Mumbai, Dec. 10 -- Veteran journalist and film critic Bhawana Somaaya spoke about how intensely private the personal lives of Bollywood stars once were, recalling the time when even marriages and relationships were guarded with utmost discretion.

In an interview with ANI, Somaaya noted that the boundaries between celebrities' private and public lives were respected, and that the media also maintained a cordial relationship with the industry.

"Earlier, everything was personalised. There were a handful of newspapers and a handful of magazines. Everybody knew everybody by name. In our time, we were more friendly to each star individually than the stars were to each other. Nobody told you that this is off-record and this is on-record. You c...