BOMBAY TIMES (February 22, 2014)

Farhan Akhtar and Vidya Balan, who play Siddharth and Trisha in Shaadi Ke Side/Effects, have been playing agony uncle and aunt to reallife couples in a special column. Here’s the duo again, offering quick-fix solutions to relationship problems.
 
For festivals and family occasions, I used to buy gifts in bulk for my husband’s family because it is large and shopping for them is time-consuming. My husband thought it’s a great idea logistically and now, he has started buying bulk gifts for all our friends’ birthdays, including mine. So, I get the same birthday gift as my friends. When I screamed at him for this, he got confused and said he had applied my logic — why is it right for me and wrong for him? How do I explain this to him?
SID: What is wrong in that? I think if the gift is in different colours, there shouldn’t be a problem.
TRISHA: Buy him and his closest friend a perfume that turns you on and invite his friend over to dinner. He’ll get the point.  

My wife ordered herself a dress online, but it didn’t fit her. So, I decided to surprise her and ordered the same dress in a bigger size. I thought she would be very happy, but she got very upset, and accused me of calling her fat behind her back. She has stopped talking to me since then. I don’t know what to do now. However, I have seen her wear the dress while going out with her friends. Should I point this out?
SID: My sixth sense tells me you should refrain from pointing it out. Just say sorry. And don’t discuss her sizes on a public forum again.
TRISHA: Omigod, that’s harakiri! Just tell her that you didn’t want to buy her a small size because you want to give her more of everything in life... and small has two LLs.
 
I recently swiped my husband’s credit card for an exorbitant amount. It was sale season and I could not resist myself. This was my first time, and he has revoked all my privileges. I am very upset; is he going to behave like this all the time? He didn’t even appreciate any of my purchases. He was never like this when we were dating. I had unlimited access to his wallet. How do I get my old sweetheart back?
SID: I feel his pain and I am on his side.
TRISHA: Tell him unlimited access to his wallet means unlimited access to you. C’mon, that’s only fair. Or else, start using your wallet.