Actor-model Kunal Thakur makes light of the frenzy as his wedding picture from an ad shoot with Alia Bhatt is morphed to feature Ranbir Kapoor, causing an Internet storm
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; September 6, 2019)

"OMG! Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are secretly married?" yelled a headline of a Bollywood portal as it shared the now-viral image of the duo in what looks like a wedding set-up. Even the most gullible refused to pay heed to the evidently photo-shopped image, which traces its origin to an ethnic wear ad shoot conducted with Bhatt and actor-model Kunal Thakur.

Cinephiles would remember Thakur as a friend of Shahid Kapoor's Kabir Singh in the recent release. Confirming that the morphed image of Ranbir is, in fact, his, Thakur tells mid-day, "I was surprised to see the picture from the ad being passed around as one from their wedding. It appears fans are desperate to see them married. They superimposed Ranbir's picture on my face and circulated the image. I learnt of it when I began to receive messages from those who knew about the ad, informing me of this image."

Shooting with Bhatt for the Abhishek Varman-directed ad was an "amazing experience" for Thakur. "She looked gorgeous. It was good to get the experience of a wedding before I get married," laughs the actor, who has two short films, Chakravyuh and Grim Reaper, in his kitty.