New Delhi:
Parineeti Chopra and Raghav Chadha, who married last year, shared their journey from first meeting to a lavish wedding in Udaipur. In a conversation with Rajat Sharma, the couple shared that they first met during an award ceremony in London. Parineeti described the moment with a mix of humour and nostalgia. She said, “I had gone there to accept an Outstanding Achiever Award in Entertainment, and he (Raghav) had come to accept an award in Politics and Governance.”
She added, “I did not know Raghav. My brothers were big fans of him. My brother Shivang told me to meet him. I told the organizers I wanted to meet Raghav. Raghav was sitting behind me. I went up to him. I said, ‘Hello, I am Parineeti, my brothers are big fans of you’. He replied, ‘How sweet’. He said, ‘We will catch up’. I said, sure, we’ll meet in Mumbai. Raghav replied: Why not meet here tomorrow? I was stunned.” To this, Raghav Chadha responded with a playful statement, “Nek kaam me deri kaisi?” (Why should I delay a good work).”
Parineeti continued, “I agreed. The next morning, I went with three of my managers. He too had come with the organizers. Some 10 to 12 persons were at the table. It was not a date. An entire platoon was present. I said to myself, what is happening? Now, from here begins a filmy story. Both of us talked about the whole world. I told him I used to do meditation and scuba diving. One hour passed. Suddenly, he said, he was hungry, stood up, and brought a plate full of food. I thought, normally people remain reticent when they meet for the first time. They do not expose themselves. I said to myself, Yaar, this is the right man for me.”
Then came the defining moment for Parineeti. “And now the filmi moment began. He brought his plate of food and started eating. I was just watching him. A bell rang in my mind. I said to myself, I am going to marry this man.”
However, there was a twist. Parineeti admitted, “I did not know anything about him. He looked handsome, our food interests matched. The moment the meeting ended, I rushed upstairs to my room and started Googling – Who is Raghav Chadha? Is Raghav Chadha married? I also put the ‘main’ question – What is Raghav Chadha’s age? All the answers I got were correct. I also knew from Google that he was a Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha. Anyway guys, I googled a lot. And then I said to myself (in Punjabi) byah toh main inaali karangi (I will only marry him).”
When Rajat Sharma asked Raghav if he knew who Parineeti Chopra was, he replied, “Yes, I knew about her. When she agreed to meet the next morning, I decided, why not. Let me hit a Mauke Pe Chauka.”
The couple’s relationship progressed with more meetings, and as Parineeti returned to India for her shoots, the couple continued to meet in Punjab. “We met a lot and gradually the silsila continued,” Raghav said.
When asked if their meetings were secretive or open, Raghav chuckled and replied, “At first we met clandestinely. At first, we met secretly. I told my colleagues, I had to go to meet somebody. We met at 8:30 in the night. She completed her shooting, told her security staff to go, and came alone in the car. Then we went to a farm to sit alone.”
ICYDK, Parineeti Chopra and Raghav married on September 24 last year at The Leela Palace Hotel in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The wedding was an intimate affair with only close friends and family members in attendance.
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