Actor Vijay Varma caused a stir on social media over the weekend after sharing a cryptic Valentine’s Day post that set loose a chain of chatter about his love life — nearly a year after his split from his reported girlfriend, actress Tamannaah Bhatia.

On February 14, Varma shared a cryptic picture on Instagram Story showing a man holding a woman’s hand, with the rest of the frame deliberately cropped to hide her identity. The photo was captioned, “Happy Valentine’s Day to my forever,” accompanied by a red heart and rainbow emoji.

He also tagged an Instagram handle @khushi_ahuja, prompting fans to wonder if the actor had found new love.

The post went viral among his fans, with many speculating that Varma may have moved on following his breakup from Bhatia. The pair had reportedly ended their two-year relationship in early 2025 after meeting on the sets of the Netflix anthology series Lust Stories 2. Their romance was one of the most talked-about Bollywood relationships at the time, drawing attention both on and off the screen.

However, much to the surprise of his fans, on taking a closer look at the mentioned Instagram handle in Varma’s story, the whole thing was revealed to be a prank rather than a real announcement of his relationship status.

Posts on the profile included tongue-in-cheek messages hinting that followers had been “made a fool of,” leaving fans with a dilemma about the authenticity of the buzz surrounding Varma’s post.

On the work front, Vijay Varma recently starred in the fashion designer Manish Malhotra-backed film Gustaakh Ishq. The film also stars Fatima Sana Sheikh and Naseeruddin Shah in notable roles.