Katrina, Deepika won't speak up

...but that keeps the ball rolling

Times have changed. Once Rabir Kapoor wore Deepika on his arm, and she got RK tattooed on the nape of her neck. It was cool to show off your boyfriend. And be open about the fact that you had one. Lara Dutta spoke well about Kelly Dorjee, and was more than open to answer questions about him. Shahid and Kareena were madly in love and spoke openly about their feelings, same with Saif, who smiled as the entire world gasped at his Kareena tattoo on his forearm.

But time has gone by, and flaunting a boyfriend just isn't cool anymore. At least, nobody from the Hindi film industry seems to be doing it. Ranbir, Katrina won't admit that they are a couple and actually 'dating'. Siddharth Mallya and Deepika Padukone are spotted together everywhere but they remain tight-lipped about their relationship status; So what if Shahid Kapoor was the one who opened Priyanka's house door for the IT-officials, that really doesn't make their relationship 'official'. Lara Dutta preferred to keep mum on her torrid affair with Dino Morea, and went public with her love for Mahesh Bhupathi only very late. Now, Vidya Balan won't speak about Siddharth Roy Kapoor. And the one common thing about all these actors are: they won't confirm it, but they won't deny it either.

Deepika Padukone is very firm about keeping her mouth shut. "You give the media one piece of information, and they want to know everything else. You tell them you are dating, next they want to know when you are getting married, and when will you plan babies. They enter the bedroom directly, and won't give you your privacy. It's extremely important that we talk only about what we think should be written. I made a mistake by talking about my personal life once, I doubt I'll do it ever again."

Lara Dutta was on a no 'personal questions please' spree for a very long time. A firend of the actor's tells us, "Maybe she was fighting her own battle at that time. Even speaking to the media puts tremendous amount of pressure, because everyone else, who is not even closely related to you is then judging you and governing what you should be doing and what you shouldn't be doing without having a clue of the real story."

Sonam Kapoor, too, made a statement, that she'll never go to the press with her 'love stories'. "My mum says it's crass," said Deepika on a talk show, "It's not dignified."

Priyanka Chopra questions the media back when she is questioned: "So are you and Shahid a couple?" PC: Did he tell you that? Did I tell you that? And the story goes on. Nobody will say a thing, but yes, they'll open doors for IT officials in their boxer shorts , go for long drives and dinner dates, and even lip-lock in public, like Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma did at Shahid Kapoor's birthday bash (which PC didn't attend!), but those lips will be sealed, so what if only by pressing against their better-halves'... We guess, the speculation just keeps them in the news. And they manage to have their cake and eat it, too!