Split wide open?

I don’t want to react to this nonsense: Nandita Puri

Om Puri and his wife Nandita have rubbished media reports saying they were heading towards splitsville. The couple says there is nothing wrong in their 16-year-old marriage.

Blasted Nandita, “There is no truth to this. But we have decided not to react because even after checking facts, certain people go ahead and write what they feel like. Om had clarified that there was nothing wrong in our marriage. He had even said that he was staying at his home and had not moved out,” says Nandita.

She adds, “Om and I are living together and our marriage and family is rock solid. Reports like these are disturbing but it doesn’t shake our relationship. We went to Om’s film premiere on Wednesday and then to Shreyas Talpade’s birthday party at Kino’s Cottage together. We are also travelling to Cochin where the Malayalam version of Om’s biography Unlikely Hero is being launched and portions of it will be read out by stalwarts like Mohanlal and Mamooty.”

Om Puri, who was in Delhi when the news broke, says, “I don’t want to react to this nonsense. I had told the person who called me that the news he had was false. People want to plant stories all the time these days and this is another example of that. I’m living at my house and our marriage is strong.”

‘It is a sad episode in Sohrab’s life’

Sports is said to strengthen ties between people. But it looks like in Sania Mirza’s case, it was sport that broke her engagement. Apparently for Sania, matters reached such a point that she had to make a choice between marriage and her tennis career. Though she was ready to choose the former, her father Imran Mirza apparently willed otherwise.

Sania’s family friend says, “Sohrab’s father (Adil Mirza) wanted a normal marriage for his son where the bride would spend a lot of time with her husband. But Sania’s tennis tournaments keep her away from India for 8-9 months on an average every year. So when she heard of Adil’s wish, she exchanged many emails and calls with Sohrab trying to persuade him to allow her to continue playing tennis. When all negotiations failed, Sania agreed to give up tennis.”

But Imran was not aware of this. The friend adds, “Imran came to know about this after Sania gave an interview saying she would give up tennis after marriage. He told Adil that Sania will never give up tennis. Adil then told Imran that this was not acceptable to him. Both Sohrab and Sania are heartbroken at being caught in the crossfire between their respective fathers.”

Adil, who is in London, confirmed that the engagement was off but told DNA through his family friend Hasnain Saberi that he won’t speak to the media. Saberi says, “Adil told me from London that it is a sad episode in his son’s (Sohrab’s) life and that he should be left alone. The two families are in touch. There’s no fight between them, only a difference of opinion.”