Mumbai, March 4 (IANS) Is producer-director Aditya Chopra tying the knot with Bollywood star Rani Mukerji? The grapevine is abuzz with rumours ever since the former has filed a petition seeking divorce from his first wife at the Bandra Family Court in northwest Mumbai.

Aditya's father, movie moghul Yash Chopra, is not too happy with this alliance and therefore Aditya has moved out his family home and is now staying in a five-star hotel in suburban Mumbai.

In fact, Aditya's parents have already made it known publicly that they are against their son divorcing his wife whom they adore. Which, indirectly, means that if Aditya's marries Rani, he will have to do so against his parents' wishes.

It is speculated that Aditya's shift from his father's home is a prelude to his impending marriage with Bollywood star Rani, with whom he has been having an affair for a long time, according to sources.

A rumour has been also doing the rounds since Sunday that Aditya had, in fact, given the actress an engagement ring a day earlier when both met secretly at the hotel where he has been staying.

Though none close to the Chopras would confirm the rumour, but the fact that Aditya's petition seeking divorce from his first wife, Payal, was granted after the mandatory grace period of six months last week, lent teeth to the speculation.

'I am afraid, I will not be able to comment on the private life of my client. Moreover, I have no inkling of the exchange of engagement rings between Aditya and Rani. My client does not keep me informed about his private affairs,' Gopal Pandey, long-time publicist of Yash Raj Films, told IANS.

As a matter of fact, in deference to the reputation of Yash Raj Films, especially the position filmmaker Yash Chopra holds in Bollywood, none came forward to comment one way or the other on the 'impending' Aditya-Rani marriage, which, without confirmation, has remained a rumour.

Over the last few years, Rani has been seen in quite a few films made by Yash Raj Films, being handled by Aditya. She featured in 'Hum Tum, 'Veer-Zaara', 'Ta Ra Rum Pum' and 'Laaga Chunari Mein Daag'.