They were the best of friends. We mean, Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla. We had also heard that Shah Rukh`s wife Gauri did not like their friendship too much although she put up with that with a smile on her face. But what we are now hearing is most surprising. Shah Rukh has started maintaining distance from Juhi, and the two are also trying to ensure that they do not hit the same party at the same time so that they have to spend time together.

Strange development indeed, especially when one considers that Shah Rukh and Juhi were so thick for such a long time. Juhi is also a business partner, and what remains to be seen is how the productions will be handled in future now that the two protagonists have a pretty formal relationship. Cold vibes cannot lead to successful creative ventures, so the suspense about their teamwork`s future remains.Meanwhile, why has this happened? One story doing the rounds is that Shah Rukh, post Devdas, has been promoting the name of Aishwarya Rai as best as he possibly can. Not that Ash needs his help, but he has been doing that nonetheless, talking about her beauty and acting skills in the most glowing terms one can think of. Juhi, whose career has hit an all-time low, has not been able to suffer Shah Rukh`s propaganda. Hence the obvious.

How is Gauri feeling about the whole thing? We are pretty sure she would not be upset if her hubby distances himself from Juhi. In strictly commercial terms, the twosome have not been able to deliver miracles at the box office as producers. And the best friend tag would have been making her uneasy for many years anyway.