February Special: Bollywood’s hush hush wedding affairs

Amid whispers about Varun Dhawan’s marriage with his longtime girlfriend Natasha Dalal on January 24 in a secret ceremony, we are reminded of how Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli, and Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, managed to escape the public glare. But the trend is not new.

For Bollywood stars, the popular line of the evergreen song, Khullam khulla pyaar karenge hum dono, might hold true when it comes to love, but not when it comes to getting hitched. Over the years, our stars have not only learnt to live their lives under public glare, but also to ditch the limelight when it is time to exchanging nuptials, and retreat into their inner circles for celebrations.

We take a walk down memory lane and find several Bollywood couples kept their marriage a hush hush affair.

Shammi Kapoor and Geeta Bali
Late star Shammi Kapoor got married to Geeta Bali in secret. Reportedly, Shammi was afraid that his parents would never accept Bali as she was elder to him. They got married in a temple in 1955, and the ceremony was not attended by any of their family members.

Randhir Kapoor and Babita Kapoor
They met and fell in love while working together, but it was not a smooth ride. The Kapoor-clan had apprehensions regarding the match. It is rumoured that they got married in a secret ceremony without even informing Raj Kapoor.

Dharmendra and Hema Malini
After showing sizzling chemistry in films like “Seeta Aur Geeta”, “Sholay” and “Dream Girl”, they got married in 1980. Reports have stated that they secretly converted to Islam to tie the knot because Dharmendra was already married.

Sridevi and Boney Kapoor
Boney Kapoor was a married man when he met Sridevi, and fell in love with her. Reportedly, Boney secretly married Sridevi and then divorced his first wife.

Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh
Saif got married to Amrita as his parents did not approve of their relationship due to their age difference — Amrita was almost 12 years older. Saif was deeply in love, and they got married secretly in 1991.

Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna
Akshay got married to Twinkle in a secret ceremony in 2001. Today, they have a blissful marriage and two kids together.

Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta
Juhi Chawla secretly married businessman Jay Mehta in 1996 when she was at the peak of her career. The news of their wedding became public after she got pregnant.

Sanjay Dutt and Maanayata
In 2008, Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt and Maanayata had a secret court wedding in Goa. Four days later they solemnised the marriage as per Hindu rituals at a simple ceremony. Today, they have two children together.

Madhuri Dixit and Shriram Nene
Bollywood dancing diva Madhuri Dixit surprised her fans when it came to light that she had tied the knot with surgeon Sriram Nene in a private ceremony in Los Angeles. The news of the wedding was announced a day later by her manager.

Rani Mukerji and Aditya Chopra
She got married to him in Italy in 2014. Rani had revealed that only 12 people attended the wedding.

Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli
Anushka and Virat went to Lake Como in Italy for their wedding in 2017, attended by their close friends and family. There were only around 42 guests. Reports state that they used fake email IDs and names to plan their wedding.

Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh
In 2018, Ranveer got married to his girlfriend of six years, Deepika, in an intimate wedding ceremony at Lake Como in Italy. It was a very hush hush affair.

Surveen Chawla and Akshay Thakker
Surveen, known for her acting stint in shows like “Sacred Games” and “Haq Se”, got married to her longtime boyfriend Akshay Thakker in the year 2015, but kept the wedding a secret till December 2017. The couple was blessed with a daughter on April 15 in 2019.