Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor took the plunge – kind of! – when they arrived together and stayed together at the Sonam-Anand wedding reception. They didn’t shy away from appearing side by side before hundreds of pairs of curious eyes and boy, did they make a gorgeous couple.

What’s more, Alia Bhatt has been showing her excitement, as she lost no time in posting her picture with her Brahmastra co-star and alleged lover on social media. Besides her excited fans who went gaga over the chemistry between the pair, Alia’s friends were also quick to comment on the lovely pic. Interestingly, all made use of the heart emoji as they showed their love for the pic.

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While Dia Mirza summed up her reaction in a word – “Stunning” accompanied by a heart, Bipasha Basu quipped, “Cuties,” again with the inevitable heart. Sophie Choudry and film reviewer Rajeev Masand let a series of hearts do the talking but it was Alia’s sister, Shaheen’s pierced heart emoticon that has all but confirmed that it is love we are talking about here!

Shaheen and Alia are extremely close and even share their own apartment in Juhu. The two are each other’s closest friends and confidantes and also holiday together whenever they can. If her sister is indeed in a romance with Ranbir, we can trust Shaheen to know… and also respond with a wordless sign of confirmation!

Incidentally, not long ago, it was fashion designer Manish Malhotra's comments on Neha Dhupia's chat show that had set rumour mills buzzing about a possible relationship between Ranbir and Alia. When Manish was asked which couple he thought would hook up this year, he was quick to reply "Ranbir and Alia".

Cynics point out that considering Manish is a close associate of Karan Johar, who is bankrolling the upcoming Ranbir-Alia film Brahmastra, their alleged link-up might just be a clever promotional gimmick. We, however, prefer the power of the pierced heart!