Here's a hot new romance alert. BT has learnt that the Fukrey co-stars have been seeing each other for about a year now and have managed to keep their relationship a closely-guarded secret.

Surprisingly, not many got a whiff of their budding romance as both Ali and Richa wanted to keep it under wraps. A source close to the couple revealed, “The two want to focus on their work and don't want people's attention to be drawn to their private lives. Of course, close friends were aware of their relationship status.“

For those curious, their backstory is a classic case of friends turning lovers. The two met on the set of Fukrey in 2013 for the first time and stayed friends since. The source further reveals, “Richa and Ali have been friends for four years now and also have a common social circle. Their friendship turned into love only about a year ago. The transition happened gradually as they are like-minded people who share similar interests, be it films or their love for theatre.“

The actress flew to Venice last week to be with her beau for the her beau for the premiere of his upcoming British American film Victoria & Abdul, making their relationship public in a way. Richa previously dated French actor-director Franck Gastambide, who she met at the Cannes Film Festival two years ago. The long distance relationship couldn't stand the test of time and distance, and ended within a year.

Now, we are waiting for Richa and Ali to go on record about their romance.