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Three to a tango

She’s a lot like Mumtaz of yesteryears who had every man eating out of her hand at the same time. As Dharmendra had once said of her, “She can sit at a party surrounded by men and make each man feel he is the special one.”

It’s the same with Deepika.

At present she has three men besotted with her. One is ex- boyfriend Nihar. The other Yuvraj Singh and the third is Ranbir. She ended her relationship with Nihar when she was meeting Ranbir. Ranbir and she broke and she met Yuvraj. And so on…

When Deepika was a model she was going around with Nihar (some say she was even living in with him). When she signed on for Om Shanti Om she told Nihar she needed a break from their relationship as she wanted to concentrate on her career. Nihar who was madly in love with her gave in but never expected to see her with another guy.

He had heard rumblings about Ranbir and Deepika but when he actually saw them together behaving lovey- dovey he lost his cool and accosted poor Ranbir on the road. Ranbir not one to take things lying down gave it back to him. When this hit the headlines, Sanjay Leela Bhansali had a fit. He had made it clear to his young stars that he wanted no scandal at all. That is when Deepika and Ranbir had to be very discreet about their involvement and as both were extremely busy with Om Shanti Om and Saawairya respectively, their relationship also grew apart.

One heard rumours that Ranbir was meeting Sonam so Deepika once again got close to Nihar. It became quite apparent that Deepika did not like Sonam when she passed unkind remarks about her.

As Deepika became a star with the success of Om Shanti Om she began getting allot of exposure and started meeting more interesting people. When she met the young and successful Yuvraj Singh sparks flew and before they knew it they were dating. When girlfriend Kim got wind of Deepika she was stunned. She broke off with long-time boyfriend Yuvraj and even made snide remarks about Deepika and Yuvraj in print.

At Yuvraj’s birthday bash Deepika and Yuvraj made it apparent that they were seeing each other. Yuvraj’s Mum who did not quite like Kim was thrilled to see her son with a good innocent girl and highly approved. They bonded well and even went apartment hunting for Yuvraj in Mumbai. Yuvraj was head over heels in love with this beauty. So was Deepika madly besotted with him. They were seen everywhere together.

Then came the Australian outdoor schedule of YashRaj films with Deepika and Ranbir. Deepika thought she could go back to kidding around with Ranbir like old times. But the latter behaved very reserved and kept to himself. Says a source present, “We all felt that Deepika was behaving over friendly with Ranbir and that he was uncomfortable. She then began teasing him about all his link ups. You could see that Ranbir was boiling but yet remained cool. Finally he took her aside and told her off. They argued but she understood his point and they became friends again.”

“It was on this schedule that we began to suspect that the two had some vibe between them, there was something happening but we could not pin point anything. Maybe both did not realize that there was something still brewing between them. After all Ranbir was supposed to be with Sonam and Deepika with Yuvraj. By the end of this schedule we could all feel the chemistry between Ranbir and Deepika. At that point the Press was speculating about Deepika getting married to Yuvraj in the near future. Deepika was heavily denying an engagement with Yuvraj and telling us that she was just friends with him when we all know that they were dating. At that point Yuvraj was under allot of pressure about his profession and was not able to spend quality time with Deepika although he was so much in love with her. That’s when the cracks began showing and we feel Deepika veered towards Ranbir.”

No one knows the real reason why Yuvraj and Deepika broke up. But close friends insist that Yuvraj is still in love with Deepika.

Nihar who was still hoping to get back with Deepika was thrilled to hear about the Yuvraj fiasco. He was back to regularly meeting Deepika in Mumbai. Though there was nothing between the two they met as friends and went out together.

When Deepika and Ranbir signed on for the Pepsi advertisement the rumours about Deepika and Ranbir became even stronger. She was footloose and fancy free and so was he.

Deepika yet to prove her mettle

OM SHANTI Om may not have walked away with laurels at the numerous film awards, but Deepika Padukone sure has sashayed onto the entertainment industry’s red carpet, carrying the sobriquet of ‘debutante of the year’, ‘superstar of the years-to-come’ with dimpled elan.

But that’s just the tip of the Deepika blitzkrieg that seems to have currently blinded the nation. The lady has been in the news for any and everything she does, despite being a newbie, with just one film that has showcased her style quotient more than her acting talent.

It’s time to take the reality test. Deepika’s career has yet to take-off in terms of talent. She’s a looker, yes, but did her Shantipriya-Sandy double take really out-dazzle the three other debutants of 2008 in pure acting terms?

Technically speaking, her bubble gum exposition of the twice-born diva stands way behind the showmanship of Ranbir Kapoor, the restraint of Sonam Kapoor and the mercurial intensity of Neil Mukesh in films like Saawariya and Johnny Gaddar, respectively.

But when it comes to grabbing headlines, she’s outpaced all of them. The nation needs to hold back its hysteria, because instant stardom hasn’t really been the recipe for prolonged stardom.

With three projects in hand —a film with Yashraj productions, Priyadarshan’s Pirate and Nikhil Advani’s Chandni Chowk to China —the Padukone petri dish is still brewing. The nation needs to wait, but not with bated breath. Because stardom isn’t a nano affair.

Ranbir and Deepika have decided to go public with their relationship at last. Read more about the hot couple in tomorrow’s issue...