Rajeev Khandelwal recalls wanting a very low profile wedding, opens up about secretly dating wife Manjiri
Mumbai, May 25 (IANS) In the upcoming ‘Shaadi’ Special episode of Tum Ho Naa – Ghar Ki Superstar, host and actor Rajeev Khandelwal, in a rare sight, will be seen opening up about his marital journey with wife Manjiri Kamtikar.
He shared a hilarious memory from their engagement ceremony after contestant of the show, Neelam asked him to reveal details about their marriage.
Adding to the fun memory, Rajeev shared, “Rajeev also shared a memorable story about his first meeting with his father-in-law and how quickly their engagement was finalized.
He said, “Hum log toh aise chhup-chhup ke milte the. Maine toh shaadi mein kisi ko bulaya hi nahi, na maine kisi press wale ko bulaya. Meri sabse achhi yaad yeh hai ki jab Manjiri ke pita ji ko malum pada ki hum dono ek dusre ko date kar rahe hain, toh sabse pehle unhone mujhe bulaya. Bulaya kya, main khud hi pahunch gaya wahan pe. Maine kaha, ‘Main pahunch gaya.’ Toh bole, ‘Achha theek hai, kya plan hai?’ Maine kaha, ‘Yeh kaise bolun, abhi toh hum date hi kar rahe hain.’”
(We used to meet secretly. I didn’t invite anyone to the wedding, nor did I invite the press. One of my fondest memories is when Manjiri’s father found out that we were dating each other, the first thing he did was call me over. Actually, before he could even properly call me, I myself reached there. I told him, ‘I’m here.’ Then he asked, ‘Alright, so what’s the plan?’ I said, ‘How can I answer that? We’re only dating right now.)
Rajeev further revealed how his father-in-law immediately started discussing marriage plans. “Unhone poocha, ‘Toh kab karoge?’ Maine kaha, ‘Sir, jald hi.’ Phir poocha, ‘Engagement kab karoge?’ Maine kaha, ‘Kar lete hain jald hi, 2-3 mahine mein.’ Maine socha 6 mahine ki date de dete hain yaar, abhi toh ek dedh saal hi hua tha humein saath mein. Lekin date maang li gayi aur 16th May ko humari engagement ho gayi.”
(He asked me, ‘So when are you getting married?’ I said, ‘Sir, soon.’ Then he asked, ‘When will you get engaged?’ I replied, ‘Very soon, maybe in 2-3 months.’ I thought I would give a date six months later because we had only been together for about a year and a half. But they asked for a fixed date and our engagement happened on May 16)
The conversation turned even more special as Rajeev fondly recalled his first interaction with his father-in-law.
“Engagement mein jab main Manjiri ko ring pehna raha tha, tabhi bola gaya ki shaadi ki date bhi announce kar do. Ulta ho raha tha yahan pe! Mere sasur ji wahin baith gaye aur bole, ‘Announcement karo pehle.’ Maine kaha, ‘Ek saal baad.’ Unhone kaha, ‘Nahi nahi, kam karo.’ Maine kaha, ‘Uncle, dus mahine baad.’ Phir bhi bole, ‘Kam karo.’ Maine kaha, ‘Uncle, yeh mandavali baad mein karte hain.’ But mujhe date deni padi. Then I had to stick to that date. Maine kheech-taan karke ek saal ka waqt le hi liya tha. Aur baaki jo baatein hoti hain shaadiyon mein, woh toh hoti hi rehti hain. Shaadiyon ki baat karenge toh itne kisse khulenge ki itne kisse khulenge.”
(“At the engagement itself, while I was putting the ring on Manjiri’s finger, I was told to announce the wedding date too. Everything was happening in reverse here! My father-in-law sat right there and said, ‘First make the announcement.’ I said, ‘One year later.’ He said, ‘No no, reduce it.’ I said, ‘Okay Uncle, ten months later.’ Still, he said, ‘Reduce it further.’ I finally said, ‘Uncle, let’s negotiate this later.’ But eventually, I had to give a date. Then I had to stick to that date. Somehow, after a lot of pulling and stretching, I managed to get one year’s time. And all the other things that happen in weddings kept happening too. If we start talking about weddings, so many stories will come out)
During the conversation, Rajeev further added, “So basically, main un mein se tha jo chahta tha ki ek ghante mein nipat jaye shaadi aur un mein se tha jin ko ye khayaal tha ki shaadi pe zyada paise kharch nahi karenge.”
(Basically, I was one of those people who wanted the wedding to get over within an hour and believed that not too much money should be spent on weddings)
He then shared humorously how as the wedding preparations began, things quickly spiraled into a classic family affair.
One relative wanted more guests to be invited, another insisted on adding more rooms, and soon the arrangements kept expanding from 100 rooms to 150 rooms.
The bride’s side would mention a few extra guests arriving, while the groom’s side would try cutting the numbers down, turning the entire planning process into a hilarious tug-of-war between both families over wedding arrangements.
–IANS
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