Caught like Andy Byron at Coldplay concert? Top seven films that showed how messy office romances and affairs get

Dubai: When Astronomer CEO Andy Byron was caught on a Coldplay kiss-cam canoodling someone who wasn’t his wife, it set off a social media firestorm. As memes flew and LinkedIn profiles got quietly scrubbed, it also reignited an age-old conversation: what happens when work gets personal?

Office romances have long been a staple of film, and not without reason. Whether it’s about falling in love across cubicles or watching relationships implode under the weight of ambition and power, cinema captures these entanglements with all their awkward glory.

Here’s a list of films—Bollywood and Hollywood—that show us just how complicated things can get when love clocks in.

1. The Proposal (2009)
Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) is a demanding New York editor who forces her assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) into a fake engagement to avoid deportation. What begins as professional blackmail morphs into genuine affection—with plenty of chaos along the way. Power imbalance, HR hazards, and office gossip are all baked in. A classic reminder that the boss-employee dynamic is a risky romantic bet.

2. Up in the Air (2009)
George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizer constantly on the road, who finds a kindred spirit in fellow frequent flyer Alex (Vera Farmiga). Their connection grows amidst business meetings, hotel bars, and frequent flyer lounges—until personal lives and office politics get in the way. A sleek, sobering look at how detachment in the workplace can trick you into thinking you’re emotionally safe.

3. Morning Glory (2010)
Becky (Rachel McAdams), an ambitious morning TV producer, takes over a struggling show while juggling professional chaos and a budding romance with a colleague (Patrick Wilson). Amidst breaking news and irritable co-anchors, love somehow sneaks into the control room. It’s charming, fast-paced, and layered with the kind of “do we mix work and love?” tension today’s professionals will relate to.

4. Two Weeks Notice (2002)
This Sandra Bullock–Hugh Grant rom-com explores the relationship between a sharp-witted lawyer and her charming but clueless billionaire boss. She quits to reclaim her independence, but not before their workplace banter tips into romantic territory. Think boardroom flirtation, emotional dependency, and a reminder that sometimes, walking away is the most romantic move of all.

5. The Intern (2015)
Not a romance in the traditional sense, but a beautiful depiction of emotional intimacy at work. Anne Hathaway plays a stressed-out CEO who forms an unlikely bond with her older intern, played by Robert De Niro. Their connection isn’t romantic, but it’s transformative—and shows that meaningful workplace relationships don’t always need a kiss to matter.

7. Band Baaja Baaraat (2010)
Shruti (Anushka Sharma) and Bittoo (Ranveer Singh) start a wedding planning business with one rule: no falling in love. Naturally, they break it. The film follows the highs and lows of mixing profit margins with passion. The startup setting feels fresh, and the chemistry is electric—until business tensions threaten the whole partnership.

8. Inkaar (2013)
Set in a slick Mumbai ad agency, this intense drama stars Arjun Rampal and Chitrangada Singh as colleagues-turned-lovers whose relationship spirals into a sexual harassment case. With shifting narratives and power struggles, it’s a provocative exploration of consent, ambition, and how blurred lines in the workplace can have serious consequences.

Office romances are messy, magnetic, and never just about shared deadlines. In the age of viral accountability and kiss-cam confessions, these films remind us that workplace love stories often come with more baggage than bonus points. And if there’s one universal truth: it’s best to keep it off the jumbotron.