When Karan Mehra, who plays Naitik in Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, stepped out at a party with model/actress Nisha Rawal, rumours spread like wildfire that the two were an item. However, Karan says that Nisha is no more than a family friend and, being a famous face herself, was singled out by the press as his girlfriend.

Karan, who brought Nisha along as a guest to his show’s first ever party held a few weeks ago, explains, “I’ve known Nisha for a couple of years. I was a model and she is a well-known model. She has done at least 70 commercials, videos and endorsements. She has acted in films as well and I have styled her for movies as I was a fashion designer. I invited her for the show’s party but when people saw me with her they started talking about an affair. She is just a family friend of mine!”

The actor points out that there were many of his friends at the party but Nisha, being famous, was singled out. He adds, “There were other friends of mine too at the party but since most of them are not well known, nobody recognised them. Nisha was the only famous person so she got the most attention. It is fine if we are being written about but it should be in good taste. I am not hassled about stupid rumours like this that keep spreading because I know that it happens when you are in the acting industry.”

He insists that Nisha is part of a big group of friends whom he hangs out with when time permits. Karan says, “My group consists of 7-8 people. Some are from the technical line, some are in production and a few are assistants. Nisha too is part of our group so we often hang out and try to catch up with each other. We all meet up at birthdays usually because we hardly get the time with our busy schedules.”

Nisha is best remembered for her video Chanda Ki Doli Main with Sonu Niigam. She has starred in movies such as Hastey Hastey and Rafoo Chakkar.

Report By: Sonali Joshi