Real-life pairs seldom work on screen. Most of the successful pairs in cinema had nothing to do with each other in real life.

Somehow audiences love lovers more when they're faking it on screen.

The classic examples are Govinda-Karisma Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol and before them Dilip Kumar-Nargis and Rajesh Khanna-Sharmila Tagore.

Why many successful pairs hardly even met for tea, let alone anything more?

"Which explains why audiences love watching Aishwarya Rai with Abhishek Bachchan rather than with Vivek (Oberoi) and why Abhishek's much-vaunted pairing with Karisma Kapoor failed in 'Han Maine Bhi Pyar Kiya' while he continues to click big time with Rani Mukherjee," observes filmmaker Hansal Mehta.

"Strange are the ways of star pairings," comments Arjun Sablok.

"Everyone commented on Hrithik Roshan's incredible chemistry with Esha Deol in my film 'Na Tum Jano Na Hum' and about Saif Ali Khan and Rani in 'Hum Tum' when these are people who hardly met before or after the films."

And now there's Sharmila Tagore's daughter Soha Ali Khan whose incredible onscreen chemistry with Sammir Dattani in the new romantic comedy "Pyar Mein Twist" is being talked about.

It's an unlikely pair and one that has no romantic underbelly to it. Efforts were made to unnecessarily link the duo in 'Page 3' write-ups.

"But, thank god, those write-ups didn't affect my working relationship with Soha," sighs Dattani.

"Actually I can't understand how screen pairs can work together if they're involved in real life. It's like faking it beyond feeling it. When you're in love with someone you can't play - act the emotions of love. It looks strained on screen."

It's equally strange how some real-life pairs get written about as reel-life couples just when a film is around the corner.

Years ago Padmini Kolhapure was livid when she was linked with Rajiv Kapoor (Rishi Kapoor's younger brother) on the eve of a release. Recently John Abraham and Esha Deol were unnecessarily linked after the release of "Kaal".

Very often it's the male debutant who plants stories of an imaginary romance.

Says Urmila Matondkar: "I recently worked with the most obnoxious newcomer. I didn't know how obnoxious he was until the film was released and he quite unnecessarily began making cheap comments about me in his interviews."

"I think there should be a code of ethics about how actors refer to their co-stars. Often these newcomers have nothing to say about their own career or life, so they use more established actors' names."

But does the nudge-nudge-wink-wink insinuation suggesting romance help a film get an audience when actually there's none?

"I don't think so," says Dattani.

"At the end of the day, no one is going to see 'Pyar Mein Twist' because some magazines and papers wrote we're involved. It doesn't matter to the audience who's seeing whom, as long as they like what they're seeing."

Will Dattani and Soha encore the success of the Rajesh and Sharmila pair? Hriday Shetty's "Pyar Mein Twist" looks at love over two generations and offers two sets of co-stars a chance to give us love in all its shades.

Says Shetty: "Rishi and Dimple on one end and Dattani and Soha on the other together represent the broadest spectrum of love and friendship."

It's a proven fact that cross-generation romances provide a great deal of excitement to the audience. They loved watching Amitabh-Jaya, Shah Rukh-Kajol and Hrithik-Kareena in Karan Johar's "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham". Will they warm up to the two pairs in "Pyar Mein Twist" with equal enthusiasm?