Bollywood actors who have played lovers as well as siblings on-screen

Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini are among those actors in Bollywood who need no introduction. While Bachchan has established himself as the Superstar of the Millennium through his acting prowess, long list of awards and accolades, numerous superhit films, and huge fan following, Malini is recognised as one of the most successful leading ladies of her times and has appeared in more than 150 films and has won many awards for her performance.

Goes without saying that actors like Bachchan and Malini were among the top choices for a couple for many filmmakers, and the duo were seen portraying the role of lovers / husband-wife in several movies including Naseeb (1981), Satte Pe Satta (1982), Desh Premee (1982), Nastik (1983), Baghban (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004) and Baabul (2006).

However, not known to many, the actors have also played the role of siblings in one film, much before they were cast as a romantic pair. The film is titled Gehri Chaal (1973) in which Malini was seen romancing Jeetendra, while Bachchan played the role of her brother.

The legendary actor Dev Anand was one of the most popular male leads in Bollywood between 1940s and 1970s. Zeenat Aman on the other hand stepped into Bollywood after winning the Miss India beauty pageant in 1970 and is still credited with introducing the modern look to Hindi cinema and modernizing the style and fashion for women.

Aman's breakthrough in Bollywood came with the classic 1971 film Hare Rama Hare Krishna for which she was apparently chosen as a last-minute replacement. Not only her acting in the film garnered appreciation, but also her performance in the song "Dum Maro Dum", composed by legendary R D Burman, became an instant hit and is still considered as one of the most popular soundtracks ever. Her portrayal of Jasbir "Janice" Jaiswal earned her a Filmfare award for Best Supporting Actress. This is the first film in which she shared screen space with Anand, and played the role of his character's sister.

Anand and Aman worked on several other films in the future but as lovers and charmed audience with their sizzling chemistry. The films include Prem Shastra (1974), Ishq Ishq Ishq (1974), Warrant (1975), Darling Darling (1977) and Kalabaaz (1977).

Salman Khan is cited in the media as one of the most popular, influential and commercially successful actors of Indian cinema, whereas Neelam remained one of the popular heroines of Bollywood during 1980s and 1990s.

Salman has delivered numerous hit movies since his debut in Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), and one of his most successful films include Rajshri Productions' Hum Saath-Saath Hain (1999). In this film Neelam was seen playing the role of a doting sister to Prem, a character that was played by Salman.

Before playing the role of siblings, the duo played the role of lovers in Ek Ladka Ek Ladki (1992), a film that failed to meet box office expectations. In fact, the brother-sister portrayal of the actors was received with lot more appreciation by the audience in comparison to their roles as lovers.

Sanjay Suri and Juhi Chawla are both talented actors and the first time they were seen sharing screen space was in Pritish Nandy Communications' 2003 comedy drama Jhankaar Beats. Unfortunately the good-looking actors were seen as a romantic pair only once.

The next movie that brought them together was My Brother...Nikhil (2005), a biopic based on the life of Dominic d'Souza who was diagnosed with HIV. In the film Sanjay played the lead role of Nikhil, the HIV patient, and Juhi played the role of Anamika, Nikhil's sister, who stood by her brother when rest of Nikhil's family and the community deserted him.

Both Tusshar Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor hail from families that have strong foothold in Hindi film and television industry. Besides being the torch bearer of their respective families, the two talented actors are extremely popular faces in Bollywood of modern times.

Tusshar and Kareena were first seen together in the 2001 romantic drama Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai. Their next film together was the 2002 romantic drama Jeena Sirf Merre Liye.

After that the duo, who are also close pals in real life, came together for Rohit Shetty's 2008 comedy drama Golmaal Returns, in which they were seen playing siblings. For better or worse, their chemistry as on-screen siblings connected with audience much more than their chemistry as lovers.

Popularity of Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan knows no bounds. With a long list of hit films and awards, accolades, international fame, and the brands they endorse, both Shah Rukh and Aishwarya are rightly considered as Bollywood A-listers.

King Khan and the former Miss World were first seen together in Mansoor Khan's 200 action drama film Josh. In the film that was based on the rivalry of two gangs in Goa, Shah Rukh and Aishwarya played siblings, while Chandrachur Singh played the love interest of Aishwarya's character.

However, their pairing became extremely popular after being casted as lovers in 2000's romantic drama Mohabbatein. Luckily for their fans, it was not the last. The duo rocked the screen once again with their sizzling chemistry in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 2002 romantic drama Devdas, based on the prominent Bengali novelist Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel of the same name. In the film, Shah Rukh played the titular role of Devdas whereas Aishwarya played the role of Paro, Devdas' love of life.

The handsome hunk John Abraham and sizzling beauty Deepika Padukone surprised us with their rocking chemistry and comic timing in Rohit Dhawan's 2011 romcom Desi Boyz.

Two years later, the duo were seen again together in Abbas-Mustan's 2013 action thriller film Race 2, however, as siblings. In the film, John played the role of an ex-street fighter and billionaire gangster, and Deepika portrayed the role of his half-sister.

Arjun Rampal and Deepika Padukone are two gorgeous actors of 21st century Bollywood and both have a huge fan following. Arjun and Deepika were first seen together in Farha Khan's 2007 romantic thriller drama Om Shanti Om, which was also Deepika's debut film. In the film Deepika was seen playing a double role - first of a popular actress Shanti Priya, and then of a struggling actress Sandy. For the role of Shanti Priya, Deepika was seen as the wife of Arjun's character Mukesh "Mike" Mehra, a film producer.

Few years later, the duo were seen playing the role of siblings in Sajid Khan’s 2010 comedy drama Housefull, and were considered as Bollywood's tallest on-screen siblings.

Abhishek Bachchan, like some of other star kids had a shaky start in Bollywood and failed to live up to the expectations at the start of his career. As he hailed from a family with strong acting background, he was under huge pressure and although his acting in the first few movies garnered appreciation, the films did not fare well at the box office. However, Junior Bachchan proved everyone wrong with his strong performance in films like Yuva (2004), Dhoom (2004), Bunty Aur Babli (2005), and Guru (2007).

Asin on the other hand was predominantly a South-Indian actress, who made her Bollywood debut in Ghajni (2008) opposite Aamir Khan.

In 2012, Abhishek played double role in Rohit Shetty’s 2012 comedy drama Bol Bachchan for which he won Screen Award for Best Comedy Role. In this movie he and Asin played siblings, and their chemistry was loved by all.

Three years later the duo played the role of lovers in another romantic comedy drama All Is Well (2015).

The talented actors Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra were seen as a romantic couple in YRF's 2014 action thriller drama Gunday. This is the first time that the duo shared screen space with each other.

The next year the duo quite convincingly played the role of doting brother and sister in Zoya Akhtar's Dil Dhadakne Do (2015). The same year they were seen playing man and wife in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's historical epic Bajirao Mastani (2015), in which Ranveer played the role of the well known Maratha Peshwa Bajirao, and Priyanka played the role of his first wife Kashibai.