Bollywood prefers phirangs for better halves

By Super Admin

Published: Monday, July 11, 2011, 12:53 [IST]

By: Shweta Vepa, IndiaFM

Friday, June 02, 2006

Age no bar, caste no bar ... and for the Bollywood brigade... boundaries, definitely no bar. Meet the new age celebs, for whom love is above nationalities and boundaries. Not deterred by anything, they will go the distance, for that one true love. It is said that love is the prime energy for human life and in ancient times in was believed that it actually set the universe in motion. Well, we don't know about the universe, but it definitely has the jet-setting pack in motion!

This phenomenon of Indian actors having firangi love interests in real life actually goes back a long way. Decades ago, in the late 1950's, actor Shashi Kapoor defied all conventions when he went ahead and tied the knot with a British actress, Jennifer Kendall. At a time, when inter racial and inter caste marriages were almost a taboo, he showed that nothing was greater than love. A couple of decades later, actor Kabir Bedi made more news than his movies when he too married a Britisher, Nikki. Unfortunately the two parted ways, recently.

While these east-meets-west romances where far and few in between, in the earlier days, today the number is much greater. One of the most talked about couples of late is Saif Ali Khan and Rosa. Rosa, an Italian dancer, first met Saif, while he was shooting for Hum Tum. The chemistry was instant and the two have been together, since. In fact, so smitten was Saif that he divorced his wife of thirteen years Amrita Singh and now is considering marriage with Rosa.

Manisha Koirala is clearly no stranger to imported boyfriends! A couple of years ago, she was in a relationship with Cecil Anthony, a Nigerian. However, that didn't work out. Her next attempt to finding love was the Australian Crispin Conroy. They even got engaged, only to finally break it off. As of today, she is seeing restaurateur Prashant Chaudhary. Maybe coming back to her roots, was her safest bet!

Few people know that even Preity Zinta used to date a foreign find! Namely Lars Kjeldsen who is now happily married to Suchitra Pillai. Not to be left behind, Preity today has a loving boyfriend, in the form on Ness Wadia, one of the most eligible bachelors in town. However, her contemporaries continue to display their international taste in men. Celina Jaitley was in a relationship with Sean Teague, an American. The couple met, when Celina was shooting for her debut, Janasheen.

There are plenty of others who join this list. Aftab Shivdasani is presently dating Yana Gupta. Milind Soman too broke many a hearts when he announced his relationship with half-French and half-Chinese actress, Mylene Jampanoi, whom he met in Ladakh while shooting for the German film Valley Of Flowers. Others have already settled in matrimonial bliss. Rajpal Yadav found an unlikely match in Radha, a Canadian. The two were introduced by a common friend in Calgary. Within days of knowing each other, they knew that they were meant to be together.

Not paying any heed to societal pressures, these people have defied societal norms. Their partners belong to different races and religions. But that has not stopped them from taking the plunge. They've just followed their hearts, even if they've taken them to other end of the world. Love truly makes the world go round!

Here are some more who got hitched!