Sagarika Ghatge and cricketer Zaheer Khan's wedding is quite possibly the most anticipated event of the year. The two had recently announced their engagement and boy did they take the internet by storm after that. Now, the duo is all set to get married and fulfill their happily ever after. Recently, in an exclusive interview with Bombay Times, the two spoke about their journey and their upcoming wedding plans.
Talking about the excitement level at home, Zaheer said, "It's upbeat for me, stressful for Sagarika (smiles). She is the worrier, because she is more responsible as far as the timelines are concerned. With me, things go haywire." When asked if they faced any issues owing to an inter-religious marriage, he stated, "We didn't face any such issues. Both our families are evolved enough to understand that it's about marrying the right person over marrying into the same religion. It's important to be a good human being." Sagarika added, "My parents are also openminded and their primary concern was that I marry the right person. I am sure they may have had their apprehensions, but after meeting him, it cleared a lot of things for them. He is perfect."
When asked if they were going for a nikaah or a Hindu wedding, Zaheer said, "We are going to stay away from both. It will be a court marriage on November 27 in Mumbai. There will be a pre and post wedding functions. I am planning to have something in Pune as well, so the ceremony will go on for a few days. We want this to be a get-together for close friends and family." Sagarika, added, "We are also planning to have something in my hometown Kolhapur, sometime later."
When asked how their love story started, Sagarika said, “I met him three years ago. It was weird that every time I met him, my friends would tease us for some reason. We would be cordial with each other and stick to the regular 'Hi' and 'Hello'. But there were people, like my close friend, who thought we should be together even before we thought about it." Zaheer added, "We both were in a different phase of our lives back then. We got to know each other through common friends. We don't know exactly when it started, but we eased into it."
When asked who made the first move, Zaheer stated, “One person had to take the lead, and it was me (smiles). Things started to get serious when I actually told her about it. Before that we would always meet as part of a group. We would enjoy each other's company, but I wasn't sure if she liked me or not. So I just told her, "I would like to take you out for dinner, but it should be just you and me, not with the gang." She thought I was joking about it! We always felt there was something between us, but didn't say it. We have different personalities, but are similar in a lot of ways as well. She is quite choosy about who she hangs out with and so am I. We take our time to open up to people. We both are introverted to a certain extent."
Sagarika added, "I always knew he was a good guy. Whenever I met this common friend of ours called Ritik, I would always tell him that Zaheer seems like a good guy. He knew that I never talk about anyone like that, so there was probably something more to this. What I liked about him the most was his humility. Despite achieving so much in life, he is grounded. That is one quality in him that I truly I admire. Sometimes I fly, but he is grounded."
Elaborating further on it, Sagarika said, "Everyone in the family has always been a sports fan, not just cricket. They love him also because he speaks in Marathi. Even I don't always talk to my mom in Marathi but he does and that worked." Zaheer said, "When I shared the news with my parents, the first thing they did was get a CD of Chak De! India and watch it. That mutual admiration is there from both families."
Stay tuned for more updates.
