Love has no boundaries especially in India, where our unity is in our diversity. Tonnes of languages, thousands of cultures, different ethnicities and of course multiple religions make our country; and to quite an extent, we all live in peace and harmony. This is only due to the love we share with each other and many people in our country decide to make this bond stronger by tying the knot. A marriage between two individuals following different religions is given the name of Inter- Marriage. Sometimes these weddings are also called Interfaith marriages as well. Many celebrities in India have listened to their heart by opting for an Inter-Religion wedding. Apart from personal happiness, they also help in a smooth integration of society. Our understanding about the other religions will increase as a result.
Here is a brief about the couples who had Inter-Faith marriages:
We all are aware that the legendary sportsman Milkha Singh is the only athlete to win a gold medal at Asian as well as in the Commonwealth Games for 400 m race. But not many of us know about his personal life. Milkha first met Nirmal Saina in Sri Lanka where he went for a competition in 1956 , while Nirmal was there to lead her volleyball team. They instantly bonded with each other when they met there. With a few more encounters, the Flying Sikh fell in love with Nimmi, as he lovably used to call her. Then they both ended up working in the Punjab Sports Department. They started to meet very often and rumours started flying in the air. When the Punjab CM heard about this he was furious at first but later he suggested Milkha Singh to marry the woman or else stop meeting her. The couple felt happy but their family refused this idea. Family of the man's side didn't want a Hindu daughter-in-law while the father of the woman's side assumed that their reputation would be tarnished if their daughter marries a Sikh man. Finally both the families agreed to the marriage after the intervention of Punjab CM. They then married in 1962, when it was not common to have an inter-religion marriage, and they stayed together till their final breath.
This is the most well-known example of not only Inter-Religion marriage, but of any marriage in general. Shah Rukh Khan is a Muslim Pathan by religion while Gauri Khan is a Hindu Brahmin. The King of Bollywood found his lady love at a common friend's party in 1984. He told in an interview that he never had any girlfriend before and neither did he approach any women. He saw Gauri dancing on the floor and then his friend asked Gauri to dance with Shah Rukh. From there they started talking. He later on proposed to her but she refused. Then Gauri, without telling anyone, went to Mumbai and the King of Romance along with his few friends started searching for her after going to Mumbai and luckily met her on a beach, where he again proposed to her but she again rejected the proposal. And after the death of Shah Rukh Khan's mother, she returned to Delhi and apologized and asked him to get married and eventually they got married in 1991 as per Hindu rituals and have been together since then. The couple has completed their thirty years of marriage this year.
This is one of the unique interfaith marriages in India. Arshad Warsi being a Muslim while Maria, a popular Radio Jockey (RJ) is a Christan had 'love at first sight'. In 1991, Arshad was being asked to judge a Mumbai college dance festival and there he saw the performance of Maria. Impressed by her performance he wanted to become a part of her dance group. She then became the lead dancer of the group and an assistant choreographer. Although Arshad didn't think of anything romantic, Maria had a huge crush on him from the first time she saw him. But she never admitted this fact not until she was offered half a glass of drink while holidaying in Dubai with Arshid and other friends. Then they both started dating and then they both married on Valentine's day, in 1999. Since the duo is from different religious backgrounds they had two separate events for the wedding. In the morning they had a Christan wedding in a church, while in the evening they had an Islamic nikaah. They have a son and a daughter.
The famous couple of B-town fell in love at the sets of the movie Tashan, in 2008, years after meeting each other for the first time. Earlier they worked together in movies like LOC-Kargil and Omkara. Saif even got a tattoo of Kareena's name in Hindi on his forearm just a year after the relationship. Saif Ali Khan is the prince of Patodi family and he is a Muslim by religion while Kareena Kapoor Khan is a Hindu. The differences in religion never stood in between their love and they finally had a court marriage followed by a celebration in 2012. Now, the duo are blessed with two kids.
One of the cutest celebrity couples, Genelia D'Souza and Riteish Deshmukh do not have that 'love at first sight' wala pyar. Initially, Genelia was not very fond of Riteish when she met him on the sets of their film, Tujhe Meri Kasam in 2002. Gradually they started talking about random things. Genelia was just sixteen at that time while Riteish was twenty four. Then they dated for nine years and then finally in 2012 they tied the knot with Marathi tradition. Riteish is a Hindu Marathi while Genelia is a Christain. Despite their different religious as well as cultural beliefs, they both ended up in a happy marriage of nine years with two sons.
Just like her mother and brother, Soha Ali Khan also chose to go for an inter-religion marriage with Kunal Khemu. Their story started in 2009 with the film Dhoondte Reh Jaoge where they both worked together. Due to different backgrounds they initially didn't think of becoming friends. As Soha was an Oxford University graduate, Kunal used to think that he would have to think twice before talking to her. Apart from their different educational backgrounds, they also belonged to different communities in India. Kunal Khenu is a Kashmiri Pandit while Soha Ali Khan was from the Pataudi family (Nawabs belonging to Islamic religion) . They only ended up talking to each other at the end of the movie. And after some time their friendship turned into a relationship and then it turned into marriage in 2015. Now, the couple has an adorable daughter.
This couple has shown everyone how you can be super secretive about your wedding even if you have a huge fan following. Nobody would ever know that John Abraham is married if he had never signed off from Twitter as John and Priya Abraham. Not many people are aware of the religion of Abraham. His mother is a Zoroastrian Irani while his father is Syrian Christan from Kerala so he is a Christian. On the other hand, Priya Runchal is a Hindu by religion and is a citizen of the USA. Her family is from the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The duo tied the knot in 2013 in a secret ceremony. John has always kept his personal life private and he rarely makes a public appearance with his wife.
Who thought that a love story can kick off from a message via Twitter. They both started chatting in 2016 but only in 2017 they met each other in person. They hit the headlines after attending the Red Carpet event together. Then Nick proposed to the Quantico star in July, 2018 after her birthday and it took 48 seconds for her to say 'Yes!' And finally in December, 2018 they married each other in Jodhpur. As both hail from different religious backgrounds they decided to have both Hindu as well as Christan marriage rituals and traditions. They have given couple goals, destination wedding inspirations and so much more with their Interfaith marriage.
So these are some celebs who committed to an Inter-Faith marriage and are happy with their decision in life. These people often say that they are blessed with the mix of religion in their personal lives. Loving someone from a different background will give you an opportunity to learn more about our country and its varied cultures. Moreover what matters at the end is your happiness and it does not have to always comply with societal norms. So, if you thought that religion is a barrier for love then these celebrities have easily proved you wrong. So, go ahead and marry someone who you truly love irrespective of their religion.
