Karishma Tanna, Hanif Hilal out in the open

There have been hushed whispers in telly circles about Hanif Hilal and Karishma Tanna being a couple for a while. It now appears that the duo is throwing caution to the wind. The choreographer celebrated his birthday on September 21 and had a lavish bash where the actress played the hostess.u00a0Says a source who attended the party, "The duo have been stepping out in public together but it is now clear that there is more to their relationship as evident at the bash. They seem to be enjoying each other's company."

Adds the source, "The two have a lot of common friends so they also all hang out together. Though they may say they are good friends, it looks like they are a couple." Karishma who appears in TV shows also features opposite Vivek Oberoi in Soham Shah's upcoming film while Hanif keeps busy with his dancing and modelling assignments.

Hanif and Karishma bonded when shooting for the Shah Rukh Khan hosted reality show Zor Ka Jhatka (which aired last year) during the shooting in Argentina. They were always seen in each other's company when they were not shooting.u00a0Hanif was earlier linked with Pooja Bedi after they took part in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and they were often spotted together at events. While Karishma was earlier linked with musician Bappa Lahiri who is now married.