From friends to lovers to awkward exes: A timeline of Sara Ali Khan, Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday’s rumoured love triangle

It must’ve been love, but it’s over now for Sara Ali Khan and Kartik Aaryan; or is it?

A candid confession that started off a media frenzy and eventually lead to a full-blown relationship sadly came to an abrupt end as soon as the two were done filming. While the damsel bolted out into the blue, the hunk, on the other hand, reportedly found comfort in the arms of another co-star - Ananya Panday.

But as fate or film promotional schedules would have it, Sara and Kartik were back by each other's side, getting ready to present their romantic drama, set to release on Valentine's day. We turn back the tabloid pages and gossip columns to give you a timeline of the romance that has kept Bollywood buzzing.

Sara Ali Khan bit the bullet and confessed on national television (Karan Johar's chat show) that she harboured a crush on Bollywood hunk Kartik Aaryan. The beauty even revealed that she would love to go on a coffee date with him. Ever since made the candid confession, it was all everyone was talking about.

As the story of their lives go, Sara and Kartik eventually met, became friends and even bagged an Imtiaz Ali film together which only fuelled the flames of their romance. But, let's all give credit where its due and let's never forget that it was Bollywood's live-wire Ranveer Singh who stepped in and played cupid for the two, by simply introducing them to each other at an event and even got them to hold hands.

While Ranveer Singh got them holding hands, Imtiaz Ali took things up a notch by casting Sara and Kartik in his romantic drama 'Love Aaj Kal'. Going by the film's trailer, their time on the sets sure got hot and heavy as they shot some intimate scenes and also some emotional ones.

According to tabloid tales, Sara and Kartik pulled the plug on their romance shortly after they completed shooting for 'Love Aaj Kal'. The two reportedly decided to split amicably as they wanted fans and the media to focus more on their work than their romance. While Kartik quickly immersed himself in work, Sara hopped aboard a plane and jetted out on an all-girls vacation with her pals.

Allegedly nursing a broken heart, Kartik Aaryan reportedly found comfort in the arms of his 'Pati Patni Aur Woh' co-star Ananya Panday. The two hit it off instantly and their friendship reportedly blossomed into a romance that we all got to see play out on and off the big screen. From wooing fans over with their crackling chemistry to hitting up parties together and sneaking out on date nights, these two quickly became the hot new couple in town.

Just when rumours were running wild about Kartik's growing closeness with Ananya Panday, Karan Johar shared a post that only added fuel to an already raging fire. The director shared a photo with Kartik before he flew out to Chandigarh to begin his ‘Dostana 2’ shoot. Interestingly, it was his caption that raised eyebrows. “I feel like I am the woh in this picture” he captioned the selfie that saw the young stars smiling as they held hands. Many took it as the confirmation they were waiting for.

All seemed fine in Kartik-Ananya's romance until the time Sara Ali Khan stepped back into the picture to resume dubbing work for the film and eventually start off the promotional campaign. As much as fans wanted to overlook the awkwardness between the two, it was practically impossible. Slowly, however, the two put on their game-face and got goofy while promoting their film.

With Sara Ali Khan back in Kartik Aaryan's life, Ananya Panday's equation with the hunk became the instant talk on tabloid columns. It didn't take too long for rumours of the three being stuck in a love triangle to start doing the rounds. So much so, that when Ananya shared her love for the 'Love Aaj Kal' trailer and said, "Aana toh puri tarah aana, ya to aana hi mat," it raised quite a few eyebrows.

Call it love or anything in between, but Sara and Kartik have sparked off dating rumours all over again, thanks to their impeccable chemistry during film promotions. From sharing some rather loved-up throwback photos from their shoot days to getting goofy during promotions, these two have been sharing some of their cutest moments together, giving 'Sartik' fans a lot to be hopeful about.