India’s number one squash player Ritwik Bhattacharya opens up about his relationship with the actress for the first time with Soumyadipta Banerjee

You can’t help but notice the frown on his face the moment you breach the topic of his relationship with actress Neha Dhupia “Is it a sports interview or something about my personal life?” asks India’s number one squash player Ritwik Bhattacharya, the moment you mention Neha.

He makes it clear that he is uncomfortable talking about something that concerns anything beyond the boundaries of a squash chamber.

We ask him if Neha was the reason he migrated to Mumbai from the UK. He pauses for a while before saying, “Neha is not the only reason why I settled down in Mumbai. I took the decision to come to Mumbai after Neil (Harvey, his former coach) told me that he is shifting to Canada. That’s when I decided to shift to Mumbai,” says Ritwik.

Today Ritwik shares an apartment at Bandra’s Pali Naka with close friend Gaurav Yadav. The 29-year-old, who is a five-time national champion, has never spoken about his ladylove to date. But prod him insistently and you learn that his is perhaps the longest surviving relationship in Bollywood—12 years to be precise even though they have been formally going around for the last three years.

“We knew each other when I was not a squash champion and she was not an actor. Our relationship has just grown stronger by the day and today, in spite of our busy schedules we are there for each other,” he says in one breath.

Running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to hide his nervousness, Ritwik tries to explain why he chooses not to speak about Neha.

“Sometime back, a tabloid ran a story about how we had broken off because I wanted to marry her and she didn’t. It was so funny. Whatever the media speculation about me, I will move on with my career. I am worried about her. Meaningless gossip shouldn’t hamper her career. That is the reason why I choose to stay away from the topic. Otherwise, what can be the reason for me not talking about it? There’s nothing to hide, is there?” he asks.

So, what is the bond between them like? Ritwik quips, “ I help her stay grounded. Her career is not remotely similar to mine. It’s very easy to lose touch with reality. Today, I can hop into a rickshaw and say, ‘Bandra station chalo’. She can’t. I’d like to think that I help her balance her life.”

Have they thought about marriage? “I don’t know. I am travelling for most part of the year for tournaments while she is busy shooting. I haven’t thought about it till now. Whenever we get the time, we see to it that we enjoy quality time together. We try to take time out for holidays,” he adds.

So have his parents (who have recently moved to Goa) accepted Neha as his girlfriend? “Of course they have,” was Ritwik’s parting shot.