Don't feel the need to announce who I'm dating

I am not secretive, but I don't feel the need to say things out loud," says Shibani Dandekar when we quiz her about rumours linking her with Farhan Akhtar. Over the past three months, gossip mills have gone into overdrive suggesting she is the new woman in the actor's life. 

Fans caught whiff of a new romance in September, when Dandekar posted a picture of herself walking down a street in London, hand-in-hand with a mystery man. Netizens were quick to suggest that the man was Akhtar. Last week, the actor shared the same picture on his Instagram handle, sending fans into a tizzy.

Unfazed by the speculation around her love life, Dandekar says, "I don't need to make an announcement about who I'm dating. It's up to me to decide when and what I want to share about my personal life, and it is up to the audience to decide how they look at it. How much information I want to put out in the public domain is my prerogative."

The singer-host was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of UnDiscover Australia, a media content partnership between Tourism Australia and ESPNcricinfo.  lthough tight-lipped about her equation with Akhtar, she understands the scrutiny they are subjected to. "We are public figures, so people are entitled to say what they want to. But I don't care about their opinion. I'm aware of who I am and I'm comfortable with who I choose to date."