Sushant-Ankita, Ranbir-Katrina, Virat-Anushka and others: The Curious Case of Bollywood break-ups!

India is known to be the land of mushy romances and love sagas. From time immemorial, pure romances have ruled our hearts. Be it the mythological tales of companionship to the historical stories, we have all grown up listening to the lives of Heer-Ranjha, Radha-Krishna, Shiva-Parvati and others. But there's a paradigm shift in people's outlook towards love today. And it's evident from the numerous break-ups and splits that have hit the industry in a matter of a few months. 

The age-old Bollywood tales that portrayed love as eternal, pure and divine seem to be losing steam now. Relationships today have become quite frivolous and that's possibly the idea of love in most of our minds now.  Why? The current generation has a very different perception of love. Not that Gen-Y is averse to the idea of falling or being in love but they are usually scared of the commitment that tags along. 

This trend also seems to reflect in Bollywood celebrities' relationships. Although break-ups, link-ups, marriages, divorces, separations are common in tinsel town, 2016 will go down as by far the worst year when it comes to relationships. As many as three big Bollywood relationships and two marriages have come to an end already. Here's a lowdown of the various reasons our favourite couples decided to break-up!  

Ranbir Kapoor-Katrina Kaif: Commitment se darr lagta hai!

The year started with shocking news coming straight from Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif's love-nest. The Carter Road bungalow the two A-list actors had rented together and were living in was no more the abode of romance. Why? After a series of fights, Ranbir decided to pack his bags and move out. Left alone, Katrina moved back to her Guldev Sagar apartment only a few days later. Ever since then, there have been several stories and rumours speculating about the two. Neither of them has talked publicly about the same. Last we heard, Katrina was in tears after her efforts for a patch-up were ridiculed and mocked at a party by her ex. Was it only about the two lovers falling apart? Or was there something more? Maybe Ranbir could not commit to marriage, something that meant the next step for Katrina. Trouble rose and soon their over two-year-old relationship went kaput. 

Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma: Career ke liye!

Cut to the next couple. Let's call them the on-off couple. Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma had the usual fairytale romance and were seen on the covers of all papers and magazines until one fine day, the cricketer put up a picture on Instagram, captioning it 'Heartbroken'. What's more? He unfollowed Anushka on Twitter and Instagram. Something that seemed like a lovers' tiff soon gained momentum and turned into the next big break-up of the season. But the reason, this time, was different. It wasn't just the usual commitment issues. Both of them reportedly wanted to take a break to concentrate on their careers. However, it looks like this relationship is now back on the cards, which makes us happy but also leaves us quite confused. 

Sushant Singh Rajput and Ankita Lokhande: Pata nahin kyu!

Moving on to the third one. The wounds of this split ran deep. Why? Getting out of a relationship that spans over six years isn't easy. You eat, breathe, live, sleep with the same person and it becomes a habit. The same happened to Sushant Singh Rajput and Ankita Lokhande. This is probably why Sushant took almost a month to come to terms with the break-up. The reason behind their split isn't known. But there are obviously er... conjectures. Some say it was because of Ankita's love for the bottle while others claim that Sushant's philandering ways got the better out of them. The actor has gone on record and slammed all such reports. He's confirmed that they have separated and the marriage that everyone was looking forward to later this year too has therefore been called off. But we still don't have answers to what happened. 

Richa Chadda and Franck: Long distance ka pyaar... tha!

Among the others who decided to head for splitsville are Richa Chadda and her French boyfriend Franck. Long distance seemed to have played spoilsport in their affair and eventually the two mutually decided to move on. 

But it's not just relationships. Celeb marriages are also falling apart this year.

Farhan Akhtar and Adhuna Akhtar: Iske saath ya uske saath?

The year began on a sad note with Farhan Akhtar ending his 15-year long marriage with wife Adhuna Akhtar. The two released a joint statement about their separation. Reports suggested that there was trouble in their paradise for quite some time and that Farhan had left his house to stay with sister Zoya. The differences seemed irreconcilable and the only way out was a divorce. 

Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora Khan: Family ya doosra aadmi?

Joining the couple was another famous B-Town couple who had been together for almost two decades. Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora Khan. While they started dating each other around 1995-96, they got married in '98. Ending their 18-year long relationship wasn't easy and we hear Arbaaz has still not come to terms with the separation. Arbaaz and Malla too released a joint statement calling for privacy and we couldn't be sadder. Reports suggest Malla is miffed with Arbaaz's family whereas other reports suggest that Malla's growing proximity to Arjun Kapoor has caused a stir. 

Now, all this brings us to one question. What's up with relationships these days? There have been affairs, link-ups, extra-marital relationships, break-ups, divorces in the past too but now, breaking up seems to be the easiest way out for everyone around. It's not just the public faces we're talking about here but, then again, they do represent a section of the society. Ending a marriage or a love affair and starting another has become a cakewalk. At a time when a lot of relationships are falling apart, there are still many couples who have managed to make it work despite all the adversities. That's what still gives us hope. I guess I need to sit myself down with a lot of mushy romances... right now! DDLJ, DTPH and HAHK, here I come...