All well with PC and Shahid?(doing 2 other movies)

Actors (and apparently former lovers) Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra are caught in a game where the interests and money of too many people are at stake. Some of their close friends in the marketing industry admit that it is the "need of the hour to keep the Shahid-Priyanka link-up alive". The two have ads and films together. So in spite of the two stars not knowing about the developments and their publicists distancing them from it, stories about the pair's break-up and make-up continue to float.

"The couple have already signed a movie together, and are in talks about doing two more. Besides, they are also endorsing a brand together, and have been approached by two more companies to be their brand ambassadors. It is but natural that some of them would want them to be the most talked about couple in B-Town," says a marketing professional, who's dealing with the stars' brands.

What's working in the favour of those trying to capitalise on the stars as a couple is the fact that Shahid and Priyanka apparently made a decision to not talk about their relationship in public. "They have never clarified the status of their relationship – whether they are a couple or not. In fact, they publicly declared that they'll not react to whatever is written about them. This is where they have gone wrong," says the source.

A former publicist of one of the stars admits that Priyanka had strictly instructed them not to entertain any queries about their relationship. "The publicists are free to say that Priyanka wouldn't talk about it without even asking Priyanka. Ditto with Shahid, who has not bothered till date about what is being written about them. We used to look the other way every time there was a rumour and not inform Priyanka," says the former publicist, who believes that this led to rumour mills working overtime to keep the couple in news.

The worst part is that there are rumours that some small-time publicists are being paid to circulate gossip about the stars. "They know it is a vicious process. Gossip will be created which will lead to Shahid and Priyanka being asked about it at public events, who'll deny it and the process will continue," says the source.