Rani Mukherjee engagement denied

By Monica Chadha
BBC News, Mumbai

Rani Mukherjee is one of Bollywood's top actresses

One of Bollywood's biggest production firms, Yashraj Films has denied reports that top actress Rani Mukherjee is engaged to the company chairman's son.

A company spokesperson said reports that Mukherjee was engaged to top director and producer Aditya Chopra were "all rubbish".

The engagement rumours first appeared on local media channels on Tuesday.

Reports said the couple and their parents met on Monday evening and held a small private ceremony.

Neither Mukherjee, nor Chopra, have made any statement on the issue.

Their families, too, are tight-lipped.

Much speculation

While a marriage would be a first for Rani Mukherjee, Aditya Chopra has been married before and is presently in the process of getting a divorce from his first wife, Payal - an interior designer.

Media reports held that Aditya Chopra's parents were not happy with his reported relationship with Mukherjee, as Payal was chosen by them and they are still very close to her.

Rani Mukherjee's relationship with Chopra has been a subject of much speculation in the media in the past, but neither of the two has ever spoken about it.

Black won several awards in India (Pic courtesy: Yash Raj Films)

Rani Mukherjee is one of Bollywood's top actresses with various hits to her credit, including the critically acclaimed film Black.

Her portrayal of a deaf-blind girl, a character based on Helen Keller, won her lots of accolades and Indian film awards.

Black was also selected as one of the top films of 2005 in a listing by American Time magazine.

Aditya Chopra is presently considered one of the top producers in Bollywood.

Along with his father, director Yash Chopra, he has made Yashraj Films one of the top production houses in India, delivering hits almost every year.

His directorial debut, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (The Braveheart Will Take The Bride Away) was a super-hit and entered the history books in 2005 for being the only Bollywood film that ran for 500 weeks continuously in a cinema in Mumbai.