately assumed that the jacket belonged to Shah Rukh Khan who seemed to have had one just like hers. 

For publicised friendships or even romantic relationships for that matter, the lot of them realise that they need to be smart with shutterbugs around. Or avoid such situations. Even infamous best friends, Kajol and Karan Johar maintained a dignified distance from each other after a series of incidents pushed them apart. At a recent awards show, Karisma Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai kept out of each other’s paths, quite obviously since the meeting would just be awkward, given that Karisma and Aishwarya’s beau Abhishek Bachchan was engaged to each other once upon a time.

There is a sense building here that they do this as a way of effectively managing their public reputation, understanding each other’s social spaces and working cohesively while ensuring that they don’t add fuel to the fire. Actress Nidhi Subbaiah comments, “A friendship breaking or an animosity between two people is quite common and it happens to everybody. But it gets more interesting and becomes gossip when you are a public figure. The audience loves the gossip obviously and on any platform they like knowing about the nuances of their lives. I feel that it depends on the person, how they want to be known in the public whether it is for their work or their relationship. Everyone has their own agenda.”