Jiya Jale with Dharam - Article

With backstabbing and cold-shouldering being a sight galore, close friendships and camaraderie amongst people in the same field is a heartening sight. While stumbling across some hearsay and perhaps an irrational bit of gossip, we found one such couple on television who are the thickest of friends; although they aren't really a couple in the traditional sense.

The stunning Sriti Jha of Jiya Jale and the amiable Vikrant Massey of Dharam Veer are a duo, who started their careers together with Disney Channel's teen show Dhoom Machaao Dhoom, which also gave a break to stars like Jay Bhanushali.

From our sources, we got to know that the two started their careers simultaneously, have been together for the past many years, and have been inseparable since then. The question has been on everyone's lips, but the answer has been always an open-ended guess. Are the two really a couple? Or is this another mere story of simple friendship that rumour mongers have twisted and tainted?

It seems that we aren't the only ones with the question on our minds. To get the real dope behind this buzz, we spoke to both the people concerned. When we called Vikrant, the first thing he said (even before we asked him anything about Sriti) was, "No, I am not dating Sriti Jha."

Obviously, the question has been lingering on his mind and he seems to be tired of all the speculations regarding Sriti and his relationship. "We are extremely close friends. I know her from the time of our first pilot together, for the show Dhoom Machaao Dhoom, in Delhi. Born and brought up in Mumbai, I was new to Delhi, so it was Sriti who showed me around the place. That's how we became friends," he explains.

This acquaintance began on the auditions of their first serial and blossomed even more when the base of the show was shifted from Delhi to Mumbai, where they shot the serial. "When she came to Mumbai, she was new and so I showed her around the place," says Vikrant.

Apparently, there seems to be not just two but three people involved in this close companionship; the third being their co-star Maanvi Gagroo who played Ambika Gill (Bikki) in Dhoom…. "The three of us are best friends," he maintains.

That's the version given to us by Vikrant when asked about Sriti. Friends are nothing but one soul in two bodies and Sriti proves it right as she voices the same opinion as her friend Vikrant, "We met on the sets of Dhoom…; we are good friends. We often hang out together when Vikrant comes back from his shoots in Baroda, where he shoots for Dharam Veer. But that's it. There is nothing more to it. I am certainly not dating him or for that matter anyone else."

Both the parties have fervently rubbished the rumours and have given their justifications. But when has there been any smoke without fire? Certainly there must be something more than just friendly indications that must have led to all these theories. "We spend a lot of time together. Such rumours have started because Sriti is a big star now. Many a time, she calls me up and tells me when she hears such things about us," says the boy involved.

What's more, there is also a twist to this story. Exasperated by all the untoward gossip, Vikrant has admitted to Showtime that he is dating someone, but it's definitely not Sriti. His love interest for the past six-and-a-half years has been a certain school friend, whose name he wishes not to disclose, for personal reasons. As for Sriti, she is busy concentrating on her career and is not in a steady relationship.

 Though they deny any sort of a romantic liaison, rumours of them being a couple are certainly the talk of the town and it's going to take a lot more than just quotes like 'We are close friends' to keep impatient tongues from wagging. In any case, all those who thought that friendship between a guy and girl in the glamour world couldn't be platonic, could take a cue or two from Sriti and Vikrant!   

**BY PURVAJA SAWANT