Akansha Ranjan is a producer’s daughter, an actress’ sister and best friends with Alia Bhatt, but she is certain about carving a path for herself in the film industry on her own. “Making a mark all on my own has a different kick to it! And I can feel it. Nobody can say that I had it easy or that anyone helped me,” says Akansha.

The fact that she is connected with the movie business is often spoken about. Whether it is her father Shashi Ranjan, who’s backing films, her sister Anushka Ranjan, who has been seen in films and series or her actor best friends. However, the actress makes it clear that she doesn’t use her connections to get work.

“My dad wanted to be an actor but unfortunately, he could not make it. He was in the same batch as David Dhawan, Satish Kaushik, Gulshan Grover and Shatrugan Sinha in Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and he is the only one who couldn’t make it as an actor. He knows that actors ke dost hone se kuch nahi hota hai and I have also learnt that. I have been friends with actors, but I never expected them to help me out in any way. I know my journey and my circumstances. I am familiar with failure, but I have never imagined seeking help from my friends in the industry. I want to be able to make it on my own,” she shares.

Akansha, who was seen in the web film Monica O My Darling, goes on to add, “I believe that someone else’s success is not yours. I am happy for all my friends for their success, and while I have waited in the green room clapping for them, it is my turn now. I believe it is my time to shine.” The actress will also soon make her Telugu debut.

On the personal front, rumour has it that Akansha is dating Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl director Sharan Sharma. Akansha admits, “Yes, I am in a relationship with Sharan. While I have not hidden the fact that I am dating him, I don’t like to discuss my personal life too much.”

Actor Alia Bhatt, who is pregnant with her first child with actor Ranbir Kapoor, is all set to have a baby shower towards the end of the month. Her mother, actor Soni Razdan and her mother-in-law, actor Neetu Kapoor, apparently are planning to host an ‘all-girls’ shower for Bhatt. 

According to reports, the intimate do, will see Bhatt’s near and dear ones, including sister Shaheen Bhatt, best friends Akansha and Anushka Ranjan Kapoor, Navya Nanda, sisters-in-law actors Kareena Kapoor Khan and Karisma Kapoor, among others.

The couple got married on April 14 and announced their pregnancy in June.

Will they get married next week? Will they not? While Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt’s fans were busy playing the guessing game, it was all work on Bhatt’s mind yesterday. The actor finished a song sequence for Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, thus marking the end of the schedule for her. Now, with Bhatt having kept her date diary free for the next fortnight, the stage is set for the lovebirds — who have been together since late 2017 — to walk down the aisle next week.

A source from the set of Johar’s film reveals that Bhatt was juggling the shoot with wedding preparations. “On Tuesday and Wednesday, Alia had taken a few hours off for her trousseau trials. Karan planned the dates such that she could finish her portions yesterday, while co-star Ranveer Singh will be filming till late next week.”

The couple zeroed in on the dates for the five-day wedding ceremony, keeping their work commitments in mind. Sources say the two will take the pheras in the wee hours of April 16 in an intimate ceremony to be held at the Kapoor bungalow in Chembur. “For their big day, the bridal couple have turned to Bollywood’s go-to couturier Sabyasachi. True to his introverted nature, Ranbir wants an intimate wedding. 

The wedding planners have hired a robust security team that will man the Chembur bungalow, ensuring that photographs from their D-day aren’t leaked. From the caterers to the security department, every team has been requested to sign NDAs. A lavish reception is lined up on April 19 at Grand Hyatt in Santacruz for their industry friends. Alia has chosen a Manish Malhotra ensemble for the evening,” says a source.

The wedding of the year will not be followed by a honeymoon at this point, as Kapoor is expected to head to Himachal Pradesh by the month-end to kick off work on Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal.

The source adds, “Ranbir and Alia are looking at a packed few months. For the pre-wedding bachelor party, Aditya Roy Kapur and Arjun Kapoor will whisk Ranbir off to Alibaug over the weekend. Meanwhile, the bride’s sister Shaheen Bhatt and bestie Akansha Ranjan Kapoor are putting together the bachelorette party.”

Are they? Are they not? There is no denying that the rumoured wedding of actor-couple Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt is the talk of the town! Though their near and dear ones remain in denial mode and tight-lipped, the dates, venue, guest list, bachelor party and just about everything related to them are making the rounds.

According to reports, the wedding festivities are happening between April 13 and 18. The venue, it seems, is Vastu, which is Kapoor’s Bandra home. And according to our sources, a team of bouncers from Mumbai has done the recce for the security arrangements too.

More reports suggest that the guest list has been finalised not just for the wedding but Kapoor’s bachelor party as well, with filmmaker Ayan Mukerji and actor Aditya Roy Kapur as confirmed attendees.

The rumoured groom-to-be is apparently inviting his make up artists, assistants and spot boys to the wedding.

Moreover, the sources also hinted at how the duo had sped up and wrapped up the shoot for their magnum opus, Brahmastra, in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), only because they wanted to oversee all the wedding prep personally.

“I have no clue about any such rumours,” is what Bhatt’s best friend, Akansha Ranjan, has to say about all these developments. And as for Kapoor’s uncle, Randhir, he tells us, “I have been unwell and was in Pune. If there was a wedding happening in the house, and that too, so soon, I’d have definitely got to know.”

Soni Razdan, Bhatt’s mother, answered our call, and when we told her where we were calling from, she politely replied, “I am putting down the call.”

Anushka Ranjan and Aditya Seal had a fairytale wedding last month, and the actor says she has been in complete bliss since then. “Married life has been good to me,” says Ranjan, who dated Seal, the Student Of The Year 2 (2019) actor, for four years before marrying on November 21.

When asked how she is coping with the changes that come with being a married woman and she says that nothing has changed for her: “We bought a home in a different wing of the same building where I had lived for 17 years prior to marriage. I’m at home; it’s just that my home has expanded.”

Ranjan, who is the daughter of actor and director Shashi Ranjan and the sister of Akansha Ranjan, reveals that she meets her family all the time. “We hang out together. My dog also goes back and forth. There couldn’t have been a more ideal situation,” she shares.

The actor had all her friends attend her wedding festivities, including Alia Bhatt, Athiya Shetty, Masaba Gupta, Vaani Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar, and the happy, vibrant pictures said it all. “I’ve this lovely group of friends, and those three days of the wedding were phenomenal. More than me, they are having withdrawal symptoms from the wedding. I recently hosted a dinner for them too,” she says.

Ranjan goes on to reveal that she is yet to go on her honeymoon. “Aditya and I have not had the time. We have been building this house since March last year. We decided that before we travel, we will make sure that we get the house in order. And once everything is fixed, we will decide where we want to go,” she ends.

Mirror (September 17) recently reported that Shraddha Kapoor was taking time off from her busy schedule to attend her best friend Eshanka Wahi's wedding in Dubai next month. Now, we hear that Alia Bhatt flew off to Spain on Friday at midnight after wrapping up the second schedule of Shashank Khaitan's romcom, Badrinath Ki Dulhania, also featuring Varun Dhawan. The 23-year-old actress drove down from Jhansi for eight hours straight to Lucknow from where she caught a flight to Mumbai. Hours after landing in Mumbai, she hopped on to another flight to Spain to surprise her closest pal, Akansha Ranjan, on her birthday.

Akansha was already in the European country, celebrating her birthday week with childhood buddies Meghna Goyal, Tanya Saha Gupta, Devika and Rhea Khurana. The all-girl gang journeyed through Spain catching historical sites like The Plaza de España in Seville and the Giralda, bell tower of the Seville Cathedral before landing in Marbella. Alia joined them an hour after Akansha rang in her birthday on September 18, leaving Akansha speechless.

The birthday girl, whom Alia fondly calls Kanchu, thanked her bestie, saying, “Every time I feel you've given me the best birthday, you manage to top yourself! Thanks for another year of having it all. This is the best surprise ever, I love you.“ Overwhelmed, Alia lovingly responded “Saat samundar paar main tere peeche peeche aa agayi.“

The girl gang went out to party at a luxurious roof-terrace club in Marbella called Pangea, known for its panoramic views and music. “They all had a blast shaking a leg to some popular tracks, clicking selfies and gorging on the local delicacies, including ice creams. The hangovers were nursed with organic juice in the morning, followed by a day out in shorts and dresses. They will return to the Bay by Wednesday but will explore Spain's countryside a little more before they head back home. They're enjoying the Paella and plan to hit the spa,“ a source told Mirror.

After Alia returns from her short vacation she will fly off to Singapore to shoot the remaining scenes and songs of Badrinath Ki Dulhania.

Alia Bhatt and Sidharth Malhotra who graduated from fellow students of the year to one of the most evasive filmi couples over the years have been constantly dogged by speculations surrounding their relationship status. While there's been plenty of buzz about a break-up, several others suggest that the duo is on a 'break'. And while the star couple has shied away from making joint appearances at public dos lately, Mirror got hold of a picture of them together in London, far from the prying eyes. The 23-year-old actress took off to the Queen's City on the night of June 22 with childhood friend Akansha Ranjan for a vacation. Sid decided to make a stopover in London after finishing the 15-day Miami schedule of the second Bang Bang film, in which he has been cast opposite Jacqueline Fernandez. This picture was taken when they were hanging out with Akansha trying to work up a tan.

Interestingly, the closest either of them ever came to acknowledging their relationship was when, while speaking to Mirror (April 11) in an earlier interview, Sidharth admitted to being extremely close to Alia, “We've known each other since we were non-actors and have been working together a lot. I enjoy the time we spend with each other.“

So if a picture is worth a thousand words, wonder what kind of a novella is itching to pop out of this frame...