Star romances sell films?

Rumours of fake 'romances' popping up in B'wood before the release of a film fail to lure the viewers. In Pics

Rumours of manufactured romances have a way of popping up in Bollywood, especially when a release with a particular pair is around the corner.

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The latest to be caught in this saga of simulated curiosity are Akshaye Khanna and Kareena Kapoor. Bollywood is abuzz with rumours that Kareena and Akshaye hit it off like a house on fire while they were shooting in Switzerland. But isn't Kareena very openly and very intensely involved with Shahid Kapur? So where does Akshaye fit into the picture?

Industry pundits feel that the Fiza debacle with her real-life beau Shahid Kapoor and also a biggie lined for Diwali release with Akshaye have a direct connection with these gossips about the "warm vibes" between the two stars.

From the time when Rajiv Kapoor and Padmini Kolhapure were linked together just before the release of their film together in the 1980s as fake romances have become a routine way of selling a film to the public.

Kareena-Akshaye in Hulchul

While Manoj Bajpai was doing Hansal Mehta's

Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar

, his "admiration" for Tabu kept spilling on tabloids and magazines and newspapers page, much to the annoyance of the actress.

More recently, during the making of Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost, there were whispering waves about Abhishek Bachchan and Lara Dutta sharing "hot vibes". And just before the release Boney Kapoor's Khushi, Kareena and Fardeen Khan became the talk of tinsel town. Significantly, all these films were big flops.